Patents Examined by Thomas M. Kline
  • Patent number: 4676578
    Abstract: An electrical interconnection assembly is disclosed for use with high voltage devices such as traveling-wave tubes. The assembly includes an electrically insulating housing having a plurality of recesses formed in its outer and inner surfaces. Leads from the high voltage device can be connected directly to respective conductive pins mounted in recesses in the housing inner surface, and electrical conductors from a power supply can be connected directly to respective conductive pins mounted in recesses in the outer surface of the housing and which are electrically connected to respective conductive pins on the inner surface. Protruding staggered gripping elements on the housing outer surface and on a removable cover plate for the housing minimize the possibility of separation of electrical conductors from the conductive pins.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 8, 1985
    Date of Patent: June 30, 1987
    Assignee: Hughes Aircraft Company
    Inventor: Elmer E. Reed
  • Patent number: 4674820
    Abstract: A reusable cap encapsulates an electrical terminal in a junction box which routes communication lines such as phone wires. The cap includes a tubular body having a self tearing slot which receives a phone wire radially extending from a stud of a terminal. The cap also has an indicator knob having a pointed end which is angularly aligned with said self tearing slot. A technician can insert the cap over the terminal by aligning the indicator end of the knob with the phone wire, thereby aligning the self tearing slot with the wire. As the cap is inserted over the terminal, the wire penetrates and splits the self tearing slot. The cap is filled with a water impermeable elastic electrical insulating semi solid gel which encapsulates the terminal upon insertion of the cap. When the cap is removed, the gel is retained in the cap and cleanly pulls away from the terminal. A color coded indicator tab may be inserted onto the knob of the cap for indicating secured status of the phone wire.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 10, 1986
    Date of Patent: June 23, 1987
    Inventors: Shane M. Foster, Neil T. Foster
  • Patent number: 4674821
    Abstract: A base for a CRT has an outside diameter which is less than the outside diameter of the tube neck. A plurality of resilient detents are integral with the base and act against the exhaust tubulation to help retain the base on the neck of the tube. A silo is integral with the base and surrounds the high voltage pin. The pins freely pass through pinslots to avoid bending the pins when putting the base onto the neck. The pinslots are configured to facilitate the reception of bent or misaligned pins.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 1986
    Date of Patent: June 23, 1987
    Assignee: RCA Corporation
    Inventor: Myron H. Wardell, Jr.
  • Patent number: 4673229
    Abstract: An improved housing for a busway system is provided by a two-piece ground bus which includes a generally U-shaped upper section having a top portion and a pair of parallel side flanges extending a predetermined distance and a generally U-shaped lower section having a bottom portion and a pair of parallel side flanges extending intermediate and parallel to the side flanges of the upper section. The main bus bars are retained intermediate the top portion and the bottom portion of the ground bus while also being positioned between the side flanges of the upper section of the ground bus. A side rail is provided on each side of the ground bus. A plurality of fasteners extend along the length of the busway section and connect each side rail with both the upper and lower sections of the ground bus.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 13, 1984
    Date of Patent: June 16, 1987
    Assignee: Square D Company
    Inventors: George N. Jorgensen, Gilbert A. McGoldrick, Allan E. Slicer
  • Patent number: 4671597
    Abstract: An improved female electrical receptacle connected to an electrical power extension cord has a power indicator light to signal that the extension cord has power.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 6, 1986
    Date of Patent: June 9, 1987
    Inventor: Edward Grill
  • Patent number: 4671601
    Abstract: An electrical connector of the IDC type having three or more rows of contact members while still enabling sideways installation of mating conductors. The connector is comprised of at least two separate housings, a first housing comprising two rows of cavities disposed longitudinally and adjacent to each other. Each of the cavities is fitted with an electrical contact lug, one extremity of which is shaped for the fastening of a wire conductor, the other extremity being shaped as a contact member. At least one second housing contains at least one row of cavities fitted with contact lugs similar to those in the first housing. The first housing has a shelf member which extends transversely away from a front end. Each of the housings is provided with guiding and locking means to aid in joining, then locking, the housings together. Openings are provided in the shelf member and in the front end of the first housing to enable communication with the contact lugs from locations external of the connector.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 20, 1985
    Date of Patent: June 9, 1987
    Assignee: Burndy Corporation
    Inventor: Chris Lomecka
  • Patent number: 4669806
    Abstract: An electrical terminal strip comprises an insulating body having a plurality of connector compartments, a corresponding number of clamp members constructed as compartment liners each having a clamp passage in which an electrical conductor is insertable and a threaded hole for receiving a clamp screw. Each of the clamp members is provided with a clamp bracket having both a conductor engaging element and at least one solder connector pin. The clamp member is insertable through its solder connector end into the connector compartments of the insulating body where it is held undetachably, while the clamp bracket is subsequently inserted through a lateral opening in the insulating body in a direction opposite to the direction the conductor is inserted so that the conductor engaging element is in the clamp space. No other components or assembly steps are required to unite the conductor clamp member and clamp bracket in the insulating body, but a base plate may or may not be a part of the electrical strip.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 23, 1985
    Date of Patent: June 2, 1987
    Assignee: Karl Lumberg GmbH & Co.
