GB2582046A

GB2582046A - LED strip connector

Info

Publication number: GB2582046A
Application number: GB1917786.4A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Shemie James
Original assignee: All Led Ltd
Current assignee: All Led Ltd
Priority date: 2019-12-05
Filing date: 2019-12-05
Publication date: 2020-09-09
Anticipated expiration: 2039-12-05
Also published as: GB201917786D0; GB2582046B

Abstract

An LED strip electrical connector 100 comprising means 103 for retaining an electrical wire 300 within an opening 104 on a first side of the connector in electrical contact with a conductive element 102; means for retaining an LED strip 200 within a slot 105a on the first side of the connector in electrical contact with the conductive element; and means for retaining a second LED strip within a slot on a second side of the connector in electrical contact with the conductive element. Means for retaining a wire on the second side of the connector may also be included. The retaining means may be a screw terminal. A pair of slots of different widths may be included so that different width LEDs may be connected. The openings may be positioned above the slots. Each side of the connectors may have a pair of openings for receiving a pair of wires. The first side may be at right angles to the second side (Figure 11). The angle between the first and second sides may be adjusted using a hinge.

Description

LED STRIP CONNECTOR

BACKGROUND

LED lighting solutions are becoming increasingly popular, in particular due to their low power consumption, compact size and long lifetimes LED strip lights, also known as LED strips, are particularly popular, in part because of their versatility and relatively low cost.

LED strips are flexible circuit boards having multiple surface-mounted LEDs that can often be controlled to provide various illumination colours and patterns. LED strips are suitable for various applications and are commonly used to provide decorative lighting such as backlighting or mood lighting.

LED strips are generally supplied in continuous reels and are available in multiple widths. Each strip has pre-defined points at which it can be cut, thereby allowing the strip to be divided into shorter segments as required for installation.

LED strips can also be connected to electrical wires or other LED strips by electrically coupling the terminals of the LED strip to the wires or to the terminals of the other LED strip, thereby allowing LED strips to be chained together or connected to other electrical components such as control units and power supplies.

This connection is often performed by soldering to the terminals of the LED strip. 20 However, soldering has drawbacks such as being time consuming and creating fumes. Solderless connectors that can be used to connect LED strips have therefore been developed to overcome these drawbacks.

Separate types of connectors are available depending on whether two LED strips are being connected to each other or an LED strip is being connected to one or more wires, and each of these connectors is designed to accommodate a particular strip width. This is a disadvantage compared to soldering, as it means that an inventory of multiple types of LED strip connector is required to cover all connection types. In addition, some existing connectors create inadequate connections with the terminals of the LED strip or work by piercing the LED strip, and can therefore create gaps or regions of high electrical resistance that lead to unwanted effects such as electrical arcing and excess heat.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to a first aspect, there is provided an LED strip electrical connector comprising means for retaining an electrical wire within an opening on a first side of the connector in electrical contact with a conductive element; means for retaining an LED strip within a slot on the first side of the connector in electrical contact with the conductive element; and, means for retaining another LED strip within a slot on a second side of the connector in electrical contact with the conductive element.

This advantageously means that a single connector can be used for connecting either two LED strips or an LED strip and a wire, thereby providing a simple solderless connection for LED strips with a reduced inventory overhead compared to conventional connectors. The conductive element could be an electrical wire or any other element suitable for carrying an electrical current between components on the the first and second sides of the connector.

Preferably, the connector further comprises means for retaining an electrical wire within an opening on the second side of the connector in electrical contact with the conductive element.

This means that a wire can be connected to either side of the connector such that the connector can be installed in multiple orientations when connecting an LED strip to a wire.

Preferably, the means for retaining an electrical wire is a screw terminal.

This means that a wire can be installed by inserting an end of the wire into the opening on the first side of the connector and tightening the screw of the screw terminal, thereby clamping the wire within the opening.

The screw terminal, including the screw, may be made of any suitable electrically conductive material, such as brass or copper, and may itself function as the conductive element. Alternatively, the conductive element may be an electrical wire connected to one or more screw terminals.

Preferably, the means for retaining an LED strip is a screw of the screw terminal, wherein in use, the screw is tightened against an electrical terminal of an LED strip to thereby clamp the LED strip within the slot on the first side of the connector.

This provides for easy installation of the LED strip within the connector, and provides strong retention of the LED strip and a good connection to the electrical terminals of the LED strip without piercing the LED strip. The LED strip is inserted into the slot on the first side of the connector and the screw is tightened. The electrical contact is created by the contact between the electrical terminal of the LED strip and the screw.

