Wiring terminal

Abstract

The invention relates to a connection terminal having at least one conductor clamping connection for connecting an electrical conductor, the conductor clamping connection having a connecting body and a clamping body, the clamping body being rotatably mounted by means of a rotary bearing, wherein the electrical conductor can be firmly clamped between the clamping body and a clamping point formed on the connection body.

Description

Field of the Invention

[0001] The present invention relates to a terminal block having at least one wire clamping connection for connecting electrical wires, wherein the wire clamping connection has a connecting body and a clamping body, the clamping body being rotatably supported by means of a rotary support device, and an electrical wire can be firmly clamped between the clamping body and a clamping portion formed at the connecting body. Background Art

[0002] This type of terminal block is known from DE 10 2021 134 296 A1. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The object underlying the present invention is to provide an improved terminal block with a rotatably supported clamping body.

[0004] The object is achieved in a terminal block of the type described at the beginning in that the terminal block has a movable support device by means of which the clamping body is movably supported relative to the clamping portion of the connecting body. Thus, the known rotary support device of the clamping body is supplemented by a movable support device, so that by means of the movable support device, the clamping body is not only rotatably supported, but also additionally movably supported relative to the connecting body. The clamping body, i.e., in particular the entire clamping body, can be positioned at a variable distance from the clamping portion by means of this movable support device.

[0005] This terminal block advantageously allows an electrical wire to be directly inserted into the terminal block and correspondingly connected at the clamping portion. Here, it is not necessary to previously open the clamping portion by means of a dedicated operating element as in known terminal blocks. Rather, the electrical wire can be directly inserted.

[0006] Compared with self-triggering terminal blocks, the terminal block according to the present invention has the advantage that it is not necessary to first hold the spring-loaded wire clamping connection in an open and correspondingly pre-tensioned position. Correspondingly, in the terminal block according to the present invention, problems such as the pre-tensioned clamping legs disengaging autonomously in the case of vibrations do not occur either. In this way, the operation and reliable function of the terminal block are improved.

[0007] When an electrical wire is inserted into the terminal block, the clamping body can roll on the electrical wire and is additionally deflected slightly in the direction of its movement by the inserted electrical wire, i.e., slightly pressed away from the clamping portion. The clamping of such directly inserted wires is carried out particularly reliably. The electrical wire is thus fixed to the clamping portion by the clamping body.

[0008] By inserting an electrical conductor into a terminal, the electrical conductor is pulled by a clamping body into a desired clamping and contact position at the clamping site. When inserting the electrical conductor, the clamping body can be rotated only by the electrical conductor. The terminal can additionally have a torsion spring by means of which the rotation of the clamping body is additionally supported.

[0009] The terminal can be configured in a manner similar to a grommet clamp (Curry-Klemme) from the sailing field with respect to a rotatably supported clamping body. The terminal can for example have only one rotatable and additionally movably supported clamping body. The terminal can also have a pair of such rotatable and movably supported clamping bodies which are opposed to one another. In the case of such a pair of clamping bodies, the electrical conductor can be firmly clamped between the clamping bodies.

[0010] It is also feasible that only one of the rotatably supported clamping bodies is configured to be movably supported by means of a movable support device. The other clamping body can for example be rotatably supported only via a rotary support device.

[0011] The connecting body can for example be configured as a busbar. The connecting body can also be a movably supported component of the terminal, for example in the form of another clamping body which, as mentioned above, is configured as a mating part for the rotatable and movably supported clamping body. The movable connecting body can for example be configured like another clamping body rotatably supported by means of a rotary support device. The connecting body can additionally be movably supported via another movable support device similar to the clamping body, but this is not absolutely necessary.

[0012] According to an advantageous design of the invention, the rotary support device has a rotary axis about which the clamping body can rotate. The rotary axis can for example be formed by a shaft connected to the clamping body or as a support pin protruding at the clamping body. The rotary axis or the shaft can be supported in a support element of the terminal, for example in a support element connected to the connecting body.

