Source: http://www.google.com/patents/US20090275247?ie=ISO-8859-1
Timestamp: 2014-11-26 09:14:04
Document Index: 378208472

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 11', 'art 12', 'art 11', 'art 12', 'art 11', 'art 12', 'art 11', 'art 11', 'art 11', 'art 11', 'art 11']

Patent US20090275247 - Contact for a connection box - Google PatentsSearch Images Maps Play YouTube News Gmail Drive More »Sign inAdvanced Patent SearchPatentsA contact for a solar-power feed cable having a conductive core surrounded by an insulating sheath has a conductive contact part adapted to be connected in a solar-power connection box to a conductor and engaging the conductive core of the cable. An outer contact ring is crimped to the sheath longitudinally...http://www.google.com/patents/US20090275247?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US20090275247 - Contact for a connection boxAdvanced Patent SearchPublication numberUS20090275247 A1Publication typeApplicationApplication numberUS 12/434,706Publication dateNov 5, 2009Filing dateMay 4, 2009Priority dateMay 3, 2008Also published asDE102008022057A1, DE102008022057B4, US7819709Publication number12434706, 434706, US 2009/0275247 A1, US 2009/275247 A1, US 20090275247 A1, US 20090275247A1, US 2009275247 A1, US 2009275247A1, US-A1-20090275247, US-A1-2009275247, US2009/0275247A1, US2009/275247A1, US20090275247 A1, US20090275247A1, US2009275247 A1, US2009275247A1InventorsMichael Richter, Stefan JoergensOriginal AssigneeMichael Richter, Stefan JoergensExport CitationBiBTeX, EndNote, RefManClassifications (9), Legal Events (2) External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, EspacenetContact for a connection boxUS 20090275247 A1Abstract A contact for a solar-power feed cable having a conductive core surrounded by an insulating sheath has a conductive contact part adapted to be connected in a solar-power connection box to a conductor and engaging the conductive core of the cable. An outer contact ring is crimped to the sheath longitudinally of the cable inward from the contact part and is unitary with the contact part. An inner contact ring spaced longitudinally inward of the cable from the outer contact ring is crimped to the sheath and formed with a strain-relief flange.
a conductive contact part adapted to be connected in a solar-power connection box to a conductor and engaging the conductive core of the cable; an outer contact ring crimped to the sheath longitudinally of the cable inward from the contact part and unitary with the contact part; and an inner contact ring spaced longitudinally inward of the cable from the outer contact ring, crimped to the sheath, and formed with a strain-relief flange. 2. The contact defined in claim 1 wherein each of the contact rings is unitarily formed with a portion of a longitudinally extending web that interconnected the rings prior to crimping on the cable.
3. The contact defined in claim 1 wherein the flange is a radially outwardly projecting ridge on the inner crimp ring.
4. The contact defined in claim 1 wherein the rings and part are metal.
providing an elongated one-piece plastically deformable plate having an outer part and an inner part and formed with a narrow integral web between and interconnecting the parts; crimping an outer end of the outer part around a stripped end of a conductor of a cable having inward of the stripped end an insulation sheath; crimping an inner end of the outer part around the insulation sheath of the cable to form an outer crimp ring; crimping the inner part around the insulation sheath inward of the outer part inner end to form an inner crimp ring spaced from the outer crimp ring by the web; and thereafter rupturing the web and thereby separating the inner and outer crimp ring. 6. The method defined in claim 5, further comprising the step of
forming the outer crimp ring as a part of a strain-relief assembly. 7. The method defined in claim 5 wherein the inner and outer parts and web are unitarily formed with each other of sheet metal.
8. The method defined in claim 5 wherein the plate is formed at the inner end of the outer part with transversely projecting tabs that are bent in to form the outer crimp ring and the inner part is formed with transversely projecting tabs that are also bent in to form the inner crimp ring. Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a contact. More particularly this invention concerns a contact for a solar-panel connection box.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION A contact for a connection box, in particular for a solar-panel connection box, is normally inserted into a holder in a compartment formed by the connection box and has a contact part that interconnects a first cable and a second cable. The contact is secured by an insulation crimp ring on the electrically insulated outer sheath of the second cable. The second cable also has a strain-relief arrangement in for securing it solidly in the box. This is more fully described in jointly filed and copending applications (atty's 24465 and 24466) whose disclosures are herewith incorporated by reference.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved contact for a solar-panel connection box.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A contact for a solar-power feed cable having a conductive core surrounded by an insulating sheath has according to the invention a conductive contact part adapted to be connected in a solar-power connection box to a conductor and engaging the conductive core of the cable. An outer contact ring is crimped to the sheath longitudinally of the cable inward from the contact part and is unitary with the contact part. An inner contact ring spaced longitudinally inward of the cable from the outer contact ring is crimped to the sheath and formed with a strain-relief flange.
