Patent Publication Number: US-6666707-B2

Title: Unit for connecting conductor terminals

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a unit for connecting conductors to terminals. More particularly, it relates to a unit for terminals of the kind which constitutes the central internal body of the electrical devices currently used, such as switches, pushbuttons, mounting plates and the like, a unit which is designed to allow connecting two conductors to a same terminal and to make possible disconnecting one of them without disconnecting the other as well as once of the two connectors is connected, to connect the second conductor without this affects the position of the first, all of it quite quickly and with full effectiveness and guaranty. 
     One of the tasks which presently requires special care and therefore have repercussions on the times for mounting the installations, is connecting the conductors to terminals which has a repercussion on the electrical device, and operation which requires, either an installation prior to the terminals, or an industrious hand folding or braiding around the setscrew itself on the terminal. These tasks will require more care when two conductors have to be connected to a single terminal, which is frequent enough in installation. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a unit for terminals, which avoids the drawbacks of the prior art. 
     These drawbacks are overcome in a practical way by using the unit for terminals of this invention, which is provided with several mechanical devices by means of which immediate fastenings and setting is carried out and without any prior preparation of the clean ends of the conductors which have to be located within the receptacle of the connected terminal, allowing the quick and effective connection to the terminals of one or two conductors, as well as the optional disconnection of only one of them also providing that the access or repercussion of the ends of the cables is uprightly carried out, that is to say, perpendicularly to the bottom of the body itself and parallel to the unit longitudinal plane of symmetry. 
     The unit of terminals of the invention also provides that in a single unit several devices are arranged for quickly connecting the terminals, allowing that each of the said devices to place two cables for their connection to the terminals. 
     In keeping with these objects and with others which will become apparent hereinafter, one feature of present invention resides, briefly stated in a unit which has a body having a bottom; and means for connecting two conductors to a same terminal and disconnecting one of the conductors without disconnecting the other conductor as well as connecting to the terminal one of the conductors and thereafter the other conductor also without the one conductor being affected, with acting on the conductors perpendicularly to the bottom of the body. 
     The novel features which are considered as characteristic for the present invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a front elevation view of the body constituting the unit of terminals; 
     FIG. 2 is a sectional side elevation view through vertical plane  1 — 1  of half the unit of the preceding figure, showing the position of the elements constituting one of the devices for quick connection to terminals; 
     FIG. 3 is a sectional side elevation view, equivalent to FIG. 2 where the initial and operating positions of the device for connecting to terminals are emphasized; 
     FIG. 4 is another sectional view of the body, through plane II—II, at the body lower area. In this figure only one conductor has been illustrated located at the terminal connecting areas and in one of them, it is drawn in a pressed position a key supporting the operating lever of the device for connecting to terminals; 
     FIG. 5 is a detail, at larger scale, of the fastening area of the operating lever reference B, according to FIGS. 2 and 3; 
     FIG. 6 is another detail, also a larger scale, of the stopping or retaining latch the operating lever possesses, reference C, according to FIG. 2; 
     FIG. 7 is an elevational view of the body, similar to FIG. 1, illustrating a variation of embodiment of the operating levers of the quick connection to terminal devices; 
     FIG. 8 is a sectional side elevation view through III—III, of the unit corresponding to the preceding figure; and 
     FIGS. 9 and 10 are two views in perspective from different angles of a quick connection of terminal lever. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     A unit of terminals provided with quick connection to terminal devices in accordance with the present invention constituted by a rectangular prismatic body  1 , having a sensibly flat and horizontal bottom  2 , which has available at its top part a plate  3  having upright protuberances  4  which constitute the rounded point for setting and swinging the operating lever  5 , through the slot  6   a  it possesses at its top head  6 . 
     The interior of the body  1  is constituted by a series of walls which configure the housings for the elements of the electrical element to which will be coupled the body of the unit of terminals. 
     Upright external small walls  7 , close to the top flanges  8 , constitute the area for locating the operating levers  5 , completed by the triangular central protuberance  9 , located on the longitudinal plane of symmetry. 
