Wiring terminal

Abstract

The invention relates to a connection terminal having a spring-loaded clamping terminal for connecting an electrical conductor, the spring-loaded clamping terminal having a clamping spring and an actuating mechanism for moving at least a part of the clamping spring between an open position and a closed position.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to a connecting terminal having a spring force clamping terminal for connecting an electrical conductor, wherein the spring force clamping terminal has a clamping spring and an actuating mechanism for moving at least a part of the clamping spring between an open position and a closed position. Background Art

[0002] This terminal block is known, wherein the operating mechanism has an operating lever and can be coupled to the operating lever via a transmission mechanism of a transmission device, in particular a spring operating member. Via the transmission mechanism, the operating force acting on the operating lever can be transmitted to the spring operating member that moves at least a portion of the clamping spring. Summary of the invention

[0003] Against this background, the invention is based on the object of providing a further improved connecting terminal.

[0004] This object is achieved by means of the connecting terminal according to the invention. Advantageous embodiments are disclosed in the invention.

[0005] The present invention proposes that, in a terminal of the type mentioned at the beginning, an operating mechanism is configured to move at least a portion of the clamping spring from a closed position to an open position by a first rod movement of an operating rod, and to move at least a portion of the clamping spring toward the open position by another portion of the stroke by a second rod movement, wherein the maximum operating stroke of the operating rod is respectively associated with a portion of the stroke. Thus, the operating force required to move at least a portion of the clamping spring can be reduced. In addition, a large spring force can be achieved with a small operating force. In other words, the operating rod can be moved back and forth more than once between its closed position and its open position in order to transfer the clamping spring from the closed position to the open position. The number of rod movements is in principle not limited to two rod movements, but can also include more than two rod movements, such as three, four or five rod movements, according to the design of the terminal. Through multiple rod movements, the operating force required for each rod movement to operate the operating rod can be reduced. Therefore, at least a portion of the clamping spring can be moved step by step from the closed position to the open position. By dividing the operation into multiple rod movements, any opening angle of the clamping spring can be set. The proposed connecting terminal can be actuated with reduced actuation forces and nevertheless has a small overall size.

[0006] As is known from other connecting terminals, the actuating lever can be actuated over a mechanically limited actuating travel, i.e. from the closed position to the open position and vice versa. However, unlike in the connecting terminals according to the prior art, the maximum actuating travel of the actuating lever is not associated with a structurally designed complete travel of at least a portion of the clamping spring to be moved, i.e. not with the travel from the closed position to the open position, but only with a portion of the travel from the closed position to the open position. In order for the portion of the clamping spring to be moved to travel the desired travel from the closed position to the open position, more than one complete actuation of the actuating lever is therefore required from the closed position to the open position in the connecting terminal according to the invention.

[0007] In the spring force clamping terminal, the open position is used to set the electrical conductor at the clamping location without force consumption, or to remove it from the terminal again. In the closed position, the electrical conductor is fixedly clamped at the clamping location by means of a clamping spring.

[0008] The clamping spring can, for example, have a clamping leg and a supporting leg, which are connected to each other via a spring bow. With the aid of the supporting leg, the clamping spring can be supported on a component structure of the connecting terminal. The clamping leg can be configured to clamp an electrical conductor introduced into the connecting terminal against a busbar. By means of an actuating mechanism, at least a part of the clamping spring, in particular the clamping leg or the clamping leg, can be moved between an open position, in which the electrical conductor can be introduced into the connecting terminal, and a closed position, in which the electrical conductor is clamped. In this case, in the open position, the clamping leg can be arranged away from the busbar. In the closed position, the conductor can be in contact with the busbar, wherein the conductor can be clamped against the busbar by the clamping leg.

[0009] The actuating mechanism of the connecting terminal can be formed in multiple parts with an actuating lever and a spring actuating part that can be coupled to the actuating lever, wherein during the coupling, force can be transmitted between the actuating lever and the spring actuating part. The spring actuating part can be coupled to the actuating lever temporarily, for example, the actuating lever and the spring actuating part can be coupled to each other in a force-transmitting manner during the first rod movement and the second rod movement, and can be decoupled from each other during the rod resetting between the first rod movement and the second rod movement, for example, by free play. This can prevent the part of the clamping spring that is moved during the first rod movement from moving back again due to the rod resetting.

[0010] The transmission mechanism can for example have a transmission device, wherein a transmission ratio can be provided between the operating lever and the spring operating member, and in particular the transmission ratio is not 1: 1. In particular, a slow transmission can be carried out from the operating lever to the spring operating member to achieve accurate clamping spring movement with a small operating force.

[0011] According to one embodiment, the actuating mechanism can have a mechanical return locking member for blocking the return movement of the spring actuating member. This can prevent the spring actuating member and the part of the clamping spring that moves during the first rod movement from moving back due to the spring force of the clamping spring during the rod return between the first rod movement and the second rod movement.

[0012] Mechanical return lock for example can have coil spring (Schlingfeder), and described coil spring configuration is used for blocking the reset motion of spring operating part.By coil spring, can realize the reliable and simple locking effect along the first motion direction of spring operating part, and can realize the idle travel along the second motion direction of spring operating part.

[0013] Alternatively or additionally, the return locking element can have a locking pawl, which is configured to block the return movement of the spring-actuated element. With the aid of the locking pawl, a reliable and simple locking action in a first direction of movement of the spring-actuated element can be achieved, and a free travel in a second direction of movement of the spring-actuated element can be achieved. The locking pawl can act on the spring-actuated element, for example, by friction fit or form fit, and can block the movement of the spring-actuated element in the first direction of movement. The locking pawl can be spring-loaded in order to improve the locking action.

[0014] According to one embodiment, the return locking element can be deactivated by a release mechanism. This makes it easier to reset the spring actuator, for example in order to move at least a portion of the clamping spring from the open position into the closed position. By means of the release mechanism, the blocking of the spring actuator can be eliminated by the return locking element. As a result, after the return locking element has been deactivated, for example, the clamping leg can be pivoted back into the closed position and secure the clamping wire.

[0015] For example, the release mechanism can have a manual release operating element, by operating the release operating element can make the return locking member ineffective. Thus, the active resetting of the spring operating member that can be directly controlled by the user is feasible. The release operating element can be, for example, a press member.

[0016] Alternatively or additionally, the release mechanism can have an automatic release element, by which the return locking member can be automatically deactivated. Thus, an automatic resetting of the spring operating member is possible, for which no direct manual action by the user is additionally required. For example, during the introduction of an electrical conductor into the terminal, the automatic release element can deactivate the return locking member. This automatic release caused by the introduced conductor can also be referred to as a snap-release mechanism. The conductor can, for example, disengage the locking pawl of the return locking member from engagement with the spring operating member, such as by direct mechanical contact or by an indirect snap-release member, such as a rocker.

[0017] According to one embodiment, the transmission mechanism can have a toothed portion of the operating lever and the spring operating member. The transmission mechanism can be designed simply and reliably. The operating lever and the spring operating member can each have teeth, which can mesh with each other to couple the operating lever with the spring operating member, and the teeth realize the force transmission between the operating lever and the spring operating member. For example, the operating lever and the spring operating member can have an external toothed portion at their outer contour at least in sections. In principle, the following configuration is also conceivable: wherein the operating lever has an external toothed portion at its outer contour and the spring operating member has an internal toothed portion at the inner contour of the spring operating member, or vice versa.

[0018] According to one embodiment, the toothing can be a sawtooth toothing. This can improve the coupling or decoupling of the operating lever and the spring operating part. The sawtooth toothing has teeth with alternating gently rising tooth flanks and steeply descending tooth flanks. In a first direction of movement of the teeth relative to each other, the steep tooth flanks abut against each other, so that coupling and force transmission are carried out between the operating lever and the spring operating part. In a second direction of movement of the teeth relative to each other, the flat tooth flanks slide away from each other, so that the operating lever can be disengaged from the spring operating part and decoupling is achieved.

