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CN-115088141-B - Linear electrical connector with helically distributed terminals

CN115088141BCN 115088141 BCN115088141 BCN 115088141BCN-115088141-B

Abstract

An electrical pin connector comprising a socket and a plug configured for matable connection, the plug and the socket each comprising a tapered back shell having a surface disposed about a central axis and a plurality of pin receptacles helically disposed on the tapered back shell surface in a parallel curved manner about the central axis for terminating conductors.

Inventors

  • J. Semik

Assignees

  • 赛峰电气元件美国公司
  • 赛峰电气元件美国公司

Dates

Publication Date
20260421
Application Date
20210205
Priority Date
20200206

Claims (11)

  1. 1.A multi-contact electrical connector assembly comprising a female receptacle and a male plug configured for mateable connection, the male plug comprising: a male shell having an inner end and an outer end, A plurality of male concentric nested sleeves having an inboard end and an outboard end, wherein a largest male sleeve is inserted into the male shell such that the outboard ends of the plurality of male concentric nested sleeves are aligned coplanar with each other and with the outboard ends of the male shell, A plurality of axially oriented nested male cone-shaped back shells having an outboard end electrically coupled with an outboard end within each of the plurality of concentric nested sleeves and an inboard end of the male shell, respectively, and The socket includes: A female receptacle housing having an inboard end and an outboard end, A plurality of female concentric nested loops having an inner end and an outer end and nested inside the female receptacle housing such that the outer ends are aligned coplanar with each other and with the outer ends of the female receptacle housing, Wherein each of the plurality of male and female axially oriented nested conical back shells comprises an outer conical back shell having an outer conical back shell surface disposed about a central axis, and a plurality of pin receptacles helically disposed on the outer conical back shell surface in a parallel curved manner about the central axis to terminate conductors to provide a plurality of electrical connections to the assembly from opposite ends on a continuous electrical path.
  2. 2. The multi-contact electrical connector assembly of claim 1, wherein the pin receptacles are arranged in helically curved parallel rows.
  3. 3. The multi-contact electrical connector assembly of claim 2, wherein the male plug comprises axially oriented nested cylindrical sleeves, each sleeve connected to one of a plurality of male tapered back shells, the cylindrical sleeve having a surface that coincides with and abuts the male back shell to which it is connected, and wherein the female receptacle comprises axially oriented nested cylindrical connector shell rings, each sleeve connected to one of a plurality of female tapered back shells, the cylindrical connector shell rings having a surface that coincides with and abuts the female back shell to which it is connected.
  4. 4. The multi-contact electrical connector assembly of claim 3, wherein the cylindrical connector sleeve and the cylindrical connector housing ring each include a plurality of pin holes, and further comprising conductive pins disposed in each of the plurality of pin holes.
  5. 5. The multi-contact electrical connector assembly of claim 4, wherein said pin receptacles are arranged in uniformly spaced longitudinally oriented columns.
  6. 6. The multi-contact electrical connector assembly of claim 5, wherein each of said pin receptacles is in electrical contact with one of said conductive pins through a continuous conductive filament channel disposed on a continuous surface of a pair of female cone back shells and female cylindrical connector shell rings connected to a pair of male cone back shells and cylindrical sleeves.
  7. 7. The multi-contact electrical connector assembly of claim 6, wherein the filament channel comprises a conductive filament.
  8. 8. The multi-contact electrical connector assembly of claim 7, wherein the conductive filaments are secured in the filament channels by a conductive epoxy.
  9. 9. The multi-contact electrical connector assembly of claim 6, wherein the number of pin receptacles is equal to the number of pin holes.
  10. 10. The multi-contact electrical connector assembly of claim 6, wherein said filament passageway extends through said continuous and abutting surfaces of a single layer connected male tapered back shell and male cylindrical sleeve and female tapered back shell and cylindrical connection shell.
  11. 11. A pin-type electrical connector comprising: Male connector half, and Female connector halves; The female connector half having a plurality of axially nested female back shells having a tapered portion with an outer surface disposed about a central axis and a plurality of parallel helically-curved rows of pin receptacles helically distributed about the central axis on the outer surface, a female coupling structure configured for receiving an insert element in the male connector half and having a plurality of conductive pins disposed in the female coupling structure, the female back shells and the female coupling structure including integral electrical pathways between each of the pin receptacles in the female coupling structure and one of the conductive pins, and The male connector half having a plurality of axially nested male back shells comprising an outer male back shell having a tapered portion with an outer surface disposed about a central axis, and a plurality of parallel helically-curved rows of pin receptacles helically distributed about the central axis about the outer surface, a male coupling structure having a plurality of conductive pins disposed on the male coupling structure and configured to be inserted into the female coupling structure to electrically contact the conductive pins in the male coupling structure with the conductive pins in the female coupling structure, the male back shells and male coupling structures including an integral electrical pathway between each of the pin receptacles and one of the conductive pins in the male coupling structure; Wherein each of the pin receptacles in the male back shell has a continuous electrical path to a unique one of the pin receptacles on the female back shell when the male connector halves are inserted into the female coupling structure to electrically contact the conductive pins of each connector half.

