US2258269A - Plug and jack construction - Google Patents

Description

@111941. H, B, STONER Em 2,252,269 PLUG AND JACK CONSTRUCTION Filed March 2l, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet l 0d 7, 1941 H. B. s'roNER ET AL 2,258,259

PLUG AND JAGK'CONSTRUCTION Filed March 2l. 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Zar/:5,

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PLUG AND JACK CGNSTRUCTION Harry B. Stoner and Rodney W. Phillips, Aurora,

lll., assgnors to Stoner Manufacturing Corporation, Aurora, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Application March 21, 1940, Serial No. 325,201

4 Claims.

This invention relates generally to electrical -contacting vdevices and more particularly to a plug and jack structure adapted for use in positive contacting multiple units thereof, as banks or groups, for quickly and simultaneously making or breaking a plurality of individual or interconnected electrical circuits.

In such devices, the jack constitutes the female portion of a single assembly and it is adapted to removably maintain in electrical contact with itself, a male portion comprising the plug. Each of the jacks and plugs of any bank made up of a plurality of such assemblies has a Wire lead attached thereto leading to a desired circuit which is to be closed;or opened by operation of the jack.

This invention lends itself to the construction of a device of this nature which will comprise a minimum of parts assembled in an advantageous and sturdy manner by fewer operations than heretofore possible. Further, the device is constructed so as to eliminate the disadvantages of other similar devices of this type, namely, the tendency to distend the jacks when removing the plugs therefrom, the failure to make absolute and perfect contact, the failure to positively and correctly seat and position the plugs, the difliculty in arranging groups of assemblies in cooperative units, and other disadvantages inherent in devices of this nature.

Objects of this invention, among others, are to provide a novel and improved construction for a device of the character described, which will eliminate the disadvantages suggested above.

A further object of this invention is to provide in a device of the character described, novel and improved support for the jacks.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a novel article of manufacture comprising a jack which may be assembled along with a plurality of other similar jacks upon a support in a simple and yet eicient manner made possible by the construction and formation thereof.

A further object of the present invention lies in providing in a device of the character described, novel means for assuring centering, positioning and positivecontact of the plug within the jack.

Still a further object of the present invention lies in the novel and improved construction and arrangement of the supporting members of the jacks, whereby, among other advantages, full and complete sturdy rugged support is provided by the use of only one perpendicularly disposed and two horizontallydisposed members.

Still a further object of this invention is to provide in a construction of the character described, novel means for maintaining a horizontally disposed member in stabilized position upon a vertically disposed support member.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide in a device of the character described novel and improved means for positioning a plurality of jacks in a bank whereby a plurality of plugs may be disconnected quickly and not necessarily perpendicular therefrom, without in any way injuring or distorting said jacks.

Still a further object of the present invention lies in the provision in a device of the character described of novel means associated with a plug retaining member, said means serving to fixedly hold a plurality of wires together, and at the same time provide, if necessary, grasping means for said plug retaining member to aid in connecting or disconnecting same from a bank of jacks.

Still a further object of the invention is to provide in a construction of the character described novel means whereby plugs may be positively snapped into position within jacks.

Still a further object of the present invention lies in the provision, in a construction of the character described, of novel means whereby a bank of plugs will be adapted to engage within a bank of jacks only in the correct alignment of the cooperating individual plug and jack assemblies, misalignment being prevented by novel spacing arrangement between plugs.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention consists in certain novel features of construction, arrangement and combination of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and particularly pointed out in the appended claims, it being understood that various changes in the form, proportion, size and minor details of the structure may be made without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention,

For the purpose of facilitating an understanding of our invention, we have illustrated in the accompanying drawings a preferred embodiment thereof, from an inspection of which, when considered in connection with the following description, our invention, its mode of construction, assembly and operation, and many of its advantages should be readily understood and appreciated.

Referring to the drawings in which the same characters of reference are employed to indicate corresponding or similar parts throughout the several figures of the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the jack unit of the present invention, the same having various portions broken away to more clearly show the construction thereof.

Fig. 2 is an elevational view of our improved construction showing the plug unit in the process of being disconnected from the jack unit.

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view through our improved plug and jack unit assembly.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the construction of our improved jack.

Fig. 5 is a top plan view thereof.

Fig. 6 is a side elevational view thereof.

Fig. 7 is a sectional view of the plug of our improved construction.

