GB2196492A - An electrical connector and an electrical terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

The connector, which is modular, is primarily for use in a telephone pole box for connecting exchange side pairs of wires (W1) to pairs of subscribers drop wires (W2). Each module (2) comprises a pair of slides (8) in an insulating body (4) and two pairs of superposed tubular insulation displacement terminals (6). The exchange side wires (W1) are connected to wire slots (94 or 95) on arms (100) projecting from the terminals (6), and the drop wires (W2) are inserted through holes (122) extending through arms (116 and 118) of the slides (8). One arm (116) of each slide (8) extends through the tubular body (78) of a pair of the terminals (6). The slides (8) are then driven down by means of levers (10) to force the drop wires (W2) into wire slots in walls (84) of the tubular bodies (78), which walls (84) are straddled by the slide arms (116 and 118). Each tubular connector comprises a bent extension 96 formed with further slotted insulation displacement terminals (94, 95). <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION An electrical connector and an electrical terminal This invention relates to an electrical connector and in particular to, but not exclusively to, a modular electrical connector for mounting in a telephone pole box, for use in connecting telephone exchange wire pairs to subscriber's drop wires, and the invention also relates to an electrical terminal which is suitable for use in the connector.

In a connector for the above purpose, which is disclosed in GB-A-2129630 and GB-A2129628, it is necessary to tighten a bolt in order to connect each individual exchange side wire pair to a drop wire pair.

According to one aspect of the present invention, an electrical connector comprises an insulating structure supporting an electrical terminal having a wall defining an elongate wire receiving slot opening into an edge of said wall, and an insulating slide mounted to said structure for sliding movement relative thereto lengthwise of the wire receiving slot, the slide having a pair of arms straddling said wall in close proximity thereto, each arm having a wire receiving bore in alignment with the wire receiving bore of the other arm and extending at right angles to said wall and to said wire receiving slot, the slide being movable from a first position in which a wire can be inserted axially through said bores, to a second position in which a section of the wire extending between said arms is forced into said wire receiving slot.

Such a connector may be comprised in a modular electrical connector, consisting of a series of identical electrical connectors as defined above, an exchange side wire being connected to each terminal. Subscriber's drop wires may then be inserted into the bores of selected slides of the modular connector and the slides operated to connect the drop wires electricaily to the terminals. Such slides can be operated by means which are rapid in operation and which do not require the use of tooling by the operator, for example by means of operating levers pivoted to the insulating structure.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a modular electrical connector comprises a plurality of insulating bodies releasably latched together in juxtaposed relationship, each adjacent pair of bodies cooperating to define a plurality of superposed electrical terminal receiving cavities, an electrical terminal in each cavity comprising a tubular first contact element having a second contact element projecting therefrom, the first contact element having a wire receiving slot opening into an edge of a wall thereof, a bifurcated slide having a first arm extending through said first contact e ements and a second arm extending alongside said walls of said first contact elements opposite to the wire slots thereof, each arm having a plurality of longitudinally spaced wire receiving bores each in axial alignment with a wire receiving bore of the other arm, the slide being mounted to said insulating bodies for sliding movement relative thereto lengthwise of said wire slots and said wire receiving openings extending at right angles to said walls and to said slots, the slide being movable from a first position in which a wire can be inserted axially through each pair of aligned openings of the arms, to a second position in which a section of each wire, extending between said arms, is forced into the wire receiving slot of a corresponding one of said first contact elements, each second contact element being received in a recess in one of said insulating bodies, the recess opening into a side of such insulating body and the second contact element having a further wire receiving slot opening towards said side, and outwardly of the recess.

According to a further aspect of the invention, an electrical terminal comprises a tubular first contact element having a pair of opposite major walls and a pair of opposite minor walls defining a through opening and a top and a bottom edge, a first wire receiving slot in one of said minor walls opening into said top edge and extending towards said bottom edge, a second contact element being connected to said second minor wall by means of a neck extending from said top edge, said neck being arcuate and extending away from said through opening, the second contact element comprising an elongate plate connected to an end of the neck remote from said top edge and having formed therein a pair of further wire receiving slots opening in opposite directions on either side of said neck, and extending transversely of said first wire receiving slot.

For a better understanding of the invention reference will now be made by way of example to the accompanying drawings in which: FIGURE 1 is a first isometric view of a modular electrical connector for connecting te ephone exchange wire pairs to subscribers drop wires; FIGURE 2 is a second isometric view of the connector; FIGURE 3 is an enlarged side view of a module of the connector shown partly in section; FIGURE 4 is a first isometric view of an insulating body of the module; FIGURE 5 is a second isometric view of said body; FIGURE 6 is a side view of said body taken from one side thereof; FIGURE 7 is a side view of said body taken from the opposite side thereof; FIGURE 7A is a view taken on the lines 7A7A of Figure 7; FIGURE 8 is a first isometric view of a slide of the module; FIGURE 9 is a second isometric view of the slide; FIGURE 10 is an end view of Figure 7;; FIGURE 11 is a view taken on the lines 1111 of Figure 7; FIGURE 12 is an isometric view, greatly enlarged, of an electrical terminal of the connector; FIGURE 12A is a side view of the terminal; FIGURE 13 is a first isometric view of an operating lever of the module; FIGURE 14 is a second isometric view of the operating lever; FIGURE 15 is a view taken on the lines 1515 of Figure 7; FIGURE 16 is a view taken on the lines 1616 of Figure 17; and FIGURE 17 is a longitudinal sectional view through the slide.

The modular electrical connector comprises a plurality of modules 2, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, each module comprising an insulating body 4, a pair of slides 8, and a pair of operating levers 10, each of these parts having been moulded in one piece from synthetic plastics material, and four electrical terminals 6, each stamped and formed from a single piece of sheet metal stock.

As best seen in Figures 5 and 6, each body 4, comprises a pair of spaced legs 12 depending in the same direction from a cross piece 14, one side of each leg 12 being formed with a pair of rectangular terminal receiving cavities 16, which are spaced from one another lengthwise of the leg 12, each cavity 16 having side walls 18, 20, 22 and 24.

On the inner side of each cavity 16, the leg 12 is formed with a terminal support wall 26 which is opposite to, and extends outwardly, beyond, the side wall 20 of the cavity. The cross piece 14 and each upper one of the walls 26 cooperate to define a cruciform, contact element receiving opening 28, the upper and lower walls 26 of each leg 12 cooperating to define a similar contact element receiving opening 30. The outer margin of each leg 12 is formed with a slideway 32 on that side of the body 4 which is-nearer to the reader as seen in Figures 3, 4 and 6, the opposite side of the body 4 being formed with a slideway 34 as best seen in Figures 5 and 7, said opposite side also being formed with terminal receiving cavities 36 each of which is in register with a cavity 16 of said nearer side of the body 4 (see Figure 11).There outstands beyond the lower wall 22 of each of the two lower cavities 16, a bottom wall 38. Slide guide rails 40, 41 and 42 are provided between each slideway 32 and the proximate cavities 16, the rails 40 having terminal abutment faces 44 and rails 41, terminal abutment faces 45 and 57. A slide guide rail 46 is provided between each slideway 34 and the adjacent cavities 36 on said opposite side of the body 4, each rail 46 having terminal abutment surfaces 48. A mounting lug 50 projects laterally and horizontally from the bottom of the outer face 52 of each leg 12. On the cross piece 14, is an upstanding cross plate 54 formed, on said nearest side of the body 4, with an outstanding side block 56 having therein a rectangular blind slot 58 opening in a direction away from the plate 54.On the opposite side of the plate 54 in alignment with the slot 58 and being dimensioned for snug reception in the slot 58 of another body 4, is a rectangular key 60. There project laterally from the key 60, opposed operating lever retention blocks 62 each having a V-shaped notch 64 in alignment with an operating lever pivot pin 66 projecting from the plate 54 in spaced relationship with the proximate block 62, as best seen in Figures 5 and 7. Formed in the underside of the cross piece 14 of each body 4, is a recess 68 in which is supported on a base 70 (as best seen in Figures 7A and 15), a resilient latch arm 72 having a free end projecting from said opposite side of the unit 4 and being provided with a barb 74. The base 70 is formed with a barb 76 directed oppositely to the barb 74 as best seen in Figure 15, to provide a latching shoulder therefor.

