CN114026745A

CN114026745A - Connecting terminal

Info

Publication number: CN114026745A
Application number: CN202080046944.6A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 马丁·格布哈特
Original assignee: Phoenix Contact GmbH and Co KG
Current assignee: Phoenix Contact GmbH and Co KG
Priority date: 2019-06-27
Filing date: 2020-06-10
Publication date: 2022-02-08
Also published as: DE102019117301A1; EP3991251A1; WO2020260013A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a terminal (100) for connecting at least one electrical conductor, comprising a housing (110), having at least one conductor socket (111, 160) for inserting the at least one electrical conductor to be connected into a housing (110), a current bar (112) arranged in the housing (110), at least one clamping spring (113, 114) arranged in the housing (110), for clamping the at least one electrical conductor against a current bar (112), and-at least one rotatably mounted actuating lever (115, 116), for actuating the at least one clamping spring (113, 114), wherein the current bar (112) has at least one receiving section (117, 118), the at least one actuating lever (115, 116) is rotatably mounted on the receiving section.

Description

Connecting terminal

Technical Field

The invention relates to a connecting terminal for connecting an electrical conductor, comprising: a housing having at least one conductor socket for inserting at least one electrical conductor to be connected into the housing; a current bar disposed in the housing; at least one clamping spring arranged in the housing for clamping at least one electrical conductor against the current bar; and at least one rotatably supported actuating lever for actuating the at least one clamping spring.

Background

Such terminals are known from different solutions. The clamping spring is usually designed as a leg spring with a clamping foot for clamping the conductor to be connected against the current bar and a retaining foot for retaining the clamping spring in the housing. In order to be able to move the clamping feet into the open position and into the clamping position, a corresponding actuating lever can be provided, which can interact with the clamping feet of the clamping spring in such a way that the clamping feet are moved into the open position and/or into the clamping position. The lever is usually supported on a wall of the housing, which may form a receptacle for the rotational axis of the lever. However, since the housing is generally made of plastic, when the lever is supported by the housing, the supporting portion of the lever may be accidentally moved or changed due to the influence of the medium or temperature on the housing, thereby hindering or restricting the function of the terminal.

Disclosure of Invention

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a terminal, in which a constant function of the terminal is ensured even in the case of changes in the medium or temperature influence.

The solution of the invention to achieve the above object is characterized by the features of the independent claims. Preferred embodiments and advantageous developments of the invention are disclosed in the dependent claims.

The connecting terminal according to the invention is characterized in that the current bar has at least one receiving section, on which the at least one actuating lever is rotatably mounted.

According to the invention, the actuating lever is no longer supported on the housing, but on the current bar. The bearing of the actuating lever is therefore now decoupled from the housing, which is preferably made of plastic material, so that changes in the plastic of the housing due to media influences or temperature influences no longer have an effect on the bearing of the actuating lever. The current bar is preferably made of a metallic material so as to have good electrical conductivity. In the case of using a metal material, the degree of influence of the changing temperature or medium action on the current bar is greatly reduced, and therefore the support or support position of the operating lever on the current bar does not change due to the medium influence or temperature influence. In particular, the receiving section formed by the current bar is made of a metal material that is stable with respect to medium and temperature, and therefore has a shape stability, so that the bearing of the actuating lever in or on this receiving section is not influenced by different media or temperatures. Thus, a constant function of the connecting terminal is ensured even under different medium influences and temperature influences.

In order to form a rotatable bearing, the actuating lever preferably has a rotational axis which can be accommodated in the at least one accommodating section in such a way that the at least one accommodating section surrounds the rotational axis at least in some regions. The rotational shaft is preferably designed in the form of a shaft body which can be inserted into the receiving section at least partially around or in a manner looped by the receiving section. Since the rotary shaft is at least partially surrounded by the receiving section, an unintentional detachment of the rotary shaft from the receiving section can be prevented, so that a secure support of the operating lever on the current bar is achieved.

In order to achieve a solution of the connecting terminal that is as compact as possible, the at least one receiving section is preferably formed on an end section of the current bar. In this way, the actuating lever can be supported on the end section or on the free end of the current bar.