Fig. 8 is a plan view of the plug unit of our construction.

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary plan view of our plug unit having wires assembled therewith.

Fig. 1G is a fragmentary perspective View of the vertical support member of our jack unit.

Referring to the figures more specifically, the reference character I designates, generally, a jack unit comprising a plurality of jacks II supported in a bank, and the reference character I2 designates, generally, a plug unit, adapted to accommodate a bank of correspondingly positioned plugs I3. Said plugs and jacks are adapted to be generally brought together or separated simultaneously, thereby making or breaking a plurality of electrical circuits corresponding to the number of active plugs or jacks.

The jack unit comprises a vertically disposed support member Ill provided with legs I or the like riveted, or in any other convenient manner attached thereto, as shown at I6. It will be seen that one of the legs, of which there are four, is provided with an upwardly extending portion I 6 which aids in correctly positioning the plug unit I2 by indicating the forward end of the jack unit. By means of our new construction, no portion of the electrical circuits contact the vertically disposed member I4, hence same may be made of metal instead of insulating material, and consequently be stronger than any devices of the same general type heretofore used.

Said member It is provided on its upper edge with a plurality of spaced upstanding projections I'I, the heads of which are adapted to be peened down or attened in the manner of rivets or the like, as shown at I8, for the purpose of xedly attaching the horizontally disposed members I9 and 20 thereto, as will be explained below. The spaces between the projections represent the distance from jack to jack and necessarily the distance from plug to plug.

For the purpose of assuring that the plug unit I2 will not be reversed and placed in wrong alignment within the jack unit IIJ, we arrange the spacing between the plugs and jacks in van irregular manner with respect to longitudinal disposition thereof along members I9 and 20. As an example of this, the spacing may be equidistant, except for the last two jacks on one end, as for example on the left, as shown in the drawings. Thus the distance between the two extreme left projections II and I'I will also be greater than the distance between any other two projections II. This is probably best shown in Fig. 10.

We have found that an expeditious means is afforded for stabilizing the disposition of the members I9 and 20 upon the vertically disposed member I4, if the edges of the portions disposed between projections I'I are struck outwardly as shown at 22, preferably alternately right and left between consecutive projections I'I.

A member 20 of insulating material is disposed upon the top edge of the member I4 and it is provided with openings therein centrally thereof to permit passage of the projections I'I therethrough. Spaced along the member 20, we provide rectangular openings 23, each of which is adapted to maintain therein a depending jack I I.

The jack II which we utilize is best shown in Figs. 4 to 6, and comprises preferably a sheet metal strip stamped or otherwise formed and bent to suitable shape. A downwardly extending U-shaped portion is formed with a V-shaped crimp 25 in each of its arms 24 and 24'. One of the arms 213 also has a longitudinal slot 26 therein, said slot being adapted to center the plug I3 therein and at the same time cause the edges Y formed thereby to scrape and clean the side of the plug and assure positive contact. The crirnps 25 themselves serve to resiliently grasp the plug I3 when same is inserted therein through the top of the jack.

When said jacks II are formed they are made with the arms 24 and 24 of the U-shaped portion sprung apart as shown in Fig. 4. That is to say, said arms diverge rather than extend parallel to one another. Since the metal from which said jacks are formed is resilient, when said jacks are inserted within the rectangular openings 23 of the member 20, said arms 24 and 24 will necessarily assume a substantially parallel relationship to each other within said opening, thus causing each jack to be resiliently held within its corresponding opening.

The upper ends of the arms 24 are bent laterally as shown, one portion 21 adapted to extend inward towards the center of the member 20 and lie along the top thereof, the other portion 28 extending towards the edge of the member 20 and having a pierced tongue 29 depending downwardly past the edge. This tongue 29 obviously is the contact lug to which electrical leads may be connected to the jack I I. The portion 2'I is provided with a rearwardly extending portion in the form of a tongue or lug 30 on one side thereof. The purpose of the lug 30 is to provide as great a surface as possible for the projections 21 and 28 to be held between mem'- bers I9 and 20.

The lugs 30 are of such size as to not interfere or come in contact with either the upstanding projections I1 or the lugs 3U of the row of jacks II disposed directly opposite thereto. Inasmuch as these lugs are positioned on one side of each of the jacks, and in order to keep the unit I0, as small as possible, the lugs more or less interlock with respect to their shape as shown in Fig. 1, always of course being sufficiently spaced apart to prevent short circuits therebetween.

