CN116247450A

CN116247450A - Connecting terminal

Info

Publication number: CN116247450A
Application number: CN202310222228.4A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 吕多尔夫·马斯泰尔; 维克托·米克曼; 雅各布·舍伦贝格
Original assignee: Wago Verwaltungs GmbH
Current assignee: Wago Verwaltungs GmbH
Priority date: 2018-03-28
Filing date: 2019-03-28
Publication date: 2023-06-09
Also published as: DE102019108027A1; DE202018101729U1; CN111971856A; CN111971856B; WO2019185795A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a connection terminal (1) comprising a housing (2) made of insulating material, a busbar (3), a clamping spring (4) and an actuating element (81), wherein the clamping spring (4) has an actuating leg (42), wherein the actuating element (81) interacts with the actuating leg (42), wherein the actuating leg (42) has a driver opening (46), wherein the driver opening (46) is used for engaging a spring driver (54) of the actuating element (81) of the connection terminal (1), characterized in that the spring driver (54) has a width that varies over its extension.

Description

Connecting terminal

The present application is a divisional application of patent application with application number 201980022479.X, entitled "terminal, clamping spring for terminal, and rail mounted terminal" on application day 2019, 3/28.

Technical Field

The invention relates to a connection terminal having an insulating material housing, a clamping spring and an actuating element which is accommodated pivotably in the insulating material housing via a pivot region, wherein an actuating lever interacts with the clamping spring. The clamping spring can have a clamping leg and/or an abutment leg. The clamping tongue can have a clamping tongue. The clamping spring can have a spring bow connected to the abutment leg. The clamping legs can be connected to a spring bow. The clamping spring can have an actuating leg which protrudes from the clamping leg. The actuating element can cooperate with the actuating leg to move the clamping tongue. The actuating element can be, for example, an actuating lever which is accommodated pivotably in the insulating-material housing via a pivot region. The connection terminal can furthermore have a busbar.

The invention also relates to a connection terminal having an insulating material housing, a clamping spring and a lever which is pivotably accommodated in the insulating material housing via a pivot region and can be pivoted between an open position and a closed position, wherein the clamping spring has a actuating leg which is deflected at least in the open position via a spring driver of the lever. The connection terminal can furthermore have a busbar. The two mentioned embodiments of the connection terminal can also be advantageously combined with one another.

The invention further relates to a clamping spring for connecting an electrical line to a busbar, wherein the clamping spring has an abutment leg, a spring bow connected to the abutment leg, and a clamping leg which is connected to the spring bow and terminates in a clamping tongue, wherein an actuating leg protrudes from the clamping leg, wherein the actuating leg has a driver opening for a spring driver of an actuating lever of the connecting terminal. The actuating leg can have two lateral webs spaced apart from one another. The handling leg can have a transverse tab. The transverse webs can connect the lateral webs to one another at their free ends. The lateral tabs and the transverse tabs can enclose a driver opening. Such a clamping spring is suitable, for example, as a clamping spring for a connecting terminal of the type described above.

The invention further relates to a connection terminal having an insulating material housing, a busbar, a clamping spring and a lever, which is accommodated pivotably in the insulating material housing via a pivot region and can be pivoted between an open position and a closed position, wherein the clamping spring has a actuating leg, which is deflected via a spring drive of the lever at least in the open position, wherein the lever is mounted on the busbar at least via a partial region of the pivot region by means of a mounting force, and wherein the lever can be locked in the open position in a coacting manner with a mating fastening element formed on the busbar via at least one fastening element provided on the lever. The fastening element mentioned hereinabove can be, for example, a fourth fastening element which is also explained below. A part of the busbar, in particular a bending region of the busbar, which is described further below, can be used as a mating fastening element.

The invention further relates to a rail-mounted terminal having an insulating material housing for locking onto a carrier rail, comprising:

a) At least one first wire connector having a first clamping portion for connecting a first electrical wire, and

b) At least one second wire connector having a second clamping portion for connecting a second electrical wire,

c) Wherein the first wire connection has a spring-loaded clamping connection with a clamping spring for clamping the first electrical wire to the first clamping point by means of a spring force,

e) Wherein the second wire connector

e1 With a handling opening for introducing a separate handling tool for opening the second clamping part, or

e2 With actuating element in the form of a pressing element for opening the second clamping point, or

e3 A second wire connector has a knife clamp connection or a screw connection for connecting a second electrical wire at a second clamping location.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention relates generally to the field of wire connection technology by means of clamping springs. The invention is based on the object of improving such a connection terminal, its clamping spring and the rail-mounted terminal formed thereby.

The object is achieved by the terminal according to the invention. Advantageous embodiments of the invention are presented herein.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the actuating lever is arranged on the busbar at least via a partial region of the pivot region. Accordingly, the lever is supported on the busbar, which enables a robust positioning of the lever and the possibility of securing it in a specific position, for example in the open position or in the closed position. The bus bar can be fixed in the insulating-material housing, i.e. is arranged in the insulating-material housing, except for tolerances, essentially immovably in all three spatial directions.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the lever has at least one mounting projection for mounting the lever on the busbar. In this way, a defined contact surface of the actuating lever is provided via which the actuating lever can be supported on the busbar. The mounting projection can, for example, project laterally from the pivot plane of the lever, for example on one side or on both sides of the lever.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention it is proposed that,

the operating lever has a first guide section,

the busbar has a recess, and

the lever is immersed into the recess in the busbar by means of the first guide section at least via a partial region of the pivot region.

In this way, the lever is additionally guided by the bus bar during pivoting and is held in the desired pivot plane against laterally occurring forces. The recesses in the busbar can be formed, for example, in slit-like fashion, i.e. in the form of longitudinal slits of the busbar.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the recess in the busbar is surrounded in a slit-like manner and in particular on the circumferential side by the material of the busbar. In this way, the recess can form a robust guide for the first guide section of the lever. In addition, the bus bar is not excessively weakened by the notch.

The terminal with the clamping spring and the busbar with slit-shaped recesses are furthermore considered as a separate invention. Such a connection terminal can also be advantageously combined with the other mentioned embodiments of the connection terminal. The slit-shaped recess can be used for different purposes, for example for fixing the busbar in the insulating-material housing. Another application possibility for supporting and guiding the joystick is set forth above.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is therefore provided that the lever is guided in the recess in the busbar by the first guide section in the pivoting movement at least via a partial region of the pivoting region.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the mounting projection is arranged on the lever adjacent to the first guide section. The placement projection and the first guide section can be separated by a groove, for example. In an advantageous embodiment, at least no element with a guiding function is present between the placement projection and the first guiding section. The placement protrusion and the first guide section can have guide surfaces that are at an angle of, for example, 90 ° to each other. The placement projection can also be arranged adjacent to the first guide section, for example laterally offset from the first guide section. In this way, the lateral guidance of the lever via the first guide section can be combined in a mechanically advantageous manner with the support of the lever on the busbar by means of the mounting projection.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the contact leg is arranged on the busbar. This has the advantage that the clamping spring can be supported directly on the busbar, which opens up the possibility of providing a self-supporting contact insert in which as little force transmission as possible occurs to the insulating-material housing.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the actuating lever is mounted in a floating manner in the insulating-material housing. Accordingly, the actuating lever does not have a fixed (rigid) axis of rotation, but can also be moved in at least one further degree of freedom, for example a displacement degree of freedom, during the pivoting movement. In this way, the function of the lever can be further improved, for example with respect to the fixing of the lever in the open position and in the closed position. The axis of rotation that is active in the corresponding operating state of the control lever is also referred to as the instantaneous center. The momentary centre can thus be location-changing during the pivoting movement of the joystick.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the bus bar has a first bus bar section, on which a first clamping point of the first wire connection of the connection terminal is formed, and a second bus bar section, wherein the first bus bar section is connected to the second bus bar section via a bending region of the bus bar, in which bending region the bus bar is formed in a bending manner. In this way, a connection terminal which is actuated by means of a lever and is of particularly compact design can be realized. The bending region and/or the second busbar section can furthermore be used for other functions of the connection terminal, for example for the mounting of the actuating lever, for its additional guidance during pivoting and/or for its fixing, for example in the open position.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is therefore provided that the lever is arranged on the busbar in the second busbar section at least via a partial region of the pivot region. The contact leg can be supported on the busbar in or on the first busbar section.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the lever has a contour in the region arranged on the busbar, which contour is matched to the curvature of the curvature region, is arranged on the upper side of the curvature region in the open position of the lever, and forms a fourth fastening element for fastening the lever to the busbar. In this way, in the open position of the lever, i.e. in the open pivoted state, the lever can be secured by a positive engagement of the bending region into the mating contour. The matching contours thus form a fourth fastening element, for example a locking element, for fastening the lever in the open position.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that an internal angle in the range of 105 to 165 degrees or 120 to 150 degrees is formed between the first busbar section and the second busbar section by the bending region. This also contributes to a compact design of the connection terminal. Furthermore, an advantageous wire insertion direction can be achieved, for example for applications in rail-mounted terminals.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the bending region is configured such that the busbar is bent starting from the second busbar section firstly concavely at a first radius R1 and then transitions into a convexly curved section having a second radius R2. In other words, the radii of curvature of the first radius R1 and the second radius R2 are oppositely oriented. In this way, a kind of "bulge" can be realized in the bending region, which is particularly suitable for the positive-locking fixation of the lever in the open position.

