US2051925A - Electrical connecter - Google Patents

Description

Aug. 25, 1936. J. wERTzHEIsx-:R

ELECTRICAL CONNECTER Filed May 25, 1935 IyENTOR ATTORNE Patented Aug. 25, 1936 PATENT OFFICE ELECTRICAL CONNECTER Joseph Wertzheiser, Newark, N. J., assignor to Hatfield Wire & Cable Co., Hillside, N. J.

Application May 23, 1935, Serial No. 22,944

12 Claims. (Cl. 173-332) This invention relates to an electrical'connecter especially adapted for use in connection with flat irons or heating devices having contacts of the type such as are now ordinarily used on electric flat irons.

In electrical connecters of the type described, the device is usually made of two parts of suitable insulating material and various means have heretofore been proposed and used for holding these insulating parts together. Some of the earlier devices used machinev screws and nuts, while later devices have utilized various types of external spring clips spanning both members. The first type has certain objections, one of which is that the nuts become loosened and the parts separate or fall apart entirely. Inthe external spring clip type of fastening means, the springs are accidentally hit and knocked off the connecterallowing the pieces to fall apart. Furthermore, with the exterior type of spring clip, as the flat iron is heated up in use, the heat is conveyed to the connecter and the spring clips actually get hot enough to burn the fingers of an operator when pulling the connecter from the iron.

It is one of the objects of my present inventionl to provide a fastening means which is normally positioned within the confines or interior portions of the insulating parts, so that it or they cannot be accidentally knocked out of place, and at the same time eliminates the possibility of burned lingers on the hand of the operator. Since the fastening means are encompassed within the parts of the connecter, the exterior appearance of the connecter is enhanced.

Another object of my invention is to provide an electrical connecter which is cheap to manufacture and one that is easily assembled and disassembled, yet when in assembled condition, the parts are securely held in operative position.

My improved construction will be readily understood by reference to the annexed drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a plan'view, approximately twice the size, of the connecter in assembled condition, without the connecting cord.

Figure 2 is a section on the lline 2--2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a view of the terminal or contact end of the connecter.

Figure 4 is a partial, sectional view of the lower portion of Figure 2, but on a scale twice the size of Figure 2, showing the clamping device in four stages of its assembly.

Figure 5 is a view approximately four times the size of the clamping device for holding the insulating parts together.

In the different views, I and 2 are members of suitable insulating material which, for low cost in manufacture, are preferably made substan- 5 tially identical or symmetrical, thereby comprising two complementary cooperative parts. The insulating parts I and 2 may have various outside design features which, however, are not the subject matter of the present application. The 10 parts I and 2 have recesses 3, 4 and 5 at the top portions to receive the usual guard spring around the cord carrying the electrical conductors to the contact members 6 and 1 which are positioned in lateral spaced relation in the lower portion of 15 the connecter. The contact parts 6 and 1 are usually made of two pieces formed and positioned within the parts I and 2 so as to flexibly engage the contact prongs on the flat iron. The contact parts 6 and 1 are usually-fastened to- 20 gether at their'inner ends by a clamping screw (not shown) which also acts to clamp the conductor to the terminals. The flexibility at the exterior .end of the contact parts 6 and 1 may be attained in several ways. First, by having sufll- 25 cient clearance space around the contact parts 6 and 1 so that they will spread sufciently without engaging the interior parts of the insulators in which they are carried as the connecter is pushed over the contact prongs of the iron. An- 30 other way is to hold the contact parts 6 and 1 closely together by the material of the pieces I and 2, and allow the parts I and 2 to spread under the tension of the spring-holding clamps. My invention can be applied to either type of con- 35 struction.

In my improved means for holding the parts I and 2 securely together, I have provided a clamp 8, shown in Figure 5, whichhas an eye portion 9' extending into hook-shaped arms I0 40 and II, thereby forming a tong-like shaped clamp. The member 8 is made of a material which is capable of taking and retaining a spring tension. I prefer to use two of the clamps 8, and in order to get them into normal locking position as shown in Figure 2, I have provided each of the parts I and 2 with transverse orifices or port holes I2 and interior spaces I3; that is to say, the spaces I3 are within the material of the insulators I and 2, being below the outer surfaces or confines thereof. The interior of the members I and 2 is provided with portions I4 which help form part of the orifices I2. The parts I4 have formations or surfaces I5, I6 and I1 which act in the naturel of cam surfaces, over median line of the connecter.

`which lone end, for jenample II, of thel clamp 8 is adapted to ride when the clamp 8 is-forced into locking position. .l

'Ihe various steps assumed by the clamp 8 are outlined in Figure 4. The clamp is first placed in the position shown by the dotted lines a, wherein the end II of the clamp engages the cam surface I 5. On pressure being applied to the clamp 8, it takes up the position b, inl which the eye portion 9 rides on the surface I8 forming the outer surface of the orices I2, and the portio'n II then passes to the cam surface I6. Cony tinued pressure on the clamp 8 moves it to the position c, in which the end II is justpassing over. the cam surface I'I. Due to the eye portion 9 engaging the surface I8 and the portion '-II of -the clamp engaging the cam surfaces as interior of the insulating members I and 2, so

that they cannot be accidentally hit and knocked out of position. I prefer to use two of the clamps 8 as shown in Figure 2, located in reverse position; that is to say, with the hook ends I8 and I I presented toward each other, but in longitudinal spaced arrangement substantially on the When it is ldesired to take the connecter apart, the clamps 8 may be reached through the transverse orifices I2 and either pushed, by means of the eyelet portion 9, into reverse direction to the various positions c, b, a, shown in Figure 4; or, as I prefer, by placing a-suitable tool, such as a screw driver, at the point 20 and pulling the end II around the cam surfaces in the reverse order indicated.

