US1757748A - Dual electrical outlet device - Google Patents

Description

May 6, 1930. H. E. SLADE DUAL ELECTRICAL OUTLET DEVICE Filed Marph 28, 1927 A 9 gay/ w Patented May 6, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HAROLD E SLAIDE, or GLEN RIDGE, NEW JEEsEY, ASSIGNOR 'ro BEAVER MACHINE a moon co, mo, OENEWARK, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION on NEW JERSEY DUAL ELECTRICAL OUTLET DEVICE- Application filed March as, 1927. Serial No. 178,943.

- My invention relates to a new and useful dual electrical outlet device of the type adaptthrough ed to be rigidly secured or mounted upon a wall or other support, exteriorly thereof, and it relates'more particularly to an electrical outlet device of this. character adapted to receive the contact blades of n blade type of electrical connector plug, and which may be wired, assembled and mounted with great ease and facility and without the exercise of more than'ordinary skill, whereby a safe and durable electrical installation may be made by a layman. a My invention relates further to an. electrical outlet device of the character stated, which is adapted to receive a pair of electrical connector plugs, that is, which is adapted to effect a dual or multiple connection with a single electrical circuit.

With the above ends in view, my invention consists of a generally elongated insulating housing, comprising body and closure members, either formed integrally'or built up of several sections, said body member having a plurality of sets or pairs of spaced blade receiving apertures extending therethrough, the outer ends of which, electrical contact blades may be inserted, said plurality of pairs of-apertures being spaced from each other a suitable distance to accommodate a corresponding plurality of conventional blade type connector plugs.

My invention further consists of blade engaging electrical contact members disposed within each of said recesses, having suitable wire engaging means at their inner ends in said closure member or members being superimposed upon said body, so as to confine said electrical contact members within the same, means detachably to secure said closure member or members to said body, and apertures extending through said bodyand closure members, intermediate of each pair of blade engaging apertures, for the reception of fastening and supporting means, such as screws or the like, whereby the dual electrical outlet device may be rigidly attached to a wall or other support. e

By the use of my novel dual electrical outlet device. an electrical circuit may be tanned a conventional with two plugs by means of a. single installation, and more al ucu 'arly by use of my dual electrical device, a duplex electrical conductor may be utilized with great ease to oro vide two electrical outlets therefrom with buta single installation.

For the purpose of illustrating my invention, I have shown in the accompanying drawings, forms thereof which are at present preferred by me, since they will give in practice, satisfactory and reliable results, although it is to be understood that the various instrumentalities of whieh my invention consists can be variously arranged and organized and that my invention is not limited to the precise arrangement zation of these instrumentalities as herein shown and described.

In the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters indicate like parts,

Figure 1 represents a top plan .view of a dual electrical outlet device embodying my invention.

Figure 2 represents a bottom plan view of the same, with the closure or cap member removed therefrom, so as to expose to view the wiring of the same.

Figure 3 represents a section on line 3-3 of Figure 2.

- Figure 4 represents a section on line l--4 of Flgure 1. 1

Figure 5 represents a section similar to that shown in Figure 4, illustrating a modified embodiment of my invention.

Figure 6 represents a top plan View of a modified construction embodying my inventlon.

The novel dual electrical outlet device of my invention, comprises a generally elongated body 1-, formed of any suitable insulating material, preferably having parallel longitudinal walls, and semicircular terminal portions. The elongated body 1 is provided with two pairs of spaced apertures 2 and 3 extending therethrough, said pairs of apertures being spaced from each other a suitable distance to accommodate the body portions of two electrical connector plugs. outer terminals of each of the apertures 2 and 3 is narrowed somewhat so as to provide The and organishoulders 4 against which the outer ends of suitable blade engaging electrical spring contacts 5 may abut, so'as to prevent any outward displacement thereof with respect to the housing, as shown in Figure 3. The blade engaging electrical spring contacts 5 are provided with suitable spring contact portions which are adapted yieldably to bear against the blades of an electrical connector plug inserted into the apertures 2 and 3.

The inner ends of the spring contact -mem bers 5 carry any suitable wire engaging means 7 such as the opposed and staggered spring prongs or tongues 8 and 9, between which an electrical conductor wire 10, of the duplex conductor 11 may be inserted. I

By disposing the contact recesses and contacts at an angle to the axes of the housing, I am enabled to reduce the width or transverse dimension of the housing with obvious attendant advantages.

In the embodiment of my invention shown in Figures 1 to 4 inclusive, caps or closure members 12 and 13 are superimposed upon each of the pairs or sets of electrical contacts 5, disposed within the recesses 2 and 3 respectively, said closures being provided with suitable recesses 14, for the reception of the wire engaging means 7, suitable shoulders 15 being provided in said recesses 14 for engaging the upper contact prongs 9, when the housing is assembled, so as to force the latter towards the spring prongs 8, and thereby to clamp the electrical conductor 10 bez tween said opposed spring prongs and thereby also to confine the electrical contact members 5 within the recesses 2.and 3. Each of the closure members 12 and 13 is'secured to the housing 1 by means of a pair of screws 16 extending through suitable apertures 17 in said closure members and threadedly anchored in suitable internally threaded metallic bushings 18, suitably secured within the body 1, as by molding the same thereinto.

Intermediate of each pair of apertures 2 and 3 respectively, apertures 19 and 20 respectively are provided not only extending through the body 1 of the housing, but also extending through the corresponding closure members 12 and 13. The apertures 19 and -20 are adapted to receive corresponding screws or other fastening devices 21, having portions projecting their threaded terminal beyond the housing, rigidly to secure the housing as a whole to a wall or other support.

In the modified embodiment of my invention illustrated in Figure 5, a single integral closure 22 is provided, of substantially the same contour as the body 1. I

In Figure 6 I have illustrated another embodiment of my invention, wherein the body portion of the housing is built up of two similar cylindrical sections 23 and 24 and an intermediate spacing or saddle member 25 having two opposed semi-cylindrical seating surfaces 26 adapted to receive the 'two eylindrical body sections 23 and 24, A metallic band or-other strap 27 surrounds the three sections of the body and maintains the same in assembled relation to each other. The internal construction of this embodiment,that is, the arrangement and collocation of the parts, is identical with that shown in Figs. 1 to' 4 inclusive and therefore does not need to be further illustrated or described, since the novel features of this embodiment consist in forming the housing 1 of the separate parts 23, 24 and 25 and binding or assembling the same together by the band 27.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

A duel electrical outlet comprisin an elongated insulating housing including ody and closure members having longitudinal grooves in the opposing surfaces thereof for the reception of a duplex electrical conductor, said body being formed of a pair of cylindrical outer portions and an intermediate saddle portion, a-peripheral band surrounding said body members to maintain the same in assembled relation, a pair of angularly arranged oppositely disposed contact openings in each of said cylindrical outer body portions extending therethrough on either side of. the axis of said grooves, angularly arranged .blade engaging contacts disposedwithin said contact openings and adapted'to receive corresponding contact blades through the outer ends of said openings, and integral clips carried by the inner ends of: said blade engaging contacts to engage the conductor wires of said du lex conductor, said wires being diverged within the housing and disposed on either side of the longitudinal axis thereof, and means for'secur'ing said body and closure members together to form a unitary structure. i

' HAROLD E. SLADE.v

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