CN214203997U

CN214203997U - Connecting terminal

Info

Publication number: CN214203997U
Application number: CN202021449346.7U
Authority: CN
Inventors: 亨利·施托尔策
Original assignee: Wago Verwaltungs GmbH
Current assignee: Wago Verwaltungs GmbH
Priority date: 2019-07-26
Filing date: 2020-07-21
Publication date: 2021-09-14
Anticipated expiration: 2030-07-21
Also published as: DE102019120306A1; DE102019120306B4

Abstract

A terminal for connecting at least one electrical line by means of a spring clip, wherein the terminal has a housing and electrical contacts arranged at least predominantly in the housing, wherein the electrical contact has a busbar component with a frame-shaped contact frame with a recess and at least one clamping spring which is suspended in the recess of the contact frame, wherein a clamping point for the electrical conductor to be clamped is formed between the clamping leg of the clamping spring and the conductor contact section of the busbar component, wherein the housing has at least one wire introduction opening and a wire introduction channel connected to the wire introduction opening, through the conductor insertion channel, the electrical conductor can be inserted into the housing along the conductor insertion direction and guided towards the clamping point.

Description

Connecting terminal

Technical Field

The invention relates to a connecting terminal for connecting at least one electrical conductor by means of a spring clip. Accordingly, the present invention relates to the field of spring clip technology for connecting electrical leads.

Background

Terminals in the spring clip technology are known, for example, from patent EP 3038213B 1.

Disclosure of Invention

The utility model discloses based on following purpose, provide a further modified binding post.

This object is achieved by a terminal for connecting at least one electrical line by means of a spring clip, wherein the terminal has a housing and an electrical contact which is arranged at least predominantly within the housing, wherein the electrical contact has a busbar component which has a contact frame which is shaped like a frame and has a recess and at least one clamping spring which is suspended in the recess of the contact frame, wherein a clamping point for the electrical line to be clamped is formed between a clamping leg of the clamping spring and a line contact section of the busbar component, wherein the housing has at least one line insertion opening through which the electrical line can be introduced into the housing in a line insertion direction and can be guided towards the clamping point, and a line insertion channel which is connected to the line insertion opening. The terminal has a basic structure which is particularly suitable for compact designs, for example, terminals of particularly flat design. The connecting terminal can furthermore be used universally and designed differently for a plurality of applications. This is possible, for example, by: according to one embodiment, the connection terminal can have a different number of electrical contacts, so that the connection terminal can be designed as a single-pole or multi-pole connection terminal. The individual electrical contacts can be electrically connected to one another or electrically separated from one another. In the case of electrically connecting the contacts to one another, the contacts can each have their own busbar component or a common busbar component.

The electrical lines can be guided in a targeted manner to the clamping points by means of the line feed channels. This allows a user to easily operate the connection terminal. The conductor leadthrough can be delimited by a side wall. The side wall can be made of the material of the housing of the terminal, for example an insulating material.

The electrical contact can be designed as an in-line contact, wherein an electrical line, for example a single electrical line, with sufficient rigidity can be inserted into the clamping point without an additional manually actuated clamping spring. In order to release the electrical line from the clamping point, it is then usually necessary to manually actuate the clamping spring, for example by means of an external tool or an actuating element of the connecting terminal.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the wire insertion channel has at least one funnel-shaped section, which is formed by funnel-shaped side wall sections of the wire insertion channel that are arranged obliquely with respect to the wire insertion direction. The side wall section is advantageously formed integrally with the housing and is thus an integral part of the housing. The funnel-shaped section thus forms a line insertion funnel, by means of which the guidance of the electrical line through the line insertion channel to the clamping point can be further optimized and can be designed more easily for the user. The user can almost to some extent say "blindly" find the clamping point.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that at least one part of the funnel-shaped side wall section is arranged offset in the wire insertion direction from at least one other part of the funnel-shaped side wall section, so that the funnel-shaped side wall section is asymmetrical with respect to a center axis of the wire insertion channel running in the wire insertion direction. The central axis is an imaginary axis which runs centrally through the line feed channel. This further improves the feasibility of designing the connecting terminal in a flat configuration. The installation space below a part of the funnel-shaped section can thus be used, for example, for arranging further elements of the terminal, for example for clamping springs and/or a part of the external connection contacts.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the conductor contact section is designed as a web that is bent and extended out of the material of the busbar component. In this way, the busbar components can provide a good contact surface for the electrical lines, so that large currents can also be transmitted with low resistance. The connecting plate is formed in one piece with the busbar arrangement, which has the following advantages: the manufacture and installation of the connecting terminal are simplified.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the connecting plate extends obliquely to the line insertion direction and/or away from the contact frame in the line insertion direction. This allows a secure fixation of the electrical conductor at the clamping site. The connecting plate can be oriented at an acute angle to the lead-in direction, for example at an angle of between 10 and 40 degrees. The connecting plate can in principle extend away from the contact frame in the conductor insertion direction, which means that the connecting plate does not extend away from the contact frame counter to the conductor insertion direction. This facilitates the design of the contact as an in-line connector.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the connecting terminal extends in the height direction from the underside of the housing towards the upper side of the housing, wherein at least one functional element of the connecting terminal is arranged on the underside and/or the upper side of the housing and/or is accessible from the outside. The terms "below" and "above" in relation to the housing used hereinafter always refer to the lower and upper sides of the housing as explained before. By arranging at least one functional element of the connecting terminal in this way, these sides can be used to perform additional functions of the connecting terminal in addition to clamping the electrical conductor. The at least one functional element of the connection terminal can be designed differently depending on the type of connection terminal, for example as an inspection opening, an operating element and/or an external connection. The external terminal can be configured as a circuit board terminal, for example, when the connection terminal is configured as a circuit board terminal. The contacts of the connection terminals can be connected to an electrical component located outside the housing via external connections.

