EP2846408B2 - Actuation device for an electric connection terminal - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to an electrical connection terminal with an actuating device, the electrical connection terminal comprising a contact frame arranged in an insulating material housing and having a conductor clamping connection for an electrical conductor, and the actuating device comprising an actuating element designed as a pusher which is integrally connected to the insulating material housing, and the conductor clamping connection is formed on the contact frame by at least one spring element, the free end of which forms a clamping edge directed towards the electrical conductor and subjected to a clamping force, and the conductor clamping connection can be opened by the pusher acting on the at least one spring element, in that the pusher exerts a force against the Clamping force is applied to the spring element.

State of the art

the ES 2 159 247 A1 shows an electrical terminal with a housing for a pluggable electrical conductor with a spring clamp contact. A lever-like pusher is integrally formed on the upper side of the housing. A pin is provided on the pusher, which engages in a recess of the housing and in a recess of a contact insert and, when the pusher is actuated, acts on the clamping spring to release the clamping contact. In order to achieve an effective lever arm, the pusher is designed very large and complex overall. A comparable version is in the EP 1 182 750 A2 disclosed.

DE 3 743 410 A1 discloses an electrical terminal according to the preamble of claim 1.

object of the invention

The object of the invention is to provide an electrical terminal for connecting an electrical conductor, which ensures secure clamping of the electrical conductor and at the same time has a simple structure.

Disclosure of Invention

The object is achieved according to the invention by the features of claim 1. It is provided that the pusher consists of a pusher arm, one end of the pusher arm being connected to the insulating material housing and the pusher arm extending at an angle along at least one section of two mutually arranged surfaces of the insulating material extends.

This design of the pusher enables a relatively long effective pusher arm with a correspondingly long lever arm, which is particularly advantageous in the case of cramped installation space or very small electrical connection terminals with small insulating housings. In particular in the case of miniaturized connection terminals, the design of the pusher according to the invention makes it possible in the first place to provide an effective pusher for actuating a contact frame.

In a preferred embodiment, the two surfaces arranged at an angle to one another are arranged at least almost perpendicularly to one another. The pusher arm is thus preferably formed from a first pusher arm part, which is adapted to the shape of a rear side of the housing, and a second pusher arm part, which is adapted to the shape of a housing surface. Furthermore, the pusher arm is thus preferably arranged in a recess of the insulating material housing.

In a particularly advantageous embodiment, the pusher arm has an actuating surface with a trough-shaped recess, so that an attachment possibility for an actuating tool is created in a simple manner, so that the pusher can be actuated safely.

The pusher arm is preferably designed to be elastically deformable, so that a simple movement or deflection of the pusher can be ensured with minimal design effort.

In a preferred embodiment, the spring element is designed as at least one leaf spring or a spring leg, so that in the preferred embodiment of the contact frame in the form of a channel and the contact frame to form a conductor clamp connection on each side wall there is a leaf spring in the form of a tongue stamped out of a flat metal part which is bent out of the plane of the flat metal part in such a way that the free end of the leaf spring forms a clamping edge directed towards the electrical conductor. The electrical connection terminal is thus formed from only two components, the insulating housing with an integrated push button and a one-piece contact frame, so that a simple structure and simple assembly can be guaranteed at low cost.

Preferably, a starting bevel directed towards the outside of the electrical connection terminal is formed on the leaf springs, which are flared towards one another in the shape of a funnel. Thus, the pusher can be easily pressed between the leaf springs in order to open the terminal connection of the electrical conductor by pushing the leaf springs apart. For this purpose, the pusher preferably has a corresponding wedge-shaped pusher surface, which is formed on the end of the pusher arm facing away from the end connected to the insulating material housing.

In the installed state of the electrical connection terminal, in which the contact frame is in the insulating housing is inserted, the pusher arm is under a preload, so that the pusher arm protrudes over the surface of the housing top. Due to the fact that the pusher arm is subjected to a pretension in the non-actuated state, the tension with which the pusher arm is acted on can be kept small. The value of the preload is relatively small because the deflection of the pusher arm in the unactuated state is also relatively small. The deflection of the pusher arm in the actuated position into the insulating material housing is also not much greater than in the non-actuated state, so that the stresses to which the pusher arm is subjected can be kept small overall. The low voltage values within the pusher or the pusher arm contribute to the fact that the pusher and thus also the insulating housing can be kept small.

