US3704438A - Screwless terminal fuse box - Google Patents

Abstract

A quick wiring modular fuse block, requiring no soldering crimping screws or special tools. The fuse block comprise a pair of wire and cartridge fuse holding clips, of springy material secured inwardly of the block. The clips are formed with wire grippers consisting of clinching tongues, die cut in the base of the clips. The base of the housing is formed with wireway bores aligned with the wire grippers for passing the wire ends therethrough.

Description

ted States Patent Boone [54] SCREWLESS TERMINAL FUSE BOX 72 Inventor: Christopher B. Boone, 926 Brunswick Court, Rockledge, Fla. 32955 22 Filed: Aug. 2, 1971 i 211 App]. No.: 168,070

Related U.S. Application Data [62] Division of Ser. No. 836,192, May 23, 1969,

Pat. No. 3,555,481.

[52] U.S. Cl. ..339/95 D, 337/215, 339/125 R, 339/217 S, 339/258 F [51] Int. Cl. ..H01r 9/12 [58] Field of Search ..339/95, 164, 217, 258, 259,

[56] Y References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,671,204 3/1954 Hubbell... "1339/9513 [451 Nov. 28, 1972 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1,251,400 10/1967 Germany ..339/95 D Primary Examiner-Joseph H. McGlynn Attomey Jacob L. Kollin [57] ABSTRACT A quick wiring modular fuse block, requiring no soldering crimping screws or special tools. The fuse block comprise a pair of wire and cartridge fuse holding clips, of springy material secured inwardly of the block. The clips are formed with wire grippers consisting of clinching tongues, die cut in the base of the clips. The base of the housing is formed with wireway bores aligned with the wire grippers for passing the wire ends theret hrough.

PATENTED Rm 2 1912 3 704,438

IN VENTOR.

c/m/sroP/m B, BOO/YE ATTORNE Y SCREWLESS TERMINAL FUSE BOX This application is a divisional of application. Ser. No. 836,192 May 23, 1969, now us. Pat. No. 3,555,481.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE saving in time and expense involved in making these I electrical connections, while at the same time making these secure and reliable.

To accomplish these objects, I provide one or more modular fuse blocks ora one-piece integral unit consisting of several blocks, in which the leads or wires may be attached to the contacts or terminals without soldering or other connectors, such as crimp-on or screw-on connectors. The leads or wires are held permanently and securely to-the terminals or contacts without thedanger of separation or loosening, thus avoiding an interruption of the flow of current through a corresponding circuit. The connections of the wires or leads to the terminals or contacts may be quickly and efficiently made without the use of special equipment such as soldering irons, crimping tools, screwdrivers and the like. I

The screwless terminal fuse block comprises a block for receiving the fuse cartridge, the block including means for securing a fuse cartridge therein, means for securing wire leads to said securing means and means for securing the block to a desired surface. The device of the character described can be used with a minimum amount of instruction. It is simple in design of sturdy construction and can be manufactured at a reasonable cost. It is particularlyadaptable for automotive, industrial and household applications.

These and other important objects of the invention will become apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawing.

It should be understood, however that these are givenby way of illustration and not of limitation and that various changes in detail construction, shape and size of parts may be made within the scope of the invention.

In the drawings:

FIG. I is a perspective view of several adjacent modular fuse blocks, two of which are shown in phantom;

FIG. 2 is a perspective partially broken away view of a modular fuse block;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectin taken on line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective detail of a fuse block illustrating the use of adaptors for use with 1 inch fuses and FIG. 5 is an enlarged .partial detail of the wire and fuse holding clip and the manner in which it is secured in the modular block.