    Inventor: Helmut Fuchs
  • Patent number: 4662705
    Abstract: In the case of plug-in inserts for electrical communications apparatus for an unequivocal allocation of the insert relative to an insert receiving unit, a pin coding is provided in which several pins are arranged in a head portion of the insert. The pins on the insert are combined on common strips, and matching bores in the insert receiving unit can be closed off against faulty engagement of the pins through use of insertable pins or plugs.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 8, 1985
    Date of Patent: May 5, 1987
    Assignee: Siemens Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Wolfgang Prechtl, Guenther Weis
  • Patent number: 4659168
    Abstract: An electrical connector system which includes electrically conductive wires terminating in tab receptacles, electrically conductive blade contacts and an electrically insulative terminal block assembly to facilitate the joining and supporting of the wires to the blade contacts. The terminal block assembly is comprised of two portions. The first portion is a fixed block with apertures, each for receiving and supporting a blade contact in a predetermined orientation. The second portion of the terminal block is a movable block with barrels or pockets, each for receiving an electrically conductive wire, each of which wire terminates with a tab receptacle. Because of the design and construction of the portions of the terminal block assembly, the tab receptacles and their electrically conductive wires may be conveniently and reliably mounted onto the blade contacts in the fixed portion of the terminal block assembly and securely retained there.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 6, 1984
    Date of Patent: April 21, 1987
    Assignee: Burndy Corporation
    Inventor: John C. Collier
  • Patent number: 4655536
    Abstract: A female plug body for an electric cord set with at least two contact openings, one opening smaller than the other, has an insert made of a more rigid insulating material than the plug body, disposed within the plug body. The insert has a pair of cavities providing clearance for one side of each of a pair of contacts embedded within the plug body, so that the resistance to insertion of a male plug is not affected by the ambient temperature. The insert also provides a channel providing rigid support for the opening in the plug for the "hot" contact of the female plug which resists insertion of an oversized plug blade into the "hot" contact.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 11, 1985
    Date of Patent: April 7, 1987
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventor: Stephen P. Short
  • Patent number: 4652063
    Abstract: An electrified vacuum cleaner hose adapter for electrically and mechanically interconnecting an electrified vacuum cleaner hose with an electrified vacuum cleaner wand or accessory, comprises a handle portion which includes two tubular portions set at an angle to each other, an inlet member for connecting to a vacuum cleaner hose and an outlet member for connecting to the vacuum cleaner wand or accessory. Electrical connectors are provided at each end of the handle portion of the adapter for connecting with corresponding electrical conductors of the hose and wand, respectively. An electrical wire extends between the connectors. The connectors and the electrical wire are covered by a channel-shaped member which defines a closed passage in the handle portion for enclosing the electrical connectors and wire and for serving as a manually grippable protrusion on the handle portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 28, 1984
    Date of Patent: March 24, 1987
    Assignee: Atlantic Vacuum Parts Corp.
    Inventors: Joseph Genoa, Harold Kaskel, Carl Nelson
  • Patent number: 4650272
    Abstract: A composite line strap is used with molded case circuit breakers to support the circuit breaker stationary contact and to retain the circuit breaker line terminal screw. The fixed contact is welded to the line strap within the breaker at a first end and the line terminal screw is attached to the opposite end of the line strap by a through-hole in a spring-steel retainer which extends partially within the circuit breaker. The line terminal screw is tightly held within the through-hole of the retainer at the first end and the retainer itself is trapped between the bottom of the circuit breaker case and the line strap at the opposite end of the line strap.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 1985
    Date of Patent: March 17, 1987
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Dennis J. Doughty, Raymond K. Seymour, Ronald D. Ciarcia, Gregory T. DiVincenzo
  • Patent number: 4647137
    Abstract: A lamp base assembly and a method for making such an assembly having a first end adapted to receive a lamp housing and a second end adapted to receive electrical contact means for connecting the internal filament of the lamp to an external source of electrical current. The lamp base assembly includes a metal sleeve in which the lamp housing and electrical contact means are mounted. The lamp housing is received at a first end of the sleeve and the electrical contact means are mounted at a second end. A non-conductive insulator is mounted at the second end of the sleeve and isolates the contact means from the sleeve. Stop means are provided to hold the insulator against axial movement through the second end of the sleeve. A cup-shaped retainer means is provided within the sleeve with its bottom in contact with the insulator and urging the insulator against said stop means.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 26, 1985
    Date of Patent: March 3, 1987
    Assignee: Voltarc Tubes, Inc.
    Inventor: Malcolm E. Sorrell
  • Patent number: 4647120
    Abstract: An electrical safety plug connection in which the part of the power outlet accessible from the outside becomes separated from the source of power when the plug is pulled out. The power outlet has two chambers one above the other, the lower chamber being a self-contained chamber which contains the live contacts and which is separated by an insulating partition from a receiving chamber thereabove which receives the plug. Bridging contacts are arranged in the insulating partition, and the bridging contacts extend from the lower chamber into the receiving chamber. In the closed chamber there is a magnetic body which usually rests on the bottom of the chamber but is freely movable in the upward direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 8, 1985
    Date of Patent: March 3, 1987
    Inventor: Stelios Karabakakis
  • Patent number: 4641908
    Abstract: A right-angled plug-type connector for a printed circuit board connection characterized by a flexible fixing plate being secured in a plate-shaped retaining member to extend at right angles to the retaining member and having a plurality of bores in a pattern corresponding to a pattern of bores in the retaining member to receive contact elements which have a right angle bend. To improve the guidance of the contact elements which extend past a first side of the fixing plate to form contact prongs, each of the bores has a tubular extension which extends from a second side of the fixing plate. The tubular extensions improves the guidance and positioning of each of the prongs to prevent skewing or misalignment during the forming of a plug connection.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 15, 1985
    Date of Patent: February 10, 1987
    Assignee: Siemens Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventor: Karl Steffinger
  • Patent number: 4637677
    Abstract: An electrical connector for electrically interconnecting flat terminals known as tabs. The contact units are loosely positioned in a housing but yet preloaded to provide wiping action on the inserting tabs terminals. The spring members of the contact units provide two stage insertion forces with the first stage being a low force and the second stage substantially higher.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 1984
    Date of Patent: January 20, 1987
    Assignee: AMP Incorporated
    Inventor: Lee A. Barkus
  • Patent number: 4636024
    Abstract: An electrical connector comprises a housing and an adapter. The housing is formed to include grooves which receive respective contacts for arraying the contacts at a predetermined spacing, which contacts are for connection to ends of conductors of respective covered wires in a multicore cable, bores which receive respective ones of the covered wires for arraying them at the predetermined spacing, an opening for receiving and holding the multicore cable, and a cavity formed between the opening and the plurality of grooves. The adapter, which is formed separately of the housing and received in the cavity, has a plurality of insertion holes for arraying respecting ones of the covered wires at a spacing identical with the predetermined spacing of the contacts. The insertion holes and the bores are formed so as to lie in registration with each other when the adapter is inserted into the cavity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 9, 1984
    Date of Patent: January 13, 1987
    Assignee: Hirose Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Katsumi Yahata
  • Patent number: 4634211
    Abstract: The present invention teaches a novel device that electrically connects conductors from a cable to the electrical contacts of a plug or receptacle by means of a single fastener. The device comprises a shell, and an assembly carried by the shell. The assembly is capable of mating engagement with other electrical contacts and has receiving means for receiving electrical conductors. A single fastener holds the terminals of the conductors in electrical connection with the electrical contacts. The single fastener includes a movable carriage on which is mounted a nut through which a screw is threaded with a head with a flange that is engaged with the wall of the assembly so that when the screw is rotated, the carriage moves so as to decrease or enlarge a chamber in which the conductor terminals and a portion of the electrical contacts are situated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 1982
    Date of Patent: January 6, 1987
    Assignee: Leviton Manufacturing Company, Inc.
    Inventors: John M. Poliak, Juan M. Lopez, Robert W. Gritz
  • Patent number: 4634212
    Abstract: A terminal block mount for mounting a terminal block within a structural frame member. The terminal block includes opposed pressable tab members on the top and bottom sides which permit the terminal block to be snapped into a terminal block receiving aperture in the frame when detents extending into the aperture snap into a space or slot between the opposed tab members. The terminal block can be removed by depressing one of the tab members on each side of the terminal block.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 8, 1984
    Date of Patent: January 6, 1987
    Assignee: Westinghouse Electric Corp.
    Inventors: Bruce K. Boundy, Craig M. Miller
  • Patent number: 4630882
    Abstract: A low profile screw terminal block is provided with a split plastic barrel which serves to prevent screw stripout and to anchor the terminal screw when the terminal screw is pressed into the barrel and is advanced so as to form corresponding self-tapping threads in the smooth barrel, thereby to leave the terminal screw in a raised position ready for immediate wire insertion, to prevent the screw from vibrating loose during assembly and shipping and to securely hold the screw when the screw is tightened against a wire. The terminal block may be mounted to a fixed panel or like structure through the utilization of the split barrel at the end sections of the block by either a bolt running through the split channel and through the fixed panel or by a self-tapping machine screw inserted up through the fixed panel and into the split channel, with the split barrel design permitting overtightening without damage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 18, 1985
    Date of Patent: December 23, 1986
    Assignee: Reed Devices, Inc.
    Inventors: Herbert C. Naylor, Gregory J. Smith, Howard J. Roeser, Jr.