US2148960A - Solderless connector - Google Patents

Description

vFeb. 28, 1.939. c. L: PEIRCE, JR

SOLDERLESS CONNECTOR Filed April 4, 1933 Patented Feb. 28, 1939 SOLDERLESS CONNECTOR Charles L. Peirce, Jr., Pittsburgh, Pa., assignor of one-half to Hubbard and Company, a corporation of Pennsylvania Application April 4, 1933, Serial No. 664,340

1 Claim. (Cl. 24-243) This invention relates to solderless connectors such as are employed for coupling electrical conductors. Such connectors are used quite extensively for connecting or attaching service conductors to main feeder lines, for connecting transformer leads to power supply conductors, and for other analogous purposes.

The majority of solderless connectors used in the past and those now supplied to the trade have been constructed substantially in accordance with the disclosure of United States Patent No. 1,206,044 dated November 28, 1916.

There are several objections to such prior art connectors in that in order to attach them to a main feeder conductor, for example, it is necessary to remove a nut forming part of such connector. Since the main conductors are almost always charged or live it is customary for the workmen handling these connectors when attaching the same, to work with rubber'gloves, and for this reason the nuts are frequently dropped. Instead of replacing the nut, many workmen throw the connector away and start with a new one. This practice, therefore, results in waste of connectors and loss of time.

An object of this invention is theprovision of a connector in which the component parts of the A further object of the invention is the provision of a connector having higher current carrying capacity than similar prior art connectors while still remaining cool in service.

connector will be always maintained in assembled relation when. prepared for attachment to conductors.

Another objection to the prior art connectors referred to above is that,where the connectors were used for joining conductors of different diameters or'gauge, the smaller conductor, instead of centering on the larger conductor, tend- ,ed to move off center and crowd into the space between one side of the conductor and one side of the connector. For this reason, the connection thus made was not permanently reliable because the pressure between the conductors continually decreased anda loose connection resulted. Also, since the conductors were usually of.copper, and only line contact was made between them, they crushed at the line of contact, and flowed slightly, causing the connection to become loose. I

An object of this invention is, therefore, the provision of a connector which shall not become loose in service and which is so constructed as to prevent relative shifting of the conductors.

Another object of this invention is the provision of a connector that shall provide increased surface contact with conductors as compared to the objectionable line contact of prior art con-. nectors'. j

Other objects and advantages of the inven- 5 tion will either be apparent or understood from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing in which:

Figure 1 is a view in side elevation of a. connector embodying the present invention, the 10 clamp parts thereof being shown disengaged from but maintained in assembledrelation to'each other;

Fig. 2 is a view taken at right angles to the view of Fig. 1, showing the connector in oper- 15 ative relation to a pair of conductors which have been connected or joined mechanically in electrically conductive relation to each other;

Fig. 3 is a view of the connector shown in Fig. 2 looking from right to left as seen in Fig. 2;

Fig. 3a is a bottom plan view of the connector shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3;

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of a contact block embodiedin the connector of the above mentioned figures;

Fig. 5 is a view in side elevation of the connector block of Fig. 4;

Figs. 6 and 7 are top plan and side elevational views, respectively, of a contact block which is carried by one of the clamp parts of the connector shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3;

' Fig. 8 is a view in front elevation of the contact block shown in Figs. 6 and '7;

Fig. 9 is a top "plan view of a modified form of contact block which may be substituted for the block shown in Figs. 4 and 5;

Fig. 10 is a view in side elevation of the contact block of Fig. 9 and a contact block which is designed to be carried by the nut of the connector shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, there being means provided on the contact block of Fig. 9 for holding the contact block and nut in assembled relation to the connector when'the nut is removed; and

Fig. 11 is a view in front elevation of the elements shown in Fig. 10.

Throughout the drawing and specification like, reference characters indicate like parts.

Referring to the drawing, the connector I there shown isdesigned primarily for attaching a service conductor to a main or feeder conductor, or for attaching a dead-end conductor to a through conductor. Since service conductors areusually dead-ended and the feeders are through 55 conductors, conductors 2' and 3 are illustrated as dead-end and through conductors, respectively.

