U.S. patent number 3,656,091 [Application Number 05/068,238] was granted by the patent office on 1972-04-11 for terminal junction system.
Invention is credited to John W. Anhalt, James W. Maston, Gerald J. Selvin.
United States Patent |
3,656,091 |
Anhalt , et al. |
April 11, 1972 |
TERMINAL JUNCTION SYSTEM
Abstract
A terminal junction system is formed of an insulated housing
member having a central channel extending along its axial length. A
plurality of rows of contact terminals extend along the axis of the
housing member, one end of the contact terminals extending into the
channel. A bussing spring which comprises a pair of side walls
interconnected by an end wall is mounted in the channel and is
contiguous with at least a pair of the contact terminals. The
distance between the side walls of the bussing spring is such that
when the spring is inserted in the channel between rows of contact
terminals the side walls are contiguous with at least two adjacent
contacts of each row. Moreover, the bussing spring may be utilized
to interconnect a plurality of contact terminals of the same row.
The other ends of the contact terminals can be coupled through one
of the walls of the insulated housing member. Further, means may be
formed on the insulating housing member so that when an external
contact member is secured to one of the contact terminals an
environmental seal may be provided at the junction of the contact
terminal of the terminal junction and the external contact member.
Visible sealing means may be provided to cover said channel and
simultaneously observe interconnection between adjacent contacts
formed in the channel.
Inventors: |
Anhalt; John W. (La Crescenta,
CA), Maston; James W. (Altadena, CA), Selvin; Gerald
J. (Encino, CA) |
Family
ID: |
26216580 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/068,238 |
Filed: |
August 31, 1970 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
439/49;
439/510 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H01R
31/085 (20130101); H01R 31/02 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
H01R
31/00 (20060101); H01R 31/08 (20060101); H01R
31/02 (20060101); H01r 031/08 (); H01r
009/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;339/19,22,17,16,32,218,242,248,249,214,222,256,198,14 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Champion; Marvin A.
Assistant Examiner: Hafer; Robert A.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A terminal junction system comprising:
an insulated housing member having a central channel extending
along its axial length;
a plurality of rows of contact terminal extending along the axis of
said housing member, at least one end of each contact terminal
extending into said channel; and
a bussing spring comprising a pair of side walls interconnected by
an end wall mounted in said channel and contiguous with at least a
pair of adjacent contact terminals, the distance between said side
walls being such that when said spring is inserted in said channel
between said rows of contact terminals, said side walls are
contiguous with at least two adjacent contacts of each row.
2. A terminal junction system in accordance with claim 1 wherein
said spring is such that the distance between said side walls is
less than the thickness of said contact terminals, said spring
being positionable to connect adjacent contact terminals of the
same row.
3. A terminal junction system in accordance with claim 1 wherein a
transparent cover is removably positioned over said channel, said
cover providing an environmental shield for said contact terminals
and said bussing spring in said channel while simultaneously
allowing a viewable position of said spring and said contacts.
4. In combination, a plurality of rows of electrical contacts
mounted in an electrical insulating member, and means for
interconnecting said contacts comprising a U-shaped bussing spring
member having a pair of side walls and an interconnecting wall, the
spacing between the outer surfaces of said side walls being greater
than the distance between said rows electrical contacts and the
spacing between the inner surfaces of said side walls being less
than the thickness of said contacts.
5. A spring member in accordance with claim 1 wherein said
electrical contacts are formed of at least a plurality of pairs of
rows, said spring member being adapted to connect adjacent contacts
of each row as well as adjacent contacts of the same row.
Description
The invention relates in general to electrical connecting systems
and, more particularly, to a terminal junction for terminating a
plurality of wire conductors.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Prior art terminal junctions have included female contacts mounted
in the junction block which are then connected to an external male
member having a wire conductor secured thereto. In most cases,
where the junction block is formed of an insulating member,
difficulty has arisen in molding in the female contact members
since the female contact must contain some provision which allows
spring contact to the removable male contact members. Moreover, the
connections between adjacent contacts of the terminal posts were
not readily discernable after assembly of the junction block. The
connections which were normally made by soldering or by a permanent
mechanical connection, were difficult to perform and changes
therein were not readily and easily made. Also, in order to
environmentally seal the connection between the external contact
and the contact of the terminal junction, grommets, which are
complex and costly, were normally utilized.
