Dual compressive connector
First Claim
1. An electrical connector, comprising:
- a casing having formed therein an opening to receive a first bus bar and a second bus bar, the casing comprising a first wall and a second wall opposing the first wall; and
an elastic strip comprising a first leg and a second leg,wherein the first leg is configured to press against the first wall and the second leg is configured to press against the second wall, andwherein the elastic strip is configured to hold the first bus bar, inserted through the opening, between the first leg and the first wall and to hold the second bus bar, inserted through the opening, between the second leg and the second wall.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An electrical connector for electrically connecting multiple photovoltaic bus bars. A casing includes first and second opposing walls. An elastic strip is bent into a bent elastic strip with a first leg and a second leg. The bent elastic strip is disposed between the first and second walls of the casing with the first leg pressing against the first wall and the second leg pressing against the second wall. The bent elastic strip is configured to hold at least one of the photovoltaic bus bars between the first leg and the first wall and another of the photovoltaic bus bars between the second leg and the second wall. The bent elastic strip may be formed of resilient spring metal with a thickness and an elastic modulus. The thickness and/or the elastic modulus of the elastic strip is/are configured so that the bus bars are inserted without requiring a tool to open a space and so that the bus bars are removed from the connector without requiring a tool to break the electrical connection.
126 Citations
20 Claims
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1. An electrical connector, comprising:
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a casing having formed therein an opening to receive a first bus bar and a second bus bar, the casing comprising a first wall and a second wall opposing the first wall; and an elastic strip comprising a first leg and a second leg, wherein the first leg is configured to press against the first wall and the second leg is configured to press against the second wall, and wherein the elastic strip is configured to hold the first bus bar, inserted through the opening, between the first leg and the first wall and to hold the second bus bar, inserted through the opening, between the second leg and the second wall. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. An electrical connector, comprising:
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a casing including a first wall and a second wall, the second wall opposing the first wall; a first elastic strip comprising a first leg and a second leg; and a second elastic strip comprising a third leg and a fourth leg; wherein the first leg presses against the first wall, the second leg and the third leg press against each other, and the fourth leg presses against the second wall, wherein the first elastic strip and the second elastic strip are configured to hold a first bus bar between the first leg and the first wall, a second bus bar between the second leg and the third leg, and a third bus bar between the third leg and the second wall. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11)
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12. A method, comprising:
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folding sheet metal to form a casing with an opening to receive a first bus bar and a second bus bar therethrough, the casing comprising a first wall and a second wall opposing the first wall; and inserting an elastic strip through the opening of the casing between the first wall and the second wall such that a first leg of the elastic strip presses against the first wall and a second leg of the elastic strip presses against the second wall. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification