DE20105806U1 - Terminal block with cutting contacts and contact actuators - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a terminal block with
an insulating housing,

at least one connection device arranged in the insulating housing for at least one electrical conductor, which has at least one conductor wire and an insulation surrounding the conductor wire, wherein the connection device has a contact blade for separating the insulation of the electrical conductor and a contacting area for contacting the at least one conductor wire,
at least one contact actuating piece which is movable in the insulating housing and which has at least one guide means which cooperates with corresponding guide means in the insulating housing.

A terminal block with a connection device that penetrates the conductor insulation is known from DE 196 27 209. The connection device shown in this document has contact blades with cutting edges that can be used to make contacts.

LOESENBECK · STRACKE · SPECHT · DANTZ - PATENT ATTORNEYS - EUROPEAN PATENT AND TRADEMARK ATTORNEYS

Registration text dated 02.04.2001 Page 2

contact surfaces. The contact surfaces enable a larger contact area of the line wire of the connected electrical conductor than the actual contact edges for separating the conductor, which essentially touch the conductor in a "linear" manner.
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The solution of DE 197 32 182 Cl has proven to be effective for supporting the external springing of the connection devices. This document discloses, among other things, an insulation displacement contact with a contact spring with two springy contact legs that delimit a contact slot, with a U-shaped force spring being provided which has essentially flat spring legs. The U-shaped force or overspring is designed as a component separate from the actual contact spring. The essentially plate-shaped spring legs are aligned approximately or essentially perpendicular to the insulation displacement or contacting areas of the contact legs and encompass them along the contact slot over a predetermined width.

A series terminal of this type is known from EP 0 936 697 A1. In this prior art, the contact springs are each formed at the two ends of a busbar, which is aligned in the insulating housing in such a way that the insertion openings of the two contact springs face away from each other, i.e. a conductor is inserted into the contact springs from the outside relative to the support rail. In order to facilitate the actual insertion of the conductors into the contact springs, contact actuating pieces are provided, which are arranged on the top of the insulating housing. The contact actuating pieces are designed like sliders and are inserted into the insulating housing from the outside during initial assembly. They each have a conductor insertion opening and, under a substantially U-shaped recess in the base area, lateral driving surfaces and a depth stop for the conductor.

LOESENBECK · STRACKE · SPECHT · DANTZ - PATENT ATTORNEYS - EUROPEAN*? ATTORNEYS AND TRADEMARK ATTORNEYS

Registration text dated 02.04.2001 Page 3

In the upper opening area of the insulating housing, dovetail-like guides are formed on which the contact actuating piece is slidably guided with corresponding dovetail grooves on both sides. The contact actuating piece can be moved between a conductor insertion position and a contacting position using an actuating tool, with these two positions being defined by a locking position.

This terminal block has proven itself to be effective. However, for various applications it is desirable to further develop the design of the terminal block so that terminal blocks with particularly small dimensions can be produced. The solution to this problem is the aim of the invention.

The invention solves this problem by the subject matter of claim 1.

The pivoting movement of the contact actuating pieces makes it easy to create a particularly compact IDC terminal block.

Advantageous embodiments can be found in the subclaims.

In the following, embodiments of the invention are described in more detail with reference to the drawing. It shows:

Fig. la-c the switching on and off of a first terminal block according to the invention;

and

Fig. 2a-c the switching and unswitching of another terminal block according to the invention.

Fig. 1 shows a section of a terminal block 2 - e.g. a through terminal with a one-piece insulating housing 4 made of plastic, which in

LOESENBECK · STRACKE · SPECHT · DANTZ - PATENT ATTORNEYS - EUROPEAN PATENT AND TRADEMARK ATTORNEYS

Registration text dated 02.04.2001 Page 4

in its lower area, it has locking feet (not shown here) for snapping the terminal block onto a mounting rail (not shown here), and in its upper area, it has connection devices 6 for contacting electrical conductors (one connection device of which is shown here).
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The connection devices 6 are here directly connected to one another via a busbar 8, the ends of which are initially bent upwards at right angles and then at right angles to one another.

The ends of the busbar 8 thus point towards the terminal center or towards each other and each form a kind of "U" placed at the side. In alternative embodiments, it is also conceivable to design the busbar in several parts and/or to connect electronic components between the connection devices 6 in order to realize further terminal variants.

The connection devices 6 are each designed using so-called IDC technology. They each comprise, at the slotted ends of the busbar facing each other, a contact blade 16 that widens out like a mouth and is also slotted, and a contacting area 20 that is offset relative to the contact blade 16 along the slot of the busbar 8, whereby the contact blade 16 and the contacting area 20 of the busbar 14 can be made in one piece from a uniform material or in multiple pieces, e.g. consisting of two different materials, whereby the different materials are specially adapted to the functions of cutting (e.g. steel cutting) and contacting (e.g. copper).