SPECIFIC DESCRIPTION As seen in the drawing, a contact 10 has a contact part 11 used for attachment of a first, solar-panel output cable, and a mounting part 12 that connects the part 11 to a second feed cable 13. Electricity generated by the solar panel is fed from the panel into an electricity network using the feed cable 13, which is a standard wire having a conductive core surrounded by an insulating sheath.
In the illustrated embodiment, the fastening of the feed cable 13 and the contact 10 is done by crimping. To this end, the mounting part 12 of the contact 10 has crimp tabs that extend transversely to the longitudinal extension of the feed cable 13 and one behind the other in the longitudinal direction of the feed cable 13 (see FIG. 4). A first pair of crimp tabs is identified by 14 and is adjacent the contact part 11 of the contact 10. This pair of crimp tabs 14 form a conductor crimp ring 16 that directly grips the stripped end of the conductor of the cable 13 and makes the electrical connection in the assembled state of the contact 10. The crimp tabs 15 remote from the mounting part 12 and also provided in pairs grip the insulation sheath of the cable 13 and thus form the insulation crimp ring 17 in the installed contact 10.
Notches 18 of the crimp tabs 15 subdivide the crimp tabs 18 into outer crimp subtabs 19 and inner crimp subtabs 20. An integral material web 21 that is parallel to the contact longitudinal axis L holds the outer crimp subtabs 20 at a spacing from the inner crimp tabs 19 and thus more remote from the contact part 11 than the inner crimp subtabs 19.
The inner crimp subtabs 19 form an inner crimp ring 22, and the outer pair of crimp subtabs 20 forms an outer crimp ring 23. The crimp rings 22 and 23 jointly form the insulation crimp ring 17. The outer crimp ring 23 remote from the contact part 11 also forms a shoulder 24 on its inner end remote from the contact part 11.
FIG. 2 shows the contact in projection from below with the tabs 14, 19, and 20 shown flattened. The insulation crimp ring 16 is not yet completely subdivided. The crimp rings 22 and 23 are connected to one another by the unitary sheet-metal web 21. After the material web 21 is cut through according to FIG. 3, the insulation crimp ring 17 is completely subdivided into inner and outer crimp rings 22, 23.
The inner crimp ring 23 facing toward the contact part 11 encompasses the insulation sheath of the cable 13 and, together with the conductor crimp ring 16, secures the contact 10 on the cable 13. The outer crimp ring 23 facing away from the contact part 11 forms a component separate from the contact 10, which can form a strain-relief arrangement with holders of a connection box (not shown), after the web 21 is cut through.
The essential advantage of the invention is that the crimp ring 23 is initially part of the contact 10, so that a separate component does not have to be installed on the cable side. The contact is solely to be crimped on the cable 13 in the typical way. The insulation crimp ring 17 is subdivided by subdividing of the web 21 only in the work step after the contact assembly, in order to form a strain relief ring which is no longer connected to the contact 10 and is used for strain relief. In this way, an auxiliary component of a strain relief arrangement is provided without complex assembly, which meets the requirements of the strain relief test described at the beginning
Classifications U.S. Classification439/741, 439/502International ClassificationH01R13/415, H01R11/00Cooperative ClassificationH01L31/0485, H01R4/185, Y02E10/50European ClassificationH01L31/048C, H01R4/18H2BLegal EventsDateCodeEventDescriptionJun 6, 2014REMIMaintenance fee reminder mailedJun 22, 2009ASAssignmentOwner name: LUMBERG CONNECT GMBH, GERMANYFree format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:RICHTER, MICHAEL;JOERGENS, STEFAN;REEL/FRAME:022854/0030Effective date: 20090615RotateOriginal ImageGoogle Home - Sitemap - USPTO Bulk Downloads - Privacy Policy - Terms of Service - About Google Patents - Send FeedbackData provided by IFI CLAIMS Patent Services©2012 Google