Abstract:
A cable connector having a one-piece body with a termination end for terminating an electrical cable and a clamping end for clamping to a terminal post is provided. The cable connector&#39;s clamping end may include a pair of spaced apart deformably movable clamping arms for supporting the terminal post therebetween. A lever attached to the movable arms may also be provided where the lever may be actuable between a first position urging the arms towards one another to clamp the clamping end to the terminal post and a second position urging the arms apart so as to unclamp the arms from the terminal post to permit removal of the connector body from the terminal post.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/002,377 on Nov. 8, 2007, herein incorporated by reference. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present invention is directed generally to a connector for terminating an electrical cable to a terminal post such as a battery terminal. More particularly, the present invention provides a battery terminal clamp for permitting clamping and unclamping of a cable connector to a terminal post. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    Battery cables are typically attached to the terminal post of a battery using a clamp type battery connector. These connectors include a barrel portion for accommodating a stripped end of the battery cable and a clamping portion which is positioned about the upstanding terminal post. The clamping portion may be tightened around the terminal post to provide secure connection thereto. The clamping portion of most battery connectors includes a pair of arms defining a circular portion therebetween which may be positioned around the battery terminal post. The ends of the arms may be brought together with a fastening device such as a nut and bolt to tightly secure the arms about the battery post. 
         [0004]    The art has also seen a number of quick connection clamp type cable connectors where clamping is facilitated by an actuator attached to the clamp. This enables the user to connect the cable to the battery terminal post without need of operating a fastener such as a nut and bolt. Many of these quick connect battery connectors employ a lever arm which is attractable to bring two halves of a clamp connector together about the upstanding battery post. However, certain disadvantages are inherent in these types of two-piece lever actuated connectors. First and foremost, the connector must include two connector components which must be attached to one another so that they are movable about the battery terminal post upon actuation of the lever. In addition, these lever type battery connectors provide for urging the connector components together around the battery post upon actuation of the lever. Release of the lever does not affect reverse movement of the component so as to facilitate removal of the battery connector from the post. 
         [0005]    It is, therefore, desirable to provide a clamp type cable connector for attachment to a battery terminal post where the connector includes an actuation mechanism which clamp and unclamps the connector to the terminal post. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0006]    The present invention provides a cable connector including a body having a termination end for terminating an electrical cable and a clamping end for clamping to a terminal post. The clamping end of the body includes a pair of spaced apart deformably movable clamping arms for supporting the terminal post therebetween. A lever is attached to the movable arms of the body. The lever is actuatable between a first position urging the arms towards one another to clamp the clamping end to the terminal post and a second position urging the arms apart so as to unclamp the arms from the terminal post to permit removal of the connector body from the terminal post. 
         [0007]    In the preferred embodiments of the present invention, the arms and the lever include cooperative first cam members for engagement upon movement of the lever to the first position urging the arms towards one another and second cooperative cam members for engagement upon movement of the lever to the second position urging the arms apart permitting removal of the connector from the terminal post. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0008]      FIG. 1  is an exploded perspective view of the connector of the present invention shown over the terminal post of a battery. 
           [0009]      FIGS. 2 and 3  are perspective showings of the connector of the present invention connected to the post of the battery in the unclamped and clamped conditions, respectively. 
           [0010]      FIGS. 4 ,  5  and  6  show the connector of the present invention in the neutral clamped and unclamped conditions, respectively. 
           [0011]      FIGS. 7 ,  8  and  9  show a further embodiment of the connector of the present invention maintaining the connector in the clamped condition. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0012]    The present invention provides for a tool-less battery connector for quickly connecting and disconnecting to a terminal post, such as a battery terminal post. 
         [0013]    Referring to  FIG. 1 , the battery terminal connector  10  of the present invention is shown. The connector  10  includes a connector body  12  and a lever  14  which is connected to body  12  for pivotal movement therewith. The connector body  12  includes a clamping end  16  and an opposed termination end  18  extending therefrom. 
         [0014]    Clamping end  16  may be formed of two clamping halves  16   a,    16   b  which are brought together to support the lever  14  therebetween, as will be described in further detail hereinbelow. The lower clamping half  16   a  includes a plurality of upstanding protrusions  17  which are insertable into aligned openings  19  formed through the upper portion  16   b  so as to couple the two clamping halves  16   a,    16   b,  thereby forming clamping end  16 . The protrusions  17  extend through openings  19  and the extending portions  17   a  ( FIG. 7 ) may be crimped, or swaged to secure the two clamping halves together. 
