BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
These and other features and advantages of the various embodiments disclosed herein will be better understood with respect to the following description and drawings, in which like numbers refer to like parts throughout, and in which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a terminal assembly in accordance with the present invention as attached to a loudspeaker;
FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the terminal assembly;
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a jumper and a first embodiment of a jumper contact, the jumper being positioned above and ready for insertion into the jumper contact;
FIG. 4
a is a perspective view of a first embodiment of a quick release device incorporated with the jumper contact;
FIG. 4
b is a perspective view of the first embodiment of the quick release device engaged to hold the jumper within the jumper contact;
FIG. 4
c is a perspective view of the first embodiment of the quick release device upon releasing the jumper from the jumper contact;
FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the jumper and a second embodiment of the jumper contact;
FIG. 6
a is a partial exploded perspective view of a second embodiment of the quick release device with the jumper positioned for insertion therein;
FIG. 6
b is an exploded perspective view of the second embodiment of the quick release device;
FIG. 6
c is a perspective view of the second embodiment of the quick release device with the jumper inserted therein;
FIG. 7 is a rear plan view of a circuit board in accordance with the present invention illustrating various circuit regions;
FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the terminal assembly with jumpers inserted to connect output terminals in parallel relative to source terminals;
FIG. 9 is a rear plan view of the circuit board showing the connections made between the regions of the circuit board and the connections resulting in the output terminals of the terminal assembly being coupled in parallel;
FIG. 10 is a diagram of the circuit board showing the electrical loads connected in parallel;
FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the terminal assembly with one jumper inserted to connect the output terminals in series relative to the source terminals;
FIG. 12 is a rear plan view of the circuit board showing the connections made between the regions of the circuit board and the connections resulting in the output terminals of the terminal assembly being coupled in series; and
FIG. 13 is a diagram of the circuit board showing the electrical loads connected in series.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The detailed description set forth below in connection with the appended drawings is intended as a description of the presently preferred embodiment of the invention, and is not intended to represent the only form in which the present invention may be constructed or utilized. The description sets forth the functions and the sequence of steps for developing and operating the invention in connection with the illustrated embodiment. It is to be understood, however, that the same or equivalent functions may be accomplished by different embodiments that are also intended to be encompassed within the spirit and scope of the invention. It is further understood that the use of relational terms such as first and second, top and bottom, and the like are used solely to distinguish one from another entity without necessarily requiring or implying any such actual relationship or order between such entities.
With reference now to FIG. 1, according to the present invention there is provided a terminal assembly 10 which includes a housing 12 defined by a front face 14, an upper surface 16, a right side surface 18, a left side surface 20, and a lower surface 22. The front face 14 includes a pair of terminal cap receiving bores 24a and 24b contiguous with a corresponding pair of wire access slots 26a and 26b. The wire access slots 26a, 26b are also defined by the lower surface 22. The front face 14 also defines a jumper access aperture 28 which exposes the interior of the housing 12, and includes a cover track 30 disposed on the periphery of the jumper access aperture 28. The jumper access aperture 28 is also defined by cavity walls 29. An aperture cover 32 is slidably engaged to the housing 12 on the jumper access aperture 28, particularly along the track 30. It is understood that the sliding aperture cover 32 is provided by way of example only and not by way of limitation. Any other mechanism for selectively exposing sections of the interior of the housing 12 is deemed to be within the scope of the present invention.
While FIG. 1 illustrates the terminal assembly 10 being attached to a loudspeaker 5, a person of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate that the terminal assembly 10 may be attached to any suitable location such as speaker boxes, stereo receivers, and the like. Such person will also recognize that the shape and the respective surfaces of the housing 12 need not be limited to that just described, and may be in the form of any desirable shape which may increase its aesthetic appeal.
