US3034091A - Connector, particularly for flat cable - Google Patents

Description

y 8, 1962 w. GLUCK 3,034,091

CONNECTOR, PARTICULARLY FOR FLAT CABLE Filed Aug. 18, 1958 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 y 8, 1962 w. GLUCK 3,034,091

' CONNECTOR, PARTICULARLY FOR FLAT CABLE Filed Aug. 18, 1958 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. q 5 W/LL/AM qua/4 A7 ORA/E78 ig/L67 g6 2 28 y 8, 1962 w. GLUCK 3,034,091

CONNECTOR, PARTICULARLY FOR FLAT CABLE Filed Aug. 18, 1958 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR. W/LL/AM 6-1 z/c/ BY LWM M M s y 8, 1962 w. GLUCK 3,034,091

CONNECTOR, PARTICULARLY FOR FLAT CABLE Filed Aug. 18, 1958 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 IN VEN TOR. W/L L MM 6L (/6 York Filed Aug. 18, 1958, Ser. No. 755,797 23.Clairns. (Cl. 339-403) This invention relates to connectors, especially detachable connectors, and more particularly to a connector designed for use with thin, fiat, flexible cable.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide an improved connector. A more particular object is to provide such a connector designed for use with thin, fiat,flexible cable.

A further object is to provide a connector which employs the same insulation base or block for either the male or female portion of the connector. Still another object is to provide the insulation block with-means to facilitate superposing such blocks one on another in order to increase the capacity of the connector. A further object of the invention is to provide a connector which affords strain relief as between the cable and its soldered connec tions to the connector.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a connector and flat cable combination which is adapted for easy and fast stripping of the cable, and simultaneous dip soldering of all of the conductors of the cable to all of the contacts of the connector.

Still another object is to provide variant forms of connector, all using the same insulation block, which will serve for mounting on a chassis; for connection to printed circuitry, for conversion of flat cable to individual wires or round cable; and in the latter case, with the resulting converter being made either detachable on non-detachable.

Still another object is to provide a connector which, without significant change, may be built up to form a miniaturized patchboard. Still another object is to provide a miniaturized detachable patchboard assembly, the upper part of which carries jumpers and is detachably connected to a permanent lower or base patchboard.

To accomplish the foregoing general objects, and other more specific objects which will hereinafter appear, my invention resides in the connector elements and their relation oneto another, as are hereinafter more particularly described in the following specification. The specification is accompanied by drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing my improved connector and the thin, fiat cables joined thereto;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the same;

FIG. 3 is a plan view, drawn to enlarged scale, without the covers, exposing some of the metal contacts;

FIG. 4 isa transverse section through the block alone, taken in the plane of the line 44 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a partially sectioned edge view of the block, looking approximately in the plane of the line 5-5 .of FIG. 3; 7

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a modified form of connector providing strain relief;

FIG. 7 is an edge viewof the same;

FIG-.8 is a bottomview of the female portion of the connector;

FIG. 9 is a section through one. form. of fiat cable withwhich the connector is used;

FIG. 10 shows the righthand end of FIG. 9 drawn to enlarged scale;

FIG. 11 is a plan view of a metalstrain reliefplate;

FIG.. 12 is a section taken in the plane of the line 12--l2 of FIG. 11, with an insulation plate added;

FIG. 13 is an end view of the plate shown in FIG. 11;

FIGS, 14 and 15 are schematic views explanatory of the method of soldering the .cable to the connector;

3,034,091 Fatented May 8, 1962 ice FIG. 16 shows the soldering of a strain-relief connector;

FIG. 17 shows how one part'of the connector may be secured to a chassis;

FIG. 18 shows how a modified form of connector may be secured to printed circuitry;

FIG. 19 shows how still another form of the connector may beused with printed circuitry;

FIG. 20 shows the male portion of a connector modified to be used as one-half of a detachable converter for changing from flat cable to separate wires or round cable;

FIG. 21 shows how a single connector part may be used as a non-detachable converter;

FIG. 22 is a fragmentaiy plan view of a modified block which may be used when sealing between adjacent contacts is required;

FIG. 23 is a partial section taken approximately in the plane of the line '2323 of FIG. 22;

' FIG. 24 shows how two or more blocks may be superposed to form a miniaturized connector of increased conductor capacity, to the point where it may serve as a miniaturized p tchboard;

FIG. 25 shows one of the metal staples used in the connector;

7 FIG, 26 shows how blocks may be used in edge-to-edge relation for increased conductor capacity;

a FIGS; 27'through '30 illustrate four dillerent metal contacts which may be used in the connector;

FIG. 31 shows a connector of doubled capacity, with a single strain relief plate;

FIG. 32 shows a miniaturized patchboard with a de-. tachable patchboard block; and

FIGS. 33 and 34 are elevations of the female and male contacts, respectively.

Referring to the drawing, and more particularly to FIGS. 1 and 2, I there show a thin, fiat, flexible cable 12,- and another such cable 14, arranged for detachable connection by means of a connector comprising a fem-ale portion 16 and a male portion 18. It will 'be understood that the male portion 18 ha projecting tongues '20 which are adapted to be received with a frictional spring contact fit in the female portion 16. 1

The thin, flat cable may be described with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10 of the drawing. FIG. 9 is an end View, and shows the insulation body 22 of the cable, in which there are embedded thin ribbon-like metal conductors 24. In the example here shown the cable has nine conductors, but it will be understood that the cable may be obtained in other Widths, with difierent numbers of conductors.

Referring now to FIG. 10, the cable may consist of 0.030 inch in width, and are spacedapart 0.100 inch ceng 3 comprises a head generally designated H, an offset 36, and a tail 38. The channel 34 has a part 40 to receive the flattened inner end of the tail 38, an offset part 37 to receive the offset 36, and a part 44 to receive the head H.

Reverting now to FIGS; 1 and 2, a generally fiat cover 46 is used to closethe channels and to thereby hold the metal contacts in the block.

Considering the block in greater detail, and referring to FIGS. 3, 4 and 5, there is an inwardly convergent mouth opening 48 from the edge 49 of the block into the channel part 44, near that side of part 44 which corresponds to the convex side of the female contact spring 50. The convergence of the mouth 48, viewed in the 46 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 has a like plurality of registering rectangular apertures, which fix the location of the plate on the block. Moreover, the bottom of the block itself preferably has a like plurality of registering recesses, shown at 54 in FIGS- 4 and 5, in consequence of which a plurality of blocks may be stacked, with each upper block acting as the cover for its su-bjacent block, as shown in FIGS. 24 and 31.

Appropriate means are provided to lock the cover 46 (FIG. 2) on the block 32. As here shown the block has passages 56 (FIGS. 3, 4 and 5) which receive fastener means 60, (FIGS. 1 and 2). In the present case the passages are elongated slots, and the fastener means are rather wide metal staples, there being four passages and two staples. The general configuration of such a staple after it has been bent to final shape is separately indicated in FIG. 25 of the drawing. The passages 56 preferably pass centrally through the projections 52.

The projections 62 (FIG. 3) on the outer edge of the block provide an insulation barrier between the tails. They increase the path length along the insulation surface between the tails, and thereby increase the breakdown barrier in the event of deposit of foreign matter on the surface of the block.

The metal contacts are preferably made out of round wire which is coined to desired configuration. This has a number of advantages. One is that round wire is inexpensive. Another is that it may be plated in advance, and the plating is not destroyed during the coining operation. Still another is that the coining operation hardens the wire, so that it may be used as a spring contact without requiring special heat treatment.

The shape of the contacts, and their relation to. the

block, are shown comparatively in FIGS. 27-3 0, of which FIGS. 27-28 are the most important. Referring to those figures, in all cases the contact comprises a head H, an offset 36 and a tail T. FIG. 27 shows the standard female contact for a detachable connector, and in such case the tail T may be left round in the portion 38 but is flattened at the part 39 to fit in a mating narrow slot in the block thereby holding the contact against rotation about its longitudinal axis.

The part 36 is not only offset but preferably is flattened The head H is in'this case a concave convex spring strip 50, disposed perpendicular or edgewise relative to the plane of the block, and adapted to provide the desired spring pressure for good electrical contact. 33 shows the contact in elevation.

FIG. 28 shows the male contact, and its tail T is similar to that shown in FIG. 7, with round part 38 and flat part 39. Similar remark applies to the flat oflfset 36, and the round connecting part 64. The head H, however, differs substantially and comprises a shank 66 which is received in the channel portion 44 of the block, and a pin 68 which projects beyond the block. The pin is a flattened straight strip disposed edgewise relative to the plane of the block, and it is adapted to cooperate as in FIG. 3 with the convex spring strip 5! previously described. The shank 66 and pin 68 are connected by a thickened part 67, which is generally rectangular in section. The male contact is shown in elevation in FIG. 34.

It will be understood that in practice the block and the contact (FIG. 28) are turned to the position shown at the right of FIG. 3, and that at this time the pin 68, while near the top of its channel 44, is alignedwith the bottom of the opposed channel 44. To accomplish this, and yet retain alignment of the blocks, the excess material at one end of the block differs from that at the other. In the left or female block, the material above the top channel is less than that below the bottom channel, and therefore in the right or male block, the material above the top channel is more than that below the bottom channel. This difference is made such as to keep the blocks in registration when the contacts are mated, as shown in broken lines at the bottom of FIG. 3.

The ease of soldering the flat cable to the connector may be described with reference to FIGS. 14 and 15 of the drawing. Stripping of the end of the cable has already been mechanized' This may be performed by a commercially available device comprising a pair of opposed grinding wheels which have a glass fibre base. These heat and remove the insulation, but they merely buff or polish the copper without actually grinding it away. In consequence, the end of a cable is quickly stripped so that the bare conductors project from the insulation. In FIG, 14 a cable 70 which has been so treated is held against a connector, with the projecting conductors 72 lying against the tails 38. Registration is easy because the conductors 72 rest flatwise against the tails 38, and the spacing of the tails is exactly 0.100 inch, the same as the spacing of the conductors. The assembly is then soldered by dipping the tails and conductors into a pot or molten solder 74 as shown in FIG. 14.

