WO2001006597A2

WO2001006597A2 - Connector accessory for telephone cable connection strip

Info

Publication number: WO2001006597A2
Application number: PCT/GB2000/002744
Authority: WO
Inventors: Juan Vives Clavel
Original assignee: Mondragon Telecommunications S.L.; Tyco Electronics Uk Limited
Priority date: 1999-07-21
Filing date: 2000-07-17
Publication date: 2001-01-25
Also published as: AR024890A1; BR0012664A; MXPA02000691A; PE20010658A1; AU6000800A; WO2001006597A3

Abstract

Connector accessory (10) for use with a telephone cable wire connection module (20) of the type which operates with insulation-displacing connection terminals (9), the accessory having active wire-pushing units (1, 2) for pushing the wires into the terminals to from electrical connections, characterised in that the accessory is substantially entirely formed of plastics material, preferably by moulding in one piece to be of sufficiently small size and cost to enable one or more such accessories (10) to be provided with each of the connector modules (20) with which the accessory is to be used and to remain with the respective module after installation thereof. The accessory is preferably provided with securing formations (7, 12), preferably projecting fingers and/or snap-fit clips, shaped to fit the connector module with which it is to be used, by means of which formations the accessory, when not in use, can be releasably secured to the connector module.

Description

CONNECTOR ACCESSORY FOR TELEPHONE CABLE CONNECTION STRIP

This invention relates to a connector accessory for telephone cable connection strips.

Distributor frame modules are known which accommodate telephone cable wire connectors aligned in two parallel rows in a symmetrical arrangement about the longitudinal median plane of the block. The structure of the module and the arrangement of the connectors makes it possible to interconnect incoming external lines and outgoing lines, the former being connected to connectors disposed on one side of the module and the latter being connected to the symmetrical connectors on the opposite side. This arrangement also makes it possible to protect internal equipment against overvoltages or overcurrents, as well as to provide access to the lines for measurement of the service parameters and for testing the continuity and durability of the service.

The connectors each have a cylindrical terminal formation in their upper part having a longitudinal aperture in its front or outer surface aligned with a vertical slots in the wall of the block, in order to facilitate connection of the line wires. The insulated wires are inserted into the aligned apertures and slots with the wires lying in a direction roughly perpendicular to the wall of the cylindrical formation. The wires are then pressed, using a special tool, to slide laterally down between the sharp edges of the longitudinal apertures of the terminals, thus making the electrical connection by displacement of the wire insulation. At the same time as a wire is pressed laterally into the aperture of the terminal or connector, the surplus end section of the wire is removed by the tool pressing it against a bevel edge which exists in the upper edge of the cylindrical formation opposite to the longitudinal aperture.

The known connection tools are of relatively complex structure and may include means for adjusting the pressure exerted in use and means for cuting off the surplus end portions of the wires. Because of their resulting high cost, these known tools are usually connected to the respective block of the distributor frame module by a chain, in order to prevent the tool from becoming lost. However, in order to facilitate their use in making a connection, the tools are often released from their attachment by the operator, which can cause them to be dropped or misplaced, thus wasting the time of the next operator who finds, on arriving to make further connections, that the necessary tool is missing.

The present invention seeks to alleviate the disadvantages of the known connection tools previously described.

Firstly, for this purpose, there has been designed a connection accessory which is simpler, takes up less space, and has a lower cost, than the known tools, while achieving similar functional efficiency to the latter, thus making it economically acceptable to provide the new accessory as a disposable item in sufficient numbers to reduce the risk of an operator finding the connection tool missing, as could happen with the previously known tools. The accessory of this invention may be economically moulded from plastics materials, without moving parts, but operates on much the same principle as the known tools, having a wire-contacting part (hereinafter called its "lower part") which in use pushes the wires down into the insulation-displacing terminals. In preferred forms of the accessory, the lower part comprises a small cylindrical tube sized to fit, in use, over individual cylindrical terminals and inside the corresponding tubular cavities respectively surrounding each terminal in the module and, substantially concentrically within that tube, a cylinder of smaller diameter than the tube sized to fit inside the terminals.

In further preferred forms, the accessory is designed with securing formations, for example projecting fingers and/or snap-fit clips, shaped to fit the connector module in question, by means of which one or more of the accessories can be releasably secured, when not in use, to the connector strip. Because of its small size and low cost, more than one such accessory can be provided temporarily secured to each connector strip.

When it is necessary to connect a telephone cable wire to a specific terminal of a connector strip, the wire is first placed in the appropriate position extending into the aligned aperture and slot of the connector, then the accessory according to the present invention is superimposed such that, when using the aforementioned preferred tube-and-cylinder form of accessory, the tube of the accessory is aligned to surround the terminal and the concentric cylinder of the accessory points into the interior of the terminal. The accessory in this position is pressed hard towards the interior of the strip, with the result that the tube of the accessory acts on the wire immediately outside the terminal and the concentric cylinder of the accessory acts on the wire inside the terminal. This causes firstly the surplus end section of wire to be cut off by being sheared between the bevelled edge of the terminal and the tube; and subsequently the wire to be electrically connected to the terminal by displacement of insulation as the wire is pushed by the tool along the aperture of the terminal.

