Terminal blocks for connecting electrical conductors

Abstract

The invention relates to a terminal for connecting an electrical conductor, the electrical conductor having a conductive core and an insulating sheath surrounding the conductive core, the terminal having a housing and at least one cutting and clamping contact, at which the electrical conductor can be electrically contacted by means of a cutting and clamping process without previously stripping the insulating sheath of the insulating sheath, in which the insulating sheath is partially cut open, and the terminal having at least one pivotally supported actuating element, by manually actuating the actuating element, the electrical conductor can be electrically contacted at the at least one cutting and clamping contact. The housing can be designed, for example, as an insulating material housing.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to a terminal for connecting an electrical conductor, the electrical conductor having a conductive core and an insulating sheath surrounding the conductive core, the terminal having a housing and at least one cutting and clamping contact, at which the electrical conductor can be electrically contacted by means of a cutting and clamping process without previously stripping the insulating sheath of the insulating sheath, in which the insulating sheath is partially cut open, and the terminal having at least one pivotally supported actuating element, by manually actuating the actuating element, the electrical conductor can be electrically contacted at the at least one cutting and clamping contact. The housing can be designed, for example, as an insulating material housing. Background Art

[0002] Such a connecting terminal is known, for example, from DE 29 02 636 C2. Summary of the invention

[0003] The invention is based on the object of further improving such a connecting terminal.

[0004] This object is achieved in a connecting terminal of the type mentioned at the outset by one, several or all of the features a), b) and c) of the invention.

[0005] As mentioned, the connecting terminal has its own manual operating element. By means of this manual operating element, the connecting terminal can be operated completely or at least mainly without tools. In particular, no external tools are required to connect the electrical conductors by means of a cutting and clamping process, because this can be done by the manual operating element.

[0006] In the case of such a connecting terminal, an electrical conductor can be connected to the connecting terminal simply and quickly without any special type of preparation, such as stripping and / or crimping of the insulation, and in particular without a separate operating tool.

[0007] This type of incision contact is also called an IDC contact.

[0008] The actuating element can be moved by a pivoting process, in particular from an off position, in which an electrical conductor can be introduced into or removed from the connecting terminal and is not connected to the cutting contact, into an on position, in which the electrical conductor is connected to the cutting contact. The actuating element can also be moved back from the on position to the off position by a reverse pivoting process.

[0009] According to feature a), the actuating element can be fixed to a structural element of the connecting terminal, for example to a housing of the connecting terminal, at least in the switched-on position in which the electrical conductor is connected to the cutting contact, wherein the connecting terminal has at least one unlocking element by means of which the fixing of the actuating element in the switched-on position can be released. The actuating element can thus be fixed in the switched-on position, so that at the same time it is ensured that the electrical conductor connected to the cutting contact also always remains there and cannot be accidentally released again. A high contact safety is thus ensured.

[0010] The fixing of the actuating element can be released by the unlocking element, for example by simply manually actuating the unlocking element, so that the actuating element can be freely moved again between the on position and the off position. The actuating element can then be moved back into the off position, for example, so that the connected electrical conductor can be removed from the clamping contact again by the actuating element, so that the electrical conductor can then be removed from the connecting terminal. In this case, the connecting terminal can also be operated completely or at least predominantly without tools, in particular without external tools.

[0011] For example, the actuating element can be locked in the switched-on position, for example locked on the housing of the connecting terminal. The locking can be released by means of an unlocking element.

[0012] According to feature b), at least one touch protection tab is present on the actuating element, by which the conductive contact plug and / or at least one clip contact arranged in the housing of the connecting terminal are covered in the on position and / or the off position of the manual actuating element. This achieves a high contact safety of the connecting terminal by simple means. Thus, unintentional contact from the outside with the current-carrying components in the housing of the connecting terminal is prevented. The at least one touch protection tab can be fastened to the actuating element or formed integrally with the actuating element, for example in the form of an injection-molded part.

[0013] According to feature c), the connecting terminal has at least one display element, by means of which it can be shown that the actuating element has been actuated sufficiently into the switch-on position, in which the electrical conductor is connected to the at least one clip contact. This allows simple and rapid control of the correct contacting of the electrical conductor. Thus, the user can easily recognize whether the manual actuating element has been moved far enough toward the switch-on position.

[0014] The display element can be designed in particular as an optical display element, for example as a light guide, a light guide shaft or another luminous component.

[0015] According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the display element is designed as a purely mechanical component that can be moved by means of a manual operating element. This has the advantage that the display element does not require an electrical energy supply. In addition, the display element can be realized relatively simply and cost-effectively, for example as part of a touch protection tab of the operating element. For example, the free end of such a touch protection tab can form the display element.

[0016] The housing of the connecting terminal can have a receiving channel for receiving at least one touch protection tab. The at least one touch protection tab is then guided in the receiving channel. Since the actuating element is pivotally mounted, the actuating element performs a pivoting movement during manual actuation. Accordingly, the receiving channel for the at least one touch protection tab can be designed as a curved receiving channel having a radius of curvature corresponding to the pivoting movement of the actuating element.

[0017] The at least one touch protection web can be designed as a curved touch protection web. The curvature of the at least one touch protection web can extend concentrically with the rotation axis of the operating element.

[0018] The at least one clip contact can be designed as a movable clip contact, for example in such a way that the at least one clip contact can be moved in the housing by means of an actuating element in order to press the at least one clip contact against the electrical conductor.

[0019] According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, at least one clip contact is fixed relative to the housing of the connecting terminal. In this way, the contact plug arranged in the housing of the connecting terminal can be designed particularly simply and robustly, for example, it can be designed as a stamped and bent component with at least one clip contact or a plurality of clip contacts.

[0020] According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the actuating element is designed as a pivotable actuating lever, which can be pivoted about a fixed or variable rotation axis. This allows the connecting terminal to be easily actuated with moderate manual actuation force. In the case of a variable rotation axis, the actuating lever can be mounted, for example, in a floating manner.

[0021] According to an advantageous design of the present invention, the actuating element has an actuating arm extending from the housing of the connecting terminal, by which the actuating element can be manually moved into the switched-on position without tools. This allows the user to actuate the connecting terminal in a simple and ergonomic manner. By designing the length of the actuating arm accordingly, the actuating forces can be minimized.

[0022] According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, a touch protection tab is provided on one side or on two sides facing away from each other of the actuating element, in particular by being formed integrally with the actuating element. This allows a particularly high contact safety of the connecting terminal, in particular in all switched positions of the actuating element.

[0023] When the touch protection tabs are located on two sides of the operating element that face away from each other, a conductive contact plug and / or at least one clip contact arranged in the housing of the terminal block can be covered by one touch protection element in the on position of the manual operating element and by another touch protection tab in the off position of the manual operating element.

[0024] According to an advantageous design of the present invention, at least one cutting and clamping contact has at least two sides, between which a V-shaped cutting groove is formed, and the two sides in particular have cutting edges that are opposite to each other. Then, the electrical conductor can be accommodated between the at least two sides in a clamped manner. This allows the insulation of the electrical conductor to be reliably stripped and subsequently clamped. For example, at least two sides can initially have cutting edges in the region of their free ends for performing the stripping process, i.e., for splitting the insulating sheath. A clamping section for fixing and clamping the conductive core can be connected to the cutting edge, and the clamping section is designed to be less sharp than the cutting edge.

[0025] According to an advantageous design of the present invention, at least one unlocking element is arranged on the side of the actuating element facing away from the cutting contact. This allows a simple and intuitive manual actuation of the connecting terminal to unlock the actuating element.

[0026] For example, the actuating element can be fixed in the switched-on position by locking at least one touch protection tab to the housing. Unlocking by the unlocking element can be performed in the following manner: the unlocking element is pressed onto the touch protection tab in the manner of a push piece, so that, for example, the touch protection tab is released from the locked position by elastic deformation of the touch protection tab.