In order to form the receiving section, the current bar is preferably bent in a C-shape in the region of the at least one receiving section. If the receiving section is formed on the end section of the current bar, the free end of the current bar can be bent in a C-shape in order to form the receiving section for the actuating lever. By means of the C-shape, the axis of rotation of the actuating lever can be at least partially looped or surrounded by the receiving section in a simple manner.

The at least one receiving section may have an opening which can be closed by a wall of the housing. In this way, the receiving section together with the wall of the housing completely surrounds the axis of rotation of the actuating lever. In this way, a small part of the housing can also form a counter-bearing and thus a fixing for the actuating lever, but the essential bearing for the actuating lever is formed by the receiving section of the current bar. The wall portion of the housing can prevent the rotation shaft of the lever from slipping out from the accommodating section side.

For actuating the clamping spring by means of the actuating lever, the clamping foot of the at least one clamping spring can have at least one tongue which is formed at a distance from the clamping edge of the clamping foot and can interact with the actuating lever. The clamping edge for clamping the conductor to be connected against the current bar is preferably set back towards the bent section of the clamping spring so that the tongue projects beyond the clamping edge. The tongue is preferably formed laterally of the clamping edge, so that the tongue can be guided alongside the clamping edge. Preferably, two such tongues are formed on the clamping foot, so that the clamping edge can be formed between the two tongues. The actuating lever can have an actuating section, wherein an outer surface of the actuating section is preferably arcuate, and the actuating lever can perform a rolling movement on a tongue of a clamping foot of the clamping spring by means of this outer surface of the actuating section, in order to actuate the clamping foot and thus the clamping spring.

In addition to the clamping feet, the clamping spring can have holding feet, which can be fastened to the current bar. The retaining leg serves to support the clamping spring in the housing, wherein the clamping spring can be fastened to the current bar by means of its retaining leg for the purpose of positionally securing the clamping spring in place.

The retaining legs of the clamping spring can be fixed to the current bar in various ways. Preferably, the current bar has an opening into which the holding foot can be hooked. The openings may be formed in the current bar, for example, in the form of window-like recesses. A retaining tab may be formed on the retaining leg and may pass through the opening, thereby looping the edge defining the opening and thereby hanging the retaining leg of the clip spring in the opening.

By fixing the retaining leg of the clamping spring to the current bar and also the actuating lever to the current bar, the actuating lever and the clamping spring can form an assembly which can be preassembled, so that the entire assembly can be arranged together in the housing of the terminal after preassembly.

Particularly preferably, the connecting terminal can be constructed as follows: two conductors may be connected to the terminal at the same time. In this solution, a first clamping spring for clamping the first conductor and a second clamping spring for clamping the second conductor against the current bar can be provided, wherein the current bar has a first receiving section on which a first actuating lever for actuating the first clamping spring can be rotatably supported, and wherein the current bar has a second receiving section on which a second actuating lever for actuating the second clamping spring can be rotatably supported. The first receiving section is preferably formed on a first end section of the current bar, and the second receiving section is preferably formed on a second end section of the current bar opposite the first end section. The two levers are preferably arranged on the current bar in such a way that they can be rotated in opposite directions to one another in the opening movement and in the closing movement.

The first clamping spring and the second clamping spring are preferably arranged at a distance from one another such that, in particular, the two retaining legs of the clamping springs do not have direct contact with one another and do not rest against one another in particular. In order to be able to establish a defined distance between the two clamping springs, a spacer for mechanical decoupling of the first and second clamping springs may be provided between the first and second clamping springs, wherein the spacer may be formed by a wall of the housing. By force decoupling, the spacer causes the force of the first clip spring not to be transferred to the second clip spring and vice versa.

In order to simplify the assembly of the two clamping springs, the two clamping springs can be constructed in one piece by a connecting piece, wherein the connecting piece can be fastened to the current bar. In this way, the two clamping springs can be fixed together on the current bar by the connecting piece, so that the clamping springs do not need to be fixed separately.

The connecting lug can be fixed to the current bar, for example by riveting, so that a particularly stable and non-slip positioning of the clamping spring on the current bar is achieved. As an alternative to riveting, for example, the connecting lug can also be screwed and/or snapped onto the current bar.