O11 removing the assembly, the conductor 70 is folded in opposite direction as shown in FIG. 15. [In FIGS. 14 and 15 the connector shown is a male connector with pins 20 projecting therefrom, but it will be understood that exactly the same process may be followed fora female connector. 7

If desired, provision may be made for strain relief as between the cable and its soldered connections to the tails. One arrangement for this purpose is illustrated in FIGS. 6, 7 and 8 of the drawing, referring to which I show a thin flat insulation cover plate 76 which extends well beyond the tails as shown at 78, and which has one or more long parallel slots 80. In preferred form there are two such slots spaced apart a suitable distance, so that the cable may be threaded upwardly through one slot and then downwardly through the other, as is most clearly shown in FIG. 7. With this arrangement the cable 82 may be pulled forcibly without any of the strain passing beyond the slots 80, so that it is not applied to the soldered connections at the tails 38., It may be mentioned that even a single slot will provide considerable strain relief, but a pair of slots is preferred as here shown.

If desired, the strain relief plate may be made of metal, and such a plate is shown in FIGS. l1, l2 and 13 of the drawing. There is a cover portion 86, and an extension 88 which has one or more parallel slots 90. In the pres ent case, the slots are formed by shearingand. displacing FIG.

a strip of metal 92, and a part of this may be channeled as shown at 94 in order to stilfen the same.

When using metal, a part of the metal may provide the fastener means for holding the connector assembled. In the present case part of the metal is cut away as shown at 96 (FIG. 11), and forms two flat staple legs 98 (FIGS. 12 and 13). These are at suitable spacing to pass through the two outer passages of the block. The two inner passages may be left vacant, or may receive a staple like the staple 6% previously described.

When using a metal strain relief plate, insulation must be interposed between the contacts in the block and the strain relief plate. In one form the regular insulation cover plate shown at 46 in FIG. 2 may be used, with the metal plate disposed on top of the insulation cover. In another form, an insulation plate may be used which is reduced somewhat in thickness, depending .on the electrical requirements of the conductor, and disregarding the matter of physical strength, because the latter is supplied by the metal cover 86 resting immediately over the in sulation llitLwhich is indicated in FIG. 12 (but omitted in FIGS. 11 and 13). When the connector has a strain relief plate, the soldering procedure shown in FIG. 14

may be modified, in order not to dip the strain relief plate in solder. One variant method is shown in FIG. 16, in which the connector 16 has a strain relief plate 7 3 as previously described. In this case, the tails 38 are preliminarily bent downward away from the strain relief plate, and the flat cable 82 is held on the bottom face instead of the top face of the connector. stripped cable ends may be dipped in molten solder 74' as shown. Thereafter the tails may be bent back up close to the strain relief plate; the cable reversely folded to extend toward the left instead of the right; and the cable then threaded upwardly and downwardly through the parallel slots '80 in the strain relief plate.

A very different procedure may be followed according to which the soldering operation is performed before completing the connector by the addition of the strain re lief plate. In the case of the metal strain relief plate shown in FIGS. 11-13, the insulation cover 1% (FIG. 12) may be secured by means of a single center staple. The soldering operation is then performed exactly as shown in FIGS. 14 and 15. The metal strain relief plate then is added, and the cable is threaded through its parallel slots.

Soldering of the cable before adding the strain relief plate may be done even when using the insulation strain relief plate shown in FIGS. 6, 7 and 8. For this purpose a temporary cover plate may be put over the block, or a bit of adhesive may be used between the contacts and the block, or a thin film of Mylar or other suitable insulation may be cemented over the block to temporarily retain the contacts pending the soldering operation until the strain relief plate is permanently stapled in position.

One may use an epoxy adhesive, or a hot tool may be used to peen some of the block over the contact, or a thin pressure sensitive adhesive tape may be placed over the block temporarily. Also, the block may be made slightly thinner than now, say ten thousandthsqof an inch thinner, and a Mylar strip may be added having a thickness of ten thousandths of an inch and having rectangular openings which fit snugly enough about the rectangular projections of the block to sufiicient-ly hold the strip. Later the strip ispermanently held by the superposed strain relief plate or cover plate and the staples. When a thick temporary cover is used, the latter is removed be fore adding the strain relief plate.

