Pin saver
US4960387A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 12, 1990 |
| Grant date | Oct 2, 1990 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 12, 2010 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10S439/923
- WIPO fieldElectrical machinery, apparatus, energy
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
An electrical connector assembly comprising a pair of complementary connectors (10a, 12) incorporating "pin saver" structure for preventing pin contacts (16) from being bent when the connectors (10a, 12) are mated or separated in a careless fashion. The "pin saver" structure comprises a plurality of projections or ledges (42, 43, 44, 45) on one of the connectors (10a) for defining extended fulcrums around which the other connector (12) will rotate or turn if the connectors (10a, 12) are mated or separated from one another by relative movement in which the longitudinal axes (31) of the pin contacts (16) in one connector are not maintained substantially parallel to the longitudinal axes (32) of the receptacle contacts (14) in the other connector (10a) during mating or separation. The extended fulcrums cause the pin contacts (16) to be inserted into or withdrawn from the receptacle contacts (14) in directions such that the longitudinal axes (32, 31) of the contacts are maintained more nearly parallel to one another until the pin contacts (16) are substantially fully inserted into or fully withdrawn from the receptacle contacts (14) during mating or separation, respectively, to prevent…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.