Spring clamp connection and conductor connection terminal

Abstract

Spring-loaded clamping connection (3, 3a, 3b) comprising: - a busbar (5), and - a clamping spring (4) with a support leg (10) supporting the clamping spring (4), a clamping leg (7) with a clamping edge for clamping an electrical conductor (27) at a clamping point formed by a clamping section of the busbar (5) and by the clamping edge of the clamping leg (7), and with a spring arc (21) connecting the support leg (10) to the clamping leg (7), characterized in that the spring-loaded clamping connection (3, 3a, 3b) has an open-holding element (8) which has a release spring (9) pivotably mounted relative to the busbar (5), wherein the release spring (9) has a support section (13) and the spring-loaded clamping connection (3) has a bearing on which the support section (13) is slidably mounted along the bearing.wherein the release spring (9) exerts a spring tension force on the support and, with its free end located in the area of ​​the support section (13), forms a stop for the clamping leg (7) that engages the clamping leg (7) when the clamping leg (7) is deflected against the spring force in the direction of the support leg (10) into an open position, and wherein the release spring (9) has a release section (16) between its pivot bearing (15) and the support section (13) and is configured to move the open-holding element (8) from a holding position that engages the clamping leg (7) in the open-hold position on the support section (13) to a release position that disengages the clamping leg (7) from the open-holding element (8) when an electrical conductor (27) is guided past the free end of the clamping leg (7) to the release section (16) of the release spring (9) and exerts a force on the release section (16).

Description

The invention relates to a spring force clamping connection having a busbar, and a clamping spring having an abutment limb supporting the clamping spring, a clamping limb having a clamping edge for clamping an electrical conductor at a clamping point formed by a clamping section of the busbar and by the clamping edge of the clamping limb, and having a spring bend connecting the abutment limb to the clamping limb.The invention further relates to a conductor connection terminal with an insulating material housing and such a spring force connection terminal. The insulating housing has a conductor insertion opening for inserting an electric conductor to a clamping point formed between a clamping portion of the bus bar and the clamping edge of the clamping leg, in order to clamp the inserted electric conductor between the clamping portion of the bus bar and the clamping edge of the clamping leg.EP 2 768 079 B1 discloses a spring force clamp having a busbar for contacting an electrical conductor and a clamping spring for fixing the electrical conductor in the spring force clamp. A holding means, which is mounted on the insulating material housing or connected to the contact limb of the clamping spring, is provided for latching the clamping spring in a holding-open position, and a displaceable restoring means is provided for pivoting the clamping limb back into the latching state.DE 10 2019 109 975 A1 discloses a connection terminal for connecting an electrical conductor comprising a housing with a conductor insertion opening, a busbar, a clamping spring and an actuating element which is arranged in the housing so as to be movable along an actuating direction. The actuation direction of the actuation element is formed transversely to the insertion direction of the conductor. The conductor connection region of the housing is equipped with a holding element on which the clamping leg of the clamping spring is held in the open position and from which the clamping leg is released in the clamping position. The holding element has a pressing surface arranged transversely to the insertion direction of the conductor, which can be actuated to release the clamping by the conductor to be connected in order to transfer the clamping limb from the open position into the clamping position.It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved spring force terminal and an improved conductor terminal. In this way, in particular a compact hold-open element with optimized mounting is to be provided.The object is achieved with the spring force terminal having the features of claim 1 and by the conductor terminal having the features of claim 13. Advantageous embodiments are described in the dependent claims.It is proposed that the spring force clamping connection has an hold-open element which has a release spring mounted pivotably relative to the busbar, wherein the release spring has a supporting section and the spring force clamping connection has a support on which the supporting section is mounted displaceably along the support, wherein the release spring exerts a spring clamping force on the support and forms, with its free end located in the region of the supporting section, a stop for the free end of the clamping limb which latches the clamping limb when the clamping limb is deflected counter to the spring force in the direction of the contact limb into a hold-open position, and wherein the release spring has and is designed between its pivot mounting and the supporting section, the hold-open element is to be displaced from a holding position latching the clamping limb in the hold-open position on the latching contour into a release position disengaging the clamping limb from the holding element when an electrical conductor is guided past the free end of the clamping limb to the release section of the release spring and exerts a force on the release section.This provides a compact self-supporting release spring which forms a stop for the clamping leg, preferably for the end of the clamping leg.For this purpose, the release