Terminal Wire Clamp With Side Tabs And Hook For Secure Conductor Attachment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electrical devices often experience loose or improper connections between line and load conductors when connected via a screw alone, leading to potential safety and reliability issues.
Innovation Solution
A terminal wire clamp with a body, aperture, and first tab extending from the side edge, designed to securely couple conductors to terminals within an electrical device, enhancing the connection by providing additional tabs and a hook for rotational security and texturing for better grip.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a screw alone is used to connect conductors to terminals, then the device complexity is reduced, but the connection reliability deteriorates resulting in loose or improper connections
Solution Approach 1:
The terminal clamp is segmented into multiple functional components: a body portion for general support, tabs for lateral securing, and a hook portion for rotational securing. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function optimally, ensuring reliable conductor attachment while maintaining a relatively simple overall structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The terminal clamp integrates multiple securing mechanisms (tabs and hook portion) within a single unified component that fits into the terminal aperture. This nesting approach combines multiple security functions into one element, improving connection reliability without proportionally increasing device complexity.
2Stability of the object's composition
If additional tabs and hook portions are added to the clamp, then the connection stability is improved, but the manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The tabs and hook portion are merged into a single integral clamp component formed from one piece of conductive material. This combining approach ensures stable multi-point attachment of the conductor while simplifying manufacturing compared to assembling multiple separate parts, as the entire structure can be formed in a single stamping or bending operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The clamp body serves multiple functions simultaneously: it provides structural support, guides conductor insertion through the aperture, secures the conductor laterally via tabs, and prevents rotational movement via the hook portion. This multi-functionality achieves stable connection without requiring multiple separate components, maintaining ease of manufacture.
3Ease of manufacture
If the clamp structure is simplified to reduce manufacturing cost, then the ease of manufacture is improved, but the connection reliability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The clamp incorporates flexible elements such as the hook portion that can deform during installation to engage with the conductor, then maintain a secure locked position. This dynamic behavior allows a simple single-piece structure to achieve reliable connection through elastic deformation and mechanical interlocking, without requiring complex multi-component assemblies.
Data Source
AI summary
A terminal wire clamp including a body, an aperture defined by the body, and a first tab. The body has a front face, a back face opposite to the front face, and a side edge. The first tab extends from the side edge in a first direction outside of a plane defined by the body.