US3148928A

US3148928A - Electrical connector hood assembly

Info

Publication number: US3148928A
Application number: US141252A
Authority: US
Inventors: Rocco J Noschese; Edward S Skowronski
Original assignee: Burndy Corp
Current assignee: FCI USA LLC
Priority date: 1961-09-25
Filing date: 1961-09-25
Publication date: 1964-09-15
Anticipated expiration: 1981-09-15
Also published as: DE1440790A1; GB985459A; DE1440790B2

Description

P 4 R. J. NOSCHESE ETAL 3,148,923

ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR HOOD ASSEMBLY Filed Sept. 25, 1961 3.50 5/ 357 349 3 30a INVENTORS.

ROCCO JAMES IVOJCl/ESE F/ 6' 4 'DW/MJ sm/wruw Mama/val! United States Patent 3,148,928 ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR HOOD ASSEMBLY Rocco J. Noschese, Rowayton, and Edward S. Skowrenski, Trumbull, Conn, assignors to Burndy Corporation, a corporation of New York Filed Sept. 25, 1961, Ser. No. 141,252 3 Claims. (Cl. 339103) This invention relates to electrical connectors, and particularly to a hood and cable clamp for multi-contact, block type connectors.

The connectors customarily comprise a pair of rectangular solid blocks each having a plurality of bores therethrough from their front to rear faces, in which contacts are secured. The contacts are adapted to mate when the blocks are brought together with their front faces abutting. The pair of blocks may be held together by the friction of the mated contacts, which may be mating pins and sockets, and by jack screws, or by clips. Conductors are electrically and mechanically connected to the contacts, and these conductors, or the contacts and the conductors, extend from the rear faces of the connector blocks. It is customary to provide an enclosure or hood for the rear of each block to protect the extending contacts and conductors; and to provide a cable clamp to secure the conductors to the hood at their exit from the hood.

The prior art hoods have generally been box-like affairs having only one open face which required that all contacts be inserted into the block, and conductors threaded through the cable clamp and connected to the contact before the hood was secured to the block. Other prior art hoods have had a side face which was closed by a removable panel. These still required the conductors to be threaded through the cable clamp, and afforded only a very restricted working space at the rear face of the block. There was no free access to the entire rear face of the block, and particularly not an access affording free movement coaxial with the contacts.

It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide a connector hood which can be conveniently installed or removed either before or after the contacts and conductors have been installed.

Another object is to provide a hood which, while mounted, can be opened to permit free access to the entire rear face of the block and particularly permit extended movement along a path coaxial with the contacts.

A still further object is to provide a cable clamp which can be fitted about previously installed conductors without their being threaded therethrough.

A further object is to provide a hood which consists substantially of two identical halves.

A feature of this invention is a two piece hood, each half of which is pivotally mounted to the connector block.

These and other objects and features of this invention will become more apparent by reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a top view of a connector block and hood assembly embodying this invention;

FIG. 2 is an edge view of the assembly of FIG. 1, showing in phantom lines the hood in its open relationship;

FIG. 3 is a top view of another embodiment of this invention;

FIG. 4 is a rear view of the embodiment of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 5 is a detail of a modification of FIG. 2.

Turning now to FIGS. 1 and 2, it will be seen that the assembly comprises a connector block 1, two identical pivot blocks 3 and 5; and two identical hood halves 7 and 9. The connector block has a plurality of bores 11 therethrough from its front to

rear faces

13 and 15. A

3,148,928 Patented Sept. 15, 1964 contact 17 may be secured in each bore as shown, for example, in the Dupre patent US. 2,981,924 (a single exemplary pin contact is shown in FIG. 1), a portion of the contact, e.g., a pin 19, extends from the front face of the block to engage a mating contact, in a mating block, not shown. A conductor 21 is connected to the rear portion of the contact, as by crimping, and the rear portion and/ or the conductor alone extends from the rear face of the block.

The connector block 1 is provided at each end of the block with three

mounting holes

21, 23 and 25 therethrough from its front to rear face. An alignment pin may be secured in any of these holes. In FIGS. 1 and 2 a male alignment pin 27 is shown in the middle hole 23 at one end, and a female alignment pin 29 is shown in the middle hole at the other end.

The pivot blocks 3 and 5 are mounted on the stepped rear face of the block over each set of mounting holes. Each block is substantially a rectangular solid with a depressed center portion having a hole 31 therethrough which is aligned with the middle hole 23. The middle hole 23 is provided with a constriction 32 and the alignment pin 27 may be provided with a pin aligning portion 27a, a shoulder 33, a threaded shank 35 and a nut 37. The pin is disposed in both the connector block hole 23 and the pivot block hole 31 and holds the blocks together.

A cylindrical boss 39 and 41 may be provided adjacent each end of the pivot block, parallel to hole 31 to extend into the other of the connector block mounting holes to preclude the pivot block frompivoting around the alignment pin 27. Another

cylindrical boss

43 and 45 is provided at each end of the pivot block normal to hole 31 to serve as pivot points for the identical hood halves 7 and 9.

