CA1206247A

CA1206247A - Terminal block

Info

Publication number: CA1206247A
Application number: CA000436112A
Authority: CA
Inventors: Thomas W. Cruise; Thomas N. Milbrandt
Original assignee: Magnetic Controls Co
Current assignee: Magnetic Controls Co
Priority date: 1982-09-07
Filing date: 1983-09-06
Publication date: 1986-06-17
Also published as: AU555361B2; JPS5963915A; AU1890183A; EP0104512A1; US4538868A

Abstract

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
A terminal block having a housing, a connector panel rotatably mounted between the side walls of the housing between first and second positions, a latch mechanism for releasably retaining the panel in its first or second position and a front door pivotally secured to the housing.

Description

~ Eii2~

1 TitleO Terminal Block BACKGROUND OF_TEE INVENTION
The prese~ invention relates generally to a terml~al blo~k, and ~ore particularly, to a termlnal block adapted for use ln fields such as telec~mmu~icati~ns and data transmi~sion.
Various types of tesminal blocks p~ese~tly exist i~ the prior art for use in fields of art such as telecom~unications and data trans-mission. The fu~ction of these terminal blocks includes receiving a plurali~y of inCG~i~g elec~rical leads Cof~en several hundred) and providing means ~or organizi~g those leads for readily accPss~ng such leads and crosspatchlng various leads with one another.
A preferred ter~inal block should provlde means for r0~dily co~necting the various incoming leads to a c:o~nector panel or the like and means for iden~ifying and organizing thc>se i~coming leads. It is also preferable to keep the terminal block ~;tructure as compact as poss~ble, thus minimi~ing the space required to house the texmi~al block u~it. While efforts h~ve been ~ade to construct terminal block3 wlth the above ob~ectives in mlnd, there are sti:Ll further improvements that can be ~ch~eved. Accordi~gly, there oonttnues to be a need for a termina~ block which acc~mplishes the above-idelltified objectives~
SU~iAR~ OF_l~lE INVE~aTIO~a The present invention provides an improved terminal block co~truction which provides quick and ea~ access to the varlsu~ $ncoming leads and a~so provides mes~s for quickly and easily conne~ti~g the s~me to the back cide ~f the te~mi~al blvck co~nector panel. Speciflcally, . .
~the~~.tructur~ of the present inve~tio~ inoludes a terminal block p~el having conne~or eleme~ts accessible fro~ both the rearward a~d the fo~ward surface Qf the panel. Means ~re pro~ided for rotatin~ the pa~el ab~u~ a pl~ot poiut a~d ma~ntalning the s~e i~ that position ~o provlde 1 access to the rearward surface for connectio~ of the incomlng leads.
The panel is then rotated back to lts no~mal positi~n to provite quick ant easy acces~ to the conne tor elements on the front surface of the panel.
Means aTe also pTovided for pivotally securlng the front pan21 door to th~ ~ermi~al block housin~. This ~e~ns includes a unique wire hinge element whlch also functio~s to secure a lead designation chart o~ ta~le to the inslde surface of the front panel door~ The present inv~ntion also provides a terminal block which is co~nectorl~ed In tha~ it incl~des a plurallty of electrical connector elements to receive the i~c~ming leads. These connector elements are arranged i~ a pa~tern offset from one anotheI to permit maxlmum density of connector eleme~ts ln the tenminal block. This enables the ter~inal block structure to be kept as c~mpact as p~sslble. A urther feature of the present invent~cn is the provlsion of a plurality of elongatedl access openings on the ~o~uector element chsssis to provlde fro~t E~ide access to the ~ari~us connectors within the terminal bloc~.
Accordingly, lt is an ~b~ect of the present in~ention ~o pro~ide a~ improved term$~al bloc~ which is as compact as p~ssible and ~hich pro~ide~ qul~k a~d easy access to both the fro~t and rear ~ surfaces of the teTminal ~lock coDnector pa~el.
Another ob~ect of the present inventio~ ~s to proYide a means for facilitati~g the quick and easy con~ectio~ o~ YariOus leads tD the co~nector p2nel.
A fuTther ob~ect of the present inve~tio~ i8 to pro~ide a uni~ue hi~ge mechanism for the ter~lnal block forward door pa~el wh~ch al o fu~ctions a~ ~ de~ignation card holder.
Ansthe~ ~bject of the present inventio~ is to pro~ide a c~ne tor ~ounti~g chassis wh~ch p~rmits ~aximum dens.lty of con~ectors ~2--.
. - .. , 1 and which als~ provides ready access to the co~nectors from the front side of the ch~5si80 These ~nd other ob~ects of the present invention ~11 b~co~e appar~t wlth reere~ce:to:the ~rawln~, the descrlption of the preferred embodime~t and ~he appended ~laims.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DR~INGS:
Figure 1 ls a pictorial vi~w of the terminal block of the prese~t invention ~ith portions of the front doo~ and top cover broken ~way.
Flgure 2 is a pictorial view imilar to Figure 1 ~ith the front door open a~d removed from the housing and the connector p~nel p$voted to its ~ec:ond position.
Figure 3 is an elevational view of a portion of the co~ne~tor panel s~owi~g the latch ~ea~s for re~aining the coDnector pa~el in its second positio~.
Figure 4 is an elev~io~al side vlew, with portioDs broken ~wag, of the terml~al block of the pr2sent i.nvention ~lth the coDnector pa~e7 i~ lts second positio~O
Figure S ls ~n ele~tio~al botto~ vi~ of the c~nnectos cbassls por~ion ~ the prese~t invention showl~g ~he connector eleme~ts ~ecured to the chassis.
DES~RIPTION OF THE P~EFERRED EMBODIMENT

