Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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Screwless connector Clamp
The invention.relates to a screwless connector clamp having a
pivoting insulated clip, mounted in a clamp housing, with a guide
head which grips an electrical conductor introduced into the
clamp housing through an opening in the housing and contacts
against a fixed insulation displacement connector connected with
a stationary contact rail by pivoting the insulated clip.
A screwless connector clamp of this type is known from the German
Utility Model DE 299 08 384 Ul. In a clamp housing, it comprises
an insulation displacement connector and a pivoting insulated
clip which has a guide head for the conductor introduced into the
clamp housing. The insulation displacement connector is
stationary and thus immovablly connected with a contact rail
situated in the clamp housing. The conductor introduced into the
clamp housing through the opening in the housing is gripped by
the guide head and led in a rotary manner against the fixed
insulation displacement connector and along its cutting edges by
pivoting the insulated clip by means of an actuating tool acting
on it. The difficulty in this case is that the cutting edges not
only penetrate the conductor insulation, but also at the same
time contact the conductor core which, in addition to an
undesirable damage, often'results in an inadequate clamp contact.
Thus, an object of the invention is to design a screwless
connector clamp of the aforementioned type in such a way that an
especially reliable clamp contact of a conductor is obtained in
a simple manner while avoiding the noted disadvantages.
According to an aspect of the present invention,
there is provided a U-shaped spring element placed
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in the guide head is provided which can preferably be inserted
into the insulated clip or swivel clip from the underside of the
guide head facing the swivel axis of the insulated clip. When
the insulated clip is pivoted, spring legs of the spring element
extending in direction of the housing opening slide with their
inner edges facing one another along the outer edges of contact
arms of the insulation displacement connector which accommodate
the conductor between them.
The spring element legs are advantageously curved with cambers
facing one another. Moreover, in an especially advantageous
embodiment, on the end, the contact arms of the insulation
displacement connector are provided with cutting edges that
extend in a V-shape to one another that are adjoined in direction
of pivot by non-cutting and parallel contact surfaces. The
distance of the contact surfaces is thereby adapted to the
diameter of the core of the conductor.
With this design, it is obtained that, by pivoting the insulated
clip, the conductor introduced into its guide head first comes
into contact only with the V-shaped cutting part of the
insulation displacement connector and that the conductor
insulation is thereby cut by means of its cutting edges. The two
legs of the U-shaped spring element and the two contact arms of
the insulation displacement connector are then not as yet engaged
with one another, so that the contact arms are not acted upon by
the spring element during the cutting of the conductor
insulation. Only when the insulated clip or pivot is turned
further into its final assembled position, do the spring element
legs contact the contact arms of the insulation displacement
connector. The contact arms flattened on their inner edges and
thus non-cutting are thereby acted upon by pressure by the legs
due to the spring force of the spring element, so that a reliable
surface pressure of the contact arms against the core is attained
and thus a reliable clamp contact of the conductor. Moreover,
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a cutting by the contact arms of the insulation displacement
connector on the core and thus damage to it are reliably avoided.
Thus, in the final assembled position, the U-shaped spring
element holds the contact arms of the insulation displacement
connector firmly together, so that a solid force fit is assured
between the insulation displacement connector and the conductor.
To position and hold the U-shaped spring element on the insulated
clip, the legs of the spring element are provided with a recess
on the free end into each of which a correspqnding profiled part
of the guide head of the insulated clip engages. This profiled
part is advantageously m-shaped, so that it engages in the
recesses and, in addition, surrounds the spring legs on their
narrow sides facing the insulation displacement connector above
the contact arms.
Advantageously, a catch which grips behind the U-shaped spring
element ot the bottom is attached to the guide head of the
insulated clip on the opposite end. Thus, when the spring
element is inserted into the insulated clip, the profiled part
of the guide head holds the spring legs at the end, while the
inserted spring element is secured in addition by means of the
catch in the final assembled position. As a result, the
insulated clip and the spring element can be easily produced as
an integral pivoting body of the connector clamp in a preassembly
step.
