U.S. patent number RE34,531 [Application Number 07/963,060] was granted by the patent office on 1994-02-01 for watthour meter socket adapter.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Ekstrom Industries, Inc.. Invention is credited to John Bell, William Keopfgen.
United States Patent |
RE34,531 |
Bell , et al. |
February 1, 1994 |
Watthour meter socket adapter
Abstract
A socket adapter for converting a conventional bottom connected
watthour meter housing to a socket-type watthour meter housing. The
adapter includes a housing having a watthour meter receiving
portion including a plurality of electrical contacts which
removably receive the blade terminals of a watthour meter. The
contacts are connected via electrical conductors to terminals
mounted in an integral terminal portion of the housing. A cover
member is removably mountable over the terminal portion of the
housing to provide access to the terminals. The terminal portion
and the cover cooperate to form guide surfaces which direct the
building conductors into engagement with the terminals within the
adapter. A surge protector in the form of a pair of wires embedded
within the peripheral surface of the watthour meter receiving
portion of the housing are connectable through a connector mounted
on the back wall of the housing to earth ground.
Inventors: |
Bell; John (Livonia, MI),
Keopfgen; William (Farmington Hills, MI) |
Assignee: |
Ekstrom Industries, Inc.
(Farmington Hills, MI)
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Family
ID: |
21811094 |
Appl.
No.: |
07/963,060 |
Filed: |
October 19, 1992 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
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Reissue of: |
22721 |
Mar 6, 1987 |
04772213 |
Sep 20, 1988 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
439/135; 439/465;
439/718 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H01R
33/95 (20130101); G01R 11/04 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
G01R
11/04 (20060101); G01R 11/00 (20060101); H01R
33/00 (20060101); H01R 33/95 (20060101); H01R
009/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;439/135,463-466,709,718,719 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
Other References
2100 Series Polyphase A to S Watthour Meter Socket Adapter
manufactured and sold by Ekstrom Industries, Inc. .
4900 Series Watthour Meter Socket Adapters manufactured and sold by
Ekstrom Industries, Inc. .
Canadian General Electric Socket Adapter. .
Socket Adapter Model No. 412394, manufactured and sold by
Schlumberger. .
General Electric Socket Adapter Class 100..
|
Primary Examiner: McGlynn; Joseph H.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Basile and Hanlon
Claims
What is claimed is: .[.
1. A watthour meter socket adapter for mounting a socket-type
watthour meter having a plurality of blade type electrical
terminals to a building comprising:
a housing, the housing including:
a watthour meter receiving portion;
a plurality of biased electrical contacts mounted within the
watthour meter receiving portion for removably receiving the blade
type electrical terminals of a socket-type watthour meter in a
snap-in connection;
a terminal portion integrally formed with the watthour meter
receiving portion;
a plurality of electrical terminals mounted within the terminal
portion;
a plurality of electrical conductors connected between the contacts
in the watthour meter receiving portion and the terminals in the
terminal portion of the housing; and
guide means formed in the terminal portion of the housing for
guiding the electrical wiring conductors of the building into
engagement with the terminals in the terminal portion of the
housing..].
2. The watthour meter socket adapter of claim .[.1.]. .Iadd.4
.Iaddend.further including:
surge protection means mounted within the housing and connectable
to earth ground. .[.3. The watthour meter socket adapter of claim 1
wherein the guide means comprises:
dividers disposed between each of the individual terminals in the
terminal portion and forming slots therebetween;
the terminals being slidably disposed within the slots between the
dividers;
each of the dividers having an outer edge inwardly tapered towards
the adajcent slot to provide a surface for guiding the building
wiring
conductors into engagement with the terminals in the housing.]. 4.
.[.The watthour meter socket adapter of claim 3 further
including:.]..Iadd.A watthour meter socket adapter for mounting a
socket-type watthour meter having a plurality of blade type
electrical terminals to a building comprising:
a housing, the housing including:
a watthour meter receiving portion;
a plurality of biased electrical contacts mounted within the
watthour meter receiving portion for removably receiving the blade
type electrical terminals of a socket-type watthour meter in a
snap-in connection;
a terminal portion integrally formed with the watthour meter
receiving portion;
a plurality of electrical terminals mounted within the terminal
portion;
a plurality of electrical conductors connected between the contacts
in the watthour meter receiving portion and the terminals in the
terminal portion of the housing; and
guide means formed in the terminal portion of the housing for
guiding the electrical wiring conductors of the building into
engagement with the terminals in the terminal portion of the
housing, the guide means including:
dividers disposed between each of the individual terminals in the
terminal portion and forming slots therebetween;
the terminals being slidably disposed within the slots between the
dividers;
each of the dividers having an outer edge inwardly tapered towards
the adjacent slot to provide a surface for guiding the building
wiring conductors into engagement with the terminals in the
housing; and .Iaddend.
a cover removably disposable into engagement with the terminal
portion of the housing;
the cover including;
a plurality of spaced dividers formed with complimentary shaped
outer, inwardly tapering edges to cooperate in an engaged manner
with the dividers on the terminal portion of the housing to form
the slots for urging inward the building conductors into engagement
with the terminals
in the housing. 5. .[.The watthour meter socket adapter of claim 1
further including:.]..Iadd.A watthour meter socket adapter for
mounting a socket-type watthour meter having a plurality of blade
type electrical terminals to a building comprising:
a housing, the housing including:
a watthour meter receiving portion;
a plurality of biased electrical contacts mounted within the
watthour meter receiving portion for removably receiving the blade
type electrical terminals of a socket-type watthour meter in a
snap-in connection;
a terminal portion integrally formed with the watthour meter
receiving portion;
a plurality of electrical terminals mounted within the terminal
portion;
a plurality of electrical conductors connected between the contacts
in the watthour meter receiving portion and the terminals in the
terminal portion of the housing; and
guide means formed in the terminal portion of the housing for
guiding the electrical wiring conductors of the building into
engagement with the terminals in the terminal portion of the
housing; .Iaddend.
a cover removably engageable with the terminal portion of the
housing;
means for slidably attaching the cover to the housing, the
attaching means comprising:
complementary formed slot and flange means formed on the watthour
meter receiving portion of the housing and the peripheral edges of
the cover for
removable insertion of the cover into the housing. 6. The watthour
meter socket adapter of claim 5 further including:
a removable top;
key means lockably insertable through a portion of the top and
engageable
with the underlying cover for releasably locking the top to the
cover. 7. A watthour meter socket adapter for mounting a
socket-type watthour meter to a building comprising:
a housing, the housing including:
a watthour meter receiving portion;
a plurality of electrical contacts mounted within the watthour
meter receiving portion for receiving the terminals of a
socket-type watthour meter;
a terminal portion integrally formed with the watthour meter
receiving portion;
a plurality of electrical terminals mounted within the terminal
portion;
a plurality of electrical conductors connected between the contacts
in the watthour meter receiving portion and the terminals in the
terminal portion of the housing;
guide means formed in the terminal portion of the housing for
guiding the electrical wiring conductors of the building into
engagement with the terminals in the terminal portion of the
housing; and
surge protection means mounted within the housing and connectable
to earth ground for protecting the watthour meter from electrical
power surges, the surge protection means comprising a pair of wires
embedded within the watthour meter receiving portion of the housing
and connectable through
the housing to earth ground. 8. The watthour meter socket adapter
of claim 7 wherein the wires are mounted in the peripheral edge of
the watthour meter receiving portion of the housing. .[.9. A
watthour meter socket adapter for mounting a socket-type watthour
meter having a plurality of blade type electrical terminals to a
building comprising:
a housing, the housing including:
a watthour meter receiving portion;
a plurality of biased electrical contacts mounted within the
watthour meter receiving portion for removably receiving the blade
type electrical terminals of a socket-type watthour meter in a
snap-in connection;
a terminal portion integrally formed with the watthour meter
receiving portion;
a plurality of electrical terminals mounted within the terminal
portion;
a plurality of electrical conductors connected between the contacts
in the watthour meter receiving portion and the terminals in the
terminal portion of the housing; and
guide means formed in the terminal portion of the housing for
guiding the electrical wiring conductors of the building into
engagement with the terminals in the terminal portion of the
housing. .].