As so far described one may visualize two flexible and movable cables detachably joined by a connector. However, in some cases there may be a movable flexible cabl which is to be plugged into a stationary connector, fixedly mounted on a chassis or panelboardor the like Such an arrangement is shown in FIG. 17 in which a small section of a chassis or panel plate is indicated at 102. In

The tails and the u I holes may receive conductors leading to the contacts.

the form here shown a female connector 104 is to be, disposed at right angles to the plate 102, and for this purpose its staples 106 secure it to a metal angle 108. The other face 110 of the angle may be secured directly to the plate 102, as by means of eyelets 112. The connector may project beyond face 1 1% of the angle as shown in FIG. 17, and then passes through a mating slot 114 in plate 102. It is then ready to receive a male connector. applied from the'opposite side of plate 102. In other cases, the connector may be secured flat against a chassis plate at one edge thereof, in which case the staples may be used for that purpose, or special fastening means may be used to secure the connector to the plate, or one staple may be used to hold the connector together, and a second may be used to hold the connector on the chassis.

The connector may be permanently secured to a printed circuit board with electrical connections established to printed wiring on the said board. In FIG.v 18, the female connector 116 is disposed perpendicular to a printed circuit board 118, the latter being printed on its lower face. In FIG. 19, the connector is disposed parallel to or flat against a printed circuit board 120, the latter having printed lines: at 122. In both cases, the printed lines terminate in holes through the printed board, and these In simplest and preferred form, the tails of the contacts are themselves appropriately bent to be received in the mating holes.

This will be clear from FIG. 19, in which the tail 124 have their free ends bent at right angles, and are of appropriate length to be received in mating holes in the printed board 120, Moreover, two of the four fastener legs may be extended as shown at 126 to provide resilient or snap fastener means to pass through mating slots 128 in the printed board. This may afford a temporary support of the connector pending the dip soldering operation which connects the tails to the printed lines, and which may also connect the legs 126 to printed areas at slots 128.

An ordinary staple may be used in the middle two passages through the block. The arcuately bent legs 126 may be appropriately bent to form a head at the remote end, not visible in FIG. 19, and-the legs may be staked or excised sidewardly on the inner side of the block as shown at 127. Alternatively, the two legs 126 may be joined by a long bridge on the opposite side, constituting a single large staple overlying the small staple 125.

In FIG. 18, the tails might be left straight, but if greater spacing between holes is wanted, alternate tails may be bent rearward and downw-a'rd,.as shown at 130, and the intermediate tails may be 'bent forward and downward, as shown at 132, so that the spacing between the holes 134 is considerably increased. In this case, both sets are oppositely offset, but one set could be left straight and the other offset.

The connector also may be used as a converter for changing from a fiat cable to a number of separated wires or to a round cable of ordinary type. Referring to FIG. 20, I there show the male portion of a separableconnector intended for this purpose. The pins 142 are the same as previously described, but the tails i 44 are each provided with an eye or loop 146 to facilitate the soldering thereto of individual wires. The loops of alternate tails may be bent upward, while those of intermediate tails may be bent downward, in order to facilitate the soldering operation. In addition to bending the soldering loops or eyes in opposite directions, the tails may be bodily bent at an angle, that is, with alternate tails bent upward, and the intermediate tails bent downward, thus further separating the loops for ease in soldering the same. The male connector 140 is used with a female connector having a flat cable, as previously described, so that the assembly is a detachable converter.

It is not essential that a converter be detachable, and

ill-,FIGt 21, I show afconnector 156 which is used to permanently or non-detachably convert a flat cable 152 r to individual wires. For this purpose the parts projecting nate in opposite directions for easier soldering. The tails at 158 on'the other side of the connector may be the normal tails as previously described.

The contacts used in the connector 155 are shown separately in FIG. 29 of the drawing, in which it will be seen that the contact comprises an oifset 36 like that previously described, with a tail T on one side, and a head H on the other side. The tail T may be like the tail 38 previously described, including a thin portion 39, and a thick round portion 64. The head H comprises a shank 66 which may be like that previously described for the male contact of FIG. 28, but in lieu of a pin at the right end, there is another tail 154, the end of which may be bent to form the loop 156.

The contact for the connector 140 in FIG. 20 has not been separately shown. However, its construction will be evident from consideration of FIGS. 28 and 29. The contact would be a male contact exactly as shown in FIG. 28, except that the left end or tail 38 would be extended further to the left and curled to form a soldering eye or loop like that shown at 156 in FIG. 29. It will also be understood that a similar variation may be made if the hat cable is to run to the'male half of the connector, while separate wires are soldered to the female half.

In such case the contacts would be female contacts like that shown in FIG. 27, but with the tail 38 extended further to the left and curled at its end to provide a soldering eye or loop.

If a connector is needed for. a wider cable, the block may be made wider, and with more channels for more contacts than are here shown. The channels, the metal contacts, the rectangular projections, the staples passages therethrough, and the staples, all may be made and dimensioned exactly as here shown, but with more of them.

Another way to provide a wider connector is 'by securing'the present blocks edge to edge, as shown in FIG. 26.

