EP3387709B1 - Conductor terminal and set consisting of conductor terminal and actuation tool - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a conductor connecting terminal with an insulating material housing and with a spring-loaded terminal connection, which has a contact body formed from a sheet metal element with a bottom section, side wall sections protruding from and spaced apart from one another, and solder connection contact tongues, the solder connection contact tongues being bent out of the plane of the bottom section , span a solder connection level that is offset from the level of the base section and form an indented area of the base section. The bottom section forms with the side wall sections a conductor receiving channel for receiving an electrical conductor. At least one leaf spring tongue protrudes from the side wall sections and has a clamping edge for clamping an electrical conductor received in the conductor receiving channel. The front of the insulating housing has a conductor entry opening leading to the conductor receiving channel.

The invention further relates to a set of such a conductor terminal and an operating tool.

Such conductor connection terminals are made, for example, with a pusher integrated in the insulating material housing DE 10 2010 014 144 B4 known.

WO 2013/176859 A1 discloses an SMD PCB terminal with from Actuating slides protruding from the top of the insulating material housing for opening a clamping point formed on the respective spring-loaded terminal connection for connecting an electrical conductor;

KR 10 2014 0122904 A describes a similar SMD PCB terminal block with a spring-cage terminal connection with two mutually facing leaf springs, which have actuation tabs pointing in the direction of the conductor insertion, as well as an insulating material housing with an actuation slide that can be slid into an opening in the top and rear.

Proceeding from this, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved conductor terminal, in which handling with automatic assembly machines is improved and the perceptibility of the conductor terminal is reduced when used in a luminaire.

The object is achieved with the conductor terminal with the features of claim 1 and with the set of such a conductor terminal and actuating tool with the features of claim 17. Advantageous embodiments are described in the subclaims. For a generic conductor connection terminal, it is proposed that a closure cover is provided for snapping into the indented area, the depth of the indented area corresponding at least to the thickness of a conventional printed circuit board and the conductor connection terminal being insertable into an opening in the circuit board in such a way that the solder connection level is on the underside of the circuit board and the plug-in level is above the top of the circuit board.

First of all, by bending the solder connection contact tongues out of the plane of the base section in such a way that they become one Clamp the level of the bottom section of the staggered solder connection level, reducing the height of an electrical circuit board provided with the conductor connection terminal. In this way, the conductor connection terminals can be hooked into an opening in the circuit board and soldered to the back of the circuit board. The conductor terminal is therefore not simply placed on a circuit board and soldered to the top with solder connection contacts. This offset of planes also forms an indented area of the contact body, into which a closure cover can be snapped. This cover provides a suction surface for an automatic assembly machine for handling the conductor connection terminal. In addition, it is avoided that a light trap or dark spots form if there are light elements (for example light-emitting diodes LEDs) on the circuit board on the side of the solder connection contacts. Depending on the arrangement of such lighting elements and the formation of a scattering shard, the depressions within the conductor connection terminal can be perceived as "dark spots" by a scattering shard. The perceptibility of the conductor connecting terminal arranged adjacent to lighting elements is reduced with a sealing cover.

The sealing cover forms a separate part from the insulating material housing, which is connected to the contact body and also functions without the insulating material housing.

The sealing cover can have latching lugs which are adapted for latching into latching openings in the contact body. However, it is also conceivable that the closure cover has latching openings or latching edges which are adapted for latching with latching lugs of the contact body.

This latching of the closure cover with the contact body avoids latching openings on the insulating housing, which could reduce the air and creepage distances.

The closure cover can have fingers protruding perpendicularly from a cover plate of the closure cover. A pair of such fingers is then arranged opposite one another at a distance from one another and is adapted for immersion in the indented area for abutment, in each case adjacent to a connecting web of the contact body that leads from the bottom section to a soldering contact tongue. In this way, the closure cover is snapped into place with a pair of such opposing fingers on mutually opposite connecting webs with locking elements of a pair of such fingers pointing away from one another. While the cover plate remains above the level spanned by the solder connection contact tongues, the fingers dip into the indented area of the contact body.

The fingers can each have a recess with a locking edge. The troughs are then each designed to receive a latching lug of the contact body. Such a catch can protrude from a connecting web, for example. The locking edge is formed by a boundary wall of the trough.

With such a depression in a finger, the stability and rigidity of the finger can be improved. The side walls that delimit the trough increase the resistance of the finger to elastic deformation when subjected to force and bending stress.

However, the fingers can also each have a locking lug, which is designed to snap into a locking opening of an adjacent connecting web of the contact body.

Cover tongues of the cover plate can protrude on the level of the cover plate between two fingers of the closure cover arranged next to one another. The cover tabs can be slotted through by the fingers Sections of the cover plate are free. The slots improve the air and creepage distances, especially when the insulating housing is immersed in these slots.