In order to effectively avoid damage, in particular breaking, of the at least one spring element and/or the pusher, overload protection is provided for this in a preferred embodiment. Advantageously, the deflection of the spring element designed as a leaf spring can be limited by side walls and/or intermediate walls of the insulating material housing. It is also advantageous to limit the deflection of the pusher arm of the pusher by the pusher arm resting against at least one spring element designed as a leaf spring. These forms of construction enable overload protection without significant adjustments to the electrical connection terminal and are therefore inexpensive.

Brief description of the drawings

Fig.1:

eine erfindungsgemäße Anschlussklemme im Zusammenbau in perspektivischer Darstellung,

Fig.2:

eine erfindungsgemäße auf deiner Leiterplatte angeordnete Anschlussklemme mit eingestecktem Leiter ohne Isolierstoffgehäuse,

Fig.3 :

eine perspektivische Ansicht des Kontaktrahmens,

Fig. 4:

eine perspektivische Schnittdarstellung der erfindungsgemäßen auf einer Leiterplatte angeordneten Anschlussklemme mit eingestecktem elektrischem Leiter,

Fig. 5a:

eine Schnittdarstellung der erfindungsgemäßen Anschlussklemme entsprechend des Schnittes IV-IV aus Figur 1 mit unbetätigtem Drücker,

Fig. 5b:

eine Schnittdarstellung der erfindungsgemäßen Anschlussklemme entsprechend des Schnittes IV-IV aus Figur 1 mit betätigtem Drücker,

Fig. 6a:

eine erste perspektivische Ansicht des Isolierstoffgehäuses,

Fig. 6b:

eine zweite perspektivische Ansicht des Isolierstoffgehäuses,

Fig. 7:

eine Schnittdarstellung der erfindungsgemäßen Anschlussklemme entsprechend des Schnittes VII-VII aus Figur a.

The invention is explained in more detail below using an exemplary embodiment illustrated in the figures. Show it

Fig.1:

a terminal according to the invention in assembly in a perspective view,

Fig.2:

a connection terminal according to the invention arranged on your printed circuit board with an inserted conductor without an insulating material housing,

Fig.3 :

a perspective view of the contact frame,

Figure 4:

a perspective sectional view of the connection terminal according to the invention arranged on a printed circuit board with an inserted electrical conductor,

Figure 5a:

a sectional view of the terminal according to the invention corresponding to section IV-IV figure 1 with unactuated pusher,

Figure 5b:

a sectional view of the terminal according to the invention corresponding to section IV-IV figure 1 with actuated pusher,

Figure 6a:

a first perspective view of the insulating housing,

Figure 6b:

a second perspective view of the insulating housing,

Figure 7:

a sectional view of the terminal according to the invention corresponding to the section VII-VII from Figure a.

embodiment of the invention

the figure 1 shows an electrical connection terminal 1 according to the invention with an insulating material housing 2 in which a metallic contact frame 4 is accommodated. The insulating material housing 2 has at least one conductor entry opening 3 on one end face 19 for the insertion of an electrical conductor 5 ( figure 4 ). In the exemplary embodiment shown, the connection terminal 1 has two poles, each with a conductor entry opening 3 and a contact frame 4 per pole. However, the connection terminal can also have any other desired number of poles.

Are recognizable in the figure 1 also connection areas 16 of the contact frame 4, which contact corresponding contact sections 28, for example conductor tracks, of a printed circuit board 7 ( figure 2 ). The connection areas 16 are connected to the contact sections 28 in particular via a soldered connection (SMD soldered connection), but a plug-in connection is also conceivable. In the figure 2 the contact frame 4 held on the printed circuit board 7 can be seen. The illustration does not include the insulating material housing, so that the connection of the electrical conductor 5 to the contact frame 4 can be seen. The electrical conductor 5 is inserted through a ring-shaped, at least almost closed channel entrance 8 of the contact frame 4, with the stripped end 6 of the electrical conductor 5 being accommodated between the side walls of the channel-shaped contact frame 4 designed as leaf springs 9. The leaf springs 9 are bent out of a flat metal part and their free ends form a clamping edge 10 so that the two opposite clamping edges 10 of the leaf springs 9 form a clamping point for the electrical conductor 5 . The area from the channel entrance 8 of the contact frame 4, which adjoins the conductor insertion opening 3, to the terminal point formed by the clamping edges 10 defines a conductor insertion area 30.

