Patent Grant
9543700
This application is a national phase of International Application No. PCT/EP2014/052715 filed Feb. 12, 2014.
The invention relates to a conductor terminal having an insulating material housing and having at least one spring-loaded clamping connection in the insulating material housing and also having at least one actuation element, which is pivotably accommodated in the insulating material housing and is designed to open in each case at least one associated spring-loaded clamping connection.
Conductor terminals are known in a variety of forms, for example as box terminals, circuit board terminals, series terminals or as conductor terminals in other electrical apparatuses.
DE 299 15 515 U1 discloses a spring clip for connecting electrical conductors to an insulating material housing, which has a terminal with a clamping spring cooperating with a bus bar piece. An actuation element in the form of a cam lever is integrated in the insulating material housing and is mounted rotatably in the insulating material housing. The axis of rotation of the cam lever is arranged substantially perpendicularly above the clamping point. This leads to a relatively large installation height.
A terminal having a spring-loaded clamping connection and an actuation lever is known from DE 87 04 494 U1, in which the actuation lever is mounted pivotably via its axis of rotation behind the clamping point below the clamping spring, as considered in the conductor insertion direction. An actuation tab is bent at the free clamping limb end and cooperates with an actuation finger of the actuation lever in order to open the spring-loaded clamping connection.
EP 1 622 224 B1 discloses a terminal having an actuation lever, which is mounted rotatably in a bend of a bus bar. The clamping point between clamping spring end and bus bar is provided below the axis of rotation.
The actuation lever is arranged with an actuation portion in the clamping space bordering the conductor insertion opening
DE 20 2009 010 003 U1 presents a connection terminal having a separating lever with pivot means for pivoting a connection spring with respect to a bus bar piece. The separating lever is mounted on a cavity, formed by the bus bar piece, for forming the pivot axis, such that, by means of an actuation finger to be acted on by hand with a lever actuation force and by means of a contact portion for actuating the clamping spring, a lever arm pivotable about the axis of rotation therebetween is formed.
Furthermore, a terminal having an insulating material housing, a bus bar portion and having at least one spring clamping unit with a clamping spring is described in 10 2010 024 809 A1. The clamping spring has an actuation portion, which proceeds from a clamping portion and which extends away from the direction of the spring force of the clamping spring acting at the clamping portion, and is oriented for application by a pivotably mounted actuation lever, such that the actuation lever applies a tensile force to the actuation portion, said tensile force acting counter to the spring force, in order to open the clamping spring.
Proceeding on this basis, the object of the present invention is to create an improved conductor terminal, which can be constructed so as to be as small as possible, having an insulating material housing and having at least one spring-loaded clamping connection in the insulating material housing and also having at least one actuation element, which is pivotably accommodated in the insulating material housing and is designed to open in each case at least one associated spring-loaded clamping connection. The conductor terminal will also be optimized in view of the influence of force of the actuation element on the insulating material housing and the force transmission of the lever pivot force, applied externally to the actuating element, to the actuation force, which acts on the clamping spring.
The object is achieved by the conductor terminal having the features of claim 1. Advantageous embodiments are described in the dependent claims.
It is proposed that the actuation element of a generic conductor terminal has two side wall portions which are spaced from one another and at least partially enter the insulating material housing with a pivot bearing region and, at a distance from said pivot bearing region, are connected to each other by a transverse web to form a lever arm. The pivot bearing regions of the mutually distanced side wall portions of an actuation element here form an axis of rotation, about which the actuation element is pivotably mounted in the insulating material housing. An associated spring-loaded clamping connection is then at least partially accommodated in the space between the pivot bearing regions of an actuation element.
The actuation element thus forms an actuation lever, which is approximately U-shaped in section and which at least partially accommodates the spring-loaded clamping connection in the free space delimited laterally by the side wall portions. The pivot bearing regions therefore are not located above, below, in front of or behind the spring-loaded clamping connection, but are located to the side of the spring-loaded clamping connection or to the side of the clamping spring that is to be actuated of the spring-loaded clamping connection.
A very compact conductor terminal is thus provided, with which the actuation lever, with the pivot bearing regions arranged to the side of the spring-loaded clamping connection in the insulating material housing, is mounted pivotably in the insulating material housing in a stable position and in a robust manner. The pivot bearing regions have actuation portions which in each case are designed in order to act on an associated clamping spring of a spring-loaded clamping connection as the actuation element pivots from a closed position, in which the actuation element is pivoted with its transverse web in the direction of the insulating material housing and a clamping point formed by the spring-loaded clamping connection for clamping an electrical conductor is closed, into an open position, in which the actuation element with its transverse web is pivoted away from the insulating material housing and a clamping point formed by the spring-loaded clamping connection for clamping an electrical conductor is open.