Referring to that figure, the block 166 and the block 162 are alike and are secured edge to edge by means of a single cover plate 164, which in the present case is a strain relief cover plate having a pair of parallel slots 166 disposed beyond the tails 168 of the connectors. The conductor count is eighteen instead of nine. The blocks 160 and 162 are secured to the strain relief plate by means of the regular staples previously described, there being two staples for each block. The connector shown in FIG. 26 is a male connector, and therefore has pins 170 projecting therefrom, but it will be understood that the mating female connector may be made in exactly the same way. Also, the cover plate need not necessarily be a strain relief plate. 7

The conductor capacity'of the connector also may be increased by superposing one block on another. Thus, by using two superposed blocks a connector with eighteen instead of nine contacts is provided. A single cover plate and a single pair of somewhat longer staples are used for the doubled connector. Moreover, this same construction may have strain relief, and I have found that two and even three of the flat cables may be threaded there are ten superposed blocks with a single cover plate 182, the pile being held in assembled relation by a pair of especially long staples 184. The resulting device may be used as a connector for ten cables with ninety conductors. It also may be used as a miniaturized patchboard, that is, a board to which a large array of conductors are soldered at one side, say, the bottom, while short tipped flexible conductors are used as jumpers on the other side. For this purpose, the patchboard is made up of female connectors, and the permanent conductors (which need not be fiat cables) are soldered to the tails at the bottom, while the jumpers are used at the top in engagement with the arcuate spring female contacts.

In some cases a particular layout of jumpers may be used repeatedly at intervals, while other layouts are used repeatedly in between times. For this purpose it is desirable to provide a detachable patchboard assembly in which the jumpers are disposed at the top of an intermediate patchboard which has male connector pins at the bottom. A number of such intermediate patchboards may be provided with their jumpers left in different desirable or repetitive relationships. To set up the regular female or bottom patchboard with one circuitry or another, it is merely necessary to plug in one previously prepared intermediate patchboard instead of another.

This is shown in FIG. 32, in which there is a bottom or permanent patchboard 226. A top view of this patchboard would be much as shown in FIG. 24, and it has female contacts like that shown in FIG. 27. The connections to the tails at the bottom of the patchboard may be individual wires or may be flat cables, according to convenience. An intermediate patchboard is shown at 222 (FIG. 32). This has male prongs 224 at the bottom, and jumpers 226 at the top. It will be understood that there area number of intermediate patchboards like that shown at 222, but each with its own particular array of jumpers at the top. To change from one circuitry to another, it is merely necessary to remove one block 222 and substitute another, each of the other blocks being stored with its jumpers intact for future use. Such patchboards are frequently used in computing machines where certain jumper arrangements may be important and reused at intervals.

It will be evident that for this purpose the contacts used in the intermediate patchboard should have an arcuate spring at one end and a male pin at the other end. Such a contact is shown in' FIG. 30 of the drawing in which the contact has the standard offset 36, with a head H at one end, and a tail T at theother end. The head H is the usual arcuate spring 50. There is the usual thick round part 64. The tail T, however, is modified by flattening the same to have the same dimension and shape as the male pin 68 in FIG. 28. By using the contacts shown in FTG. 30 in a pile of blocks, as shown in FIGS. 24 and 32, a miniaturized intermediate patchboard is provided.

A patchboard having an area of only about one inch square would have a capacity of ninety connections. It will be understood that this does not at all limit the available size of patchboard. As previously explained, the block may be made wider with more channels and contacts, and such wider blocks may be stacked to equal or greater height, thereby providing a vastly increased number of connections, but still within a miniaturized area. Moreover, a larger patchboard may be built up even with the blocks here shown, as by using a number of blocks edge to edge, as shown in FIG. 26, and also piling such blocks to increase the patchboard area. A square patchboard five inches on a side would provide 2250 connections.

Moreover, for increased strength the blocks may he stepped or staggered as when laying a brick wall. This may be carried for some distance, and at the ends an appropriate number of approximately half width blocks may be provided, again as is done when laying a brick wall.

For some special purposes, it may be necessary to provide a moistureproof seal between the adjacent passages.

and' contacts. For that purpose the blocks may be slightly modified as shown in FIGS. 22 and 23. Referring to FIG. 22, the block 1%2 has channels 1%, projections 196 and fastener passages 1%, all as previously described. In addition, the block has a series of parallel ridges 200 which extend all the way from one edge of the block to the other between the channels 194. Moreover, referring to FIG. 23, it will be seen that the blocks all may be superposed, and that for this purpose the bot tom surface of each block is provided With mating parallel grooves, shown at 193 in block 192, and at 262 in block 294, The cover plate is similarly provided with bottom grooves to fit the ridges 200.

After the metal contacts have been placed in the channels, the next block or the cover plateis secured in position by means of an epoxy cement or other acceptable cement or solvent, placed particularly in the ridges and grooves, thereby providing a permanent and effective moisture barrier or. seal between the adjacent contacts in their adjacent channels.

It is believed that the construction, method of assembly and method of use of my improved connector, as well as the advantages thereof, will be apparent from the foregoing detailed description It will also be apparent that while I have shown and described my invention in a number of different forms, changes may be madein the structures shown without departing from the scope of the inventionas sought to be defined in the following claims. In the claims, reference to a cover for the block is intended to include another block when superposed on the first block so that the second block acts as the cover for the first block.

