US1956949A - Electric circuit extension connecter - Google Patents

Description

May 1, 1934.

c. A. G'oon 1,956,949

ELECTRIC CIRCUIT EXTENSION CONNECTER Filed July 4, 1951 INI/EN TOR. CHARLES A. sooo BY MM ATTORNEY.

Patented May 1, 1934 PATENT orifice ELECTRC CIRCUIT EXTENSION CONNECTER yCharles A. Good, Oakland, Calif.

Application July 4, i931, Serial No. 548,718

8 Claims.

'The invention relates to improvements in connections for electric circuit extensions or what is generally known as attachment plugs, and relates more particularly in the present embodiment of the invention to heavy duty connecters designed for use in making portable extensions of the higher voltage or power circuits.

An object of the invention is to provide a connecter of the character described in which all portions of the cooperating engaging surfaces of the electrical contact elements will be simultaneously and sharply brought into substantially full and complete contactual engagement on the initial engagement of the elements whereby the possibility of arcing will be greatly minimized.

Another object of the invention is to provide a connecter of the character described in which will be eliminated any possibility of establishing electrical contact by slow motion or of reestablishing electrical contact when the previous breaking of the circuit has been effected without effecting a substantially complete detachment of the connecter members.

The invention possesses other objects and features of advantage, some of which, with the foregoing, will be set forth in the following description of the preferred form of the invention which is illustrated in the drawing accompanying and forming part of the specication. It is to be understood, however, that variations in the showing made by the said drawing and description may be adopted within the scope of the invention as set forth in the claims.

Referring to said drawing:

Figure l is a longitudinal sectional view partly in elevation, of the connecter with the connecting members in detached relation.

Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the upper half of the connecter with the members positioned preparatory to effecting operative engagement.

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2, but the members are in fully operative engagement.

As illustrated in the drawing, the connecter ci my invention comprises a pair of cooperating members 2 and 3 having a body of insulation material and respectively provided with electric contact elements 4 and 5. The elements 4 as here shown are stationary in the member 2, while the elements 5 are mounted in the member 3 for transverse movement therein. Preferably the elements 5 are pivotally connected to the meinber by means of pins 7 and are disposed in longitudinally extending openings 8. Springs 9 are positioned in the openings and arranged to engage the elements 5 so as to normally retain them in a transversely outward position. 'Ihe connecter as illustrated is designed for use with polyphase current and for this reason the respective members are provided with a plurality of the contacts. Each of the contacts is provided with terminals 1l, to which the electrical conductors (not shown) may be secured, the conductors for the member 3 being extended into the openings 8, whereas the conductors for the member 2 are inserted into openings l2 of the latter in which the elements 5 are arranged to engage when the members are in engaged relation.

As will be understood, establishment of electrical connection between the conductors associated with the different members is eiected by contact of the elements when the members are in engaged relation. In the designs of connecters heretofore made, contact of the elements is usually effected by moving one of the connecter members into engagement with the other whereby one element will slide longitudinally over the other and thereby resiliently engage same in overlapping relation. Such an operation, it will be seen, entails an initial engagement of the elements with a minimum surface of the elements in contact, and it is to a large extent due to such form of initial contact that the dangerous arcing commonly prevalent in connecters is caused. It is therefore one of the main objects of my invention to provide a means of contact between the elements which will result in a practically non-arcing as well as an efiicient engagement of the elements. In general I accomplish the foregoing by providing means which will serve to hold the movable contact element in spaced relation to the cooperating element during the movement of the connecter members together until the elements are disposed in substantially fully overlapping relation or in other words when the cooperating engaging parts of the contact elements are in transverse opposed relation. In the present embodiment of the invention such means is in the form of a relatively movable part provided on the connecter member 3, and as illustrated comprises a sleeve 14 telescopically mounted on the contact end of the member and having its open end l5 arranged for the reception of the contact end of member 2. The sleeve is limited in its loutward and inward movement by means of a stop 16 which is secured to the member 3 and engages in a slot 17 provided in the sleeve. Formed in the sleeve is a partition 18 having a plurality of openings 19 through which the elements 5 are arranged to extend. The elements as Will be clear from Figure 1 are pressed by the springs 9 into substantial engagement with the outer side wall 21 of the openings when the sleeve is in retracted position and the members disengaged. Formed in the elements 5 and located immediately forward of the portion 22 engaging the wall 21 when the sleeve is retracted as aforesaid, is an outwardly oiset portion 23 whereby on the extension of the sleeve the Wall 21 will engage the portion 23 and thereby force the contacts transversely inward as indicated in Figure 2, the inward displacement being of such extent that when the member 2 is inserted into the sleeve, the contacts 5 will be disposed transversely inwardly of and in spaced relation to the contacts 4, or in other words the elements will overlap each other Without being in contact. With the elements thus disposed, movement of the members together will serve to retract the sleeve whereby the wall 21 lwill become disengaged from the offset 23 and the elements 5 will move into substantially full and complete contact with the elements 4, it being noted that the engaging movement of the element will be eiected sharply due to the acute slope of the portion 24 which joins the element portions 22 and 23. As will be clear from Figure 3, when the members are in operative engagement, each element 5 will be spaced from the wall 21 so that the full force of the springs 9 will be exerted to maintain the cooperating elements in contact. It will be noted that the coengaging surfaces of the elements 4 and 5 are correspondingly formed concave and convex respectively, so that the proper initial seating of the elements as Well as the retention of elements in seated position on the operative positioning of the connecter members will be assured.