Two actuation portions are arranged on the pivot bearing regions of the side wall portions at a distance from one another that is shorter than the distance between the side wall portions. Here, the actuation portions extend parallel to the side wall portions and are formed integrally with the side wall portions, such that in each case a guide slot is provided between an actuation portion and the associated, directly adjacent side wall portion. A guide web of the insulating material housing in each case then enters an associated guide slot for guiding the actuation element in the event of a pivot motion about a pivot axis in the pivot bearing region.
With the aid of the actuation portions distanced from the side walls of the U-shaped lever arm by an intermediate guide slot, the lever arm can be mounted pivotably in a manner secured against tilting by means of a guide web of the insulating material housing entering a respective guide slot. Very stable pivot bearings can be provided in a space-saving manner with the aid of the guide slots and the guide webs engaging therewith, said pivot bearings being arranged substantially to the side of the spring-loaded clamping connections.
Due to the cooperation of the described measures, an extremely compact conductor terminal is provided, of which the pivot levers are pivotably mounted in a stable manner in the insulating material housing, without actuation forces acting on the at least one pivot lever excessively loading the insulating material housing.
In a preferred embodiment the actuation element is coordinated with the insulating material housing and the associated spring-loaded clamping connection in such a way that the lever pivot force acting on the transverse web in order to pivot the actuation element from the closed position into the open position and the spring actuation force acting on the clamping spring by the actuation portions when pivoting the actuation element from the closed position into the open position act on the same side relative to the axis of rotation.
Due to the positioning of the axis of rotation in the insulating material housing by corresponding design of the pivot bearing regions and by suitable arrangement of the actuation portions relative to the clamping spring, the lever pivot force applied externally to the actuation lever acts on the same side of the axis of rotation with respect to the axis of rotation as the spring actuation force applied to the clamping spring by the actuation portions. A kinematic is thus provided that enables a very compact construction of a conductor terminal with optimal force transmission. In particular, the lever pivot force and the spring actuation force can act in the same direction, i.e. upwardly or downwardly. Here, “upwardly” is understood to mean a direction that is in principle independent of the exact angle of extension, corresponding to the extension direction of an open lever arm pointing toward the free end. The term “downwardly” is understood to mean the opposite direction irrespective of the exact angular position. It is therefore irrelevant whether the forces act equally parallel to one another.
A particularly compact design with optimal guidance and mounting of the actuation elements can be achieved when the adjacent side wall portions of two actuation elements arranged adjacently in the insulating material housing border one another directly. The outer walls of the side wall portions of adjacently arranged actuation elements serve here for mutual guidance and give the adjacent actuation element additional support.
The insulating material housing is preferably formed in two parts with a terminal housing part and a separate cover part. The terminal housing part and the cover part are connected to one another in the assembled state by means of the at least one spring-loaded clamping connection, inserted into the terminal housing part, and associated actuation element. The pivot bearing region is then accommodated in an intermediate space formed between the terminal housing part and cover part.
This spring-loaded clamping connection and the associated actuation element can thus be placed firstly in the terminal housing part in the event of assembly. The conductor terminal is then closed in the terminal housing part by latching the cover part. Due to the arrangement of the pivot bearing region in an intermediate space between the terminal housing part and cover part, portions both of the terminal housing part and the cover part can then contribute to the pivot bearing of the pivot bearing region. For this purpose, these bearing portions are preferably curved over part of a circle and are matched with corresponding part-circle curvatures of end faces of the pivot bearing region.
The terminal housing part and/or the cover part here preferably have part-circle bearing cavities for pivotably mounting the actuation element in the insulating material housing. A part-circle outer periphery of the pivot-bearing region matched accordingly with the part-circle bearing cavity then enters an associated bearing cavity.
It is particularly advantageous when the actuation portions have a part-circle outer periphery with a V-shaped incision for forming a step protruding in the direction of the center of the actuation portion. The at least one spring-loaded clamping connection in each case has a bus bar portion and a clamping spring with an actuation tab. The actuation tab of the clamping spring rests on the step as the actuation element is pivoted in order to open a clamping point formed between a clamping edge of the clamping spring and the bus bar portion for clamping an electrical conductor.
