Electrical connectors – Contact comprising cutter – Insulation cutter
Reexamination Certificate
1999-09-01
2001-02-06
Luebke, Renee (Department: 2833)
Electrical connectors
Contact comprising cutter
Insulation cutter
Reexamination Certificate
active
06183288
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a resilient device allowing an electrical connection to be made in a connection terminal for electrical conductors.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is known to use springs for maintaining the end of a stripped conductor against a current supply rail in a connection terminal. Documents DE-3,727,091 and EP-0,823,752 describe connection terminals of this type. In these documents, there is a pinching spring made from a flat resilient material shaped in a kind of loop. The pinching spring has a stop branch intended to bear on a current rail, as well as a pinching branch bent over from the back part of the pinching spring, extending transversely to the current supply rail, as well as a resilient arc joining together, via the rear, the back part and the stop branch. The pinching branch is provided with a pinching cavity. The current supply rail passes through said pinching cavity. The spring is such that, when the stripped end of an electrical conductor is inserted into the pinching cavity, the spring presses the stripped end of this wire against the current supply rail.
A device of this type can also be used for making an insulation-displacement connection for an electrical cable. In this case, the spring serves to store the energy necessary for stripping an electrical cable and to jam it in a connection slit, and then to release this energy.
Document FR 2,753,840 describes a connection terminal which includes a pinching spring and which is reduced in size in the direction transverse to the insertion of a conductor. The resilient arc of this spring is shaped in such a way that, starting from the rear part of the pinching spring, the resilient arc is placed at a position, over at least part of its arc, below a bearing plane defined by the extension of the bearing branch of the pinching spring. A cavity is then provided in the current supply rail so as to house the resilient arc of the spring.
In the known springs, the internal stresses which appear when the spring is tensioned are very high, especially in the resilient arc. For a given thickness of material, the deformation of the spring is therefore limited in order not to run the risk of damaging the spring. Consequently, one also obtains a limited tensile force exerted by the spring.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of the present invention is therefore to provide a resilient device allowing an electrical connection to be made in a connection terminal for electrical conductors, in which the stresses in the material are reduced when it is tensioned, so as to be able to obtain a larger tensile force. Advantageously, the resilient device according to the invention will have a reduced size in the direction transverse to the direction of insertion of an electrical cable to be connected.
For this purpose, the proposed resilient device is a device allowing an electrical connection to be made in a connection terminal for electrical conductors, made from a flat resilient material, which has a first branch intended to bear against a fixed conducting part of a connection terminal, a moving sharply-angled second branch having, on the one hand, on the side of its free end, an approximately plane part provided with an opening intended for passage of the end of a cable to be connected and, on the other hand, a part facing the first branch, as well as a linking region which joins the two branches, thus forming a loop.
According to the invention, each branch has a part which is concave toward the outside of the loop, and the two concave parts are approximately facing each other and form a narrowing inside the loop.
In this way, when the resilient device passes from its relaxed position to its stressed position, the concave parts come together until coming into contact with each other or until coming into contact with a “stop” placed at this point. During this phase, the stresses are essentially taken by the linking region. The stresses then depend on the space existing between the two branches of the device in the relaxed state. Once contact has been made, the linking region no longer deforms and the stresses are taken by the branches of the device. Thus, the stresses are distributed over a large part of the deformed structure.
The fixed conducting part against which one branch of the device bears is, for example, a current supply rail. The latter may optionally be provided with a retention slit if it is envisaged to use the resilient device according to the invention in an insulation-displacement connection terminal.
In order to increase the rigidity of the linking region, the latter advantageously also has a part which is concave toward the outside of the loop.
The narrows inside the loop has, for example, a dimension of the order of one millimeter, in the case especially where the two branches of the device are intended to come into contact with each other.
In order to optimize the distribution of stresses in the material, the device may be made from a metal blade which is thicker at its longitudinal edges than at its center. The blade used then has a cross section whose shape is reminiscent of a bone.
In the case of the use of the device according to the invention in an insulation-displacement connection terminal, the fixed first branch is also preferably sharply angled and its part lying on the side of its free end is a plane part approximately parallel to the free end part of the second branch and having an opening intended for passage of the end of an electrical cable. In this case, stripping lips are advantageously provided in the opening made in the first sharply-angled branch.
In another embodiment of the device according to the invention, a fixed core may be provided in the narrowing of the loop.
Another embodiment is such that a moving core is provided in the narrowing of the loop.
The present invention also relates to a connection device allowing an electrical cable to be connected, characterized in that it is provided with at least one resilient device as described above. This device is, for example, an insulation-displacement device.
In any case, the invention will be clearly understood with the aid of the following description which represents, by way of nonlimiting examples, three embodiments of a resilient device according to the invention.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5127846 (1992-07-01), Köllmann
patent: 5993244 (1999-11-01), Bechaz
patent: 3727091 (1989-02-01), None
patent: 295 14 509 U (1995-10-01), None
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patent: 0597190 (1996-11-01), None
patent: 0823752 (1998-02-01), None
patent: 823752A2 (1998-02-01), None
patent: 2753840 (1997-09-01), None
Barrat Sylvain
Bechaz Bernard
France Philippe
Prost Stéphane
Entrelec S.A.
Luebke Renee
Nguyen Phuongchi
Ware Fressola Van der Sluys & Adolphson LLP
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