CA1305748C - Cord set for block heaters - Google Patents

Cord set for block heaters

Info

Publication number
CA1305748C
CA1305748C CA 559250 CA559250A CA1305748C CA 1305748 C CA1305748 C CA 1305748C CA 559250 CA559250 CA 559250 CA 559250 A CA559250 A CA 559250A CA 1305748 C CA1305748 C CA 1305748C
Authority
CA
Canada
Prior art keywords
cord
accessory
cord according
plug
male
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Fee Related
Application number
CA 559250
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Walter Wernicke
Arthur Petersen
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Phillips and Temro Industries Ltd
Original Assignee
Budd Canada Inc
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Budd Canada Inc filed Critical Budd Canada Inc
Priority to CA 559250 priority Critical patent/CA1305748C/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of CA1305748C publication Critical patent/CA1305748C/en
Expired - Fee Related legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • HELECTRICITY
    • H01ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01RELECTRICALLY-CONDUCTIVE CONNECTIONS; STRUCTURAL ASSOCIATIONS OF A PLURALITY OF MUTUALLY-INSULATED ELECTRICAL CONNECTING ELEMENTS; COUPLING DEVICES; CURRENT COLLECTORS
    • H01R13/00Details of coupling devices of the kinds covered by groups H01R12/70 or H01R24/00 - H01R33/00
    • H01R13/648Protective earth or shield arrangements on coupling devices, e.g. anti-static shielding  
    • H01R13/652Protective earth or shield arrangements on coupling devices, e.g. anti-static shielding   with earth pin, blade or socket
    • HELECTRICITY
    • H01ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01RELECTRICALLY-CONDUCTIVE CONNECTIONS; STRUCTURAL ASSOCIATIONS OF A PLURALITY OF MUTUALLY-INSULATED ELECTRICAL CONNECTING ELEMENTS; COUPLING DEVICES; CURRENT COLLECTORS
    • H01R24/00Two-part coupling devices, or either of their cooperating parts, characterised by their overall structure
    • H01R24/20Coupling parts carrying sockets, clips or analogous contacts and secured only to wire or cable
    • H01R24/22Coupling parts carrying sockets, clips or analogous contacts and secured only to wire or cable with additional earth or shield contacts
    • HELECTRICITY
    • H01ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01RELECTRICALLY-CONDUCTIVE CONNECTIONS; STRUCTURAL ASSOCIATIONS OF A PLURALITY OF MUTUALLY-INSULATED ELECTRICAL CONNECTING ELEMENTS; COUPLING DEVICES; CURRENT COLLECTORS
    • H01R24/00Two-part coupling devices, or either of their cooperating parts, characterised by their overall structure
    • H01R24/28Coupling parts carrying pins, blades or analogous contacts and secured only to wire or cable
    • H01R24/30Coupling parts carrying pins, blades or analogous contacts and secured only to wire or cable with additional earth or shield contacts
    • HELECTRICITY
    • H01ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01RELECTRICALLY-CONDUCTIVE CONNECTIONS; STRUCTURAL ASSOCIATIONS OF A PLURALITY OF MUTUALLY-INSULATED ELECTRICAL CONNECTING ELEMENTS; COUPLING DEVICES; CURRENT COLLECTORS
    • H01R13/00Details of coupling devices of the kinds covered by groups H01R12/70 or H01R24/00 - H01R33/00
    • H01R13/62Means for facilitating engagement or disengagement of coupling parts or for holding them in engagement
    • H01R13/627Snap or like fastening
    • HELECTRICITY
    • H01ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01RELECTRICALLY-CONDUCTIVE CONNECTIONS; STRUCTURAL ASSOCIATIONS OF A PLURALITY OF MUTUALLY-INSULATED ELECTRICAL CONNECTING ELEMENTS; COUPLING DEVICES; CURRENT COLLECTORS
    • H01R13/00Details of coupling devices of the kinds covered by groups H01R12/70 or H01R24/00 - H01R33/00
    • H01R13/64Means for preventing incorrect coupling
    • HELECTRICITY
    • H01ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01RELECTRICALLY-CONDUCTIVE CONNECTIONS; STRUCTURAL ASSOCIATIONS OF A PLURALITY OF MUTUALLY-INSULATED ELECTRICAL CONNECTING ELEMENTS; COUPLING DEVICES; CURRENT COLLECTORS
    • H01R2103/00Two poles
    • HELECTRICITY
    • H01ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01RELECTRICALLY-CONDUCTIVE CONNECTIONS; STRUCTURAL ASSOCIATIONS OF A PLURALITY OF MUTUALLY-INSULATED ELECTRICAL CONNECTING ELEMENTS; COUPLING DEVICES; CURRENT COLLECTORS
    • H01R2201/00Connectors or connections adapted for particular applications
    • H01R2201/26Connectors or connections adapted for particular applications for vehicles

