Terminal block for connecting an electrical conductor

Abstract

The invention relates to a conductor terminal for connecting an electrical conductor having an electrically conductive core and an insulating sheath surrounding the electrically conductive core, comprising a housing and at least one insulation displacement contact to which the electrical conductor can be electrically connected without prior stripping of the insulating sheath by means of an insulation displacement process in which the insulating sheath is partially cut open, and comprising at least one pivotably mounted actuating element by which the electrical conductor can be electrically connected to the at least one insulation displacement contact by manual actuation. The housing can, for example, be designed as an insulating housing.

Description

The invention relates to a conductor connection terminal for connecting an electrical conductor, which has an electrically conductive core and an insulation sheath surrounding the electrically conductive core, having a housing and at least one insulation displacement contact, on which the electrical conductor can be electrically contacted without prior stripping of the insulation sheath by means of an insulation displacement process, in which the insulation sheath is partially cut open, and having at least one pivotably mounted actuating element, by the manual actuation of which the electrical conductor can be electrically contacted at the at least one insulation displacement contact. The housing can be designed, for example, as an insulating material housing.Such a conductor connection terminal is known, for example, from DE 29 02 636 C2.The invention is based on the object of further improving such a conductor connection terminal.This object is achieved in a conductor connection terminal of the type mentioned at the beginning by one, more or all of the features a), b), c) of claim 1.As mentioned, the conductor connection terminal has its own manual actuating element. By means of such a manual actuating element, the conductor connection terminal can be operated completely or at least predominantly without tools. In particular, no external tool is required for connecting the electrical conductor by means of the insulation displacement process, since this can be effected by the manual actuating element.In such a conductor connection terminal, the electrical conductor can be easily and quickly connected to the conductor connection terminal without a special type of preparation, such as stripping and / or crimping, and in particular also without a separate actuating tool.Such an insulation displacement contact is also referred to as an IDC contact.The actuating element can be moved by a pivoting process in particular from an unactuated position, in which the electrical conductor can be inserted into the conductor connection terminal or can be removed therefrom and is not connected to the insulation displacement contact, into an actuated position, in which the electrical conductor is connected to the insulation displacement contact. The actuating element can also be moved back from the actuated position into the unactuated position by an opposite pivoting process.According to feature a), the actuating element can be fixed to a component of the conductor connection terminal, e.g. to the housing of the conductor connection terminal, at least in an actuated position, in which the electrical conductor is connected to the insulation displacement contact, wherein the conductor connection terminal has at least one unlocking element, with which the fixing of the actuating element in the actuated position can be canceled. As a result, the actuating element is secured in the actuated position, so that it is simultaneously ensured that the electrical conductor connected to the insulation displacement contact also remains there and cannot unintentionally be released again. A high level of contact safety is thus ensured.By means of the unlocking element, the fixing of the actuating element can be canceled, for example by a simple manual actuation of the unlocking element, so that the actuating element can again be freely moved between the actuated and the unactuated position. The actuating element can then be moved back into the unactuated position, for example, so that the connected electrical conductor can be removed from the insulation displacement contact again by the actuating element, so that the electrical conductor can then be removed from the conductor connection terminal. Here too, the conductor connection terminal can be operated completely or at least predominantly without tools, in particular without external tools.For example, the actuating element can be detentable in the actuated position, e.g. on the housing of the conductor connection terminal. This locking can be released by means of the unlocking element.According to feature b), at least one contact protection tab is provided on the actuating element, by means of which an electrically conductive contact insert arranged in the housing of the conductor connection terminal and / or the at least one insulation displacement contact is covered in the actuated and / or unactuated position of the manual actuating element and is accordingly shielded from the external environment. This achieves a high level of contact safety of the conductor connection terminal with simple means. Current-carrying components located within the housing of the conductor connection