CN113497364A

CN113497364A - Wiring terminal and electronic equipment

Info

Publication number: CN113497364A
Application number: CN202110360298.7A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 凯文·贝格哈恩
Original assignee: Phoenix Contact GmbH and Co KG
Current assignee: Phoenix Contact GmbH and Co KG
Priority date: 2020-04-03
Filing date: 2021-04-02
Publication date: 2021-10-12
Anticipated expiration: 2041-04-02
Also published as: DE102021108316A1; CN113497364B

Abstract

The invention relates to a connecting terminal for connecting electrical conductors, comprising: a housing with an interior space; a current bar arranged in the interior of the housing, the current bar having a contact section with an upper side and a lower side opposite the upper side, the electrical conductor being clamped against the upper side in the connected state; a clamping spring arranged in the interior space of the housing, having an abutment leg and a clamping leg, the clamping leg being shiftable to an open position and a clamping position; and a pivotably mounted actuating element which projects into the interior of the housing and by means of which a pressure can be applied to the clamping legs in order to transfer the clamping legs from the clamping position into the open position, the housing having a guide contour which is formed in the interior of the housing and is used for pivotably mounting the actuating element, the actuating element sliding along the guide contour during a pivoting movement of the actuating element by means of a sliding contour formed thereon.

Description

Wiring terminal and electronic equipment

Technical Field

The invention relates to a terminal for connecting electrical conductors. The invention also relates to an electronic device having at least one such terminal.

Background

A terminal for connecting electrical conductors is known, for example, from DE 102011055919 a 1. The terminal has a housing, in the interior of which a current bar, a clamping spring for clamping the conductor against the current bar and an actuating element for actuating the clamping spring are arranged. The clamping spring is configured as a clamping arm spring and has a holding leg and a clamping leg. The clamping leg can be moved into a clamping position and a release position, wherein the actuating element can exert a force directly on the clamping leg in order to transfer the clamping leg from the clamping position into the open position.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention is based on the object of providing a terminal and an electronic device which are characterized by improved functionality.

According to the invention, this object is solved with the features of the independent claims. Advantageous embodiments and advantageous refinements of the invention are specified in the dependent claims.

The connecting terminal according to the invention has: a housing with an interior space; a current bar arranged in the interior of the housing, the current bar having a contact section with an upper side against which the electrical conductor is clamped in the connected state and a lower side opposite the upper side; a clamping spring arranged in the interior space of the housing, the clamping spring having an abutment leg and a clamping leg, wherein the clamping leg is shiftable to an open position and a clamping position; and a pivotably mounted actuating element which projects into the interior of the housing and by means of which a pressure can be applied to the clamping legs in order to transfer the clamping legs from the clamping position into the open position, wherein the housing has a guide contour which is formed in the interior of the housing and along which the actuating element slides during a pivoting movement of the actuating element by means of a sliding contour formed on the actuating element for pivotably mounting the actuating element.

The clamping spring is designed as a clamping arm spring having a clamping leg and a holding leg, wherein the clamping leg and the holding leg are connected to one another by an arc-shaped section. The actuating element interacts with the clamping spring such that the actuating element can directly exert a pressure force on the clamping legs in order to pivot the clamping legs at least from the clamping position into the open position. In this case, the actuating element can be pressed directly against the clamping leg. The clamping position is a position in which the clamping legs rest against the contact section of the current bar when no conductor is introduced, and clamp the conductor against the contact section of the current bar when the conductor is introduced. In the open position, the clamping leg is spaced apart from the contact section of the current bar, so that the conductor can be inserted into the gap or free space formed thereby between the clamping leg and the contact section or can be led out of it again. The actuating element is mounted pivotably, wherein the actuating element according to the invention does not have exactly a fixed pivot axis on which the actuating element is mounted pivotably, but rather the actuating element is mounted pivotably in a freely floating manner in the interior of the housing in order to be able to carry out a pivoting movement. For this purpose, a guide contour is formed in the interior of the housing, which can interact with a slide contour formed on the actuating element. The actuating element can thus slide or move with its sliding contour along the guide contour during the pivoting movement. The actuating element can be supported on the guide contour. The guide contour is preferably in a fixed position, so that the actuating element can be moved with its sliding contour relative to the guide contour. The guide profile is preferably part of the housing. By means of such a guidance of the actuating element during the pivoting movement of the actuating element, a reliable opening and closing of the connecting terminal can be achieved, whereby the functionality of the connecting terminal can be improved. Furthermore, such a guidance of the actuating element makes it possible to achieve easier handling for the user, as a result of which the functionality of the connecting terminal can likewise be improved.