Each hood half may be bent up from a sheet of metal to include a main wall portion 47, two

end wall portions

49 and 51, a neck portion 53, and a cable clamp portion 55. A tab 57 and 59 depends from each end wall. A hole is formed in each tab to adapt the tab to be snapped onto a pivot boss on one of the pivot blocks. Each hood half is adapted to pivot from the closed position shown in solid lines in FIG. 2, to the open position shown in phantom lines. A skirt 61 depends from the main wall to cover the joint between the connector block and the hood. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the included angle between the open hood halves, despite the skirts abutting the block, is a minimum of 65".

When the hood is closed, the end walls of each half overlap. End wall 49 may be made slightly wider than end wall 51. A tab 63 may project from each neck portion, to constrict the conductors to the central portion of the cable clamp, away from the clamp screws 65 and 67.

A tab 69 may project from each end wall which overlaps the tab 63 from the neck of the other half and serves to reinforce the tab 63 against outward deflection. A threaded hole is provided at the ends of each cable clamp to receive the clamp screws 65 and 67.

Both screws are customarily carried by the same half, although one screw may be mounted in each half if desired. Engaging and tightening the screw locks the hood halves together and clamps the conductors in place in the cable clamp.

Another embodiment of the hood is shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. In this embodiment a pivot block 303 having a single mounting hole 331 and a single pivot boss 339 is secured to each middle connector block mounting hole as by alignment pins 327 and 329. Each hood half 307 may be bent up from a sheet of metal to include a main wall 0 portion 347, two

end wall portions

349 and 351, two

3 holes 354- and 356. A wraparound skirt 361 depends from the main Wall to cover the joint between the connector block and the hood, and terminates at each end in a

tab

357 and 359 which includes a hole adapted to snap into

pivot bosses

343 and 345.

The connectors shown in FIG. 1 through 4 are secured to their mating contacts solely by friction between the contact and alignment pin and socket interfriction. If it is desired to have a positive coupling, then the modification of FIG. 5 may be used. Here

holes

539 and 541 are provided in lieu of bosses 39 and 41, and a pair of nuts 501 and bolts 592 are used to secure the pivot block 503 to the connector block. A combination jack and alignment screw 527 is used in lieu of the alignment pin 27. The screw shown has a pin alignment portion 527a which is threaded to mate with a socket alignment portion on the mating connector, not shown, a shoulder 533, a shank 535 having a neck 535a and a hand grip portion 536 mounted to the shank by a set screw 535a. A C-spring" 53% is snapped into neck 535a to lock the pivot block to the connector block. A similar substitution of a jack screw may be made in the hood assembly of FIGS. 3 and 4 for the alignment pins 327 and 32%. Of course the pivot block should not be clamped tightly to the contact block but shall have a slight looseness as is required to permit the jack screw to turn freely. The pivot block will be precluded from rotating about the axis of the jack screw by the pair of hoods which are snapped onto the pivot block bosses 339.

Although the embodiments herein illustrated have both utilized a pivot block which is most conveniently made by die casting, the same pivoting action can be accomplished by making the pivot block out of sheet metal or wire. In such a case the pivot block could be formed with holes or loops into which bent over tabs, similar to chain link interlocking, could be fitted for pivotal action.

The invention has thus been described but it is desired to be understood that it is not confined to the particular forms or usages shown and described, the same being merely illustrative, and that the invention may be carried out in other ways without departing from the spirit of the invention and, therefore, the right is broadly claimed to employ all equivalent instrumentalities coming within the scope of the appendent claims, and by means of which objects of this invention are attained and new results accomplished, as it is obvious that the particular embodiments herein shown and described are only some of the many that can be employed to obtain these objects and accomplish these results.

We claim:

1. A hood assembly including a connector body member having conductors extending therefrom and a pair of hood-assembly mounting holes extending therethrough; a pair of spaced apart pivot block members each having a securing bore therethrough disposed in coaxial alignment with one of said mounting holes; a pair of mating-connector alignment members each extending through one of said mounting holes and the corresponding securing bore, each alignment member being adapted to axially engage a mating connector in fixed position relative thereto; means on each alignment member for releasably securing the corresponding one of said pivot blocks to said connector body member; means, including a pair of wall members associated with said body member, forming an enclosure and an exit passageway for the said conductors between said pivot block members; means on said wall members for clamping them together about conductors disposed in said exit passageway; at least one of said wall members being pivotally mounted to each of said pivot blocks about an axis extending between said blocks such that the said one wall member may be pivoted away from the other wall member to open said enclosure and said exit passageway.

2. The hood assembly of claim 1 wherein at least one of said alignment members comprises a jack screw, rotatably disposed in one of said securing bores and the corresponding mounting hole, which includes a driving-force receiving portion at one end thereof and a threaded portion at the other end thereof for threadedly engaging a mating connector.

3. The hood assembly of claim 1 wherein: each of said pivot block members includes a pair of projecting pivot bosses positioned in substantially parallel, transversely spaced apart relationship, each boss on one of said block members being axially aligned with a corresponding boss on the other of said block members; and each of said wall members includes a pair of axially aligned pivot holes each adapted to pivotally receive one of said projecting bosses on each of said pivot block members to pivotally couple said wall members to said connector body member through said pivot block members.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,629,036 Wohl et al May 17, 1927 2,659,872 Gilbert Nov. 17, 1953 2,662,220 Saari Dec. 8, 1953 2,701,866 Chapman Feb. 8, 1955