Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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PLUGGABLE CONNECTOR FOR USE_WITH
INSULATION DISPLACING BARREL TERMIN.AL5
The invention relates to a terminal receiving block
which has a pluggable connector pro~ided at one end
thereof. The pluggable connector is electrically
connected to terminals, each terminal has at least one
wire receiving slot provided at an end thereof for the
insertion of respecti~e wires therethrough.
There are many instances where terminal blocks are
set up in arrays for receipt of wires therein. Many of
these terminal blocks are simply threaded members fixed
with insulation material which receive wires either
wrapped around the threaded members and secured thereto
by an application of a nut, or the wires are terminated
by known spade or ring terminals and then secured to the
threaded me~ber by a nut~ While these have, in some
instances, provided effective means for termination,
khey have not always been convenient for installation,
maintenance, or repair and they frequently are subjected
to environmental degradation with a resulting loss o~
desired electrical characteristics.
There is a n2ed, predominantly within the
telecommunications industry for reusable terminals, and
terminals which can accommodate more than one conductor
size. The telephone wires coming from the phone company
can either be in the form of buried cable or aerial
wires. The terminal blocks would be mounted in either
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an enclosure on the aerial mount, or in an enclosed
pedestal affixed to the ground, or on a poleO As new
telephones are installed in a selected locality, the
phone wires are then terminated to the respective
terminals on the high density array.
As the terminals can be used over many cycles,
there i~ a possibility of damaging a respective terminal
or terminal block. Consequently, there is a need to
provide a terminal block which can be easily removed and
replaced with minimal effort and minimal tovling. This
is of particular importance because the terminal blocks
are provided in field locations, i. 2 . on poles, etc.
However, the present devices are no~ easily replaced.
There is also a need, particularly in applications
in which the terminals are to be terminated in the
field, for the terminals to be easily installed. As
many wires are required for operation, it is essential
that the installation o* the wires be accomplished with
minimal ef~ort and minimal tooling. However, the
present devices are not easily installed, and
consequently, the cost of the installa~ion is
significant.
While the preferred embodiment of connector
disclosed herein is for telecommunications
applications, for example for electrical interconnection
of tip and ring voice signals, the invention could be
used with other wire sizes and in other applications.
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U.S. Patent 4,431,247 shows an insulated terminal
and module, however the shell of the terminal only
includes one wire opening for insulation displacement.
Other previous designs are shown in U~S. Patents
4,637,675 and 4,705,340 where stationary terminals are
located within housings and rotatable caps are placed
over the terminals. Rotation of the cap causes the
wires within the caps to be rotated into the stationary
insulation displacement portions. While the previous
versions shown in the '675 and '340 patents are
excellent designs, these designs include shortcomings
which have been addressed by the instant design.
A major shortcoming with respect to the prior art
connectors relates to the ease of installation and
repair. In order for the terminal blocks to be
connected to the system, there is a need for labor
intensive operations. The wires which extend from the
bottom of the terminals must be ~pliced to appropriate
wires of the cable. This is very time con~uming and
difficult, particularly in field applications.
The newly designed terminal and connector which we
have invented has rectified these earlier shortcomings
and is summarily explained below.
The pre~ent invention is directed to a terminal
block which is pluggable into a pedestal or the like.
This pluggable terminal block allows ~or easy
installation and replaces ~he labor intensive operation
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currently used to terminate the terminal block to the
cable.
In particular, the insulation displacement type
connector has a housing with at least on~ cavity defined
by a cylindrical wall, and a wire receiving opening
which extends through the wall and into the interior of
the cavity. A cylinder formed of conductive material
defining a tubular wall is positioned in the cavity.
The cylinder has at least one wire receiving entry
through the wall thereof~ the entry is initially aligned
with the wire receiving opening of the housing. A
pluggable means is provided in the insulation
displacement connector, the pluggable means is
electrically connected to the cylinder and mounted on
the housing~ Such that as the insulation displacement
type connector i9 mounted to a mating surface, the
pluggable means is positioned to cooperate with a
respective mating pluggable member to insure that the
insulation displacement type connector is placed in
elactrical engagement with the mating connector.
Discrete wires are provided in the insulation
displacement type connector, tha discrete wires are
provided to electrical connect the conductive cylinders
o~ the housing to respective contacts of the pluggable
means.
