Watthour meter socket adapter with snap-on jaw contacts

• US 5,997,347 A
• Filed: 05/30/1997
• Issued: 12/07/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 06/03/1996
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Ekstrom Industries Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Ekstrom Industries Incorporated
• Inventors: Robinson, Darrell, Loehr, Karl R., Pruehs, Allen V.
• Primary Examiner(s): Donovan, Lincoln
• Assistant Examiner(s): DUVERNE, JEAN F
• Application Number:
  US08/866,703
• Time in Patent Office: 921 Days
• Field of Search: 439/517, 439/146, 439/167, 439/508, 439/733.1
• US Class Current: 439/517
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 13/426 Securing by a separate resilient retaining piece supported by base or case, e.g. collar or metal contact-retention clip

Abstract

A jaw blade contact for a watthour meter socket adapter includes a terminal with a blade end and an opposed jaw contact end. A spring clip is fixedly mounted on the terminal and has a jaw contact end opposed from the jaw contact end of the terminal for receiving a blade terminal of a meter there-between. Angled arms carried on the spring clip releasibly engage the base of the socket adapter housing to mount the jaw blade contact on the housing in a snap-on connection. In another embodiment, a spring clip engages apertures in a jaw contact formed of two folded over portions to mount the jaw contact in the housing. The housing has a mounting flange with a frangible portion conformable to different sized socket cover openings. An arcuate surge ground conductor is mounted on the housing sidewall by an integral bendable member which is movable from an in-line position to a mounting position extendable through an aperture in the housing. One or more jaws of the jaw contact include at least first and second separately movable legs, each having a contact edge engageable with a blade terminal. The contact edges of the at least two legs are spaced apart along the length of the jaw to provide a stepped blade terminal insertion force.

Claims

1. An electrical watthour meter socket adapter for interconnecting a watthour meter socket having a plurality of jaw contacts to a watthour meter having a plurality of outwardly extending blade terminals, the watthour meter socket adapter comprising:

a housing adapted for mating with a watthour meter, the housing having a base, and a sidewall extending from the base and terminating in a watthour meter mounting flange;

an aperture formed in the base;

a terminal having a first contact end for engagement with a blade terminal of a watthour meter and a second blade end for insertion through the aperture in the base into contact with a watthour meter socket jaw contact;

a spring member having first and second ends, the first end biasingly disposed with respect to the first contact end of the terminal to bias a blade terminal into contact with the first end of the terminal, the second end fixedly joined to the terminal; and

clip means, carried on the spring member and extending therefrom, for mounting the terminal in the housing in a snap-on connection.

2. The watthour meter socket adapter of claim 1 wherein the first end of the spring member comprises:

a first end leg having a contact edge cantilevered from a second end disposed in proximity with the second end of the terminal, the contact edge biasingly urging a blade terminal of a watthour meter disposed adjacent thereto into electrical contact with the first end of the terminal.

3. The watthour meter socket adapter of claim 2 wherein the spring member further comprises:

a pair of spaced, first and second first end legs.

4. The watthour meter socket adapter of claim 3 wherein:

each of the first and second end legs of the spring member extends to first and second contact edges, respectively, engageable with a blade terminal of a watthour meter;

the first contact edge of the first leg spaced axially along the terminal from the second contact edge of the second leg.

5. The watthour meter socket adapter of claim 4 wherein:

the first end leg has a longer length than the second end leg to dispose the first contact edge of the first end leg closer to the first end of the terminal than the second contact edge of the second end leg.

6. The watthour meter socket adapter of claim 4 further comprising:

a width between opposed side edges of one of the first and second legs of the spring member being greater than a width between opposed side edges of the other of the first and second legs of the spring member.

8. The watthour meter socket adapter of claim 1 wherein the clip means comprises:

at least one arm having an end cantilevered from the terminal.

9. The watthour meter socket adapter of claim 8 wherein the at least one arm of the clip means further comprises:

first and second arms, spaced from each other, each of the first and second arms having an end cantilevered from the terminal.

10. The watthour meter socket adapter of claim 8 further comprising:

spacer means, carried on the terminal between the first and second ends, for engaging a portion of the base of the housing surrounding the aperture in the base when the terminal is mounted through the aperture in the base and the end of the at least one arm engages an opposed surface of the base.

