terminal block

Abstract

A terminal has at least one spring clip connection for connecting electrical conductors, wherein the terminal has at least one housing with a conductor introduction opening for introducing an electrical conductor to be connected, a busbar, a clamping spring with a clamping leg for clamping an electrical conductor in a contact region of the busbar, and a pivotable actuating element for actuating the clamping spring, wherein the actuating element has at least one actuating handle for manual actuation and at least one bearing disk connected to the actuating handle, via which the actuating element is rotatably supported at at least one component of the terminal, wherein the actuating handle is accessible from the outside at an actuating side of the housing, characterized in that the bearing disk has a circular region and the contact region of the busbar lies within the circular region of the bearing disk, viewed transversely to the conductor introduction direction.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a terminal block having at least one elastic clamping connection end for connecting an electrical conductor, wherein the terminal block comprises: at least one housing having a conductor inlet opening for introducing the electrical conductor to be connected; a busbar; a clamping spring having clamping legs for clamping the electrical conductor in a contact area at the busbar to the busbar; and a pivotable operating element for operating the clamping spring, wherein the operating element has at least one operating handle for manual operation and at least one support plate connected to the operating handle, the operating element being rotatably supported at at least one member of the terminal block via the at least one support plate, wherein the operating handle is accessible from the outside on the operating side of the housing. Background Technology

[0002] Such terminal blocks are known, for example, from DE 20 2013 100 635U1. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The purpose of this invention is to provide a terminal block that is further improved thereto.

[0004] The aforementioned objective is achieved in the type of terminal block mentioned earlier by the following method: the support plate has a circular region, and when viewed transversely to the direction of wire introduction, the contact area of ​​the busbar is located within this circular region. Therefore, the support plate is relatively tall. The support plate can, for example, be circularly constructed on a portion of its circumference or its entire circumference. In this case, the support plate has a relatively large diameter compared to known solutions. This has the advantage of enabling a terminal block with a relatively small lever opening through which the operating handle is guided outward through the housing on the operating side. Therefore, the lever opening is located on the operating side of the housing.

[0005] Furthermore, improved air gaps and creepage distances can be achieved with low costs. The housing can, for example, be constructed as an insulating material housing.

[0006] The terminal block can be configured such that the support plate extends in the height direction perpendicular to the operating side of the terminal block.

[0007] a) Extending at least from the lower side of the wire entry opening to the upper side of the wire entry opening and / or

[0008] b) Extend at least from below the busbar to above the clamping spring, especially to above the clamping spring's abutment leg.

[0009] The support plate can extend in the height direction as well as along the entire structural height of the housing, that is, from the upper housing wall to the lower housing wall.

[0010] As described above, the operating handle is accessible from outside the housing. The operating handle can protrude from the housing, at least in defined operating positions of the operating element. The operating element can have an open position and a closed position. In the open position, the clamping spring or its clamping leg is actuated by the operating element and deflects relative to the closed position. In the closed position, the clamping spring or clamping leg is not deflected by the operating element, such that the clamping leg either rests against the connected electrical wire or against the busbar.

[0011] According to an advantageous design of the invention, the contact area of ​​the bus is disposed between the circular areas of two support disks, for example, a pair of support disks. In this way, the contact area of ​​the bus is covered on both sides by the support disks.

[0012] According to an advantageous design of the invention, the housing is configured as at least a two-piece block housing, the block housing consisting of at least a first housing block and a second housing block, wherein the sidewalls of the first housing block and the second housing block abut against each other at the mating edge. This enables a housing structure that is easy to assemble and robust. The terminals can be configured as multi-pole terminals, wherein multiple spring-loaded clamping connection ends having busbars, clamping springs, and actuating elements are arranged side-by-side within the housing, for example, in separate housing chambers. The housing chambers can be separated from each other by sidewalls or by intermediate walls. Here, the mating edge can particularly exist at the inner intermediate wall, through which the housing chambers are separated from each other.

[0013] According to an advantageous design of the invention, the edge of the mating portion is positioned within the area of ​​the housing covered by the support disc. In this way, the support disc increases the air gap and creepage distance. Therefore, the support disc acts as an additional separator between adjacent elastic clamping connection ends.

