EP0466528B1 - Quick coupling device for a battery terminal post - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a quick connection device for a storage battery terminal.

In order to connect the accumulator battery terminals to the various electrical energy receivers of the vehicle, it is known to use connection devices, also called lugs, which are tightened on each terminal of the battery and to from which electrical connection cables leave.

Among the known devices it is common to use lugs fixed with screws on the terminals of the batteries. A screw-nut system can be used laterally to connect the two jaws of the lugs by bringing these jaws together and tightening around the terminal.

Another solution consists in providing at the upper part of the terminal a threaded rod, the terminal being made up of a metal ring which is threaded on the rod and which is tightened using an insulating nut screwed on the end of the rod so as to wedge the terminal.

The assembly operations of these first two screw systems require the use of tools, which makes these operations long and not very easy, and these designs also present a risk of fouling of the threads, which can result in the inability to disassemble the lugs.

In order to remedy these drawbacks, it has already been proposed to provide elastic means acting on two jaws articulated with a terminal. Document FR-A-2,618,607 provides a first example of an arrangement of elastic means in the form of a helical spring disposed between the two actuating arms of the jaws. The coil spring is an independent part which is expensive and which must be assembled to make the terminal. Additionally the design described in this document does not provide effective protection of the terminal to avoid accidental contact with foreign conductive elements.

In document FR-A-2,601,515, the clamping of the two jaws is also ensured by means of a folded wire spring, the actuation of which between these two functional positions is ensured by means of a protective plastic cap. itself articulated on the terminal via the folded wire spring. This design is complex and not very easy to achieve in particular due to the complicated shape of the folded wire spring and its assembly on the one hand on the cap and on the other hand on the contact part of the terminal.

The present invention aims to provide a quick connection device which is of a simple design, inexpensive, comprising a reduced number of components and which provides good protection of the terminal.

To this end, the invention provides a device of the type comprising a lug which at least partially surrounds the barrel of the terminal and means for clamping the lug on the terminal, characterized in that the lug is a piece of sheet metal cut and folded in the form of an elastically compressible clamp comprising a portion in the form of an open annular loop which cooperates with the terminal barrel and the ends of which are extended by two branches substantially parallel to the axis of the loop and whose closure is ensured by means of '' a tightening lever articulated on the terminal around an axis substantially perpendicular to the axis of the loop and of which an active part cooperates with the branches of the terminal to bring them closer together and thus cause a reduction in the dimension of the loop annular by elastic deformation of this last.

• la partie active du levier de serrage est une portion en forme de fourche à deux dents entre lesquelles sont reçues les deux branches de la cosse ;
• le levier de serrage est un levier du deuxième type dont l'axe d'articulation est situé au-dessus de la cosse sensiblement au droit du fond incurvé de la portion en forme de boucle et s'étend selon une direction perpendiculaire à celle des branches ;
• l'axe d'articulation du levier est constitué par une patte longitudinale formée à l'extrémité du corps du levier et qui est reçue avec jeu dans une oreille de la cosse venue de matière et qui s'étend axialement vers le haut depuis le bord circulaire supérieur de la portion en forme de boucle ;
• le levier comporte deux bras d'accrochage qui s'étendent parallèlement depuis le corps du levier en direction de la cosse et dont les extrémités libres en forme de crochets sont reçues dans une encoche correspondante de la cosse lorsque le dispositif est en position serrée ;
• les bras d'accrochage sont agencés entre l'axe d'articulation et la partie active du levier, leurs extrémités étant reçues dans une fente latérale de la portion en forme de boucle de la cosse ;
• le levier est réalisé en une seule pièce en matière plastique isolante ;
• au moins une des branches de la cosse comporte une griffe de sertissage d'au moins un câble électrique de raccordement.