spring can be rotatably mounted with the aid of its pivot mounting and can be mounted in a tensioned manner on the support section. The spring force clamping connection can have a support on which the support section is mounted displaceably from the hold-open position, i.e. the latching position, into the release position, i.e. the de-latching position. The support section ensures a stable mounting of the release spring and serves as a counter bearing for the support of the release spring when the clamping leg bears against the stop region of the release spring.The release spring can be mounted with a spring arm elastically spring on the busbar. This has the advantage that the busbar provides a stable fastening for the form-fitting, force-fitting and / or material-fitting connection of the spring arm. The spring arm can provide a longer lever arm for pivoting the release spring.The spring arm can be connected, for example, directly to the busbar or indirectly, for example, via a retaining bracket to the busbar.The release spring can have a pivot bearing contour for the pivotable mounting of the release spring.Such a rotary bearing contour can be formed, for example, by protruding bearing pins which enter a rotary bearing recess. The pivot bearing recess can have a bearing edge in the direction of the support, so that the release spring is braced between the bearing edge and the support.The hold-open element can have a supporting wall which projects from the busbar and is arranged next to the side edge of the clamping limb which can be pivoted past the supporting wall. This supporting wall can be connected to the contact limb. The clamping leg pivoted into the hold-open position has a front edge facing the clamping leg, which forms the support for the supporting section of the release spring.A particularly stable support is thus provided by the lateral end wall. The end wall is located in a lateral otherwise unused space without disturbing the clamping of a conductor and an actuation. The supporting wall also offers (additional) lateral guidance of the electrical conductor during the insertion.The support wall may be a portion of a separate hold-open element. The hold-open element can, however, also be formed in one piece from the busbar.The hold-open element can have two support walls which are spaced apart from one another and are arranged next to the side edge edges of the clamping limb which can be pivoted past the support walls in the interspace and in each case have a front edge which faces the contact limb and which form the support for the support section of the release spring. Such a retaining cage with two support walls offers a stable construction with a symmetrical mounting.The release spring may extend between the support walls and be pivotably supported on the support walls. In this way, a symmetrical stable pivot bearing of the release spring can be achieved, for example with bearing pins which enter the support walls.The support walls can each have a recess on the second front edge, which is opposite the first front edge forming the support, for receiving a bearing pin of the release spring. This ensures a stable pivot mounting of the release spring on the support walls. The bearing pins of the release spring can be pulled into the recess, e.g. into a bearing bay, by the prestressed mounting on the first end edge. In this way, a self-supporting bearing of the release spring on the support walls is achieved.The busbar may have a conductor plug-through opening for plugging through an electrical conductor to be clamped to the clamping section of the busbar. The clamping spring protrudes with its clamping leg into the conductor plug-through opening. The release section of the release spring can be oriented at a distance from an insertion plane spanned by the conductor insertion opening and parallel thereto. In such an embodiment of a busbar with a passage for plugging through an electrical conductor to be clamped, the free space below the busbar can be used for the release spring.A parallel arrangement does not necessarily require an exactly parallel alignment within the meaning of the present invention. This also applies to the term "transverse" or "perpendicular" to the conductor insertion direction. Here too, the alignment need not be exactly 90°, but can also be acute-angled up to approximately 45°.The conductor plug-through opening of the busbar can have a collar which partially or completely surrounds the conductor plug-through opening and extends from the plane of the busbar spanned by the conductor plug-through opening towards the release spring. This has the advantage of a compact embodiment with good current-conducting properties. The collar can form a clamping edge for clamping the conductor. The clamping edge can be formed on an obliquely positioned collar wall section.The hold-open element may have a fastening portion which abuts the collar and connects the hold-open element to the collar. Such an opening element can be formed as a separate stamped and bent component which is plugged onto the collar. Spring force clamping connections can thus be optionally equipped or existing spring force clamping connections can be retrofitted.The fastening section can have two flank walls spaced apart from one another, which are connected to one another via a front-side root region, wherein the flank walls bear against mutually opposite collar longitudinal walls of the collar and the flank walls are fixed to the collar in a force-fitting manner by a spring force applied by the root region. A force-locking fastening on the collar is thus achieved by spring prestress of the fastening section.A busbar can have a plurality of conductor through-openings each having a clamping spring arranged thereon, wherein at least one of the conductor through-openings is connected to an hold-open