A buss bar for electrically coupling a plurality of electrical terminal posts or wires including a generally tubular elongated body formed of electrical conducting material which defines a slot extending substantially along the entire lateral side of the body, a plurality of holes or apertures arranged in pairs such that one of the holes of each pair is positiond in the upper surface of the body and one of the holes of each pair is positioned in the lower surface of the body to allow one of the terminal posts to be positioned through each of the aperture pairs, a groove or other similar indentation along the opposite side of the body from the slot and extending inward into the center of the body such that the interior surface of the groove is in a position of abutment with a terminal post positioned through the upper and lower holes, the amount of lateral pressure exerted by this interior pressure exerting surface upon the terminal posts being variable proportionally in response to the width of the slot located on the opposite side of the terminal post, the electrical communication being provided by the electrical conducting material from which the body is made and by the secure and efficient electrical connection provided between the terminal post and the three points of contact which are the edges of the upper and lower holes and the pressure surface. The body may also have about the outer surface thereof a coating of electrical insulating material to minimize electrical contact with the surrounding environment.
An electrical bus strip to receive a terminal post comprises (a) an elongated metallic bus strip; (b) a contact integral with and spaced from said strip, said contact protruding toward a plane defined by said strip, and (c) two pairs of arms having first ends integral with said strip and second ends integral with said contact to support the contact for resiliently yieldable movement normal to said planes in response to insertion of a terminal post into position between the arms of each pair and between the contact and said strip. Typically the bus strip defines an H-shaped opening generally in registration with said contact and arms which were stamped from said strip.
A double contact electrical bus strip to receive a terminal pin or post comprises: (a) a horizontally elongated bus strip, and (b) two contacts in the form of hook-shaped tangs which are vertically spaced apart and which are integral with the bus strip, (c) each of the tangs extending generally vertically and diagonally relatively toward the bus strip, at one side thereof, (d) the tangs defining vertically spaced openings to pass the terminal post in vertically assembled relation between both tangs and the bus strip.
A bus bar constructed to bend connector posts and make electrical contact with them at three loci of bar points. In vertical section, vertical lines between first and second bus contact points are spaced from third bus contact points adjacent said vertical lines by a distance less than the thickness of the posts, the locus defined by said vertical lines corresponding generally with a locus of post centerlines.
A bandolier carrier strip for carrying pin-like contact elements through a plating bath and for subsequent use in automated insertion apparatus is provided by a non-metallic strip-like base member of flexible non-conductive material with a layer of conductive material on at least one side thereof. The bandolier has a plurality of pairs of spaced apertures spaced longitudinally therealong. When the bandolier is flexed along its longitudinal center line, the apertures in a selected pair of apertures align allowing a pin-like contact element to be inserted therewithin. When the flexing action is released, the natural flexural characteristic of the bandolier tends to straighten out the same and cause the pin-like contact element to be releasably gripped in the apertures and placed in electrical contact with the conductive material on the surface of the strip-like base member. This process is repeated to load the pairs of spaced apertures with pin-like contact elements. During a subsequent plating operation, the conductive material on the bandolier permits an electrical charge to be applied to the pin-like contact elements through drive sprockets. The bandolier, with the pin-like contact elements loaded therein, is passed through an oppositely charged plating bath whereby the pin-like contact elements and the conductive layer are plated with plating material. Several different embodiments of the bandolier are illustrated and described.
