Waterproof Push-In Wire Connectors
AssigneeThe Patent Store LLC
InventorsWilliam Hiner, Lloyd Herbert King, JR.
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A push-in wire connector having a sealant therein to enable formation of a waterproof electrical connection by axial insertion of a wire into a chamber contained an electrical conductor protected by the sealant with the electrical conductor displaceable into a waterproof electrical contact with the wire while both the conductor and the wire remain in the presence of the sealant.
Claims25
A waterproof push-in wire connector comprising:
- a housing having a chamber therein;
- a resilient conductor located in the chamber with the resilient conductor normally extending at least partially across an axial passage in the housing;
- and
- a wire displaceable sealant located in the chamber with the wire displaceable sealant waterproofing the resilient conductor in the chamber so that axial insertion of a wire into the axial passage flexes the resilient conductor into an electrical connection in the presence of the wire displaceable sealant to form a waterproof electrical connection between the wire and the resilient conductor.
The method of connecting two wires into a waterproof electrical connection comprising:
- axially inserting a first wire into a first axial passage of a push-in wire connector having a chamber containing a sealant protecting a portion of a bus strip and a resilient conductor until the resilient conductor in the presence of the sealant brings the first wire into waterproof electrical contact with the bus strip;
- and
- axially inserting a second wire into a second axial passage of the push-in wire connector having a further chamber containing the sealant protecting a further portion of the bus strip and a further resilient conductor until the further resilient conductor in the presence of the sealant brings the second wire into waterproof electrical contact with the further portion of the bus strip.
The method of claim 9 including the step of forming electrical contact on opposite sides of the first wire while the first wire is inserted in the sealant.
The method of making a waterproof push-in wire connector comprising:
- forming a push-in wire connector housing having a chamber therein containing:
- a wire engaging member having at least one moving part;
- placing a curable sealant in liquid form into the chamber to encompass the at least one moving part;
- and
- in situ curing of the sealant to form to form a self cohesive gel sealant that retains its integrity within the wire connector housing so that a wire end can be inserted therein to form a waterproof electrical connection to the at least one moving part.
The method of forming a waterproof electrical connection comprising:
- penetrating an interface of a wire displaceable sealant located in push-in wire connector by axially inserting an end of a bared wire into an inlet passage of a push-in wire connector containing an electrical conductor having a resiliently restrained edge encapsulated in the wire displaceable sealant;
- and
- axially forcing the end of the bared wire past the resiliently restrained edge encapsulated in the wire displaceable sealant to simultaneously wipe the wire displaceable sealant away from a junction between an outer surface of the bared wire and the resiliently restrained edge to thereby form an electrical connection between the resiliently restrained edge and the bared wire while the junction therebetween remains waterproofed by the presence of the wire displaceable sealant.
The method of making a waterproof push-in wire connector comprising:
- forming a push-in wire connector housing having a first port and a second port connected to a chamber;
- placing wire connecting surfaces with at least one of the wire connecting surfaces comprising a moving part in the chamber to form a push-in wire connector;
- and
- directing a sealant into the first port until the sealant forms a protective covering over the wire connecting surfaces in the chamber.
The method of claim 21 including injecting the sealant into the first port until it appears in the second port to thereby bring sealant into engagement with the wire connecting surfaces therein after an assembly of the push-in wire connector.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.