Snap-on electrical connector for electrical cord having mating plugs

• US 4,917,625 A
• Filed: 10/18/1988
• Issued: 04/17/1990
• Est. Priority Date: 07/25/1988
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Ernest Haile
• Original Assignee: Ernest Haile
• Inventors: Haile, Ernest
• Primary Examiner(s): Abrams, Neil
• Assistant Examiner(s): Nguyen, Khiem
• Application Number:
  US07/259,549
• Time in Patent Office: 546 Days
• Field of Search: 439/299, 439/300, 439/350, 439/353, 439/354, 439/355, 439/356, 439/357, 439/358, 439/366, 439/367, 439/368, 439/369, 439/370, 439/371, 439/628, 439/651, 439/871, 439/905 , 439/271, 439/272, 439/351, 439/352
• US Class Current: 439/358
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 13/627 Snap or like fastening
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 13/639 Additional means for holding or locking coupling parts together, after engagement, e.g. separate keylock, retainer strap
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 13/6392 for extension cord

Abstract

Disclosed is an electrical connector designed to be interposed between male and female plugs provided upon the ends of electrical cords. The connector includes springable arms having shoulders interengaging with shoulders formed on the adjacent ends of the plugs, in such fashion as to lockably engage the plugs and thereby prevent separation of the cords during use. Within the connector there are provided electrical connector elements each having a female and a male end, adapted to mate with the electrical elements of the plugs, thus providing a through electrical connection for the cords, while assuring that they will be held against inadvertent separation. In another form the invention omits the provision of electrical connector elements within the connecting device itself. Instead, a yoke or retainer, usable in both forms of the invention has its spring arms again engaging shoulders on the plugs, with the plugs in this instance interengaging directly as well as being releasably, lockably engaged with the retainer.

Claims

1. A device for mechanically and electrically connecting a pair of electrical cords, said cords having a mating male plug and female connector each of which is formed with shoulder means, said device comprising a retainer having:

(a) at least two opposed retainer members each of which is in the form of an elongated strip of springable material;

(b) locking heads on the strips adapted to interengage with the shoulder means of the mating plug and female connector responsive to insertion of the plug and connector between the strips; and

(c) means providing a connection between the strips and spacing the strips apart a distance sufficient to permit insertion of the plug and connector into engagement with the locking heads thereof, said plug and connector being interengageable directly with each other in mating, electrical contact and wherein the shoulder means of the plug and connector are spaced apart a distance sufficient to engage said locked heads when the plug and connector are so interengaged with each other, said device further including a third strip having a locking head thereon, said plug and connector having shoulder means engaging the locking heads of all three strips when the plugs are in electrical contact.

2. A device as in claim 1 wherein the third strip is spaced laterally from the first named strips and has springable movement in a direction normal to the direction in which the first named strips may move.

3. A connector device for preventing accidental separation of a pair of electrical cords during normal use, said cords having mating male and female electrical connectors each having a shoulder means, said connector device comprising an elongated retainer adapted to be interposed between said connectors and having opposite but identical, wholly open ends aligned longitudinally of the retainer, each of said ends including at least one pair of opposed springable retainer members widely spaced apart transversely of the retainer, said open ends being aligned longitudinally of the retainer for insertion of the connectors into the retainer through the respective ends in the direction of their lengths, the retainer members at each end being resiliently spreadable by the connector inserted therebetween and including facing locking heads springable into releasable engagement with said shoulder means responsive to said insertion whereby to lock the inserted connectors against accidental withdrawal from the retainer, the members at each end of the retainer being resiliently spreadable independently of the members at the other end thereof whereby to permit removal of a selected one of the connectors from the retainer while leaving the other connector in engagement therewith, the locking heads of the strips at one of said ends being spaced longitudinally of the retainer from the locking heads at the other end thereof a distance closely approximately the distance between the shoulder means of the respective connectors when both connectors have been fully inserted, said retainer being formed as an open ended, sleeve-like band proportioned for extension of both of said connectors into the respective, open ends of the band, the respective pairs of retainer members being rigid at one end with said band and extending from the band longitudinally of the retainer in opposite directions to receive the inserted plugs and guide the same into the open ends of the bands into mating engagement with respect to each other, said connector device further including a sealing gasket of compressible material proportioned to be disposed between the inserted connectors and to be compressed thereby when both of said connectors are lockingly engaged by the locking heads, said band extending about the connectors and gasket when the connectors are engaged by the locking heads to enclose the gasket in the seal area between the connectors.

