GB2486764A

GB2486764A - Electrical connector with easy release mechanism for base and cover

Info

Publication number: GB2486764A
Application number: GB201120837A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Phillip Andrew Gooch; Jason Chen Mun Mak
Original assignee: Scolmore International Ltd
Current assignee: Scolmore International Ltd
Priority date: 2010-12-21
Filing date: 2011-12-05
Publication date: 2012-06-27
Anticipated expiration: 2031-12-05
Also published as: GB2486764B; GB201021561D0; GB201120837D0

Abstract

A connector suitable for joining lighting cables together comprises a first component 19 (base) and a second component 18 (cover) that fit together to form a housing for a first electrical cable 12, wherein the components 18, 19 are locked together by means of at least easy release mechanism. The first component 19 has a plurality of cable clamps 10 (e.g. branched laminar upstanding portions with ridged gripping surfaces 11) that are integral with the first component 19, enabling the first electrical cable 12 to be forced between the clamps 10 to grip the cable 12 in position. An attachment means 15 permits attachment of the connector to a second connector housing another electrical cable thus allowing connection of the first and second electrical cables. The attachment means 15 on each of the two connectors may be complementary so that they fit together via a slide fit. The easy release mechanism may comprise complementary formations that are integral with the first 19 and second 18 components enabling them to be locked by being pressed together and released by lateral compression of one of the components.

Description

ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR

This invention relates to a new connector which is particularly suitable for use to join lighting cables together.

Known connectors are often difficult to manufacture and/or complicated to assemble, requiring many screws to be used. Furthermore many of them are only applicable to joining single cables together and/or are only suitable for use with a particular size of cable. Even then there may be problems with cables being accidentally pulled out of the connector during use, leading to equipment failure and safety issues.

An object of the present invention is to provide an improved connector which is easier to manufacture, simpler to use and which lends itself to more applications.

According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a connector suitable for use in joining at least one electrical cable to another electrical cable comprises a first component having a plurality of resilient cable clamps integral therewith such that in use a first electrical cable can be forced between said clamps which then grip said first cable in position a second component which fits on to the first component to provide a housing for said first electrical cable the first and second components being locked together by means of at least one easy release means further provided with attachment means to permit attachment of the connector to a second connector which houses another electrical cable, thereby allowing connection of the said first electrical cable to that other electrical cable.

Resilient' has its usual meaning, that it is able to can return to its original shape or position after deformation.

Integral therewith' means being part of a single component, usually by being formed as a single component e.g. by being moulded. For example, it does

I

not mean several components joined by means of screws, nor does it mean several components clipped together or interlocked together.

Usually there will be two connectors in the final assembly which are known in the trade as male and female connectors and these fit together as a plug and socket' connector, thereby joining the at least two cables. In this case the attachment means on each connector will thus preferably be complementary to each other so that they fit together, usually by a slide fit. For example on one connector an attachment means consisting of three parallel cylinders could be a slide fit into an attachment means consisting of three parallel cylinders of larger cross-section on a second connector. Preferably each of two connectors is provided with one of two complementary releasable latching means so that in use the latching means prevents the two connectors being pulled part. An example of a suitable latching means is a tab and slot arrangement in which the tab is of a resilient material that can be pushed into place to locate in the slot. The tab may then be released by exerting pressure to free it from the slot, thereby allowing the two connectors to be pulled apart.

Preferably each component of the releasable latching means is integral with its respective connector.

The connector lends itself for use in connecting more than one cable if required and for lighting connectors there are often three or even four cables to be connected to each other i.e. three or four cables to be held in each connector. Typically for a connector used for joining three cables there would be four cable clamps. For ease, the description will describe connectors in which one cable is joined to another cable.

Usually each cable is held within the housing by at least one additional fixing means e.g. a screw which is adjacent to the attachment means. Any insulation on the end of each cable would be removed for a sufficient length to allow the inner wire to be positioned, and held by the additional fixing means, in electrical contact with the attachment means.

The first and second components of the connector are locked together by means of at least one easy release means. One example of an easy release means is a peg and tube arrangement wherein the peg is of angular cross-section which can be inserted in the tube and then rotated a mere quarter turn (e.g. by means of a screw driver) so that it locks into specially provided lateral slots within the tube. The peg is provided in association with one component e.g. the first component and the tube is provided on the other component e.g. the second component, preferably integral with that component. Preferably two such peg/tube arrangements are provided one each side of the connector. A second example of an easy release means which may be used in addition to, or instead of, the first example are complementary formations on the first and second components e.g. a tab and slot arrangement. The tab is provided on and preferably integral with the first component and the slot is provided on and preferably integral with the second component. The tab locates into the slot by means of a push fit and can be released from the slot by squeezing the sides of the first component together so that the tab can be slid out.

The cable clamps may comprise laminar upstanding portions e.g fins which may be branched and preferably have ridged gripping surfaces -teeth'-to aid retention of a cable between them. An alternative to this vertical positioning of the clamps would be horizontal positioning of them.

Preferably the first and second components of the connector are made from a plastics material. The component which is integral with the cable clamps must be of the same material as the clamps le. a resilient material. Examples of suitable plastics materials are Nylon, Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), Polycarbonate and PVC. Whatever material or materials are used for the two components it is important that they are not electrically conductive, for safety reasons.

It will be appreciated that certain features of the invention which are, for clarity, described in the context of separate embodiments, may also be provided in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features of the invention, which are for brevity described in the context of a single embodiment, may also be provided separately or in any suitable combination.

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawing in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a first component (base) of a first female' connector.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of a first component (base) of a second male' connector.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the connectors in Figures 1 and 2 fitted together.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of a second component (cover') fitted onto the first component (base) shown in Figure 1, but without cables present.

Figure 5 is a perspective view of a second component (cover') fitted onto the first component (base) shown in Figure 2, but without cables present.

Figure 6 is a perspective view of the connectors shown in Figure 4 and 5 fitted together.

Figure 7 is a series of 2 photographs illustrating how to remove the cover from the base shown in Figure 4.

Referring to Figurel, this shows a first component (base) made from a plastic material and having four cable grips 10 integral with the base. Three electrical cables 12 are pushed between and thereby gripped between the ridged surface (e.g. 11) provided on each cable grip 10. The cables are positioned in slots 13. From the free ends (not shown) of each of the three cables 12 the outer insulation has been stripped and the bare wires are held by means of additional fixing means i.e. three screws 14. The three screws are screw down terminals for the wire, necessary for clamping down onto the wire. The 4th screw is the 4th terminal used as a loop terminal; the connection point for any phase of the circuit that needs to be continued to another point. The wires are thus in electrical contact within three attachment means 15 which are also integral with the base. The form of the three attachment means makes it the female' connector. The attachment means 15 each consist of a metal lined plastic cylinder. At each side of the base is a rectangular slot 16 and an integrally formed tube 17. Each tube 17 is generally cylindrical in section but The structure of the first component (base) of the second male' connector in Figure 2 is very similar as in Figure 1. The differences are that there are only three additional fixing means i.e. three screws 14 and the three attachment means 15 are in a form which makes it the male' connector. The attachment means 15 each consist of a plastic cylinder containing a metal pin. The attachment means 15 of Figure 1 and 2 are complementary so that they can be fitted together to form the assembly in Figure 3 by sliding the cylinders of Figure 1 into the cylinders of Figure 2; the pins in the cylinders of Figure 2 fit within the cylinders of Figure 1.

Referring to Figure 4, the second component (cover') 18 made from a plastic material is shown fitted onto the first component (base) 19 shown in Figure 1.

At each side of the cover 18 is visible a screw head 20 formed at the top of a peg (not visible) extending downwardly into its respective tube 17 in the base 19. The peg and tube arrangement constitute an easy release means. Turning the screw head 20 a quarter turn locks or unlocks the cover 18 and base 19 together. Although not visible in this representation, an integral tab formed in each side of the cover 18 is held within the respective slot 16 of base 19. An integral slot 21 is formed in cover 18 at the end where it is to be connected to the other connector. This slot 21 is one part of two complementary releasable latching means which means that in use the latching means prevents the two connectors being pulled part. Slot 21 is complementary to tab 22 shown in Figure 5. Adjacent to the tab 22 is a button 23 which can be pushed to allow the tab 22 into and out of engagement with slot 21. Figure 6 shows the connectors in Figures 4 and 5 connected together; in this arrangement tab 22 is engaged within slot 21.Figure 7 shows the ease of releasing the cover 18 from the base 19 of the connector shown in Figure 4. First of all each screw head 20 is turned a quarter turn to the unlock position, thus rotating the pegs within the tubes. Pressing in the sides of the cover 18 releases the integral tabs from their slots 17 (see Figure 1) and allows the cover 18 to be lifted off the base 19. The same steps are needed to release the cover from the base of Figure 5. To attach the cover 18 to the base 19 the cover 18 is simply pushed onto the base 19 so that the tabs locate within the slots and then the screw heads are turned a quarter turn to lock the cover 18 onto the base 19.

Claims

CLAIMS: 1. A connector suitable for use in joining at least one electrical cable to another electrical cable comprises a first component having a plurality of resilient cable clamps integral therewith such that in use a first electrical cable can be forced between said clamps which then grip said first cable in position a second component which fits on to the first component to provide a housing for said first electrical cable the first and second components being locked together by means of at least one easy release means further provided with attachment means to permit attachment of the connector to a second connector which houses another electrical cable, thereby allowing connection of the said first electrical cable to that other electrical cable.
2. A connector according to claim 1 wherein the cable clamps comprise laminar upstanding portions.
3. A connector according to claim 1 wherein the cable clamps comprise laminar upstanding portions which are branched.
4. A connector according to claim 1, 2 or 3 wherein the cable clamps have ridged gripping surfaces.
5. A connector according to claim 1 wherein the first and second components are made from a plastic material.
6. A connector according to claim 1 wherein the at least one easy release means comprises complementary formations on the first and second components so that the first and second components can be locked by being pressed together and then released by lateral compression of either the first or second component.
7. A connector according to claim 1 or 6 wherein the at least one easy release means comprises complementary formations which are each integral with the first and second components.
8. A connector according to claim 1 which is suitable for connecting at least 3 electrical cables to at least 3 other electrical cables.
9. A connector assembly comprises two connectors according to claim 1.
10. A connector assembly according to claim 9 wherein the attachment means on each of the two connectors are complementary so that they fit together.
11. A connector assembly according to claim 9 or 10 wherein the attachment means allow a slide fit between the two connectors.
12. A connector assembly according to claim 1 and substantially as herein described with reference to any one of Figures 1 to 7.
1 3. A connector assembly according to claim 1 and substantially as herein described.