Note : Les descriptions sont présentées dans la langue officielle dans laquelle elles ont été soumises.
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MODULAR CONNECTING BLOCKS
Background of the Invention
(1) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a modular quick connect
terminal block that is small and easily mounted. More partic-
ularly, the invention relates to a quick connect terminal block
which may be prewired and used as a junction box for telephones.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
Terminal connecting blocks are used extensively in
the fields of electronics and communication. For example, they
a~e used by the telephone industry in distribution cabinets
for connecting conductors in a cable from an exchange to other
conductors extending to various stations within a building.
When a number of telephones are connected in a building, a
person installing the telephones must connect an outside
cable to conductors extending to various telephones within the
building. The present method of installing telephones comprises
manually securing the various wires in the outside cable to a
distribution cabinet associated with the building. The wires
from the telephones within the building are also manually con-
nected to the distribution cabinet. In the distribution cabinet,
the wires running to the telephones must be connected to the
wires from the incoming cable. This type of connection requires
a trained telephone installment person who knows which line from
the cable to connect to the other lines directed to the tele-
phones within the building. It should he understood that this
process of connecting the telephones to the cable via distribu-
tion cabinet is a time consuming task which is desirable accom-
plished by a skilled technician.
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One type of terminal connecting block as disclosed in
U. S. Patent No. 3,234,498 comprises a plurality of connector
elements arranged in spaced side-by-side rows of terminals in a
connector block. Each element comprises a plurality of connec-
tors joined together at a base portion. Each of the connectorsis of the insulation penetrating type, i.e., the insulation on
an electrical connecting wire is sheared when the wire is in-
serted in the conductor. U. S. Patent No. 3,496,522 discloses
interfitted conducting block modules containing insulation pene-
l 10 trating clips. The modules are constructed to facilitate piggy-
back stacking.
My U. S. Patent No. 3,836,942, issued September 17,
1974 discloses and claims a separable electrical connector which
permits a large number of additional electrical conductors to be
connected to a terminal block containing clip-type electrical
connectors without increasing the size of the block. The sep-
arable connector comprises a flat, elongate, electrically con-
ductive element and a dielectric retaining member for holding
the electrically conductive element in contact with the upperi 20 portions of laterally adjacent electrical connectors which pro-
ject upwardly from a terminal block. The conductive element
comprises a flat base portion and at least one, e.g., one or
two, pair of opposing contact fingers which project upwardly
from the base portion and are integral with the base portion.
The adjacent edge portions of the contact fingers are adapted
to receive an electrical conductor therebetween. The retaining
member comprises a casing which encloses a portion of the elec-
trically conductive element. The top portions of the opposing
contact fingers project above the casing so that an electrical
conductor may be inserted between the opposing fingers. This
device is intended for use only in connection with an already in-
stalled connecting block.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a
modular quic~ connect terminal block that may be prewired so that
the wires of an incoming cable may be quickly mounted to the
block in such a manner that the wires of the cable are associated
properly with the various telephones in a building.
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It is an object of the present invention to provide
a modular quick connect terminal block that is small, easily
mounted and can be fit into console wiring where a rack or
panel mounted block is very often needed, and which does not
require that it be mounted in connection with an already
installed connecting block.
