US1530011A - Electrical connecting device - Google Patents

Description

March 17. 1925.

L. G. PACENT ELEQTRICAL commune DEVICE Filed March 20, 1923' 2 Sheets-Sheet l 5i v A ATTORNEYS -L. G. PACENT ELECTRICAL CONNECTING DEVICE Filed March 20 1 N VENTOR 10 able others Patented Mar. 17, 1925. i

' UNITED- STATES LOUIS G. PACENT, .OF WINFIELD,

NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR 1,530,011 PATENT OFFICE.

T0 PACENT ELECTRIC COM- PANY, INC, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

ELECTRICAL CONNECTING DEVICE.

Application filed March 20, 1923. Serial No. 626,284.

To all whom it may concern."

Be it known that I, LOUIS G. PACENT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Winfield, in the county of Queens, State of New York,'have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electrical Connecting Devices; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact de scription of the invention, such as will enskilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates, in general, to electrical connecting devices, and, more particularly, spring jacks.

adio receiving instruments, those of the less expensive variet are not ordinarily piovided with spring jacks for connecting in the telephones, but are, on the contrary, usually provided with binding posts for that purpose'.' When it is desired to connect in more than one pair of telephones, binding posts do not provide a convenient means for so doing. This is particularly true in cases where it is frequently desirable .to alternately connect in one or a lurality of telephone sets without a consi erable loss of time in eiiecting-the changeover.

The present invention has for its objec therefore, to provide a device whereby the number of telephone headsets connected to a radio receiving instrument may be quickly and conveniently changed.

A further object is to provide a device of the character referred to which is adapted to be easily connected to variously spaced or binding posts on the reespecially fixed terminals ceiving instrument.

According'to the preferred embodiment of the invention, there is provided a portable multiple spring jack rality of plugs may be inserted having adjustable connecting means whereby the device may be readily connected with variously spaced binding posts. The jack springs are preferably so arranged and interconnected that when a plurality of telephone sets are connected in by means of suitable plugs, they are in series relation, but if conditions are such that parallel connec-' tions are desired, the jack springs can be xeasily arranged accordin ly without departmg from the spirit of t e invention. The adjustable connecting means above referred to consists preferably of a pair of relativet, lowin moved. for the sa into which a plu-' ly rigid L-shape'd metal stampings each having a slot in one leg extending parallel to its length for facilitating lateral adjustments of the spacing between the other-legs of the metal stampingsthe last mentioned legs-being arranged 'for connection to the binding posts. Suitable clamping screws and nuts are provided for securing the metal stampings in any position to which they may be adjusted. By assembling the metal stampings one way, connections may be made with very closely spaced fixed terminals, and by assembling them connections mav be made with quite widely spaced terminals. Thus it will be seen the invention provides for making connections with arbitrarily spaced terminals on the receiving instrument by means of connectors having sufiicient stiffness to rigidly support the device.

The device may be designed to include as many jacks as desired within reasonable limits. The specific devices hereinafter described each includes only two jacks, but it will be readily seen that similar devices including three or more jacks may be provided with equal facility.

In the accompanying drawingand foldetailed description two alternative embo iments of the invention are illustrated and described.

eferring to the drawings,

ig. V1 is an elevational view, partly in cross section, of a connecting device in accordance with this invention, a portion of the jack supportin element having been refie of clearness;

ig. 2 is an inside elevational view of that portion of the jack which is not shown in Fig. 1

Fig. 3 is an elevational view similar to Fig. 1 and differs therefrom only in that the metal stampings forming the connectmg media between-the jacks and the fixed terminals on the receiving instrument are shown assembled in reversearrangement as 1 view similar owm a p u in dotted one 0? the jacis;

supporting element" are perspective views of:

another way,

compared with the arrangement of Fig. 1;-

sectional view taken removed in order to more clearly illustrate b the structure;

Fig. 9 is an inside elevational view of that portion of the supporting element which is notshown in Fig.8;

Fig. 10 is a cross sectional view along the line 10-10 of ig. 8; and

Fig. 11 isan end view as observed fromthe top of Fig. 8.

' The preferred embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figs. 1 to 5 inclusive comprises a, member 1 which, for convenionce, is referred to as a supporting element. or housing member. The supporting'element 1 is divided into two portions designated respectively 1 and 1". These are preferably made of suitably molded dielectric material such as hard rubber or a phenolic condensation product. The portions 1" and 1" when fitted together, as is best illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5, define chambers or recesses enclosing jack springs 2 and 3. Jack spring 2 which is shown in perspective in Fig. 7, is L -shaped, and is secured to the portion 1" of the su porting element by means of a screw 4. lack springs 3 are likewise secured to the portion 1 by means of the clamping screw 5. The free end portions 2 and 290i jack spring 2 normally engage their respectively associated jack springs 3. The supporting element 1 is provided with a air of apertures 1 of suitable size for gui in the connecting plugs into engagement wit the jack springs, as shown in Fig. 5.