An exploded view of the terminal assembly 10 is shown in FIG. 2, including the housing 12 configured to partially enclose a circuit board 34. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the cavity walls 29 extend to be substantially flush with the circuit board 34. The circuit board 34 may be of a quadrangular shape having a front side 33 and a back side 35, and include various etched traces and through holes, as well as a set of housing attachment holes 36 disposed on the corners of the circuit board 34. It is understood that the circuit board 34 may be secured to the housing 12 by utilizing screws 38 threaded through the housing attachment holes 36 and the housing 12.
The circuit board 34 includes a pair of source terminals 40, particularly positive source terminal 40a and negative source terminal 40b. The source terminals 40 are each defined by a threaded post section 42 and a cylindrical base section 44. Although not shown, the source terminals 40 each include an attachment section inserted through the circuit board 34 and secured thereon. It is understood that the attachment section may be threaded, and a nut threaded thereon may secure the source terminals 40 to the circuit board 34. However, any of the numerous conventional fastening means may be substituted. It will be understood by those having ordinary skill in the art that the constituent parts of the source terminals 40 including the post section 42, the base section 44, and the attachment section are of a unitary construction. It will be further understood that the source terminals 40 are constructed of material that is capable of conducting electricity, particularly, metal.
With the housing 12 enclosing the circuit board 34, the source terminals 40 project through the terminal cap receiving bores 24. A pair of terminal caps 46 cooperates with the source terminals 40 to secure a pair of source wires 48. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the source wires 48 each include ring terminations 50 which are configured to be fitted on the post section 42 of the source terminals 40. In this regard, the slightly larger diameter of the cylindrical base section 44 in relation to the post section 42 facilitates a greater contact surface area between the ring terminations 50 and the source terminals 40. Alternatively, the ring terminations 50 may be omitted and the source wires 48 may be bare such that they may be inserted into a wire access hole 52 defined by the source terminals 40. In either configuration, the terminal caps 46 clamp the source wires 48 to the source terminals 40. It will be appreciated that the ring terminations 50 may be utilized for more permanent connections as repeatedly unscrewing the terminal caps 46 may prove to be cumbersome, while bare wire connections may be utilized where rapid insertion and removal (for example, in testing situations) is desired. One of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that inserting the bare source wires 48 into the wire access holes 52 in the foregoing manner may result in undesirable fraying of the ends of the source wires 48. In order to avoid this, banana plugs may serve as terminations to the source wires 48 instead, and inserted into the hollow portion 54 of the source terminals 40. The opposite end of the source wires 48 are understood to be connected to terminals on an electrical signal source, such as a stereo receiver, radio receiver, audio amplifier, and the like. As is well known in the art, such signal sources include a positive terminal and a negative terminal, and the positive source wire 48a and the negative source wire 48b are connected respectively thereto.
It is understood that in order to decrease the profile of the terminal assembly 12, the source terminals 40 do not project any further from the front face 14 than necessary, and the corresponding terminal caps 46 are disposed within the terminal cap receiving bores 24. To permit the terminal caps 46 to clamp the source wires 48 while minimizing the overall profile, access to the lower portions of the source terminals 40 is provided through the wire access slots 26. It will be recognized by one of ordinary skill in the art that numerous other configurations which minimize the profile of the terminal assembly 12 are possible, and any such configuration may be readily substituted without departing from the scope of the present invention.
The terminal assembly 10 is configured to interconnect electrical loads to the aforementioned signal source. The electrical loads are typically understood to include positive leads and negative leads and, by way of example only and not of limitation, may be a voice coil of loudspeakers. In the particular embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2, there are intended to be two sets of positive and negative leads to be interconnected via the terminal assembly 10. In such an embodiment, there may be a pair of voice coil windings within a single acoustic transducer or loudspeaker, or there may be a pair of loudspeakers each having a single voice coil winding. To connect such a pair of electrical loads, there is a first load positive terminal 55a and a first load negative terminal 55b, generally referred to as first load terminals 55, and a second load positive terminal 57a and a second load negative terminal 57b, generally referred to as second load terminals 57. The first load terminals 55 and the second load terminals 57 are attached to the edge of the circuit board 34, and partially protrude from the back side 35 thereof. In order to provide unobstructed access to the first load terminals 55 and the second load terminals 57, the upper surface 16 of the housing 12 defines a load terminal access slot 17. While each of the first and second load terminals 55 and 57 are illustrated as plates with holes, a person having ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that any suitable electrically conductive mechanism may be substituted.
