US1273274A - Terminal bank. - Google Patents

Description

J. N. REYNOLDS & O. F. FORSBERG.

TERMINAL BANK.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 25. I916.

Patented Jul 23, 1918.

Oscar f. Famsberq.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

Jorm' rmwnnnnr REYNOLDS, or ennnnwrcn, commcrrcnr, Am: oscnrz. r. nons- BERG,

0F YONKEBS, NEW YORK, ASSIGN'ORS T0 WESTERN ELECTRIC COMPANY,

INCORPORATED, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A QOBPORATION OF NEW YOR TERMINAL BANK.

J Speciflcation of Letters latcnt.-

Application filed ma 25, 1916. Serial No. sans.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, JOHN NEWBERRY REYNOLDS and OSCAR F. Fonsnnnc, citizens of the United States, residing at Greenwich, in the county of Fairfield and State of Connecticut, and at Yonkers, in the county of Westchester and State of New .York, respectively, have invented certain new and useful improvements in Terminal Banks,

of which the following is a full, clear, concise, and exact description.

This invention relates to terminal or switch banks of the class used in automatic and semi-automatic telephone systems. vIt has formerly been customary, in terminal banks of this type, to employ contact strips which were separated by suitable insulation and clamped in superposed position.

by means of insulated bolts threaded through each of the ifstrips. Much difficulty has been experienced in this structure from short circuits, resulting from failure,

struction, if any contact strip proved unsatisfactory, the whole switch bank became inoperative and was repaired only with much loss of time. The former bank,

because of its unitary structure and the greater number of parts to be assembled and alined, was also more difficult to manufacture and its dimensions were not well adapted for packing and shipment.

One purpose of this invention is, therefore, the provision of a switch bank formed of comparatively small units containing the contact strips of a number of lines, which will be some fraction of the entire number of lines terminating at the switch bank.

Another purpose of this invention is to make each of the units of standard construction, so that any unit may be replaced by others without readjustment of the contacts or terminals.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view partly in section, of the structure shown in Fig. 2; Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the terminal bank, with certain of the parts broken away Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view of the means provided for spacing the several units of the terminal bank; Fig. 4 is a side elevation of a modlfied form of means for spacing the units, which serves the same purpose as the spacing elements shown in Fig.

In the drawings, ,5 designates a horizontal support which is attached at its ends in any suitable manner to standards 6. The support, 5 and the standards 6 are preferably constructed of angle iron. The standards, with the horizontal member, form a frame in which the terminal bank units 7 are held by the angular clamping members 9, indi-" vidual to each of the units. Each terminal bank unlt 7 has a lower clamping plate 8, insulatedly mounted contact strips 11 and an upper clamplng plate 10-arranged with their long axes extending in the same directron. Each of the contact strips 11 is provided with the usual contacts or terminals t, t. The lower and upper clamping plates are provided with apertured lugs 12 and 13, respectively. These lugs extend from each side of and in the same plane as the clamping plate of which they are a part. Clamping bolts or tie rods 14:, threaded through the apertures in the lugs, serve to securely hold the contact strips 11 between the plates 8 and 10. It should be noted that the bolts 14 extend on each side of and at'a sufficient distance outside of the contact strips to prevent any engagement between the bolts and said strips.

It is also provided that the lugs of each unit are arranged in staggered relation to the lugs of its adjacent units, so that the projecting portions of the clamping bolts of two adjacent units may be in substantially the same horizontal plane.

The lowermost terminal unit of the bank rests on an adjusting screw 15, which is Patented July 23. 1918. a

' 20, having a threadedaperture through which the set screw 21 is adjustably mounted. The upper clamping plate of each unit I is-provided with a lug 19 with which this set screw 21 engages.-

It will be understood that this disclosune is merely illustrative of the improved switclf bank and that the scope of this invention is limited only by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a switch bank, clamping plates provided with laterally extending lugs having apertures, a plurality of insulatedly, separated contact strips mounted between and having their long axes parallel with the long axes of the clamping plates, contacts extending from said contact strips and tie rods extending through said lugs for holding said plates in fixed relation.

2. In a switch bank, clampingplates provided with laterally extending lugsha'vmg rods extending through said lugs for hold-' ing said plates in fixed relation.

3. In a switch bank, the combination 01 a plurality of terminal units assembled in operative relation, each unit comprising clamping plates, insulatedly separated contact strips, and holding means for said plates and strips, the mentioned holding means of the various units being in staggered relation.

4. In a switch bank, the combination of a plurality of terminal units assembled in operative relation, each unit comprising clamping plates provided with laterally extending lugs having apertures, insulatedly separated contact strips, and tie rods extending through said lugs for holding said plates and strips in fixed relation, the mentioned tie rods of the Various units being in staggered relation.

In witness whereof, we hereunto subscribe our names this 24th day of May, A. D. 1916.

JOHN NEWBERRY REYNOLDS.

OSCAR F. FORSBERG.

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