Title:
FLAT CABLE HARNESS
United States Patent 3727168
Abstract:
Electrical harness for electrically commoning the corresponding positions of a first plurality of multi-row electrical connectors comprises flat cables, each of which contains a number of conductors equal to the number of positions in each connector row. The cables have at least one side edge which extends sinuously so that each cable has alternate wide and narrow portions. Terminals are crimped onto the conductors in the wide portions of the cables and, in one embodiment, the terminals are inserted into the rows of complementary connectors which can be mated with the first connectors whereby the corresponding positions of the first connectors are commonly connected. One alternative embodiment is disclosed which does not require the complementary connectors while another alternative embodiment does not require the first connectors.
US Patent References:
Extensible electric cable
Turner, Jr. - March 1962 - 3027417
Printed circuit automotive dashboard
Stearns et al. - January 1963 - 3074043
Plug connector for flat conductor cable
Crimmins et al. - December 1964 - 3159447
Flexible connecting terminal assembly
Cook - November 1965 - 3221095
Connector for printed circuit strip transmission line
Fedde - November 1965 - 3221286
Extensible electric cable
Turner, Jr. - March 1962 - 3027417
Printed circuit automotive dashboard
Stearns et al. - January 1963 - 3074043
Plug connector for flat conductor cable
Crimmins et al. - December 1964 - 3159447
Flexible connecting terminal assembly
Cook - November 1965 - 3221095
Connector for printed circuit strip transmission line
Fedde - November 1965 - 3221286
Inventors:
Henschen, Homer Ernst (Carlisle, PA)
Zell, Dale Richard (Elizabethtown, PA)
Zell, Dale Richard (Elizabethtown, PA)
Application Number:
05/196492
Publication Date:
04/10/1973
Filing Date:
11/08/1971
View Patent Images:
Export Citation:
Assignee:
AMP Incorporated (Harrisburg, PA)
Primary Class:
Other Classes:
361/749, 361/776
International Classes:
H01B7/08; H01R31/02; H05K1/11; H05K3/36; H01R31/00; H05K1/07
Field of Search:
339/47-49,17F,17L,17R,176MF,196M,176MP,19
US Patent References:
Primary Examiner:
Champion, Marvin A.
Assistant Examiner:
Lewis, Terrell P.
Claims:
What is claimed is
1. An electrical harness for electrically connecting to each other the corresponding terminal positions of a plurality of groups of terminal positions, said terminal positions in each group being arranged in a plurality of rows, said harness comprising:
2. An electrical harness as set forth in claim 1 wherein said cables are transversely folded at said wide cable portions which are intermediate the ends of said cables whereby said cables are generally cycloidal with said intermediate wide cable portions constituting cusps.
3. An electrical harness as set forth in claim 2 wherein each of said groups of terminal positions comprises conductors on both sides of a printed circuit board.
4. An electrical harness as set forth in claim 2 wherein each of said groups of terminal positions comprises conductors on both sides of a printed circuit board, said harness comprising two flat conductor cables and having a plurality of two row printed circuit board edge connectors thereon, each connector having disposed in one of its rows a row of said contact terminals which are on one of said wide portions of one of said cables.
5. An electrical harness as set forth in claim 2 wherein each of said groups of terminal positions is defined by a multi-row electrical connector, said contact terminals on said wide cable portions being mateable with said terminals in said multi-row connectors.
6. An electrical harness as set forth in claim 5 wherein each of said multi-row electrical connectors has three rows of terminal positions.
7. An electrical connector as set forth in claim 5 wherein each of said multi-row electrical connectors has two rows of terminal positions.
8. An electrical harness as set forth in claim 1 wherein each of said cables has at least one side edge which is generally sinuous along the length of said cable to define said alternate wide and narrow portions.
9. An electrical harness as set forth in claim 8, said harness comprising two cables, each of said cables having one side edge which is straight, said cables being substantially identical.
10. An electrical harness as set forth in claim 8, said harness comprising three cables, two of said cables being substantially identical, said two cables having one side edge which is straight, the third cable having both side edges extending sinuously, the width of each of said narrow cable portions of all of said cables being about one third of the widths of said wide cable portions.
11. An electrical harness as set forth in claim 2 wherein each of said groups of terminal positions comprises a group of terminal pins, said contact terminals on said wide cable portions being individually mateable with said pins.
12. An electrical harness as set forth in claim 11 including connector housings, said contact terminals being contained in said connector housings.
13. An electrical harness for electrically connecting to each other the corresponding positions of a first plurality of multi-row electrical connectors said harness comprising:
14. A harness as set forth in claim 13 wherein the width of each of said narrow portions of each of said cables is no greater than a fraction of the width of said wide portions, said fraction being 1/n where n is the number of cables in said harness.
15. A harness as set forth in claim 13 wherein each of said first plurality of connectors comprises a two-row connector, said plurality of flat cables comprising two cables, said cables being substantially identical and each having one straight side and one generally sinuous side to define said wide and narrow cable portions.
16. A harness as set forth in claim 13 wherein each of said first plurality of electrical connectors comprises a three-row connector, said plurality of flat cables comprising three cables, two of said cables being substantially identical and having one straight side and one generally sinuous side to define said wide and narrow cable portions, the third one of said cables having a repetitive hour-glass configuration with both sides thereof generally sinuous.
17. A harness as set forth in claim 13 wherein said conductors in said cables have enlarged contact pads in said wide portions, electrical contact terminals crimped onto said contact pads, said terminals being disposed in said second plurality of multi-row electrical connectors.
18. An electrical harness for electrically connecting the corresponding terminal positions of a first plurality of two-row electrical connectors, said harness comprising:
19. A harness as set forth in claim 18 wherein said terminal positions in said first and second plurality of two-row electrical connectors contain first and second contact terminals, said second contact terminals being crimped onto said conductors and being mateable with said first contact terminals.
20. A harness as set forth in claim 19 wherein said cables are transversely folded at each of said wide cable portions excepting at said ends of said cables whereby said cables are generally cycloidal with said second connectors located at the cusps thereof.
1. An electrical harness for electrically connecting to each other the corresponding terminal positions of a plurality of groups of terminal positions, said terminal positions in each group being arranged in a plurality of rows, said harness comprising:
2. An electrical harness as set forth in claim 1 wherein said cables are transversely folded at said wide cable portions which are intermediate the ends of said cables whereby said cables are generally cycloidal with said intermediate wide cable portions constituting cusps.
3. An electrical harness as set forth in claim 2 wherein each of said groups of terminal positions comprises conductors on both sides of a printed circuit board.
4. An electrical harness as set forth in claim 2 wherein each of said groups of terminal positions comprises conductors on both sides of a printed circuit board, said harness comprising two flat conductor cables and having a plurality of two row printed circuit board edge connectors thereon, each connector having disposed in one of its rows a row of said contact terminals which are on one of said wide portions of one of said cables.