The cover section of the insulating material housing opposite the bottom section can be completely closed on the side of the spring-loaded terminal connection facing away from the bottom section in the area adjacent to the side wall sections and the at least one leaf spring tongue of the contact body. The insulating material housing on the rear side, which lies opposite the conductor insertion opening, can have an actuation opening that leads to actuation tabs of the at least one leaf spring tongue. The actuation opening is bounded by the cover section of the insulating material housing, forming a guide channel.

The cover section, which adjoins the at least one actuating tab above the spring of the spring-loaded terminal connection, thus represents a guide wall of a guide channel, on which an actuating tool or an actuating tool inserted into the actuating opening or an actuating element which is displaceably installed in the actuating opening is guided. The actuation then takes place exclusively via the actuation opening accessible from the rear, so that the actuation forces only act as shear forces on solder contacts of the conductor connection terminal.

Because the cover section adjacent to the spring-loaded terminal connection on the side of the spring-loaded terminal connection facing away from the base section is closed, the at least one leaf spring tongue can only be opened by an operating force directed in the opposite direction to the conductor insertion direction from the rear actuation opening in the direction of the front conductor insertion opening. A force component that acts from the cover section to the bottom section is avoided, so that the forces acting on soldered joints of the conductor connection terminal do not impair these soldered joints.

The guide channel of the actuation opening can be formed not only by the cover section, but also by spaced-apart lateral inner wall sections of the insulating material housing and a base section opposite the cover section. The guide channel is thus delimited on one side, on both sides or possibly on all sides or all around by wall sections. A separate actuating tool is thus optimally guided to the at least one actuating tab. Optionally, however, an actuating element can also be installed in such a guide channel, which is then slidably mounted in the actuating direction from the front to the rear.

The base portion, which delimits the guide channel in the direction of the base portion, can be spaced from the base portion of the spring-loaded terminal connection to form a conductor receiving pocket. On the one hand, a conductor collection pocket is thus provided between the base section and the base section in the conductor insertion direction behind the clamping point formed by the clamping edge of the at least one leaf spring tongue for clamping an electrical conductor. In addition, the conductor insertion area or conductor receiving area is delimited by the base section through the actuation plane lying above, into which the respective actuation tab of the at least one leaf spring protrude. This prevents the actuation opening from being blocked by strands of an electrical conductor.

The guide channel can end immediately in front of the at least one actuation tab, so that the guide channel is formed by the actuation opening and then merges into the actuation tab of the leaf spring and the cover section lying above it. In the case of two leaf springs facing one another, the actuating opening is thus through the cover section and the two spaced apart actuation tabs continued. An indentation can be provided in the cover section of the insulating material housing in the rear area, which is opposite the conductor insertion opening. This indentation then merges into the actuation opening leading to the actuation tabs. This indentation has the advantage that it provides a positioning area into which an actuating tool is inserted from above, obliquely from the rear or directly from the rear. The actuating tool is then positioned through the lateral boundary walls of the indentation and the bottom of the indentation such that it can be inserted into the actuating opening adjacent to the indentation.

The bottom section can have solder connection contacts protruding from the contour of the insulating material housing. These are then intended for soldering onto a printed circuit board and can be SMD contacts for surface solder mounting or pin contacts for push-through solder mounting.

The actuation opening can be provided for receiving a separate actuation tool. However, it is also conceivable that the actuation opening extends from the back to the front through the insulating material housing and opens out on the front side adjacent to the conductor insertion opening. This can also be used to actuate from the front and / or to check the voltage potential at the spring-loaded terminal connection on the front. In this embodiment, it is particularly advantageous if an actuating element is slidably received in the actuating opening. The actuating element can have a protruding actuating section which is designed to apply force to the at least one actuating lug to open the clamping point formed by the clamping edges. This protruding actuating section is then located in the interior of the insulating material housing in the area of the actuating tab of the leaf spring tongue.

The actuating element can have a head section which is accessible from the rear of the insulating material housing for the application of force and a signal section which projects out of the front side of the insulating material housing when the spring-loaded terminal connection is open. With the help of this signal section it becomes visible whether the clamping point formed on the clamping edge of the leaf spring tongue is open or not. In addition, the actuating element can be pushed back into the rest position by applying force to the signal section in the direction of the rear, in which the leaf spring tongue is not impaired by the actuating element and exerts a resilient clamping force on an inserted and to be clamped electrical conductor.

For the purposes of the present invention, the indefinite term “a” is not to be understood as a numerical word. So if e.g. from a spring-cage connection, a leaf spring or a conductor insertion opening or actuation opening, this is to be interpreted in the sense of "at least one".

The insulating material housing can thus also have a plurality of conductor insertion openings arranged next to one another. The conductor connection terminal can have a plurality of spring-cage terminal connections which are accommodated next to one another in the insulating material housing and are assigned to a respective conductor insertion opening and an actuation opening.

The invention is further achieved by the set consisting of a conductor connecting terminal and an actuating tool, the actuating tool having a holding section and an actuating finger designed for insertion into the actuating opening and for pushing apart the actuating tabs of the clamping point. In this embodiment, a separate actuating tool is provided, which with its at least one actuating finger an associated actuating opening of the insulating material housing can be inserted from the rear, in order then to be guided between the actuating tabs by moving the actuating finger in the direction of the front side of the insulating material housing in order to urge them apart.

