WO1994027341A1

WO1994027341A1 - Battery connector

Info

Publication number: WO1994027341A1
Application number: PCT/AU1994/000232
Authority: WO
Inventors: Heinz Frank Moder
Original assignee: Technology Manufacturing Australia Pty. Ltd.
Priority date: 1993-05-07
Filing date: 1994-05-05
Publication date: 1994-11-24

Abstract

A battery connector (10) comprising a housing (12) having an opening (14) which defines a central axis A, the opening (14) being capable of receiving a battery terminal and either having therewithin or defining as a part thereof at least one fixed abutting surface and at least one movable clamping surface (20) between which the battery terminal may be received and clamped. The clamping surface (20) is defined as the innermost surface of a wedge (18), the wedge (18) being constrained to move towards and away from the central axis A of the opening (14), and hence, when in use, into or out of clamping engagement with the battery terminal, as and while the wedge (18) is moved substantially parallel to the central axis A of the opening (14). The battery connector (10) also includes an actuating means (22) for imparting movement to the wedge (18) substantially parallel to the central axis A of the opening (14).

Description

"BATTERY CONNECTOR"

This invention relates to a battery connector. In particular, the battery connector of this invention finds use in providing an electrical junction between an electrical lead and the terminal of a battery such as a lead-acid accumulator battery commonly used in vehicles.

The many traditional types of battery connectors are unsatisfactory in that they generally are difficult to access and require specialist tools in order to tighten and release them from the battery terminal. Furthermore, most traditional battery connectors are unable to provide both a sufficient degree of contact and an adequate clamping strength.

An aim of the present invention is to provide a battery connector which overcomes, or at least partly alleviates, the above mentioned difficulties.

The present invention provides a battery connector comprising a housing having an opening which defines a central axis, the opening being capable of receiving a battery terminal and either having therewithin or defining as a part thereof at least one fixed abutting surface and at least one movable clamping surface between which the battery terminal may be received and clamped, the clamping surface being defined as the innermost surface of a wedge, the wedge being constrained to move towards and away from the central axis of the opening, and hence, when in use, into or out of clamping engagement with the battery terminal, as and while the wedge is moved substantially parallel to the central axis of the opening, the battery connector also including an actuating means for imparting movement to the wedge substantially parallel to the central axis of the opening. _The movement of the wedge towards and away from the central axis of the opening comprises two components of movement which together define a single path of movement. Notionally, the two components of movement of the wedge, with respect to the central axis of the opening, are in the axial direction and in the radial direction. In this respect, the wedge is constrained so that it only experiences movement in a single path that is inclined in relation to the central axis.

The wedge is preferably primarily constrained by an overhanging tapered surface configured within and as a part of the housing, such that the wedge is urged against the overhanging tapered surface by the operation of the actuating means. The wedge preferably has a correspondingly tapered surface such that as the wedge is urged against the overhanging tapered surface the wedge slides therealong to move towards the central axis of the opening. By configuring the innermost surface of the wedge (the clamping surface) so as to be parallel to the central axis of the opening, the movement of the wedge along the overhanging tapered surface thus causes the clamping surface of the wedge to remain substantially parallel to the central axis of the opening as the wedge moves therealong.

The actuating means is preferably in the form of a nut having a head and an elongate threaded shaft, the threaded shaft being capable of threaded engagement with a correspondingly threaded bore which extends through the housing providing access to the opening. The free end of the shaft is preferably capable of engaging one end of the wedge so as to be able to impart movement thereto in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the shaft as the nut is rotated into the bore. The movement thereby imparted to the wedge by the actuating means is movement of the wedge against the overhanging tapered surface which, as described above, causes movement of the clamping surface of the wedge towards the central axis of the opening at an angle thereto. When in use, this of course relates to movement of the clamping surface into clamping engagement with the battery terminal located within the opening.

In a preferred form of the invention the engagement of the free end of the shaft with said one end of the wedge is such that the shaft is able to move the wedge both towards and away from the overhanging tapered surface. Further, the engagement is preferably such that the free end of the shaft is able to move laterally across said one end of the wedge to allow for the radial component of movement of the wedge as the tapered surfaces interact.