5. An electrical harness as set forth in claim 2 wherein each of said groups of terminal positions is defined by a multi-row electrical connector, said contact terminals on said wide cable portions being mateable with said terminals in said multi-row connectors.
6. An electrical harness as set forth in claim 5 wherein each of said multi-row electrical connectors has three rows of terminal positions.
7. An electrical connector as set forth in claim 5 wherein each of said multi-row electrical connectors has two rows of terminal positions.
8. An electrical harness as set forth in claim 1 wherein each of said cables has at least one side edge which is generally sinuous along the length of said cable to define said alternate wide and narrow portions.
9. An electrical harness as set forth in claim 8, said harness comprising two cables, each of said cables having one side edge which is straight, said cables being substantially identical.
10. An electrical harness as set forth in claim 8, said harness comprising three cables, two of said cables being substantially identical, said two cables having one side edge which is straight, the third cable having both side edges extending sinuously, the width of each of said narrow cable portions of all of said cables being about one third of the widths of said wide cable portions.
11. An electrical harness as set forth in claim 2 wherein each of said groups of terminal positions comprises a group of terminal pins, said contact terminals on said wide cable portions being individually mateable with said pins.
12. An electrical harness as set forth in claim 11 including connector housings, said contact terminals being contained in said connector housings.
13. An electrical harness for electrically connecting to each other the corresponding positions of a first plurality of multi-row electrical connectors said harness comprising:
14. A harness as set forth in claim 13 wherein the width of each of said narrow portions of each of said cables is no greater than a fraction of the width of said wide portions, said fraction being 1/n where n is the number of cables in said harness.
15. A harness as set forth in claim 13 wherein each of said first plurality of connectors comprises a two-row connector, said plurality of flat cables comprising two cables, said cables being substantially identical and each having one straight side and one generally sinuous side to define said wide and narrow cable portions.
16. A harness as set forth in claim 13 wherein each of said first plurality of electrical connectors comprises a three-row connector, said plurality of flat cables comprising three cables, two of said cables being substantially identical and having one straight side and one generally sinuous side to define said wide and narrow cable portions, the third one of said cables having a repetitive hour-glass configuration with both sides thereof generally sinuous.
17. A harness as set forth in claim 13 wherein said conductors in said cables have enlarged contact pads in said wide portions, electrical contact terminals crimped onto said contact pads, said terminals being disposed in said second plurality of multi-row electrical connectors.
18. An electrical harness for electrically connecting the corresponding terminal positions of a first plurality of two-row electrical connectors, said harness comprising:
19. A harness as set forth in claim 18 wherein said terminal positions in said first and second plurality of two-row electrical connectors contain first and second contact terminals, said second contact terminals being crimped onto said conductors and being mateable with said first contact terminals.
20. A harness as set forth in claim 19 wherein said cables are transversely folded at each of said wide cable portions excepting at said ends of said cables whereby said cables are generally cycloidal with said second connectors located at the cusps thereof.
Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE
This invention is directed to an improved electrical harness for forming electrical connections among the corresponding terminal positions of the plurality of groups of terminal positions. In the background information presented immediately below, it is assumed that each terminal position is in the form of a contact terminal mounted in a multi-row electrical connector, the connector itself constituting a group of terminal positions. It is explained in the body of this specification, however, that the terms "terminal position" and "groups of terminal positions" are not to be narrowly construed but contemplate, for example, the ends of the individual conductors on a double sided printed circuit board.
In the manufacture of certain types of electrical apparatus, such as computers and computer terminal units, it is frequently necessary to connect to each other the corresponding positions of several substantially identical multi-row electrical connectors. The requirement for electrical connections of this type arises in electrical equipment having multiple circuit units disposed adjacent to each other. The electrical connections among the corresponding positions of the several connectors can be made by jumper leads extending between the corresponding positions of the several connectors. If jumper leads are used, the end or first and last connectors of the series will have only one wire extending from each position but the intermediate connectors must have two wires extending from each position, one wire extending from the preceding connector into the position and the other wire extending from the position to the next succeeding connector of the series. These intermediate connectors would thus require a special design of contact terminals which are adapted to receive two wires. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,173,737 and 3,074,044 show terminals which can be used for such series connections. This jumper lead method is relatively expensive and requires a bulky space-consuming harness.
We have devised a harness for commonly connecting the positions in two-row or three-row connectors which is comprised of flat conductor cables having a configuration such that the cables can be interfitted with each other to form the harness. The cables are also adapted to have attached thereto terminals for each of the positions in several complementary connectors which can be mated with the multi-row connectors that are to be connected to each other to form the required series connection.
Several advantages are realized by the use of the harness of the instant invention such as reduced manufacturing and installation costs, a substantial reduction in the bulk of the harness as compared with conventional wire harnesses, and a virtual elimination of the possibility of making erroneous or improper connections between the several connectors in the series which are to be connected.
It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide an improved electrical harness for commonly connecting the corresponding positions of a plurality of multi-row electrical connectors. A further object is to provide a harness composed of flexible flat cables each of which contains a plurality of conductors. A still further object is to provide a harness which can be inexpensively manufactured and which can be assembled to a group of electrical connectors in a minimum of time. A further object is to provide a harness which substantially eliminates the possibility of improper or erroneous wiring between a group of two-row electrical connectors.
These and other objects of the invention are achieved in a preferred embodiment thereof which is described above in the foregoing abstract, which is described in detail below, and which is shown in the accompanying drawing in which:
FIG. 1 is a side view of a group of printed circuit boards having connectors on corresponding sides thereof, the individual positions of the printed circuit board connectors being commonly connected by a harness in accordance with the invention.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an electrical harness in accordance with the invention.
FIG. 3 is a plan view of a flexible flat cable of the type used in a harness in accordance with the invention.
FIG. 3A is a view taken along the lines 3--3 of FIG. 3.
FIG. 4 is a plan view of the cable of FIG. 3 illustrating the manner in which electrical terminals are crimped onto the conductors of the cable.
FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating the orientation of two cables of the type shown in FIG. 4 relative to each other in a harness in accordance with the invention.
FIG. 6 is a perspective exploded view showing two flat cables interfitted with each other with the terminals on the cables in alignment with harness connectors.
FIG. 7 is a view of an alternative form of cable having shielding material thereon.
FIG. 8 is a plan view of three flat cables used to form a harness to connect a plurality of three-row electrical connectors, this harness being an alternative embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 9 is a semi-diagramatic view illustrating the manner of positioning the three flat cables of FIG. 8 relative to each other to form a three-row commoning harness in accordance with the invention.