In a further advantageous embodiment, the guide head has two
guide arms spaced radially from one another and formed on a
swivel arm of the insulated clip. They accommodate the contact
arms of the insulation displacement connector between them which
are laterally pressure-loaded by the arms of the spring element
when the conductor is in a clamped position. This creates a
holding or clamping area which is almost rectangular in cross
section and at the same time with a depth stop for the conductor
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in the integral swivel body of the connector clamp formed by the
insulated clip and the spring element. To this end, a first
guide arm of the guide head which is closest to the swivel axis
has an more or less U-shaped recess onto which the spring element
is slipped in a staggered manner at a right angle. On the side
facing away from the contact arms of the insulation displacement
connector of the holding or clamping area formed in the guide
head, a shaped part of the insulated clip forming a form-locking
contact surface for the conductor protrudes into it. Moreover,,
a second guide arm of the guide head, situated in a chamber area
between the housing opening and the insulation displacement
connector, has an opening for the conductor which is aligned with
the recess or holding chamber of the first guide arm and with the
opening in the housing.
The insulated clip is supported in an articulation about a swivel
axis that is advantageously above the contact rail. In this
case, the pivoting leg of the insulated clip extends outward
through the housing opening, advantgeously configured as a curved
oblong hole, and is thus guided in it. To pivot the insulated
clip, its pivoting leg has a preferably conically-tapered contact
opening for an actuating tool, e.g. for a screwdriver.
To obtain as effective a lever as possible of the swivel body
consisting of insulating material while at the same time keeping
the spatial dimensions as small as possible, both the pivoting
insulated clip and the insulation displacement connector are
preferably crescent-shaped. In addition, its contact arms and
an engagement slot accommodating it when the insulated clip is
pivoted is designed in such a way that it extends in a curved
manner in the guide head having a curved shape that is adapted
to the swivel camber described by the insulated clip.
The advantages obtained with the invention consist, in
particular, therein that, by inserting a U-shaped spring element
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into the pivoting insulated clip of a connector clamp having a
stationary insulation displacement connector, a reliable force
fit of the conductor is obtained on the one hand and on the other
hand undesirable damage to its core can be easily prevented. It
is thereby especially advantageous that the cutting edges move
ahead of the clamping area of the insulation displacement
connector formed by the non-cutting contact surfaces. As a
result, the conductor insulation is cut in a state in which the
contact arms of the insulation displacement connector are not as
yet acted upon by the spring element. Only after the cutting
process does the clamping take place due to the continuous action
upon the contact arms by the two legs of the spring element.
A further advantage lies therein that it is possible to assemble
the spring element and insulated clip beforehand and combine them
to form an integral component. In this case, the same integral
component can be engaged with various types of contact arms. In
view of the fact that, as a result of the interaction of the
spring element with the contact arms, they do not have to have
any special spring properties, the contact rail can also be used
directly as an insulation displacement connector.
According to an aspect of the present invention there is
provided a screwless connector clamp comprising a pivoting
insulated clip mounted in a clamp housing with a guide head
which grips an electrical conductor into the clamp housing via
an opening in the housing and contacts against an insulation
displacement connector immovably connected with a stationary
contact rail, and further comprising a U-shaped spring element
inserted in the guide head of the insulated clip, having
spring element legs extending in a direction of the housing
opening, wherein the contact arms of the insulation
displacement connector, which accommodate the conductor
between them, slide along mutually facing inner edges of the
spring element legs when the insulated clip is pivoted.
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An embodiment of the invention will be described in the following
with reference to the drawings, showing:
Fig. 1 by parts, a connector clamp according to the invention
which can be actuated with a tool in a sectional
representation in a contactless function position,
Fig. 2 the connector clamp in a sectional representation
along the line II-II in Fig. 1,
Fig. 3 the connector clamp in a sectional representation
along the line III-III in=Fig. 1,
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Fig. 4 the connector clamp in a contacted function position,
and
Fig. 5 the connector clamp in a sectional representation
along the line V-V in Fig. 3.
Corresponding parts are provided with the same reference numbers
in all figures.