terminal are thus protected from unintentional access from the outside. The at least one contact protection tab can be fastened to the actuating element or can be formed integrally with the actuating element, for example in the form of an injection molded part.According to feature c), the conductor connection terminal has at least one indicator element, by means of which a sufficient actuation of the actuating element into the actuated position, in which the electrical conductor is connected to the at least one insulation displacement contact, can be indicated. This allows simple and rapid checking of the correct contacting of the electrical conductor. The user can thus easily recognize whether the manual actuating element has been moved sufficiently far in the direction of the actuated position.The display element can be designed in particular as an optical display element, for example as a light guide, light-conducting shaft or other light-emitting component.According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the display element is designed as a purely mechanical component which is movable by means of the manual actuating 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, such as, for example, as part of a contact protection tab of the actuating element. For example, the free end of such a contact protection tab can form the display element.The housing of the conductor connection terminal can have a receiving channel for receiving the at least one contact protection tab. The at least one contact protection tab is then guided in this receiving channel. Since the actuating element is pivotably mounted, it thus carries out a pivoting movement upon manual actuation. The receiving channel for the at least one contact protection tab can accordingly be designed as a curved receiving channel which has a radius of curvature corresponding to the pivoting movement of the actuating element.The at least one contact protection tab can be designed as a curved contact protection tab. The curvature of the at least one contact protection tab can run concentrically to the axis of rotation of the actuating element.The at least one insulation displacement contact can be designed as a movable insulation displacement contact, for example in such a way that the at least one insulation displacement contact can be moved in the housing by means of the actuating element in order to press the latter against the electrical conductor.According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the at least one insulation displacement contact is fixed relative to the housing of the conductor connection terminal. In this way, a contact insert arranged in the housing of the conductor connection terminal can be designed in a particularly simple and robust manner, for example as a stamped and bent component which has the at least one insulation displacement contact or a plurality of insulation displacement contacts.According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the actuating element is designed as a pivotable actuating lever which is pivotable about a fixed or spatially variable axis of rotation. This allows simple actuation of the conductor connection terminal with moderate manual actuation force. In the case of a movable axis of rotation, the actuating lever can be mounted in a floating manner, for example.According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the actuating element has an actuating arm which protrudes from the housing of the conductor connection terminal and by means of which the actuating element can be moved manually into the actuated position without tools. This allows simple ergonomic actuation of the conductor connection terminal by the user. By appropriate configuration of the length of the actuating arm, the actuating forces can be minimized.According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that a contact protection tab is arranged on the actuating element on one side or on two sides facing away from each other, in particular by integral formation with the actuating element. This allows a particularly high level of contact safety of the conductor connection terminal, in particular in all actuating positions of the actuating element.In the case of contact protection tabs on two mutually remote sides of the actuating element, an electrically conductive contact insert arranged in the housing of the conductor connection terminal and / or the at least one insulation displacement contact can be covered by the one contact protection tab in the actuated position of the manual actuating element and can be covered by the other contact protection tab in the unactuated position of the manual actuating element.According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the at least one insulation displacement contact has at least two legs, between which a V-shaped cutting slot is formed, in particular with mutually opposite cutters. The electrical conductor can then be received in a clamping manner between the at least two limbs. This allows reliable insulation removal and subsequent clamping of the electrical conductor. For example, the at least two legs can have, in the region of their free ends, first cutters for carrying out the stripping process, i.e. for cutting open the insulation sheathing. The cutting edges can be adjoined by a clamping section for clamping the electrically conductive core, which clamping section is designed with less sharp edges than the cutting