Wire-to-wire connector with shunt

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10326216-B2
Application number	US-201816051905-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 1, 2018
Priority date	Aug 2, 2017
Publication date	Jun 18, 2019
Grant date	Jun 18, 2019

Abstract

This disclosure provides a method and apparatus for connecting and disconnecting a first wire to a second wire. More specifically, an apparatus that includes a first electrical contact, a second electrical contact, an insulated housing, and a male contact prong (i.e., a shunt) is disclosed. In an embodiment, the first and second electrical contacts conductively connect with a first and second wire, respectively, via an insulation displacement connector. Furthermore, the male contact prong conductively connects (i.e., shunts) the first and second electrical contacts together. A wire-to-wire contact with shunt allows for two wires to be quickly and efficiently connected and disconnected.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus comprising:
a first electrical contact comprising a first insulation displacement connector portion and a first shunt connector portion;
a second electrical contact comprising a second insulation displacement connector portion and a second shunt connector portion; and
an insulated housing comprising a first electrical contact inlet, a second electrical contact inlet, a shunt opening, a first wire opening, and a second wire opening;
wherein the first electrical contact inlet is configured to receive the first electrical contact and the second electrical contact inlet is configured to receive the second electrical contact.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the insulated housing further comprises a housing base comprising a plurality of cam receiving portions and a housing cap comprising a plurality of strain relieving cams.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first wire opening and the second wire opening a distance past one of the first or second electrical contacts but not entirely through the housing.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first contact inlet extends into the insulated housing along a first plane, the second contact inlet extends into the insulated housing along a second plane, and the shunt opening extends into the insulated housing along a third plane; wherein the first plane is parallel to the second plane; and wherein the third plane is perpendicular to the first and the second planes.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein a depth of the first electrical contact inlet is greater than or equal to a height of the first electrical contact.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first electrical contact inlet and the second contact inlet are located on a first side of the insulated housing, and wherein the shunt opening is located on a second side of the insulated housing that is opposite the first side.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first electrical contact and the second electrical contact further comprise juts configured to engage an inner surface of the insulated housing.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein each of the insulation displacement connector portions of the first and second electrical contacts comprises a first blade, a second blade, and a third blade, wherein the first blade, the second blade, and the third blade each have a tapered distal end, wherein a distance between the first blade and the second blade is consistent between a base portion of the respective insulation displacement connector portion and the tapered distal ends, and wherein a distance between the second blade and the third blade is consistent between the base portion of the respective insulation displacement connector portion and the tapered distal ends.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein blades of the first insulation displacement connector portion extend from a first base to a furthest extent of the blades along a first plane, wherein first female contact tines of the first shunt connector portion extend from the base to a furthest extent of the female contact tines along the first plane;
wherein blades of the second insulation displacement connector portion extend from the base to a furthest extent of the blades along a second plane, wherein second female contact tines of the second shunt connector portion extend from a second base to the furthest extent of the second female contact tines along the second plane; and
wherein the first plane is parallel to the second plane.

10. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising an electrical shunt, wherein the electrical shunt comprises a male contact prong configured to be received within the shunt opening.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein a distal end of the male contact prong comprises a tapered edge.

12. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the insulated housing further comprises:
a shunt latching portion comprising two rails spaced a first distance apart on a first side of the insulated housing;
two rails spaced a second distance apart on a second side of the insulated housing;
a first tapered locking edge positioned between the two rails spaced the first distance apart on the first side of the insulated housing; and
a second tapered locking edge positioned between the two rails spaced the second distance apart on the second side of the insulated housing;
wherein the electrical shunt further comprises at least two latching prongs comprising a knob at a distal end of each latching prong that extends toward a vertical centerline; and
wherein the two latching prongs are spaced a distance apart such that the two latching prongs compress the insulated housing and the knobs rest on tapered locking edge when the electrical shunt is engaged with the insulated housing.

13. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the first shunt connector portion and the second shunt connector portion each comprise respective female contact sockets, and wherein each of the respective female contact sockets is configured to receive and form an electrically-conductive connection with the male contact prong.

14. The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the female contact socket of the first electrical contact is aligned with the female contact socket of the second electrical contact when received in the insulated housing.

15. The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the female contact socket of the first electrical contact and the female contact socket of the second electrical contact each further comprise two contact tines, and wherein each of the two contact tines comprises a knob at their distal end that extends toward the other of the two contact tines.

16. The apparatus of claim 15 , wherein a thickness of the male contact prong is greater than a distance between the two contact tines.

17. A method of connecting a first and a second wire comprising:
inserting a first wire into a first wire opening of an insulated housing;
compressing a first electrical contact into a first electrical contact inlet such that the first electrical contact displaces insulation on the first wire to create an electrical connection between the first electrical contact and the first wire, and wherein the first electrical contact includes a first shunt connector portion;
inserting a second wire into a second wire opening of the insulated housing;
compressing a second electrical contact into a second electrical contact inlet such that the second electrical contact displaces insulation on the second wire to create an electrical connection between the second electrical contact and the second wire, and wherein the second electrical contact includes a second shunt connector portion; and
inserting a male contact prong into a shunt opening of the insulated housing such that the male contact prong engages the first shunt connector portion of the first electrical connector and the second shunt connector portion of the second electrical connector to conductively couple the first electrical contact to the second electrical contact.

18. The method of claim 17 , wherein inserting the male contact prong into the shunt opening comprises compressing the male contact prong between contact tines of a first female contact socket of the first electrical contact and contact tines of a second female contact socket of the second electrical contact.

19. The method of claim 17 , wherein the male contact prong protrudes from an electrical shunt; and wherein the method further comprises securing the male contact prong within the shunt opening via engagement of two latching prongs on the elec

Assignees

• Avx Corp

Inventors

• Lybrand Brent

Classifications

• H01R13/6273

  comprising two latching arms · CPC title

• H01R13/582

  the cable being clamped between assembled parts of the housing · CPC title

• H01R11/09

  the connecting locations being identical · CPC title

• H01R11/05

  the connecting locations having different types of direct connections · CPC title

• H01R4/2456

  in parallel configuration · CPC title