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The te ~ ~al bl9ck of the present i~ve~tion is identif$ed by the r~fer~nee ~umeral 10 3nd is lllustrated bes~ i~ F$gures 1 a~d 2.
~s show~, the tenml7lal block 10 includes a housi~g comprising a pais of p~rallel side ~all~ 11 and 12, a bottD~ wall 14 and a rearward ~all 15. -l~le bot~m ~all 14 extends ~etween the side walls 11 and 12 ~d 1~
position~d ~ear th~ forward end of the terminal block 10. ~he rear~ard wall 15 e~tends between the side walls 11 and 12 along their rearward edge. '~he termlnal block 10 also i~cludes a rotatable co~netor panel 1 16 and a connector chassis 40. The connector panel 16 is rotatably mounted between the side walls 11 and 12 by the threaded members 22. The axis of rotation is perpendicular to the side walls 11 and 12. When fully assembled as shown in Figure 1, the housiny ineludes a top cover por-tion 13 having its rearward edge adapted for insertion into the slot 33 (Figure 2) and its forward end secured to the top portion 19 of the fanning strip 20. The cover 13 is secured to the top portion 19 by a pair of screws 23, 23.

As illustrated best in Figure 1, the panel member 16 is rectangularly shaped and includes a plurality of connector elements 18 arragned in a grid pattern. The~e connector elements 18 can be any of several conventional connector elements such as split cylinder type connec-tors or the like.
In the preferred embodiment, the connector members 18 comprise a plastic housing surrounding a split cylinder type connector.
The purpose of these connectors 18 is lto facilitate access to and selective cross patch.ing and cross connection of various incoming telecommunication or data transmission leads. The panel 1~ has a relati.vely flat forward surface on which the connector elem~nts 18 are mounted, a flat rearward surface (Figure 2) from which the back side 44 of the connectors 18 extend and a panel top 19 securely connected with the panel by a pair of threaded members 37 ~Figure 2). The panel top 19 includes a forwardly disposed fanning strip 20 for separating sets of wires from one another and for guiding the same from the forward surface of the panel 16 rearwardly to the rearward fanning strip 27, As illustrated .in Figures 1 and 2, the ~ear-ward fanning 27 is integrally formed with the rearward wall 15.

