Patents by Inventor Donald Francis Decker

Donald Francis Decker has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 9673542
    Abstract: A poke-in electrical connector includes a housing having a cavity and a poke-in wire channel open to the cavity. The wire channel receives an electrical wire during a poke-in termination. The housing has a bottom with an opening. A poke-in electrical contact is received in the cavity and held by the housing. The poke-in electrical contact includes a base and an arm extending from the base. The base extends through the opening at the bottom for surface mounting to a circuit board. The base has a generally planar solder pad exposed at the bottom for soldering to the circuit board. The arm has a poke-in beam engaging the electrical wire when poked-in to the corresponding wire channel. The arm is movable to a clearance position to release the poke-in beam from the electrical wire to allow the electrical wire to be removed from the wire channel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 27, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 6, 2017
    Assignee: TE CONNECTIVITY CORPORATION
    Inventors: Donald Francis Decker, Matthew Edward Mostoller, Jeffrey William Shaffer
  • Patent number: 8851903
    Abstract: A connector assembly includes a housing having a body and a head extending outward from the body. The housing is coupled to an LED circuit board with the head mounted to a front side of the LED circuit board and with the body extending through an opening of the LED circuit board to a rear side of the LED circuit board. The housing has driver card slot in the body configured to receive a driver card from the rear side of the LED circuit board. The housing has a contact channel open to the driver card slot with a contact therein. The contact has a mating interface configured to engage and be electrically connected to the driver card. The contact has a mounting leg extending from the head that is configured to be mounted to the front side of the LED circuit board.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 9, 2012
    Date of Patent: October 7, 2014
    Assignee: Tyco Electronics Corporation
    Inventors: Donald Francis Decker, George Irwin Peters, Jr., Matthew Edward Mostoller, Charles Raymond Gingrich, III
  • Patent number: 8764459
    Abstract: A connector system includes a substrate having a front side and a rear side with an opening therethrough, and a connector assembly coupled to the substrate. The connector assembly includes a housing having a body at a bottom and a head at a top that extends along the front side with the body extending through the opening to the rear side. The housing has a contact channel extending therethrough. A poke-in contact is received in the contact channel through the top of the housing. The poke-in contact has a wire trap configured to receive a wire therein in a wire loading direction through the bottom of the housing. The poke-in contact has a mounting leg extending from the head and mounted to the front side of the substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 17, 2012
    Date of Patent: July 1, 2014
    Assignee: Tyco Electronics Corporation
    Inventors: Donald Francis Decker, George Irwin Peters, Jr., Matthew Edward Mostoller
  • Publication number: 20140024230
    Abstract: A connector assembly includes a housing having a body and a head extending outward from the body. The housing is coupled to an LED circuit board with the head mounted to a front side of the LED circuit board and with the body extending through an opening of the LED circuit board to a rear side of the LED circuit board. The housing has driver card slot in the body configured to receive a driver card from the rear side of the LED circuit board. The housing has a contact channel open to the driver card slot with a contact therein. The contact has a mating interface configured to engage and be electrically connected to the driver card. The contact has a mounting leg extending from the head that is configured to be mounted to the front side of the LED circuit board.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 9, 2012
    Publication date: January 23, 2014
    Applicant: Tyco Electronics Corporation
    Inventors: Donald Francis Decker, George Irwin Peters, JR., Matthew Edward Mostoller, Charles Raymond Gingrich, III
  • Publication number: 20140024269
    Abstract: A connector system includes a substrate having a front side and a rear side with an opening therethrough, and a connector assembly coupled to the substrate. The connector assembly includes a housing having a body at a bottom and a head at a top that extends along the front side with the body extending through the opening to the rear side. The housing has a contact channel extending therethrough. A poke-in contact is received in the contact channel through the top of the housing. The poke-in contact has a wire trap configured to receive a wire therein in a wire loading direction through the bottom of the housing. The poke-in contact has a mounting leg extending from the head and mounted to the front side of the substrate.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 17, 2012
    Publication date: January 23, 2014
    Applicant: Tyco Electronics Corporation
    Inventors: Donald Francis Decker, George Irwin Peters, JR., Matthew Edward Mostoller