GB1578173A

GB1578173A - Electrical distributor

Info

Publication number: GB1578173A
Application number: GB9975/78A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Deutsche ITT Industries GmbH; ITT Industries Inc
Current assignee: TDK Micronas GmbH; ITT Inc
Priority date: 1977-03-23
Filing date: 1978-03-14
Publication date: 1980-11-05
Also published as: DE2712723A1; DE2712723C2

Description

(54) ELECTRICAL DISTRIBUTOR (71) We, ITT INDUSTRIES INC, a Corporation organised and existing under the Laws of the State of Delaware, United States of America, of 320 Park Avenue, New York 22, State of New York, United States of America. do hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a patent may be granted to use, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: This invention relates to electrical connectors of the multi plug/socket type.

From the German printed patent application (DT-AS) 2264 216 disclosing an electrical installation system, there is known, amongst others, a connector arrangement designed as a junction box for establishing connection with multi-conductor flat cables.

The housing of the junction box consists of a bottom part and a cover part fitting thereon. Both parts are provided with moulded receptacles in which two inserted flat cables intersecting each other at right angles are mechanically secured by closing the cover. Within the area of intersecting points of different line conductors, the cover is provided with recesses of rectangular cross section which each extend into the bottom part of the junction box. For electrically connecting intersecting line wires, connecting elements provided with piercing contacts arranged rectangularly in relation to one another, are hit into the recesses.

Such arrangements are used in electrical installation systems in which the insulated lines including the required connectors are installed by skilled personnel on the installation site, by being placed in ducts of insulating material which are capable of being covered.

According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a connector assembly for multi-wire cable circuit arrangements to be used in electrical installation systems, including a plurality of identical connector units each of which is a multiterminal coupling consisting of a female connector member or of a male connector member, wherein the units are so designed that said plurality of connector units, each equipped with a plurality of contact elements, are detachably mechanically coupled to one another by snap-action devices on the housings of adjacent units which engage one another, and wherein the snapaction devices consist of snap-action hooks extending from two opposite sidewalls of one of the housings to be joined towards the other one thereof, which hooks engage in corresponding recesses in the side walls of the respective other housing.

According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a connector unit for the multi-wire cable circuit arrangements to be used in electrical installation systems, the connector unit being a female connector member or a male connector member, wherein the unit is so designed that a plurality of such identical units, each equipped with a plurality of contact elements, can be detachably mechanically coupled to one another by co-operating snap-action devices of adjacent units, and wherein the snap-action devices are constituted by snap-action hooks extending from two opposite sidewalls of the housing and wall recesses, the arrangement being such that when two units are coupled the hooks of one unit engage in recesses of the housing of the other unit.

Several such connector arrangements equipped with an even or odd number of contact elements may be combined in advantageous manner to form mechanically stable distributor blocks. The complementary halves of the couplings equipped with the corresponding opposite contact elements, take care of the fitting establishment of the connections of the previously fixed circuits.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1 shows an electrical distributor block assembly composed of several connectors, with one connector unit shown in a section taken on line A-A of Fig. 2; Fig. 2 shows the distributor block assembly, in a top view; Fig. 3 is the schematical representation of an assembly of several connector units; Fig. 4 shows a connector unit mounted on a profile bar, with a mating connector member coupled thereto, partly sectionally and in a side view and Fig. 5 shows the connector unit of Fig.

4 with a view onto the cable lead-in.

In Figures 1 to 5 the connector unit is indicated by the reference numeral 1. It is designed as one connector half of a multi-terminal electrical coupling consisting of the female connector member 2 and of the male connector member 3. Both members are capable - of being coupled to one another in only one possible position.

In the present example the female connector member 2 serves as the distributor, with the housing 4 thereof preferably containing five chambers 5 for receiving each time one contact element 6 if so required.

The housing member 4 consists of a body of moulded material which is moulded in one piece from a tough-elastic insulating material, and has a square shaped base 7.

Extending in one direction from two oppositely arranged sidewalls of the base 7 there is provided one horizontal snap-action hook 8 each. The top side of the base 7 carries a substantially cylindrical extension 9, whose end represents the plug-in side of the connector unit 1. From this plug-in side in direction towards the bottom side of the housing member there extends a recess 10 of U-shaped cross-section moulded as well into both the extension 9 and the base 7.