~2~96%~

The terminal block lO also includes a forwardly disposed, hinged fron-t door 25 which i.s pivotally secured to a pair of tab portions 24, 24 extending forwardly and outwardly from a portion of the bot-tom wall 14. The door 25 is a relatively rectangular shaped element having a pair oE block portions 26, 26 secured to -the inward face of the door 25.
Each of the portions 26, 26 and the tabs 24, 24 includes a hole 38 and 36, respectively (Figure 2), to receive opposite ends 29, 29 (Figure 2) of a wire hinge member 28. The wire hinge 28 is 10 constructed of a single piece of wire and is bent in the manner illustrated in Figure 2 with a pair of oppositely extending end portions 29, 29 and an irtermediate portion comprising a pair of side sections 39, 39 extending at righ-t angles to the ends 29, 29 and a central poxtions 43 extending between the side sections 39, 39. When the ends 29, 29 are inserted into the holes 38, 38 and 36, 36, the door 25 becomes pivotally secured with respect to the terminal block housing. The door 25 also includes a hinge retaining tab 63 adapted to retain the wire hinge member 28 in engagement with the front door 25 so that it functions to retain a designation card 47 or the like with respect to the door 25. It should be no-ted that the side sections 39, 39 of the wire hinge member 28 include a plurality o~ curves, thus resulting in the exertion of a force against the designation card 47 to ho~d the same with respect to -the door 25. The door 25 also includes a la-tch member 30 adapted for latching engagement with a notched portion of the fanning strip 20.
The connector panel 16 is mounted for pivotal movement ~ith respect to the side walls ll and 12 by the threaded members 3~

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37. The panel 16 is rotatable between a first position illustrated in Fiyure 1 in which access to the connector portions 18 on the forward surface of the panel 16 is provide~
and a second posi.tion illustrated in Figure 2 in which access to the connector portions 44 on the rearward surface of the panel 16 is provided~ ~he panel 16 is releasably retained in its first position by a pair of threaded members 21, 21 which extend through the panel 16 and into a pair of corres-ponding openings 52 in the base support member 50.
As shown best i.n Figures 2, 3 and 4 the panel 16 is releasably reta:ined in its second posit.ion by a retaining means which includes the stop member or stand-off 36 and the latch member ~4. This facilitates access to the rearward sur-face of the panel 16 which in turn facilitates electrical con-nection of a plurality of connecting wires 59 extending from the connectors 42 (Figure 2).
With continui.ng reference to Figure 2, the panel 16 includes a pair of side tab portions 31, 31 extendiny rearwardly from the panel to enable pivotal mounting of the ~O panel 16 to the side walls 11 and 12. One of the brackets 31 (the one positioned to the right in Figure 2) includes an extension 52 to which the latch member 34 is mounted. As illustratedr the latch member 34 is mounted to the tab e~tension 52 by a pair of threaded members 32, 32. As shown ~est in Figllre 3, the lower end of the latch member 34 is biased out-wardly away from the extension 52 so that it engages the shoulder portion ~5 in the side wall 12 when the panel 16 is pivoted to its second position illustrated in Fi.~ure ~. When the panel reaches this position, the latch member 34 snaps outwardly and engages the shoulder 35, thus precluding pivotal 6~