In order to overcome the attendant disadvantages of prior art
terminal junction systems, the present invention utilizes a male
contact member as part of the terminal junction which can be easily
molded into the insulator member. Moreover, a simple and rapid
bussing arrangement, which may be easily fitted into the housing,
allows rapid changes in the bussing configuration of the insulator
block. Further, visual inspection of the bussing arrangement can be
made without removal of any of the parts of the housing. Also, the
interconnections between the external contacts and the contacts in
the insulator housing is rapid and simple. In addition, the use of
grommets are eliminated while a satisfactory environmental seal is
still provided.
The advantages of this invention, both as to its construction and
mode of operation, will be readily appreciated as the same becomes
better understood by references to the following detailed
description when considered in connection with the accompanying
drawings in which like referenced numerals designate like parts
throughout the figures.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 depicts a perspective view of the electrical interconnecting
system in accordance with the invention.
FIG. 2 illustrates a sectional view of the terminal junction system
of FIG. 1 taken along the lines 2--2 of FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of the bussing strip depicted in
FIG. 2.
FIG. 4 depicts an alternative utilization of the bussing strip of
the embodiments of FIGS. 1 through 3.
FIG. 5 illustrates a sectional view of an alternative embodiment of
the electrical interconnecting system of FIG. 1.
FIG. 6 shows a cross-sectional view of the contacts and seal taken
along the lines 6--6 of FIG. 5;
and FIG. 7 depicts an alternative flange configuration of the
terminal junction system depicted in FIG. 1.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring now to the drawings, there is shown in FIG. 1, a
preferred embodiment of the terminal junction. The terminal
junction comprises an insulated housing member 12 which has a
generally U-shaped configuration as viewed in cross section in FIG.
2. The inner portion of the U contains a channel-like member 14
having a pair of side walls 16, 18 and a bottom wall 22. The side
wall 16 extends upwardly and terminates at an L-shaped bore portion
having a bottom wall 24 and a side wall 26. Similarly, the side
wall 18 terminates in a bore portion having a bottom wall 28 and a
side wall 32. The side walls 26 and 32 extend to the top walls 34,
36, respectively, of the U-shaped insulator housing 12. Extending
upwardly from and spaced axially along the top walls 34, 36 are a
plurality of cylindrical insulating members 42 having a top wall
surface 44 formed in a plane parallel to the walls 34 and 36. The
cylindrical insulating members 42 may be formed integral with the
insulating housing 12. The ends of the housing 12 contain mounting
flanges 52 which are an integral part of the insulator housing, but
are of reduced thickness and contain bores 54 therethrough for
securing the terminal junction system to a conventional support
means.
Terminal post members 62 are mounted integrally in the housing 12,
with the housing normally being molded around the posts. Each of
the posts 62 may be of a generally U-shaped configuration and of
square, rectangular or circular cross section. A first long leg
portion 64 extends through the housing 12 parallel to the axis of
the cylindrical portions 42 and extend outwardly through the top
surface 44 of the cylindrical portion and contain a terminating
portion 66. A short leg 68 of the terminal posts extends into the
channel 14 to a height less than the walls 24 and 28. Generally, a
pair of terminal posts are mounted in the channel 14 such that a
pair of the legs 68 will be adjacent to each other but spaced
slightly therefrom. A bottom leg portion 72 interconnects the legs
64 and 68.
A bussing spring 82 is also of generally U-shaped configuration in
section and comprises a first side wall 84 which is generally
straight. The other side wall 86 is formed at a slight angle so
that its ends bend toward the first straight wall portion 84. One
end of the side wall 86 is connected to a bottom portion 88 of the
bussing spring and the other end is connected to an outwardly
extending lip portion 92. Further, the straight wall 84 is
connected at one end to the portion 88 and the other end thereof
contains an outwardly extending lip portion 94. The side walls 84
and 86 of the bussing spring may contain slots 96 which increase
the flexibility of the bussing spring as well as allow severing of
the spring should it be desirous to shorten the bussing spring. As
shown in FIG. 2, the bussing spring 82 is mounted in the channel 14
so that both inner side walls of the spring 82 surround the portion
68 of the terminal posts. Thus, the bussing springs can be used to
interconnect adjacent axially spaced legs along one side of the
channel.
