ELECTRICAL CONTACT PIECE HAVING AN INTEGRATED STOP AND ELECTRICAL CONTACT DEVICE FOR AT LEAST ONE ELECTRICAL POLE HAVING AT LEAST ONE SUCH ELECTRICAL CONTACT PIECE

Abstract

The invention relates to an electrical contact piece having an integrated stop, an L-shaped main contact body having a long and a short arm, the long arm having fastening means for fixing the contact piece in a housing and a bent-out stop piece, and the short arm having an electrical contact surface, and at least one clamping device attached to the long arm of the main contact body for clamping an electrical conductor introduced into the contact piece between a clamping part and the long arm.

Claims

1. An electrical contact piece having an integrated stop, comprising an L-shaped main contact body having a long and a short arm, wherein the long arm has fastening means for fixing the contact piece in a housing and a bent-out stop piece and the short arm has an electrical contact surface, and at least one clamping device attached to the long arm of the main contact body for clamping an electrical conductor introduced into the contact piece between a clamping part and the long arm, wherein the stop piece is bent out from the main contact body such that the insertion depth of an electrical conductor into the contact piece is limited by the bent-out stop piece in such a way that uncontrolled and too-deep insertion can be prevented.

2. The contact piece according to claim 1, wherein between the long and the short arm a transition region is provided that has in particular a gradation.

3. The contact piece according to claim 1, wherein two clamping devices attached in parallel on the long arm are provided.

4. The contact piece according to claim 1, wherein the at least one clamping device has a contact spring mounted on a clamping holder that is fixed on the long arm, in particular by means of one or more rivets.

5. The contact piece according to claim 1, wherein the fastening means for fixing the contact piece in a housing have claws which are designed to hook onto walls of the housing.

6. An electrical contact device for at least one electrical pole, comprising at least one contact piece according to claim 1 per electrical pole, and an electrically insulating housing for receiving and holding the at least one contact piece.

7. The contact device according to claim 6, wherein the housing has a separate chamber for each contact piece and all the chambers are at least partially electrically insulated from one another.

8. The contact device according to claim 7, wherein the housing has two housing halves, at least one chamber for at least one contact piece being provided in each housing half, the chambers of the housing halves being situated opposite each other in the assembled state of the housing halves, and a contact actuation device being able to be arranged between the housing halves and having, per pair of contact pieces situated opposite each other, a respective movable contact bridge for electrically connecting the contact pieces situated opposite each other.

9. The contact device according to claim 8, wherein the at least one movable contact bridge is held in a first position by restoring means and the contact actuation device has at least one actuating means and holding means which are designed to bring and hold at least one movable contact bridge from the first position to a second position.

10. The contact device according to claim 7, wherein the at least one movable contact bridge is linearly movable.

Description

[0010] In the drawings:

[0011] FIGS. 1A and 1B show an embodiment of an electrical contact piece for a plug terminal;

[0012] FIGS. 2A and 2B show embodiments of electrical contact devices with multiple electrical contact pieces; and

[0013] FIG. 3 shows various embodiments of contact actuation devices for an electrical contact device as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B.

[0014] In the following description, identical, functionally identical and functionally related elements can be provided with the same reference signs. Absolute values are only given as examples in the following and are not to be understood as limiting.

[0015] FIGS. 1A and 1B show an electrical contact piece 10 with an integrated stop for an electrical conductor, which is clamped into the contact piece 10. Such a contact piece is also known as a push-in or insertion terminal. The contact piece 10 has an L-shaped main contact body 12 with a long arm 14 and a short arm 16. The main body 12 can be produced as a punched-out and bent one-piece workpiece from a copper alloy or another material, which can be dimensioned for receiving and mounting in a housing, for example of an auxiliary device as described below, thereby enabling simple electrical connection possibilities by insertion clamps.

