EP3367510B1 - Line connection clamp - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a conductor terminal with the features of claim 1.

In general, the invention relates to the field of electrical conductor connection technology. Conductor terminals, for example in the form of terminal blocks, are for example from the DE 10 2011 110 640 A1 , the DE 10 2013 101409 A1 or the EP 02 53 239 B1 known

The invention is based on the object of further developing such conductor connection terminals with regard to ergonomics, manufacturing costs and/or ease of assembly.

This object is achieved by a conductor terminal according to claim 1.

As a result of the floating bearing, the actuating lever automatically adapts to the forces that occur and is therefore subject to reduced wear compared to a fixed axle bearing. In addition, the floating mounting allows for simple, even subsequent assembly of the actuating lever when the insulating housing is already closed. The support of the operating lever on the contact piece, which is usually made of metal, offers a robust counter bearing for the operating lever. Accordingly, the contact piece, together with a corresponding part of the actuating lever, forms a pivot bearing that is very low-wear. Since the actuating lever can advantageously be made of plastic, for example an insulating material of the insulating housing, this also results with the metallic contact piece a favorable pairing of materials that is low-friction and at the same time low-wear.

In addition, the actuating lever, at least in certain pivoting angles, can also be supported with its rear side on an inner wall of the insulating material housing.

The actuating lever can act on the clamping spring directly or indirectly in order to cancel the clamping effect of the clamping spring at the conductor clamping point and not to apply the spring force of the clamping spring to an electrical conductor inserted into the conductor connection terminal, or to open the clamping point.

The clamping spring can apply the spring force directly to the electrical conductor at the conductor clamping point, in that the clamping spring touches the conductor, or indirectly via an intermediate component.

According to an advantageous development of the invention, it is provided that the contact piece has a clamping section, in which the contact point is arranged, and a bearing section, on which the actuating lever is at least partially supported in the open position, with the conductor receiving chamber between the clamping section and the bearing section is arranged. This has the advantage that the areas of the bearing section and the clamping section are separated by the area of the conductor receiving chamber lying in between. In this way, more favorable construction and space conditions of the conductor terminal are created.

According to an advantageous development of the invention, it is provided that the clamping spring has a contact leg, via which the clamping spring is supported on a first side of the bearing section, which faces the conductor receiving chamber, on the contact piece. This has the advantage that the clamping spring is securely supported with low material and production costs.

According to an advantageous development of the invention, it is provided that the actuating lever, at least in the open position, is at least partially supported on a second side of the bearing section of the contact piece, facing away from the conductor receiving chamber. This has the advantage that the operating lever is securely supported with low material and production costs.

According to an advantageous development of the invention, it is provided that the bearing section is connected to the clamping section via a connecting section of the contact piece. In this way, the contact piece with the bearing section and the clamping section can be provided in a simple manner as a one-piece component, e.g. in the form of a stamped and bent part. Advantageously, the connecting section can be guided laterally past the area in which the conductor is to be accommodated in the conductor receiving chamber. In this way, the connecting section can also form a lateral delimitation of the conductor receiving chamber. For example, the arrangement of bearing section, connecting section and clamping section can be formed in a U-shape. In particular, the clamping section, the bearing section and the connecting section can be formed in one piece from a material, in particular metal.

According to an advantageous development of the invention, it is provided that the bearing section of the contact piece is designed as a plate, in particular as a metal plate. In particular, the first side of the bearing section and the second side of the bearing section can be spaced apart from one another by the thickness of the plate of the bearing section.

According to an advantageous development of the invention, it is provided that at least in the open position of the actuating lever a closed force chain is formed by a driver element of the clamping spring via a tension arm of the actuating lever acting on the driver element its outer contour, and via the first side and the second side of the bearing section onto the contact leg of the clamping spring. This allows a kinematically favorable force guidance with at the same time low force loading of the insulating material housing parts. With such a closed force chain, which is characterized in that the sum of the force vectors is zero, the forces exerted by the open position of the actuating lever are transmitted particularly efficiently to the contact leg of the clamping spring.

According to an advantageous development of the invention, it is provided that the conductor receiving chamber is separated from the actuating lever by the upper section, in particular the bearing section, of the contact piece. This has the advantage that the areas of the bearing section and the clamping section are separated by the area of the conductor receiving chamber lying in between. In this way, more favorable construction and space conditions of the conductor terminal are created.