If the two clamping springs are not connected by a web, the clamping springs can be fastened individually to the current bar. The two clamping springs can have retaining tabs on their retaining legs, for example, wherein these retaining tabs can be hooked into openings on the current bar, so that the clamping springs are fixed to the current bar.

Drawings

The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Wherein

Figure 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a connection terminal according to one aspect of the present invention,

figure 2 is a schematic view of the layout of the current bar and the clamping spring as shown in figure 1,

figure 3 is a schematic view of the clip spring as shown in figures 1 and 2,

figure 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a connection terminal according to another aspect of the present invention,

figure 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the layout of current bars, clip springs and operating lever as shown in figure 4,

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of the clip spring integrally connected by the connecting piece as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, an

Fig. 7 is a schematic view of a terminal of the present invention.

Detailed Description

Fig. 1 shows a sectional view of a connecting terminal 100, with which two electrical conductors, not shown here, can be connected or contacted.

The connection terminal 100 has a housing 110 made of an insulating material. Two opposing

conductor sockets

111, 160 are formed in the housing 110 for inserting an electrical conductor into the housing 110. The housing 110 is designed here as a two-part construction and is formed from an upper housing part and a lower housing part.

In the housing 110, a current bar 112 is provided, to which both conductors can be connected, in that the conductors inserted into the housing 110 are clamped against the current bar 112 by means of a

clamping spring

113, 114 each.

In order to actuate the two clamping

springs

113, 114, an

actuating lever

115, 116 is provided in each case, so that each clamping

spring

113, 114 corresponds to an

actuating lever

115, 116. The two

levers

115, 116 are rotatably mounted, so that the clamping springs 113, 114 can be actuated by a rotational movement of the

levers

115, 116.

The

levers

115, 116 are rotatably mounted on the current bar 112. For this purpose, the current bar 112 has a first receiving section 117 and a second receiving section 118. As can also be seen from fig. 2, the two receiving

sections

117, 118 are formed on

opposite end sections

119, 120 of the current bar 112, respectively. The receiving

sections

117, 118 are part of the current bar 112 and are therefore made of the material of the current bar 112. The current bar 112 is made of a metal material, so the receiving

sections

117, 118 are also made of a metal material. The two

control rods

115, 116 are suspended directly from the current bar 112 via receiving

sections

117, 118.

The receiving

sections

117, 118 each have a C-shape, so that the current bar 112 is bent in a C-shape in the region of the two receiving

sections

117, 118.

The two

levers

115, 116 each have a

rotational axis

121, 122, by means of which the

levers

115, 116 are each rotatably mounted in one of the two receiving

sections

117, 118. The two

rotational axes

121, 122 are accommodated in the

accommodating sections

117, 118 in such a way that the

accommodating sections

117, 118 at least partially surround the

rotational axes

121, 122, respectively.

The

rotation shafts

121, 122 are surrounded by the

accommodation sections

117, 118 in three directions, respectively. In the fourth direction, the

rotation shafts

121, 122 are defined by respective one

wall portions

123, 124 of the housing 110. For this purpose, both

wall portions

123, 124 have an arcuate shape. The two receiving

sections

117, 118 each have an

opening

125, 126 in this fourth direction, which is closed or covered by a

respective wall

123, 124 of the housing 110. During the pivoting or rotating movement of the

actuating lever

115, 116, this actuating lever slides along the

wall

123, 124 by means of the bearing surfaces 127, 128. The bearing surfaces 127, 128 are formed on one end of a

grip section

129, 130 of the

actuating element

115, 116, respectively, wherein a user can manually rotate the

actuating lever

115, 116 via the

grip section

129, 130.

