Electricity: conductors and insulators – Boxes and housings – With electrical device
Reexamination Certificate
1999-09-24
2001-06-05
Reichard, Dean A. (Department: 2831)
Electricity: conductors and insulators
Boxes and housings
With electrical device
C174S050000, C174S067000, C220S003300, C220S003200, C220S003700
Reexamination Certificate
active
06242695
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a connector particularly suitable for use in a building entrance box and, more particularly, to such a connector having collapsible walls to allow a wave soldering operation without damaging the connector plastic and to thereafter allow a potting operation.
Where telephone wires enter a building, there is usually provided a building entrance box. The incoming wires, which are typically contained within one or more multi-wire cables, enter a splice chamber in the box, where they are connected to wires which go to a protector field, in a connector chamber of the box, providing protection against lightning, high voltage and high current, and then connections are made within the connector chamber to an output wire connector field. At the connector field, connections are made to wires which extend through the building to output jacks at various locations in the building. Accordingly, a connector is provided within the connector chamber.
When such a box is us in an outdoor environment, moisture can enter the box through openings provided for the incoming cables. This moisture can pass from the splice chamber to the connector chamber and can condense on the underside of the connector field, where it can short out terminals. To prevent such problems, in the past the underside of the connector field has been potted. Such potting requires a wall surrounding the region being potted in order to contain the potting material. However, connectors designed for wave soldering of their terminals must have the terminal tails fully exposed. The plastic housing of the connector must be isolated from the tails in order to prevent molten solder from touching and burning the plastic. However, this conflicts with the requirement that there be a wall around the terminal tails for containing the potting material. Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a connector which can be used in a wave solder procedure and which allows the terminals to be potted after the wave solder procedure.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the present invention, there is provided a connector having a substantially planar and rectangular insulative base adapted to hold a plurality of elongated two-ended conductive terminals in a parallel spaced array with the axes of the terminals orthogonal to the base and with the first ends of all of the terminals extending outwardly from a first side of the base and the second ends of all of the terminals extending outwardly from a second side of the base. Four insulative wall segments are hingedly secured to the first side of the base. Each wall segment is movable between a first orientation substantially parallel to the first side of the base and a second orientation substantially orthogonal to the first side of the base. When the four wall segments are in their second orientations, they form a wall surrounding the first ends of all of the terminals. Each wall segment terminates in a respective distal edge which is further from the first side of the base than the first ends of all of the terminals when the wall segments are in their second orientations.
In accordance with an aspect of this invention, each of the wall segments is coupled to the first side of the base through a respective living hinge.
In accordance with another aspect of this invention, adjacent wall segments are formed with complementary snap-fit features to retain the wall segments in their second orientations.
REFERENCES:
patent: 1909136 (1933-05-01), Thomas, Jr.
patent: 3584136 (1971-06-01), Robert
patent: 4134516 (1979-01-01), Sullo
patent: 4156998 (1979-06-01), McClure
patent: 5017164 (1991-05-01), Gibbs
patent: 5148962 (1992-09-01), Jones et al.
patent: 5196988 (1993-03-01), Horn
patent: 5984720 (1999-11-01), Milner et al.
patent: 6083032 (2000-07-01), Daoud
patent: 6102729 (2000-08-01), Daoud
Avaya Technology Corp.
Davis David L.
Estrada Angel R.
Reichard Dean A.
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