According to other characteristics of the invention:

• the active part of the clamping lever is a fork-shaped portion with two teeth between which the two branches of the terminal are received;
• the clamping lever is a lever of the second type, the hinge axis of which is situated above the terminal substantially in line with the curved bottom of the loop-shaped portion and extends in a direction perpendicular to that of the branches ;
• the axis of articulation of the lever is constituted by a longitudinal tab formed at the end of the body of the lever and which is received with play in an ear of the pod made of material and which extends axially upwards from the edge upper circular portion of the loop-shaped portion;
• the lever comprises two hooking arms which extend parallel from the body of the lever in the direction of the terminal and whose free ends in the form of hooks are received in a corresponding notch of the terminal when the device is in the clamped position;
• the attachment arms are arranged between the hinge pin and the active part of the lever, their ends being received in a lateral slot of the loop-shaped portion of the terminal;
• the lever is made in a single piece of insulating plastic;
• at least one of the branches of the terminal has a crimping claw of at least one electrical connection cable.

• la figure 1 est une vue en perspective d'un dispositif de raccordement selon l'invention représenté en position ouverte ;
• la figure 2 est une vue en perspective similaire à celle de la figure 1 sur laquelle le dispositif est représenté en position de fermeture avec un câble de raccordement électrique serti dans la griffe de sertissage ; et
• la figure 3 est une vue en coupe selon la ligne 3-3 de la figure 2.

An embodiment of the invention will appear on reading the detailed description which follows for the understanding of which reference will be made to the appended drawing in which:

• Figure 1 is a perspective view of a connection device according to the invention shown in the open position;
• Figure 2 is a perspective view similar to that of Figure 1 in which the device is shown in the closed position with an electrical connection cable crimped in the crimping claw; and
• Figure 3 is a sectional view along line 3-3 of Figure 2.

The quick connection device 10 shown in the figures consists of only two parts, a metal part 12 acting as a connection terminal and a clamping lever made of insulating plastic material 13 also acting as a protective cap.

The terminal 12 is a piece of cut and folded sheet metal.

The terminal 12 has a portion in the form of a cylindrical or conical annular loop 14 which is designed to cooperate with the barrel of a terminal (not shown) of an accumulator battery.

The portion 14 is an open loop which extends over a large part of a circular circumference and the ends of which are extended by two vertical branches 16 and 18 which extend in planes substantially parallel to the axis of the loop 14 .

In the free state shown in Figure 1, the diameter of the loop is large enough to allow it to be mounted on a terminal by interlocking on the latter.

The terminal 12 in the form of a clamp consisting of the loop 14 and the branches 16 and 18 is a clamp of the compressible type, the closure of which is obtained by bringing the branches 16 and 18 together using the lever tightening 13.

The lever 13 is a so-called lever of the second type which comprises a substantially flat body 20, one end 22 of which is extended by a longitudinal tab 24, the end 26 of which is curved in a direction substantially perpendicular to that of the body 20.

The tab 24 is received with play in an ear 28 integrally formed with the loop 14 of the terminal 12.

The ear 28 extends from the upper circular edge 30 of the loop 14 vertically upwards and in a plane having a slight inclination relative to the axis of the loop.

The cooperation of the tab 24 with the ear 28 allows a pivoting movement of the clamping lever 13 around a geometric axis of articulation which extends in a direction substantially perpendicular to that of the loop 14.

The active part 32 of the clamping lever 13 is a fork-shaped portion with two teeth 34 and 36 which extend vertically downwards from the underside of the body 20 of the lever 13.

As can be seen in Figure 3, the facing edges 38 and 40 of the teeth 34 and 36 have a curved profile and a spacing such that it brings the branches 16 towards one another. and 18 when the lever 13 is in its closed clamping position illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3.

In order to ensure that the lever 13 is properly held in the tight position on the terminal 12, the latter comprises two attachment arms 42 and 44.

Like the teeth 32 and 34, the hooking arms 42 and 44 came integrally with the body 20 of the lever 13 and extend vertically downwards from the body 20 so that their free ends in the form of hooks 46 and 48 can be received in a slot circular 50 formed in the loop-shaped portion 14 of the terminal 12.

