EP0387215B1

EP0387215B1 - Electrical connector with clamping elements with curved sectors

Info

Publication number: EP0387215B1
Application number: EP90830088A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Eric Sauer
Original assignee: ITALCO SpA
Current assignee: ITALCO SpA
Priority date: 1989-03-10
Filing date: 1990-03-08
Publication date: 1994-12-28
Anticipated expiration: 2010-03-08
Also published as: IT1228708B; GR3015121T3; EP0387215A1; DE69015389D1; DE69015389T2; IT8919712A0; ES2066192T3; ATE116483T1

Abstract

The invention relates to the electrical connectors formed by two bodies, each of which includes some clamping elements that clamp the main conductor and the derived conductor and connect them electrically each other. The elements of a body are metallic for the electrical connection, while the elements of the other body are made of an insulating material. According to the characteristic part of the invention, at least one of these elements is formed by a pair of sectors, with proper curving within which is set a conductor, so that the latter is clamped between the pair of sectors of one body and the corresponding element of the other body consequent to the pressure of one body against the other.

Description

The present invention relates to those electrical connectors of the type with two bodies provided with clamping elements fit to clamp the main conductor and the secondary conductor to electrically connect one to the other. Such connectors are usually used as shunt, junction or terminal elements for insulated or naked, multiple or single-wired conductors.
Some connectors are known, a body of which is provided with a first and a second series of teeth or metallic top lands electrically connected among them. To the above described body another body is clamped, by suitable means, provided with insulated elements, for example plastic material, in such a way that a main conductor is laid down between the first series of teeth and the insulated elements of the second body and so likewise the derived conductor is laid down between the first body second series of teeth and the further insulated elements provided on the second body. Obviously the second body insulating elements are set in proper position, in such a way that when the second body is clamped on the first, such insulated elements come to set out in correspondence with the first and the second series of metallic teeth respectively. By virtue of said electrical connections between the first and the second series of teeth, the electric current of the main input conductor into connector is transmitted to the derived conductor.
These prior art connectors, however, present the disadvantage that, when clamping the two bodies one against the other, the interposed conductors, both naked and insulated, suffer a damaging, this being due to the insertion of said teeth into the very conductors and / or their insulation.
A connector comprising the above cited features and disadvantages is disclosed in DE-B-29'03'960
Purpose of the present invention is that of eliminating the above said inconvenience providing some clamping elements of the conductors that shall show the following advantages:

would allow the application of any clamping effort without the conductors both naked and insulated shall suffer damagings, keeping a resistance to tensile stress very close to their rated ultimate tensile strength;
could be used for conductors having different sections, ensuring a perfect self-centering;
shall be constructively economic and shouldn't require servicing interventions.

The technical problem for eliminating the above disadvantages of the prior art was solved by an electrical connector as defined in claim 1.
The advantages of the invention will result evident from the following detailed description of a preferred but not exclusive form of the invention illustrated for a merely exemplifying purpose and not limitating of the enclosed figures where:

FIGURE 1 represents the front view of a connector with the subject pairs of upper and lower blades formed by the cited curved sectors;
FIGURE 2 represents a plan view of the connector lower body of Fig.1;
FIGURE 3 represents in enlarged scale a pair of such sectors;
FIGURE 4 represents the section along the line IV-IV of the detail of Fig.3; and
FIGURE 5 represents in section a variant made up by two parallel pairs of sectors.

In Figg. 1 and 2, is shown, as an example, an electrical connector formed by two bodies 1 and 2, provided respectively with tongue 3 that goes to insert into slot 4 when the two bodies are mounted one against the other, clamping the main conductor 5 and the derived conductor 6 by means of clamping elements 7. Said bodies 1 and 2 are clamped one against the other by screwing the nut 8 on the screw 9 provided by the head 10 placed below the body 1. The screw 9 is through across a hole 11 made into bodies 1 and 2, as one can see in Fig.2.
The conductors may be indifferently naked or insulated. For example in Fig.2 the conductors 5 and 6 are insulated by means of a sheath 12.
The elements 7 consist of the upper blades 13 and lower blades 15. The upper blades 13 made of an insulating material being part of body 2 consist each of a pair of curved sectors 14 tapered blade-shaped on the side where they receive the conductors 5 and 6 as one can see in Figg.3 and 4. The lower blades 15, fixed to the body 1 and for example of copper, aluminum or Zn + Al + Mg alloy, consist likewise of a pair of curved sectors 14 tapered blade-shaped, that set opposed to the upper blades 13 in a way such as to clamp the conductors between the pairs of curved sectors 14 respectively of blades 13 and 15.
The metallic blades 15 in contact respectively with the conductors 5 and 6 are electrically connected by the conductors 16, as illustrated in the Figg.1 and 2.
Preferably, the upper blades 13 made of plastic material are machined enbloc with their own body 2 formed of plastic material by the die-casting technique. As above said, once the conductors 5 and 6 are mounted within the two bodies 1 and 2, the nut 8 is tightened by an usual spanner in such a way as to occur the tightening of the above said conductors 5 and 6 between the clamping elements 7.
Said curved sectors 14 have a curving radius suitable to the various dimensions of the conductors and tapered blade-shaped or not damaging the conductors and for their perfect self-centering.
Finally each curved sector 14 both of metal and of insulating material, is slightly spaced from the adjacent sector by an entity 17, as one can see in Fig.3.
Changes of practical and constructive nature may be brought to the invention without because of this going out of the range of the present invention as it is claimed below.

Claims

Electrical connector for the shunt or the junction of a main conductor (5) with a secondary conductor (6), said connector consisting of two bodies (1, 2) including two clamping elements (7) which electrically connect the main conductor (5) with the secondary conductor (6), characterized in that each clamping element (7) is formed by a pair of upper blades (13) and a pair of lower blades (15), said blades (13, 15) being formed by identically curved convex sectors (14) the sectors being adapted to be in contact with said conductors (5, 6) and being formed in such a way that self-centering of the conductors is ensured.
Electrical connector according to claim 1, characterized in that each curved sector (14) is spaced from the adiacent curved sector (14) by a slight entity (17).