US 5,350,316 A · Fluorescent-lamp leadless ballast with improved connector

Abstract

A half-connector body has lateral ears that fit in small notches in the ends of the side walls of a ballast can, preferably at the top. An end wall, if present, traps the ears longitudinally in the notches; resilience of that wall, and of its attachment to the can bottom, enhance tight longitudinal fit. The half connector (a receptacle) presses against, and partly protrudes through an orifice in, the end wall (if present). Outside the ballast, in a new fixture, a jack slides freely in the receptacle to make wiring-harness connections. The jack has a ratchet-like manually operable hook to secure the jack until manually released. Each contact or lead in either half connector is preferably provided with individual strain relief by permanent deformation (as for example using a die punch, without heating or plastic flow) of the connector wall inward, to displace material irreversibly around the wires. In either the jack or receptacle, cylindrical female contacts make smooth wiping contact with bared ends of standard fixture wires held in the opposite half connector, serving as pin contacts. If the female contacts are in the jack, a person may replace conventional ballasts with this new one, by cutting and baring the old harness wires and inserting them individually into the receptacle. Alternatively, for field retrofit a jack can be supplied, e.g. with poke-in wiring.

Claims25

Dependent claims

In combination, a ballast and connecting apparatus for use in a fluorescent-lamp fixture comprising:

at least one electrical winding;
plural electrical leads operatively connected to the winding, for carrying electrical power to and from the winding;
generally enclosing the winding and leads, a housing having two generally upstanding side walls;
the housing having two ends;
an electrical half connector disposed at at least one end of the housing;
defined at each side of the half connector, respectively, an ear that extends laterally into association with one side wall, respectively;
defined in each said side wall, immediately adjacent to said one end of the housing, a cutout notch for receiving the connector ear that is associated with that side wall, to retain the connector in place longitudinally at the end of the housing;
and
plural individual electrical contacts formed from or operatively connected to ends of the electrical leads respectively, and fixed within the half connector for making electrical connections outside the housing;
and wherein:
the housing also has at least one end wall, at the same end of the housing as the half connector;
an orifice is defined in the end wall of the housing;
and
the connector is disposed at least partly within the housing at the orifice and against the end wall;
and
the side walls and end wall are resilient and biased outward;
and further comprising;
means for securing the side walls and end wall inward, against their resilient bias, so that at least the end wall firmly engages the half connector;
and wherein:
said securing means are installed after the connector;
and
before said securing means are installed, the end wall resiliently engages the half connector longitudinally to facilitate assembly by retaining the half connector in place.

19 more elements

In combination, a ballast and connecting apparatus for use in a fluorescent-lamp fixture comprising:

at least one electrical winding;
plural electrical leads operatively connected to the winding, for carrying electrical power to and from the winding;
generally enclosing the winding and leads, a housing having two generally upstanding side walls;
the housing having two ends;
an electrical half connector disposed at at least one end of the housing;
defined at each side of the half connector, respectively, an ear that extends laterally into association with one side wall, respectively;
defined in each side wall, immediately adjacent to said one end of the housing, a cutout notch for receiving the connector ear that is associated with that side wall, to retain the connector in place longitudinally at the end of the housing;
plural individual electrical contacts formed from or operatively connected to ends of the electrical leads respectively, and fixed within the half connector for making electrical connections outside the housing;
plural electrical wires extending through the fixture but substantially all outside the housing, for carrying electrical power to and from the housing;
each lead being formed as, or having secured to it, an electrical contact for making said operative interconnection with a corresponding lead that is in the housing;
and
a second electrical half connector for mating with the first half connector to effect said operative electrical interconnections between the leads and the wires, respectively;
said second half connector defining a plurality of passageways for receiving the plural outside electrical wires, respectively, near their ends;
each passageway having a respective interior wall;
wherein material of the second half connector is displaced to form plural pieces of said material that are wedged between the wires or contacts and the corresponding passageway walls, respectively, to hold the wires or contacts within the second half connector;
whereby strain relief is provided for each wire or contact in the second half connector without using any additional component;
and wherein:
said pieces are broken from the half connector at an angle less than thirty degrees, such as very roughly fifteen degrees, off the perpendicular to the passageways, respectively;
and
each piece has a correspondingly angled shape.

