Abstract: An area array connector (32,42,50) for electrically interconnecting two electronic devices is disclosed. The connector (32,42,50) includes a plurality of contact elements (10) having parallel cantilevered contact fingers (18) extending obliquely outwardly from a plate (20) for one embodiment, a laminate (32) is formed by securing the contact elements (10) to a dielectric (26) having windows (28) through which the fingers (18) extend. The laminate (32) can then be fixed to a device such as a circuit board (40) to form another form of a connector (42) and further, the dielectric (26) can be removed to form yet another form of connector (50).

Abstract: An electrical connector includes a dielectric housing including a transverse body section and a shroud portion extending forwardly therefrom and defining a cavity, an array of pin contact members extending forwardly of the body section and within the cavity and at least one pair of closely spaced elongate members within the cavity. The elongate members extend to respective leading ends forwardly beyond the leading edge of the shroud portion and cooperate with the shroud portion and with each other to disallow inadvertent entry of a human finger into the cavity proximate pin contacts adjacent the elongate members. The pair of elongate members further provide aligning and keying means for the connector.

Abstract: An electrical connector is disclosed which can electrically terminate flexible cable to a printed circuit board. The connector includes an insulating housing having a plurality of terminals which extend forwardly towards the front face. The terminals are each provided with horizontal base sections, and a retention leg. The terminals include first contact portions. The terminals further comprise spring portions having a second contact portion opposed from the first contact portion. A lever section extends from the spring portion. A cam actuator is installed on the connector housing with individual cam sections aligned with, and below, the lever sections of the terminals. The cam actuator is rotatable relative to the housing to cam the terminals open for insertion of the conductors.

Abstract: A high density connector (10) for electrically interconnecting conductive paths (14, 84) on close centers between circuit boards such as those of a backpanel (82) and daughter cards (12), includes a clamping mechanism (18, 20) bolted first to a daughter card and then to a backpanel to compress springs (46, 48, 50) held by the mechanism driving flat flexible circuits (52) having contacts (68, 70) on close centers to engage board circuit paths, where the mechanism (18, 20) is rigid and includes spring driven clamps (42) to straighten the daughter card and strain relief the interconnection area. The flexible circuit contacts (68, 70) are offset relative to the springs (48, 50) bearing area to provide a contact wipe of the contact path interconnection.

Abstract: The present invention includes a lead sorting module in an automated lead making machine for segregating leads having defective terminations from the other leads. The module includes a lead deflecting door that is moved by an actuator to cause the leads having defective terminations to fall into one tray and the other leads to fall into another tray. The machine includes a crimp quality monitor which determines whether or not a termination is defective and then effects a corresponding control over the actuator.

Abstract: A shunt (10) for commoning a pair of posts is disclosed. The shunt (10) includes a housing (12) having a commoning element (14) in a chamber (30). Openings (32, 40) through opposite ends (20, 22) provide access to the element (14) which has fins (82) on one end member (72) and ears (84) on another end member (74) cooperating with the chambers surfaces (26a, 66) to prevent misaligned posts from being inserted beneath the element (14).

Abstract: An electrical connector (19) for mounting against a circuit board (13) comprises, an insulative strip (20), conductive sockets (21) in the strip (20), solder tabs (35) projecting from the sockets (21) and outwardly from a corresponding edge (29) of the strip (20), a bottom of the strip (20) serving as a first mounting surface for engagement against the circuit board (13), and the solder tabs (35) being adapted for being bent, first, in a direction toward the bottom of the strip, and then, to extend outwardly from the edge (29) at nearly the same level with the bottom, and the top (23) of the strip (20) serving as a second, alternative mounting surface for engagement with the circuit board (13).

Abstract: The present invention relates to an automated machine for making electrical leads and for automatically identifying and removing leads having defective terminal attachments. A crimp quality monitor device is used to monitor machine performance and to identify defective terminal attachments as they are made. When such a defective attachment is identified, the monitor generates a signal which causes a gate mechanism to route the defective lead to a particular tray. When a lead having a high quality terminal attachment is detected, the lead is routed to another tray so that the non-defective leads are not commingled with the defective leads.

Abstract: This invention relates to a contact system (50) which includes spring contacts (54, 56) of a geometry and position to mate with the contacts (26, 38) of differing geometries of plug (12) and receptacle (14) connectors and particularly to the use of such system to test connectors of different geometries.

Abstract: An electrical connector including a member, a heater element comprising a coating of ferromagnetic material on the member and a fusible material. The fusible material is melted when the ferromagnetic material is heated inductively by an alternating magnetic field. The connector can be attached to an end of a coaxial cable. The member can comprise a metal ferrule soldered around a tubular conductor of the coaxial cable and/or a central contact having a bore in one axial end thereof in which a central conductor of the coaxial cable is soldered. A dielectric coating can be provided over the coating of ferromagnetic material on the ferrule and/or central contact. The fusible material can be held in the bore in the central contact or between the dielectric coating and an electrically insulating heat-shrinkable sleeve around the ferrule. The ferrule can include one or more ports therethrough for passage of the fusible material into contact with the tubular conductor.

Abstract: A coaxial electrical connector (1) comprises a multiple-sectioned, one piece shell of a coupling body (2) having a larger outside diameter cup-shaped front section (5) with outwardly flared annular lip (8), and a second intermediate sleeve form section (6) of a smaller outside diameter than the diameter of the front section (5).