FIG. 10 is a side view showing a three-row harness having its connectors mated with three-row connectors on printed circuit boards.
FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a further embodiment of an electrical harness in accordance with the invention which is adapted to connect conductors on both sides of a plurality of printed circuit boards. FIG. 12 is a sectional view taken along the lines 12--12 of FIG. 11.
FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a further embodiment which does not require a connector housing on the harness.
FIG. 14 is a view taken along the lines 14--14 of FIG. 13 but showing one cable of the harness in the printed circuit board connector and showing another cable exploded from the printed circuit board connector.
FIG. 15 and FIG. 16 show embodiments of the invention in which the electrical positions which are to be commonly connected are in the form of contact pins.
The principles of the instant invention can be applied to harnesses for commonly connecting the corresponding positions of a plurality of two-row or three-row connectors. A two-row commoning harness in accordance with the invention will first be described with reference to FIGS. 1-7 and a three-row harness described with reference to FIGS. 8-10.
Referring now to FIG. 1, it is frequently necessary to commonly connect (i.e., to connect in series with each other) the corresponding positions or terminals in a plurality of two-row connectors 2 which are mounted on the sides of printed circuit boards of other circuit supporting panels 4. It will be understood that circuit devices, and/or other electrical devices will be mounted on printed circuit boards 4 and that the conductors on the boards extend to the electrical contact terminals in the connectors 2. The necessity for commonly connecting the individual positions in the several two-row printed circuit board connectors 2 arises in the manufacture of computers and related equipment such as computer terminal units, having large numbers of similar printed circuit boards which must be interconnected. Quite frequently, a large number of printed circuit boards 4 may be contained in the electrical equipment and harnessing as well as other costs must be maintained at a minimum level.
The corresponding positions of the printed circuit board connectors 2 are commonly connected in accordance with the invention by a harness 3 having a plurality of harness connectors 36 thereon which are adapted to be mated with the printed circuit board connectors 2. The number of harness connectors 36 on the harness 3 is equal to the number of printed circuit boards 2 and there is no limit to the number of printed circuit boards which can be interconnected in accordance with the invention.
Referring now to FIG. 3, the harness 3 is comprised of two identical flat conductor cables 6 each of which has a plurality of parallel conductors therein generally identified by the reference numeral 8 and specifically identified as 8-1, 8-2, 8-3, - - - 8-22. The number of conductors in a cable for a specific harnessing situation is equal to the number of positions in each row of the two-row printed circuit board connectors 2 for reasons which will become apparent as this description proceeds.
Cable 6 may be of the commonly known type of flat conductor cable in which the individual conductors 8 are contained in plastic film material 9 such as Mylar (polyethyleneterephthalate). Cable 6 has one side edge 10 which is straight in the direction of the length of the cable while the opposite side edge has alternate wide and narrow portions 16, 18, the wide portions 16 having a width which is substantially twice that of the narrow portions 18. The end portions 12, 18 of the cable are wide as shown and the cable may be of any required length as indicated by the break in the cable length in FIG. 3. The side portions 20 between adjacent wide and narrow cable portions extend sharply obliquely relative to the length of the cable so that the upper edge, as viewed in FIG. 3, is generally sinuous.
The conductors 8 are relatively thin or narrow between adjacent wide cable portions but are enlarged at the cable ends 12, 14 and in the intermediate wide portions as shown at 24. These enlarged conductor portions 12, 14, 24 serving as pads for the reception of electrical contact terminals 26.
The terminals 26 in the disclosed embodiment ate contact pins, each terminal having a contact tip portion 28, an intermediate channel-shaped body portion 30 and a crimp portion 32 which is crimped onto one of the terminal pad portions of one of the conductors. The crimped connection 32 may advantageously be of the type shown in the U.S. Pat. No. 3,395,381 to Huffnagle, although other methods of connecting the terminals to the terminal pads of the cable may be used if desired. It should also be noted that a retention lance 31 is struck from the web of the intermediate body portion of each terminal to retain the terminal in the cavity of a housing as will be described below.
As shown in FIG. 4, the terminals crimped onto the intermediate wide cable portions 16 and the terminals crimped onto the righthand end 14 of the cable are oriented such that they are directed rightwardly as viewed in FIG. 4 while the terminals on the lefthand end 12 of the cable are oriented such that they are directed leftwardly. The reason for this arrangement of the terminals on the cable will be explained below. It will also be apparent from FIG. 4 that the terminals crimped onto the intermediate wide portions 16 of the cable are crimped to the lefthand side of the wide portion so that the cable can be folded along an imaginary fold line shown at 34 which extends across the wide cable portion 16 mid-way between the ends of the wide portion.
A harness in accordance with the invention is assembled by preparing two cables as shown in FIG. 4 and inserting each row of electrical terminals 26 of each cable into one of the two rows 38, 40 of the harness connectors 36. Thus the cable 6-1 in FIG. 5, after folding along the fold line 34, is assembled to the upper rows 38 of each of three cable connectors 36. The second cable 6-2 is reversed relative to the cable 6-1 and the rows of terminals 26 on this cable are inserted into the lower rows 40 of the harness connectors 36. The two cables can be so assembled to the harness connectors by virtue of the fact that their sinuous side edges are opposed to each other and overlap between adjacent harness connectors 36. Also, terminals in corresponding positions along the length of the cable are crimped into the same conductor. For example, it will thus be apparent from FIG. 6 that the terminal on the extreme right on the upper end of cable 6-1, the terminal on the extreme right of the intermediate fold of cable 6-1, and the terminal on the extreme right of the lower end of the cable are all crimped onto conductor 8-22.
Since the terminals 26 are spaced apart by distances corresponding to the spacing between adjacent positions or cavities in the rows 38, 40 of the harness connectors 36 it is virtually impossible for a technician to make a mistake in assembling the cables 6-1, 6-2 to the harness connectors 36 and the harness connectors 2 with the assurance that the corresponding positions of these printed circuit board connectors will be commonly connected.
Aside from the obvious advantage of elimination of wiring errors as explained above, the invention offers several other advantages over the use of conventional wire harnesses. As pointed out previously, there is a substantial reduction in the bulk of the cables by virtue of the space saving realized by substituting flat cable for individual wires. The need for a specially designed contact terminal in the intermediate printed circuit board connectors 2 (one capable of accepting two contact terminals at its rearward end is eliminated by virtue of the fact that the cable is folded at each intermediate wide portion 16 and all of the terminals in the harness can be identical to each other. Finally, the terminals 26 can be crimped onto the terminal pads of the terminals by an automatic terminal applying machine for flat cable of the type shown in the U.S. Pat. No. 3,553,836 to Cootes.