Preferably the wedge is adapted to include a lateral elongate recess across one end thereof (aligned laterally with respect to the longitudinal axis of the actuating means). The recess preferably has an entry of reduced width, thus providing a first region of increased width and a second region of decreased width, the second region representing the entry to the recess. In this form, the free end of the shaft preferably has an increased diameter head portion capable of being received by the first region and a reduced diameter neck portion capable of receiving the second region of the recess.

Due to the camming nature of the interaction between the actuating means and the wedge, in transferring the longitudinal movement of the actuating means to lateral movement of the wedge, it has been found that the battery connector may be secured to a battery terminal with a reasonable degree of force without requiring the application of large amounts of torque to the actuating means. Indeed, in a further preferred form of the invention the head of the actuating means is provided as an enlarged, easy to grip, head such as a wing-nut or the like. As the wing-nut projects upwardly from the battery terminal when the battery connector is in use, and does not require significant levels - A - of torque in order to provide an adequate clamp on the battery terminal, a user may easily tighten or loosen the battery connector of the invention simply by the application of hand force.

In this respect, it has been found that the angle of inclination of the respective tapered surfaces is preferably in the range of 20 to 30° to the longitudinal axis of the actuating means, which is thus also about 20 to 30° to the central axis of the opening (and in turn of the battery terminal when in use). The angle of inclination of the tapered surfaces is more preferably in the order of 25 to 28° and is most preferably about 26.5°.

Further, the housing of the battery connector is preferably a solid body having a downwardly opening bore which is capable of receiving the battery terminal. The housing preferably also includes an electrical lead connecting portion as an integral part of the body. In this form, a mortise may be provided between the bore and the connecting portion to house the wedge. Preferably the mortise is cut out of the body so as to be in communication with the bore and so as to define the overhanging tapered surface. The actuating means may then be located immediately above the overhanging tapered surface such that the head thereof projects above the housing to be accessible therefrom, and such that the free end thereof may be located within the housing to engage the wedge.

In this form, the battery connector of the invention may be placed upon a battery terminal by locating the battery terminal within the bore of the housing. The battery connector may then be secured to the battery terminal by rotating the head of the actuating means to urge the wedge downwardly such that the respective tapered surfaces of the wedge and the body of the housing abut and interact to urge the wedge towards and into clamping engagement with the battery terminal.

In this form of the invention, the at least one movable clamping surface as described above is of course the innermost surface of the wedge, there being only one wedge and thus only one movable clamping surface, while the at least one fixed abutting surface referred to above is that portion of the bore of the housing which opposes the wedge. However, it will of course be appreciated that in fact the entire interior surface of the bore may serve as the fixed abutting surface.

The present invention will now be described in relation to a preferred embodiment as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. However, it is to be understood that the following description is not to limit the generality of the above description.

In the drawings:-

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the underneath of a battery connector in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a cross sectional view of the embodiment of

Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of a part of the embodiment of Figure 1; and

Figure 4 is a perspective view of a further part of the embodiment of Figure 1.

Illustrated in Figure 1 is a battery connector 10 which includes a housing 12 having an opening therein in the form of a downwardly opening tapered bore 14. The bore 14 has a central axis A and includes interior surfaces 16 defining a fixed abutting surface. The bore 14 is adjacent to a wedge 18 which itself includes a clamping surface 20 as its innermost surface.

Accordingly, a battery terminal (not shown) may be received within the bore 14 so as to abut against the interior surfaces 16 when held in a clamping position by the wedge 18.

Also briefly illustrated in Figure 1 is an actuation means in the form of a nut 22 having a head 24 and an elongate threaded shaft 26. The shaft 26 has a longitudinal axis generally indicated by the broken line B.

The housing 12 includes as a part thereof an electrical lead connecting arm 28 for use in providing an electrical connection between an electrical lead and the battery terminal via the material of construction of the battery connector 10.

Figure 2 better illustrates the relationship between the various components of the battery connector 10 illustrated in Figure 1. In particular. Figure 2 illustrates a tapered surface 30 which overhangs the position of the wedge 18 and which is capable of interaction with a correspondingly tapered surface 32 at the rear of the wedge 18. Thus it can be seen that by rotating the head 24 of the nut 22 and by relying on the threaded engagement between the shaft 26 and the threaded bore 34, the free end 36 of the shaft 26 may be moved up or down in the direction of arrow C.

For example, in rotating the head 24 so as to cause downward movement of the free end 36 of shaft 26, the free end 36 contacts one end 38 of the wedge 18 and urges the wedge 18 downwards such that the tapered surface 32 contacts the overhanging tapered surface 30.

