U.S. patent number RE29,371 [Application Number 05/647,538] was granted by the patent office on 1977-08-23 for connecting block.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Northern Electric Company Limited. Invention is credited to George De Bortoli, Helmut Hans Lukas.
United States Patent |
RE29,371 |
De Bortoli , et al. |
August 23, 1977 |
Connecting block
Abstract
A connecting block in which a support member has a large number
of terminal clips extending through the member, for connection of
wires to both ends, the support member pivotally mounted in a
housing so that one or other side of the support member, and
related ends of terminal clips, can be selectively presented for
wiring. A hinged cover attached to the support member can be
utilized to retain the support member in one selected position, the
support member normally positioned in the other position, as by
gravity.
Inventors: |
De Bortoli; George (Ottawa,
CA), Lukas; Helmut Hans (Carleton Place,
CA) |
Assignee: |
Northern Electric Company
Limited (Montreal, CA)
|
Family
ID: |
26976071 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/647,538 |
Filed: |
January 8, 1976 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
|
Reissue of: |
308054 |
Nov 20, 1972 |
03784728 |
Jan 8, 1974 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
174/60; 439/43;
361/823; 361/826; 379/325 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04Q
1/141 (20130101); H04Q 1/021 (20130101); H04Q
1/06 (20130101); H04Q 2201/08 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
H04Q
1/14 (20060101); H04Q 1/02 (20060101); H04Q
1/06 (20060101); H01R 013/46 () |
Field of
Search: |
;174/59,60
;339/18B,125R,198J,198R ;179/98
;317/99,11D,11DH,11CX,118,120,122 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Tolin; Gerald P.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Jelly; Sidney T.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A connecting block for a telephone system, comprising:
a housing having a back member and two spaced apart side members
extending forwardly from said back member, parallel to each
other;
pivot means on forward ends of said side members;
a support member positioned between said side members, the support
member having front and back faces;
pivot means on said support member at each end thereof and
pivotally engaged with said pivot means on said side members, said
support .[.members.]. .Iadd.member .Iaddend.adapted to present said
front and back faces alternatively in a forward facing
direction;
a plurality of terminal clips extending through said support
member, front ends of the terminal clips extending through the
front face of the support member and back ends of the terminal
clips extending through the back face of the support member;
a cover hingedly attached at its lower edge to a lower edge of said
front face of said support member;
resilient clip means on an upper edge of said cover and engagement
means on an upper edge of said front face of said support
.[.means.]. .Iadd.member.Iaddend., the arrangement such that said
resilient clip means engage with said engagement means when said
front face of said support member is presented forward to retain
said cover in position over said terminal clips;
stop means on said side members and said support .[.members.].
.Iadd.member.Iaddend., said stop means positioned to locate said
support member in a predetermined position, said back face of the
support member present in a forward direction; and
interengaging means on said cover and said housing adapted to
retain said support member in said predetermined position.
2. A connecting block as claimed in claim 1, said pivot means on
said side members substantially aligned with an upper edge of said
housing; said interengaging means on said cover and said housing
comprising a resilient clip on the upper edge of said cover and a
clip-receiving means on said upper edge of said housing.
3. A connecting block as claimed in claim 8, said pivot means
disengageable whereby a support member can be removed from said
housing and whereby a support member can be inserted in said
housing.
4. A connecting block as claimed in claim 3, said housing of
flexible material, said pivot means disengageable by flexing of
said housing.
5. A connecting block as claimed in claim 8, said support members
supporting said plurality of terminal clips in a series of columns,
a series of slots formed in the support member at the front face
thereof, a slot substantially aligned with each column of terminal
clips; each slot including a central portion, a first gap providing
initial access to the slot and a second gap leading from the
central portion, the arrangement such that a wire can be pulled
through the first gap into said central portion, and can further be
pulled into the second gap from said central portion.
6. A connecting block as claimed in claim 5, including clamping
means for wires passing to the support member, said clamping means
including a member slidably adjustable to accommodate a variable
number of wires.
7. A connecting block as claimed in claim 5, including a fanning
member attached to said support member at the side thereof
presenting said rear ends of said terminal clips, the fanning
member including a slot for each column of terminal clips. .Iadd.
8. A connecting block for a telephone system, comprising:
a housing having a back member and two spaced apart side members
extending forwardly from said back member, parallel to each other,
to form an open sided trough shaped member;
pivot means on forward ends of said side members at an upper part
thereof;
a support member pivotally positioned between said side members,
the support member having front and back faces;
further pivot means on said support member, said further pivot
means at each end of said support member at an upper part thereof
and pivotally engaged with said pivot means on said side members,
said support member pivotal through approximately 180.degree.
forwardly and upwardly from a position presenting said front face
in a forward facing direction and said support member between said
side members, to a position presenting said back face in a forward
facing direction; and
a plurality of terminal clips extending through said support
member, said clips having front ends extending through the front
face of the support member for the connection of conductor wires
thereto and back ends extending through the back face of the
support member for the connection of further conductor wires
thereof. .Iaddend.
Description
This invention relates to connecting blocks, particularly to
connecting blocks for telephone installations.
In present arrangements connecting blocks are usually open and
comprise an insulating support member in which are mounted the
terminals or clips to which wires are attached. The member is fixed
and it is not easy to obtain working access to both sides of the
member -- which is a necessity as wires are connected to the
terminals or clips at both ends. Work on an adjacent block can
result in damage, such as breaking or loosening of connections.
With present constructions there are space limitations, largely
because of the difficulty in providing reasonable access to the
terminals.
The present invention provides a connecting block in which the
support member is pivotally mounted in a housing, enabling easy
access to both sides of the member. The support member can be
enclosed to provide protection to the terminals or clips. The wires
can be lead into the connecting block housing through clamping
devices and fanning or spreading arrays, providing a high degree of
protection to the wires plus ready identification and location of
particular wires with the related terminal or clip.
These and other advantages will be evident from the following
description of a particular embodiment, by way of example, in
conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a connecting block, in accordance
with the present invention, mounted on a frame member;
FIG. 2 is a similar view of the block of FIG. 1, with the cover
opened to show the support member with clips;
FIG. 3 is a further similar view of the block of FIG. 1, showing
the support member pivoted to provide access to the rear side;
FIG. 4 is a view similar to that of FIG. 3, but indicating the
wiring of a block;
FIG. 5 is a view of a connecting block closed, as in FIG. 1, but at
a different angle to show the position of the wires; and
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of one form of support member and
clips.
As illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 5, a connecting block, indicated
generally at 10, comprises a housing 11, a support member 12
holding a plurality of terminal clips 13, and a cover 14. The block
10 is normally mounted on a frame member 15 when in use. Frame
member 15 is part of a frame in a telephone exchange for
example.
In FIG. 1, the whole connecting block assembly is in a closed
condition, with no connection made to the terminal clips. In the
example illustrated, the cover 14, which forms the front surface of
the block when in the closed condition, is hinged at its lower edge
16. These hinges are seen at 17 in FIG. 2. The cover can be
slightly recessed as shown, to receive some form of designation
marking. Similar marking can be applied on the inside of the cover.
The hinges 17, in the example illustrated in FIG. 1, are separate
items attached to the cover 14 and to the support member 12, and
are of flexible plastic material. The hinges have a transverse
portion 18 of reduced thickness which provides the hinging
action.
As will be seen, ready access is provided to the front ends, or
beams, of the terminal clips 13. The clips 13, in the example
described, each accept two wires. The wires to be connected to the
front ends of the clips 13 are brought through slots 20 formed at
the top of the back of the housing 11. In the present example two
slots are provided and it is possible to pull wires down into the
slots 20 through small gaps 21. The wires are also positioned
further in a series of slots 22, a slot for each column of clips
13. The wires are again positioned in the slots 22 by pulling
through a small gap 23 provided for each slot.
The clips 13 are held in the support member and the support member
is carried by a frame 25 which is in turn pivotally attached to the
housing 11 by pivots 26. By this means it is possible to pivot the
support member upwards, to a position as seen in FIG. 3. The
support member can be retained in this position by the cover 14
being carried over and back with a projection on the cover engaging
with a recess on the housing. The projection is seen at 27 in FIG.
2 and the recess is seen at 28 in FIGS. 1 and 2.
By pivoting the support member to the position seen in FIG. 3, easy
access is provided to the rear or back ends of the terminal clips
13. In the present example these rear ends are adapted to the
making of connections by wire wrapping. The wires are fed through
the back of the housing, through aperture 30, FIG. 3, and then
through a further aperture defined by two members 31.
A clamping member 32 slides in slots formed in the member 31, being
held in any desired position by a screw 33. The clamping member 32
can be adjusted along the slots to clamp the wires passing through
the aperture defined by the members 31. Thus varying quantities of
wires can be accommodated. This clamping also acts as a strain
relief to avoid strain being placed on the wires to the terminal
clips. The members 31 can be spread apart by completely removing
the screw 33, and, if desired, one of the members 31, for example
the top one in FIG. 3, can be completely removable. Individual
wires are then fed through slots 34 in a fanning strip 35, seen
more clearly in FIG. 4. There is a slot 34 for each column of clips
13.
After wiring of the clips at the rear of the support member, the
member can be pivoted down. It is held in place by screws 36
engaging in threaded lugs 37 (FIGS. 3 and 4). FIG. 5 shows a
connecting block in which the rear ends of the terminal clips have
been wired. It will be seen that all the wiring is contained within
the block and is protected.
The support member and the clips carried thereby can readily be
changed. The support member can be removed by detaching the frame
25 at the pivots 26. A support member of similar form or of another
form can be replaced in the housing. Thus support members with
clips having three legs, as seen in FIG. 2 can be used, or an
alternative form support member with clips having two legs can be
used -- as seen in FIG. 5.
FIG. 6 illustrates one form of a support member 12 having terminal
clips 13 with the three legs or beams 40, 41 and 42 at the front
ends. The rear ends 43 are of a form acceptable for wire wrapping.
The support member 12 is of moulded plastic material. The slots 22
with gaps 23 are clearly seen in FIG. 6. Also seen in FIG. 6 is a
further gap 44 below each slot 22. When wiring is being carried
out, the wires for a particular column of terminal clips are pulled
through the top gap 23 into the open central portion of the slot
22. The wires can remain in this slot after connection to a clip if
only a temporary connection is being made. For a permanent
connection, the wires can be pulled down into the gap 44.
The connecting block of the invention is of considerably different
form as compared to conventional connecting blocks presently in
use. The new block is very much more compact, a hundred pairs of
terminal clips being provided in the space of 50 pairs in a
conventional design. The block is self-contained and enclosed, the
wires being protected and the terminal clips shielded with less
likelihood of damage. The ability to pivot the support member,
providing easy access to both ends of terminal clips, enables a
reduction in size with closer spacing of clips, as the easy access
makes it easier to make connections to individual clips. This ease
of access also reduces the possibility of injury to the hands of
those engaged on wiring the clips or checking the wiring. It is not
necessary to pass hands between adjacent connecting blocks -- as is
the custom with present connecting blocks. This is because pivoting
of the support member gives "front face" access to both sides of
the support member.
The support member is held firmly in position by the screws
.[.34.]. .Iadd.36 .Iaddend.when the front ends of the terminal
clips are being wired. When released by unscrewing the screws
.[.34.]. .Iadd.36 .Iaddend.and pivoted over, the support member can
be held firmly in the new position by inter-engagement of the
projection 27 on the cover 14 to recess 28 on the housing 11.
However, the support member 12 can readily be removed and replaced
by a support member of similar or different form. Conveniently the
support member 12, frame 25 and cover 14 are removed as a unit at
the pivots 26. By forming the housing in a metal material having
some flexibility it is easy to remove a support member by simply
flexing the sides of the housing to disengage the pivots. As an
alternative the housing can be a plastic moulding, also having some
flexibility.
In an alternative form of construction, the cover 14 is moulded
with an integral hinge in the form of a strip which is attached to
and forms part of the support member. Hinging of the cover is
obtained by the flexing of a thin portion between cover and strip.
This alternative is seen in FIGS. 4 and 5, the thin portion
indicated at 45.
* * * * *