The bending region can be designed in particular such that the busbar transitions from the first radius directly into the second radius without a region being provided between them that is not bent. By the described arrangement with a first radius and a second radius that is curved in contrast, a bulge, i.e. a section that is raised relative to the adjacent sections of the busbar, is formed in the busbar.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the recess of the busbar is provided only in the second busbar section or extends from the second busbar section into the bending region or from the second busbar section into the first busbar section via the bending region. In this way, the region of the busbar for guiding the actuating lever can be spatially separated from the region of the busbar in which the spring-loaded clamping connection is formed by the clamping spring.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the actuating leg has a driving region and the actuating lever has a spring driver which interacts with the driving region to move the clamping tongue. In this way, the clamping tongue can be deflected by the operating lever. The actuating region on the actuating leg can be configured, for example, as an actuating element opening or also as a lateral cutout in the actuating leg, as described further below.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the spring driver is arranged at least partially or completely within the recess of the busbar in the closed position. In this way, the spring driver is moved far back so that it does not exert any influence on the handling leg. The spring driver additionally functions as a guide element which guides the actuating lever in the region of the closed position within the recess of the busbar.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the lever is arranged on the busbar in such a way that: at least one mounting projection of the control lever is mounted on a mounting region of the busbar facing the control lever. The mounting region is arranged, for example, on the upper side of the busbar. The first guide section or the element of the actuating lever connected to the first guide section, for example the second fastening element, can be passed out of the recess of the busbar and serve other functions. In this way, the lever can function in combination with the recess on both sides of the busbar, i.e. not only on the upper side, but also on the lower side facing away from the upper side. The actuating lever or its element which protrudes through the recess thus interacts with a further element of the connection terminal, for example with a section of the insulating-material housing, as will be explained below also with respect to the second fastening element.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the spring follower is arranged in the bending region of the busbar at least in the closed position. This also helps to provide a terminal of a compact construction. The region of the clamping spring that can be actuated by the spring drive can thus be designed to extend only slightly beyond the busbar. The spring driver is preferably formed on the first guide section of the actuating lever. As a result of the first guide section, together with the spring driver, engaging in the slot-shaped recess of the busbar, a small overall height of the connection terminal can be achieved. Furthermore, the length of the actuating leg can thus also be reduced.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the busbar has a wire passage opening into which the abutment leg and the clamping tongue are countersunk. The connection terminal can thus be designed in a particularly compact manner, in particular with respect to the electrical contact plug.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the wire feed-through opening has wall sections extending from the bus bar plane around, which wall sections form material turns. This enables a good contact of the electrical conductors and a stable mechanical fastening of the electrical conductors. The material flange can be produced in a manner that is advantageous in terms of production technology, for example in one piece from the material of the busbar.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the connection terminal has a second conductor connection for connecting a second electrical conductor, wherein the second conductor connection is electrically conductively connected to the first conductor connection via the second busbar section or can be connected via the connecting element. In this way, a plurality of electrical conductors can be connected simultaneously. The connection terminal can be configured as a rail-mounted terminal, for example.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the first busbar section extends toward its free end in a direction away from the actuating lever. In this way, the wire introduction direction for introducing the first electrical wire can advantageously be set.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that, in the closed position, the outer surface of the manual actuation section extends in the longitudinal extension direction of the actuation lever essentially parallel to the second busbar section or essentially parallel to the third busbar section, which connects the first busbar section to the third busbar section. The outer surface of the manual operating section is a surface which is remote from the insulating material housing in the closed position when the lever is in the closed position. This allows the constructional height of the rail-mounted terminal to be minimized.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that in the closed position, in particular when the electrical conductor is not clamped at the first clamping point, the actuating lever extends from the clamping leg first along the first busbar section and protrudes beyond the bending region. In this way, the actuating leg can be arranged in a space-saving manner and nevertheless can be gripped by the spring driver without problems when the actuating lever is moved into the open position.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the actuating lever protrudes from the clamping leg, wherein the actuating leg has two lateral webs spaced apart from one another and one transverse web connecting the lateral webs to one another at their free ends, wherein the lateral webs and the transverse web enclose a driver opening of the spring driver of the actuating lever for engaging the connecting terminal. This allows an advantageous force transmission from the actuating lever to the clamping leg while maintaining a space-saving design of the connecting terminal.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the transverse web forms, in conjunction with at least one region of the insulating-material housing, a protection against the pulling-out of the lever from the insulating-material housing, at least when the lever is in the open position. Accordingly, no additional securing means, in particular no additional components for preventing the lever from being pulled out in the open position, are required.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the region of the insulating-material housing forming the protective part that prevents the actuating lever from being pulled out of the insulating-material housing forms a stop for the transverse web of the actuating leg.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the actuating lever can be pivoted from a closed position, in which the clamping edge, in particular of the clamping tongue, forms a clamping point for clamping the electrical line together with the busbar, into an open position, in which the clamping edge is lifted from the busbar in order to open the clamping point. Accordingly, the closed position of the actuating lever corresponds to the closed position of the clamping point, and the open position of the actuating lever corresponds to the open clamping point.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the insulating-material housing has an opening, which is covered by the actuating lever in the closed position of the actuating lever, wherein the opening opens into the clamping spring or into the other conductive component of the connecting terminal. The opening can be embodied in particular as a rod insertion slot in the top plate of the insulating material housing. The opening is covered in the closed position, for example via a manual actuation section of the actuation lever. The current-carrying element within the connection terminal is thereby shielded from the external environment, so that contact safety (finger safety) of the connection terminal is achieved. The top plate can be formed as a housing wall of the insulating housing, which is offset slightly inward relative to the outer contour of the insulating housing.

In addition to the previously mentioned openings, the insulating-material housing can have a rod opening which allows the operating rod to be inserted when the insulating-material housing is completely installed. The previously mentioned opening can here form part of the rod opening. In this way, in the connection terminal according to the invention, the actuating lever can be inserted through the lever opening, i.e. mounted from above, when the insulating-material housing is completely mounted, i.e. without further openings, for example sideways.

The rod opening can be completely surrounded on the circumferential side by the material of the insulating-material housing, i.e. by a corresponding wall or other section of the insulating-material housing. If the actuating lever is mounted in its final position in the connection terminal, at least the manual actuating section protrudes at least partially out of the insulating-material housing, i.e. the actuating lever then extends through the lever opening.

The rod opening can have a simple shape, such as, for example, a rectangular shape in top view. The rod opening can also have a more complex shape. The rod opening can in particular have a tapering portion such that the width of the rod opening varies over its longitudinal extension. For example, the taper can be realized by the mentioned top plate, so that between the top plate elements the rod threading slot is configured as a narrower region of the rod opening. The width of the lever opening is measured here in the transverse direction of the connection terminal, wherein the direction of the actuating lever perpendicular to the pivot plane is suitable as the transverse direction of the connection terminal. In this case, the second guide section of the actuating lever can be immersed into the region of the lever opening, which region is embodied as a taper, when the actuating lever is in the closed position. The lever can have a lateral recess, by means of which the region of the lever that can be countersunk into the region of the lever opening that is formed with the taper can be formed narrower than the adjoining region, for example, narrower than the manual actuating section. In the closed position, the top plate can be at least partially received in the lateral recess.

The plane of the top plate is defined by the surface of the top plate directed towards the outside of the insulating-material housing. In the open position, the spring follower of the actuating lever can project out of the plane of the top plate.

The top plate can furthermore serve as a stop and/or a receiving element for the actuating lever when the actuating lever is in the closed position. For example, the manual actuating section can be placed with its underside on the top plate.

The actuating element or actuating lever can be formed in particular as an integrated component of the terminal, unlike actuating tools which are not part of the terminal and have to be individually accessible when the clamping point of the terminal is to be opened. The actuating element or the actuating lever is formed as an integral component of the connecting terminal, without requiring the acquisition of a separate tool. The actuating element or actuating lever can then permanently provide the actuation for the clamping spring.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the spring driver is countersunk into the opening in the open position of the actuating lever. In this way, the opening of the insulating-material housing can also be filled in the open position, so that contact safety of the connection terminal is also achieved in the open position. In this case, no additional components are required, but the lever can be used with its spring drive to fulfill the function.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the actuating lever has a second guide section which protrudes toward the lever insertion slot and by means of which the actuating lever is guided in the region of the closed position. In this way, additional guidance of the control lever in the closed region can be achieved, in particular except for a lower guide, by means of which the control lever is guided by its first guide section in the recess of the busbar.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the actuating lever has at least one laterally projecting third fastening element on the second guide section, by means of which the actuating lever can be fastened in the region of the top plate in the closed position. This allows a simple and reliable fixation of the lever in the closed position.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is proposed that the actuating lever has at least one second fastening element, by means of which the actuating lever is fastened in the open position. In this way, the lever can be safely fixed in the open position. The fastening can alternatively or additionally to the fastening mentioned above by means of a fourth fastening element be present on the bending region of the busbar.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the second fastening element, in the closed position, is countersunk into a receiving groove formed in the insulating-material housing. In this way, it is possible to achieve a prevention of the lever from being pulled out in the closed position. Furthermore, a return brake for the actuating lever can be achieved in this way, so that the lever spring back that occurs is reduced. In particular, the lever is thereby also prevented from being separated from the insulating-material housing or sliding out of it during the spring-back of the lever.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the lever is largely located in the region enclosed by the outer contour of the insulating-material housing in each actuating position. This has the advantage that the lever is protected by the insulating material housing and that in each operating state of the lever only a small amount of additional external space is required, even when pivoting. The lever can be at least 30% or 40% at least in its longitudinally extending main area in the open position, within the area enclosed by the outer contour of the insulating-material housing.

The actuating lever mentioned above can also be configured differently from a lever, which is configured, for example, as an actuating slide or other actuating element. Accordingly, the invention also relates to a connection terminal of the type mentioned above, wherein instead of a lever, any type of actuating element is present for actuating the clamping leg.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, in the connection terminal with an actuating element of any design, the actuating leg has two lateral webs spaced apart from one another and one transverse web connecting the lateral webs to one another at their free ends, the actuating element co-operating with the actuating leg projecting from the clamping leg for moving the clamping tongue, wherein the lateral webs and the transverse webs enclose a carrier opening for a spring carrier of the actuating element of the connection terminal. This allows good force transmission from the actuating element to the actuating leg, even in a compact embodiment of the connecting terminal.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the spring driver has a width that varies over its extension, in particular that the spring driver narrows toward its free end. The width of the spring driver is measured here in the transverse direction of the connection terminal. This simplifies the introduction of the spring driver into the driver opening. Accordingly, the spring driver can be configured as follows: first and/or second and/or third spring driver regions are formed on the spring driver. The first spring driver region can be narrower than the second spring driver region. The second spring driver region can be narrower than the third spring driver region.

The spring driver can additionally or alternatively be narrowed toward its free end by a dimension other than its width, for example in the direction of its height. The height of the spring driver is measured here in a direction perpendicular to the pivot plane of the actuating lever and perpendicular to the maximum longitudinal extent of the actuating lever, i.e. the structural length of the actuating lever.

The spring driver can be configured such that its width is narrowed toward its free end in such a way that the width decreases continuously and/or stepwise. Accordingly, at least one step and/or edge can be provided with respect to the width dimension, wherein the step does not necessarily have to run at right angles, but can run at any other angle. The spring driver can be designed such that its free end is narrowed in terms of its height in such a way that the height decreases continuously and/or the height decreases stepwise. Accordingly, at least one step and/or edge can be provided with respect to the height dimension, wherein the step does not necessarily have to extend at right angles, but can extend at any other angle.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the spring driver is formed in a rounded manner, for example with a radius, at its free end in a side view of the actuating lever. Accordingly, no sharp areas and/or edges are present at the free end of the spring motor, but rather the mentioned rounding.

If the lever is pivoted in its pivoting region, the spring driver performs this pivoting movement together with the lever.

In general, the spring drives can be constructed relatively long and slim in the present invention compared to the solutions in the prior art. The length of the spring driver can be, for example, at least 20% or at least 25% or at least 30% of the length of the actuating lever in the bearing region. The region of the actuating lever which extends in the longitudinal direction of the actuating lever from the spring carrier to the rear end facing away from the spring carrier is regarded as the bearing region. The proportion of the length of the spring driver is, for example, at least 7% or at least 8% or at least 9% by total length of the actuating lever.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the third spring driver region forms a guide for the lateral webs of the actuating leg when the actuating element is moved into the open position. Accordingly, the lateral webs each lie substantially against the third spring carrier region. Thus, deflection between the actuating leg and the spring driver is avoided.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the actuating lever is mounted in the open position on a first mounting point and a second mounting point spaced apart therefrom, and that the actuating lever is pulled onto the first and second mounting points by a pulling force of the clamping spring acting on the spring driver by the actuating leg. This has the advantage that the actuating lever is additionally held and fixed in the open position by the tension of the clamping spring, which has the following advantages over, for example, a rigid fixation by the locking element: even when slightly deflected away from the actual open position, the actuating lever is again pulled back in the direction of the open position. In this way, the joystick can be firmly fixed even when an external load, such as a strong vibration load, occurs.

The first and second mounting points can be arranged on the same element of the connection terminal or on different elements of the connection terminal. One of the mounting points can be formed, for example, on the insulating-material housing and the other mounting point on the busbar.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the line of action of the tensile force of the actuating leg extends through between the first and the second installation site. In this way, a robust fixing of the joystick in the open position can be achieved in a simple manner. It is particularly advantageous if the line of action of the tensile force of the actuating lever extends through the intermediate region between the first and second contact points, in particular in the range of 30% to 70% of the distance between the first and second contact points.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the actuating leg extends through between the first and the second placement point in the open position. The connection terminal and in particular the electrical contact insert can thus be constructed in a particularly compact manner.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the actuating lever has a second fastening element, by means of which the actuating lever is mounted in the open position on the first mounting point, wherein the second fastening element forms a recess along the outer circumference of the actuating lever. A concave shape of the surface is understood here to mean a concave shape of the surface. The bulge is understood to be a convex shape of the surface. By means of such recesses and elevations, a reliable locking is possible in the sense of locking the lever.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that a contact surface is formed on the insulating-material housing, which contact surface forms the first contact point in the open position, wherein the contact surface is part of the elevation of the insulating-material housing.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the second mounting point is arranged on the busbar, in particular in the form of a bulge of the busbar facing the actuating lever.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the force introduction point of the pulling force into the actuating lever in the open position is set such that a torque acts on the actuating lever, which torque is counteracted by the positioning of the actuating lever at the first and second positioning points. The lever is thus permanently subjected to a torque load when it is in the open position, but is held by the first and second contact points. Accordingly, the lever does not have to be held manually in the open position.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the connecting line extending through the first and the second placement point has an intersection with the actuating leg, wherein the angle from the actuating leg to the connecting line is smaller than 90 degrees. The straight line parallel to the connecting straight line can also have an intersection point with the actuating leg. In this case, the angle from the operating leg to a straight line parallel to the connecting straight line is less than 90 degrees.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the angle from the actuating leg to the connecting line or to a line parallel thereto is greater than 20 °, in particular greater than 30 ° or greater than 45 °. In this way, a particularly stable setting of the actuating lever is ensured in the open position. The lever is also held firmly in the open position in the presence of a vibratory load.

According to an advantageous development of the invention, an angle in the range of 60 ° to 120 ° is formed between a plane of the housing surface of the insulating-material housing, on which plane the actuating lever protrudes from the insulating-material housing in the open position, and a spatial plane extending perpendicular to the pivot plane of the actuating lever, which spatial plane extends centrally through the manual actuating section of the actuating lever. This allows for an advantageous gripping of the lever in the open position and an ergonomically advantageous transfer from the closed position into the open position. In an advantageous embodiment, the angular range can start at 70 °, 75 ° or 80 ° instead of 60 ° in terms of the lower limit value. The angular range can end at 110 °, 105 ° or 100 ° instead of 120 ° in its upper limit value.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that at least the second contact point is formed by two contact surfaces spaced apart from one another perpendicular to the pivot plane of the actuating lever, on which contact surfaces the actuating lever is mounted. This enables a multi-point arrangement of the control lever at spatially distributed points, in particular the three-point support described later.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the control rod is mounted in a three-point manner by means of the two mounting surfaces of the second mounting point and by means of the first mounting point. The lever is thereby held securely in a mechanically defined manner.

Three placement points can be formed on the circumference of the joystick, as seen in a side view of the joystick. In this case, the middle (second) of the three mounting points can be supported on the busbar. Two other mounting points (first and third mounting points) surrounding the middle mounting point can be supported on the housing of the terminal. The intermediate mounting point can be embodied here as a single mounting point or else as two laterally offset mounting points. If two intermediate mounting points are present, these can be arranged eccentrically in the transverse direction of the control lever and correspondingly on both sides of the center plane of the control lever. For example, the intermediate placement point can be realized by the arrangement of two eccentric fourth fastening elements, which are described further below.

For the mentioned three-point support in the open position, the actuating lever can accordingly have at least three points of placement. The first fastening element or the second fastening element can form such a placement point. Additionally, two placement points can be formed by a fourth fastening element. When not only the first fixing element but also the second fixing element forms such a setpoint, further (fourth) setpoint can also be formed.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the contact surface of the second contact point is arranged in a corresponding spatial plane arranged parallel to the pivot plane of the actuating lever, and that the first contact point is arranged in a third spatial plane arranged parallel to the first and second spatial planes, said third spatial plane being arranged between the first and second spatial planes. This allows a firm support of the lever in the open position. In particular, the actuating lever cannot be released unintentionally, even when the connection terminal is subjected to a vibration load.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the actuating lever is arranged in the open position at least on a first arrangement point, wherein the insulating-material housing has an intermediate wall, the first arrangement point being formed on one side of the intermediate wall, and the clamping spring extending along the opposite side of the intermediate wall. In this way, the clamping spring can advantageously be integrated in the insulating-material housing in the region of the intermediate wall. The intermediate wall can be formed in the insulating-material housing as an island made of insulating material. In this way, the insulating-material housing takes part in the positioning of the operating lever and in other functions of the connecting terminal. This also contributes to a compact construction of the connection terminal.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the intermediate wall is supported and supported in engagement on the clamping spring against a setting force applied by the actuating lever to the intermediate wall at the first setting point. Accordingly, the intermediate wall is tensioned between the forces exerted by the clamping springs, i.e. one is the contact force transmitted by the actuating lever and the reaction force of the clamping springs. In this way, a self-supporting system can advantageously be realized. Furthermore, in this way, the plastic component is supported on the metal component which generates or introduces the force, which is advantageous in the case of a wetting action which can lead to a reduction in the stability of the plastic material.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is therefore provided that the intermediate wall is supported against the contact force exerted by the actuating lever on the intermediate wall at the first contact point and counter-supported on the contact leg and/or on a spring bracket which connects the contact leg and the clamping leg of the clamping spring to one another.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the setting force of the actuating lever is caused by a tensile force transmitted to the actuating lever by the actuating leg of the clamping spring. By transmitting pure tensile forces, the components involved in the force transmission in terms of the clamping spring, such as, for example, a part of the actuating leg, are very material-saving and accordingly also space-saving.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the intermediate wall is formed from a solid insulating material or has at least one reinforcement, in particular at least one rib-like reinforcement. The insulating material housing can be, for example, plastic.

The embodiments described below of the clamping spring already mentioned are suitable, for example, as clamping springs for connection terminals of the type described above.

The object is furthermore achieved by a clamping spring having an abutment leg, a spring bow connected to the abutment leg, and a clamping leg which is connected to the spring bow and ends with a clamping tongue, wherein the actuating leg protrudes from the clamping leg and has two lateral webs which are integrally formed with the clamping spring and wherein the lateral webs are bent out of the clamping leg of the clamping spring with an average bending radius, and wherein the clamping spring is stamped and bent out of a flat metal plate having a predetermined thickness, wherein the ratio of the average bending radius of the metal plate to the thickness is less than 3. The average bending radius is referred to herein as the material center line of the metal sheet. In this way, the force introduction of the actuating lever into the clamping spring via the actuating leg can be optimized. This results in a direct drive, short travel, so that there is essentially no tension in the actuating leg. Furthermore, this construction allows for a simple manufacture of the components used for the connection terminal as well as the entire connection terminal. The described embodiment of the clamping spring can be advantageously combined with all other described variants.

The thickness of the metal plate of the clamping spring can be selected in particular in relation to the nominal wire diameter or nominal wire cross section of the connecting terminal, for example as follows:

rated wire cross section	Thickness of metal plate
		2.5mm2	0.34mm
4mm2	0.43mm
		6mm2	0.45mm
10mm2	0.55mm

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, a web protruding from the plane of the driver opening adjoins the transverse web, which web has a curvature, wherein the convex surface of the curvature faces the driver opening. In this way, a curved bearing region can be provided on the actuating leg, which bearing region can be advantageously placed on the spring driver and can slide along it during the pivoting movement of the actuating lever.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the connecting piece is formed in one piece with the transverse web and is bent out of the transverse web. This allows for a simple manufacture of the clamping spring with the actuating leg, for example in a punching bending process.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the free end of the actuating leg is bent out by means of the transverse web in a direction away from the spring bow. This allows providing a strong bend on the connection piece without requiring excessive levels of modification in the bending process.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the edge formed at the free end of the web is remote from the driver opening. In this way, excessive wear of the spring drivers of the lever is avoided. In particular, contact between the end edge of the possibly sharp edge of the connecting piece and the spring driver can be avoided.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the width of the driver opening, which is defined by the inner distance between the lateral webs, varies over the longitudinal extension of the actuating leg, in particular decreases in width toward the free end of the actuating leg. The width reduction can be configured stepwise. In this way, elements of different widths, for example, on the one hand a spring driver and on the other hand other elements, such as, for example, components of the clamping spring, for example, abutment legs, can be guided through the driver opening.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is therefore provided that the abutment leg extends through the driver opening, in particular through a wider region of the driver opening. The wider region of the driver opening is here the region in which the inner distance between the lateral webs is greater than in one or more other regions of the driver opening.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the clamping tongue tapers from the root region toward the clamping edge on the free end. In this way, a possible deflection of the clamping tongue when the busbar is open, for example due to a possible tilting position of the clamping spring, can be avoided. The root region is considered to be the portion of the clamping spring, on which the clamping leg branches into a clamping tongue and a handling leg. In said part of the clamping spring, there is thus a root of the clamping tongue and a root of the handling leg.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the clamping leg has a clamping leg bow formed between the spring bow and the root region, and that the actuating lever has a length from the root region up to a force introduction region for applying actuating forces to the actuating leg, which is greater than the length of the clamping leg from the root region up to the apex of the clamping leg bow. This can be achieved, for example, by: the length of the actuating lever, which is effective for actuation, measured from the branching point of the actuating leg from the clamping leg to the curved support region, is greater than the length of the clamping leg, measured from the branching point of the actuating leg from the clamping leg to the apex of the spring bow. In this way, a spring with a shortened deflection length can be realized. Such a clamping spring prevents an undesired bending or buckling of the clamping leg even more when the fixedly clamped electrical line is pulled from the outside.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the clamping leg has a clamping leg portion formed between the spring bow and the root region, which clamping leg portion strikes a portion of the insulating material housing of the terminal when the actuating lever is moved from the closed position into the open position. In this way, the bending length of the clamping spring can advantageously be shortened.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the minimum width of the lateral webs is at most 20% of the maximum width of the clamping leg. In this way, very thin lateral webs can be provided, which contributes to material saving of the clamping spring and additionally to a compact design of the connection terminal. Because the lateral webs only have to transmit tensile forces, a very narrow form of implementation is readily possible.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the minimum width of the lateral webs is at most four times the thickness of the metal sheet.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the actuating lever has a spring driver which extends through the driver opening at least in the open position. In this way, the clamping leg can be deflected by the spring driver of the actuating lever.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the spring driver extends through a narrower region of the driver opening at least in the open position. Since only the tensile force must be transmitted via the actuating leg and its lateral webs, they can be formed correspondingly thinly, which results in a material saving of the material of the clamping spring. Furthermore, in one embodiment of the clamping spring, a clamping tongue can be provided which has a relatively large clamping width, which in turn allows a relatively large wire cross section to be clamped, at least the clamping tongue being provided in the region punched out of the actuating leg, in which region the driver opening is formed.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that a curved bearing region is formed on the actuating leg in the curved region of the connecting piece, wherein the actuating lever has a socket-like bearing, on which the curved bearing region slides along the actuating leg of the clamping spring during the pivoting movement of the actuating lever. In this way, the curved bearing region can be guided and slid over the operating lever reliably, without deflection and with low friction. The socket bearing can be arranged in particular on the spring motor.

The curved support region can have a constant curvature or a varying curvature. In any case, there is a curvature over the entire extension of the curved bearing region and no sharp edges or bends are present. The minimum radius of curvature of the curved support region can be greater than or equal to half the thickness of the metal plate of the clamping spring.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the actuating leg, starting from the clamping leg, extends initially along the first busbar section and, at least by means of a part of the driver opening, protrudes out of the bending region of the busbar. In this way, the spring driver can be introduced into the driver opening without being hindered by the busbar. Furthermore, the connection terminal can be constructed in a particularly compact manner, for example, by: the actuating leg extends closely along the first busbar section.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the actuating leg of the clamping spring slides at least partially on the busbar when the clamping leg is displaced. Accordingly, the actuating leg is additionally guided by the busbar when the actuating lever is pivoted.

