Electrical connectors – With insulation other than conductor sheath – Insulating body having plural mutually insulated terminals...
Reexamination Certificate
2000-10-19
2001-12-04
Patel, Tulsidas (Department: 2839)
Electrical connectors
With insulation other than conductor sheath
Insulating body having plural mutually insulated terminals...
C439S722000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06325675
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of Invention
This invention is directed to electrical connectors, and more particularly to insulated electrical connectors and to insulating covers for use with electrical connectors.
2. Description of the Related Art
Insulated electrical connectors are used in many different environments, including, for example, control panels, switchgear, HVAC, motor controls, elevator systems, refrigeration systems, pull boxes, wireway, and any other commercial construction and industrial applications requiring multiple taps or splices.
Conventional insulated electrical connectors include an electrical connector encased within an opaque plastic housing which conforms to the shape of the particular connector. Such insulated connectors further include removable caps and plugs for covering the connector wire ports and screw ports which are not being used. These conventional insulated connectors typically are formed by inserting protective pins into the screw ports and wire ports and dipping the resulting connector assembly into a molten insulating material, such as an opaque plastic material. The assembly then is removed from the molten material, at which point the insulating material is allowed to cure or otherwise harden about the electrical connector. At this point, a hot knife or other cutting device is used to remove unwanted insulating material and expose the various pins so that the pins may be removed, thereby providing access to the various screw ports and wire ports. In an additional step, insulating plugs and caps are made and releasably positioned in the various screw ports and wire ports. This method has been used for years to make a wide range of types and sizes of insulated electrical connectors. However, the resulting insulated connectors have several drawbacks. For example, production costs associated with the “dip and hot knife” method are relatively high. Also, because removable caps and plugs are used, these separate pieces are easy to lose during the installation process. Once a plug or cap is lost, some installers attempt to cover resulting openings with tape, a solution which is awkward at best. In addition, because the insulating material is opaque, it is difficult, if not impossible, to see the various wire ports and screw ports during installation, making the installing process more time consuming and therefore more costly.
More recently, the electrical connector industry has seen the introduction of a different type of insulating cover for use with large-scale electrical connectors, i.e., connectors having wire ranges of: 2/0-14; 4/0-6; 350 MCM-6; and 600 MCM-4. In further detail, this type of insulated electrical connector includes a transparent flexible insulating cover made of a plastisol, with the cover being fully open at one end. Because the cover is relatively large, it is able to be fabricated with one end which is fully open and which may be covered by a separate removable large end plate. An elongated electrical connector bar, including screws mounted in the screw ports, is telescopically slid into the insulating cover, at which point a separate insulating end plate made of lexan or another transparent insulating material is releasably secured onto the open end. The insulating cover further includes a series of “star cuts” in alignment with the various screw ports and wire ports, thereby providing access to these ports while alleviating the need for caps and plugs. A wire or torquing tool then may be inserted through a particular star cut and into a wire port or onto a screw head, as appropriate, for securing wires to the insulated connector.
While this more-recently developed type of insulated electrical connector has been extremely well-received in the industry, the cover is a large-scale cover having two separate component parts, the flexible housing and the end plate. Accordingly, if a particular application calls for a small-scale connector (e.g., wire ranges such as 4-14), a conventional “dipped and hot-knifed” connector, with its associated problems, typically is used. Therefore, it would be beneficial to have a small-scale insulating cover offering the benefits of a transparent, flexible, insulating cover. It also would be beneficial for such a cover to fully encapsulate an electrical connector without the need for separate pieces, such as caps, plugs, or end plates.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention overcomes the above-mentioned limitations by providing a one-piece transparent flexible insulating cover which fully surrounds and insulates an electrical connector without the need for separate plugs, caps, or end plates.
In one aspect, the cover has openings which correspond and communicate with the wire port(s) and screw port(s) of an electrical connector, as well as a hinged access cover adjacent at least one of the openings. The hinged access cover pivots about a hinge, from a closed position to any of a number of different open positions, thereby alternatively covering, and providing access to, the adjacent opening.
In this fashion, the invention provides a one-piece transparent flexible insulating cover which may be formed in a wide range of types and sizes, thereby fully insulating not only small-scale electrical connectors, but also large-scale electrical connectors, all without the need for separate plugs, caps, or end plates. Also, because of the one-piece design, the manufacturing costs associated with the present invention are relatively low, thereby providing a product which is not only user-friendly, but also economical.
In another aspect of the invention, the insulating cover has a core chamber for housing an electrical connector, a first opening which communicates with the core chamber, and a second opening which communicates with the core chamber. Each of the first and second openings is constructed and arranged to allow an end portion of a wire or other electrical conductor to pass through the particular opening. As used herein, the term “electrical conductor” refers to any conductive wire, bundle of wires, or cable suitable for use with an electrical connector. The insulating cover has a hinged access cover adjacent one of the first and second openings, with the hinged access cover constructed and arranged to hingedly cover, and provide access to, the adjacent first or second opening.
The hinged access cover may include a hinge having a first end and a second end, with the hinged access cover further including a first side edge adjacent the first end, a second side edge adjacent the second end, and an end opposite the hinge. If desired, the end opposite the hinge may have an end edge. In one aspect of the invention, the length of the end edge is substantially similar to the length of the hinge. In another aspect, the length of the first side edge is substantially similar to the length of the second side edge. In another aspect of the invention, the hinge may be a living hinge. And because the living hinge may be formed from the insulating cover itself, without the use of additional components, the living-hinge feature assists in reducing overall manufacturing costs.
In a further aspect of the invention, the hinged access cover has a first section adjacent the hinge and a second section adjacent the end opposite the hinge, with an interior angle of less than 180° existing between the first and second sections. In another aspect, the hinged access cover has a third section positioned between the first and second sections, with a first interior angle of less than 180° existing between the first and third sections, and a second interior angle of less than 180° existing between the second and third sections. If desired, the first interior angle and the second interior angle independently may have a value in the range of 100° to 150°, or a value in the range of from 120° to 135°.
Regardless of whether the hinged access cover includes two, three, or more adjacent sections, with each pair of adjacent sections having an interior angle of less than 180°, the junction line where one section mee
Ilsco Corporation
Patel Tulsidas
Wood Herron & Evans L.L.P.
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