The structure of the contact frame 4 is clearly visible in Figure 3, where it can be seen that to form the clamping edge 10 at the free end of the leaf spring 9, an additional, against the electrical conductor 5 Directed issue 12 is embossed or molded to improve the clamping effect. Furthermore, the contact frame 4 has a contact base 11, which is protruded or bent out of the surface of a flat metal part in such a way that it slopes upwards from the channel entrance 8 in the direction of the clamping point, i.e. essentially in the conductor insertion area 30, in the direction of an inserted conductor 5 is executed. A first contact area 16 adjoins the contact base 11 at one end at the channel entrance 8 and a second contact area 16 at the other end. In addition, figure 3 front latching hooks 14 formed on the annular channel entrance 8 can be seen, which engage in the corresponding front latching recesses 17 arranged there next to the conductor insertion opening 3 for the latching connection with the insulating material housing 2 . In the area between the clamping point formed by the clamping edges 10 and the rear contact area 16 facing away from the annular channel entrance, rear latching hooks 15 are provided on the contact base 11, which are arranged laterally on the contact base 11 and are preferably spaced apart from the printed circuit board 7 or from the plane formed by the contact areas 16 are and engage in recesses, not shown, of the insulating material housing 2 .

In the area of the free end of the leaf springs 9, on which the clamping edge 10 is formed, the leaf spring 9 has a starting bevel 12 on its longitudinal side facing away from the contact base 10, which is directed towards the outside of the connecting terminal 1. The starting bevels 12 of a contact frame 4 thus together form an upwardly directed, funnel-shaped receptacle facing away from the contact base 10 .

the figures 4 and 5a and 5b each show a sectional view of the electrical connection terminal 1 composed of a contact frame 4 and an insulating material housing 2 according to the invention, wherein in FIG figure 4 in addition, a connected electrical conductor 5 is shown. In these figures it can be seen that the housing inner wall 31 has a sloping area within which the housing inner wall 31 is designed to be inclined towards an inserted conductor 5 . This inclined area lies within the conductor entry area 30 defined above or can also extend over the entire conductor entry area 30 .

It can also be seen in these illustrations that the conductor entry area 30 has a funnel-shaped design at least in sections due to the design of the contact frame 4 with its leaf springs 9 and its contact base 10 and the housing inner wall 31 of the insulating material housing 2, it being clear that the funnel-shaped conductor entry area 30 is composed of the contact frame 4 and the insulating housing 2. The funnel-shaped conductor entry area 30 is at least almost completely closed on the peripheral side. There are narrow gaps only between the leaf springs 9 and the contact base 10 on the one hand and the leaf springs 9 and the inner wall 31 of the housing on the other hand. In the exemplary embodiment, the cross section of the conductor entry area 30 is essentially rectangular or square, but it can also have any other desired shape, in particular round or at least round or arcuate in sections.

The funnel-shaped conductor entry area 30 forms a guide for an electrical conductor 5 to be inserted, in particular for its stripped end 6, so that the stripped end can be fed to the terminal point in a targeted manner. The electrical connection terminal 1 can also be used for multi-wire electrical conductors 5, in particular when the terminal point formed by the clamping edges 10 is opened by an actuating element which is designed as a pusher 21 before the electrical conductor 5 is inserted. The individual wires of the multi-wire conductor 5 cannot deviate due to the conductor entry area 30 which is almost closed on the peripheral side and are held securely by the clamping edge 10 in a clamped manner. The end of the funnel-shaped section of the conductor entry area 30 with the larger cross section facing the conductor entry opening 3 can also, if desired, serve as a stop for the insulated section of the electrical conductor 5 .

Because the funnel-shaped conductor entry area 30 is composed of the insulating housing 2 and the contact frame 4 or is formed by these two components, simple and effective conductor routing is achieved, with the contact frame 4 in particular being able to be designed very simply, compactly and with a saving in material.

