Abstract:
An improved battery cable clamp provides for toolless attachment of battery cable connectors to lawn and garden-type battery terminal posts utilizing a bossed handle, cam seat and thumbnut, preferably made of non-corrosive materials.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     The present invention relates generally to battery cable clamps and more particularly a clamp designed to connect a battery cable to a lawn and garden type battery post.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     Many items of lawn and garden power equipment are now started or operated with battery power. For instance, many lawn tractors intended for both commercial and home use are started by battery power from lawn and garden style batteries. Other work and recreational equipment such as all terrain vehicles and jet skis also use this style battery. The standard lawn and garden battery has upstanding flat metal terminal posts with apertures to receive a bolt. The usual lawn and garden battery cable ends with a flat round metal connector with an aperture that may also be received over a bolt. Thus, the bolt is passed through openings in both the metal terminal post and the round cable connector. The nut is then threaded on the bolt and presses the flat round connector and flat terminal post together to create an electrically conductive connection.  
         [0003]     Because lawn and garden equipment in many cases generates a substantial vibration, it is not uncommon for the nut and bolt fastener to come loose and for the quality of the electrical connection to become diminished. Furthermore, since some types of lawn and garden equipment are designed with the goal of consuming very little space, on occasion lawn and garden battery placement is in a confined location making it difficult to fasten and unfasten a nut and bolt connection. Such fastening and unfastening may require partial disassembly of the equipment in order to have proper access to the terminal and battery connector. Furthermore, on occasion the battery and connector become subject to corrosion. This corrosion may impair the proper transmission of battery power from the battery terminal post through the battery cable connector, thereby diminishing the electrical power. To remedy the diminished transmission of power, the battery connector has to be removed, corrosion brushed away from the connector and the terminal post and then the parts reconnected. When there is corrosion, loosening the nut on the bolt may be difficult as there may also be corrosion locking the nut on the bolt. In addition, if the battery is spent, the old battery must be removed and replaced with a new one.  
         [0004]     What is needed, then, is a battery clamp that easily and securely fastens a lawn and garden type battery cable connector to a lawn and garden battery terminal post, that is corrosion resistant and that can be fastened and unfastened without tools.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0005]     Instead of a standard bolt passing through the battery cable connector and lawn and garden battery post, the battery cable clamp of the invention is effectively a bolt with a clamping handle and an easily removed fastener. The connection between the bolt head and the attached handle includes a boss or camming structure that increases or decreases the clamping pressure of the bolt based upon a small rotation of the handle. Thus, the fastener on the bolt connecting the battery cable connector to the terminal post can be tightened finger-tight and the handle pivoted approximately 90° to substantially increase the clamping pressure applied to the battery cable connector and terminal post. When it is desired to remove the battery cable clamp, the handle can be pivoted in the opposite direction and a substantial decrease in the clamping pressure results. The fastener on the bolt can then be easily loosened and removed so that the battery cable clamp can be removed and the battery cable connector detached from the battery terminal post. Preferably at least the handle, fastener and seat interfacing with the boss on the handle are made of non-corrosive and even non-metallic materials. Such a battery cable clamp is operable without the need for the use of any additional tools. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0006]      FIG. 1A  is a perspective view of a thumb nut type fastener that may be utilized in an embodiment of the invention.  
         [0007]      FIG. 1B  is an end plan view of the thumb nut fastener of  FIG. 1A .  
         [0008]      FIG. 1C  is a side plan view of the thumb nut fastener of  FIG. 1A .  
         [0009]      FIG. 2A  is a perspective view of an embodiment of a connecting rod that may be utilized in the present invention.  
         [0010]      FIG. 2B  is an end plan view of the connecting rod of  FIG. 2A .  
         [0011]      FIG. 2C  is a side plan view of the connecting rod of  FIG. 2A .  
         [0012]      FIG. 3A  is a perspective view of a pin that may be mounted in the handle and connected to a connecting rod according to the present invention.  
         [0013]      FIG. 3B  is a top plan view of the pivot pin of  FIG. 3A .  
         [0014]      FIG. 3C  is a side plan view of the pivot pin of  FIG. 3A .  
         [0015]      FIG. 4A  is a perspective view of a cam base or seat designed for use in an embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0016]      FIG. 4B  is a top plan view of the seat of  FIG. 4A .  
         [0017]      FIG. 4C  is a left side plan view of the seat of  FIG. 4A  showing a removed elastomeric washer.  
         [0018]      FIG. 4D  is a right side plan view of the seat of  FIG. 4A  showing the elastomeric washer in place.  
