Abstract: An electrical header comprises a dielectric housing having cavities and contact posts held in the cavities. The contact posts extend beyond a first face of the housing for attachment to a substrate and extend beyond a second face of the housing for engagement with contacts of a mating electrical connector. Each of the contact posts has an enlargement in a vicinity of the second face. Each of the enlargements has a width which is greater than a width of its corresponding cavity for preventing the housing from being pulled off of the contact posts when the contact posts are attached to the substrate.

Abstract: A seal for use with an electrical connector having a flange which is dimensioned to confront a mounting panel around a cutout in the mounting panel comprises one-piece seal member including a conductor seal and a flange seal. The conductor seal is configured to sealingly engage conductors extending from the electrical connector, and the flange seal is configured to seal between the mounting panel and the flange when the electrical connector is mounted in the mounting panel.

Abstract: An electrical connector for terminating flat cable comprises a housing which holds a plurality of contacts, and a cover which is attachable to the housing. The cover is relatively movable on the housing from an initial position wherein the flat cable can be inserted between the cover and the housing, to a final position wherein the flat cable becomes terminated to the connector. The cover has latch arms receivable in wells in the housing, and the housing has protuberances which extend into the wells from side walls thereof. The protuberances serve as stops which are abutted by the latch arms when the cover is in the initial position, thereby temporarily preventing movement of the cover beyond the initial position.

Abstract: A stacked electrical connector 2 including right angle RJ-45 modular jacks 4 positioned in columns also includes LED's 38 positioned on the front mating face 18 of the connector 2. Internal passages 28 extend from the mating face 18 of the jack housing 18 and intersect channels 34 extending to the bottom pcb mounting face 22 where the connector 2 and jacks 4 are soldered to a printed circuit board. LED leads 42 are located in the passages 28 and contacts 44 are located in channels 34. Insulation displacement slots 48 at the top of the contacts 44 terminate the leads 42. The termination points are staggered and the leads 42 in a column are of different lengths so that contacts 44 of different lengths can engage corresponding leads 42. LED's 38 can thus be positioned beside mating openings 20 on the front of the connector 2 to provide status indications.

Abstract: An electrical connector assembly for interconnecting a pair of circuit boards in parallel spaced-apart planes comprises first and second connectors. The first connector includes a dielectric first housing having a mating face and an array of first contacts exposed along the mating face. The first housing has a shroud which defines a boundary around the array of first contacts. The shroud has an edge at a height above the mating face and the first contacts are recessed below the edge. The second connector includes a dielectric second housing having a mating face and an array of second contacts exposed along the mating face for mating with the first contacts. The second housing is configured for complementary reception within the boundary of the shroud, wherein the shroud serves to align the first and second housings for mating before engagement of the first and second contacts can occur.

Abstract: An adapter is removably mountable on one end of a memory card of predetermined length. The adapter has a protrusion which registers with a notch in the end of the memory card, and the adapter has a substitute notch which provides the memory card with an effective length that is equal to a specified longer length than the predetermined length. The adapter permits the memory card of predetermined length to be reliably mated with an electrical connector that is dimensioned to receive a memory card of the specified longer length.

Abstract: An elastomeric electrical connector (30) comprises an elastomeric core (32) having sides (48) extending in a longitudinal direction between opposite ends (46), and a flexible film (34) having circuit traces (36) thereon wrapped around the core. One of the sides (48) has a relief (50) and the flexible film has a crease (40) directed into the relief. The crease predisposes a portion of the flexible film to gather in the relief when the core is compressed in the longitudinal direction, thereby preventing circuit traces on loose flexible film from causing inadvertent electrical shorts.

Abstract: A zero insertion force socket for an electronic package comprises a cover (20) which is slidably mounted on a base (10). The cover has a package mounting surface (22) which defines a plane. A cam mechanism (30) which is operable for sliding the cover on the base is pivotable on an axis (36) that extends perpendicular to the plane of the package mounting surface.

Abstract: The invention is a strain relief for an electrical connector which is terminated to a plurality of wires extending from the connector in a wire bundle. The strain relief comprises a housing which is mountable on the electrical connector, a barrel connected to the housing and arranged for nesting the wire bundle, a clamp which is applicable to the barrel to effect gripping of the wire bundle within the barrel, and the barrel being manipulable to release the clamp, thereby releasing the gripping of the wire bundle.

Abstract: An edge connector for a plurality of daughter boards has a plurality of adjacent board-receiving openings which are configured to receive the daughter boards first in a common linear insertion direction at respective upstream positions and then in a common pivoting insertion direction to respective downstream positions. A plurality of latch members are operable to retain the daughter boards in their respective downstream positions. The latch members are also releasable to allow reverse pivoting of the daughter boards. The latch members are configured so that releasing the latch members associated with a relatively downstream one of the openings operates to release the latch members associated with relatively upstream ones of the openings, thereby preventing collisions between adjacent ones of the daughter boards.