Under some circumstances, it may be desirable to provide continuous shielding on the individual cables 6 and/or to provide impedence matching shielding on these cables. As shown in FIG. 7, a shielded cable 48 can be utilized where needed, this cable being substantially similar to the cable 6 but having a layer 42 of copper shielding on one side of the cable. This shielding layer is separated from the conductors by a layer of plastic film and is in turn encased in an additional layer of film.
In order to permit crimping of the terminals 26 onto the terminal pads of the cable, 48 the shielding does not extend continuously over one side of the cable but windows are provided at the cable ends 44 and at the intermediate wide cable portions as shown at 46. In the embodiment of FIG. 7, the shielding does extend to the ends of the cable between two of the terminal pads as shown at 50 and the shielding is continuous as shown at 52 through the wide cable portions. Where the shielding is made continuous as in FIG. 7, one or two conductors in the cable may be sacrificed, the conductors which would ordinarily be beneath the shielding 50 and 52 in FIG. 7.
The provision of a shielding layer 52 on the cable in combination with the unshielded cable portions 42, 46 to permit crimping of terminals into the terminal pads of conductors is in accordance with the general teachings of application Ser. No. 57,244. Impedence matching can be achieved if shielding material is provided along defined paths which extend parallel to the cable conductors as disclosed and claimed in application Ser. No. 99,194. Shielding may, if desired, be provided on any harness in accordance with the invention but is shown only in FIG. 7 in the interest of clarity as regards other features of the invention.
Turning now to FIGS. 8-10, the principles of the invention can also be applied to the manufacture of a harness 66 for commonly connecting the corresponding positions of three-row connectors 2' which are mounted on the sides of printed circuit boards 4' in the manner previously described with reference to FIG. 1. It will be understood that the connectors 2' and the connectors 36', which are mateable with the connectors 2', are substantially similar to the previously described connectors 2 and 36 except that the connectors of FIG. 10 have three parallel rows of positions rather than two rows.
The flat cables used for the manufacture of the harness 66 as shown in FIG. 8 comprise two identical cables 52-1 and 52-2 which have one generally sinuous side and one straight side. These sinuous sides of the cables 52-1, 52-2 define wide cable portions 60 at the cable ends, intermediate wide cable portions 62, and intermediate narrow cable portions 64. The narrow cable portions 64 are, in this instance, about one-third of the width of the side cable portion 60, 62. The conductors in the cables 52-1, 52-2 have terminal portions located at spaced intervals on the cable ends and in the wide cable portions 62. The conductors converge towards the narrow cable portions and are necessarily close together in these narrow cable portions.
The flat cable 50 has a sinuous edges on both of its sides and is symmetrical about its axial center line in the manner of a repetitive hour-glass. The sinuous sides of the cable 40 thus define wide cable portions 54 at the cable ends, intermediate wide cable portions 56, and intermediate narrow cable portions 48 which, like the narrow cable portions 64, have a width of about one-third of the side cable portions.
In preparing or assembling the harness 66, terminals as previously described are crimped onto the conductors in the wide cable portions 60, 62 of the cables 52-1 and 52-2 and the side cable portions 54, 56 of the cable 50. The wide portions of each cable are then folded and the cables 52-1, 52-2 are positioned in overlapping relationship to each other and to the cable 50 as shown in FIG. 9. It should be explained that FIG. 9 is a semi-schematic view which is intended to show the relationship of the cables to each other in the finished harness and it's not to be assumed that the cable would actually be assembled by locating the cables as disclosed in FIG. 9 prior to insertion of the terminals into the three-row housings 36'.
The terminals which have been crimped onto the wide cable parts of the cables 52-1, 52-2, and 50 are inserted into the housings 36' as previously described with reference to the embodiment of FIGS. 1-8. In the finished harness then, the cable 52-1 will extend from the upper row of the upper most complementary housing 36' to the upper row of the intermediate housing 36' thence to the upper row or the lower most housing 36'. The cables 52-2 and 50 will similarly extend between the center and lower most rows of the three complementary housings 36' and of necessity, each cable will be required to cross the other two cables between each two adjacent housings 36'. It should be noted that while the cable 50 is between the cables 52-1 and 52-2 in the disclosed embodiment, it is also possible to arrange the cable on one side of the harness or the other side.
FIGS. 11 and 12 show a further embodiment of the invention which is adapted to commonly connect the corresponding conductors 72, 72' on the upper and lower sides of a plurality of printed circuit boards 70. Under some circumstances, such conductors 72, 72' are provided on both sides of a printed circuit board and known types of printed circuit board edge connectors, as described below, are available for forming electrical connections to the conductors.
The harness 68 of this embodiment comprises two flat conductor cables 76, 78 which may be substantially identical to the cables shown in FIGS. 1-7. Printed circuit board edge connectors 74 are provided on the harness at the ends thereof and intermediate the ends of the harness at the wide cable portions as shown in FIG. 12. Each of these printed circuit board edge connectors 74 comprises a generally rectangular housing 80 having an elongated trough-like opening 82 on one side thereof for reception of edge portions of printed circuit board 70. A plurality of cavities 81 extend through the housing and open through this trough-like opening, these cavities being arranged in two parallel rows and being spaced apart by distances corresponding to the spacing between the conductors 72, 72'.
Each of the terminals 84 comprises an intermediate generally U-shaped body portion 86 having a tongue extending from its forward end which is reversely bent to define a contact spring 88 which extends rearwardly and which is adapted to be resiliently deflected when the printed circuit board 70 is inserted into the opening 82. As shown in FIG. 12, the terminals in the lower row are reversed relative to the terminals of the upper row so that the contact springs are opposed to each other. Advantageously, a stop 90 is formed integrally with the body portion 86 of each terminal to prevent over-stressing of the contact spring 88.
A crimp portion 94 is provided on the rearward end of each terminal to connect it to one of the conductors of one of the cables. Each terminal also is provided with a stop 92 which limits the movement of the terminal through the cavity 81 into which it is inserted. It will be apparent from FIG. 12 that the end portions of each of the cables 76, 78 extends into the lefthand side of the housing 80 and this side of the housing must therefore, have recesses 83 extending for the full length of the housing to receive the cable ends. In other words, the cavities do not extend completely through the housings but extend only between the recess 83 in the lefthand side of the housing and the opening 82 in the righthand side of the housing. The two rows of terminals are separated by the barrier 97 which extends medially between the recesses 83.
The harness 68 is assembled in the same manner as the harness of the embodiment of FIGS. 1-7. The terminals are applied to the wide portions of the cables 76, 78 and each row of terminals is inserted into one row of cavities in one of the connectors 74. When these connectors are assembled to the printed circuit boards 70 the corresponding conductors (i.e., the positions) of the several printed circuit boards are commonly connected.
