US2915735A - Wiring device - Google Patents

Description

0. L. TAYLOR WIRING DEVICE Dec. 1, 1959 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 21, 1954 Fig.4.

INVENTOR Owen L.Toy1or WI M WITNESSES ATTORNEY Dec. 1, 1959 2,915,735

0. L. TAYLOR WIRING DEVICE Filed Oct. 21, 1954 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig.5.

6 a O4l 51 5e IB 5e 50 ,4: 0 5a 32 56 59 59 s2 4I-O i-J 42 4i Fig.6.

Dec. 1, 1959 TAYLOR 2,915,735

WIRING DEVICE Filed Oct. 21, 1954 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Fig.8.

as vs Fig.l0. Fig.|l.

United States Patent WIRING DEVICE Owen L. Taylor, Easton, Conn., assignor to The Bryant Electric Company, Bridgeport, Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Application October 21, 1954, Serial No. 463,771

6 Claims. (Cl. 339- 164) My invention relates generally to electric wiring devices and more particularly to a new and improved screwless terminal for electrically connecting such devices to a source of electrical power and for electrically connecting such devices together. Still more particularly, my invention relates to a new and improved means for securing the component parts of such devices together so that all of the parts therein including the improved screwless terminals are properly secured therein.

Although in principle my invention is applicable to a wide variety of wiring devices, it is more particularly suitable for the smaller low voltage devices, such as household wiring devices, where the use of standard electrical connecting means, such as terminal screws, represents a substantial percentage of the cost of the complete wiring device. Such prior electrical devices have, in general, employed separate cooperating means for holding the various component parts of the device together. As can be appreciated, such an assembly procedure involves the use of additional material and handling which increases the manufacturing cost of the devices. Also, some prior screwless terminal devices have not proved to be entirely satisfactory as they have required separate wire engaging means to accommodate various sizes of electrical conductors, or have been of such a large size as to be impractical for a full line of wiring devices. Still other devices have entailed multi-component assemblies to obtain a screwless terminal, which has resulted in an expensive non-competitive device.

Accordingly, one object of my invention is to provide a new and improved wiring device of simple construction.

Another object of my invention is to provide a new and improved wiring device having a minimum of component parts which may easily be assembled and having improved means for making electrical connections thereto.

A more specific object of my invention is to provide a new and improved wiring device having a movable clamp for engaging an inserted electrical conductor and holding such conductor in contact with electrical connecting means within the device.

A still further specific object of my invention is to provide a new and improved wiring device having a movable clamp for engaging a plurality of inserted electrical conductors, and holding all of such conductors in contact with an electrical connecting means within the device, and which clamp is manually releasable so that any or all of such conductors may be readily removed from the wiring device.

A still more specific object of my invention is to provide a new and improved wiring device having a movable jaw means located therein whereby electrical connections may be automatically made by the mere insertion of a pair of electrical conductors and which connection may easily be broken only by moving the movable jaw by the insertion of a blunt instrument within the device.

Another object of my invention is to provide a new and improved means for holding the component parts of a device assembled together.

Still another object of my invention is to provide a new and improved wiring device wherein an integral portion of the mounting yoke thereof is utilized to hold the device together by means of a cam action.

A more specific object of my invention is to provide a new and improved wiring device having a two piece housing with a yoke member engageable with one part of the housing and having an integral portion manually movable externally from the housing to engage the other part of said housing whereby the housing and the component parts therein are held together.

Another more specific object of my invention is to provide a new and improved wiring device having a two piece housing with the mounting yoke thereof engaged with one part of said housing and having a movable portion engageable with a cam surface on the other part of said housing to lock said housing parts together.

Another object of my invention is to provide a new and improved means for attaching mounting means to a wiring device.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a yoke having means engageable with the housing of a wiring device upon movement of the yoke to secure the yoke to the housing.

A more specific object of my invention is to provide a yoke member having an extending portion which engages an integral portion of a housing of a wiring device upon movement of the yoke in order to secure the yoke to the housing.

