Terminal Supply Clip With Spring Follow-Up for Automatic Feeding

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Solution Overview

Problem

Manual feeding of terminals is inefficient, time-consuming, and error-prone, failing to meet the demands of intelligent production in the power distribution industry.

Innovation Solution

A supply clip with a guide rail and follow-up mechanism, featuring a shell, fixing column with a coil spring, and positioning mechanism, enabling automatic terminal supply by pulling the shell to move on the guide rail, utilizing a coil spring to push terminals forward.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If manual feeding of terminals is used, then operation simplicity is maintained, but productivity is low and error rate is high

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveterminal supply efficiencyVSAvoidsupply mechanism complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The follow-up mechanism automatically pushes terminals forward using a coil spring, eliminating the need for manual feeding operations. The system serves itself by utilizing the spring's elastic energy to continuously supply terminals to the working position, thereby improving productivity without requiring additional complex automated systems.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

Solution Approach 2:

The supply mechanism uses a simple coil spring instead of a complex automated feeding system. The spring provides sufficient pushing force to move terminals one by one to the working position, achieving the required productivity with a much simpler structure than full automation would demand.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #16Partial or excessive action

2Extent of automation

If a follow-up mechanism with coil spring is used, then automatic terminal supply is achieved, but device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveautomatic terminal supplyVSAvoidfollow-up mechanism complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Extent of automationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts the essential automatic supply function from a complex automated system and implements it using only a coil spring and guide rail. By taking out only the necessary elements (spring for pushing, rail for guiding), the mechanism achieves automatic terminal supply with minimal structural complexity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The guide rail acts as an intermediary between the coil spring and the terminals. It translates the spring's pushing force into controlled linear motion of terminals, enabling automatic supply while keeping the mechanism simple. The rail mediates the interaction between the spring and terminals, ensuring orderly sequential supply.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

3Loss of time

If terminals are pushed manually one by one, then positioning accuracy is maintained, but time consumption increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveterminal supply timeVSAvoidterminal positioning accuracy
Core Design Contradiction:
Loss of timeVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

The coil spring provides continuous pushing force that sequentially moves terminals forward without interruption. As one terminal reaches the working position, the spring automatically pushes the next terminal, ensuring continuous supply action. This eliminates the time loss associated with manual repositioning while the guide rail maintains positioning accuracy through its constrained motion path.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #20Continuity of useful action

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

Enables continuous, efficient, and stable automatic supply of terminals, improving production efficiency and reducing errors by ensuring terminals are sequentially pulled out at the same position.

Implementation Method 1

a coil spring is sheathed on an outer side wall of the fixing column, an inner end of the coil spring is fixedly connected with the outer side wall of the fixing column, an outer end of the coil spring penetrates out of the shell through the notch and is fixedly connected at a position on a bottom of the sliding groove close to the front baffle

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectElasticity: Elasticity

Data Source

PatentEP3995420B1Supply cartridge clip for terminals
Publication Date: 2025.10.08 WEIDMULLER INTERFACE GMBH & CO
  • EP3995420B1 patent drawingFigure 1~4

AI summary

The utility model discloses a supply clip of a terminal. The clip includes a guide rail and a follow-up mechanism, the guide rail is used for placing terminals, the follow-up mechanism includes a shell and a fixing column, so that a lower end of the shell is sheathed on the guide rail through a notch in the shell, the fixing column is provided with a coil spring, and an outer end of the coil spring is fixedly connected at a position on a bottom of a sliding groove close to a front baffle, so that the terminal placed between the shell and the front baffle is pushed forwards, thus implementing automatic supply of the terminal.