FIGS. 13 and 14 show an embodiment of the invention which does not require harness connectors corresponding to the connectors 74 of FIG. 12 and 36 of FIG. 1. The printed circuit board connector 100 of this embodiment is mounted on the side of the printed circuit board 96 which has conductors 98 extending to the same side. As will be apparent from the description presented below, the conductors may be limited to only one side of the board or may be provided on both sides. The connector 100 comprises a generally rectangular housing 102 having two rows of cavities extending therethrough. In the embodiment shown, a front cover 106 is cemented or otherwise secured to the righthand side of the housing 102 and the terminals 110 are contained in the cavities with their ends disposed against the internal surface of cover 106. Each terminal has a contact tab 112 which projects through an opening in the cover 106 and is bent downwardly towards the printed circuit board 98. These tabs may be soldered or otherwise secured to conductors on either surface of the board as is apparent from FIG. 14. The tabs 112' which extend from the terminals 110' in the lower row of cavities are, of course, shorter than the tabs 112 of the terminals in the upper row.
The terminals 110 are in the form of rectangular socket contacts adapted to receive a complementary pin 122. These terminals may, for example, be of the type shown in U.S. Pat. Re 26,837 and the complementary terminals 122 are dimensioned to enter the terminals as disclosed in that patent.
The complementary terminals 114 have intermediate body portions 116 and are crimped at 118 to the conductors of the cables. A lance 120 is struck from the body portion 116 of each terminal and each cavity is provided with a forwardly or rightwardly facing shoulder 124 for retention purposes as explained below. As with the previous embodiment, the walls between adjacent cavities do not extend to the lefthand side of the housing in order to permit insertion of the end portion of each cable.
As is apparent from FIG. 13, the terminals 114 are crimped onto the conductors of the cables and each row of terminals is inserted into one row of cavities in one of the connector housings 100. The general arrangement is as described with reference to FIG. 1. When a row of terminals is inserted into a row of cavities in a housing, the lances 120 of the terminals will bias the bodies of the terminals upwardly as viewed in the drawing so that the lefthand ends of the body portions will lodge against the shoulders 124 to retain the cables in the housings. The advantage of the arrangement shown in FIGS. 13 and 14 is that the added expense of the harness connectors is avoided. It should be mentioned that while this embodiment is shown as a two cable harness for connecting two-row printed circuit board connectors, the principles of this embodiment can also be implied to three-row harnesses as disclosed in FIGS. 8-10.
Since the harness of FIG. 13 does not include harness connectors (corresponding to the connectors 36 of FIG. 1) it may prove desirable to secure the cables of the FIG. 13 embodiment to each other in some other manner. For example, the overlapping portions of the cables can be secured to each other by a suitable adhesive or a non-conductive fastener or clip.
In the appended claims, the term "positions" is used in a generic sense to denote either the ends of the conductors or the terminals in the connectors on the printed circuit boards. Thus the ends of the conductors 72 of the embodiment of FIG. 11 constitute terminal positions and each of the printed circuit boards 70 has a group of terminal positions arranged in two parallel rows, that is on the upper and lower sides of the board. In the other embodiments, the printed circuit board connectors each comprise a group of terminal positions.
FIG. 15 shows an embodiment of the invention in which the individual positions on the printed circuit boards 126 are in the form of contact pins 128 soldered at 130 to the conductors on the boards. The conductors may be on either side of the board. The harness 132 is made up of two flat cables 134, 136 of the type shown in FIG. 3 and has receptacles 140 crimped at 138 onto the conductors at the ends of the cables and at the intermediate wide cable portions. The terminals 140 are contained in the cavities 141 of a two-row electrical connector housing 142 which has openings 146 in its sides which communicate with the cavities 141. These openings provide downwardly facing shoulders 145 which are engaged by lances 144 integral with the receptacles 140 to retain the receptacles in the housings. To commonly connect the corresponding pins 128 of the several groups of pins in the printed circuit boards 126, the connectors are merely mounted on the pins 128.
In FIG. 15, the three printed circuit boards are shown as extending parallel to each other with their edges offset from each other. In accordance with this embodiment, the printed circuit boards may also be co-planar as shown at 126' in FIG. 16. For that matter, the several groups of pins may be mounted on a common panel-like member as in a conventional back-plane wiring system.
Again, while FIGS. 15 and 16 show two-row connectors intended to be coupled to groups of pins each of which comprises two-rows, the principles can also be applied to three-row groups of pins if three-row connectors and three cables are used in the harness as previously described.
While the disclosed embodiments of the invention have terminals crimped onto all of the conductors 8 in the wide cable portions 12, 14, 16 the terminals can be omitted in selected conductors, or selected rows of terminals can be omitted from one or both of the cables if selective commoning of the terminal positions in the printed circuit board connectors is desired.
Changes in construction will occur to those skilled in the art and various apparently different modifications and embodiments may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. The matter set forth in the foregoing description and accompanying drawings is offered by way of illustration only.
This invention is directed to an improved electrical harness for forming electrical connections among the corresponding terminal positions of the plurality of groups of terminal positions. In the background information presented immediately below, it is assumed that each terminal position is in the form of a contact terminal mounted in a multi-row electrical connector, the connector itself constituting a group of terminal positions. It is explained in the body of this specification, however, that the terms "terminal position" and "groups of terminal positions" are not to be narrowly construed but contemplate, for example, the ends of the individual conductors on a double sided printed circuit board.
In the manufacture of certain types of electrical apparatus, such as computers and computer terminal units, it is frequently necessary to connect to each other the corresponding positions of several substantially identical multi-row electrical connectors. The requirement for electrical connections of this type arises in electrical equipment having multiple circuit units disposed adjacent to each other. The electrical connections among the corresponding positions of the several connectors can be made by jumper leads extending between the corresponding positions of the several connectors. If jumper leads are used, the end or first and last connectors of the series will have only one wire extending from each position but the intermediate connectors must have two wires extending from each position, one wire extending from the preceding connector into the position and the other wire extending from the position to the next succeeding connector of the series. These intermediate connectors would thus require a special design of contact terminals which are adapted to receive two wires. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,173,737 and 3,074,044 show terminals which can be used for such series connections. This jumper lead method is relatively expensive and requires a bulky space-consuming harness.
We have devised a harness for commonly connecting the positions in two-row or three-row connectors which is comprised of flat conductor cables having a configuration such that the cables can be interfitted with each other to form the harness. The cables are also adapted to have attached thereto terminals for each of the positions in several complementary connectors which can be mated with the multi-row connectors that are to be connected to each other to form the required series connection.
Several advantages are realized by the use of the harness of the instant invention such as reduced manufacturing and installation costs, a substantial reduction in the bulk of the harness as compared with conventional wire harnesses, and a virtual elimination of the possibility of making erroneous or improper connections between the several connectors in the series which are to be connected.