The line insertion opening can in particular be located on a housing side of the housing, which is different from the lower side and the upper side of the housing, for example on the front side. The wire insertion direction can then run substantially perpendicular to the height direction of the connection terminal.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the clamping leg, which is oriented obliquely to the wire insertion direction, has a section, which overlaps at least a part of the funnel-shaped side wall section of the wire insertion channel, viewed in the height direction of the connecting terminal and/or in the wire insertion direction. In this way, the clamping spring can be mounted staggered or overlapping at least a part of the conductor lead-in channel, which allows the terminal to be constructed in a particularly flat configuration.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the overlapping sections of the clamping legs are at least 10% of the total length of the clamping legs. Accordingly, the main part of the clamping leg is arranged in a space-saving manner overlapping the line lead-in channel, for example below the funnel-shaped side wall section. The overlapping sections of the clamping legs can be oriented at an angle of 30 to 60 degrees, in particular at an angle of 40 to 50 degrees, relative to the wire insertion direction, for example.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the overlapping section of the clamping leg extends at least over a substantial part of its longitudinal extension substantially parallel to the part of the funnel-shaped side wall section of the conductor insertion channel which overlaps the overlapping section of the clamping leg. This is also necessary for space-saving mounting of the clamping spring in the housing. The description of the position of the clamping leg or of a part of the clamping leg relative to the other components of the terminal relates to the following: the clamping legs are not deflected manually and no electrical conductor is clamped on the clamping points. In this case, the clamping leg can rest against the conductor contact region of the busbar arrangement, for example, via a clamping edge.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the clamping spring has a contact leg and a spring bow, wherein the contact leg is connected to the clamping leg via the spring bow. This allows a simple and compact design of the clamping spring. In general, the clamping spring can be formed substantially in a U-shape or V-shape in side view.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the contact leg is fixed to the contact frame, wherein the part of the contact leg, by means of which the contact leg is fixed to the contact frame, is arranged in the height direction of the terminal block at a height that is lower than the height of the side wall of the conductor insertion channel that is located lowermost in the height direction or at the most equal to said height. This is also necessary for a compact design of the terminal in a flat configuration. The contact leg can rest, for example, against a side of the recess of the contact frame opposite the wire contact section. In order to fix the contact leg on the contact frame, the contact leg can have a tapering region at which the width of the contact leg decreases. By means of this tapering, the contact leg can hang or hook into the recess of the contact frame.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the contact leg is bent. The bending of the contact leg can be designed in particular such that its outer side is oriented toward the clamping leg. The contact leg can for example extend from the spring bow first toward the clamping leg and then away from the clamping leg after bending. This allows the clamping spring to be advantageously fixed on the contact frame, while the clamping spring is mounted in the housing in a space-saving manner. Furthermore, the outer side of the fold which points toward the clamping leg can also serve as a stop and, in accordance therewith, as an overload protection for the clamping leg. Accordingly, the clamping leg cannot be deflected any further up to the fold, against which it strikes at maximum deflection.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the at least one first partial section of the contact leg extends substantially parallel to the clamping leg, in particular substantially parallel to the overlapping sections of the clamping leg. The substantially parallel extending subsections of the contact legs can be sections which are connected directly to the spring bow of the clamping spring, for example.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the at least one second partial section of the contact leg is arranged substantially parallel to the line insertion direction. This second partial section of the contact leg can be, for example, a section which is arranged remote from the spring bow, for example, a part of the contact leg which comprises its free end. The contact leg can transition from the first subsection to the second subsection via a bend. According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the clamping spring is fastened to the contact frame by means of the second partial section of the contact leg. The statement "substantially parallel" includes, for example, exact parallelism and deviations of up to +/-25 degrees from exact parallelism.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the spring bracket is arranged substantially below the line feed channel, viewed in the height direction. This allows a space-saving installation of a part of the clamping spring, which is also necessary for terminals of flat design and of short design in the direction of the lead-in.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the housing has an inspection opening and an inspection channel connected to the inspection opening, through which an inspection pin for performing an electrical inspection can be brought into contact with the contact of the connecting terminal. This allows electrical testing to be carried out on the connection terminal simply by means of the test pin. The inspection opening can be provided, for example, on the upper side of the housing and forms one of the above-described functional elements of the connecting terminal in accordance therewith.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the inspection section of the busbar arrangement extends into the inspection channel. Thereby, electrical contact to the contacts of the wire terminals is simplified when performing electrical inspection. Furthermore, the construction of the terminal is simplified overall, since no additional electrical component is required for electrically contacting the test pin. For this purpose, the busbar component can be used directly.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, at least one part of the side wall of the inspection channel is arranged obliquely to the height direction of the connecting terminal. In this way, a guide for the inspection pin is provided, for example for guiding the inspection pin towards the inspection section of the busbar component. This simplifies the operation of the terminal when electrical inspection is performed. The inspection section can provide an inspection surface on which inspection pins for performing electrical inspection are held. The inspection surface can be arranged at least substantially perpendicular to the upper side of the housing. The inspection pin can be advantageously guided ergonomically to the vertical inspection surface by means of the inclined side walls of the inspection channel.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the connection terminal is designed as a printed circuit board terminal which is designed for mounting on a printed circuit board by means of the underside of the housing, wherein the connection terminal has at least one printed circuit board terminal which is electrically connected to the contact and can be brought into electrical contact with the underside of the housing. In this way, the circuit board can be equipped with an advantageous spring force connection technology in a simple manner by means of the connection terminal according to the invention. The electrically contactable circuit board terminals form the outer terminals of the connecting terminals. The circuit board connection can be designed, for example, as a contact pin, a soldered contact pin and/or an SMD soldered contact projecting from the housing.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the circuit board connection is formed integrally with the busbar arrangement. The production and assembly of the connecting terminal is thereby further simplified. The contact is generally formed here from only two parts, namely the busbar component and the clamping spring.

