Patent Application
20250096487
The invention is based on an actuator of the type as per independent claim 1.
Furthermore, the invention is based on a connection device comprising the actuator according to claim 1, as well as a cage tension spring, a busbar and an insulating body.
In addition, the invention is based on a plug connector which has at least one such connection device according to claim 4 and also has a plug contact electrically conductively connected to the respective busbar for each connection device.
Furthermore, the invention is based on a method for the electrical connection and subsequent disconnection of an electrical conductor, in particular a core of an electrical cable, to or from a busbar, in particular by means of a connection device according to claim 4.
Such actuators and connection devices can be used, for example, to detachably connect electrical conductors, in particular stranded wires of electrical cables, to plug contacts of a plug connector on the connection side in an electrically conductive manner and to mechanically fasten them to the plug connector.
A large number of connection devices for electrical conductors, in particular stranded conductors, are known in the prior art.
Publication DE 10 2007 009 082 A1 describes a multipole electrical connector with spring contacts. For each conductor to be connected to the connector, the connector has a first substantially cylindrical opening designed to receive the conductor and a second opening parallel to the first opening and designed to receive an actuating pin which—sliding in the second opening—acts on a spring contact of the connector according to its position in order to lock the conductor to the connector or release it from the connector. When the conductor is locked in the connector by means of the spring contact, the actuating pin is fully inserted into the connector. To release the conductor from the spring contact, it is disclosed to insert a tool—for example a screwdriver or other functionally equivalent tool—through the window provided in the upper portion of the side wall of the connector laterally into the seat of the actuating pin and to lift the actuating pin by levering with the tool at the lower edge of the window. The disadvantage of this is that said side wall must be accessible for this, the actuation process takes up a lot of space, and the release of the conductor is prevented if the connector is installed-for example in an add-on housing.
The publication DE 20 2014 010 620 U1 proposes an arrangement comprising a cage tension spring, which enables simple connection and disconnection of a conductor to a spring contact element. Connecting and disconnecting conductors to and from the connector is possible without aids or tools and without a great deal of force due to lateral operation. The disadvantage of this is that the insulating body must be accessible on the plug side for unlocking.
The publication DE 20 2014 010 621 U1 proposes to arrange a spring-loaded push-push mechanism on the actuating means, similar to a ballpoint pen mechanism, by means of which the actuating means can be moved linearly between the first end position and the second end position. The disadvantage of this is that such a push-push mechanism is naturally complex and error-prone and requires more space.
The publication DE 10 2014 115 009 B3 shows a plug connector consisting of an insulating body, at least one electrical contact accommodated in the insulating body, and, for the electrical contact, an actuating mechanism which consists of a first actuating pin and a second actuating pin. The electrical contact has a spring contact element for contacting an electrical conductor or cable, said spring contact element being opened and closed by the first actuating pin. The second actuating pin is provided for opening the spring contact element. This means that no tools or other aids are required to close or open the spring contact element and it can be unlocked from the direction of the cable connection. However, the corresponding mechanism considerably widens the design, which is extremely undesirable, as the aim is usually to achieve the highest possible contact density for connectors. Furthermore, this mechanism is complex and prone to errors.
Disadvantages can therefore arise in this prior art, roughly summarized, due to the size of the corresponding design, because this has a negative effect on the possible contact density and also if such insulating bodies are to be installed in grommets or add-on housings with predetermined dimensions. For this purpose, the dimensions of the insulating bodies must ultimately fit into the specified housing dimensions. There is also a need to be able to unlock the conductors, particularly from the cable connection side, even after installing such an insulating body in an add-on housing, without having to remove the entire insulating body from the add-on housing again.
Based on this prior art, publication DE 10 2016 113 974 B1 has therefore set itself the task of taking these aforementioned disadvantages and market requirements into account and specifying a design which, on the one hand, allows the insulating body to be as small as possible and, at the same time, enables the electrical conductors to be unlocked manually even if the insulating body is already installed in an add-on housing.
To this end, the aforementioned publication discloses that the actuator has the following features:
and
A disadvantage of this design is that the actuator can be unlocked from the cable connection side when installed in an add-on housing, wherein the tool, e.g. the screwdriver, still has to be moved at a sufficiently large angle in a lever movement about the aforementioned angle of attack in order to lever the actuator out of the insulating body. This is sufficient for most applications, such as use in an add-on housing, for example on a wall opening or similar, as the lever movement of the screwdriver can take place over the edge of the add-on housing.