17 more elements

In combination, a ballast and connecting apparatus for use in a fluorescent-lamp fixture and comprising:

at least one electrical winding;
plural electrical leads operatively connected to the winding, for carrying electrical power to and from the winding;
a first electrical half connector;
a first group of individual electrical contacts, formed from or operatively connected to the electrical leads respectively, and fixed within the half connector for making electrical connections between the leads and such a fixture;
a plurality of electrical wires, extending through such fixture;
a second electrical half connector having walls, and holding the plurality of outside electrical wires near their ends within spaces defined by the walls, in relative positions to directly engage corresponding contacts in the first half connector, respectively;
a second group of individual electrical contacts, formed from or operatively connected to the electrical wires respectively, and fixed within the second half connector for making electrical connections to the first group of contacts, respectively;
portions of wall material of the second half connector being displaced by fracture, through holes crated substantially entirely by fracture and without differentiation or preforming of material to be displaced other than at most a slight thinning of the wall in the general area to be fractured, and substantially without flow, to form, for each one of said spaces, at least one discrete piece of said material that is wedged into or around each lead or contact, respectively, in the second half connector to hold those leads or the contacts in place within the second half connector;
whereby strain relief is provided for each lead or contact in the second half connector without using any additional component.

6 more elements

In combination, a ballast and connecting apparatus for use in a fluorescent-lamp fixture and comprising:

at least one electrical winding;
plural electrical leads operatively connected to the winding, for carrying electrical power to and from the winding;
a first electrical half connector;
a first group of individual electrical contacts, formed from or operatively connected to the electrical leads respectively, and fixed within the half connector for making electrical connections between the leads and such a fixture;
a plurality of electrical wires, extending through such fixture, for making electrical interconnections between the fixture and the leads;
a second electrical half connector having walls, and holding the plurality of outside electrical wires near their ends within spaces define by the walls, in relative positions to directly engage corresponding contacts in the first half connector, respectively;
a second group of individual electrical contacts, formed from or operatively connected to the electrical wires respectively, and fixed within the second half connector for making electrical connections to the first group of contacts, respectively;
portions of wall material of the second half connector being displaced by fracture, through fracture-created holes both:
(1) along a path through each fracture-created hole in said second half connector;
and
(2) by motion that significantly misaligns said material with respect to each said fracture-created hole,
without differentiation or preforming of the material to be displaced other than at most a slight thinning of the wall in the general area to be fractured, and substantially without heating, to form, for each one of said spaces, at least one discrete piece of said material that is wedged into or around each lead or contact, respectively, in the second half connector to hold those leads or the contacts in place within the second half connector;
whereby strain relief is provided for each lead or contact in the second half connector without using any additional component.

10 more elements

In combination, a ballast and connecting apparatus for use in a fluorescent-lamp fixture and comprising:

at least one electrical winding;
plural electrical leads operatively connected to the winding, for carrying electrical power to and from the winding;
a first electrical half connector associated with the lead;
a first group of individual electrical contacts, formed from or operatively connected to the electrical leads respectively, and fixed within the half connector for making electrical connections between the leads and such a fixture;
a second electrical half connector defining a plurality of passageways for receiving the plurality of outside electrical wires, respectively, near their ends, in relative positions to directly engage corresponding contacts in the first half connector, respectively;
each passageway having a respective internal surface;
a second group of individual electrical contacts, formed from or operatively connected to the electrical wires respectively, and fixed within the second half connector for making electrical connections to the first group of contacts, respectively;
a portion of material of the second half connector being displaced through a fracture-created hole, without differentiation or preforming of the material to be displaced other than at most a slight thinning of the wall in the general area to be fractured, to form, for each one of said plurality of passageways, at least one discrete piece of said material that is not attached to remaining material of the second half connector by any flap or hinge, and that is wedged between the corresponding lead and the corresponding passageway surface, respectively, to hold the lead within the second half connector;
whereby strain relief is provided for each lead in the second half connector without using any additional component.

6 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Fluorescent-lamp leadless ballast with improved connector

Life of this patent

Fluorescent-lamp leadless ballast with improved connector

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims25