CN220440069U - Terminal module and corresponding surge protector - Google Patents

Abstract

The patent application discloses a binding post module and a corresponding surge protector. A terminal module (10) according to the present application, characterized by comprising: a first current bar (200); a wire frame (300); and a housing (100) configured to house the first current bar and the wire-clamping frame, the housing having a rear side (120) for receiving a wire into the wire-clamping frame, and a front side (110) opposite the rear side, wherein the first current bar comprises a wire-clamping segment (220) and an extension segment (210), the wire-clamping segment being located within the frame of the wire-clamping frame, the extension segment extending from the front side of the housing.

Description

Terminal module and corresponding surge protector

Technical Field

The present application relates to an electrical device, and in particular to a terminal device adapted to be mounted to a base of a surge protector.

Background

The surge protector is an electrical safety protection device and can provide safety protection for various electronic equipment, instruments and meters and communication lines. Typically, when a spike current or voltage is suddenly generated in an electrical circuit or a communication line due to external interference (e.g., lightning), a surge protector can limit the transient overvoltage entering a power line, a signal transmission line to a voltage range that can be borne by a device or a system in a very short time, or leak the spike current into the ground, so as to avoid damage to other devices in the circuit caused by the surge.

In the specification of chinese utility model CN216121048U a surge protector is described, wherein several surge protector modules are mounted in a base, whereas on the side of the base a terminal structure is provided. The connecting terminal structure comprises a wire pressing frame, wherein one end of a current strip arranged in a base is arranged in the wire pressing frame, and the other end of the current strip is directly or indirectly connected with a pin of a surge protector module.

To accommodate more varied wiring requirements, separate terminal modules may be developed that can be assembled to the base side of the surge protector. For example, the wires are received from the incoming wire end of the terminal module and connected to an internal current strip, and the other end of the current strip extends from the outgoing wire end of the terminal module to establish a connection with the current strip in the base of the surge protector.

However, the existing wiring terminal module has the problems of insufficient individual installation strength, easy deflection and incapability of normal wiring in actual use. At the same time, the current strip of such a terminal module is configured for insertion into a wire frame in the base of the surge protector, which results in a reduced wire diameter that can be accommodated by the wire frame of the base. In addition, the existing wiring terminal module capable of being purchased from a commercial channel can only realize single-layer wire inlet, and the single-layer wire inlet cannot meet the requirements of one inlet and multiple outlets and cannot meet the requirements of electrical performance.

Disclosure of Invention

The present application proposes a terminal module that can be mounted on the base of a surge protector. The terminal module has a reliable structure which is easy to manufacture, and is easy to stably install and develop wiring operation.

According to a first aspect of the present patent application, there is provided a terminal module comprising: a first current bar; a wire pressing frame; and a housing configured to house the first current bar and the wire-clamping frame, the housing having a rear side for receiving a wire into the wire-clamping frame, and a front side opposite the rear side, wherein the first current bar includes a wire-clamping segment located within the frame of the wire-clamping frame and an extension extending from the front side of the housing.

In the above-mentioned arrangement of the terminal module, as a further alternative implementation manner, the first current strip further includes a connection section between the voltage line section and the extension section.

In the above-mentioned scheme of the terminal module, as a further optional implementation manner, the first current strip is formed by bending a metal sheet, where a bending area is formed between the wire pressing section and the connection section, and a bending area is formed between the connection section and the extension section.

In the above-mentioned scheme of the terminal module, as a further optional implementation manner, a clamping groove structure formed by a notch is arranged at the end of the extension section.

In the above-mentioned scheme of the terminal module, as a further alternative implementation manner, the notch is a U-shaped notch.

In the above-mentioned scheme of binding post module, as a further optional implementation manner, the upper and lower both sides of breach are equipped with anti-skidding line.

In the above-mentioned arrangement of the terminal module, as a further alternative implementation, the end of the connection section is provided with a snap feature for locking with the housing.

In the above-mentioned scheme of binding post module, as a further optional implementation manner, still include fastening screw, fastening screw installs in the upper portion of casing to can rotate through the screw trompil that the casing upper portion was established.