It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide an improved electrical harness for commonly connecting the corresponding positions of a plurality of multi-row electrical connectors. A further object is to provide a harness composed of flexible flat cables each of which contains a plurality of conductors. A still further object is to provide a harness which can be inexpensively manufactured and which can be assembled to a group of electrical connectors in a minimum of time. A further object is to provide a harness which substantially eliminates the possibility of improper or erroneous wiring between a group of two-row electrical connectors.
These and other objects of the invention are achieved in a preferred embodiment thereof which is described above in the foregoing abstract, which is described in detail below, and which is shown in the accompanying drawing in which:
FIG. 1 is a side view of a group of printed circuit boards having connectors on corresponding sides thereof, the individual positions of the printed circuit board connectors being commonly connected by a harness in accordance with the invention.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an electrical harness in accordance with the invention.
FIG. 3 is a plan view of a flexible flat cable of the type used in a harness in accordance with the invention.
FIG. 3A is a view taken along the lines 3--3 of FIG. 3.
FIG. 4 is a plan view of the cable of FIG. 3 illustrating the manner in which electrical terminals are crimped onto the conductors of the cable.
FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating the orientation of two cables of the type shown in FIG. 4 relative to each other in a harness in accordance with the invention.
FIG. 6 is a perspective exploded view showing two flat cables interfitted with each other with the terminals on the cables in alignment with harness connectors.
FIG. 7 is a view of an alternative form of cable having shielding material thereon.
FIG. 8 is a plan view of three flat cables used to form a harness to connect a plurality of three-row electrical connectors, this harness being an alternative embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 9 is a semi-diagramatic view illustrating the manner of positioning the three flat cables of FIG. 8 relative to each other to form a three-row commoning harness in accordance with the invention.
FIG. 10 is a side view showing a three-row harness having its connectors mated with three-row connectors on printed circuit boards.
FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a further embodiment of an electrical harness in accordance with the invention which is adapted to connect conductors on both sides of a plurality of printed circuit boards. FIG. 12 is a sectional view taken along the lines 12--12 of FIG. 11.
FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a further embodiment which does not require a connector housing on the harness.
FIG. 14 is a view taken along the lines 14--14 of FIG. 13 but showing one cable of the harness in the printed circuit board connector and showing another cable exploded from the printed circuit board connector.
FIG. 15 and FIG. 16 show embodiments of the invention in which the electrical positions which are to be commonly connected are in the form of contact pins.
The principles of the instant invention can be applied to harnesses for commonly connecting the corresponding positions of a plurality of two-row or three-row connectors. A two-row commoning harness in accordance with the invention will first be described with reference to FIGS. 1-7 and a three-row harness described with reference to FIGS. 8-10.
Referring now to FIG. 1, it is frequently necessary to commonly connect (i.e., to connect in series with each other) the corresponding positions or terminals in a plurality of two-row connectors 2 which are mounted on the sides of printed circuit boards of other circuit supporting panels 4. It will be understood that circuit devices, and/or other electrical devices will be mounted on printed circuit boards 4 and that the conductors on the boards extend to the electrical contact terminals in the connectors 2. The necessity for commonly connecting the individual positions in the several two-row printed circuit board connectors 2 arises in the manufacture of computers and related equipment such as computer terminal units, having large numbers of similar printed circuit boards which must be interconnected. Quite frequently, a large number of printed circuit boards 4 may be contained in the electrical equipment and harnessing as well as other costs must be maintained at a minimum level.
The corresponding positions of the printed circuit board connectors 2 are commonly connected in accordance with the invention by a harness 3 having a plurality of harness connectors 36 thereon which are adapted to be mated with the printed circuit board connectors 2. The number of harness connectors 36 on the harness 3 is equal to the number of printed circuit boards 2 and there is no limit to the number of printed circuit boards which can be interconnected in accordance with the invention.
Referring now to FIG. 3, the harness 3 is comprised of two identical flat conductor cables 6 each of which has a plurality of parallel conductors therein generally identified by the reference numeral 8 and specifically identified as 8-1, 8-2, 8-3, - - - 8-22. The number of conductors in a cable for a specific harnessing situation is equal to the number of positions in each row of the two-row printed circuit board connectors 2 for reasons which will become apparent as this description proceeds.
Cable 6 may be of the commonly known type of flat conductor cable in which the individual conductors 8 are contained in plastic film material 9 such as Mylar (polyethyleneterephthalate). Cable 6 has one side edge 10 which is straight in the direction of the length of the cable while the opposite side edge has alternate wide and narrow portions 16, 18, the wide portions 16 having a width which is substantially twice that of the narrow portions 18. The end portions 12, 18 of the cable are wide as shown and the cable may be of any required length as indicated by the break in the cable length in FIG. 3. The side portions 20 between adjacent wide and narrow cable portions extend sharply obliquely relative to the length of the cable so that the upper edge, as viewed in FIG. 3, is generally sinuous.
The conductors 8 are relatively thin or narrow between adjacent wide cable portions but are enlarged at the cable ends 12, 14 and in the intermediate wide portions as shown at 24. These enlarged conductor portions 12, 14, 24 serving as pads for the reception of electrical contact terminals 26.
The terminals 26 in the disclosed embodiment ate contact pins, each terminal having a contact tip portion 28, an intermediate channel-shaped body portion 30 and a crimp portion 32 which is crimped onto one of the terminal pad portions of one of the conductors. The crimped connection 32 may advantageously be of the type shown in the U.S. Pat. No. 3,395,381 to Huffnagle, although other methods of connecting the terminals to the terminal pads of the cable may be used if desired. It should also be noted that a retention lance 31 is struck from the web of the intermediate body portion of each terminal to retain the terminal in the cavity of a housing as will be described below.
As shown in FIG. 4, the terminals crimped onto the intermediate wide cable portions 16 and the terminals crimped onto the righthand end 14 of the cable are oriented such that they are directed rightwardly as viewed in FIG. 4 while the terminals on the lefthand end 12 of the cable are oriented such that they are directed leftwardly. The reason for this arrangement of the terminals on the cable will be explained below. It will also be apparent from FIG. 4 that the terminals crimped onto the intermediate wide portions 16 of the cable are crimped to the lefthand side of the wide portion so that the cable can be folded along an imaginary fold line shown at 34 which extends across the wide cable portion 16 mid-way between the ends of the wide portion.