These and other objects of my invention will become more apparent upon the consideration of the following detailed description of a wiring device incorporating components constructed in accordance with the principles of my invention, when taken in connection with the attached drawings in which:

Figure l is a side elevational view of a duplex receptacle constructed in accordance with the principles of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the bottom half of the receptacle shown in Fig. 1 with the electrical connecting and conducting means shown located therein;

Fig. 3 is a transverse cross-sectional view of the duplex receptacle shown in Fig. 1 taken substantially along the lines IIIIII thereof;

Fig. 4 is a transverse cross-sectional view of the duplex receptacle shown in Fig. 1 taken substantially along the line IV-IV thereof;

Fig. 5 is a top plan view of the bottom half of the receptacle as shown in Fig. 2 but with all electrical components removed;

Fig. 6 is a bottom plan view of the duplex receptacle shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 7 is a bottom plan view of the top half of the duplex receptacle shown in Fig. 1 with the yoke member shown located therein;

Fig. 8 is a longitudinal sectional view of the top half of the duplex receptacle shown in Fig. 7 taken substantially along the lines VIII-VIII thereof with the yoke removed therefrom;

Fig. 9 is a top plan view of a yoke constructed in accordance with the principles of my invention;

Fig. 10 is a cross sectional view of the top half of the duplex receptacle shown in Fig. 7 taken substantially along the lines XX thereof with the yoke removed therefrom; and,

Fig. 11 is a cross sectional view of another duplex receptacle constructed in accordance with the principles of my invention taken substantially along a transverse plane to one side of its lateral center line.

Although my invention is suitable for various types of wiring devices, for the purpose only of illustrating my invention, the drawings and description disclose the invention as embodied in a duplex electrical receptacle wherein it has certain novel features of cooperation. It is to be realized, however, that many features of the invention could be utilized in a number of other types of wiring devices.

Referring to the drawings, it will be noted that a re ceptacle constructed in accordance with the principles of my invention comprises an upper housing 2, a lower housing 4, a pair of electrical terminals 6 and a pair of springs 5 located within the housings 2 and 4. and a yoke 8 for securing the housings 2 and 4 together. Upper housing 2 and lower housing 4 are formed from any suitable insulating material preferably of a molded insulating material which may readily be provided with the necessary formed structure as hereinafter described. Electric terminals 6 are formed from any suitable electrical conducting material, such as copper or brass. which may readily be formed in a manner as hereinafter described. Springs 5 are formed from any suitable resilient material, such as spring steel, which has a sufficient resilience to operate in the manner as hereinafter described. Yoke 8 is formed of any suitable material which has sulficient structural strength, such as sheet metal.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 7, it will be noted that the upper housing 2 is an elongated irregularly formed member having a pair of irregularly formed downwardly extending laterally spaced sides 10 and a pair of upwardly extending longitudinally spaced approximately circular faces 12, in each of which are located a pair of laterally spaced slots 14. Slots 14 are provided in order that the prongs of a male connector plug (not shown) may be inserted to engage the electrical terminals 6. In order to facilitate the insertion of such prongs, the outer faces 12 of the upper housing 2 are slightly dished inwardly, and an integral divider projection 16 is provided on each face 12 between the slots 14 which provides additional insulation between the two slots 14.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 5, the lower housing 4 comprises an elongated approximately rectangular base 28 which is provided with upwardly extending formed side walls 30 which in turn are joined together at each end of the base 28 by upwardly extending end walls 32. The upper edges of side walls 30 of lower housing 4 are adapted to engage the lower edges of side walls 10 of upper housing 2 when the receptacle is assembled, as will more particularly be described hereinafter. Lower housing 4 is also provided with a longitudinally extending formed barrier 18 between the two ends 32 on substantially its longitudinal center line which extends upwardly so as to divide the housing 4 into two longitudinally extending chambers 3 on each side of barrier 18. As will be more clearly described, each chamber 3 of housing 4 is formed in a manner to support a terminal 6 and a spring clamp 5 therein.