In the figures 4 , 5a and 5b a pusher 21 can also be seen as an actuating element with a pusher arm 23 which is designed in one piece with the insulating material housing 2 . The pusher 21 acts on the starting bevels 12 and, when actuated, pushes these starting bevels 12 apart together with the leaf spring 9, ie when pressed with a force F in the direction of the insulating material housing 2. Thus, the clamping edges 10 of the leaf spring 9 are also pressed apart and the clamping point is opened for removing an electrical conductor 5 or for inserting an electrical conductor 5 , in particular a multi-wire conductor 5 .

The pusher arm 23 is as shown in FIG Figure 6a and 6b integrally formed on the insulating material housing 2 in the region of the rear side of the housing 20, preferably in its lower half facing away from the housing top side 18. The pusher arm 23 follows the contour of the insulating housing 2 so that a first pusher arm part 24 connected to the rear wall 20 of the housing runs approximately in the plane of the rear side 20 of the housing or approximately parallel thereto. The contour of the pusher arm 23 follows the contour of the transition from the rear side 20 of the housing to the top side 18 of the housing, so that a second pusher arm part 25, which is integrally connected to the first pusher arm part 24, runs approximately in the plane of the top side 18 of the housing or approximately parallel thereto. The housing back 20 and the housing top 18 are arranged at an angle to one another, preferably the housing back 20 and the housing top 18 are arranged at least almost at right angles to one another. The pusher arm 23 is thus formed essentially as an angle. An actuating surface 27 is formed on the end of the second pusher arm part 25 facing away from the first pusher arm part. It can thus be seen that the pusher 21 is arranged in a housing recess 22 which extends over the rear side 20 of the housing and the top side 18 of the housing. The housing recess 22 is designed essentially as an opening so that the push button 21 can act on the contact frame 4 arranged inside the insulating housing 2 . The push button 21 as an actuating element is thus integrated with its angled design in the wall or surface of the insulating material housing 2 and represents a part of the insulating material housing 2 itself.

In the non-assembled state, the pusher arm 23 or the outer surface is essentially in the plane of the surface contour of the insulating material housing 2, both in the area of the upper side 18 of the housing and in the area of the rear side 20 of the housing. When assembled with the contact frame 4 and inserted in the insulating material housing 2 In the non-actuated state, however, the pusher 21 protrudes slightly at least in relation to the top side 18 of the housing, as is shown in Figure 5a is recognizable. The starting bevels 12 of the contact frame 4 lie on the pusher 21 or, more precisely, on its pusher surface 26 ( figure 7 ) and deflect the pusher 21 outwards, so that the pusher arm 23 is under elastic pretension. In the Figure 5b the actuated state is shown, in which the pusher 21 is subjected to an actuating force F in the area of the trough-like actuating surface 27 . It can be seen that the pusher arm 23 elastically deforms essentially uniformly under the actuating force F, with the area of the pusher 21 with the actuating surfaces 26 entering between the leaf springs 9 . The pusher arm 23 has a substantially uniform strength or thickness for uniform elastic deformation. During the actuation process, ie pressing in the pusher 21, the pusher 21 is shifted from the position projecting beyond the housing top 18 into a position in which the pusher arm 23, in particular the second pusher arm part 25, dips into the insulating housing 2. The elastic bias of the pusher arm 23 is released and the pusher arm 23 is subjected to a reverse tension, so that the pusher arm tends to move outwards again in order to reach its initial position.

the Figures 6a and 6b represent the insulating material housing 2 as an individual part, in particular the described design of the pusher 21 and the connection of the pusher arm 23 to the insulating material housing 2 are again clearly recognizable. It can also be seen that the insulating material housing 2 has recesses 32 on the underside of the housing, into which the contact areas 16 of the contact frame 4 engage, so that these contact areas 16 can protrude beyond the rear side 20 and the front side 19 of the housing with the conductor entry openings 3 (see also figure 1 ). At the same time it is achieved that the underside of the housing of the assembled electrical connection terminals forms a substantially flat surface without protruding components. The insulating material housing 2 can thus reach directly up to the surface of the circuit board 7 or rest on the circuit board 7 when it is arranged on the circuit board 7 .

the figure 7 again clarifies the mode of action of the pusher 21 on the contact frame 4. The pusher surface 26 of the pusher 21 is essentially wedge-shaped and acts on the corresponding slanted run-on bevels 12 of the contact frame 4. When the pusher 21 is subjected to a force F via the actuating surface 27 slides the wedge-shaped pusher surface 26 over the chamfers 12, dips between the leaf springs 9 and pushes them apart. As soon as the actuating force F is removed from the pusher 21, the leaf springs 9, due to their restoring force, press the pusher 21 back into the starting position via the run-on bevels 12 and the corresponding actuating surface 26.

The illustrated angular design of the pusher 21 enables a relatively long effective pusher arm 23 with a correspondingly long lever arm, which is particularly advantageous in the case of cramped installation space or very small electrical connection terminals with small insulating housings. In particular in the case of miniaturized connection terminals, the design of the pusher 21 according to the invention makes it possible in the first place to provide an effective pusher 21 for actuating a contact frame 4 .

Due to the fact that the pusher arm 23 is subjected to a prestress in the non-actuated state, the tension with which the pusher arm 23 is acted upon can be kept small. The value of the preload is relatively small, since the deflection of the pusher arm 23 in the unactuated state is also relatively small. The deflection of the pusher arm 23 in the actuated position into the insulating material housing 2 is also not much greater than in the unactuated state, so that the stresses to which the pusher arm 23 is subjected will also be able to be kept relatively small. If, on the other hand, the entire actuation path were to be given up to a tension-free pusher arm 23, the tension acting on the pusher arm 23 would be significantly greater, so that the pusher arm 23 would also have to be dimensioned larger overall. It can thus be seen that with the present arrangement of the pusher 21 within the terminal 1 and its interaction with the contact frame 4, the pusher 21 can be kept very small overall and is therefore particularly suitable for very small connecting terminals.

Overload protection for both the leaf springs 9 and the pusher 21 can also be implemented with the illustrated embodiment of the electrical terminal. How out figure 7 As can be seen, when the leaf springs 9 are sufficiently deflected, the bevels 12 arranged on the leaf springs 9 will strike the side walls 33 of the insulating material housing 2 and/or one or more intermediate walls 34 of the insulating material housing 2 arranged between the poles of the connection terminal 1. The side walls 33 and/or intermediate walls 34 thus limit a deflection of the leaf springs 9 and thus prevent them from being overloaded and thus not being able to deform plastically or break.

At the same time, however, overload protection for the pusher 21 or the pusher arm can also be implemented. Due to the limited deflection of the leaf springs 9, only a limited space can arise between two mutually associated leaf springs. If the maximum width of the section of the pusher arm 23, which enters between the leaf springs 9, is greater than the space between the maximally deflected leaf springs 9, the pusher arm 23 can only be deflected to a limited extent, so that it cannot be subjected to excessive stress and breakage of the pusher arm 23 is effectively avoided.

Overload protection for the pusher 21 or its pusher arm 23 can also be achieved by providing a stop on the section of the pusher arm 23 that dips between the leaf springs 9, which stops at a maximum deflection of the pusher arm or at a maximum immersion depth on the leaf springs 9 or rests on the ramps 12, so that further deflection of the pusher arm is prevented and damage to the pusher 21 is avoided.

Reference List

1

terminal block

2

insulating housing

3

conductor entry hole

4

contact frame

5

electrical conductor

6

stripped end of the electrical conductor

7

circuit board

8th

canal entrance

9

leaf springs

10

clamping edge

11

contact ground

12

leading edge

13

Exhibition of the free end of the leaf spring

14

front latch hook

15

rear latch hook

16

contact areas

17

front notch

18

case top

19

face

20

case back

21

pusher

22

housing recess

23

pusher arm

24

first pusher arm part

25

second pusher arm part

26

pusher surface

27

operating surface

28

conductor track, contact section

30

conductor entry area

31

housing inner wall

32

recess

33

Side wall

34

partition

Claims (15)

1. Electrical connection terminal (1) comprising an actuating device, wherein

   - the electrical connection terminal (1) comprises a contact frame (4), arranged in a housing (2) made of insulating material, with a conductor terminal connection for an electrical conductor (5), and