element. This makes it possible to clamp a plurality of electrical strips and to connect them to one another in an electrically conductive manner via the common busbar. The hold-open elements can be arranged in a space-saving manner in the free space present below the conductor plug-through openings for receiving the respective stripped end of the electrical conductors.In a generic conductor connection terminal, which has an insulating material housing and at least one spring force clamping connection according to the invention in the insulating material housing, the insulating material housing has a conductor insertion opening for inserting an electrical conductor to a clamping point formed between a clamping section of the busbar and the clamping edge of the clamping limb, in order to clamp the inserted electrical conductor between the clamping section of the busbar and the clamping edge of the clamping limb. The conductor insertion opening opens out toward the clamping point and is oriented such that an electrical conductor inserted into the conductor insertion opening comes into contact with the release section of the release spring and displaces the release spring by displacing the support section on the support for disengaging the clamping leg which is engaged on the release spring in the hold-open position.With such a conductor insertion opening, the electrical conductor to be clamped is guided to the release section in order to unlock the clamping leg latched on the release spring by the force exerted by the conductor on the release section.The insulating material housing can have an actuating opening which is open toward the clamping limb in order to displace the clamping limb in the direction of the contact limb into the hold-open position counter to the spring force of the clamping spring by means of an actuating tool which is inserted into the actuating opening or an actuating element which is installed movably into the actuating opening.In the context of this application, the words "a / an", unless expressly defined otherwise, are not to be understood as a numerical word, but rather as an indeterminate article having the word sense of "at least one / one".The invention permits various embodiments and is explained below by way of example with the accompanying drawings on the basis of exemplary embodiments. The following are shown: FIG. 1 is a side view of a conductor terminal in the form of a terminal block; FIG. 2 is a plan view of the conductor connection terminal from FIG. 1 with the section line A-A; FIG. 3 is a side sectional view of a detail of a first embodiment of a spring terminal; FIG. 4 is a side view of the hold-open element of the spring connection terminal from FIG. 3 ; FIG. 5 shows a front view of the hold-open element of the spring connection terminal from FIG. 3 ; FIG. 6 is a top view of the hold-open element of the spring connection terminal from FIG. 3 ; FIG. 7 shows an enlarged sectional view of the conductor connection terminal from FIG. 1 with the spring force terminal from FIG. 3 ; FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the conductor terminal of FIG. 1 ; FIG. 9 is a side view of a second embodiment of a conductor terminal in the form of a terminal block; FIG. 10 is a plan view of the conductor connection terminal from FIG. 9 with the section line A-A; FIG. 11 shows a perspective sectional view of a detail of a second embodiment of a spring connection terminal; FIG. 12 is a side view of the spring terminal of FIG. 11 ; FIG. 13 is a front view of the spring terminal of FIG. 11 ; FIG. 14 is a top view of the spring terminal of FIG. 11 ; FIG. 15 shows an enlarged sectional view of the conductor connection terminal from FIG. 9 with the spring force clamping terminal from FIG. 11 ; FIG. 16 is a perspective view of the conductor terminal of FIG. 9; FIG. 17 shows a sketch of a side view of a third embodiment of a spring force clamping connection; FIG. 18 shows a sketch of a plan view of the third embodiment of the spring force clamping connection with inserted electrical conductor.FIG. 1 shows a side view of a conductor connection terminal 1 in the form of a terminal block. The conductor terminal 1 has an insulating housing 2 in which a spring force terminal 3 is installed. The spring force clamping terminal 3 has a clamping spring 4 which is hooked into a conductor passage opening of a busbar 5. In the illustrated embodiment, two spring force clamping terminals 3 a, 3 bare provided. Thus, two electrical conductors respectively clamped to both spring force clamping terminals 3 a, 3 bcan be electrically conductively connected to one another via the common busbar 5.The insulating material housing 2 has, for each spring force clamping connection 3, a respective conductor insertion opening 6 for inserting an electrical conductor to be clamped to a clamping point which is formed between a clamping section of the busbar 5 and a clamping edge of the clamping limb 7 of the clamping spring 4.On the underside of the busbar 5, which lies opposite the conductor insertion opening 6 opening out to the upper side of the busbar 5, a holding-open element 8 is arranged. This hold-open element 8 is connected to the busbar 5 and has a release spring 9, the free end of which forms a stop for the free end of the clamping limb 7 which locks the clamping limb 7 when the clamping limb 7 is deflected into a hold-open position counter to the spring force in the direction of the contact limb 10, as illustrated. The hold-open element 8 has a supporting wall 11 projecting from the busbar 5 with a front edge 12 facing the contact leg 10 and clamping leg 7 in the hold-open position. This front edge 12 forms a support for the free end of the release spring 9 or the supporting section 13 present at the free end of the release spring 9. In the hold-open position, the spring force of