[0014] According to an advantageous design of the invention, the edge of the mating portion is located in the region of the rotation axis of the support disk. Correspondingly, the support disk covers the edge of the mating portion as much as possible, which is also advantageous for improving air clearance and creepage distance. The edge of the mating portion can, for example, be located at a distance from the rotation axis of the support disk less than 50% of the diameter of the support disk.

[0015] According to an advantageous design of the invention, the support disc has a partially circular outer contour, by means of which the actuating element is rotatably supported at at least one member of the terminal block. The partially circular outer contour enables uniform, arcuate pivoting movement of the actuating element, resulting in tactilely comfortable operation.

[0016] According to an advantageous design of the invention, the support disk is rotatably supported at the housing and / or busbar. Thus, the housing and / or busbar form a mating support mechanism for the support disk. For example, a support profile may be present in the housing, configured as a mating member relative to the support profile of the support disk, for example, configured as a mating member relative to the partially circular outer profile of the support disk. Correspondingly, other components for the terminals are not required to be designed such that these other components can serve as the mating support mechanism for the support disk. Therefore, the clamping spring and busbar can extend laterally beside the support disk, for example, or, in the case of two parallel, spaced-apart support disks, can extend through the support disks, for example.

[0017] According to an advantageous design of the invention, the operating element has another support plate connected to the operating handle, via which the operating element is rotatably supported at at least one member of the terminal block, wherein the support plates are spaced apart from each other and arranged parallel to each other. In this way, the operating element can be supported in the terminal block in an improved manner and particularly symmetrically. Because the support plates are spaced apart from each other, there is free space between the support plates, through which, as described above, for example, clamping springs and / or busbars can be guided. Furthermore, the free space can be used as a wire receiving chamber or at least as part of a wire receiving chamber. In this way, the electrical wires to be connected can be advantageously placed in the terminal block.

[0018] Even in another support plate, the features mentioned about the support plate can be fully or partially realized.

[0019] According to an advantageous design of the invention, the operating element has a carrying member that constitutes a clamping leg for moving the clamping spring when the operating element moves from the closed position to the open position, and for moving the clamping spring when the operating element moves from the open position to the closed position. This allows the operating force to be advantageously transmitted from the operating handle to the clamping leg.

[0020] According to an advantageous design of the invention, the drive member projects laterally from at least one support plate, or, in the case of two support plates, extends from one support plate toward the other. In the case of two support plates, the drive member can also be configured as two drive member short bars, each protruding from one support plate toward the other. In this way, a compact structure for the entire terminal block can be achieved.

[0021] According to an advantageous design according to the invention, the carrier has a substantially oval, substantially kidney-shaped, or substantially elliptical cross-sectional shape. The carrier is particularly capable of having an elongated cross-sectional shape that, when the actuating element is in the closed position, extends in the longitudinal direction at least approximately parallel to the wire introduction direction of the electrical conductor into the terminal. In this way, the carrier can be arranged in a space-saving manner without interfering with the wire introduction into the terminal.

[0022] The clamping spring can have a clamping leg, a spring bow, and a backing leg, wherein the backing leg is connected to the clamping leg via the spring bow.

[0023] According to an advantageous design of the invention, when the operating element is in the closed position and no electrical wire is clamped, the abutment leg and the clamping leg extend substantially parallel, at least in the area protruding from the spring bow. This allows for a particularly advantageous implementation of the terminal block, such as a terminal block with a spring-loaded clamping connection end in a direct-plug technique. The direct-plug technique means that, if the electrical wire has sufficient bending strength, it is possible to directly and without actuating the clamping spring at the clamping location, and to clamp it there. The clamping spring must then be actuated by means of a tension element to release the electrical wire.

[0024] According to an advantageous design of the invention, the clamping leg initially extends substantially parallel to the operating side from the spring bow, and then extends obliquely away from the operating side in a further process. This also facilitates direct insertion techniques.

[0025] The terminal block can be configured, for example, as an electrical connector with one or more electrical plug contacts. The electrical plug contacts can then contact the electrical wires via corresponding spring-loaded clamping terminals. If the housing is configured as at least a two-piece block housing, the first housing block can substantially house the components of the spring-loaded clamping terminals, i.e., the busbar, clamping spring, and operating element. The second housing block can substantially house one or more plug contacts.

[0026] In the context of this invention, the indefinite term "a" should not be understood as a numeral. Therefore, when referring, for example, to a component, it should be interpreted in the sense of "at least one component." If the angle is described in degrees, the angle refers to a circle of 360 degrees (360°). Attached Figure Description

[0027] The invention is described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0028] The attached diagram shows:

[0029] Figure 1 The wiring terminals are shown in the side cross-sectional view, and

[0030] Figure 2 The top view on the wire insertion side shows the... Figure 1 The wiring terminals, and

[0031] Figure 3 The top view and partial cross-sectional view on the control side show the... Figure 1 The wiring terminals.

[0032] The reference numerals used in the accompanying drawings have the following assignments:

[0033] 1. Terminal block

[0034] 2. Shell

[0035] 3 busbars

[0036] 4. Clamping spring

[0037] 5. Control elements

[0038] 20 First shell block

[0039] 21 Second shell block

[0040] 22. Wire introduction opening

[0041] 23. Plug-in opening

[0042] 24. Wire entry side

[0043] 25 Control side

[0044] 26 Sidewalls

[0045] 27. Edge of the mating section

[0046] 30 Clamping section

[0047] 31 Connecting Section

[0048] 32. Conductor stop

[0049] 33 Fixed Sections

[0050] 40 Fastening Area

[0051] 41. Lean against the leg.

[0052] 42 Spring Bow

[0053] 43. Clasp your legs together.

[0054] 44. Clamp the tongue.

[0055] 45 Clamp the edges

[0056] 50 Control handle

[0057] 50a control handle

[0058] 51 Support plate

[0059] 51a Support plate

[0060] 52 Carrying components

[0061] 53 Support plate

[0062] 53a Support plate

[0063] 60 Plug Connector

[0064] 61 Plug connector

[0065] D. Rotation axis

[0066] H (height direction)

[0067] L-direction of wire introduction

[0068] B Width direction Detailed Implementation

[0069] Figure 1 The terminal block 1 with housing 2 is shown. Housing 2 is configured as a two-piece block housing having a first housing block 20 and a second housing block 21. Terminal block 1 is configured as a plug connector. Therefore, portions of electrical plug connectors 60 and 61, such as fork-shaped tongues of fork-shaped contacts, are provided in the second housing block 21. Electrical plug connectors 60 and 61 are accessible through plug openings 23 present in the second housing block 21 for contact via mating plug connectors.

[0070] The first housing block 20 contains a spring-loaded clamping connection for connecting electrical wires. The spring-loaded clamping connection has a busbar 3, a clamping spring 4, and a pivotable actuating element 5, such as an actuating lever.

[0071] The housing 2 has a wire introduction side 24, where an electrical wire can be introduced into the terminal 1 in the wire introduction direction L through the wire introduction opening 22, and can be clamped at the clamping part. In addition, the housing 2 has an operating side 25, where the operating element 5 can be accessed from the outside.

[0072] The clamping spring 4 has a contact leg 41, a spring bow 42 connected to the contact leg 41, and a clamping leg 43 connected to the spring bow 42. The clamping leg 43 transitions into a clamping tongue 44, which is bent relative to the root region of the clamping leg 43 protruding from the spring bow 42. The clamping tongue 44 terminates at its free end with a clamping edge 45. The contact leg 41 has an extension region that forms a fastening region 40 of the contact leg 41 and serves to fasten the contact leg 41 to at least one component of the terminal block 1, for example, to a component of the busbar 3. In this embodiment, the fastening region 40 is bent obliquely toward the busbar 3 and forms a guide ramp for the electrical wire to be introduced in the deflected state of the clamping leg 43.

[0073] Busbar 3 has a clamping section 30, a connecting section 31, a wire stop 32, and a fixing section 33. The clamping section 30 is used to clamp the electrical wire. The electrical wire is then clamped at the clamping portion between the clamping section 30 and the clamping leg 43, more specifically between the clamping tongue 44 and its clamping edge 45. The connecting section 31 is connected to the clamping section 30, which extends substantially at a right angle relative to the clamping section 30, i.e., along the height direction H of the terminal 1. The wire stop 32 branches off from the connecting section 31. The wire stop 32 is bent substantially at a right angle relative to the connecting section 31, such that the normal direction of the wire stop extends parallel to the wire introduction direction L of the terminal 1. The connecting section 31 transitions into the fixing section 33 in the upper region, which is also bent substantially at a right angle relative to the connecting section 31. A clamping spring 4 is fastened to the fixing section 33 via a fastening region 40. In this way, the clamping spring 4 is supported at the fixed section 33 relative to the clamping force applied by the clamping leg 43.