I claim:

1. A connector for use with thin flat cable having printed parallel conductors and adapted to mate in edgeto-edge relation with another generally like connector, said connector comprising a generally flat insulation block having a series of collateral open sided channels each receiving a metal contact, each contact comprising a head, an offset, and a tail, said channel having a part to receive the innerend of the tail, an offset part to receive the offset, and a part to receive the head, a generally flat cover means to cover the block in order to close the channels and thereby hold the contacts in the block, said channels andcontacts being so close to one another as to match the spacing of the conductors of the aforesaid thin fiat cable, said block having a plurality of rectangular projections on one face between said channels, and a like plurality of registering recesses on the other face opposite said projections, whereby the blocks may be stacked with an upper block acting as the cover for a lower block, said cover having slots mating with said rectangular projections, and said block having passages through said projections receiving fastener means to lock together a block and its cover or superposed block.

2. A vpatchboard comprising a pile of connectors, said patchboard being built up of a plurality of blocks and contacts as defined in claim 1 with each block acting as a cover for the next lower block, and with a cover as definedin claim 1 located on the uppermost block, and with the fastener means passing through the entire pile of blocks and the cover.

3. A patchboard comprising a pile of connectors, said patchboard being built up of a plurality of blocks and contacts as defined in claim 1, with each block acting as a cover for the next lower block, and with a cover as defined in claim 1 located on the uppermost block, and with the fastener means passing through the entire patchboard, and long slender contacts in the channels of said connectors, each contact comprising a head, a slightly sidewardly displaced ofiset, and a tail, said tail forming a longitudinal extension of the contact andvmost of said tail projecting outside the block, said head being aconcave convex spring strip disposed edgewise relative to the plane of the block, and adapted to act as the female half of a detachable connector, and saidtail'being shaped and disposed like, the pin of a male contact, whereby the patchboard has an array of male pinson one face adapted to be plugged into a mating female ,patchboard, while the opposite face of the pileis female, and thereby is adapted to receive the tips of jumpers.

4. A connector intended ,for use with thin fiat cable havingprinted parallel'conductors, and adapted to mate in edge-to-edge relation with another generally like connector, said connector, comprising a generally fiat insulation block havinga series of closelytspaced collateral open sided channels each receiving a long slender metal contact, each contact comprising a head, an offset, and, a tail, said channelhaving a part to receive the inner end of the tail, anoffset part to receive the offset of the contact, and a part to receive the head, said tail forming a longitudinal extension of thecontactand most, of said tail projecting outside the block, a flat covermade of sheet insulation and serving to cover the block in order to close the channels and thereby hold the contacts in the block, said channels and contacts being so close to one another as to match the spacing of the conductors of the aforesaid thin flatv cable, said blockhaving-a plurality of rectangular projections on one face between said channels and a like plurality of registering recesses on the other face opposite said projections to receive said projections, whereby the, blocks may be, stacked with an upper block; acting, as the cover for a lower block, said cover having a plurality of registering slots cut all the way through for receiving the rectangular projections, said cover being devoid of channels and projections, said block having passages through said projections receiving fastener means to lock together a block and itscover oralternatively a superposed block.

5. A connector for use with thin flat cable, comprising a generally flat insulation block having a series of closely. spaced collateral open sided channels each receiving a long slender metal contact, said channels and contacts being so close to one anotheras to match the spacing of the printed parallel conductors of the thin flat cable, each contact comprising a head, a slightly sidewardly displaced offset, and a tail, said head, and ofiset and a part of said tail being flat or generally rectangular in cross section with said contacts all being disposed edgewise relative to the flat plane of the block, said channelshaving a part to receive the inner end of the tail, a slightly sidewardly offset part to receive the offset of the contact, and a part to receivethe head, said tail forming a longitudinal extension of the contact and most of said tail projecting outside the block, a flat cover made of sheet insulation and serving to cover the block in order to close the channels and thereby hold the contacts in the block, said channels and contacts being so close to one another as to match the spacing of the conductors of the aforesaid thin flat cable, said block having a plurality of rectangular projections on one face between said channels, said cover having a plurality of registering slots cut all the Way through for receiving the rectangular projections, said cover being devoid of channels and projections, said block having transverse passages through said projections, said transverse passages being narrow slots extending parallel to said channels, and flat metal staple legs received in said passages to lock together a block and its cover.

'6. A connectorintended for use with thinflat cable having printed parallel conductors and adapted to mate, in edge-to-edge relation with another generally like connector, said connector comprising a generally flat insulation block having a series of closely spaced collateral open sided channels each receiving along slender metal contact, each contact comprising a head, a slightly sidewardy displaced offset, anda tail, said head and offset and a part of said tail beingflat or generallyrectangularin crosssection with said contacts all being disposed edgewiserelative to the planeof-theblock, each said channel having a part to receive the .innerendofthe tail, aslightly sidewardly displaced offsetp'art to. receive the offset. of;the contact,

11 and a part to receive the head, said otfset portion being formed by a transversely widened portion of the insulation between the channels, said tail forming a longitudinal extension of the contact and most of said tail projecting outside the block, a generally flat cover means to cover the block in order to close the channels and thereby hold the contacts in the block, said channels and contacts being so close to one another as to match the spacing of the printed parallel conductors of a thin fiat cable, and said block having transverse passages located in said transversely widened portion, said cover having passages aligned with the passages in the block, said passages receiving fastener means to lock together a block and its cover, said passages being narrow slots extending in the direction of said channels, and said fastener means being made of sheet metal passing through aid slot.

7. A connector as defined in claim 6 in which the head ofthe contact is a concavo convex spring strip disposed perpendicular or edgewise relative to the plane of the ,block, and adapted to act as the female half of a detachable connector. 7 g

8. A connector as defined in claim 6 in which the head of the contact has a shank which is received in the block, and a pin which projects beyond the block, said pin being a flattened straight strip disposed with its plane perpendicular or edgewise relative to the plane of the block, and

adapted to act as the male half of a detachable connector.

9. A connector as defined in claim 6 in which the head has a shank received in the block; and has a second tail projecting beyond the block and thereby adapted to act asa connector which is not detachable, and which has oppositely projecting tails at the opposite edges of the block.

10. A connector as defined in claim 6 in which the head ofthe contact is a concave convex spring strip disposed perpendicular or edgewise relative to the plane of the block and adapted to act as the female half of a detachable connector, and in which the tail of the connector is a flattened straight strip disposed edgewise to the plane of the block to act like the pin of a male connector.

11. A connector as defined in claim 6 in which the channel part for receiving the head is wide enough to re- 'ceive the arcuate spring head of a female contact, and in which there is an inwardly convergent mouth opening from the edge of the block into the said channel part, the convergent mouth opening being laterally offset relative to the channel and located with its axis of convergence 'near that side thereof corresponding to the convex side of the female contact.

12. A connector as defined in claim 6 in which the cover is a thin insulation plate which extends well beyond the tails and has one or more parallel slots dimensioned to receive the thin fiat cable in order to provide relief against strain between the cable and its soldered connections to the tails.

13. A connector as defined in claim 6 in which the insulation cover has superposed thereon a thin metal plate which extends beyond the tails and is there provided with one or more parallel slots dimensioned to receive the thin flat cable in orderto provide relief against strain between the cable audits soldered connections to the tails.

14. A connector as defined in claim 6 in which the tails are of appropriate length and are appropriately bent to'be received in mating holes in a printed circuit board for connection to printed circuitry. e

t 15. A connector asrdefined in claim 6 inwhich the block is provided with parallel ridges extending all the way from one edge of the block to the other between the channels, and in which the cover has mating grooves to receive said ridges, and in which the ridges and grooves are cemented in order to provide a seal between adjacent contacts. 1

16. A connector comprising a generally fiat insulation block having a series of closely spaced collateral open sided channels each receiving a long slender metal con- 12 tact, each contact comprising a head, a slightly sidewardly displaced offset, and a tail, said head and oifset and a part of said tail being fiat or generally rectangular in cross section with said contacts all being disposed edgewise relative to the flat plane of the block, said channel having a part to receive the inner end of the tail, a slightly sidewardly displaced offset part to receive the offset of the contact, and a part to receive the head, said tail forming a longitudinal extension of the contact and most of said tail projecting outside the block, a generally flat cover means to cover the block in order to close the channels and thereby hold the contacts in the block,

said channels and contacts being so close to one another as to match the spacing of the printed parallel conductors of a thin fiat cable, said cover being flat sheet insulation devoid' of channels and projections, said block having a plurality of projections on one'face between said channels, said projections being elongated in the direction of said channels to fit between adjacent channels, said cover having like registering slots cut therethrough to receive said projections, and said block having transverse passages through said projections receiving fastener means to lock together a block and its cover, said transverse passages being narrow slots extending in the direction of said channels, and said fastener means being sheet metal passing through said slots.

17. A patchboard comprising a pile of connectors, said patchboard being built up of a plurality of blocks and contacts as defined in claim 16, with each block acting as a cover for the next lower block, and with a cover as defined in claim 16 located on the uppermost block, and with the fastener means passing through the entire pile of blocks and the cover.

18. A patchboard comprising a pile of connectors, said patchboard' being built up of a plurality of blocks as defined in claim 16, with each block acting as a cover for the next lower block, and with a cover as defined in claim 16 located on the uppermost block, and with the fastener means passing through the entire patchboard, and long slender contacts in the channels of said connectors, each contact comprising a head, a slightly sidewardly displaced offset, and a tail, said tail forming a longitudinal extension of the contact and most of said tail projecting outside the block, said head being a concave convex spring strip disposed edgewise relative to the plane of the block, and adapted to act as the'female half of a detachable connector, and said tail being shaped and disposed like the pin of a male contact, whereby the patchboard has an array of male pins on one face adapted to be plugged into a mating female patchboard, while the opposite face of the pile is female and thereby is adapted to receive the tips of jumpers.