The holding section and the actuating finger are preferably at an angle to one another. This angle can preferably be in the range of approximately 90 degrees +/- 20 degrees. The holding section and the at least one actuation angle are particularly preferably arranged at right angles to one another.

A plurality of actuating fingers arranged next to one another and spaced apart from one another can be provided on the holding section for insertion into an associated actuating opening of a plurality of actuating openings of the insulating material housing of the conductor connection terminal. This makes it possible to open several terminal points of a multi-pole conductor terminal at the same time, which simplifies handling.

Figur 1 -

Perspektivische Ansicht einer ersten Ausführungsform einer Leiteranschlussklemme;

Figur 2 -

Perspektivische Ansicht des prinzipiellen Aufbaus des Federkraftklemmanschlusses für die Leiteranschlussklemme aus Figur 1;

Figur 3 -

Seiten-Schnittansicht der Leiteranschlussklemme aus Figur 1 mit zusätzlichem Betätigungswerkzeug;

Figur 4 -

Perspektivische Rückseitenansicht der Leiteranschlussklemme aus Figur 1;

Figur 5 -

Perspektivische Ansicht der in eine Leiterplatte eingesetzten Leiteranschlussklemme mit separaten Betätigungswerkzeug;

Figur 6 -

Perspektivische Ansicht der Leiteranschlussklemme aus Figur 5 ohne Isolierstoffgehäuse;

Figur 7 -

Perspektivische Ansicht der Leiteranschlussklemme aus Figur 6 mit zwischen Betätigungslaschen des Federkraftklemmanschlusses eingeführten Betätigungswerkzeuges;

Figur 8 -

Perspektivische Ansicht der Leiteranschlussklemme aus Figur 1 schräg von der Rückseite und von unten;

Figur 9 -

Perspektivische Rückseitenansicht der in eine Leiterplatte eingesetzten und angelöteten Leiteranschlussklemme;

Figur 10 -

Seiten-Schnittansicht durch eine zweite Ausführungsform einer Leiteranschlussklemme mit Verschlussdeckel;

Figur 11 -

Perspektivische Ansicht des prinzipiellen Aufbaus der Federkraftklemmanschlusses für die Leiteranschlussklemme aus Figur 10;

Figur 13 -

Perspektivische Ansicht auf die Unterseite des Isolierstoffgehäuses der Leiteranschlussklemme aus Figur 10;

Figur 14 -

Perspektivische Ansicht auf die Unterseite der Leiteranschlussklemme aus Figur 10 mit Verschlussdeckel;

Figur 15 -

Perspektivische Rückseitenansicht der Leiteranschlussklemme aus Figur 14 mit Blick auf die Oberseite;

Figur 16 -

Perspektivische Frontseitenansicht der Leiteranschlussklemme aus Figur 15;

Figur 17 -

Seiten-Schnittansicht der Leiteranschlussklemme aus Figur 10 bis 16 mit zusätzlichem Betätigungswerkzeug;

Figur 18 -

Perspektivische Ansicht einer zwei-poligen Leiteranschlussklemme entsprechend der zweiten Ausführungsform gemäß Figur 10;

Figur 19 -

Perspektivische Rückansicht einer ein-poligen Leiteranschlussklemme der zweiten Ausführungsform gemäß Figur 10.

The invention is explained in more detail below using exemplary embodiments with the accompanying drawings. Show it:

Figure 1 -

Perspective view of a first embodiment of a conductor terminal;

Figure 2 -

Perspective view of the basic structure of the spring terminal connection for the conductor terminal from Figure 1;

Figure 3 -

Side sectional view of the conductor terminal Figure 1 with additional operating tool;

Figure 4 -

Perspective rear view of the conductor terminal Figure 1 ;

Figure 5 -

Perspective view of the conductor terminal inserted in a printed circuit board with separate actuating tool;

Figure 6 -

Perspective view of the conductor terminal Figure 5 without insulating housing;

Figure 7 -

Perspective view of the conductor terminal Figure 6 with actuating tool inserted between actuating tabs of the spring-loaded terminal connection;

Figure 8 -

Perspective view of the conductor terminal Figure 1 diagonally from the back and from below;

Figure 9 -

Perspective rear view of the soldered-in conductor connector inserted in a printed circuit board;

Figure 10 -

Side sectional view through a second embodiment of a conductor terminal with a closure cover;

Figure 11 -

Perspective view of the basic structure of the spring terminal connection for the conductor terminal from Figure 10;

Figure 13 -

Perspective view of the underside of the insulating material housing of the conductor connection terminal Figure 10 ;

Figure 14 -

Perspective view of the underside of the conductor terminal Figure 10 with cover;

Figure 15 -

Perspective rear view of the conductor terminal Figure 14 facing the top;

Figure 16 -

Perspective front view of the conductor terminal Figure 15 ;

Figure 17 -

Side sectional view of the conductor terminal Figure 10 to 16 with additional operating tool;

Figure 18 -

Perspective view of a two-pole conductor terminal according to the second embodiment according to Figure 10 ;

Figure 19 -

Perspective rear view of a single-pole conductor terminal according to the second embodiment Figure 10 .

Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a first embodiment of a conductor terminal 1, which has an insulating housing 2 and a number of spring-loaded terminal connections 3 installed in the insulating housing 2. Of the spring-cage terminal connections 3, outstanding solder connection contacts 4 are visible from the insulating housing 2 on the front and rear.

It is clear that the insulating material housing 2 on the front side conductor insertion openings 5 for inserting an electrical conductor into each Has clamping point, which is formed on the respective spring clamp connection in the space of the insulating housing 2.

In the area of the rear side of the insulating material housing 2, which lies opposite the front side with the conductor insertion opening 5, indentations 6 are present in the insulating material housing 2. These indentations 6 merge into actuation openings on the rear, which lead into the interior of the insulating material housing 2.

It is also clear that on the front side of the conductor insertion openings 5 there is in each case a base base 7a formed as part of the insulating material housing 2 and on the rear side of the indentations 6 there is also a base base 7b formed as part of the insulating material housing 2. This is used for support on a circuit board if the conductor connection terminal 1 is inserted into an opening in a circuit board and is soldered to the solder connection contacts 4 on the back of the circuit board.

Figure 2 shows a perspective view of the basic structure of a spring-loaded terminal connection 3 for the circuit board. It becomes clear that the spring-loaded terminal connection 3 is formed in one piece from a sheet metal element as a stamped and bent part. A base section 8 is provided, from which two side wall sections 9, which are spaced apart, protrude. A conductor receiving channel for receiving an electrical conductor is formed by the side wall sections 9 and the bottom section 8. The conductor receiving channel can be at least partially closed at least partially by limiting tabs 10 on the side opposite the base section 8, which are bent toward one another and are bent over by the side wall sections. The top of the conductor receiving channel can also be closed by sections of the insulating housing 2.

It can be seen that in the illustrated embodiment, two leaf spring tongues 11 protrude from the side wall sections 9 in the conductor insertion direction L. The leaf spring tongues 11 extend approximately parallel to the base section 8 and extend towards one another. At the ends of the leaf spring tongues 11 each clamping edges 12 for connecting an electrical conductor or its stripped end are formed. Alternatively, an embodiment with only one leaf spring tongue 11 is also conceivable, which, for example, forms a clamping point with a side wall section 9 or a tab protruding therefrom.

It is also clear that actuating tabs 13 protrude from the leaf spring tongues 11 at the upper edges, which lie opposite the bottom section 8. These actuation tabs 13 are pointed out at an angle away from one another and are provided for receiving an actuating tool or actuating element. They extend with their free end in the conductor insertion direction L or in the direction of extension of the leaf spring tongues 11 and expand in a funnel shape towards their free end. With the aid of such an actuating tool or actuating element inserted between the actuating tabs 13, the leaf springs 11 are moved away from one another in order to open the clamping point formed on the clamping edges 12 and to be able to remove a clamped-on electrical conductor.

It is also clear that the level of the base section 8 in the region of the side wall sections 9 and the leaf spring tongues 11 is raised or offset relative to the level of the solder connection contacts 4, in order in this way to provide an indentation or a free space on the underside of the spring-loaded terminal connection opposite the leaf spring tongues 11 3 form. The conductor insertion plane formed by the conductor insertion channel for inserting an electrical conductor is thus arranged at a relatively large offset from the solder connection plane defined by the solder connection contacts 4. The depth of the indentation or of the free space should at least correspond to the thickness of a conventional printed circuit board, so that the solder connection level on the underside of the PCB and the plug-in level is above the top of the circuit board.

Figure 3 omits a sectional side view of conductor terminal 1 Figure 1 detect. It becomes clear that the solder connection contacts 4 on the back of a circuit board 14 are soldered to the latter when the conductor connection terminal 1 is inserted into an opening 15 in the circuit board 14. The base bases 7a, 7b of the insulating material housing 2 are supported on the underside of the printed circuit board 14. The spring-loaded terminal connections 3 are fixed in position on the insulating material housing 2, in that projections 16 of the insulating material housing 2 protrude through associated storage openings 17 of the base section 8.

It becomes clear that the level of the bottom section 8 in the interior of the insulating material housing 2 is offset in relation to the level formed by the solder connection contacts 4 to the cover section 18 of the insulating material housing 2. The solder connection contacts 4 are thus pulled further down, so as to enable rear mounting on the printed circuit board 14.