         [0015]    Clamping end  16  includes an aperture  20  extending therethrough which is designed for accommodation over the upstanding post  25  of a battery  27 . The aperture  20  forms nearly a full circle to encompass the post  25 . Clamping end  16  further includes a pair of spaced apart outwardly extending deformable clamping arms  30 ,  32  which provides for clamping engagement about post  25 . 
         [0016]    The termination end  18  of body  12  may be formed into an elongate cylindrical barrel. The barrel shape allows accommodation of the stripped end of an electrical cable, such as a battery cable (not shown). The barrel of the termination end  18  may be crimped about the cable in conventional fashion. In the present illustrative embodiment, the barrel shaped termination end  18  extends from lower clamping half  16   b.    
         [0017]    Lever  14  is an elongate member having a pair of spaced apart elongate arms  40 ,  42 . The arms are joined at one end by a transverse pivot pin  44  and at the other end by an offset transverse handle  46 . Generally, the offset of handle  46  is sized to partially extend around a cable connected to termination end  18  when in the clamped condition. The pivot pin  44  has formed thereon a protruding wedge-shaped central member  50  which will be described in further detail hereinbelow. 
         [0018]    The pivot pin  44  is attached to arms  40 ,  42  at generally cylindrical flanges  52 ,  54 . As an option, the arms  40 ,  42  may be removable from flanges  52 ,  54 . In assembly, pivot pin  44  is seated for rotational movement within aligned apertures  30   a,    32   a  of arms  30 ,  32  formed between upper and lower clamping halves  16   a,    16   b.    
         [0019]    As the connector  10  of the present invention is designed to terminate an electrical cable, such as a battery cable, to a terminal post of a battery, the connector  10 , including body  12  and lever  14 , is typically formed of an electrically conductive metal, such as copper, aluminum or steel. 
         [0020]    Referring to  FIGS. 2 and 3 , the assembled connector  10  of the present invention is shown attached to battery  27 . As shown in  FIG. 2 , the lever  14  is shown in an unclamped condition, so that the connector body  12  may be attached and removed from the upstanding post  25  of battery  27 . In  FIG. 3 , the lever  14  is shown rotated to its clamped condition, clamping the connector body  12  to the post  25 . 
         [0021]    Referring now to  FIG. 4 , the connector  10  of the present invention is shown in its neutral position. In this position, the spacing between the arms  30  and  32  is such that the connector body may be easily placed over post  25 . 
         [0022]    The flanges  52 ,  54  of lever  14  include inwardly directed cam surfaces  60 ,  62 . The cam surfaces  60  and  62  are helically tapering members. The cam surfaces  60 ,  62  are designed for cooperative earn engagement with tapered cam surfaces  64 ,  66  formed on opposed outer surfaces of arms  30 ,  32 . The cam surfaces  64 ,  66  include tapered surfaces which cooperate with the tapering surfaces of cam surfaces  60  and  62  of flanges  52 ,  54 . 
         [0023]    As shown in  FIG. 4 , wedge-shaped central member  50  protruding from pivot pin  44  is generally a triangular member having a wide base  77  and a narrow tapered opposed end  79 . The central member  50  defines opposed outwardly directed cam surfaces  70 ,  72  which are generally tapered. The cam surfaces  70 ,  72  are designed for cooperative cam engagement with cam surfaces  74 ,  76  on arms  30 ,  32 . Cam surfaces  74 ,  76  are inwardly directed and include tapering surfaces. 
         [0024]    As will be described in further detail hereinbelow, the engagement between cam surfaces  60 ,  62  of flanges  52 ,  54  with the outwardly directed cam surfaces  64 ,  66  of arms  30 ,  32  provides for the deformable inward movement of clamping arms  30 ,  32  to clamp body  12  about post  25  upon rotation of lever  14  in a first or closed position. Moreover, the engagement between cam surfaces  70 ,  72  of central member  70  with inwardly directed cam surfaces  74 ,  76  of arms  30 ,  32  provides for the opening of arms  30 ,  32  upon reverse rotational movement of lever  14 . 
         [0025]    Referring now to  FIGS. 3 and 5 , the lever  14  is shown moving to the closed position clamping the connector body  12  to the terminal post  25  of battery  27 . As the lever  14  is rotated in the direction of arrow A so that the handle  46  moves downwardly towards the termination end  18  of connector  10 , rotation of pivot pin  44  causes cams  60 ,  62  of flanges  52 ,  54  to engage cams  64 ,  66  of clamping arms  30 ,  32 . This causes the deformable clamping arms  30 ,  32  to be moved inwardly as shown by the arrows B in  FIG. 3  to clamp the connector body  12  about terminal post  25 . 
