Electrical connector adapted for portable power distribution systems

An electrical connector adapted for portable power distribution systems and other applications in various embodiments includes a versatile lug which may be selectively and repeatedly coupled to a stranded or other conductor and mounted and re-mounted on a bus bar or other mounting surface via a variety of attachment features on the lug. The lug offers numerous ways to attach it to a power bus and is designed for thousands of installations and re-installations each requiring the appropriate torque on the connector rather than a few such installations for which a known connector is designed and rated. The attachment features included in various embodiments of the lug connector allow for horizontal, vertical, side by side and edge clamping among other mounting configurations.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Various operating centers which employ complex electrical and/or electronics equipment have typically been constructed by first erecting a suitable structure for housing the electrical and electronics equipment at the industrial or commercial installation site. After the operating center is erected, the various cabinets, panels and other units which contain the electrical and electronics equipment are transported to the installation site and installed in the operating center. After the various cabinets, panels and other units are mounted properly, they are then inter-wired and interconnected with one another to form a complete set of control system equipment within the operating center. The control system equipment is thereafter tested to determine that all the proper interconnections have been made and that the equipment is operating as desired. Any necessary adjustments or calibrations of the equipment are made at this time.

Construction and other projects require electric power to be distributed to various tools and components. Once normal electric service is provided to a building and the electric wiring for the building is completed, providing electric power for tools and components is simple. But prior to the completion of the buildings' electric wiring and/or prior to the establishment of regular electric service, providing electric power to the construction site is more problematic. Several prior art devices have been developed to provide temporary power to users at a construction site or related location, some examples of which are provided by Power Temp Systems, Inc. out of Houston, Tex., www.powertemp.com.

During building or repair tasks at construction sites or other workplaces, it is often necessary to provide temporary electrical power for operating many lights, tools or other devices at the same time when permanent power distribution facilities have not yet been installed or are out of service because of damage or equipment failure. In some cases, the temporary power distribution apparatus must be carried through or used in a confined space that does not afford much room for the apparatus.

Systems are known for distributing AC or DC voltage and current to multiple loads from one or more sources on a power bus. The simplest form of such a system is a multiple connector box at the end of an extension power cord. A more complex system is a connector affixed to a printed circuit board via pins extending from the connector into receiving holes in the printed circuit board. Terminal blocks with isolated positive and negative rails from which voltage is carried to appliance loads via insulated multiple strand conductor wire is yet another example of a system for distributing AC or DC power.

Where insulated wire pairs are used, the connections are made by affixing terminals or lugs to the ends of the wires. Some terminal blocks provide studs on which the terminals can be secured using nuts, set screws and/or lock washers. Systems such as these have little or no provision for rapid disassembly or assembly. Electrical connectors and lugs typically employed in such settings are not suited for multiple installations, removals and re-installation.

In systems using terminal blocks, the task of affixing terminals to wires or terminals to the studs is time consuming and subject to defects if proper procedures such as, cleaning or clearing the contacts or studs of dirt, snow, ice, and corrosion followed by operations such as torquing nuts on studs, are not followed. If a technician is connecting a DC service from a lead acid battery or from another low impedance voltage source capable of driving multiple horsepower DC motor loads, or loads such as a heavy-duty arc welder, a mistake made by the technician in connecting the polarity of the electrical service can be catastrophic.

Conventional systems for connecting one or more sources to more than one load include those that have terminal blocks with leads to service the appliance loads, clips and electrical connectors, barrier strips, connectors with pins that preclude polarity errors, terminal blocks with terminal connectors that preclude improper orientation, devices for selectively interconnecting a series of connectors, extension cords, multiple outlet boxes, and power strips. However, none of those systems, either separately or in combination, offer an integrated system and components for rapidly and reliably connecting and disassembling, disconnecting and reconfiguring power to respective loads, and for servicing the power from one or more respective voltage sources. The electrical connectors are not versatile and often require specially designed lugs for proper installation. This often increases required inventory and makes the set-up and removal procedures more difficult.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