1 movement of the panel 16 in a direction toward the first position. The latch 34 is released by manually depressing the latch member 34 so that its bot-tom portion no longer rests on the shoulder 35. When this is done, the panel 16 can be pivoted forwardly and downwardly toward its first position illustrat~d in Fiyure 1~ Pivotal movement of the panel 16 in a direction away from the first position is limited by the stop member or stand off 36. The stop membe.r 36 is engaged by a por~ion of the panel top 19~
The terminal bloc~ 10 also includes a connector chassis 40 illustrated best in Figures 2, 4 and 5. The chassis 40 includes a forwardly extending mounting tab 56 and a pair of upwardly extending mounting tabs 53, 53 for pur poses of mounting the chassis 40 to the housing. The tab 56 includes openi.nys 57 for mounting to a portion of the bottom wall 14 and the tabs 53, 53 include openings for connection to the side walls 11 and 12. A pluralit~y of threaded members 54 extend through these openings and through the side walls 11 and 12.
The chassis 40 includes a plurality of connectors 42 mounted to the chassis 40 in the manner shown in Figures 2 and 5. The connectors 42 are conventional connectors which are offset from one another to provide maximum connector density.
Each of the connectors 42 receives a plurality of incoming leads 58 (Figure 4). A similar number of leads 59, corresponding to the leads 58, extend from the connectors 42 to the connector portions 44 on the rearward surface of the panel 16. As shown in Figure 2, the forward wall of the chassis 40 is provided with a plurality of elongated openings 41. These openings 41 3~ correspond to the connectors 42 to provide side access for the purpose of facilitating connection and removal of mating connectors ~2.
Having described the structure of the preEerred embodiment in detail, the operation can be understood as follows.
First, the connectors ~2 with incoming leads 58 and co~necting leads 59 are mounted in the chassis 40 in a conventional manner.
Following this, the panel 16 is pivoted upwardly to the position illustrated in Figure 2. This provides access to the connector portions 4~ on the rearward surface of the panel 16.
Each of the connector wires 59 from the connectors 42 is then connected with one of the connector portions 44. If the con~ector portions 44 are split cylinder connectors as in the preferred embodiment, a special tool is utilized. The stop member 36 resists the insertion force developed during this connecting process. After these connections are made, the latch 34 is manually released and the panel 16 is pivoted downwardly to the position illustrated in Figure 1 and the screws 21, 21 rotated to secure the panel in this positionO
~s this point, connecting wires 45 are connected with each of the connectors 18 on the forward surface of the panel 16.
These wires 45 are then connected with other connectors 18 ~crosspatched) or are directed outwardly through the fanning strip 20, over the cover 13 and then through the rearward fanning strip 27, to some remote location.
Although the description of the preferred embodiment has been quite specific, it is contemplated that various changes could be made without deviating from the spirit of the present invention. Accordin~ly, it is intended that the scope of the presen-t inven-tion be defined by the appended claims rather than by the description of the preferred embodiment.

Claims

1. A terminal block comprising:
a housing having a pair of generally parallel side walls;
a connector panel with forward and rearward surface rotatably mounted between said side walls about an axis perpendicular to said side walls, said connector panel including a plurality of connector elements providing connection portions on both its forward and rearward surfaces and being rotatably moveable between a first position in which access to the connection portions on the forward surface of said panel is provided and a second position in which access to the connection portions on the rearward surface of said panel is provided;
first means for releasably retaining said connector panel in its first position;
second means for releasably retaining said connector panel in its second position; and a front door pivotally secured to said housing between said side walls near the lower, forward corner thereof.

2. The terminal block of claim 1 wherein said second means includes a stop member for limiting the rotational movement of said connector panel in a direction away from said first position.

3. The terminal block of claim 2 wherein said second means further includes a latch means for selectively limiting the rotational movement of said connector panel in a direction toward said first position.

4. The terminal block of claim 1 including a wire hinge member for pivotally securing said front door to said housing.

5. The terminal block of claim 4 wherein said wire hinge member comprises a pair of ends lying on a common axis for pivotally securing said front door to said housing and an intermediate section integrally joined with said pair of ends and extending over a portion of the inside surface of said front door.

6. The terminal block of claim 5 wherein said interme-diate section includes means for retaining a connector designation card.

7. The terminal block of claim 6 including a latching tab connected with said front door for retaining said intermediate section in engagement with the inside surface of said front door.

8. The terminal block of claim 1 including a connector chassis mounted to said housing between said side walls.

9. The terminal block of claim 8 including a plurality of connectors mounted in side-by-side relationship with adjacent connectors being offset with respect to one another to provide maximum connector density.

10. The terminal block of claim 8 wherein said connector chassis includes a forward edge having a plurality of elongated openings to provide front side access to said connectors for securing and removing mating connectors.