To break contact between the elements, the connecter members are pulled apart whereby the elements 5 will slide off the contacts 4, the sleeve in the present case remaining in retracted position owing to the fact that greater resistance is met in depressing the contacts 5 by means of the sleeve than with the contacts 14. In this manner when the elements become disengaged, the elements 5 will move transversely outwardly and any attempt to reestablish contact by moving the members together without rst having effected substantially complete detachment of the members will result in bringing the outer end 26 of the elements 5 against the sharply-curved insulated extension 27 of the contacts 4, thereby making it practically impossible to effect electrical contact. t will thus be seen that contact between the elements can only be made upon depression of the elements 5 by the sleeve. An advantage of the curved or angular portion 27 is that on disengagement of the contacts, the pressure of element 5 against such portion serves to urge the members apart and thereby speed up the contact disengaging movement. With the breaking movement of the contacts thus quickcned it will be clear that the time the receding contacts are within arcing distance of each other and the resultant arcing that may occur is materially reduced.

It will be noted that during the entire operation of both making and breaking contact, the sleeve completely closes the open or contact ends of the members so that any arcing that might be produced during such operations will be confined to the interior of the connecter.

In recapitulation, the operation of the connecter is as follows: Assuming that the members are detached from each other and an electrical connection is desired, the member 2 is inserted into the sleeve after the latter has been moved to its extended position so as to depress the contacts. The members are then pressed together whereby the contacts 5 will be brought into overlapping spaced relation and then into contactual engagement with the members 4. Breaking of the connection may thereafter be eiected by simply pulling the connecter members apart.

I claim:

1. In an electrical connecter, cooperating connecter members movable into and out of engagement With each other, cooperating contact elements on the members, spring means auxiliary to and resiliently resisting displacement of one of said elements, and insulation means operative on moving the members into engagement for successively displacing said latter element and releasing it for engagement with the other element.

2. In an electrical connecter, separable connecting members, a contact element on one of said members, a contact element on the other member, insulation means on one of said members arranged to engage and laterally displace one of said elements whereby upon movement of said members together said elements will be moved into spaced overlapping relation, and means for rendering said rst means inoperable upon movement of said members together thereby affording a transverse movement of said elements into contactual engagement with each other.

3. In an electrical connecter, cooperating engageable connecter members, a contact element on one member, a movable contact element on the other member, a spring associated with said latter element arranged for urging same in engagement with said first element, and means insulated from said elements operating against the action of said spring to hold said second element out of operative relation to said rst element while said members are being engaged for operation, and arranged to release said second element on the substantial completion of said engagement whereby said second element will be free to move into engagement with said rst element under the action of the spring.

4. In an electrical connecter, cooperating separable connecting members, contact elements on said members, means arranged to retain the members in connectedengagement while the elements are being drawn into or withdrawn out of contact, one of said members being provided with a recess portion adjacent the end of the element thereon and spring means operable on disconnection of said elements to move the element on the other member into said recess to prevent reengagement of the elements when the latter have been withdrawn from contact unless substantially complete disengagement of said members shall have been iirst eiiected.

5. In an electrical connecter, separable connecter members, a Contact element on one of said members, a displaceable contact element on the other of said members and resiliently resisting displacement from a normal position, and a sleeve carried by said last member, connecting means between said displaceable element and sleeve operative on movement of the latter relative to said last named member to move said second contact into spaced overlapping relation relative to said rst element and to release said second element for engagement with the first element on movementJ of said rst member and the sleeve relative to the second member.

6, In an electrical connecter, separable connecter members, a contact on one of said members, a displaceable contact on the other of said members resiliently resisting displacement from a normal inoperative position, and a sleeve carried on said last named member, connection means between said displaceable contact arranged upon outward movement of the latter relative to said last member to place said second contact into spaced overlapping relation relative to the rst contact, and operative to eiect engagement of the contacts upon inward movement of the sleeve and the second member relative to the rst member, said sleeve arranged to enclose the cooperating adjacent parts of the members when the contacts are being moved into or out of operative engagement.

7. In an electrical connecter, separable connecter members, an electrical contact element on each of said members, means insulated from said elements carried by one of said members arranged to engage and laterally displace one of said elements whereby upon attachment of said members said elements will be disposed in spaced overlapping relation, said means being arranged upon movement of said elements into said last named position to release said displaced element for engagement with said other element.

8. An electrical connecter comprising separable body sections, a contact element carried by one of said sections, said last named section being provided with a sharply inclined recess portion in laterally offset relation to an end of said element, a contact element on the other section arranged on attachment of said sections to engage said rst element, and a spring urging said second contact element in engagement with the rst element when the sections are attached and operative upon .separation of said sections and the drawing of the elements from engagement and at the instant of disengagement of the elements to quickly move said second contact into said recess portion.

CHARLES A. GOOD.

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