Fuse bus bar assembly - Patent Review 4599679

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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

Fuse panels or assemblies for supporting fuses in automotive electrical system.

2. Description of the Prior Art:

McGREW--U.S. Pat. No. 3,390,309

EGE--U.S. Pat. No. 3,851,224

WATANABE--U.S. Pat. No. 4,258,350

Comments are being submitted separately in an Information Disclosure Statement.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the present invention there is eliminated the conventional necessity for splicing of appliance fuses to a battery lead. Applicant has provided a fuse bar assembly which is capable of removably supporting 20 fuses 100 amps at 12 volts D.C.

According to applicant's invention, a non-conducting housing includes a platform support upon which a pair of metallic bus bars are supported. The bus bars have a plurality of downwardly bent tangs in the periphery and are mated 180.degree. out-of-phase, such that adjacent pairs of downwardly bent tangs define a resilient seat for electrical contact with a fuse blade.

An adjacent electrical terminal receptacle is provided for each pair of tangs. A non-conducting cover may be seated on top of the bus bars and secured to the housing as a protection and ventilation feature. The individual fuses may then be seated simultaneously in the pairs of downwardly bent tangs and the adjacent electrical terminal receptacle.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of the fuse bus bar assembly with a conventional fuse 56 mounted therein.

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the housing, pair of bus bars, cover and fuse;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary exploded view of the fuse contactable with a pair of downwardly bent tangs 36, 38 and the electrical terminal 78;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary elevation, partially in section, showing the fuse blade in contact with a pair of downwardly bent tangs of the superposed bus bars;

FIG. 5 is a top plan of the housing, showing the outer appliance terminal receptacles and the inner tang support slots;

FIG. 6 is a bottom plan, thereof;

FIG. 7 is a top plan of an individual bus bar;

FIG. 8 is a side elevation of the bus bar;

FIG. 9 is a top plan of the protective cover;

FIG. 10 is a side elevation of the cover;

FIG. 11 is an end elevation of the cover;

FIG. 12 is a transverse section, taken along section line 12--12 of FIG. 5 and showing the lateral rigidizing rib;

FIG. 13 is a transverse section of the electrical terminal support cavity or receptacle, taken along section line 13--13 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 14 is a fragmentary longitudinal section, taken along section line 14--14 of FIG., showing the electrical end terminal in place;

FIG. 15 is a fragmentary longitudinal section, taken along section line 15--15 of FIG. 5, showing the individual bent tang support slots.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS:

In FIGS. 1 and 2, the bus bar assembly 20 is indicated as having non-conducting housing 22 defining a plurality of electrical terminal support receptacles 24, a pair of alignment pins 26 and 28 for engagement with corresponding alignment holes 64, 64'; in metallic bus bars 32, 34. Housing 22 includes individual tang support slots 30, 30', adjacent each electrical terminal receptacle 24, as well as lateral rigidizing ribs 48 and 50, defining ventilation areas A, B, and C, as illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6.

Bus bars 32 and 34 include a plurality of downwardly bent tangs 62, 62', as well as medial aligning apertures 64.

As particularly shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, bus bars 32, 34 are mated 180.degree. out-of-phase, such that their tangs 62, 62' abut each other as a resilient seat for one blade 60 of conventional fuse 56. The pairs of downwardly bent tangs are seated within recesses 30, 30'. The entire assembly may be secured by insulating cover 38 having peripheral ribs 72 which define fuse housing recesses 74, aligned with the individual tang support slots 30 and terminal support receptacle 24. The entire assembly may be secured by threaded bolts or screws, 44, 46 engaging the apertures 48 and 50 in the lateral rigidizing ribs.

Housing 22 may include, also, a rigidizing rib 70 extending between the housing ends inwardly of the tang support slots 30. Also, housing 22 may be concavely formed at one end 52 as an assistance in handling a battery lead lug and an outer securement lug or ear 66 which may have aperature 68 for attachment to a suitable base.

As illustrated in FIG. 3 the individual fuses 56 including blades 58 and 60 may be fitted, respectively, in the pairs of downwardly bent tangs 36, 38 seated in recess 30 and, also, in the electrical terminal 78, seated within receptacle 24.

As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 7, the individual bus bars may have an aperture 36 for securement to a battery connection. This portion of the bus bar extends outwardly of the housing, as illustrated in FIG. 1.

In FIG. 13, an individual electrical terminal 78, for example, an appliance terminal, is shown positioned within receptacle 24. Receptacle 24 includes an upper support shoulder 82 engageable with the outwardly extending ears 80 of terminal 78. Also, receptacle 24 may include a pair of lower vertical slots 84 engageable with the terminal 78 lateral stabilizing fins 86.

Housing 22 may include an outer peripheral bead or shoulder 73. Shoulder 73 may be configured to include a plurality of recesses which correspond to the cover recesses 74 for support of the individual fuse bodies, as illustrated in FIG. 1. Also, housing cover 38 may include a pair of longitudinally extending strengthening ribs 40, 42 which define a vertical support for the cover, such that cover 38 may be raised above the bus bars 32, 34 as a ventilation assistance. Cover 38 may include an end concavity alignable with end concavity 52, configured in housing 22.

As will be apparent, the present construction eliminates the necessities for the time consuming and expensive splicing of the battery side of the fuses together either by soldering or terminating along a battery wire. According to the present construction, as many as 20 fuses may be fed off a single bus bar which may be simply and easily stamped. Bus bars 32 and 34 are identically manufactured by stamping and downwardly bending of the individual tangs 62. The fuse blade seat is provided by mating the bus bars 180.degree. out-of-phase and seating within the housing support slot. The economies and advantages of this rugged and simple construction are manifest.

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