Referring now to FIG. 4, there is shown an alternative arrangement
in connection with the use of the bussing spring 82. In FIG. 4, the
bussing spring is mounted so that its closed end 88 is adjacent the
bottom wall 22 and its outer side walls 84 and 86 are contiguous
with opposed legs 68 of the terminal posts. In this way, the same
bussing springs utilized in FIG. 2 can be used to join adjacent
terminal posts while simultaneously joining terminal posts along
the axis of the terminal junction housing. Moreover, it should be
noted that if just two adjacent terminal posts were to be
electrically connected together a small section of the bussing
spring could be utilized such as by severing the bussing spring
along two of the adjacent slots 96.
Referring now to FIG. 5, there is shown an alternative arrangement
for mounting terminal posts in the insulator housing. In FIG. 5,
additional cylindrical insulating members 102 similar to the
insulating members 42 and diagonally opposed thereto are formed in
the insulator housing, Further, an additional terminal post portion
104 extends from the leg portion 72 adjacent the leg 62 through the
member 102 so as to form a feed-thru Connection to the leg portion
68. In this manner, additional connections may be made to each
terminal post. Alternatively, it should be understood that the post
portion 62 could be eliminated and the terminal post could consist
only of the feed-thru contact comprising portions 68, 72 and
104.
A cover member 112 which may be of transparent molded thermoplastic
material so as to view the connection of the bussing spring to the
terminal posts 68 is utilized in the embodiments of FIGS. 1 and 5.
Moreover, as shown in FIG. 1, the plastic cover 112 may be secured
by means of screws 114 to the insulator housing 12 in the reduced
flange portion 52. The cover 112 is generally pi-shaped in
cross-sectional configuration, as viewed in FIGS. 2 and 5, and
contains a top portion 116 whose top surface 118 is flush with the
surfaces 34 and 36 and whose end surfaces 122, 124 are contiguous
with the surfaces 26 and 32 respectively. The bottom end walls 126,
128 are adjacent to the walls 24, 28 with gasket portions 132, 134
interposed between these walls, respectively. A pair of legs 136,
138 of the pi-shaped dust cover 112 have their outer surface
adjacent to the side walls 16, 18 respectively. The inner angular
surface of the legs 146, 148 abut the outer side walls 86 of the
bussing spring in the embodiments of FIGS. 2 and 5.
In FIGS. 5 and 6 there is shown a typical contact 152 which may be
utilized to connect to the terminal posts 66 and 104 of FIGS. 1 and
5. Each of the contacts 152 are generally box shaped and have a
rectangular cross section. The contact may have been formed from a
flat piece of metal which is folded over along a seam 154 and have
tab portions 156, 158 which allow the contact to form a tight fit
with the terminal posts. The other end of the contact may contain a
crimping portion 162 for securing the contact to a conductor 164
although other arrangements for securing the conductors to the
contact are, of course, possible.
An elastomeric boot 172, which is generally cylindrical in shape,
is utilized to provide an environmental seal around the contacting
portion of the terminal junctions. The boot contains an enlarged
bottom portion 174 which surrounds the cylindrical insulating
members 42 and has a lip 175 which rests upon the surface 34. The
other end 176 of the boot 172 has a lip portion 177 which surrounds
the end of the contact beyond the crimp portion 162. Thus, the
entire junction of the contact and the post is environmentally
sealed.
Referring now to FIG. 7, there is shown an alternative arrangement
for the terminal junction system. Instead of providing a flange
such as 52 shown in FIG. 1, the end contacts of the terminal
junction system may be removed and screws 182 utilized to secure
the insulator housing to a mounting means. In this way, a generally
rectangular shaped housing 184 is formed and the flanges 52 are
eliminated on the housing as well as an additional flange on the
transparent cover 186.
* * * * *