19. A connector for use with thin, flat cable comprising a generally fiat insulation block having a series of closely spaced collateral open sided channels each receiving a long slender metal contact, each contact comprising a head, a slightly sidewardly displaced offset, and a tail, said head and offset and a part of said tail being fiat or generally rectangular in cross section with said contacts all being disposed edgewise relative to the plane of the block, said channel having a part to receive the inner end'of the tail, a slightly sidewardly displaced offset part to receive the oifset of the contact, and a part to receive the head, said tail forming a longitudinal extension of the contact and most of said tail projecting outside the block, a generally flat cover means to cover the block in order to close the channels and thereby hold the contacts in the block, said block having a plurality of rectangular projections on one face between said channels, said projections being elongated in the direction of'said channels to fit between adjacent channels, said cover having likerectangular registering recesses to receive said projections, and said block having passages through said projections receiving fiat metal staple legs to lock together a block and its cover, the

13 flat faces of the staple legs extending in the direction of the channels, and the passages being slots dimensioned to receive said staple legs.

20. A connector as defined in claim 19 in which the head of the contact is a concave convex spring strip disposed perpendicular or edgewise relative to the plane of the block, and adapted to act as the female half of a detachable connector.

21. A connector as defined in claim 19 in which the head of the contact has a shank which is received in the block, and a pin which projects beyond the block, said pin being a flattened straight strip disposed with its plane perpendicular or edgewise relative to the plane of the block, and adapted to act as the male half of a detachable connector.

22. A connector as defined in claim 19 in which the channel part for receiving the head is wide enough to receive the arcuate spring head of a female contact, and in which there is an inwardly convergent mouth opening from the edge of the block into the said channel part, the convergent mouth opening being laterally offset relative to the channel and located with its axis of convergence near that side thereof corresponding to the convex side of the female contact.

23. A connector as defined in claim 19 in which the cover is a thin insulation plate which extends well beyond the tails and has one or more parallel slots dimensioned to receive the thin flat cable in order to provide relief against strain between the cable and its soldered connections to the tails.

24. A connector as defined in claim 19 in which the insulation cover has superposed thereon a thin metal plate which extends beyond the tails and is there provided with one or more parallel slots dimensioned to receive the thin flat cable in order to provide relief against strain between the cable and its soldered connections to the tails, and in which a part of said metal plate is shaped and bent to provide fiat fastener means for holding the block, cover and the strain relief plate in assembled relation.

25. A connector as defined in claim 19 in which the tails are of appropriate length and are appropriately bent to be received in mating holes in a printed circuit board for connection to printed circuitry.

26. A connector as defined in claim 19 in which the block is provided with parallel ridges extending all the way from one edge of the block to the other between the channels, and in which the cover has mating grooves to receive said ridges, and in which the ridges and grooves are .cemented in order to provide a seal between adjacent contacts.

27. A connector intended for use with thin fiat cable having printed parallel conductors, said connector being adapted to mate in edge-to-edge relation with another generally like connector, and comprising a generally fiat insulation block having a series of closely spaced collata longitudinal extension of the contact and most of said tail projecting outside the block, said channels and contacts being so close to one another as to match the spacing of the conductors of the aforesaid thin fiat cable, a generally flat cover means to cover the block in order to close the channels and thereby hold the contacts in the block, and means to lock together a block and its cover, said cover being a thin insulation plate which extends well beyond the tails and has one or more parallel slots dimensioned to receive the thin flat cable in order to provide relief against strain between the cable and its soldered connections to the tails.

28. A connector intended for use with thin fiat cable having printed parallel conductors and adapted to mate in edge-to-edge relation with another generally like connector, said connector comprising a generally fiat insulation'block having a series of closely spaced collateral open sided channels each receiving a long slender metal contact, each contact comprising a head, a slightly sidewardly displaced offset of substantial length, and a tail, said head and offset and the inner part of said tail being flat or generally rectangular in cross section with said contacts all being disposed edgewise relative to the plane of the block, each said channel having a narrow part at one end to receive the inner end of the tail, a wide part to receive the head, a lateral projection between said narrow and wide parts leaving a narrow offset part to receive the offset of the contact, a mouth opening at the end of the channel remote from the tail, said tail and mouth openings being in alignment with one edge of the wide part of the channel, said tail forming a longitudinal extension of the contact and most of said tail projecting outside the block, a generally flat cover means to cover the block in order to close the channels and thereby hold the contacts in the block, said channels and contacts being so close to one another as to match the spacing of the printed parallel conductors of a thin flat cable, said block and cover having aligned transverse passages located between said channels and receiving fastener means to lock together a block and its cover, said transverse passages being narrow slots extending in the direction of said channels, and located in the aforesaid lateral projections of the channels between the offsets of the contacts, and said fastener means being made of sheet metal passing through said slots.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS OTHER REFERENCES Electronics, business edition, published Aug. 10, 1957, page 28.

Electronic Design, published Aug. 15, 1957, pages 48 and 49v Gaminel Mar. 8, 1960

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