In order to facilitate connecting this device with arbitrarily spaced binding posts, the spacing of which may vary considerably, a pair of L-shaped stamped metal conducting members 6 are provided. One leg of each of these conducting members is provided with a slot 6 through which the clamping screw 5 extends. Each clamping screw is provided with a wing nut 7 and preferably with a pair of washers 8. By

' loosening the wing nuts 7 the conducting members 6 may be moved toward-oraway from each other, thus varying the distance between their free ends, which, in the present instance,are bifurcated for facilitating connections ith the binding posts. When the conducting members are arranged as shown in Fig. 1, their free ends cannot be separated by any considerable amount, as will be clear from a consideration of the drawing, but they can be moved very closely together. These members may be turned about as shown in Fig. 3, in which position they are adapted to be connected with bind ing pcsts quite widely spaced. While the spacing between the free ends of the conducting members 6 is not particularly large, as illustrated in Fig. 3, it will be understood that this may be increased to any desired extent by increasing the length of the slotted leg of one or both conducting memers.

Since the jack springs are normally in contact and connected in series, the insertion of a plug into either jack connects it across the terminals to which the device is connected. The insertion of an additional plug in the other jack connects the two plugs in series. In other words, if two telephone headsets are connected'to the device through the medium of their respective plugs, they are connected in series across the terminals of the receiving instrument. Since the best results are usually obtained in radio reception by connecting the telephones in series rather than in parallel, the jack springs have been so arranged in the present instance. It is, however, an easy matter to rearrange the contact s rings for parallel connections,

as will 'be rea ily understood by those skilled in the art.

The alternative structure illustrated in Figs. 8 to 11 inclusive diifers from the prefferred embodiment in inly in the substitution of a simplified conducting member 9 for the L-shaped conducting member 6 of the preferred embodiment. The conducting member 9, instead of being provided with a slotted leg for lateral adjustments, is simply pivoted on the clamping screw 5, and is adapted to be swung into any one. of a plurality of positions, as indicated by the dotted line showing in Fi 8. The wing nut 7 is eliminated in the a ternative structure, and clamping of the conducting members 9 in any position into which they may be set may be effected by' turnin with a screw driver. plainnut 10 is provided for engaging screw 5 in place of the wing nut 7. The-portion llcf the su porting element or housing member iifers slightly from the ortion 1 of the supporting element 1 in t at it is extended so as to match with the contour of the portion 11".

The invention is ca able of great modification, and should not} construed as limited except by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim: v

1. A portable jack-strip comprising a plurality of spring jacks, a housing member in which said jacks are mounted, a pair of rigid terminal connectors secured to said housing member and projecting therefrom, the free ends ,of said connectors being adapted for connection to binding posts and adjustable toward and away from each other so that connections can be made to variously spaced binding posts, said connectors being operative to support said :housing member and jacks.

2. An electrical connectin device comprising a plurality of spring acks combined 5 clamping screw 5 with a. common portable supporting olement, and means for connecting said device to fixed terminals, said means com rising at least one rigid conductin member avin a slot for permitting laterfiadjustment, an

means for securing said rigid conducting member in any one of a plurality of positions, said rigid conducting member being adapted forconnection to a fixed terminal.

- bers through the medium of sai 3" The combination-with aportable jack strip including a plurality of spring jacks, of means for connecting the said 1acks to variously spaced fixed terminals, said means com rism a pair of L-shaped relativeli ri i con ucting members, one is of ca 0 said members being slotted para el to its length, clamping means engag' said memslots, -said clamping means being 0 rable to permit lateral adjustment of said members and securing said members in any of a plurality of positions.

fofi

4. An electrical connecting device comprising a portable supporting element, a pair of spring jacks mounted adjacently on said supporting clement, said 1acks, conjointly, comprising a U-sbaped contact spring member .xvhi his secured at its middle pxortion to said supporting element, each of t e free end portions of said U-sha ed contact spring member being individua to one of said jacks a second contact spring for each of said acks normally in contact with their respectively associated free ends of the said U-shaped contact spring membet, a air of a justable relatively rigid conducting members for connecting said jacks to fixed terminals andv clamping means for securin said conducting members in any of a p urality of ositions.

In testimony whereof I a my signature.

LOUIS G. PACENT.

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