[0027] According to an advantageous design of the present invention, at least one unlocking element is arranged in an unlocking groove of the housing. This enables a structurally simple and reliable placement of the unlocking element. In addition, the unlocking element can be held in the unlocking groove in a form-fitting manner so that the unlocking element does not fall out of the housing.

[0028] According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is proposed that the actuating element has a hollow channel through which the electrical conductor can be introduced into the housing of the terminal at least in the disconnected position of the actuating element. In this way, the terminal can be realized in a particularly miniaturized manner, since no separate conductor insertion opening is required for the electrical conductor. More precisely, the actuating element can contain the conductor insertion opening through the hollow channel. The hollow channel can be surrounded and bounded by a wall as part of the actuating element.

[0029] According to an advantageous design of the present invention, a pressure surface is formed on the operating element, and when the operating element is manually operated to the switch-on position, the electrical conductor can be pressed against at least one clip contact by the pressure surface and can be electrically contacted at the at least one clip contact. This ensures safe contact of the electrical conductor at the clip contact. This further improves the functional safety of the terminal.

[0030] According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the pressure surface is formed on the inner side of the wall of the actuating element which surrounds and delimits the hollow channel. The actuating element is formed in this way as a multifunctional component of the terminal, which has both the function of clamping the electrical conductor and the function of releasing the electrical conductor from the cutting and clamping contact.

[0031] In the sense of the present invention, the indefinite article "a" is not to be understood as a numeral. That is to say, for example, if "a component" is mentioned, this should be interpreted in the sense of "at least one component". Whenever an angle is specified in degrees, it relates to a circle size of 360 degrees (360°). BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0032] The present invention will be explained in detail below based on embodiments using the accompanying drawings.

[0033] The accompanying drawings show:

[0034] Figure 1 A connecting terminal is shown in a three-dimensional view.

[0035] Figure 2 The cut-clip contacts and electrical conductors are shown,

[0036] Figure 3 Show according to Figure 1 The operating elements of the terminal blocks,

[0037] Figure 4 Show according to Figure 1 Side cross-sectional view of the terminal block. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0038] exist Figure 11 , which is designed, for example, as a rail-mounted terminal and has a housing 2. In the housing 2 there is a contact insert 3 which, in the exemplary embodiment, has two clip contacts 30. The clip contacts 30 are connected to one another via an electrically conductive connection 31, such as a busbar. The clip contacts 30 are each used to connect an electrical conductor 9 (at Figure 2 As shown in FIG. 1 , the electrical conductor comprises a conductive core 91 and an insulating sheath 90 that wraps the conductive core 91.

[0039] exist Figure 1 It can also be seen that the connecting terminal 1 has a pivotally supported actuating element 5 associated with the clamping contact 30 for each clamping contact 30. The actuating element 5 has an actuating arm 50 similar to a lever arm extending from the housing 2, which is used to manually actuate the actuating element 5. A hollow channel 51 of the actuating element 5 is connected to the actuating arm 50, through which an electrical conductor 9 can be introduced into the housing 2. At least one touch protection tab 52 is also provided on the actuating element 5, wherein in the exemplary embodiment, the actuating element 5 has a touch protection tab 52 on two sides facing away from each other. The touch protection tab 52 is formed in a curved manner so that it can concentrically follow the pivoting movement of the actuating element 5 in the manner described. A corresponding receiving channel 20 is formed in the housing 2, which is used to receive and guide the corresponding touch protection tab 52.

[0040] It can also be seen that an unlocking element 6 which is respectively associated with the actuating element 5 is arranged in the housing 2 , the function of which will be discussed below.

[0041] Figure 2 The diagram illustrates an advantageous embodiment of the cutting and clamping contact 30. The cutting and clamping contact 30 has at least two sides 31, between which a V-shaped cutting groove is formed. In the region of the V-shaped cutting groove, a cutting edge 32 is provided at each side 31. During the further introduction of the electrical conductor, a clamping section 33 is formed at the corresponding side 31 behind the cutting edge 32, to which the electrical conductor 9 or its conductive core 91 is finally fixedly clamped. The cutting edge 32 serves to split the insulating sheath 90.