Referring to Fig. 2, the terminals 6 as shown therein extend longitudinally within each chamber 3 and each comprises a longitudinally extending wire engaging portion 20 which slidably engages the inner surface of the adjacent side wall 30, and a prong engaging portion 22 laterally offset therefrom at each end thereof and located adjacent the barrier 18 and the inner surface of adjacent walls 32. In assembling the terminal 6 within housing 4, it will be noted that housing 4 and terminals 6 are formed to cooperate so that terminals 6 may easily be inserted from the open side of the housing and frictionally retained within each chamber 3 of housing 4. In accomplishing this purpose, each side wall 30 of housing 4 is provided with an offset portion 34 (Fig. 5) extending inwardly from the open side of the housing and each inner surface of the base 28 is provided with an integral upwardly extending spacer portion 36 having a flat upper surface which extends between offsets 34 and has formed in each of its ends an ofiset 38 which forms with the adjacent ofiset 34 an approximately half circular groove. The wire engaging portion 20 of terminal 6 is provided with spaced wire guides 40 each of which consists of an outwardly extending offset extending the height of terminal 6, and which are slidably located in the grooves formed by offsets 34-38. The inner surface of base 28 of housing 4 is also provided on its lateral center line on each side of barrier 18 with an integral upwardly extending projection 42 which is spaced inwardly of the inner surface of side wall 30 and outwardly of barrier 18. Projection 42 is provided with a sloping surface 43 which extends from its upper surface inwardly toward the base 28 and the barrier 18, for a purpose as will be more fully discussed hereinafter. As shown in Fig. 4, wire engaging portion 20 of each terminal 6 is provided with a downwardly extending projection 46, which is located between the outer end of projection 42 and the adjacent inner surface of side wall 30 to hold the central portion of terminal 6 firmly in position within housing 4.

As indicated, the prong engaging portions 22 of terminal 6 are offset inwardly at each end of the wire engaging portion 20, and each is in the form of a longitudinally extending U-shape with the outer arm of each integrally connected to the wire guides 40 of its portion 20, and resting on the inner surface of base 28. The arms of each portion 22 extend longitudinally within chamber 3 so that their open ends are opposed from each other and occupy a relatively small part of the height of the lower housing 4. Accordingly, in order to provide surfaces for the blades of an inserted connector (not shown) to engage, each arm of portion 22 is provided with an integral upwardly extending blade 52 so as to form a spaced pair of blades 52 at each end of chamber 3. In order to properly locate the inner arm of portion 22 of terminal 6 in housing 4, each side of barrier 18 adjacent each portion 22 is provided with a downwardly extending sloping surface 54 which extends outwardly therefrom toward the adjacent side wall 30 and terminates in a vertical downwardly extending surface which engages the inner arm of portion 22 and is substantially parallel to the inner surface of side walls 30. Each inner surface of side walls 30 is also provided with a pair of projections 56 which extend inwardly towards the barrier 18, at approximately the midpoint of surface 54 there of. Thus, it will be seen that a terminal 6 may easily be inserted within the housing 4 by merely inserting the wire guides 40 within the grooves formed by offsets 34-38; pressing downwardly on the terminal 6 so that the sloping surfaces 54 cause the inner arms of terminal portion 22 to be slightly stressed toward the inner surface of sidewall 30 until surfaces 54 are cleared and the bottom edge of portions 22 and wire guides 40 will rest flush against the inner surface of the base 28. In addition, projection 46 of terminal 6 will be located at the same time. In order to prevent the arm of the U-shaped portion 22 adjacent barrier 18 from traveling laterally outward from the barrier 18 an integral stop 58 is provided, which is spaced outwardly from the sloping surface 54, to engage the outer surface at the end of the inner arm of portion 22. Inasmuch as blades 52 are for the purpose of receiving an inserted contact prong, at least one of them may, if desired, be offset toward each other, and further, if desired, may be provided with a centrally located detent. Also, if desired, the free end of one or both blades 52 may be outward bent to guide an inserted prong between the blades 52.