4. A device as defined in claim 3 wherein the distance between the locking heads is selected to require compression of the gasket to a predetermined extent effective to provide a seal of constant value between the connectors in response to each locking engagement of the several locking heads with the shoulder means of the male and female connectors.

5. A one piece connector device for mechanically preventing accidental separation of a pair of electrical cords during normal use and for permitting separation under severe stress, said cords having a mating male plug and female connector each of which is formed with face ends and rear shoulder means, said device comprising a centrally located retainer portion, said centrally located retainer portion being rectangular parallelepiped in shape having four equal length parallelogram sides, two of which are wider than the other two, with like sides opposite each other, providing two larger and two smaller parallelograms, the ends of the rectangular parallelepiped shape defined by the four sides being fully open to permit snug entry of a like contoured male plug or female connector into either end;

four identical elongated strips of springable material at the open ends, integral with and extending parallel from the ends of the smaller parallelograms and terminating in shouldered locking heads to interengage with shoulder means of the mating male plug and female connector, responsive to insertion of the plug and connector between the strips;

said device having two of the springable strips integral with and extending parallel from one end a distance sufficient to reach the shoulders of a mating male plug and female connector, two of said strips having portions that are turned at right angles toward each other constituting shoulder locking means of the locking heads, said strips continuing from the shoulder locking means in a curved flaring manner away from each other constituting cam surfaces adapted to be engaged by the face ends of the plug and connector responsive to movement of the plug and connector toward the position in which they mate, whereby to bias the ends of the strips outwardly against the spring tension thereof to a position in which the shoulders of the plug and connector will be free to interengage with the shoulders of the locking heads when the plug and connector are completely together, said device including two other springable strip portions integral with and extending parallel from the other end a distance sufficient to reach the shoulders of the mating male plug and female connector, at least two of the several springable strip portions being turned at obtuse angles toward each other constituting obtuse angled shoulder locking means of the locking heads to permit separation under great stress, said last named springable strip portions continuing from the obtuse angled shoulder locking means in a curved flaring manner constituting cam surfaces adapted to be engaged by the face ends of the plug and connector responsive to movement of the plug and connector toward the position in which they mate, whereby to bias the ends of the strips outwardly against the spring tension thereof, to the position in which the obtuse angled shoulders of the locking heads will be free to interengage with the shoulder means of the plug and connector when the plug and connector are completely together.

6. A device as in claim 5 in which the plug and connector are interengageable directly with each other in mating, electrical contact and wherein the shoulder means of the plug and connector are spaced apart a distance sufficient to engage said locking heads when the plug and connector are interengaged with each other.

7. A device as in claim 6 wherein said cam surfaces of the locking heads have extended portions that may be urged apart by the thumb and forefinger of one'"'"'s hand to permit easy separation of the male plug and female connector.

8. A device as in claim 5 further including gasket means disposable between the plug and connector when the plug and connector are interengaged, wherein the gasket means is in the form of a compressible sealing ring, the locking shoulders of the strips being spaced apart a distance such as to cause the sealing ring to be compressed between the plug and connector responsive to interengagement of the shoulder means of the plug and connector with the locking heads, said device being adapted to maintain the same degree of compression on the sealing ring each time the plug and connector are in mating, electrical contact with their shoulder means locking engaged the locking heads forced together and left together.