WO1998047201A1

WO1998047201A1 - Insulation displacement connector

Info

Publication number: WO1998047201A1
Application number: PCT/IB1998/000513
Authority: WO
Inventors: Dominique Benoit; Jean-Pierre Picaud
Original assignee: The Whitaker Corporation
Priority date: 1997-04-14
Filing date: 1998-04-08
Publication date: 1998-10-22
Also published as: AU6513098A

Abstract

An IDC connector (2) comprises a double sided IDC terminal having a first IDC section (18) and a second IDC section (20). An abutment wall (40) is provided between the first and second IDC sections for engagement with a termination tool for depressing the terminals from a preassembly position to a terminated position where insulated conductors inserted in the cavities (14) are terminated. IDC termination to the first conductors inserted in the cavities (14) can thus be effected automatically, for example in a harness making machine. The other IDC section can then be terminated to an intermediate section of second conductors e.g. to form a branch connection of a harness. A simple and cost-effective branch connector is thus provided.

Description

INSULATION DISPLACEMENT CONNECTOR

This invention relates to an insulation displacement contact (IDC) connector for connection to insulated conducting wires.

IDC connector technology is widely used for interconnecting insulated conducting wires to connectors in view of the rapid and simple connection, and thereby the cost effectiveness of this technology compared to crimping for example where the insulated wire first needs to be stripped of a portion of its insulation. IDC connection enables insulated wires to be stuffed into the IDC portions of terminals in a single stroke. As an example, U.S. Patent 4,830,625 shows a connector having an insulative housing and a plurality of electrical terminals mounted in separate cavities of the housing, the terminals comprising a plugging receptacle portion on one side and an IDC connection portion on the other end. Insulated wires for connection to the connector are placed above and across the IDC connection portions, and are terminated thereto by depressing the wires into slots of the IDC connection portion with a stuffer cap, which also forms a retaining cover member.

In certain applications, it would be desirable to have a connector preterminated to a cable, thereby forming a preprepared lead, which can then be further connected to insulated conductors of another cable or cables at a location where electrical devices are to be interconnected together. It would be particularly advantageous to utilize cost-effective interconnection technology such as IDC to reduce the cost of manufacture and assembly of interconnection systems. An application where IDC technology is particularly useful is where a branch connection off an existing cable in a system is desired. For example in an electrical harness of a vehicle, it may be desirable at a certain location to tap certain of the conductors for interconnection to a connector for plugging to a trailer (e.g. caravan or boat trailer) . The interconnection may be to supply the trailer with electrical signals for the indicator, reverse and brake lights etc. A simple and cost-effective interconnection system for tapping off a harness is desirable.

It is an object of this invention to provide a simple and cost-effective IDC connection assembly. It would be particularly advantageous to provide such assembly for interconnecting a first plurality of cables to a second plurality of cables, where the connector is for branching off one of the plurality of insulated conductors. Objects of this invention have been achieved by providing the IDC connector according to claim 1.

Disclosed herein is a connector comprising an insulative housing and a plurality of terminals arranged in cavities of the housing, each terminal having a first IDC section and a second IDC section, each for IDC connection to an insulated conducting wire, wherein between the first and second IDC sections is an abutment surface for engagement with a termination tool for displacing the IDC terminal from a preassembly position either outside or pre-mounted to the housing to a terminated position, the connector comprising wire location cavities for receiving wires therein adjacent respective first terminal sections of the terminals, the wires being stuffed into IDC slots of the first IDC section when the terminal is depressed into the terminated position. Advantageously the connector can be preassembled to a cable with IDC connection technology where the second IDC connection permits further rapid connection to conductors of a second cable. In view of the abutment surface between the IDC connection sections, automated assembly of the connector to the first cable is possible without requiring separate stuffer cap or cover over the first IDC sections. The connector may advantageously comprise wire receiving slots extending transversely across the connector housing above the second IDC portions for receiving an end or intermediate portion of conductor in each slot. Individual stuffer caps insertable in the slots for depressing the wires into the second IDC connection sections enable rapid and simple interconnection to the second cable either branching off an intermediate portion of the cable or for connection to ends of the cable.

Further advantageous aspects of this invention are described in the claims, or will be apparent from the following description and drawings.

