Patents by Inventor Lance MacLellan

Lance MacLellan 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: 5273455
    Abstract: An electrical connector system includes a torsion bar spring for maintaining good contact forces in small sizes, simple configurations and controlled connector insertion forces. The electrical connector system includes a first and a second terminal. The first terminal has two electrical contacts connected by a shaft. The shaft is made of a resiliently deflectable electrically conductive material. The second terminal is a helically-shaped hollow body adapted to receive the first terminal. When the first terminal is inserted in the second terminal, the shaft of the first terminal is deflected and acts as a torsion bar spring and the two contacts lock the torque inside the second terminal. An alternative embodiment includes a first terminal with protrusions and a second terminal with a helical groove on its interior surface which receive the protrusions of the first terminal and cause the first terminal to deflect on insertion into the second terminal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 27, 1993
    Date of Patent: December 28, 1993
    Assignee: Digital Equipment Corporation
    Inventor: Lance MacLellan