Wedge Connector for Electrical Conductors

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to electrical connectors and, more particularly, to a wedge connector.

2. Prior Art

U.S. Pat. No. 4,650,273 discloses an electrical connector with a general "C" shaped sleeve and a wedge. The wedge is stamped and formed from sheet metal and has a tab at its front end. The tab engages a front end of the sleeve to resist withdrawal of the wedge from the sleeve. U.S. Pat. No. 5,006,081 discloses a wedge connector with a "C" shaped sleeve having a hole in its middle section for engaging a dimple on a stamped and formed sheet metal wedge. Other U.S. Patents that relate to wedge connectors include the following:

In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention an electrical connector is provided for connecting electrical conductors. The connector comprises a connector sleeve and a wedge. The sleeve has a general "C" shape. The wedge is adapted to be located inside the sleeve and comprises a sheet metal member having an elongate length that is folded over itself lengthwise to form the wedge. The wedge has a latching ledge on a lateral side of the wedge formed by a side edge of the sheet metal member.

In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention an electrical connector is provided for connecting electrical conductors together. The connector comprises a one piece connector sleeve and a wedge. The connector sleeve has a general "C" shape formed by two opposing channel sections interconnected by a middle section. The middle section has a stop ledge and a longitudinal depression along an interior side of the middle section. The wedge is suitably sized and shaped to be inserted in the sleeve. The wedge has a latching ledge on a lateral side of the wedge for engaging the stop ledge to prevent the wedge from being removed from the sleeve.

In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention in an electrical connector having a sleeve and a wedge for use in connecting electrical conductors together, the wedge being comprised of a single sheet metal member that has been deformed into the wedge shape, the improvement comprises the sheet metal member having an elongate length which is folded over itself at least two times along its length to form the length of the wedge.

In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention in an electrical connector having a connector sleeve and a wedge for use in connecting electrical conductors together, the sleeve having a middle section interconnecting two channel sections that combine to form a general "C" shape, the improvement comprises the middle section of the sleeve having a depression along its interior surface and a stop ledge at a rear end of the depression that is spaced from a rear end of the middle section.

The foregoing aspects and other features of the present invention are explained in the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an electrical wedge connector incorporating features of the present invention with two electrical conductors;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the wedge shown in FIG. 1 taken along line 2--2;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the wedge shown in FIG. 2 taken along the line 3--3;

FIG. 4 is a side view with partial cutaway section of the connector shown in FIG. 1 connected to the two electrical conductors; and

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of an alternate embodiment of a wedge for a wedge connector incorporating features of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown an exploded perspective view of a wedge connector 10 for connecting two electrical conductors A, B together. Although the present invention will be described with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings, it should be understood that the present invention can be embodied in many alternate embodiments. In addition, any suitable size, shape or type of elements or materials could be used.

The connector 10 generally comprises a connector sleeve or shell 12 and a spring wedge 14. The sleeve 12 is preferably made of sheet metal, but it could also be a cast, drawn, or extruded member. The sleeve 12 has two opposing channel sections 16, 18 interconnected by a middle section 20 to form a general "C" shape. Referring also to FIG. 4, the "C" shape tapers from the rear end 22 to the front end 24. The middle section 20 includes a rear end tab 26, a groove or depression 28, and a slot 30. The slot 30 is located proximate the rear end of the sleeve and forms a stop ledge 32. The slot 30 extends entirely through the middle section 20 from the interior surface to the exterior surface. However, in an alternate embodiment that slot 30 need not extend entirely through the middle section 20. The depression 28 extends from the slot 30 to the front end 24 of the sleeve. In another alternate embodiment, the depression 28 need not extend to the front end 24, but the slot 30 should be located at the rear end of the depression 28.

The wedge 14 is comprised of a single elongate sheet metal member that has been deformed into the shape shown. Referring also to FIGS. 2 and 3, the sheet metal member has been folded over itself in a lengthwise direction several times along its length to form the wedge 14. In alternate embodiments, more or less folds could be provided. In the embodiment shown, the sheet metal member is folded over itself around axes at the front and rear of the wedge 14. The axes are generally perpendicular to the axis of intended insertion of the wedge 14 into the sleeve 12. The wedge 14 has two adjacent main loop sections 34, 36 interconnected by a third loop section 38. The two longitudinal ends 40, 42 of the sheet metal member are located in the two main loops 34, 36, respectively. The third loop 38, in addition to interconnecting the first and second main loops 34, 36 also functions as a back support or containment support for the main loops 34, 36 at areas 44, 46. Because of the curved nature of areas 44, 46 and the third loop 38, when the wedge is compressed as indicated by arrows C in FIG. 3, the ends 40, 42 can be rotated as indicated by arrows D towards the inside surfaces of the main loops 34, 36. If the compressive force C is sufficient enough, the ends 40, 42 can contact the inside surfaces of the main loops 34, 36 to add rigidity to the main loops. The backsides 48, 50 of the main loops 34, 36 are located adjacent each other. The exterior sides 52, 54 of the main loops 34, 36 have grooves 56, 58 for locating the conductors A, B in. In the embodiment shown, the depth of the groove 56 in the first main loop 34 is greater than the depth of the groove 58 in the second main loop 36 for accommodating a larger conductor. However, any type of suitable shapes could be provided on the exterior sides 52, 54.

Referring particularly to FIG. 3, one of the lateral sides of the wedge 14 has a latching ledge 60. More specifically, the lateral side 62 of the backsides 48, 50 progressively extend in a lateral direction from the front to the rear which then form the ledge 60 just before the third loop 38. The side 62, thus, forms a ramp in front of the latching ledge 60. The latching ledge 60 is adapted to be located in the slot 30 of the connector sleeve 12 to prevent the wedge 14 from being inadvertently disengaged from the sleeve 12. The ramp formed by the lateral side 62 of the backsides 48, 50 is provided to ease insertion of the wedge 14 into the sleeve 12 over the section of the sleeve rear of the stop ledge 32. The interior depression longitudinal 28 on the middle section 20 of the sleeve 12 is provided in front of slot 30 to accommodate the lateral side ramp of the wedge 14. As seen in FIG. 4, when the connector 10 connects the two conductors A, B, the latching ledge 60 is located in the slot 30 such that the stop ledge 32 can engage the latching ledge 60 to prevent unintentional removal of the wedge 14 from inside the sleeve 12. However, the slot 30 nonetheless allows a user access to the side 62 if it is desired to intentionally remove the wedge 14 from the sleeve 12.

Referring now also to FIG. 5, there is shown a cross-sectional view of an alternate embodiment of a spring wedge 70 comprising features of the present invention. In this embodiment, the wedge is also comprised of a single elongate sheet metal member that has been folded over along its length. However, in this embodiment only two loops 72, 74 are provided and the longitudinal ends 76, 78 of the sheet metal member are located adjacent each other against a rear end 80 of the wedge 70. This embodiment also has a laterally extending latching ledge (not shown) formed by the lateral side edges of the backsides 82, 84 of the two loops 72, 74.

It should be understood that the foregoing description is only illustrative of the invention. Various alternatives and modifications can be devised by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention. Accordingly, the present invention is intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications and variances which fall within the scope of the appended claims.