With the aid of such a step, which is adjoined by a free space arranged thereabove, a stable support for an actuation tab of the clamping spring is created, such that the spring actuation force is transmitted optimally via the step to the clamping tab of the clamping spring. Due to the step protruding in the direction of the center of the actuation portion, a free space arranged thereabove is provided, such that the clamping spring otherwise may lift freely from the step, even without lever actuation, in order to exert a spring clamping force on the electrical conductor in a manner uninfluenced by the lever arm.
The side wall portions of an actuation element are preferably connected to one another by means of a transverse web formed in such a way that the transverse web, in the state in which the actuation element is pivoted up, in which state the clamping point is open, extends from the free end of the side wall portions to the insulating material housing. An optimal stability of the lever arm in particular in view of the resistance to twisting and resistance to bending is thus achieved with utilization of the available installation space.
The transverse web preferably protrudes beyond the free end of the side wall portions opposite the pivot bearing region. An attachment for grasping the transverse web and exerting a lever pivot force is thus provided. Due to the protruding end of the transverse web, the lever arm can be better grasped by hand or can be grasped from below by means of a screwdriver in order to be opened.
The conductor terminal is preferably embodied as a transverse connection terminal, such as a box terminal, in which two or more spring-loaded clamping connections are accommodated adjacently in the insulating material housing, wherein the spring-loaded clamping connections have a common bus bar. An electrical conductor connected to a spring-loaded clamping connection is thus connected electrically conductively to further electrical conductors, which are connected to the other spring-loaded clamping connections.
Such a box terminal is extremely compact and can be integrated advantageously in distributor boxes of electrical installations. With the aid of the actuation lever, a simple clamping and removal of electrical conductors is possible for a large range of conductor cross sections. A conductor terminal of this type can therefore be used not only for energy distribution installations, but also for communication technology installations.
A very stable mounting of the actuation elements in the insulating material housing can be achieved when the pivot bearing regions are mounted on a portion of a bus bar of the associated spring-loaded clamping connection. Here, the generally very stable, solid bus bar forms a support for the actuation element, such that the bus bars with the associated clamping spring and the actuation element are substantially self-supporting with regard to the effects of force and moments, without relatively large forces and moments acting on the insulating material housing in the event of actuation of the spring-loaded clamping connection by pivoting of the actuation element.
It is also advantageous when the external contours of the actuation portions lie in the space between the plane spanned by a bus bar of the associated spring-loaded clamping connection and a plane spanned by a contact limb of the associated spring-loaded clamping connection. This enables a very compact construction with optimal force effect of the actuation element on the spring-loaded clamping connection.
The invention will be explained in greater detail hereinafter on the basis of exemplary embodiments with the accompanying drawings, in which:
In the figures like reference signs are used for elements corresponding to one another.
An actuation element 4 is arranged above a respective conductor insertion opening. The actuation elements 4 are each mounted in the insulating material housing 2 so as to be pivotable about an axis of rotation. They have a transverse web 5 at the free end, which, as illustrated, lies in the closed position within the volume formed by the insulating material housing 2. The transverse webs 5 of the actuation elements 4 preferably terminate flush with the plane spanned by the upper edge 6 of the insulating material housing 2.
It is clear that the transverse webs 5 at a free end have a protruding bead 7, which facilitates the grasping of the actuation element 4 by hand or a screwdriver in order to apply a lever pivot force to the actuation element 4, from bottom to top in the viewing direction, and to therefore pivot said actuation element.
The transverse web 5 of an actuation element 4 connects two mutually distanced side wall portions 8a, 8b in order to form an actuation lever that is U-shaped in section in principle. The free space 40 between two side wall portions 8a, 8b and bordering the transverse web 5 is filled in the closed position by a raised portion 9 of the insulating material housing 2. The free space 40 is thus used to accommodate insulating material in order to thus achieve a compact design of the conductor terminal 1.
It can also be seen that an inspection opening 10 open at the end face is provided above the middle conductor insertion opening. An inspection tool, such as a measuring pin or a screwdriver with inspection light for measuring the voltage potential at the spring-loaded clamping connection arranged therebehind can thus be inserted into the inspection opening 10.