In practice, however, special applications have also arisen in which it is necessary in confined spaces, for example in an engine compartment, to always hold the screwdriver in the cable insertion direction during actuation when connecting and disconnecting the electrical conductor, i.e. not to have to swivel the screwdriver sideways, or at least only as little as possible, even to disconnect the electrical conductor, for example to lever the actuator out of the insulating body.
The German Patent and Trade Mark Office has searched the following prior art in the priority application for the present application:
DE 10 2014 115 009 B3, DE 10 2016 113 974 B4, DE 100 37 550 A1, DE 10 2007 009 082 A1, DE 94 19 020 U1, DE 20 2014 010 620 U1, DE 20 2014 010 621 U1 and EP 1 544 947 A2.
The problem addressed by the invention is therefore to reduce the space required when disconnecting an electrical conductor from a connection device and at the same time to ensure a compact design of the connection device.
The problem is solved by the subject matter of the independent claims.
An actuator is used to actuate a cage tension spring of a connection device.
The actuator can be brought into a first open position in which it tensions the cage tension spring and thus enables an electrical conductor to be guided through a window recess of a tensioning leg of the cage tension spring in a cable insertion direction.
Furthermore, the actuator can be brought into a closed position, in which it relaxes the cage tension spring in comparison to the aforementioned open position and thus enables the electrical conductor arranged in the window recess to be electrically contacted by means of the cage tension spring with a busbar also guided through the window recess and mechanically fixed to the busbar, in particular by pulling the electrical conductor against the busbar by means of the window recess of the tensioning leg.
The actuator can be moved from the first open position to the closed position by a translational movement.
Furthermore, the actuator can be transferred by means of a rotational movement from the closed position to a second open position, in which it tensions the cage tension spring again in relation to the closed position and thus enables the electrical conductor to be removed from the window recess of the tensioning leg of the cage tension spring against the cable insertion direction.
Said translational movement of the actuator can preferably take place in the cable insertion direction. The rotational movement can take place around an axis that runs parallel to the cable insertion direction.
In particular, the electrical contacting and mechanical fixing of the electrical conductor to the busbar is made possible by the cage tension spring still having a certain pre-tension in said closed position, which is, however, lower than the tension that it experiences in the first open position of the actuator. This pre-tension serves to create a sufficient pressure force with which the electrical conductor is pulled against the busbar in the closed position of the actuator by the spring force of the cage tension spring by means of its window recess.
The electrical conductor can thus be electrically conductively contacted with the busbar and mechanically fixed to it in a first method step by said translational movement of the actuator, and can be detached from the busbar again in a second method step by the rotational movement of the actuator.
The actuator can be actuated with a screwdriver in both the first and second method steps, wherein the screwdriver can advantageously always be aligned in the direction of the translational movement of the actuator in both method steps.
In the first method step, the electrical conductor can be pulled against a busbar by a cage tension spring for electrical contacting, in that a portion of a tensioning leg of the cage tension spring, which thereby at least partially relaxes, enters an actuating recess of the actuator, made possible by said translational movement of the actuator. In the second method step, the electrical conductor can be separated from the busbar again by the aforementioned portion of the tensioning leg being displaced out of the actuating recess again by a rotational movement of the actuator in a first direction of rotation, thus tensioning the cage tension spring again.
To reconnect an electrical conductor, the actuator can also be rotated back to its original orientation in a second rotational movement in a third method step, namely in a second direction of rotation that is opposite to the first direction of rotation.
Advantageous embodiments of the invention are given in the dependent claims and the following description.
An advantage of the invention is that the actuator can be actuated with a conventional tool, in particular a screwdriver, in particular a flat-blade screwdriver, so that the connection device, which comprises the actuator, can be assembled in the field. In particular, the actuator can be pressed into an actuating opening of an insulating body of the connection device using the aforementioned tool in the first method step in order to electrically connect the electrical conductor to the busbar. In the second method step, the actuator can then be moved to its second open position by rotating the tool, in particular the screwdriver, in order to disconnect the electrical conductor from the busbar again.