Turning now to the other components disposed on the circuit board 34, there is a set of jumper contacts which, in cooperation with jumpers 56, establish a parallel or series connection between the electrical loads connected to first load terminals 55 and the second load terminals 57 of the terminal assembly 10. More particularly, there is a first parallel circuit jumper contact 58a, a second parallel circuit jumper contact 58b, a third parallel circuit jumper contact 58c, and a fourth parallel circuit jumper contact 58d, which are generally referred to as parallel circuit jumper contacts 58. Additionally, there is a first series circuit jumper contact 60a, and a second series circuit jumper contact 60b, generally referred to as series circuit jumper contacts 60. Further details relating to the underlying circuit which enable the parallel and series connection will be discussed below.
With reference to FIG. 3, further details of a generic jumper contact 62 will now be considered in conjunction with the conventional jumper 56. It will be understood that the jumper contact 62 is identical in structure and function to each of the parallel circuit jumper contacts 58 and the series circuit jumper contacts 60. The jumper contact 62 includes a pair of opposed circuit board attachment members 64, which are configured to be inserted into the circuit board 34 and protrude from the back side 35 thereof. The jumper contact 62 may be electrically and mechanically connected with solder to the various metallic regions of the back side 35 of the circuit board 34. The circuit board attachment members 64 are contiguous with a bent lower end 66, which is operative to impart a compressive force upon an electrode 70 at a clamping region 68 to retain the same. The clamping region 68 is planar to maximize the contact surface area with the electrode 70, and thus maximizing retention strength. A top end 69 is bowed out such that the electrode 70 may readily slide into the clamping region 68 with minimal force. One jumper contact 62 links in complementary fashion to one of the electrodes 70 of the jumper 56. The jumper 56 includes a first electrode 70a and a second electrode 70b, with bottom ends 72 thereof being exposed and top ends 74 being covered by a jumper housing 76. Within the jumper housing 76 is a metal strip 78 that electrically connects the first electrode 70a to the second electrode 70b. It will be appreciated that the metal strip 78 may provide over-current protection by melting when heated by excessive current, thereby breaking the circuit.
In the aforementioned basic configuration where the jumper 56 is manually pushed in and pulled out from the jumper contact 62, the jumper 56 must project from the front face 14 of the housing 12 such that access to the jumper 56 is not inhibited. In an alternative configuration illustrated in FIGS. 4a-4c, a pair of jumper contacts 62 are also provided, but are enclosed in a first quick release device 80. The first quick release device 80 includes a sleeve portion 82 mated to a jumper holding member 84. The sleeve portion 82 includes a pair of diagonally opposed hollow cylinders 86 for receiving a spring 88 and a piston 90 integral with the jumper holding member 84. The jumper holding member 84 has two stationary positions relative to the sleeve portion 82, facilitated by a connecting rod 92. The expansive forces of the spring 88 push the jumper holding member 84 upwards so that the connecting rod 92 is at the lowest portion of a locking groove 94. FIGS. 4a and 4b illustrate this initial position, FIG. 4a without the jumper 56 inserted, and FIG. 4b with the jumper 56 inserted.
Upon inserting the jumper 56 within the holding member 84, a pair of opposed clamps 96 close against the jumper housing 76. By applying further force to the jumper 56, the electrodes 70 are inserted into the jumper contacts 62, and the connecting rod 92 is driven further upwards into the locking groove 94. As illustrated in FIG. 4c, the connecting rod 92 is engaged to a locking surface 98, and impedes the exertion of the expansive forces of the springs 88 upon the jumper holding member 84. When removal of the jumper 56 is required, it is pushed in again, disengaging the connecting rod 92 from the locking surface 98. Thus, the connecting rod 92 travels through the locking groove 94, in effect raising the jumper 56 and the jumper holding member 84 via the expansive forces of the springs 88. As will be appreciated, this embodiment does not require that the jumper 56 project from the front face 14 of the housing 12 because the jumpers 56 must merely be pushed (and not grasped by the jumper housing 76) to insert and remove the same. In this regard, the height of the jumper 56 may be reduced, decreasing the overall profile of the terminal assembly 10.
