CA2191830A1 - Fastening tool for a twist-on-wire connector - Google Patents
Fastening tool for a twist-on-wire connectorInfo
- Publication number
- CA2191830A1 CA2191830A1 CA 2191830 CA2191830A CA2191830A1 CA 2191830 A1 CA2191830 A1 CA 2191830A1 CA 2191830 CA2191830 CA 2191830 CA 2191830 A CA2191830 A CA 2191830A CA 2191830 A1 CA2191830 A1 CA 2191830A1
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- socket
- aperture
- recited
- wire connector
- tool
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Abandoned
Links
- 230000008878 coupling Effects 0.000 claims abstract description 12
- 238000010168 coupling process Methods 0.000 claims abstract description 12
- 238000005859 coupling reaction Methods 0.000 claims abstract description 12
- 239000000696 magnetic material Substances 0.000 claims abstract description 6
- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 claims abstract description 5
- 239000011810 insulating material Substances 0.000 claims description 4
- 238000000465 moulding Methods 0.000 claims description 3
- 239000002991 molded plastic Substances 0.000 claims description 2
- 239000002184 metal Substances 0.000 description 7
- 239000004033 plastic Substances 0.000 description 7
- 229910003460 diamond Inorganic materials 0.000 description 2
- 239000010432 diamond Substances 0.000 description 2
- 229910000831 Steel Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 230000003466 anti-cipated effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000003247 decreasing effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000005484 gravity Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000001788 irregular Effects 0.000 description 1
- 229920000642 polymer Polymers 0.000 description 1
- 239000010959 steel Substances 0.000 description 1
- 230000007704 transition Effects 0.000 description 1
Landscapes
- Details Of Spanners, Wrenches, And Screw Drivers And Accessories (AREA)
Abstract
Two or more electrical wires can be coupled by twisting the wires together inside a connector (10) of insulating body which has an hole (22) containing a coil (30) of a magnetic material. Fastening is performed using a socket (64) which has a body with an aperture (70) within the connector (10) is received. The socket (64) has a magnet (68, 72) that attracts the coil (30) to hold the connector (10) in the aperture (70) regardless of an orientation of the socket. The socket (64) further includes a coupling, such as a shaft, for connecting to a driver (62,42) which produces rotation of the socket thereby twisting the connector (10) onto the electrical wires. The connector (10) is removed from the socket (64) following the fastening process.
Description
FA~L~;NlN-G~ TOOL FOR A TWIST-ON WIRE CONNECTOR
Backqround Of The Invention The present invention relates to twist-on type connectors for electrical wires; and particularly, to tools for attaching such a connector to stripped ends of the electrical wires.
The stripped ends of two or more wires for an electrical circuit frequently are connected together using a twist-on type wire connector. These connectors which available in a variety of sizes, commonly have a conical shaped body of insulating material, such as plastic, with an opening at the larger end. The opening communicates with a tapered aperture and a similarly tapering coiled metal spring often is inserted into the aperture. The fastening operation is performed by inserting the stripped ends of two or more wires into the open end and rotating the connector so that the coil screws onto and twist the wires together forming an electrical coupling. Engagement of the metal spring with the bare wires aids in providing a conductive joint.
Twist-on type wire connectors frequently are used by electricians to connect two or more wires in a junction box within a building. Electricians typically twist the connectors directly by hand, although hand tools such as a hexagonal socket wrench or nut driver sometimes are used.
These connectors also are employed to make similar electrical couplings in a variety of electrical appliances.
For example, connections between the wires of a ballast in a fluorescent lighting fixture and the supply cord are made in this manner. In a factory, the wire connectors often are applied using electrically or pneumatically powered nut drivers, because of the high volume assembly at a fixed location. These power tools have a socket specifically designed to engage the body of the connector.
The use of a driver for these wire connectors decreased the fastening time as compared to twisting the connectors onto the wires by hand. Nevertheless, individual connectors still have to be inserted into the tool socket by hand and care has to be exercised so that the socket is not tilted downward where the connector could fall out of the socket.
