Abstract: An electrical connector includes a dielectric housing having passageways extending therethrough. Electrical terminals are positioned in the passageways. Resilient latch arms are provided by the housing and include projections for engaging the terminals in the passageways. The housing has receptacles adjacent the resilient latch arms. A seal is located in a recess about the outside of the housing. A terminal locking and seal retaining member includes lock arms insertable into the receptacles in the housing for limiting movement of the resilient latch arms and thereby maintaining the projections in latching engagement with the terminals. The member also includes a peripheral flange for engaging the seal and maintaining the seal in the recess about the housing.

Abstract: A terminal alignment system is provided for an electrical connector assembly disclosed as an insulation displacement type connector for terminating a plurality of insulated conductors of a multi-conductor cable. The connector includes a dielectric housing having a plurality of terminal-receiving passageways for the insertion thereinto of a plurality of terminals in a given insertion direction. Each terminal includes an insulation displacement section at one end for piercing the insulation about one of the conductors, a contact section at an opposite end for mating with a mating terminal, and an intermediate securing section between the ends for securing the terminal in a respective one of the passageways. The insulation displacement section of each terminal includes a notch facing in the insertion direction. The housing includes a rib for interengagement with each notch.

Abstract: An electrical connector includes a dielectric housing having a plurality of apertures receiving a plurality of terminals having pin portions projecting from the housing for insertion into complementary holes in a printed circuit board. At least some of the terminals are mounted in the housing for movement between first and second positions in response to mounting the connector to the printed circuit board. In the first position, the terminals are fixed relative to the housing to facilitate alignment and insertion of the pin portions into the holes in the printed circuit board. In the second positions, the terminals can float relative to the housing to accommodate a differential in thermal expansion between the housing and the printed circuit board. Other terminals are mounted in the apertures and maintained in a fixed position relative to the housing when some of the terminals are in floating positions.

Abstract: An electrical connector is provided for surface mounting on a printed circuit board. The connector includes an elongated dielectric housing, and mounting clips are provided for mounting the housing on one side of the circuit board at an edge thereof. A plurality of terminals are mounted in the housing, each terminal including a contact pin at one end and a surface mount tail at an opposite end. The contact pins of the terminals are oriented generally parallel to the circuit board and arranged in two rows longitudinally of the housing. The surface mount tails of the terminals are arranged in a common plane for surface engagement with appropriate circuit traces on the one side of the circuit board. The terminals are of identical constructions, with the terminals in one row thereof being oriented 180.degree. relative to the terminals in the other row thereof. Each locking clip includes retention tabs for retaining the locking clips on the housing.

Abstract: A connector apparatus is disclosed for providing interconnection between two IC packs and a printed circuit board. A header connector is mounted on the printed circuit board and into which the two IC packs are inserted and ejected. Two independent ejector units each have a separate frame to be attached to the header connector and a separate actuator for moving a respective one of the IC packs from its inserted position to its ejected position. Complementary interengaging latches are provided between the separate frames for holding the ejector units in juxtaposition for conjoint attachment to the header connector.

Abstract: A terminal position assurance system is provided for an electrical connector which includes a dielectric housing having a terminal-receiving passage into which a terminal is inserted in an insertion direction to a fully inserted position. A latch surface is formed in the housing adjacent the passage and facing in the insertion direction. A bendable tab is provided on the terminal and is adapted to be bent against the latch surface. The bendable tab is structured to be bent about an axis generally parallel to the insertion direction to move an edge portion of the tab to a position over the latch surface when the terminal is in its fully inserted position.

Abstract: An unlatching system is provided in a latchable electrical connector system which includes first and second electrical connectors mateable in a given mating direction. The first connector includes a pair of latch devices interengageable with complementary latches on the second connector when the connectors are mated to resist unmating of the connectors. The latch devices are flexible in a direction transverse to the mating direction for movement into and out of latching interengagement with the latches of the second connector. A transversely flexible unlatching mechanism is coupled between the latch devices and is bowed outwardly therefrom, whereby inward flexing of the unlatching mechanism, as by the application of pressure by a user, is effective to cause outward unlatching movement of the latch devices.

Abstract: A programmable input-output electrical connector is provided for electrically coupling a plurality of conductors with an electronic component having a plurality of circuits. The connector includes a dielectric housing. A programming multi-contact bus is mounted in the housing. The bus includes a plurality of spring contacts normally biased into engagement with respective circuits on the electronic component. The spring contacts are individually selectively movable to inoperative positions out of engagement with the circuits. Latch devices are operatively associated with the spring contacts for positively holding each spring contact individually in its inoperative position.

Abstract: A shielded modular jack is provided for interfacing a modular plug with a printed circuit board. The plug has an external conductive shield, and the jack includes a dielectric housing having a plug-receiving cavity. A plurality of terminals are mounted on the housing with resilient cantilevered contact arms extending into the cavity for engaging respective contacts of the plug when the plug is inserted into the cavity. An electrically conductive shield includes a pair of electrically isolated shield portions each having a board contact projecting beyond the housing for contacting a circuit trace on the printed circuit board, along with a shield wall disposed in the plug-receiving cavity for electrically contacting the shield on the plug when the plug is inserted into the cavity. The inserted plug electrically couples the shield portions and, thereby, establishes electrical continuity between the circuit traces on the printed circuit board.

Abstract: A connector backshell assembly is provided for strain relief mounting to an electrical cable. The assembly includes a backshell having forward and rearward ends and an axially extending cable-receiving aperture therethrough. A toroidally configured, radially compressible strain relief coil spring surrounds the cable and is disposed near the rearward end of the backshell. A compression nut is engageable with the backshell for selective rotational and axial movement relative thereto. The compression nut includes a forwardly facing concave cam surface for engaging and radially compressing the coil spring into strain relief engagement with the cable. An interference surface is operatively associated with the backshell and non-rotatably engageable with the strain relief coil spring to prevent rotation of the coil spring with the compression nut relative to the backshell.

Abstract: An electrical connector assembly is provided for interconnecting a modular phone plug with a printed circuit board. The connector assembly includes a housing having a forward mating end and a rearward end. A plug-receiving socket is formed in the forward mating end and is adapted to receive a modular phone plug. The rearward end is configured so that an edge of a printed circuit board can be inserted at a first angular orientation relative to the housing and then rotated to a second angular orientation. A plurality of terminals are mounted in the housing. Each terminal includes a contact portion at one end, a tail portion at an opposite end and an intermediate portion therebetween. The intermediate portion is anchored in the housing. The contact portion projects into the socket for engaging a contact of the modular phone plug.

Abstract: A method and structure of an electrical connector is provided for tuning the impedance of the connector according to a given impedance of an electrical circuit in which the connector is interconnected. The connector includes a dielectric housing having a receptacle for receiving a complementary mating connector. A plurality of terminals are mounted on the housing. The terminals include body portions located in the housing and contact portions located at the receptacle for engaging appropriate terminals of the mating connector when inserted into the receptacle. The areas of the body portions of the terminals are selectively varied to vary the capacitance of the terminals and, therefore, the impedance of the connector to match the given impedance of the electrical circuit.

Abstract: An electric connector female terminal assures steady contact between a male terminal irrespective of the position and angle of insertion of the male terminal. The female terminal comprises a pair of contact beams defining a path completely through the female terminal for accommodating a male terminal. A connecting piece is integrally formed with the contact beams and extending therebetween, the connecting piece being positioned out of the path for accommodating the male terminal and incorporating resilient means for resiliently biasing the contact beams carrying the contact points to a predetermined initial position.

Abstract: An insulation displacement termination system is provided for an input-output electrical connector which includes a dielectric housing having a top face and a bottom face with a terminal-receiving passage therebetween. At least one terminal includes an insulation displacement section generally at the bottom face of the housing for termination to an insulated electrical conductor through a lower mouth of the passage in the bottom face of the housing. The terminal includes a contact section projecting through an open upper end of the passage generally in the top face of the housing for engaging a complementary mating electrical component. The terminal is configured for insertion into the terminal-receiving passage through the lower mouth thereof.

Abstract: An electrical connector is disclosed with a contact housing for receiving terminal mating sections of a plurality of terminals and a tail housing, separate from the contact housing, for receiving solder tail sections of the terminals. A flexible connecting section is formed between the terminal mating and solder tail sections of each terminal. A protective bar extends from the terminal mating section toward the tail housing. An arm extends from the protective bar which is inserted into a mounting recess formed in the tail housing without contacting any surfaces of the mounting recess under normal conditions.

Abstract: A floating type electric connector adapted to be mounted on a circuit board comprising a housing having an integrally formed movable housing portion, a stationary housing portion, and a resilient joint portion connecting the four corners of the stationary housing portion to the corresponding four corners of the movable housing portion and a plurality of female terminals attached to each housing Each female terminal comprises a contact section and a base section joined together by an intermediate resilient section. The contact section of the female terminal is attached to the movable housing portion while the base section is attached to the stationary housing portion, thereby permitting the floating of the movable housing portion with respect to the stationary housing portion.

Abstract: A connector is disclosed which draws static charges to ground. The connector comprises a male plug having a generally non-yielding terminal attached to a projection extending from its mating surface and a female receptacle having at least one terminal mounting cavity in a mating surface and a flexible female terminal in the cavity. The female receptacle has a metal cover on its outer surface which is connected to ground. The male terminal and projection is dimensioned so as to permit insertion through the aperture in the cover and into a slot in the female housing. The flexible female terminal remains contained within the slot of the female housing and below the cover prior to making contact with the male terminal.

Abstract: A grounding electrical connector system includes first and second mateable connector modules each having dielectric blocks mounting a plurality of terminals and a ground plate. The ground plates of the connector modules interengage with one another in a cross-shaped grounding configuration therebetween. The terminals of the connector modules are located in spaced dispositions such that a pair of mating terminals from each connector module is located in each of four quadrants defined by the cross-shaped grounding structure of the interengaging ground plates.