A harness in accordance with the invention is assembled by preparing two cables as shown in FIG. 4 and inserting each row of electrical terminals 26 of each cable into one of the two rows 38, 40 of the harness connectors 36. Thus the cable 6-1 in FIG. 5, after folding along the fold line 34, is assembled to the upper rows 38 of each of three cable connectors 36. The second cable 6-2 is reversed relative to the cable 6-1 and the rows of terminals 26 on this cable are inserted into the lower rows 40 of the harness connectors 36. The two cables can be so assembled to the harness connectors by virtue of the fact that their sinuous side edges are opposed to each other and overlap between adjacent harness connectors 36. Also, terminals in corresponding positions along the length of the cable are crimped into the same conductor. For example, it will thus be apparent from FIG. 6 that the terminal on the extreme right on the upper end of cable 6-1, the terminal on the extreme right of the intermediate fold of cable 6-1, and the terminal on the extreme right of the lower end of the cable are all crimped onto conductor 8-22.
Since the terminals 26 are spaced apart by distances corresponding to the spacing between adjacent positions or cavities in the rows 38, 40 of the harness connectors 36 it is virtually impossible for a technician to make a mistake in assembling the cables 6-1, 6-2 to the harness connectors 36 and the harness connectors 2 with the assurance that the corresponding positions of these printed circuit board connectors will be commonly connected.
Aside from the obvious advantage of elimination of wiring errors as explained above, the invention offers several other advantages over the use of conventional wire harnesses. As pointed out previously, there is a substantial reduction in the bulk of the cables by virtue of the space saving realized by substituting flat cable for individual wires. The need for a specially designed contact terminal in the intermediate printed circuit board connectors 2 (one capable of accepting two contact terminals at its rearward end is eliminated by virtue of the fact that the cable is folded at each intermediate wide portion 16 and all of the terminals in the harness can be identical to each other. Finally, the terminals 26 can be crimped onto the terminal pads of the terminals by an automatic terminal applying machine for flat cable of the type shown in the U.S. Pat. No. 3,553,836 to Cootes.
Under some circumstances, it may be desirable to provide continuous shielding on the individual cables 6 and/or to provide impedence matching shielding on these cables. As shown in FIG. 7, a shielded cable 48 can be utilized where needed, this cable being substantially similar to the cable 6 but having a layer 42 of copper shielding on one side of the cable. This shielding layer is separated from the conductors by a layer of plastic film and is in turn encased in an additional layer of film.
In order to permit crimping of the terminals 26 onto the terminal pads of the cable, 48 the shielding does not extend continuously over one side of the cable but windows are provided at the cable ends 44 and at the intermediate wide cable portions as shown at 46. In the embodiment of FIG. 7, the shielding does extend to the ends of the cable between two of the terminal pads as shown at 50 and the shielding is continuous as shown at 52 through the wide cable portions. Where the shielding is made continuous as in FIG. 7, one or two conductors in the cable may be sacrificed, the conductors which would ordinarily be beneath the shielding 50 and 52 in FIG. 7.
The provision of a shielding layer 52 on the cable in combination with the unshielded cable portions 42, 46 to permit crimping of terminals into the terminal pads of conductors is in accordance with the general teachings of application Ser. No. 57,244. Impedence matching can be achieved if shielding material is provided along defined paths which extend parallel to the cable conductors as disclosed and claimed in application Ser. No. 99,194. Shielding may, if desired, be provided on any harness in accordance with the invention but is shown only in FIG. 7 in the interest of clarity as regards other features of the invention.
Turning now to FIGS. 8-10, the principles of the invention can also be applied to the manufacture of a harness 66 for commonly connecting the corresponding positions of three-row connectors 2' which are mounted on the sides of printed circuit boards 4' in the manner previously described with reference to FIG. 1. It will be understood that the connectors 2' and the connectors 36', which are mateable with the connectors 2', are substantially similar to the previously described connectors 2 and 36 except that the connectors of FIG. 10 have three parallel rows of positions rather than two rows.
The flat cables used for the manufacture of the harness 66 as shown in FIG. 8 comprise two identical cables 52-1 and 52-2 which have one generally sinuous side and one straight side. These sinuous sides of the cables 52-1, 52-2 define wide cable portions 60 at the cable ends, intermediate wide cable portions 62, and intermediate narrow cable portions 64. The narrow cable portions 64 are, in this instance, about one-third of the width of the side cable portion 60, 62. The conductors in the cables 52-1, 52-2 have terminal portions located at spaced intervals on the cable ends and in the wide cable portions 62. The conductors converge towards the narrow cable portions and are necessarily close together in these narrow cable portions.
The flat cable 50 has a sinuous edges on both of its sides and is symmetrical about its axial center line in the manner of a repetitive hour-glass. The sinuous sides of the cable 40 thus define wide cable portions 54 at the cable ends, intermediate wide cable portions 56, and intermediate narrow cable portions 48 which, like the narrow cable portions 64, have a width of about one-third of the side cable portions.
In preparing or assembling the harness 66, terminals as previously described are crimped onto the conductors in the wide cable portions 60, 62 of the cables 52-1 and 52-2 and the side cable portions 54, 56 of the cable 50. The wide portions of each cable are then folded and the cables 52-1, 52-2 are positioned in overlapping relationship to each other and to the cable 50 as shown in FIG. 9. It should be explained that FIG. 9 is a semi-schematic view which is intended to show the relationship of the cables to each other in the finished harness and it's not to be assumed that the cable would actually be assembled by locating the cables as disclosed in FIG. 9 prior to insertion of the terminals into the three-row housings 36'.
The terminals which have been crimped onto the wide cable parts of the cables 52-1, 52-2, and 50 are inserted into the housings 36' as previously described with reference to the embodiment of FIGS. 1-8. In the finished harness then, the cable 52-1 will extend from the upper row of the upper most complementary housing 36' to the upper row of the intermediate housing 36' thence to the upper row or the lower most housing 36'. The cables 52-2 and 50 will similarly extend between the center and lower most rows of the three complementary housings 36' and of necessity, each cable will be required to cross the other two cables between each two adjacent housings 36'. It should be noted that while the cable 50 is between the cables 52-1 and 52-2 in the disclosed embodiment, it is also possible to arrange the cable on one side of the harness or the other side.
FIGS. 11 and 12 show a further embodiment of the invention which is adapted to commonly connect the corresponding conductors 72, 72' on the upper and lower sides of a plurality of printed circuit boards 70. Under some circumstances, such conductors 72, 72' are provided on both sides of a printed circuit board and known types of printed circuit board edge connectors, as described below, are available for forming electrical connections to the conductors.
The harness 68 of this embodiment comprises two flat conductor cables 76, 78 which may be substantially identical to the cables shown in FIGS. 1-7. Printed circuit board edge connectors 74 are provided on the harness at the ends thereof and intermediate the ends of the harness at the wide cable portions as shown in FIG. 12. Each of these printed circuit board edge connectors 74 comprises a generally rectangular housing 80 having an elongated trough-like opening 82 on one side thereof for reception of edge portions of printed circuit board 70. A plurality of cavities 81 extend through the housing and open through this trough-like opening, these cavities being arranged in two parallel rows and being spaced apart by distances corresponding to the spacing between the conductors 72, 72'.