As best seen in Figures 12 and 12A, each terminal 6 comprises a tubular first contact element 78 and a planar second contact element 80. The element 78, which is open ended, has opposite minor walls 82 and 84 joined by opposite major walls 86, the wall 84 being divided by a wire slot 88 and being having an enlarged mouth 90 opening into the upper, as seen in Figure 12, edge 92 of the element 78. A slot 91 (Figure 12A) projects from the wall 82 below the lower edge 89 of the element 78. The contact element 80 is in the form of a flat plate having wire slots 94 and 95 opening in opposite directions and extending transversely of the wire slot 88, the element 80 being connected centrally to the edge 92 of the element 78 by means of a curved neck 96 so that the element 80 lies beyond the wall 82 in a direction away from the through opening 98 defined by the walls 82, 84 and 86.

Each contact element 78 is dimensioned to fit within one of the cavities 16 of the body 4 with the neck 96 received in an arm 100 of the proximate slot 28 or 30, as the case may be, and with the contact element 80 engaging the closed end 102 of the arm 100 with the wire slot 94 or 95, as the case may be, opening outwardly of the intersection between the arm 100 and the other arm 104 of the slot 28 or 30 as shown in Figure 3. When the terminals have been so inserted into the cavities 16, the minor walls 82 of the contact elements 78 lie against the walls 26 of the legs 12 and the minor walls 84 of the elements 78 being remote from the wall 26 and thus facing outwardly of the legs 12. The upper edges 92 of the contact elements 78 of the terminals 6 in the upper cavities 16 engage against the adjacent stop faces 44, the slugs 91 engaging against the stop faces 45.

In the case of the terminals 6 in the lower cavities 16, the upper edges 86 of the contact elements 78 engage the proximate stop faces 47, the slugs 91 engaging in recesses 45 in the bottom plates 38.

Each slide 8 (best seen in Figures 8, 9, 16 and 17), comprises an elongate transverse block 110 having a longitudinally extending cam slot 112 opening into a side face 114 of the block 110, there depending from the block 110 a pair of spaced arms 116 and 118 defining between them a slot 126, the arm 116 having a pair of through, wire receiving bores 120 extending parallel to the slot 112 and thus at right angles to the length of the arm 116, each bore 120 being aligned with a corresponding through bore 122 in the arm 118. The bores 120 and 122 extend at right angles to the walls 84 and the slots 88.

Each bore 122 has a wire guiding mouth 124 opening outwardly of the module 42 as shown in Figure 3. The bores in each arm 116 and 118 are spaced longitudinally thereof.

The arm 116 is formed with a pair of spaced, longitudinally extending recesses 128. The arm 118, has on each side, a longitudinally extending guide rail 130.

As best seen in Figures 13 and 14, each operating lever 10 has an operating handle 132 at one end, and at the other end a through hole 134, which is dimensioned to receive a pivot pin 66 of a body 4. The lever 10 terminates at said one end, in a latching pip 136. On one side of said other end, proximate to said hole 134, a cam follower 138 projects at right angles from the lever 10 and is dimensioned to be received in the slot 112 of a slide 8. Intermediate its ends the lever 10 is formed with a projecting stop 135.

In order to assemble a module 2, a lever 10 is mounted to each pivot pin 66 of a body 4, by passing the pivot pin 66 through the hole 134 in the handle 10 so that the cam follower 138 projects from the body 4 in the same direction as the pivot pins 66, that is to say the cam follower 138 projects from said opposite side of the body 4. The arms 116 and 118 lie in close proximity to the walls 84, which they straddle. A terminal 6 is assembled to each cavity 16 with its contact 80 in the proximate slot 28 or 30, as the case may be, in the manner described above. A pair of slides 8 is then mounted to the body 4 by passing the arm 116 of each slide 8 through the openings 98 of a superposed pair of the contact elements 78 so that the rail 130 on the slide 8 engages in the slideway 32 of the body 4.Prior to assembling the modular connector an insulated wire W1 (Figure 2) of an exchange side cable is forced by means of a tool (not shown) into the slot 94 or 95 as the case may be of each contact element 80 so that the walls of the slot make electrical contact with the metal core of the wire Wl.