The structure of the accessory is preferably as follows, comprising

(1) an upper platform, preferably with a square cross-section and a thickness smaller than that of the side, the upper surface of which platform is preferably provided with a cavity in the form of a spherical cap, the perimeter of which is substantially inserted in the square, and preferably contains an eccentric rectangular slot, the larger side of which is preferably substantially parallel to the closest side of the square;

(2) at least one securing formation, preferably two projecting (preferably rectangular prismatic) fingers, which is/are disposed (preferably symmetrically) on the lower surface of the platform, preferably substantially perpendicular relative to the plane of the platform surface;

(3) a releasing formation, preferably a rectangular fin, which extends along one of the sides of the platform, preferably on or near the side of the lower surface of the platform opposite that of the said securing formation(s) (fingers), and preferably projects in a plane which is substantially perpendicular to that of the platform; and

(4) active wire-pushing units (preferably concentric tube and cylinder), which are disposed substantially perpendicular to the plane of the lower surface of the platform, preferably on the said lower surface and preferably in a position aligned with the said slot when present in the upper surface of the platform.

The active units can be duplicated in order to form the connection of two cables in adjacent terminals in a single operation, and in this case the active units preferably have different heights, such that the connections are formed in succession, in order to stagger the force of cutting and introduction of the cables into the longitudinal apertures of the respective terminals.

The functional application of the accessories is as follows. At least one accessory is presented in temporary connection at one end of the module by means of the securing formations, preferably by insertion into the module of the projecting fingers. The accessory thus inserted may be secured against accidental dislodgment by snap-fit clips or gripping members. There can be several accessories releasably attached to different modules in a strip as a result of the low cost and small size of the accessory. It will be understood that the active wire-pushing units (preferably tube and cylinder) do not themselves constitute the securing formations according to this invention, since a wire-pushing unit engaged with a terminal in the absence of any wire would not provide a desirably low profile of the accessory secured on the module and would not provide sufficiently reliable securing of the accessory unless the wire-pushing unit were an undesirably tight fit on the terminal, which could hinder the subsequent wire-pushing operation of the accessory.

When an accessory is to be used, it is removed from the secured position by exerting manual extraction force, preferably with the preferred lower lateral fin of the platform facilitating the disengagement, as will be described hereinafter. When the accessory has thus been released, it is positioned with its active units facing the terminal in which the connection is to be formed, and when the wire(s) is/are positioned appropriately, hard manual pressure is exerted downwards, using the preferred cavity of the upper surface of the platform in order to support one finger without the latter sliding, or with the assistance of a screwdriver, the tip of which is inserted in the preferred rectangular slot, in order to assist application of the force in a centred manner, since the slot when used is preferably aligned above the active units. When the connections have been completed, the accessory is returned to its temporarily secured position on the module.

In order to complement the description of the invention and facilitate interpretation of its characteristics of form, structure and function, there are attached drawings which represent schematically, by way of non-limiting example, aspects of a preferred embodiment of the connector accessory for a telephone cable connection strip according to this invention.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the accessory, with a single set of active units, in an inverted position;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the same accessory in the position of use. Figure 3 is a perspective view of the accessory, with a double set of active units, in an inverted position;

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the accessory in the position of use; and Figures 5 to 8 show a sequence of the relative positions of an accessory with a single active unit, and the corresponding terminal, during a connection, wherein Figure 5 shows the initial positions with the accessory facing the terminal; Figure 6 shows the accessory brought close to the terminal with the wire about to be cut; Figure 7 shows cutting of the surplus end section of wire and commencement of introduction of the wire into the longitudinal aperture of the accessory; and Figure 8 shows the accessory removed after the connection has been completed by displacement of the wire insulation. Figures 9 and 10 show respectively a known module of the kind having tubular insulation- displacing terminals with two connection accessories according to the present invention aligned with (Fig.9) and releasably inserted in (Fig.10) retaining apertures in the module.

Referring to the drawings, the accessory is of the type which functions with a small cylindrical tube 1, and with a cylinder 2 with a smaller diameter, which is concentric relative to the former, which carry out the functions of cutting the surplus cable, and connection to a connection strip, by means of displacement of insulation. In this illustrative form of the accessory, an upper platform 3 is provided with a generally rectangular or square cross-section and a thickness smaller than that of the side, the upper surface of which platform is provided with a cavity or depression 4, preferably of spherical curvature, the perimeter of which is substantially inserted in the square. The depression 4 preferably contains an eccentric rectangular slot 5, the larger side of which is parallel to the closest side of the square, into which slot a screwdriver or other tool can be inserted to help the operator to apply the necessary wire-cutting pressure to the accessory in use. A rectangular fin 6 extends along one of the sides of the platform 3, on the lower surface of the latter, and in a plane which is perpendicular relative to that of the platform. Two rectangular prismatic fingers 7 are disposed symmetrically in the lower surface of the platform 3, perpendicularly relative to the plane of the latter and on the side opposite that of the fin 6. The active units, i.e. a tube 1 and cylinder 2, are disposed perpendicularly relative to the plane of the platform 3, on the lower surface of the latter, and in a position which coincides with the slot 5 in the upper surface. Near the base of the tube 1 may be provided a snap-fit locking formation, in this example a lip or projection, to engage a suitable formation on the connector module so as to anchor the accessory against accidental dislodgment.

The active units, i.e. the tube 1 and cylinder 2 can be duplicated on a single accessory in order to form the connection of two cables in adjacent terminals, in a single operation, the active units in this case having different heights, so that the connections are carried out in succession, in order to stagger the force of cutting and introduction of the cables in the longitudinal apertures 8 of the respective terminals 9.

As shown in Figures 9 and 10, the accessory 10 is temporarily attached at the end(s) of the connector module 20 by insertion of the fingers 7 into corresponding apertures 22 in the module until the lip 12 near the base of the tube 1 resiliently engages an edge 24 of an aperture in the end of the module. The accessory can readily be withdrawn from its attachment by exerting manual extraction force, facilitated by flexing the fin 6 to release its attaching grip of the lip 12 on the module. When the accessory has been released for use in a connection, it is positioned with its active units 1, 2 facing the terminal 9, and when the wire(s) is/are appropriately positioned, hard manual pressure is exerted downwards, using the cavity 4 in order to support one finger, or with the assistance of a screwdriver, the tip of which is inserted in the slot 5. When the connections have been completed, the accessory is returned to its rest position.

Claims

1. Connector accessory (10) for use with a telephone cable wire connection module (20) of the type which operates with insulation-displacing connection terminals (9), the accessory having active wire-pushing units (1,2) for pushing the wires into the terminals to form electrical connections, characterised in that the accessory is substantially entirely formed of plastics material, preferably by moulding in one piece.

2. Connector assembly according to claim 1, characterised in that it is of sufficiently small size and cost to enable one or more such accessories (10) to be provided with each of the connector modules (20) with which the accessory is to be used and to remain with the respective module after installation thereof.

3. Connector accessory according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the accessory is provided with securing formations (7, 12), preferably projecting fingers and/or snap-fit clips, shaped to fit the connector module with which it is to be used, by means of which formations the accessory, when not in use, can be releasably secured to the connector module.

4. Connector accessory according to claim 3, wherein the securing formations (7, 12) are integral with the body of the accessory.

5. Connector accessory according to claim 3 or 4, characterised in that at least one (preferably more than one) such accessory is releasably secured to a connector module by means of the said securing formations and can be released by exerting manual extraction force.

6. Connector accessory according to any preceding claim, characterised in that the wire-pushing units are for use with tubular terminals (9) and comprise a small cylindrical tube (1) sized to fit over the terminals and a cylinder (2) of smaller diameter within the tube, preferably substantially concentric relative to the latter, sized to fit inside the terminals.

7. Connector accessory according to any preceding claim, comprising

(A) an upper platform, preferably with a square or rectangular cross-section and a thickness smaller than the length of its side, the upper surface of which platform preferably contains a cavity or depression (4), preferably of substantially spherical curvature, and preferably contains an eccentric rectangular slot (5), the larger side of which is preferably substantially parallel to the closest side of the square;

(B) at least one securing formation (7), preferably two projecting (preferably rectangular prismatic) fingers, which is/are disposed (preferably symmetrically) on the lower surface of the platform, preferably substantially perpendicular relative to the plane of the platform surface;

(C) a releasing formation, preferably a rectangular fin, which extends along one of the sides of the platform, preferably on or near the side of the lower surface of the platform opposite that of the said securing formation(s) (fingers), and preferably projects in a plane which is substantially perpendicular to that of the platform; and

(D) active wire-pushing units (preferably concentric tube and cylinder), which are disposed substantially perpendicular to the plane of the platform surface, on the lower surface of the latter, and preferably in a position aligned with the said slot when present in the upper surface.

8. Connector accessory according to any preceding claim, characterised in that the wire-pushing units, preferably comprising tube (1) and cylinder (2), are duplicated in order to form the connection of two wires in adjacent terminals in a single operation, the tube- and-cylinder units respectively having different heights, so that the connections are carried out in succession, in order to stagger the force of cutting and introduction of the respective wires into the longitudinal apertures (8) of the respective terminals (9).

9. Connector accessory according to any preceding claim, characterised in that it is moulded of plastics in one piece.

10. A method of making an electrical connection to a telephone cable wire connection strip, wherein an accessory according to claim 5 is released from the module and is positioned with its active units (1) - (2) facing a terminal (9) of the module, the wire(s) is/are positioned appropriately, hard manual pressure is exerted downwards, preferably using a finger or using a screwdriver the tip of which is inserted in the slot (5), and when the connections have been completed, the accessory is preferably returned to its position releasably secured to the module.

11. A telephone wire connection module having releasably secured thereto a connector accessory according to claim 3 or 4, or any claim dependent thereon.