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to watthour meters and,
more specifically, to mounting attachments for watthour meters.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Electrical watthour meters have long been used to measure the
amount of electrical power consumed by a particular machine or
electrical utility customer. Watthour meters have been constructed
in various configurations depending upon the type of electrical
service that is required. Typically, the watthour meters have a
circular cross-section and are mounted on a wall or support surface
of a building or residence. They include gauges which indicate the
amount of power consumed by the customer. Older watthour meters of
the so-called bottom connected type are formed of a single piece
housing in which the watthour meter was fixedly mounted along with
terminals which provided connection to the building wiring. Any
defect in the watthour meter requires replacement of the entire
housing. To overcome this problem, socket-type watthour meters have
been devised in which the watthour meter plugs into a base having
contacts connected to terminals and the building wiring. This
enables defective watthour meters to be easily replaced without
removing the entire housing and internal conductors.
However, despite the advantages afforded by currently available
socket-type watthour meters, improvements are still durable in the
ease of manufacture of the socket-type housing, an adapter which
would easily convert existing bottom connector watthour meter
housings to a socket-type housing and a watthour meter housing
which providing effective surge potential.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is a socket adapter for an electrical
watthour meter which converts so-called bottom connected watthour
meter installations to socket-type watthour meter installations.
The adapter includes a housing having a watthour meter receiving
portion and a terminal portion. The watthour meter receiving
portion includes a back wall and upstanding side walls generally in
a circular configuration. A plurality of electrical contacts are
mounted on the back wall and receive blade terminals on the plug
in, socket-type watthour meter. Electrical conductors extend
between the contacts and individual terminals in the terminal
portion of the housing. The terminals in turn are connected to the
individual conductors of the building wiring.
Each terminal is mounted in a slot formed by spaced dividers
extending upward from the terminal portion of the housing. The
outer ends of the dividers are formed as guide means with inwardly
tapering edges to urge the building wiring conductors into the
slots and into engagement with the terminals.
A removable cover is lockably attachable to the terminal portion of
the housing and includes dividers complimentary formed to the
dividers in the terminal portion to complete the conductor guide
means.
Surge protection means are also provided in the housing in the form
of a wire embedded in a portion of the circumferential peripheral
edge of the watthour meter receiving portion of the housing. The
wire is connected through the back of the housing to earth ground
via a suitable connector.
The present watthour meter socket adapter provides numerous
advantages over previously devised watthour meter socket adapters
of the plug-in, socket type. The guide means formed on the terminal
portion and the cover allow easy insertion and connection of the
building conductors to the terminals in the adapter. The two-piece
terminal housing simplifies manufacturing the adapter since less
expensive and less complex molds are required to form the housing.
Furthermore, the two piece housing with a removable cover provides
easy access to the terminals within the terminal portion of the
housing.
Finally, the placement of the surge protection wiring within the
housing itself again simplifies manufacturing of the housing and
provides a simple and inexpensive means for protecting the watthour
meter from electrical power surges.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
The various uses, advantages and other features of the present
invention will become more apparent by referring to the following
detailed description and drawing in which:
FIG. 1 is an exploded, perspective view of the watthour meter
socket adapter of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is plan view of the socket adapter shown in FIG. 1, with the
cover removed from the terminal portion of the housing;
FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the shell cover;
FIG. 4 is a partial, plan view of the terminal portion of the
present invention with the terminals and conductors removed;
FIG. 5 is a front-elevational view of the terminal portion of the
socket adapter with the cover attached;
FIG. 6 is a rear view of the socket adapter housing of the present
invention; and
FIG. 7 is a rear view of a typical watthour meter showing the blade
terminals and ground surge connection tabs.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Throughout the following description and drawing, an identical
reference number is used to refer to the same component shown in
the various figures of the drawing.
In general, the present invention relates to a socket adapter for
converting a bottom connected watthour meter installation to a
socket-type watthour meter installation.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the socket adapter 10 is formed of a
housing adapted to receive a conventional socket-type watthour
meter 12 which is removably insertable into the housing 10.
