US646009A - Device for electrical connections. - Google Patents

Description

No. 646,009. Patented Mar. 27, I900. M. PFATISCHER.

DEVICE FOR ELECTRICAL CONNECTIONS.

(Application filed Nov. 24, 1899.] (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet FIG. 1

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No. 646,009. Patented Mar. 27, I900. M. PFATISCHER.

DEVICE FOR ELECTRICAL CONNECTIONS.

(Application filed Nov. 24, 1899.)

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

Q k was INVENTOR:

WITNESSES:

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFrcE.

MATHIAS PFATISCHER, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

DEVICE FOR ELECTRICAL CONNECTIONS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 646,009, dated March 27, 1900.

Application filed November 24 1899. v Serial No. 738,138. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, M THrAs PFATISOHER, of Philadelphia, in the State of Pennsylva-s nia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Devices forElectrical Oonnections, whereof the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

My invention relates to that class of de-. vices which includes ceiling-rosettes, branchblocks, cut-outs, lamp-receptacles, switches, and the like, which consist of a suitable base upon which terminals are fixed and provided with means to secure the ends of flexible con-' ductors to said terminals.

My improvements are especially adapted for use on shipboard or under other conditions where there is liability to leakage or condensation of water,which, accumulating upon the conductors, would follow them to the region of the terminals and occasion short-circuiting. Hitherto it has been usual to locate the terminals within a water-tight casing having conductor-inlets provided with stuffingboxes or similar means to secure a more or less water-tight relation of the conductors to the casing. Such sealing means are not only expensive in construction, but are difficult to maintain and frequently fail of their purpose by reason of slight structural defects.

The object of my present invention is to provide simpler, less expensive, and'more efficient means for obviating the dangers above referred to; and to this. end my invention, generally stated, consists in so arranging. the conductor-inlets and terminals of such an electrical connecting device as to insure that the conductors in extension between said inlets and said terminals shall be flexed in bights below said terminals, with the result that the water accumulated upon the conductors gravitates to said bights and drips therefrom without reaching the terminals. Such a construction of course renders a water-tight casing for the terminals unnecessary.

In the accompanying drawings I have shown a convenient embodiment of my invention in the preferred form for a lamp-receptacle comprising a socket adapted to receive the plug of an incandescent lamp or similar device. It is to be understood, however, that du'ctors.

my invention is not limited to the particular embodiment shown, which is merely a type of the general class of devices to which my improvements are applicable, as aforesaid.

In said drawings, Figure 1 represents an exterior side View of the receptacle, showing thev adjacent portions of the electrical con- Fig. 2 is a vertical central section through the same on a plane which is indicated ,by the lines 2 2, Fig. 3. Fig. 3 is a plan View of the under side of the main portion of the receptacle, which, although actually up- .permost, .base. side of the cap or coverwhich' fits upon the is for convenience termed the Fig. 4 is a plan view of the upper under side of the base and inclos'es the parts carried thereby. Fig. 5 is a view in perspecner to the socket in the receptacle. j The base or supporting portion of the receptacle is indicated at A and, together with the other parts, is preferably constructed of porcelain or glazed earthenware. The base A is approximately disk-shaped and may be provided with a short downwardly-depending Adja-v flange ajaround its outer periphery. cent to its central portion it is preferably provided with a downwardly-depending flange a of considerably greater depth than the flange 0t and having the outlines of an oblong hexagon whose center of figure coincides with the center of the base itself, as seen clearly in Fig. '3. Within said flange a is a boss 0?, which forms the immediate support of the terminals and which may conveniently be provided with a shallow U-shaped flange a upon its lower extremity: Lateral blocks A A extend outward from the hexagonal flange a in the direction of its shortest diameter, said blocks being somewhat less in depth than the flange itself, and a short rib a. projects radially from the outside edge of the block A to the inner face of the flange a.

All the above-described portions of the base are preferably made integral, and the base is provided with various vertical holes to effect its attachment to its own support and to permit the entrances for and means of connecting the conductors, dsc. Thus the countersunk holes B are adapted to receive the supporting screwslor bolts whereby the base is secured in position. The holes b and b in the blocks A A are the inlets for the insulated conductors E, E, E and E The three vertical holes I), D, and D which terminate upwardly within the sunk recess 1), receive the screws 01, d, and d which engage with the inner ends of the terminals F andf, respectively. Suitable holes are also provided for the other accessory screws, such as f and f. The terminal f serves to secure in position the threaded cylindrical shell 0 of the lamp-socket,which depends downwardly from the boss a and the terminal F lies within the recess formed by the U -shaped flange a so as to be effectually separated from the other by means of said flange.

The conductors E, E, E and E entering at the inlets b and W, are flexed in bights e, e, 2 and e", depending below the terminals.

,The details of the terminals themselves and the means whereby they are connected with the lamp proper are not described, as they are well understood.

The cap or cover G of the receptacle is cupshaped, having a deep cylindrical outer wall g, which fits against the under side of the base A, said wall g being notched at g to receive the rib a, which latter prevents the horizontal turning of the cap when suspended in position. The cap has a central opening G of larger diameter than the lower end of the boss, and said opening is surrounded by an upwardly projecting flange g fitting around the boss a Vertical drip-holes g are formed through the bottom of the cap G, preferably at quadrant-points,as seen more clearly in Fig. 4. A porcelain ring I, screw-threaded on its inner face to engage with the external thread upon the shell 0 of the lamp-socket, is provided with a peripheral shoulder i of greater diameter than the opening G of the cap G, and when secured in position upon said shell 0 serves to support the outer wall g of the cap G in close contact with the base.

By the arrangement above described the bights of the conductors provide suitable points for the discharge of water which has leaked in or condensed thereon, and it is of course impossible for the water to rise from said bights to the terminals. The several interior flanges also tend to discharge water or condensed moisture into the cap G, whence it readily escapes through the drip-holes 9 Furthermore, the device thus embodied is readily and cheaply constructed and has no weak points liable to be disarranged.

Having thus described my invention, I of course do not limit myself to the particular embodiment above described; but

I claim 1. In a device for electrical connections, the combination, with a base; of a terminal, fixed with respect to said base; a conductor; and a conductor-inlet in said base, arranged to direct an inserted conductor in a bight depending below said terminal, in extension between said inlet and said terminal, substantially as set forth.

2. In a device for electrical connections, the combination, with a base; of a terminal fixed with respect to said base; a conductor-inlet in said base; and a flexible electrical conductor extending through said inlet, flexed in a bight below said terminal and secured, beyond said bight, to said terminal, substantially as set forth.

3. In a device for electrical connections, the combination with a casing, comprising a base and a removable cover for thesame; of a plurality of terminals fixed in said casing; means to secure the ends of flexible conductors to said terminals; conductor-inlets in said casing respectively adjacent to said terminals; flexible conductors entered through said inlets, depending in drip discharging bights within said casing and below the respective terminals to which they are connected; and a drip-outlet in said casing, substantially as set forth.

4. In a receptacle for electric lamps, the combination of a base having a downwardlydepending boss and provided with suitable inlets for the admission of conductors, &c.; of a cap fitting upon said base and havingan upwardly-projecting flange which surrounds the boss, said cap being provided with a driphole; and means for holding said cap in position against said base, substantially as described.

5. The combination, with the base, A, having a downwardly-dependin g flange, a, forming an elongated inclosure therein; of the boss arranged within said inclosure; the cap, G, fitting upon the base and having an inner flange, g surrounding the boss, said cap being provided with a drip-hole; and means, substantially as set forth, whereby said cap may be secured in position.

MATHIAS PFATISCHER.

Witnesses:

JAMES H. BELL, E. REESE.

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