In order that a bare electrical conductor may be held in engagement with terminals 6, a slightly bent single leaf spring 5, (Fig. 2) is located on each side of barrier 18, each of which is supported on one of its edges by the inner surface of base 28 laterally between the wire engaging portion 20 of terminal 6 and the barrier 18 and longitudinally between the U-shaped portions 22 of a terminal 6. Springs 5 have a short middle portion 62 having an integral arm 64 extending approximately longitudinally outwardly from opposite sides thereof. Middle portion 62 is also provided at each of its longitudinal sides with a pair of spaced laterally extending projections 66. The inner pair of projections 66 are spaced longitudinally apart to receive therebetween the adjacent laterally outwardly extending projection 67 of barrier 18 on the lateral center line of each housing 4, whereby springs are properly aligned within housing 4. As will become more apparent as the description proceeds, springs 5 are supported so that their arms 64 are independently movable in a plane at an angle to the wiring engaging portion 20 of terminal 6 at all times, and so that arms 64 extend longitudinally across wire guides 40 at all times. Stops 58 also slope outwardly and downwardly from barrier 18 and are terminated at a V-shaped indentation 59 (Fig. 5) on the inner surface of base 28 for guiding and receiving the outer ends of arms 64 of each spring 5.

Referring to Fig. 7, it will be noted that the undersurface of upper housing 2 is provided with longitudinally and downwardly extending formed barriers 72 which are laterally spaced inwardly from the inner surface of side walls 10, respectively. The longitudinally opposed surfaces of side walls and barriers 72 are formed to re ceive the upper portion of the wire engaging portion 20 of terminal 6 therebetween, and are provided with up posed spaced laterally downwardly extending ribs 74 and 75, respectively, for engaging the sides of the wire engaging portion 20 of the terminal 6 inserted therebetween. As shown, three spaced projections 74 are provided on the inner surface of sidewalls 10, the outer two of which are located so as to engage the inner sides of the upper ends of wire guides 40 of terminal 6, respectively. Thus, when housing 2 is secured to housing 4, the ends of wire guides 40 are clamped, as shown in Fig. 3, between the inner surface of base 28 and the inner surface of upper housing 2. Also, each end of sidewalls 10 is provided with an integral irregularly formed downwardly extending wall 76 which extends around the adjacent slot 14 and joins the adjacent end of barrier 72 for receiving the upper end of corresponding blades 52 of terminal 6 therein. Inas much as each terminal 6 and springs 5 cooperate in identical ways with both the upper housing 2 and the lower housing 4, it is obvious that the terminals 6 and springs 5 may be used to equal advantage in either chamher 3.

As more clearly shown in Figs. 3, 7 and 10, each barrier 72 is provided on the lateral center line of upper housing 2 with a projection 78 which extends downwardly beyond the lower edge of barrier 72 and outwardly toward the inner surface of adjacent side wall 10 so as to be cooperable with the center projection 74 on sidewall 10 to hold the upper central portion of wire engaging portion 20 of terminal 6. The lower surface of each projection 78 is provided with a V-shaped groove having its arm 80 adjacent the longitudinal center line of housing 2 larger than its other arm for engaging the back surface of the middle portion 62 of spring 5. Thus, it will be noted that a spring 5 may easily be located in each chamber 3 of housing 4 by inserting the pair of projections 66 at one of its sides so as to receive projection 67 on barrier 18 and then releasing the spring 5 so that the sloping surfaces of stops 58 guide the arms 64 into the indentations 59 in the base 28 of lower housing 4. At the same time, the upper surface 43 of projection 42 engages the undersurface of springs 5 to hold the middle portion 62 thereof upwardly at an angle to the base 28 of housing 4. Thereafter, when housing 2 is located on housing 4, the lower sloping surface of arm 80 of projection 78 engages the upper surface of middle portion 62 of the spring 5 to clamp the middle portion 62 between it and the sloping surface 43 of projection 42 of housing 4, whereby each spring 5 is secured within its chambers 3. It will be noted that one end of each barrier 72 is provided with a projection 86,

which is similar in configuration to arm .80 of projection 78 and which is longitudinally spaced therefrom, which engages one arm 64 of a spring 5, when deflected, so as to limit the upward travel of that arm 64 as hereinafter described. Projection 86 is also displaced outwardly towards its adjacent sidewall 10. The other arm 64 of each spring 5 is similarly limited by a longitudinally elongated projection 87, formed integral with arm and barrier 72 in the same longitudinal plane as projection 86.

