US3065292A - Electrical connector - Google Patents

Description

Nov. 20, 1962 w. s. cHlcKvARY 3,065,292

ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR Filed May 22, 1958 United ttes 3,065,292 ELECIRECAL CONNECTOR William S. Chicks/ary, Norwalk, Conn., assigner to Burndy Corporation, a corporation of New York Filed May 22, 1953, Ser. No. 737 ,142 2 Claims. (Cl. 174-84) My invention relates to electrical connectors having tubular bodies that may be used to splice wires or cable and, more particularly, to electrical connectors of the type that are indented to the wire and locked thereto and covered by an. electrical insulating material.

Hitherto in actual practice electrical connectors having tubular bodies used to splice wires or cables have been connected to the cable and then insulated by the application of insulating tape or sleeves. Moreover, it has been common practice on occasion to incorporate within the electrical connector an oxide inhibiting compound. It has been found that when such a compound is included within the connector and the connector then indented or crimped onto a cable, the oxide inhibiting compound has a tendency to be extruded from the connection. Moreover, in the past difficulty has been encountered in making the connection because it was necessary to hold the conductor within the sleeve and make the indent simultaneously.

One of they objects of my invention, therefore, is to provide an electrical connector having a tubular body for splicing a wire or cable and having means for retaining the oxide inhibiting compound within the connector body during installation.

Another object of my invention is to provide an electrical connector which may be indented or crimped onto a wire or cable and which would result in a completely insulated connection.

A further object of my invention is to provide an insulated electrical connection which is fully water-repellant when connected to an electric cable.

Still another object of my invention is to provide an electrical connector having means for retaining the conductor within the connector while the indent is made.

lOne of the features of my invention is the provision of an electrical connector having a tubular metal body over which is disposed coaxially an insulating sleeve made of a material capable of substantially transmitting the forces necessary for crimping the metal body to an inserted conductor. Oxide inhibiting compound is disposed within the tubular body and end caps are provided to prevent the loss of the Compound during installation of the connector. Each of .the end caps is provided with a weakened central section through which the bared conductors may be inserted to have the tubular metallic body crimped thereto. The caps are composed of a material which is resilient and has an elastic memory so that the caps will be disposed adjacent to electrical conductor forming a Water-repellant seal and containing the oxide inhibiting compound within the tubular connector. Moreover, the caps tend to restrain the conductor from pulling Aout of the connector until the installation is completed.

These and other features and objects of this invention will become more apparent by reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

PlG. 1 is an exploded view in perspective of the electrical connector of my invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view of the electrical connector of my invention; and

FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross sectional view of the same taken in the plane 3-3 of FIG. 2.

In the drawings reference numeral 10 designates a tubular body or sleeve composed of a malleable metal atet 3,@5292 Patented Nov. Zt), 1952 the center and the metal sleeve 1G has a depression 20 rolled in its outer wall. Locking the bead 18 in the depression 26 prevents longitudinal movement of the insulating tube it', relative to the metal tube 10. Obviously, other methods of preventing relative movement may be used such as friction-fitting the tube 10 within the insulating sleeve i6 or utilizing adhesives or cement that are well known in the art. The insulating sleeve may be made of any well known insulating material such as nylon, copolymers of vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate or saran, any of which is capable of withstanding the compression forces of indenting as hereinafter explained.

An oxide inhibiting compound 22 is disposed within the bores of the metal sleeve it) and caps 24 and 26 are utilized to retain the compound therein. The cap 24 is friction-titted to the inside of the overhanging portion 28 of the insulating sleeve 16. The cap 24 has a central weakened section Si@ of thinner material than the remainder of the cap. The cap 26 is an alternate embodiment and is shown fitted to the outside of the overhang'- ing portion 32 of the insulating tube 16 and is retained thereon by disposing the bead 34 within the depression 36 of the insulating tube 16.

In use an insulated wire has its conductor portion 12 bared and inserted through the thin portion of the cap. The cap is preferably made of a material which has an elastic memory so that the broken or torn section of the cap 42 would tightly grip the insulation 33 of the wire. The conductor is retained within the sleeve 1i) due to this gripping action. To assist in the insertion of the bared end of the wire 38, the malleable tube 14 is chamfered. The caps 24 and 26 may be color coded to indicate the size wire for which the connector is designated. As shown at di), as the conductor 12 is inserted within the bore and the oxide inhibiting compound 22 is extruded around the conductor 12 toward the opening of the connector but is retained therein by the cap 26. Moreover, the gripping by section 42 of the cap 26 around the insulation 23 of the wire 38 prevents the entrance of drops of moisture, preventing corrosion of the conductor and the connector. This action is aided and abetted by the extrusion of the oxide inhibiting compound around the wire to ll the spaces in the bore. After the conductor is disposed in the bore of the sleeve 10, indentations or crimps 44 are made by suitable tools thru the insulating sleeve 16 to join the metal sleeve 10 to the conductor 12. Naturally, the insulation must be of a material which is capable of withstanding the indentation without substantially deleterious effects. Moreover, the insulating sleeve must transmit the indenting force to the sleeve 1li to pressure forge the connector and conductors.