In addition, rapid movement of the tool, even with the socket facing upward, can create centrifugal force that ejects the connector from the socket.
Summary Of The Invention A general object of the present invention is to provide a tool for attaching twist-on wire connectors.
Another object is to provide tool that retains a wire connector therein prior to fastening on the wires and easily releases the connector after the fastening operation.
A further object of the present invention is to provide such a tool which can be adapted for both manual or power driven applications.
These and other objectives are fulfilled by a system for attaching a plurality of electrical wires which includes a wire connector having a body of electrical insulating material with an aperture at one end, an opposing end and an exterior surface between the ends. A coil spring formed of a magnetic material is held within the aperture and aids in twisting together electrical wires inserted into the aperture.
The twisting action is accomplished using a socket that has an aperture within which the body of the wire connector can be tightly received. The socket includes a coupling to attach a driver to the body in order to impart rotational force onto the socket. For example, the coupling may be a shaft with one end fixed to the socket body, and a remote end either connected to a handle for manual use or adapted to engage a power tool driver. A magnet structure in the socket holds the wire connector in the aperture of the body prior to and during the electrical wire fastening process.
Preferably a permanent magnet extends around the aperture to and produces a magnet field that attracts the metal coil spring into the wire connector. By holding the connector in the socket due to the magnetic attraction, a user is able to freely orient and move the tool without the connector falling out of the socket during the fastening process and allows easy release of the connector from the socket thereafter.
Brief DescriPtion Of The Drawinqs FIGURE 1 is an isometric view of a twist-on wire connector that can be used with the present invention;
FIGURE 2 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view through the wire connector in Figure l;
FIGURE 3 is a partial cross-sectional view through a hand held driver according to the present invention for fastening the connector shown in Figures 1 and 2;
FIGURE 4 is a partial cross-sectional view through a fastening bit according to the present invention;
FIGURE 5 is a cross-sectional view through a socket for use with convention square drives;
FIGURE 6 is an isometric view of another type of twist-on wire connector; and FIGURE 7 is a partial cross-sectional view through a fastening bit for attaching the connector in Figure 6.
Detailed Description Of The Invention Referring to Figures 1 and 2, a twist-on wire connector 10 has a hollow body 12 formed of molded plastic in the general shape of a truncated cone which tapers from an open end 14 to a smaller diameter closed end 16. The open end 14 of the wire connector has a circular aperture 22 extending axially into the body 12 terminating a short distance from the closed end 16. As shown in Figure 2, the aperture 22 tapers in a narrowing manner reaching a shoulder 24 approximately one-third the depth of the aperture. The shoulder 24 defines an outer portion 26 of the aperture 22 and a smaller cross-section inner portion 28 with both portions having threads cut therein. A tapered coil spring 30 made of electrically conductive, magnetic metal, such as steel, is wedged into the smaller diameter portion. As used herein, the term "magnetic" refers to a physical 2191~30 characteristic that enables an object to be attracted or repelled by a magnetic field. The coil spring has a diamond cross-section which has an inwardly facing sharp corner to bite into the electrical wires being fastened together, as will be described.
With particular reference to Figure 1, the wire connector 10 also includes a pair of wings 18 which project radially from the body adjacent open end 14. By grasping the wings 18, a user is able to apply rotational force to the body 12 in order to screw the connector 10 onto electrical wires inserted into aperture 22. As the outer curved surface of the body 12 tapers from open end 14 to closed end 16, a transition occurs to six flat surfaces 32.
These flat surfaces 32 define a portion of the body which has an equilateral hexagonal cross-section thereby enabling a hexagonal socket of a nut driver to be employed in fastening the connector onto the wires.
For example, a manual nut driver 40 as shown in Figure 3 can be used to fasten the wire connector 10. That nut driver 40 comprises a shaft 44 with a handle 42 at one end and a socket 46 at the other end. Preferably shaft 44 and socket 46 are formed as a single piece of a magnetic material, although these components also may be made of plastic. The handle 42 has an exterior surface adapted for a user to grasp in order to rotationally drive socket. The socket 46 is cylindrical with a hexogonally cross-section aperture 48 extending from the exposed end 50 of the socket.
