Electrical connector and method of connecting an electrical cable to same

A connector for electrically and physically connecting to one or more insulated electrical cords or cables. The illustrated connector comprises a housing made of electrical insulating material and defining at least one receptacle in which are disposed one or more prongs of electrically conductive material. The receptacle and the prong therein are proportioned and arranged to receive one end of an electrical cord. The cord is inserted into the receptacle so that each prong extends into the end of the cord so as to make physical and electrical contact with a wire of the cord. There is also provided in each receptacle a contained portion of adhesive material which may be readily released from its container to create a physical bond between the cord and the connector. In one illustrated form the connector provides a pair of opposed receptacles for connecting together the ends of two electrical cords, each cord containing a pair of electrical wires. The connector may take other forms such as a switch or a male electrical connector which is connected to the end of a cord.

There is a need for a simple and effective electrical cable connector which 
permits one to quickly, effectively and simply connect to the end of an 
electrical cable having one or more wires or strands extending 
therethrough, with the connection being relatively permanent and without 
requiring tools or preparation of the cable for the connection. 
In this connection, there have been electrical wire connectors as 
exemplified by the U.S. Pat. No. 2,353,232 to Kingsley, which shows an 
electrical wire connector having a single prong or needle extending in 
each direction. The needles are disposed within a tubular housing and the 
end of a single wire electrical cable can be inserted into either end of 
that connector to establish an electrical connection between the wires of 
the two cables. The cables are mechanically intertwined and then held by 
secondary sections of the connector housing to prevent them from 
disconnecting. Such arrangement is rather cumbersome and unsightly. It 
could also offer the temptation and opportunity to a child to disconnect 
the connected wires and thereby injure himself. 
There have been other electrical connectors where the ends of the wires 
themselves have been used to pierce an adhesive capsule or container. For 
example, the Rice, U.S. Pat. No. 3,385,922, shows an electrical connector 
where the ends of two wires are pierced through several adjacent pockets 
of adhesive material. The Bird, U.S. Pat. No. 3,083,260, shows an adhesive 
connecting together a pair of wires which have been twisted together and 
are then themselves forced through a seal into a cup with adhesive 
material. For such applications where the wires themselves pierce the 
container for the adhesive, it is necessary to prepare or strip back the 
wires and the effectiveness of such devices appears questionable, 
particularly where the wire is made up of a group of twisted strands 
and/or where the wire is relatively soft material so that there may be 
problems in effectively piercing the adhesive containers. Further, such 
devices appear limited to connecting a single pair of wires. 
Thus, the various prior art devices involve a variety of limitations and 
drawbacks. 
The electrical cable connector contemplated by the present invention 
provides a simple, quick and effective device for automatically, 
electrically and physically creating a relatively permanent 
inter-connection between the connector and one or more wires contained in 
electrical cables. By the provision of prongs which are imbedded into the 
ends of the cable and make physical and electrical contact with the wire 
of the cable, it is not necessary to prepare or strip the cable or to have 
other tools to prepare the cable for the connection. Further, by the 
provision of adhesive material which is readily released incident to the 
connection of the connector to the cable, a relatively permanent 
inter-connection is created to maintain the cable in its desired 
relationship with the connector. The resultant structure is essentially a 
continuation with only slight enlargement of the size of the cable to 
which it is connected. The device may be utilized for single wire cables 
or for multiple wire cables it may be used to inter-connect the ends of 
two cables, it may be used to place a switch or other mechanism into a 
mid-point of a cable or line, or it may be used to connect an electrical 
element such as a male plug to the end of a cable.