In particular, in the closed position, the actuating lever can extend at least approximately parallel to the busbar, for example parallel to the first busbar section, when no electrical line is clamped at the clamping point. In this way, the connection terminal can be realized in particular in a miniaturized manner. Furthermore, in the manner described, a relatively large lever arm for actuating the clamping leg is realized. This reduces the operating force of the joystick. In the substantially parallel region between the actuating leg and the busbar, a small distance between the actuating leg and the busbar can be achieved, which likewise contributes to the miniaturized construction of the connection terminal. For example, the distance between the actuating leg and the busbar in this region can be less than the material thickness of the busbar in this region or less than twice the material thickness of the busbar.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the actuating lever has a spring follower which, in the closed position, does not contact the actuating leg. In the closed position, wear between the spring driver and the actuating leg is thus avoided. The spring driver can extend completely at least partially into the driver opening.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the actuating lever has a spring driver which, in the closed position, does not extend into the driver region of the clamping spring, for example into the driver opening. This maximizes the distance between the spring driver and the actuating leg.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that a guide element is formed on the insulating-material housing, which guide element forms a housing-side guide of the actuating leg at least in a specific actuating position and/or in a pivoted position of the actuating lever. The guide element can guide the actuating leg in particular when the actuating leg performs a pivoting movement close to the open position. Thereby, excessive deflection or bending of the handling leg is counteracted, in particular at the transition to the clamping leg. Furthermore, by means of the described embodiment, the actuating lever first executes a certain free travel when pivoting from the closed position into the open position, without actuating forces caused by the clamping spring. The joystick can thus be actuated, for example, by means of a finger tip, first of all essentially without force effort, in order to be able to be gripped manually afterwards.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is proposed that the payload arm of the lever is shorter in the open position than in the closed position. This allows ergonomic and tactile comfort of the joystick. In particular, in order to terminate the pivoting movement in the direction of the open position, the actuating force is maintained at a comfortable level, for example at a substantially constant force level within the pivoting angle, by means of a changing gear ratio when the spring force of the clamping spring increases.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, it is proposed that the transverse webs and/or the curved support region slide along the spring driver, in particular along the socket-shaped support, when the lever is moved from the closed position into the open position and approach the instantaneous center of the lever, i.e. the instantaneous center that is respectively active during the pivoting movement of the lever. In this way, a shortening of the load arm upon an opening movement of the lever can be achieved in a reliable manner. The transverse web, measured in the longitudinal direction of the actuating lever, can, for example, have a magnitude that is at least 5% or at least 10% of the length of the spring driver, when the actuating lever is moved from the closed position into the open position, close to the instantaneous center of the actuating lever.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the connection terminal has at least one force reducing mechanism by means of which the value of the setting force can be reduced when the actuating lever is released from the locked open position and/or when the actuating lever is locked into the open position. In this way, the contact points that are acted upon by the setting force are relieved when the actuating lever is released. This has the advantage that the release of the lever is simplified and wear at the elements contacting each other can be reduced or even avoided. By means of the force reducing mechanism, the value of the setting force can be reduced more or less depending on the embodiment until the setting force is completely removed (setting force equals zero). Accordingly, the elements that are acted upon by the contact point by the contact force are separated from one another by the force reducing mechanism. For example, the area of the lever for supporting on the bus bar can be lifted from the bus bar.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the force reducing means is formed at least in part by mechanical elements of the actuating lever, of the clamping spring and/or of the insulating-material housing. Accordingly, no additional components are required for forming the force reducing mechanism or at least a major part thereof. The force reducing mechanism can accordingly be realized in a very simple manner without complex construction.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the mechanical element is formed by a co-acting contour of the actuating lever, the clamping spring and/or the insulating-material housing. This also allows a simple implementation of the force reducing mechanism. For example, the force reducing means can be formed by a combination of the first contact point with the contact point of the clamping spring on the actuating lever, for example by a contact point between the first fastening element of the actuating lever and the second locking edge of the insulating material housing, with a combination of the socket-shaped support of the actuating lever and a curved support region formed on the actuating leg of the clamping spring. The two contact points, namely the first contact point and the contact point between the actuating lever and the clamping spring, can be arranged such that, when the actuating lever is moved from the open position in the direction of the closed position, a tilting moment is first generated, which causes the unloading of the contact point of the actuating lever on the busbar and the aforementioned lifting of the contact point.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the setting force can be reduced by the force reducing means to an absolute value which is smaller than the absolute value of the force exerted by the clamping spring on the actuating lever via the actuating leg. In this way, the contact point between the fastening element provided on the lever and the mating fastening element can be reduced such that the mentioned lifting of the lever can be achieved there.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the force reducing means are designed to reduce the contact force by displacing the force of the clamping spring acting on the actuating lever onto a further contact point of the actuating lever, on which further contact point the actuating lever is supported in the connecting terminal. This has the advantage that the reduction of the setting force by the force reduction means does not have a disturbing effect on the user and the user does not feel in particular an excessive increase in the force consumption during the release of the joystick.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the actuating lever is supported in the connecting terminal at a main contact point via which the absolute force of the clamping spring acting on the actuating lever can be transmitted to at least one further element of the connecting terminal, wherein the main contact point is discontinuously changed in position at least twice, at least three times or at least four times when the actuating lever is pivoted via its pivot region. The location of the main contact point can thus be changed a plurality of times during the pivoting movement of the lever. The change can in particular be carried out discontinuously, i.e. in steps. This is also considered a separate aspect of the invention. By virtue of the variability of the location of the main contact points, a pivoting mechanism of the joystick is possible which enables a relatively complex, discontinuous course of movement, which in turn enables particular advantages with regard to the sense of touch for the user and protection of the component. However, a relatively complex movement sequence can be achieved by means of the constructional features which can be realized relatively simply, so that the connection terminal can still be produced cost-effectively.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the first point of the primary contact point is formed in the fixed open position between the busbar and the area of the control lever that is arranged on the busbar. The first location of the main contact location can be, for example, a second placement location.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the actuating lever is mounted in the open position on a first mounting point and a second mounting point different therefrom, wherein the actuating lever is mounted on the insulating material housing in the first mounting point and the actuating lever is mounted on the busbar in the second mounting point, wherein the second location of the main contact point is formed on the first mounting point of the actuating lever on the insulating material housing.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the actuating lever has at least one laterally projecting support element which is spaced apart from the busbar over the entire pivot range, and that a third point of primary contact is formed between the lateral support element of the actuating lever and the insulating-material housing. The laterally projecting support element therefore does not have the function of a rotational axis in the sense of a fixed support, but only temporarily forms a support of the actuating lever in the sense of a support relative to the insulating-material housing in the specific pivoting situation of the actuating lever.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the actuating lever has a first guide section which, at least via a partial region of the pivot region, is countersunk into a recess in the busbar, wherein a fourth point of the main contact point is formed between the first guide section and the insulating-material housing.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the lever has at least one mounting projection for mounting the lever on the busbar, which mounting projection projects laterally from the lever relative to the first guide section, wherein a fifth point of the main contact point is formed between the mounting projection of the lever and the busbar.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the first setting point forms a first instantaneous center of the pivoting movement of the lever when the lever is released from the locked open position. In this way, the multiple functions of the first contact point, that is to say the second point which is used for the positioning of the actuating lever and its fastening in the open position and which serves as an instantaneous center and a main contact point when the actuating lever is released, can advantageously be achieved.

The terminal described above can be configured, for example, as a rail terminal, for example, as the rail terminal mentioned at the beginning.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the first wire connection has a tool-free actuating lever, wherein the actuating lever is pivotably mounted in the insulating material housing for actuating the spring force of the first wire connection to clamp the connection, and that the actuating lever has a manual actuating section for manually actuating the actuating lever. This allows for a comfortable operation of the first wire connector without the need for additional tools.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the actuating section of the actuating lever of the rail-mounted terminal extends at least partially beyond the outer contour of the insulating-material housing during the entire pivoting process. The free end of the manual actuating section (actuating lever) of the actuating lever can therefore in particular extend beyond the outer contour of the insulating-material housing. This allows for simple manipulation of the joystick near the closed position.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the actuating lever automatically maintains this position in the open position when it is adjusted into the open position. This is ensured by the construction of the connection terminal. For example, the automatic holding of the lever in the open position can be achieved by being mounted on the first and second mounting points. In addition, the actuating lever can thereby be held in the open position, so that it can be pulled onto the first and second placement points by means of a pulling force exerted on the actuating lever by the clamping spring.

In general, the actuation of the connecting terminal by means of the actuating lever differs from the prior art in that the actuating lever transmits a tensile force via its spring drive to the clamping spring in order to deflect the clamping leg. Accordingly, no pressure is transmitted, as is the case, for example, in actuation solutions with a pressure piece. Another difference is the type of manual manipulation of the joystick versus the push. In the present invention, it is advantageous if the actuating lever is manually acted upon by a pulling force on the manual actuating section in order to move the actuating lever from the closed position into the open position. During said movement, the manual steering force can also become a pressure force.

Unlike the proposals in the prior art, the connection terminal according to the invention can be configured such that the wire insertion opening is formed as part of the insulating-material housing and is not formed as part of a further element, such as, for example, a lever. In this way, good accessibility of the wire introduction opening and of the electrical wires introduced into the wire introduction opening can be achieved.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the actuating lever is supported in the insulating-material housing, i.e. forms a corresponding support element in the insulating-material housing.

In the mentioned rail-mounted terminal, one or more first wire connections and/or one or more second wire connections can be present.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the second wire connection has a handling opening for introducing a separate handling tool for opening the second clamping point. This allows for a simple manual manipulation when opening the second clamping part. The lever is part of the rail mounted terminal and the separate handling tool is not part of the rail mounted terminal, and is thus "separate". The manipulation tool can be, for example, a screwdriver.

Alternatively, the second clamping point can also have a lever actuation for opening, for example, by: the rail-mounted terminal is configured with a further actuating lever for opening the second clamping point.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the second wire connection has an actuating element which is embodied as a pressing element for opening the second clamping point. The pressing element can be part of a rail-mounted terminal.

The second wire connection can likewise be embodied as a spring-loaded connection, like the first wire connection, which has a clamping spring for the clamped connection of the second electrical line.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the second conductor connection has a knife clamp connection or a screw connection for connecting the second electrical conductor. This allows an alternative embodiment of the second wire connection if the second wire connection is to be designed as a spring clamp connection.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the actuating section of the actuating lever of the rail-mounted terminal extends at least partially beyond the outer contour of the insulating-material housing during the entire pivoting process. This allows for a simple manual manipulation of the joystick. The joystick is easily graspable and can be manipulated easily with the fingers. Furthermore, the actuating section can be easily touched.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the first conductor connection has a first busbar section, to which the first electrical conductor can be connected by means of a clamping spring, and that the second conductor connection has a third busbar section, to which the second electrical conductor can be connected, wherein the first busbar section is electrically conductively connected to the third busbar section or can be connected via an electrical connection element of the rail-mounted terminal. The first and third busbar sections can be part of a common busbar, i.e. permanently connected to each other, or busbar sections separated from each other, which are connected to each other only if required, as in rail-mounted terminals, for example.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the rail-mounted terminal has a busbar which is continuous from the first busbar section to the third busbar section. Accordingly, the bus bar establishes an electrically conductive connection from the first bus bar section to the third bus bar section. The busbar can be formed in one piece for this purpose or be composed of separate parts.

The bus bars can extend linearly or at least substantially linearly in the second bus bar section and in the third bus bar section. The bus bar can also have one or more steps in the second bus bar section and/or in the third bus bar section, for example, such that starting from the bending region, in the second bus bar section and/or in the third bus bar section, the step of the bus bar which continues to extend further down than the bending region adjoins the region of the second and/or third bus bar section which starts before the bending region. In this way, a lower wire connection point in the second and/or third busbar section is achieved, as a result of which the connection terminal can be designed particularly compactly and in a small manner.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is proposed that the first wire connection has a first wire introduction opening and the second wire connection has a second wire introduction opening, and that the operating lever is arranged between the first and second wire introduction openings at least with a major part of its longitudinal extension. In this way, the actuating lever is arranged in the rail-mounted terminal in a relatively central manner, so that less additional installation space is required.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the first wire connection has a first wire introduction direction in which the first electrical wire can be guided to the first clamping point via the first wire introduction opening, and the second wire connection has a second wire introduction direction in which the second electrical wire can be guided to the second clamping point via the second wire introduction opening, wherein the first wire introduction direction is arranged at an angle offset to the second wire introduction direction. This allows for a simple handling of the rail-mounted terminal when connecting the first and second electrical conductors, in particular when the rail-mounted terminal has been fastened to the carrier rail. Then, the two wire introduction openings are easily accessible. The angular deviation can for example have at least 30 °.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the rail-mounted terminal has at least one carrier rail fastening element on the carrier rail fastening side, by means of which the rail-mounted terminal can be fastened to the carrier rail. This allows for reliable and standard-compliant fastening of the rail-mounted terminals and alignment of the plurality of rail-mounted terminals on the carrier rail.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the first wire insertion opening is completely or at least partially visible in a plan view of the housing side of the rail-mounted terminal facing away from the fastening side of the carrier rail. In this way, it is easy for the user to see where the first electrical conductor should be introduced, especially when the rail-mounted terminal has been fastened to the carrier rail.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the first wire insertion opening is arranged below the actuating lever in a top view of the housing side of the rail-mounted terminal facing away from the fastening side of the carrier rail and is completely or at least partially visible in each pivot position of the actuating lever. The first wire insertion opening is therefore also at least partially visible, i.e. it is at least not completely covered by the operating lever. However, it is possible to provide the actuating lever in an ergonomically advantageous and space-saving manner and in particular to allow the actuating section of the actuating lever to extend beyond the outer contour of the insulating-material housing to a certain extent.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the actuating lever is inserted into a housing side of the insulating material housing of the rail-mounted terminal, which side faces away from the fastening side of the carrier rail. This allows space-saving placement with good accessibility of the joystick.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the outer surface of the manual actuating section of the actuating lever, in the closed position, at least follows the surface contour of the insulating-material housing adjoining the outer surface of the manual actuating section. Accordingly, the outer surface of the manual actuating section is adapted to the surface contour of the insulating-material housing, so that no shoulders or stepped transitions are substantially present there. The outer surface of the manual actuation section can thus form a continuous surface with the housing upper side of the insulating-material housing.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the actuating lever is constructed in a self-retaining manner in the open position. This has the advantage that the joystick does not have to be held stationary by the user. The lever can be locked, for example, by one or more first, second or fourth fastening elements.

