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Method and apparatus for the automatic connection of battery cables

  • US 4,740,740 A
  • Filed: 10/20/1986
  • Issued: 04/26/1988
  • Est. Priority Date: 10/20/1986
  • Status: Expired due to Fees
First Claim
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1. Anti-spark jumper cable apparatus for automatically inter-connecting batteries via sets of battery cables, each set adapted to be connected to the terminals of a battery comprising:

  • means coupled to said battery cables for automatically sensing the polarity of the voltages delivered by said batteries at their respective terminals and for automatically connecting said battery cables together such that the positive and negative terminals of said batteries are connected together and further including means for sensing the disconnection of a battery cable from a respective terminal and for inhibiting said connecting means for connecting together said sets of cables responsive to the sensing of said disconnection, said disconnection sensing means including cable clamps at the ends of each battery cable, each having a pair of electrically conductive jaws with each jaw having at least one conductor coupled thereto and further including means for separating the jaws of each of said clamps by a distance less than that of a diameter of a battery terminal, thereby to prevent electrical contact between the jaws of a clamp, wherein said polarity sensing means includes sense jaws and means coupled to the sense jaws associated with the battery terminals of first one battery, and then to the sense jaws associated with the battery terminals of the other of said batteries for peridically sensing the polarity of the output voltage from one battery and then the other, means for comparing the sensed polarities, and means for setting said connecting means responsive to whether the sensed polarities are the same or different.

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