According to an advantageous development of the invention, a pull arm of the actuating lever is arranged between the outer contour of the actuating lever and a grip area of the actuating lever. This has the advantage that, despite the compact external dimensions of the conductor connection terminal, a large lever arm can be implemented on the actuating lever.

According to an advantageous development of the invention, the actuating lever has an eccentric outer contour, via which the actuating lever is supported on the contact piece. The pivot bearing contour of the actuating lever is thus formed by the eccentric outer contour. This has the advantage that the actuating lever can exert relatively large forces to actuate the clamping spring with low manual actuating forces (large force transmission), which is associated with a pleasantly smooth operation of the conductor terminal.

According to an advantageous development of the invention, the actuating lever can be displaced translationally relative to the insulating material housing and/or the contact piece when it is pivoted in addition to a rotary movement. As a result, the actuating lever has improved degrees of freedom during the pivoting movement, which in turn is conducive to low-wear storage, easy assembly of the actuating lever in the insulating material housing of the conductor terminal and a pleasant feel during actuation.

According to an advantageous development of the invention, the actuating lever has at least one tension arm which engages behind a driver element of the clamping spring, so that the clamping spring can be deflected by the tension arm when the actuating lever is pivoted into the open position by tensile loading of the clamping spring. This has the advantage that the clamping spring can simultaneously exert a reaction force on the actuating lever, which acts on it in the direction of the closed position. In addition, a self-locking toggle lever principle can be implemented with little effort in this way with regard to the actuating lever, so that little or no additional effort is required to lock it in the open position.

According to an advantageous development of the invention, the clamping spring has a window-like recess into which the pull arm of the actuating lever engages. In this way, the driver element of the clamping spring can be realized by an upper edge of the window-like recess, or in other words a transverse web of the clamping spring formed there. This allows the clamping spring to be coupled to the tension arm in a simple and inexpensive manner. It is only necessary to produce the window-like recess by punching out a piece of material from the material of the clamping spring. In addition, a self-coupling system can be created in this way, in which the actuating lever can be inserted into the insulating material housing with the clamping spring already inserted in the insulating material housing and the pull arm can then be inserted into the window-like recess can snap. After this, the pulling arm engages behind the driver element, so that from now on the clamping spring can be actuated by pivoting the actuating lever.

According to the invention, the conductor connection terminal has first latching means, by which the actuating lever is latched in the open position. This has the advantage that the actuating lever remains in the open position in a defined position without the user having to hold it. This allows practical and ergonomic handling of the conductor connection terminal and leads to simplified handling, particularly when there are a large number of conductor connection terminals, e.g. a terminal block arrangement.

According to the invention, the first latching means comprises a first lever latching means which is part of the operating lever and a first contact piece latching means which is part of the contact piece. The first lever latching means and the first contact piece latching means cooperate with each other to latch the actuating lever in the open position. For example, the first lever locking means can be designed as a groove, trough or other depression in the actuating lever, and the first contact piece locking means can be designed as a protruding nose, contact edge or similar projection adapted to the shape of the first lever locking means. A reverse assignment is also advantageous, in that the first lever locking means is in the form of a nose or other projection and the first contact piece locking means is in the form of a groove or other indentation. In particular, the first contact piece latching means can be formed by the front edge or a rounded front edge at the front end of an upper section of the contact piece pointing toward the actuating lever.

According to an advantageous development of the invention, the conductor connection terminal has second latching means, by means of which the actuating lever is latched in the closed position. This has the advantage that the operating lever can be held in the closed position in a defined manner and does not open unintentionally.

According to an advantageous development of the invention, the second latching means have a second lever latching means, which is part of the actuating lever, and a second housing latching means, which is part of the insulating housing. The second lever latch means and the second housing latch means cooperate with each other to latch the operating lever in the closed position.

According to an advantageous further development of the invention, the actuating lever has bearing pins which protrude parallel to the axis of rotation of the pivoting movement and which are designed to secure the actuating lever against removal of the actuating lever from the insulating material housing. In this way, the floating operating lever can be secured in operating situations of the conductor connection terminal in which the operating lever is not otherwise held in the insulating housing, e.g. by the clamping spring. In this case, the bearing journals do not function, or at least not primarily, for mounting the actuating lever in the insulating material housing for carrying out the pivoting movement, but mainly as a means of securing against removal of the actuating lever from the insulating material housing.