The actuation of the clamping spring, in particular the clamping legs, to open the clamping point can also be carried out by an external tool, for example a screwdriver. For this purpose, the housing of the connection terminal can have an opening through which a tool can be introduced. Such an external tool is not considered to be part of the connection terminal here.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the terminal has a separate actuating element for actuating the clamping spring, wherein the clamping point can be opened by a partial deflection of the clamping spring by actuating the actuating element. This has the following advantages: no external tools are required to operate the clamping spring. Accordingly, the operating element is always available, since it is part of the connecting terminal. The operating element can be operated directly manually or via a tool, for example.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the actuating element is designed as a pressing element which is accessible on the upper side of the housing of the connecting terminal. In this way, the operating element can form a further functional element of the connecting terminal. Such a press can be operated in a simple manner by simply applying pressure to the press, either manually or by means of a tool. The pressing element can be mounted in the housing in a linearly movable and/or arcuately movable manner, for example.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the clamping spring has at least one actuating lug which is arranged on the clamping leg and which can be acted upon by the actuating element during manual actuation, so that the clamping leg can be deflected. This allows an advantageous transmission of force from the operating element to the clamping leg. The at least one actuating web can be designed by its design such that the force transmission takes place with low wear, so that a large number of actuating operations are possible. The actuating lug can be molded directly on the clamping leg, i.e. formed in one piece from the material of the clamping spring.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the clamping leg is fork-shaped at its free end and has a central clamping region for the secure clamping of the electrical line, wherein the clamping region is delimited on both sides by an actuating web, which projects out of the clamping region. This has the advantage that the operating connection plate, which delimits the clamping region on both sides, can at the same time form a lead-in aid for the electrical lines, which is very advantageous in particular in the case of an in-line connector. The electrical line is then guided not only via a section of the line feed channel, but also up to the end of the feed movement, i.e. in the vicinity of the clamping point, additionally laterally as well as by the actuating web. The operating webs arranged on both sides of the clamping area have the following further advantages: a symmetrical mechanical loading of the clamping leg can be performed via the actuating element, so that disadvantageous mechanical loads and correspondingly a twisting of the clamping leg can be avoided. The clamping region can have, for example, a clamping edge, by means of which the electrical line can be clamped securely. In this case, the actuating element can have its own actuating ram for each of the two actuating webs, which are preferably arranged laterally and are connected to one another via the loading region in one piece. The actuating element is thus substantially U-shaped, so that in the deflected state of the actuating region, a receiving space for the electrical lines to be introduced is provided between the lateral actuating ram and the application region.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the housing is formed at least in two parts from a housing upper part and a housing lower part. This allows simple manufacture and mounting of the terminal. The housing can be designed in a two-part manner, i.e., with no more than two housing parts. Here, the housing upper part can form all or at least a major part of the upper side of the housing, and the housing lower part can form all or at least a major part of the lower side of the housing.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the housing lower part has at least one spring bow bearing region for supporting the spring bow of the clamping spring, on which the spring bow is arranged at least in certain operating conditions of the terminal. This has the following advantages: the clamping spring can be additionally supported by a part of the housing, in particular the spring bow bearing region, and correspondingly relieved of load.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the housing lower part has at least one bearing section for bearing a circuit board connection, in particular a bearing section extending obliquely to the direction of insertion of the line. This allows a simple fixing of the electrical contacts, in particular of the busbar arrangement, in the housing. The housing lower part can in particular have two opposite bearing segments arranged at an angle to one another, which are adjacent to one another, so that a double-pitched roof-like design of the bearing segments is formed in a side view. In this way, alternative support possibilities for supporting the circuit board connections exist, in particular in the case of a multi-pole terminal having circuit board connections bent in an alternating manner.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the housing lower part has at least one stop, by means of which the maximum actuating movement of the actuating element is limited. In this way, the housing lower part also has the additional function of limiting the operating movement of the operating element. Thereby also protecting the clamping spring against overload.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the housing lower part has at least one contact leg bearing region for bearing at least one part of a contact leg, in particular a support web projecting laterally on the contact leg. The contact leg can thereby be additionally fixed in the housing. In particular, the contact leg can be prevented from twisting by bearing a support web projecting laterally from the contact leg on the contact leg bearing region. The contact leg support regions are advantageously designed as intermediate wall sections of the housing lower part, wherein between the intermediate wall sections a receiving space for a circuit board connection bent in the wire insertion direction is provided.

