CONNECTING TERMINAL FOR CONNECTING AT LEAST TWO ELECTRIC CONDUCTORS

Abstract

A connecting terminal for connecting at least two electric conductors to one another, wherein the connecting terminal has a housing in which at least a first conductor guide passage for guiding a first electric conductor and at least a second conductor guide passage for guiding a second electric conductor are formed.

Claims

1. A connecting terminal to connect at least two electric conductors to one another, the connecting terminal comprising: a housing in which at least a first conductor guide passage to guide a first electric conductor and at least a second conductor guide passage to guide a second electric conductor are formed, the first and second conductor guide passages cross one another obliquely at an angle at a conductor clamping point where the first electric conductor is adapted to be clamped together with the second electric conductor.

2. The connecting terminal according to claim 1, wherein the connecting terminal has at least one clamping spring made of metal, through which the first electric conductor and the second electric conductor are adapted to be clamped together at the conductor clamping point.

3. The connecting terminal according to claim 2, wherein the clamping spring has a first and a second spring leg, which are bent toward one another.

4. The connecting terminal according to claim 3, wherein the second leg end extends through a cutout in the first leg end.

5. The connecting terminal according to claim 4, wherein the conductor clamping point is arranged in a region of the cutout in the first leg end.

6. The connecting terminal according to claim 2, wherein the clamping spring is arranged completely or at least largely inside the housing.

7. The connecting terminal according to claim 1, wherein the housing forms a protective cover with clearances and/or creepage distances around the conductor clamping point.

8. The connecting terminal according to claim 1, wherein the angle between the first conductor guide passage and the second conductor guide passage at the conductor clamping point is between 3 and 90 or between 3 and 80.

9. The connecting terminal according to claim 1, wherein the first conductor guide passage terminates at a first conductor insertion opening in a housing wall of the housing, and the second conductor guide passage terminates at a second conductor insertion opening in a housing wall of the housing.

10. The connecting terminal according to claim 9, wherein the first and the second conductor insertion openings are arranged in the same housing wall or in different housing walls that are arranged at an angle to one another.

11. The connecting terminal according to claim 8, wherein the longitudinal axis of the first conductor guide passage runs obliquely with respect to the housing wall, at least in a region of the first conductor insertion opening, and/or the longitudinal axis of the second conductor guide passage runs obliquely with respect to the housing wall, at least in a region of the second conductor insertion opening.

12. The connecting terminal according to claim 1, wherein the longitudinal axis of the first conductor guide passage is curved, at least in sections, and/or the longitudinal axis of the second conductor guide passage is curved, at least in sections.

13. The connecting terminal according to claim 1, wherein the connecting terminal is designed with no bus bar.

14. The connecting terminal according to claim 1, wherein the connecting terminal is designed for direct connection between the first and second electric conductors.

15. The connecting terminal according to claim 1, wherein a first conductor stop to limit the insertion depth of the first electric conductor and/or a second conductor stop to limit the insertion depth of the second electric conductor are arranged in the housing.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given hereinbelow and the accompanying drawings which are given by way of illustration only, and thus, are not limitive of the present invention, and wherein:

[0026] FIG. 1 shows a connecting terminal in a sectional side view,

[0027] FIG. 2 shows the connecting terminal from FIG. 1 with electric conductors connected,

[0028] FIG. 3 shows a clamping spring in a perspective view,

[0029] FIG. 4 shows a first variant of crossing conductor guide passages,

[0030] FIG. 5 shows a second variant of crossing conductor guide passages,

[0031] FIG. 6 shows a third variant of crossing conductor guide passages, and

[0032] FIG. 7 shows a second variant of a clamping spring.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0033] The connecting terminal 21 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 has a housing 3, for example an insulating housing, which can be constructed of two housing parts, for example. Located in the housing 3 is a clamping spring 7. A first conductor guide passage 15 and a second conductor guide passage 16 are formed in the housing material of the housing 3. The first conductor guide passage 15 terminates in a housing wall 6 of the housing 3, where a first conductor insertion opening 1 is located. The second conductor guide passage 16 terminates in another housing wall 20 of the housing 3, where a second conductor insertion opening 2 is located. The conductor guide passages 15, 16 cross one another obliquely at an angle at a conductor clamping point 4. On account of the section plane shown, the crossing angle is not visible in FIGS. 1 and 2, but is explained below on the basis of other figures.