If a conductor is inserted into the busbar 14, which is slotted at its ends, the insulation of the conductor is first cut through by the contact blades 16 and then slightly widened as the conductor is pushed in further. Then the

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LOESENBECK · STRACKE · SPECHT · DANTZ - PATENT ATTORNEYS - EUROPEAN PATENT AND TRADEMARK ATTORNEYS

Registration text dated 02.04.2001 Page 5

Contact areas 20 of the contact spring are pressed against the conductor wires of the conductor.

The contact areas 20 are each surrounded by a force spring 22 which is essentially U-shaped in cross section.

According to the teaching of DE 197 32 182 Cl, the force spring 22 has essentially flat spring legs 24, wherein the essentially flat spring legs 24 run essentially perpendicular to the contact cutting edge 16 and the contacting area 20 and encompass the latter.

In a further development of the above-mentioned document, the U-shaped end region of the busbar 14 is enclosed by the force springs 22 not only in the region of the contact spring 15, which forms one longitudinal leg of the "U", but also in the region of the lower longitudinal leg of the busbar 14. The longitudinal legs of the U-shaped force spring 22 thus enclose the longitudinal legs of the lying "U", which forms the busbar 14 in each of its end regions.

This design offers the particular advantage of reducing the forces introduced into the insulating housing 4 or the terminal carrier during wiring.

In contrast to the solution of EP 0 936 697 A1, the clever space-saving arrangement of the ends of the busbar 14 facing each other or inwards towards the support rail also makes it possible to insert the conductors into the contact edges 14 and the contacting areas 20 from "inside to outside" relative to the support rail, which makes it possible to reduce the width of the terminal block on both sides of the support rail compared to EP 0 926 697.

LOESENBECK · STRACKE · SPECHT · DANTZ - PATENT ATTORNEYS - EUROPEAN PATENT AND TRADEMARK ATTORNEYS

Registration text dated 02.04.2001 Page 6

The conductor is inserted into the contact springs 15 by means of a contact actuating piece 26 which is mounted in the insulating housing on a pivot bearing 12.

The actuation with a contact actuating piece 26 is already known from EP 0 926 697. However, unlike in this document, in the terminal block of Fig. 1, it is possible to arrange the contact actuating pieces 26 between the contact springs 15 - i.e. towards the terminal center - by aligning the ends of the busbar with the contact edges facing each other towards the "terminal center".

In addition, the contact actuating pieces 26 of the terminal block 2 of Fig. 1 are also relatively narrow relative to the main extension direction of the support rail, which makes it possible to keep the terminal block of Figs. 1 and 4 relatively narrow in the extension direction of the support rail or in the direction of assembly. For example, with a small grid dimension or a small overall width, conductors with a cross-section that is relatively large in relation to the overall width can also be implemented.

During initial assembly, the contact actuating pieces 26 are each inserted from above into openings 27 of the preferably one-piece insulating housing 4 and can be pivoted there about the pivot bearing 28 - with two pins 30 on the outer sides, which engage in corresponding openings (inner or penetrating the side walls) of the insulating housing 4 - in their upper region in the insulating housing 4.
25

The contact actuating pieces 26 have, in the side view of Fig. 1 or 3a, a broadly speaking "pear-shaped" shape that widens from "top" to "bottom", i.e. in the direction of the mounting rail, and are penetrated by an insertion hole 32 for the conductor. They protrude slightly upwards from the opening 27 out of the insulating

LOESENBECK · STRACKE · SPECHT · DANTZ - PATENT ATTORNEYS - EUROPEAN PATENT AND TRADEMARK ATTORNEYS

Registration text dated 02.04.2001 Page 7

material housing 4 so that their respective switching position in the insulating housing 4 can be seen from the outside, which facilitates the insertion of the conductors.

In their area facing away from the contact edge 16, they further have a projection 34 with a receptacle 36 for an operating tool (here a screwdriver) 38, which is open on both sides (in the axial direction of the busbar).

In this way, no further space is wasted laterally between the projection 34 and the insulating housing 4, or the operating tool 42 can extend over the entire width of the opening in the terminal.

The function of this arrangement becomes clear with regard to the switching and unswitching of the terminal block from Fig. la-c.

First, a conductor (not shown in Fig. la) is inserted into the opening 32 of the contact actuating piece 26. According to Fig. la, it is possible to insert the actuating tool 38 into the opening 27 of the insulating housing 4 into the receptacle 36 of the projection 34 of the insulating housing 4 on the side of the contact actuating pieces 26 facing away from the contacting area 16 (Fig. la).

The contact actuating piece 26 is then pivoted in the insulating housing 4 using the actuating tool 38. When the actuating tool 38 moves, the contact blades cut through the conductor insulation and expand it as the conductor is pushed in further until the contact actuating piece 26 with the conductor inserted therein is pivoted as shown in Fig. 1b to such an extent that the conductor wire(s) of the conductor contact the contacting areas 20 of the connecting devices 6.

