Terminal Clamp Lever Mounting on Current Bar for Thermal Stability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing terminal blocks experience functional impairment due to media or temperature influences affecting the mounting of the actuating lever on a plastic housing, leading to undesirable displacement and reduced functionality.
Innovation Solution
The actuating lever is mounted on a metal current bar instead of the plastic housing, with a receiving section that encloses the pivot axis, ensuring stability and decoupling from temperature and media effects, and the pivot axis is partially enclosed by the receiving section to prevent unintentional release.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If the actuating lever is mounted on the plastic housing, then the housing can provide a receptacle for the pivot axis, but media or temperature influences cause displacement or change in the bearing position of the actuating lever
Solution Approach 1:
The actuating lever is extracted from the plastic housing mounting and transferred to the metal current bar. The receiving section on the current bar provides a dedicated mounting location that is decoupled from the plastic housing, eliminating the negative effects of thermal expansion and media influence on the bearing position.
Solution Approach 2:
The material parameter of the mounting structure is changed from plastic (temperature-sensitive) to metal (temperature-resistant). This parameter change in the mounting substrate eliminates the thermal expansion issues that caused bearing position displacement in the plastic housing.
2Reliability
If the actuating lever is mounted on the current bar, then temperature and media influences are eliminated, but the current bar must be designed with a receiving section
Solution Approach 1:
The current bar is given a dual function: it serves both as the electrical conductor and as the mounting structure for the actuating lever. The receiving section integrated into the current bar combines the electrical function with the mechanical mounting function, avoiding the need for separate mounting components.
Solution Approach 2:
The mounting function for the actuating lever is merged with the current bar structure. Instead of being separate components, the current bar and mounting structure are combined into a single integrated element, reducing overall device complexity.
3Reliability
If the pivot axis is enclosed by the receiving section, then unintentional release is prevented, but the receiving section must at least partially enclose the pivot axis
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of adding separate retention mechanisms to prevent pivot axis release, the design inverts the approach by having the receiving section itself provide the retention through its enclosing geometry. The receiving section is shaped to naturally retain the pivot axis without additional components.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a terminal clamp (100) for the connection of at least one electrical conductor, having - a housing (110) which has at least one conductor introduction opening (111, 160) for the introduction of the at least one electrical conductor, which is to be connected, into the housing (110), - a current bar (112) which is arranged in the housing (110), - at least one clamping spring (113, 114) which is arranged in the housing (110) and which serves for clamping the at least one electrical conductor against the current bar (112), and - at least one rotatably mounted actuating lever (115, 116) by means of which the at least one clamping spring (113, 114) is actuatable, - wherein the current bar (112) has at least one receiving portion (117, 118) on which the at least one actuating lever (115, 116) is rotatably mounted.