US1355314A - Fuse-plug - Google Patents

Description

W. COTTRELL.

FUSE PLUG.

APPLICATION FILED APR.23. 1920.

Patented Oct. 12, 1920.

lill! mllll zof WILLIAM COTTRELL, F CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

FUSE-PLUG'.

Specicaton of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 12, 1920.

Application filed April 23, 1920. Serial No. 376,109.

To all 'whom z'zf may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM CofrrnELL, a citizen of the United States, residing at hicago, in the county of Cook of Illinois, have invented new a d useful Improvements in-Fuse-Plugs, of which the following is a full, clear, concise, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, forming a part of this specification.

y invention relates to fuse plugs, and more specifically to fuse plugs provided with a fuse support or carrier on which are mounted a plurality of fuses which can be successively brought into the circuit.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide a fuse plug of the character indicated which shall be simple in construction and eicient in operation and easy to manuacture.

Further objects will appear from the detailed description to follow and `from the appended claims.

In the drawings, in which I have shown two embodiments of my invention- Figure 1 is an axial section of a fuse plug showing the circuit.

Fig. 2 is a bottom view of the plug shown in Fig. 1 showing the relative arrangement of the fuses;

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1 showing the rotatable fuse carrier;

Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1 showing the spring contact;

Fig. 5 is an axial section of a modification showing my invention in connection with a quick detachable fuse support;

Fig. 6 is a bottom view of the fuse port shown in F ig. 5; and

Fig. 7 is a detail view showing a modification of the fuse connection.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, and first to the modification of Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4 I have here shown a fuse plug comprising an insertible portion 10 and a fuse sup- -carrier 11 rotatably mounted with respect The portion 10 comprises an in` thereto. sulating base 12 and center tacts 13 and 14 and shell consupported by the base 12. e fuse carrier 11 is rotatably mounted with respect to the insertible portion 10 by means of a screw 15 which extends through nd State .tween the eyelets an opening in the fuse carrier 11 and is threaded into the center contact 13. This screw 15 also forms part of the electrical circuit of the plug.

he fuse carrier l1 comprises an insulating base 16 and a plurality of fuses 17 supported by the base and located in curved grooves 18 in the base. Extending through openings 19 in the base are a plurality of hollow rivets or eyelets 20 having their upper ends seated in depressions 21 in the base 16. The base 16 is also provided with a plurality of openings 22 through which extend eyelets 23, the fuses 17 being connected beand 23, as shown in Fig. 2. spring contact tongue or finger 24 is electrically connected with the shell contact 14 in any suitable manner, and is located in a position to snap down into the depressions 21 as the fuse carrier 11 is rotated. The screw 15 extends through an opening in the U-shaped `spring contact 25 which is seated in a recess 26 in the base 12 and is located in position to engage the upper ends of the eyelets 23 as the fuse carrier 11 is rotated.

The insulating base 16 is provided with a chamber 27 which is closed by means of an insulating transparent plate 28 of mica or other suitable material, through which the fuses 17 are visible. This mica plate 28 is held on the base 16 by means of' eyelets 29. The depressions 21 into which the contact 24 snaps are each provided with an abrupt edge 30 on the one side (in order that the contact may be suddenly made) and with a sloping edge carrier 11 may be rotated to bring another fuse into position (the spring contact 24 riding up the sloping edge 31 as the carrier rotates).

The carrier 11 is provided with a flange or skirt portion 32, the insulating base 12 being correspondingly recessed to receive the flange 32. The circuit through the plug is from the center contact 13 through the screw 15, spring contact 25, eyelet 23, fuse 17, eyelet 20 and spring contact 24 to the shell contact 14.

In using the plug the insertible portion 10 is screwed into a socket and the fuse carrier l1 is turned to a position in which the con- 31 in order that the y tacts 24 and 25 engage corresponding eyelets 20 and 23. When it is desired to bring a new fuse into position the carrier 11 is rotated, the contact 24 riding up thesloping side 31 of the depression 21 until the succeeding depression 21 is brought into position beneath the spring contact 24 when the latter will snap down to engage another one ofl the eyelets 20. It will be noted that a large vchamber 27 is'provided to take care of the gases-resulting from blowing of' the Vfuses and that these gases can escape through the eyelets 20 and 23 and thence through the space between the insulating bases 12 and 16. The flange 32 is provided to prevent these escaping gases from burning the fingers of the person who is handling the plug and this makes a tortuous path for the gases and reduces their temperature.

By providing the depressions 21 with one abrupt edge the contact is quickly made thus preventing the contact from beino burned. One of the edges 31 may bemade s o ping, as after the fuse is blown there is no current and no danger of arcing as the contact moves away from the eyelet.

In Figs. 5 and 6 I have shown myv invention in connection with a fuse plug in which the support is'non-rotatably mounted with respect to the plug portion and in which a rotatable switch device is provided for successively making connection with the Jfuses. In this modification I have also shown a quick detachable connection between the plug portion and the support whereby the .support can be readily replaced by a new one after the fuses have been all used up. The fuse plug of this modification comprises a fuse support 34, a plug portion 35 to which the support 34 is non-rotatably secured, a quick detachable connection 36 between the plug and support, and a rotatable switch device 37 for successively making connection with the fuses. The plug 35v comprises an insulating base 38 and shell and center contacts 39 and 40 supported thereby. The base 38 has a reduced portion 41 about which the switch device 37 is rotatably mounted and is provided with a. rectangular recess 42 to accommodate the connection 36 and has an axial opening 43 to provide for the electrical and mechanical connection between the plug portion 'and carrier. The shell contact V39 is reduced, as shown at 44, to provide acontact for the contact carried by the switch device 37. A. pin 46 "is located in the opening 43 and is provided with a shoulder 47 for engagement with a shoulder 48 in the opening 43 and has a screw threaded connection with the center contact 40. The lower end of the pin 46 isprovided' with a rounded head or knob 49 located in the recess 42 for engage' ment with the spring fingers of a U-shaped contact 50 which is connected with the carrier 34 by means of ,a bolt or screw 51, the head of which engages a star shaped plate 52 of conducting material to which they ends of the fuses 17 are electrically connected. With the exception of the star shapedplate 52 the parts of the fuse support 34 are substantially the same as the parts of the fuse carrier 11 of cessed as shown at-56 to provide for the movement ofthe contact 54 as it rides up the sloping edge 31 of the recess 21, and is also recessed as shown at 57 to accommodate the flange 32 on the fuse carrier.

It will be noted that the connection between the support 34 and plug portion 35 is such as to prevent relative rotation therebetween, as the rectangular recess 42 (see Fig. 6) will prevent rotation of the U'- `shaped contact 50 therein and the bolt or screw 51 is drawn tightly enough to prevent relative rotation between the spring contact 50 and the support 34. i It is obvious that, if desired, a connection between the plug portion and support of Fig. 5, similar to the connection between the plug portion and carrier of Fig. 1, could be substituted for the quick detachable connection shown. The detachable connection, however, enables a new fuse support 34 to be quickly substituted for the support, the fuses of which have been used up.

It will be observed that the plug portion 35 and the rotatable switch device 37 `will not need to be replaced but may be used with the new fuse support. The circuit 46, contact 50, screw 51, plate 52, fuse 17,

.eyelet l20, and contact 54 to the reduced portion 44 of the shell contact 39.

In using the plug the parts may be assembled as shown in Fig. 5 and the plug portion 35 screwed into the receptacle using the fuse support 34 as a thumb piece. When it is desired to make connection with a new fuse the switch device 37 is rotated by grasping the thumb ring 53, the contact 54 riding up the sloping side 31 of the depression 21 and then snapping down off of the abrupt edge 30 of the succeeding depression 21 vinto contact with the upper end of the eyelet 20.

In Fig. 7 I have shown'a modification ot the fuse connection in which an insulating fuse support 58 is provided witha plurality of splrally extending grooves 59 to receive tween the bottom of the vrecess 61 and the head of the screw 62, the clamping of the fuses by the head of the screw rendering soldering unnecessary.

The fuses 17 may have their ends led around the eyelets 20 the ends of the eyelets being bent over to engage the fuses firmly to hold them in position, thus rendering soldering unnecessary here also.

The shape of the recesses 21 not only permits a contact to be made quickly and enables the spring contact 24 to ride out of the recesses but also prevents relative rotation between the springv contact 24 and the fuses in the wrong direction.

