Abstract
A conductor terminal in the form of a distribution terminal block, which comprises a housing with a number of conductor insertion openings and spring-loaded clamping connections arranged in the housing and accessible via the conductor insertion openings for the purpose of connection of electrical conductors. The spring-loaded clamping connections being electrically conductively interconnected via a bus bar arrangement.
Claims
1. A conductor terminal comprising: a housing with at least two conductor insertion openings; and at least two spring-loaded clamping connections arranged in the housing and accessible via the conductor insertion openings to connect electrical conductors, the spring-loaded clamping connections being electrically conductively interconnected by a bus bar arrangement comprising one, a number of or all of the following features (a), (b), (c): a) at least one clamping spring of a spring-loaded clamping connection is supported by at least one mandrel, which ends with at least one head section in a spring arc of the clamping spring and extends to a support point on the housing which is located outside of the spring arc, at least the head section protruding laterally beyond the edge of the spring arc and is received and supported in a receiving groove of a part of the housing; b) at least one clamping spring of a spring-loaded clamping connection is supported by at least one mandrel, which ends with at least one head section in a spring arc of the clamping spring and extends to a support point on the housing, which lies outside the spring arc, at least two head sections of the same mandrel being spaced from each other or two different mandrels extending into the spring arc of the clamping spring and support such; and/or c) the bus bar arrangement has at least one retaining tab for holding at least one clamping spring, the retaining tab having at least one lateral retaining plate which is received in retaining grooves of at least part of the housing for support.
2. The conductor terminal according to claim 1, wherein the two head sections spaced from each other, which are arranged within the same spring arc, are disposed on opposite sides each laterally at the edge of the spring arc or protrude beyond the edge of the spring arc.
3. The conductor terminal according to claim 1, wherein at least one head section protruding laterally beyond the edge of the spring arc of a clamping spring extends into the spring arc of an adjacent clamping spring and supports it.
4. The conductor terminal according to claim 1, wherein the retaining tab ends in a spring arc of the clamping spring and extends to a support point on the bus bar arrangement which lies outside the spring arc.
5. The conductor terminal according to claim 4, wherein the retaining tab, with its at least one lateral retaining plate, protrudes beyond the edge of the spring arc.
6. The conductor terminal according to claim 1, wherein, in the case of one or a number of all clamping springs, the free end of the attachment leg is supported on a support contour of the bus bar arrangement when the clamping spring is deflected.
7. The conductor terminal according to claim 1, wherein at least one clamping spring is supported by a support structure which has at least two superimposed and interconnected layers of metal components.
8. The conductor terminal according to claim 7, wherein the at least two superimposed and interconnected layers of metal components lie flat to each other in a plane running substantially perpendicular to the conductor insertion direction of the spring-loaded clamping connection.
9. The conductor terminal according to claim 7, wherein at least part of the support structure is located below the spring arc of the clamping spring and/or extends into the spring arc of the clamping spring.
10. The conductor terminal according to claim 1, wherein one, a number of or all of the mandrels extend through at least one opening of the bus bar arrangement.
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 conductor terminal in perspective view;
[0027] FIG. 2 shows the conductor terminal according to FIG. 1 in a plan view of the conductor connection side;
[0028] FIG. 3 shows a bus bar arrangement in perspective view;
[0029] FIG. 4 shows the bus bar arrangement according to FIG. 3 with attached clamping springs;
[0030] FIG. 5 shows a lower housing part in perspective view;
[0031] FIG. 6 shows the lower housing part according to FIG. 5 with the arrangement according to FIG. 4;
[0032] FIG. 7 shows the conductor terminal according to FIG. 2 in the cross-sectional view B-B;
[0033] FIG. 8 shows the conductor terminal according to FIG. 7 in the cross-sectional view D-D;
[0034] FIG. 9 shows the conductor terminal according to FIG. 2 in the cross-sectional view H-H;
[0035] FIG. 10 shows the conductor terminal according to FIG. 2 in the cross-sectional view A-A;
[0036] FIG. 11 shows the conductor terminal according to FIG. 10 in the cross-sectional view C-C; and
[0037] FIG. 12 shows a top housing part in perspective cross-sectional view.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0038] FIG. 1 shows a conductor terminal 1 in the form of a distribution terminal block, which has a housing 2 with a number of conductor insertion openings 20, 21. In the embodiment examples, all conductor insertion openings 20, 21 are arranged on a conductor connection side 24 of the housing 2. From the conductor connection side 24, actuators 5, which extend into the interior of the housing 2, are also accessible from the outside. The spring-loaded clamping connections arranged in the housing 2 can be operated manually via actuators 5. Electrical conductors can be inserted into the housing 2 through conductor insertion openings 20, 21 and be clamped to the spring-loaded clamping connections.