Since the parts I and 2 are moulded in a suitable die, the cam surfaces I5, I6 and I 1 and the locking formation I9 are easily secured. The parts I and 2 may also be provided with recesses 2| to receive a dowel pin so the parts I and 2 may be more easily assembled and insured against mis-alignment.

Since the clamps 8 are inexpensive to manufacture, I prefer to use two of them in the manner indicated, although one will hold the parts together very securely. Because the clamps 8 are housed within the insulating parts I and 2 of the connecter, they cannot be accidentally moved out of position or cause any burns to the fingers of the operator, and even if the clamps should become so hot as to lose their temper, a hardly probable case, they would not drop out because the portion 9 striking on the surface I8 would prevent their turning sufficiently of themselves to allow them to pass out of the port holes I2. It will be observed from the drawing and from what has been said, that the eye portion 9 of the clamp 8, wherein resides the greater portion of the tension of the clamp, when in locking position, as shown in full lines in Figure 4 and also in Figure 2, is free from contact with the amount ofheat which the clamps pick up by direct contact with the material of the plug.

While I have shown a preferred way of making the clamps 8, the shape may be varied.. as well as the .cooperative formations of the parts I and 2. v

VWhat I claim is: v

1'.'An electric connecteriincluding a pair complementary insulating members having cer- .taininterior recesses to receive contact members and vhaving' a pair'of spaced transverse openings through said insulating members, parts below the outer surface of ysaid insulated members adjacent said openings being formed to assist in thel insertion and holding of clamps, and spring clamps formed to cooperate with said parts to engage the same to clamp said insulating members together.

2. An electric connecter including a pair of complementary insulating members having certain interior recesses to receive contact members and having a pair of spaced transverse openings through said insulating members' locatedl substantially on the median line of the con? necter, and a pair of spring clamps insertable through said openings and engaging locking portions in said insulating members, said locking-v portions being below the outer surface sufllcient ly so the clamps, when inlocking position, are also below the outer surface of said insulating members.

3. An electric connecter including a pair of complementary insulating members having cerinsulating members and engaging formations below the outer surface of said members for clamping the members together, said members having spaces and orifices leading to said formations for passing said clamps into clamping position.

5. An -electric connecter including a pair of complementary insulating members having certain interior recesses to receive contact members, at least one spring clamp located entirely within the confines of said insulating members for clamping them together, at least one of said members having an exterior orifice therein leading into the interiorvof said members, saldorice serving as the means for passing said clamp into its clamping position and also for withdrawing the clamp. v

6. An electric connecter including a pair of complementary insulating members hav'ng cer- ,Y

tain interior recesses to receive contact membersnspring clamps having an eye portion ex-4 tending into hook-shaped arms, said clamps being positioned in spaced relation entirely withinsthe confines of said members with the hook-shapedv arms embracing enlargements below'the surface of said members to hold said members together,

said members having transverse orices for passing the clamps from either side of the connecter into their clamping position, the eye portions of through said orifices to force them from clamping position.

7. A connecter as set forth in claim 6, further characterized in that the surfaces of said enlargements form parts of said transverse orifices and have cam surfaces which cooperate with the opposite sides of said orifices to set the clamps under tension to cause them to snap into place when they are forced toward locking position.

8. An electrical connecter including a pair of separable `insulating members, metallic contact parts housed in lateral spaced relation within said .ing certain interior recesses to receive contact members, each of said insulating members having at least one transverse port hole arranged to align with the port hole in the other insulating member when the insulating members are in assembled position, each of said insulating members having a recess opening` into its port hole, the walls of parts of said recesses and port holes having formations to cooperate with a spring clamp and a spring-clamp formed to cooperate with said recess walls to engage the same to clamp said insulating members together.

10. A connecter as set forth in claim 9, further lcharacterized in that the port holes are dimensioned so as to at least assist in putting the 5 clamp under tension as it is forced into locking position as well as to prevent the clamp from falling out of the connecter should it lose its tension.

11. A connecter as set forth in claim 9, further 10 characterized in that the port holes are dimensioned so as to at least assist in putting the clamp under tension as it is forced to locking position, but to leave the tension end of the clamp free from contact with the wall of the port hole l5 after the clamp is moved to locking position.

12. An electrical connecter including a pair of separable insulating members, metallic contact parts housed in lateral spaced relation within said members, at least one spring clamp spaced 20 entirely within the `confines of the connecter members, which have formations well below the outer surface thereof to receive said clamp to hold said members together, said members having port holes forming a transverse orifice when 25 the insulating members are together, said insulating members also having spaces leading to said formations whereby the clamp may be passed into or Withdrawn from clamping position, only a portion of the clamp being in actual contact with 30 the said formations, the tension end of the clamp being freely positioned in said transverse orifice for the purpose described.

JOSEPH WERTZHEISER.

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