Conductor Terminal Spring Tongue Overload Protection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing conductor connection terminals lack effective overload protection and efficient operation, as they often rely on stops within the insulating housing for actuating pushbuttons, which can lead to overextension and inadequate user feedback.
Innovation Solution
The actuating pushbutton features a resting section that shifts the tongue end towards the base plate, reducing the gap width and forming a stop when the tongue end hits the base plate, providing enhanced overload protection and user feedback through the flexible deflection of the spring tongue.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a stop within the insulating housing is used to limit the pivoting movement of the actuating pushbutton, then the deflecting movement of the clamping spring is limited, but this leads to overextension and inadequate user feedback
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a tongue end as an intermediary element between the actuating pushbutton and the base plate. The tongue end flexibly transmits the actuating force while providing tactile feedback through its deflection, and ultimately limits the movement by contacting the base plate. This intermediary structure resolves the contradiction by providing both movement limitation and user feedback without requiring a rigid stop within the housing.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameter of the stopping mechanism from a fixed positional stop (within the housing) to a flexible deflection-based stop (tongue end contacting base plate). The tongue end's ability to deflect and then contact the base plate provides a dynamic stopping mechanism that gives tactile feedback during the deflection process, resolving the contradiction between reliable overload protection and ease of operation.
2Ease of operation
If the tongue end is allowed to deflect freely, then the clamping connection can be opened, but this may lead to overextension of the spring tongue
Solution Approach 1:
The patent designs the tongue end with a predetermined deflection path and contact point with the base plate. Before the tongue end can overextend, it is pre-configured to contact the base plate at a specific point, which limits further deflection. This preliminary arrangement of the geometry ensures that the spring tongue cannot overextend while still allowing sufficient deflection to open the clamping connection.
3Ease of operation
If the gap between the tongue end and base plate is large, then the tongue end can deflect sufficiently to open the clamping connection, but this increases the risk of overextension
Solution Approach 1:
The patent optimizes the gap parameter to a specific value that balances two requirements: it is large enough to allow sufficient tongue end deflection for opening the clamping connection, but small enough that the tongue end contacts the base plate before overextension can occur. This precise parameter selection resolves the contradiction between operational ease and overextension protection.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This design enhances overload protection and user feedback by allowing further deformation of the tongue end while limiting its deflection, creating a clear stop and optimizing the spring force for improved clamping and conductor connection.
Implementation Method 1
a spring tongue (7), which is at an angle to the base plate (6) and is connected in a root region (8) to the base plate and extends with its tongue end (9), which is movable in spring-elastic fashion
Data Source
AI summary
A conductor connection terminal (1) comprising an insulating housing (2) and comprising at least one spring-force clamping connection (5) in the insulating housing (2) for making the terminal connection of an electrical conductor is described. The spring-force clamping connection (5) has a base plate (6) and at least one spring tongue (7), which is at an angle to the base plate (6), is connected in a root region (8) to the base plate (6) and extends with its tongue end (9), which is movable in spring-elastic fashion, in a conductor plug-in direction (L). The free tongue end (9) is spaced apart from the base plate (6) by a gap (15). The insulating housing (2) has at least one actuating pushbutton (4), which interacts with the tongue end (9) opposite the base plate (6) and has an actuating section (14), which extends in the direction towards the base plate (6), for deflecting the spring tongue (7) transversely to the direction of extent of the spring tongue (7). The actuating pushbutton (4) has at least one resting section (20), which is designed in each case at an associated tongue end (9) to rest on a lateral peripheral edge (19) of the associated tongue end (9) and to shift the tongue end (9) in the direction of the base plate (6) whilst reducing the width of the gap (15) when the actuating pushbutton (4) is shifted in the direction of the base plate (6) so as to open a clamping connection formed by the spring tongue (7) for an electrical conductor of which a terminal connection is intended to be made.