An embodiment of this invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the drawings in which;

Figure 1 is a plan view of a connector according to this invention; Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view through lines 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figures 3 and 4 are isometric views of an IDC terminal of the connector;

Figure 5 is an isometric view of a housing of the connector;

Figure 6 is a top view (in the direction of arrow 6 of Figure 1) of a portion of the connector;

Figure 7 is a cross-sectional view through lines 7-7 of Figure 6; Figure 8 is a cross-sectional view through lines 8-8 of Figure 6.

Referring to the Figures, an electrical connector 2 comprises an insulative housing 4 having a plurality of terminal receiving cavities 5 having electrical terminals 6 positioned therein. The terminals 6 extend within the cavities 5 from proximate a first cable receiving end 10 to a second cable receiving end 12, the ends 10,12 arranged at opposed faces of the housing 4. Each of the cavities 5 is interconnected to first wire receiving cavities 14 extending transversely to the cavity 5 and positioned proximate the first cable end 10 of the housing. The first wire receiving cavities 14 extend from the terminal receiving cavity 5 to an outer side surface 16 of the housing to enable insertion of a conductor into the cavity 14.

Referring to Figures 3 and 4, the terminal 6 comprises a first IDC section 18 and a second IDC section 20, each IDC section comprising IDC slots 22 that have a funnel shaped wire receiving portion 24 at wire receiving ends 26,28 of the IDC sections. The first and second IDC sections 18,20 are arranged in an opposed fashion such that conducting wires for connection to the respective sections are received from opposed first 26 and second 28 ends. The IDC sections 18,20 are arranged generally extending along a termination direction T which is the direction of stuffing of conducting wires 22,23. A conducting wire positioned above or slightly within the funnel portion 24 of the IDC slot can be stuffed into the narrow contacting regions 25 of the IDC slots 22,23 such that the outer insulation layer of the conducting wire is cut by opposed edges of the contacting region such that the inner conducting strands of the wire make electrical connection therewith.

The IDC terminal 6 is stamped and formed from a single piece of sheet metal, where a base wall 30 extends on one side of the terminal and is interconnected to opposed substantially parallel secondary walls 32,33 of the first and second IDC sections respectively, via end wall portions 34,36 respectively. The base wall comprises a first one of the IDC slots 22,23 and the secondary walls 32,33 comprise a second one of the IDC slots 22,23 in alignment with the first slots. One of the slots has a width between contact edges that is smaller than the other (the wide slot is denoted 22 and the narrow slot 23) such that wires with a large range of sizes can be reliably terminated to the terminal 6.

Between the first and second IDC sections 18,20, the terminal is provided with an abutment wall 40 for engagement of a stuffer tool 44 thereagainst to displace the terminals from a preassembly position to a terminated position. Referring to Figure 7, the terminals are shown in the terminated position. Prior to connection to first conductors of a first cable, the terminals are in a preassembly position where conducting wires can be inserted into the cavities 14 below the first section 18 of the terminal in alignment with the IDC slots 23,22. The

"preassembly" position may either be defined by location of the terminals within the housing cavities 14 or the terminals could be outside the housing and inserted into the housing directly into the terminated position during assembly and termination. In other words, in the latter case the terminals may be directly mounted and terminated to conducting wires during assembly to the connector housing in an automated one-step process. In the former situation, the terminal is pre-mounted to the housing and can subsequently be depressed in the termination direction

T such that the wire inserted in the cavity 14 is stuffed into the contacting portion of the IDC slots 22,23. The IDC terminals are thus positioned further away from the second cable receiving end 10 of the housing than when in the terminated position as shown in the Figures. In order to connect the connector 2 to a first cable, the conductors of the cable are inserted into their respective cavities 14 and the terminals are subsequently depressed by an actuation tool that comprises a die having pin portions 44 (see Figure 4) that are inserted between the end wall portions 36 of the second IDC section until abutment with the abutment wall 40 where the die then depresses the terminal. The die 44 has a width less than the distance D between the base wall and secondary wall 30,33 to enable insertion therebetween. The abutment of the die 44 on the abutment wall 40 ensures that the depression force is not inserted on the end wall 36 or through the first IDC section in order to prevent damage or deformation thereof.

