SET OF ARGOLLA DE NEUTRAL FOR A LOAD CENTER
Field of the Invention This invention relates generally to electrical distribution boards or load centers and, more specifically, to means for increasing the current capacity in boards by increasing the number of terminal connectors that can be coupled, thereby increasing the current capacity of the board. Background of the Invention In the field of electric power distribution, electrical circuit breaker load centers or boards are generally designed to distribute a rated capacity current. However, in applications that have non-linear loads, the harmonic currents can increase the load of the neutral conductor up to 187% of the nominal capacity. An accepted method to handle currents in this condition is to double the number of neutral conductors. In order to accommodate this increase in the number of neutral conductors, there must be a corresponding increase in the number of terminal ring connectors available at the neutral conductor terminals. However, in most cases, no additional space is available on the board to add more terminal connectors. Most boards have their neutral ring terminal connectors placed in a rectangular plan shape, flat in two dimensions, only using length and width, the depth being used as a single plane. Therefore, the total number of terminal connectors that can be accommodated on the board is limited. One solution to this problem was to use a terminal block connector having wire conductive gates at different elevations. Another solution to the problem was to attach connector terminal strips to a plate at different elevations. However, the solutions presented in the prior art had the limitations of not allowing the terminal connectors to be interchangeable and prohibited easy access to the wire conductor fasteners after the wire conductors were installed in the connectors. In accordance with the present invention, the available space in the board is used efficiently in terms of its three dimensional parameters, length, width and depth, while allowing the terminal connectors to be interchangeable. The present invention increases the number of terminal connectors that can be placed inside the board, maximizing the utilization of the depth dimension within the board. Furthermore, it is desirable to use conventional neutral conductor ring bar connectors and provide means for flexibly arranging terminal connector sizes for applications of different amperage while allowing easy access to the wire fasteners. The neutral ring assembly of the present invention is dimensioned to conduct the potential current loads that occur with non-linear loads and has interchangeable connectors arranged in the form of steps to allow termination of conductors at various elevations without obscuring any pre-connection. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is a general object of the present invention to provide an assembly that obtains sufficient current capacity to satisfy the demands of unanticipated harmonic currents without requiring additional space in the board. It is a more specific objective of the present invention to provide a neutral ring assembly that allows multiple terminal connectors to be mounted therein while allowing the flexibility of being able to exchange the terminal connectors. According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a neutral ring assembly is provided on a board for coupling neutral wire conductors to a neutral board on the board, the neutral ring assembly includes a clamp and a plurality of straps coupled to the clamp. A wire connector is coupled to each strap of the plurality of belts. The clamp is adapted to arrange the plurality of belts in different planes, thereby accommodating more wire connectors in a given space on the board and allowing the wire connectors to be interchangeable. According to another aspect of the preferred embodiment of the present invention, a neutral ring assembly is provided on a board for coupling neutral wire conductors to a neutral board on the board, the neutral ring assembly includes a clamp having a base portion and generally stepped lateral portions. A wire connector is attached to a cross strap that is secured to the sides of the clamp. According to still another aspect of the preferred embodiment of the present invention, a neutral ring assembly is provided for coupling neutral wire conductors to a neutral plate in the board, the neutral ring assembly includes a clamp generally U-shaped adapted to electrically couple to the board neutral plate and having side portions in the form of first and second step. A cross strap has a first end secured to the first side portion, a second end secured to the second side portion, and a middle portion. Clamping means are provided to secure the first and second ends of the strap crossed to the first and second side portions of the clamp, wherein the clamping means electrically engages the cross strap to the first and second side portions. A connector is coupled to the middle portion of the cross strap to engage at least one neutral wire conductor to the clamp. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 shows a neutral ring assembly of the prior art. Figure 2 is a partial perspective view of a board incorporating a neutral ring assembly, in accordance with the present invention. Figure 3 is a perspective view of the neutral eye assembly shown in Figure 2. Figure 4 is a perspective plan view of the clamp and cross strap that are used in the neutral eye assembly shown in Figure 4. Figure 3. Figure 5 is a plan perspective view of the clamp that is used in the neutral eye assembly shown in Figure 3. Figure 6 is a plan perspective view of the cross strap used in the neutral ring assembly shown in Figure 3. Figure 7 is a plan perspective view of an alternate embodiment of the clamp shown in Figure 5; and Figure 8 is a plan perspective view of an alternate embodiment of the cross belt shown in Figure 6. Figure 9 is a plan perspective view of an alternate embodiment of the clamp used in the neutral ring assembly shown in Figure 2. Figure 10 is a plan perspective view of an alternate embodiment of the clamp that is used in the neutral eye assembly shown in Figure 2. Figure 11 is a plan perspective view of an alternate embodiment of the clamp that is used in the neutral ring assembly shown in Figure 2. Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments For a better understanding of the present invention, together with other and additional advantages and their capabilities, reference is made to the following disclosure and the appended claims, with reference to the drawings described above. A prior art neutral ring assembly 2 for connecting neutral wire conductors thereto in a board is shown in Figure 1, including a main neutral eye connector 4 and a branch neutral ring connector 6 secured to a conductive plate 8. The conductor wires are secured in the connectors with wire retention fasteners 9. The branch neutral ring connectors 6 are located in dedicated positions on the conductive plate 8, with the disadvantage of not being able to return to place the branch neutral ring connectors. Additionally, the branch neutral ring connectors are not capable of being replaced with terminal ring connectors of different size. Another disadvantage of the neutral ring assembly of the prior art is that once the conductors are secured in all the terminal ring conductors, the retaining clips 9 are not easily accessible, thereby not allowing the possibility of checking the tension or the tightness of the fasteners 9. Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a neutral terminal assembly that allows for the interchangeability of the terminal ring connectors and allows for the possibility of checking the tension or tightness of the retaining clips of the terminal. wire after the wire conductors are coupled to the terminal ring connectors. The present invention solves the problems of the prior art by efficiently utilizing the space available on the board in terms of its three dimensional parameters, length, width and depth, while allowing the terminal connectors to be interchangeable. The present invention increases the number of terminal connectors that can be placed within the board maximizing the utilization of the depth dimension within the board. Further, it is desirable to use conventional neutral conductor ring bar connectors and provide means for flexibly arranging combinations of terminal connector sizes for applications of different amperage. The neutral ring assembly of the present invention is dimensioned to conduct the potential current loads that occur with non-linear loads and has interchangeable connectors arranged in the form of steps to allow termination of conductors at various elevations without obscuring any prior connection or wire holding bra. Referring now to Figure 2, a board 10 is shown partially having a neutral base 12 secured thereon and a neutral plate 16 coupled to the neutral base 12. A neutral ring assembly 14 having at least one connector The traditional branch-neutral terminal ring 31 is attached to the neutral plate 16 for coupling neutral signals to the neutral plate 16. If the neutral plate 16 and the mounting tray 18 are required to be coupled together, as is the case in service entrance application, one end of a tie-down strap 20 is coupled to the neutral plate 16 and the other end is coupled to a mounting tray 18 using a pair of screws 22. The traditional connectors of neutral neutral ring 24 and the branch neutral terminal ring connectors 26 are shown coupled to the neutral plate 12. Referring now to FIGS. 3-6, the neutral ring assembly 14 is shown including a clamp 28 and crossed metal straps 30 secured thereto. The traditional branch-neutral terminal connector rings 31 are secured to the cross-belts 30 with traditional means such as bolts or screws. The clamp 28 is generally U-shaped and is formed from a piece of conductive metal and includes a base portion 32 and two side portions of complementary shape 34. The base portion 32 has holes 36 therein to secure the clamp 28 to the neutral plate 16 by traditional means such as a bolt and nut assembly. The side portions 34 are step-shaped to accommodate stacked rows of crossed belts 30, thereby having stacked rows of connectors 31 and allowing additional wire conductors (not shown) to be coupled to the neutral plate 12. One side of the clamp 28 includes slots 39 for securing one end of the cross straps 30 therein and the other side of the bracket 28 having holes 37 for securing the other end of the cross straps 30. Metal cross straps 30, one piece, generally have U-shaped and have a tongue 38 at one end, a hole 40 at the other end and a generally planar middle portion 42. The middle portion 42 has holes 44 therein to accept a bolt or screw (not shown) therethrough for securing the wire connectors 31 to the middle portion 40. The cross straps 30 are secured to the bracket 28 securing the tongue 38 in the corresponding slots 39 in the lateral portion of clamp and inserting a traditional screw 46 through the holes 40 and 37. The wire conductors (not shown) are placed in the neutral ring assembly 14 from the end with the largest opening between the base portion 32 and the belt crossed 30 and fastened on the connectors 31 securing a wire retaining bracket 33 tightly on the wire conductor. The present invention provides the advantage of allowing accessibility of the wire fasteners 33 even when all the wire conductors are fastened to the connectors 31. The advantage of the interchangeability of the connecting eye is provided by allowing the connecting eyes 31 to be placed on the wire. any of the cross straps 30 and allowing terminal connectors of different sizes to be secured to the cross straps 30. Although the means for securing the cross strap 30 to the bracket 28 in the preferred embodiment are shown as an arrangement of tongue / groove on one end of the cross strap 30 and the other end is secured with a traditional bolt, an alternate embodiment, as shown in - Il Figs. 7 and 8, provides a bracket 28 'which is identical to the clamp 28 shown in figure 5, unless the slots 39 are replaced by openings 39 '. A cross belt 30 'is shown in Figure 8, which is identical to the cross belt 30 shown in Figure 6, with the exception that the cross belt 30' has openings 40 'and 41 at both ends and does not have a tongue that extends from one of its ends. The alternating cross strap 30 'is secured to the alternating bracket 28' using a bolt that is threaded into the upstanding legs of the side portions 34 'of the bracket 28' at both ends of the cross strap 30 '. Figures 9 and 10 show another embodiment of the clamp of the present invention. The U-shaped clamp 28 (FIG. 5) can be separated into two complementary L-shaped clamps 50 and 52 having base portions 51 and 53, respectively. The two L-shaped clamps are secured to the neutral plate and adapted to have crossed straps secured to them, as mentioned above. The base portions 51 and 53 may be placed one toward the other, as shown in FIG. 9, or one away from the other, as shown in FIG. 10. FIG. 11 shows another embodiment of the present invention in FIG. which a one-piece bracket 54 has two step-shaped side portions 56 and 58 that are connected to each other by a front portion 60. A base portion 62 is used to secure the bracket 54 to the neutral plate. Cross straps are secured to the side portions in a similar way, as mentioned above. The step-shaped clamp of the present invention allows more neutral connectors to be located in the same amount of space as previously provided by traditional neutral assemblies, while allowing the flexibility of having interchangeable terminal connectors and allowing easy access to wire retention clips. Therefore, more neutral conductors can be connected to the board, thereby increasing the current that can flow through the device. Although those currently considered as preferred embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made, without departing from the scope of the invention, as defined. by the appended claims.