The connector comprises a bifurcated member or clamp part 4 having threads 5 thereon for the reception of a nut 6, and a head I. Nut Icarries a contact block 8, a. portion of which extends through the opening thereof, and is turnably supported thereby. Contact block 8 is adapted to move between the legs 9 and ID of the bifurcated member as the nut is turned on or oil the same. The top face of the block has a groove ll therein, in which the main conductor 3 may lie or seat when the connector is attached thereto.

The connector also includes a contact block I! disposed between the legs of the bifurcated member and adapted to move therebetween in the direction of travel of but 6. The opposite faces of block it may be grooved as at l3 and M to' form seats for conductors 2 and 3,

In order that nut G, the contact block 8 and the bifurcated member 4 may be maintained in assembled relation to each other when the nut is removed to prepare the connector for attachment to the main and service conductors, a link is is provided. The link is anchored in contact block l2 and has a sliding connection with con-, tact block 8. The lower end of the link termi- I nates in a scroll or hook l6 which prevents contact block 8 from slipping oil the same when the nut is removed from the bifurcated member. Thus, when the nut is removed, the nut and contact block 8 will be suspended from the link as shown in Fig. '1, so that-the lineman may workfreely and will not be hampered by the possibility of 'theinut fallingto the. ground. a

When the connector has been prepared for connection tothe conductors, as shown in Fig. 1, the bifurcated member is placed over the main conductor and the nut threaded thereon. The nut is advanced until thereis sufllcient space between the head I and block-l2 to accommodate the service conductor 2. The dead-end of the con-" ductor is then inserted lengthwise through the space between this block and head I and the nut drawn up tight. When the nut is drawn up tight, conductor 2 is clamped between the head "l'and block l2 and conductor 3 is clamped beby the legs of-the bifurcated member when the connector is attached to conductors.

In order to increase the area of contact between conductor 2 and head I, the head may be provided with a groove or recess II.

{ After the conductors have been joined or clamped together by means of the connector, the

connector may be wrapped with tape as is customary.

Since the head 1 and the contact blocks a and I! engage a relatively large portion of the surface area of the conductors-nut 8 maybe drawn up tightly to exert a relatively high compressive force on the conductors causing a tight connec tion to be made without overstressing the metal of which the conductors are made. Since the metal is not overstressed, it will not flow and cause the connection to become loose after it has 7 been in service for atime.

,, .In the prior art connectors, theconductors' .cannot turn between thelegs thereof.

were placed in direct contact, so that only line contact was made between them. Hence, the

metal was nearly always overstressed so that the connection would work loose. Also, since there was only line contact between the conductors, the current carrying capacity of the connection was materially less than that of the conductors, so

that excessive heating often occurred and resulted in what is commonlyreferred toas a hot described may be made from metal having high current conductivity, such as copper, and designed to accommodate any size of conductor, or conductors or different. sizes. In the drawing the conductors are shown as being of different sizes or gauge because service wires or conductors are usually smaller than the main or feeder conductors to whichthey are connected. However, the main and feeder conductors may be of the same size. as the connector isadapted to suit such cases. x In the design of member 4 may be formed from square or hex-.3 agonal stock so that the head may be held by a wrench when the nut is tightened or taken oil. The threads on part 4- may then be cut, the body thereof bored, and slots: cut therein to form the.

legs 9 and I0. Since most of the current'in the when a selection of material is made for the bifurcated member, the possibilityof galvanic the connector, the bifurcated w iii action should be. taken into account. For this I -reasonythe metal of which; the componentparts tioned. These curved surfacesand the arcuate projections form in effect, a. tongue and groove connection which holds the block in place and prevents longitudinal movement thereof between the legs of the bifurcated member. Since the ends of the block extend through part 4, the block In order that blockl2 shall not drop out of part 4 .when nut 8 is removed, the end of one of the legs may be provided with a short inwardly projecting lug fl. Thislug supports the block when the parts of the connector occupy the relative positions indicated in Figure 1. v Contact block I may-be formed in a die 'fro high current conductivity, and so shaped that the portion containing recesses H wilhlie acrossthe nut. The bottom portion of this block may sheet material-of copper or other metal having be p'rovided with short lugs 2| which may bebent outwardly to lock the block to the nut.

