US2287490A - Battery terminal - Google Patents

Description

June 253, 1942. w. G. TENNEY 2,287,490

BATTERY TERMINAL Filed April 14, 1941 Patented June 23, 1.942 n UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BATTERY TERMINAL William G. Tenney, Chicago, Ill.

Application April 14, 1941, Serial No. 388,472

3 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in a battery terminal, and has for its object the provision of connections which may be easily operated within a limited space, and interference from obstructions caused by corrosion or binding.

More detailed objects will appear in the following description and in the drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a cross-sectional view showing my terminal applied to a conventional battery in place under the oor board of a car;

Fig. 2 is a perspective View of the terminal;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the terminal showing a cable attached thereto at one end;

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal horizontal section taken on line 4 4 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional View taken on line 5 5 of Fig. 4; and

Fig. 6 is a transverse view in section taken on line 6 6 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 1 shows a battery B, which may be of the type conventionally used in automobiles, mounted below a floor board I9 in a box formed by a depending bracket II secured at its end I2 to the under side of the floor board by any customary means, now shown. Side straps I3 may connect v with the bracket to secure the battery against lateral displacement in the box. The space between the battery top and the under side of the iioor board is usually Very close, and the present terminal is peculiarly adapted to be used in such an environment. To effectuate this improvement I have made the movable parts of my terminal, which comprises a body having a battery post attaching portion and a, cable attaching portion, operable in a plane adjacent and parallel to the battery top.

The body I4 of my terminal is formed preferably of a yieldable material such as bronze or the like, and from it extends a pair of integral arms I6 and Il, with confronting sides formed to fit about one of the posts I5 of the battery. At the end of each of the arms is a head a, the one on the arm I'I being suiciently thick to accommodate a slot or chamber I8 in which is housed a nut I9. The chamber I8 is open at the end of the arm remote from the body to permit easy insertion or removal of the nut.

'I'he arms I6 and `|`I are adapted to be clamped around the post I5 with the aid of a bolt 20 which is extended therebetween and therethrough. It passes through an opening 2l in the arm I6, and carries a thrust collar 22 which may be screwed upon the bolt which also extends through a pair of registering yopenings 23 in the arm Il, one traversing each of the walls on opposite sides of the chamber I8 and through the nut I9 therein.

Movements of the two arms to either converging or diverging positions changes the angle between them vand the bolt, as well as the clearance therebetween. This condition will tend to cause binding of the arms upon thev bolt, and to avoid this difficulty I have made the openings 2| and 23 of a diameter enough larger than that `of the bolt to permit the two arms to advance toward or recede away from each other through their normal operating range of movement free of interference with the bolt. The loose engagement within the two arms permits the bolt to adjust itself freely Within the openings. Likewise the nut I9 is convex on its opposite faces, and is accommodated loosely within the chamber I8, thereby permitting the nut to engage With the arm in its'various adjusted positions Without binding. When the terminal is clamped upon the post, there will be no binding of the bolt with the two arms, nor of the nut With the one arm with Which it cooperates. Similarly, the faces of the thrust collar 22 are convex and it is spaced suiciently from the head .of the bolt 28 which is likewise convex Aon the surface confronting the arm'IB, to permit vback and forth movement of the arm I6. As here shown, I have threaded the bolt 20 from its end to a point just short of the arm I6. In this manner I determine the spacing of the thrust collar from the bolt head, screwing the collar tightly at the end of the threading.

When it is desired to remove the terminal from the post, a reverse movement of the bolt Will cause the .collar 22 to exert an outward thrust against the inner face of the arm I6, and the nut I9 to exert an opposite thrust against the arm I'I, so that the two arms are forcibly spread.

This forces a loosening of the terminal from the post, and from the corrosive material .that may have accumulated about the post.

My terminal also comprises a cable attaching portion disposed in the same plane as the post attaching portion for releasably securing the cable Without the necessity of removing the terminal from the battery. This has the advantage of spacing the cable connecting means at a point remote from the post, and makes the connecting or disconnecting of the cable a simple operation.

The cable attaching portion of the terminal comprises a pair of jaws joined through registering openings in each by a connecting bolt 25 With a head 26 at one end and a nut 21 near the other end. One jaw 23 which is fixed extends from one end of the terminal body I4 and terminates in an elongated tongue 29 which is relatively thin in its dimension that parallels the axis of the post that is clamped between the arms I6 and Il. The fixed jaw is shown as extending angularly from the terminal body whereby to form therewith a shoulder 30 adjacent the bolt head 26 to prevent rotation thereof. The mov-able jaw 3l is provided with a pair of spaced cheeks 32 adapted to overlap the tongue 29 of the xed jaw when the two jaws are tightened over a lcable 33 inserted therebetween. The overall transverse dimension of the movable jaw is thereby held down to approximately the same dimension as the terminal body itself.

The movable jaw 3| is here shown as formed of a separate piece of material bowed slightly outwardly from end to end. This jaw operates as a lever of the third class, the acting force, the bolt 25, being between the resisting force, the cable 33, and the fulcrum 34, where the movable jaw rests on the xed jaw. This permits the movable jaw 3l to rock upon the other, thus assuring a better clamp-ing engagement on the cable.

The engaging face 35 of the movable jaw is dome shaped, it being concave transversely as shown in Fig. 5 thereby better to accommodate the cable, and concave longitudinally, as shown I in Fig. 4, to cooperate with the inner side of the xed jaw 28, which is convex longitudinally, in forcing a bend in the end of the cable 33, thereby better to secure it. At the rear of the cavity between the jaws is a stop 3l, here shown as part of the fixe-d jaw, to serve as an abutment for the cable end which is clamped between the jaws.

The advantages of my construction are several. Due to its special construction, and to its operability in a narrow space, itis adapted to fit into and be used under conditions which ordinarily make accessibility diiiicult.

I claim:

1. A battery terminal comprising a body having a battery post attaching portion comprising a pair of arms adapted for movement toward and from each other, there being a pair of registering openings in the two arms, a threaded bolt passing through the openings of a diameter suiciently less than that of the openings to permit the bolt at a distance from the head su'cient for permitting free movements of the two arms angularly with res-pect to the bolt axis, the opposite faces of the nut, the contacting faces of the thrust collar, and the contacting face of the bolt head being of convex shape whereby to permit such faces to engage with the adjacent plane arm surfaces in Various adjusted positions thereof at points relatively close to the openings therethrough.

2. A battery terminal comprising a body having a battery post attaching portion comprising a pair of arms adapted for movement toward and from each other, there being a pair of registering openings in the two arms, a threaded bolt passing through the openings of a diameter suiciently less than that of the openings to permit the two arms to move toward land from each other without binding on the bolt, one of the arms being recessed inwardly from its end to provide a hollow chamber communicating with the opening therein, a nut .received within the chamber adapted for threaded engagement with the bolt, a head on the bolt in engagement with the other arm, a thrust collar vadjacent the inner side of the arm last named, and means for permitting adjustment of the thrust collar on the bolt at a distance from the head sufficient for permitting free movements of the two arms angularly with respect to the bolt axis, one of each of the contacting faces of the bolt head and arm, the collar and arm, and the nut and arm being convexly curved to permit rocking movement of one face on the other.

3. A battery terminal comprising a body having a battery post attaching portion comp-rising a pair of arms adapted for angular movement toward and from each other, there being a pair of registering openings in the two arms, a threaded bolt passing through the openings of a diameter sufficiently less than that of the openings to permit the two arms to angularly move toward and from each other through their normal operating range without 'binding on the bolt, one of the arms being recessed inwardly from its end to provide a hollow chamber communicating with the opening therein, a nut loosely received within the chamber adapted for threaded engagement with the bolt, a head on the bolt in engagement with the other arm, a thrust collar adjacent the inner side of the arm last named, and means for permitting adjustment of the thrust collar on the bolt at a distance from the head sufficient for permitting free movements of the two arms angularly with respect to the bolt axis, one of each of the contacting faces of the bolt head and arm, and the collar and arm being convexly curved, and the nut being shaped and the nut edges being spaced sufciently from the co-acting face of the .chamber wall to permit rocking movement of the contacting faces one on the other.

WILLIAM G. TENNEY.

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