In terms of production technology, the housing with the housing lower part and the housing upper part can be provided, for example, as an initially one-piece arrangement of plastic parts, for example such that the housing lower part and the housing upper part are connected to one another via a film hinge. The housing lower part can be pivoted via the film hinge from below into a recess provided for this purpose in the housing upper part. The film hinge can then be detached when the connection terminal has been manufactured.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the connection terminal in the housing has a plurality of contacts arranged next to one another, which have corresponding external connections accessible from outside the housing, which are arranged at a defined line distance (raterma β). In this way, for example, a multipolar connection terminal with a predetermined pitch can be provided, for example in the form of a circuit board terminal, as is customary in electrical engineering.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the connecting terminal has a structural height which is at most twice the line spacing. In this way, the terminal can also be realized in a particularly flat design. If the line spacing is, for example, 3.5mm, the connecting terminals have a structural height of a maximum of 7 mm.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that adjacent external connections are arranged offset to one another. This allows a particularly reliable fixing of the terminal to the electrical component via the electrical connection of the external terminal to the electrical component, wherein advantageously the required air gap and creepage distance can be followed simultaneously in a simple manner.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the contact frame is arranged substantially perpendicular to the lead-in direction. This is also beneficial for the design of the contact as an in-line connector.

In the context of the present invention, the indefinite article "a" should not be understood as a digital word. That is, if a component is referred to, this should be interpreted in the meaning of "at least one component". The angular specification refers to a circular dimension of 360 degrees (360 °), as long as the angular specification is in degrees.

Drawings

The invention will be explained in detail below with reference to the figures according to embodiments. The figures show:

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a terminal, an

Fig. 2 shows a partial cross-sectional view of the connection terminal according to fig. 1, an

Fig. 3 shows an electrical contact of the connection terminal according to fig. 1 and 2, and

fig. 4 shows a lateral cross-sectional view of the connecting terminal, and.

Fig. 5 shows a cross-sectional view of the connection terminal in a section plane S as shown in fig. 4

The reference numerals used in the drawings have the following relevance:

1 connecting terminal

2 casing

3 bus bar member

4 clamping spring

5 operating element

8 upper side

9 lower side

10 a part of the side wall

11 stop piece

12 spring support area

13 contact leg support area

14 spring bow support area

15 operating surface

20 lead wire inlet

21 lead-in channel

23 inspection opening

24 inspection channel

25 support section

26 upper part of the housing

27 lower housing part

28 side wall section

29 hollow part

30 frame part

31 wire contact section

32 inspection section

33, 34 external connection

39 hollow part

40 second sub-section of contact leg

41 first sub-section of a contact leg

42 spring bow

43 clamping leg

44 clamping area

45 operation connecting plate

46 support connecting plate

47 tapered part

50 load region

51 operating push rod

55 through hole

L wire lead-in direction

H height direction

B width direction

Detailed Description

The connecting terminal 1 which can be seen in fig. 1 is designed as a circuit board terminal. The terminal 1 has a housing 2. The housing 2 made of electrically insulating plastic has a lower side 9 and an upper side 8. The terminal 1 is designed to be mounted on a circuit board by means of its underside 9. The housing 2 extends from a lower side 9 to an upper side 8 in the height direction H.