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LOESENBECK · STRACKE · SPECHT · DANTZ - PATENT ATTORNEYS - EUROPEAN*PATENT AND TRADEMARK ATTORNEYS

Registration text dated 02.04.2001 Page 8

The switching off can be carried out in a particularly advantageous manner on the same side of the contact actuating piece 26, i.e. to switch off, the screwdriver 38 is simply moved with the contact actuating piece 26 in the opposite direction to that used for switching on (Fig. Ic).

In Fig. 2, however, the contact actuating piece is pivoted about a lower support 39 in the force spring 22, which in turn forms a pivot bearing 28'. The busbar 8 can have an opening for the passage of a lower end of the contact actuating piece.

In the upper area of the contact actuating piece 26, guide pins 40 are formed laterally on the contact actuating piece 26, which are guided in arc-shaped recesses 42 or slots of the contact actuating piece 26.

In this way, a secure guidance of the contact actuating piece 26 around the pivot bearing 28 in the insulating housing 4, which is now located in the lower area of the contact actuating piece, is ensured.

Unlike in Fig. 1, however, the switching and unswitching is carried out by pivoting the screwdriver at support points on both sides of the contact actuating piece 26 at the bottom of the opening 27 in the insulating housing 4, whereby sliding on guide slopes 44, 46 in the insulating housing initiates and facilitates the switching and unswitching process.

Fig. la-c show both the switching on (screwdriver 38 to the left of the actuating piece 26) and, in reverse order, the switching off (screwdriver 38 to the right of the actuating piece 26).

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• 2 LOESENBECK · STRACKE · SPECHT · DANTZ - PATENT ATTORNEYS - EUROPEAN PATENT AND TRADEMARK ATTORNEYS 4 6 8th 5 Terminal block 16 Insulated housing 20 Connection devices 22 Busbar 24 Contact cutting edge 26 10 Contact area 27 Power spring 28 Spring leg 30 Contact actuator 32 openings 34 15 Pivot bearing 36 cone 38 Insertion hole 39 Approach 40 Recording 42 20 Operating tool 44.46 In stock ·· ·· ·· ····
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Claims (9)

1. Terminal block, with a) an insulating housing ( 4 ), b) at least one connecting device ( 10 , 12 ) arranged in the insulating housing ( 4 ) for at least one electrical conductor ( 36 ) which has at least one conductor wire and an insulation surrounding the conductor wire, the connecting device ( 10 , 12 ) having a contact blade ( 16 ) for separating the insulation of the electrical conductor and a contacting area ( 20 ) for contacting the at least one conductor wire, c) at least one contact actuating piece ( 26 ) which is movable in the insulating housing ( 4 ) and has at least one guide means which cooperates with corresponding guide means in the insulating housing, characterized in that a) the guide means of the contact actuating piece ( 26 ) are designed as pivot bearings ( 28 ). 2. Terminal block according to claim 1, characterized in that the ends of the busbar ( 8 ) point towards the terminal center or towards each other and each form a kind of laterally placed "U" and that the contacting areas ( 20 ) are enclosed by a force spring ( 22 ) which is essentially U-shaped in cross section, the force spring ( 22 ) having flat spring legs ( 24 ), the essentially flat spring legs ( 24 ) running essentially perpendicular to the contact edge ( 16 ) and the contacting area ( 20 ) and enclosing the latter. 3. Terminal block according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the rotary bearing ( 28 ) comprises two pins ( 30 ) as a guide means on the outer sides of the contact actuating piece, which engage in corresponding openings or guide means of the insulating housing ( 4 ). 4. Terminal block according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the rotary bearing ( 28 ) is formed in the upper region of the contact actuating pieces ( 26 ). 5. Terminal block according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the rotary bearing ( 28 ) is formed in the lower region of the contact actuating pieces ( 26 ). 6. Terminal block according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the contact actuating pieces ( 26 ) have, in their region facing away from the contact cutting edge ( 16 ), a projection ( 34 ) with a receptacle ( 36 ) for an actuating tool ( 38 ), which is open on both sides of the contact actuating piece or in the axial direction of the busbar. 7. Terminal block according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the at least one pivot bearing ( 28 ) is designed as a support ( 39 ) in the force spring ( 22 ). 8. Terminal block according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that in the upper region of the contact actuating piece ( 26 ) guide pins ( 40 ) are formed laterally on the contact actuating piece ( 26 ), which are guided in arcuate recesses ( 42 ) or slots of the contact actuating piece ( 26 ). 9. Terminal block according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that guide bevels ( 44 , 46 ) for the actuating tool are formed in the insulating material housing ( 4 ), which guide bevels initiate and facilitate the switching and unswitching process.