[0013] According to an advantageous design of the invention, the movable support device has a support element with an oblong hole in which the rotary axis is movably arranged. The rotary axis and thus the clamping body can generally be positioned at a variable distance from the clamping site by means of this oblong hole.

[0014] According to an advantageous design of the present invention, the clamping body is shaped eccentrically with respect to the rotation about its axis of rotation along the wire insertion direction into the connection terminal and / or is shaped eccentrically with respect to the rotation about its axis of rotation against the wire insertion direction. Thereby, even in the case of simply directly inserting the electrical wire, a particularly reliable clamping of the electrical wire can be achieved. When the electrical wire is inserted into the connection terminal, due to the eccentric configuration of the clamping body with respect to the rotation about its axis of rotation along the wire insertion direction, an automatic deflection of the clamping body along the movement direction of the movable support device is achieved. By means of the eccentric shaping against the wire insertion direction, an undesired detachment of the electrical wire from the connection terminal is avoided, and a self-reinforcing clamping occurs when the wire is pulled against the wire insertion direction. The desired eccentricity of the clamping body can be achieved, for example, by a radius of the clamping body increasing along the wire insertion direction and / or against the wire insertion direction. If the eccentricity is to be achieved in both directions, the clamping body can have an outer radius extending elliptically.

[0015] According to an advantageous design of the present invention, the oblong hole has a locking portion with a plurality of locking positions into which the axis of rotation can be respectively snapped. In this way, at the preset locking positions, a corresponding at least temporarily firm axis of rotation of the clamping body is provided. The axis of rotation can only leave the locking position when a specific minimum force acting on the clamping body is exceeded.

[0016] According to an advantageous design of the present invention, the clamping body has a plurality of teeth at least on the surface side oriented towards the clamping portion of the connecting body. Thus, the teeth project radially at the surface of the clamping body. Here, the longitudinal extension of each tooth can be oriented transversely to the wire insertion direction, in particular perpendicular to the wire insertion direction. The connecting body is designed by means of the teeth and is similar to a gear. The clamping of the electrical wire can be designed more reliably by means of the teeth. In particular, one or more teeth can be slightly embedded in the surface of the connected electrical wire, similar to the clamping edges in a spring force connection terminal.

[0017] According to an advantageous design of the present invention, the clamping body has a convexly arched outer contour oriented towards the clamping portion. The convex arched portion can be, for example, circular or elliptical (oval). Here, the cross-section of the clamping body can be shaped, for example, like a sector of a circle or an ellipse.

[0018] According to an advantageous design of the present invention, the clamping body is configured as a metallic clamping body. In particular, the clamping body can be formed of a metal harder than copper, so that the clamping body can clamp particularly well at the electrical wire made of copper with its teeth, if any. In addition, the clamping body can have electrical conductivity in order to conduct the current flowing via the connected electrical wire.

[0019] According to an advantageous design of the present invention, the terminal has a retaining spring, by means of which the clamping body is spring-loaded towards the clamping site. Thereby, the clamping of the electrical conductor at the clamping site is designed more reliably. By the force of the retaining spring, the connected electrical conductor also bears the load and presses against the clamping site. If the terminal is configured without a retaining spring, the clamping body presses towards the clamping site, for example, under the action of gravity.

[0020] According to an advantageous design of the present invention, the terminal has an anti-rotator, by means of which the set rotational position of the clamping body can be maintained. Thereby, the reliability of the firm clamping of the electrical conductor is further improved. By means of the anti-rotator, for example, the clamping body can only rotate about its axis of rotation with increased force consumption. The anti-rotator can act steplessly or in preset stages, for example, acting in the locking stages described below.

[0021] According to an advantageous design of the present invention, the anti-rotator has a rotational locking part, by means of which the set rotational position of the clamping body can be held in a preset locking stage. In this way, the definite rotational position of the clamping body can be held particularly reliably. The anti-rotator can be connected to the clamping body in a torsion-resistant manner. The rotational locking part can be spring-loaded, for example, particularly by the aforementioned retaining spring.

