US2514440A

US2514440A - Electrical terminal

Info

Publication number: US2514440A
Application number: US54497A
Authority: US
Inventors: Edgar W Breisch
Original assignee: Union Switch and Signal Inc
Current assignee: Hitachi Rail STS USA Inc
Priority date: 1948-10-14
Filing date: 1948-10-14
Publication date: 1950-07-11
Anticipated expiration: 1967-07-11

Description

y 1950 E. w. BREISCH ELEC RICAL TERMINAL Filed Oct. 14, 1948 a 1 N V EN TOR. it? W Bpez'salz BY MN m HIS ATTORNEY Patented July 11, 1950 UNITED STATES FA'E'ENT OFFICE ELECTRICAL TERMKNAL Application October 14, 1948, Serial No. 54,49?

6 Claims. (Cl. 174-153) My invention relates to electrical terminals and particularly to an improved arrangement which provides insulated, non-turning, and leak-proof terminals for electrical apparatus.

One problem encountered in the design of hermetically sealed electrical apparatus, such as, for example, oil filled condensers, has been the problem of providing a suitable terminal for attaching external wires or leads to the apparatus contained in the sealed enclosure. It is necessary that such terminals be leak proof to guard against the escape of the fluid contained within the container, the terminals must present suitable electrical insulating characteristics, and should be able to withstand the expected mechanical abuse encountered in installation and service, especially to withstand over-application of turning torques in assembling.

Accordingly, an object of my invention is to provide a terminal of the type described which provide a high degree of insulating quality, which is leak proof, and which is non-turning.

Another object of my invention is to provide an improved terminal of the type described which is economical to manufacture.

A further object of my invention is to provide an improved terminal of the type described which is readily assembled.

Another object of my invention is to provide an improved terminal of the type described.

Other objects of my invention and features of novelty thereof will be apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.

In practicing my invention, I provide an insulating strip which is arranged to span the distance between at least two holes in the wall of the sealed enclosure and which has a channel on one side thereof in which are placed non-circular or rectangular washers of metal or other suitable material, each of which washers is provided with a hole of non-circular or rectangular shape. The insulating strip is drilled to clear the projecting portions of insulator posts which are passed through the holes in the metal wall of the enclosure. An assembly bolt having a portion on its shank near the head adapted to fit the hole in the washer is passed through the washer, the insulating strip and the insulator post and is s.,- cured by a sealing washer and nut at the distal end of the insulator post. A suitable sealing gasket is interposed between the insulator post and the metal wall of the enclosure.

I shall describe one form of my invention and are passed through the square washers 3 and 3a,

-g mate Sealing gaskets 9 and 'o. are interposed between the insulator posts I l .nd i la and the metal wall l, while the insulator ,osts l and I in are secured to the assembly bolts l and la by means of the nuts l3 and Ma and t1 associated sealing washers i5 and 55a.

Referring to 2, there is shown a cross sectional view of the assembled terminal, showing the manner in which the assembly is sealed to rovide a leak-proof terminal post. As shown, the assembly bolt 1 passes through the square sir 31 the insulator post is retained by the sealing washer l5 and i not if The insulator post ll has a projection on the proximal end, which extends through the sealing gasket ii to the hole in the metal wall of the enclosure, and partially through the insulating strip It will be apparent from the drawings, that when the nut is turned down sufiiciently, the sealing gasket will eiiectively seal the space between the me .1 wall 7 of the enclosure the ho I of the snlator post It, and likewise the sealing washer is will effectively seal the distal end of the rater post ll. One method of attaching the leads to the terminal is shown in which. the internal lead ll is soldered to the head of the assembly bolt l, while the external lead it is provided with the usual type of wire terminal 2|, which is held in place on the assembly bolt 5 by the nut 23.

It is to be understood that non-circular shapes other than rectangular shapes may be employed for the washer, the perforation in the washer, and the shank of the assembly bolt, insofar as they combine with the channel in the insulating strip 5 to provide a non-turning combination.

It will be seen that the assembly of the terminal post as provided by my invention provides a non-turning terminal, by reason of the square shank of the assembly bolt 8 being restrained against turning by the square washer t, which is in turn retained by the insulating strip 5. The use of the square washer and insulating strip 5 provides a large area over which the pressure may be distributed to effectively draw the insulator post ll against the sealing gasket 9, so that a tight and leak proof seal is provided between the body of the insulator post and the metal wall of the enclosure.

Although I have herein shown and described only one form of electrical terminal embodying my invention, it is to be understood that various changes and modifications may be made therein within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. The combination with a perforated metallic member, of an insulating strip provided with an opening which registers with an opening in said member and having a channel in one side thereof, an insulator post having a projection which extends through the opening in said perforated metallic member and extends partially through the opening in said insulating strip in telescoping relation, an assembly bolt having at least a portion of its shank non-circi.- lar in shape, said insulator post being perforated to receive said assembly bolt, a non-circular washer adapted to engage the channel in said insula ing strip in a non-turning relation and having a perforation adapted to engage the non-circular portion of the shank of said assembly bolt in a non-turning relation, a sealing gasket interposed between said insulator post and said metallic member, means for securing said assembly bolt comprising a nut and a sealing washer interposed between said nut and said insulator post, and means mounted on said metallic memher to hold said strip from turning relative to said opening of the member.