[0016] The long arm 14 has fastening means 18 for fixing the contact piece in a housing and a stop piece 20 for an electrical conductor which is bent out from the main body 12. Due to the bent stop piece 20, the insertion depth of an electrical conductor into the contact piece 10 is limited, so that uncontrolled and too-deep insertion can be prevented.

[0017] Two clamping devices 24, 24 are attached in parallel on the long arm 14 of the main contact body 12, and serve to clamp an electrical conductor introduced into the contact piece between a clamping part 26, 26 and the long arm 14.

[0018] On the short arm 16 there is provided an electrical contact surface 22, for example a copper piece 22 welded onto the short arm 16. The contact surface 22 is provided in particular for contacting a contact bridge 62, 62 (FIGS. 2A, 2B).

[0019] Between the long arm 14 and the short arm 16 there is provided a transition region 15, which is capable of being adapted to a support in a housing in which the contact piece is to be mounted, and in particular can have a gradation (FIGS. 2A, 2B).

[0020] The two clamping devices 24, 24 attached in parallel on the long arm 14 each have a contact spring 26, 26, which is mounted on a clamping holder 28 that is fixed on the long arm 16 in particular by means of one or more rivets 30 or screws.

[0021] The fastening means for fixing the contact piece in a housing have a plurality of claws 18 that are designed to hook onto walls of the housing and are each provided on the narrow sides of the long arm in the vicinity of the transition region 15. The claws 18 are arranged in the shape of a fir tree in such a way that the contact piece 10 is prevented from being pulled out of a housing.

[0022] FIGS. 2A and 2B each show an electrical contact device 50, 50 for at least one electrical pole. Each contact device 50, 50 has a plurality of contact pieces 10, 10, in particular those shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B. Two contact pieces 10, 10 are provided per electrical pole.

[0023] The contact device 50, 50 also has an electrically insulating housing, which comprises two housing halves 52, 54 or 52, 54 and a cover 56, 56. The contact pieces 10, 10 are accommodated and held in both housing halves 52, 54 or 52, 54. For each contact piece 10, 10, a separate chamber 58, 58 is provided for this purpose in the respective housing halves 52, 54 or 52, 54, into which the contact pieces 10, 10 can be introduced and fixed therein by the claws 18. The chambers 58, 58 are at least partially electrically insulated from one another, so that no electrical contact can occur between contact pieces 10, 10 mounted in adjacent chambers 58, 58, and also no sparkover can occur at higher electrical voltages.

[0024] In the assembled state of the housing halves 52, 54 or 52, 54, the chambers 58, 58 of the housing halves 52, 54 or 52, 54 are situated opposite each other. Between the housing halves 52, 54 or 52, 54, a contact actuation device 60, 60 is arranged that has a movable contact bridge 62, 62 per pair of contact pieces 10, 10 arranged opposite each other, i.e. per pole, for electrically connecting the oppositely situated contact pieces 10, 10.

[0025] A movable contact bridge 62, 62 can be held in a first position by means of restoring means 64, for example tension springs. The contact actuating device 60, 60 can have an actuating means 66, 66 and holding means which are designed to bring the contact bridges 62, 62 from the first position into a second position and hold them there. As a result, contact pieces 10, 10 arranged opposite each other in the two housing halves 52, 54 or 52, 54 are electrically connected via the respective contact bridge 62, 62, so that an electrical current can flow.

[0026] As can be seen in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the movable contact bridges 62, 62 are arranged so as to be linearly movable in the contact actuating device 60, 60.

[0027] FIG. 3 shows the contact actuating device 60 with different arrangements of two or four contact bridges 62. In the two uppermost representations, the contact actuating device 60 is also shown in a side view A. It is clearly evident there that the contact bridges 62 project beyond the width of the contact actuating device 60 and, in the installed state of the contact actuating device 60, project into the chambers 58 in the housing of the contact device 50 in such a way that contact surfaces 22 provided on the contact bridges 62 can contact the corresponding contact surfaces 22 of the contact pieces 12 accommodated in the chambers 50.