Patent Application
20240258744
The present invention relates to a spring-loaded terminal having a busbar which is provided for contacting an electrical conductor, in particular a stranded conductor, and having a spring which is provided for fixing the electrical conductor in the spring-loaded terminal.
Such spring-loaded terminals in the form of direct plug-in, push-in or snap-in terminals with a compression spring that presses the conductor against the busbar are known in the prior art.
US patent application publication No. 2022/0416449, for example, discloses a spring-loaded connection terminal including a clamping spring and a retaining spring arranged in a housing. A conductor is inserted into a first opening in the housing in a first direction for connection with a busbar. The clamping spring includes a clamping leg which is operable between latching and clamping positions. The clamping leg is normally in the latched position so that the conductor may be inserted into the housing. Upon insertion, the conductor engages the retaining spring and pivots the retaining spring to release the clamping leg of the clamping spring. The clamping leg engages the conductor to retain it in the housing. An actuator is displaceable in a second opening in the housing in a direction parallel to the first direction and is operable to engage the clamping leg and return it to a latching position to the conductor so that it may be removed from the housing.
While spring-loaded connection terminals as described above operate satisfactorily, they possess certain inherent drawbacks. For example, use of the terminals are restricted to an environment in which the conductor may only be inserted into the housing in a direction parallel to the direction of operation of the actuating lever. In addition, the actuator is a large device which increases the size of the terminal.
Thus, there is a need for a compact connection terminal including a single clamping spring which is actuated in a direction other than parallel to the insertion direction of a conductor being connected.
Accordingly, it is a primary object of the invention to provide a snap-in connector for a conductor including a housing containing a chamber, a first opening for receiving a conductor, and a second opening arranged at an angle, and preferably perpendicular, relative to the first opening. A busbar and a clamping spring are arranged in the housing chamber. The clamping spring is operable between latching and clamping positions. In the latching position of the clamping spring, the housing first opening is configured to receive the conductor. In the clamping position, the clamping spring presses the conductor against the busbar and retains the conductor within the housing. A retaining element on the clamping spring retains the spring in the latching position. A clamping leg of the clamping spring is pivotable in a first direction from the latching position to the clamping position. The retaining element is actuated by the conductor as it is inserted into the first opening of the housing to release the clamping leg from the latching position for movement in the pivoting direction to the clamping position. A rotatable lever is arranged in the housing chamber and is operable to pivot the clamping leg in a second direction opposite the first direction into engagement with the retaining element to return the clamping spring to the latching position. In addition, an actuator is arranged in the housing second opening to engage and rotate the lever to pivot the clamping leg in the second direction and return the clamping spring to the latching position as the actuator enters the housing second opening.
The clamping spring includes a support leg on which the retaining element is mounted. More particularly, the support leg is mounted on a spring support to the housing. The end of the conductor engages the support leg to release the retaining element as the conductor is inserted into the housing first opening.
The housing further includes a concave recess in a lower portion thereof. The recess is configured to receive a cylindrical projection of the rotatable lever. Accordingly, the lever is rotatable in a first direction relative to the housing when the actuator is inserted into the housing second opening. The lever further includes a contoured projection spaced from the cylindrical projection. The contoured projection is configured to engage and pivot the clamping leg in the second direction to tension the clamping spring and latch the clamping leg with the retaining element when the lever is rotated by the actuator to return the clamping spring to the latching position.
Other objects and advantages of the subject invention will become apparent from a study of the following description when viewed in the light of the accompanying drawing, in which:
As shown in
Within the housing chamber, the housing includes a support member 12 extending from a side wall 2b of the housing section. The support member is configured to support a clamping spring 14 as shown in
The spring further supports itself in the tensioned state using the natural force of the spring region 20 of the spring 14. In addition, the support leg 18 of the clamping spring terminates in an end portion 18a which extends upwardly in alignment with the first opening 4 of the housing section. The support leg end portion 18a is spaced from the rear wall 2c of the housing section.
A bus bar 22 is also arranged in the housing chamber. The bus bar includes an upper portion 22a which extends parallel to a top wall 2d of the housing section and above the conductor 6 as shown in
A rotatable lever 24 is also arranged in the housing chamber. The lever includes a relatively flat upper surface 24a and a cylindrical projection 26 which extends from a bottom portion of the lever toward the side wall 2b of the housing section 2. In addition, the rotatable lever includes a contoured projection 28 between the top surface 24a and the cylindrical projection 26. The contoured projection 28 also extends toward the housing section side wall 2b. When the rotatable lever is installed in the housing section, the cylindrical projection is arranged within a concave recess 2e in the bottom of the housing front wall 2a and the contoured projection 28 is arranged above the clamping spring clamping leg 16 as shown in
The housing section 2 further contains a second opening 30 in the top wall 2d. The second opening is thus arranged perpendicular to the first opening 4 for receiving the conductor in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction of insertion of the conductor. It will be appreciated that the second opening may be arranged at an angle other than 90ยบ relative to the first direction of insertion of the conductor. An actuator 32 is arranged in the second opening and configured for movement in and out of the housing section via the second opening. The actuator contains a recess in a top wall for receiving a tool such as the end of a screwdriver or other pushing element (not shown) from the exterior of the housing for displacing the actuator into the housing section. As shown in
The clamping spring is operable between a latching position shown in
In operation, the terminal according to the invention is placed in an open position for receiving a conductor by pressing the actuator 32 into the housing against the upper surface 24a of the rotatable lever 24 as shown in
When the conductor is inserted into the housing first opening 4, the forward end of the inner metal layer or component 10 of the conductor presses against the end portion 18a of the support leg 18 of the clamping spring. Referring to
The release of the clamping leg of the clamping spring for movement to the clamping position also rotates the rotatable lever in a clockwise direction which in turn displaces the actuator upwardly to the position shown in
The inner surface of the housing section top wall 2d is configured to guide the conductor into the housing section via the opening 4 within the conductor contacting the clamping edge 42 of the clamping leg of the spring. This preserves the integrity of the clamping edge. The contours of the actuator and rotatable lever provide even actuation of the terminal into the latching position of the clamping spring as well as limit to the displacement of the clamping spring to prevent over-tensioning of the spring.
The housing, rotatable lever and actuator are preferably formed of an insulating material such as synthetic plastic. The clamping spring is formed of resilient material such as synthetic plastic or metal and the busbar is formed of a conductive material such as metal, preferably copper.
In the above description, the terms top, bottom, side, clockwise, and counter-clockwise are used as they relate to the depiction of the inventive terminal as shown in the drawing figures. It will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that the invention is not limited to any particular orientation.
While the preferred forms and embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes and modifications may be made without deviating from the inventive concepts set forth above.