FIGS. 1 to 4 show a presently preferred form of electrical cable connector 
10 which embodies the present invention. In general, connector 10 
comprises a generally tubular housing 12 which is open at either end and 
has a transverse center section 14 so as to define a receptacle 16 facing 
in either direction. Mounted at the center section are a pair of 
electrical conductor elements 18 which each include a pair of pointed 
prongs 20. The prongs 20 of each electrical conductor element 18 extend in 
opposite directions of the housing center section 14 and into the opposed 
receptacles 16. Thus, there is provided a pair of spaced apart prongs 20 
extending into each of the receptacles 16. The illustrated connector is 
adapted to electrically and mechanically connect to a two-wire electrical 
cable of the type shown in FIG. 9. The cable designated generally 22 
includes insulation and a pair of wires 24. The end 26 of the cable 22 may 
be inserted into one receptacle 16 while the end of a like cable may be 
inserted into the other receptacle. When the cable 22 is so inserted in a 
receptacle, each prong 20 pierces the end of the cable 22 so as to make 
physical and electrical contact with a wire 24. 
For purposes of securing the cable ends in the receptacles 16 of the 
connector 10, an envelope 32 of flowable adhesive material 34 is provided 
at the entrance of each of the receptacles. The envelope 32 may conform to 
the general oval configuration of the entrance to the receptacle 16 and be 
mounted at that entrance as by means of a peripheral lip 44 which is 
received and secured in a mating recess 50 which extends around the mouth 
of each of the receptacles 16. The envelope 32 may be secured in place by 
suitable means such as adhesive, a chemical solvent, tack welding or the 
like. When the end of the cable 22 is inserted into a receptacle 16, the 
envelope 32 at the mouth or entrance to that receptacle is thereby 
physically burst and the flowable adhesive material 34 in the envelope is 
released into the receptacle to then create a bond between the end of the 
cable 22 and the connector housing. This bursting of the envelope is 
achieved by forcing the envelope against the prongs and thereby causing 
the prongs to pierce the envelope. 
Now considering the illustrated connector 10 in further detail, the housing 
may be constructed of various suitable insulating materials as for 
example, molded polycarbonate, which is a good electrical insulator. An 
example of such material is sold by G.E. under the trademark "Lexion." 
The center section 14 of the housing supports the electrical conductor 
elements 18 which provide the prongs 20. The illustrated electrical 
conductor elements 18 each comprise a pair of oppositely directed prongs 
20 and a center section 42 which is illustrated in the form of a flat 
circular disc or cylinder. The housing may be molded or formed with the 
electrical conductor elements in place as illustrated in the drawings of 
FIGS. 1 to 4. Alternatively, the housing may be formed with recesses into 
which the electrical conductor elements may be inserted separately as by 
means of a snap fit (not shown in the drawings). The electrical conductor 
elements may be of any suitable electrically conductive material such as 
various electrically conductive metals. Brass has been found to be a good 
material for this application. 
The illustrated adhesive for bonding the cable end in a receptacle is 
illustrated in the form of the adhesive envelope 32 which is secured at 
the entrance to the receptacle. Each envelope 32 may contain a quantity of 
a fluid or liquid adhesive 34 such as material imported from Japan and 
known as "crazy glue," or similar adhesive such as those sold under the 
trademark "Eastman 9-10" or "Locktite." The envelope 32 may be constructed 
of a readily breakable or fracturable plastic film such as polystyrene or 
a PVC or acrylate. The adhesive is of the type which will solidify at room 
temperatures when it is exposed to the air and a bond will thereby be 
created between the cable in the receptacle and the connector. 
Alternatively, the envelope 32 of adhesive 34 may be provided to the user 
separate from the housing, for insertion by the user into a receptacle 16 
prior to inserting the cable end. The insertion of the cable end would 
force the envelope against the prongs 20 and thereby pierce the envelope 
and release the adhesive. Such a separate envelope of adhesive is 
illustrated at 32' in broken line in FIG. 2 disposed in a receptacle 
adjacent to a prong 20. 
The connector 10 is particularly useful for application where there is a 
constant uniform size and configuration of cable being connected to so 
that the end of the cable will conform generally to the inner 
configuration of the receptacle and properly align the wire or wires of 
the cable with the prongs for good electrical connection therebetween. 
FIGS. 5 through 7 show a modified form of connector embodying the present 
invention. The connector 10a comprises a generally tubular housing 12a 
which is open at either end and has a central portion 14a dividing the 
interior of the housing into a pair of oppositely facing receptacles 16a. 
