CA2035394A1 - Pluggable connector for use with insulation displacing barrel terminals - Google Patents

Abstract

ABSTRACT:
A multiple piece terminal includes a first section which is stationary relative to the housing of the connector and rotatable sections which are rotatable relative to the first section. Each of the sections is comprised of a single thickness of metallic material wrapped into a substantially cylindrical configuration, where the rotatable sections are of a larger outer diameter than the first section such that the rotatable sections can engagingly overlie the first section. The first section is mounted to an insulative housing with a post section upstanding through the center of the first section. The post has at least one through opening which includes at least partially along its length, a frusto-conical section for wire section through the opening. The rotatable sections of the terminal has two wire receiving openings, each in communication with a wire-receiving slot around the circumference of the cylinder, with the two wire receiving openings being on opposed sides of the through opening on the post. Caps fit over the rotatable sections of the terminal, each cap has a shoulder which is engagable with a free end of a respective rotatable section of the terminal for rotation of the rotatable section of the terminal relative to the first section of the terminal. When wires are placed in through the caps and the caps are turned, the rotatable sections of the terminal are rotated and the wires are terminated in the wire receiving slots.

Description

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PLUGGABLE CONNECTOR FOR USE_WITH
INSULATION DISPLACING BARREL TERMIN.AL5 The invention relates to a terminal receiving block which has a pluggable connector pro~ided at one end thereof. The pluggable connector is electrically connected to terminals, each terminal has at least one wire receiving slot provided at an end thereof for the insertion of respecti~e wires therethrough.
There are many instances where terminal blocks are set up in arrays for receipt of wires therein. Many of these terminal blocks are simply threaded members fixed with insulation material which receive wires either wrapped around the threaded members and secured thereto by an application of a nut, or the wires are terminated by known spade or ring terminals and then secured to the threaded me~ber by a nut~ While these have, in some instances, provided effective means for termination, khey have not always been convenient for installation, maintenance, or repair and they frequently are subjected to environmental degradation with a resulting loss o~
desired electrical characteristics.
There is a n2ed, predominantly within the telecommunications industry for reusable terminals, and terminals which can accommodate more than one conductor size. The telephone wires coming from the phone company can either be in the form of buried cable or aerial wires. The terminal blocks would be mounted in either 3 ~ ~

an enclosure on the aerial mount, or in an enclosed pedestal affixed to the ground, or on a poleO As new telephones are installed in a selected locality, the phone wires are then terminated to the respective terminals on the high density array.
As the terminals can be used over many cycles, there i~ a possibility of damaging a respective terminal or terminal block. Consequently, there is a need to provide a terminal block which can be easily removed and replaced with minimal effort and minimal tovling. This is of particular importance because the terminal blocks are provided in field locations, i. 2 . on poles, etc.
However, the present devices are no~ easily replaced.
There is also a need, particularly in applications in which the terminals are to be terminated in the field, for the terminals to be easily installed. As many wires are required for operation, it is essential that the installation o* the wires be accomplished with minimal ef~ort and minimal tooling. However, the present devices are not easily installed, and consequently, the cost of the installa~ion is significant.
While the preferred embodiment of connector disclosed herein is for telecommunications applications, for example for electrical interconnection of tip and ring voice signals, the invention could be used with other wire sizes and in other applications.

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U.S. Patent 4,431,247 shows an insulated terminal and module, however the shell of the terminal only includes one wire opening for insulation displacement.

Other previous designs are shown in U~S. Patents 4,637,675 and 4,705,340 where stationary terminals are located within housings and rotatable caps are placed over the terminals. Rotation of the cap causes the wires within the caps to be rotated into the stationary insulation displacement portions. While the previous versions shown in the '675 and '340 patents are excellent designs, these designs include shortcomings which have been addressed by the instant design.

A major shortcoming with respect to the prior art connectors relates to the ease of installation and repair. In order for the terminal blocks to be connected to the system, there is a need for labor intensive operations. The wires which extend from the bottom of the terminals must be ~pliced to appropriate wires of the cable. This is very time con~uming and difficult, particularly in field applications.
The newly designed terminal and connector which we have invented has rectified these earlier shortcomings and is summarily explained below.

