US2299291A - Battery terminal - Google Patents

Description

0a. 20, 1942. N. J. ZAM 2,299,291

Y "BATTERY. TERMINAL Filed May 1, 1942 gun-up Patented Oct. 20, 1942 BATTERY TERMINAL Nicholas John Zam, Toledo, Ohio, assignor ot' thirty'per cent to Albert J. Kain-is and thirty per cent to Geri-it Van Westrienen, both of Detroit, Mich.

Application May 1, 1942, Serial No. 441,313

1 Claim. (Cl. 173-259) This invention relates to improvements'in battery terminals, and has for its object the provision of a novel, simple and eiiicient clamp of this character which is operable to efiect a positive clamping to or release of a terminal from a battery post and is easily and quickly adjustable to suit posts of different sizes.

The invention is fully described in the following specification, and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which Figure l is a top plan view of a terminal embodying the invention applied to the post of a battery, with the battery fragmentarily shown;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged section on the line 2-2 in Fig. l, with alever arm applied to an end of the screw member to turn the same; Fig. 3 is a side elevation of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a plan view of a clamp similar to Fig. 1, with the lever arm applied thereto centrally of the clamp lugs instead of at one end of the screw member; Fig. 5 is a side elevation of Fig. 4; Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the adjusting sleeve employed in connection with the screw member, and Fig. 7 is a side elevation of the screw member.

Referring to the drawing, I designates a terminal post of a battery 2, and 3 a terminal embodying the invention and connected to a suitable electrical lead 4.

The terminal 3 includes a body or clamping member 5 having an electrical lead connecting portion 6 and a split post clamping portion 1, the latter being adapted to straddle a post so as to have clamping engagement therewith, as well understood in the art. Each half 01 the split portion 1 terminates at its free end in a lug 8 disposed at one side of a clamp post and being substantially parallel to and spaced from the other lug 8, as shown.

member as shown in Fig. 2, or a lever member l3 may be mounted on the screw member between its two thread sections and between the lugs 8, 8, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5.

Inasmuch as the posts I for diiferent batteries may vary in size, it is important to provide means for effecting an adjustment of the threaded connection with one or the other of the terminal lugs, so as to adapt the terminal for posts of different sizes. It is also desirable in terminals of this character to have a slight turn of the screw member, for instance a quarter or a hall turn, efiect a suflicient expansion or contraction of the clamping portion 5 to release or engage a post. Otherwise, the battery, to thepost of which a terminal is clamped, might interfere with the adjusting movements of the control levers I! or l3.

The present invention accomplishes this adjustment by mounting a sleeve IS in the screw member receiving aperture of one lug 8 for turning movements therein and by threading one end of the screw member [0 in such sleeve, while the other member thereof is threaded in the other lug of the pair. This sleeve at one end is providedwith a tool engaging portion I5 to facilitate turning the sleeve for adjustment in the lug. The sleeve is secured in adjusted position by a set screw it engaging it through a side of the lug in which mounted. It is desirable to have the set screw engage the sleeve within an annular recess l1 iri its periphery and to make the recess sufliciently deep so that the set screw may be released from holding engagement with the bottom of the recess and at the same time engage the side walls of the recess to prevent axial movements of the sleeve relative to the lug when adjustment is being eifected. This adjustment of the sleeve causes it to turn in one direction or the other on the screw member, so as to shorten or lengthen the spacing between the two lugs 8 to suit the post to be engaged.

By the use of this adjusting means, a nice adjustment of the clamping action may be effected to suit the particular post in connection with which the terminal is to be used, so that a slight turning of the screw member and its control arm will effect an eflicient engagement or release of the terminal with respect to the post.

I wish it understood that my invention is not limited to any specific construction, arrangement or form of the parts, as it is capable of numerousmodiflcations and changes without departing from the spirit of the claim.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to. secure by United States Letters Patent, is:

In a battery terminal having a split postclamping member with lugs projecting in substantially parallel relation from the halves there of and provided with axially aligned apertures, a

a peripheral recess, a set screw threaded in the lug and engaging in the recess to prevent axial movementsof the sleeye in the lug and also to releasably hold the sleeve in adjusted posltion,

and a screw member having a. right thread at one end and a left thread at the other end with one end threading into the sleeve andthe other end threading into the aperture of the lug not carrying the sleeve, whereby a turning of thescrew member will expandor contract the clamp member. NICHOLAS JOHN ZAM.

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