US3133776A - Contactor head - Google Patents

Description

y 19, 1964 w. M. MAGERS ETAL 3,133,776

CONTACTOR HEAD Original Filed Feb. 19, 1962 2 Sheehs-Sheet 1 F.. I30 @340 r I48 4 jiililll I5 1 F/a/ INVENTORS WILLIAM M. MAGERS PALMER 6. WERMAGER ARTHUR 6. BLOMOU/ST LUDOLPH LARSE'N a/ZQRNEY AGENT May 19, 1964 w. M. MAGERS ETAL CONTACTOR HEAD 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed Feb. 19, 1962 United States Patent Office 1 Claim. (Cl. 339-64) The present invention relates to an electrical contactor head, and more particularly to a contactor head which will establish electricalcircuitry under adverse environmental conditions.

This application is a division-of application Serial Number- 174,325, filed February 19, 1962 for Booster Contactor.

Inthe field of electricalconnectors many attempts have been made to provide a connector which is capable of mating with a female connector even though there may be come misalignment between the male and female connectors. However, these attempts to solve the problem have not provided a satisfactory solution to all the problems in this area.

An object ofthe present invention is the provision of anelectrical connector which is well constructed, easy to manufacture and is provided with elements that are capable of ready replacement.

Another objectis to provide a connector having connecting pins that are substantially self centering.

A further object ofthe invention is the provision of electrical leads which will withstand considerable vibration.

Still another object is to provide connecting pins that will yieldindividually should the need arise.

A further object is to provide a multiple connector which is adapted for quick connection and disconnection.

Other objects and many of the attendant advantages of this invention will be readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection'with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is-a vertical elevation of the contactor head illustrating the separation of the receptacle assembly from the plug assembly;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the receptacle assembly taken on the line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is-an underside view of the receptacle assembly taken on the line 3'3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a top view of the plug assembly taken on the line 4-4 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the plug assembly as indicated by the arrows 55 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged vertical section view of. the assembled contactor head taken along the line 6-6 of FIG. 5 and showing a receptacle connector in phantom; and

FIG. 7 is a cross section taken on the line 77 of FIG. 6.

Referring now to the drawings, wherein like reference characters designate like or corresponding parts throughout the several views, there is shown in FIG. 1, which illustrates a preferred embodiment of the invention, a contactor constructed of two mating parts, a plug assembly 9t) and a receptacle assembly 92. Thus the plug assembly 90 having a plurality of contact points 38 can readily be replaced if the latter become damaged or worn and require replacement.

As best shown in FIGS. 4, 5 and 6, the plug assembly 90 of the contactor head 1th consists of a cylindrical plug body 94 of insulating material that is slightly resilient. Any suitable type may be used. A plurality of cylindrical cavities or bores96, one for each contact point 38 are formed inthis plug body 94. The cavities 96 are parallel tothe axis of the plug body 94. Each cavity 96 is counterbored to provide a shoulder 98and spaced beneath the shoulder 98is a locking groove 1% formed in the counterbore wall.

The contact points. 38 are the lower-most portions of electrically conductive plungers 102 which work within the cavities 96. The topend of each plunger 102 is formedwith a spring centering boss 104. having a lower flange 1116. The lower end consists of a slender shaft 1118 which. extends to the contact. point 38.

A coiled spring 112 is seated in compression in the upper endof cavity 96 and against the flange 106 urging it downwardly against theupper flange 116 of an apertured eyelet. type insert 114. The insert 114 is retained against the previously mentioned counterbored shoulder 28 by means .of aretaining ring 120which snaps into the retaining ring groove 100.

Alower flange 118 of insert 114 receives a flange 124 of a soft rubber cup-shaped boot 122 whichfits closely within the lower portion of the cavity 96 flush with the bottom surface of the plug body 94. Insert 114 is. provided with a bore 115 which is centrally located and extends the entire length of insert 114. It is through bore 115 that the shaft 108 of the plunger 102 extends. It. is to be notedtthat a reasonable amount of clearance is present between the bore 115 andshaft 108, in addition, the bore 115 tapers outwardly at'117. The purpose of these features is to permit each. pin 38.to individually align itself With the mating member should there be some misalignment-between a particular contact. point 38 and the aperture whichis to receive this particular contact pointleadconnectors, as shown in broken lines inFIG. 6 and designated LC. By having the connectors which pins 38 mate with made of lead or. some other. soft conducting material the problem. of alignment becomes obviated. Since the lead;is.soft, pins 38 are not confronted with the problernof. aligning. itself with a particular hole. Pins 38 needonly engage the lead connector. and when the contactor head lllis loweredinto position pins 38 will form their ownapertures in. the lead.

Centrally located contact point 38 of the plug assembly hasits plunger 102 electrically attached to a tubular plug pin 131) by means of: a soldered-in connecting lead 128. The upper end of lead 128 extends through an aperture 127 in plug. body 94. Connecting lead 128 is provided with a coiled portion 126 intermediate its ends. The coiled portion 126 absorbs the vibration and aligning that maybe required of. the contact pin 38. This plug pin 130 is inserted into a pin spacing insulating disc 148 of insulating material along with a plurality of L-shaped plug pins 138 and 140 forming an inner and outer circular array, respectively.