A pair of electrically conductive elements 18a which each include a pair 
of oppositely facing prongs 20a are mounted in the housing with the prongs 
extending into opposite receptacles. The electrically conductive elements 
18a include center sections 42a which may be molded in place in the center 
section 14a of the housing. The end of an electrical cable such as cable 
22 shown in FIG. 9 may be inserted into each receptacle 16a of the 
connector 10a with the prongs 20a inserting into the end of the cable and 
making physical and electrical contact with the respective wires 24 of the 
cable 22. 
As shown best in FIG. 6, the housing 12a is constructed with a lid 30a 
which may be opened to permit installation of the cable ends in the 
receptacle and which then may be closed to the position shown in broken 
line in FIG. 6. The lid 30a carries a pair of containers 32a of adhesive 
material 34a. The connector is so constructed that when the lid 30a is 
closed with the cables inserted in the receptacles, the containers 32a for 
the adhesive are broken, permitting the adhesive material to flow out and 
create a bond between the connector housing and the cable end disposed in 
the adjacent receptacles. As shown in FIG. 7, there is an adhesive 
container 32a associated with each of the receptacles 16a. 
Illustrated lid 30a extends the length of the housing and is connected to 
the remainder of the housing by an integrally formed, reduced 
cross-section hinge portion 36a. The lid also has a curved latching lip 
38a adapted to form a snap fit when closed over a bead 40a of the housing. 
Thus, the housing may be molded in the configuration shown in solid line 
FIG. 6; that is, with the lid open. This permits ready visual access to 
the receptacle for assuring that the electrical cables are properly 
aligned and that the prongs make good electrical contact with the wires of 
the cable when the cable is inserted into each receptacle. After the 
cables are securely in place in the receptacles and upon the prongs, the 
lid can be lowered to the position shown in broken lines in FIG. 6 and 
snapped shut over the bead 40a. The open lid also permits the connector to 
accommodate some variations in size or dimension of cable or the 
positioning or spacing of the wire within the cable by visually aligning 
the ends of the cable with the prongs. 
Each illustrated container or envelope 32a is generally flat and has a pair 
of opposed edges or margin portions 44a by which it may be readily secured 
to the underside of the lid 30a as by means of adhesive, heat tack welding 
or the like. 
Means in the form of longitudinally extending projections 48a are provided 
on the underside of the lid 30a behind each of the adhesive envelopes 32a 
for the purpose of causing fracture of the envelope when the lid is 
closed. As can be visualized by looking at FIG. 6, with a cable 22 
inserted in the receptacle of the connector and thereby occupying that 
receptacle, the closing of the lid 30a will cause the envelope 32a to be 
caught between the pointed edge of the projection 48a and the adjacent 
portion of the cable to cause the envelope 32a to burst and permit the 
adhesive 34a to flow out into the area between the lid and the cable. 
The connector of the invention may take various other forms as for example, 
it may take the form of a male connector which goes into a wall plug. This 
male wall plug connector would connect to one end of a two-wire or 
two-lead cable or cord. The connector may also take the form of a switch 
which is inserted in a line and which connects to the ends of a pair of 
electrical cables or cords. FIG. 8 illustrates another form of the 
connector designated 10c. Connector 10c has a generally cylindrical 
housing 12c defining a receptacle 16c in which a single prong 20c of 
electrically conductive material is disposed. The prong 20c is 
electrically connected to or integrally formed with an electrical 
connector tab 52 of the type used to create connections between speakers, 
amplifiers and similar types of high fidelity electronic equipment. The 
connector 10c also has an adhesive envelope 32c disposed at the entrance 
to the receptacle 16c so that when the end of an electrical cable is 
inserted into the receptacle 16c the envelope 32c is broken and flowable 
adhesive material is released to subsequently solidify and create a bond 
between the end of the electrical cable and the connector 10c. Thus, 
connector 10c is connected to the end of a single wire cable or cord. 
Other modifications and changes may be made in the illustrated structure 
without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as 
set forth in the appended claims.