     At the lower part of the body  1 , there is arranged for each sole connecting element, a V-shaped resilient metal strip  10 . It has a resilient flange  11  preferably double, located on its central upright part and significantly upwardly oriented. The end of the flange  11  and of the resilient flange  10  are upwardly crooked. 
     The operating lever  5  is constituted, as it is illustrated in FIGS. 9 and 10, by a body having a quadrangular section, folded in straight angle at its top and having at its end the round head  6  with the slot  6   a  for its setting. The lever  5  is downwardly extended, being widened for constituting the flat surface of the two supporting keys  6   b , both symmetrical. Below they come inwardly by rounded end protuberances, which are hammer-shaped  6   c , also spaced and symmetrical. The protuberances remain leaned against the end of the related resilient metal strip  10 , which provides that the lever is kept in the initial position, according to FIG.  2 . 
     Finally, the operating lever posseses, at its central part, stepped protuberances  6   d  one on each side of the lever arm. As a retaining or stopping latch they remain leaned against the protuberance  7   a  or the external small wall  7  and prevent that the lever goes out and therefore that it is fully detached. 
     When it is desired to connect to the terminal the end  12  of a cable, represented by a line of strokes, it will be introduced through one of the holes  13  exiting at the part corresponding to the bottom  2  of the body  1 , as illustrated in FIG.  1 . 
     At that moment, the device for connecting to the terminals will be triggered by pressing the corresponding key  6   c  of the lever  5 , which provokes inwardly swinging up of the lever to the position  5   a , moment when the internal protuberance or supporting key  6   b  pushes the resilient metal strip  10  toward position  10   a  and this, in turn, pushes the flange  11  up to position  11   a . At that moment, the passage is open for the conductive end of cable  12  it is desired to connect to the terminal, which can be introduced up to the back  12 ′ leaning against convex bar-shaped wafer  14 . When the lever  5  is released, the flange  11  and the resilient metal strip  10  come back to its initial position, gripping the conductor  12  very quickly and with full contact guaranty. 
     Connecting with the rest of the electric device is immediately carried out through suitable contact  15 , extension of the convex bar shaped wafer  14  on which conductor  12  is gripped at its connection to the terminal place. 
     According to above, the special arrangement and design of the device for connecting to the terminals, will allow, first, to connect two conductors  12  to a same terminal, for which purpose the convex-bar-shaped contact  14  will have two recesses, one for each conductor, as it can be seen in FIG.  4 . 
     Since the supporting keys  6   b  are differentiated, when pressing one of them, the corresponding resilient metal strip  10  will be triggered, therefore disconnecting the conductor  12  retained by it, without the other is disconnected, unless the other supporting key is pressed. 
     Also, when two conductors  12  have to be connected from same terminal, it will be possible after connecting one of the two conductors, to connect the other without affecting the first one nor disconnecting it. 
     In a variation of embodiment, as it is illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8, the operating lever  5  possesses different supporting keys, marked with references  6   e  and  6   f . The first of them is an L-shaped wrapping, which locates it on corresponding resilient metal strip  10  and flange  11  of the device to be connected. When pressing the key  6   e  both will be triggered, while the other key  6   f  covers the rest of the area, remaining located on the other elements corresponding to them. 
     According to this variation, when pressing the wrapping supporting key  6   e , the quick connection devices which correspond to them will be triggered, while when pressing the other key  6   f , the other of the quick connection device located under the same key will be triggered. 
     Therefore, when connecting two stranded and/or multiwired and stiff conductors to a same terminal, it is possible after one of the two conductors is already connected, to connect the second conductor so that when pressing its corresponding connecting key, it does not affects and/or does not disconnect the first conductor. 
     It is obvious that the invention does not require at any moment screws for connecting as it was usual until now, which allows to operate independently each time. 
     The object of the unit for connecting to terminals having been sufficiently disclosed, it must be said that any variation of sizes, shapes and external appearance as well as any kind of materials used for the embodiment of the said unit for connecting to terminal, shall absolutely not impair its spirit which is summarized in following claims. 
     It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together, may also find a useful application in other types of constructions differing from the types described above. 
     While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in unit for connecting conductor terminals, it is not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention. 
     Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features that, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention.