The present innovation relates to a connector for electrical leads.
In particular, the present innovation relates to a connector of the sort that comprises a hollow body of insulating material containing an internal socket, and an electrical terminal or plug which is attached to one end of an electrical lead and engages, in use, in this internal socket. The terminal is normally kept engaged in the socket by a locking device comprising an elastic tab projecting from the terminal: once this terminal has been pushed into the socket the tab opens out inside the socket so that its free end portion abuts against a shoulder formed on the body.
Although known connectors of the kind described above are extremely simple from the point of view of their manufacture, they suffer from the major drawback of being unreliable in use. What often happens is that once the terminal has been pushed into the socket, the tab does not expand against the shoulder: the terminal is therefore left loose and, owing to the force exerted in pushing it into a corresponding connector, and also owing to the forces exerted by the lead and, later, by the vibrations to which it is normally subject, the terminal comes out of the socket and breaks the electrical connection. Known connectors of the type described above can therefore produce a high number of discards and require checking and adjusting during their use.
The object of the present innovation is to provide an electrical connector that will solve the above problems in a simple and economical manner.
The present innovation provides an electrical connector comprising a first component of insulating material containing a socket, a conducting second component designed to be attached to one end of an electrical lead and that engages releasably in the socket, and first releasable locking means located inside the socket for keeping the conducting second component engaged in this seat, characterized by second locking means which lie, in use, entirely outside of said first component and comprise first stop means on one of said components, second stop means on the other of these components, and means of relative mobility interposed between said second stop means and the latter's component to allow these second stop means to move relative to the first stop means between a working position, in which they engage positively with the first stop means to hold said second component in said socket, and a rest position, in which they allow said second component to be uncoupled from this socket.
The innovation will now be described with reference to the attached drawings, which illustrate a non-limiting embodiment thereof and in which:
In the attached figures, 1 denotes a connector for electrical leads comprising a body 2 of insulating material containing a socket 3 defined by a through channel of longitudinal axis 4. The connector 1 also comprises a terminal or plug 5, which in turn comprises an intermediate plate 6 which, in use, lies outside any contact with the body 2, and two end portions marked 7 and 8 located on opposite sides of the plate 6, with portion 7 being connected electrically in a known manner to one end part of an electrical lead 9.
The portion 8 comprises a first part 10 located inside the socket 3, and a second part 11 projecting out of the body 2 from the first part 10.
The first part 10 is kept engaged in the socket 3 by a releasable locking device 12 comprising an elastic latch 13 located inside the socket 3 and integral at one end with the first part 10 while its opposite end abuts, when in use, against a shoulder 14 formed inside the body 2.
The device 12 also comprises a locking tab 15 which is attached to the plate 6, lies outside the body 2, and is connected to the plate 6 by a transverse bend line or weakening. The bend line defines a virtual hinge 16 enabling the tab 15 to rotate relative to the body 2 about an axis 17 parallel with the axis 4 between a rest position, illustrated in Figure 1, in which the tab 15 forms with the plate 6 an angle of approximately 90°, and a working position, illustrated in Figure 2, in which the tab 15 is approximately in line with the plate 6 and engages positively in a locking socket 18 formed in the body 2.
When in use, the terminal 5 is connected to the body 2 in such a way that the part 10 engages in the socket 3 and the latch 13 abuts against the shoulder 14. At this point the tab 15 is rotated about the axis 17 from its rest position to its working position, in which it engages in the socket 18 and connects the terminal 5 firmly to the body 2.
It will be clear from the above account that even if the locking action of the latch 13 were to fail for any reason, the reliability and stability of the connection between the terminal 5 and the body 2 are still guaranteed by the tab 15, which, when engaged in the socket 18, prevents any relative movement between the terminal 5 and the body 2. As a result, when it comes to testing, the number of discards caused by disengagement of the terminal 5 from its socket 3 is reduced, and all the operations of re-introducing the plug 5 in the body 2 while the connector 1 is in use are effectively eliminated.
It will also be clear from the above account that the connector 1 here described can be modified and altered in ways as specified in the appended claims. In particular, the shape of the tab 15 can be altered and a number of tabs which are the same as or different from this tab 15 can be used for releasably fastening the terminal 5 to the body 2. In this latter case the latch 13 could be dispensed with.