These and other shortcomings in the prior art have been addressed by various embodiments of this invention which include an electrical connector adapted for portable power distribution systems and other applications. In various embodiments, this invention includes a versatile lug which may be selectively and repeatedly coupled to a stranded or other conductor and mounted and re-mounted on a bus bar or other mounting surface via a variety of attachment features on the lug. While known standard lugs have provision for a single mounting style, the lug of this invention in various embodiments is more versatile and accommodates a wide range of mounting schemes and configurations. This invention differs from normal connectors due to the numerous ways to attach it to a power bus and the fact that it is designed for thousands of installations and re-installations each requiring the appropriate torque on the connector rather than a few such installations for which a known connector is designed and rated.

The attachment features included in various embodiments of the lug connector of this invention allow for horizontal, vertical, side by side and edge clamping among other mounting configurations. The ability to provide for such versatile mounting schemes and configurations allows for reduced inventory and elimination of specialized and single use electrical connectors which is particularly advantageous when used in a temporary or portable power distribution system. Various embodiments of this invention provide for attachment features on all sides of the lug to land (mount) compression or mechanical connectors. The invention accommodates stud mounted connectors and is designed for mounting provisions for isolated applications. Simultaneous hardwire and multiple eyelet connections are possible with the lug of this invention in various embodiments. A user may tie into the lug and simultaneously bolt to a cable with eyelets.

These and other features and benefits of various embodiments of this invention are realized to address and overcome the identified and other shortcomings of the prior art.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring toFIGS. 1-1D, various embodiments of a lug electrical connector10according to this invention are shown. The lug10includes a metallic terminal lug body12which may be copper, aluminum or another suitable material well known to those of ordinary skill in this art. The lug10includes a set screw14which is received within a threaded set screw bore16of the lug10oriented generally axially or longitudinally on the lug body12. The set screw14may be a headless set screw having a hexagon-shaped recess18or a set screw with a head20having a hexagon-shaped recess18and an external configuration adapted for use with a wrench or other tool for securing the set screw14in the lug body12. The set screw14may be of the type disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/139,416, filed Apr. 27, 2016 or in U.S. Pat. No. 7,699,669 issued Apr. 20, 2010, each of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

The lug body12ofFIGS. 1-1Dincludes a laterally extending conductor bore hole22extending from opposite side faces24,24of the body12and generally perpendicular to the set screw bore16. The set screw14is seated within the threaded bore16extending longitudinally from an upper face26of the body12and in communication with the conductor bore22. The threaded set screw bore16extends into the body12and the conductor bore22and terminates therein.

The conductor bore hole22is adapted to receive the multiple strands28of a conductor30as shown inFIG. 2. The conductor30includes the multiple strands28covered by a sheath32which may be removed from the terminal end of the conductor30for appropriate electrical connection by the conductor strands28with the lug10.

The lug10according to various embodiments of this invention also includes several attachment features34in the lug body12which are each adapted for connecting the lug10to the appropriate compatible equipment providing for electrical connection. One attachment feature34is shown inFIGS. 1 and 1Bas a threaded bore hole34aextending axially and longitudinally from a bottom face36of the lug body12. This attachment feature34ais adapted to receive a threaded bolt, stud or other mechanical fastener therein for mounting the lug body12to a slotted bus bar38via an adapter40as shown particularly inFIG. 4or another appropriate mounting arrangement with or without the adapter40. The fastener35which may be used to mate with the attachment feature34may take any one of a variety of forms and is generally identified by reference numeral35herein. The component to which the lug10of various embodiments of this invention is to be mounted will generally be identified by reference numeral38and one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that such a component38may take a wide variety of shapes, configurations and functions and is not a restriction on this invention. One example of such a component38is a bus bar as disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/376,762 filed Dec. 13, 2016 and hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

In various embodiments, the cross-sectional configuration of the lug body12is generally square. Likewise, the top and bottom faces26,36of the lug body12are generally square while each side face24of the lug body12is generally rectangular. Two additional attachment features34may also be provided in the bottom face36of the lug body12which comprise small threaded bore holes34beach of which is adjacent a corner of the bottom face36of the lug body12and positioned proximate opposite corners of the lug body12as shown generally inFIGS. 1 and 1B. These attachment features34bare typically used in combination with one another and are adapted to receive smaller diameter bolts, screws or other mechanical fasteners35which are used to mount the lug body12in various mounting schemes, some of which are demonstrated inFIGS. 4-6.