The abutment wall 40 extends from an end of the first IDC section secondary wall 32 and has a tab 46 engaging in a corresponding cutout 48 in the base wall. The latter provides retention of the abutment wall 40 to the base wall with respect to the depressing force of the die 44. Although not shown in this embodiment, the secondary wall 33 of the second IDC section 20 may be provided with an abutment wall that extends fully across from the secondary wall to the base wall and have a tab engaging in the base wall cutout 48. The abutment wall would thus be a double wall with enhanced rigidity.

As best seen in Figure 7, stuffer projections 50 extend from a bottom of the cavity 6 and have a wire receiving surface 52 on which a conducting wire rests when inserted in the cavity 14. The stuffer projections 50 are received between the end wall portion 34 and between the base and secondary walls 30,32 of the first IDC section 18 in order to support the wire as it is being stuffed into the IDC slots. The construction described above thus enables automated connection of wires to the first IDC sections without requiring an additional stuffer cap or cover over the first IDC section. Additional parts increase the costs of manufacture, handling and assembly. Once the connector is terminated to conductors of a first cable, which may be done in an automatic assembling machine, second insulated conductors of a second cable may be terminated to the second IDC sections 20 of the terminals. The housing 4 is provided with transverse slots 54 extending transversely across the cavities 6 from one side 16 to an opposed side 17 (see Figure 5) of the housing for receiving the second conductors therein across the IDC slots 22,23 of the second IDC sections 20. Stuffer caps 56, provided individually for each slot 54 may be used to stuff the wires into the IDC slots 22,23. The stuffer caps 56 also comprise stuffer projections 58 that engage the wire, the stuffer projections 58 being received between the end wall portions 36 and between the secondary and base walls 33,30 in order to assist depressing the wire into the contacting regions 25 of the IDC slots. In the fully depressed position, the stuffer caps 56 engage the slot side wall 60 with latching members such that the stuffer caps are firmly held in the depressed position once the second conductor is terminated. As the wire receiving slots 54 traverse from one side of the connector to the other side, the second section of the terminals may be connected to an intermediate section of a conducting wire in order to effect a branch connection to the second cable.

Claims

1. A connector comprising an insulative housing (4) and a plurality of terminals (6) arranged in cavities (5) of the housing, each terminal having a first IDC section (18) and a second IDC section (20) , each for IDC connection to an insulated conducting wire, wherein between the first and second IDC sections is an abutment wall (40) for engagement with a termination tool (44) for displacing the IDC terminal from a preassembly position either outside or pre- mounted to the housing, to a terminated position, the connector housing (4) comprising wire location cavities

(14) for receiving wires therein adjacent respective first

IDC sections (18) of the terminals, the wires being stuffed into IDC slots (22,23) of the first IDC sections when the terminals are depressed into the terminated position.

2. The connector of claim 1 wherein the terminal (6) comprises a base wall (30) and a secondary wall (32,33) arranged substantially parallel to the base wall, the abutment wall (40) extending from the secondary wall across to the base wall.

3. The connector of claim 2 wherein the base wall and the secondary wall comprise IDC slots (22,23) .

4. The connector of claim 2 or 3 wherein the secondary wall is joined to the base wall via an end wall (34,36) arranged at an outer most end (26,28) of the terminal when considering the direction of termination T to a conducting wire.

5. The connector of any one of claims (2-4) wherein each IDC section (18,20) comprises a secondary wall attached via a respective end wall (34,36) to the base wall (30), the IDC sections arranged in a generally opposed fashion in the direction of termination T.

6. The connector of any one of the preceding claims wherein the terminal (6) is stamped and formed from an integral piece of sheet metal.

7. The connector of any one of the preceding claims wherein the housing wire location cavities (14) for receiving wires adjacent the first IDC sections extend transversely to the terminal receiving cavities (5) from an outer side surface (16) of the connector housing to the terminal receiving cavity (5) .

8. The connector of any one of the preceding claims wherein the housing (4) comprises wire receiving channels

(54) extending transversely across the terminal receiving cavities (5) above the second IDC sections for locating and receiving conducting wires thereacross.

9. The connector of claim 9 wherein stuffer caps (56) are provided for each individual transverse wire receiving channel (54) of the housing for stuffing the wires into the second IDC sections (20) .