초록 ▼

A clip unit (10) that holds an electrical contact (11) in a passageway (12) of a connector frame (13), is of small cost and small length and can be installed using a small force, and provides the functions of centering a location along the contact within the passageway and preventing rearward moveme

A clip unit (10) that holds an electrical contact (11) in a passageway (12) of a connector frame (13), is of small cost and small length and can be installed using a small force, and provides the functions of centering a location along the contact within the passageway and preventing rearward movement of the contact along the passageway. The unit includes front and rear ring-shaped clip elements (25, 35) that each has a slot (26, 36) that is expanded to mount the unit in a neck (18) of the contact. A contact with the unit installed is pushed forwardly along the passageway until the front clip element encounters a constriction (45) in the passageway which compresses the diameter of the front clip element until it moves forward of the constriction and then expands. Thereafter, a rear end (27) of the front element abuts the constriction while a front end of the front element abuts a collar (17) of the contact to prevent rearward movement of the contact. After installation, the rear element lies within the frame constriction and centers the neck within the constriction.

대표청구항 ▼

1. A clip unit for holding an electrical contact in a passageway of an insulative frame, wherein the contact has a neck with an outer neck wall and opposite neck ends, the passageway has an axis, and walls of the passageway form a passageway constriction with a radially inner constriction wall, wher

1. A clip unit for holding an electrical contact in a passageway of an insulative frame, wherein the contact has a neck with an outer neck wall and opposite neck ends, the passageway has an axis, and walls of the passageway form a passageway constriction with a radially inner constriction wall, wherein:said clip unit includes front and rear elements that each has a hole lying on said axis and forms hole walls, said elements each has a largely cylindrical outside surface, and said elements each has a slot for receiving said neck of said contact during mounting of the elements around said neck; said front element has a front shoulder for engaging a front end of said neck and a rear shoulder for engaging a front end of said constriction, and said rear element has a radial thickness that enables its largely cylindrical outside surface to lie closely adjacent to said constriction radially inner wall while said rear element hole wall lies closely adjacent to said outer neck wall, said front element having a radial thickness that allows said front element to be compressed to pass through said constriction while lying around said neck. 2. The unit described in claim 1 including said contact and said frame, with said contact lying in said frame, wherein:said contact has front and rear collars lying respectively forward and rearward of said neck, said front collar having an outside diameter no greater than the inside diameter of said passageway constriction to pass through it, but said rear collar has a larger diameter than the inside diameter of said projection to be stopped by said projection. 3. The unit described in claim 2 wherein:said frame is formed of molded plastic, said contact is formed of sheet metal, and said front and rear elements are formed of molded plastic having sufficient resilience to allow said elements to deflect around said neck, so said elements can receive said neck through the slots in said elements. 4. The unit described in claim 1 wherein:said unit includes a ridge connecting said first and second elements and holding then spaced apart along said axis, said ridge extending no more than 90° about said axis to allow the ridge to bend, and said elements and ridge being integrally molded. 5. The unit described in claim 1 wherein:in an initial, unreflected orientation of said unit, said hole of said front element has a larger inside diameter than the hole in said rear element, and said slot in said front element is larger than said slot in said rear element, to allow said front element to be compressed so its larger diameter outside surface can pass through said passage constriction. 6. The unit described in claim 1 wherein:said front element outside surface has a front that is bevelled, to facilitate compression in diameter of said front element by pressing it forwardly past said passageway constriction. 7. The unit described in claim 6 wherein:said front and rear elements are joined at sides opposite said slots, and said rear element has chamfered surface regions on opposite sides of its slot at a front end of the rear element. 8. A clip unit in combination with a frame that has a passageway with an axis and a contact that lies in said passageway, wherein:said passageway has a constriction where the inside diameter of the passageway is reduced, the constriction having front and rear ends and the inside diameter of the passageway is greater forward and rearward of said constriction than at said constriction; said contact has a neck of reduced outside diameter and said contact has front and rear collars lying respectively forward and rearward of the neck, said collars having larger outside diameters than the outside diameter at said neck, said neck lying within said constriction in said passageway; said unit has front and rear ring-shaped elements that each has a hole lying on said axis and forming a hole inside surface, that each has an outside surface, and that each has a slot extending from said outside surface to the corresponding hole inside surface, said front and rear elements being isolated from each other so the slot of each can be individually compressed and expanded; said front element is of larger outside diameter than said rear element, said front element has a front surface substantially abutting a rear end of said front collar, and said front element has a rear surface abutting a front end of said constriction, to prevent rearward movement of the contact; said rear element has a radial thickness about equal to the radial space between said contact neck and said passageway constriction, to radially position said contact in said passageway. 9. The combination described in claim 8 wherein:said neck has a front portion that lies forward of a front end of said constriction and said front element lies around said neck front portion; said front element has a radial thickness (C), between its hole and its outside surface, which is no more than the radial distance between paid neck and said constriction. 10. The combination described in claim 8 including:a ridge that is circumferentially spaced from said slots and that connects said front and rear elements, said elements and said ridge being integrally molded of a plastic material. 11. A method for establishing a clip unit that includes a front element that has a slot and a rear ring-shaped element that has a slot, between a contact that has a neck and walls of a passageway that has a constriction, comprising:installing the front element in the contact neck by expanding the slot and pressing the element onto the contact neck; installing the contact with the front element thereon in the passageway by pressing the contact forwardly along the passageway, including using a rear end of the constriction to compress the front element so it passes through the constriction, and allowing the front element to expand when it lies forward of the constriction and abut a front end of the contact neck and abut a front end of the constriction to prevent rearward movement of the contact; installing said rear element in the contact neck behind the front element; and while said front element is passing through said constriction, moving said rear element into said constriction to radially position said contact.