The housing 2 has a plurality of wire introduction openings 20 on the front side, to which wire introduction channels 21 are connected. The conductor insertion channel 21 is bounded on the circumferential side by a side wall which is formed from the material of the housing 2. The conductor insertion openings 20 together with the conductor insertion channels 21 define a respective conductor insertion direction L in which a respective electrical conductor can be guided through the conductor insertion openings 20 and the conductor insertion channels 21 to a clamping location at which the electrical conductor can be clamped securely.

Fig. 1 shows a three-pole terminal 1 by way of example, i.e. three contacts and correspondingly three conductor insertion openings 20 and conductor insertion channels 21. The housing 2 has a corresponding inspection opening 23 on the upper side 8, to which an inspection channel 24 is connected. Behind the inspection opening 23, the housing 8 has a recess on the upper side 8, viewed in the wire insertion direction L, via which the actuating element 5 is accessible, which forms a means for actuating the clamping spring 4 arranged in the housing 2. The terminal 1 can also have more or less contacts than the three mentioned contacts. Accordingly, the connecting terminals then extend more or less in the width direction B. The width direction B runs perpendicular to the conductor lead-in direction L and the height direction H.

In order to electrically contact the contacts of the printed circuit board, the terminal 1 has an outer terminal 34 on the underside 9, which in this case is designed as a projecting contact pin.

It can also be seen that the housing 2 has an operating surface 15 which is arranged on the outside of the housing 2 and which facilitates the actual handling of the terminal 1, for example in the case of automatic mounting on a circuit board. The operating surface 15 can thus, for example, grasp the terminals by means of a suction gripper. The actuating surface can be designed in particular as a surface without through-holes and/or without elevations and depressions, for example as a flat surface.

The operating surface 15 can in particular be arranged on the upper side 8 of the housing, for example in such a way that the operating surface 15 is part of the upper housing part 26. The operating surface 15 can be provided slightly lower (deeper) than the remaining surface of the housing side on which the operating surface 15 is provided. The operating surface 15 can extend, for example, in the region between the wire introduction opening 20 and the inspection opening 23. The transition of the housing surface from the actuating surface 15 to the upper region can be formed, for example, stepwise and/or in a continuous transition (without steps), for example in a transition extending obliquely to the actuating surface 15. The inspection opening 23 can extend at least partially into said transition region between the operating surface 15 and the adjacent higher housing surface. This simplifies the insertion of an inspection pin, which can be inserted into the inspection channel 24 over a wide range at a freely selectable insertion angle in cooperation with the likewise obliquely extending part 10 of the side wall of the inspection channel 24.

Fig. 2 shows the connection terminal 1 in a view similar to fig. 1, wherein the connection terminal 1 is shown in section in the right-hand side part, so that the electrical contact with the busbar arrangement 3 and the clamping spring 4 can be seen. Furthermore, further details of the inspection opening 23 and of the operating element 5 can be seen, which will be explained in more detail below with reference to further drawings.

Fig. 3 shows an exemplary contact of the terminal 1 in a separate view. The busbar component 3 of the contact has a contact frame 30 which surrounds the recess 39 in a frame-like manner on the circumferential side. In the upper region of the contact frame 30 or the busbar arrangement 3, there is a wire contact section 31 which is designed as an (austestellt) bent connecting plate which is extended out of the material of the busbar arrangement 3. Furthermore, the busbar component 3 has an inspection section 32 above the line contact section 31, which inspection section is intended to be contacted by means of an inspection pin. A bearing surface for the clamping spring 4 is formed in the contact frame 30 at a region opposite the wire contact section 31. To which

external connections

33, 34 are connected, which can be formed in one piece with the busbar components 3. The

outer joints

33, 34 start with a part 33 bent obliquely with respect to the contact frame 30 and a part 34 connected thereto which projects from the housing 2. The portion 34 of the outer joint 33, 34 is bent back relative to the portion 33 and can, for example, run substantially parallel to the extension of the contact frame 30.

The clamping spring 4 has a clamping leg 43, a spring bow 42 connected to the clamping leg 43 and

contact legs

40, 41 connected to the spring bow 42. The clamping legs 43 serve to clamp the electrical conductor to the conductor contact sections 31. For this purpose, the clamping leg 43 has a clamping region 44 on the free end, which can have a clamping edge. The clamping region 44 is bounded on both sides by an actuating web 45 which projects beyond the clamping region 44. In this way, the clamping leg 43 is shaped like a fork at its free end. The

contact legs

40, 41 serve as counter-supports for the clamping force exerted by the clamping legs 43. Via the

contact legs

40, 41, the clamping spring 4 is supported on the contact frame 30. On the

contact legs

40, 41, near the free ends, laterally projecting support webs 46 are provided, whose function will be discussed in detail later.

Fig. 4 shows the terminal 1 with the contacts 3, 4 mounted in the housing 2. It can be seen that the wire insertion channel 21, starting from the wire insertion opening 20, first has at least substantially parallel side walls and then transitions into a funnel-shaped section which is formed by the funnel-shaped

side wall sections

28, 29. The funnel-shaped

side wall sections

28, 29 are accordingly arranged obliquely to the wire insertion direction L. It is also seen that at least one part of the funnel-shaped

side wall sections

28, 29 is arranged offset in the wire insertion direction L from at least one further part of the funnel-shaped

side wall sections

28, 29. Thus, the side wall section 29 can be arranged, for example, behind the side wall section 28, viewed in the wire lead-in direction L. By means of the side wall section 28 thus advanced relative to the side wall section 29, additional installation space is created below this side wall section 28, which can be used for installing at least a part of the clamping spring 4. Thus, for example, a spring clip 42 and a part of the clamping leg 43 are arranged below the side wall section 28. It is also seen that the clamping leg 43, viewed in the height direction H and in the wire lead-in direction L, has a section which overlaps the side wall section 28, said section being in this embodiment a section which is connected directly to the spring bow 42. This section of the clamping leg extends here at least approximately parallel to the side wall section 28.

The housing 2, in particular the housing lower part 27, can have a spring bow bearing region 14 on which the spring bow 42 bears at least in certain operating conditions of the terminal 1, for example at maximum deflection of the clamping legs 43. On the side opposite the spring bow support region 14, the housing 2, for example the housing upper part 26, has a spring support region 12. Thus, a chamber for accommodating at least a part of the clamping spring 4 is formed between the spring bearing region 12 and the spring bow bearing region 14. The wall section of the housing 2 forming the interior of the spring support region 12 can, for example, run essentially parallel to the side wall section 28 of the conductor insertion channel 21.

It can also be seen that the

contact legs

40, 41 have a first subsection 41 which is connected to a spring bow 42. In the mounted, undeflected state of the clamping spring 4, the first subsection 41 runs at least approximately parallel to the aforementioned section of the clamping leg 43 which overlaps the side wall 28. The second sub-section 40 is connected to the first sub-section 41 of the contact leg. The contact legs are bent in the transition from the first subsection 41 to the second subsection 40. The second sub-section 40 runs substantially parallel to the line introduction direction L.

It can also be seen that the inspection section 32 of the busbar components 3 extends into the inspection channel 24 or forms a section of the inner wall portion of the inspection channel 24, so that it can be easily contacted by an inspection pin from the inspection opening 23. By means of the at least one inclined portion 10 of the side wall of the inspection channel 24, the inspection pin can be guided ergonomically towards the surface of the inspection section 32.

An operating element 5 guided longitudinally in the housing 2 can also be seen. The actuating element 5 has a manual application region 50, on which the actuating element 5 can be manually actuated, for example by pressure. Operating push rods 51 of the operating elements 5, which are each arranged flush with the operating connecting plate 45, are connected to the operating region 50. In this exemplary embodiment, the actuating element 5 has two lateral actuating rams 51, so that the actuating element 5 has a U-shaped design in the width direction B in a cross-sectional view. Alternatively, the actuating element 5 can also have only a lateral actuating ram 51. When the actuating element 5 is manually actuated, it is deflected downward and, by applying a load to the corresponding actuating lug 45 via the corresponding actuating ram 51, moves the clamping leg 43 downward, so that it moves away from the conductor contact section 31. The operating element 5 can only be moved downwards until the operating push rod 51 hits the stop 11. The stopper 11 can be formed by a part of the housing 2.

Below the

contact legs

40, 41, in particular in the region of the free ends, there is a contact leg bearing region 13 for bearing a laterally projecting support web 46. The contact leg support region 13 can be formed by a part of the housing 2. Furthermore, a bearing section 25 or, as can be seen, two bearing sections 25 are present on the housing 2, which are each arranged obliquely to the line insertion direction L. Viewed in the wire insertion direction L, one support section 25 can be designed to first be raised and, after reaching the apex, the support section 25 can be lowered again. In the mounted state, the part 33 of the busbar component 3 bent obliquely from the contact frame 30 bears or rests on the bearing section 25. The part 33 of the busbar arrangement 3, which is bent obliquely away from the contact frame 30, can be bent away from the contact frame 30 in the conductor insertion direction or counter to the conductor insertion direction L. If the obliquely bent section 33 is bent away from the contact frame 30 counter to the conductor insertion direction L, this section 33 rests on the support section 25 which is raised first in the conductor insertion direction. If, on the other hand, the obliquely bent section 33 is bent obliquely in the wire insertion direction L from the contact frame 30, this section 33 is located on the support section 25 which is lowered in the wire insertion direction L.

It can also be seen that the housing 2 is formed in two parts with a housing upper part 26 and a housing lower part 27. A housing lower part 27 formed in the manner of a cover is inserted into the housing upper part 26 from the underside 9 and is fixed thereto, for example, by a latching. The stop 11, the contact leg bearing region 13 and the bearing section 25 can each be formed on the housing lower part 27. The housing lower part 27 has, viewed in the conductor insertion direction L, in front of and behind the bearing section 25, a split or passage opening 55, through which the

outer terminals

33, 34 can be guided out of the interior of the housing 2, respectively.

Fig. 5 shows a sectional view of the terminal 1, corresponding to the sectional plane S shown in fig. 4. Fig. 5 shows in particular that a support web 46 which projects laterally over the

contact legs

40, 41 rests on the contact leg rest region 13. Tapered portions 47 of the

contact legs

40, 41 can also be seen, which serve to fix the

contact legs

40, 41 to the frame part 30.

Claims

1. A terminal (1) for connecting at least one electrical line by means of a spring clip, wherein the terminal (1) has a housing (2) and electrical contacts (3, 4) which are arranged at least predominantly in the housing (2), wherein the electrical contacts (3, 4) have a busbar component (3) which has a frame-shaped contact frame (30) with recesses (39) and at least one clamping spring (4) which is suspended in the recesses (39) of the contact frame (30), wherein a clamping point for the electrical line to be clamped is formed between a clamping leg (43) of the clamping spring (4) and a line contact section (31) of the busbar component (3), characterized in that the housing (2) has at least one line introduction opening (20) and a line introduction channel (21) which is connected to the line introduction opening (20), by means of the line feed channel, an electrical line can be fed into the housing (2) in a line feed direction (L) and can be guided towards the clamping point.

2. A connection terminal according to claim 1, characterised in that the wire lead-in channel (21) has at least one funnel-shaped section which is formed by funnel-shaped side wall sections (28, 29) of the wire lead-in channel (21), which are arranged obliquely to the wire lead-in direction (L).

3. A connection terminal according to claim 2, characterized in that at least one part of the funnel-shaped side wall sections (28, 29) is arranged offset in the wire introduction direction (L) from at least one further part of the funnel-shaped side wall sections (28, 29) such that the funnel-shaped sections are asymmetrical with respect to a central axis of the wire introduction channel (21) running in the wire introduction direction (L).

4. A connection terminal according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterised in that the wire contact section (31) is designed as a web which extends out of the material of the busbar component (3) and is bent over.

5. A terminal according to claim 4, characterised in that the connection plate extends obliquely to the wire introduction direction (L) and/or extends away from the contact frame (30) along the wire introduction direction (L).

6. The terminal according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the terminal (1) extends in a height direction (H) from a lower side (9) of the housing (2) towards an upper side (8) of the housing (2), wherein at least one functional element of the terminal (1) is arranged on the lower side (9) and/or the upper side (8) of the housing (2) and/or is accessible from the outside.

7. A terminal according to claim 6, characterized in that the clamping leg (43) has a section which overlaps at least a part of the funnel-shaped side wall section (28, 29) of the wire lead-in channel (21), viewed in the height direction (H) of the terminal (1) and/or the wire lead-in direction (L).

8. A terminal according to claim 7, characterized in that the overlapping section of the clamping leg (43) is at least 10% of the total length of the clamping leg (43).

9. A terminal block according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that the overlapping section of the clamping leg (43) extends at least over a major part of its longitudinal extension substantially parallel to the part of the funnel-shaped side wall section (28, 29) of the conductor lead-in channel (21) which overlaps the overlapping section of the clamping leg (43).

10. A connection terminal according to claim 1, characterised in that the clamping spring (4) has a contact leg and a spring bow (42), wherein the contact leg is connected to the clamping leg (43) via the spring bow (42).

