Claims
- 1. A telecommunications terminal block for making and breaking connections with a telecommunications conductor, said terminal block comprising:a base including a hinge member at an end thereof; at least one connector mounted in the base; and a removable toggle member rotatably connected to the base at the hinge member, the toggle member having a conductor receiving opening therein and a conductor passage extending from the opening past the at least one connector toward the hinge member; a latching member rotatably movable between a first state allowing rotation of the toggle member to a conductor receiving position and a second state locking the toggle member in a conductor terminating position in which a conductor in the conductor passage is electrically connected to the connector; and a travel limit member proximate the latching member that limits rotational movement of the latching member in the first state to a maximum rotational position in which the latching member is subjected to a stress below a yield point of the latching member.
- 2. The terminal block of claim 1 wherein the base comprises a unitary base.
- 3. The terminal block of claim 1 wherein the at least one connector comprises a first and second connector.
- 4. The terminal block of claim 1 wherein the environmental sealant comprises a gel.
- 5. The terminal block of claim 1 wherein the hinge member is on an external surface of the base.
- 6. The terminal block of claim 1 further comprising a release member coupled to the base and/or the toggle member that is configured to allow movement of the latching member from the second state to the first state.
- 7. The terminal block of claim 6 wherein the travel limit member is positioned between the release member and the toggle member.
- 8. The terminal block of claim 6 wherein the release member is positioned adjacent the end of the base having the hinge member so that a conductor extending from the opening does not pass adjacent the release member.
- 9. The terminal block of claim 6 wherein the latching member comprises a cross member on the toggle member positioned to contact a lead edge of at least one stop arm on the base in the second state of the latching member and to bypass the lead edge in the first state and wherein the release member comprises a lever arm on the toggle member coupled to the cross member having a rest position in which the latching member is in the second state and a flexed position in which the latching member is in the first state.
- 10. The terminal block of claim 2, wherein the latching member comprises a cross member positioned to contact a lead edge of at least one stop arm on the base in the second state of the latching member and a connecting arm that couples the cross arm to the toggle member and wherein the release member extends from a connection point on the latching member away from the base and wherein the travel limit member is positioned between the release member and the connecting arm.
- 11. The terminal block of claim 10, wherein the travel limit member extends from the toggle member toward the connection point and has a length selected to limit rotational movement of the latching member to the maximum rotational position.
- 12. The terminal block of claim 11 wherein the travel limit member extends between the release member and the connecting arm at an angle selected to allow the release member to be moved from a rest state to an activated state which allows movement of the latching member from the second state to the first state.
- 13. The terminal block of claim 11 wherein the travel limit member extends at least about half way from the toggle member to the connection point.
- 14. The terminal block of claim 1 wherein the toggle member comprises a softer material than the base.
- 15. The terminal block of claim 14, wherein portions of the toggle member and the base subject to forces when the toggle member is rotationally moved are sized so that the toggle member will fail before the base on repeated use.
- 16. The terminal block of claim 1 wherein the body cavity with the connectors mounted in the base is devoid of openings up to at least an environmental sealant material fill level.
- 17. The terminal block of claim 16 wherein the environmental sealant material is a silicone gel that is placed in the body cavity in a liquid form.
- 18. The terminal block of claim 1 wherein the base defines a plurality of body cavities with respective connectors extending therein and wherein the toggle member comprises a plurality of toggle members positioned adjacent respective ones of the body cavities.
- 19. The terminal block of claim 18 wherein ones of the connectors comprise an insulation displacing connector on a first end thereof at least partly in the body cavity and a second connection region on an opposite end thereof extending from the base.
- 20. The terminal block of claim 19 further wherein the release member is positioned adjacent the end of the base having the hinge member so that conductors extending from the openings do not pass adjacent the release member.
- 21. A cross-connect assembly comprising a plurality of the terminal blocks of claim 19 coupled to a mounting member and a plurality of wires, respective ones of which are connected to ones of the second connection regions.
- 22. The cross-connect assembly of claim 21 wherein the mounting member comprises a frame and wherein the base further comprises an attachment member configured to couple the terminal block to the frame.
- 23. The cross-connect assembly of claim 21 wherein the mounting member comprises a panel having a chamber on a bottom side thereof that receives the plurality of wires and a plurality of openings on a top side thereof configured to receive the terminal blocks, the openings being in communication with the chamber and wherein the cross-connect assembly further comprises a potting compound in the chamber.
- 24. An electrical connector block for making and breaking connections with a conductor, said connector block comprising:a base including a hinge member at an end thereof; at least one connector mounted in the base; a toggle member rotatably connected to the base at the hinge member, the toggle member having a conductor receiving opening therein and a conductor passage extending from the opening past the at least one connector toward the hinge member; a latching member rotatably movable between a first state allowing rotation of the toggle member to a conductor receiving position and a second state locking the toggle member in a conductor terminating position in which a conductor in the conductor passage is electrically connected to the connector, wherein the latching member includes a cross member positioned to contact a lead edge of at least one stop arm on the base in the second state of the latching member and a connecting arm that couples the cross member to the toggle member; a release member extending from a connection point on the latching member away from the base that is configured to allow movement of the latching member from the second state to the first state; and a travel limit member extending between the release member and the connecting arm from the toggle member toward the connection point and having a length selected to limit rotational movement of the latching member in the first state to a maximum rotational position in which the latching member is subjected to a stress below a yield point of the latching member.
- 25. The electrical connector block of claim 24 wherein the travel limit member extends between the release member and the connecting arm at an angle selected to allow the release member to be moved from a rest state to an activated state which allows movement of the latching member from the second state to the first state.
- 26. The electrical connector block of claim 24 wherein to travel limit member extends at least about half way from the toggle member to the connection point.
RELATED APPLICATION
This application is related to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/426,892 filed Apr. 30, 2003, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.
US Referenced Citations (39)
Foreign Referenced Citations (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
WO 9416722 |
Aug 1994 |
WO |