In accordance with a particular embodiment of the
invention, a modular connecting block comprises: a housing,
said housing being formed from a dielectric material and in-
cluding: a body portion, said body portion having the shapeof a parallelepiped, said body portion further having a
plurality of slots formed in a first planar face portion there-
of, said slots extending part way through said body portion,
said body portion further having a plurality of apertures ex-
tending inwardly from a second face thereof disposed opposite-
ly to said first face portion, said apertures communicating
with said slots, a base portion integral with and extending in
two mutually transverse directions from said body portion about
the periphery of said body portion second face, said base
portion defining a rim about at least a portion of said body
portion second face, said rim and body portion second face
cooperating to define a recessed area adjacent said second
face, said base portion also extending outwardly with respect
to oppositely disposed third and fourth faces of said body
portion to define first and second flanges, said flanges
terminatin~ in parallel longitudinal edges, said third and
fourth body portion faces being transverse to said first and
second faces, a first of said flanges being provided with a
recess in said longitudinal edge, said recess being disposed
a preselected distance inwardly from a first end of the flange,
said first flange further being provided with an apertured
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securing protrusion extending outwardly therefrom, the center
of said apertured protrusion being spaced from the second end
of said first flange by the same distance the center of said
recess is spaced from the first end of said first flange,
the width of said protrusion being less than one half the
length of said body portion third face and less than the width
of said recess; and at least a second apertured securing
protrusion extending outwardly from said second flange; a
plurality of electrically conductive contact members, said
contact members being disposed in at least some of said slots
in said housing body portion, said contact members each in-
cluding: a flat support portion having a pair of oppositely
disposed edges, at least one pair of oppositely disposed con-
tact fingers projecting upwardly from and being integral with
a first edge of said support portion; and a tang extending
from the said second edge of said support portion, said tang
being coplanar with said support portion and extending through
one of said apertures into the said recessed area adjacent
said body portion second face, said tang being engaged by said
housing body portion to thereby retain the contact element in
said housing with said fingers extending above the said first
face portion of said housing body portion
The invention will be more particularly described
with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:
FIGURE 1 is a top plan view of a modular block
containing a plurality of electrical conductive elements.
FIGURE 2 is a front elevational view of the block.
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FIGURE 3 is an end elevational view of the block.
FIGURE 4 is a bottom plan view of the ~lock.
FIGURE 5 is a rear elevational view of the block.
FIGURE 6 is a top plan view of two interconnected
blocks secured to a section of a panel.
FIGURE 7 is an end or side elevational view correspond-
ing to FIGURE 6.
FIGURE 8 is a side elevational view of one of the flat,
elongate electrically conductive elements.
FIGURE 9 shows an upper front perspective view of a
prewired modular connecting block.
FIGURE 10 shows a top plan view of the base shown in
FIGURE 9.
FIGURE 11 shows a schematic of an alternative circuit
connection for the base shown in FIGURE 10.
FIGURE 12 shows a schematic of another alternative cir-
cuit connection for the base shown in FIGURE 10.
FIGURE 13 shows a top plan view of a printed circuit
board which can be fitted to the circuit block shown in
FIGURE 4.
FIGURE 14 shows an upper front persp~ctive view of
modular circuit block of the type including a printed circuit
board.
Detailed Description of t e Invention
Turning more particularly to FIGURES 1-5, there is
shown a modular block 10 which may be formed of a suitable di-
electric or electrical insulating material such as a phenol-
formaldehyde resin or a polyvinyl resin. The block contains a
conventional fanning strip 11 which projects upwardly along one
longitudinal side of the top 12 of the block 10. The block 10
contains a number of parallel slots 14 which extend through the
main portion of block 10 to but not through the bottom 16. Reg-
istering with each slot 14 are three spaced apart openings 18
which extend through the bottom 16.
Each of the slots 14 contains one or two flat, elon-
gate electrically conductive elements, shown in detail in
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FIGURE 8. The elements may be constructed of any suitable resi-
lient conducting material such as phosphorbronze, beryllium cop-
~ per or other known metal alloy. Each electrically conductive ele-
^~ ment 20 includes at least one pair of opposing contact fingers 23
and 24 which are joined at one end to a base portion 25. Each
pair of opposing contact fingers 23 and 24 form a pair of mutu-
' ally Qpposed edges which shear the insulation from an electrical
conductor inserted therebetween. Between these mutually opposed
edges and above t~e base portion 25 are slots.
Extending perpendicular to the base portion 25 is a
tang 26. In the embodiment shown, there is a protuberance 28
on the tang 26 situated just below the bottom of the base portion
25. The protuberance 28 serves to hold the electrically con-
ductive element tightly in place in the block 10. Thus, when
the electrically conductive element is inserted into the block,
the tang 26 is pushed through one of the openings 18 in the
bottom 16. The openings 18 are slightly smaller than the diameter
of the protuberance 28 and the plastic surrounding the opening 18
is resiliently deformed as the protuberance 28 passes there-
through. After the protuberance 28 has passed through the open-
ing, the sides of the opening 18 engage the protuberance and
hold the conductive element tightly in place. It will be appre-
ciated that this means for securing an electrically conductive
element in place may be used in other types of blocks wherein
a tang extends through the base of the bloc~ such as shown in
Canadian Patent 1,019,041.
