GB2301234A

GB2301234A - Insertion adaptor

Info

Publication number: GB2301234A
Application number: GB9524510A
Authority: GB
Inventors: David Anthony Ryder
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1995-05-25
Filing date: 1995-11-30
Publication date: 1996-11-27
Also published as: GB9524510D0

Abstract

An interconnector has plug terminals P at one end and socket terminals R at another end and, between the plug and socket, means M for measuring, monitoring, switching or otherwise diverting current flowing between the plug terminals and the socket terminals, the plug and socket connectors being such that the can be inserted in-line into counterparts designed themselves to be mated. The plug terminals may be inserted into a connector body A to mimic the connector of a relay in the indicator light circuit of a vehicle. The difference in current in the circuit when a trailer is connected to the vehicle may be sensed and made to cause an lamp or buzzer within the vehicle to operate. The interconnector can be inserted into the indicator light circuit without breaking wires of the circuit.

Description

CLONING ADAPTOR The present invention relates to a plug-in adaptor for relays and similar devices which can copy the pin configuration of the devices it is used to adapt.

The adaptor allows current passing between the terminals of a relay or similar device and the receptacles of a carrier for such device to be measured, monitored, switched or diverted (or any combination of these) without the need to modify the said terminals or receptacles or the wires leading to them.

Within electrical circuits which incorporate relays and other devices for switching and similar purposes it is sometimes required to insert intermediate circuits for such purposes as current measuring and monitoring or current switching or diverting. Inserting such intermediate circuits usually involves considerable work, finding and cutting into cables within the circuit and making new connections to add the new circuit. It is often the case that the original circuits require much costly effort to be made accessible. It is also known for replacement relays to be used which themselves incorporate appropriate secondary circuits but such relays are relatively expensive.

According to the present invention there is provided a wiring assembly and a pin terminal carrier. At one end of the wiring assembly are receptacles which can fit onto the pin terminals of a relay or similar device. At the other end are pin terminals similar to the pin terminals of the relay or similar device and a pin terminal carrier capable of accepting and supporting the pins.

It is common to refer to terminals which are receptacles as female terminals and to terminals which are pins as male terminals. For the purposes of this description, the exact size and nature of terminals is incidental; the significant characteristics are that the male terminals should be capable of fitting efficiently into the same receptacles as the male terminals of the device being adapted and that the female terminals should be capable of receiving efficiently the terminals of the device being adapted.

The pin carrier is so designed that it can accept a number of male terminals in a pattern which matches the male terminal configuration of the relay or device which it is to be used to adapt. At some suitable point between the two extremities of the wiring assembly there can be incorporated a secondary circuit which can measure or monitor or switch (or any combination of these) a current passing along one or more of the wires of the assembly.

The device is to be fitted between the terminals of a relay or similar device and the receptacles of the carrier for that relay or similar device for the purpose of measuring or otherwise monitoring current passing between said terminals and said receptacles or for switching or diverting it, without the necessity of modifying the said terminals or receptacles or the wires leading to them. The device can be used singly or in groups. Groups of the devices could be held together by one or more carriers or fixed or movable matrices or any combination of these and they might or might not be electrically interconnected.

An unique characteristic of the device is the ability of the pin carrier to accept pin terminals in varying configurations to match the pin terminal configurations of different relays and devices. This means that it can be used without modification with many relays or devices of differing terminal layout or configuration.

A specific embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, Figures 1 and 2 in which: Figure 1.

A is a pin terminal housing with slots exactly corresponding to the typical pin positions of relays and similar devices. The slots are capable of receiving and securely holding pin terminals similar to those found on relays or similar devices.

B is a wiring assembly with a plurality of wires, some of which may be connected to an auxiliary circuit M. At one extremity P of the wiring assembly the wires are terminated by pin terminals suitable to be supported by the terminal housing A. At the other extremity R the wires are terminated by receptacles which will fit exactly onto the pin terminals of relays or similar devices.

M is an auxiliary circuit which may be incorporated into the wiring assembly B between extremities P and R. Circuit M may be designed to switch or monitor or measure or divert (or any combination of these) current passing through any or all of the wires between P and R.

Figure 2.

AH is the pin terminal housing with pin terminals inserted in all its slots for illustration of the principle.

An example of a specific application of this device follows.

In this example the device is used to facilitate the fitting of a monitor which monitors the current flowing through the flasher relay of a vehicle in order to provide an indication that an additional flashing indicator on a trailer drawn by that vehicle is operating. Generally there will be two lights on each side of the towing vehicle, which, if they are both operating, will draw a predetermined current. When a trailer is connected to the lighting system of a towing vehicle at least one further indicator light is added to each side of the combined vehicle and the current drawn by the combination of three lights will be greater than the current drawn by two lights only. This increase in current can be detected by a relatively simple electronic circuit. That circuit can in turn be used to energise a "telltale" indicator light or buzzer mounted inside the towing vehicle compartment.Thus the driver is alerted to the failure of any of his indicator lights if, when he operates his indicators, the telltale light or buzzer is not energised.

To convert a conventional vehicle flashing indicator circuit which is not equipped to detect the presence of any additional trailer lights to allow that circuit to detect such additional lights it is known to remove the conventional flasher relay and replace it with a new relay which is specially equipped to detect additional lights. Because this method is expensive it is also known to leave the existing flasher relay in place and insert a current monitoring device into the wire which supplies current to the flasher relay or into the wire which supplies current from the flasher relay to the indicator switch. This does however require the fitter to locate the correct wire, cut it and connect the monitoring device in series to it. This is a time-consuming and sometimes very difficult process given that he will be working in a confined space and that the wires are often inaccessible behind bulkheads.

According to the present invention a fitter would be able to adapt an existing flasher relay to monitor the additional trailer lights simply by unplugging the existing flasher relay, fitting each of the receptacles of the clone adaptor's wiring assembly onto the appropriate pin of the relay and each of the terminal pins of the clone adaptor's wiring assembly into the appropriate slot of the clone adaptor's pin terminal carrier and plugging the resultant pin terminal assembly into the place vacated by the said flasher relay. The monitoring circuit incorporated in the wiring assembly would detect the operation of the additional lights and provide an appropriate telltale signal.

Claims

1. Any device which allows current flowing between one or more of the terminals of a relay or similar device and the corresponding receptacles of a carrier for such a device into which the relay or device would normally be plugged to be measured or monitored or switched or otherwise diverted (or any combination of these) without the need to modify the said terminals or receptacles or the wires leading to them, which incorporates a male terminal carrier capable of simulating the male terminal configuration of the original relay or device.

2. Any group of devices as claimed in Claim 1 used together or separately.

3. One or more devices as claimed in Claim 1 fixed to or supported by any kind of carrier.

4. One or more devices as claimed in Claim 1 linked together by any kind of fixed or moveable matrix.

5. Any group of devices as claimed in any preceding claim wholly or partly electrically interconnected.

6. Any device substantially as described herein with reference to Figure 1 of the accompanying drawing used together or separately.