In order to assemble the modular connector, a plurality of modules 2 which have been assembled and wired as described above are detachably connected together in juxtaposed relationship as shown in Figures 1 and 2, by inserting the latch arm 72 of one module into the opening 68 of the module to be next adjacent thereto, in the direction of the arrow A in Figure 15, ihat is to say from said nearer side of the body 4 of said next module, until the barb 74 on the latch arm 72 engages latchingly, with the arm 76 on the support plate 70 of said next module so that the modules are held together with said nearer side of said one module against said opposite side of the next following module.The key 60 of said. one module engages in the slot 58 of said next module, and the cam followers 138 of the levers 10 of said one module are engaged in the cam slots 112 of the slides 8 of said next module. Any convenient number of modules may be assembled as aforesaid.

Each operating lever 10 of an assembled modular connector, can be moved manually by means of its handle 132 between the angular positions in which the handles 10 are shown in Figures 1 to 3. In the position in which the right hand lever 10 is shown in Figure 3, the slide 8 to which that lever is connected by way of its cam follower 138, is in a raised position so that each pair of aligned bores 120 and 122 of the slide 8 lies just above the corresponding contact element 78, the bore 120 being directly thereabove. When a lever 10 is depressed to the position in which the left hand lever is shown in Figure 3, the slide 8 connected thereto is depressed so that the aligned openings 120 and 122 are moved towards the bottom edge 89 of the corresponding contact element 78.

In the assembled modular connector, the element 78 of each terminal 6 is received not only in a cavity 16 of the body 4 of one module as described above, but also in the corresponding cavity 36 of the next following module, the stop faces 48 engaging the edges 89 and 92 of the element 78 so that each terminal 6 is firmly held in position between two adjacent modules 2. Also, the rails 130 of each slide 8 are engaged in the slideways 32 and 34 of the two adjacent modules, and the guide rails 40, 41, 42 and 46 of the two adjacent modules engage in the slots 126 of the slides 8, whereby the slides 8 are firmly guided for sliding movement relative to the bodies 4.

In use, the modular connector is mounted by means of the lugs 50, in a pole box (not shown) on a telephone pole. Initially each lever 10 is placed in its raised position.

When the wires of a pair of insulated subscriber's drop wires W2 are to be connected to corresponding wires of a selected pair of exchange side wires W1, a subscriber's drop wire W2 is inserted through each of the mouths 124 of the bores 122 of the slide 8 of the appropriate module 2 so that each wire W2 enters the corresponding bore 120 and bottoms against the neck 96 of the corresponding terminal 6.The handle 10 of the slide 8 which has been selected, is then moved from its raised to its lowered position, so that the slide 8 is depressed and sections of the wires W2 between arms 116 and 118 of the selected slide are driven down into the wire slots 88 of the corresponding contact elements 78, the edges of the wire slots 88 piercing the insulation of the wires W2 so as to make electrical contact with the electrically conductive cores of the wires W2 thereby electrically to connect them to the corresponding wires W1 by way of the contact elements 80. Each lever 10 is releasably latched in its lowered position by the engagement of its latching pip 136 in the proximate notch 64, the downward movement of the lever 10 being limited by the abutment of its stop 135 against the cross piece 14. As will be apparent from Figures 2 and 3, the levers 10, which are arcuate, are so shaped that in their lowered positions, they obstruct the mouths 124 of the corresponding bores 122 so that no wires can be inserted thereinto. As shown in Figure 2, the wires W1 may be accommodated between the legs 12 of the modules, the legs 12 cooperating to define a wire receiving channel.

Prior to the insertion of wires W2 thereinto, each pair of mouths 124 may be covered by a readily removable cap 150 (Figure 2) which engages over ribs 152 surrounding the mouths 150.