In the above-mentioned scheme of binding post module, as a further optional implementation manner, the upper portion of line ball frame is equipped with the screw hole, fastening screw's screw rod with the screw hole interlock of line ball frame, thereby with fastening screw's rotation drives the rise and the decline of line ball frame.

In the above-mentioned scheme of binding post module, as a further optional implementation manner, the front side upper portion of casing is equipped with buckle structure, buckle structure is followed the front side is protruding, follows the width direction of front side extends left and right sides to form the edge that is used for the joint in front end lower part.

In the above-mentioned configuration of the terminal module, as a further alternative implementation manner, a left cover structure and a right cover structure extending outward and a lateral cover structure are provided in the middle of the front side of the housing, and the left cover structure, the right cover structure and the lateral cover structure surround the extension section of the first current bar from left, right and upper sides.

In the above-mentioned scheme of binding post module, as a further optional implementation manner, the line ball frame is fixed a position and is installed at the middle part of casing, the rear side middle part of casing is hollow for being used for to the line ball frame inserts the wire, the front side middle part of casing seals in order to block the wire that gets into the line ball frame and wears out from the front side of casing.

In the above-mentioned arrangement of the terminal module, as a further alternative implementation manner, the front side lower portion and the rear side lower portion of the housing are hollow to define an additional space for the entry and exit of another wire.

In the above-mentioned arrangement of the terminal module, as a further alternative implementation, the lower side of the housing is open and free from shielding.

In the above-mentioned scheme of the terminal module, as a further alternative implementation manner, structures capable of being spliced and coupled with each other are respectively arranged on the left side surface and the right side surface of the shell.

In the above-mentioned scheme of binding post module, as a further optional implementation manner, one of the left side face and the right side face of the casing is equipped with the concatenation rib, is equipped with the splice groove on the other.

According to a second aspect of the present patent application, there is provided a surge protection device comprising: a surge protector mount for mounting one or more surge protector modules; the terminal module of any of the preceding paragraphs, mounted to a side of the surge protector base.

In the above-mentioned scheme of the surge protection device, as a further optional implementation manner, the surge protector base includes one or more base wiring units, the base wiring units include second current strips, and after the wiring terminal module is mounted on the side surface of the surge protector, an extension section of the first current strip of the wiring terminal module is connected to the second current strip in the surge protector base.

In the above-mentioned scheme of the surge protection device, as a further optional implementation manner, the base wiring unit further includes a base fastening screw, and the base fastening screw is used for fastening the extension section of the first current strip of the wiring terminal module on the second current strip in the base wiring unit.

In the above-mentioned scheme of the surge protection device, as a further optional implementation manner, the base wiring unit further includes a base wire pressing frame, and when the wiring terminal module is mounted on the surge protector base, the operation of the wire incoming from the side of the surge protector to the base wire pressing frame is not interfered by the wiring terminal module.

Drawings

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the application and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this application, illustrate embodiments of the application and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the application. In the accompanying drawings:

fig. 1 shows a perspective view of a terminal module 100 according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 2 shows a perspective view of another view of a terminal module according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 3 shows an exploded view of the terminal module according to the embodiment of the present application shown in fig. 1.

Fig. 4A to 4F show front, rear, left, right, top and bottom views, respectively, of a housing in the terminal module shown in fig. 1.

Fig. 5 shows a perspective view of a current bar in the terminal module shown in fig. 3.

Fig. 6 shows a schematic view of the relative positions of the current strip and the wire clamping frame in the terminal module shown in fig. 3 in the assembled state.

Fig. 7A shows a partial cross-sectional view of the terminal module shown in fig. 1.

Fig. 7B illustrates a partial cross-sectional view of the terminal module shown in fig. 1 from another perspective.

Fig. 8 is a schematic view of a surge protector device formed by combining a plurality of terminal modules shown in fig. 1 with a base of the surge protector.

Fig. 9 is a schematic view showing an internal structure of the surge protector of fig. 8 with a housing removed from a base.