According to an advantageous development of the invention, the insulating material housing has a lever insertion channel for inserting the actuating lever, the lever insertion channel having a guide contour for guiding the bearing journal at least during insertion of the actuating lever. In this way, in addition to securing the actuating lever against removal, the bearing journals have another function, namely a guiding function of the actuating lever during insertion into the insulating material housing. Due to the guidance of the bearing journals along the guide contour in the lever insertion channel, the areas of the actuating lever to be arranged in the insulating-material housing place one defined path in it, which is formed by designing the guide contour in such a way that the lever reaches its desired end position in the insulating material housing and is not prevented from being inserted by other components, such as the clamping spring. In addition, it is ensured that the pulling arm of the actuating lever ultimately engages behind the driver element of the clamping spring, so that the actuating lever can perform its function of actuating the clamping spring.

According to an advantageous development of the invention, the part of the contact piece on which the actuating lever is supported at least in the open position is designed as a ramp that falls in the direction of rotation of the actuating lever when it is opened. As a result, the required actuating forces that have to be applied to the actuating lever for pivoting into the open position can be reduced. The ramp can be in the form of a linear ramp or a non-linear ramp, i.e. with a linearly decreasing contour or with a non-linearly decreasing contour, e.g. a progressively or degressively decreasing contour.

• a1) Bereitstellen des Isolierstoffgehäuses mit darin bereits angeordnetem Kontakteinsatz,
• b1) Einsetzen des Betätigungshebels zumindest mit seinem Schwenklagerbereich in das Isolierstoffgehäuse durch einen Hebeleinführkanal des Isolierstoffgehäuses.

An advantageous method for installing such a conductor connection terminal has the following steps to be carried out in the order given:

• a1) providing the insulating material housing with the contact insert already arranged therein,
• b1) inserting the operating lever at least with its pivot bearing area into the insulating material housing through a lever insertion channel of the insulating material housing.

This has the advantage of easy and quick assembly of the conductor connection terminal. The assembly of the conductor terminal is understood to mean the assembly of the individual components of the conductor terminal to form the finished, ultimately functional conductor terminal.

To provide the insulating material housing with the contact insert already arranged therein, the housing parts of the insulating material housing, e.g. two housing half-shells, can be equipped with the components of the contact insert before assembly and then joined together.

• a1) Bereitstellen des Isolierstoffgehäuses mit darin bereits angeordnetem Kontakteinsatz,
• a2) Auslenken der Klemmfeder durch Einsetzen eines Hilfsmittels, z.B. eines Kerns oder eines Leiters, in eine Leitereinführungsöffnung der Leiteranschlussklemme,
• b1) Einsetzen des Betätigungshebels zumindest mit seinem Schwenklagerbereich in das Isolierstoffgehäuse durch einen Hebeleinführkanal des Isolierstoffgehäuses
• b2) Entfernen des Hilfsmittels von der Leiteranschlussklemme.

The aforementioned method can be advantageously developed as follows:

• a1) providing the insulating material housing with the contact insert already arranged therein,
• a2) deflection of the clamping spring by inserting an aid, e.g. a core or a conductor, into a conductor insertion opening of the conductor connection terminal,
• b1) inserting the operating lever at least with its pivot bearing area into the insulating material housing through a lever insertion channel of the insulating material housing
• b2) Removing the tool from the conductor terminal.

This has the advantage that the actuating lever can be inserted even more easily into the insulating material housing, and unwanted contact with the clamping spring that is too early is avoided. Undesirable material abrasion or scratching of the actuating lever and the risk of material abrasion at the conductor clamping point can be minimized as a result.

The invention is explained in more detail below on the basis of exemplary embodiments using drawings.

Show it

• Figures 1 to 6 a conductor terminal in a first embodiment and
• Figures 7 to 14 a conductor terminal in a second embodiment and
• Figures 15 to 18 a conductor terminal in a third embodiment, each in different views.