The guide contour is preferably formed on a wall which delimits the interior of the housing. Thereby, the wall defining the inner space itself may directly constitute the guide profile. Therefore, no further elements and components for configuring the guide profile have to be provided. The configuration of the guide contour therefore does not require additional installation space, since the guide contour can be constructed by the existing wall of the housing.

The guide contour can be formed by at least two walls of the wall that are connected to one another, wherein the at least two walls can be arranged at an angle of α > 0 ° to one another. The guide contour thus preferably extends not only over one wall surface of the wall, but also over a plurality of wall surfaces of the wall. The walls are preferably arranged at an angle to one another in order to enable a targeted guidance of the actuating element during the pivoting movement. The angle α between two adjacent wall surfaces is preferably between 100 ° α 170 °, particularly preferably between 130 ° α 150 °. It is particularly preferred that the guide contour extends over three mutually adjoining wall surfaces of the wall. The first wall and the third wall are preferably oriented transversely to one another, wherein the second wall lying between the first wall and the third wall preferably extends at an angle of between 100 DEG and alpha and 170 DEG relative to the first wall and the third wall.

The actuating element can have at least one guide arm on which a sliding contour can be formed, wherein the sliding contour can then preferably be formed on an outer surface of the guide arm. The actuating element can project into the interior of the housing with the guide arm. The guide arm can be connected to a handle section, by means of which the actuating element can be actuated by a user in order to carry out a pivoting movement of the actuating element. The handle section is preferably arranged outside the inner space and outside the housing so that a user can grip it from the outside. The guide arm is preferably formed to be elongated. The sliding contour formed on the outer surface can form a rolling surface on which the guide arm and thus the actuating element can roll when the actuating element is pivoted.

Preferably, it can be provided that, at least in the open position of the clamping leg, the at least one guide arm is positioned such that it can be positioned directly adjacent to a conductor insertion well which is formed in the housing and opens into the interior of the housing, and can laterally delimit a conductor insertion region which is formed in the interior of the housing and adjoins the conductor insertion well. The guide arm can thereby form an extension of the conductor insertion well at least in the open position when the conductor to be connected is inserted into the interior of the housing, so that the conductor can be guided further laterally within the interior of the housing after exiting from the conductor insertion well, so that a lateral offset of the conductor and thus an incorrect insertion can be avoided. The guide arm can laterally delimit a free space formed between the clamping leg of the clamping spring and the contact section of the current bar, and form a guide wall or a limiting wall for the conductor into which the conductor to be connected is inserted. When the actuating element is moved pivotally to transfer the clamping legs from the clamping position into the open position, the guide arms of the actuating element are preferably guided in the interior of the housing in the direction of the entry of the conductor into the well, so that the guide arms are positioned directly in the region of this entry in the open position, so that a lateral limitation can be formed.

The guide arm is preferably guided and positioned in the interior of the housing in such a way that it can project at any point beyond the upper side of the contact section of the current bar, but also beyond the lower side thereof. The guide arm of the actuating element can thus extend below the contact section of the current bar. The guide arm can overlap the contact section of the current bar on the side. The guide arm can thereby form a lateral limitation and guidance at any time in the area of the contact of the conductor with the contact section of the current bar.

