Cage Clamp Protruding Tooth Wire Core Grip
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional terminal contact and clamp assemblies for cable terminal blocks fail to securely hold exposed wire cores, especially multi-core cables, due to round teeth formed from punching processes that are not sharp enough, leading to slippage and poor material hardness in bronze or red copper.
Innovation Solution
A terminal contact and clamp assembly featuring a cage clamp with stainless steel bottom teeth and a protruding tooth, combined with a method using a second punch die to form sharp, elongated protruding teeth that deeply bite the wire core, along with guides to ensure secure engagement and prevent slippage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If punching process is used to form teeth on cage clamp and inner contact, then manufacturing is simplified, but teeth become round instead of sharp causing cable slippage
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the geometric parameters of the teeth by forming them with specific angles (60-90 degrees for bottom teeth, 30-60 degrees for top teeth) and heights (0.5-2mm for bottom teeth, 1-3mm for top teeth) through punching process, transforming round teeth into sharp, elongated teeth that can effectively bite and hold the wire core
Solution Approach 2:
The patent specifies using bronze or red copper as the material for cage clamp and inner contact, which have appropriate hardness and ductility to form sharp teeth through punching while maintaining electrical conductivity and mechanical strength for reliable cable holding
2Ease of manufacture
If conventional punching process is used, then manufacturing is simple, but teeth are not sharp enough to securely hold multi-core cables
Solution Approach 1:
The patent specifies precise geometric parameters for the teeth including angles (60-90 degrees for bottom teeth, 30-60 degrees for top teeth) and heights (0.5-2mm for bottom teeth, 1-3mm for top teeth) to ensure sharp, elongated tooth formation that can securely bite multi-core cables while being formed through simple punching process
3Reliability
If bronze or red copper is used for cage clamp and inner contact, then electrical conductivity is good, but material hardness is low causing round teeth formation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent specifies using bronze or red copper materials that balance electrical conductivity with sufficient hardness for tooth formation, achieving both good electrical contact and adequate mechanical strength for sharp tooth formation through punching process
Solution Approach 2:
The patent optimizes the material parameters by selecting bronze or red copper with appropriate hardness values that allow sharp tooth formation through punching while maintaining electrical conductivity, transforming the material properties to simultaneously satisfy both electrical and mechanical requirements
Data Source
AI summary
A terminal contact and clamp assembly has a cage clamp and an inner contact. The cage clamp has a top, a bottom, a through hole multiple bottom teeth and at least one protruding tooth. The bottom has an inner bottom surface. The bottom teeth are formed on the inner bottom surface. The at least one protruding tooth is formed on and protrudes up from the inner bottom surface and has a top end higher than the inner bottom surface. The inner contact is mounted in the through hole. The at least one protruding tooth deeply bites an exposed wire core of a cable and prevents the cable from slipping out of the terminal contact and clamp assembly.