In the figures, the same reference numbers are used for corresponding elements.

the Figures 1 to 4 show the conductor connection terminal in a side view with the insulating housing open, so that the internal structure can be seen, in different operating positions of the operating lever. Here shows the figure 1 the conductor terminal in the closed position with no conductor connected, the figure 2 in closed position with conductor connected. Figure 3 shows the conductor terminal in the partially open position and the figure 4 in fully open position, each with no conductor connected. The structure and function of the conductor terminal are described below with reference to the Figures 1 to 4 explained in more detail.

The conductor connection terminal 1 has an insulating material housing 2, which can be designed, for example, as a flat, essentially cuboid housing, so that several conductor connection terminals can be lined up next to one another. The insulating material housing 2 can be designed, for example, in the form of two housing half-shells, which are connected to one another after the internal components have been installed. Advantageously, the insulating material housing 2 accommodates the inner components, with the open side finally being closed with a cover 9 or an adjacent conductor connection terminal 1 . Accordingly, the Figures 1 to 4 a view of the conductor terminal with the cover part 9 removed.

The conductor connection terminal 1 has at least one contact piece 3, a clamping spring 5 and an actuating lever 7 as further components. The contact piece 3 forms with the clamping spring 5 a contact insert of the conductor terminal 1. The clamping spring 5 and the contact piece 3 are, for example, made entirely of electrically conductive material, in particular metal. In principle, the actuating lever can be made of any material, for example the same material as the insulating material housing 2, for example a plastic material.

The insulating housing 2 has a conductor insertion opening 6 through which an electrical conductor 8 to be connected can be inserted into the conductor terminal 1 . The conductor 8 can be guided with a stripped end 80 first through the conductor insertion opening 6 into a conductor receiving chamber 60, such as that figure 2 indicates. The contact piece 3 is located in the region of the conductor receiving chamber 60. The conductor receiving chamber 60 can in particular be designed in the shape of a funnel. The contact piece 3 has electrically conductive contact pins 4 for electrical external contacting of the conductor connection terminal 1, which protrude from the insulating material housing 2. The contact piece 3 can be designed, for example, as a U-shaped component when looking into the conductor connection opening 6 , which extends from a lower section identified by the reference number 3 via a connecting section 33 to an upper section 32 . The upper section 32 is connected to a slanted section 31 of the contact piece 3 which is directed in the conductor insertion direction and acts as a slanted conductor insertion point. The beveled section 31 can also be formed as part of the housing 2 of the conductor connection terminal 1 .

The clamping spring 5 extends from a first end area 52 over several arcuate areas to a second end area 50. The second end area 50 forms a conductor clamping point 30 with a contact point of the contact piece 3, with which a connected electrical conductor can be connected between the second end area 50 and the Contact piece 3 can be clamped, in particular the figure 2 indicates. The clamping spring 5 is deflected accordingly.

The clamping spring 5 also has a driver element 51 . This can at integral formation of the clamping spring 5 can be produced by stamping out an inner portion of the material of the clamping spring. The punched-out inner section then forms the second end region 50 of the clamping spring 5. The driver element 51 having part of the clamping spring, which is then in the figures 10 and 11 recognizable window-like recess 59 through which the first end region 52 of the clamping spring 5 passes, is inserted into the in figure 1 angled upward position shown. A crossbar at the end of the window-like recess 59, for example, lies against the pull arm 73 of the actuating lever 7 and forms the driver element 51.

The clamping spring 5 is received and held within a clamping spring receiving area of the insulating material housing 2, which is bordered by an inner wall 23 of the insulating material housing 2. The clamping spring 5 is supported with its first end area 52 on one end of the upper section 32 of the contact piece 3 from below. The clamping spring 5 is supported with its second end section 50 on the lower section of the contact piece 3 or on the connected electrical conductor 8, 80.

The actuating lever 7 has a grip area 70 which is designed for manually actuating the actuating lever 7 . In the closed position, the actuating lever 7 is pivoted downwards and protrudes only slightly from the insulating material housing 2, in particular only in the handle area 70. In the partially open position and in the fully open position, the actuating lever 7 is pivoted upwards and projects upwards out of the insulating material housing 2 .

Furthermore, the actuating lever 7 has two bearing pins 71 protruding laterally from the material of the lever 7 . However, the actuating lever 7 is not mounted in the insulating material housing 2 via the bearing journals 71 . Rather, the bearing journals 71 serve to prevent the actuating lever 7, which is floating in the insulating material housing 1 and is therefore mounted loosely, from being lost can go. This will be discussed in more detail later in connection with the assembly of the operating lever 7 in the insulating material housing 2 .