Additional attachment features34which are included in various embodiments of the lug10according to this invention are shown inFIGS. 1A-1Din the form of threaded (or unthreaded) bore holes34cextending through the lug body12from opposite side faces24of the lug body12. These side face lug bore holes34cintersect beneath the conductor bore hole22and provide for attachment of a threaded or unthreaded bolt, stud or other mechanical fastener35for mounting the lug body12. While the intersecting threaded bore holes34cextending between opposite side faces24of the lug body12are shown inFIGS. 1A-1D, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that two such bore holes are not required and only one such bore hole may extend between either pair of the opposite faces24of the lug body12according to various embodiments of this invention. Moreover, if two such threaded bore holes are provided, they may or may not be of the same thread or diameter specification. For example, a side face threaded bore hole34dis shown inFIG. 1having a smaller diameter than those of the side face threaded bore holes34cofFIGS. 1A-1D. Moreover, the bore holes34cmay be unthreaded and provide for insertion of a bolt or other fastener to mount multiple lugs10together as shown inFIG. 6. The lugs10as shown inFIG. 6may or may not include an extending tang47for mounting the lug10and/or attached lugs10to a bus bar38or the like. The lugs10ofFIG. 6have the conductor bore hole22on a longitudinal end of the lug body12and the threaded bore hole16in which the set screw14is seated on a side face24of the lug body12. The mounting arrangement ofFIG. 6includes four lugs10, two of which include the tang47and two of which do not and any number of lugs10may be utilized in a mounting arrangement.

An additional attachment feature34which may be provided in various embodiments of the lug10according to this invention is a slot34eextending generally perpendicular to the conductor bore hole22(FIGS. 1C-1D) or parallel (not shown) and on the bottom face36of the lug body12as shown inFIGS. 1C-1D. The slot34ebifurcates the lower portion of the lug body12into two posts42and allows for the lug body12to be mounted on a bar38as shown inFIG. 5L. The two posts42formed on either side of the slot34emay each have additional attachment features34including a pair of threaded or unthreaded slot bore holes34fextending into the post42as shown inFIG. 1D.

These and other attachment features34may be provided with the lug10according to various embodiments of this invention in various combinations or individually as is appropriate for the particular mounting requirements. Moreover, each of the attachment features may be threaded or unthreaded as appropriate.

The lug10according to this invention may be mounted to the slotted bus bar38, an example of which is shown inFIGS. 4 and 6, and disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 9,698,578, issued on Jul. 4, 2017 and hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. A slot50may be utilized for proper mounting of the lug10to the slotted bus bar38.

One application of the lug10according to this invention may be for connecting conductors30as shown inFIG. 2to a portable and/or temporary power distribution center46, one example of which is shown inFIG. 3. However, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the lug10of this invention may be utilized in many other applications in addition to the power distribution center46shown inFIG. 3.

Various installation schemes for the lug10according to various embodiments of this invention may utilize an adapter40to which the lug body12is connected for mounting the lug10and adapter40to a bus bar38or the like. The adapter40may take any one of a variety of shapes and configurations and may include an extension48which is to be seated within a slot50of a slotted bus bar38as shown, for example, inFIG. 6. The adapter40may also include any number, size, arrangement and configuration of threaded or unthreaded bore holes52which allow for mounting with the various components as may be required according to a particular installation.

From the above disclosure of the general principles of this invention and the preceding detailed description of at least one embodiment, those skilled in the art will readily comprehend the various modifications to which this invention is susceptible. Therefore, we desire to be limited only by the scope of the following claims and equivalents thereof.