Description

Linear electrical connector with helically distributed terminals Cross Reference to Related Applications The application claims the benefit of U.S. non-provisional patent application No.16/783,927 entitled, "LINEAR ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR WITH HELICALLY DISTRIBUTED TERMINATIONS," filed on 6/2/2020, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Statement regarding federally sponsored research or development Is not applicable. Name or both of the co-research agreement Is not applicable. Incorporation by reference of materials submitted on optical discs Is not applicable. Sequence listing Is not applicable. Technical Field The present invention relates generally to electrical conduits, cables and connectors, and more particularly to a multi-contact electrical connector assembly for an interconnection wiring system, and still more particularly to an electrical connector having plug and receptacle contact terminals configured with termination pins helically distributed on tapered surfaces in the plug and receptacle elements. The connector of the present invention is suitable for use in highly confined spaces such as aircraft electrical connector panels, where a large number of cables are gathered to organize and sort by wiring harnesses and other cable organization devices and connected to navigation, communication and electronic systems. Background Vehicles and aircraft systems are often located remotely from power and signal sources, and conductors and cables often pass through structural boundaries, bulkheads, panels, chassis, and walls that separate the vehicle/aircraft primary structure (wing) from the fuselage, the cargo area from the cabin, the cabin from the tail assembly, the power plant from the wing or cockpit, the fuselage from the landing gear, etc. The cable will be used for these purposes before wireless local signaling is fully reliable and fully secure at high rate data transfer. Wiring for cabin systems, environmental control and lighting, avionics, flight control, auxiliary power units and engine-driven alternators, as well as backup power supplies, AC inverters, control systems, servomotors, electro-hydraulic motors and actuators, lights, etc. is typically bundled and organized in a harness assembly and is not often contained in a duct (due to weight limitations). The assembly and its conductors occupy considerable space, particularly at bends, joints and barrier walls. Space constraints and the need to protect structural integrity and ensure internal air pressure and climate minimizes barrier penetration, thereby making the space dedicated to electrical connectors and harness assemblies. In the worst case, it is sometimes even impossible to arrange the cable bundle in an aircraft, since the diameter of the terminating connector is too large to pass through the opening. The diameter of a standard multi-contact connector is a function of the number and size of the contacts. Thus, routing and "mating" problems typically occur when the connector has a large number of contacts for a large size conductor bundle (which requires a large contact). Accordingly, there is a continuing incentive to reduce the space and weight consumed by multi-contact electrical connectors for electrical components, including, inter alia, mating racks and panel systems in aircraft. These motivations for weight and space are paramount in the development of electric aircraft. Current solutions to the weight and space limitations of connectors include various reduced area pin geometries and manufacturing techniques that increase pin distribution density in axially connected electrical plugs. However, there are inherent limitations to the wire distribution density. Most notably, the number of wire termination pins occupying a given circular cross-section in the plug is limited before electrical contact between the conductors occurs. Minimum spacing is required to ensure proper insulation. The most important issue in design considerations is how to create wire terminations (pins) with bare minimum diameters. Disclosure of Invention Viewed from its most basic aspect, the present invention is a pin-type electrical connector configured to helically/radially distribute termination contact diameters along a central axis. The connector solves the problems of over-crowding (density) of pins and pin limitation per connector area that exist in conventional circular cross-section connectors. Therefore, it also solves the problem of increasing the cross-sectional area of the connector corresponding to the increase in the number of pins. Each of the male and female connectors of the electrical plug and receptacle of the present invention helically distributes electrical pin terminals in parallel curved rows along the surface of the back shell cylinder rather than a circular or square face. (As used herein, "parallel bending" refers to bending that is spaced apart at a fixed normal and a constant offset distance). By red