It is clear that the cover section 18 above the spring-loaded terminal connection 3 in the area of the leaf springs 11 and in particular the actuating tabs 13 is completely closed. The cover section 18 continues to the rear of the insulating material housing 2, which lies opposite the conductor insertion opening 5, so as to limit an actuating opening 19 for inserting an actuating tool 20. Opposite the cover section 18, the actuation opening 19 is delimited by a base section 21. This base section 21 is arranged at a distance from the bottom section 8 of the spring-loaded terminal connection 3 in order to limit a conductor collecting pocket 22. An stripped free end of an electrical conductor guided past the leaf springs 11 from the conductor insertion opening 5 is thus guided through the base section 8 and the base section 21 lying above it into the conductor collection pocket 22. The one above the base section 21 Free space of the actuation opening 19 is thus kept free of any strands of an inserted and clamped electrical conductor.

It is also clear that the actuating tabs 13 protrude further from the terminal end 12 in the direction of the plug-in direction L in the direction of the base section 21. If an actuating finger 24 projecting from a holding section 23 of the actuating tool 20 is now inserted into the actuating opening 19, it acts on the actuating tabs 13 lying opposite one another and presses them apart on an actuating plane. This actuation plane lies above the conductor clamping plane, which is formed by the clamping edges 12 and the adjoining conductor catch pocket and which is delimited upwards by the base section 21 towards the actuation opening 19.

The clamping point of the spring-loaded terminal connection 3 is thus opened by an actuating force which acts in the direction of arrow B opposite to the direction of insertion of the conductor L. The actuating force B exerts a shear force on the solder connection contacts 4 at best. An actuating force acting transversely to the surface of the printed circuit board 14 is avoided, which could impair the soldering points on the solder connection contacts 4.

Furthermore, it can be seen that a housing part in the form of a closure cover 40 is snapped into the indented area of the base section 8 from the underside. Here too, projections in the form of locking lugs 56 snap into locking openings in the sheet material of the base section 8. With this cover 40, a suction surface for an automatic assembly machine for handling the conductor terminal 1 is provided. In addition, it is avoided that a light trap or dark spots form if there are light-emitting elements (for example light-emitting diodes LEDs) on the circuit board 14 on the side of the solder connection contacts 4. Depending on the arrangement of such lighting elements and the formation of a diffusing screen, the depressions can are perceived as "dark spots" within the conductor connection terminal 1 by a diffusing screen.

The closure cover 40 is optional. Without such a sealing cover 40, also the bottom section 8 itself can be used as a suction surface for an automatic assembly machine.

Figure 4 omits a perspective rear view of the conductor terminal 1 Figures 1 and 3rd detect. It is clear that the indentations 6 are each delimited by the base section 21 as the bottom surface and opposite inner wall surfaces 25 of the insulating material housing 2. With the help of these indentations, the insertion of the actuating tool 21 into the actuating indentation 19 is facilitated in that the indentation 6 provides a funnel-shaped insertion area.

Figure 5 shows a perspective view of the conductor terminal 1 inserted into a circuit board 14. It is clear that the circuit board 14 has a rectangular opening into which the conductor terminal 1 is inserted from the underside. However, the conductor insertion opening 5 opens out at the level of the top of the circuit board 14 or possibly slightly above it. Such an installation allows the overall height of an electrical device to be reduced compared to the simple soldering of a simple conductor connection terminal 1 onto the upper side of the printed circuit board 14.

Figure 6 omits a perspective view of the conductor terminal 1 Figure 5 Detect without insulating housing 2. The position of the several spring-loaded terminal connections 3 arranged next to one another is visible in the receiving opening 15 of the printed circuit board 14. It is clear that actuating tabs 13 each protrude from the leaf springs 11 on the upper side, which is opposite the bottom section 8. These extend from the end regions of the leaf spring tongues 11 with the clamping edges 12 over the clamping edges 12 beyond. A pair of such actuation tabs 13 of a spring-loaded terminal connection 3 are bent with their free ends pointing away from one another in order to form an insertion funnel for the actuation finger 24 of an actuation tool 20.

In the rest position shown, the clamping edges 12 of the leaf springs 11 of a spring force clamping connection 3 are directed towards one another by the spring force of the leaf springs 11. The clamping edges 12 can then rest against one another without a clamped electrical conductor. If an electrical conductor is now guided past the side walls 9 and the leaf springs 11 to the clamping edges 12, then this is clamped to the spring-force clamping connection 3 by the clamping force of the leaf springs.

Figure 7 leaves the arrangement open Figure 6 Detect with printed circuit board 14 and spring-loaded terminal connections 3 inserted therein into a receiving opening. The actuating tool 20 is now inserted into the front, right spring force terminal connection in such a way that the actuating finger 24 is placed between the actuating tabs 13. As a result, the two opposite leaf springs 11 of the spring-loaded terminal connection 3 are moved away from one another so as to open the clamping point formed on the mutually opposite clamping edges 12 for clamping an electrical conductor. It becomes clear that the actuating finger 24 lies on a level above the clamping level formed by the leaf springs 11 for connecting an electrical conductor. It also becomes clear that the actuating finger 24 is moved in a direction which essentially corresponds to the direction of extension of the leaf springs 11 and is approximately parallel to the surface of the printed circuit board 14.