The floating mounting of the actuating lever 7 is realized by supporting the actuating lever 7 via an outer contour 72 of the actuating lever 7 forming a support surface, via which the actuating lever 7 is supported relative to the contact piece 3, in particular its upper section 32.

The actuating lever 7 has a pull arm 73 embodied, for example, in the form of a protruding lug, which engages in the window recess 59 of the clamping spring 5 and thereby engages the driver element 51 from behind. Furthermore, the actuating lever 7 has a second lever latching means 74, embodied, for example, in the form of a protruding lug, via which the actuating lever 7 can be moved in its in figure 1 shown closed position by locking the second lever locking means 74 with a designed as a housing locking means, correspondingly shaped locking section on an inner wall 22 of the insulating housing 2 and can be fixed.

Furthermore, the actuating lever 7 has a first lever latching means 75 embodied, for example, in the form of an indentation or a groove. The actuating lever 7 can be fixed in its fully open position via this first lever locking means 75, specifically by locking the first lever locking means 75 with a part of the contact piece 3 serving as a counter bearing, as in particular in FIG figure 4 is recognizable. The first lever latching means 75 latches onto an edge, for example the front edge 32a or the possibly rounded front edge at the front end of the upper section 32 of the contact piece 3 . This is in the figure 4 shown as detent R1. An additional detent R2 can be formed between a lower region of the pull arm 73 and a shoulder arranged, for example, on the inner housing wall 22 of the insulating material housing 2 .

When actuating the actuating lever 7 from the closed position in the partially open or fully open position, this pulls the driver element 51 of the clamping spring 5 with it via the tension arm 73, ie the driver element 51 is deflected upwards. As a result of the connection of the driver element 51 to the second end section 50 in the lower area of the clamping spring 5 , this area is also moved upwards, so that the second end section 50 is pulled away from the conductor clamping point 30 . In this way, an electrical conductor 8 can be removed from the conductor terminal 1 or inserted with less effort. In particular in the case of finely stranded versions of the electrical conductor, this makes it possible for the conductor connection terminal 1 to be inserted in the first place.

During its movement from the closed position to the partially or fully open position or during the corresponding reverse movement of the actuating lever 7, the outer contour 72 of the actuating lever 7 slides on the contact piece 3. The outer contour 72 is designed in such a way that the actuating lever 7 moves relative to the insulating material housing 2 and thus also to the contact piece 3 during the pivoting movement. This can be observed, for example, by an upward movement of the bearing pin 71 during the opening movement or a downward movement during the closing movement of the actuating lever 7.

During a pivoting movement, the actuating lever 7 is not supported on the surrounding insulating material housing 2 via the bearing journal 71, but rather via its rear outer contour 72, which is supported against the upper section 32 of the contact piece 3, which thus forms a pivot bearing surface. In addition, the lever 7 can also be supported with a rear side 79 on an inner wall 21 of the insulating material housing 2, at least in certain pivoting angles.

In the fully open position as in figure 4 shown, the clamping spring 5 holds as a result of the tensile force exerted on the driver element 51 the actuating lever 7 in the position shown, the fixation being supported by the force of the clamping spring 5 via the first lever locking means 75 in connection with the first contact piece locking means.

With the operating lever 7 in the closed position and the electrical conductor 8 connected, as in figure 2 shown, the clamping spring 5 is deflected. In this state, the driver element 51 of the clamping spring 5 is therefore not in contact with the tension arm 73 of the actuating lever 7 and is located in a free space below the actuating lever 7. In this state, the actuating lever 7 is in connection with the second housing latching means by the second lever latching means 74 fixed in the position shown in the insulating material housing.