Landscapes

  • Resistance Heating (AREA)

Abstract

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
An electrical cord set is used with an AC
operated automotive accessory, such as a block heater.
The cord set includes a multi-conductor electrical cord having one end connected to the accessory or a connector for electrical coupling to the accessory. At the other end of the cord is the usual multi-prong electrical plug for connection to a mains power outlet or the end of an extension cord. To enable the cord set to pass through a small dimension opening in an automotive grill, the cord is provided with a disconnectable coupling between its ends. The coupling includes mating male and female parts, with the male part having a thin, plate-like shape dimensioned to fit through a narrow slot in an automotive grill. This avoids the necessary routing of the cable either under the bumper of the vehicle or through the joint between the hood and the surrounding vehicle body.

Description

~3~ 8 FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to automotive accessories and more particularly to a cord for an auto-mobile accessory operated by AC current through an exten-sion cord.

BACKGROUND
Known automobile accessories operated by AC
power through extension cords include block heaters, battery chargers, battery warmers and in-car heaters. In most cases, such accessories have an electrical cord that extends from the accessory to a three prong plug that is, in use, plugged into an extension cord for connection in turn to a conventional AC mains power outlet.
In the past, it has been conventional practice to pass the cord of the accessory through the grill in front o~ the automobile radiator so that the plug is readily available. The cord may be tied or otherwise connected to the grill to keep the plug in place. How-ever, some automobile designs are such that the relative-ly large plug cannot fit through the small openings available in the automobile grill. This makes it diffi-cult to pass the cord to the front of the automobile in a protected and relatively secure position. In these i7~

cases, practice has been either to drop the cord out of the engine compartment and pass it under the vehicle bumper to hook on to the front of the vehicle, or to pass the cord between the hood and the surrounding body panels. Neither arrangement is particularly satisfac-tory. If a cord running under the bumper should come loose, the plug and cord will drag on the ground and will become dirty, difficult to extract from under the car and likely damaged. Passing the cord through the joint between the hood and the surrounding body of the vehicle leads to jamming, possible damage to the vehicle and cutting of the cord.
The ob]ective of the present invention is to provide a cord set that ameliorates this problem.

SUMMARY
According to the present invention there is provided an electrical cord for use with an AC operated automotive accessory, comprising a multi-conductor elec-trical cord having an accessory end ~ixed to a part of substantially greater size than the cross-sectional dimension of the cord, a plug end fixed to a multiple contact electric plug also substantially greater size than the cross-sectional dimension of the cord, and a '~

13~5~

disconnectable cord coupling between the accessory and the plug ends of the cord, havi:ng mating components connected to respective parts of the cord, at least one of said components having a thin E~rofile with at least one transverse dimension substantially less than the minimum cross-sectional dimensions of the part and the plug.
The thin component of the cord coupling is ~esigned to pass through narrow openings in a vehicle grill so that one part of the cord can be installed in the engine compartment and the other outside, with the thin part of the coupling threaded through the grill for connection to the other part of the coupling.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate an exemplary embodiment of the present invention:
Pigure 1 is a pictorial representation of a cord set according to the present invention for use in conjunction with a block heater;
Figure 2 is a plan view of the thin component of the cord coupling;
Pigure 3 is a side elevation of the thin c~m-ponent of the cord coupling; and Figure 4 is a plan view, partially broken away, "

~3~

showing the internal configuration of the two components of the cord coupling.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Referring to the accompanying drawings, ther~
is illustrated a cord set 10 for an automotive block heater. The cord set has a three wire electrical cord 12 with a plug 14 fitted to one end. The plug consists of a molded block 16 with two blades 17 and a round ground prong 18 projecting from its end. This type of plug is conventional in form and is used to engage a grounded mains power outlet of the conventional type.
At the other end of the cord 12 is a molded block 20 that includes an arcuate lug 22 projecting from one of its side faces. The lug has two sockets 24 for connection to contact pins of an automotive block heater, and a ground socket 26 for connection to a ground contact of the heater. Between the plug 14 and the heater con-nection 20, there is a cord coupllng 28 that has a female part 30 and a male part 32. The male part is thin, flat :
and of ~enerally rectangular outline as illustrated in Figures 2 and 3. The dimensions are such that this part can flt through the small openings in an automotive grlll. The leading edge 34 of the male part 32 is cham-~3~ 8 fered and a peripheral groove 36 is provided spacedslightly from the chamfered edge.
The female part 30 of the coupling 28 is also of flat, rectangular form, although it is larger in dimension than the male part. As illustrated most parti-cularly in Figure 4, there is a socket 38 in its end face that is dimensioned to receive the end of the male part 32. There is a peripheral rib 40 around the inner lip of the socket 38 to engage the groove 36 in the male part, when it is seated in the socket 38. During the engagement process, the wall of the female part around the socket 38 stretches over the end of the male part until the rib 40 contracts into the groove 36.
The female part 30 of the coupling 28 has three prongs 42 spaced along the socket 38 and projecting from it. These correspond to the ~hree wires of cord 12 an~
fit into matching sockets 44 in the end of the male part 32. The sockets 44 are lined with sleeves a6 that are electrically connected to the three wires of the cord 12, as are the prongs 42. As illustrated most particularly in Figure 4, the prongs and the sockets are asymmetrical-ly arranged 50 that the male and female parts can only be coupled in one orientation.
To install the cord ~et 10 for use, the part of 13~1S7~1~