Horizontal legs 142 and 144 of the pins 138 and 140, respectively, extend radially from the underside of the insulating disc 148 between the radial barriers 150 formed therein as best shown in FIG. 7. The legs 142 and 144 of the pins 138 and 140, respectively, lie in potting compound 188 in a recessed well 132 of the body 94 and are formed with bifurcated ends 146. These ends 146 embrace and are soldered to short vertical portions 136 of coiled leads 134 which are disposed in the cavities 96 of the body 94. The coiled leads 134, in turn, are each at- Patented, May 19, 1964 tached to the spring centering boss 104 of one of the plungers 102 of the remaining contact points 38.

The receptacle assembly 92, to which the above described plug assembly 90 mates, consists of an annular receptacle body 158 having a mounting flange 160 as shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 6. This flange 160 is provided with mounting holes 162 by which it may be bolted to any desired type of supporting device.

a In the central bore 168 of the receptacle body 158, an insulating insert 170, as shown in FIG. 6, is supported by a flange 1'72. A plurality of shouldered female terminals 174, one for each pin 138 and 140 and also central plug pin 130, are positioned in holes formed in this insert 170. A terminal retaining disc 176 rests on top of the insert 170 in a counterbore 173 of central bore 168. Pin 180 extends through an aperture 179 in the sidewall thereof into the disc 176 thus holding it in position.

The upper ends of the terminals 174 are attached to the above mentioned leads 36. These are protected by a potting cap 182 having a flange 134 which snaps into a groove 186 of the receptacle body central bore 168 and is filled with an epoxy potting compound 188.

The plug assembly 90 and the receptacle assembly 92 are assured of correct mating by means of an indexing hole 156 in the former and an indexing pin 166 in the latter. Securing cap screws 154 passed through counterbored apertures 152 of the body 94 into threaded holes 164 of the receptacle 92 are conveniently accessible from the contact point side of the plug assembly 90 should the necessity arise for replacement of the latter.

In order to more completely describe the invention a brief description of its assembly follows:

Assuming that each of the major components, plug assembly 90 and receptacle assembly 92, have had their various components assembled, the assemblies 90 and 92 can be mated by aligning the indexing pin 166 with the aperture 156 and moving the lower face of mounting flange 1st) into contact with the upper face of the plug body 94. As this is accomplished, the pins 138 and 140 are inserted into the female terminals 174. After this is done, the only remaining thing to be done is to insert bolts 154 into their respective apertures 164 and take up on the bolts until the plug assembly 90 and receptacle assembly 92 are securely brought into close engagement. Should there be any misalignment of a contact pin 38 with the aperture in contactor C which it is to mate, with a slight shifting of the contactor head 10, prior to the insertion of bolts 154, in one direction or another will force the pin to align itself with the aperture and thus permit the contact pin 38 to enter. As pointed out earlier in the specification, in one embodiment of the invention, the plug body 90 is made of an insulating material 94 which is slightly resilient and will permit the plungers 102 to individually realign itself to improve its mating capability.

Obviously many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. It is, therefore, to be understood that within the scope of the appended claim the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.

What is claimed is:

In a contactor head having a plug section and a receptacle section adapted for mutual engagement, the combination comprising; a receptacle body, a cap for enclosing the upper end of said body, said receptacle body having a flange portion at its lower end, said receptacle having a recess centrally located therein, an insert mounted within said recess, retaining means for holding said insert within said recess, a plurality of female terminals mounted in said insert, first lead means electrically connected to said female terminals and disposed to pass through said cap, a plug body, said plug body having a plurality of bores of uniform diameter terminating in a bore of lesser diameter, said bores being arranged in outer and inner concentric circles about a centrally disposed bore, said plug body having a recessed well in its upper face, a circular disc centrally disposed in said well for abutting said insert in the lower end of said receptacle body, said disc having a plurality of apertures therein for alignment with said female terminals, radially disposed longitudinal legs attached to said disc for supporting said disc within asid receessed well, male terminal means disposed in said apertures of said disc for insertion into said female terminals, second lead means electrically connected to said male terminals and extending to the intersection of said recessed well and said bores, said recessed well being filled with a potting compound, an apertured insert disposed in each of said bores, said insert having a flange at either end thereof, each of said bores having a circumferential groove therein, a retaining ring disposed in said groove for abutting the flange on the upper end of said apertured insert to retain said apertured insert in said bore, a plunger disposed in each of said bores, said plunger having a shaft extending through said apertured insert, a spring supporting flange secured to the upper end of each of said shafts and disposed in abutting relationship with the upper end of said apertured insert, a spring disposed within each of said bores in abutting relationship with the upper end of each of said bores at one end thereof and in abutting relationship with said spring supporting flange at the other end thereof, a spring centering boss disposed within each spring and secured to said spring supporting flange, a coiled flexible electrical lead disposed within each of said springs for interconnecting the respective said second lead means with the respective plungers, each of said plungers terminating in a point and extending beyond the base of said plug body, a cuped-shaped boot disposed in sealing relationship Within each of said bores, said boot having an upper flange which is inwardly directed and disposed about said apertured insert to secure said boot in said bore, said boot being secured in sealing relationship at the lower end thereof to said plunger, and means for aligning and fastening said receptacle body with said plug body.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,300,789 Tomlinson Apr. 15, 1919 2,440,279 Larkins Apr. 27, 1948 2,705,308 Howard Mar. 29, 1955 2,858,518 Chrystie et al Oct. 28, 1958 2,944,240 Barber July 5, 1960 3,080,544 Stott et al Mar. 5, 1963 3,088,089 Gregoire Apr. 30, 1963

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