The branch 16 extends longitudinally in the direction opposite to the loop 14 to form a claw 52 for crimping electrical connection cables 54.

The claw-shaped portion 52 is constituted by parallel transverse lugs 55 and 56 integrally formed with the terminal 12 which can be crimped onto the cable 54 by means of a crimping pliers (not shown) according to a conventional technique.

The quick connection device according to the invention which has just been described is particularly simple to use.

The assembly is carried out, after having put in place the portion in the form of a loop 14 on the barrel of the terminal, by lowering the clamping lever 13 by acting on its free actuating end 58 which causes the insertion of the branches 16 and 18 between the teeth 34 and 36 and their tightening which simultaneously causes the tightening of the loop 14 around the terminal. At the end of the pivoting movement of the lever, the hooks 46 and 48 of the arms 42 and 44 penetrate into the slot 50 so as to ensure reliable maintenance in the tight position of the connection device on the terminal.

The disassembly of the device from its closed position shown in FIG. 2 is carried out by acting inversely on the free end 58 of the clamping lever 13 so as to arrive at the loosened position shown in FIG. 1.

It can be seen that in the closed position the lever 13 made of insulating material also provides protection for the terminal and the terminal against accidental contact with electrically conductive materials.

In the open position shown in FIG. 1, the lever constitutes a visual indication of the state of disconnection of the device according to the invention.

Claims (8)

1. A rapid connection device (10) for an accumulator battery terminal, of the type comprising a clip (12) at least partially surrounding the barrel of the terminal, and means for locking the clip on the terminal, characterised in that the clip is a piece of sheet metal cut out and bent in the shape of a resiliently compressible squeezing device, comprising a portion (14) in the shape of an open annular loop which co-operates with the shaft of the terminal, the ends of the said loop being extended by two limbs (16, 18) substantially parallel to the axis of the loop, closure thereof being ensured by a clamping lever (13) articulated on the clip (12) about an axis substantially perpendicular to the axis of the loop, and an active part (32) of the said lever cooperates with the limbs to bring them closer to one another and hence bring about a reduction in the size of the annular loop, by resilient deformation of the latter.
2. A rapid connection device in accordance with claim 1, characterised in that the active part (32) of the clamping lever (13) is a fork-shaped portion with two teeth (34, 36) and the two limbs (16, 18) of the clip (12) are received therebetween.
3. A rapid connection device in accordance with claim 2, characterised in that the clamping lever (13) is a lever of the second type, and the axis of articulation thereof is located above the clip substantially at right angles to the curved-in base of the loop-shaped portion (14), and extends in a direction perpendicular to that of the limbs (16, 18).
4. A rapid connection device in accordance with claim 3, characterised in that the axis of articulation of the lever (13) is formed by a longitudinal tab (24) formed at the end of the body (20) of the lever (13) and received with play in a bracket (28) of the clip (12), the bracket being integral with the clip and extending axially upwards from the circular upper edge (30) of the loop-shaped portion (14).
5. A rapid connection device in accordance with any one of claims 2 to 4, characterised in that the lever (13) comprises two arms (42, 44) for clamped coupling, which extend in parallel from the body (20) of the lever (13) in the direction of the clip (12) and the free ends of the said arms, shaped as hooks (46, 48), are received in a corresponding notch (50) in the clip (12) when the device is in clamped position.
6. A rapid connection device in accordance with claim 5 taken in conjunction with one of claims 3 or 4, characterised in that the coupling arms (42, 44) are provided between the axis of articulation and the active portion (32) of the lever, and the ends (46, 48) of the said arms are received in a lateral slot (50) in the loop-shaped portion (14) of the clip (12).
7. A rapid connection device in accordance with any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the lever is produced in a single part made of insulating plastic material.
8. A rapid connection device in accordance with any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that one (16) of the limbs of the clip (12) has a claw (52) for securing at least one electrical connection cable (54).

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