         [0019]      FIG. 5A  is a perspective view of a handle designed for use in an embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0020]      FIG. 5B  is a front plan view of the handle of  FIG. 5A .  
         [0021]      FIG. 5C  is a side plan view of the handle of  FIG. 5A .  
         [0022]      FIG. 6  is a perspective view of an assembled embodiment of a battery cable clamp according to the present invention.  
         [0023]      FIG. 7  is an illustration of the prior art bolt used to join a battery cable connector to a battery terminal post.  
         [0024]      FIG. 8A  is a side plan view of a battery cable clamp according to the present invention used to fasten a battery cable connector between the fastening nut and battery terminal post.  
         [0025]      FIG. 8B  is an end plan view of a battery cable clamp according to the present invention used to fasten a battery cable connector between a battery terminal post and cam seat.  
         [0026]      FIG. 8C  is a perspective view of a cable clamp according to the present invention mounted in a lawn and garden type battery terminal post with no battery cable attached. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0027]     A description of the preferred embodiment of the present invention will be best understood by referring to  FIGS. 1-8  of the accompany drawings. Referring first to  FIG. 7 , a representative prior art connection is shown. Lawn and garden battery terminal post  91  has base and upstanding rectangular panel  92  with aperture  93 . Lawn and garden type battery cables  19  typically have flat rounded plate-like in the form of flat metal plate end connectors  98  with aperture  99 . Apertures  93 ,  99  of battery terminal post  91  and cable connector  98  respectively, are aligned and the shaft  96  of bolt  94  is passed through those apertures  93 ,  99 . Nut  92  is fastened on the threaded shaft  96  and the bolt head  95  and tightened so that nut  92  compress battery cable connector  98  against rectangular plate  92  of battery terminal post  91  to establish an electrical connection.  
         [0028]      FIG. 6  shows an embodiment of a battery clamp  10  according to the present invention which is used to replace the nut  92  and bolt  94  assembly of the prior art. The principal components of the battery cable clamp are handle  12 , fastener such as knurled thumb nut  14 , connecting rod or shaft  15 , washer  16 , cam seat  17 , and pin  18 . These components may be examined in greater detail in  FIGS. 1-5 .  
         [0029]     Referring then to  FIGS. 1A-1C , the fastener in the form of a thumb nut  14  is illustrated. Thumb nut  14  has a cylindrical body  41  and a raised knurled gripping surface  40 . Threaded aperture  42  passes axially through thumb nut  14 . The thumb nut  14  is preferably made of non-corrosive material such as glass-filled nylon, and the threaded aperture  42  may be defined by a stainless steel or other rust-resistant metal insert about which the glass-filled nylon is formed or attached. The insert is preferably generally cylindrical and defines a threaded lumen to receive the distal end  53  at the connecting rod  15 . It will be understood that other fasteners such as wing nuts and the like may be used if desired.  
         [0030]     The shaft or connecting rod  15  is shown in  FIGS. 2A-2C . The connecting rod  15  has a threaded distal end  53  which is received in the threaded aperture  42  of the thumb nut. The connecting rod  15  also has a threaded proximal end  50  which is received in pivot pin  18 . Intermediate section  51  of connecting rod  15  has a channel  52  which aids in the positioning of washer  16 .  
         [0031]     Pivot pin  18  is shown in  FIGS. 3A-3C . Pivot pin  18  has a cylindrical body  80  and threaded aperture  81  extending through the pin in a direction normal to the axis of the cylindrical body  80 .  
         [0032]     The seat or cam base  17  is illustrated in  FIGS. 4A-4D  together with elastomeric washer  16 . The cam seat has a base surface  70  and an opposed concave cam surface  71  formed by opposed raised edges  73  and central channel  74 . The cam seat may also advantageously be formed of glass-filled nylon. In the center of cam surface  71  is aperture  72  sized to allow passage of connecting rod  15 . On the base side  70  the aperture  72  is radially enlarged to form cylindrical cavity  75  which receives elastomeric washer  16  as shown in  FIGS. 4C and 4D . Preferably the elastomeric washer  16  will be only slightly thicker than cavity  75  so that the washer may act to damp some of the vibration of a typical lawn and garden apparatus.  