' After the' jacks II have been snapped into position within the openings 23 of the member 20 as previously explained, and have assumed their positions by reason of the resilience thereof, a second plate member I9 of insulating material is disposed thereon. Said member I9 is provided with a plurality of openings for accommodating the upstanding projections I1 of the member I4 and the spacing between said openings is similar to the spacing between the projections. Since the shape of the projections in cross-section is rectangular, the said openings will alsol necessarily be rectangular. The extreme left end of the member I9 is provided with an opening which is separated from its next adjacent opening a slight amount more than the normal space between the rest of the openings. This corresponds to the spacing between the upstanding projections I'I and I'I on one end of the member I4. Thus said member I9 may be accommodated along with the member upon the vertical support member I4. On opposite edges of the member I9, circular openings 44 are provided extending longitudinally thereof, said openingsbeing so spaced and positioned as to be centered directly over the jack opening presented by each jack being positioned in the rectangular openings 23 of the member 20. Thus, when theplug unit I2 is assembled upon the jack unit I0, each plug will pass through the corresponding opening 44 of the member I9 and into the corresponding jack II positioned in the corresponding opening 23 of the member 20 and thus be forced into said jack II between the arms 24 and 24' thereof.

When the member I9 has been-positioned upon the member 20, after the jacks II have been positioned therein, the upstanding projections I1, being of such length as to slightly protrude above said member I9, are peened over, as shown at I8, and flattened in order to xedly secure said member I9 to the member 20. In production work the peening or riveting of allof the projections I1 may be performed in one operation. Thus the portions of the jack Il which are disposed upon the member 20, namely the portions 21, 28 and the lugs 3l), are tightly held sandwiched between the members 20 and I9. This operation completes the construction of the jack unit Ill, but is merely a suggested one, and any other equally effective processes may be followed.

The plug unit I2 consists of a plate member 3l of the usual insulating material provided with plugs I3 of the type shown spaced along the member in accordance with the spacing of the jacks II. In order to be properly accommodated in the unit I0, the spacing between the two pairs of plugs to the extreme left I3 and I3 is the same as that between the two extreme left pairs of jacks II' and II. The spacing of the remainder of plugs I3 is `uniform and conforms with that between jacks `I I.

Note that the plugs I3 each consist of a shank 32 of tubular material, cpnstricted and rounded at one end 33 to simplify insertion thereof into the jack II. The other end of the plug is provided adjacent thereto with a shoulder or flange 34 and permits a portion of the shank to protrude through the plate member 3l so that the end thereof can bepeened or spread as shown at 35 to fixedly secure the plug I3 to the said plate member 3l. f l

The plugs referred to above are more or less conventional in construction. However, we have provided a novel means for more positively securing the plugs I3 within the jacks II. This means comprises a dent provided in each plug 75 intermediate the ends thereof, as shown in Fig. 7. When the plugs I3 are assembled upon the member 3|, they are positioned with the indentations 45 facing outward against the unslotted arm 24 Aso that when the unit I2 is inserted into the unit I0, each of the indentations 45 will engage against the continuous crimp 25 of the arm 24 of its corresponding jack II.

One end of the plate member 3|, as shown in Fig. 2, is provided with a metallic member 36 riveted or in other manner affixed, as shown at 31, to said plate 3I. Said member 36 serves the purpose of holding the group of wires 4I adapted to be attached to the individual plugs I3 in cooperative assembly. Said' member 36 comprises a pair of bowed arms 36 which'are provided with slightly upturned ends 38 spaced from one another at the top of said member 36, as shown in Fig. 3 and are provided with offset portions 39. This arrangement makes it possible for wires to be quickly and advantageously slipped into said holder 36. When the wires are all within the holder and attached or soldered to the various plugs, the wire holder having been previously provided with a strip of insulating paper 40, or the like, on the inside thereof, is flattened down as shown in Fig. 9. The flattening-down process, by

reason of the fact that the 4'arms of the bow 36, besides having the offset lportions 39, are themselves offset from the axis of the holder 36, is accomplished by a single blow on the top of the holder 36. This blow causes the flattening of the member 36 and tightly secures all the wires 4I.

It is to be noted that an important feature of the present invention is the fact that the jacks are disposed so that the plugs may be rocked therein in planes parallel to the plane of the member I4. Therefore, regardless of how the unit I2 is removed from the unit I0 and regardless of at what angle said unit I 2 is lifted upward causing the jacks to be moved parallel to the member I4 in the plugs I I, said motion can never affect the shape or springiness of said jacks since motion of that type moves the plugsA sidewards out of the jacks.

It should be seen that by reason of the features pointed out above, the jack unit I0 so firmly and positively grips and holds the plug unit I2 as to make bad contact between any of the plugs and jacks practically impossible.

It will further be noted that the wire holder 36 which serves the purpose of keeping the wires 4I close to the member 35, provides a closely united bunch immediately to one side thereof, for example, to the right, as shown in Fig. 2. Hence, in removing the unit I2 from the unit I0, said group of wires 4I may be grasped in the hand enabling the plug unit to be pulled upwards. It is practically immaterial at what angle the plug unit I2 is removed from the jack unit I0 by the means described for reasons explained above.

It will be seen further that our construction provides simple and sturdy means for accomplishing the purpose hereinabove set forth and it should also be obvious that the construction shown and described lends itself especially to methods of manufacture in large quantities and with minimum of operations, materials and equipment.

It is believed that our invention, its mode of construction and assembly, and many of its advantages should be readily understood from the foregoing without further description, and it should also be manifest that while a preferred embodirnent of the invention has been shown and described for illustrative purposes, the structural details are nevertheless capable of wide variation within the purview of our invention as defined in the appended claims,

What we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a structure of the character described, an elongated support member and a panel mounted thereon substantially perpendicular thereto and extending lengthwise of said support, said panel having a plurality of jacks arranged in bank mounted thereon, said support member having upstanding lugs spaced along the top thereof for securing said panel to said support, said support member having portions thereof offset along the top edge thereof between said spaced upstanding lugs.

2. In a structure of the character described, an elongated support member, a panel aiiixed to said support member substantially at right angles thereto and extending lengthwise thereof, said panel being provided with openings arranged in rows longitudinally thereof, each opening having a jack disposed therein, said jacks being adapted for cooperation with a plurality of plugs arranged in a bank to complete portions of electrical circuits therewith, a single plate member disposed upon said panel and fixed thereto and locking all of said jacks in their assembled operative positions, said support member having lugs thereon projecting through said panel and said plate member and adapted for securing said plate member and panel in assembly upon said support member.

3. In a structure of the character described, a jack unit including a substantially elongated panel of insulating material having a plurality of openings extending therethrough, a substantially elongated plate-like metallic support member fixed to said panel substantially perpendicularly thereto and extending lengthwise thereof, a plurality of jacks mounted in a bank on said panel, each of said jacks having portions thereof overlying said panel and being thereby suspended therefrom and supported within its respective opening, in spaced relation to said support member, each of said jacks presenting a plug passageway extending in a direction substantially perpendicular to said panel and parallel to said support and in substantial registration with the respective opening in the panel within which it is disposed, a plug unit having a plurality of plugs arranged thereon in a bank to complete portions of a plurality of different electrical circuits, each of said jacks having a pair of arms between which the cooperating plug is adapted to be disposed, said jacks being mounted with the arms thereof lying in substantially parallel planes extending longitudinally of said panel and substantially parallel to said support member, said plug passageways being somewhat larger than their cooperating plugs, whereby said plug unit will be capable of insertion or removal from said jack unit by rocking movement, which movement will be in a plane parallel to the planes within which the arms of the jacks are disposed and parallel to the plane of said support member, thereby avoiding any distortion of said arms due to said rocking movement.

4. In a structure of the character described an elongated relatively flat metallic support member, and a panel of insulating material mounted thereon substantially perpendicularly thereto and extending lengthwise thereof, said panel having a plurality of openings arranged length- Wise thereof, each of -said openings having a jack disposed therein, each of said jacks having portions thereof overlying said panel adjacent its respective opening whereby said jack is suspended from said panel within said opening and spaced from said support member, said jacks being arranged in a bank along said panel and being adapted to cooperate with a plurality of plugs arranged in corresponding bank for completing portions of a plurality of electrical circuits on insertion into said jacks, said support member having upstanding lugs spaced along the top edge thereof, extending through saidpanel and adapted to be deformed .to secure said panel to said support memben HARRY B. STONER. RODNEY W. PHILLIPS.

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