In order to be able to achieve a particularly stable and reliable guidance of the actuating element during the pivoting movement, the guide contour can extend below the lower side of the contact section of the current bar. This achieves a guidance of the actuating element up to below the contact section of the current bar. The guide of the actuating element along the guide contour can thus be carried out to the point of the actuating element which is furthest away from the handle section of the actuating element.

Preferably, the actuating element can have not only one guide arm, but also a first guide arm and a second guide arm, wherein the sliding contour can be formed on an outer surface of the first guide arm and on an outer surface of the second guide arm. The first guide arm and the second guide arm are preferably arranged parallel to each other. The two guide arms are preferably identically constructed, so that the sliding profiles on the two guide arms are also identically constructed. Thus, upon a pivoting movement of the actuating element, the guide arms can be guided symmetrically to one another along the guide contour. By means of the two guide arms, a particularly positionally stable and tilt-proof guidance of the actuating element is achieved during the pivoting movement.

The actuating element can have a pressure element, by means of which the actuating element can exert a pressure force on the clamping legs of the clamping spring, wherein the pressure element can be moved along the clamping legs when the clamping legs are transferred from the clamping position into the open position. The pressure element is preferably arranged at a distance from the sliding contour of the actuating element. The pressure element may be connected to the one or both guide arms. The actuation of the clamping legs of the clamping spring can be effected by means of a pressure element. The pressure element can be moved along the clamping leg during the pivoting movement of the actuating element, so that an abutment surface of the pressure element, with which the pressure element abuts against the clamping leg and with which the pressure element can exert a pressure on the clamping leg, can be moved along the length of the clamping leg when the clamping leg is moved into the open position and into the clamping position and can thus change its position relative to the clamping leg.

The pressure element may extend transversely to the at least one guide arm of the actuating element. If two guide arms are provided, the pressure element can extend between the two guide arms, so that the pressure element can constitute a connection between the two guide arms. The length of the pressure element preferably corresponds at least to the width of the clamping leg of the clamping spring.

In order to facilitate the handling of the terminal by the user, the actuating element can cooperate with the clamping legs of the clamping spring such that the actuating element can automatically remain in its position in the open position of the clamping legs. In order to achieve this, in the open position the contact surface of the pressure element can preferably be positioned at the clamping leg such that the pressure exerted by the contact surface on the clamping leg can act exactly opposite to the spring force exerted by the clamping leg of the clamping spring on the pressure element, so that the pressure can be compensated by the spring force.

The object is also achieved according to the invention by means of an electronic device having at least one connecting terminal which is designed and improved as described above.

Drawings

The invention is explained in detail below according to preferred embodiments with reference to the drawings.

In which is shown:

fig. 1 shows a schematic cross-sectional view of a connection terminal according to a first embodiment of the invention, with the clamping legs of the clamping spring in the clamping position,

fig. 2 shows a schematic cross-sectional view of the connection terminal shown in fig. 1, with the clamping legs of the clamping spring in the open position,

figure 3a shows a schematic view of an actuating element of the connection terminal shown in figure 1,

figure 3b shows another schematic view of the operating element shown in figure 3a,

figure 4 shows a schematic view of the arrangement of clamping spring, current bar and actuating element of the connecting terminal shown in figure 1,

fig. 5 shows a schematic view of the connection terminal shown in fig. 1, with the clamping leg of the clamping spring in the clamping position, an

Fig. 6 shows a schematic view of the terminal shown in fig. 5, with the clamping legs of the clamping spring in an open position.

Detailed Description

Fig. 1 and 2 show a cross-sectional view of the connection terminal 100. The connecting terminal 100 is used for connecting an electrical conductor 200, as is shown in fig. 6.

The terminal 100 has a housing 110, and the housing 110 can be made of an insulating material, such as plastic. The housing 110 has an inner space 111 in which the connection of the conductor 200 is made.