In the scope of the present invention, the indefinite article "a" is not to be understood as a number. Thus, if, for example, a component is referred to, this is understood in the sense of "at least one component". As long as the angular specification is made in degrees, this involves a circumference of 360 degrees (360 °).

Drawings

The invention is illustrated in detail below by means of examples using the accompanying drawings.

The drawings show:

fig. 1 shows a side section view of the terminal in the closed position, and

fig. 2 shows a side section of the connection terminal according to fig. 1 in another section plane, and

fig. 3 shows a side section of the terminal according to fig. 1 with the lever partly open, and

fig. 4 shows a side section of the connection terminal according to fig. 1 in the open position, and

fig. 4a shows a side view of the connection terminal according to fig. 1 in the open position, and

fig. 5 shows the connection terminal according to fig. 1 to 4 in the section plane F marked in fig. 4, and

fig. 6 shows the connection terminal according to fig. 1 to 4 in the section plane G marked in fig. 4, and

FIG. 7 shows a front view of the joystick, and

FIG. 8 shows a side view of the joystick according to FIG. 7, and

fig. 9,9a show a perspective view of the joystick according to fig. 7 and 8, and

fig. 9b shows a perspective view of the connection terminal according to fig. 1 in the open position, and

FIG. 9c shows a side view of the joystick according to FIG. 7, and

FIG. 10 shows a side view of the clamping spring, and

FIG. 11 shows a perspective view of the clamping spring according to FIG. 10, and

fig. 12 shows a perspective view of a device consisting of the operating lever according to fig. 7 to 9 and the clamping spring according to fig. 10 to 11, and

FIG. 13 shows a perspective view of a bus bar, an

FIG. 14 shows a side view of the busbar according to FIG. 13, and

fig. 15 shows a perspective view of a mixed rail-mounted terminal, and

FIG. 16 shows a side view of another embodiment of a clamping spring, and

FIG. 17 shows a perspective view of the clamping spring according to FIG. 16, and

fig. 18 shows a view similar to fig. 1 of a connection terminal and a clamping spring according to fig. 16 to 17, and

fig. 19 shows a further side view of the connection terminal according to fig. 4, and

fig. 20-22 show the progression of movement as the lever moves and returns from the open position toward the closed position.

The reference numerals used in the drawings have the following assignments:

1 binding post

2 insulating material housing

20 lead-in opening

21 first locking edge

22 busbar channels

23 test openings

24 roof

Rod threading slot in 25 roof

26 intermediate wall between the abutment leg and the spring driver

27 outer contour of insulating material housing

28 in a housing of insulating material for receiving the second fastening element in the closed position

29 overload protection element

3 busbar

30 first bus section

31 second bus section

32 material flanging

33 notch

34 mounting area for mounting the rod

35 bending zone, simultaneously for co-operating fastening elements

36 lead threading opening

37 third bus section

4 clamping spring

40 cling legs

41 spring bow

42 operating leg

43 clamping leg

44 clamping tongue

45 clamping edge

46 lever driver opening

47 lateral tab of operating leg

Transverse tab of 48-stick lever

49 curved bearing area

5 control lever

50 hand-operated section (operating handle)

51 test clearance

52 first fixing element

53 second fixing element

54 spring driver (driving tooth)

55 second guide section

56 lateral support element

57 first guide section

58 mounting tab for mounting on a bus bar

Nest-like support for 59 lever

60 a third fixing element for locking in the closed position

61 first spring driver region

62 second spring driver area

63 third spring driver area

64 fourth fixation element

65 outer surface of manual manipulation section

6 first wire connector

7 first clamping part

8 second wire connector

9 second clamping portion

80 actuating the opening

81 further actuating element

82 carrier rail fastening element

83 upper side of insulating material housing

84 first placement site

85 second placement site

86 connecting straight line

87 action line

88 rod opening

89 lateral notches on the lever

90 clamp leg bow

91 second locking edge

92 electrical lead

93 connecting sheet

94 stop for the rear side of the operating lever

95 guiding element on insulating material housing

96 root region of clamping spring

Lead-in direction of L1 first lead connector

Lead-in direction of L2 second lead connector

Alpha angle

M1 first instant center

M2 Point

K1 Major contact sites of K2, K3, K4

Detailed Description

The connection terminal 1 has an insulating material housing 2, a busbar 3, a clamping spring 4 and an actuating lever 5 as actuating elements for actuating the clamping spring 4.

The insulating-material housing 2 has a wire insertion opening 20, through which an electrical wire can be inserted in a wire insertion direction L1 and guided to a first clamping point 7 of the first wire connection 6, where the electrical wire can be clamped by means of the clamping spring 4 and the busbar 3 by spring force. The insulating-material housing 2 also has a bus bar channel 22 through which at least a portion of the bus bar 3 is guided and at least partially fastened and/or supported there.

The busbar 3 has a first busbar section 30 and a second busbar section 31. The first busbar section 30 is connected to the second busbar section via a bending region 35, so that the busbar 3 as a whole has a bent and/or curved shape. The second bus segment 31 is disposed at least substantially within the bus channel 22. The busbar 3 has a wire insertion opening 36 in the first busbar section 30, through which the electrical wires to be clamped are guided. The wire lead-through opening 36 can be surrounded by a side wall formed on the first busbar section 30, which can be embodied, for example, in the form of a material collar 32. For example, the wire feed-through opening 36 has wall sections extending from the bus bar plane around it, which form the material collar 32.

The clamping spring 4 has an abutment leg 40 via which the clamping spring 4 is supported against the spring force introduced by the clamping leg 43. The abutment leg 40 can be supported on the busbar 3 in the first busbar section 30. The support is effected as shown, for example, by the free end of the leg 40 bearing against the inner side of the wire insertion opening 36 and/or the material collar 32. The clamping spring 4 continues from the abutment leg 40 via the spring bow 41 to the clamping leg 43. The handling leg 42 protrudes from the clamping leg 43, wherein the handling leg 42 is bent out of the clamping leg 43 at a relatively large angle, for example, greater than 45 degrees or equal to or greater than 90 degrees. The actuating leg 42 terminates at its free end with a transverse web 48 which delimits, on the end side, a driver opening 46 which is not visible in fig. 1. In the free end region of the actuating leg 42, the material section of the clamping spring material is bent into a web 93 which protrudes from the remaining extension of the actuating leg 42 and which has at least a portion of the bent support region 49 of the actuating leg 42. The curved bearing region 49, together with the socket-like bearing 59 of the actuating lever 5, forms a bearing arrangement of a column and a column housing, similar to a ball-socket bearing arrangement.

Furthermore, the clamping leg 43 continues to a clamping tongue 44 which is bent out of the clamping leg 43 in the opposite direction to the actuating leg 42. The clamping tongue 44 terminates at the free end of the clamping leg 43 with a clamping edge 45. The clamping edge 45 forms, together with the busbar 3, i.e. the wire feed-through opening 36 and/or the material collar 32, a first clamping point 7 of the first wire connection 6 for the electrical wire to be clamped there. Accordingly, the abutment leg 40 and the clamping tongue 44 are immersed into the wire insertion opening 36.

The connection terminal 1 has a lever 5 which is arranged for the most part in the region surrounded by the insulating-material housing 2 and extends outwards essentially with a manual actuating section 50, for example an actuating handle, where manual actuation of the lever 5 is possible. The first clamping point 7 can be opened or closed by means of manual actuation of the actuating lever 5. If the actuating lever 5 is in the closed position shown in fig. 1, the first clamping point 7 is also closed. If the lever 5 is moved into the open position (as shown in fig. 4), the first clamping part 7 is opened. In this open position, the electrical line can be introduced into or removed from the first clamping point 7 without force effort, since the clamping edge 45 is moved away from its contact point on the busbar 3 or on the electrical line by actuation of the actuating lever 5.

The wire insertion direction L can be oriented obliquely to the direction of extension of the manual actuation section 50. Accordingly, an angle can be formed between the extension of the outer surface of the manual actuation section 50, which extends approximately flush with the housing surface, and the line insertion direction L1. The angle can be relatively small, for example in the range of 20 degrees to 60 degrees.

The lever 5 is pivotally supported in the insulating-material housing 2. In this case, no fixed bearing axis is provided, but rather the actuating lever 5 can also perform a certain displacement movement during the pivoting movement from the closed position into the open position and vice versa.

The lever 5 has a test recess 51 penetrating the lever 5, for example in the region of the manual actuation section 50. In the closed position, the test recess 51 is substantially flush with the test opening 23 of the insulating-material housing 2. The test opening 23 extends to the clamping spring 4, for example to the spring bow 41. If a test stick is introduced through the test recess 51 and the test opening 23, the clamping spring 4 can be electrically contacted and an electrical measurement can be performed in this way. The clamping spring 4 is fastened here via an overload protection element 29, so that a seat for the test rod is provided. Furthermore, excessive movement and loading of the clamping spring 4 is prevented by overload protection elements 29 in the insulating-material housing 2. The overload protection element 29 can be formed as an island-shaped material region of the insulating material housing 2, which is arranged within the spring bracket 41.

In the open position, the clamping spring 4 can rest against the overload protection element 29, i.e. against the overload protection element 29, by means of one or more regions, for example, the spring bracket 41 and/or the clamping leg 43.

The actuating lever 5 is guided, supported and fixed in the connecting terminal 1 in several ways in defined positions, such as a closed position and an open position. In this respect, the actuating lever 5 has a first fastening element 52 in the lower region, i.e. in the portion of the actuating lever 5 facing away from the manual actuating section 50, and a second fastening element 53 in the rear region, i.e. in the region facing away from the spring driver 54. The first and/or

second fastening elements

52, 53 can be embodied, for example, as locking elements. The first and/or

second fastening elements

52, 53 can be formed as material projections or protrusions. The

fastening elements

52, 53 can be molded directly onto the material of the lever 5. The lever 5 furthermore has a first guide section 57 via which the lever 5 is guided in a pivoting movement, in particular in the busbar 3, and is secured against lateral tilting. The first guide section 57 extends through a recess 33 of the busbar 3, for example the recess 33 in the first busbar section 31. The recess can be formed, for example, as a longitudinal slit. If the lever 5 is pivoted, for example from the closed position into the open position, the first guide section 57 extends through the recess 33. It can furthermore be provided that the actuating lever 5 is moved in a pivoting movement along the inner guide contour of the insulating-material housing by means of the second fastening element 53, so that it is additionally supported and/or guided.