Each of the terminals 84 comprises an intermediate generally U-shaped body portion 86 having a tongue extending from its forward end which is reversely bent to define a contact spring 88 which extends rearwardly and which is adapted to be resiliently deflected when the printed circuit board 70 is inserted into the opening 82. As shown in FIG. 12, the terminals in the lower row are reversed relative to the terminals of the upper row so that the contact springs are opposed to each other. Advantageously, a stop 90 is formed integrally with the body portion 86 of each terminal to prevent over-stressing of the contact spring 88.
A crimp portion 94 is provided on the rearward end of each terminal to connect it to one of the conductors of one of the cables. Each terminal also is provided with a stop 92 which limits the movement of the terminal through the cavity 81 into which it is inserted. It will be apparent from FIG. 12 that the end portions of each of the cables 76, 78 extends into the lefthand side of the housing 80 and this side of the housing must therefore, have recesses 83 extending for the full length of the housing to receive the cable ends. In other words, the cavities do not extend completely through the housings but extend only between the recess 83 in the lefthand side of the housing and the opening 82 in the righthand side of the housing. The two rows of terminals are separated by the barrier 97 which extends medially between the recesses 83.
The harness 68 is assembled in the same manner as the harness of the embodiment of FIGS. 1-7. The terminals are applied to the wide portions of the cables 76, 78 and each row of terminals is inserted into one row of cavities in one of the connectors 74. When these connectors are assembled to the printed circuit boards 70 the corresponding conductors (i.e., the positions) of the several printed circuit boards are commonly connected.
FIGS. 13 and 14 show an embodiment of the invention which does not require harness connectors corresponding to the connectors 74 of FIG. 12 and 36 of FIG. 1. The printed circuit board connector 100 of this embodiment is mounted on the side of the printed circuit board 96 which has conductors 98 extending to the same side. As will be apparent from the description presented below, the conductors may be limited to only one side of the board or may be provided on both sides. The connector 100 comprises a generally rectangular housing 102 having two rows of cavities extending therethrough. In the embodiment shown, a front cover 106 is cemented or otherwise secured to the righthand side of the housing 102 and the terminals 110 are contained in the cavities with their ends disposed against the internal surface of cover 106. Each terminal has a contact tab 112 which projects through an opening in the cover 106 and is bent downwardly towards the printed circuit board 98. These tabs may be soldered or otherwise secured to conductors on either surface of the board as is apparent from FIG. 14. The tabs 112' which extend from the terminals 110' in the lower row of cavities are, of course, shorter than the tabs 112 of the terminals in the upper row.
The terminals 110 are in the form of rectangular socket contacts adapted to receive a complementary pin 122. These terminals may, for example, be of the type shown in U.S. Pat. Re 26,837 and the complementary terminals 122 are dimensioned to enter the terminals as disclosed in that patent.
The complementary terminals 114 have intermediate body portions 116 and are crimped at 118 to the conductors of the cables. A lance 120 is struck from the body portion 116 of each terminal and each cavity is provided with a forwardly or rightwardly facing shoulder 124 for retention purposes as explained below. As with the previous embodiment, the walls between adjacent cavities do not extend to the lefthand side of the housing in order to permit insertion of the end portion of each cable.
As is apparent from FIG. 13, the terminals 114 are crimped onto the conductors of the cables and each row of terminals is inserted into one row of cavities in one of the connector housings 100. The general arrangement is as described with reference to FIG. 1. When a row of terminals is inserted into a row of cavities in a housing, the lances 120 of the terminals will bias the bodies of the terminals upwardly as viewed in the drawing so that the lefthand ends of the body portions will lodge against the shoulders 124 to retain the cables in the housings. The advantage of the arrangement shown in FIGS. 13 and 14 is that the added expense of the harness connectors is avoided. It should be mentioned that while this embodiment is shown as a two cable harness for connecting two-row printed circuit board connectors, the principles of this embodiment can also be implied to three-row harnesses as disclosed in FIGS. 8-10.
Since the harness of FIG. 13 does not include harness connectors (corresponding to the connectors 36 of FIG. 1) it may prove desirable to secure the cables of the FIG. 13 embodiment to each other in some other manner. For example, the overlapping portions of the cables can be secured to each other by a suitable adhesive or a non-conductive fastener or clip.
In the appended claims, the term "positions" is used in a generic sense to denote either the ends of the conductors or the terminals in the connectors on the printed circuit boards. Thus the ends of the conductors 72 of the embodiment of FIG. 11 constitute terminal positions and each of the printed circuit boards 70 has a group of terminal positions arranged in two parallel rows, that is on the upper and lower sides of the board. In the other embodiments, the printed circuit board connectors each comprise a group of terminal positions.
FIG. 15 shows an embodiment of the invention in which the individual positions on the printed circuit boards 126 are in the form of contact pins 128 soldered at 130 to the conductors on the boards. The conductors may be on either side of the board. The harness 132 is made up of two flat cables 134, 136 of the type shown in FIG. 3 and has receptacles 140 crimped at 138 onto the conductors at the ends of the cables and at the intermediate wide cable portions. The terminals 140 are contained in the cavities 141 of a two-row electrical connector housing 142 which has openings 146 in its sides which communicate with the cavities 141. These openings provide downwardly facing shoulders 145 which are engaged by lances 144 integral with the receptacles 140 to retain the receptacles in the housings. To commonly connect the corresponding pins 128 of the several groups of pins in the printed circuit boards 126, the connectors are merely mounted on the pins 128.
In FIG. 15, the three printed circuit boards are shown as extending parallel to each other with their edges offset from each other. In accordance with this embodiment, the printed circuit boards may also be co-planar as shown at 126' in FIG. 16. For that matter, the several groups of pins may be mounted on a common panel-like member as in a conventional back-plane wiring system.
Again, while FIGS. 15 and 16 show two-row connectors intended to be coupled to groups of pins each of which comprises two-rows, the principles can also be applied to three-row groups of pins if three-row connectors and three cables are used in the harness as previously described.
While the disclosed embodiments of the invention have terminals crimped onto all of the conductors 8 in the wide cable portions 12, 14, 16 the terminals can be omitted in selected conductors, or selected rows of terminals can be omitted from one or both of the cables if selective commoning of the terminal positions in the printed circuit board connectors is desired.
Changes in construction will occur to those skilled in the art and various apparently different modifications and embodiments may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. The matter set forth in the foregoing description and accompanying drawings is offered by way of illustration only.