Due to the presence of a lateral elongate recess 40 in the one end 38 of the wedge 18, the wedge 18 is free to move laterally towards the central axis A of the bore 14 as it is urged downwardly in the direction of the longitudinal axis B of the shaft 26. Thus, as the head 24 is tightened, the clamping surface 20, while maintaining its position substantially parallel to the central axis A (or slightly inclined to that central axis A as is evident from Figure 2) is urged towards the central axis A. Therefore, when a battery terminal is located within the bore 14, the battery terminal may be clamped between the opposing wall 42 of the bore 14 and the clamping surface 20 of the wedge 18.

The configuration of each of the actuating means and the wedge 18 are better illustrated in Figures 3 and 4 respectively. The actuating means, in the form of a nut 22, is illustrated in Figure 4 having a head 24 that has an easy to grip configuration and size. Integral with the head 24 is the elongate shaft 26 suitably threaded so as to engage with the bore 34 of the housing 12 as illustrated in Figure 2. In this preferred form of the actuating means the thread is right handed thread such that the normal effect of tightening the actuating means will urge the wedge into engagement with the battery terminal and the reverse result of loosening the actuating means will disengage the wedge from the battery terminal.

Further, the free end 36 of the shaft 26 includes a reduced diameter neck portion 42 and an increased diameter head portion 44.

The wedge 18 as illustrated in Figure 4 includes the tapered surface 32 and the clamping surface 20 which is formed arcuately to correspond with the curvature of the bore 14 of the housing 12. At the one end 38 of the wedge 18 is the lateral elongate recess 40 which is capable of receiving the free end 36 of the actuating means 22. In this respect, the recess 40 has an entry of reduced width as defined by the presence of shoulders 46 and 48. The recess also includes a region of increased width 50. Thus, the recess 40 is capable of receiving the free end 36 of the actuating means 22 in a sliding relationship wherein the increased diameter head portion 44 is received by the first increased width region 50 of the wedge 18 while the reduced diameter neck portion 42 of the actuating means 22 is received by the second region of the recess being the entry of reduced width as defined by shoulders 46 and 48.

In light of the interaction of the multiple width recess 40 and the multiple diameter free end 36 of the actuating means 24, together with the interaction of the tapered surfaces 30 and 32, the wedge 18 is constrained within the battery connector 10 to move towards and away from the central axis A of the bore 14 and hence, when in use, into or out of clamping engagement with the battery terminal located within the bore 14. This movement of the wedge 18 is defined by two components of movement, one being in the axial direction and one being in the radial direction with respect to both the longitudinal axis B of the actuating means 22 and the central axis A of the bore 14.

It will be appreciated that the material of construction may be any normal material of construction for battery connectors of this type. In particular, the connector is preferably made of a bronze aluminium alloy which then provides good non-corroding properties as well as being a good conductor of electricity.

Further, minor alterations may need to be made to the construction of the housing in order to make the battery connector of this invention, and more particularly the battery connector as illustrated in these drawings, suitable for use for battery terminals of any type. Of course, some modifications may also be necessary in order to manufacture a pair of battery connectors, for both the positive and negative terminals of a battery. Further still, it will be appreciated that any type of connection means may be utilised for connecting the electrical lead to the housing of the battery connector.

Finally, one alternative form of operation of the actuating means may be to omit the recess of the wedge and its interaction with the modified free end of the shaft of the actuating means, and to remove the threaded engagement between the shaft and the housing and transfer that threaded engagement to the free end of the shaft in co-operation with a correspondingly threaded bore in the wedge. In this form, the head of the actuating means will not move towards and away from the housing, but rather the wedge itself, as restrained by its location adjacent the overhanging tapered surface, will be caused to move along the shaft due to the threaded engagement therewith as the head is rotated. This will of course also result in the wedge being urged towards the overhanging tapered surface, thus causing the corresponding movement of the wedge towards the central axis of the opening. However, in this form of the invention, the aperture through which the shaft of the actuating means passes will need to be slightly oversized in order to allow the lateral movement of the wedge.

In can thus be seen that the battery connector of the present invention allows for easy and accessible connection to a battery terminal. In this respect, the ability to easily tighten and loosen the connector, while still providing a strong clamping engagement reduces the likelihood of damage being done to a battery terminal when overtightening or when attempting to undo.