the clamping leg 7 is absorbed by the supporting wall 11 via the free end of the release spring 9 forming a stop.The release spring 9 is connected to a fastening portion 14 of the hold-open element 8 on the side opposite the free end of the release spring 9. The hold-open element 8 is in turn fastened to the busbar 5 by means of this fastening section 14 designed as a collar.Furthermore, the release spring 9 has a release section 16 in a region between the supporting section 13 at the free end of the release spring 9 and a pivot mounting 15 projecting from the fastening section 14, this release section 16 being located in alignment with the conductor insertion opening 6, so that an electrical conductor inserted into the conductor insertion opening 6 and guided through a conductor insertion opening of the busbar 4 impinges on the release section 16. The supporting section 13 can thus be displaced away from the free end of the clamping leg 7, i.e. from the direction of the busbar 5 downwards along the support (i.e. the end edge 12). This leads to a release of the stop for the clamping leg 7, so that the latter is released and can pivot into the closed clamping position by the force of the clamping spring 4.The busbar 5 can furthermore have at least one jumper opening with a jumper contact 17 in order to make electrically conductive contact with a jumper element inserted there or a connection contact of an electronic component.The insulating material housing 2 can optionally also have a latching foot 18 in order to latch the insulating material housing 2 on a support rail. In this case, a plurality of such insulating material housings 2 can be arranged side by side on a support rail.FIG. 2 shows a plan view of the conductor connection terminal 1 from FIG. 1 with the section line A-A. On the upper side of the insulating housing 2, two conductor insertion openings 6 are provided which are spaced apart from one another and each lead to an associated spring force clamping connection 3. Between the two conductor insertion openings 6, jumper shafts 19 are present, which open out toward the jumper contact 17. In addition to the conductor insertion opening 6, there is an actuating opening 20 in each case, into which an actuating tool can be inserted or an actuating presser can be fitted displaceably. With such an actuating tool or actuating presser, a force can be exerted on the clamping limb 7 in order to pivot the clamping limb 7 into the hold-open position in the direction of the contact limb 10 counter to the force of the clamping spring 4.FIG. 3 shows a side sectional view of a detail of a first embodiment of a spring connection terminal 3. The contact leg 10 dips into a conductor plug-through opening 22 of the busbar 5. The busbar 5 has a collar 23, which partially or completely surrounds the conductor plug-through opening 22 and extends from the plane of the busbar 5 spanned by the conductor plug-through opening 22 towards the release spring 9. The contact leg 10 abuts a first front edge 24 (or first narrow side wall) of the collar 23. On the opposite side, a second end edge 25 (or second narrow side wall) is aligned obliquely with respect to the first end edge 24, in order to form with an introduced edge a clamping section 26 for clamping an electrical conductor 27 to the busbar 5.For this purpose, an electrical conductor 27 is inserted with its stripped end through the conductor insertion opening 22 of the busbar 5. It then strikes with its free end on the release section 16 which is perpendicular to the conductor insertion direction L, in order then to exert a force indicated by the arrow on the release section 16.In the open position shown, the supporting section 13 of the release spring 9 is located between the supporting wall 11 and the free end of the clamping limb 7, in order in this way to form a stop for the clamping limb 7. This is thus held in the open position. When the release spring 9 is now pivoted by the release force exerted on the release section 16, the support section 13 supported on the front edge 12 moves downward away from the busbar 5. The stop for the clamping leg 7 is thereby lifted, so that the clamping leg 7 is pivoted toward the electrical conductor 27 or away from the contact leg 10 by the force stored in the spring arch 21 of the clamping spring 4. The stripped end of the electrical conductor 27 is thus clamped at a clamping point between the clamping edge of the clamping leg 7 and the clamping section 26.It is also clear that the holding-open element 8 rests with its fastening section 15 against the collar 23 of the busbar 5. The fastening section 14 comprises the collar 23 on its outer side partially or fully circumferentially in order to bring about a positive and / or non-positive connection of the hold-open element 8 to the collar 23. From the region of the fastening portion 15 which abuts the second end edge 25 together with the clamping portion 26, an arm portion of the release spring 9 follows which forms a pivot mounting 15 or a spring arm. The release spring 9 is bent in a U-shape, wherein the release section 16 protrudes from the arm section of the pivot bearing 15. The trip portion 16 is arranged approximately parallel to the conductor plug-through opening 22 at a distance therefrom and in alignment with the conductor insertion opening 6 of the insulating material housing 2 and the conductor plug-through opening 22 of the busbar 5. The support wall 11 is positioned laterally next to the release section 16. The supporting section 13 of the release spring 9 is bent back from the release section 16 in the direction of the busbar 5. It can be seen that the free end of the release spring 9 rests on the end edge 12 of the supporting wall 11 which faces the contact limb 10 and the first end edge 24 of the collar 23.FIG. 4 shows a side view of the hold-open element 8 of the spring connection terminal 3 from FIG. 3. It can be seen that the fastening section 14 is a sheet metal strip bent circumferentially around the collar 23. The sheet metal strip has two flank walls which are arranged at a distance from one another and opposite one another and extend approximately parallel to one another and are connected to one another via a common root region. The root region extends transversely to the flank walls. At the upper edge, material tabs 28 can be bent, which ensure a defined distance of the hold-open element 8 from the underside of the busbar 5.It is clear that the support section 13 at the free end region of the release spring 9 rests on the front edge 12 of the support wall 11. When a downward force is applied to the trigger portion 16, the support portion 13 may slide along the end edge 12. This ensures support and guidance of the release spring 9.It can also be seen that an arm section of the release spring 9 protrudes from the fastening section 14 next to the supporting wall 11 in the same direction. A pivot mounting 15 of the release spring 9 is thus provided. The support wall 11 overlaps the trip portion 16 so as to provide lateral guidance and support for the trip portion 16.FIG. 5 shows a front view of the hold-open element 8 of the spring connection terminal from FIG. 3.It can be seen here that two mutually opposite support walls 11 protrude from the encircling fastening section 14, said support walls receiving the release spring 9 between them. These support walls 11 can be bent towards one another starting from the fastening section 14 in order to have a smaller distance from one another in the region of the support sections 13 of the release spring 9 than in the transition to the fastening section 14.The arm section of the pivot bearing 15 of the release spring 9 protruding from the fastening section 14 can be narrower than the release section 16 adjoining it. Thus, the spring characteristic of the release spring 9 can be improved.The support sections 13 formed at the free end of the release spring 9 can, as shown, be formed as spaced-apart material flaps. The free end of the release spring 9 thus terminates in a fork-shaped or fork-like configuration.It is also clear that spacer material tabs 28 protrude at the upper edge of the fastening section 14 in the opposite direction to the supporting wall 11 and are bent obliquely out of the plane of the fastening section 14.FIG. 6 shows a plan view of the hold-open element 8 of the spring connection terminal 3 from FIG. 3.It is clear here that a release section 16 of the release spring 9 extends between the two support walls 11 spaced apart from one another. This forms a platform or a base on which an electrical conductor 27 inserted through conductor plug-through opening 22 of busbar 5 and guided past between support walls 11 impinges.It can also be seen that the free end of the release spring 9 terminates with spaced-apart support portions 13 which rest on the respective front edge 12 of a support wall 11. The release spring 9 is thus designed as a spring element bent in a U-shape, which is mounted on the fastening section 14 on the one hand and on the end edge 12 on the other hand.It can also be seen that the fastening section 14 is bent in a rectangular shape with rounded corners in order to enclose a corresponding rectangular cross section on the circumferential side. On a narrow side, the fastening section 14 has a gap, so that the sheet metal strip of the fastening section 14 can be fastened to the collar 23 of the busbar 5 by spring tension in a positive and frictional or frictional manner.FIG. 7 shows an enlarged sectional view of the conductor connection terminal 1 from FIG. 1 with a spring force clamping terminal 3 from FIG. 3.The spring force clamping terminal 3 is installed in the insulating material housing 2 such that the conductor insertion opening 22 of the busbar 5 is positioned in alignment with the conductor insertion opening 6. It is clear that the holding-open element 8 is fastened with its fastening section 14 in a positive and frictional manner to the collar 23 on the underside of the busbar 5. The sheet metal tabs of the fastening section 14 in this case encompass the outer side of the collar 23, wherein a defined distance from the underside of the busbar 5 is ensured by the material tabs 28.The release spring 9 is accommodated in a space delimited by inner walls of the insulating material housing 2 and the supporting walls 11 of the hold-open element 8. In this case, there is sufficient free space which enables a displacement of the support section 13 supported on the end edges 12 of the support walls 11, i.e. the support, from the plane of the busbar 5 to the free end of the support wall 11.In the illustrated hold-open position, the supporting section 13 forms a stop for the free end of the clamping leg 7 in order to hold it in the hold-open position. By pivoting the release spring 9 downwards, the supporting section 13 is displaced along the end edges 12 in order to cancel the stop. The clamping leg 9 can thus pivot into the closed clamping position.FIG. 8 shows a perspective view of the conductor connection terminal from FIG. 1.It can be seen that the conductor plug-through opening 22 is located in alignment with the conductor insertion opening 6 of the insulating material housing 2 and an electrical conductor 27 which is passed through the conductor plug-through opening 22 impinges on the trip section 16. The alignment of the conductor insertion opening 6 is preferably aligned with the curved transition of the release section 16 to the support section bent back to the busbar 5.It can also be seen that, in addition to a conductor passage opening 6, an actuating opening 20 is introduced into the insulating material housing 2 in each case, which opening leads out