AUXILIARY CLAMP FOR SIDE TERMINAL BATTERIES

• US 3,745,516 A
• Filed: 12/09/1971
• Issued: 07/10/1973
• Est. Priority Date: 12/09/1971
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Goodale Manufacturing Company Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Walter G. Lieberman
• Inventors: Lieberman, Walter G.
• Primary Examiner(s): Champion, Marvin A.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Pate, III, William F.
• Application Number:
  US05/206,316
• Time in Patent Office: 579 Days
• Field of Search: 339/228,114,224,257,258R,225 136/181,134,135
• US Class Current: 439/755
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 11/289 characterised by the shape or the structure of the battery post

Abstract

An auxiliary clamp is disclosed for selective manual attachment to a battery cable terminal bolt used with a side terminal battery. The clamp includes a body portion with electrically conducting clamping means for selective engagement with cable terminal bolts of different size. The body portion of the clamp projects from the terminal bolt to a location where an electrically conducting terminal means on the body portion is conveniently accessible for the attachment of the resilient connecting jaws of an auxiliary battery charging or booster cable. The auxiliary clamp is preferably made from flat metal stock, and its body is bent in appropriate fashion to provide a stiff or reinforced area for the booster or charging cable clamps or other attachment and to serve as a handle for selective attachment and removal. In the preferred form, the clamping means is at one end of the body portion and includes resiliently separable clamping arms, the other end of the body is bent at an angle to the main body portion to provide a terminal portion which can extend above the top of the battery, and a slot between the resilient clamping arms extends all the way to the bent end portion which then provides a resilient hinge on an axis generally parallel to the axis of the battery terminal bolt.

Claims

1. An auxiliary battery clamp for selective manual attachment to and removal from a laterally projecting cable terminal bolt when such bolt is connected to a side terminal battery, said clamp comprising an elongated body portion having electrically conducting clamping means at one end for selective manually engageable attachment to such a cable terminal bolt, and said body portion also having electrically conducting terminal means at its other end spaced from said clamping means and electrically connected thereto, said terminal means and its relative location with respect to said clamping means providing for temporary manual connection of an auxiliary batTery charging cable to the terminal means at a convenient location spaced from such cable terminal bolt, said clamping means comprising clamping arms at least one of which is resiliently separable from the other by relative movement in a plane defined by said arms, said clamping arms having opposed inner clamping edges defining and separated by a slot extending into the body portion from said one end, said clamping edges having bolt engaging portions for selective resilient engagement with opposite surfaces of such a cable terminal bolt, and said terminal means at the other end of the body portion including a portion which is at least partially bent out of the plane of the clamping arms at a location adjacent the end of said slot and which thereby provides a gripping and auxiliary terminal portion having a size and relative location for convenient selective manual engagement during attachment of the auxiliary clamp to such a battery cable terminal bolt and removal therefrom and for selective engagement by gripping members of such an auxiliary battery charging cable while the clamp is attached to such a terminal bolt, the length of the clamp from its clamping means to its terminal means being substantially 2 inches and being thereby greater than the expected normal distance from the top of a side terminal battery to its side terminal bolt location.

2. An auxiliary battery clamp according to claim 1 in which the body portion, clamping means and terminal means are made of conducting material having a thickness and resilience providing tight electric contact at said terminal bolt and sufficient to conduct currents of 200 to 300 amperes at up to 12 volts for 2 to 3 minutes without increasing the temperature of the clamp substantially above 140* F.

3. An auxiliary battery clamp for selective manual attachment to a laterally projecting cable terminal bolt used with a side terminal battery, said clamp comprising an elongated body portion having electrically conducting clamping means for selective manually engageable attachment to such a cable terminal bolt, and said body portion also having electrically conducting terminal means spaced from said clamping means and electrically connected thereto, said terminal means and its relative location with respect to said clamping means providing for temporary manual connection of an auxiliary battery charging cable to the terminal means at a convenient location spaced from such cable terminal bolt, said clamping means comprising resiliently separable clamping arms at one end of the body portion for selective engagement with opposite surfaces of a cable terminal bolt, said clamping arms having outer ends and having opposed inner clamping edges defining and separated by a slot extending into the body portion from said outer ends, said opposed inner clamping edges being spaced from each other at said outer ends by a distance greater than the thickness of the various cable terminal bolts with which the auxiliary clamp may be used, at least one of said clamping edges tapering gradually inwardly toward the other from said one end to provide opposed camming portions for resiliently separating the clamping arms in response to manual movement of said one end longitudinally of said arms onto a terminal bolt, and said clamping edges also having bolt engaging portions inwardly of said camming portions and spaced from each other by a distance less than the thickness of such a terminal bolt for firmly and resiliently engaging such terminal bolt after the clamping arm ends and camming portions have been forced past such terminal bolt with the bolt in said slot, said terminal means being located at the other end of the clamp and including a flat portion extending at substantially right angles to the body portion of the clamp in a direction generally parallel to a terminal bolt with which the clamping arms are to be engaged, said clamping arms extending longitudinally of the body portion and said slot extending thRoughout the length of the body portion from the terminal bolt engaging portions to the flat portion, thereby providing a resilient hinge action for said clamping arms by resilient flexing of the flat portion.

4. An auxiliary battery clamp according to claim 3 in which the clamp is made from metal stock, in which the clamping arms and body portion are in one plane, the other end of the clamp is in a plane at right angles to the plane of said clamping arms and body portion, and said other end is connected to the clamping arm portions by an intermediate terminal portion in a plane at an angle to each of said other planes, thereby providing plane areas for attachment of a gripping member at any one of three different angles at said other end of the auxiliary clamp.

5. An auxiliary battery clamp for selective manual attachment to and removal from a laterally projecting cable terminal bolt when such bolt is connected to a side terminal battery, said clamp comprising an elongated body portion having electrically conducting clamping means at one end for selective manually engageable attachment to such a cable terminal bolt, and said body portion also having electrically conducting terminal means at its other end spaced from said clamping means and electrically connected thereto, said terminal means and its relative location with respect to said clamping means providing for temporary manual connection of an auxiliary battery charging cable to the terminal means at a convenient location spaced from such cable terminal bolt, said clamping means comprising clamping arms at least one of which is resiliently separable from the other by relative movement in a plane defined by said arms, said clamping arms having opposed inner clamping edges defining and separated by a slot extending into the body portion from said one end, said clamping edges having bolt engaging portions for selective resilient engagement with opposite surfaces of such a cable terminal bolt, and said terminal means at the other end of the body portion including a portion bent substantially at right angles out of the plane of the clamping arms into a plane which is generally parallel to such a cable terminal bolt when the auxiliary clamp is selectively attached thereto and which thereby provides a gripping and auxiliary terminal portion having a size and relative location for convenient selective manual engagement during attachment of the auxiliary clamp to such a battery cable terminal bolt and removal therefrom and for selective engagement by gripping members of such an auxiliary battery charging cable while the clamp is attached to such a terminal bolt, and said slot extending throughout the length of the body portion from said one end into said terminal portion bent substantially at right angles.

6. An auxiliary battery clamp according to claim 5 in which the clamp is formed from a single piece of flat low carbon cold drawn steel, and said clamping means comprises at least one resiliently movable clamping arm having a resilience and shape providing resilient '"'"''"'"''"'"''"'"'snap-on'"'"''"'"''"'"''"'"' engagement of the clamping means with the cable terminal bolt.