It can be seen that a spring-loaded clamping connection 11 together with an associated actuation element 4 is installed in the insulating material 2. Here, the insulating material housing 2 is formed in two parts and has a terminal housing part 12 and a cover part 13. Following insertion of the actuation element 4 and of the spring-loaded camping connection 11 into the terminal housing part 2, this is closed by the cover part 13. Here, a pivot bearing region 14 inter alia with a part-circle outer periphery is guided on part-circle bearing cavities 15 of the insulating material housing 2 in order to mount the pivot bearing region 14 pivotably about an axis of rotation D. The axis of rotation D is here a virtual axis of rotation, which is defined by the part-circle pivot bearing region 14 and the rotary mounting thereof in the insulating material housing 2.
It can be seen that the pivot bearing region 14 has an actuation portion 16 for acting on a lateral portion of the clamping spring 17 of the spring clamping connection 11. Here, the clamping spring 17 is formed from a contact limb 18, an adjoining spring arc 19, and a clamping limb 20 adjoining said spring arc. The clamping limb 20 has, at its free end, a clamping edge 21, which together with a bus bar 22 of the spring-loaded clamping connection 11 forms a clamping point for clamping an electrical conductor.
It is clear that in the illustrated position of the actuation element 4 pivoted into the open position the clamping limb 20 is displaced away from the bus bar 22 arranged therebeneath in order to open the clamping point formed by the clamping edge 21 of the clamping spring 17 and the bus bar 22. For this purpose the actuation portion 16 exerts a spring actuation force FF, which, as considered in the conductor insertion direction L, lies in front of the axis of rotation and is directed upwardly from the bus bar 22 in the direction of the free end of the actuation element in the open position. In the illustrated exemplary embodiment the bus bar 22 is provided with a frame portion 23, which is formed integrally therewith and which is directed upwardly from the plane of the bus bar 22 in the extension direction of the attached actuation element 4 and of the contact limb 17. A conductor feedthrough opening is formed in the frame part 23 by two mutually distanced side webs and by a retaining web 24 connecting the side webs at the free end. The contact limb 18 engages the retaining web 24 from below and is secured in the retaining web 24 by a slight curvature. A self-supporting spring-loaded clamping connection 11 is thus created, with which the clamping spring 17 is arranged on the bus bar 22 and a force acting on the clamping limb 20 is returned to the bus bar 22 via the contact limb 17. When clamping an electrical conductor, the clamping limb 20 exerts a force onto the bus bar 22, which counteracts the retaining force of the contact limb 18 at the retaining web 24, such that the two forces are compensated for to the greatest possible extent.
It is clear that the pivot bearing region 14 is supported opposite the clamping limb 20 on the bus bar 22, is guided on the bearing cavities 15 of the insulating material housing 2 by means of a part-circle outer periphery, and additionally is mounted in the rear region opposite the bearing cavities 15 on the side webs of the frame part 23. It is thus ensured that the actuation forces exerted by the pivot lever are received in a self-supporting manner without exertion of considerable deformation forces on the insulating material housing.
In order to now open the clamping point, a lever actuation force FH has to be exerted onto the lever arm formed by the side webs 8a and the trans verse web 5. This actuation force FH is directed upwardly in the illustration from the plane of the bus bar 22 in the direction of clamping springs 17 arranged thereabove. In the event of a resultant pivot of the actuation element 4 in the clockwise direction in the illustration, a spring actuation force FF is exerted by the actuation portion 16 onto the clamping limb 20. This spring actuation force FF is also directed upwardly, i.e. from the bus bar 22 in the direction of the extension direction of the actuation element 4 in the open position (see
It can be seen that, from the closed position according to
It is also clear from
In the closed position of the actuation element 4 this is latched by a detent lug 42, protruding from the transverse web 5, on an associated detent contour 43 of the insulating material housing 2. In the closed position the actuation element 4 is not loaded by force by the clamping spring 17 and is thus stabilized in terms of position. An uncontrolled wobbling motion of the actuation element 4 is thus prevented by the latched connection.
It is also clear that guide webs 27 and bearing cavities 15 with end faces 28 that are curved over part of a circle are formed in the interior of the terminal housing part 12. With the aid of these end faces 28 that are curved over part of a circle and that are each combined with a bearing cavity 15, a pivot bearing of an associated pivot bearing region 14 relative to an actuation element 4 is provided. The guide webs 27 enter a guide slot 30 (see
It is also clear from
It can also be seen that the pivot bearing regions 14 have outer end faces 29 curved over part of a circle, by means of which the actuation element 4 is mounted in the insulating material housing so as to be pivotable about a virtual axis of rotation D.
