Connection clip to a busbar for a draw-in multipole circuit brea

Details Connection clip to a busbar for a draw-in multipole circuit brea Connection clip to a busbar for a draw-in multipole circuit brea

1997-05-30

1998-12-29

Stephan, Steven L.

Electrical connectors

Metallic connector or contact having movable or resilient...

Resilient or spring-operated securing means joining plural...

439936, H01R 924

Patent

active

058533052

DESCRIPTION:

BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention relates to a connection clip designed for example to electrically connect one of the contact terminal strips of a circuit breaker to a terminal strip for connection to a busbar or similar, said clip comprising at least one pair of opposite contact fingers in the form of a bridge made of conducting material, the two fingers of each pair each comprising two end contacts by means of which they are pressing on the two opposite faces of the above-mentioned two terminal strips and are urged elastically towards one another by the action of flexible elements cooperating with said contact fingers.
A draw-in clip of the kind mentioned above is described in the Patent document FR-2,583,217 file by the applicant. At present, the contact fingers are made of copper and are covered with a coating made of pure silver or of tin. The draw-in clips constructed in this manner do however present a certain number of shortcomings. One of these shortcomings is that, in the event of a short-circuit, a fusion phenomenon often occurs between the end contacts of the fingers and the terminal strips, which can lead to welding of the contact parts. Another of these shortcomings is that when connection is performed the clips require a high draw-in force. Finally, when they comprise several pairs of juxtaposed contact fingers, it is observed that these adjoined fingers are not perfectly independent, which results in reduced quality of the contact between the fingers and terminal strips.
The present invention overcomes these problems and proposes a connection clip comprising one or several pairs of independent contact fingers, for which the risks of welding at the contact points are considerably reduced, as are the draw-in forces, the contact fingers moreover being perfectly independent.
For this purpose, the object of the present invention is to achieve a connection clip characterized in that the above-mentioned contact fingers comprise, at least on their end contacts, a coating containing graphite so as to provide lubrication of the covered parts which facilitates draw-in of the clip while reducing the risks of welding at the level of the contact points.
According to a particular feature of the invention, said clip comprising several pairs of juxtaposed indepenant contact fingers, the side faces of the fingers are also covered, at least partially, by the above-mentioned coating in order to reduce the friction between the two facing surfaces of two adjoined fingers.
According to a particular embodiment of the invention, the whole of the surface of the fingers is covered by the above-mentioned coating.
According to another feature, the above-mentioned coating is obtained by electrolytic means.
Advantageously, the above-mentioned coating comprises a silver and graphite alloy.
According to another advantageous feature, the above-mentioned coating comprises about 2% of carbon.
According to another feature, the thickness of the coating is about 5 .mu.m.
According to another feature, the contact fingers, prior to the coating being deposited, are made of copper.
According to another feature, the two fingers of each pair respectively comprise two internal centre faces facing one another and very close together, these faces extending appreciably over the whole length separating the two terminal strips.
But other advantages and features of the invention will become more clearly apparent from the following detailed description referring to the accompanying drawings given as an example only and in which:
FIG. 1 is a partial elevational view of a particular embodiment of a connection grip according to the invention.
FIG. 2 is a top view.
In the figures, a draw-in clip C can be seen designed to electrically connect one of the contact terminal strips 1 of a withdrawable type low-voltage multipole circuit breaker to a connection terminal strip 2 for connection to a busbar (not represented). This low-voltage circuit breaker is movable in two-way translation between two draw-in and draw-out end of travel positions by actuating an auxi

REFERENCES:
patent: 4983132 (1991-01-01), Weidler
patent: 5236628 (1993-08-01), Capp

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