Abstract: Components of a patch panel snap together for easy assembly and disassembly. The patch panel includes a mounting panel, an interface housing with a snap latch attachment to the mounting panel, and a connector assembly with a snap latch attachment to the interface housing. The connector assembly can be removed from the patch panel without removing the interface housing.

Abstract: A socket assembly (10) for an electronic package (2) comprises a base (20) which is mountable on a circuit board (8), and a separable subassembly (11) which houses the electronic package and is securable to the base with threaded fasteners (80). The subassembly (11) comprises an electronic package holder (30) mountable on the base (20), a heat sink (50) mountable on the holder, and polarizing pins (14) which are interference fitted between the holder and the heat sink. The holder has a topside (32), an underside (34) and a generally central opening (36) extending therebetween. The opening (36) is dimensioned to accommodate the package (2) and is formed with a seat (38) for the package such that leads (5) of the package will extend below the underside (34) for electrical connection with contacts in the base (20) when the package is supported on the seat. In a preferred embodiment, a shoulder member (40) which is configured as a frame resides in the opening of the holder and seats on a perimeter of the package.

Abstract: An electrical connector carries a plurality of contacts each comprising an electrically conductive body made of sheet material. The body of each contact has a thickness defined by thickness of the sheet material, and an outer edge extending through the thickness. The body includes a lead having an edge portion which is engageable with a circuit path on a substrate for surface mount solder attachment thereto, and the lead has a recess in the edge portion which provides a receptacle for solder during the surface mount solder attachment.

Abstract: The invention comprises an electrical connector assembly having a wire housing with a wire contact disposed therein. The wire contact has two ends, one of the ends having insulation displacing slots for receiving a magnet wire therein, the other of the ends having a resilient contact finger. The assembly further includes a connector housing having a tab contact disposed therein. The tab contact has a poke-in tab and a contact tab for mating with a matable connector. The wire housing is matable with the connector housing, the poke-in tab engages the resilient contact finger to provide electrical connection therebetween and to provide electrical connection between the magnet wire and the matable connector.

Abstract: The object of the present invention is to reduce housing size and make it possible to provide connections between connecting members of a flat cable and electrical terminals at a high density in a limited housing space, while minimizing the number of flat cables mounted in the housing and keeping flat cable manufacturing costs down. The flat cable connector 10 comprises a housing 20 which accommodates and holds a plurality of electrical terminals 30, a slider member 40 which is supported on the housing 20 so that the slider member 40 can slide back and forth, and a flat cable 50 which is positioned in the housing 20 and connected with the terminals 30.

Abstract: An electrical outlet which is mountable over a cutout of known size in a wall panel wherein the known size is one in a range of different standard sizes. The outlet comprises a base which is dimensioned to extend across the cutout and a plurality of latch arms attached to the base. The latch arms are arranged in arrays of different sizes corresponding to the different standard sizes of the cutout. At least one of the latch arms in a relatively large size array is selectively detachable from the base, wherein a largest remaining array corresponds to the known size of the cutout. In one embodiment, the base includes a plate which is confrontable with the wall panel, and the latch arms extend forwardly from the plate and then rearwardly through respective apertures in the plate and continue rearwardly through the cutout in the panel, and each of the latch arms has a projection with an inclined trailing face that is engageable with the wall panel.

Abstract: A switch comprises a housing which holds first and second contacts. The first contact has a pair of first contact arms which are spaced-apart on opposite sides of a pin-receiving cavity. The second contact has a resilient contact arm which extends into the pin-receiving cavity and includes laterally extending wings which are normally engaged with respective ones of the first contact arms. The resilient contact arm is arranged to be deflected by a pin which is inserted into the cavity, wherein the second contact becomes disengaged from the first contact when the pin is installed in the cavity.

Abstract: A protective cover for an electrical connector comprises a shell having a wall and an aperture extending through the wall to permit a wire leading from the connector to pass out of the shell. The aperture is surrounded by a flexible skirt which is dimensioned to seal around the wire. The skirt keeps contaminants from entering the cover and provides a strain relief for the wire.

Abstract: This invention is directed to a fully shielded printed circuit (PC) card holder, that may be readily "snapped" into the assembly, or disassembled, as the case may be. The holder is intended to receive a PC card, where at least one end of the card is adapted to be electrically connected to an I/O type connector. The holder comprises a generally rectangular bottom cover member formed of a conductive material, corner supports integrally molded to the bottom cover member at the respective corners thereof, where each support includes a lower flange portion to which the bottom cover member is exposed. Further, a generally rectangular upper cover member is provided where the periphery thereof includes a downwardly extending flange adapted to engage the lower flange portion in electrical contact with the bottom cover member over a substantial portion of the periphery thereof.