Six flat permanent magnets 52 are placed against the flat side surfaces of the aperture 48. The size of the aperture 48 and the thickness of the permanent magnets 52 are such that the cavity remaining in the socket 46 can accommodate the hexagonal closed end 16 of wire connector 10.
Alternatively a single-piece, tubular permanent magnet with a properly sized hexagonal aperture could be used in place of six flat permanent magnets 52. Nut drivers with different sized sockets can be provided with for fastening wire connectors of different sizes. A round permanent magnet 54 is press fit into a recess at the bottom of the aperture 48 of the socket 46. The permanent magnets 52 and 64 produce a magnetic field within the socket aperture 48.
Thus the hexagonal closed end of wire connector 10 can be inserted into the aperture of the nut driver socket 46 and tightly engage the aperture walls formed by the six permanent magnets 52. The magnetic field produced by these permanent magnets attracts the metal coil spring 30 inside the body 12 of the wire connector 10, thereby holding the wire connector in the nut driver socket 46. The magnetic nut driver socket 46 also can be used with wire connectors that do not have a magnetic spring, but which are formed of a polymer impregnated with magnetic material. With either type of connector, the user is able to orient the nut driver 40 with the socket 46 facing downward without the wire connector 10 falling out of the socket aperture. The magnet structure within the socket also enables the socket 46 to be inserted into a box of wire connectors 10 and the magnetic field draws the closed end of one wire connector into the aperture in the socket. Thus, the user does not have to handle the wire connectors.
To further enhance the holding forces which retain the wire connector 10 in socket 46, a small amount of plastic flash 15 from the molding process may be intentionally allowed to form along the sides of the connector body 12, as is visible in Figure 1. Flash ordinarily is undesirable, irregular amounts of plastic that extend from a molded article between two sections of the mold. The flash normally is trimmed from the finished article to produce an invisible seam line on the article. However, to enhance the holding forces, very small gaps may be created intentionally between mold halves adjacent the mold cavity. This permits a small amount of plastic to enter the gap during molding which produces very thin flash 15 on opposite sides of the connector body 12.
When the closed end 16 of wire connector 10 is inserted into the socket 46, the flash 15 either shears away or bends against the flat surfaces 32. In both cases, the flash 15 increases the width of the connector body 12 creating an interference fit within the socket. The friction due to the interference fit aids in holding the wire connector 10 in the socket 46 against gravity and other forces which tend to eject the wire connector.
Once a wire connector 10 has been placed into the socket, the stripped ends of two or more wires are inserted into the aperture 22 in the connector. The user then rotates the handle 42, in the same manner as a screwdriver, which causes the helical coil spring to engage and twist the stripped ends of the wires together within the connector.
The diamond cross section of the coil wire has a sharp corner that bites into the electrical wires to firmly hold the connector thereon. Once the wire connector 10 has been fastened onto the wires, the nut driver 40 is pulled away to extract the wire connector from the socket. Although the magnetic field from the permanent magnets 52 and 54 is strong enough to attract and hold a wire connector in the socket, the field strength allows the connector to be extracted easily from the socket after the fastening operation.
With reference to Figure 4, the concept of the nut driver 40 can be adapted to form a fastening bit 60 for use with an motorized screwdriver. The fastening bit 60 includes a shaft 62 with an integral socket 64 which are similar to the shaft 44 and socket 46 in Figure 3. However, the shaft 62 is not attached to a handle, instead the end portion 66 of the shaft that is remote from the socket 64 has a hexagonal cross-section to engage a hexagonal aperture that holds tool bits in an electric motor driven screwdriver. The hexagonal cross-section end portion 66 of the shaft 62 also can be held by a standard adjustable chuck of an electric drill.
The socket 64 has a hexagonal cross-sectioned aperture 70 containing six flat permanent magnets 68 along the side walls and a round permanent magnet 72 that is press fit into a recess at the bottom of aperture 70. The permanent magnets 52 and 64 produce a magnetic field within the socket aperture 48 to attract and hold a wire connector 10 therein.
Figure 5 illustrates a removable socket 80 which can be used with conventional square drivers to attach the wire connectors 10. This socket 80 has one end 82 with a square cross-section aperture 84 sized to mate with a square drive of a nut driver handle, ratchet wrench or powered driver, for example. The opposite end of the socket 80 has a hexagonal cross-section aperture 86 adapted to receive the closed end 16 of a wire connector 10. As with the previous embodiments, six flat permanent magnets 88 are located against the walls of aperture 86. The removability of the socket 80 allows sockets of various sizes to be driven by the same device in order to fasten different sized wire connectors.
Another type of wire connector 90 is shown in Figure 6.
This connector 90 has a similar internal configuration of a tapered aperture and coil spring as shown in Figure 2, but has a different exterior design. Specifically, the truncated conical body 92 has eight longitudinal fins 94 which originally aided the user grasping and turning the connector onto the electrical wires.
As an alternative, a tool socket 100 shown in Figure 7 may be used to fasten the finned connector 90 onto two or more electrical wires. This socket 100 has a bell shaped body 102 with a hexagonal cross-section shaft 104 projecting therefrom for engagement by a powered nut driver or screwdriver. The body 102, which is fabricated of plastic, has an aperture 106 extending from the end that is remote from the shaft 104. The aperture 106 has eight longitudinal grooves 108 for receiving the fins 94 when wire connector 90 is inserted into the socket. Such engagement of the fins 94 in grooves 108 enables the socket 100 to impart rotational force onto the connector 90 during the fastening operation.
Embedded in the plastic tool body 102 is a cup shaped permanent magnet 110 into which the bottom of the aperture 106 extends. The permanent magnet 108 produces a magnetic field which attracts the coil spring inside connector body 93 and holds the wire connector 90 in the socket 100.
The foregoing description is directed to the preferred embodiments of the present invention. Although some attention was given to various alternatives within the scope of the invention, it is anticipated that skilled artisans will likely realize additional alternatives that are now apparent from the disclosure of those embodiments. For example, the cross section of the aperture in the sockets in Figures 3-5 can have other geometric shapes to mate with connectors that have other than six flat sides 32.
Similarly the socket in Figure 7 can be altered to accommodate connectors with a different number of longitudinal fins 94. As a further alternative, the metal coil spring within the wire connectors 10 and 90 could be magnetized to produce a magnetic force that holds the connector in a non-magnetized metal socket.
Accordingly, the scope of the invention should be determined from the following claims and not limited by the above disclosure.
Backqround Of The Invention The present invention relates to twist-on type connectors for electrical wires; and particularly, to tools for attaching such a connector to stripped ends of the electrical wires.
The stripped ends of two or more wires for an electrical circuit frequently are connected together using a twist-on type wire connector. These connectors which available in a variety of sizes, commonly have a conical shaped body of insulating material, such as plastic, with an opening at the larger end. The opening communicates with a tapered aperture and a similarly tapering coiled metal spring often is inserted into the aperture. The fastening operation is performed by inserting the stripped ends of two or more wires into the open end and rotating the connector so that the coil screws onto and twist the wires together forming an electrical coupling. Engagement of the metal spring with the bare wires aids in providing a conductive joint.
Twist-on type wire connectors frequently are used by electricians to connect two or more wires in a junction box within a building. Electricians typically twist the connectors directly by hand, although hand tools such as a hexagonal socket wrench or nut driver sometimes are used.
These connectors also are employed to make similar electrical couplings in a variety of electrical appliances.
For example, connections between the wires of a ballast in a fluorescent lighting fixture and the supply cord are made in this manner. In a factory, the wire connectors often are applied using electrically or pneumatically powered nut drivers, because of the high volume assembly at a fixed location. These power tools have a socket specifically designed to engage the body of the connector.
The use of a driver for these wire connectors decreased the fastening time as compared to twisting the connectors onto the wires by hand. Nevertheless, individual connectors still have to be inserted into the tool socket by hand and care has to be exercised so that the socket is not tilted downward where the connector could fall out of the socket.
In addition, rapid movement of the tool, even with the socket facing upward, can create centrifugal force that ejects the connector from the socket.
Summary Of The Invention A general object of the present invention is to provide a tool for attaching twist-on wire connectors.
Another object is to provide tool that retains a wire connector therein prior to fastening on the wires and easily releases the connector after the fastening operation.
A further object of the present invention is to provide such a tool which can be adapted for both manual or power driven applications.
These and other objectives are fulfilled by a system for attaching a plurality of electrical wires which includes a wire connector having a body of electrical insulating material with an aperture at one end, an opposing end and an exterior surface between the ends. A coil spring formed of a magnetic material is held within the aperture and aids in twisting together electrical wires inserted into the aperture.
The twisting action is accomplished using a socket that has an aperture within which the body of the wire connector can be tightly received. The socket includes a coupling to attach a driver to the body in order to impart rotational force onto the socket. For example, the coupling may be a shaft with one end fixed to the socket body, and a remote end either connected to a handle for manual use or adapted to engage a power tool driver. A magnet structure in the socket holds the wire connector in the aperture of the body prior to and during the electrical wire fastening process.
Preferably a permanent magnet extends around the aperture to and produces a magnet field that attracts the metal coil spring into the wire connector. By holding the connector in the socket due to the magnetic attraction, a user is able to freely orient and move the tool without the connector falling out of the socket during the fastening process and allows easy release of the connector from the socket thereafter.
Brief DescriPtion Of The Drawinqs FIGURE 1 is an isometric view of a twist-on wire connector that can be used with the present invention;
FIGURE 2 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view through the wire connector in Figure l;
FIGURE 3 is a partial cross-sectional view through a hand held driver according to the present invention for fastening the connector shown in Figures 1 and 2;
FIGURE 4 is a partial cross-sectional view through a fastening bit according to the present invention;
FIGURE 5 is a cross-sectional view through a socket for use with convention square drives;
FIGURE 6 is an isometric view of another type of twist-on wire connector; and FIGURE 7 is a partial cross-sectional view through a fastening bit for attaching the connector in Figure 6.
Detailed Description Of The Invention Referring to Figures 1 and 2, a twist-on wire connector 10 has a hollow body 12 formed of molded plastic in the general shape of a truncated cone which tapers from an open end 14 to a smaller diameter closed end 16. The open end 14 of the wire connector has a circular aperture 22 extending axially into the body 12 terminating a short distance from the closed end 16. As shown in Figure 2, the aperture 22 tapers in a narrowing manner reaching a shoulder 24 approximately one-third the depth of the aperture. The shoulder 24 defines an outer portion 26 of the aperture 22 and a smaller cross-section inner portion 28 with both portions having threads cut therein. A tapered coil spring 30 made of electrically conductive, magnetic metal, such as steel, is wedged into the smaller diameter portion. As used herein, the term "magnetic" refers to a physical 2191~30 characteristic that enables an object to be attracted or repelled by a magnetic field. The coil spring has a diamond cross-section which has an inwardly facing sharp corner to bite into the electrical wires being fastened together, as will be described.
With particular reference to Figure 1, the wire connector 10 also includes a pair of wings 18 which project radially from the body adjacent open end 14. By grasping the wings 18, a user is able to apply rotational force to the body 12 in order to screw the connector 10 onto electrical wires inserted into aperture 22. As the outer curved surface of the body 12 tapers from open end 14 to closed end 16, a transition occurs to six flat surfaces 32.
These flat surfaces 32 define a portion of the body which has an equilateral hexagonal cross-section thereby enabling a hexagonal socket of a nut driver to be employed in fastening the connector onto the wires.
For example, a manual nut driver 40 as shown in Figure 3 can be used to fasten the wire connector 10. That nut driver 40 comprises a shaft 44 with a handle 42 at one end and a socket 46 at the other end. Preferably shaft 44 and socket 46 are formed as a single piece of a magnetic material, although these components also may be made of plastic. The handle 42 has an exterior surface adapted for a user to grasp in order to rotationally drive socket. The socket 46 is cylindrical with a hexogonally cross-section aperture 48 extending from the exposed end 50 of the socket.
Six flat permanent magnets 52 are placed against the flat side surfaces of the aperture 48. The size of the aperture 48 and the thickness of the permanent magnets 52 are such that the cavity remaining in the socket 46 can accommodate the hexagonal closed end 16 of wire connector 10.
Alternatively a single-piece, tubular permanent magnet with a properly sized hexagonal aperture could be used in place of six flat permanent magnets 52. Nut drivers with different sized sockets can be provided with for fastening wire connectors of different sizes. A round permanent magnet 54 is press fit into a recess at the bottom of the aperture 48 of the socket 46. The permanent magnets 52 and 64 produce a magnetic field within the socket aperture 48.
Thus the hexagonal closed end of wire connector 10 can be inserted into the aperture of the nut driver socket 46 and tightly engage the aperture walls formed by the six permanent magnets 52. The magnetic field produced by these permanent magnets attracts the metal coil spring 30 inside the body 12 of the wire connector 10, thereby holding the wire connector in the nut driver socket 46. The magnetic nut driver socket 46 also can be used with wire connectors that do not have a magnetic spring, but which are formed of a polymer impregnated with magnetic material. With either type of connector, the user is able to orient the nut driver 40 with the socket 46 facing downward without the wire connector 10 falling out of the socket aperture. The magnet structure within the socket also enables the socket 46 to be inserted into a box of wire connectors 10 and the magnetic field draws the closed end of one wire connector into the aperture in the socket. Thus, the user does not have to handle the wire connectors.
To further enhance the holding forces which retain the wire connector 10 in socket 46, a small amount of plastic flash 15 from the molding process may be intentionally allowed to form along the sides of the connector body 12, as is visible in Figure 1. Flash ordinarily is undesirable, irregular amounts of plastic that extend from a molded article between two sections of the mold. The flash normally is trimmed from the finished article to produce an invisible seam line on the article. However, to enhance the holding forces, very small gaps may be created intentionally between mold halves adjacent the mold cavity. This permits a small amount of plastic to enter the gap during molding which produces very thin flash 15 on opposite sides of the connector body 12.
When the closed end 16 of wire connector 10 is inserted into the socket 46, the flash 15 either shears away or bends against the flat surfaces 32. In both cases, the flash 15 increases the width of the connector body 12 creating an interference fit within the socket. The friction due to the interference fit aids in holding the wire connector 10 in the socket 46 against gravity and other forces which tend to eject the wire connector.
Once a wire connector 10 has been placed into the socket, the stripped ends of two or more wires are inserted into the aperture 22 in the connector. The user then rotates the handle 42, in the same manner as a screwdriver, which causes the helical coil spring to engage and twist the stripped ends of the wires together within the connector.
The diamond cross section of the coil wire has a sharp corner that bites into the electrical wires to firmly hold the connector thereon. Once the wire connector 10 has been fastened onto the wires, the nut driver 40 is pulled away to extract the wire connector from the socket. Although the magnetic field from the permanent magnets 52 and 54 is strong enough to attract and hold a wire connector in the socket, the field strength allows the connector to be extracted easily from the socket after the fastening operation.
With reference to Figure 4, the concept of the nut driver 40 can be adapted to form a fastening bit 60 for use with an motorized screwdriver. The fastening bit 60 includes a shaft 62 with an integral socket 64 which are similar to the shaft 44 and socket 46 in Figure 3. However, the shaft 62 is not attached to a handle, instead the end portion 66 of the shaft that is remote from the socket 64 has a hexagonal cross-section to engage a hexagonal aperture that holds tool bits in an electric motor driven screwdriver. The hexagonal cross-section end portion 66 of the shaft 62 also can be held by a standard adjustable chuck of an electric drill.
The socket 64 has a hexagonal cross-sectioned aperture 70 containing six flat permanent magnets 68 along the side walls and a round permanent magnet 72 that is press fit into a recess at the bottom of aperture 70. The permanent magnets 52 and 64 produce a magnetic field within the socket aperture 48 to attract and hold a wire connector 10 therein.
Figure 5 illustrates a removable socket 80 which can be used with conventional square drivers to attach the wire connectors 10. This socket 80 has one end 82 with a square cross-section aperture 84 sized to mate with a square drive of a nut driver handle, ratchet wrench or powered driver, for example. The opposite end of the socket 80 has a hexagonal cross-section aperture 86 adapted to receive the closed end 16 of a wire connector 10. As with the previous embodiments, six flat permanent magnets 88 are located against the walls of aperture 86. The removability of the socket 80 allows sockets of various sizes to be driven by the same device in order to fasten different sized wire connectors.
Another type of wire connector 90 is shown in Figure 6.
This connector 90 has a similar internal configuration of a tapered aperture and coil spring as shown in Figure 2, but has a different exterior design. Specifically, the truncated conical body 92 has eight longitudinal fins 94 which originally aided the user grasping and turning the connector onto the electrical wires.
As an alternative, a tool socket 100 shown in Figure 7 may be used to fasten the finned connector 90 onto two or more electrical wires. This socket 100 has a bell shaped body 102 with a hexagonal cross-section shaft 104 projecting therefrom for engagement by a powered nut driver or screwdriver. The body 102, which is fabricated of plastic, has an aperture 106 extending from the end that is remote from the shaft 104. The aperture 106 has eight longitudinal grooves 108 for receiving the fins 94 when wire connector 90 is inserted into the socket. Such engagement of the fins 94 in grooves 108 enables the socket 100 to impart rotational force onto the connector 90 during the fastening operation.
Embedded in the plastic tool body 102 is a cup shaped permanent magnet 110 into which the bottom of the aperture 106 extends. The permanent magnet 108 produces a magnetic field which attracts the coil spring inside connector body 93 and holds the wire connector 90 in the socket 100.
The foregoing description is directed to the preferred embodiments of the present invention. Although some attention was given to various alternatives within the scope of the invention, it is anticipated that skilled artisans will likely realize additional alternatives that are now apparent from the disclosure of those embodiments. For example, the cross section of the aperture in the sockets in Figures 3-5 can have other geometric shapes to mate with connectors that have other than six flat sides 32.
Similarly the socket in Figure 7 can be altered to accommodate connectors with a different number of longitudinal fins 94. As a further alternative, the metal coil spring within the wire connectors 10 and 90 could be magnetized to produce a magnetic force that holds the connector in a non-magnetized metal socket.
Accordingly, the scope of the invention should be determined from the following claims and not limited by the above disclosure.
Claims (19)
1. A system for attaching a plurality of electrical wires, said system comprising:
a wire connector (10) having a body (12) of electrical insulating material with an aperture (22) at one end (14), an opposing end (16) and an exterior surface between the ends, and having a coil spring (30) formed of a magnetic material within in the aperture; and a socket (64) having a coupling (62, 84) to attach a driver to said socket to impart rotational force onto the socket, and having an aperture (70) within which to receive the body (12) of said wire connector (10) in a manner that rotation of the socket imparts rotation force on the body;
wherein at least a portion of one of said wire connector (10) and said socket (64) is magnetized to hold said wire connector in said socket during an operation that fastens the plurality of electrical wires.
a wire connector (10) having a body (12) of electrical insulating material with an aperture (22) at one end (14), an opposing end (16) and an exterior surface between the ends, and having a coil spring (30) formed of a magnetic material within in the aperture; and a socket (64) having a coupling (62, 84) to attach a driver to said socket to impart rotational force onto the socket, and having an aperture (70) within which to receive the body (12) of said wire connector (10) in a manner that rotation of the socket imparts rotation force on the body;
wherein at least a portion of one of said wire connector (10) and said socket (64) is magnetized to hold said wire connector in said socket during an operation that fastens the plurality of electrical wires.
2. The system as recited in claim 1 wherein said socket (64) has at least one permanent magnet (68, 72) inserted into the aperture (70).
3. The system as recited in claim 1 wherein said socket (64) has a permanent magnet structure (68, 72) inserted into the aperture and having a shape which conforms to the exterior surface of said wire connector (10).
4. The system as recited in claim 3 wherein the aperture (70) has a bottom; and further comprising a permanent magnet (72) located at the bottom of the aperture.
5. The system as recited in claim 1 wherein said socket comprises a socket body (64) formed of molded plastic; and a permanent magnet (68, 72) molded into the socket body.
6. The system as recited in claim 5 wherein said permanent magnet (68) extends around the aperture (70).
7. The system as recited in claim 1 wherein the coupling (62) of said socket is a shaft with an end portion (66) adapted to be attached to the driver.
8. The system as recited in claim 7 wherein the driver is a handle (42) attached to the end portion of said shaft (62).
9. The system as recited in claim 1 wherein the coupling of said socket (64) is another aperture (84) to receive a component of the driver.
10. The system as recited in claim 1 wherein the body (12) of said wire connector (10) is molded and an amount of flash from a molding process projects from the body, wherein the flash increases a size of the body thereby producing an interference fit of the wire connector (10) within the aperture (70) to hold the wire connector in said socket (64).
11. A tool (60) for attaching a plurality of electrical wires with a wire connector (10), which is formed of electrical insulating material and has an aperture (22) that contains a coil spring (30) of a magnetic material, said tool comprising:
a socket (64) having a body with an aperture (70) within which to receive the wire connector (10) so that rotation of said socket (64) produces rotation of the wire connector, and having a magnet structure (68, 72) which holds said wire connector (10) in the aperture (70) while fastening the plurality of electrical wires; and a coupling (62, 84) connected to said socket (64) for attaching to a driver to cause rotation of the socket.
a socket (64) having a body with an aperture (70) within which to receive the wire connector (10) so that rotation of said socket (64) produces rotation of the wire connector, and having a magnet structure (68, 72) which holds said wire connector (10) in the aperture (70) while fastening the plurality of electrical wires; and a coupling (62, 84) connected to said socket (64) for attaching to a driver to cause rotation of the socket.
12. The tool (60) as recited in claim 11 wherein said magnet structure (68, 72) is inserted into the aperture (70) in the body, and has a shape which conforms to an exterior surface the wire connector (10).
13. The tool (60) as recited in claim 11 wherein said magnet structure (68, 72) comprises a permanent magnet (68) extending around the aperture (70).
14. The tool (60) as recited in claim 11 wherein said magnet structure (68, 72) comprises a first permanent magnet (68) that extends around the aperture (70) in the body; and a second permanent magnet (72) located at a bottom surface of the aperture.
15. The tool (60) recited in claim 11 wherein the coupling of said socket is a shaft (62) with an end portion (66) adapted to be attached to the driver.
16. The tool (60) as recited in claim 11 wherein the coupling of said socket is a shaft (62) attached to the body; and further comprising handle (42) attached to the shaft.
17. The tool (60) as recited in claim 11 wherein the coupling of said socket is another aperture (84) in the body to receive a component of the driver.
18. The tool (60) as recited in claim 11 wherein the magnet structure (68, 72) is molded into the body of said socket.
19. The tool (60) as recited in claim 18 wherein said magnet structure (68) extends around the aperture (70).
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| US57131095A | 1995-12-12 | 1995-12-12 | |
| US08/571,310 | 1995-12-12 |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA2191830A1 true CA2191830A1 (en) | 1997-06-13 |
Family
ID=24283158
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA 2191830 Abandoned CA2191830A1 (en) | 1995-12-12 | 1996-12-02 | Fastening tool for a twist-on-wire connector |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| CA (1) | CA2191830A1 (en) |
Cited By (1)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US7231710B2 (en) | 2004-12-20 | 2007-06-19 | Neil Edward Boa | Apparatus for securing wire connectors |
-
1996
- 1996-12-02 CA CA 2191830 patent/CA2191830A1/en not_active Abandoned
Cited By (1)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US7231710B2 (en) | 2004-12-20 | 2007-06-19 | Neil Edward Boa | Apparatus for securing wire connectors |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| FZDE | Dead |