The screw of the screw terminal provides a single means for clamping either a wire or an LED strip.

Preferably, at least one of the first and second sides of the connector has a pair of slots of different widths for receiving LED strips of different widths.

This allows the connector to be used with multiple widths of LED strips, with the different width slots ensuring correct alignment between the screw of the screw terminal and the terminal of the LED strip.

Optionally, the widths of the slots are two selected from the list consisting of 8 mm, 10 mm and 12 mm.

For example, the slot widths may be 12 mm and 10 mm, 12 mm and 8 mm, or 25 10 mm and 8 mm.

Preferably, the opening on the first side of the connector is positioned above the slot on the first side of the connector.

Preferably, each of the first and second sides of the connector has a pair of openings for receiving respective electrical wires This allows two wires, for example live and neutral or positive and negative, to be connected to the LED strip.

The connector may additionally comprise further means for retaining further electrical wires as necessary, for example control wires for controlling different LED colour channels.

Optionally, the first side opposes the second side. In other words, the first side of the connector is on an opposing side of the connector to the second side, such that the connector acts as a straight connector.

Alternatively, the first side may be arranged at approximately a right angle to the second side. This allows LED strips and/or electrical cables to be connected at right angles. Such a connector may be L-shaped.

Alternatively, the first side may be arranged at about 45 degrees or 135 degrees to the second side.

Optionally, the connector may further comprise a hinge allowing the angle between the first and second sides to be adjusted. This allows LED strips and/or electrical cables to be connected at a range of angles.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

Examples of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 shows an LED strip connector; Figure 2 shows an alternative view of the LED strip connector of Figure 1; Figure 3 shows the LED strip connector of Figure 1 with the screws of the LED strip connector partially withdrawn; Figure 4 shows an exploded view of the components of the LED strip connector of Figure 1; Figure 5 shows the LED strip connector of Figure 1 being used to connect an LED strip to two electrical wires; Figure 6 shows an alternative view of the LED strip connector of Figure 6; Figure 7 shows another alternative view of the LED strip connector of Figure 6; Figure 8 shows another alternative view of the LED strip connector of Figure 6; Figure 9 shows a cross-sectional view of the LED strip connector of Figure 1; Figure 10 shows a side view of the LED strip connector of Figure 1 with the screws partially withdrawn; Figure 11 shows an alternative L-shaped LED strip connector; Figure 12 shows a top view of the L-shaped LED strip connector of Figure 11; and, Figure 13 shows a side view of the L-shaped LED strip connector of Figure 11.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Figures 1, 2 and 3 show an embodiment of an LED strip connector 100, with an exploded view of the connector 100 shown in Figure 4. The illustrated connector comprises a substantially cuboidal housing 101 and two electrical screw terminals 102, and it is substantially symmetrical about the plane between the two screw terminals 102 and about the plane bisecting both screw terminals 102.

Each screw terminal 102 has two screws 103 and is capable of receiving and retaining an electrical wire in openings 104 at opposing ends of the screw terminal 102. The screw terminals 102 and screws 103 are preferably made of brass or copper, although other electrically conductive materials may also be used for each.

As shown in Figure 4, each screw terminal 102 has two threaded upper holes 108a for receiving the screws 103. The internal thread on the upper holes 108a corresponds to the external thread on the screws 103. Each screw terminal 102 additionally has two lower holes 108b directly below and coaxially aligned with the upper holes 108a. The lower holes 108b are preferably not threaded, although embodiments may also comprise threaded lower holes 108b with the same thread as the upper holes 108a. The diameter of the lower holes 108b is greater than or equal to the diameter of the screws 103 (if the lower holes 108b are threaded, then this thread preferably corresponds to the thread of the screws 103). When the screws 103 are tightened, the tip of each screw 103 passes firstly through the upper hole 108a of the screw terminal 102 and then through the lower hole 108b towards a pair of slots 105a, 105b in the housing 101.

The housing 101 is preferably made of an electrically insulating material such as plastic or rubber. The illustrated housing 101 has a wide slot 105a and a narrow slot 105b capable of receiving wide and narrow LED strips respectively, i.e. each side of the connector 100 can receive either a wide LED strip or a narrow LED strip. Alternative embodiments are also envisaged in which the connector 100 comprises a single slot. The use of two slots allows the connector 100 to be used with LED strips of different widths. For example, the wider slot 105a may be about 10 mm wide to receive LED strips with a width of 10 mm, and the narrow slot 105b may be about 8 mm wide to receive LED strips with a width of 8 mm.

