Electrical connectors – Contact comprising cutter – Resiliently biased
Reexamination Certificate
2000-08-24
2001-07-17
Patel, Tulsidas (Department: 2839)
Electrical connectors
Contact comprising cutter
Resiliently biased
C439S268000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06261120
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a resilient contact for connecting a conductor with a bus bar, including a clamping leg that biases the conductor toward the bus bar, said clamping leg having a clamping edge that engages the conductor to resist the withdrawal thereof from the contact, and means for displacing the clamping leg to a released position spaced from the bus bar, thereby to permit insertion and withdrawal of the conductor, respectively, relative to the resilient contact.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Brief Description of the Prior Art
Resilient contacts for connecting a conductor to a bus bar are well known in the patented prior art, as evidenced by the U.S. patents to Beege, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,938,484 and Delarue, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,879,204, among others.
As evidenced by the German Auslegeschrift No. 1,261,923, the German patent No. 4233446 and the European patent No. 908,965, the clamping edge at the free end of the clamping leg of the resilient contact normally continues to be pointed toward the electrical conductor as the clamping leg is displaced toward the released position, whereupon as the conductor is withdrawn from the contact, there is a possibility of damaging the conductor, which may be particularly undesirable in the case of a multi-wire conductor, or a fine-wire conductor. This applies also to the resilient contact of the German patent No. 2062158 B2, wherein the free end of the clamping leg of the resilient contact is bent only at a small angle.
As shown by the German Auslegeschrift No. 1,261,923 and the European patent No. 908,8965, it has been proposed to provide adjacent the clamping leg of a resilient contact an operating member that functions to displace the clamping leg toward a disengaged position relative to the conductor. These devises have generally proven to be undesirable, however, owing to the fact that the actuation surface on the clamping leg lies ahead of the clamping edge. When the actuating devices are in the form of levers or rams, as shown by the German patent Nos. DE 2062158 B2 and DE 4233446 C1, for example, the points of engagement are at undesirable locations on the clamping leg ahead of the clamping edge.
The present invention was developed to avoid the above and other drawbacks of the known resilient connectors.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, a primary object of the present invention is to provide an improved resilient contact including a clamping leg that is reliably operable to a released position without the possibility of damage to the conductor during the insertion and withdrawal thereof, respectively, relative to the contact.
According to a more specific object of the invention, the clamping leg of the resilient contact includes an offset terminal portion defined by a pair of successive right-angled bends, whereby when the clamping leg is displaced to its disengaged position relative to the conductor, the terminal portion of the clamping leg carrying the clamping edge is no longer directed toward the conductor, but rather is arranged in a disengaged position generally parallel with the conductor. As a consequence of this design, the conductor can be inserted into and withdrawn from the resilient contact without damage even in the case of multi-wire and fine-wire conductors.
According to another object of the invention, the clamping leg is provided with an actuation tab having an actuation surface that extends at least the length of the terminal portion; i.e., at least to the clamping edge. This design ensures that the clamping leg may be displaced toward its released position relative to the conductor with the least amount of friction with the clamping leg being produced by the actuating member.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5685735 (1997-11-01), Hohorst
patent: 5915991 (1999-06-01), Roman
patent: 5993270 (1999-11-01), Geske et al.
patent: 6146187 (2000-11-01), Pallai
patent: 6146217 (2000-11-01), Osada
patent: 1975278 (1967-07-01), None
patent: 1261923 (1968-02-01), None
patent: 7719374 (1977-09-01), None
patent: 2062158 (1979-04-01), None
patent: 209321 (1984-04-01), None
patent: 4233446 (1993-10-01), None
patent: 9420097 (1996-02-01), None
patent: 908965 (1999-04-01), None
Beege Werner
Domrath Manfred
Herrmann Hubert
Radde Werner
Ruhm Reinhard
Laubscher & Laubscher
Nguyen Son V.
Patel Tulsidas
Weidmüller Interface GmbH & Co
LandOfFree
Resilient contact for connecting electrical conductors does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Resilient contact for connecting electrical conductors, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Resilient contact for connecting electrical conductors will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2533991