The housing of the present invention includes a watthour meter
receiving portion 14, a terminal portion 16 and a removable shell
cover portion 18. The watthour meter 12 is shown by way of example
and does not form a part of the present invention. It is
illustrated merely for its provision of a plurality of blade
terminals or contacts 20 which extend outward from the rear wall of
the watthour meter 12 for connection to the adapter 10 and provide
electrical conductivity between the internal components of the
watthour meter 12 and the building wiring. Other types of watthour
meters may also be employed having different blade terminal 20
configurations.
The watthour meter receiving portion 14 has a backwall 16 and an
upstanding side wall 28 generally of circular configuration. The
outer peripheral edge of the side wall 28 is formed with an
outwardly extending flange 30 which forms a lip extending outward
from the side wall 28. A portion of the bottom circumferential
periphery of the flange 30 is broken away and left open to receive
a cover member as described hereafter.
A plurality of contact mounting bases denoted in generally by
reference number 32 in FIG. 2 are formed integrally in the backwall
26 of the watthour meter receiving portion 14 of the adapter 10.
The contact mounting bases 32 have a raised portion with an
integral aperture 34 for mounting the contacts shown in general by
reference number 36 thereon. The contacts 36 are in the form of a
pair of spring biased fingers which are formed of an electrically
conductive material and receive an electrical conductor or blade
terminal 20 therein as described hereafter. Due to the spring
biased nature of each contact 36, a blade terminal 20 of the
watthour meter 12 may be inserted therein to provided electrical
connection between the watthour meter 12 and the contact 36 of the
socket adapter 10.
As shown in FIG. 2, individual electrical conductors denoted in
general by reference number 38 extend between the contacts 36 and
individual terminals 40 mounted in the terminal portion 16 of the
housing 10 to provide connection between the watthour meter 12 and
the building wiring 43.
By example only, the terminal portion 16 of the socket adapter 10
is shown with four terminals 40. It will be understood that other
terminal configurations and number of terminals may be also
employed in the present invention depending upon the particular
electrical power needs of the user of the socket adapter 10 of the
present invention.
As noted above, the housing 10 also includes a terminal portion 16
which provides a mounting surface for the terminals 40. The
terminal portion 16 of the adapter 10 provides a means for
connecting the conductors 38 to the individual terminals 40 and to
the building or residence wiring connections denoted in general by
reference number 43 in FIG. 1. The terminal connections generally
comprise an elongated, electrically conductive screw 42 which is
threadingly mounted within a rectangularly shaped, electrically
conductive base or member 46 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 5.
The lead ends 48 of the conductors 38 are mounted on the bottom of
the terminal portion 16 of the housing and are spaced from the
threaded screw 42. This allows insertion of a correspondingly
shaped connector from the building wiring 43 into the slot between
the threaded screw 42 and the lead end 48 of the conductor 38.
The terminal bases or members 46 are slidably received within the
terminal portion 16 between spaced, parallel divider members
denoted by reference numbers 50, 52, 54, 56 and 58. The spaced
dividers 50, 52, 54, 56 and 58 as shown in FIG. 4 form a plurality
of channels or slots in which the terminal members 46 are slidably
disposed
Guide means are formed on the dividers 50, 52, 54, 56 and 58 in the
form of inwardly extending edges as shown in FIG. 2. The guide
means, as shown in FIG. 1 and in greater detail in FIG. 3, also
includes the cover member 18 which is insertable into the housing
by way of a slot and channel arrangement. As shown in FIG. 3, the
outer peripheral edge of the cover member 18 is provided with
outwardly extending flanges 60 on opposite ends of an arcuate
portion 62 which forms a part of the circular rim of the watthour
meter receiving portion 22 of the housing 10. The flanges 60 are
removably insertable into correspondingly formed slots 64 formed in
the bottom peripheral edges of the rim of the watthour meter
receiving portion 22 of the adapter 10 as shown in FIG. 2.
As shown in FIG. 3, the cover 18 is provided with complimentary
formed dividers 72, 74, 76, 78 and 80 also having inwardly tapering
outer edges which are disposed in registry with the correspondingly
shaped portions of the base terminal portion 16 of the housing to
form the slots or channels in which the connections are made
between the building wiring conductors 43 and the terminals 40.
This is shown more clearly in FIG. 5 in which the top 70 is
insertable over the cover 18 which, in turn, is mounted on the base
terminal portion 16 of the adapter housing.
As shown in FIG. 1, the socket adapter 10 of the present invention
also includes a removable top 70 which is insertable over the
exposed terminal portion of the cover 18 and the terminal portion
16 of the adapter 10. The top 70 is in the form of a planar member
having a horizontally extending projection 83 mounted at one side
end which is insertable into a complimentary formed slot in the
cover 18. A second slot or bore 82 receives a lock means, such as a
key 84, which is insertable through the aperture 82 in the top 70
into a inside surface on the top 70 and a slot 73 formed on the
cover 18. The key 84 is provided with a top located slot 86 through
which a pin may be inserted to lock the key 84 and top 70 to the
cover 18 on the watthour meter adapter 10 to prevent unauthorized
tampering or access to the terminal connections housed therein.
Mounting apertures 90 and 92, FIG. 4, are also formed in the
terminal portion 24 of the housing for mounting the adapter 10 to a
convenient mounting surface of the building or residence. A
centrally located aperture 94 is provided for receiving an
elongated pin, not shown formed in the cover 18 for aligning the
cover 18 with the terminal portion 24 of the adapter 10.
As shown in FIG. 4, the dividers 50 and 52 and the dividers 56 and
58 are formed with inwardly extending edges which face inward into
each slot and taper towards the center of the base terminal portion
16. The centrally located divider 54 is provided with two tapering
surfaces 100 and 102 each of which faces the tapering surfaces of
the spaced dividers 52 and 56. The cover 18 is also provided with
correspondingly formed dividers as shown in FIG. 5 which, when the
cover shell 18 is inserted over the terminal portion 16, combine
and cooperate with the dividers 50, 52, 54, 56 and 58 to form the
slots with inwardly tapering guide surfaces to provide ease of
connection of the building wiring 43 to the individual terminals 46
of the socket adapter 10.
The watthour meter socket adapter 10 is also provided with surge
protection means to protect the watthour meter 12 from excess
voltages, such as those caused by lightning strikes, etc. The surge
protecting means, as shown generally in FIG. 1 by reference number
110 and in greater detail in FIG. 6, is in the form of a wire which
extends along a portion of the peripheral edge of the watthour
metal receiving portion 22 of the adapter 10. The surface
protection means 110 which extends preferably, approximately
240.degree. around the periphery of the circumferential edge of the
watthour meter receiving portion 14 is in the form of two wires 120
and 122 which are embedded in a groove formed in the peripheral
edge 30 of the watthour meter receiving portion 14. The wires at
their closest proximity denoted in general by reference number 124
are bent downward toward the backwall 26 of the watthour meter
receiving portion 14 and again bent perpendicularly to extend along
the surface of the back wall 26. An electrically conductive
connector 126 electrically connects the wires 120 and 122 and
extends through the back wall 26. As shown in FIG. 6, an
electrically conductive slidable member 128 is mounted within a
slot 130 formed on the exterior surface of the back wall 26 of the
watthour meter receiving portion 14. A slot 132 is formed in an
upper portion of the conductive member 128 for connection to a
conductor connector, not shown, connected to earth ground. This
provides a conductive path from the watthour meter 12 to earth
ground which will protect the watthour meter 12 from excessive
voltage and current surges if the watthour meter 12 is struck by
lightning.
As shown in FIG. 7, the watthour meter 12 is provided with at least
two electrically conductive tabs 140 which are connected at their
interior ends 142 to the internal components of the watthour meter
12. The tabs 140 engage the surge protection wires 120 and 122 when
the watthour meter 12 is mounted in the adapter 10 to complete an
electrical circuit which protects the watthour meter 12 from excess
voltage and current surges.
In summary, there has been disclosed a unique socket adapter for
converting a bottom connected watthour meter installation to a
socket-type watthour meter installation. The adapter is inexpensive
in construction and can be configured to be mountable on any
conventional bottom connected watthour meter housing and to convert
such a watthour meter housing for socket-type watthour meter
installations. The adapter is inexpensive in manufacturing costs
and provides easy access by way of its removable cover to the
terminals connecting the watthour meter adapter connections to
existing building conductors. The watthour meter socket adapter
also includes a unique surge protection means which protects the
installed watthour meter from excessive voltage and current surges
caused by lightning strikes, etc .
* * * * *