Rotatable electrical connector for coiled telephone cord
First Claim
1. A low friction rotatable electrical connector for use with a coiled telephone cord, said connector comprising:
- a. a hollow insulated housing of generally cylindrical form that is split longitudinally into a base portion and a cover portion, and assembly means for holding the base and cover portions together, and a circular opening in at least one end wall of the cylindrical housing;
b. and a cylindrical rotor assembly of insulating material having a journal at one end that is rotatably mounted within the said circular opening so the rotor assembly may rotate freely relative to the hollow housing, the rotor assembly being a hollow cylindrical member having a single longitudinal split in the wall of the cylinder;
c. a plurality of continuous conductive rings mounted along the length of the rotor assembly and separated by a plurality of insulating washers, where there is a washer positioned between each adjacent pair of conductive rings to serve as a spacer between the rings, each conductive ring including a separate insulated conductor on the underside thereof for extending through the longitudinal split of the rotor extending out from the rotor through the hollow journal to an external termination means;
d. a plurality of spring wire contact elements mounted within the said base portion of the housing in a parallel array, each spring wire contact element having a portion biased into continuous wiping contact with one of the said continuous conductive rings for making a reliable electrical connection between the relatively movable hollow housing and its rotor assembly;
e. each of said plurality of spring wire contact elements being of hairpin shape, the said cover portion of the connector housing having a plurality of partitions to provide means to stabilize and space the contact elements apart.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
The low friction rotatable electrical connector is for use with a coiled telephone cord to prevent the cord from becoming twisted or tangled during use. This connector is generally of insulating material formed with a hollow housing for supporting a rotor assembly therein. This rotor assembly is a hollow cylinder that is positioned within the housing for relative rotation therein. One end wall of the housing has a circular opening in which one end of the rotor assembly is supported for rotation. The rotor assembly has a single longitudinal split for nearly the entire length thereof, but the split does not include the journal at one end that is located within the circular opening or bearing in the end wall of the housing. The rotor assembly supports a plurality of continuous conductive rings on the exterior thereof, and there is an insulating washer positioned between each pair of conductive rings to serve as a spacer between adjacent rings. Each conductive ring includes a separate insulated conductor on the underside that extends through the split in the rotor. There are several modifications of this invention, but each modification includes a plurality of spring wire contact elements mounted within the housing in a parallel array, where each wire contact element has a portion biased into continuous wiping contact with one of the continuous conductive rings for making a reliable electrical connection. The housing includes partitions interposed between the wire contact elements so as to stabilize and space them apart.
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Citations
17 Claims
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1. A low friction rotatable electrical connector for use with a coiled telephone cord, said connector comprising:
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a. a hollow insulated housing of generally cylindrical form that is split longitudinally into a base portion and a cover portion, and assembly means for holding the base and cover portions together, and a circular opening in at least one end wall of the cylindrical housing; b. and a cylindrical rotor assembly of insulating material having a journal at one end that is rotatably mounted within the said circular opening so the rotor assembly may rotate freely relative to the hollow housing, the rotor assembly being a hollow cylindrical member having a single longitudinal split in the wall of the cylinder; c. a plurality of continuous conductive rings mounted along the length of the rotor assembly and separated by a plurality of insulating washers, where there is a washer positioned between each adjacent pair of conductive rings to serve as a spacer between the rings, each conductive ring including a separate insulated conductor on the underside thereof for extending through the longitudinal split of the rotor extending out from the rotor through the hollow journal to an external termination means; d. a plurality of spring wire contact elements mounted within the said base portion of the housing in a parallel array, each spring wire contact element having a portion biased into continuous wiping contact with one of the said continuous conductive rings for making a reliable electrical connection between the relatively movable hollow housing and its rotor assembly; e. each of said plurality of spring wire contact elements being of hairpin shape, the said cover portion of the connector housing having a plurality of partitions to provide means to stabilize and space the contact elements apart. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A low friction rotatable electrical connector for use with a coiled telephone cord, said connector comprising:
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a. a hollow insulated housing of generally cylindrical form that is split longitudinally into a base portion and a cover portion, and assembly means for holding the base and cover portions together; b. and a hollow cylindrical rotor asssembly of insulating material having a journal at each opposite end for supporting the rotor assembly within the said housing for freedom of relative rotational movement therebetween about a central longitudinal axis, the rotor assembly having a longitudinal slot in the wall thereof; c. a plurality of continuous conductive rings mounted along the length of the rotor assembly, and separator means for spacing them apart from each other, each conductive ring having a separate insulated conductor integral therewith on the underside thereof and extending through the said longitudinal slot, and each conductor extending out one end of the rotor assembly and adapted for connection between the rotor assembly rings and a standard phone conductor; d. a plurality of spring wire contact elements mounted within the said base portion of the housing in a vertical parallel array, each spring wire contact element being of hairpin shape having a free end portion biased into continuous wiping contact with one of the said conductive rings for making a reliable electrical connection between the relatively movable housing and rotor assembly, one-half of the spring wire contacts being on the two opposite sides of the rotor assembly to balance the spring forces acting upon the rotor assembly, the said spring wire contact elements having terminal means that cooperate together for joining the housing contacts to a standard phone connector; e. the said cover portion of the housing having partition means extending between adjacent spring wire contact elements to both stabilize the contacts and space them apart. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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Specification