toward the clamping limb 7.FIG. 9 shows a side view of a second embodiment of a conductor connection terminal 1 in the form of a terminal block.The insulating housing 2 is formed with its conductor insertion openings 6 and actuation openings 21 in a manner comparable to the first exemplary embodiment. Reference can thus be made to the preceding description.The hold-open member 8 is modified as compared with the first embodiment. The hold-open element 8 is in turn fastened by a fastening section 14 to a collar 23 of the busbar 5, wherein the collar 23 delimits a conductor through-opening 22. A supporting wall 11 projects from the fastening section 14, which has a recess 29 (e.g. bearing depression) on its lower edge region remote from the fastening section 14. A separate release spring 9 is suspended in the recess 29 so that a pivot bearing is formed.The release spring 9 is designed as a separate part in the exemplary embodiment. However, it can also optionally be integrally formed from the sheet metal part of the supporting wall 11 and be partially cut free from the latter. In the region of the recess 29, the supporting wall 11 can merge integrally into the release spring 9 bent away therefrom.The release spring 9 is supported with its free end, which forms a supporting section 13, on the front edge 12 of the supporting wall 11. The release spring 9 is thus clamped with its spring clamping force on the supporting wall 11.FIG. 10 shows a plan view of the conductor connection terminal from FIG. 9 with the section line A-A.It can again be seen that two conductor insertion openings 6 and respectively actuating openings 20 lying next to one another are introduced at the top side of the insulating material housing 2 at a distance from one another. Optional bridge openings 19 can also be present.FIG. 11 shows a perspective sectional view of a detail of a second embodiment of a spring connection terminal 3.It can be seen that the busbar 8 has a conductor plug-through opening 22, which is bounded by a collar 23 on the underside. The hold-open element 8 is fastened by a fastening section 14 to the collar 23 of the busbar 5 in that the fastening section 14 bears on the collar 23 in a positive-locking and optionally non-positive-locking or frictional-locking manner.A supporting wall 11 projects from the fastening section 14, which has a recess 29 on a front edge which is opposite the contact limb 10 and the first front edge 24 of the collar 23 adjoining the latter. The release spring 9 is designed as a separate component and is suspended in the recess 29 by a laterally projecting bearing pin 30. A pivot bearing for the release spring 9 is thus formed.The release spring 9 has at its distal free end opposite the pivot mounting a support section 13 which is mounted on the front edge 12 of the support wall 11. The release spring 9 is thus clamped by its spring clamping force on the mutually opposite end edges 12 of the supporting wall 11, i.e. between the recess 29 and the end edge 12.FIG. 12 shows a side view of the spring connection terminal 3 from FIG. 11, which shows the second supporting wall 11 that is not visible in FIG. 11 and likewise has a recess 29 at the lower edge region.It is also clear that the clamping spring 4 dips into the interior space bounded by the fastening section 14. In the shown tensioned hold-open position, the clamping leg 7 protrudes through the fastening portion 14 and ends in front of the front edge 12 of the supporting wall 11.FIG. 13 shows a front view of the spring terminal of FIG. 11.It can be seen that the hold-open element 8 has two support walls 11 which project from the fastening section 14 at a distance from one another and approximately parallel to one another. The release spring 9 and, if appropriate, a section of the clamping leg 7 can be accommodated in the intermediate space between the support walls 11 during pivoting from the open holding position into a closed clamping position.The clamping leg 7 can transition from the spring bow 21 into a narrower free end section, the free end of which forms a clamping edge for clamping an electrical conductor 27.FIG. 14 shows a top view of the spring terminal from FIG. 11.It is clear here that the two support walls 11 spaced apart from one another provide a free space for receiving the release spring 9, which is not shown. The clamping spring 4 is arranged with its spring bow 21 above the fastening section 14, wherein the clamping leg 7 and the non-visible contact leg 10 enter the interior space bounded by the fastening section 14.The fastening portion 14 is bent in a U-shape in order to partially surround the collar 23 of the busbar 5 on the circumferential side.FIG. 15 shows an enlarged sectional view of the conductor connection terminal 1 from FIG. 9 with the spring force clamping terminal 3 from FIG. 11.It can be seen that the conductor insertion opening 6 is oriented with its alignment F in the conductor insertion direction L towards the release section 16 of the release spring 9. An inserted electrical conductor 27 thus strikes the release section 16 with a free stripped end in order to pivot the release spring 9 mounted on the recess 29. This is supported on the support section 13, which is opposite the pivot bearing, on the end edges 12 of the support walls 11. The support section 13 slides downwards away from the fastening section 14 on the front edge 12 when the release spring 9 is pivoted, in order to cancel the stop for the free end section of the clamping leg 7. The clamping leg 7 can thus spring back from the open holding position into the closed clamping position with the aid of the spring force stored in the spring bow 21, in order to clamp the electrical conductor to the busbar 5.FIG. 16 shows a perspective view of the conductor connection terminal 1 from FIG. 9.The conductor plug-through opening 22 is