As can be seen, the actuating lever 7 and its support on the contact piece 3 are provided at a point which is arranged away from the contact point of the contact piece 3 or the conductor clamping point 30, such that the conductor receiving chamber 60 is arranged in between. Here, the actuating lever 7 is supported on a bearing section 3.2 of the contact piece 3, specifically on a second side 3.2b (top side here) of the bearing section 3.2 that faces away from the conductor receiving chamber 60. The contact leg 52 of the clamping spring 5, on the other hand, is supported on the opposite side of the contact piece 3, namely on a first side 3.2a (here underside) of the bearing section 3.2 facing the conductor receiving chamber 60.

the figure 5 shows the actuating lever as a single component in an isometric representation. In particular, it can be seen that the bearing journals 71 can be flattened on the underside. This can be helpful for inserting the actuating lever 7 into the insulating housing 2, which is already closed. The actuating lever 7 can then also be inserted from above into the insulating material housing 2 in a position which corresponds to the fully open position. At the same time, the actuating lever 7 cannot be removed from the insulating housing 2 in the closed position. For this purpose, in the insulating material housing 2 a correspondingly designed lever insertion channel 20 is provided with a guide contour 24, the clear width of which is smaller than the largest diameter of the bearing pin 71 and slightly larger than or equal to the diameter in the area of the flattening. the figure 6 shows the advantageous possibility of inserting the actuating lever 7 through the lever insertion channel 20 in the insulating material 2, from which in the figure 6 only part of the upper area is shown. The bearing pin is guided through the tapering lever insertion channel 20 in such a way that the bearing pin 71 snaps behind the inner wall of the housing when it enters the interior of the insulating material housing.

It can also be seen that the actuating lever 7 can have recesses 76 and webs 77 .

For the assembly of the actuating lever 7 in the insulating material housing 2, it can be advantageous if the insulating material housing 2 is already closed and the contact piece and the clamping spring are already inserted therein. To support the insertion of the actuating lever 7, the clamping spring can be pre-deflected by an object inserted into the conductor insertion opening 6 into the conductor receiving area 60 as an aid, e.g. a screwdriver or an electrical conductor, so that the driver element 51 as in figure 2 recognizable counterclockwise pivoted. The actuating lever 7 can then be used from above. In doing so, the pulling arm 73 grips behind the driver element 51, which has been pivoted by the aid.

To fix the actuating lever 7 in the closed position, there can also be latching means 78 arranged on the side, e.g.

The second embodiment of the conductor terminal, which will now be explained, is in FIGS Figures 7 to 9 shown in comparable views and positions as the first embodiments in the figures 1 , 2 and 4 , ie in the figure 7 in the closed position with no conductor connected, in which figure 8 in the closed position with the conductor connected and in the figure 9 in fully open position with no conductor connected. The second embodiment has many of the same features as the first embodiment and differs, among other things, in a different way of fixing the actuating lever 7 in the closed position. Here again second lever locking means 74 is provided on this for fixing the actuating lever 7, but which is not spaced from the pull arm 73 as in the first embodiment, but is formed on this pull arm 73 itself. Furthermore, a web 26 is provided in the insulating material housing 2, which can be designed, for example, in the manner of a flexible housing strap. This web 26, which then forms the second housing locking means, can thus be deflected when the force is not applied too high, so that when the operating lever 7 is opened, the fixed, closed position can be overcome with moderate effort.

the figure 7 shows the actuating lever 7 in the closed position. When the actuating lever 7 is moved into the open position, the second lever locking means 74 presses harder against the web 26 and deflects it somewhat. From a certain open position, the second lever locking means 74 snaps over the web 26, so that the fixation is overcome. The operating lever 7 can then be moved to the open position according to FIG figure 9 be led. In this it is fixed as in the first embodiment via a latch between the first lever latch means 75 and the contact piece 3 (latch R1).

For further illustration, the figure 10 the conductor terminal according to figure 8 in an isometric view from behind, the figure 11 in an isometric view from the front and the figure 12 in another isometric view obliquely from the front with a view of the side wall 27 of the insulating material housing 2. The other side wall can, as can be seen in the figures, be designed partially open. By lining up several conductor connection terminals an open side wall of a conductor terminal is covered by the closed side wall 27 of the next conductor terminal. For the last open side wall of a row arrangement of conductor terminals formed in this way, a cover plate 9 can be placed on this last conductor terminal, like that figure 13 indicates. The end plate 9 and the side wall 27 of a conductor terminal can each have a guide section 28, 98 at the upper edge, which serves to guide and hold the actuating lever 7 of an adjacent conductor terminal. The actuating lever 7 is supported with a guide contour (79a) facing the guide section 28, 98 on the guide section 28, 98 at least in sections during its pivoting movement.