Further, the bore 14 of the housing may be any suitable configuration as is necessary for a particular type of battery terminal and need not in fact be a fully enclosed opening. Further, it would be possible to include more than one wedge whether actuated by one or more actuating means as appropriate. However, the addition of further wedges would most likely introduce further complexities and expenses so as to make such an alternative less attractive.

It will also be appreciated that there may be other alterations and modifications to the configurations described herein that are also within the scope of the present invention.

Claims

THE CLAIMS defining the invention are as follows:-

1. A battery connector comprising a housing having an opening which defines a central axis, the opening being capable of receiving a battery terminal and either having therewithin or defining as a part thereof at least one fixed abutting surface and at least one movable clamping surface between which the battery terminal may be received and clamped, the clamping surface being defined as the innermost surface of a wedge, the wedge being constrained to move towards and away from the central axis of the opening, and hence, when in use, into or out of clamping engagement with the battery terminal, as and while the wedge is moved substantially parallel to the central axis of the opening, the battery connector also including an actuating means for imparting movement to the wedge substantially parallel to the central axis of the opening.

2. A battery connector according to claim 1 wherein the wedge is constrained so that it only experiences movement in a single path that is inclined in relation to the central axis.

3. A battery connector according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the wedge is constrained by an overhanging tapered surface configured within and as a part of the housing, such that the wedge is urged against the overhanging tapered surface by the operation of the actuating means.

4. A battery connector according to claim 3 wherein the wedge has a correspondingly tapered surface such that as the wedge is urged against the overhanging tapered surface the wedge slides therealong to move towards the central axis of the opening.

5. A battery connector according to claim 4 wherein the innermost surface of the wedge is configured so as to be parallel to the central axis of the opening, the movement of the wedge along the overhanging tapered surface thus causing the innermost surface of the wedge to remain substantially parallel to the central axis of the opening as the wedge moves therealong.

6. A battery connector according to any one of claims 1 to 5 wherein the actuating means is in the form of a nut having a head and an elongate threaded shaft, the threaded shaft being capable of threaded engagement with a correspondingly threaded bore which extends through the housing providing access to the opening.

7. A battery connector according to claim 6 wherein the free end of the shaft is capable of engaging one end of the wedge so as to be able to impart movement thereto in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the shaft as the nut is rotated into the bore, the movement thereby imparted to the wedge by the actuating means being movement of the wedge against the overhanging tapered surface which causes movement of the innermost surface of the wedge towards the central axis of the opening at an angle thereto.

8. A battery connector according to claim 7 wherein the engagement of the free end of the shaft with said one end of the wedge is such that the shaft is able to move the wedge both towards and away from the overhanging tapered surface and is such that the free end of the shaft is able to move laterally across said one end of the wedge to allow for a radial component of movement of the wedge as the tapered surfaces interact.

9. A battery connector according to claim 8 wherein the wedge is adapted to include a lateral elongate recess across one end thereof, the recess having an entry of reduced width, thus providing a first region of increased width and a second region of decreased width, the second region representing the entry to the recess.

10. A battery connector according to claim 9 wherein the free end of the shaft preferably has an increased diameter head portion capable of being received by the first region and a reduced diameter neck portion capable of receiving the second region of the recess.

11. A battery connector according to claim 4 wherein the angle of inclination of the respective tapered surfaces is in the range of 20 to 30° to the longitudinal axis of the actuating means.

12. A battery connector according to claim 4 wherein the angle of inclination of the tapered surfaces is in the range of 25 to 28°.

13. A battery connector according to claim 4 wherein the angle of inclination is about 26.5°.

14. A battery connector according to any one of claims 1 to 13 wherein the housing of the battery connector is a solid body having a downwardly opening bore which is capable of receiving the battery terminal.

15. A battery connector according to claim 14 wherein a mortise is provided adjacent the bore to house the wedge, the mortise being cut out of the body so as to be in communication with the bore and so as to define the overhanging tapered surface.

16. A battery connector according to claim 15 wherein the actuating means is located immediately above the overhanging tapered surface such that the head thereof projects above the housing to be accessible therefrom, and such that the free end thereof may be located within the housing to engage the wedge.

17. A battery connector according to claim 1 substantially as herein described in relation to the accompanying drawings.