As mentioned, the lever 5 is used to actuate the clamping spring 4. For this purpose, the actuating lever 5 has a spring follower 54 which is shaped like a follower tooth and protrudes from the actuating lever 5 in the mounted state in the direction of the clamping spring 4, in particular in the direction of the actuating leg 42. In this case, the spring driver 54 is first not engaged with the actuating leg 42 in the closed position, so that no spring load acts on the actuating lever 5 in the closed position. The spring drives 54 can be located, for example, at least in the region of the bending region 35 of the busbar 3 in the closed position. The spring driver 54 transitions at the curved inner contour of the actuating lever 5 into a bearing region of the actuating lever 5, which in this case forms a socket-like bearing 59. The socket bearing 59, as will be explained further below, cooperates with the curved bearing region 49 of the clamping spring 4 during the pivoting movement of the actuating lever 5.

The lever 5 is fixed in the closed position shown in fig. 1 by means of a further mechanism than the first and

second fixing elements

52, 53. In the closed position, the second fastening element 53 is arranged in the free space of the insulating-material housing 2, to be precise in the receiving groove 28. The second fastening element 52 is located in the vicinity of the first locking edge 21 of the insulating-material housing 2, which, however, has no substantial function in the closed position. A second locking edge 91 is also formed in the insulating-material housing 2, which second locking edge has a function as described further below in the open position of the actuating lever 5. Likewise, the construction and function of the second guide section 55 of the joystick 5 is discussed below in accordance with further drawings. By receiving the second fastening element 53 in the receiving groove 28, a prevention of the lever 5 from falling out of the insulating-material housing 2 in the closed position can be achieved. In addition, the accommodation of the second fastening element 53 in the accommodation groove 28 ensures that, when the lever 5 is moved from the open position into the closed position, the lever 5 is pivoted out upon rebound. Further protection against the lever 5 coming off or coming off is achieved by the top plate 24, in particular in the open position.

A guide element 95 is furthermore formed on the insulating-material housing 2. The guide element 95 forms a housing-side guide of the actuating leg 42 at least in a specific actuating situation and/or pivot position of the actuating lever 5. Thus, the operating leg 42 can slide at least partially along the guide element 95, for example during a pivoting movement of the operating lever into the open position.

The connection terminal 1 visible in fig. 1 can be embodied as a separate connection clamp or as part of a connection terminal comprising a further wire connection. For example as part of a connection terminal as also explained below with reference to fig. 15.

Fig. 2 shows a top plate 24, i.e. a limiting wall of the insulating material housing 2, arranged below the manual actuation section 50 as a further feature of the insulating material housing 2, which serves to shield the current-carrying elements within the terminal 1 from the outside environment, so that contact safety (finger safety) of the terminal 1 is provided, in particular in the open position of the actuating lever 5. The top plate 24 interacts with the second guide section 55, as is also explained below in terms of further sectional views.

It can furthermore be seen that the outer surface 65 of the manual actuation section 50 extends substantially parallel to the second busbar section 31 and/or the third busbar section 37 which is further described below.

First, the function of the lever 5 during pivoting from the closed position shown in fig. 1 is explained with reference to fig. 3. In fig. 3, the lever 5 is not yet fully in the open position, but is just before it. The spring driver 54 does not sink into the driver opening 46 in the closed position, whereas the spring driver 54 then engages into the driver opening 46 when the lever 5 is pivotally moved from the closed position into the open position.

By means of the partial enlarged views A, B and C drawn in fig. 3, some relevant elements of the lever 5 and their co-action with further elements of the connection terminal 1 will be described.

As can be seen from the illustration a, the first fastening element 52 is located shortly before the second locking edge 91 is reached. Likewise, as shown in drawing C, the second fastening element 53 is located shortly before reaching the first locking edge 21. The rear stop 94 of the actuating lever 5 on the insulating-material housing 2 in the region of the outside of the insulating-material housing now serves as a stop and pivot point for the actuating lever 5 for the further movement of the actuating lever 5 in order to reach the open position according to fig. 4. In this further movement, the spring driver 54 is moved essentially first translationally along the second busbar section 31. As soon as the second fastening element 53 protrudes beyond the first locking edge 21, the actuating lever 5 performs a "downward movement" which is oriented essentially perpendicularly to the translational movement by means of a spring force exerted on the spring driver 54.

Drawing B shows how the actuating leg 42 has been gripped on the end side by the spring follower 54 and is guided further via the socket bearing 59. The socket bearing 59 is adapted in terms of its shape, i.e. concave inner contour, to the convex outer contour of the curved bearing region 49, so that the curved bearing region 49 can slide with low friction within the socket bearing 59. As can be seen from the overall view of the connection terminal in fig. 3, the actuating leg 42 is deflected and accordingly the clamping leg 43 is also moved together, so that the clamping tongue 44 is moved further from its initial position, which is visible in fig. 1. It can also be seen that in the described configuration the payload arm of the lever 5 shortens in the opening movement, since the curved bearing region 49 slides along the socket bearing 59 and here approaches the virtual pivot axis of the lever 5.

Fig. 4 shows the lever 5 in the open position, i.e. at the end of the pivoting movement. The lever 5 can also be over-stressed in the open position by a small pivoting angle, for example a maximum of 5 degrees or a maximum of 10 degrees, in order to resist damage, but has reached the true open position in the position shown in fig. 4. If the lever 5 is over-stressed, the over-stressing movement is limited by a rear stop 94 on the insulating-material housing. Regarding the entire pivot path or pivot angle of the lever 5, the over-bending angle range of the lever 5 is at most 5% of the entire pivot angle range until the rear stop 94 is reached.

In each actuating position, the actuating lever 5 is largely within the region enclosed by the outer contour 27 of the insulating-material housing 2. In particular, the lever 5 is also in the open position within the region enclosed by the outer contour 27 of the insulating-material housing 2 in at least 30% or at least 40% of its longitudinally extending main region. In this way, the joystick 5 is particularly robustly supported so as not to be easily damaged and/or to be easily skewed. This enables a robust support of the lever 5 in the insulating-material housing 2.

As shown in the enlarged detail views in the partial enlarged views D and E, the first fastening element 52 is now locked behind the second locking edge 91, and the second fastening element 53 is locked behind the first locking edge 21. In this case, i.e. in the transition from the position according to fig. 3 to the position according to fig. 4, the actuating lever 5 additionally carries out a displacement movement, i.e. it moves with a certain amount of displacement path oriented along the second busbar section 31 toward the first clamping point 7, in order to lift the fourth fastening element 64 above the bending region 35 of the busbar 3 and then descends perpendicularly to the displacement movement into the dead-center position, so that at least a part of the bending region 35 engages positively into the fourth fastening element 64. The displacement movement does not have to be effected by the user, but rather is caused by the stop 94 and the spring action, which the actuating leg 42 exerts on the actuating lever 5. As can be seen in fig. 4, the lever 5 is now firmly held in said position by: the actuating lever 5 is pulled by the pulling force exerted by the actuating leg 42 onto the respective contact points 84, 85, which are each arranged on the left and right of the line of action of the pulling force, i.e. the first contact point 84 formed between the first fastening element 52 and the second locking edge 91 on the one hand, and the second contact point 85 in the region of the part F on the other hand. The second contact point 85 can be formed between the fourth fastening element 64 and the corresponding bending region 35 of the busbar.

In the opposite movement of the actuating lever 5, i.e. from the open position into the closed position, the contact between the fourth fastening element 64 and the bending region 35 on the busbar 3 is removed at the second contact point 85 by: the second fastening element 53 rises above the first locking edge 21 (see also part C, fig. 3). In this case, the actuating lever 5 is first pivoted about the first mounting point 84 between the first fastening element 52 and the second locking edge 91. Thus, wear at the fourth fixing element 64 is avoided.

In the open position, the two points of the actuating lever 5 on the insulating-material housing 2 and/or the busbar 3 are thus placed and the clamping spring 4 can stabilize the position of the actuating lever 5 by the substantially central force action of the actuating leg 42. By this force transmission, a funnel-shaped force effect is achieved, by means of which undesired position changes of the control lever 5, for example due to vibrations, are particularly firmly prevented.

Fig. 4a illustrates, in particular by way of a partial enlargement H, how the fourth fastening element 64 rests on the bending region 35 and is fastened there in a form-fitting manner. The second fastening element 53 protrudes out of the recess 33 of the busbar 3 in this case, so that a part of the second fastening element 53 protrudes below the second busbar section 31 and is visible there.

Fig. 4a furthermore illustrates the placement of the curved bearing region 49 of the actuating leg 42 on the socket bearing 59.

Fig. 4 also shows that the electrical conductors 92 are introduced into the connection terminal 1 with the end-side region stripped of the insulation and the region stripped of the insulation is arranged in the region of the first clamping point 7. If the actuating lever 5 is now moved again into the closed position, the clamping leg 43 springs back until the clamping edge 45 contacts the insulation-stripped region of the electrical line 92 and presses it onto the busbar 3, for example onto the inner side of the line feed-through opening 36 or the material collar 32.

Between the abutment leg 40 and/or the spring bow 41 and the inner region of the insulating-material housing 2, in which the second guide section 55 is provided in the closed position and the spring follower 54 is provided in the open position, there is an intermediate wall 26 of the insulating-material housing 2, which has a second locking edge 91. The intermediate wall 26 causes an additional separation between the operating lever 5 and the electrical component, in particular the clamping spring 4.

A further advantageous aspect of the described embodiment is that the intermediate wall 26 is supported and counter-supported against the mounting force of the actuating lever 5 on the first mounting point 84 by the clamping spring 4, since the clamping spring 4 is pressed against the intermediate wall 26 from the opposite side in the region of the abutment leg 40 and/or the spring bow 41. In this way, a self-supporting system can advantageously be realized. Furthermore, in this way, the plastic component is supported on the metal component, which induces or introduces forces, which is advantageous in the case of a wetting action, which can lead to a reduced stability of the plastic material.

In fig. 4, two sectional planes F and G are depicted. The corresponding sectional planes are drawn in fig. 5 and 6, with the lever 5 in the closed position. As shown in the sectional view in the sectional plane F of fig. 5, the lever 5 is arranged with its first guide section 57 in the recess 33 in the second busbar section 31 and guided longitudinally therein. For additional guidance and support, the actuating lever 5 has laterally projecting support elements 56, which can be embodied as support pins. However, the actuating lever 5 is not fixedly supported about an unchangeable axis of rotation via the lateral support element 56, but rather can be moved over a range. In this way, the operating lever is supported "floatingly" in the insulating-material housing 2.

It can also be seen that the actuating lever 5 is supported on the upper side of the busbar 3, in particular in the second busbar region 31, via a laterally projecting shoulder-shaped mounting projection 58. The mounting projection 58 can form, in particular, a mounting point for the actuating lever 5 on the busbar 3 in the open position, wherein the mounting point can be arranged in the bending region 35.

The first fastening element 52 can also be moved along the guide contour of the interior of the insulating-material housing during a pivoting movement of the actuating lever 5, for example from the open position into the closed position. In this case, the contact between the contact projection 58 on the lever 5 and the contact region 34 for supporting the movement of the lever 5 in the direction of the open position can be removed, wherein the lever 5 is removed from the busbar 3. This also serves to reduce wear or tear on the lever 5.

Fig. 5 shows that the lever 5 does not extend beyond or substantially does not extend beyond the outer contour 27 of the insulating-material housing 2 in the closed position.

Fig. 6 illustrates the fixation of the lever 5 in the closed position by means of a sectional view in the sectional plane G. The lever 5 has a second guide section 55 projecting downward on the manual operating section 50, which extends through the lever through-slot 25 in the top plate 24 at least in the position of the lever 5. A laterally projecting third fastening element 60 is provided on the second guide section 55, for example formed in one piece on the second guide section 55, which engages behind the underside of the edge region of the top plate 24 in the closed position and fastens the actuating lever 5 in this way. The top plate 24 can be formed by protrusions protruding inwardly from opposite side walls of the insulating material housing 2.

In the open position, the lever insertion slit 25 is closed as much as possible by the region of the actuating lever 5 with the spring follower 54, so that contact safety is ensured also in this position.