[0074] The conductor stop 32 is used to limit the depth of the conductor inserted into the terminal 1. In addition, the conductor stop 32 ensures the separation between the conductor receiving area and the insertion area near the clamping part, that is, the area where the insertion connection elements 60 and 61 are provided.

[0075] Furthermore, the portion from the connecting section 31 branches out into the plug connectors 60 and 61, meaning that the plug connectors 60 and 61 can be integrally formed with the busbar 3.

[0076] The control element 5 has a control handle 50, via which the control element 5 can be manually operated. Two support plates 51 and 53 are connected to the control handle 50, and in one of the two support plates... Figure 1 Only the support plate 51 can be seen in the diagram. Figure 2 and Figure 3Two support disks 51 and 53 are shown, so that it can be seen that the support disks 51 and 53 are arranged substantially parallel to each other. The support disks 51 and 53 are configured as flat disk-shaped elements. The construction height of the two support disks, that is, the dimension of the support disks 51 and 53 in the height direction H, is significantly greater than the thickness of the support disks 51 and 53, for example, at least 5 times, or at least 10 times, or at least 15 times.

[0077] A drive element 52 is provided at the support plates 51 and 53, extending between the support plates 51 and 53. The drive element 52 is used for mechanical loading and deflection of the clamping leg 43. Figure 1 The operating element 5 in the closed position is shown in cross-section. In the closed position of the operating element 5, the actuating element 52 rests against the clamping leg 43, or is at least located near the clamping leg 43. The actuating element 52 connects the two support plates 51, 53 to each other. In another embodiment, the actuating element 52 may also be configured as a short rod-shaped molded portion on the inner side of the support plates 51, 53 facing each other, such that the actuating element 52 is discontinuously configured between the two support plates 51, 53.

[0078] Figure 1 The diagram also shows an operating handle 50a for the operating element of the adjacent spring-loaded clamping connection end of the terminal block, i.e., the terminal block is configured as a multi-pole terminal block in the illustrated embodiment. The operating element of the operating handle 50a pivots to the open position such that the operating handle 50a pivots at a specific angle relative to the closed position, for example, an angle in the range of 70°-90°. In the open position, the operating handle 50a protrudes relatively far from the housing 2, with the corresponding spring-loaded clamping connection end in the open position. In the open position, the clamping leg 43 is deflected upward by the carrying element 52, i.e., relatively close to the abutment leg 41. Then, the clamping edge 45 is clearly removed from the clamping section 30, making it possible to introduce or remove electrical wires into or from the clamping section without effort.

[0079] According to Figure 1 As can be seen, the support plates 51 and 53 have relatively large dimensions in the height direction H and in the wire insertion direction L. Figure 2 The large extension in the height direction H is described not only according to the support plates 51, 53 but also according to the support plates 51a, 53a of the adjacent operating element 5. The large extension extends at least from the lower side of the wire inlet opening 22 to the upper side of the wire inlet opening 22, and / or at least from the position below the busbar 3 to the position above the clamping spring 4.

[0080] In addition, according to Figure 2Clearly, the terminal block 1 has multiple adjacent spring-loaded clamping connection ends, i.e., the spring-loaded clamping connection ends are arranged side by side in the width direction B of the terminal block 1. Between adjacent spring-loaded clamping connection ends, the housing 2 has a side wall 26, for example, a side wall in the form of a middle wall.

[0081] According to Figure 3 As is clearly seen in the view, the sidewalls 26 each have mating edges 27, which are formed by the abutting sidewalls 26 of the first housing block 20 and the second housing block 21. Advantageously, the mating edges are located in the area of ​​the housing 2 covered by adjacent support discs 51, 53a, 51a. The mating edges 27 can be located in particular in the area of ​​the rotation axis D of the support discs, or at least at a small distance from the rotation axis D of the support discs. This enables reliable guidance and support of the support discs, and enables large air gaps and creepage distances. It can also be seen that only relatively narrow or relatively thin sidewalls are needed between the support discs 51, 53 at the adjacent elastic clamping connection ends in order to form the necessary air gaps and creepage distances.

Claims

1. A terminal block (1) having at least one spring-loaded clamping connection end for connecting an electrical wire, wherein the terminal block (1) comprises: at least one housing (2) having a wire inlet opening (22) for introducing an electrical wire to be connected; a busbar (3); a clamping spring (4) having clamping legs (43) for clamping the electrical wire to the busbar (3) in a contact area at the busbar; and a pivotable actuating element (5) for actuating the clamping spring (4), wherein the actuating element (5) has at least one actuating handle (50, 50a) for manual actuation and at least one support plate (51, 51a, 53, 53a) connected to the actuating handle (50, 50a), wherein the actuating element (5) is rotatably supported at at least one member of the terminal block (1) via the at least one support plate, wherein the actuating handle (50, 50a) is externally accessible at the actuating side (25) of the housing (2), characterized in that, The support disks (51, 51a, 53, 53a) have a circular area, and when viewed transversely to the direction of wire introduction, the contact area of ​​the busbar (3) is located within the circular area of ​​the support disks (51, 51a, 53, 53a).

2. The terminal block according to claim 1, characterized in that, The contact area of ​​the busbar (3) is located between the circular areas of the two support disks (51, 51a, 53, 53a).

3. The terminal block according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that, The housing (2) is configured as at least two-piece block housings, which are composed of at least a first housing block (20) and a second housing block (21), wherein the sidewalls (26) of the first housing block (20) and the second housing block (21) abut against each other at the edge (27) of the mating portion.

4. The terminal block according to claim 3, characterized in that, The edge (27) of the docking portion is located in the area of ​​the housing (2) covered by the support disks (51, 51a, 53, 53a).

5. The terminal block according to claim 4, characterized in that, The edge (27) of the docking part is located in the region of the rotation axis (D) of the support disk (51, 51a, 53, 53a).

6. The terminal block according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that, The operating element (5) is rotatably supported at at least one component of the terminal block (1) via the circular area of ​​the support disk (51, 51a, 53, 53a).

7. The terminal block according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that, The support disks (51, 51a, 53, 53a) are rotatably supported on the housing (2) and / or the busbar (3).

8. The terminal block according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that, The operating element (5) has another support plate (51, 51a, 53, 53a) connected to the operating handle (50, 50a), and the operating element (5) is rotatably supported at at least one member of the terminal block (1) via the other support plate, wherein the support plates (51, 51a, 53, 53a) are spaced apart from each other and arranged parallel to each other.

9. The terminal block according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that, The operating element (5) has a carrying member (52) configured to move the clamping spring (4) by moving the clamping leg (43) when the operating element (5) moves from the closed position to the open position, and to move the clamping spring by moving the clamping leg when the operating element moves from the open position to the closed position.

10. The terminal block according to claim 9, characterized in that, The carrying member (52) protrudes laterally from the at least one support plate (51, 51a, 53, 53a), or in the case of two support plates (51, 51a, 53, 53a), the carrying member extends from one support plate (51, 51a, 53, 53a) toward the other support plate (51, 51a, 53, 53a).

11. The terminal block according to any one of claims 9 to 10, characterized in that, The carrying element (52) has a substantially oval, substantially kidney-shaped, or substantially elliptical cross-sectional shape.

12. The terminal block according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that, The clamping spring (4) has the clamping leg (43), the spring bow (42) and the abutment leg (41), wherein the abutment leg (41) is connected to the clamping leg (43) via the spring bow (42).

13. The terminal block according to claim 12, characterized in that, When the operating element (5) is in the closed position and no electrical wire is clamped, the abutment leg (41) and the clamping leg (43) extend substantially parallel, at least in the area protruding from the spring bow (42).

14. The terminal block according to any one of claims 12 to 13, characterized in that, The clamping leg (43) initially extends substantially parallel to the operating side (25) from the spring bow (42), and extends obliquely away from the operating side (25) in further extension.

15. The terminal block according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that, The support plate (51, 51a, 53, 53a) extends at least from the underside of the wire inlet opening (22) to the upper side of the wire inlet opening (22) in the height direction (H) perpendicular to the operating side (25) of the terminal (1).

16. The terminal block according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that, The support plates (51, 51a, 53, 53a) extend at least from below the busbar (3) to above the clamping spring (4) in the height direction (H) of the terminal (1).

17. The terminal block according to claim 12, characterized in that, The support plates (51, 51a, 53, 53a) extend at least from below the busbar (3) in the height direction (H) of the terminal (1) to above the abutment leg (41) of the clamping spring (4).

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