' As'shown, the 'upper end of. the link is disposed in of said block engages the edges of leg Ill. Thus,

the block isheld in its proper position relative to block l2 when the nut is threaded on part 4 to clamp the conductors together.

The link l5 which holds nut 6 and block 8 in assembled relation to the connector part 4, may be attached to the connector in various ways.

an opening in theblock and anchored therein as by brazing or welding, and the lower end of the link extends through an opening 23 in the top of bulge 22 of block 8 and terminates in the scroll or hook above mentioned, which, being larger Y than this opening will not permit the link to pull through the opening inthe block as is evident by inspection of fig. 1. Y

In Figs. 9, 10, and 11, contact blocks 2|, 25 and a connecting link 26 therefor are shown which may be substituted for the contact blocks 8 and I2 and link l5 of the'connector shown in Figs. 1',

, 2, and 3a and illustrated in detail-in Figs. 4 to 8,

inclusive.

Block 24 may be formed in a die and comprises a body portion 21 adapted to extend through the space between the legs 9 and II of; the bifurcated member. The body portion may be provided with -lugs 28 which may be bent and shaped to conform substantially to the contour of the exterior surface'of the connector-legs and thereby par tially embrace thesame, and with conductor receiving recesses or seats 29 and 30. The legs of the bifurcated member are illustrated in broken lines in Fig. 9 in order to show how the contact opening in the nut and provides suillcient space between the nut and block to accommodate the legs of the bifurcated member.

The top of block 25' is provided with lugs 3i adapted to span the opening in the nut, and the bottom thereof is provided with lugs 22 which may be bent outwardly so as to overlap the lower face of the nut, after the block has been inserted through the opening thereof. Thus contact block.

25is interlocked with the V nut and is turnably mounted therein.

The top of the block maybe orrecessed 'as at 33 to provide a seat for conductor 2 that will contact a substantial portion of the area of the conductor.

.One side of contact block 25 hasaslot 24 therein to accommodate the lower end of link '2' and the bottom is open to permit the mounting of the block thereon. Link 26 may be formed from a relativelythin, flat strip of metal the upper end 'of wh ch is bent.- as ,at 25, over one edge of the I contact block 24 or otherwise secured thereto. The lower end of the strip terminates in a hook 36 .of substantially T shape. As seen'inal 'ig. 11,

the leg 31 of the hook is made narrow so that it may move in slot 24 in the block. The crossbar of the T is disposed within the block and is vof such length that it will pass through the open bottom thereof.

When the nut is removed from the bifurcated member, the nut and block occupy the broken line position indicated at A and position B when threaded thereon. Position B indicates that the nut and block are out of engagement with the lower en of the link when the nut is drawn up to position in which the conductors are clamped between the head I of the bifurcated member and the blocks 24 and 25. I

From the above description taken in connection with the drawing of the connector, it will be observed that the component parts of the conhector are held intact and in assembled relation at all times: and especially when prepared for attachment to conductors so that, therefore, no part of the-connector will be dropped by the workmen while engaged in the act of joining one neither the parts nor the conductors will be overstressed and crushed in case the nut is drawn up tightly. The large surface contact also insures a permanently reliable connection and one having high current capacity. Since the connector provides independent be ,areas for the conductors, line contact therebe ween is avoided and furthermore, relative shifting of the conductors if Fny occurs, will not cause the connection to work oose.

While a preferred form of "connector has been shown and described, it is to be understood by those skilled in this art that various modifications and changes made be made in the details and form of construction of? the connector as a whole and of its component parts without departing eitherfrom the spirit the scope of the invention. It is desired, therefore, that only such limitations shall be placed on the invention as are imposed by the prior art and the appended claim.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

A solder-less connector for joining conductors comprising a threaded bifurcated member, a contact block movably disposed between the legs of the bifurcated member, a nut adapted to ,be threaded on 'or off the bifurcated member, a contact block turnably mounted on the nut and adapted to operate between the legs of the bifurcated member, said blocks, when the nut is threaded on the bifurcated member, being adaptcmanns'n Ja.

- in the nut.

' conductor to another. The parts of the connector edto clamp a conductor therebetween, and the first-mentioned block being disposed to clamp a

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