The axis of rotation D extends through the center of a part circle formed by the outer end face 29.
It can also be seen that part-circle portions 31 distanced from the side wall portions 8a, 8b in the pivot bearing region 14 via a guide slot 30 are arranged with a V-shaped incision 32. An actuation portion 16 is formed in the region of each V-shaped incision 32 and is used to apply a spring actuation force to an associated clamping limb 20 of a clamping spring 17. It can be seen that the actuation portions 16, as well as the transverse web 5, onto which a lever pivot force FH is exerted, lie on the same side relative to the axis of rotation D. As a result, the spring actuation forces FF exerted via the actuation portions 16 act on the same side relative to the axis of rotation D as the lever pivot force FH applied to the transverse web 5 in order to provide a pivot motion.
It is additionally clear that a latching lug 42 protrudes approximately in the direction of the pivot bearing region 14 and the portion 31 from the transverse web 5 on the side opposite the actuation bead 7. The latching lug 42 is used to latch the actuation element 4 in the closed position with the insulating material housing 2.
It can also be seen that the portions 31 with the actuation portions 16 overlap the clamping spring 17 in the width direction and cooperate with edge regions of the associated clamping spring 17 or clamping limb 20 thereof in order to exert a spring actuation force FF onto the clamping limb 20. A guide web 27 then adjoins the outer edges of the clamping spring 17 and of the actuation portions 16 and enters the guide slot 30 of the actuation element 4. The intermediate space Z bordering hereon is then intended to accommodate part of a side wall portion 8a, 8b of the actuation element 4. The actuation portions 16 are connected integrally to the side wall portions 8a, 8b via the portion 31.
It is clear from this sectional view that pivot bearing regions 14 border the connection space for the electrical conductors 33 laterally, the portions 31 having actuation portions 16. The actuation portions 16 of adjacent pivot bearing regions 14 for the same spring-loaded clamping connection and the same conductor insertion opening 3 are distanced from one another to a shorter extent than the side wall portions 8a, 8b, on which the actuation portions 16 are formed integrally. A guide slot 30 is located between the actuation portions 16 and the side wall portions 8, 8b. The pivot bearing regions 14 and/or the actuation portions 16 here guide the electrical conductor 33 or stripped end thereof to the clamping point.
It is also clear that the frame parts 23 protruding from the bus bar 26 each have two edge webs 35 distanced from one another, of which the intermediate space serves as a conductor feedthrough opening for feeding through the stripped end 34 of an electrical conductor 33.
It can also be seen that the spring-loaded clamping connections 11 are fixed by the cover part 13 in the terminal housing part 12 in such a way that webs 36 of the cover part contact the edge webs 35 of the frame parts 23 and thus fix the position. The terminal housing part 12 has wall portions 37 made of insulating material with part-circle end faces, which contact the portions 31, curved over part of a circle, of the pivot bearing regions 14 with the actuation portions 16 and for this purpose form a part-circle bearing cavity.
It is advantageous when the insulating material housing 2 or at least parts or portions thereof is/are formed from transparent plastic material in order to be able to thus identify externally whether the stripped free end 34 of an electrical conductor 33 is correctly inserted.
With this embodiment as well the spring actuation force FF of the actuation portion 16 acts on actuation tabs 38, protruding from the clamping spring, on the same side of the axis of rotation D and in the same direction as a lever pivot force FH to be applied to the free end of the actuation element 4 in order to pivot the actuation element 4 from the closed position according to
Both forces, i.e. the lever pivot force FH and the spring actuation force FF are directed here upwardly in the same direction, i.e. away from the bus bar 22 in the extension direction of the actuation element 4 in the open position irrespective of the exact angular position.
The conductor terminal 1 may have an inspection opening 39 in the insulating material housing 2, which inspection opening is accessible from above in the rear region.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 2013 101 406 | Feb 2013 | DE | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/EP2014/052715 | 2/12/2014 | WO | 00 |
| Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| WO2014/124958 | 8/21/2014 | WO | A |
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| Entry |
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| International Search Report for corresponding International application No. PCT/EP2014/052715 mailed May 12, 2014. |
| International Preliminary Report on Patentability for corresponding International application No. PCT/EP2014/052715 dated Aug. 27, 2015. |
| European Search Report for corresponding European application No. 16173966.9 mailed Sep. 19, 2016. English translation not available. |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20160006176 A1 | Jan 2016 | US |