Generally, an opening, such as, for example, a lever-penetrating slit 25, is thus present in the insulating-material housing 2, which is over-stressed by the operating lever 5 in the closed position of the operating lever 5, so as to be shielded from the external environment, wherein the opening leads to an electrically active component, such as, for example, the clamping spring 4 or the busbar 3, which is arranged in the insulating-material housing 2, and the spring driver 54 at least partially closes the opening in the open position of the operating lever, at least so as to provide contact protection.

The elements of the joystick 5 set forth above are additionally illustrated by the different views in fig. 7 to 9, which show the joystick 5 in separate views. In particular, it can be seen that the lever 5 does not have to be precisely symmetrical with respect to the pivot plane of the lever 5. Instead, as illustrated in fig. 7, the spring driver 54 and the first guide section 57 connected thereto are arranged eccentrically, for example slightly laterally offset. In order to optimize the installation of the components, in particular the actuating lever 5, in the connecting terminal 1, the spring driver 54 itself can also be configured asymmetrically, for example, on one side, tapering asymmetrically toward the end.

Fig. 9a shows a view of the actuating lever 5 in which the placement projection 58 is visible. The seating surface formed by the seating protrusion 58 is depicted in phantom in fig. 9a for illustration.

As illustrated in this way, the control lever 5 can be designed as a material-and weight-optimized component with a row of recesses which are interrupted by the reinforcement wall and in this way lead to the necessary robustness and rigidity of the control lever for the control movement. The actuating lever 5 can be produced, for example, as a plastic component in one piece, for example as an injection-molded part.

Fig. 9a furthermore shows that the lever 5 can have lateral recesses 89. The lateral recess 89 can be provided, for example, in the region of the second guide section 55 and/or the third fastening element 60. The top plate 24 is at least partially receivable in said lateral recess 89 in the closed position.

Fig. 9b shows the terminal 1 in the open position of the lever 5. As already mentioned, in the open position, the rod-passing slits 25 in the top plate 24 are at least as closed as possible.

Fig. 9b furthermore shows that the insulating-material housing 2 can have a rod opening 88 which allows the actuating rod 5 to be inserted when the insulating-material housing 2 has been installed. The operating lever can be inserted through the lever opening 88, that is to say from above, when the insulating-material housing 2 has been installed.

The rod opening 88 is completely surrounded on the circumferential side by the material of the insulating-material housing 2, i.e. by a corresponding wall or other section of the insulating-material housing 2.

Fig. 9c illustrates a specific scale that the joystick 5 can have according to the invention. The lever 5 has a length a in the longitudinal direction of the lever 5, i.e. in the direction a. In the rear region, the actuating lever 5 has its bearing region, which for example comprises a third region 63. In this bearing region, the actuating lever 5 is supported in the insulating-material housing 2. In the longitudinal direction, the bearing region has a length c. Fig. 9c furthermore shows the length b of the spring follower 54, which extends from the root region of the spring follower 54 adjoining the third region 63 in the longitudinal direction of the actuating lever 5 up to the free end. The ratio b/c can be, for example, at least 0.2 or at least 0.25 or at least 0.3. The ratio b/a can be, for example, at least 0.07 or at least 0.08 or at least 0.09.

Fig. 10 and 11 show separate views of the clamping spring 4. The clamping spring 4 thus additionally has a root region 96 on the clamping leg 43, on which root region the clamping leg 43 branches into the clamping tongue 44 and the actuating leg 42. As can be seen, the actuating leg 42 is configured with a relatively large recess that forms the driver opening 46. Two relatively thin lateral webs 47 extend from the clamping leg 43 only laterally against the leg 40. The lateral webs 47 can be formed very thin, since they transmit pure tensile forces. Furthermore, the abutment leg 40 extends through the recess. The actuating leg 42 can be produced from the same material together with the clamping tongue 44 in such a way that: the clamping tongue 44 is separated from the material of the actuating leg 42, for example by a stamping process. Since the lateral webs 47 can be very narrow, a relatively wide intermediate material section for forming the clamping tongue 44 is thereby retained, so that a relatively wide clamping edge 45 can be provided. This contributes to a firm grip of the electrical conductors and good electrical contact. Furthermore, a high elasticity of the actuating leg 42 is achieved by such a narrow lateral web 47. In the manner described, the handling leg 42 is relatively flexibly coupled to the clamping leg 43.

Since the lateral webs 47 can be formed as "thin legs", they therefore act as a flexible connecting element, i.e. as a wire or rope connection, under tensile load. The relatively small bending radius R3 at the transition from the actuating leg 42 to the clamping leg 43 or the narrow bending formed thereby brings about a stiffening in this region, so that the lateral webs 47 are stretched to a certain extent under the occurring tensile loads and undergo little elastic deformation in the form of deflection.

The clamping spring 4 can be formed in one piece with all of the features described, i.e. it is produced in one piece from a flat sheet metal, for example by punching and bending a sheet metal with a predetermined thickness.

In fig. 11, it can furthermore be seen that the material width of the lateral webs 47 can be varied over their longitudinal extension. For example, there can be a transition or step of the lateral tab 47 from the first narrower region starting from the clamping leg 43 to the wider region toward the transverse tab 48. The wider area of the lateral tab 47 works especially under higher spring loads. In this case, the inner distance between the lateral webs 47 in the region of the driver opening 46 in which the abutment leg 40 passes out of the driver opening 46 is greater than in the region of the driver 46 for receiving the spring driver 54.

The clamping tongue 44 can be embodied in particular in a trapezoidal manner or can be narrowed toward the free end. This has the advantage that in a possible inclined position of the clamping spring 4, the clamping spring 4 does not catch on the inner side of the material collar 32.

The actuating leg 42 has a transverse web 48 on the end face. A curved connecting web 93 extends from the transverse web 48. The web 93 forms a curved bearing region 49 on the underside, i.e. on the side facing the driver opening 46, for resting on the socket-shaped bearing 59 of the actuating lever 5. The actuating leg 42 can be produced in the region of the end face in such a way that the region with the transverse web 48 is bent out of the lateral web 47 in a first bending direction and the web 93 is bent out of the transverse web 48 in the other opposite bending direction. In this way, a relatively large angle of more than 90 degrees between the web 93 and the lateral web 47 can be achieved without excessive retrofitting.

Correspondingly, the actuating leg 42 has two lateral webs 47 spaced apart from one another, which are connected to one another at their free ends via a transverse web 48. The lateral tabs 47 and the transverse tabs 48 enclose a driver opening 46 for engaging a spring driver 54. The web 93 facing the driver opening 46 adjoins the transverse web 48, which web has a curvature such that a curved bearing region 49 is formed on its convex surface by the curvature, which bearing region is designed for contact with the socket bearing 59 of the actuating lever 5.

Accordingly, the free end of the actuating leg 42 is bent out together with the transverse web 48 away from the spring bracket 41. The curvature or rounding of the curved support region 49 matches the contour of the socket-shaped support 59 in terms of contour.

It can also be seen that the actuating leg 42 is initially located relatively far at the end of the clamping leg 43, but at least closer to the clamping edge 45 than the spring bow 41, branches off from the clamping leg 43. The actuating leg 42 thus extends at a minimum distance from the busbar 3 in the installed and non-actuated state (see also fig. 1). Accordingly, the actuating leg 42 extends largely parallel to the surface of the first busbar section 30. In this way a relatively large lever arm for actuating the clamping leg 43 is realized. This can reduce the operating force of the joystick 5. The actuating leg 42 can extend along the first busbar section 30 until it passes beyond the bending region 35. The actuating leg 42 can protrude from the first busbar section 30, in particular, by means of its driver opening 46, so that the spring driver 54 can be engaged into the driver opening 46 without being obstructed by the busbar 3.

The clamping spring 4 can be designed in particular elastically. The design also prevents the clamping spring from being overturned significantly in the event of an oblique pull.

The actuating leg 42 can additionally be guided by guide means in the insulating-material housing, for example a housing wall or a housing edge, in the longitudinal extension of the actuating leg 42. Such an inner housing edge is formed, for example, by the free end of the intermediate wall 26 in the interior of the insulating-material housing 2 (see also fig. 3 and 4). Thereby, bending loads at the transition of the handling leg 42 to the clamping leg 43 can be further minimized. In addition, an advantageous guidance of the curved bearing region 49 in the socket bearing 59 can thereby be achieved in the pivoting movement of the lever 5 in that: the curved bearing region 46 is guided in the socket bearing 59 in the direction of the pivot axis of the actuating lever 5. In this way, a clamping spring 4 with a reduced deflection length can be realized. Such a clamping spring 4 prevents an undesired bending or buckling of the clamping leg 43 even better when pulled from the outside at the fixedly clamped electrical conductor. The risk of breakage of the clamping legs 43 when mechanically pulled at the clamped electrical conductors is minimized.

The distance, i.e. the gap dimension between the actuating leg 42 and the busbar 3, can be, for example, less than 1mm or less than 0.5mm. An exemplary advantageous value is 0.3mm. In this way, the handling leg 42 does not yet contact the busbar, so that wear due to friction is avoided.

According to an advantageous embodiment, the effective length of the actuating leg 42 in terms of actuation, measured from the branching point of the actuating leg 42 up to the curved bearing region 49 of the clamping leg 43, is greater than the length of the clamping leg, measured from the branching point of the actuating leg 42 up to the apex of the spring bow 41. In this way, the spring can be realized with a short deflection length and a beneficial actuating force.

Fig. 12 shows the interaction between the clamping spring 4 and the lever 5 when the lever 5 is in the open position. The spring driver 54 extends out of the driver opening 46. Again, the advantageous interaction of the curved bearing region 49 with the socket bearing 59 is visible.

As further shown in fig. 7 to 9, the spring driver 54 has a width that varies over its extension. This can be achieved, for example, by: the spring driver 54 narrows towards its free end, for example by a slope on one or both sides. A first region 61 and a second region 62 can thus be formed on the spring carrier 54, said second region being connected into the first region 61. The first region 61 is narrower than the second region 62 in the direction of the width of the spring driver 54. The spring driver 54 can then transition into a third region 63, which is wider than the second region 62. In this manner, the spring driver 54 can be easily introduced into the driver opening 46. If the spring driver 54 is introduced into the driver opening 46 by way of its first region 61, a guide for the lateral tab 47 of the actuating leg 42 is formed by the second region 62 and/or the third region 63 which follow when the actuating lever 5 continues to pivot. The guide can be designed in particular as a guide for the two lateral webs 47 on both sides. This embodiment of the spring driver 54 is suitable not only for levers 5 having such pivotability, but also for other types of actuating elements which are mounted so as to be movable, i.e. in the form of sliding elements.

It can furthermore be seen that the actuating leg 42 does not substantially change its position with respect to the clamping leg 43 during the actuating movement of the actuating lever 5. This has the advantage that the transition between the actuating leg 42 and the clamping leg 43 is subjected to only slightly varying bending loads during actuation. This is further supported by the relatively small bending radius at the transition from the handling leg 42 to the clamping leg 43. For example, an average bending radius R3 of the bending region is advantageous, which has a magnitude of maximum three times the thickness of the metal sheet. This enables an optimized force introduction of the force of the actuating lever 5 into the clamping spring 4 via the actuating leg 42. As a result, a direct drive, short travel is achieved so that there is essentially no stretch in the actuating leg 42. Furthermore, this construction allows for a very simple manufacture of the components used and of the entire connection terminal 1.

The clamping spring 4 can therefore be arranged with its great majority and in particular with the actuating leg 42 on the same side of the busbar 3, in particular on the side on which the electrical conductor is introduced into the conductor through opening 36.

Fig. 13 and 14 show separate views of the busbar 3. In this case, a busbar 3 is shown which additionally has a third busbar section 37 which is connected to the second busbar section 31. The busbar 3 has a further wire feed-through opening in the third busbar section 37, at which a further clamping point can be formed.