I have thus described my invention, but I desire it understood that it is not conned to the particular forms or uses shown and described, the same being merely illustrative, and that the invention may be carried out in other ways without departing from the spirit of my invention, and, therefore, I claim broadly the right to ernploy all equivalent instrumentalities coming within the scope of the appended claims, and by means of which, objects of my invention are attained and new results accomplished, as it is obvious that the particular embodiments herein shown and described are only some of the many that can be employed to attain these objects and accomplish these results.

I claim:

1. An electrical connection comprising: a malleable metal tube including an internal base; an insulating sleeve disposed around said metal tube, an end of said insulating sleeve extending beyond an end of said metal tube; means securing said insulating sleeve to said metal tube against relative longitudinal movement therewith; said sleeve made of Va material having the physical characteristic of transmitting indenting forces transversely therethrough without rupture; an insulating cup shaped closure secured against relative longitudinal movement to and sealing said end of said sleeve; said cup shaped closure including an end portion having a central weakened section of reduced thickness; said cup shaped closure made of a material having the physical characteristic of resiliency; said central weakened section of reduced thickness having Ithe physical characteristic of being penetrable by a conductor thrust thereagainst; an insulated electrical conductor including an end length of bare conductor; said bare conductor end length disposed in said tube internal bore; said tube internal bore indented to said bare conductor end length; said insulated conductor disposed through said insulating cup shaped closure weakened section; said cup-shaped closure resiliently grasping said insulated electrical conductor and securing said insulated electrical conductor against relative longitudinal movement in the direction of the removal of said conductor from said base and forming va seal around and with said insulated electrical conductor.y

2. An electrical connector for joining a pair of insulated electrical conductors, each of said conductors having a bared end of conductor from which the insulation has been removed comprising a malleable metal tube including an internal bore; an insulating sleeve disposed ooaxially around said metal tube, an end of said insulating sleeve extending beyond an end of said metal tube; means securing said insulating sleeve to said metal tube against relative longitudinal movement therewith; said sleeve being composed of a material having the physical characteristic of transmitting indenting forces transversely v ble by said insulated conductor thrustthereagainst; said cap when penetrated by a thrustthrough insulated conductor having the physical characteristics of grasping said conductor against relative longitudinal movement in the direction opposite to the direction in which the conductor was inserted, and of forming a seal around the insulation of said conductor, said capsecured to said sleeve by a force at least equal to the force exerted by said cap against a thrustthrough conductor.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,697,814 Forbes ian, 1, 1929 2,410,321 Watts Oct'. 29, 1946 2,751,570 Broske .Tune 19, 1956 2,774,810 Ritter Dec. 18, 1956 2,820,088 Sperry Jan. 14, 1958 2,891,101 Koliss June 16, 1959 2,958,723 Logan et al Nov. 1, 1960 2,981,787 Brautigam et al. Apr. 25, 1961 FOREIGN PATENTS 468,410 Great Britain June 3o, 1937 693,371 Great Britain --.July 1, 1953 OTHER REFERENCES Publication I: Kearney Serv-ens, published in Electrical World, May 13, 1957, page relied on.

Publication II: Crimpit Bulletin CR-57, published by Burndy Corporation, Norwalk, Conn., pages 12 and 13 relied on.' A

UNITED STATES PATENT oEEICE CERTIFICATE 0F CORRECTION Patent No. 3,065,292 November 20, 1962 William S., Chickvary It s hereby certified that error appears in the above numbered patent requiring correction and that the sa id Letters Patent should read as corrected below.

Column 3, lines 2 and 28, for "base" each occurrence, read bore Signed and sealed this 5th day of March 1963.

SEAL) lttest:

STON G. JOHNSON .ttesting Officer DAVID L. LADD Commissioner of Patents Patent No. 3,065,292 November 20, 1962 William S, Chickvary It is hereby certified that error a ent requiring correction and that corrected ibelow.

ppears in the above niimbered patthe said Letters Patent should read as Column 3, lines 2 and 28, for "hase", each occurrence, read bore Signed and sealed this 5th day of March 1963.

SEAL) ttest:

csToN G. JOHNSON DAVID L. LADD Lttesting Officer Commissioner of Patents

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