The fact that the gases can escape easily from the chamber 27 through the eyelets 20 and '23 lessens the strain on the eyelets 29. which hold the mica plate 28 in place so that a lighter fastening can be used for the mica plate than would otherwise be the case.

The use of the eyelets 29 for holding the mica plate in position eliminates the necessity for using a sheet metal cap, now commonly used for this purpose.

It will be notedv that all of the fuses are located in a common chamber which enables the chamber to be made much smaller than would be the case if an individual chamber were provided for each fuse.

This application is a continuation in part of my application No. 40,673 iiled July 19, 1915, the disclosure being the same in both cases. It is now intended that the generic claims shall be 'placed in 'this case and canelel from my co-pending application No.

llaving thus described my invention what claim as new and `desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. A fuse plug comprising a plug portion having contactsfor engaging the contacts of a receptacle, a fuse support comprising `an insulating member, a ported by said member, means for securing said member to said plug, said member having a face on the .'side toward the plug portion, .la plurality of recesses in said face,

contacts in said recesses connected to said fuses, and a spring contact for snapping into said recesses to engage said contacts.

2. A fuse plug comprising a plug portion having contacts for engaging the contacts of a receptacle, a fusesupport comprising an insulating member, a plurality of fuses :upported by saidmember, means for securing said member to said plug, said member hav-l ing a face on the side toward the plug portion, a pluralityof recesses in said face, contacts in said recesses connected to said fuses, and a spring contact for snapping into said lthe blowing of the plurality of fuses suprecesses to engage said contacts, said recesses each havlng an abrupt shoulder off wh1ch said spring contact snaps into engagement with the contact in the recess.

3. A fuse plug comprlslng a plug portlon vhaving contacts for engaging the contacts of a receptacle, a fuse support comprising an insulating member, a plurality of fuses supported by said member, means for securing said member to said plug, said member having a face on the side toward the plug portion, a pluralityl of recesses in said face, contacts in said recesses connected to said fuses, a spring contact for snapping into said recesses to engage said contacts, said recesses each having an abrupt shoulder off which said spring contact snaps into engagement with the contact in the recess, and a sloping shoulderk on which said spring contact rides. i

4. A multiple fuse plug comprising an insulating fuse'support, a plurality of fuses supported thereby, said support having a chamber to receive the gases generated by the blowing of the fuses, said support having openings leading from said chamber and evelets in said openings connected to said fuses, said eyelets serving for the escape of the gases from said chamber.

5. A multiple fuse plug comprising an insulating fuse support, a plurality of fuses supported thereby, said support having a chamber to receive the gases generated by the blowing of the fuses, said support having openings leading from said chamber, eyelets in said openings connected to said fuses, said eyelets serving for the escape of the frases from said chamber, and a spring contact for engaging the eyelets.

6. A multiple fuse plug comprising an insulating fuse support, a plurality of fuses supported thereby, said support' having a chamber to receive the gases generated by fuses, said support having openings leading from said chamber, evelets in said openings connected to said fuses, said eyelets serving for the escape of the gases from said chamber, and a spring contact for engaging the ends of the eyelets, said support having a plurality of recesses in which the ends of the eyelets are located.

7. A -fuse plug comprising a plug portion having contacts forengaging the contacts of a receptacle, a fuse support comprising an insulating member, a plurality of fuses supported by said member, means for securing said member to-said plug, said member having a face on the sidetoward the plug portion, a plurality of recesses in said face, contacts in said recesses connected to said fuses, and a spring contact for snapping into said recesses to engage said contacts, and to prevent rotation in one direction thereby insuring a good Contact.

8. A fuse plug comprising a plug portion g@ A f 1,355,314i

having contacts Vfor engaging the contacts plurality of recesses in said face, contacts in of a receptacle, a fuse support comprising said recesses connected to said fuses, and a an insulating member, a plurality of fuses Contact for extending into said recesses to 10 supported by said member, means for securengage said contacts.

ing said member to said plug to rotate With In Witness whereof I have hereunto subrespect to said plug, said member having a scribed my name. v

face on the side toward the plug portion, a WILLIAM COTTRELL.

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