In another embodiment of the present invention, there is envisioned an alternative configuration for the quick release device and accompanying jumper contacts. With reference to FIG. 5, a jumper contact 130 for use in such configuration is illustrated, including a base plate 132 and a pair of legs 134 extending perpendicularly therefrom. The legs 134 each have a circuit board attachment member 136 that are configured to be inserted into the circuit board 34. A gripping bracket 138 is attached to the legs 134, and includes a slot 140. A finger 142 fixed to the base plate 132 extends into the slot 140 so as to define an intersecting relationship between the gripping bracket 138 and the finger 142. It will be understood that the jumper contact 130 is constructed of a flexible metallic material, such that the finger 142 may readily flex to accommodate the electrode 70 of the jumper 56 upon insertion, and to impart a compressive force thereon.
With reference to FIGS. 6A, 6B, and 6C, a second quick release device 142 is illustrated. There is a body 144 including a base section 146 defining a pair of contact access apertures 148, and a cover 145 attached thereto. Within the contact access apertures 148 are the jumper contacts 130. Mated to and in a sliding relationship with the body 144 is a jumper holding member 150. Particularly, the body includes tracks 152 that provide a guide for the rails 154 on the jumper holding member 150. A connecting rod 156 is attached to each of the peripheral ends of the body 144, and slides along a locking groove 158. Each peripheral side of the body 144 includes a spring receptacle 160 configured to retain a spring 162. The spring receptacle 160 on the body 144 includes a lower pin 164 to further secure the spring 162 and to prevent deformation thereof under compression or expansion. Further, on each peripheral side of the jumper holding 150 includes a spring receptacle 166 having an upper pin 168 disposed therein. The spring receptacle 166 and the upper pin 168 on the jumper holding member 150 is understood to be coaxial to the spring receptacle 160 and the lower pin 164 on the body 144. In operation, the spring 162 imparts an expansive force, such that the jumper holding member 150 is pushed upwards from the body 144. The upwards motion is limited by the connecting rod 156 and the lower end of the locking groove 158. Upon inserting the jumper 156, the connecting rod 156 travels up the locking groove 158 and engages the locking surface 170. Further, on each peripheral side of the jumper holding member 159 there is a notch 172 for rotatably mounting a clamp 174. With the jumper 56 inserted within the quick release device 142, it is understood that the clamp 174 functions to grip the jumper 56, thereby preventing the manual removal of the same.
It will be recognized by one of ordinary skill in the art that the functionality of the second quick release device 142 and the first quick release device 80 are generally comparable. The second quick release device 142 may provide additional advantages such as decreased profile, since the locking groove 158 and the connecting rod 156 have been shifted from the center to the periphery. Along these lines, the particular configuration in which the body 144 Further, the jumper contact 130 may also facilitate the reduction in thickness of the second quick release device 142, as it is not required to flex outwards beyond its normal state.
It will be appreciated that while particular quick release mechanisms have been described, any like mechanism may be readily substituted without departing from the scope of the present invention. A person having ordinary skill in the art will be able to readily ascertain such alternative mechanisms.
