Angled PCB Edge Cage Clamp Terminal for Board Access
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional electrical terminal designs in card cages lack sufficient access for users to terminate or remove wires within cage clamps, requiring the removal of adjacent printed circuit boards, leading to inefficiencies and increased labor costs during installation and maintenance.
Innovation Solution
The electrical terminal design includes a terminal body with a cage clamp and an angled base that positions the screw and wire insert axes at an acute angle relative to the edge of the printed circuit board, allowing access without removing adjacent boards, facilitating wire termination and removal without obstructing the screw insert axis.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If conventional electrical terminal designs are used with perpendicular cage clamps, then the terminal structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but access to the screw insert axis is blocked requiring removal of adjacent printed circuit boards
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dimensionality change by angling the base of the electrical terminal at an acute angle (e.g., 45 degrees) relative to the front plane of the card cage, rather than using a perpendicular orientation. This angular repositioning in three-dimensional space moves the screw insert axis from a blocked position to an accessible position from the edge of the card cage, allowing operation without removing adjacent printed circuit boards.
2Productivity
If conventional perpendicular terminal designs are used, then manufacturing is straightforward, but wire termination requires removal of adjacent boards leading to increased labor costs and reduced productivity
Solution Approach 1:
The angled base design repositions both the screw insert axis and wire insert axis to be accessible from the edge of the card cage at acute angles, enabling wire termination operations without disrupting adjacent printed circuit boards. This dimensional change in the base orientation directly improves productivity by eliminating the need to remove boards during maintenance and installation.
3Ease of operation
If the base is angled at an acute angle, then access to both screw and wire insert axes is improved, but the terminal body positioning becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs asymmetry by designing the base with a specific acute angle (e.g., 45 degrees) rather than a symmetric perpendicular orientation. This asymmetric angular design creates optimal access paths for both the screw insert axis and wire insert axis from the edge of the card cage, improving ease of operation while the asymmetric geometry is integrated into the terminal body structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The angled base design applies local quality by specifically orienting the base at an acute angle only where needed to provide access to the insert axes, while the rest of the terminal body maintains its functional geometry. This localized angular positioning solves the access problem without requiring complex reconfiguration of the entire terminal structure.
Data Source
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AI summary
Embodiments of the invention provide an electrical terminal that provides wire termination at an edge of a printed circuit board. The electrical terminal includes a terminal body having a first corner, a cage clamp in the terminal body and defining a wire insert axis and a screw insert axis, and a base supporting the terminal body on the printed circuit board. The base is angled so that the first corner is aligned along a front plane defined along the edge of the printed circuit board.