the cord containing the heater plug 20 and the female part 30 of the coupling 28 is installed in the engine compartment of the vehicle, with the female part 30 located adjacent the grill through wh:ich the cord is to exit the engine compartment. The cord may be fastened in place with appropriate fasteners. The heater plug 20 is engaged in the usual way with the engine block heater.
The remainder of the cord set is located outside of the engine compartment and the male part 32 of coupling 28 is threaded through an appropriate opening in the vehicle grill. Because of the thin dimension of this part, it can fit through much smaller spaces than either the plug of 14 or the heater connection 20. The two parts of the coupling 28 are then engaged with one another to provide a complete cord set with one end connected to the block heater and the other end available outside of the grill of the automobile for connection to the usual extension cord.
While the invention has been described in connection with a block heater cord, it is to be under-stood that it is equally appllcable to electrical cords for other automotive accessories, such as battery chargers, battery warmers, in-car heaters and the like.
With some accessories of this sort, the end of the cord ~L3~ 8 opposite the plug 14 will be connected directly to the accessory or to another component equivalent to the heater connection 20 ~hat is too large to fit through many automotive grill openings.
Thus, while the invention has been described in one embodiment, it is to be understoud that the scope of the invention is to be construed solely by reference to the appended claims.

Claims

CLAIMS:
(1) An electrical cord for use with an AC
operated automotive accessory, comprising a multi-conductor electrical cord having an accessory end fixed to a part of substantially greater size than the cross-sectional dimension of the cord, a plug end fixed to a multiple contact electric plug also substantially greater size than the cross-sectional dimension of the cord, and a disconnectable cord coupling between the accessory and the plug ends of the cord, having mating components connected to respective parts of the cord, at least one of said components having a thin profile with at least one transverse dimension substantially less than the minimum cross-sectional dimensions of the part and the plus.
(2) A cord according to Claim 1 wherein the plug is a three conductor male plug.
(3) A cord according to Claim 1 wherein the part is an accessory plug for connection to the acces-sory, (4) A cord according to Claim 1 wherein the cord coupling comprises a female component and a substan-tially flat male component engageable therewith.
(5) A cord according to Claim 4 wherein the male component is a flat, plate-like block.
(6) A cord according to Claim 5 wherein the male component has sockets in a free end thereof.
(7) A cord according to Claim 6 wherein the female component is a block with a recess in one end for receiving the free end of the male component.
(8) A cord according to Claim 7 wherein the female component has pins in the recess for engagement in the sockets of the male component.
(9) A cord according to Claim 5 wherein the male component has a chamfered leading edge at the free end.
(10) A cord according to Claim 9 wherein the male component has a peripheral groove adjacent the lead-ing edge.
(11) A cord according to Claim 10 wherein the female component has an internal peripheral rib for engagement in the peripheral groove of the male compon-ent.
(12) A cord according to Claim 4 wherein the male and female components are configured to allow engagement of the two in one orientation only.
(13) A cord according to Claim 1, 2 or 3 wherein the accessory is a block heater.

(14) A cord according to Claim 4, 5, or 6 wherein the accessory is a block heater.
(15) A cord according to Claim 7, 8 or 9 wherein the accessory is a block heater.
(16) A cord according to Claim 10, 11 or 12 wherein the accessory is a block heater.
CA 559250 1988-02-18 1988-02-18 Cord set for block heaters Expired - Fee Related CA1305748C (en)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
CA 559250 CA1305748C (en) 1988-02-18 1988-02-18 Cord set for block heaters

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
CA 559250 CA1305748C (en) 1988-02-18 1988-02-18 Cord set for block heaters

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
CA1305748C true CA1305748C (en) 1992-07-28

Family

ID=4137473

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
CA 559250 Expired - Fee Related CA1305748C (en) 1988-02-18 1988-02-18 Cord set for block heaters

Country Status (1)

Country Link
CA (1) CA1305748C (en)

Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE102008003867B4 (en) * 2007-01-18 2016-03-03 Borgwarner Ludwigsburg Gmbh Automotive heater

Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE102008003867B4 (en) * 2007-01-18 2016-03-03 Borgwarner Ludwigsburg Gmbh Automotive heater

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Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
MKLA Lapsed