Figure 8 shows a perspective rear view of the conductor terminal 1. It is again clear here that the insulating material housing 2 with projections 16 in bearing openings 17 of the base section 8 of a spring-loaded terminal connection 3 is fixed in position. It can also be seen that the solder connection contacts 4 are bent around on the support plane of the base bases 7a, 7b of the insulating material housing 2.

Figure 9 omits a view of conductor connection terminal 1 Figure 8 recognize in the assembled state, in which the conductor terminal 1 is inserted from the rear into a receiving opening 15 of the circuit board 14. It becomes clear that the solder connection contacts 4 now rest on the surface of the back of the printed circuit board 14 in order to be soldered to the printed circuit board 14 there by means of surface solder mounting.

Because the actuating opening necessarily reduces the actuating force to an actuating force acting approximately parallel to the surface of the printed circuit board 14, the solder connection contacts 4 or the solder connections there with the printed circuit board 14 are only subjected to shear forces.

The closure cover 40, which closes the indented portions of the base portion 8, can also be seen here.

Figure 10 shows a side sectional view through a second embodiment of a conductor terminal 1 in a state inserted into a circuit board 14. The spring-loaded terminal connection 3 of the conductor connection terminal 1 has, as in the first exemplary embodiment, a contact body formed from a sheet metal element and having a bottom section 8, side wall sections 9 projecting from the bottom section 8 and spaced apart from one another and solder connection contact tongues 4. The solder connection contact tongues 4 are from the plane of the bottom section 8, to which the leaf spring tongues 11 connect, are bent out and span a solder connection plane arranged offset to the level of the base section 8. It becomes clear that the conductor connection terminal 1 is in turn inserted into an opening in the printed circuit board 14, so that the solder connection level with the solder connection contact tongues 4 is the side of the circuit board 14 which is opposite to the conductor insertion side with the conductor insertion opening 5.

This level offset creates a free space for locking a closure cover 40.

In contrast to the first embodiment, the closure cover 40 has fingers 42a, 42b projecting perpendicularly from the cover plate 41 of the closure cover. Such a pair of such fingers 42a, 42b arranged at a distance from one another. These fingers 42a, 42b are adapted to the spring-loaded terminal connection 3 in such a way that they plunge into the indented area of the spring-loaded terminal connection 3 and bear against the connecting webs 50, which connect the base section 8 to the contact tongues 4. The connecting webs 50 delimit the indented area and are aligned transversely to the plane of the base section 8 and the plane spanned by the solder connection contact tongues 4.

It can be seen that latching lugs 57 are formed on the connecting webs 50, which, together with a latching contour of the respectively adjacent finger 42a, 42b, form a stop for latching the closure cover 40 on the spring-loaded terminal connection 30. The locking lugs 57 are formed in the illustrated embodiment from the sheet metal material of the spring-cage connection 3. For this purpose, material tabs are cut free from the sheet material and protruded obliquely from the plane of the connecting webs 50.

This is over Figure 11 more clearly recognizable. Figure 11 shows a perspective view of the basic structure of the spring clamp connection 3 from the bottom. It can essentially refer to the description of the spring-cage connection Figure 2 to get expelled. In this exemplary embodiment, however, there are no latching openings for latching the closure cover 40, but locking lugs 57 in the form of material tabs protruding out of the plane of the connecting webs 50 are provided. These form a stop for the locking contour of the closure cover 40.

Figure 12 shows a perspective view of the closure cover 40 of the spring-loaded terminal connection 3 Figure 10 . It is clear that a pair of opposing fingers 42a, 42b are arranged at a distance from each other for each spring-loaded terminal connection 3. These fingers 42a, 42b project transversely from the plane of the cover plate 41. In this exemplary embodiment, the latching contour of the fingers 42a, 42b for latching with the latching lugs 57 is in each case implemented by a depression 45 which is introduced into a finger 42a, 42b. For latching with a protruding latching lug 57 of the spring-loaded terminal connection 3, the latching contour must in any case have a stop surface which interacts with the latching lug 57 and does not necessarily have to be designed with a trough 45.

It can also be seen that cover tongues 43 of the cover plate 41 are present between two adjacent fingers 42a and 42b, respectively, which protrude at the level of the cover plate 41 and are released by slots 44 from the sections of the cover plate 41 which merge into the fingers 42a, 42b. These slots 44 serve to receive housing wall sections of the insulating material housing 2 and contribute to increasing the air and creepage distances between the spring-loaded terminal connection 3 and the outside and thus to improving the electrical insulation.

Figure 13 shows a perspective view of the underside of the insulating material housing 2. It can be seen that this insulating material housing 2 is divided into chambers by partition walls 46. In this case, receiving chambers spaced apart from one another by an empty chamber are provided for receiving a spring-loaded terminal connection in each case. The web-like remaining wall sections 47 on the upper edge of the intermediate walls 46 are for immersion in an associated slot 44 of the closure cover 40 is provided in each case. The closure cover 40 dips into the recessed area of the intermediate walls 46 in order to be flush with the plane of the underside of the insulating material housing 2.