A particular advantage of the invention is that the actuator for releasing the electrical conductor from the busbar can be moved from its closed position to its second open position by means of such a tool, in particular the screwdriver, without the tool, in particular the screwdriver, having to be inclined relative to the cable insertion direction. In other words, the screwdriver for disconnecting the electrical conductor coming from the direction of the cable connection can always be aligned parallel to the cable insertion direction, not only during the connection, but also during the entire disconnection process. Lastly, the release actuation is possible solely by space-saving rotation, i.e., rotational movement, of the actuator, in particular the rotation about its cylinder axis, even in very confined spaces.
In an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the actuator has a substantially cylindrical basic shape with a cylindrical axis and a cylindrical lateral surface, wherein a one-sided actuating recess is molded into the cylindrical lateral surface of the actuator. One-sided means that the recess is not circumferential. In particular, the recess does not extend over the entire length of the actuator, even in the axial direction, but only over an actuating portion of the actuator. Preferably, the recess has at least one engagement slope for interacting with the tensioning leg of the cage tension spring during actuation. Beyond the engagement slope, the actuator has a tensioning shoulder.
In an advantageous development of the invention, said rotational movement, by means of which the actuator can be transferred from the closed position to a second open position, takes place in a first direction of rotation and is carried out by the actuator about its cylinder axis extending in the cable insertion direction.
In a further preferred embodiment of the invention, the actuator can have an actuating surface at its end pointing into the cable connection side. This actuating surface can preferably have a shape that is particularly suitable for actuation. For example, the actuating surface may have an actuating slot for attaching a tool, in particular said screwdriver, in particular a flat-blade screwdriver.
In a preferred embodiment, a connection device can comprise the actuator, a busbar, a cage tension spring and an insulating body.
The insulating body can have an actuating opening for receiving the actuator and a cable insertion opening for inserting an electrical conductor in a cable insertion direction. The cage tension spring can have a tensioning leg with a window recess and a contact leg that engages through the window recess. A contact leg of the cage tension spring can be located in the region of the cable insertion opening of the insulating body together with the busbar arranged on it. The actuator is arranged in the actuating opening and interacts with the tensioning leg of the tensioning spring. The actuating opening can also be substantially hollow-cylindrical and the actuator can be held rotatably in it.
In a preferred development of the invention, a portion of the tensioning leg of the cage tension spring can be inserted into the actuating recess of the actuator in the closed position of the latter, whereby the cage tension spring at least partially relaxes. The cage tension spring can grip the electrical conductor with its window recess and thus pull it against the busbar in order to connect the electrical conductor to the busbar in an electrically conductive manner and to fix it mechanically thereto.
In an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the insulating body can have a guide pin in a cylindrical inner wall of its actuating opening and the actuator can have a first and a second guide groove in its lateral surface, in which the guide pin optionally engages. The first guide groove runs parallel to the cylinder axis and serves to guide the actuator during said translational movement. The second guide groove runs perpendicular to the cylinder axis in order to guide the actuator during said rotational movement. The first and second guide grooves are connected to each other at a common end point. The actuator is in its closed position when the guide pin of the insulating body is located at this common end point.
Thus, in a preferred development of the invention, the first guide groove and the second guide groove run perpendicular to each other and together form an L-shape in the cylinder lateral surface of the actuator.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, a plug connector has the connection device and at least one plug contact, which is arranged in a contact chamber of the insulating body. The contact chamber can be connected to the cable insertion opening on the cable connection side and can be open on the plug side for connecting the plug contact to a mating plug contact of a mating plug. The busbar can be part of the plug contact or at least can be electrically conductively connected to the plug contact.
A particular advantage of such a plug connector is the possibility of using jumpers on the cable connection side between the individual contact chambers arranged at the respective cable insertion openings in the insulating body. Lastly, such jumpers do not have to be released in order to remove the respective electrical conductors, as their release process can be carried out by a rotary movement, namely said first rotary movement of the actuator about its cylinder axis. The electrical conductors, in particular stranded wires of the cables, can therefore be detached accordingly and in particular also replaced without having to remove the jumpers.
An exemplary embodiment of the invention is shown in the drawings and is explained in greater detail below. In the drawings:
a, b, c show an actuator known from the prior art from different views and in section;
a, b, c show the upper part of the aforementioned actuator in various views and in section;
a, b, c show a substantially cylindrical actuator from different viewing angles;
a, b, c show the aforementioned actuator with schematically depicted busbar and cage tension spring in various positions;
Some of the figures contain simplified, schematic representations. In some cases, identical reference signs are used for like but possibly not identical elements. Different views of the same elements may be scaled differently. Directional indications such as “left”, “right”, “top” and “bottom” are to be understood with reference to the respective figure and may vary in the individual illustrations in relation to the object shown.
In a region facing away from the contact surface 31, the cage tension spring 3 has a tensioning leg 34 which, in the at least partially relaxed state in which the cage tension spring 3 is present in this illustration, already reveals the contour of the actuating recess 14 of the actuator 1. In fact, the cage tension spring 3 is intended to be inserted with its tensioning leg 34 into the actuating recess 14 of the actuator 1 and to interact mechanically with it.
The connection device 4 comprises an insulating body 5. The insulating body 5 has an actuating opening 51, into which the actuator 1 is inserted in its non-actuated position, a cable insertion opening 52, in which the window recess 30 of the cage tension spring 3 is located, wherein only the rear region of the window recess 30 can be seen in the sectional view. Since the section runs through the plane of symmetry of the connection device 4, which has a mirror-symmetrical structure, the position of the window recess 30 in the cable insertion opening 52 in the non-actuated state is clear from this representation.
Furthermore, the busbar 21 of the connection contact 2 is arranged in the cable insertion opening 52. It can thus be clearly seen that the cage tension spring 3 is arranged substantially between the actuating opening 51 and the cable insertion opening 52, which means that, on the one hand, its tensioning leg 34 can also enter the actuating recess 14 of the actuator 1 and thus the actuating opening 51 of the insulating body 5 when the actuator 1 is actuated and that, on the other hand, the cage tension spring 3 engages with its window recess 30 in the cable insertion opening 52 or even passes through it with its second, free-standing end located at the window recess 30, at least in the non-actuated state.
Furthermore, the insulating body 5 has an outer wall 53 with a lever contour 531.
For unlocking, a tool 7, specifically in this case a flat-blade screwdriver, is now inserted through the tool insertion opening 19 of the actuator 1 into the actuation opening 51 and thus between the actuator 1 and an outer wall 35 of the insulating body 5. The flat-blade screwdriver 7 now engages on the one hand with the contact surface 11 of the actuator 1 over its entire length.
On the other hand, it is in mechanical contact with a special lever contour 531 of the outer wall 53.
By levering in the direction of the arrow, it pushes the actuator 1 upwards by a first distance, i.e., out of the actuating opening. During this process, the special lever contour 531 also changes the axis of rotation of the lever in the unlocking direction of the actuator 1, thereby extending the portion in which the tool 7 engages with the actuating slope 11 in optimum alignment. It is easy to see that the flat-blade screwdriver 7 engages on the engagement edge 12 when levering further in this direction, but could also engage on the engagement step 13 if it had a slightly different shape.
The tensioning leg 34 of the cage tension spring 3 is fixed in the direction of the busbar 21 by the tensioning shoulder 16 of the actuator 1, after it has already been moved in this direction by the tensioning slope 15, and thus releases the electrical conductor 6 at its stripped region 61.
Accordingly, the associated insulating body 5 (not shown) in a slightly modified version compared to
Otherwise, the insulating body 5, which is not shown, corresponds substantially to the embodiment shown in the previous
The insulating body 5 with its hollow-cylindrical actuating opening 51, or more precisely, in the cylindrical inner wall of its actuating opening 51 (not shown) and the guide pin (not shown) arranged thereon, is thus designed to cooperate with the respective guide groove 101, 102 of the actuator during its actuation, namely to guide the actuator 1 during its respective actuation and to limit this movement in each case.
The actuation of this substantially cylindrical actuator can consist of a translational movement, which can be seen in the schematic diagrams of
By contrast,
In
This illustration also shows that the tensioning leg 34 of the cage tension spring 3 is displaced from its actuating recess 14 by the rotation of the actuator 1 in the direction of the arrow, i.e. in a first direction of rotation/in a first rotational actuating direction. The cage tension spring 30 is thus tensioned more strongly again and the window recess 30 is opened, so that the electrical conductor 6 is released from the busbar 21 and can be removed from the connection device against the cable insertion direction (i.e., upwards in the drawing).
To reconnect an electrical conductor 6, such as another core of the cable or another cable, the actuator 1 can also be turned back against the direction of the arrow, if necessary, in order to return to its closed position, which—as already mentioned—is shown in
Although the flat-blade screwdriver 7 is not explicitly shown as a tool in
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 2022 102 812.7 | Feb 2022 | DE | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/DE2023/100048 | 1/23/2023 | WO |