   - the actuating device comprises an actuating element in the form of a pusher (21) comprising a pusher arm (23), said actuating element being integrally connected to the housing (2) made of insulating material, and wherein

   - the conductor terminal connection is formed on the contact frame (4) by at least one spring element (9), the free end of which forms a clamping edge (10) which is directed toward the electrical conductor (5) and to which a clamping force is applied, and

   - the conductor terminal connection can be opened by action of the pusher (21) on the at least one spring element (9) by a force being applied to the spring element (9) by the pusher (21) counter to the clamping force,

   characterized in that a stop being provided on that portion of the pusher arm (23), which dips between the leaf springs of the spring element (9), said stop resting against the leaf springs or the lead-in-sloping faces (12) of the leaf springs at a maximum dipping depth, that the pusher (21) consists of a pusher arm (23), wherein the pusher arm (23) is connected with one of its ends to the housing (2) made of insulating material, and the pusher arm (23) extends along at least a partial section of two upper surfaces (18, 20) of the housing (2) made of insulating material which are arranged at angle to each other.
2. Electrical connection terminal (1) according to claim 1, characterized in, that the pusher arm (23) has an actuating surface (27).
3. Electrical connection terminal (1) according to claim 2, characterized in, that the pusher arm (23) has an actuating portion which is remote from the end connected to the housing (2) made from insulating material and which has an essentially wedge-shaped pusher surface (27), wherein the wedge-shaped pusher surface (27) can be pushed in between the leaf springs (9) by the lead-in sloping faces (12) flared out relative to each other in a funnel shape in order to open the terminal connection of the electrical conductor (5) by the leaf springs (9) being pushed apart.
4. Electrical connection terminal (1) according to one of claims 2 to 3, characterized in, that the actuating surface (27) has a trough-like, slit-shaped or cross-slit-shaped recess.
5. Electrical connection terminal (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in, that a further deflection of the pusher arm (23) is prevented and damage to the pusher (21) avoided when said stop of the pusher arm (23) is resting on the leaf springs or on the lead-in-sloping faces (12).
6. Electrical connection terminal (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in, that the contact frame (4) comprises a contact base (11), wherein the leaf spring having the lead-in-sloping faces (12) in each case on its longitudinal side remote from the contact base (11).
7. Electrical connection terminal (1) according to the preceding claim, characterized in, that the lead-in-sloping face (12) is in each case directed toward the outside of the connection terminal (1), wherein the lead-in-sloping faces (12) are flared out relative to each other in a funnel shape.
8. Electrical connection terminal (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in, that the pusher arm (23) is arranged inside a recess (22) of the housing (2) made of insulating material.
9. Electrical connection terminal (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the pusher arm (23) can be deformed resiliently.
10. Electrical connection terminal (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in, that the contact frame (4) is designed in the manner of a channel and wherein the contact frame (4) has on each side wall, in order to form a conductor terminal connection, in each case, at least one leaf spring (9), in the manner of a tongue stand from a flat material, which is band out of the plane of the flat material, in such a way that the free end of the leaf spring (9) forms a clamping edge (10) directed toward the electrical conductor (5).
11. Electrical connection terminal (1) according to claim 7, characterized in that the pusher arm (23) has an actuating portion which is remote from the end connected to the housing (2) made from insulating material and which has an essentially wedge-shaped pusher surface (26), wherein the wedge-shaped pusher surface (26) can be pushed in between the leaf springs (9) by the lead-in-sloping faces (12) flared out relative to each other in a funnel shape in order to open the terminal connection of the electrical conductor (5) by the leaf springs (9) being pushed apart.
12. Electrical connection terminal (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in, that in the mounted state of the housing made from an insulating material and the contact frame (2), the pusher arm (23) is subject to pretensioning.
13. Electrical connection terminal (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in, that an overload protection is provided for the at least one spring element (9) and/or the pusher (21).
14. Electrical connection terminal (1) according to claim 13, characterized in that the deflection of the spring element in the form of the leaf spring can be limited by side walls (33) and/or partition walls of the housing (2) made of insulating material.
15. Electrical connection terminal (1) according to claim 13 or 14, characterized in that the deflection of the pusher arm (23) can be limited by the pusher arm (23) bearing against at least one spring element in the form a leaf spring (9).

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