located in alignment with the conductor insertion opening 6 of the insulating material housing 2, so that an electrical conductor 27 which is passed through the conductor plug-through opening 22 impinges on the release section 16 which extends transversely with respect to the supporting walls 11. The alignment of the conductor insertion opening 6 is preferably aligned with the bent transition of the release section 16 to the support section 13 bent back to the busbar 5.It can also be seen that, in addition to a conductor passage opening 6, an actuating opening 20 is introduced into the insulating material housing 2 in each case, which opening leads out toward the clamping limb 7.FIG. 17 shows a sketch of a side view of a third embodiment of a spring force clamping connection 3. This has a busbar 5, to which an electrical conductor 27 is clamped not transversely to the plane of the busbar 5, as in the previously described exemplary embodiments with a through-opening 22 in the busbar 5, but approximately parallel to the busbar 5 designed without a through-opening 22.The clamping spring 4 is mounted on the busbar 5 by means of a contact limb 10 and extends via a spring bend 21 into a clamping limb 7 which is bent back with respect to the busbar 5.At least one supporting wall 11 protrudes from the plane of the busbar 5. This can be formed integrally from the material of the busbar 5, integrally from the material of the clamping spring 4 or as a separate part. The end edge 12 of the supporting wall 11 remote from the busbar 5 and extending approximately parallel to the plane forms a support for a supporting section 13 of a release spring 9. The release spring 9 extends in a conductor collecting pocket 31, which, as seen in the conductor insertion direction L, is located behind a clamping point formed by the clamping edge of the clamping leg 7 and the busbar 5. The release spring 9 is bent over above the end edge 12 in the direction of the clamping limb 7, wherein the free end of the release spring 9 forms a stop lying between the end edge 12 and the clamping limb 7 in the hold-open position illustrated by the solid line. The clamping spring 4 is held in the open position in this way.When the electrical conductor 27 is inserted into the conductor receiving pocket 31 past the clamping point, its free stripped end reaches the release section 16 which is transverse to the conductor insertion direction L and transverse to the plane of the busbar 5. This has the result that the stop for the clamping leg 7 is lifted and the clamping leg 7 pivots into the closed clamping position indicated by dashed lines. The inserted electrical conductor 27 can thus be clamped between the clamping edge of the clamping leg 7 and the busbar 5 and can thus be connected to the busbar 5 in an electrically conductive manner and be mechanically secured.FIG. 18 shows a sketch of a plan view of the third embodiment of the spring force clamping connection 3 with inserted electrical conductor 27.It can be seen that two support walls 11 protrude on both sides of the busbar 5, the upper end edge 12 of which support walls each form a bearing for the support section 13 of the release spring 9. In the outlined hold-open position, the clamping leg 7 rests on the supporting section 13, so that the clamping leg 7 cannot spring any further in the direction of the busbar 5.The upper side of the busbar 5 together with the two support walls 11 spaced apart from one another and the release spring 9 forms a conductor collecting pocket 31 for receiving the stripped end of an electrical conductor 27, said conductor collecting pocket 31 being bounded in the conductor insertion direction L by the release section 16 extending from the busbar 5 transversely to the busbar plane. Above the busbar 5, the supporting section 13 bent away from the triggering section 16 forms a roof of the conductor collecting pocket 31.List of reference characters1 Conductor connection terminal 2 Insulating material housing 3, 3 a, 3 b Spring force clamping connection 4 Clamping spring 5 Busbar 6 Conductor insertion opening 7 Clamping limb 8 Holding-open element 9 Release spring 10 Contact limb 11 Supporting wall 12 End edge 13 Supporting section 14 Fastening section 15 Pivot mounting 16 Release section 17 Jumper contact 18 Latching foot 19 Jumper shaft 20 Actuating opening 21 Spring bend 22 Conductor passage opening 23 Collar 24 First end edge 25 Second end edge 26 Clamping section 27 Electrical conductor 28 Material tab 29 Recess 30 Bearing journal 31 Conductor collecting pocket F Alignment L Conductor insertion directionReferences 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 citedEP 2 768 079 B1

[0003] DE 10 2019 975 A1

[0004]

Claims

Spring force clamping connection (3, 3a, 3b) having: - a busbar (5), and - a clamping spring (4) having an abutment limb (10) supporting the clamping spring (4), a clamping limb (7) having a clamping edge for clamping an electrical conductor (27) at a clamping point formed by a clamping section of the busbar (5) and by the clamping edge of the clamping limb (7), and having a spring bend (21) connecting the abutment limb (10) to the clamping limb (7), characterized in that the spring force clamping connection (3, 3a, 3b) has an open retaining element (8) which has a release spring (9) mounted pivotably relative to the busbar (5), wherein the release spring (9) has a supporting section (13) and the spring force clamping connection (3) has a support, on which the support section (13) is mounted displaceably along the support, wherein the release spring (9) exerts a spring clamping force on the support and forms with its free end located in the region of the support section (13) a stop for the clamping leg (7) latching the clamping leg (7) when the clamping leg (7) is deflected counter to the spring force in the direction of the