A current bar 112 is disposed in the inner space 111 of the case 110. The current bar 112 has a contact section 113, on which contact section 113 the conductor 200 to be connected can be clamped. The contact section 113 has an upper side 114 and an opposite lower side 115. In the connected state, the conductor 200 is placed on the upper side 114 of the contact section 113 and clamped against the upper side 114 of the contact section 113.

Furthermore, a clamping spring 116 is arranged in the inner space 111 of the housing 110. The clamping spring 116 is configured as a clamping arm spring. The clamping spring 116 has a holding leg 117 and a clamping leg 118, wherein the holding leg 117 is connected to the clamping leg 118 by an arc-shaped section 119. The retaining legs 117 are arranged in a fixed position. The holding leg 117 is supported on a section 120 of the current bar 112. By providing the current bar 112 with a connecting section 121 between the contact section 113 and the section 120, this section 120 of the current bar 112 is formed at a distance from the contact section 113 of the current bar 112. The section 120 is oriented parallel to the contact section 113, and the connecting section 121 extends transversely to the section 120 and the contact section 113. In cross section, the current bar 112 has a U-shape here.

The clamping leg 118 can be moved relative to the retaining leg 117, so that the clamping leg 118 can be moved into the clamping position shown in fig. 1 and into the open position shown in fig. 2.

For actuating the clamping leg 118 of the clamping spring 116, an actuating element 122 is provided, which is mounted pivotably. The actuating element 122 forms an actuating lever. The actuating element 122 extends into the interior space 111 of the housing 110. The actuating element 122 does not have a fixed axis of rotation, but rather the actuating element 122 is mounted in a floating manner in the interior 111 of the housing 110, so that the axis of rotation of the actuating element 122 is displaced during the pivoting movement of the actuating element 122.

For this purpose, the housing 110 has a guide contour 123 along which the actuating element 122 is guided and can be supported during its pivoting movement. The guide contour 123 is formed on a wall 124 of the housing 110 which delimits the interior space 111 of the housing 110. The guide profile 123 is thus constituted by the housing 110 itself.

In the embodiment shown here in fig. 1 and 2, the guide contour 123 is formed on three

interconnected walls

125, 126, 127 of the wall 124. The first wall 125 and the third wall 127, which do not directly adjoin one another, extend transversely to one another. The second wall 126 is arranged between the two

walls

125, 127 such that the second wall 126 connects the first wall 125 with the third wall 127. The first wall 125 extends at an angle α of about 140 ° with the second wall 126, and the third wall 127 extends at an angle α of about 130 ° with the second wall 126.

The guide profiles 123 extend above and below the contact section 113 of the current bar 112. The first wall 125 extends above the upper side 114 of the contact section 113. The second wall 125 extends above the upper side 114 and below the lower side 115 of the contact section 113. The third wall 127 extends below the lower side 115 of the contact section 113.

The actuating element 122 has a sliding contour 128, with which sliding contour 128 the actuating element 122 can be moved along or slid along the guide contour 123 of the housing 110 when pivoting.

Fig. 3a and 3b show an actuating element 122 as used in the connecting terminal 100 of fig. 1 and 2. The handling element 122 comprises a handle section 129, by means of which handle section 129 a user can grip and handle the handling element 122. The handle section 129 protrudes from the housing 110. Two

guide arms

130a, 130b are connected to the handle section 129, with which the actuating element 122 extends into the interior space 111 of the housing 110. The two guide

arms

130a, 130b are configured in the same shape. The two guide

arms

130a, 130b are arranged spaced apart from one another and extend parallel to one another. A sliding contour 128, with which the actuating element 122 can be guided along the guide contour 123 of the housing 110, is formed on both guide

arms

130a, 130 b. The sliding profiles 128 are configured on the

outer surfaces

131a, 131b of the

guide arms

130a, 130b, respectively. The two guide

arms

130a, 130b are of elongate design. The two guide

arms

130a, 130b have the same length. The two guide

arms

130a, 130b can be moved with their sliding profiles 128 simultaneously along or along the guide profiles 123 of the housing 110. The guide profile 123 preferably extends over a large part of the width of the inner space 111 of the housing 110, so that the sliding profiles 128 of the two

guide arms

130a, 130b can slide along and be supported on one and the same guide profile 123.