Fig. 10 shows a schematic view of one of the base wiring units of the internal structure shown in fig. 9.

Fig. 11 is a schematic view showing a plurality of terminal modules being matingly connected to the internal structure shown in fig. 9.

Detailed Description

In the following description, the present patent application is described with reference to various embodiments. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize, however, that the embodiments may be practiced without one or more of the specific details, or with other alternative and/or additional methods, materials, or components. In other instances, well-known structures, materials, or operations are not shown or described in detail to avoid obscuring aspects of various embodiments of the present patent application. Similarly, for purposes of explanation, specific numbers, materials and configurations are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments of the present patent application. However, the present patent application may be practiced without specific details. Furthermore, it should be understood that the embodiments shown in the drawings are illustrative representations and are not necessarily drawn to scale.

The various embodiments and variations of the present application are further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of a terminal module 10 according to an embodiment of the present application. Fig. 2 shows a perspective view of another view of the terminal module 10 according to an embodiment of the present application. Fig. 3 shows an exploded view of the terminal module 10 according to the embodiment of the present application shown in fig. 1. Fig. 4A to 4F show front, rear, left, right, top and bottom views, respectively, of the housing 100 in the terminal module 10 shown in fig. 1. Fig. 5 shows a perspective view of the current bar 200 in the terminal module 10 shown in fig. 3. Fig. 6 shows a schematic view of the relative positions of the current bar 200 and the wire clamping frame 300 in the terminal block shown in fig. 3 in an assembled state. Fig. 7A shows a partial sectional view of the terminal module 10 shown in fig. 1. Fig. 7B shows a partial sectional view of the terminal module 10 shown in fig. 1 from another perspective.

As shown in connection with fig. 1, 2, 3, 4A-4F, 5, 6 and 7A-7B, the terminal module 10 includes a housing 100, a current bar 200, a wire clamping frame 300 and a fastening screw 400.

The housing 100 is constructed to have an insulating cavity that accommodates the current bar 200 and the wire frame 300. The housing 100 may be made of an industrial flame retardant grade insulating material that is versatile in shape, impact resistant, and has electrical properties that are safely insulated from the circuit during use of the product.

The upper portion of the housing 100 is provided with screw holes 101 for the ingress and egress of an operating tool (e.g., a screwdriver) to rotate the fastening screw 400. As shown in fig. 1, 4E, 7A and 7B, the screw hole 101 is formed in a boss structure of the top of the housing 100, the inner hole diameter of which is equal to or slightly larger than the outer diameter of the screw head 401 of the fastening screw 400. At the lower portion of the screw opening 101, a collar 110 is provided, and the collar 110 is engaged with a reduced radius neck 410 below the screw head 401 of the fastening screw 400, so that the fastening screw 400 can be positioned in the housing 100 without being removed.

The current bar 200 is mounted within the housing 100 and the extension 210 of the current bar 200 extends from within the housing 100. In this application, referring to fig. 1 and fig. 4A to 4F, regarding the case 100, the direction in which the extension section 210 of the current bar 200 extends is defined as a front side (fig. 4A), a side for the wire to enter and exit the wire frame is defined as a rear side (fig. 4B), a side with the splice rib 135 as viewed in fig. 1 is defined as a left side (fig. 4C), a side with the splice groove 145 opposite thereto is defined as a right side (fig. 4D), and a direction in which the boss is located is defined as an upper side (fig. 4E), and a lower side (fig. 4F).

As shown in fig. 2 and 4F, the underside of the housing 100 may be open without shielding. As shown in fig. 1, 2, 4E, 4F, 7A and 7B, the left side 130 and the right side 140 of the housing 100 are spaced apart from each other to define a space for receiving the wire frame 300. The wire frame 300 may be positioned and mounted approximately in the middle of the overall housing 100, leaving additional space below the wire frame 300 for direct wire entry to the surge protector base.