contact leg (10) into a holding open position, and wherein the release spring (9) has a release section (16) between its pivot mounting (15) and the support section (13) and is designed to displace the holding open element (8) from a holding position latching the clamping leg (7) in the holding open position on the support section (13) into a releasing position disengaging the clamping leg (7) from the holding open element (8), when an electrical conductor (27) is guided past the free end of the clamping leg (7) to the release section (16) of the release spring (9) and exerts a force on the release section (16).Spring force clamping connection (3) according to Claim 1, characterized in that the release spring (9) is mounted on the busbar (5) in an elastically resilient manner by means of a spring arm.Spring force clamping connection (3) according to Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the release spring (9) has a rotary bearing contour for the pivotable mounting of the release spring (9).Spring force clamping connection (3) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the hold-open element (8) has a supporting wall (11) which projects from the busbar (5) and is arranged next to the side edge of the clamping limb (7) which can be pivoted past the supporting wall (11), and has an end edge (12) which faces the contact limb (10) and forms the support for the supporting section (13) of the release spring (9).Spring force clamping connection (3) according to Claim 4, characterized in that the hold-open element (8) has two support walls (11) which are spaced apart from one another and are arranged next to the side edge edges of the clamping limb (7) which can be pivoted past the support walls (11) in the interspace and in each case have a front edge (12) which faces the contact limb (10) and which form the support for the support section (13) of the release spring (9).Spring force clamping connection (3) according to Claim 5, characterized in that the release spring (9) extends between the supporting walls (11) and is mounted pivotably on the supporting walls (11).Spring force clamping connection (3) according to Claim 5 or 6, characterized in that the support walls (11) each have, on the second end edge (25), which is opposite the first end edge (24) forming the bearing, a recess (29) for receiving a bearing journal (30) of the release spring (9).Spring force clamping connection (3) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the busbar (5) has a conductor plug-through opening (22) for plugging through an electrical conductor (27) to be clamped to the clamping section of the busbar (5), wherein the clamping spring (4) projects with its clamping limb (7) into the conductor plug-through opening (22), and the release section (16) of the release spring (9) is aligned at a distance from an insertion plane spanned by the conductor plug-through opening (22) and parallel thereto.Spring force clamping connection (3) according to Claim 8, characterized in that the conductor plug-through opening (22) of the busbar (5) has a collar (23) which partially or completely surrounds the conductor plug-through opening (22) and extends from the plane of the busbar (5) spanned by the conductor plug-through opening (22) towards the release spring (9).Spring force clamping connection (3) according to claim 9, characterised in that the hold-open element (8) has a fastening portion (14) which bears against the collar (23) and connects the hold-open element (8) to the collar (23).Spring force clamping connection (3) according to Claim 10, characterized in that the fastening section (14) has two flank walls which are spaced apart from one another and are connected to one another via a front-side root region, wherein the flank walls bear against mutually opposite collar longitudinal walls of the collar (23), and the flank walls are fixed to the collar (23) in a force-fitting manner by a spring force applied by the root region.Spring force clamping connection (3) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a busbar (5) has a plurality of conductor through-openings (22) each having a clamping spring (4) arranged thereon, wherein at least one of the conductor through-openings (22) is connected to an hold-open element (8).Conductor connection terminal (1) with - an insulating material housing (2) and - a spring force clamping terminal (3) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the insulating material housing (2) has a conductor insertion opening (6) for inserting an electrical conductor (27) to a clamping point formed between a clamping section of the busbar (5) and the clamping edge of the clamping limb (7) in order to clamp the inserted electrical conductor (27) between the clamping section of the busbar (5) and the clamping edge of the clamping limb (7), characterized in that the conductor insertion opening (6) opens out towards the clamping point and is oriented in this way, an electrical conductor inserted into the conductor insertion opening (6) comes into contact with the release section (16) of the release spring (9) and displaces the release spring (9) by displacing the supporting section (13) on the support for disengaging the clamping limb (7) engaged on the release spring (9) in the hold-open position.Conductor connection terminal (1) according to Claim 13, characterized in that the insulating material housing (2) has an actuating opening (20) which is open towards the clamping limb (7) in order to displace the clamping limb (7) in the direction of the contact limb (10) into the hold-open position counter to the spring force of the clamping spring (4) by means of an actuating tool which is introduced into the actuating opening (20) or an actuating element which is movably installed in the actuating opening (20).

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