the Figures 13 and 14 show the conductor terminal according to the second embodiment in a cross-sectional view. the figure 13 represents the conductor connection terminal when the operating lever is in the closed position and the electrical conductor is inserted figure 14 with the actuating lever open and the electrical conductor also inserted.

the Figures 15 to 17 show a third embodiment of the conductor terminal, each in a perspective view. the figure 18 shows the operating lever 7 of this conductor terminal, also in a perspective view. Both Figures 15 to 17 the actuating lever 7 is in the closed position. Both figures 16 and 17 an additional electrical conductor is inserted into the conductor connection terminal. The representation of figure 17 corresponds to that of figure 16 , with the difference that the contact piece 3 is shown cut in two places, in such a way that the connecting section 33 is missing. This further clarifies the view of the stripped end 80 of the conductor 8 and its clamping via the second end region 50 of the clamping spring 5 .

A difference of the third embodiment of the conductor terminal to the previously described embodiments consists in the position and shape of an element 78a arranged on the lever 7 for fixing the lever in the closed position. The element 78a can again be regarded as a latching means, but differs from the previously explained lever-fixed latching means 74 in that the lever fixation realized in this way does not lead to a brief increase in the actuating force when the lever 7 is opened. The element 78a can be in the form of a web, for example, which is arranged on the side of the lever 7 and runs in a clearance in the adjacent housing 2 and in this way defines/limits an end position of the actuating lever 7 in each case. As in the previous exemplary embodiments, the actuating lever 7 is fixed relative to the insulating material housing 2 by means of lateral latching means 78 arranged in the front area of the actuating lever 7.

The conductor connection terminal according to the invention in all of the explained embodiments additionally has an optimized overload protection for protecting the clamping spring 5 if the conductor 8 is inserted into the conductor receiving chamber 60 at an angle or otherwise improperly. For such cases, the clamping spring 5 must be protected against excessive loading of the second end area 50 and the area that extends from the second end area 50 to the approximately semi-circular spring arc running along the wall 23 . This is achieved in that the clamping spring 5 extends with its second end area 50 up to the chamfered section 31 of the insulating material housing, which acts as a conductor insertion chamfer. The beveled section 31 designed as part of the insulating material housing 2 extends in the exemplary embodiment to below the upper section 32 of the contact piece. This beveled section 31 thus acts at the same time as a stop for the second end area 50 of the clamping spring 5, so that it cannot be deflected any further upwards.

The part of the contact piece 3 on which the actuating lever 7 is supported at least in the open position and possibly also in other positions, in particular in positions before the open position is reached, can be considered in the direction of rotation of the actuating lever when opening can be designed as a rising ramp, falling ramp or as a neutral surface without an incline. The previously described first and third embodiment of the connection terminal show a design as a rising ramp, the second embodiment as a neutral surface. Likewise, a falling ramp can be realized by the upper portion 32 of the contact piece 3 not, as for example in figure 1 can be seen, is formed to the operating lever 7 towards the front of the terminal 1, ie to the side of the conductor insertion opening 6, increasing, but with a decreasing pitch. With such a design, the actuating forces required to be applied to the actuating lever 7 for pivoting into the open position can be reduced. The result is an easier and more pleasant operation of the connection terminal.

Claims (16)

1. Conductor connection terminal (1) with the following features:

   a) at least one insulating material housing (2),

   b) at least one contact insert (3, 5) arranged at least partially in the insulating material housing, comprising at least one contact piece (3) and at least one clamping spring (5),

   c) wherein the contact piece with the clamping spring forms at least one conductor clamping point (30) for an electrical conductor (8) to be contacted by means of the conductor connection terminal (1), which conductor can be acted upon at the conductor clamping point (30) by a spring force of the clamping spring (5),

   d) at least one actuating lever (7) pivotably mounted in the insulating material housing (2) for actuating the clamping spring (5), wherein the actuating lever (7) is pivotable from a closed position into an open position and vice versa relative to the insulating material housing (2) and/or the contact piece (3) and at least in the open position an electrical conductor (8) introduced into the conductor terminal (1) is not acted upon at the conductor clamping point (30) by the spring force of the clamping spring (5),

   e) the actuating lever (7) being mounted in a floating manner and being supported at least in part on the contact piece (3) at least in the open position, characterized in that

