1. Field of the Invention
An electrically-conductive terminal adapted for use in an electrical connector includes a horizontal upper surface containing a downwardly extending first bore in which is mounted a U-shaped protective spring. The spring has a bulging generally circular bridging portion adjacent the bottom of the first bore, and a pair of upwardly extending leg portions. A clamping screw is mounted in a threaded horizontal second bore for displacing one of the leg portions toward clamping engagement with a conductor bare end that is inserted downwardly into the first bore. The bulging bridging portion of the spring extends outwardly beyond the adjacent ends of the leg portions into diametrically opposed recesses contained in the wall of the first bore and defined by a horizontal third bore, thereby to retain the protective spring in the first bore.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
As evidenced by the Published European Patent Application No. EP 1 434 312 A2 and the German Patent No. DE 198 04 702 C1, it is known in the prior art to provide electrical terminals with first bores for receiving the bare ends of insulated conductors, together with protective members for protecting the conductors against damage by the clamping screws that clamp the bare conductors in the first bores.
In the European published application, for example, the protective member is in the form of a U-shaped spring having a clamping leg that is clamped by the screw means against the bare conductor, and a retaining leg that has at its free extremity an outwardly bent retaining portion that extends into an opening contained in the terminal wall. In the German patent, the protective member is generally L-shaped and includes a lower leg portion provided with lateral barbs or projections that dig into the adjacent surfaces of the terminal bore. In each case, it is difficult to insert the protective member into the first bore, and often special tools are required to remove the protective members from the first bore. Moreover, there are special requirements for the material properties of this protective member, because, upon insertion into the first bore, it must be compressed relatively strongly so that adequately high restoring forces are required in order to spread the compressed legs apart from each other. This is particularly the case in the European publication in order to allow the angled retaining end to catch within the hole.
On the whole, the known protective devices are not suitable for facilitating mass production that would be optimized in terms of cost. This is a problem because typical contact elements are made as series-produced parts in large unit numbers. Problems arising during the assembly of the resilient protective spring also occur in the case of the device of the German patent, wherein the protective member is locked within the first bore by means of lateral, barb-shaped moldings in the housing part, whereby the moldings dig into the housing material. Naturally, this requires overcoming deformation forces that hinder simple and fast assembly.
The present invention was developed to provide an improved electrical terminal in which simple assembly and disassembly of the components is facilitated.
Accordingly, a primary object of the present invention is to provide an improved electrically-conductive terminal adapted for use in an electrical connector, including a body portion having a horizontal top wall containing a downwardly extending vertical first bore in which is mounted a U-shaped protective spring having a bridging portion arranged adjacent the bottom of said first bore, and a pair of upwardly extending leg portions one of which defines a clamping leg that extends across the opening of a horizontal threaded second bore that contains a clamping screw, characterized in that the spring bridging portion has a generally circular outwardly bulging configuration to extend in retaining engagement with at least one recess contained in the wall of said first bore.
According to a more specific object of the invention, the recess contained in the first bore wall is defined by the opening of a horizontal third bore that extends inwardly from an external side surface of the contact body into communication with the vertical first bore. Preferably, the third bore extends diametrically across the vertical first bore to define a second recess for receiving a second bulging part of the bridging portion.
According to a further object of the invention, the protective spring includes a shorter second retaining leg that is resiliently biased outwardly into frictional engagement with the wall of the first bore. Preferably, the free end of the second leg portion has a cross-sectional configuration that corresponds with the radius of curvature of the first bore, whereby the upper edge of the shorter leg portion frictionally engages the wall of the first bore. The longer clamping leg extends upwardly beyond the horizontal top wall surface of the terminal body.
This protective spring design of the present invention facilitates very simple assembly because the protective spring can be inserted into the conductor-receiving bore without any major force and, besides, adequate locking of the spring in the housing part is assured. One advantage provided by the design is that the two legs that adjoin the outward bulge are resiliently biased apart to extend in a spread opening action, whereby the shorter leg with a free edge will engage the wall of the conductor-receiving bore under pressure from the restoring forces that are inherent in the protective spring. The third bore extends parallel with, and from the same side of the terminal body as, the clamping screw bore, thereby simplifying the manufacture and reducing the cost of the terminal. A further advantage is that by a single manufacturing step,
the third bore is caused to extend completely across the first bore into the opposite wall area of the housing part, whereby the tip of the third bore forms yet another lateral recess into which the outward bulge protrudes so that the protective spring rests upon two mutually opposite sides, thereby securing the spring against both axial and rotational displacement.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from a study of the following specification when viewed in the light of the accompanying drawings, in which:
Referring first more particularly to
Referring now to
In accordance with a characterizing feature of the present invention, in order to retain the protective spring 4 within the vertical first bore 12, the bridging portion 5 of the spring has a generally circular bulging configuration that extends outwardly beyond the adjacent lower extremities of the spring leg portions 6 and 7. Thus, the diameter of the generally circular bridging portion 5 is greater than the spacing distance between the lower extremities of the spring leg portions 6 and 7. A first bulging part of the bridging portion 5 extends into the mouth of a horizontal third bore 10 that extends inwardly from the side wall 2b below the second bore 11. This third bore extends across the vertical first bore to define a recess 9 in the first bore wall for receiving a diametrically opposed second bulging part of the bridging portion 5.
To connect the bare end of an insulated conductor C (
As is known in the art, the terminal contact portion 3 of the embodiment of
While in accordance with the provisions of the Patent Statutes the preferred forms and embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made without deviating from the inventive concepts set forth above.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
20 2005 005 548 U | Apr 2005 | DE | national |
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
5190485 | Ransdell | Mar 1993 | A |
5235230 | Yuhi et al. | Aug 1993 | A |
5596237 | Daniels | Jan 1997 | A |
5989077 | Mast et al. | Nov 1999 | A |
6210239 | Harting et al. | Apr 2001 | B1 |
6213818 | Chadbourne | Apr 2001 | B1 |
6475038 | Franck | Nov 2002 | B1 |
RE38384 | Wong | Jan 2004 | E |
6726510 | Norbert et al. | Apr 2004 | B2 |
6764355 | Ude et al. | Jul 2004 | B2 |
Number | Date | Country |
---|---|---|
198 04 702 | Jul 1999 | DE |
1434 312 | Jun 2004 | EP |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20060228949 A1 | Oct 2006 | US |