A locking finger 11 freely projects through this recess 10. At its top end, this locking finger 11 has an outwardly directed engaging member (detent) 12. Between the snapaction hooks 8 there is arranged a cable holder 13 projecting out of the base 7, to which the lead-in cable 14 is secured by means of a cable clamp 15.

Parallel in relation to the sidewalls of the housing member 4 comprising the snapaction hooks 8, several slots 17 are moulded on the bottom side 16 into the base 7 (Figure 5). Each of the chambers 5 traversing both the extension 9 and the base 7, end up in a different slot 17 whose width is dimensioned respectively in such a way as to be capable of receiving the insulated wire 18 of a multi-wire cable 14 of preferably circular cross section. Since the chambers 5 are equipped with contact elements 6 from the bottom side 16 of the housing member 4, and the outer diameter of these contact elements, especially within the range of their ends which are rearwardly provided with a crimp connection 19, is larger than the width of the slot, the partition walls 20 restricting each slot 17 at its sides, are provided with correspondingly rounded bays 21 (Figures 1 and 4).

The crimp connection 19 of each contact element 6 consists of a sleeve which is open at its rearward end, with the wall thereof being slotted on two opposite sides.

The edges of the slot serve to cut through the insulation of the wire when pressing the latter into the slots. As the width of the slot at the crimp connection is dimensioned somewhat smaller than the diameter of the pressed-in cable conductor and the slotted halves of the sleeve wall of the crimp connection 19 abut in the bays 21 of the distributor housing 4 and are thus prevented from giving way, there is good mechanical as well as electrical connection between the wire 18 and the contact element 6 of the distributor 1.

The housing 4 of the connector unit has snap-action and fixing devices, admitting several units to be lined up to one another.

For this reason the rearward portion of the sidewalls which, in their front extension, include the snap-action hooks 8, is arranged by being set back inwardly. As is seen from Figures 2 and 4 one groove 23 is formed in the thus set back wall portions 22 of the housing 4. This groove 23 serves to receive and to lock the hook strip 24 of a second housing 4, as projecting inwardly at the free end of each snap-action hook 8.

When joining two housings, the projecting cable holder 13 of the one housing will engage into a corresponding recess 25 in the other housing. Below the cable holder 13 there is a further recess 26 which, when connecting the housing, each time receives two projections 27 arranged on the opposite side.

As is shown in Figures 1 and 2, several connector units can be joined to one another without any gaps between them, with the projections 27 and the cable holder 13 each engaging positively into complementary recesses 26, 25 which, together, form the fixing devices. The snap-action devices, however, consist of the snap-action hooks 8 which, when joining two units automatically engage in their associated grooves 23 and jointly represent a positive as well as a - non-positive locking. By deflection of the snap-action hooks 8, however, the locking can be unlatched in the most simple way.

Figure 3, in a schematical representation, shows several individual connector units 1 combined to form one distributor block, with the housings thereof, depending on the distributor function, being equipped with either the same or a different number of contact elements 6. Also, the arrangement of the contact elements within various connector units may differ from one another whenever different functions are to be performed. The contact elements 6 and their electrical connections to the wires 18 of the led-in cable shown to be arranged inside the distributors 1 according to Figure 3, are examples which serve to establish the various circuits represented by the symbols 28.

Figures 4 and 5, show the male connector member 3 of the aforementioned coupling. The male connector member 3 has a collar 32 having a cutout, which, when establishing the connection, receives the extension 9 of the female connector member 2, thus automatically latching both members together in a detachable way. This is effected in that the engaging member 12 of the locking finger 11 snaps into the recess provided for in the collar member 32. Since the male-connector member 3 is equipped either partly or completely with the same complementary contact elements as the connector unit, it is thus possible to establish the connections within a predetermined circuit.

Moreover, Figures 4 and 5 show how the connector unit 1 may be mounted for example, to a profile bar 29 of U-shaped cross section. For this purpose one protruding strip 30 is arranged on the sidewalls of the housing 4 carrying the snapaction hooks 8. This strip 30 can be surrounded and held down by the legs 31 of the profile bar 29, which also can be made from plastics material. Depending on requirements, the respective lengths are then cut off, and the connector unit or a complete distributor block assembly is mounted therein, by insertion or snapping-in.

WHAT WE CLAIM IS: 1. A connector assembly for multi-wire cable circuit arrangements to be used in electrical installation systems, including a plurality of identical connector units each of which is a multi-terminal coupling consisting of a female connector member or of a male connector member, wherein the units are so designed that said plurality of connector units, each equipped with a plurality of contact elements, are detachably mechanically coupled to one another by snapaction devices on the housings of adjacent units which engage one another, and wherein the snap-action devices consist of snapaction hooks extending from two opposite sidewalls of one of the housings to be joined towards the other one thereof, which hooks engage in corresponding recesses in the sidewalls of the respective other housing.

2. A connector unit for multi-wire cable circuit arrangements to be used in electrical installation systems, the connector unit being a female connector member or a male connector member, wherein the unit is so designed that a plurality of such identical units, each equipped with a plurality of contact elements, can be detachably mechanically coupled to one another by co-operating snap-action devices of adjacent units, and wherein the snap-action devices are constituted by snap-action hooks extending from two opposite sidewalls of the housing and wall recesses, the arrangement being such that when two units are coupled the hooks of one unit engage in recesses of the housing of the other unit.

3. A connector unit as claimed in claim 2, wherein each housing has a cable holder arranged between said snap-action hooks.

4. A connector unit as claimed in claims 2 or 3, wherein each housing on its side lying opposite the cable holder contains a recess which, when joining several units to form a distributor or block assembly, serves to positively receive the cable holder of the respective other housing.

5. A connector unit as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 4 wherein the housing has a plurality of chambers adapted to receive contact elements from the bottom side of the connector unit.

6. A connector unit as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein each of said chambers is provided with a slot for receiving terminal wires on the bottom side of the housing.

7. A connector unit as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 6, wherein the ends of the contact elements as inserted on the connecting side into the chambers of the housing are each arranged within the area of the slots.

8. A connector unit as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 7, wherein the housing consists of a substantially square shaped base whose top side is provided with a cylindrical extension and wherein the chambers for the contact elements traverse both the extension and the base.

9. A connector unit as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 8, wherein the housing of the unit has a locking finger provided with an engaging member with said finger engaging into the recess of a complementary connector member which is capable of being mated therewith.

10. A connector unit as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 9, wherein the locking finger is set free by means of a recess moulded into both the extension and the base so as to assume a spaced parallel position in relation to the chambers of the housing.

11. A connector unit as claimed in any

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. distributor function, being equipped with either the same or a different number of contact elements 6. Also, the arrangement of the contact elements within various connector units may differ from one another whenever different functions are to be performed. The contact elements 6 and their electrical connections to the wires 18 of the led-in cable shown to be arranged inside the distributors 1 according to Figure 3, are examples which serve to establish the various circuits represented by the symbols 28. Figures 4 and 5, show the male connector member 3 of the aforementioned coupling. The male connector member 3 has a collar 32 having a cutout, which, when establishing the connection, receives the extension 9 of the female connector member 2, thus automatically latching both members together in a detachable way. This is effected in that the engaging member 12 of the locking finger 11 snaps into the recess provided for in the collar member 32. Since the male-connector member 3 is equipped either partly or completely with the same complementary contact elements as the connector unit, it is thus possible to establish the connections within a predetermined circuit. Moreover, Figures 4 and 5 show how the connector unit 1 may be mounted for example, to a profile bar 29 of U-shaped cross section. For this purpose one protruding strip 30 is arranged on the sidewalls of the housing 4 carrying the snapaction hooks 8. This strip 30 can be surrounded and held down by the legs 31 of the profile bar 29, which also can be made from plastics material. Depending on requirements, the respective lengths are then cut off, and the connector unit or a complete distributor block assembly is mounted therein, by insertion or snapping-in. WHAT WE CLAIM IS:

1. A connector assembly for multi-wire cable circuit arrangements to be used in electrical installation systems, including a plurality of identical connector units each of which is a multi-terminal coupling consisting of a female connector member or of a male connector member, wherein the units are so designed that said plurality of connector units, each equipped with a plurality of contact elements, are detachably mechanically coupled to one another by snapaction devices on the housings of adjacent units which engage one another, and wherein the snap-action devices consist of snapaction hooks extending from two opposite sidewalls of one of the housings to be joined towards the other one thereof, which hooks engage in corresponding recesses in the sidewalls of the respective other housing.

11. A connector unit as claimed in any

one of claims 2 to 10, wherein the base comprises at its two sidewalls which are provided with the snap-action hooks, one strip each permitting the housing to be mounted to a profile bar.

12. A connector unit substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.

13. An electrical distributor block assembly comprising a plurality of connector units as claimed in any one of the claims 2 to 12.

14. An electrical distributor block assembly substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.