[0019] The number of teeth can be designed to be variable, so that a fine adjustment of the clamping spring is possible when the number of teeth or tooth pairs is increased.

[0020] According to one embodiment, the transmission mechanism can have a self-locking transmission. As a result, the actuation lever and the spring actuation member can be actuated precisely and in a controlled manner. The self-locking transmission can be implemented as a worm gear, for example.

[0021] According to one embodiment, the actuating lever can be spring-supported. This can support a defined decoupling and resetting of the actuating lever from the spring-operated element. For example, the actuating lever can be actuated against the spring force of the spring-supported device by an actuating force acting on the actuating lever, and the actuating lever can be coupled to the spring-operated element while the actuating lever is resetting toward the open position by the spring force when the actuating force is removed.

[0022] According to one embodiment, the actuating lever can be mounted pivotably about the rotation axis. This makes it possible to provide an actuating mechanism of compact design. The actuating lever can be designed as a pivot lever. During actuation, the actuating lever can mainly perform a rotational movement. Optionally, the actuating lever can be mounted in a floating manner in order to enable an additional limited translational movement of the actuating lever onto the spring actuating element, for example in order to facilitate coupling and decoupling of the actuating lever from the spring actuating element.

[0023] According to one embodiment, the spring actuating element can be pivotally supported about the rotation axis. This allows a compact actuating mechanism to be provided. The spring actuating element can be designed as a pivoting actuating element. During actuation, the spring actuating element can mainly perform a rotational movement. Optionally, the spring actuating element can be floatingly supported in order to achieve additional limited translational mobility.

[0024] According to one embodiment, the transmission mechanism can have a gear transmission. As a result, the transmission mechanism can be designed to be simple, compact and reliable. The operating lever and the spring operating part can be pivotally supported around the rotation axis. The operating lever and the spring operating part can each form a gear profile at least in sections. For example, the operating lever and the spring operating part can each have an external toothing at a curved outer contour section or at a circular outer contour, or, for example, can also have an internal toothing or an external toothing at a curved inner contour section or outer contour section or at a circular inner contour or outer contour.

[0025] According to one embodiment, the spring operating member can be configured as an eccentric and have an operating cam. Thus, the movement of at least a part of the clamping spring can be controlled in a limited manner by the spring operating member. In the case of a spring operating member configured as an eccentric, the geometric midpoint of the spring operating member can be located outside the rotation axis of the spring operating member. By means of a suitable design of the cam geometry or the operating profile of the operating cam, different opening characteristics and characteristic curves of the operating force and the spring force can be realized. For example, a linearized characteristic curve of the operating force along with the change process of the operation can be realized. For example, in the case of a large opening angle of the clamping spring, a reduced opening speed can be realized. The opening angle of the clamping spring can involve the instantaneous angle between the position of the clamping leg moving toward the open position by the spring operating member and its closed position. During the movement of the clamping leg toward the open position, the opening angle gradually increases. In the case of a large opening angle, for example, after the clamping spring has moved another stroke by another rod movement, such as the second rod movement or the third rod movement, a reduced opening speed can be realized by means of a correspondingly contoured operating cam.

[0026] According to one embodiment, the spring actuating element can be supported in a translationally movable manner. This allows a direct and effective movement of at least a portion of the clamping spring. During actuation, the spring actuating element can follow a straight movement trajectory.

[0027] According to one embodiment, the transmission mechanism can have a rack gear. Here, for example, the actuating lever can be pivotally mounted about an axis of rotation and have a curved gear profile, while the spring actuating element is translatably movable and has a straight rack profile, or vice versa. In this way, a rotational movement of the actuating lever can be converted into a translational movement of the spring actuating element, or a translational movement of the actuating lever can be converted into a rotational movement of the spring actuating element. In this way, a transmission mechanism of compact design can be combined with direct and effective actuation.

[0028] Quite generally, in the context of the present application, unless explicitly defined otherwise, the terms "a / an" are not to be understood as a numeral but as an indefinite article having the meaning "at least one".

