Electrical connectors – Contact comprising cutter – Resiliently biased
Reexamination Certificate
2000-10-18
2001-07-03
Sircus, Brian (Department: 2839)
Electrical connectors
Contact comprising cutter
Resiliently biased
Reexamination Certificate
active
06254422
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to the field of electrical connectors and more particularly, to a miniature electric terminal for use on circuit boards.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
German Patent DE 4 231 244 C2 discloses an electric terminal which includes a terminal block for mounting rails which incorporates the principle of a block spring. The clamping force for the conductor is created by an elastic terminal leg which is bent into the box spring.
The actuating part in the form of a pusher, for opening, acts like a wedge which is pushed between the terminal leg and an abutment to lift the terminal leg away from the abutment and the clamped conductor. However, the known arrangement is intended only to have a single clamping point, and is designed largely for use on large circuit board cross sections in accordance with rail-mountable row terminals. Accordingly, the actuating part and the conductor entry are designed so they are spatially separated from one another.
OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide an electric terminal for use on circuit boards which features a reduced overall component size without interfering with access for operation.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an electric terminal for use on circuit boards which has a reduced number of internal components.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an electric terminal for use on circuit boards which is capable of reliable long-term operation.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an electric terminal for use on circuit boards which incorporates a box spring.
The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the present invention will appear more clearly hereinafter. In accordance with the present invention, there is provided an electric terminal for use on circuit boards which incorporates a spring force element in the form of a box spring.
At least one elastic terminal leg is cut free from the wall of the box spring and bent back into the interior of the box in the direction of an opposite abutment; it has a free terminal end, so that an electric conductor can be clamped between the abutment and this free terminal end. An actuating part that is displaceable in the longitudinal direction of the terminal leg is arranged in the box spring; it projects with one end of the pusher out of an orifice in the box spring on a coupled side of the terminal, and when depressed, it is pushed with its inside wall as a wedge between the abutment and the terminal leg, lifting the latter away from the abutment and the clamped conductor.
Essentially the use of the box springs contributes toward minimization of components, since their design with the abutment and the minimum of one terminal leg does not require any additional contact point. In this regard, the box spring is designed so that the terminal leg(s) are punched out of the back of the box spring and bent toward the abutment. A design with multiple independent terminal legs is easily manufactured and is advantageous because the terminal legs lying side by side contribute to a higher contact density. An arrangement with more than three connecting points per box spring can easily be implemented. The box-like design of the springs is also advantageous because in addition to the desired stability due to the pressing forces of the terminal legs, there is also enough room to accommodate at least one actuating part. Due to advantageous cutouts punched into the side faces of the box spring, the respective terminal housing and the actuating part can easily be engaged with the box spring in the joining operation. This feature has an additional advantage that the actuating part cannot be pulled away from the spring force terminal because of faulty assembly.
According to the present invention, the actuating part with such a terminal has a through-channel for passing the conductor through, and this through-channel extends from a conductor insertion orifice on the pusher end up to a conductor outlet orifice on the inside end of the actuating part.
The embodiment of the actuating part according to the present invention supports the terminal density of the electric terminal in that the actuating part and the through-channel for the conductor, including the conductor insertion orifice, are integrated into one another.
Depending on given space requirements and the clamping effect, the abutment in the inside of the box spring in an advantageous embodiment of this invention may be formed by a box wall opposite the terminal leg or by a second terminal leg. In the latter case, the second terminal leg is cut free from the wall of the box spring opposite the first terminal leg and is then bent inward the opposite first terminal leg.
The box spring is arranged in a terminal housing made of insulation material for reasons of electrical insulation. The pusher end of the undisplaced actuating part which is also made of insulation material projects out of said terminal housing together with a projecting actuating face on which the conductor insertion orifice is located. The conductor insertion orifice is expediently arranged off-center on the actuating face of the pusher end to make available a sufficiently large area for actuation either by hand or by means of a tool. Threading the conductor into the through-channel of the actuating part is further facilitated by the fact that the through-channel is widened in a funnel shape in the direction of the conductor insertion orifice.
The special design of the actuating part makes it possible for either a one-piece actuating part to be used for multiple conductors whose terminal leg opens at the same time, or a multi-part actuating part may permit individual clamping of multiple conductors. Accordingly, the box spring then has two or more terminal legs arranged side by side with corresponding abutments, and the actuating part has a corresponding number of through-channels and conductor insertion orifices, or the actuating part is designed in two or more parts, with each element of the actuating part having a separate through-channel in the latter case and being displaceably independent of the other elements. The elements of the multi-part actuating part are connected to one another by guide elements which permit independent operation of the elements.
The actuating part preferably is secured in the terminal house by latching. In the case of a multi-part actuating part, latching in the composite may be provided so that the individual elements of the actuating part do not fall out of the housing of the terminal.
On the whole, the terminal also has a box-like structure which permits a very simple alignment of multiple terminals in a row with their terminal housing arranged to form a block terminal. The insulating terminal housing can be positioned closely side by side, thus permitting an advantageous compact arrangement if the terminal housings can be joined together by means of latches or tongue-and-groove joints to form a solid block. In this way, any desired number of terminals can be produced per terminal block. Furthermore, a terminal housing can be provided that has a plurality of receptacle spaces for multiple box springs; such as a prefabricated, one-piece terminal block which has a plurality of contacting points arranged closely side by side for a corresponding number of electric conductors in accordance with the design of the actuating parts and their through-channels, and conductor insertion orifices.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5494456 (1996-02-01), Kozel et al.
patent: 5795179 (1998-08-01), Lin
patent: 5895286 (1999-04-01), Linke
Baxley Charles E.
Nasri Javaid
Phoenix Contact GmbH & Co.
Sircus Brian
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