The pre~ent invention is directed to a terminal block which is pluggable into a pedestal or the like.
This pluggable terminal block allows ~or easy installation and replaces ~he labor intensive operation .

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currently used to terminate the terminal block to the cable.
In particular, the insulation displacement type connector has a housing with at least on~ cavity defined by a cylindrical wall, and a wire receiving opening which extends through the wall and into the interior of the cavity. A cylinder formed of conductive material defining a tubular wall is positioned in the cavity.
The cylinder has at least one wire receiving entry through the wall thereof~ the entry is initially aligned with the wire receiving opening of the housing. A
pluggable means is provided in the insulation displacement connector, the pluggable means is electrically connected to the cylinder and mounted on the housing~ Such that as the insulation displacement type connector i9 mounted to a mating surface, the pluggable means is positioned to cooperate with a respective mating pluggable member to insure that the insulation displacement type connector is placed in elactrical engagement with the mating connector.
Discrete wires are provided in the insulation displacement type connector, tha discrete wires are provided to electrical connect the conductive cylinders o~ the housing to respective contacts of the pluggable means.
A sealing material is providad proximate the mating sur~ace of ~he insulation displacement type connector, .

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the sealing material cooperates with lower portions of the conductive cylindars and the discrete wires to provide an environmental seal thereabout. The wire receiving face of the electrical connector is also positioned in the sealing material. The sealing material cooperates with the wire receiving face and the discrete wires to form an environmental seal thereabout, the sealing material also cooperates with the electrical connector to maintain ~he electrical connector in position relative to the insulation displacement type connector.
FIGURE 1 is a perspective view showing a high density array of terminals and caps.
FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of the subject two piece terminal exploded apart.
FIGURE 3 is a front plan vi~ew showing the two piece t~rminal of Figure 2.
FIGURE 4A is a cross sectional view through the upper insulation displacement slot showing the cap and upper terminal in the fully open position.
- FIGURE 4B is a view similar to that of Figure 4A
showing the cap through a f irst detent .
FIGURE 4C is a view similar to that of Figures 4A
and 4B showing the cap and upper terminal in ~he fully terminated condition.
FIGURE 5 is an isometric view of the cap portion.

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FIGURE 6 is an isometric view, partially cut away, through the housing.
FIGURE 7 is a stamped blank of the lower portion of the terminal prior to being rolled into a b~rrel terminal.
FIGURE 8 is a stamped blank of the upper portion of the terminal prior to being rolled into a barrel terminal.
FIGURE 9 is a top view of a section of the housing.
FIGURE 10 is a bottom plan view showing the underside of the connector with discrete wires in a terminated condition.
FIGURE 11 is a bottom perspective view showing the the terminal block in a fully assembled condition.
With reference ~irst to Figure 1, an electrical connector 2 is shown which includes an insulative hou~ing member such as 4 including a plurality of silo members, such a~ 6 and 8, disposed in two opposed rows.
With reference now to Figure 6, the housing member will be described in grea~er ~etail, and it should ~e noted that Figure 6 shows the internal struct-lre of silo 8 in particular, however it should be noted that the internal structure of silo 6 is identical to that of silo 8.
Both silo~ 6 and 8 include an internal diameter such as 14 which extends circum~erentially around the internal surface of the silo where it ends with stop surfaces 18 and 20. A longitudinally extending ~hannel 16 extends :