Referring back to FIG. 2, the parallel circuit jumper contacts 58 and the series circuit jumper contacts 60 are arranged on the circuit board 34 to extend through the jumper access aperture 28 of the housing 12 with the circuit board 34 attached thereto. The jumper access aperture 28 can be divided into a first quadrant 100 for the first parallel circuit jumper contact 58a and the third parallel circuit jumper contact 58c. Further, the jumper access aperture 28 has a second quadrant 102 for the second parallel circuit jumper contact 58b and the fourth parallel circuit jumper contact 58d. The jumper access aperture 28 also has a third quadrant 104 for the first series circuit jumper contact 60a and the second series circuit jumper contact 60b. Since there is no jumper contact associated with the fourth quadrant 106, the housing 12 is molded such that no access to the circuit board 34 is possible. Henceforth, that area of the circuit board 34 overlapping the first quadrant 100 and the second quadrant 102 will be referred to as the first section 112 and the area of the circuit board 34 overlapping the third quadrant 104 will be referred to as the second section 114. The quadrants are separated by a horizontal divider 108 and a vertical divider 110. As described above, the aperture cover 32 is slidably engaged to the tracks 30 defined by the periphery of the jumper access aperture 28. The aperture cover 32 is sized to cover only half of the jumper access aperture 28, such that access to the first quadrant 100 and the second quadrant 102 is simultaneously provided while blocking access to the fourth quadrant 106, and vice versa.
The modality by which the electrical loads are coupled in parallel and series to the electrical signal source will become apparent upon consideration of the back side 35 of the circuit board 34 with reference now to FIG. 7. According to one embodiment, the first load positive terminal 55a, first parallel circuit jumper contact 58a, and the positive source terminal 40a are in electrical communication with each other via a first circuit region 116. Furthermore, a second circuit region 118 electrically interconnects the first load negative terminal 55b, the second series circuit jumper contact 60b, and the fourth parallel circuit jumper contact 58d. A third circuit region 120 electrically interconnects the second load positive terminal 57a, the first series circuit jumper contact 60a, and the third parallel circuit jumper contact 58c. Finally, a fourth circuit region 122 electrically interconnects the second load negative terminal 57b, the second parallel circuit jumper contact 58b, and the negative source terminal 40b. The depiction of the circuit board 34 in FIG. 7 references multiple entities as the respective one of the jumper contacts. Such jumper contacts, including the exemplary jumper contact 62 illustrated in FIG. 3, include a pair of circuit board attachment members 64. These members are understood to correspond to the entities depicted in FIG. 7. Similarly, those entities referenced as the load terminals 126, 128 also include a pair of members associated therewith which are configured to be attached to the circuit board 35.
It will be understood that the circuit board 34, and particularly the backside 35 thereof, is a conductive plating laminated on an underlying, non-conductive substrate prior to etching. One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the conductive plating is a sheet of copper or other like metal, and the substrate may comprise phenolic resin, fiberglass reinforced with epoxy resin, ceramics, and so forth. After processing, etchings 124 are made to define the first circuit region 116, the second circuit region 118, the third circuit region 120, and the fourth circuit region 118, and to electrically isolate one circuit region from another. More particularly, the conductive plating on the regions of the circuit board 34 for the etchings 124 are removed so that the non-conductive substrate is exposed and there are no mechanical connections across the etchings 124. The techniques involved with developing the etchings 124 are well known in the art, and numerous techniques not mentioned above to accomplish the same ends may be readily substituted without departing from the scope of the present invention.
With the understanding of the layout of the circuit board 34, the connections made by attaching the jumpers to the contacts to link the aforementioned circuit regions and how such connections enable a parallel or series couplings of the electrical loads will now be described. Referring now to FIG. 8, the terminal assembly 10 is shown with the positive and negative source terminals 40a, 40b connected to an electrical signal source (not shown). The cover 32 is positioned such that the first and second quadrants 100, 102, and specifically the first section 112 of the circuit board 34, as shown in FIG. 2, are exposed. Referring now to FIGS. 8, 9 and 10, a first jumper 56a is inserted into the first parallel circuit jumper contact 58a and the third parallel circuit jumper contact 58c, connecting the first circuit region 116 to the third circuit region 120. Thus, the positive source terminal 40a is electrically connected to the first load positive terminal 55a and the second load positive terminal 57a. A second jumper 56b is inserted into the second parallel circuit jumper contact 58b and the fourth parallel circuit jumper contact 58d, thereby connecting the second circuit region 118 to the fourth circuit region 122. The negative source terminal 40b is coupled to the first load negative terminal 55b and the second load negative load terminal 57b.
