GB2364185A

GB2364185A - Holder for electrical connectors and enclosure having a crimping tool

Info

Publication number: GB2364185A
Application number: GB0113956A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Paul Chapman; Richard Nye
Original assignee: Technetix Ltd
Current assignee: Technetix Ltd
Priority date: 2000-06-27
Filing date: 2001-06-08
Publication date: 2002-01-16
Anticipated expiration: 2021-06-08
Also published as: GB2396753B; GB0113956D0; GB2364185B; GB2396753A; GB0408359D0

Abstract

An enclosure for housing jelly crimp connectors has a built-in tool 4 consisting of a rotatable lever. As the handle 5 is lifted the nose 6 compresses a connector 8a, piecing the insulation on the wires and crimping the terminal onto them. The connector is then accommodated in a recess in a holder 12.

Description

2364185 HOLDERS FOR ELECTRICAL CONNECTORS AND ENCLOSURES FOR SUCII HOLDERS

This invention relates to holders for electrical connectors and to enclosures for such holders.

Electrical connectors known as jelly crimp connectors are known In a jelly crimp connector, two wires to be electrically interconnected are inserted into passages in the connector which is then compressed by specially shaped pliers to as to cause metal prongs in the connector to pierce the electrical insulation of the wires and thereby clamp the wires in the connector and electrically interconnect them The connector incorporates a small amount of silicone gel (hence the term "jelly") which surrounds the electrical interconnection to prevent the ingress of moisture Such connectors are widely used to connect wires or cables carrying communication data For example, the wiring carrying telephone signals and computer data in a house is connected to external wiring by jelly crimp connectors in an enclosure called an external network termination box Two problems have arisen in using jelly crimp connectors to make electrical interconnections in external network termination boxes: first, the pliers used to clamp the wires in the jelly crimp connectors tend to become lost or misplaced and operatives then use inappropriate alternatives, such as hammers or stamping underfoot Secondly, the wires and jelly crimp connectors are usually left in the external network termination box in a disorganised array that is untidy and makes it difficult to identify individual wires, for example for service, repair or testing The invention aims to tackle both these problems.

According to one aspect of the invention there is provided an enclosure for housing electrical connectors which interconnect input wires and output wires, the enclosure having an in-built tool operative to join the input wires to the output wires in the connectors by a clamping action The provision of the inbuilt clamping tool means that the tool cannot be separated from the enclosure and is thus always available for use The terms "input wires" and "output wires" are to be construed generally and not to be limited to the direction of signal or data transfer in such wires Normally, the input wires are connected to a service provider such as a telephone system and the output wires are connected to user equipment in the house such as telephones or computers.

The tool preferably incorporates a lever pivotally mounted in the enclosure, the lever serving as a handle and being pivotable so as to compress a connector, preferably a standard jelly crimp connector, into which an input wire and an output wire have been inserted, in order to clamp the wires in the connector and thereby physically and electrically interconnect them.

The lever may be shaped with a cam-like profile such that rotation of the lever from an inoperative position to an operative position causes an initially uncompressed electrical connector located in the enclosure to be subjected to a compressive force which clamps the wires in position To achieve this, the enclosure may have a recess, pocket or other formation to receive the connector and to resist the compressive force applied to the connector by operation of the lever.

According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a holder for accommodating jelly crimp connectors, the holder comprising a body having a plurality of recesses sized and shaped to receive and retain therein jelly crimp connectors into which input and output wires have been clamped.

The body is preferably elongated, having a line of recesses each shaped to receive a jelly crimp connector with wires clamped therein Each recess is preferably in the form of a pocket having an opening into which the connector can be pushed and within which the connector is retained.

Preferably, adjacent recesses are separated by a slot or gap which can be used to receive a wire or wires to facilitate a neat and orderly arrangement of the wires in the holder Also, the holder may have, on a rear edge, formations facilitating neat wire arrangement, and in a preferred arrangement the formations define hooks, channels or recesses for wire location.

The holder is preferably made from a synthetic plastics material and conveniently formed to be mounted in an enclosure according to said one aspect of the invention Thus, according to a yet further aspect of the invention there is provided an enclosure according to said one aspect in combination with a holder according to said another aspect In this case, the holder and enclosure may be formed and shaped so that the holder can be fitted in the enclosure in a chosen one of a number of alternative positions, to suit the requirements of a particular site.

The invention will now be further described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a plan view of an external network termination box with jelly crimp holders shown in five alternative positions, Figures 2 and 3 are end views looking in the directions of the arrows II and III respectively in Figure 1, Figure 4 is a side view looking in the direction of the arrow IV in Figure 1, Figures 5 and 6 show a jelly crimp press of the termination box of Figures 1 to 4, in inoperative and operative positions respectively, Figure 7 is a plan view of a jelly crimp holder, Figure 8 is an end view of the holder, Figure 9 is a sectional view on the line IX-IX of Figure 7, Figure 10 is a rear view of the holder, Figure 11 is a front view of the holder, and Figures 12, 13 and 14 respectively correspond to Figures 7, 8 and 11 but show jelly crimp connectors in position in the holder.

Referring to Figures 1 to 4, the termination box has a base 1 for attachment to a support wall and a cover 2 attachable to the base The base 1 has three knock-outs 3 which can be removed to make openings for the entry of cables or wires into the box.

Adjacent one of its longer edges, the box incorporates an in-built tool in the form of a jelly crimp press comprising a pivotally mounted lever 4 rotatable about a pin mounted in the box The lever 4 has a handle 5 and a nose 6 shaped in the manner of a cam to present a curved surface so that when an uncompressed jelly crimp connector 8 a (Figure 5) is inserted in an adjacent recess 7, subsequent rotational movement of the lever 4 causes the jelly crimp connector to be compressed, as shown at 8 b in Figure 6 The compressed connector 8 b, with its joined wires, is then removed from the recess 7 The press can be used repeatedly to electrically interconnect, by jelly crimp connectors 8, the wires to be joined in the box.

These wires carry telephone or data signals A coaxial cable carrying television signals may also be joined in the box.

The termination box has pairs of holes 10 in the base, enabling the holder 12 shown in Figures 7 to 11 to be mounted in the box in any one of the five alternative positions illustrated in Figure 1 For this purpose the holder 12 has projecting split spigots 13 but other forms of attachment are possible.

Referring to Figures 7 to 11, the holder 12 is moulded from a synthetic plastics material and has ten upwardly open pockets or recesses 14 between which are gaps 15 which extend part way down the depth of the holder from the top thereof to provide slots for insertion of wires to facilitate cable management Along its rear edge, the holder 12 has a web 16 carrying at its upper edge a number of projecting hooks 17, the web and hooks forming channels and slots, again for cable management.

Figures 12 to 14 correspond to Figures 7, 8 and 11 but show compressed jelly crimp connectors 8 b inserted and retained in respective pockets or recesses 14 of the holder 12.

With the holder 12 retained in the box in one of the five possible positions shown in Figure 1, the jelly crimp connectors 8 b are retained in a neat line in the box The pockets or recesses 14 may be marked on the holder 12 for ease of identification of the wire pair joined by a particular jelly crimp connector 8 The wires leading from the connectors may be pushed into the gaps 15 or held by the hooks 17, for neatness of wiring These wires (omitted from Figures 12 to 14 for clarity) enter the connectors 8 b through the circular passages shown in plan view in Figure 12.

C 667/T

Claims

1 An enclosure for housing electrical connectors which interconnect input wires and output wires, the enclosure having an in-built tool operative to join the input wires to the output wires in the connectors by a clamping action.

2 An enclosure according to claim 1, wherein the tool comprises a pivotally mounted lever, the lever serving as a handle and being pivotable so as to compress a connector into which an input wire and an output wire have been inserted, in order to clamp the wires in the connector and thereby physically and electrically interconnect them.

3 An enclosure according to claim 2, wherein the lever is shaped with a cam-like profile such that rotation of the lever from an inoperative position to an operative position causes an initially uncompressed electrical connector to be subjected to a compressive force which clamps the wires in position.

4 An enclosure according to claim 2 or claim 3, wherein the enclosure further comprises a recess to receive the connector and to resist the compressive force applied to the connector by operation of the lever.

A holder for accommodating jelly crimp connectors, the holder comprising a body having a plurality of recesses sized and shaped to receive and retain therein jelly crimp connectors into which input and output wires have been clamped.

6 A holder according to claim 5, wherein the body is elongated, having a line of recesses each shaped to receive a jelly crimp connector with wires clamped therein.

7 A holder according to claim 6, wherein each recess is in the form of a pocket having an opening into which the connector can be pushed and within which the connector is retained.

8 A holder according to claim 6 or claim 7, wherein adjacent recesses are separated by a slot which can be used to receive a wire or wires to facilitate a neat and orderly arrangement of the wires in the holder.

9 A holder according to claim 8, wherein the holder has, on a rear edge, formations facilitating neat wire arrangement.

A holder according to claim 9, wherein the formations define hooks, channels or recesses for wire location.

11 A holder according to any of claims 5 to 10, wherein the holder is made from a synthetic plastics material.

12 An enclosure in accordance with any of claims 1 to 4 in combination with a holder in accordance with any of claims 5 to 11.

13 Enclosure and holder substantially as herein particularly described, both separately and in combination, with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.