Referring to Fig. 9 wherein a yoke 8 is shown, it will be noted that the yoke 8 comprises a formed central portion having an arm 88 longitudinally extending from one of its sides and an arm 89 longitudinally extending from its opposite side. The center portion of yoke 8 is provided with laterally extending ears 90 which are offset from the midpoint of yoke 8 toward arm 89. Each arm 88 and 89 terminates in a laterally enlarged locating tab 97 which in turn terminates in an outwardly extending anchoring tab 96 which may be secured to any suitable support (not shown) by any suitable means (not shown) such as the heads of screws engaging an opening 98 in each tab 96. A suitable cover securing means such as a tapped opening 92 is located approximately at the center yoke 8. Yoke 8 is also provided with integral means for securing upper housing 2 to lower housing 4 comprising an L-shaped leg 100, which extends downwardly from the center portion of yoke 8 and which is located on the opposite side of the lateral center line from the arm 89. As shown in dotted lines 101, leg 100 may initially be formed in a single stamping operation from the same piece of material as yoke 8, and thereafter bent at approximately right angles to the center portion thereof.

Referring again to Figs. 7, 8 and 10, it will be noted that the underside of upper housing 2 is provided with an open ended longitudinal extending fiat surface 21 which is formed so that yoke 8 may be freely located thereon and thereafter forced longitudinally thereover whereby yoke 8 is secured to housing 2. In order to provide means for preventing any substantial movement of yoke 8 transversely within upper housing 2, the various parts of the housing 2 adjacent surface 21 are formed to provide a minimum of clearance between the housing 2 and yoke 8. Thus, at each end of housing 2 the walls 76 are spaced apart a distance to closely receive the arms 88 and 89 of yoke 8 therebetween, respectively. Walls 76 also extend, in part, parallel to the arms 88 and 89 for a substantial portion of their lengths. The underside of each surface 21 at its outer end is provided with a pair of longitudinally extending guide walls 23 which are laterally spaced to closely receive tabs 97 of yoke 8 therebetween. In order that yoke 8 may be accessible from the upper side of housing 2, the upper side of housing 2 is provided with an opening 25, as will be more particularly described hereinafter, between the opposed sides of faces 12. Arm 80 of each projection 78 extends for a short distance over adjacent opening 25 but terminates short of the plane of surface 21 a distance approximately equal or slightly less than the thickness of material from which the yoke 8 is formed.

In attaching yoke 8 to the upper housing 2, in accordance with my invention, ears 90 of yoke 8 are lowered between the longitudinally spaced projections 86 and 78 at each side of housing 2 so that the upper surfaces of ears 90 partially engage the upper surface 21 of housing 2 and are partially located in opening 25. When so located, a part of the central portion of yoke 8 is located between projections 87 and also engages in part surface 21 of housing 2 and also extends partly in opening 25. In order to guide the center portion of yoke 8 when the yoke 8 is longitudinally moved over surface 21, a longitudinally extending guide 29 is formed integral with housing 2 which extends outwardly from surface 21 so that it engages the adjacent edge of the central portion of yoke 8 adjacent leg 100.

Using the terminology left and right as applied to Fig. 7, it will be noted that when yoke 8 is initially located to engage surface 21, the left arm 89 extends between the left walls 76 and that the left tab 97 is located between the left guide walls 23 and is spaced slightly outwardly from the left walls 76. The right arm 88 of yoke 8 is located between the right walls 76 and the right tab 97 is engaged at each of its outer surfaces by the right guide walls 23. Thereafter yoke 8 is moved to the right so that the central portion of yoke 8 is forced into engagement with the adjacent end of guide 29 and into engagement with the inner ends of the right walls 76. At the same time, the right tab 97 is moved outwardly between the guide walls 23 so that the right car 96 of yoke 8 is spaced outwardly from the right end of housing 2. Such movement also causes the left tab 97 of yoke 8 to move inward toward housing 2 so that it is located between the right guide walls 23 of housing 2. If desired, in order that cars 90 of yoke 8 must be forced over the arms 80 of projections 78 with a slight downward force, the upper surface of arms 80 may be inclined to extend slightly into the plane of movement of ears 90 of yoke 8. During such movement of the yoke 8, the cars 90 of yoke 8 pass above the upper ends of arms 80 of projections 78, in frictional engage ment therewith, whereby they occupy a portion of the opening 25. With the yoke so located, it will be noted that the tapped opening 92 is located substantially on the intersection of the longitudinal and lateral central lines of housing 2. Further, it will be noted that the yoke 8 is secured to housing 2, whereby the yoke and housing 2 assembly may readily be secured to the housing 4. It is, of course, obvious that yoke leg 100 must initially be bent downward from yoke 8 so that the yoke 8 may be located as indicated within the housing 2.

As shown, opening 25 in upper housing 2 is approximately T-shaped with its stem portion extending centrally along the longitudinal center line of the upper housing 2. In order to obtain the maximum exposed area of the center portion of yoke 8, opening 25 extends between the opposed inner surfaces of faces 12 in the region occupied by cars 90 of the yoke. It is believed obvious that when the yoke 8 is longitudinally moved within upper housing 2 the cars 90 thereof will engage the end edge of the stem portion of opening 25 to limit the extent of such longitudinal movement of yoke 8 within housing 2. Although a T-shaped opening 25 is utilized in this embodiment of the invention, it is obvious that other shapes of openings could be utilized with equal effectiveness.

Referring now to Figs. 2 and 6, it will be noted that the lower housing 4 is provided with a circular opening 33 substantially at the intersection of the longitudinal and lateral center lines thereof for receiving any securing means which may extend through the tapped opening 92 in the yoke 8. Lower housing 4 is also provided adjacent opening 33 with a slanted rectangular opening 35 for receiving the leg 100 of the yoke 8 when the upper housing 2 is assembled with the lower housing 4. It will be noted that the outer bottom surface of lower housing 2 is provided with a formed downwardly extending cam surface 35' which is recessed below the lower surface of base 28 adjacent the leg 100 of yoke 8 when the housing 2 is assembled to housing 4. Thereafter the housing 2 may easily be secured to housing 4 by merely bending the outwardly extending portion 37 of leg 100 into engagement with cam surface 35' so that by the camming action the two housings are held securely together. As has been previously indicated when housing 2 is so assembled to housing 4, springs are secured at their midpoint within the completed receptacle.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 6, it will be noted that when the upper housing 2 is assembled to the lower housing 4,