As shown in FIG. 10, a positive lead 127a of a first load 126 is coupled to the first load positive terminal 55a, and a negative lead 127b of the first load 126 is coupled to the first load negative terminal 55b. Further, a positive lead 129a of a second load 128 is coupled to the second load positive terminal 57a, and a negative lead 129b of the second load 128 is coupled to the second load negative terminal 57b. In the circuit formed as described hereinbefore, the positive lead 127a of the first load 126 and the positive lead 129a of the second load 128 share a connection to the positive source terminal 40a. The negative lead 127b of the first load 126 and the negative lead 129b of the second load 128 are connected to the negative source terminal 40b. In this regard, the first load 126 is understood to be connected in parallel to the second load 128. It will be appreciated that the particular configuration of the first, second, third, and fourth circuit regions 116, 118, 120, and 122 enable the parallel circuit jumper contacts 58 to be grouped into the first section 112 of the circuit board 34, and to be disposed thereon in alignment with the first quadrant 100 and the second quadrant 102 of the housing 12.
Turning now to FIG. 11, the terminal assembly 10 is again illustrated with the positive and negative source terminals 40a, 40b connected to an electrical signal source (not shown). The cover 32 is positioned to expose the third quadrant 104 and the fourth quadrant 106, specifically, the second section 114 of the circuit board 34 as shown in FIG. 2. As understood, when the cover 32 fully exposes the third quadrant 104 and the fourth quadrant 106, the first quadrant 100 and the second quadrant 102 are fully covered. Referring now to FIGS. 12 and 13, the first load positive terminal 55a electrically connects the positive lead 127a of the first load 126 to the positive source terminal 40a. The negative lead 127b of the first load 126 is connected to the first load negative terminal 55b on the second circuit region 118. With the first jumper 56a inserted into the first series circuit jumper contact 60a and the second series circuit jumper contact 60b, the second circuit region 118 is electrically connected to the third circuit region 120. The positive lead 129a of the second load 128 is connected to the second load positive terminal 57a, which as mentioned before, is connected to the third circuit region 120. The negative lead 129b of the second load 128 is connected to the second load negative terminal 57b, which is connected to the fourth circuit region 122, and thus, the negative source terminal 40b. As will be recognized by one of ordinary skill in the art, the aforementioned circuit formed by inserting the first jumper 56a into the first and second series circuit jumper contacts 60a and 60b is operative to connect the first load 126 in series with the second load 128. It will be further recognized that the particular configuration of the first, second, third, and fourth circuit regions 116, 118, 120, and 122 enable the series circuit jumper contacts 60 to be grouped into the second section 114 of the circuit board 34, and disposed on the same in alignment with the third quadrant 104 of the housing 12.
As explained above, the cover 32 permits access to the first section 112 of the circuit board 34 and prevents access to the second section 114 of the circuit board 34, and vice versa. Concurrent access to both the first section 112 and 114 (and particularly the jumper contacts associated therewith) is prevented. Thus, the cover 32 makes the selection of connecting the first and second electrical loads 126 and 128 intuitive and simplified. The positioning of the cover 32 will make it apparent whether jumpers 56 are to be engaged to the parallel circuit jumper contacts 58, or the series circuit jumper contacts 60. Further, the connection may be rapidly modified by the mere removal and insertion of the jumpers 56.
The particulars shown herein are by way of example and for purposes of illustrative discussion of the embodiments of the present invention only and are presented in the cause of providing what is believed to be the most useful and readily understood description of the principles and conceptual aspects of the present invention. In this regard, no attempt is made to show structural details of the present invention in more detail than is necessary for the fundamental understanding of the present invention, the description taken with the drawings making apparent to those skilled in the art how the several forms of the present invention may be embodied in practice.
Patent Application
20070293082