The two guide

arms

130a, 130b are designed to be long enough that they extend below the underside 115 of the contact section 113 of the current bar 112. The two guide

arms

130a, 130b thus pass laterally by the contact section 113, so that they are configured to laterally delimit the conductor 200 introduced into the interior 111. The two guide

arms

130a, 130b also enclose the clamping leg 118 of the clamping spring 116 between them, as can also be seen in particular in fig. 4. In particular in the open position of the clamping leg 118, the two

guide arms

130a, 130b can thus laterally delimit the free space formed between the clamping leg 118 and the contact section 113, into which the conductor 200 is introduced.

As can be seen from fig. 1 and 2, a conductor feed well 132 is formed in the housing 110, which leads into the interior 111 of the housing 110. The conductor 200 to be connected may be introduced into the inner space 111 of the housing 110 through the conductor introduction well 132.

As can be seen in fig. 2, the

guide arms

130a, 130b are positioned in the open position of the clamping legs 118 in such a way that they are positioned directly on the entry opening 133 of the conductor entry well 132 into the interior 111 of the housing 110, so that the

guide arms

130a, 130b form an extension of the conductor entry well 132 and thus laterally delimit a conductor entry region, which is formed in the interior 111 of the housing 110 and adjoins the conductor entry well 132, in order to avoid incorrect plugging of the conductor 200.

As can be seen in fig. 4, the

guide arms

130a, 130b of the actuating element 122 are designed to be so long that they are guided laterally not only via the contact section 113 of the current bar 112 and the clamping leg 118 of the clamping spring 116, but also via the holding leg 117 of the clamping spring 116.

For actuating the clamping legs 118 of the clamping spring 116, the actuating element 122 has a pressure element 134, via which the actuating element 122 can directly exert a pressure force D on the clamping legs 118 in order to transfer the clamping legs 118 from the clamping position into the open position. As can be seen in fig. 3a and 3b, a pressure element 134 extends between the two

guide arms

130a, 130 b. The pressure element 134 extends with its length transverse to the length of the

guide arms

130a, 130 b. The pressure element 134 has the shape of a beam. The pressure element 134 is attached to the

guide arms

130a, 130b approximately midway along the length of the

guide arms

130a, 130 b.

The pressure element 134 has an abutment surface 135, the pressure element 134 moving along or sliding along the clamping leg 118 when the clamping leg 118 is transferred from the clamping position to the open position and back, as can be seen in fig. 1 and 2.

In the open position, the contact surface 135 of the pressure element 134 is positioned on the clamping leg 118 in such a way that the pressure force D exerted by the contact surface 135 on the clamping leg 118 acts exactly opposite the spring force F exerted by the clamping leg 118 of the clamping spring 116 on the pressure element 134, so that the pressure force D can be compensated by the spring force F. The actuating element 122 can thereby be automatically retained in the position and the clamping legs 118 can be automatically held in the open position without the user having to hold the actuating element 122 in the position.

Fig. 5 and 6 show the connecting terminal 100 in an undivided illustration. In fig. 5, the actuating element 122 is pivoted such that the clamping leg 118 is in the clamping position. For introducing the conductor 200 to be connected, as shown in fig. 6, the actuating element 122 is pivoted upward, whereby the actuating element 122 exerts a pressure D on the clamping leg 118 to pivot the clamping leg 118 into the open position and to hold it in this open position.

Description of the reference numerals

100 terminal

110 casing

111 inner space

112 current bar

113 contact segment

114 upper side

115 lower side

116 clamping spring

117 holding leg

118 clamping leg

119 arc segment

120 segment

121 connecting section

122 operating element

123 guide profile

124 wall

125 wall surface

126 wall surface

127 wall surface

128 sliding profile

129 handle segment

130a, 130b guide arm

131a, 131b outer surface

132 conductor lead-in well

133 inlet

134 pressure element

135 abutting surface

200 conductor

Angle alpha

D pressure

F spring force

Claims

1. A terminal (100) for connecting an electrical conductor (200), comprising:

-a housing (110) with an inner space (111),

a current bar (112) arranged in the interior space (111) of the housing (110), the current bar having a contact section (113) with an upper side (114) relative to which an electrical conductor (200) is clamped in the connected state and a lower side (115) opposite the upper side (114),

-a clamping spring (116) arranged in the interior space (111) of the housing (110), the clamping spring having an abutment leg (117) and a clamping leg (118), wherein the clamping leg (118) is shiftable into an open position and a clamping position, and

a pivotably mounted actuating element (122) which projects into the interior (111) of the housing (110) and by means of which a pressure force (D) can be applied to the clamping legs (118) in order to transfer the clamping legs (118) from the clamping position into the open position,

-wherein the housing (110) has a guide contour (123) which is formed in the interior (111) of the housing (110) and along which the actuating element (122) slides during a pivoting movement of the actuating element (112) by means of a sliding contour (128) which is formed on the actuating element (122), for pivotably supporting the actuating element (122).

2. The connection terminal (100) according to claim 1, characterized in that the guide contour (123) is configured on a wall (124) delimiting the interior space (111) of the housing (110).

3. The connection terminal (100) according to claim 2, characterized in that the guide contour (123) is formed by at least two walls (125, 126, 127) of the wall (124) that are connected to one another, wherein the at least two walls (125, 126, 127) are arranged at an angle of α > 0 ° to one another.

4. The connection terminal (100) according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the actuating element (122) has at least one guide arm (130a, 130b) on which the sliding contour (128) is formed, wherein the sliding contour (128) is formed on an outer surface (131a, 131b) of the guide arm (130a, 130 b).

5. The connection terminal (100) according to claim 4, characterized in that, at least in the open position of the clamping leg (118), the at least one guide arm (130a, 130b) is positioned such that it is positioned directly adjacent to a conductor insertion well (132) which is formed in the housing (110) and opens into the interior (111) of the housing (110), and laterally delimits a conductor insertion region which is formed in the interior (111) of the housing (110) and adjoins the conductor insertion well (132).

6. The connection terminal (100) according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that the at least one guide arm (130a, 130b) projects at least partially beyond the upper side (114) and the lower side (115) of the contact section (113) of the current bar (112).

7. The connection terminal (100) according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the guide contour (123) extends below a lower side (115) of the contact section (113) of the current bar (112).

8. The connection terminal (100) according to one of claims 4 to 7, characterized in that the actuating element (122) has a first guide arm (130a) and a second guide arm (130b), wherein the sliding contour (128) is formed on an outer surface (131a) of the first guide arm (130a) and on an outer surface (131b) of the second guide arm (130b), wherein the first guide arm (130a) and the second guide arm (130b) are arranged parallel to one another.

9. The connection terminal (100) according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the actuating element (122) has a pressure element (134), by means of which the actuating element (122) exerts a pressure force (D) on the clamping leg (118), wherein the pressure element (134) moves along the clamping leg (118) when the clamping leg (118) is transferred from the clamping position into the open position.

10. The connection terminal (100) according to claim 9, characterized in that the pressure element (134) extends transversely to the at least one guide arm (130a, 130b) of the actuating element (122).

11. The connection terminal (100) according to one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that the actuating element (122) interacts with the clamping leg (118) in such a way that the actuating element (122) automatically remains in its position in the open position of the clamping leg (118).

12. Electronic device having at least one connection terminal (100) according to one of claims 1 to 11.