It can also be seen that the receiving chambers for the spring-cage terminal connections 3 have depressions 48 towards the front and rear through which the soldering connection surfaces, i.e. the sections of the spring-loaded terminal connection 3 adjoining the connecting webs 50 are immersed.

In the exemplary embodiment shown, locking projections 49a protrude on both sides of the depressions. As shown, these can be part-circular. Other shapes are possible. A spring-loaded terminal connection 3 inserted into a receiving chamber is fixed in position with this locking projections 49a. For this purpose, the spring clamp connections 3 as in Figure 11 shown corresponding locking indentations 49b, into which the locking projections 49a dip.

Figure 14 shows a perspective view of the second embodiment of the conductor terminal 1 from the bottom. The insulating material housing 2 is equipped with spring-cage terminal connections 3, the soldering connection surfaces of which protrude from the insulating material housing 2. It becomes clear that the closure cover 40 is inserted flush in recesses in the insulating material housing 2, so that the fingers 42a, 42b protrude into the indented area of the spring-loaded terminal connections 3 and latch there with the spring-loaded terminal connections 3.

It can also be seen that the cover tongues 43, the intermediate chambers, the cover, in the case of web-like wall sections 47, protrude into the slots 44 between a cover tongue 43 and the section of the cover plate 41 which merges into a finger 42a, 42b. With this, the sealing cover 40 fixed in position and the air and creepage distances are optimized.

Figure 15 shows a perspective view of the conductor terminal 1 from Figure 14 from the top facing the back. At the back there are actuation openings 19 which lead to the actuation tabs 13 of a spring-loaded terminal connection 3.

Test openings 51 are optionally made on the upper side of the insulating material housing 2. Test pins can be inserted into the test openings 51 in order to measure the electrical potential located at a spring-loaded terminal connection 3. However, it is also conceivable that the test openings 51 are used as actuation openings.

It is also clear that the insulating material housing 2 has a collar 52, in particular on the front and rear. This collar 52 is provided for resting on the underside of a printed circuit board in order to place the conductor connection terminal 1 on a printed circuit board and to reduce the forces acting on the soldered connections at the soldered connection surfaces to the printed circuit board as much as possible.

Figure 16 shows the conductor terminal 1 Figure 15 from the front. It can be seen that the conductor insertion openings 5 are made on the front.

As in Figure 15 it is also clear here that the sealing cover 40 merges flush into the collar 52 of the insulating material housing 2, so that the collar 52 together with the sealing cover 40 covers the insulating material housing 2 on the underside.

Figure 17 shows the conductor terminal 1 Figure 10 in the side sectional view with additional actuating tool 20. The actuating tool 20 has a grip part 53, from which an actuating finger 24 projects. The actuating finger 24 is designed as a plate or rod-shaped element with a round or preferably angular cross section and is designed for insertion into an actuating opening 19. The actuating finger 24 then passes between two actuating tabs 13 of a spring-loaded terminal connection 3, in order in this way to press apart the leaf spring tongues 11, which are respectively connected to a pair of actuating tabs 13, and thus to open the clamping point formed by the leaf spring tongues 11 for clamping an electrical conductor.

For the rest, can refer to the explanations Figure 10 to get expelled. In any case, it becomes clear that the underside of the conductor connection terminal 1 is covered by the closure cover 40.

Figure 18 shows the second embodiment of the conductor terminal 1 according to Figure 14 now in two-pole embodiment. Here you can essentially refer to the explanations Figure 14 to get expelled. In this two-pole conductor connection terminal 1, two spring-loaded terminal connections 3, each spatially separated from one another by an intermediate intermediate chamber, are provided, each with associated conductor insertion openings 5 in the insulating-material housing 2.

Figure 19 shows an embodiment of this conductor terminal 1 in the single-pole variant. In this case, there is only a single spring-loaded terminal connection 3, which plunges into a receiving opening of the insulating material housing 2, which is covered by the closure cover 40.

Claims (19)