         [0033]      FIGS. 5A-5C  show the handle  12  in isolation. The handle  12  has a base section  28  encircling a transverse aperture  25  that receives pin  18 , and handle section  29  which in the illustrated embodiment includes horizontal grip section  20  and angled section  21 . The handle  12  may advantageously be made from glass-filled nylon. Handle section  29  operates to rotate base section  28  about pin  18 . Base section  28  is divided into a left wing  22  and a right wing  23  separated by channel  24 . Channel  24  allows the proximal end  50  of connecting rod  15  to be received within threaded aperture  81  of pivot pin  18 , when the pin  18  is mounted in aperture  25 . Furthermore, channel  24  extends from a forward stop wall  27  to a rear stop wall  30 . The connecting rod is pivotable in the channel between the forward stop wall  27  and the rear stop wall  30  through an arc of at least about 90 and up to about 180 degrees. Preferably the angular orientation of the connecting rod  15  when pivoted against forward stop wall  27  is parallel to the horizontal handle section  20 . In this fashion, the clamp presents a compact profile over the battery terminal post  91  when clamped in place as shown in  FIGS. 8A-8C . The left and right wings  22 ,  23  each have a bossed section  26  that is rotatable into contact with cam surface  71  of cam seat  17 . The bossed section is preferably forward of the transverse aperture  25 . When bossed section  26  is rotated into contact with cam surface  71 , pivot pin  18  is necessarily moved further away from cam seat  17  and the corresponding movement of the connecting rod  15  caused fastener  14  on connecting rod  15  to be moved closer to cam seat  17 . Where the bossed section  26  is rotated out of contact with cam surface  71 , the fastener  14  is moved further from cam seat  17 .  
         [0034]     To employ the battery cable clamp  10 , the fastener  14  must be removed from the connecting rod  15 . Then the distal end  53  of the connecting rod  15  is passed through the aperture  93  of the terminal post  91  and aperture  99  of the cable connector plate  98 . While this is being done, a retainer such as elastomeric washer  16  retains the seat  17  or the connecting rod  15 . The retainer may be made integral with the seat or a separate component such as the illustrated washer  16 . While the retainer may be removable from connecting rod  15 , it impedes the removal of seat  17  from the rod.  
         [0035]     When the connecting rod  15  has been passed through the terminal post  91  and cable connector plate  98 , the handle  12  should be rotated with respect to the seat  17  so that the bossed sections  26  of the wings are substantially disengaged from the cam surface  71  of the seat  17 . This is preferably accomplished by pivoting the handle  12  with respect to the connecting rod  15  and seat  17  thereon until the connecting rod is restrained by the rear stop wall  30 . The fastener  14  is then finger tightened on the distal end  53  of connecting rod  53 . Finally the handle  12  is pivoted with respect to the connecting rod  15  and seat  17  to bring the bossed sections  26  of the wings to rest on the cam surface  71  of the seat. Preferably this position is attained when the connecting rod  15  is pivoted into contact with the forward stop wall  27  and the grip section  20  is substantially parallel to the connecting rod. When the bossed section  26  is in contact with the cam surface  71 , the distance between the cam seat  17  and fastener  14  is reduced (as the distance between the pivot pin  18  and cam seat  17  is correspondingly lengthened), and the terminal post  91  and cable connecting plate  98  are compressed to create a secure and efficient electrical connection.  
         [0036]      FIGS. 8A and 8B  illustrate the battery cable clamp  10  of the present invention used to hold battery cable connectors  98  in connect with battery terminal post  91 . In  FIG. 8A , the battery cable connector  98  is positioned between the battery terminal post  91  and the fastener  14 . In  FIG. 8B , the connector  98  is positioned between the battery terminal post  91  and the cam seat  17 . In either case, the battery cable clamp  10  of the present invention creates an easily fastened and secure electrical connection between connector  98  and terminal post  91 .  
         [0037]     In order to unfasten the battery cable clamp of the present invention, reference may be had to  FIG. 8A . First, the handle  12  is rotated about pivot pin  18  in direction  35 . This removes the bossed section  26  from resting on cam surface  71  and thereby extends the distance between pivot pin  18  and fastener  14  and decreases the pressure applied to the connecting rod. This make is easier to unfasten thumb nut  14  which is removed from connecting rod  15 . This allows battery cable connector  98  to be removed from the end of connecting rod  15  and for the remaining components of the battery cable clamp to be removed from the aperture  93  of the battery terminal post  91 . The elastomeric washer  16  fitted on connecting rod  15  is snugged on the intermediate section  51  of connecting rod  15  and preferably engaged in channel  52 . The elastomeric washer  16  will not easily slide distal of channel  52  or over threaded distal section  53  and thereby retains base  17  in proximity to handle  12  and connecting pin  18  rather than permitting the base  17  to slide off the connecting rod  15 .  
         [0038]     Although preferred embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed in detail herein, it will be understood that various substitutions and modifications may be made to the disclosed embodiment described herein without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention as recited in the appended claims.