Referring now to the drawing in detail, the modular fuse blocks shown in FIG. 1, each comprise a housing, such as indicated generally by the numeral 6, having side walls 8, end walls 9, 11, a base 12 and an open top. Mounted in the housing 6 is a pair of wire and fuse holding clips of springy material, such as brass, bronze,

etc. l4, 16. The clips are firmly secured by inserting these in the housing 6 through its open top and sliding these along the guides 18, 18', integral with the housing, as shown in FIG. 5. The base portion 20, of the clips is formed with a pair of wire grippers, each consisting of wire clinching tongues such as 20, 20a, 20b, 200, die cut in the base 20 of the fuseholder as shown in FIG. 5.

The base 12 of the housing is formed with a pair of wireway guide blocks 22, 22a. A pair of bores, such 24, 24a extend through each of the blocks and the base 12. The bores are-aligned with the respective grippers.

The base 12 is further provided with a recessed screw well 26 for receiving screw 28, with which the housing 6 may be secured to a desired surface. The recessed screw head increases the clearance to the ground for voltage protection.

The fuse blocks shown in the drawings are normally adapted for use with l A inch fuses. They can be easily adapted for use with 1 inch fuses by using a spacer 30, insertable in recess 32 as shown in FIG. 4, or the spacer may be molded integrally with the housing 6. The fuse blocks may also be made without spacers, for either size.

The modularfuse blocks may be mounted side by side to form a multiple unit fuse block, as indicated in FIG. 1, or they may be molded in one unit. Individual blocks may also be assembled into a single multiple unit on a mounting surface or a specifically designed mounting bracket.

In use, a pair of wires 34, 34a are stripped of their insulation and pushed through one of the pair of bores, respectively, of blocks 22, 22a and the housing base until the wires impact the converging point 36 of the clinching tongues 20, 20a, 20b, 20c, thereby spreading them inwardly of the housing 6. Due to the springiness of the metal from which the clips are made, the clinching tongues firmly engage the wire ends 34, 34a, as illustrated in FIG. 3.

The fuse block can next be secured to a desired surface by means of screw 28 and the fuse, 38 inserted in the fuse clip 14 in known manner.

To replace a wire it may be cut at the point of its entrance into the bore or wireway, insulation removed, and the wire end pulled with care through the clip from 'the fuse side. The restripped or new stripped wire is then inserted through the bore into the wire gripper, as previously described. If only one wire gripper is being used, the old wire being replaced is cut off, likewise, at its entrance point into the bore, and a new stripped wire end is inserted into the other adjacent wire gripper, through the bore or wireway.

The other wire gripper may also be used for connecting one fuse block to another.

I claim:

1. A quick wiring modular fuse block comprising a housing having side walls, end walls, a recessed base and an open top, a pair of spacedly mounted wire and fuse holding clips of springy conductive material in said housing, for receiving a fuse cartridge, each of said wire and fuse holding clips having a base portion formed with a pair of wire gripping means, meansin said housing for fixedly securing the wire and fuse holding clips, said recessed base having pairs of wireway bores aligned with said wire gripping means for the passage of wardly of said housing said wire and fuse holding clips being formed with indented portions for receiving said guides.

4. The device according to claim 1, wherein said screw bore is formed with a recessed portion for increasing the clearance to the ground for voltage protection.

Claims (4)

1. A quick wiring modular fuse block comprising a housing having side walls, end walls, a recessed base and an open top, a pair of spacedly mounted wire and fuse holding clips of springy conductive material in said housing, for receiving a fuse cartridge, each of said wire and fuse holding clips having a base portion formed with a pair of wire gripping means, means in said housing for fixedly securing the wire and fuse holding clips, said recessed base having pairs of wireway bores aligned with said wire gripping means for the passage of wire ends therethrough, and a screw bore for passing a securing screw therethrough.

2. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said wire gripping means consist of wire clinching tongues, die cut in said base portion of said wire and fuse holding clips.

3. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said means for fixedly securing said wire and fuse holding clips is a pair of guides extending from said walls inwardly of said housing said wire and fuse holding clips being formed with indented portions for receiving said guides.

4. The device according to claim 1, wherein said sCrew bore is formed with a recessed portion for increasing the clearance to the ground for voltage protection.

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