The first and

second busbar sections

30, 31 have the elements already described. In particular, the recess 33 for guiding the first guide section 57 and the mounting region 34 for mounting the mounting projection 58 of the operating lever 5 are visible. The recess 33 can be provided only in the second busbar section 31 or, as shown, also extend into the bending region 35 or even into the first busbar section 30. The recess 33 is surrounded by the material of the busbar 3. It can be configured as a recess that penetrates only partially through the material of the busbar from the side of the placement region 34 or as a completely penetrating recess (without a bottom).

The busbar 3 is bent and/or curved by the bending region 35, i.e. such that an angle is formed between the first busbar section 30 and the second busbar section 31. By means of the bending region 35, an internal angle in the range of 105 to 165 degrees or 120 to 150 degrees can be formed between the first busbar section 30 and the second busbar section 31. The bending region 35 can be configured, for example, such that the busbar 3, starting from the second busbar section 31, is bent concavely at a first radius R1 and then transitions into a convexly curved section having a radius of curvature R2, in each case in the viewing direction toward the mounting region 34. In this case, it is advantageous if the radius R1 is greater than the radius R2, for example at least twice as great.

In this way, the actuating lever 5 can be supported at least partially also on the arched region of the busbar 3, i.e. in the bending region 35, and can be moved along it in a pivoting movement.

Alternatively to the one-piece embodiment described so far, the busbar 3 can also be formed as a multi-piece embodiment, for example with two or more busbar sections separated from one another. In particular, the third busbar section 37 can be configured as a busbar section separate from the first and

second busbar sections

30, 31. This is advantageous for example for applications in split terminals.

Fig. 15 shows a further embodiment of the connection terminal 1, in this case in the form of a rail-mounted terminal, wherein for example four connection terminals 1 are shown next to one another. The connection terminal 1 has the above-described configuration in the left-hand visible region, i.e. has the arrangement of the busbar 3, the clamping spring 4 and the actuating lever 5 in the insulating-material housing 2. The busbar 3 is in this case constructed in accordance with the embodiment of fig. 13 and 14, i.e. it has a third busbar section 37. The third busbar section extends into the region of the respective connection terminal 1 shown on the right, in which region at least one second conductor connection 8 having a second clamping point 9 is provided in each case. In the exemplary embodiment shown, each connecting terminal 1 has two second conductor connections 8 and two corresponding second clamping points 9. The respective second wire connection 8 is accessible via a further wire introduction opening formed in the insulating-material housing 2. The electrical conductor can be introduced into the second conductor connection piece 8 in the conductor introduction direction L2. The wire introduction direction L1 can be different from the wire introduction direction L2.

The connection terminals 1 have carrier rail fastening elements 82, by means of which the respective connection terminal 1 can be fastened to the carrier rail, for example by being locked to the carrier rail. The wire insertion direction L1 can be arranged, for example, in the range of 30 degrees to 60 degrees relative to the fastening plane of the connection terminal 1, which is defined by the carrier rail, and the wire insertion direction L2 can be in the angular range of 75 degrees 105 degrees.

The carrier rail fastening element 82 is arranged on the carrier rail fastening side of the insulating-material housing 2. The actuating lever 5 is visible on the housing side of the insulating-material housing facing away from the fastening side of the carrier rail, also referred to as the housing upper side 83. The outer surface 65 of the manual actuating section of the actuating lever 5 has the same course in the closed position as the adjoining surface contour of the insulating-material housing, i.e. the adjacent portion of the housing upper side 83.

The actuation of the connection terminal 1 in the region of the second conductor connection 8 can take place by means of a further actuating element 81, which can be provided as part of the connection terminal 1, for example in the form of a press, in an actuating opening 80 of the insulating-material housing 2, or can be realized by means of a separate actuating tool, which is guided, if necessary, through the actuating opening 80 to the second conductor connection 8, but which is not part of the connection terminal 1.

Fig. 16 to 18 show a further embodiment of the clamping spring 4 and of the connection terminal 1 formed with the clamping spring. Unlike the previously described embodiment, the clamping spring 4 has an additional curved region in the region of the clamping leg 43, which is designated as clamping leg bow 90. In the region of the clamping leg bow 90, the clamping leg 43 is bent toward the inner region of the space enclosed by the clamping spring 4. The overload protection element 29 of the insulating-material housing 2 can be adapted to the clamping leg portion 90. By means of the clamping leg bow 90, a shortened deflection length of the clamping leg 43 is achieved when the region of the clamping leg 43 between the clamping leg bow 90 and the spring bow 41 rests on the overload protection element 29. Thus, the clamping leg segment 90 strikes the overload protection element 29 when the actuating lever is moved from the closed position into the open position.

It can also be seen that the clamping spring 4 according to fig. 16 and 17 can have a further configuration of the clamping tongue 44, for example a width which decreases first towards the clamping edge 45, which again increases in the end section, so that a relatively wide clamping edge 45 can be provided with a small amount of material. Alternatively, the clamping spring 4 can also have a clamping tongue 44, as shown in fig. 10 and 11.

Fig. 19 shows a view similar to fig. 4 of the connection terminal 1, which was explained at the outset with reference to fig. 1 to 4, but in a different section plane. In the connection terminal 1 shown in fig. 19, the actuating lever 5 is again in the open position. The joystick 5 is mounted on the first mounting location 84 and the second mounting location 85. The first contact point 84 is formed between the first fastening element 52 and the second locking edge 91 of the actuating lever 5, and the second contact point 85 is formed between the fourth fastening element 64 of the actuating lever 5 and the bending region 35 of the busbar 3.

In fig. 19, a connecting line 86 is drawn, which extends through the first and second placement points 84, 85. The direction of the action of the tensile force exerted by the clamping spring 4 on the actuating lever 5, which is transmitted via the actuating leg 42, is also indicated by the line 87. The direction of the line of action 87 corresponds to the direction of the actuating leg 42 or the direction of the lateral tab 47 of the actuating leg 42. It can be seen that the angle α is formed by the actuating leg 42 or the line of action 87 and the connecting line 86. The angle α is thus defined in the mathematically positive direction along the line of action 87 or in the direction of the actuating leg 42 to the connecting line 86. Advantageously, the angle α is less than 90 degrees. As a result, the direction of the line of action 87 of the pulling force or of the actuating leg 42 is given a funnel shape which is advantageous compared to the direction of the installation plane formed by the first installation site 84 and the second installation site 85 (shown by the connecting line 86).

By means of the movement sequence of the operating lever 5, which is illustrated by way of fig. 19 to 21, an advantageous force reducing mechanism will now be described, which is effective at least when the operating lever 5 is moved from the open position into the closed position. The actuating lever 5 is supported in the connecting terminal 1 at the main contact points K1, K2, K3, K4, K5. The maximum absolute force of the clamping spring acting on the actuating lever is transmitted via the main contact points K1, K2, K3, K4, K5 to at least one further element of the connecting terminal. The main contact points K1, K2, K3, K4, K5 can undergo a discontinuous (jumping) change of position a plurality of times in the pivoting range of the control lever 5 when the control lever is pivoted.

It is first assumed that the lever 5 is completely in the open position and is seated on the first seating portion 84 and the second seating portion 85, as shown in fig. 19. In this state, a first point of the primary contact point K1 is formed between the busbar 3 and the area of the lever 5 that is mounted on the busbar 3, for example on the second mounting point 85. The first point of the primary contact point K1 can alternatively also be formed on the first contact point 84.

If the lever 5 is now acted upon by a manual actuating force on the actuating section 50 with a force in the direction of the closed position, the pivoting process of the lever 5 begins by: a first instantaneous center M1 of the pivoting movement is formed at the first contact point 84, i.e. between the second locking edge 91 and the first fastening element 52. The second point of the primary contact point K2 can now be formed on the first contact point 84. At the same time, the locking at the second mounting point 85 is released, i.e. the actuating lever 5 is easily lifted in this region, so that the fourth fastening element 64 and its adjoining material region are not subjected to load by friction at the busbar 3 and accordingly are not worn. By means of this movement phase of the actuating lever 5, the second fastening element 53 can be lifted above the first locking edge 21 at the same time, wherein a distance is present between the second fastening element 53 and the first locking edge 21.

Fig. 21 shows the continued progression of the movement of the lever 5 when moving into the closed position. If the actuating lever 5 is moved further in the direction of the closed position, the lateral support element 56 of the actuating lever 5 contacts the edge of the insulating-material housing 2. At this point in time, the instantaneous center of the pivoting movement of the lever 5 becomes the point M2, as shown in fig. 21, i.e. the contact point between the lateral support element 56 and the insulating-material housing 2. In this region, a third point of the main contact region K3 of the actuating lever 5 is now also formed for the further movement phase of the actuating lever 5.

The contact between the lateral support element 56 and the insulating-material housing 2 is again removed. The lever 5 can now slide along the guide rail of the insulating-material housing with the second fastening element 53 or along the underside of the first guide section 57, so that a fourth point of the main contact point of the lever 5 is now formed at this point.

In addition, during the further course of movement, the contact projection 58 of the lever 5 is in contact with the contact region 34 of the busbar 3, so that a fifth point of the main contact point of the lever can be formed between the contact region 58 of the lever 5 and the contact region 34 of the busbar.

Fig. 22 now shows the position of the lever 5 immediately before reaching the opening position when moving from the closing position to the opening position. The underside of the first guide section 57 or the second fastening element 53 slides along the guide rail of the insulating-material housing 2 or rests thereon shortly before reaching the open position, so that the fourth fastening element 64 and the mounting projection 58 of the actuating lever 5 are lifted or at least slightly spaced apart relative to the busbar 3. During the further movement of the actuating lever 5 into the closed position, the second fastening element 53 reaches behind the first locking edge 21 of the insulating-material housing 2, so that the actuating lever 5 is pulled in the direction of the busbar 3 by the spring force and the fourth fastening element 64 rests on the bending region 35 (second contact point 85) in order to reach its end position in the open position according to fig. 19.

Claims

1. A connection terminal (1) having a housing (2) made of insulating material, a busbar (3), a clamping spring (4) and an actuating element (81), wherein the clamping spring (4) has an actuating leg (42), wherein the actuating element (81) interacts with the actuating leg (42), wherein the actuating leg (42) has a driver opening (46), wherein the driver opening (46) is used for engaging a spring driver (54) of the actuating element (81) of the connection terminal (1),

It is characterized in that the method comprises the steps of,

the spring driver (54) has a width that varies over its extension.

2. The connection terminal (1) according to claim 1,

characterized in that a first and a second spring driver region (61, 62) are formed on the spring driver (54), wherein the first spring driver region (61) is narrower than the second spring driver region (62).

3. The connection terminal (1) according to claim 2,

characterized in that a third spring driver region (63) is also formed on the spring driver (54), wherein the second spring driver region (62) is narrower than the third spring driver region (63).

4. A connection terminal (1) according to claim 3,

the second spring driver region (62) and/or the third spring driver region (63) form a guide for a lateral tab (47) of the actuating leg (42) when the actuating element (81) is moved into the open position.

5. The connection terminal (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 4,

the operating element (81) is designed as an operating lever (5) or as an operating slide, which is pivotably accommodated in the insulating-material housing (2) via a pivot region, and which is movably accommodated in the insulating-material housing (2) via a sliding region.

6. The connection terminal (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 4,

characterized in that the actuating element (81) is formed as an integral component of the connecting terminal (1).

7. The connection terminal (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 4,

characterized in that the spring driver (54) has a height that varies over its extension.

8. The connection terminal (1) according to claim 7,

characterized in that the spring driver (54) is flattened towards its free end.

9. The connection terminal (1) according to claim 7,

characterized in that the spring follower (54) narrows in its height towards its free end, such that the height decreases continuously and/or the height decreases stepwise.

10. The connection terminal (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 4,

characterized in that the width of the driver opening (46) defined by the inner distance between the lateral webs (47) of the actuating leg (42) varies over the longitudinal extension of the actuating leg (42), which decreases in width towards the free end of the actuating leg (42).

11. The connection terminal (1) according to claim 10,

characterized in that the width of the driver opening (46) is reduced stepwise.

12. The connection terminal (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 4,

characterized in that the spring driver (54) narrows towards its free end.

13. The connection terminal (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 4,

characterized in that the width of the spring driver (54) decreases stepwise.