At&t Bell Laboratories

American Telephone & Telegraph Co., At&t Bell Laboratories

Clarence E Doyle

A terminal board panel comprises a longitudinally elongated frame enclosing a rectangular space, and a plurality of terminal boards disposed end-to-end in a longitudinal column in such space. Each board on its laterally opposite sides has outwardly projecting flanges cooperating with inwardly projecting flanges on two rails on laterally opposite sides of (and forming parts of) the frame to lock the board to the frame by tongue-and-groove couplings. Ones of the flanges on the boards and on the rails comprise an alternation of projecting tabs and of gaps between such tabs to permit the 'tongue' of the associated coupling to be inserted in the 'groove' thereof by a transverse relative vertical movement of board and frame by which the tabs of one of such flanges passes through the gaps in the other. The 'tongue' is then locked into the 'groove' by a longitudinal horizontal sliding of the board relative to the frame until the tabs of the 'tongue' flange are flanked on either side by solid portions of the other flanges constituting the coupling. The boards also have interfitting flanges thereon for locking the boards together by tongue-and-groove couplings when assembled between the rails. Each board supports an array of wire connection posts and has wire fanning strips along two sides.

Terminal boards and frame therefor

A terminal board has a base plate and rows and columns of terminals upstanding from such plate. Each terminal comprises (a) an insulative hollow post (b) a metallic terminal strip in the post and having a pair of tangs separated by a contact gap and projecting above part of the post, and (c) a hollow cap fitted on such post to enclose such tangs and gap and shiftable on such post between up and down detained positions. The cap on opposite sides has entrance and exit holes aligned diagonal to such rows and columns, with the entrance hole having an inwardly downward slant and the exit hole being horizontal. With the cap in up position, an insulated lead is fed into the entrance hole and then passed partly or fully through the exit hole which initially impedes full passage through it of the lead. The cap is then pushed on the post to down position to cause the lead to be driven against the tangs and into the contact gap such that the lead's insulation is cut and the metallic core of the lead contacts the tangs. The cap may be fitted on the post in either of two positions so that the lead passes either frontwardly or backwardly through the gap.

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Chester, NJ, United States of America

Clarence E Doyle