edges.According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the at least one unlocking element is arranged on a side of the actuating element facing away from the insulation displacement contact. This allows simple and intuitive manual actuation of the conductor connection terminal for unlocking the actuating element.For example, the actuation element can be fixed in the actuated position by latching at least one contact protection tab on the housing. The unlocking by the unlocking element can be effected in that the unlocking element is pressed against the contact protection tab in the manner of a pusher and thus guides the latter out of the locked position, for example by elastic deformation of the contact protection tab.According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the at least one unlocking element is arranged in an unlocking shaft of the housing. This enables a reliable placement of the unlocking element that is simple to implement in terms of design. In addition, the unlocking element can be held in the unlocking shaft in a form-fitting manner, so that it does not fall out of the housing.According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the actuating element has a hollow channel through which the electrical conductor can be introduced into the housing of the conductor connection terminal at least in the unactuated position of the actuating element. In this way, the conductor connection terminal can be realized in a particularly small construction, since no separate conductor insertion opening for the electrical conductor is required. Rather, the actuating element can contain this conductor insertion opening through the hollow channel. The hollow channel may be bounded by walls that are parts of the actuator.According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that a pressure surface is formed on the actuating element, by means of which pressure surface the electrical conductor can be pressed against the at least one insulation displacement contact and electrically contacted thereon when the actuating element is manually actuated into the actuated position. This ensures reliable contacting of the electrical conductor at the insulation displacement contact. The functional reliability of the conductor connection terminal is thus further improved.According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the pressure surface is formed on an inner side of a wall of the actuating element enclosing the hollow channel. The actuating element is thus formed as a multifunctional component of the conductor connection terminal, which contains functions both for clamping the electrical conductor and for releasing the electrical conductor from the insulation displacement contact.In the sense of the present invention, the indefinite term "a" is not to be understood as a numerical word. Thus, if, for example, a component is mentioned, this is to be interpreted in the sense of "at least one component". Insofar as angle specifications are given in degrees, these refer to a circular dimension of 360 degrees (360°).The invention is explained in more detail below on the basis of exemplary embodiments using drawings.They show FIG. 1 shows a conductor connection terminal in a perspective view, FIG. 2 shows an insulation displacement contact and an electrical conductor, FIG. 3 shows an actuating element of the conductor connection terminal according to FIG. 1, FIG. 4 shows a lateral sectional view of the conductor connection terminal according to FIG. 1.FIG. 1 shows a conductor connection terminal 1, which is designed, for example, as a terminal block and has a housing 2. In the housing 2 there is a contact insert 3 which in this exemplary embodiment has two insulation displacement contacts 30. The insulation displacement contacts 30 are connected to one another via an electrically conductive connection 31, for example a busbar. The insulation displacement contacts 30 each serve for the connection of an electrical conductor 9 (shown in FIG. 2 ), which has an electrically conductive core 91 and an insulation sheathing 90 enveloping the electrically conductive core 91.It can also be seen in FIG. 1 that the conductor connection terminal 1 has an actuating element 5 pivotably mounted assigned to the insulation displacement contact 30 for each insulation displacement contact 30. The actuating element 5 has in each case an actuating arm 50 projecting out of the housing 2, similar to a lever arm which serves for manual actuation of the actuating element 5. The actuating arm 50 is adjoined by a hollow channel 51 of the actuating element 5, through which the electrical conductor 9 can be introduced into the housing 2. At least one contact protection tab 52 is furthermore arranged on the actuating element 5, wherein in the exemplary embodiment the actuating element 5 has a contact protection tab 52 on each of two sides facing away from one another. The contact protection tabs 52 are curved in order to be able to follow the pivoting movement of the actuating element 5 concentrically in this way. In the housing 2, respective receiving channels 20 are formed, which serve for receiving and guiding the respective contact protection tab 52.It can also be seen that an unlocking element 6 assigned to an actuating element 5 is arranged in the housing 2, the function of which unlocking element will be discussed in greater detail below.FIG. 2 illustrates an advantageous embodiment of an insulation displacement contact 30. the insulation displacement contact 30 has at least two legs 31, between which a V-shaped cutting slot is formed. In the region of the V-shaped cutting slot, a respective cutting edge 32 is arranged on each limb 31. In the further course during the insertion of the electrical conductor, clamping sections 33 are formed on the respective limb 31 behind the cutters 32, at which clamping sections the electrical conductor 9 or its electrically conductive core 91 is finally clamped. The cutters 32 serve to cut open the insulation covering 90.FIG. 3 shows an advantageous embodiment of an actuating element 5, namely in the form of a pivotably mounted actuating lever, with further details. The hollow channel 51 can again be seen, which serves for the introduction of the electrical conductor 9. 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, openings 54 are formed in the walls delimiting the hollow channel 51 well in front of the conductor stop 53, said openings serving for the passage of the respective insulation displacement contact 30. It can also be seen that the contact protection tabs 52 can be integrally formed on the actuating element 5.The hollow channel 51 can be bounded, for example, by three walls of the actuating element 5 and by an inner surface of a wall of the housing 2, such that the hollow channel is bounded on four sides by walls (see FIG. 1 ).The actuating arm 50 can be formed by a wall which delimits the hollow channel 51 and which projects further out of the housing 2 than the wall of the hollow channel 51 opposite the actuating arm 50, thus creating a passage for an electrical conductor arranged at an angle outside the housing 2.A wall delimiting the hollow channel 51 can thereby include a pressure surface 56 for pressing the electrical conductor against the insulation displacement contact 30, i.e. when the actuating element 5 is moved from an unactuated position, as shown in FIG. 1, into an actuated position shown on the right in FIG. 4, the electrical conductor 9 is pressed into the cutting slot by means of the pressure surface 56. On the side opposite the pressure surface 56, a release surface 57 can be formed on an inner side of a wall delimiting the hollow channel 51, by means of which release surface the electrical conductor is released again from the insulation displacement contact 30 when the actuating element 5 is moved from the actuated position into the unactuated position.Furthermore, the actuating lever 5 can have a bearing axle 55, which at the same time forms an axis of rotation of the actuating element 5 during pivoting. The bearing axle 55 can be accommodated, for example, in a corresponding receptacle of the housing 2.FIG. 4 shows the conductor connection terminal 1 in a state in which the actuating element 50, shown on the left, is in the unactuated position in which an electrical conductor can be introduced into the hollow channel 51 or can be removed therefrom. The actuating element 50 shown on the right is in the actuated position, in which an electrical conductor can be connected to the insulation displacement contact 30. In this state, the electric conductor cannot be taken out of the hollow passage 51.As can additionally be seen in FIG. 4, the free end of a contact protection tab 52, optionally together with the receiving channel 20 of the housing 2, forms a display element 4, with which a sufficient actuation of the manual actuating element 5 into the actuated position, in which the electrical conductor 9 is connected to the insulation displacement contact 30, is visually displayed to the user. In the actuating element 5 shown on the right, the free end of the contact protection tab 52 protrudes somewhat out of the housing 2 or the receiving channel 20. In the unactuated position, which can be seen on the left, no free end of the contact protection tab 52 protrudes out of the receiving channel 20. This can be optically supported by a different coloring of the actuating tab 52 and the housing 2.It is also possible to see in FIG. 4 the fixing of the actuating element 5 in the actuated position, for example by a contact protection tab 52 locking in the receiving channel 20 at a locking edge 22. A plurality of latching edges 22 can be provided one behind the other in the receiving channel 20, so that the actuating element 5 can be latched in various positions and is thus secured against movement into the unactuated position.An unlocking element 6 assigned to a contact protection tab 52 is arranged in an unlocking shaft 21 of the housing 2, which can be designed, for example, in the manner of a pusher. By actuating an unlocking element 6, e.g. by applying a pressure force to the unlocking element 6, the actuating element 5 can be released in a locked position, e.g. by the unlocking element 6 elastically slightly deflecting a contact protection tab 52 and thus releasing it from the locking edge 22. Then, the actuating element 5 can be pivoted back again into the unactuated position by manual actuation on the actuating arm 50.List of reference characters1 Conductor connection terminal 2 Housing 3 Contact insert 4 Display element 5 Actuating element 6 Unlocking element 9 Electrical conductor 20 Receiving channel 21 Unlocking shaft 22 Latching edge 30 Insulation displacement contact 31 Electrically conductive connection 32 Cutting edge 33 Clamping section 34 Limb 50 Actuating arm 51 Hollow channel 52 Contact protection tab 53 Conductor stop 54 Opening 55 Mounting axle 56 Pressure surface 57 Release surface 90 Insulation covering 91 Electrically conductive coreReferences included in the specificationThis list of documents cited by the applicant has been produced in an automated manner and is only included for the better information of the reader. The list is not part of the German patent application or utility model application. The DPMA does not take any adhesion for any faults or omissions.Patent Literature citedDE 29 02 636 C2