[0042] Figure 3An advantageous embodiment of an actuating element 5, more precisely in the form of a pivotably mounted actuating lever, is shown with further details. A hollow channel 51 for inserting an electrical conductor 9 can also be seen. The hollow channel 51 ends at a conductor stop 53, which limits the maximum insertion depth of the electrical conductor 9. In the hollow channel 51, an opening 54 is formed in the wall surrounding and delimiting the hollow channel 51, obviously in front of the conductor stop 53, for inserting the corresponding cutting contact 30. It can also be seen that the touch protection tab 52 can be integrally molded on the actuating element 5.

[0043] The hollow channel 51 can be bounded, for example, by three walls of the actuating element 5 and by the inner surface of the wall of the housing 2, so that the hollow channel is bounded on four sides by the walls (see Figure 1 ).

[0044] The actuating arm 50 can be formed by a wall which delimits the hollow channel 51 and projects further from the housing 2 than a wall of the hollow channel 51 lying opposite the actuating arm 50 . This allows access for electrical lines arranged at an angle outside the housing 2 .

[0045] In this case, the wall surrounding the delimiting hollow channel 51 can include a pressure surface 56 for pressing the electrical conductor onto the cutting contact 30, i.e. when the actuating element 5 is pressed, as in Figure 1 The disconnected position shown in FIG. 1 is moved to the Figure 4 In the switched-on position shown on the right in the middle, the electrical conductor 9 is pressed into the cutting groove by means of the pressure surface 56. On the side opposite the pressure surface 56, on the inner side of the wall surrounding the bounding hollow channel 51, a release surface 57 is formed, through which the electrical conductor is released again from the cutting contact 30 when the actuating element 5 is moved from the switched-on position into the disconnected position.

[0046] Furthermore, the actuating lever 5 can have a bearing axis 55 which simultaneously forms the rotation axis of the actuating element 5 during pivoting. The bearing axis 55 can be accommodated in a corresponding receptacle of the housing 2, for example.

[0047] Figure 4 The connecting terminal 1 is shown in the following state, wherein the actuating element 50 shown on the left is in an off position, in which an electrical conductor can be introduced into or removed from the hollow channel 51. The actuating element 50 shown on the right is in an on position, in which an electrical conductor can be connected to the clip contact 30. In this state, the electrical conductor cannot be removed from the hollow channel 51.

[0048] As in Figure 4In the figure, it can be seen that the free end of the touch protection tab 52, if necessary together with the receiving channel 20 of the housing 2, forms a display element 4, by means of which it is optically displayed to the user that the manual actuating element 5 is fully actuated into the switched-on position, in which the electrical line 9 is connected to the clamping contact 30. In the actuating element 5 shown on the right, the free end of the touch protection tab 52 protrudes slightly from the housing 2 or the receiving channel 20. In the off position shown on the left, the free end of the touch protection tab 52 does not protrude from the receiving channel 20. This can be optically assisted by different color combinations of the actuating tab 52 and the housing 2.

[0049] exist Figure 4 It can also be seen that the actuating element 5 is fixed in the switched-on position, for example by the touch protection tab 52 being locked in the receiving channel 20 at the locking edge 22. In the receiving channel 20, a plurality of locking edges 22 can be provided one after the other, so that the actuating element 5 can be locked in different positions, thereby preventing movement into the switched-off position.

[0050] In the unlocking groove 21 of the housing 2, unlocking elements 6 are arranged, each of which is associated with a touch protection tab 52. The unlocking elements 6 can be designed, for example, in the form of a push piece. By actuating the unlocking element 6, for example, by applying pressure to the unlocking element 6, the actuating element 5 can be released in the locked position, for example, by the touch protection tab 52 being elastically slightly deflected by the unlocking element 6 and thus released from the latching edge 22. The actuating element 5 can then be pivoted back to the disconnected position by manual actuation at the actuating arm 50.

[0051] Reference numerals list

[0052] 1 Terminal block

[0053] 2 Shell

[0054] 3 Contact Plug-in

[0055] 4 Display components

[0056] 5. Control elements

[0057] 6 Unlocking elements

[0058] 9 Electrical wires

[0059] 20 Accommodation Channels

[0060] 21 Unlock Slots

[0061] 22 Locking edges

[0062] 30 Cutting contact part

[0063] 31Conductive connector

[0064] 32 cutting edges

[0065] 33 Clamping section

[0066] 34 Side

[0067] 50 Manipulator Arm

[0068] 51 Hollow Channel

[0069] 52 Touch protection tab

[0070] 53 wire stopper

[0071] 54 Open

[0072] 55 Support shaft

[0073] 56 Pressure surface

[0074] 57 Loosen the surface

[0075] 90 Insulation Sheath

[0076] 91 conductive core

Claims

1. A terminal (1) for connecting an electrical conductor (9), the electrical conductor having a conductive core (91) and an insulating sheath (90) surrounding the conductive core (91), the terminal having a housing (2) and at least one clipping contact portion (30), the electrical conductor (9) being able to be electrically contacted at the at least one clipping contact portion by means of a clipping process without previously stripping the insulating sheath of the insulating sheath (90), the insulating sheath (90) being partially cut open during the clipping process, and the terminal having at least one pivotally supported operating element (5), the electrical conductor (9) being able to be electrically contacted at the at least one clipping contact portion (30) by manually operating the operating element, characterized in that The connecting terminal (1) has one, more or all of the following features a), b), and c): a) the actuating element (5) can be fixed to a structural element of the connecting terminal (1) at least in a switched-on position in which the electrical conductor (9) is connected to the clamping contact (30), wherein the connecting terminal (1) has at least one unlocking element (6) by means of which the fixing of the actuating element (5) in the switched-on position can be released, b) at least one touch protection web (52) is present on the actuating element (5), the conductive contact plug (3) and / or the at least one clip contact (30) arranged in the housing (2) of the connecting terminal (1) being covered by the at least one touch protection web in the switched-on position and / or switched-off position of the manual actuating element (5), c) The connecting terminal (1) has at least one display element (4), by means of which it is possible to display that the actuating element (5) has been fully actuated into a switched-on position in which the electrical conductor (9) is connected to the at least one clamping contact (30).

2. The connection terminal according to claim 1, characterized in that: The display element (4) is designed as a purely mechanical component which can be moved by means of a manual operating element (5).

3. The connecting terminal according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that The display element (4) is designed as part of a touch protection web (52) of the operating element (5).

4. The connecting terminal according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that The at least one clip contact portion (30) is fixed relative to the housing (2) of the connection terminal (1).

5. The connecting terminal according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that The operating element (5) is designed as a pivotable operating lever which can be pivoted about a fixed or variable rotation axis.

6. The connecting terminal according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that The actuating element (5) has an actuating arm (50) which projects from a housing (2) of the connecting terminal (1) and by which the actuating element (5) can be moved manually into the switched-on position without tools.

7. The connecting terminal according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that A touch protection web (52) is provided on the actuating element (5) on one side or on two sides facing away from each other, in particular by being formed integrally with the actuating element (5).

8. The connecting terminal according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that The at least one cutting contact (30) has at least two sides (34), between which a V-shaped cutting groove is formed, and the two sides have, in particular, mutually opposite cutting edges (32).

9. The connecting terminal according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that The at least one unlocking element (6) is arranged on a side of the actuating element (5) facing away from the cutting contact (30).

10. The connecting terminal according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that The at least one unlocking element (6) is arranged in an unlocking groove (21) of the housing (2).

11. The connecting terminal according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that The actuating element (5) has a hollow channel (51) through which the electrical line (9) can be introduced into the housing (2) of the connecting terminal (1) at least in the off position of the actuating element (5).

12. The connecting terminal according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that A pressure surface (56) is formed on the actuating element (5), by which the electrical line (9) can be pressed against the at least one clamping contact (30) and can be electrically contacted at the at least one clamping contact when the actuating element (5) is manually actuated into the switched-on position.

13. The connection terminal according to claim 12, characterized in that: The pressure surface (56) is formed on the inner side of a wall of the actuating element (5) which delimits the hollow channel (51).

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