[0039] FIG. 2 shows the conductor terminal 1 in a plan view of the conductor connection side 24. It can be seen that the conductor insertion openings 20, 21 have different sizes, i.e., different cross-sections. In the embodiment example shown, there are a number of (here six) small cross-section conductor insertion openings 20 and a large cross-section conductor insertion opening 21. Due to their size, only electrical conductors with a smaller cross-section can be inserted into the small cross-section conductor insertion openings 20 and attached to small cross-section spring-loaded clamping connections than into the large cross-section conductor insertion opening 21. The large cross-section conductor insertion opening 21 is used to connect a large cross-section electrical conductor to a large cross-section spring-loaded clamping connection via which electrical energy or electrical signals are fed into or discharged from the conductor terminal 1.
[0040] As can also be derived from FIGS. 1 and 2, at least one coupling element 28 can be arranged on the outer side of the housing 2, e.g., on a lower housing part 23 (corresponding to FIG. 5), e.g., in that the coupling element 28 is molded to the corresponding housing part in one piece. The housing 2 can have a corresponding counterpart to the coupling element 28 on the side of the housing opposite the coupling element 28. For example, the coupling element 28 can be designed as a protruding pin or latching element, in which case the counterpart can be formed on the opposite side of the housing as a recess or indentation in the housing. The coupling element 28, in connection with its counterpart, can form-fittingly interconnect a number of conductor terminals 1 to the outer sides of the housing in order to form a distribution strip.
[0041] The conductor terminal 1 has a bus bar arrangement 3 disposed in the housing 2, which is shown in FIG. 3. The bus bar arrangement 3 comprises a bus bar component 31 and a spring support element 32 attached to the bus bar component 31. The bus bar component 31 is used for the electrical transmission of current between the various spring-loaded clamping connections of the conductor terminal 1. The bus bar component 31 can be molded as a one-piece component. This ensures an optimal flow of current between the spring-loaded clamping connections and also saves production steps. The bus bar component 31 also has a mechanical support function for the clamping springs of at least some spring-loaded clamping connections. For this purpose, the bus bar component 31 has a number of protruding pins 39, which can be formed, for example, from the material of the bus bar component 31 by separating material from it by means of a forming process, which forms the pins in each case. This creates an opening 33 in the bus bar component 31 in the vicinity of a pin 39.
[0042] The spring support element 32 is used to support one of the clamping springs of the conductor terminal 1. The spring support element 32 has a fastening section 37 with which it is attached to a retaining section 38 of the bus bar component 31. The spring support element 32 also has a retaining tab 34, which, e.g., is arranged essentially at right angles to the fastening section 37. The retaining tab 34 extends into a spring arc of the clamping spring to be supported. The retaining plates 35 protrude from the sides of the retaining tab 34. In addition, the spring support element 32 has a connecting section 36 extending from the fastening section 37 beyond the retaining tab 34 and protruding therefrom, with which an attachment leg of the clamping spring to be supported can be coupled to the spring support element 32 in a form-fitting manner.
[0043] The bus bar component 31 also has openings 30, through which mandrels can extend as explained below.
[0044] FIG. 4 shows the bus bar arrangement 3 with clamping springs 4, 6 attached to it. For the small cross-section spring-loaded clamping connections, there are respective clamping springs 4, for the large cross-sectional spring-loaded clamping connection a clamping spring 6. The clamping spring 6 is correspondingly larger than the clamping springs 4. All clamping springs 4, 6 have an attachment leg 41, 61 each. A spring arc 42, 62 is attached to the attachment leg. The spring arc 42, 62 is followed by a clamping leg 43, 63. The attachment leg 41, 61 is used to attach the clamping spring and support against the clamping force of the clamping leg 43, 63. The spring arc 42, 62 provides the required elasticity of the clamping spring. The spring arc 42, 62 is therefore subject to the greatest changes in shape when the clamping leg is deflected, e.g., when the clamping point is opened.
[0045] The free ends of the attachment legs 42 are bent advantageously in a direction away from the clamping legs 43. The clamping legs 43, 63 form a clamping point for the clamped electrical conductor(s) with a part of the bus bar component 31 angled in the opposite direction of the conductor insertion. Furthermore, the base of the bus bar component 31, i.e., the section which is aligned perpendicular to the direction of the conductor insertion, has the exposed stop tabs 30 as a stop/overload stop for the clamping legs 43, 63. The attachment legs 41 can be supported on the pins 39, which will be explained below on the basis of FIG. 7. The attachment leg 61 is held on one side by the retaining tab 34 and on the opposite side by the connecting section 36. In addition, the entire clamping spring 6 is supported by the retaining tab 34 by the fact that the retaining tab 34 extends inside the spring arc up to the material of the clamping spring 6 and rests against it. It can also be seen that the lateral retaining plates 35 protrude laterally from the clamping spring 6.
[0046] FIG. 5 shows a lower part 23 of the housing 2 without any other elements of the conductor terminal 1 attached to it. It can be seen that in the middle and partly also at the edge of the lower housing part 23, protruding mandrels 7 are present. The mandrels 7 are attached to the lower housing part 23 at a lower base section 70 or are molded in a single piece with it. The mandrels 7 extend towards the free end towards a respective head section 72, which serves to support the clamping spring 4, as will be explained below. It is recognizable that the mandrels 7 in the embodiment example shown have different widths, but they can also be designed with the same width.
[0047] FIG. 6 shows the lower housing part 23 with the arrangement attached to it formed of the bus bar arrangement 3 and the clamping springs 4, 6. It can be seen that the mandrels 7 now extend into the respective spring arcs 42 with their head sections 72, which have a rounding at the free end, and rest there. There is a free space between the spring arcs 42 of the adjacent clamping springs, which are arranged in a row, which is bridged by at least one of the head sections 72 arranged in the middle. In this case, such a head section 72 extends from the spring arc 42 of one clamping spring to the spring arc 42 of the adjacent clamping spring. In this way, the mandrels 7 in the middle with their respective head sections 72 act as support elements for two adjacent clamping springs 4 each.
[0048] The cross-sectional representation of FIG. 7 illustrates the support of the clamping springs 4 by the respective mandrel 7, in that the head section 72 of the mandrel 7 extends into the spring arc 42 and is at least partially in contact. The attachment leg 42 of the clamping spring 4 can advantageously be in contact with the mandrel 7 for at least the largest part of its extension. In addition, in the deflected state of the clamping spring 4, the free ends of the attachment legs 41 can be supported on the pins 39 exposed from the material of the openings 33. A pin 39 serves as a support for two clamping springs 4 opposite each other.
[0049] FIG. 8 illustrates that the respective outer mandrels 7 support the respective outer clamping spring 4 or the spring arc 42 on one side. The middle mandrels 7 support in each case two adjacent spring arcs 42 at the lateral edge.
[0050] The cross-sectional representation of FIG. 9 makes it clear that, when the top housing part 22 is attached, the areas of the head sections 72 and partly also of the base sections 70 of the mandrels 7, which protrude laterally beyond the clamping springs 4, are form-fittingly received and thus supported in a receiving groove 26 of the top housing part 23 adapted to their size.
[0051] The cross-sectional representation of FIG. 10 illustrates the design of the spring-loaded clamping connection with the large cross-section. In particular, the position and fixation of the clamping spring 6 by means of the retaining tab 34 and the connecting section 36 are highlighted. The attachment leg 63 can advantageously be in flat contact along a substantial part of its extension on the retaining tab 34.
[0052] FIG. 11 illustrates the fixation and support of the retaining tab 34 by the lateral retaining plates 35, each of which engages in a retaining groove 27 of the top housing part 22 and is included in it in a form-fitting manner.
[0053] On the basis of the cross-sectional representation, FIG. 12 shows a possible embodiment of such a retaining groove 27 for receiving a lateral retaining plate 35.