1. A conductor terminal (1) comprising an insulating material housing (2) and a spring-force terminal connection (3) having a contact body shaped from a sheet element with a base portion (8), lateral wall portions (9) protruding from the base portion (8) and spaced apart from one another, and solder connection contact tongues (4), wherein the solder connection contact tongues (4) are bent out of a plane of the base portion (8), and open up a solder connection plane that is arranged offset to the plane of the base portion (8) and form an indented region of the base portion (8), and wherein the base portion (8) with the lateral wall portions (9) forms a conductor receiving channel adapted to receive an electric conductor (27), wherein at least one leaf spring tongue (11) that has a clamping edge (12) for clamping the electric conductor (27) that is received in the conductor receiving channel, the at least one leaf spring tongue (11) protruding from the lateral wall portions; and wherein the insulating material housing (2) comprising on a front side a conductor insertion opening (5) that leads towards the conductor receiving channel, characterized in that a closure cover (40) is provided to latch into the indented region, wherein the depth of the intended region corresponds at least to the thickness of a conventional printed circuit board and wherein the conductor terminal can be inserted into an opening in the printed circuit board in such a way that the solder connection level is on the underside of the printed circuit board and the conductor insertion level is above the upper side of the printed circuit board.
2. The conductor terminal (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the closure cover (40) has latching tabs (56) that are adapted to latch into latching openings (17) in the contact body.
3. The conductor terminal (1) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the closure cover (40) has latching openings or latching edges that are adapted to latch with latching tabs (57) of the contact body.
4. The conductor terminal (1) according to one of the claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the closure cover (40) has fingers (42) protruding substantially perpendicularly from a cover plate (41) of the closure cover (40), wherein a pair (42a, 42b) of such fingers are arranged spaced apart and opposite each other and are adapted for immersion into the indented region for abutment adjacent against a connecting web (50) of the contact body that leads from the base portion (8) to a solder connection contact tongue (4).
5. The conductor terminal (1) according to claim 4, characterized in that the fingers (42a, 42b) each have a latching contour, wherein the latching contours are each formed to latch with a latching tab (57) of the contact body.
6. The conductor terminal (1) according to claim 4, characterized in that the fingers (42a, 42b) each have a latching tab which is formed to latch into a latching opening (17) of a respective adjacent connecting web (50) of the contact body.
7. The conductor terminal according to one of the claim 4 to 6, characterized in that, between two juxtaposed fingers (42a, 42b) of the closure cover (40), cover tongues (43) of the cover plate (41) protrude on the plane of the cover plate (41), wherein the cover tongues (43) remain free via slots (44) in the portions of the cover plate (41) that transition into the fingers (42a, 42b).
8. The conductor terminal (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the cover portion (18) of the insulating material housing (2), which is situated opposite the base portion (8), is completely closed on a side of the spring-force terminal (3) connection facing upwards away from the base portion (8) in a region adjacent to the lateral wall portions (9) and the leaf spring tongues (11) of the contact body, wherein actuating tabs (13) protrude from the leaf spring tongues (11) facing away from the base portion (8), wherein the insulating material housing (2) has on a back side an actuating opening (19) leading towards the actuating tabs (13), which is situated opposite the conductor insertion opening (5), and wherein the actuating opening (19) is delimited by the cover portion (18) of the insulating material housing (2) to form a guide channel.
9. The conductor terminal (1) according to claim 8, characterized in that the guide channel of the actuating opening (19) is formed by the cover portion (18) by spaced-apart lateral portions of the inner wall of the insulating material housing (2) and an opposing socket portion (21), which lies opposite to the cover portion (18).
10. The conductor terminal (1) according to claim 9, characterized in that the socket portion (21) is spaced apart from the base portion (8) of the spring-force terminal connection, to form a conductor receiving pocket (22).
11. The conductor terminal (1) according to one of the claims 8 to 10, characterized in that the guide channel ends immediately upstream of the actuating tabs (13).
12. The conductor terminal (1) according to one of the claims 8 to 11, characterized in that the actuating opening (19) extends from the back to the front side through the insulating material housing (2) and opens out at the front side, adjacent to the conductor insertion opening (5).
13. The conductor terminal (1) according to claim 12, characterized in that an actuating element (26) is slidably accommodated in the actuating opening (19), wherein the actuating element (26) has a protruding actuating portion (29) that is designed for the application of force on the actuating tabs (13) to open the clamping point formed by the clamping edges (12).
14. The conductor terminal (1) according to claim 13, characterized in that the actuating element (26) has a head portion (30) that is accessible from the back side of the insulating material housing (2) for applying the force, and a signal portion (32) that protrudes from the front side of the insulating material housing (2) when the spring-force terminal connection (3) is in an open state.
15. The conductor terminal (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that an indentation (6), which transitions into an actuating opening (19), is arranged on the cover portion (18) in a back region of the insulating material housing (2), which is located opposite the conductor insertion opening (5).
16. The conductor terminal (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the insulating material housing (2) has a plurality of juxtaposed conductor insertion openings (5), and wherein the conductor terminal (1) has a plurality of spring-force terminal connections (3) adjacently received in the insulating material housing (2) and are associated with a respective conductor insertion opening (5).
17. An assembly comprising a conductor terminal (1) according to one of the claims 8 to 14 and an actuating tool (20), characterized in that the actuating tool (20) having a holding portion (23) and an actuating finger (24) for insertion into the actuating opening (19) and for pushing apart the actuating tabs (13) to open a clamping point.
18. The assembly according to claim 17, characterized in that the holding portion (23) and the actuating finger (24) are at an angle to each other.
19. The assembly according to claim 17 or 18, characterized in that on the holding portion (23) a plurality of juxtaposed and spaced-apart actuating fingers (24) are provided for insertion into a respective associated actuating opening (19) of a plurality of actuating openings (19) of the insulating material housing (2) of the conductor terminal (1).

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