A sealing material is providad proximate the mating
sur~ace of ~he insulation displacement type connector,
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the sealing material cooperates with lower portions of
the conductive cylindars and the discrete wires to
provide an environmental seal thereabout. The wire
receiving face of the electrical connector is also
positioned in the sealing material. The sealing
material cooperates with the wire receiving face and the
discrete wires to form an environmental seal thereabout,
the sealing material also cooperates with the electrical
connector to maintain ~he electrical connector in
position relative to the insulation displacement type
connector.
FIGURE 1 is a perspective view showing a high
density array of terminals and caps.
FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of the subject two
piece terminal exploded apart.
FIGURE 3 is a front plan vi~ew showing the two piece
t~rminal of Figure 2.
FIGURE 4A is a cross sectional view through the
upper insulation displacement slot showing the cap and
upper terminal in the fully open position.
- FIGURE 4B is a view similar to that of Figure 4A
showing the cap through a f irst detent .
FIGURE 4C is a view similar to that of Figures 4A
and 4B showing the cap and upper terminal in ~he fully
terminated condition.
FIGURE 5 is an isometric view of the cap portion.
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FIGURE 6 is an isometric view, partially cut away,
through the housing.
FIGURE 7 is a stamped blank of the lower portion of
the terminal prior to being rolled into a b~rrel
terminal.
FIGURE 8 is a stamped blank of the upper portion of
the terminal prior to being rolled into a barrel
terminal.
FIGURE 9 is a top view of a section of the housing.
FIGURE 10 is a bottom plan view showing the
underside of the connector with discrete wires in a
terminated condition.
FIGURE 11 is a bottom perspective view showing the
the terminal block in a fully assembled condition.
With reference ~irst to Figure 1, an electrical
connector 2 is shown which includes an insulative
hou~ing member such as 4 including a plurality of silo
members, such a~ 6 and 8, disposed in two opposed rows.
With reference now to Figure 6, the housing member will
be described in grea~er ~etail, and it should ~e noted
that Figure 6 shows the internal struct-lre of silo 8 in
particular, however it should be noted that the internal
structure of silo 6 is identical to that of silo 8.
Both silo~ 6 and 8 include an internal diameter such as
14 which extends circum~erentially around the internal
surface of the silo where it ends with stop surfaces 18
and 20. A longitudinally extending ~hannel 16 extends
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along the langth of the ~ilo and includes opposed
parallel surfaces 16a and an end surface 16b. Alvng a
portion of the internal circumferential sur~ace,
proximate to stop surface 20 is a first detent member 22
which defines a recessed section 24 adjacent to the stop
surface 20 and further defines a shallow surface 30. A
second detent member 32 i8 located ~eyond the first
detent member 22 and defines a second shallow surface
34. Surface 34 is gradually increasing in thickness
10 from a position just beyond the detent 32, and increases
in thickness upon radial movement from the detent member
32 to the opening 12. Each of the surfaces 30 and 34
extend only partially along the length of the silo
thereby defining a floor such as 36 partially along the
length thereof. Inner-circumferential sur~ace 14
extends from the floor 36 downwardly to a second floor
such as 40. Beneath the floor ~0 is a circum~erential
surface ~4 having a lead in ~uch as ~2.
A generally solid post member 50 is integral with
the entirety of the housing 4 and integrally molded
therewith via a web section shown in phantom as 48 in
Figure 6. The outer diameter of the post is shown as 52
and forms a terminal receiving area in conjunction wi~h
the inner sur~ace 44. Two wire selector through
openings 56 and 64 are included in the post and are
radially and longitudinally aligned with the openings 12
and 10 in the silo of the housing respectively. The
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upper opening 56 includes first spaced-apart walls 54
which are in transition with a 14ad-in section 58
thereby leading into a slot such as 60. It should be
noted that the openings 12 and 56 are in radial
alignment with the center of the channel 16. The lower
wire selector openlng 64 includes first spaced apart
walls 66 in transition with a second lead-in surface 68
which then transitions into a smaller opening 70.
Similarly, the openings 10 and 64 are all in radial
alignment with the center of the channel 16, relative to
the center of the post 50.