7. The watthour meter socket adapter of claim wherein the clip means comprises first and second clips.

11. A jaw contact mountable in a housing of an electrical device, the housing having a base with an aperture therein for coupling a blade terminal of an electrical device therethrough to a jaw contact of another electrical device, the jaw contact comprising:

a terminal having a first contact end for receiving a blade terminal of an electrical device and a second blade end for insertion through the aperture in the base into another electrical device jaw contact;

a spring member having first and second ends, the first end biasingly disposed with respect to the first contact end of the terminal to bias a blade terminal into contact with the first end of the terminal, the second end fixedly joined to the terminal; and

clip means, carried on the spring member and extending therefrom, for mounting the terminal in the housing in a snap-on connection.

12. The jaw contact of claim 11 wherein the spring member comprises:

a first end leg having a contact edge cantilevered from a second end disposed in proximity with the second end of the terminal, the first end biasingly urging a blade terminal of an electrical device disposed adjacent thereto into electrical contact with the first end of the terminal.

13. The jaw contact of claim 12 wherein the spring member further comprises:

a pair of spaced, first and second first end legs.

14. The jaw contact of claim 12 wherein:

each of the first and second end legs of the spring member extends to first and second contact edges, respectively, engageable with a blade terminal of an electrical device; and

the first contact edge of the first leg spaced axially along the terminal from the second contact edge of the second leg.

15. The jaw contact of claim 14 wherein:

the first end leg has a longer length than the second end leg to dispose the first contact edge of the first end leg closer to the first end of the terminal than the second contact edge of the second end leg.

16. The jaw contact of claim 14 further comprising:

a width between opposed side edges of one of the first and second legs of the spring member being greater than a width between opposed side edges of the other of the first and second legs of the spring member.

17. The jaw contact of claim 16 wherein the clip means comprises first and second clips.

18. The jaw contact of claim 16 wherein the clip means comprises:

at least one arm having an end cantilevered from the terminal.

19. The jaw contact of claim 18 wherein the clip means comprises:

first and second arms, spaced from each other, each of the first and second arms having an end cantilevered from the terminal.

20. The jaw contact of claim 18 further comprising:

spacer means, carried on the terminal between the first and second ends, for engaging a portion of the base of the housing surrounding the aperture in the base when the terminal is mounted through the aperture in the base and the end of the at least one arm engages an opposed surface of the base.

21. An electrical watthour meter socket adapter for interconnecting a watthour meter socket having a plurality of jaw contacts to a watthour meter having a plurality of outwardly extending blade terminals, the watthour meter socket adapter comprising:

a one piece, unitary housing adapted for mating with a watthour meter;

the housing having a base central wall and a radially outward extending first mounting flange;

an annular wall extending unitarily from the base central wall and terminating in a second mounting flange extending radially outward from the annular wall;

substantially the entire base central wall axially offset from the first mounting flange in an axial direction opposite from the first mounting flange;

the annular wall having a length to closely space the first and second mounting flanges;

an aperture formed in the base central wall;

a jaw contact mounted in the base central wall for receiving a blade terminal of a watthour meter; and

a blade terminal connected to the jaw contact and extending through the aperture in the base central wall for insertion into a watthour meter socket jaw contact.

22. An electrical watthour meter socket adapter for interconnecting a watthour meter socket having a plurality of jaw contacts to a watthour meter having a plurality of outwardly extending blade terminals, the watthour meter socket adapter comprising:

a housing adapted for mating with a watthour meter, the housing having a base, and an annular sidewall extending from the base and terminating in an annular flange engageable with a watthour meter, an aperture formed through at least one of the sidewall and the base;

a surge ground conductor mounted in the socket adapter housing, the surge ground conductor including;

a conductive member;

first and second electrically conductive tabs carried on the conductive member;

apertures formed in the mounting flange of the housing for receiving the first and second conductive tabs of the conductive member and disposing the first and second conductive tabs for contact with a ground tab on a watthour meter mounted on the mounting flange; and

a mounting member, unitary with the conductive member and extending from the conductive member for insertion through the aperture in at least one of the sidewall and the base of the housing to mount the conductive member on the housing.

23. The electrical watthour meter socket adapter of claim 22 wherein the mounting member comprises:

a foot pivotally carried on the conductive member and bendable with respect to the conductive member from a first position to a second position for insertion through the aperture.

24. The electrical watthour meter socket adapter of claim 23 wherein the mounting member further comprises:

a flange carried on the foot and extending oppositely from the foot, the flange disposed interiorly within the housing when the foot is in the second position.

35. The electrical watthour meter socket adapter of claim 22 wherein the aperture in the housing is formed in the sidewall of the housing adjacent to the juncture of the sidewall and the base of the housing.

36. The electrical watthour meter socket adapter of claim 23 wherein:

the foot, when in the second position, extends exteriorly of the sidewall of the housing.