As shown in fig. 4A, the front side 110 of the housing 100 has a front connection wall structure 115 connecting the left side 130 and the right side 140, and the front middle portion 110 has an opening for the extension 210 of the current bar 200, and a cross member 117 connecting the left side 130 and the right side 140 is disposed at the lower portion of the opening. As shown in fig. 4B, at the upper portion of the rear side 120 of the housing 100, there is a rear connection wall structure 125 connecting the left side of the housing and the right side of the housing, and the middle and lower portions of the rear side 120 are hollow. It will be appreciated that the hollow in the middle of the rear side 120 is to allow for the passage of wire into the wire frame 300. It will also be appreciated that the lower portions of both front side 110 and rear side 120 are hollow in order to allow additional space for direct line feed into the surge protector base. It will also be appreciated that the front side 110 of the housing is centrally closed to block wires entering the wire frame 300 from exiting the front side of the housing. Further, it should be appreciated that the front side 110 of the housing may increase the strength of the overall housing 100.

As further shown in fig. 4C and 4D, the left side 130 and the right side 140 of the housing may be formed with arcuate or nearly arcuate projections on the rear side, such arcuate projection configuration may increase the protection of the conductive portions within the terminal module 10 and increase the creepage distance between each other when multiple terminal modules are used side-by-side.

As further shown in fig. 1 and 2, a snap feature 116 is provided on an upper portion of the front side 110 of the housing 100. The latch structure 116 protrudes from the front side 110, extends laterally in the width direction of the front side 110, and forms an edge for latching at the lower part of the front end. The snap features 116 are adapted to mate with a snap interface on the base of the surge protector to provide for efficient assembly of the terminal module 10.

As further shown in fig. 4C, 4D and 4F, in the middle of the front side 110 of the housing 100, there are left and right cover structures 117A and 117B extending outward, and one lateral cover structure 117C. The three cap structures surround the extension sections 210 of the current bar 200 from left, right, and above, thereby guiding and stabilizing the assembly and use of the current bar 200.

Fig. 5 shows the construction of the current bar 200. The current bar 200 may be made of sheet metal and manufactured by a bending process. The folded current bar 200 includes an extension section 210, a wire section 220, and a vertical connection section 230 therebetween. As shown in fig. 5, the current bar 200 may have a bending region between the wire segment 220 and the connection segment 230, and a bending region between the connection segment 230 and the extension segment 210. The ends of the wire segments 230 may further be provided with snap features 240 for locking with the housing 100. The ends of the epitaxial segments 210 may be provided with notches, which may be, for example, U-shaped notches, to form the detent structures 211. Further, anti-slip patterns 212 are formed on the upper and lower side surfaces of the card slot structure 211.

The mating of the wire frame 300 and the tightening screw 400 may take the form of those known in the art. In the embodiment of the application, the wire pressing frame 300 is completed by adopting a bending process, a structure with a hollow middle and four wrapped sides is formed, and a threaded hole 310 is formed in the upper part of the wire pressing frame 300 and is used for forming threaded connection with the screw rod of the fastening screw 400, so that the position change between the fastening screw 400 and the wire pressing frame 300 is realized by the rotation of the fastening screw 400, and the clamping or loosening of the wire pressing frame 300 is realized. The fastening screw 400 may be made of high strength steel, but this is not a limitation of the present application.

As shown in fig. 6, the current bar 200 and the wire frame 300 are assembled such that the wire segment 220 of the current bar 200 is within the frame of the wire frame 300. Accordingly, when the fastening screw 400 is rotated so that the wire frame 300 and the fastening screw 300 approach each other, the wire entering the wire frame 300 is pressed against the wire section 220 of the current bar 200.

Fig. 8 shows a schematic view of a surge protector device obtained by combining several of the terminal modules 10 and the surge protector base 20 shown in fig. 1. Fig. 9 shows a schematic view of the internal structure 80 of the surge protector base 20 of fig. 8 with the housing removed. Fig. 10 shows a schematic view of one of the base wiring units 81 of the internal structure 30 shown in fig. 9. Fig. 11 shows a schematic view of a plurality of terminal modules 10 that are matingly connected to the internal structure 81 shown in fig. 9.