Referring now to Figure 7, a lower terminal section
190 is shown as generally including an upper edge 102, a
lower edge 104, side edges 106, 108 and 110 on one side
thereof and side edges 116, 114 and 112 on the opposite
side thereof. Wire receiving slots such as 126 and 132
are included extending upwardly ~rom the lower edge 104
and include wire terminating edges 128 and 134,
respectively. At ths lower section thereof i~ an
opening such as 120 which is defined by two parallel and
opposed side edges 122; the opening 120 providing a
me~hanical relief area between the two wire receiving
slots 126 and 132. To ~urther prevent overstressing the
lower wire receiving slots 126 and ~32l recessed areas
130 and 136 are included surrounding the wire
terminating edges 128 and 134~ respectively.
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At the upper portion of the terminal lOo, two small
wire openings 150 and 160 are included at the left
margin, while two large wire openings 170 and 180 are
included at the right hand margin. The upper section of
the terminal 100 further includes three contact member~
190, which when viewed from Figure 7 would project
through the bottom side of ths paper rather than through
the viewing side. As shown in Figure 3, the lower
section of terminal 100 when formed has side edges 114
and 108 in a substantially abutting relation such that
side edges 110 and 112 and side edges 106 and 116
respectively are in a spaced apart relation with each
other. It should also be noted from Figure 3 that the
pairs of large and small wire openings 170 and 150, and
180 and 160 are oppo~ed from each other, in radial
alignment throuyh the center of t:he terminal.
As shown in Figure 8, an upper section of terminal
200 is shown as including side edlges 202 and 204, while
a plurality of wire receiving openings and wire
receiving slots are shown in communication with one
another. For example, a large IDC section 210 includes
a large wire receiving opening 212 in communication with
a large wire t~rminating section 216. Further IDC
sections 220, 230 and 240 are included having similar
~5 openings in communication with similar slots. Behind
each of the wire rece.iving slots such as 216, a relief
area such as 217 is included to insure that when the
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conductor of the wire is moved into the terminating
condition, the section adjacent to the end of the wire
terminating slot 216 is not overstressed. As ~ormed in
Fi~ure 3 the side edges 202 and 204 are brought towards
each other until the shape of the terminal 200 is
substantially cylindri~al, although a small gap exists
between their ends as explained more fully herein. It
should be noted that the large wire openings 212 and 232
are opposed and in radial alignment with ~mall wire
openings 222 and 242, respectively.
Referring now to ~igure 5, an insulative cap 300 is
shown including a circular structural portion 302 with a
driver nut portion 304 integrally molded above the
circular portion 302. A partially cylindrical portion
306 is integrally formed with the cylindrical portion
302 and extends downwardly therefrom having stop edges
~08 and 310. A rotation bar 313 is also included on the
inner surface 315 of the cap and has a forward bearing
surface such as 312. Two through openings 320 and 326
in the cap extend inwardly between an outer diameter 314
and an inner diameter 315.
To assemble the connector with the lower section of
terminal as foxmed in Figure 31 the lower section 100 is
inserted over the post 50 such that the opening created
between side edges 110 and 112 (Figures 2 and 7) of ~he
lower terminal fit over the lug 48 as shown in Figure 6.
This prevents the rotation of the lower portion 100 o~
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the terminal during the rotatiorl of the upper terminal
portion 200. The lower section o~ terminal 100 is
placed adjacent to the outer di~meter 52 of the post 50
and adjacent to the inner diameter 44 of the silo, as
shown in Figure ~, with the wire terminating sections
126 and 132 extending beyond the surface 82 o~ the
housing 80, as shown in Figure S. This also places side
edges 110 and 112 adjacent to the side edges of the lug
48 to ensure that the lower section 100 remains
rotationally stationary relative to the housing 4. When
the lower section 100 i5 inserted between the silo and
post, the upper edge 102 of thP terminal section 100 is
approximately flush with the upper edge 9 of the silo
(Figure 6) such that large openings 170 and 180 of the
lower section 100 are aligned with openings 12 and 56,
and with openings 10 and 64 in the silo and inner post
50, respectively.
To further complete the assembly, the upper section
of terminal 200 is inserted into the cap with the gap
between side edges 202 and 204 of the terminal 200
slidably received between the ro~ation bar 313 (Figure
5) such that surface 202 abuts the bearing surface 312.
In this manner, the outer diameter 252 (Figure 3) o~ the
terminal 200 will be adjacent to tha inner diameter 315
of the ~ap. It should also be noted that with the cap
and terminal assembled as just described, the openings
320 and 326 in the cap are adjacent to and in alignment
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with, the large wire receiving opening 212 and 232 in
tho upper terminal section 200, respectiYely.
The cap 300 and the upper terminal portion 200 are
then insertable within the individual silos between the
inner surface 14 of the silos and between the outer
surface 140 of the lower terminal portion. The cap 300
is placed in the silo such that the radial void between
the edges 308 and 310 (Figure 5) of the cap are betwsen
the stop sur~aces 18 and 20 within the interior of the
silos, and more particularly with the edge 310 of the
cap in an abutting relation with the stop sur~ace 20
such that the detent member 330 on the exterior surface
of the cap is between the detent member 22 and the stop
surface 20. A cross-sectional view of this position is
shown in Figure 4~. When the cap 300, and the upper 200
and lower 100 sections of terminal are: in this first
position, the left hand portion of the upper wire
receiving opening 320 in the cap 300 is in alignment
with the large wire opening 212 in the outer portion of
the terminal. At the same time, the left hand portion
o~ the upper wire receiving opening 320 is in alignment
with the large wira receiving opening 170 in the lower
terminal lO0, and with ~he ~mall wire raceiving opening
150 in the terminal portion 100, and with small wire
opening 222 and large wire opening 212 in the terminal
portion 200. Similarly, the left hand portion of the
lower wira receiving opening 326 in the cap is in
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alignment with the openings 232, 180, 160 and 242. When
the cap 302 and upper te~minal portion 200 are placed
within the silo such that the lower edge 316 o~ the
section 302 is in an abutting relation with the top
surface 9 of the silo, the slots 206 and 208 of the
upper terminal portion are overlying the contac~ members
190 on the lower section of the terminal 100.
As shown in Figure 10, the connector 2 is prepared
for field use by te~minating first ends 40? o~ discrete
wires 400 to the respective lower insulation
displacement sections 132 of the terminals 100 in a
conventional manner. Second ends 404 of the discrete
wires 400 are then terminated to a second electrical
connector 406. The second electrical connector 406 can
be any type of connector which has a mating face 408 and
a wire receiving face 410. In the particular
configuration shown in Figure 10, the discrete wires 400
are terminated to the second electrical connector 406 by
means of insulation displacement contacts 4~2.
20 Consequently, with the respective ends 402, 404 of the
discrete wires 400 electrically connected to the
terminals 100 o~ the connector 2 and the contacts 412 of
the second electrical connector 406, the contacts 412 o~
the second electrical connector 406 are placed in
electrical engagement with the terminals lO0 of the
connector 20
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After the discrete wires 400 have been terminated
t~ the terminals 100 o~ the conneator 2 and the contacts
412 of the second connector 406, the housing 4 is
positioned in a configuration such that the caps 300 and
terminals 100, 200 are facing downwardly, the upstanding
side walls 80 of the housing 4 and the end walls ~orm a
cavity with the upstanding sidewalls o~ the housing
higher than the protruding portions of the lower
sections of terminals 100. To environmentally protect
the lower terminations, an epoxy resin 370 (Figure llj
is poured into the cavity to completely cover the
insulation displacement portions 132 and the individual
discreet wires. A back portion 414 of the second
electrical connector 406 is also positioned in the epoxy
370, as shown in Figure 11. Thiæ insures that the
electrical connection between the connector 2 and the
second electrical connector 406 will be environmentally
sealed. It is also important to note that the epoxy 370
acts as a means t~ retain the second electrical
connector 406 in position relative to the connector 2.
The array is then ready for field pedestal installation,
or for mounting within an enclosed aerial mounting box
or pole.
The use of the second electrical connector 406
eliminates the need to connect the individual wires of
the multi-conductor cable used in the prior art
connectors to the corresponding wires of the phone
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company. As the second electrical connector 406 is
provided to make the electrical connection to a
pluggable mating connector on the pedestal, etc., the
installation and replacement of the connector~ 2 is
greatly simplified. In the prior art, in which numerous
individual wires extended from the connector, the
installer was required to terminate each individual wire
to a respective wire of the cable. This was a
particularly costly operation, as a graat deal of time
was required in the field to compl~te the electrical
connection. This problem was encountered in each
instance in which a new connector was installed or in
each instance in which an existing connector was
replaced. ~he present invention eliminates this time
consuming and costly operation, and allows the operator
to merely plug in the connector to the mating connector
on the pedestal, thereby greatly reducing the cost
aæsociated with the installation and repairO As the
manual effort required by the installer is lessened, the
probability of a posit1ve electrical connection being
effected is heightened.
With the connector in the configuration shown in
Figures 1 and 4A, a further discreet wire can be
terminated within the connector by inserting a discreet
wire ~uch as 371 or 372 through either of the through
openings 10 or 12 in the silo. I~ the wire is a large
gauge wire, the wire will project into the connector
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into the interior of the post 50 as far as surfaces 58
to prevent the wire Prom pas~ing through the post into
the æmall wire terminating section. Rather, if the
discreet wire to be terminated has a small gauge, the
wire freely passes through the section 60 in the post,
through the small wire openin~s 224, 244 and 150, 160 in
both the upper and lower terminal sections, 200, 100,
respectively and into the ~hannel 16 as shown in phantom
in Figure 4C.
To terminate the wire into one of the respective
slots 216-246, the cap 300 is rotated in the clockwise
direction as viewed in Figuras 4A through 4C, and as the
cap is first rotated, the detent 330 on the outer
surface of the cap passes the detent 22 within the
interior of the sil9 to the position shown in Figure 4B.
Continued rotation of the cap continues the rotation of
the upper ~erminal portion 2 00 until t~le cap is rota~ed
to the position shown in Figure 4C where the detent 330
is locked behind the complementary detent section 32 on
2 0 the silo . With ~he cap rotated to the position shown in
Figure 4C, the uplper section 200 o~ the terminal is
rotated into the insulated wire such that tha conductor
inside the insulated wire is placed centrally within one
of the wire receiving edges 216, 226, 236 or 246,
25 depending on the gauge of wire, and depending upon which
wire receiving opening, 10 or 12, the insulated wire was
inserted through. It ~hould be appreciated that the
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wire receiving edges 216 through 246 have gaps between
th~m, slightly smaller than the diaMeter of the
conductor to be terminated such that movement of the
wire into the slot causes the leading edges 214 through
244 to sever through the insulation of the insulated
conductor and place the bared conductor between the
edges ~16 through 246 in a contacting relation.
It should be appreciated that the post acts as a
selector for the particular gauge of wire to be insertPd
within the terminal and it acts as a bearing surface for
the anti-rotation of the wire durinq the termination of
the wire. Further bearing surfaces are provided by the
leading edges o~ the openings 170, 180, 150 and 160 in
the lower terminal portion 100, and against the leading
edges of the openings 12 and 10, and of the channel 16.
It should also be noted from the progression of Figures
4A through 4C that the wire rema:ins in a straight
condition during the termination thereof. Finally, the
two piece terminal allows one ~erminal portion 100 to be
fixed, while allowing the second terminal portion 200 to
rotate relative to the ~irst portion 100, yet maintain
electrical continuity between the two by virtue of the
raised projQctions 190 on the terminal portions 100
being in contact with the slots 206 and 208 in the upper
terminal portion 200. The upper 200 and lower 100
terminal portions are kept in electrical engagement by
the close proximity of the respective concentric
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surfaces of the post 50, the inner terminal portion 100,
the outer terminal portion 200, the inner and outer
surfaces of the cylindrical portion 30~ of th~ cap 300
and the inner surface 14 of the silo 6 or R; as shown in
5 the Figures 4A-4~.
Other embodiments of the invention are foreseeable
without departing from the scope of the claims herein.
For instance, the terminal blocks or connsctors can have
terminals of varying configurations provided therein.
Changes in construction will occur to those skilled
in the art and variou~ apparently different
modifications and embodiments may be made without
departing from the scope of the invention. The matter
set forth in the foregoing description and accompanying
drawings is offered by way o~ illustration only.
The invention was described by way of prefsrred
embodiment but should not be taken to limit the scope of
the claims which follow.
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