[0029] The invention allows for various embodiments and is explained in greater detail below on the basis of exemplary embodiments with reference to the drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0030] Figure 1 A schematic diagram showing the terminal blocks. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0031] Figure 1 A connection terminal 1 is shown schematically, which has a spring force clamping terminal 2 for connecting an electrical conductor (not shown in detail). The spring force clamping terminal 2 has a clamping spring 3, which has a support leg 17 for supporting the clamping spring 3 and a clamping leg 8 for clamping an electrical conductor introduced into the spring force clamping terminal 2 against a busbar 18. In addition, the spring force clamping terminal 2 has an actuating mechanism 4 for moving at least a part of the clamping spring 3, here the clamping leg 8, between an open position and a closed position. The actuating mechanism 4 has an actuating rod 5 and a spring actuating member 7. The spring actuating member 7 can be coupled to the actuating rod 5 via a transmission mechanism 6, which is implemented as a gear in the embodiment. Via the transmission mechanism 6, the actuating force acting on the actuating rod 5 can be transmitted to the spring actuating member 7 in order to move the clamping leg 8 of the clamping spring 3.

[0032] According to one embodiment, the operating mechanism 4 is configured to move the clamping leg 8 by a portion s1 of the travel s from the closed position to the open position by a first lever movement of the operating lever 5, and to move the clamping leg 8 by a second lever movement by another portion s2 of the travel s toward the open position. The operating force required to move the clamping leg 8 can be reduced by multiple lever movements.

[0033] During the first rod movement and the second rod movement, the operating rod 5 and the spring operating member 7 are coupled to each other via the transmission mechanism 6. During the rod resetting between the first rod movement and the second rod movement, the operating rod 5 and the spring operating member 7 are decoupled from each other. For this purpose, the operating rod 5 and the spring operating member 7 respectively have toothings 13a, 13b configured as sawtooth-shaped teeth, which can mesh with each other to couple the operating rod 5 to the spring operating member 7, and the teeth realize force transmission between the operating rod 5 and the spring operating member 7. In a first movement direction R1 of the sawtooth portions relative to each other, the sawtooth portions can support each other at their steeply descending tooth surfaces and transmit the operating force. In a second movement direction R2 of the sawtooth portions relative to each other, the sawtooth portions can slide off each other at their gently rising tooth surfaces, thereby realizing decoupling of the spring operating member 7 from the operating rod 5. According to Figure 1 , the actuating lever 5 has a spring bearing 14 in order to achieve an improved resetting and a defined decoupling of the actuating lever 5 .

[0034] according to Figure 1 The actuating mechanism 4 has a mechanical return lock 9 for blocking the return movement of the spring actuating member 7, so as to prevent the spring actuating member 7 and the clamping leg 8 moved during the first lever movement from moving back during the lever return. For this purpose, the return lock 9 has a locking pawl 10 provided with a spring bearing 15, which engages in the toothing 13b of the spring actuating member 7 and can thereby block the return movement of the spring actuating member 7.

[0035] The return lock can be deactivated by the release mechanism 11, so as to facilitate the desired resetting of the spring actuating member 7 and enable the clamping leg 8 to be moved back from the open position to the closed position. The blocking of the spring actuating member 7 by the locking pawl 10 can be eliminated by means of the release mechanism 11. For this purpose, the release mechanism 11 has a manual release operating element 12 designed as a push piece, by actuating the release operating element with the help of a manual release force F, the return lock 9 can be deactivated.

[0036] According to the embodiment shown, the transmission mechanism 6 has a gear transmission in order to provide a compact operating mechanism. The operating lever 5 is pivotably supported about the rotation axis d1 and has a gear profile in sections, which has the sawtooth-shaped teeth described above as an external toothing. The spring operating member 7 is pivotably supported about the rotation axis d2 and has a gear profile in sections, which has the sawtooth-shaped teeth described above as an external toothing, which can mesh with the gear profile of the operating lever 5.

[0037] from Figure 1 It can be seen that the spring actuating element 7 is designed as an eccentric and has an actuating cam 16 in order to control the displacement of the clamping leg 8 in a manner defined according to a desired characteristic curve.

[0038] List of reference numerals:

[0039] 1 Terminal block

[0040] 2 Spring force clamp terminals

[0041] 3 Clamping spring

[0042] 4. Control mechanism

[0043] 5 Joystick

[0044] 6 Transmission mechanism

[0045] 7 Spring operating element

[0046] 8. Tighten your legs

[0047] 9 Return lock

[0048] 10 Locking pawl

[0049] 11 Release mechanism

[0050] 12 Release the operating element

[0051] 13a Gear (joystick)

[0052] 13b Tooth (spring operating part)

[0053] 14 Spring support device (control lever)

[0054] 15 Spring support device (locking pawl)

[0055] 16 Operating cam

[0056] 17 Support legs

[0057] 18 Bus

[0058] FManual release force

[0059] d1 Rotation axis, joystick

[0060] d2 Rotation axis, spring operated element

[0061] s Travel from closed position to open position

[0062] s1 First part of the trip

[0063] s2 Second part of the trip

[0064] R1 first movement direction

[0065] R2 Second movement direction

Claims

1. A connecting terminal (1) having a spring force clamping terminal (2) for connecting an electrical conductor, wherein the spring force clamping terminal (2) has a clamping spring (3) and an operating mechanism (4), wherein the operating mechanism is used to move at least a part of the clamping spring (3) between an open position and a closed position, wherein the operating mechanism (4) has an operating rod (5) and a spring operating member (7), wherein the spring operating member can be coupled to the operating rod (5) via a transmission mechanism (6), in particular via a gearing of the transmission mechanism (6), characterized in that The operating mechanism (4) is configured to move at least a portion of the clamping spring (3) by a portion (s1) of the stroke (s) from the closed position to the open position through a first rod movement of the operating rod (5), and to move at least a portion of the clamping spring (3) by another portion (s2) of the stroke (s) toward the open position through a second rod movement, wherein the maximum operating stroke of the operating rod (5) is respectively associated with a portion (s1, s2) of the stroke (s).

2. The connecting terminal (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that: The actuating mechanism (4) has a mechanical return locking element (9) for blocking a restoring movement of the spring actuating element (7).

3. The connecting terminal (1) according to claim 2, characterized in that: The return locking element (9) has a coil spring which is configured to block the return movement of the spring operating element (7).

4. The connecting terminal (1) according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that: The return locking member (9) has a locking pawl (10) which is configured to block the return movement of the spring operating member (7).

5. The connecting terminal (1) according to any one of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that: The return locking element (9) can be deactivated by a release mechanism (11).

6. The connecting terminal (1) according to claim 5, characterized in that: The release mechanism (11) has a manual release operating element (12), by actuating which the return locking element (9) can be deactivated.

7. The connecting terminal (1) according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that: The release mechanism (11) has an automatic release element, by which the return locking member (9) can be automatically deactivated.

8. The connecting terminal (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that The transmission mechanism (6) has toothing (13) of the actuating lever (5) and of the spring actuating element (7).

9. The connecting terminal (1) according to claim 8, characterized in that: The tooth portion (13) is a sawtooth-shaped tooth portion.

10. The connecting terminal (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that The transmission mechanism (6) has a self-locking transmission device.

11. The connecting terminal (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that The operating lever (5) is spring-supported.

12. The connecting terminal (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that The actuating lever (5) is mounted so as to be pivotable about a rotation axis (d1).

13. The connecting terminal (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that The spring actuating element (7) is mounted so as to be pivotable about an axis of rotation (d2).

14. The connecting terminal (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that The transmission mechanism (6) has a gear transmission device.

15. The connecting terminal (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that The spring actuating element (7) is designed as an eccentric and has an actuating cam (16).

16. The connecting terminal (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that The spring actuating element (7) is supported so as to be translatably movable.

17. The connecting terminal (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that The transmission mechanism (6) has a rack transmission.

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