Electrical connector for luminous displays

Claim 2

In combination with a building wall, a metal conduit therethrough terminated at and fastened to a letter housing at the outside of said wall and to a high voltage conductor housing at the inside of said wall and a high voltage pliable, wire-like, conductor extending between said housings; a rigid dielectric conduit dimensioned for receipt by insertion therethrough of said high voltage conductor and for telescopic insertion into and removal from said metal conduit; a right angularly related socket mounted at the normally outboard end of said dielectric conduit and being connected to said conductor, and dimensioned for receipt of an electrode bearing end of a gaseous discharge tube into electrical connection with said conductor; and said dielectric conduit and socket and tube end being formed for assembly outside of said letter housing and for straight line telescopic insertion of said dielectric conduit into said metal conduit, said dielectric conduit and said metal conduit cofunctioning to position and support said tube in said letter housing substantially parallel to the center plane thereof.

Claim 3

An electrical connector for luminous displays having a gaseous electric discharge tube having an electrode contact bearing end and disposed within a letter housing mounted at the exterior side of a building wall, an electrical housing and high-tension transformer mounted therein at the interior side of said wall, a length of rigid metal conduit extending through said wall and having its opposite ends secured to and in communication with the interiors of said letter and transformer housings, and a high voltage pliable wire-like conductor extending between said transformer and letter housing through said metal conduit the improvement comprising: a rigid dielectric conduit dimensioned to receive said high-voltage conductor and having a length and dimension for removable telescopic mounting in and support by said rigid metal conduit and having an open-ended dielectric receptacle mounted on its normally outboard end for positioning of said receptacle interiorly of said letter housing, said receptacle being dimensioned to telescopically receive the electrode contact bearing end of said tube, said receptacle having its tube-receiving axis substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of said dielectric conduit and substantially parallel to the typical plane of orientation of said tube within said letter housing; a contact spring mounted in said receptacle and adapted for connection to said electric conductor and positioned for engagement with said contact bearing end of said tube and upon insertion of the latter into said receptacle; and the foregoing parts being structured to permit insertion of said tube end into said receptacle outside of said letter housing and the conjoint movement of the assembled dielectric conduit and receptacle and discharge tube into said letter housing and straight line telescopic insertion of said dielectric conduit into said rigid metal conduit, said dielectric conduit and said metal conduit cofunctioning to support said assembled receptacle and discharge tube end in said letter housing and to position said tube substantially parallel to the center plane of said letter housing.

Claim 4

An electrical connector for luminous displays having a gaseous electric discharge tube having an electrode contact bearing end and disposed within a letter housing mounted at the exterior side of a building wall, an electrical housing and high-tension transformer mounted therein at the interior side of said wall, a length of rigid metal conduit extending through said wall and having its opposite ends secured to and in communication with the interiors of said letter and transformer housings, and a high voltage pliable wire-like conductor extending between said transformer and letter housing through said metal conduit the improvement comprising: a rigid dielectric conduit dimensioned to receive said high-voltage conductor and having a length and dimension for removable telescopic mounting in and support by said rigid metal conduit and having an open-ended dielectric receptacle mounted on its normally outboard end for positioning of said receptacle interiorly of said letter housing, said receptacle being dimensioned to telescopically receive the electrode contact bearing end of said tube, said receptacle having its tube-receiving axis substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of said dielectric conduit and substantially parallel to the typical plane of orientation of said tube within said letter housing; a contact spring mounted in said receptacle and adapted for connection to said electric conductor and positioned for engagement with said contact bearing end of said tube and upon insertion of the latter into said receptacle; and the foregoing parts being structured to permit insertion of said tube end into said receptacle outside of said letter housing and the conjoint movement of the assembled dielectric conduit and receptacle and discharge tube into said letter housing and straight line telescopic insertion of said dielectric conduit into said rigid metal conduit, said dielectric conduit and said metal conduit cofunctioning to support said assembled receptacle and discharge tube end in said letter housing and to position said tube substantially parallel to the center plane of said letter housing.

Claim 5

The structure of claim 2, and means on said dielectric conduit engageable with said rigid metal conduit for indexing the location of said receptacle and discharge tube end in said letter housing.