The screwless connector clamp 1 is, for example, designed as a
series-connected clamp and comprises a clamp housing 2 with an
insulated clip 4 pivoted about a pivot or swivel axis 3. This
more or less crescent-shaped or hook-shaped swivel clip 4 made
of insulating material has, in addition, an articulation 5 on the
foot of a pivoting leg 4a with the clamp housing 2 which also
consists of insulation material. The articulation 5 is
advantageously formed by a clip hole 5a provided at the foot of
the insulated clip 4 and an articulation pin 5b stationary in it
which is preferably attached to it inside the clamp housing 2.
A fork-shaped guide head 4b extending in direction of the
pivoting motion of the insulated clip 4 is formed on the pivoting
leg 4a of the insulated clip 4. In the area of the guide head
4b formed by two guide arms 6 and 7, a spring element 8 is placed
or slipped onto the insulated clip 4 which is U-shaped, according
to Figs. 2 and 4, and thus has two spring legs 8a, 8b.
For the cutting/clamping contact of a conductor 11 inserted into
the clamp housing 2 via an elongated housing opening 9 and
thereby pushed out via an engagement slot 10 in the insulated
clip 4, the guide head 4b of the insulated clip 4 carrying the
spring element 8 and accommodating the conductor 11 interacts
with an insulation displacement connector 12. It is firmly
connected with a stationary contact rail 13 inside the insulation
housing 2 and thus especially immovable, e.g. by welding,
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screwing or riveting. The articulation 5, and thus the swivel
axis 3, is situated above the contact rail 13 and spaced from it.
According to Figs. 2 and 4, the insulation displacement connector
12 has two contact arms 12a, 12b spaced from one another which
have cutting edges 14a or 14b, respectively, extending in a V-
shaped to one another on the free end of the contact arms facing
the guide head 4b. In direction or swivel 15 indicated in Figs.
1 and 2, these are adjoined by non-cutting contact surfaces 16a
or 16b whose distance from one another is adapted to the outside
diameter of the core lla of the conductor 11.
The guide arms 6 and 7 of the guide head 4b, situated radially
above one another with respect to the swivel axis 3 are arranged
spaced from one another in such a way that they accommodate the
contact arms 12a, 12b of the crescent-shaped insulation
displacement connector 12 between them in the engagement slot 10
adapted to the shape of the contact arms 12a, 12b. The lower
(first) guide arm 6 closest to the swivel axis 3 is thereby
designed as a U-shaped recess 17a on which the similarly U-shaped
spring element 8 is placed, staggered by 90 . As can be seen in
Fig. 3, a holding or clamping area 17 which is more or less
rectangular in cross section is thereby formed in the guide head
4b. On the side of the clamping area 17 facing away from the
contact arms 12a, 12b of the insulation displacement connector
12, a shaped part 17c of the insulated clip 4 protrudes into it.
The shaped part 17c forms a form-locking contact surface 17b for
the conductor 11 and is, moreover, semicircular, i.e. in the
manner of a round half shell.
The upper (second) guide arm 7 extends above the contact arms
12a, 12b in a chamber area 18 formed between them and the housing
opening 9. In this case, the second guide arm 7 has an opening
19 which aligns, on the one hand, with the housing opening 9 and,
on the other hand, with the U-shaped recess 17 in the first guide
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arm 6 which is almost closed laterally by the spring element 8.
The conductor 11 led via the housing opening 9 into the clamp
housing 2 thus penetrates the opening 19 first in the second
guide arm 7 and extends from there into the recess 17 of the
guide head 4b, limited laterally by the spring element 8.
This guide head 4b, limited on all sides above the contact arms
12a, 12b by the opening and below the contact arms 12a, 12b by
the U-shaped recess 17 and the legs 8a, 8b of the spring element
8, positions the conductor 11 and, by pivoting the insulated clip
4, brings it from the contactless position shown in Figs. 1 and
2 into the contact position shown in Figs. 3 and 4. The
conductor 11 is thereby rotated due to the pivoting motion of the
insulated clip 4 enabled by means of the articulation S. For
moving the conductor 11 on a circular path, the contact arms 12a,
12b of the stationary insulation displacement connector 12 have
a crescent or curved shape adapted to the corresponding circular
path.