2. In an electric terminal construction, a metallic panel having two spaced perforations therein, a strip of insulating material having one side disposed on one face of said panel provided with holes which register with the perforations in said panel and having a channel cut therein on the side away from said panel, two non-circular washers adapted to fit said channel in a non-turning relation, each provided with a non-circular perforation, two insulator posts, one for each panel perforation, each of said posts having a projection which extends through the respective panel perforation and partially through the corresponding hole of said strip when the post is mounted on the face of the panel opposite said strip, two assembly bolts, one for each said post, each of said bolts adapted to extend through a respective one of said washers, said strip, said panel and a respective one of said insulator posts, each said bolt having a portion of its shank formed to fit the non-circular perforation of the respective washer to thereby provide a non-turning assembly, a nut and a sealing washer for securing each of said bolts in its assembled position, and sealing means for each of said posts interposed between the insulator post and said metallic panel.

3. In an electrical terminal for electrical apparatus housed in a metallic case, one face of said case provided with two spaced perforations, a strip of insulating material having one side disposed to fit the inside surface of said one face of the case and provided with holes which register with said perforations of the case, said strip having a rectangular channel formed on the side away from the case, two rectangular washers, one for each hole of said strip and adapted to fit said channel in a non-turning relation, each of said washers provided with a rectangular opening, two insulator posts, one for each of said perforations, each of said posts having a projection which extends through the respective perforations and extends partially through the hole of said strip in telescoping relation, two assembly bolts, one for each of said posts, each of said bolts having at least a portion of its shank rectangular in shape and adapted to fit said washer openings in a nonturning relation; each said insulator post being formed with an opening to receive the respective assembly bolt when the bolt is inserted through the washer, strip, case and post; two sealing gaskets, one interposed between each of said posts and said case, a nut and a sealing washer for each said bolt to secure the bolt with the sealing washer interposed between the nut and said insulator post, and electrical connections made to the head of each bolt and to the external end of each bolt.

4. In an electric terminal construction, a metallic panel havin a plurality of spaced perforations therein, a strip of insulating material having one side disposed on one face of said panel provided with holes which register with the perforations in said panel and having a channel cut therein on the side away from said panel, a plurality of washers adapted to fit said channel in a non-turning relation, each of said washers provided with a non-circular perforation, a plurality of insulatorposts, one for each panel perforation, each of said posts having a projection which extends through the respective panel perforation and partially through the corresponding hole of said strip when the post is mounted on the face of the panel opposite said strip, a plurality of assembly bolts, one for each of said posts, each of said bolts adapted to extend through a respective one of said washers, said strip, said panel and a respective one of said insulator posts, each said bolt having a portion of its shank formed to fit the non-circular perforation of the respective washer to thereby provide a non-turning assem-'- bly, a nut and a sealing washer for securing each of said bolts in its assembled position, and sealing means for each of said posts interposed between the insulator post and said metallic panel.

5. In an electrical terminal for electrical apparatus housed in a metallic case, one face of said case provided with a plurality of spaced perforations, a strip of insulating material having one side disposed to fit the inside surface of said one face of the case and provided with holes which register with said perforations of the case, said strip having a rectangular channel formed on the side away from the case, a plurality of rectangular washers, one for each hole of said strip and adapted to fit said channel in a non-turning relait tion, each said Washer provided with a rectangular opening, a plurality of insulator posts, one for each said perforation, each of said posts having a projection which extends through the respective perforations and extends partially through the hole of said strip in telescoping re lation, a plurality of assembly bolts, one for each of said posts, each of said bolts having at least a portion of its shank rectangular in shape to fit said washer opening in a non-turning relation; each of said insulator posts being formed with an opening to receive the respective assern bly bolt when the bolt is inserted through the washer, strip, case and post; a plurality of sealing gaskets, one interposed between each of said posts and said case, a nut and a sealing Washer for each of said bolts to secure the bolt with the sealing washer interposed between the nut and said insulator post, and electrical connections made to the head of each bolt and to the external end of each bolt.

6. In an electrical terminal for electrical apparatus housed in a, metallic case, one face of said case provided with a plurality of spaced perforations, a strip of insulating material having one side disposed to fit the inside surface of said one face of the case and provided with holes I which register with said perforations of the case, said strip having a channel formed on the side away from the case, a plurality of non-circular washers, one for each hole of said strip and adapted to fit said channel in a non-turning relation, each of said washers provided with a non-circular opening, a plurality of insulator posts, one for each of said perforations, each of said posts having a. projection which extends through the respective perforations and extends partially through the hole of said strip in telescoping relation, a plurality of assembly bolts, one for each of said posts, each of said bolts having at least a portion of its shank non-circular in shape to fit said washer openings in a nonturning relation; each of said insulator posts being formed with an opening to receive the respective assembly bolt when the bolt is inserted through the washer, strip, case and post; a plurality of sealing gaskets one interposed between each said post and said case, a nut and a sealing washer for each of said bolts to secure the bolt with the sealing washer interposed between the nut and said insulator post, and electrical connections made to the head of each bolt and to the external end of each bolt.

EDGAR W. BREISCH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,883,663 Fitzgerald Oct. 18, 1932 1,932,456 Gaston Oct. 31, 1933 2,299,750 Hull Oct. 27, 1942 2,304,334 Boucher Dec. 8, 1942 2,355,864 Hartzell Aug. 15, 1944