25. An electrical watthour meter socket adapter for interconnecting a watthour meter socket having a ringless-type cover and a plurality of jaw contacts to a watthour meter having a plurality of outwardly extending blade terminals, the watthour meter socket adapter comprising:

a housing having a base, an annular sidewall extending from the base, and an annular mounting flange formed on an end of the sidewall mateable with a mounting flange on a watthour meter; and

a frangible portion frangibly carried on the mounting flange, the frangible portion extending over at least a portion of the annular extent of the mounting flange and separable from the mounting flange for altering the peripheral configuration of the mount flange to enable an opening in a ringless-type watthour meter socket cover to pass over the mounting flange.

26. The electrical watthour meter socket adapter of claim 25 wherein:

the frangible portion is cuttable from the mounting flange.

27. In an electrical apparatus having a housing with electrical connections and receiving a separate electrical device in a plug-in electrical connection to the electrical connections in the housing, the electrical connections comprising:

a jaw contact mountable in the housing and formed of first and second jaws for receiving a terminal of a separate electrical device there-between in a plug-in connection;

the first jaw having an end formed of at least first and second laterally spaced legs;

the at least first and second legs respectively having first and second contact lines, each respectively adapted to be separately engageable with a blade terminal inserted between the first and second jaws, the first and second contact lines spaced longitudinally apart on the first jaw; and

the second jaw having an end formed of first and second laterally spaced legs opposing the first and second legs of the first jaw, respectively contact lines on the first and second legs of the second jaw axially offset from the opposing contact lines of the first jaw.

28. The electrical connections of claim 27 further comprising:

a width between opposed side edges of the first leg of the first jaw being greater than a width between opposed side edges of the second leg of the first jaw.

29. The electrical connections of claim 27 further comprising:

fastener means disposed intermediate the first and second ends of the first and second jaws for fixedly connecting the first and second jaws together.

30. The electrical connections of claim 29 wherein:

the contact line of the first leg of the first jaw extends longitudinally further from the fastener means than the contact line of the second leg of the first jaw to exert a smaller spring force on a blade terminal inserted between the first and second jaws than the spring force exerted by the second leg.

31. The electrical connections of claim 27 wherein the jaw contact comprises:

a base;

first and second sidewalls extending from the base and terminating in inward facing ends;

the first and second legs of the first jaw carried on the first sidewall;

the first and second legs of the second jaw carried on the second sidewall;

the contact lines of the first legs of the first and second sidewalls axially offset and spaced at a different spacing from the base of the jaw contact than the spacing of the contact lines of the second legs of the first and second sidewalls from the base such that the contact line edges of the first legs are contacted first by a blade terminal inserted into the law contact before the blade terminal contacts the contact line edges of the legs.

32. The electrical connections of claim 31 wherein the inward facing ends of each of the first and second legs of the first and second sidewalls comprise:

a first portion extending angularly inward from an end of the first and second sidewalls spaced from the base;

a planar end portion extending from the end of the first portion;

the first and second contact lines formed at the junction of the first portion and the planar end portion of the first and second legs.

33. The electrical connections of claim 32 wherein:

one of a length and an angle of the first portion of the first legs being different from the corresponding one of the length and angle of the first portion of the second legs to dispose of the respective contact lines of the first legs at a different spacing from the base than the respective contact lines of the second legs.

34. The electrical connections of claim 31 wherein:

the first legs have a different width between opposed side edges than the width of the second legs.

37. An electrical watthour meter socket adapter for interconnecting a watthour meter socket having a plurality of jaw contacts to a watthour meter having a plurality of outwardly extending blade terminals, the watthour meter socket adapter comprising:

a housing adapted for mating with a watthour meter, the housing having a base, and an annular sidewall extending from the base and terminating in an annular flange engageable with a watthour meter, an aperture formed through at least one of the sidewall and the base;

an electrically conductive surge ground conductor having opposed first and second ends;

the first end mountable on the annular flange of the housing and disposed for electrical contact with an electrically conductive element of a watthour meter when the watthour meter is mounted on the annular flange; and

a mounting member carried on the second end of the surge ground conductor and and extending from the second end to a position extendable through the aperture in the at least one of the sidewall and the base of the housing, for mounting the surge ground conductor to the housing.

38. The electrical watthour meter socket adapter of claim 37 wherein the mounting member comprises:

a foot carried on the surge ground conductor and bendable with respect to the surge ground conductor from a first position to a second position for insertion through the aperture in the housing.

39. The electrical watthour meter socket adapter of claim 38 wherein the mounting member further comprises:

a flange carried on the foot and extending oppositely from the foot, the flange disposed interiorly within the housing when the foot is in the second position for connection to an electrical conductor within the housing.