the sidewalls 10 of upper housing 2 are formed to engage the formed sidewalls 30 of lower housing 4. In order that wiring connections may be made to the terminals 6 within the assembled receptacle, the base 28 of the lower housing 4 is provided with an opening 41 below each wire guide 40 of each terminal 6. In making the electrical connections, the free bare end of an electrical conductor is inserted through an opening 41 until its free end engages the inner surface of the wire guide 40 above the particular opening 41 utilized. Thereafter, the conductor is forced upward until it engages the undersurface of the arm 64 of the spring 5 above the particular opening 41 utilized. By applying further force, the arm 64 engaged by the conductor is forced to bend upwardly, thus stressing the arm 64, until the conductor slips past it. Upon release of the conductor, the upper edge of the arm 64 extends across and engages the conductor and resiliently forces it firmly in place against the portion 20 of its terminal 6. As can be appreciated, when exerting a force upon a bare conductor, the conductor will tend to bend; in order, therefore, to inhibit such bending, the path the conductor takes within the receptacle is confined by the wire guides 40 which extend the entire inner length of the assembled receptacle to support the conductor against such bending at all times. In ordinary household wiring, only a limited number of wire gauges are utilized which are within a limited diameter range. The maximum diameter wire that can be inserted within the assembled receptacle is obviously limited by the size of openings 41 in base 8. By constructing springs 5 so that their arms 64 are independently movable, conductors of various diameters can elfectively be held by the spring arms 64 by permitting arms 64 to deflect various distances away from terminals 6. Such a construction is particularly advantageous as only one conductor securing means need be employed for various wire sizes rather than individual means for each wire size. Once wiring connections have been made to terminals 6, it is necessary that some means he provided to release the inserted conductors from the arms 64 of springs 5. As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, this purpose is accomplished by providing each side wall 30 of the lower housing 4 with a pair of openings 39 inwardly adjacent the wire guides 40 of terminals 6 and directly opposite the arms 64 of springs 5. By such means, any suitable means, such as a screwdriver blade, may be inserted through any one opening 39 to engage the undersurface of the arm 64 of a spring 5 in alignment therewith. Inasmuch as arm 64 is at an angle to the side of the assembled receptacle, a force exerted upon the inserted means will cause the arm 64 to be deflected upwardly toward the upper housing 2 and thereby release the conductor held thereby. It should be noted that as each arm 64 of each spring 5 is securely clamped at its center, each arm 64 may be deflected individually and any inserted conductor may be selectively removed without affecting any others.

Referring to Fig. 11, the modification of my invention shown therein is substantially identical in all structural details to that previously described, except that a screw 110 is utilized to hold the upper housing 2 and the lower housing 4 together, rather than by using the leg of yoke 8. Accordingly, like parts have been given the same reference numerals. With such construction, yoke 8 is provided with any suitable means for engaging screw such as a tapped opening 112 on approximately the longitudinal centerline of the yoke 8. The base 28 of lower housing 4 is provided with a recess 114 to receive the head of screw 110, and the central barrier 18 is provided with an opening 116 to receive the shank of screw 110. It is believed obvious from such construction that the receptacle when assembled is secured together by merely inserting the shank of screw 110 through opening 116 so that its threaded end threadedly engages the tapped opening 112 in yoke 8. If desired, the undersurface of the head of screw 110 may be provided with serrations 130, or a separate lock washer (not shown} may be used to increase the holding power of screw 110. Also, if desired, to insure that screw 110 properly engages opening 112, a recess 118 above opening 112 in upper housing 2 may be provided whereby the end of screw 110 may project through the yoke 8.

Although I have shown and described particular modifications of my invention in accordance with the patent statutes, I am aware that other modifications thereof are possible without departing from the broad spirit and sco of my invention. Accordingly, it is desired that my in vention be not restricted except insofar as is necessitated by the prior art.

I claim as my invention:

1. A wiring device comprising a hollow casing having an elongated terminal located along one side of i casing in fixed relation thereto, an elongated leaf spring, inwardly extending rigid supporting means angularly dis posed relative to said terminal within said casing for securing the central portion of said spring with opposite en is: extending longitudinally in cantilever fashion from said central portion and having one side edge thereof located closely adjacent to said terminal on each side of said supporting means and with said spring diverging laterally relative to said terminal in one direction from said one side thereof, an opening in said casing located adjacent the divergent portions of said terminal and said spring at each side of said supporting means, means forming a space in said casing at the outer side of said opposite ends of the spring, whereby separate electrical conductors may be inserted through said openings in a direction opposite to said one direction to engage said one edge of said spring and deflect the spring laterally into said space and torsionally so as to be held thereby in engagement with said terminal.

2. A duplex electrical receptacle comprising upper and lower casings adapted to be secured together, said lower casing having a longitudinally extending insulating barrier centrally located therein, whereby said lower casing is divided into two longitudinally extending chambers, each of said chambers having located therein an elongated terminal at one side thereof, an elongated leaf spring located in each of said chambers and extending longitudinally of said terminals and having one side thereof closely adjacent its corresponding terminal, rigid supporting means angularly disposed relative to said terminals on the upper and lower casings for clamping the central portion of each of said springs when said casings are assembled so that each of said springs is divergent laterally in one direction with relation to its cooperating terminal and has arms extending in opposite directions from its central portion, a plurality of openings in said casing located adjacent the divergent portions of said terminals and said springs, respectively, on each side of said supporting means, whereby separate electrical conductors may be inserted therethrough in a direction opposite to said one direction to engage one edge of the corresponding spring and deflect the spring laterally and torsionally so as to be held thereby in engagement with said terminal.

3. A wiring device comprising, a two-part casing having a terminal located at a fixed position therein, an elongated leaf spring in said casing, separate means on said casing parts for engaging opposite sides of said spring solely at one location along the length thereof for supporting the spring when said casing parts are secured together, said spring having one end extending in cantilever fashion longitudinally from said one location and having one side edge thereof closely adjacent to said terminal and with said spring diverging laterally outwardly relative to said terminal from said one side, an opening in said casing adjacent the divergent portions of said terminal and said spring, means forming a space in said casing at the outer side of said one end of the spring, whereby an electrical conductor may be inserted through said opening to engage said one edge of the spring and deflect the spring laterally into said space and torsionally so as to be held thereby in engagement with said terminal, and means for securing said casing parts together.

4. A wiring device comprising, a two-part casing having a terminal located at a fixed position therein, an elongated leaf spring in said casing, separate means on said casing parts for engaging opposite sides of said spring at an intermediate point along the length thereof for supporting the spring ends in cantilever fashion when said c sirr carts are secured together, said spring having one tide t: thereof located closely adjacent to said terminal on each side of said supporting means and with said spring diverging laterally relative to said terminal in one direction from said one side thereof, an opening in said casing located adjacent the divergent portions of said terminal. and said spring at each side of said supporting means, means forming spaces in said casing at the outer sides of the ends of said spring, respectively, whereby separate electrical conductors may be inserted therethrough in a direction opposite to said one direction to engage said one edge of said spring and deflect the spring ends laterally into said spaces and torsionally so as to be held thereby in engagement with said terminal, and means for securing said casing parts together.

5. A wiring device comprising a hollow casing having a terminal located in fixed relationship therein, an elongated leaf spring in said casing, means within said casing for fixedly supporting said spring at one location spaced from one end thereof with said one end extending longitudinally in cantilever fashion from said one location and having at least a portion of one of its side edges located between said one location and said one end closely adjacent to said terminal, said spring diverging laterally outwardly relative to said terminal from said one side edge, and an opening in said casing adjacent the divergent portions of said terminal and said spring, whereby an electrical conductor may be inserted through said opening to engage said one edge of the spring and deflect the spring laterally into said space and torsionally so as to be held thereby in engagement with said terminal.

6. A wiring device comprising, a hollow casing having a terminal located in fixed relationship therein, an elongated leaf spring in said casing, means within said casing for supporting said spring at one location spaced from one end thereof with said one end extending longitudinally in cantilever fashion from said one location and having at least a portion of one of its side edges located between said one location and said one end closely adjacent to said terminal, said spring diverging laterally outwardly relative to said terminal from said one side edge, a first opening in said casing adjacent the divergent portions of said terminal and said spring, whereby an electrical conductor may be inserted therethrough to engage said one edge of the spring and deflect the spring longitudinally and torsionally so as to be held thereby in engagement with said terminal, and a second opening in said casing located at a point between the first opening and said spring supporting means so that access may be had to one intermediate part of said spring to release said conductor.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,683,370 Pacent Sept. 4, 1928 1,950,826 Smart Mar. 13, 1934 2,326,538 Hutt Aug. 10, 1943 2,617,844 Sanda Nov. 11, 1952 2,671,204 Hubbell Mar. 2, 1954 2,695,392 Benander Nov. 23, 1954 2,705,785 Benander Apr. 5, 1955 2,705,787 Benander Apr. 5, 1955 2,713,668 Gibilisco July 19, 1955 2,753,538 Carlson July 3, 1956

Images