[0034] The clamping spring 7 is formed from a resilient flat material and has two leg ends 9, 10, which are bent toward one another in such a manner that one leg end 10 extends through a cutout 11 in the other leg end 9. As a result, this clamping spring 7 is inherently self-supporting. The clamping spring 7 can be arranged to float in the housing or, as shown, can be fixed in position by a retaining pin 13, an end stop 14, and/or a locking lever 12 that engages in the cutout 11.

[0035] The connecting terminal 21 additionally has a manual actuating element 8, with which the clamping spring 7 can be mechanically acted upon and thereby deflected in order to manually open the conductor clamping point 4.

[0036] FIG. 1 shows the connecting terminal 21 with no electric conductors connected and with the actuating element 8 not actuated. FIG. 2 shows the connecting terminal 21 with a first electric conductor 17, which is arranged in the first conductor guide passage 15, and a second electric conductor 18, which is arranged in the second conductor guide passage 16. The first and second electric conductors 17, 18 cross in the region of the conductor clamping point 4, at least with their stripped regions. The angle at which the electric conductors cross at the conductor clamping point 4 corresponds at least approximately to the angle between the first and second conductor guide passages 15, 16 in the region of the conductor clamping point 4. Consequently, the intersection angle of the electric conductors can be defined, at least approximately, by the design of the conductor guide passages 15, 16.

[0037] FIG. 3 shows the clamping spring 7 as an isolated component. For example, the clamping spring 7 can be designed as a cage clamp. The second leg end which can have the function of a contact leg for holding the clamping spring in the housing 3, can extend over one or more curved regions 19 all the way to the first leg end 9. The first leg end 9 forms a clamping leg. The electric conductors are then clamped in place between the bottom edge of the cutout 11 and the underside of the second leg end 10 facing this bottom edge.

[0038] A first possible embodiment of the connecting terminal with regard to the crossing conductor guide passages 15, 16 is schematically illustrated by means of FIG. 4. In this exemplary embodiment, both conductor insertion openings 1, 2 are arranged on the same housing wall 6 of the housing 3. The conductor guide passages 16 in this case extend in a straight line (linearly) through the housing 3 and cross one another in the region of the conductor clamping point 4 at an angle . In the region of the conductor clamping point 4, the conductor guide passages 15, 16 are arranged at height planes that differ at least somewhat from one another so that the inserted electric conductors do not directly collide at the conductor clamping point 4, which is to say at the crossing, but instead are guided past one another. A conductor stop 5 can be present for each of the inserted electric conductors 17, 18, by which means the insertion depth of the respective electric conductor 17, 18 is limited. The conductor stop 5 can be designed as an end wall of the respective conductor guide passage 17, 18, for example.

[0039] FIG. 5 shows another embodiment of the connecting terminal, in which the conductor insertion openings 1, 2 are arranged on the same housing wall 6 in the same way as in the embodiment from FIG. 4. In contrast to the embodiment from FIG. 4, in which the electric conductors 17, 18 must be inserted into the respective conductor guide passage 15, 16 obliquely with respect to the housing wall 6, the embodiment from FIG. 5 allows perpendicular insertion of the electric conductors 17, 18 into the respective conductor guide passage 15, 16. The desired crossing of the conductor guide passages 15, 16 at the conductor clamping point 4 at the angle is created by the means that the conductor guide passages 15, 16 are designed to be curved, at least in sections. The electric conductors 17, 18 inserted into the conductor guide passages 15, 16 are correspondingly deformed by these curved regions, and are likewise curved accordingly. By this means, the desired crossing of the electric conductors 17, 18 at the conductor clamping point 4 can again be achieved.

[0040] FIG. 6 shows an embodiment of the connecting terminal 1 in which the conductor guide passages 15, 16 again run in a straight line, as in FIG. 4, wherein the conductor insertion openings 1, 2 are arranged on different housing walls 6, 20.

[0041] As is evident to the person skilled in the art, any combinations of the embodiments shown by means of FIGS. 4 to 6 can also be achieved, for instance variants with one straight conductor guide passage and one that is curved at least in sections.

[0042] The connecting terminal 21 can fundamentally be realized with different types of clamping springs. In the examples above, the embodiment of a cage clamp was used as the starting point. FIG. 7 shows an alternative design of a clamping spring 7 in the form of a clamping spring with a curved region 19, from which two leg ends project, namely a first leg end 9 and a second leg end 10, that are, for example, symmetrically designed. The conductor clamping point 4 is located between the free ends of the leg ends 9, 10. In this case, the clamping spring 7 is designed without a cutout 11. To increase the clamping force, a reinforcing spring 22 can optionally also be mounted on the clamping spring 7.

[0043] The invention being thus described, it will be obvious that the same may be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are to be included within the scope of the following claims.