Patents by Inventor Kevin C. Benes

Kevin C. Benes 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: 6186805
    Abstract: A short circuit electrical connector includes an insulative housing having a front mating end with an opening for receiving a complementary mating connector. The opening communicates with an interior cavity. A plurality of terminals are mounted in the housing and have contact portions in the cavity for engaging appropriate terminals of the mating connector. A shorting member has a retention section for securing the shorting member in the housing near the opening. An inclined section extends rearwardly from the retention section into the cavity for engagement by the mating connector. A contact section extends from the inclined section remote from the retention section for engaging at least a pair of the terminals in the absence of the mating connector.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 31, 1999
    Date of Patent: February 13, 2001
    Assignee: Molex Incorporated
    Inventors: Chandrasekar Krishnaswamy, Kevin C. Benes, David R. Kalal, Kenneth Grambley
  • Patent number: 5897406
    Abstract: An electrical terminal is provided for an electrically heated glass sheet. The terminal includes a base plate defining a central axis generally perpendicular thereto. The base plate is concentric about the axis to facilitate spin-soldering the terminal to a conductive pad on the glass sheet. A terminal post projects upwardly from the base plate for connection to an appropriate mating terminal. The terminal is a drawn, one-piece laminated structure including a base conductor layer and a solder layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 15, 1997
    Date of Patent: April 27, 1999
    Assignee: Molex Incorporated
    Inventors: Kevin C. Benes, Yves Le Pottier, Bruce F. Smith
  • Patent number: 5810627
    Abstract: A female electrical terminal has a contact end and a terminating end. The contact end includes a pair of opposing walls for receiving a male terminal therebetween. A flexible element is disposed in the contact end for pressing against the male terminal. The flexible element includes a mounting section with spaced wall portions juxtaposed inside the opposing walls of the contact end. Complementary interengaging latches are provided between the opposing walls and the spaced wall portions of the mounting section of the flexible element. An abutment is provided in the contact end to prevent inward collapsing of the spaced wall portions and, thereby, to maintain the latches in interengagement.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 4, 1996
    Date of Patent: September 22, 1998
    Assignee: Molex Incorporated
    Inventors: Frederick J. Gierut, Stephen A. Colleran, Russell L. Mackowiak, Paul Christopher Berg, Harry N. Etters, John O. Higgins, Jr., Theo Poll, Alexander Popa, Kevin C. Benes, Frank L. Geoghegan, David Richard Kalal, Scott P. Marceau, Robert Olson
  • Patent number: 5658174
    Abstract: A female terminal includes a bottom wall, and a pair of opposing side walls extending upwardly from opposite sides of the bottom wall. A hole is formed in each side wall near the top thereof. Top half walls extend inwardly from the tops of the side walls and define a seam therebetween. A spring contact element is located inside the seam and include lug portions engageable in the holes near the tops of the side walls to bias a male terminal into engagement with the bottom wall.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 1, 1995
    Date of Patent: August 19, 1997
    Assignee: Molex Incorporated
    Inventors: Kevin C. Benes, John O. Higgins, Jr., Stephen A. Colleran
  • Patent number: 5547391
    Abstract: An electrical connector is provided for commonly connecting a plurality of conductors, such as insulated conductor wires. An insulating housing has a wire-receiving face, a base and generally parallel side walls extending between the base and the face, defining an elongated cavity therewithin. A strip of terminal devices is assembled in the elongated cavity. Each terminal device includes at least one insulation-displacement wire-terminating slot for reception of an insulated conductor wire. Wire-admitting slots are provided in each housing side wall aligned with the wire-terminating slots in the terminal devices. Each wire-admitting slot includes a first, wire-restraining section for temporarily holding an insulated conductor wire prior to insertion into the respective wire-terminating slot, and a second, wire-securing section for finally holding the insulated conductor wire when inserted into the wire-terminating slot.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 11, 1993
    Date of Patent: August 20, 1996
    Assignee: Molex Incorporated
    Inventors: Kevin C. Benes, Jeffrey J. Pawlicki
  • Patent number: 5545054
    Abstract: An electrical connector includes a dielectric housing having a through axial passage for receiving therein an electrical terminal. A cover is hingedly connected to the housing for movement from an open position to a closed position, with the cover and the housing having respective juxtaposed walls bounding at least one lateral side of the passage when the cover is in its closed position. Complementary laterally engaging latches are provided between the juxtaposed walls to hold the cover in its closed position. The wall of the cover is juxtaposed inside the wall of the housing in a lateral direction. Therefore, lateral forces on the terminal biases the wall of the cover outwardly toward the wall of the housing to ensure engagement of the laterally engaging latches.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 26, 1994
    Date of Patent: August 13, 1996
    Assignee: Molex Incorporated
    Inventors: Kevin C. Benes, Fred L. Krehbiel, Russell L. Mackowiak
  • Patent number: 5490800
    Abstract: An electrical connector is disclosed for mating with a dashboard mounted speedometer assembly that includes a housing with a plurality of terminal pins projecting therefrom. A plurality of elongated terminals each have a resiliently expandable socket portion at one end for receiving one of the terminal pins of the speedometer assembly, a terminating portion at the opposite end for interconnection with circuitry on a printed circuit board, and an intermediate portion between the ends. A dielectric housing has a mating face and a board mounting face with a plurality of through terminal-receiving passages extending between the faces. Each passage includes a cavity portion for receiving the socket portion for one of the terminals and an intermediate portion for receiving the intermediate portion of the terminal, with the terminating portion of the terminal projecting from the board mounting face of the housing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 11, 1994
    Date of Patent: February 13, 1996
    Assignee: Molex Incorporated
    Inventors: Kevin C. Benes, Stephen A. Colleran, Robert J. Gugelmeyer, Thomas G. Premo