[0022] According to an advantageous design of the present invention, the clamping body is rotatably supported via a return locking member, wherein the rotation of the clamping body in the rotational direction is prohibited by the return locking member. In this way, in particular, the backward rotation of the clamping body, which may occur when the electrical conductor is pulled out of the terminal, can be prohibited. The return locking member can have, for example, a one-way clutch, for example, in the form of a freewheel.

[0023] As long as the connecting body is configured as another clamping body, the connecting body can have one, several or all of the features mentioned above with respect to the clamping body.

[0024] In the sense of the present invention, the indefinite article "a" should not be understood as a numeral. Therefore, when referring to a component, for example, this should be interpreted in the sense of "at least one component". As long as the angular specification is in degrees, the angular specification relates to the circular dimension of 360 degrees (360°).

[0025] The present invention will be described in detail below based on embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings. Description of the Drawings

[0026] The drawings show:

[0027] Figure 1The terminal is shown in a perspective view before inserting the electrical conductor.

[0028] Figure 2 Shown in a first side view according to Figure 1 the arrangement of

[0029] Figure 3 Shown in a second side view according to Figure 1 the arrangement of

[0030] Figure 4 The terminal with the inserted electrical conductor is shown in a perspective view according to Figure 1 the arrangement of

[0031] Figure 5 Shown in a first side view according to Figure 4 the arrangement of

[0032] Figure 6 Shown in a second side view according to Figure 4 the arrangement of Detailed Description

[0033] Figure 2 and Figure 5 show the corresponding arrangements respectively from one side, Figure 3 and Figure 6 show the corresponding arrangements respectively from the opposite sides.

[0034] As can be seen in Figures 1 to 3 the terminal 1 has a wire clamping connection which has a connecting body 3, such as a bus bar, and a clamping body 5. The electrical conductor 9 can be firmly clamped in the terminal 1 and is in electrical contact between the clamping part 30 of the clamping body 5 and the connecting body 3. The connecting body 3 is advantageously made of a material with good electrical conductivity.

[0035] The terminal 1 can also have a housing, such as an insulating material housing. In this case, at least most of the wire clamping connection is arranged in the housing

[0036] The clamping body 5 is rotatably supported via a rotary support device which can have a rotary shaft 61. The rotary shaft 61, which is configured as a support pin in this embodiment, is supported in the support element 7 and can perform a rotary movement therein. The clamping body 5 has a plurality of teeth 50 at its convexly arched outer contour oriented towards the clamping part 30, similar to the teeth in a gear.

[0037] Furthermore, the clamping body 5 is movably supported via a movable support device. The movable support device is realized by an elongated hole 71 in the support element 7. The elongated hole 71 extends substantially orthogonally to the clamping part 30, where the elongated hole 71 can have a straight or curved course. The clamping body 5 can be movably supported linearly or arcuately in the movable support device.

[0038] As can be seen, the support element 7 can be integrally formed with the connecting body 3, for example in the form of a laterally erected bent tab. The support element 7 can also be configured as a separate component, which is arranged at the connecting body 3. Thereby, a self-supporting wire clamping connection can be provided.

[0039] The support element 7 has a locking part with a plurality of locking positions 70 on one side of the oblong hole 71, for example on the side closest to the wire introduction side of the terminal 1. The rotary shaft 61 can be locked in each of the locking positions 70 so as to be held therein at least until a moving force overcoming the locking occurs.

[0040] Furthermore, the terminal has a holding spring 4, which can be fastened, for example, on one side to the connecting body 3 or a component 31 connected thereto. The holding spring 4 acts on the clamping body 5 with a certain spring force such that the clamping body 5 is spring-loaded towards the clamping part 30. As shown in the figure, the holding spring 4 can be configured as an elongated spring arm. The holding spring 4 can also be designed in other forms, for example as a helical spring acting on the clamping body 5 with pressure.

[0041] Furthermore, the terminal 1 can have an anti-rotator 6, by means of which the set rotational position of the clamping body 5 can be maintained. For example, the anti-rotator 6 can have a rotational locking part 60, for example in the form of teeth protruding at the outer circumference of the anti-rotator 6, which engage with a spring element. In an advantageous design, the spring element can be the already existing holding spring 4, which can engage with an engagement section 40 into the corresponding free spaces between the teeth of the rotational locking part 60, so that the set rotational position of the clamping body 5 can be held in a preset locking stage. In the case of overcoming the force of the holding spring 4, the clamping body 5 can then overcome the rotational locking part 60 and twist.

[0042] List of reference numerals

[0043] 1 Terminal

[0044] 3 Connecting body

[0045] 4 Holding spring

[0046] 5 Clamping body

[0047] 6 Anti-rotator

[0048] 7 Support element

[0049] 9 Electric wire

[0050] 30 Clamping part

[0051] 31 Component

[0052] 40 joint segments

[0053] 50 teeth

[0054] 60 rotation locking part

[0055] 61 rotation axis

[0056] 70 locking position

[0057] 71 oblong hole

[0058] L wire insertion direction

Claims

1. A terminal (1), the terminal having at least one wire clamping connection for connecting an electrical wire (9), wherein the wire clamping connection has a connecting body (3) and a clamping body (5), the clamping body being rotatably supported by means of a rotary support device, wherein an electrical wire (9) can be firmly clamped between the clamping body (5) and a clamping portion (30) formed at the connecting body (3), characterized in that The terminal (1) has a movable support device by which the clamping body (5) is movably supported relative to the clamping portion (30) of the connecting body (3).

2. The terminal according to claim 1, characterized in that, The clamping body (5) can be positioned at a variable distance from the clamping portion (30) by means of the movable support device.

3. The terminal according to any one of the above claims, characterized in that, The rotary support device has a rotary shaft (61) about which the clamping body (5) can rotate.

4. The terminal block according to claim 3, wherein The movable support device has a support element (7) with an oblong hole (71), in which the rotary shaft (61) is movably arranged.

5. The terminal according to any one of claims 3 to 4, characterized in that, The clamping body (5) is shaped eccentrically with respect to rotation about its rotary shaft (61) along the wire insertion direction (L) of the electric wire (9) into the terminal (1) and / or is shaped eccentrically with respect to rotation about its rotary shaft (61) against the wire insertion direction (L).

6. The terminal according to any one of claims 3 to 5, characterized in that The oblong hole (71) has a locking portion with a plurality of locking positions (70) into which the rotary shaft (61) can be snapped respectively.

7. The terminal according to any one of the above claims, characterized in that, The clamping body (5) has a plurality of teeth (50) at least on the surface side oriented towards the clamping portion (30) of the connecting body (3).

8. The terminal according to any one of the above claims, characterized in that The clamping body (5) has a convexly arched outer contour oriented towards the clamping portion (30).

9. The terminal according to any one of the above claims, characterized in that, The clamping body (5) is configured as a metallic clamping body.

10. The terminal according to any one of the above claims, characterized in that, The terminal (1) has a retaining spring (4) by which the clamping body (5) is spring-loaded towards the clamping portion (30).

11. The terminal block according to any one of the above claims, characterized in that, The terminal (1) has an anti-rotator (6) by means of which the set rotational position of the clamping body (5) can be held.

12. The terminal according to claim 11, characterized in that, The anti-rotator (6) has a rotational locking portion (60) by which the set rotational position of the clamping body (5) can be held at a preset locking level.

13. The terminal according to any one of the above claims, characterized in that, The clamping body (5) is rotatably supported via a return lock, by which rotation of the clamping body (5) in the rotational direction is prohibited.

Images