As shown in fig. 8, the surge protector base 20 may be mounted with four surge protector modules (not shown) in parallel, and the terminal modules 10 according to the embodiment of the present application may be mounted to the side of the surge protector base 20 in parallel with each other.

As shown in fig. 9, in the internal structure 80 of the surge protector base 20, several base wiring units 81 are included at the sides. Each base terminal unit 80 can receive and compress a wire inserted from the outside and can form an electrical connection with the current bar 200 of the external terminal module 10. An exemplary configuration of the base wiring unit 81 is shown in fig. 10. As shown in fig. 10, the base wiring unit includes a base fastening screw 811, a base current bar 812 and a base wire frame 813. The base current strip 812 includes a U-shaped structure of a fastening section 8121, a connecting section 8122, and a wire-pressing section 8123, and includes an extension section 8124 extending from the wire-pressing section 8123. The assembled state of the base fastening screw 811, the base current bar 812 and the base wire pressing frame 813 can be seen from fig. 9, wherein the wire pressing section 8123 is in the frame body of the base wire pressing frame 813. Screw holes are provided on both the fastening section 8121 and the base press frame 813 so that the base fastening screw 811 can pass therethrough. A non-slip pattern may be provided on the fastening section 8121 to mate with the non-slip pattern of the underside surface of the clamping groove structure 211 of the current bar 200.

As shown in fig. 8 and 11, the terminal module 10 may be installed into the mounting groove structure of the surge protector base 20 at the time of assembly, at which time the extension section 210 of the current bar 200 and the wire section 8123 of the base current bar 812 are connected. The base fastening screw 811 can pass through both the current bar 200 of the terminal module 10 and the current bar 812 of the base wiring unit 80. Also, at this time, since an additional space for feeding wires to the base is left at the lower portion of the terminal block 10, the first wire 60 can be inserted into the side wire hole of the surge protector base 20 without being blocked and enter into the wire frame 813 of the base wiring unit 81. After the clamping groove structure 211 of the current strip 200 and the first wire 60 are connected into the base connection unit 81 of the surge protector base 20, the base fastening screw 811 of the base connection unit 81 can be locked, at this time, the clamping groove structure 211 of the current strip 200 is locked on the fastening section 8121 of the base current strip 812 by the base fastening screw 811, and the first wire 60 is also locked in the wire pressing frame 813.

Next, the second wire 70 may be inserted from the rear side of the terminal module 10 and locked in the wire frame 300 of the terminal module using the fastening screw 400.

If a plurality of terminal modules 10 are required to be installed at the side of the surge protector base 20, the plurality of terminal modules 10 may be spliced two by two. Specifically, the splicing rib 135 of the left side 130 of one terminal module 10 can be coupled and clamped with the splicing groove 145 of the right side 140 of another adjacent terminal module 10, so as to form a splicing whole.

This application uses specific words to describe embodiments of the application. Reference to "one embodiment," "an embodiment," and/or "some embodiments" means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is associated with at least one embodiment of the present application. Thus, it should be emphasized and should be appreciated that two or more references to "an embodiment" or "one embodiment" or "an alternative embodiment" in various positions in this specification are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, certain features, structures, or characteristics of one or more embodiments of the present application may be combined as suitable.

In the context of this application, the words "a," "an," "the," and/or "the" are not specific to the singular, but may include the plural, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. In general, the terms "comprises" and "comprising" merely indicate that the steps and elements are explicitly identified, and they do not constitute an exclusive list, as other steps or elements may be included in a method or apparatus.

Likewise, it should be noted that in order to simplify the presentation disclosed herein and thereby aid in understanding one or more inventive embodiments, various features are sometimes grouped together in a single embodiment, figure, or description thereof. This method of disclosure, however, is not intended to imply that more features than are presented in the claims are required for the subject application. Indeed, less than all of the features of a single embodiment disclosed above.