Rather than have the conductive elements secured in
place by means of the protuberance 28, they may also be held in
place by having the openings 18 tightly engage that portion of
the tang adjacent the base portion 25.
- The tangs 26 provide tails which may be wire wrapped
to allow for electrical connection between the tangs. If a wire
wrap tail is not required, tangs 26 may be clipped off at the
base or at protuberance 2~. Alternatively, the electrically con-
ducti~e element 20 may be supplied without tangs 26 in which case
the elements 20 may be held in place by frictional engagement
with the sides of the slots 14 at the base area at 25.
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In the embodiment shown, the conductive element com-
prises two pairs of fingers joined together at a common base
portion 25. However, the pairs of fingers may be independent
of one another at base area 25 in which case each pair of fingers
would have a tang extending from the base portion 25 so that
there would then be two rows of tangs independent of each other
instead of one as shown in FIGURES 3 and 7.
Each block 10 contains a longitudinally extending front
portion 30. Extending the length of the front 30 and located at
the bottom thereof is a projecting edge 32. At a predetermined
distance from one end of the edge 32 it is interrupted by a
recess 34 and at the same distance from the other end the edge
contains a protruding securing means 36 containing a hole 37.
The width of the recess 34 is at least as great as the width of
the securing means 36 so that when two blocks 10 are placed with
the projecting edges 32-32 in face-to-face contact, the securing
means 36 of one will fit into the recess 34 of the other as
shown in FIGURES 6 and 7. As best shown in FIGURE 2, the top
of the securing means 36 is spaced below the top of the edge 32
so that when a screw is placed through the hole 37, the head of
the screw will not extend above the top of the edge 32.
The back 38 of the block 30 has a projecting edge 40.
Near each end of the edge 40 are protruding securing means 42
containing holes 44. The block may be secured to a panel 48,
shown in FIGURES 6 and 7, by means of screws 50. When two blocks
are placed with their projecting edges 32-32 in face-to-face con-
tact, with the securing means 36 of one fitting into the recess
34 of the other, there is hereby provided a compact interlocking
of the two blocks. Above the facing edges 32-32, there is a
channel 52 which provides support for and storage space for a
conductor cable and/or electrically conductive wires.
The bottom 16 of the block 10 also contains two rear
mounting holes 46 for rack mounting. Thus, these holes may be
used to mount the modular blocks of this invention on a panel
such as disclosed in U. S. Patent No. 3,846,590, the disclosure
of which is incorporated herein by reference, or on any other
type of panel wherein there is easy access to the back side of
the panel. These holes are also provided to accept a printed
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circuit board that can be screwed on base of block, making contact
with preinstalled conductive elements at the tang 26 thus creating
a precircuited unit.
This invention fulfills the growing need for quick
connect blocks that are small, easily mounted and can be fit
into console wiring where a rack or panel mounted block is very
often needed. The combination of two of these blocks in inter-
locking relationship permits the addition of a maximum number
of connectors in a minimum amount of space.
FIGURE 9 shows a prewired modular connecting block 51
including an upper block portion 52 and a base 53. Upper block
portion 52 is a block of a type similar to that described with
respect to FIGURES 1-8. The circuit block shown in FIGURE 9
differs from the previously described circuit blocks in that
the conductive element 20 shown in FIGURE 8 is no longer used.
Rather, circuit block 51 includes at least two rows of indepen-
dent elements 54 and 55. If element 20 shown in FIGURE 8 were
cut at its base to sever the left hand portion of the element,
an independent element such as elements 54 and 55 would be pro-
vided. Base 53 includes a plurality of connectors 56, 57, 58
and 59 which allow for connection of wires from a cable. The
base also includes attachment holes 60 and 61 which allow the
base 53 to be attached to a supporting surface such as the wall
of a building. The opposite side of the base includes secure-
ment holes 62 and 63 which serve the same purpose as holes 60
and 61.
As best shown in FIGURE 10, base 53 includes three at-
tachment holes 64, 65 and 66 which aliyn with protruding securing
means 42 and a securing protrusion 36 which is not shown in
FIGURE 9 but which is shown in FIGURE 4. Base 53 includes a
rectangular recess 67. Protruding upwardly from recess 67 are
two parallel walls 68 and 6g which prevent the movement of the
tangs of elements 54 and 55 outwardly with respect to one another
when the upper portion 52 is secured to base 53. If the tangs
from elements 54 and 55 are allowed to move outwardly with res-
pect to one another, the contact fingers of the respective ele-
ments may touch, thus making an undesirable electrical contact
or short circuit. As shown in FIGURE 10, the tangs of elements
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54 and 55 allow for connection of wires by a conventional wire
wrap technique. Connectors 56, 57, 58 and 59 are preferably
made of metal and have extending therefrom wires which are wire
wrapped to various tangs. It should also be understood that the
tangs can be wired with respect to one another in any desired
manner. Thus, as can be seen in FIGURES 10, 11 and 12, block
53 can be wired in any manner desired. The abbreviations T, R,
L, LG and G as shown in FIGURES 10, 11 and 12, are conventional
abbreviations for tip, ring, light, lightground and ground. It
should be understood that the circuit patterns shown are exem-
plary of the many possible prewired circuit patterns. A techni-
cian installing a modular connecting block can choose from any
number of different prewired blocks to avoid wiring the block in
the field. Base 53 also includes access gaps 71 and 72 which
match with access gaps on the bottom of upper portion 51. Gaps
71 and 72 provide a space for wire wrapped tails.
FIGURE 14 shows a prewired modular connecting block
wherein rather than using individual wires to connect the tangs,
a printed circuit board is used. The upper portion 52 of the
circuit block is modified to provide a gap 73 which allows for
tongue 74 of printed circuit board 75 to protrude therethrough.
Printed circuit board 75 fits within the upper portion 52. More
particularly, printed circuit board 75 fits within a recess de-
fined by an outer edge similar to edge 32 as described with res-
pect to FIGURE 4. As shown in FIGURES 13 and 14, printed circuit
board 75 includes a plurality of contacts 76, 77, 78 and 79
which may be connected to a cable. Circuit board 75 also in-
cludes a plurality of apertures 80 which allow for the interfit-
ting of tangs of elements 54 and 55. Connectors 76, 77, 78 and
79 may be connected to the printed circuitry 81 in the patterns
shown in FIGURES 11, 12 or 13 or in any other desired pattern.
With the use of printed circuit board 75, securement means 46 as
shown in FIGURE 4 may be omitted so that a circuit board 75, hav-
ing a generally rectangular shape, may be fitted within the recess
defined by edge 32 as shown in FIGURE 4.
FIGURE 14 shows a manner in which printed circuit board
75 is secured to upper portion 52. Retainer plate 82 has a gen-
erally planar surface which abuts the edge of upper portion 52.
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Retainer plate 82 is provided with securement means 83 which
align with securement means 42. When retainer plate 82 is af-
fixed to upper portion 52, printed circuit board 75 is firmly
maintained in place and connected to elements 54 and 55. With
the prewired circuit block shown in FIGURE 14, apertures 72 and
71 may be omitted.
Also, as shown in FIGURE 14, the circuit blocks of the
present invention may optionally include cover 84 which is shaped
to fit over elements 55 and 56 so as to protect these elements
from moisture and debris. Protruding downwardly from cover 84
is a retaining arm 85 which includes retaining lip 86. Retain-
ing arm 85 fits through a gap similar to the gap 34 shown in
FIGURE 4 and retaining lip 86 releasably engages the edge pro-
vided by the gap.
While preferred embodiments have been shown and des-
cribed, various modifications and substitutions may be made
thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the in-
vention. Accordingly, it is to be understood that the present
invention has been described by way of illustration and not
limitation.