along the langth of the ~ilo and includes opposed parallel surfaces 16a and an end surface 16b. Alvng a portion of the internal circumferential sur~ace, proximate to stop surface 20 is a first detent member 22 which defines a recessed section 24 adjacent to the stop surface 20 and further defines a shallow surface 30. A
second detent member 32 i8 located ~eyond the first detent member 22 and defines a second shallow surface 34. Surface 34 is gradually increasing in thickness 10 from a position just beyond the detent 32, and increases in thickness upon radial movement from the detent member 32 to the opening 12. Each of the surfaces 30 and 34 extend only partially along the length of the silo thereby defining a floor such as 36 partially along the length thereof. Inner-circumferential sur~ace 14 extends from the floor 36 downwardly to a second floor such as 40. Beneath the floor ~0 is a circum~erential surface ~4 having a lead in ~uch as ~2.
A generally solid post member 50 is integral with the entirety of the housing 4 and integrally molded therewith via a web section shown in phantom as 48 in Figure 6. The outer diameter of the post is shown as 52 and forms a terminal receiving area in conjunction wi~h the inner sur~ace 44. Two wire selector through openings 56 and 64 are included in the post and are radially and longitudinally aligned with the openings 12 and 10 in the silo of the housing respectively. The upper opening 56 includes first spaced-apart walls 54 which are in transition with a 14ad-in section 58 thereby leading into a slot such as 60. It should be noted that the openings 12 and 56 are in radial alignment with the center of the channel 16. The lower wire selector openlng 64 includes first spaced apart walls 66 in transition with a second lead-in surface 68 which then transitions into a smaller opening 70.
Similarly, the openings 10 and 64 are all in radial alignment with the center of the channel 16, relative to the center of the post 50.
Referring now to Figure 7, a lower terminal section 190 is shown as generally including an upper edge 102, a lower edge 104, side edges 106, 108 and 110 on one side thereof and side edges 116, 114 and 112 on the opposite side thereof. Wire receiving slots such as 126 and 132 are included extending upwardly ~rom the lower edge 104 and include wire terminating edges 128 and 134, respectively. At ths lower section thereof i~ an opening such as 120 which is defined by two parallel and opposed side edges 122; the opening 120 providing a me~hanical relief area between the two wire receiving slots 126 and 132. To ~urther prevent overstressing the lower wire receiving slots 126 and ~32l recessed areas 130 and 136 are included surrounding the wire terminating edges 128 and 134~ respectively.

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_g_ At the upper portion of the terminal lOo, two small wire openings 150 and 160 are included at the left margin, while two large wire openings 170 and 180 are included at the right hand margin. The upper section of the terminal 100 further includes three contact member~
190, which when viewed from Figure 7 would project through the bottom side of ths paper rather than through the viewing side. As shown in Figure 3, the lower section of terminal 100 when formed has side edges 114 and 108 in a substantially abutting relation such that side edges 110 and 112 and side edges 106 and 116 respectively are in a spaced apart relation with each other. It should also be noted from Figure 3 that the pairs of large and small wire openings 170 and 150, and 180 and 160 are oppo~ed from each other, in radial alignment throuyh the center of t:he terminal.
As shown in Figure 8, an upper section of terminal 200 is shown as including side edlges 202 and 204, while a plurality of wire receiving openings and wire receiving slots are shown in communication with one another. For example, a large IDC section 210 includes a large wire receiving opening 212 in communication with a large wire t~rminating section 216. Further IDC
sections 220, 230 and 240 are included having similar ~5 openings in communication with similar slots. Behind each of the wire rece.iving slots such as 216, a relief area such as 217 is included to insure that when the conductor of the wire is moved into the terminating condition, the section adjacent to the end of the wire terminating slot 216 is not overstressed. As ~ormed in Fi~ure 3 the side edges 202 and 204 are brought towards each other until the shape of the terminal 200 is substantially cylindri~al, although a small gap exists between their ends as explained more fully herein. It should be noted that the large wire openings 212 and 232 are opposed and in radial alignment with ~mall wire openings 222 and 242, respectively.
Referring now to ~igure 5, an insulative cap 300 is shown including a circular structural portion 302 with a driver nut portion 304 integrally molded above the circular portion 302. A partially cylindrical portion 306 is integrally formed with the cylindrical portion 302 and extends downwardly therefrom having stop edges ~08 and 310. A rotation bar 313 is also included on the inner surface 315 of the cap and has a forward bearing surface such as 312. Two through openings 320 and 326 in the cap extend inwardly between an outer diameter 314 and an inner diameter 315.
To assemble the connector with the lower section of terminal as foxmed in Figure 31 the lower section 100 is inserted over the post 50 such that the opening created between side edges 110 and 112 (Figures 2 and 7) of ~he lower terminal fit over the lug 48 as shown in Figure 6.
This prevents the rotation of the lower portion 100 o~

