Electrical interconnection system
AssigneeAMP Incorporated
InventorJoseph L. Lockard
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An electrical interconnection system comprises a main electrical bus to which branch electrical buses are electrically interconnected. The main bus and branch buses include a plurality of insulated electrical conductors extending crosswise to one another with electrical interconnectors electrically interconnecting selected electrical conductors of the buses together. The electrical interconnectors penetrate the insulation of the buses and make electrical connection with the electrical conductors. The terminated sections of the buses can be housed in housing assemblies providing strain relief and insulation. Shielding can be applied onto the main bus and ground connections can be effected at the housing assemblies.
Claims24
An electrical cable assembly comprising:
- an electrical interconnection harness having a main electrical bus means including a multiplicity of electrical conductors isolated from one another by insulating jacket means, a branch electrical bus means including less electrical conductors than said main bus means isolated from one another by insulating jacket means, said branch electrical bus means crossing said main electrical bus means, and further having electrical conductor-interconnecting means each interconnecting a preselected electrical conductor of said branch electrical bus means to a respective preselected electrical conductor of said main electrical bus means at a crossing of said conductors, and dielectric means applied to the terminated section of said harness insulating the electrical interconnections thereof;
- said electrical conductor-interconnecting means each having a body section disposed adjacent a first one of said main and said branch electrical bus means at said crossing and four leg members extending substantially downwardly from the periphery of said body section, said four leg members being positioned at substantially spaced locations about said periphery, said four leg members each associated with a respective one of four corners of a respective said crossing and defining conductor-receiving slots therebetween, whereby four-point stability is provided during application of said electrical conductor-interconnecting means to said main and said branch electrical bus means such that no housing is required to support and guide said conductor-interconnecting means during insulating jacket means penetration, each of said leg members penetrating the insulating jacket means of said first one and a second one of said bus means at a respective said corner of said crossing, first conductor-engaging means being disposed on one of said body section and said leg members for electrically engaging a said preselected conductor of said first one of said bus means, and second conductor-engaging means being disposed on at least one of said leg members for electrically engaging a said preselected conductor of said second one of said bus means.
A method of making an electrical cable assembly, comprising the steps of:
- feeding a main bus cable to a terminating station;
- feeding a length of a branch bus cable across said main bus cable;
- selectively applying electrical conductor-interconnecting means to the crossed bus cables without previously disposing said conductor-interconnecting means in a housing for support and guidance during said applying, each such means electrically interconnecting a preselected electrical conductor of said branch bus cable to to a respective preselected electrical conductor of said main bus cable by four leg members extending downwardly from the periphery of a body section of said means and being positioned at substantially spaced locations about said periphery, said four leg members each associated with a respective one of four corners of a respective said crossing and defining conductor-receiving slots therebetween, and each penetrating the insulation jackets of both said bus cables at respective said corners of the crossing of said preselected conductors, and first conductor-engaging means disposed on one of said body section and said leg members engaging a said preselected conductor of a first one of said bus cables, and second conductor-engaging means disposed on at least one of said leg members engaging a said preselected conductor of a second one of said bus cables, defining terminated sections of said bus cables;
- cutting said branch bus cable;
- and positioning a dielectric means onto the terminated sections of said bus cables.
An electrical conductor-interconnector as set forth in claim 25 for use with flat conductors, wherein said body section has inwardly-directed wedge-shaped members for penetrating the insulation of one of said electrical conductors and being embeddable into said electrical conductors, and
- said leg members extend outwardly from said body section and have pointed ends for penetrating through the insulation of said first and second crossed electrical conductors straddling them with the pointed ends being bendable back through the insulation covering said second conductor and into penetrating engagement with said second conductor.
An electrical conductor-interconnector for electrically interconnecting a first and a second insulated round electrical conductor disposed crosswise of each other, and capable of being applied directly thereto, comprising a body section to be disposed adjacent an insulating jacket of said first conductor and four leg members extending substantially downwardly from the periphery of said body section, said four leg members being positioned at substantially spaced locations about said periphery whereby four-point stability is provided during application of said conductor-interconnector to said first and said second insulated conductors, said four leg members defining four conductor-engaging slots therebetween arranged in substantially spaced pairs of opposing first slots and opposing second slots, such that said opposing first slots are disposed axially normally to said first conductor and said opposing second slots are disposed axially normally to said second conductor, whereby when said conductor-interconnector is applied to said first and second conductors at the point of crossing, said legs penetrate the insulation such that said first slots electrically engage said first conductor on each side of said second conductor and said second slots electrically engage said second conductor on each side of said first conductor.
An electrical conductor-interconnector for electrically interconnecting a first electrical conductor and a second electrical conductor crossed by said first conductor at a crossing, and capable of being applied directly thereto, comprising a body section to be disposed adjacent an insulating jacket of said first conductor at said crossing and four leg members extending substantially downwardly from the periphery of said body section, said four leg members being positioned at substantially spaced locations about said periphery, said four leg members each associated with a respective one of four corners of a respective said crossing and defining conductor-receiving slots therebetween, whereby four-point stability is provided during application of said conductor-interconnector to said first and said second electrical conductors such that no housing is required to support and guide said conductor-interconnector during insulating jacket penetration, each of said leg members penetrating the insulating jackets of said first and said second conductors at a respective said corner of said crossing, first conductor-engaging means being disposed on one of said body section and said leg members for electrically engaging a said first conductor, and second conductor-engaging means being disposed on at least one of said leg members for electrically engaging a said second conductor.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.