Claims (12)

1. An electrical connector comprising an insulating structure supporting an electrical terminal having a wall defining an elongate wire receiving slot opening into an edge of said wall, and an insulating slide mounted to said structure for sliding movement relative thereto lengthwise of the wire receiving slot, the slide having a pair of arms straddling said wall in close proximity thereto, each arm having a wire receiving bore in alignment with the wire receiving bore of the other arm and extending at right angles to said wall and to said wire receiving slot, the slide being movable from a first position in which a wire can be inserted axially through said bores, to a second position in which a section of the wire extending between said arms is forced into said wire receiving slot.

2. A connector as claimed in claim 1, in which the terminal comprises a tubular first contact element providing said wall and a second contact element arranged in said insulating structure, for connection to a further wire, one of said arms extending slidably through said first contact element.

3. A connector as claimed in claim 1 or 2, in which the insulating structure comprises a pair of juxtaposed insulating bodies which are releasably latched together so as to cooperate to support the terminal and the slide, one of the bodies having thereon an operating lever connected to the slide for moving it between its first and its second positions.

4. A connector as claimed in claim 3, in which the lever is pivotally attached at one end thereof to said one body and has a cam follower in the vicinity of its pivotal connection to said one body, the cam follower engaging in a cam slot formed in a cam block bridging the arms of said slide, said lever having at its other end, an operating handle which lies opposite to said openings in said second position of the slide.

5. A connector as claimed in claim 3 or 4, in which a latch arm projecting from one of said insulating structures carries a barb which engages with a complimentary barb provided in an opening in the other insulating structure, a key on said one insulating structure engaging in a slot in the other insulating structure.

6. A modular electrical connector comprising a plurality of insulating bodies releasably latched together in juxtaposed relationship, each adjacent pair of bodies cooperating to define a plurality of superposed electrical terminal receiving cavities, an electrical terminal in each cavity comprising a tubular first contact element having a second contact element projecting therefrom, the first contact element having a wire receiving slot opening into an edge of a wall thereof, a bifurcated slide having a first arm extending through said first contact elements and a second arm extending alongside along said walls of said first contact elements opposite to the wire slots thereof, each arm having a plurality of longitudinally spaced wire receiving bores each in axial alignment with a wire receiving bore of the other arm, the slide being mounted to said insulating bodies for sliding movement relative thereto lengthwise of said wire slots and said wire receiving openings extending at right angles to said walls and to said slots, the slide being movable from a first position in which a wire can be inserted axially through each pair of aligned openings of the arms, to a second position in which a section of each wire, extending between said arms, is forced into the wire receiving slot of a corresponding one of said first contact elements, each second contact element being received in a recess in one of said insulating bodies, the recess opening into a side of such insulating body and the second contact element having a further wire receiving slot opening towards said side, and outwardly of the recess.

7. A connector as claimed in claim 6, in which each pair of adjacent bodies cooperates to provide a pair of spaced legs each having terminal receiving cavities enclosing a pair of superposed connectors, and a guideway for a slide associated with each pair of said superposed cavities, the legs defining a wire receiving channel for wires connected to said second contact elements.

8. A connector as claimed in claim 7, in which each body is provided with an operating lever for each slide, each operating lever having a cam follower projecting therefrom into a cam slot in the slide, for moving said slide between its first and its second positions, each lever having a projection thereon which is engagable in a recess formed in the body carrying the lever, releasably to latch the lever in its second position.

9. A connector according to claim 6, 7 or 8, in which each body has a latch arm projecting into an opening in the next adjacent body and being releasably engaged with a shoulder in said opening, each body having a slot adjacent to said opening and receiving a key on said next adjacent body.

10. An electrical terminal comprising a tubular first contact element having a pair of opposite major walls and a pair of opposite minor walls defining a through opening and a top and a bottom edge, a first wire receiving slot in one of said minor walls opening into said top edge and extending towards said bottom edge, a second contact element being connected to said second minor wall by means of a neck extending from said top edge, said neck being arcuate and extending away from said through opening, the second contact element comprising an elongate plate connected to an end of the neck remote from said top edge and having formed therein a pair of further wire receiving slots opening in opposite directions on either side of said neck, and extending transversely of said first wire receiving slot.

11. A modular electrical connector substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

12. An electrical terminal substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.