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the terminal during the rotatiorl of the upper terminal portion 200. The lower section o~ terminal 100 is placed adjacent to the outer di~meter 52 of the post 50 and adjacent to the inner diameter 44 of the silo, as shown in Figure ~, with the wire terminating sections 126 and 132 extending beyond the surface 82 o~ the housing 80, as shown in Figure S. This also places side edges 110 and 112 adjacent to the side edges of the lug 48 to ensure that the lower section 100 remains rotationally stationary relative to the housing 4. When the lower section 100 i5 inserted between the silo and post, the upper edge 102 of thP terminal section 100 is approximately flush with the upper edge 9 of the silo (Figure 6) such that large openings 170 and 180 of the lower section 100 are aligned with openings 12 and 56, and with openings 10 and 64 in the silo and inner post 50, respectively.
To further complete the assembly, the upper section of terminal 200 is inserted into the cap with the gap between side edges 202 and 204 of the terminal 200 slidably received between the ro~ation bar 313 (Figure 5) such that surface 202 abuts the bearing surface 312.
In this manner, the outer diameter 252 (Figure 3) o~ the terminal 200 will be adjacent to tha inner diameter 315 of the ~ap. It should also be noted that with the cap and terminal assembled as just described, the openings 320 and 326 in the cap are adjacent to and in alignment '~J ~ ?

with, the large wire receiving opening 212 and 232 in tho upper terminal section 200, respectiYely.
The cap 300 and the upper terminal portion 200 are then insertable within the individual silos between the inner surface 14 of the silos and between the outer surface 140 of the lower terminal portion. The cap 300 is placed in the silo such that the radial void between the edges 308 and 310 (Figure 5) of the cap are betwsen the stop sur~aces 18 and 20 within the interior of the silos, and more particularly with the edge 310 of the cap in an abutting relation with the stop sur~ace 20 such that the detent member 330 on the exterior surface of the cap is between the detent member 22 and the stop surface 20. A cross-sectional view of this position is shown in Figure 4~. When the cap 300, and the upper 200 and lower 100 sections of terminal are: in this first position, the left hand portion of the upper wire receiving opening 320 in the cap 300 is in alignment with the large wire opening 212 in the outer portion of the terminal. At the same time, the left hand portion o~ the upper wire receiving opening 320 is in alignment with the large wira receiving opening 170 in the lower terminal lO0, and with ~he ~mall wire raceiving opening 150 in the terminal portion 100, and with small wire opening 222 and large wire opening 212 in the terminal portion 200. Similarly, the left hand portion of the lower wira receiving opening 326 in the cap is in 2 ~

alignment with the openings 232, 180, 160 and 242. When the cap 302 and upper te~minal portion 200 are placed within the silo such that the lower edge 316 o~ the section 302 is in an abutting relation with the top surface 9 of the silo, the slots 206 and 208 of the upper terminal portion are overlying the contac~ members 190 on the lower section of the terminal 100.
As shown in Figure 10, the connector 2 is prepared for field use by te~minating first ends 40? o~ discrete wires 400 to the respective lower insulation displacement sections 132 of the terminals 100 in a conventional manner. Second ends 404 of the discrete wires 400 are then terminated to a second electrical connector 406. The second electrical connector 406 can be any type of connector which has a mating face 408 and a wire receiving face 410. In the particular configuration shown in Figure 10, the discrete wires 400 are terminated to the second electrical connector 406 by means of insulation displacement contacts 4~2.
20 Consequently, with the respective ends 402, 404 of the discrete wires 400 electrically connected to the terminals 100 o~ the connector 2 and the contacts 412 of the second electrical connector 406, the contacts 412 o~
the second electrical connector 406 are placed in electrical engagement with the terminals lO0 of the connector 20 ~C`~3~

After the discrete wires 400 have been terminated t~ the terminals 100 o~ the conneator 2 and the contacts 412 of the second connector 406, the housing 4 is positioned in a configuration such that the caps 300 and terminals 100, 200 are facing downwardly, the upstanding side walls 80 of the housing 4 and the end walls ~orm a cavity with the upstanding sidewalls o~ the housing higher than the protruding portions of the lower sections of terminals 100. To environmentally protect the lower terminations, an epoxy resin 370 (Figure llj is poured into the cavity to completely cover the insulation displacement portions 132 and the individual discreet wires. A back portion 414 of the second electrical connector 406 is also positioned in the epoxy 370, as shown in Figure 11. Thiæ insures that the electrical connection between the connector 2 and the second electrical connector 406 will be environmentally sealed. It is also important to note that the epoxy 370 acts as a means t~ retain the second electrical connector 406 in position relative to the connector 2.
The array is then ready for field pedestal installation, or for mounting within an enclosed aerial mounting box or pole.
The use of the second electrical connector 406 eliminates the need to connect the individual wires of the multi-conductor cable used in the prior art connectors to the corresponding wires of the phone ` 2~3~3~

company. As the second electrical connector 406 is provided to make the electrical connection to a pluggable mating connector on the pedestal, etc., the installation and replacement of the connector~ 2 is greatly simplified. In the prior art, in which numerous individual wires extended from the connector, the installer was required to terminate each individual wire to a respective wire of the cable. This was a particularly costly operation, as a graat deal of time was required in the field to compl~te the electrical connection. This problem was encountered in each instance in which a new connector was installed or in each instance in which an existing connector was replaced. ~he present invention eliminates this time consuming and costly operation, and allows the operator to merely plug in the connector to the mating connector on the pedestal, thereby greatly reducing the cost aæsociated with the installation and repairO As the manual effort required by the installer is lessened, the probability of a posit1ve electrical connection being effected is heightened.
With the connector in the configuration shown in Figures 1 and 4A, a further discreet wire can be terminated within the connector by inserting a discreet wire ~uch as 371 or 372 through either of the through openings 10 or 12 in the silo. I~ the wire is a large gauge wire, the wire will project into the connector . ,, ~ ~ -.

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into the interior of the post 50 as far as surfaces 58 to prevent the wire Prom pas~ing through the post into the æmall wire terminating section. Rather, if the discreet wire to be terminated has a small gauge, the wire freely passes through the section 60 in the post, through the small wire openin~s 224, 244 and 150, 160 in both the upper and lower terminal sections, 200, 100, respectively and into the ~hannel 16 as shown in phantom in Figure 4C.
To terminate the wire into one of the respective slots 216-246, the cap 300 is rotated in the clockwise direction as viewed in Figuras 4A through 4C, and as the cap is first rotated, the detent 330 on the outer surface of the cap passes the detent 22 within the interior of the sil9 to the position shown in Figure 4B.
Continued rotation of the cap continues the rotation of the upper ~erminal portion 2 00 until t~le cap is rota~ed to the position shown in Figure 4C where the detent 330 is locked behind the complementary detent section 32 on 2 0 the silo . With ~he cap rotated to the position shown in Figure 4C, the uplper section 200 o~ the terminal is rotated into the insulated wire such that tha conductor inside the insulated wire is placed centrally within one of the wire receiving edges 216, 226, 236 or 246, 25 depending on the gauge of wire, and depending upon which wire receiving opening, 10 or 12, the insulated wire was inserted through. It ~hould be appreciated that the wire receiving edges 216 through 246 have gaps between th~m, slightly smaller than the diaMeter of the conductor to be terminated such that movement of the wire into the slot causes the leading edges 214 through 244 to sever through the insulation of the insulated conductor and place the bared conductor between the edges ~16 through 246 in a contacting relation.
It should be appreciated that the post acts as a selector for the particular gauge of wire to be insertPd within the terminal and it acts as a bearing surface for the anti-rotation of the wire durinq the termination of the wire. Further bearing surfaces are provided by the leading edges o~ the openings 170, 180, 150 and 160 in the lower terminal portion 100, and against the leading edges of the openings 12 and 10, and of the channel 16.
It should also be noted from the progression of Figures 4A through 4C that the wire rema:ins in a straight condition during the termination thereof. Finally, the two piece terminal allows one ~erminal portion 100 to be fixed, while allowing the second terminal portion 200 to rotate relative to the ~irst portion 100, yet maintain electrical continuity between the two by virtue of the raised projQctions 190 on the terminal portions 100 being in contact with the slots 206 and 208 in the upper terminal portion 200. The upper 200 and lower 100 terminal portions are kept in electrical engagement by the close proximity of the respective concentric .

surfaces of the post 50, the inner terminal portion 100, the outer terminal portion 200, the inner and outer surfaces of the cylindrical portion 30~ of th~ cap 300 and the inner surface 14 of the silo 6 or R; as shown in 5 the Figures 4A-4~.
Other embodiments of the invention are foreseeable without departing from the scope of the claims herein.
For instance, the terminal blocks or connsctors can have terminals of varying configurations provided therein.
Changes in construction will occur to those skilled in the art and variou~ apparently different modifications and embodiments may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. The matter set forth in the foregoing description and accompanying drawings is offered by way o~ illustration only.
The invention was described by way of prefsrred embodiment but should not be taken to limit the scope of the claims which follow.

Claims (10)

1. An insulation displacement type connector for terminating a conductor of an insulated wire thereto, the connector having a housing with at least one cavity defined by a cylindrical wall, and a wire receiving opening which extends through the wall and into the interior of the cavity, a cylinder formed of conductive material defining a tubular wall, the cylinder having at least one wire receiving entry through the wall of the cylinder which is initially aligned with the wire receiving opening, the connector comprising:
a pluggable means, the pluggable means are electrically connected to the cylinder and mounted on the housing, whereby as the insulation displacement type connector is mounted to a mating surface, the pluggable means is positioned to cooperate with a respective mating pluggable member to insure that the insulation displacement type connector is placed in electrical engagement with the mating connector.

2. An insulation displacement type connector as recited in claim 1 wherein discrete wires are provided in the insulation displacement type connector, the discrete wires are provided to electrical connect the conductive cylinders of the housing to respective contacts of the pluggable means.

3. An insulation displacement type connector as recited in claim 2 wherein the pluggable means is a second electrical connector which has a mating face and an oppositely facing wire receiving face.

4. An insulation displacement type connector as recited in claim 3 wherein the electrical connector has contacts provided therein, the contacts have insulation displacement means provided proximate the wire receiving face thereof, the insulation displacement means cooperate with respective ends of the discrete wires to insure that the discrete wires are provided in electrical connection with the contacts.

5. An insulation displacement type connector as recited in claim 4 wherein a sealing material is provided in the housing of the insulation displacement type connector, the sealing material cooperates with lower portions of the conductive cylinders and the discrete wires to provide an environmental seal thereabout.

6. An insulation displacement type connector as recited in claim 5 wherein the wire receiving face of the pluggable means is positioned in the sealing material, the sealing material cooperating with the wire receiving face and the discrete wires to form an environmental seal thereabout, the sealing material also cooperates with the pluggable means to maintain the pluggable means in position relative to the insulation displacement type connector.

7. A connector assembly for terminating a conductor of an insulated wire thereto, the connector assembly comprising:
a housing with a plurality of terminal receiving cavities provided therein, the terminal receiving cavities extend from a first surface of the housing toward a second surface;
wire receiving openings which extend through the housing to the terminal receiving cavities;
terminals provided in the terminal receiving cavities, the terminals having wire receiving entries and wire termination sections, an electrical connector provided in the connector assembly, the electrical connector having electrical contacts provided therein, the electrical contacts being provided in electrical engagement with the terminals by means of discrete wires which extend from wire termination sections of the terminals to the electrical contacts.

8. A connector assembly as recited in claim 7 wherein the electrical contacts have insulation displacement means provided proximate a wire receiving face of the electrical connector, the insulation displacement means cooperate with respective ends of the discrete wires to insure that the discrete wires are provided in electrical connection with the contacts.

9. A connector assembly as recited in claim 8 wherein a sealing material is provided proximate in the housing of the connector assembly, the sealing material cooperates with lower portions of the terminals and the discrete wires to provide an environmental seal thereabout.

10. A connector assembly as recited in claim 9 wherein the wire receiving face of the electrical connector is positioned in the sealing material, the sealing material cooperating with the wire receiving face and the discrete wires to form an environmental seal thereabout, the sealing material also cooperates with the electrical connector to maintain the electrical connector in position relative to the connector assembly.