11. A terminal according to claim 10, wherein the contact leg is fixed to the contact frame (30), wherein a portion of the contact leg, by which the contact leg is fixed to the contact frame (30), is set lower than or at most equal to a height of a side wall of the wire introduction channel (21) located lowermost in the height direction (H) of the terminal (1).

12. A terminal according to claim 10 or 11, wherein the contact leg is bent.

13. A terminal according to claim 10 or 11, characterised in that the at least one first sub-section (41) of the contact leg extends substantially parallel to the clamping leg (43).

14. A terminal according to claim 10 or 11, characterised in that the at least one second subsection (40) of the contact leg is arranged substantially parallel to the conductor lead-in direction (L).

15. A terminal according to claim 14, characterized in that the clamping spring (4) is fixed on the contact frame (30) by means of the second sub-section (40) of the contact leg.

16. A connection terminal according to claim 10 or 11, characterised in that the spring bow (42) is arranged substantially below the wire lead-in channel (21) as seen in the height direction (H).

17. A terminal block according to claim 1, characterized in that the housing (2) has an inspection opening (23) and an inspection channel (24) connected to the inspection opening (23), through which an inspection pin for performing an electrical inspection can be brought into contact with the contacts (3, 4) of the terminal block (1).

18. A terminal according to claim 17, characterized in that the inspection section (32) of the busbar component (3) extends into the inspection channel (24).

19. A terminal according to claim 17 or 18, characterized in that at least a part of the side wall (10) of the inspection channel (24) is arranged obliquely to the height direction (H) of the terminal (1).

20. A terminal according to claim 1, characterized in that the terminal (1) is designed as a printed circuit board terminal, which is designed for mounting on a printed circuit board by means of the underside (9) of the housing (2), wherein the terminal (1) has at least one printed circuit board connection (33, 34), which is electrically connected to the contacts (3, 4) and can be electrically contacted on the underside (9) of the housing (2).

21. A terminal according to claim 20, characterized in that the circuit board contacts (33, 34) are formed integrally with the busbar arrangement (3).

22. A terminal strip according to claim 20, characterised in that the terminal strip (1) has an operating element (5) for operating the clamping spring (4), wherein by operating the operating element (5) the clamping point can be opened by a partial deflection of the clamping spring (4).

23. A terminal according to claim 22, characterized in that the actuating element (5) is designed as a push-on element which is accessible on the upper side (8) of the housing (2) of the terminal (1).

24. A terminal according to claim 22 or 23, characterised in that the clamping spring (4) has at least one operating web (45) which is arranged on the clamping leg (43) and which, in the event of manual operation, can be acted upon by the operating element (5) in order to make the clamping leg (43) deflectable.

25. A terminal block according to claim 24, characterised in that the clamping leg (43) is formed like a fork at its free end with a central clamping region (44) for securely clamping the electrical conductor, wherein the clamping region (44) is bounded on both sides by an operating web (45) which projects beyond the clamping region (44).

26. A terminal according to claim 22, characterized in that the housing (2) comprises at least two parts, a housing upper part (26) and a housing lower part (27).

27. The connection terminal according to claim 26, characterized in that the housing lower part (27) has at least one spring bow bearing region (14) for bearing a spring bow (42) of the clamping spring (4), on which spring bow bearing region the spring bow (42) bears at least in certain operating conditions of the connection terminal (1).

28. A terminal according to claim 26 or 27, characterised in that the housing lower part (27) has at least one support section (25) for supporting the circuit board connections (33, 34).

29. A terminal according to claim 26 or 27, characterised in that the housing lower part (27) has at least one stop (11) by means of which the maximum operating movement of the operating element (5) is limited.

30. A terminal according to claim 26 or 27, characterized in that the housing lower part (27) has at least one contact leg support area (13) to support at least a part of the contact leg.

31. A terminal block according to claim 1, characterized in that the terminal block (1) has a plurality of contacts (3, 4) arranged side by side in the housing (2), which contacts have respective outer contacts accessible from outside the housing (2), which outer contacts are arranged at a defined pitch.

32. A terminal according to claim 31, characterized in that the terminal (1) has a structural height which is at most twice as large as the wire spacing.

33. A terminal according to claim 31 or 32, wherein adjacent outer contacts are offset from one another.

34. A terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterised in that the contact frame (30) is arranged substantially perpendicularly to the wire lead-in direction (L).

35. A terminal according to claim 13, characterized in that the at least one first sub-section (41) of the contact leg runs substantially parallel to the overlapping section of the clamping leg (43).

36. A terminal according to claim 28, characterised in that the housing lower part (27) has a bearing section (25) running obliquely to the wire introduction direction (L).

37. A terminal according to claim 26 or 27, characterised in that the housing lower part (27) has at least one contact leg bearing region (13) for bearing a support connection plate (46) projecting laterally at the contact leg.