While the basic concepts have been described above, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the foregoing disclosure is by way of example only and is not intended to be limiting. Although not explicitly described herein, various modifications, improvements, and adaptations of the present application may occur to one skilled in the art. Such modifications, improvements, and modifications are intended to be suggested within this application, and therefore, such modifications, improvements, and modifications are intended to be within the spirit and scope of the embodiments of the present application.

Claims (20)

1. A terminal module (10), characterized by comprising:

a first current bar (200);

a wire frame (300); and

a housing (100) configured to house the first current bar and the wire frame, the housing having a rear side (120) for receiving a wire into the wire frame, and a front side (110) opposite the rear side,

the first current strip comprises a wire pressing section (220) and an extension section (210), wherein the wire pressing section is located in the frame body of the wire pressing frame, and the extension section extends out of the front side of the shell body.

2. The terminal module of claim 1, wherein the first current bar further comprises a connection section (230) between the voltage line section and the extension section.

3. The terminal module of claim 2, wherein the first current strip is formed from a bent sheet metal material, and wherein a bending region is provided between the wire segment and the connecting segment, and a bending region is provided between the connecting segment and the extension segment.

4. The terminal module of claim 1, wherein the end of the extension is provided with a slot structure (211) formed by a notch.

5. The terminal module of claim 4, wherein the notch is a U-shaped notch.

6. The terminal module of claim 4, wherein the upper and lower sides of the notch are provided with anti-slip patterns.

7. A terminal module as claimed in claim 2, wherein the ends of the connection sections are provided with snap features for locking with the housing.

8. The terminal module of claim 1, further comprising a fastening screw (400) mounted to an upper portion of the housing and rotatable through a screw opening (101) provided in the upper portion of the housing.

9. The terminal module of claim 8, wherein the upper portion of the wire frame is provided with screw holes, and the screw rods of the fastening screws are engaged with the screw holes of the wire frame, so that the wire frame is driven to rise and fall by the rotation of the fastening screws.

10. The terminal module according to claim 1, wherein the housing is provided with a snap structure (116) at an upper portion of a front side (110), the snap structure protruding from the front side, extending laterally in a width direction of the front side, and forming an edge for snap-engagement at a lower portion of a front end.

11. The terminal module according to claim 1, wherein a left cover structure (117A) and a right cover structure (117B) extending outward, and a lateral cover structure (117C) are provided in a middle portion of the front side of the housing, the left cover structure, the right cover structure, and the lateral cover structure surrounding the extension of the first current bar from left, right, and upper sides.

12. The terminal module of claim 1, wherein the wire frame is positioned in a central portion of the housing, a central portion of a rear side of the housing is hollow for inserting wires into the wire frame, and a central portion of a front side of the housing is closed to block wires entering the wire frame from exiting the front side of the housing.

13. The terminal module of claim 1, wherein the front and rear lower portions of the housing are hollow to define additional space for ingress and egress of another wire.

14. The terminal module of claim 13, wherein the underside of the housing is open and unoccluded.

15. The terminal module of claim 1, wherein the left and right sides of the housing are respectively provided with structures that can be splice-coupled to each other.

16. The terminal module of claim 15, wherein one of the left and right sides of the housing is provided with a splice rib (135) and the other is provided with a splice groove (145).

17. A surge protection device, comprising:

a surge protector mount (20) for mounting one or more surge protector modules;

the terminal module (10) of any of claims 1-16 mounted to a side of the surge protector base.

18. The surge protection device of claim 17 wherein one or more base wiring units (81) are included in the surge protector base, the base wiring units including a second current strip (812), an extension of a first current strip of the wiring terminal module being connected to the second current strip in the surge protector base after the wiring terminal module is mounted to the side of the surge protector.

19. The surge protection device of claim 18 wherein the base wiring unit further comprises a base fastening screw (811) for fastening an extension of a first current bar of a wiring terminal module to a second current bar in the base wiring unit.

20. The surge protection device of claim 18 wherein said base wiring unit further comprises a base wire frame, said terminal module being mounted to said surge protector base such that operation of the incoming wire from said surge protector side toward said base wire frame is not interfered by said terminal module.