Furthermore, the actuating levers 115, 116 each have an

actuating section

131, 132, via which the actuating levers 115, 116 can interact with the clamp springs 113, 114 in order to actuate the clamp springs 113, 114. The handling

sections

131, 132 directly adjoin the gripping

sections

129, 130, wherein the

respective handling section

131, 132 is connected to the respective

gripping section

129, 130 at the end of the

gripping section

129, 130 forming the

respective bearing surface

127, 128. The actuating

sections

131, 132 each have a curved outer side face, by means of which the

respective actuating lever

115, 116 can act on the clamping

feet

133, 134 of the

respective clamping spring

113, 114, so that the clamping

feet

133, 134 can be moved into the open position and/or the clamping position. As shown in fig. 2 and 3, the clamping

feet

133, 134 each have two

tongues

135, 136, 137, 138, along which the

actuating sections

131, 132 of the actuating levers 115, 116 can slide, so that a pressure is applied to the clamping

feet

133, 134 of the clamping springs 113, 114 and this clamping foot is moved from the clamping position into the open position. At a distance from the two

tongues

135, 136, 137, 138, the clamping

feet

133, 134 each have a

clamping edge

139, 140, by means of which the clamping

feet

133, 134 can clamp the conductor to be connected directly against the current bar 112.

The clamping

legs

133, 134 of the

respective clamping spring

113, 114 are connected in one piece to the retaining

legs

143, 144 of the

respective clamping spring

113, 114 via

arcuate sections

141, 142. The

arcuate sections

141, 142 of the respective clamping springs 113, 114 bear against the

inner walls

145, 146 of the housing 110, so that the clamping springs 113, 114 are supported on this

inner wall

145, 146 of the housing 110.

The retaining

legs

143, 144 of the

respective clamping spring

113, 114 are fixed to the current bar 112, so that the

clamping spring

113, 114 is also retained on the current bar 112. In the solution shown in fig. 1 to 3, the retaining

feet

143, 144 each have a retaining

strip

147, 148 at their free ends, which are suspended in openings 149 formed in the current bar 112. The opening 149 is formed centrally along the length of the current bar 112, so that the retaining

tabs

147, 148 of the two clamping

springs

113, 114 can be hung into the same opening 149. As shown in fig. 2 and 3, the retaining

tabs

147, 148 of the retaining

legs

143, 144 are bent toward the

clip legs

133, 134 of the respective clip springs 113, 114, respectively.

The two clamping springs 113, 114 are mechanically decoupled from one another in that a spacer 150 is formed between the clamping springs 113, 114, in particular between the two retaining

legs

143, 144 of the clamping springs 113, 114, which holds the two clamping springs at a distance from one another. Spacer 150 is formed by a wall portion of case 110. The spacer 150 has snap-in

flanges

151, 152 which can project through window-

like openings

153, 154 formed in the retaining

legs

143, 144 of the respective clip springs 113, 114, whereby the clip springs 113, 114 can also be securely held on the spacer 150.

Fig. 4 to 6 show a solution of the terminal 100, which is identical to the solution shown in fig. 1 to 3 with regard to the mounting of the

levers

115, 116 on the current bar 112, the mounting of the

levers

115, 116 and of the current bar 112, the interaction of the clamping springs 113, 114 with the

levers

115, 116 and the mounting of the clamping springs 113, 114 in the housing 110. The only difference is that in the embodiments shown in fig. 4 to 6, the two clamping

springs

113, 114 are connected by a connecting web 155 and are formed integrally from an elastic web. The connecting tabs 155 extend parallel to the current bars 112. The connecting lug 155 spans the spacer 150 of the housing 110, so that the connecting lug 155 is arranged between the current bar 112 and the spacer 150 in the mounted state of the clamping springs 113, 114.

The two clamping springs 113, 114 are fixed to the current bar 112 by means of a connecting tab 155. The fixing is performed by riveting 156. For this purpose, openings 157 are formed in the webs 155, through which rivets 156 can be passed in order to fix the webs 155 and thus the clamping springs 113, 114 to the current bar 112.

In both embodiments shown in fig. 1 to 6, it can be seen that the receiving

sections

117, 118 form a hook of the actuating levers 115, 116 on the current bar 112 on a first side 158 of the current bar 112, while on a second side 159 of the current bar 112 facing away from the first side 158 of the current bar 112, the conductor to be connected is clamped by the clamping springs 113, 114. The

levers

115, 116 are suspended from the current bar 112 by receiving

sections

117, 118, which can also be referred to as receiving chambers. As shown in fig. 1 to 6, the

levers

115, 116 are arranged substantially above the current bar 112, in particular above a first side 158 of the current bar 112, while the clamping springs 113, 114 are arranged below the current bar 112, in particular below a second side 159 of the current bar 112.

The connecting terminal 100 can be designed, for example, as a terminal block, which can be snapped onto a mounting rail.

Fig. 7 shows a terminal 100, wherein the internal structure of the terminal 100 can be designed according to the embodiments shown in fig. 1 to 3 or according to the embodiments shown in fig. 4 to 6. Both

levers

115, 116 project from the housing 110 by means of their

grip sections

129, 130 for the user to grip.

Description of the reference numerals

100 terminal

110 casing

111, 160 conductor socket

112 current bar

113, 114 clamp spring

115, 116 joystick

117, 118 receiving section

119, 120 end segment

121, 122 axes of rotation

123, 124 wall part

125, 126 opening

127, 128 bearing surface

129, 130 gripping section

131, 132 steering section

133, 134 clamping feet

135, 136 tongue

137, 138 tongue

139, 140 clamping edge

141, 142 arcuate section

143, 144 holding feet

145, 146 inner wall

147, 148 holding sheet

149 opening

150 spacer

151, 152 snap flanges

153, 154 window-like openings

155 connecting piece

156 riveting

157 opening

158 first side

159 second side.

Claims

1. A terminal (100) for connecting at least one electrical conductor has

A housing (110) having at least one conductor socket (111, 160) for inserting the at least one electrical conductor to be connected into the housing (110),

-a current bar (112) arranged in the housing (110),

-at least one clamping spring (113, 114) arranged in the housing (110) for clamping the at least one electrical conductor against a current bar (112), and

at least one rotatably mounted actuating lever (115, 116) for actuating the at least one clamping spring (113, 114),

characterized in that the current bar (112) has at least one receiving section (117, 118) on which the at least one actuating lever (115, 116) is rotatably mounted.

2. The connection terminal (100) according to claim 1, characterized in that the at least one lever (115, 116) has a rotational axis (121, 122) which is received in the at least one receiving section (117, 118) in such a way that the at least one receiving section (117, 118) surrounds the rotational axis (121, 122) at least in some regions.

3. The connection terminal (100) according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the at least one receiving section (117, 118) is formed on a terminal section (119, 120) of the current bar (112).

4. The connection terminal (100) according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterised in that the current bar (112) is bent in a C-shape in the region of the at least one receiving section (117, 118).

5. The connection terminal (100) according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the at least one receiving section (117, 118) has an opening (125, 126) which is closed by a wall (123, 124) of the housing (110).

6. The connection terminal (100) according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterised in that the clamping foot (133, 134) of the at least one clamping spring (113, 114) has at least one tongue (135, 136, 137, 138) which is formed at a distance from a clamping edge (139, 140) of the clamping foot (133, 134) and which interacts with the actuating lever (117, 118).

7. The connection terminal (100) according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterised in that the retaining leg (143, 144) of the at least one clamping spring (113, 114) is fixed to the current bar (112).

8. The connection terminal (100) according to claim 7, characterised in that the current bar (112) has an opening (149) in which the retaining legs (143, 144) are suspended.

9. The connection terminal (100) according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that a first clamping spring (113, 114) for clamping a first conductor and a second clamping spring (113, 114) for clamping a second conductor against the current bar (112) are provided, wherein the current bar (112) has a first receiving section (117, 118) on which a first actuating lever (115, 116) for actuating the first clamping spring (113, 114) is rotatably mounted, and wherein the current bar (112) has a second receiving section (117, 118) on which a second actuating lever (115, 116) for actuating the second clamping spring (113, 114) is rotatably mounted.

10. The connection terminal (100) according to claim 9, characterised in that a spacer (150) is provided between the first clamping spring (113, 114) and the second clamping spring (113, 114) for mechanical decoupling of the first clamping spring (113, 114) from the second clamping spring (113, 114), wherein the spacer (150) is formed by a wall of the housing (110).

11. The connection terminal (100) according to claim 9 or 10, characterised in that the retaining legs (143, 144) of the first clamping spring (113, 114) and the retaining legs (143, 144) of the second clamping spring (113, 114) are constructed in one piece by means of a web (155), wherein the web (155) is fixed to the current bar (112).

12. The connection terminal (100) according to claim 11, wherein the connection tab (155) is fixed to the current bar (112) by riveting (156).