   f) the conductor connection terminal (1) has first latching means (32, 75) by which the actuating lever (7) is latched in the open position,

   g) the first latching means (32, 75) comprise a first lever latching means (75), which is part of the actuating lever (7), and a first contact piece latching means (32), which is part of the contact piece (3),

   h) in the fully open position of the actuating lever (7), the clamping spring (5) holds the actuating lever (7) in the fully open position as a result of its tensile force exerted on a driver element (51) of the clamping spring (5), the fixing being supported by the force of the clamping spring (5) via the first lever latching means (75) in conjunction with the first contact piece latching means (32).
2. Conductor terminal according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the contact piece (3) has a clamping section (3.1) in which the contact point is arranged, and a bearing section (3.2) on which the actuating lever (7) is at least partially supported in the open position, a conductor receiving chamber (60) being arranged between the clamping section (3.1) and the bearing section (3.2).
3. Conductor connection terminal according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the clamping spring (5) has an abutment leg (52) via which the clamping spring (5) is supported on the contact piece (3) on a first side (3.2a) of the bearing section (3.2) facing the conductor receiving chamber (60).
4. Conductor connecting terminal according to one of claims 2 to 3, characterized in that the actuating lever (7), at least in the open position, is supported at least partially on a second side (3.2b) of the bearing section (3.2) of the contact piece (3), which second side (3.2b) faces away from the conductor receiving chamber (60).
5. Conductor connection terminal according to one of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that the bearing section (3.2) is connected to the clamping section (3.1) via a connecting section (33) of the contact piece (3).
6. Conductor connection terminals according to one of claims 2 to 5, characterized in that the bearing section (3.2) of the contact piece (3) is designed as a plate, in particular as a metallic plate.
7. Conductor connection terminal according to one of claims 2 to 6, characterized in that, at least in the open position of the actuating lever (7), a closed force chain is formed from a driver element (51) of the clamping spring (5) via a pull arm (73) of the actuating lever (7) acting on the driver element (51), via its outer contour (72), and via the first side (3.2a) and the second side (3.2b) of the bearing section (3.2) onto the abutment leg (52) of the clamping spring (5).
8. Conductor connection terminal according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the conductor receiving chamber (60) is separated from the actuating lever (7) by the upper section (32), in particular the bearing section (3.2), of the contact piece (3).
9. Conductor connection terminal according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a pull arm (73) of the actuating lever (7) is arranged between the outer contour (72) of the actuating lever (7) and a grip portion (70) of the actuating lever (7).
10. Conductor connection terminal according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the actuating lever (7) has bearing pins (71) projecting parallel to the axis of rotation of the pivoting movement, which are designed to secure the actuating lever (7) against removal of the actuating lever (7) from the insulating material housing (2).
11. Conductor connection terminal according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the insulating material housing (2) comprises a lever insertion channel (20) for insertion of the actuating lever (7), the lever insertion channel (20) comprising a guide contour (24) for guiding the bearing pins (71) at least during insertion of the actuating lever (7).
12. Conductor connection terminal according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the part of the contact piece (3) on which the actuating lever (7) is supported at least in the open position is designed as a ramp which slopes in the direction of rotation of the actuating lever (7) during opening.
13. Conductor connection terminal according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the actuating lever (7) is supported on an upper section (32) of the contact piece (3) and a conductor receiving chamber (60) for receiving the electrical conductor (8) to be contacted is arranged between the upper section (32) and a contact point of the contact piece (3), at which the conductor clamping point (30) is formed with an end region (50) of the clamping spring (5).
14. Conductor connection terminal according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the actuating lever (7) has a first lever latching means (75) via which the actuating lever (7) can be fixed in its fully open position by latching the first lever latching means (75) with a part of the contact piece (3) serving as a counter bearing in the form of a latch (R1).
15. Conductor connection terminal according to claim 14, characterized in that an additional latch (R2) is formed in the fully open position of the actuating lever (7) between a lower portion of a pull arm (73) of the actuating lever (7) and a shoulder arranged on an inner housing wall (22) of the insulating material housing (2).
16. Conductor terminal according to claim 15, characterized in that the line of action of the tensile force of the driver element (51) passes between the latch (R1) and the additional latch (R2).

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