         [0026]    The progressive engagement of the cam surfaces  60 ,  62  and  64 ,  66  causes the arm  30 ,  32  to provide secure clamping engagement about post  25 . The lever  14  may be brought downwardly as shown in  FIG. 3 , so that it is generally parallel with the connector body  12  where the offset handle  46  provides clearance for the electrical cable (not shown) extending from termination end  18 . 
         [0027]    As particularly shown in  FIGS. 7 ,  8  and  9 , a further feature of the present invention may be optionally employed. As shown in  FIG. 7 , the connector  10  is shown in its first or clamped position with the lever  14  rotated downwardly to cause inward movement of clamping arms  30 ,  32  so that the body  12  is clamped around the battery post. In this condition, the present invention also provides a locking means for maintaining the lever  14  in the first or clamped position for preventing inadvertent movement of the lever  14  and unclamping of the connector due to forces such as vibratory forces or other inadvertent contact during use. 
         [0028]    As shown in  FIG. 8 , the cams  60 ,  62  extending from flanges  52 ,  54  may each include an extending rib  80 ,  82  which extend inwardly therefrom. The ribs  80 ,  82  may include a curved or chamfered surface  80   a,    82   a,  respectively. The ribs  80 ,  82  are designed for accommodation within grooves  84 ,  86  in connector body  12 , as shown in  FIG. 9 . The grooves  84 ,  86  are positioned on opposed side surfaces of arms  30 ,  32  and are outwardly directed therefrom. 
         [0029]    The grooves  84 ,  86  captively accommodate ribs  80 ,  82 , respectively, so that upon movement of the lever  14  to its first or clamped position, as shown in  FIG. 7 , the ribs  80 ,  82  become resident within the grooves  84 ,  86 . The rounded or chamfered surfaces  80   a,    82   a  of ribs  80 ,  82  facilitate insertion of the ribs into the grooves  84 ,  86 . It is contemplated that slight inward movement of the clamping arms  30 ,  32  allows the ribs  80 ,  82  to become captive in grooves  84 ,  86 . The captive retention of the ribs  80 ,  82  within the grooves  84 ,  86  is such that, forces which may tend to act upon the lever  14 , such as vibratory forces or inadvertent contact, will not dislodge the lever  14  from the clamped position. The rounded edges  80   a,    82   a  of ribs  80 ,  82  not only permits insertion of the ribs  80 ,  82  into the grooves  84 ,  86 , they also allow such retention to be overcome so that the lever  14  may be intentionally moved from the clamped condition to the unclamped condition when it is desired to remove the connector  10  from the battery post. It is also contemplated that slight inward movement of arms  30 ,  32  allow the ribs  80 ,  82  to be removed from grooves  84 ,  86 . 
         [0030]    Referring again to  FIGS. 2 and 6 , movement of the lever  14  to spread apart or unclamp the connector body  12  from post  25  is shown. Lever  14  is rotated in the removal direction of arrow C (opposite the direction of arrow A). As the pivot pin  44  is rotated, the cam surfaces  70 ,  72  of central member  50  (also shown in  FIG. 5 ) engage the cam surfaces  74 ,  76  of arms  30 ,  32 . As the cam surfaces  74 ,  76  progressively engage the wedge-shaped central member  50  by continued rotation of lever  14 , the arms  30 ,  32  spread apart in the direction of arrow D of  FIG. 2 . This opens the connector body  12  permitting the connector body  12  to be removed from the terminal post  25 . 
         [0031]    The present invention thus allows for the clamping and unclamping of the connector body to the terminal post without need for separate fastening members to hold the connector body onto the terminal post. Moreover, it permits removal of the clamping body from the terminal post without need of a tool. 
         [0032]    As the connector of the present invention is designed to preferably terminate a battery cable to a terminal post of a battery, two connectors are commonly employed with a single battery. Often, the positive terminal has a different diameter from the negative battery terminal. It is contemplated that two different size connectors may be manufactured. One would be for the positive terminal which has a first size and the other would be for the negative terminal which has a second size different from the first size. In these instances, the connector of the present invention may also be color coded to indicate which size and which terminal is to be used with each connector. 
         [0033]    Various changes to the foregoing described and shown structures would now be evident to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the particularly disclosed scope of the invention is set forth in the following claims.