[0002]

Claims

Conductor connection terminal (1) for connecting an electrical conductor (9) which has an electrically conductive core (91) and an insulation sheath (90) surrounding the electrically conductive core (91), having a housing (2) and at least one insulation displacement contact (30), on which the electrical conductor (9) can be electrically contacted without prior stripping of the insulation sheath (90) by means of an insulation displacement process in which the insulation sheath (90) is partially cut open, and having at least one pivotably mounted actuating element (5), by the manual actuation of which the electrical conductor (9) can be electrically contacted on the at least one insulation displacement contact (30), characterized in that the conductor connection terminal (1) has one, more or all of the following features a), b), c): a) the actuating element (5) is at least in an actuated position, in which the electrical conductor (9) is connected to the insulation displacement contact (30), can be fixed to a component of the electrical connection terminal (1), wherein the electrical connection terminal (1) has at least one unlocking element (6) with which the fixing of the actuating element (5) in the actuated position can be canceled, b) at least one contact protection tab (52) is present on the actuating element (5), by means of which tab an electrically conductive contact insert (3) arranged in the housing (2) of the electrical connection terminal (1) and / or the at least one insulation displacement contact (30) is covered in the actuated and / or unactuated position of the manual actuating element (5), c) the electrical connection terminal (1) has at least one display element (4) by means of which an adequate actuation of the actuating element (5) into the actuated position, in which the electrical conductor (9) is connected to the at least one insulation displacement contact (30), The display can be displayed.Conductor connection terminal according to claim 1, characterised in that the display element (4) is designed as a purely mechanical component which can be moved by means of the manual actuating element (5).Conductor connection terminal according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the display element (4) is formed as part of a contact protection tab (52) of the actuating element (5).Conductor connection terminal according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the at least one insulation displacement contact (30) is fixed relative to the housing (2) of the conductor connection terminal (1).Conductor connection terminal according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the actuating element (5) is designed as a pivotable actuating lever which is pivotable about a fixed or spatially variable axis of rotation.Conductor connection terminal according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the actuating element (5) has an actuating arm (50) which projects out of the housing (2) of the conductor connection terminal (1) and by means of which the actuating element (5) can be moved manually into the actuated position without tools.Conductor connection terminal according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a contact protection tab (52) is arranged on the actuating element (5) on one side or on two sides facing away from one another, in particular by integral formation with the actuating element (5).Conductor connection terminal according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the at least one insulation displacement contact (30) has at least two limbs (34), between which a V-shaped insulation displacement slot is formed, in particular with mutually opposite cutting edges (32).Conductor connection terminal according to 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 insulation displacement contact (30).Conductor connection terminal according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the at least one unlocking element (6) is arranged in an unlocking shaft (21) of the housing (2).Conductor connection terminal according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the actuating element (5) has a hollow channel (51), through which the electrical conductor (9) can be introduced into the housing (2) of the conductor connection terminal (1) at least in the unactuated position of the actuating element (5).Conductor connection terminal according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a pressure surface (56) is formed on the actuating element (5), by means of which pressure surface the electrical conductor (9) can be pressed against the at least one insulation displacement contact (30) and can be electrically contacted thereon when the actuating element (5) is manually actuated into the actuated position.Conductor connection terminal according to Claim 12, characterized in that the pressure surface (56) is formed on an inner side of a wall of the actuating element (5) which bounds the hollow channel (51).

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