Abstract: A rightangle board mount electrical connector of high contact density includes a diecast metal housing having a front wall and rearwardly projecting side walls. The front wall has upper and lower through openings therein each receiving a drawn metal shell which in turn receives an insulating header having cavities containing mating portions of electrical terminals. Each terminal has projecting obliquely and rearwardly from the respective header a terminal leg terminating in a soldering tail. The terminal legs are so dimensioned that the solder tails are arranged in four rows for insertion through holes in a spacer plate. A shield can be inserted downwardly between the housing side walls for retention in the housing. A downwardly inclined rearwall of the shield covers the terminal legs for complete shielding of the terminals. In use of the connector the housing is grounded to a circuit board in which the connector is mounted and the shield is similarly grounded.

Abstract: Component feeder for feeding comonents (8) from a tube magazine (2) comprises a pusher (44) on the end of a flexible steel tape (48) which extends from a tape housing (52). A filled tube (2) is supported on retractable pins (30, 30') in alignment with the pusher (44) and in alignment with a pickup station. The tape (48) is fed by feed rolls (50) so that the pusher (44) moves through the tube magazine (2) and feeds the components (8) along a guide track (36) to the pickup station. When the tube supported on pins (30, 30') is empty, the pusher (44) is retracted to its housing, the pins (30, 30') are retracted, and the empty tube falls on a conveyor belt (88) which carries it from the machine. A full tube (2) is then dropped onto the pins (30, 30') by a further pair of pins (32, 32') and (34, 34') which are moved between extended and retracted positions to control the movement of the filled tube which is supplied from an inventory of filled tubes supported on the pins (32, 32').

Abstract: A cable making machine for making and electrically testing a cable assembly is disclosed. The machine includes a test circuit for effecting the electrical tests and probe members for electrically connecting the test circuit to the contacts of the connectors being terminated to the cable. Spring members bias the metal probe members toward the connector contacts. A latch is provided for releasably holding the connectors in position within the machine against the outwardly directed force of the spring biased probe members. A visual indicator is also provided that is indicative that the connector is fully seated within the machine prior to terminating the connector to the cable.

Abstract: A duplex fiber optic connector assembly enables mating the fibers of a first multifiber cable with like fibers of a second cable or cables with maximum axial alignment of the respective fiber paris. An interconnect member receives cable terminating connectors in opposite sides thereof. Each connector carries the fibers of a respective cable in individual ferrules, each ferrule having limited floating mount within the respective connector. The mating pairs of ferrules are received in opposite ends of receptor members each of which has an axially profiled bore adapted to receive the respective ferrules and a profiled outer surface which allows movement about the geometric center of the receptor so as to axially align the bores of the ferrules received therein. Connectors at each end of a predetermined length of fiber optic cable provide a fiber optic extension cord, analogous to the well-known electrical extension cord, for convenient and efficient interconnection between optical signal-using equipments.

Abstract: A connector assembly (10) and a method of manufacture include a connector sheet (30) formed of a fine web of insulating strands (32, 34) woven together to define a mesh of cavities (35) containing discrete contacts (36, 40) held by an adhesive (38) to define an ordered anisotropic area of discrete contact points useful in interconnecting contact pads (24) of a component (20) to contact pads (18) of a circuit (12). A connector housing (60) is provided to clamp the component (20) to the circuit (12) with the connector sheet (30) therebetween.

Abstract: An electrical connector establishing daisy chain connections of wires to electrical contacts, comprises, a first set of electrical contacts (9) on an insulative housing block (16), wire connecting portions (21, 23) of the contacts (9) for connection to first electrical wires (2, 5), and means on the contacts (9) for joining to a second set of electrical contacts (9) connecting with second electrical wires (2, 5) for establishing daisy chain connections of the first wires (2, 5) and the second wires (2, 5) to the first and second sets of electrical contacts (9).

Abstract: A modulated touch entry system and corresponding method for detecting the presence and location of a member within an irradiated field. A touch entry system and corresponding method are disclosed which utilize modulated pulses of light from light emitters, such as light emitting diodes, which are detected by corresponding light detectors, such as phototransistors. The light emitters and the corresponding light detectors are arranged around a frame to provide an irradiated field. The system utilizes circuitry to precondition a signal from the light detectors prior to analyzing the presence of a "hit"; i.e., the presence of a member within the irradiated field. The circuitry includes a differential amplifier and a programmable amplifier, which consists of a digital to analog converter, a current to voltage converter, and a gain stage, to precondition the signal from the light detectors.

Abstract: A relatively flat, rectangular multipin connector has a terminal end to each pin adapted to receive the stripped end of a wire to be soldered thereto. Both surfaces of the pin may be arcuate in cross-section, one surface being concave and adapted to receive a wire to be soldered thereto. The convex surface has a covering of a thin layer of ferromagnetic material having an effective Curie temperature above the fusion temperature of the solder to be employed. A sleeve of heat shrinkable material has an interior ring of solder and is positioned over the region of contact between the wire and terminal end of the pin and has fusible plastic at each end. Each wire is placed on an individual pin and successively clamped in place, each between a different pair of jaws.

Abstract: An electrical connector (20) is disclosed which includes a dielectric housing (24) having contacts (26) secured therein. The housing has a mounting flange (48) which defines a mounting face (46), a top face (52) and an aperture (54) extending therebetween. The aperture defines aat least one wall. The top face has a transverse channel (62) proximate the aperture, with the wall having a channel (60) that intersects the transverse channel (62). The two channels are substantially perpendicular to each other. A wire formed boardlock (22) is disposed in the aperture (54). The boardlock has a first portion within the aperture and a second portion extending beyond the mounting face for reception in a boardlock receiving hole in a circuit board. The first portion of the boardlock includes a retention portion receivable in the transverse channel (62), and an alignment portion receivable in the channel (60) in the wall.