The insulated clip 4, forming an integral component together with
the spring element 8, is pivoted by means of an actuating tool
20, for example, by means of a screwdriver. For this purpose,
the pivoting leg 4a of the insulated clip 4 extending outward
through the housing opening 9 has a conically tapered contact
opening 21 for the actuating tool 20. During pivoting of the
insulated clip 4, opposite opening edges 9a or 9b of the
elongated housing opening 9, adapted to the circular arc shape,
serve as a stop for the respective end positions of the insulated
clip 4 shown in Figs. 1 and 3.
As can be clearly seen by comparison in Figs. 2 and 4, the V-
shaped cutting part of the insulation displacement connector 12
with its cutting edges 14a, 14b first reaches into the area
between the two legs 8a and 8b of the spring element 8 during
pivoting of the insulated clip 4 in direction of pivot 15. The
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two spring element legs 8a and 8b are thereby curved, with the
cambers 22a and 22b facing one another, in such a way an expanded
inlet area for the contact arms 12a, 12b is produced.
Accordingly, their two cutting edges 14a and 14b are still not
exposed to the spring action of the spring element 8 due to an
outer contact on the inner edges 23a, 23b of the spring element
legs 8a and 8b when the insulation 11b of the conductor 11 is
already being cut by the cutting edges 14a, 14b. Only when the
non-cutting clamp area adjoining it in direction of pivot 15
comes into contact with the contact surfaces 16a and 16b of the
contact arms 12a, 12b in the area of the narrowest point between
the two spring element legs 8a, 8b, the contact arms 12a, 12b of
the insulation displacement connector 12 is acted upon by
pressure on the outside due to the spring action of the spring
element 8.
As a result of this pressure action on the outside, the two
contact arms 12a and 12b are moved toward one another while
simultaneously clamping the core lla of the conductor 11, as can
be seen in the pivoting or final assembled position shown in Fig.
4. As a result, an especially effective clamping of the
conductor 11 is obtained while at the same time avoiding damage
to the conductor core lia. In particular, an undesired cutting
of the insulation displacement connector 12 in the conductor core
lla is reliably prevented.
The insulated clip 4 and the spring element 8 are at first
separate production parts which are joined together in a pre-
assembly step to form an integral pivot body 4,8. The spring
element 8 is then slipped, relative to its position shown in
Figs. 1 to 4, onto the insulated clip 4, i.e. onto its guide head
4b, from the bottom. To fix the spring element 8, a catch 24 is
formed on the guide arm 6 of the guide head 4b, said catch 24
engaging on the outside on the crossbar 8c of the spring element
8 connecting the two spring legs 8a and 8b while forming a firm
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grip from behind.
For the exact positioning of the spring element 8, its arms 8a
and 8b are provided with a recess 25a and 25b on the free end,
into which an m-shaped profiled part 26 provided on the upper
guide arm 7 of the insulated clip 4 engages with profile pins 26a
and 26b, respectively. On the narrow sides 27a, 27b of the
respective spring leg 8a and sb facing the insulation
displacement connector 12, it surrounds an outer profiled contour
26c of the profiled part 26.
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List of Reference Numbers
1 Connector clamp 18 Chamber area
2 Clamp housing 19 opening
3 Swivel axis 20 Actuating tool
4 Insulated clip 21 Inlet opening
4a Pivoting leg
4b Guide head
Articulation 22a,b Camber
5a Clip hole 23a,b Inner edge
5b Articulation pin 24 Catch
6 First guide arm 25a,b Recess
7 Second guide arm 26 Profiled part
8 Spring element 26a,b Profile pin
8a,b Spring leg
9 Housing opening 26c Profiled outer edge
Contact slot 27a,b Narrow side
11 Electrical conductor
lla. Conductor core
llb Conductor insulation
12 Insulation displacement connector
12a,b Contact arm
13 Contact rail
14a,b Cutting edge
Direction of swivel
16a,b Contact surface
17 Holding/Clamping area
17a Recess
17b Contact surface
17c Shaped part