The housing 101 has two channels 106 for receiving the screw terminals 102, and it has countersunk screw holes 107 for receiving the screws 103. In use, the screw terminals 102 are inserted into the respective channels 106 with the two upper holes 108a of each screw terminals 102 aligned with two respective screw holes 107 of the housing 101. The screws 103 can then be at least partially screwed into the upper holes 108a of the screw terminals 102, thereby retaining the screw terminals 102 in the casing by preventing the screw terminals 102 from sliding out of the channels 106. The connector 100 may be supplied in this assembled form, or it may alternatively be supplied as separate components to be assembled by the user. Alternative embodiments are also envisaged in which the screw terminal 102 is permanently coupled to the housing 101 during manufacture.

Figures 5, 6, 7 and 8 show the connector 100 being used to connect an LED strip 200 to a pair of electrical wires 300, with the LED strip 200 connected to a first side of the connector 100 and the electrical wires 300 connected to a second side of the connector 100. The illustrated LED strip 200 has one or more LED elements 201 and at least two electrical terminals 202, and the illustrated electrical wires 300 each have a single conductive core covered by an insulating layer.

To connect the LED strip 200 to a side the connector 100, the screws 103 on that side of the connector 100 must be at least partially withdrawn so that the LED strip 200 can be inserted into one of the slots 105a, 105b, in this case the wide slot 105a. The LED strip 200 is then inserted into the wide slot 105a with the electrical terminals 202 of the LED strip 200 positioned below the corresponding screws 103.

The screws 103 are then tightened against the electrical terminals 202 of the LED strip 200, thereby clamping the LED strip 200 between the screws 103 and the bottom internal surface of the housing 101 and retaining the LED strip 200 in the wide slot 105a. As the wide slot 105a is positioned above the narrow slot 105b in the illustrated embodiment, the LED strip 200 will be generally be slightly deformed towards the bottom internal surface of the housing 101 as the screw 103 is tightened (this will not occur for narrower LED strips that can be retained in the lower narrow slot 105b).

Because the screws 103 are electrically conductive, the abutment of the screws 103 against the electrical terminals 202 of the LED strip 200 creates an electrical connection between the electrical terminals 202 of the LED strip 200 and the respective screw terminals 102.

Narrower LED strips can be installed in the narrow slot 105b in an analogous manner The screw terminals 102 are arranged such that the screws 103 of the screw terminals 102 align with the electrical terminals of both wide and narrow LED strips, i.e. the spacing between adjacent screw terminals 102 is chosen such that the screws 103 align with the electrical terminals of the LED strips.

To connect the electrical wires 300 to a side of the connector 100, the screws 103 on that side of the connector 100 must be at least partially withdrawn so that an exposed core section 301 of each electrical wire 300 can be inserted into each respective opening 104 on that side. The screws 103 are then tightened to clamp each exposed core section 301 within the opening 104 between the screw 103 and the internal surface of the opening 104. In the illustrated embodiment, two of the screws 103 protrude from the uppermost surface of the connector 100 when the connector 100 is used to connect an LED strip 200 to a pair of electrical wires 300.

Unlike conventional screw terminals, the screw terminals 102 of the illustrated embodiment have lower holes 108b, so the exposed core sections 301 may deform into these lower holes 108b as the screw 103 is tightened. The diameter of the lower holes 108b is ideally substantially similar to the diameter of the screws 103 to ensure that the exposed core section 301 is sufficiently clamped by the screws 103.

The abutment between the exposed core section 301 and the screw 103 and between the exposed core section 301 and the internal surface of the screw terminal 102 creates an electrical connection between the exposed core section 301 of each electric wire 300 and the respective screw terminal 102, thereby also creating an electrical connection with the LED strip 200 connected to the other side of the connector 100, i.e. the screw terminals 102 act as conductive elements between the first and second sides of the connector 100. Alternative embodiments are also envisaged in which the screw terminals 102 do not span the connector 100 and separate screw terminals coupled by a discrete conductive element (e.g. an electrical wire or similar element) are instead used on each side of the connector 100 (i.e. four screw terminals in total rather than two).

Because the screws 103 pass through both the upper holes 108a and the lower holes 108b of the screw terminals 102 when an LED strip 200 is retained in one of the slots 105a, 105b on a given side of the connector 100, the openings 104 on that side of the connector 100 effectively become blocked by the screws 103 such that each side of the connector 100 can only retain either a single LED strip 200 or a pair of electrical wires 300 at any time.

Although the connector 100 is shown connecting an LED strip 200 to two electrical wires 300, it should be understood that two LED strips can be connected together in a similar manner by retaining a second LED strip in the slots 105a, 105b on one side of the connector 100 instead of retaining the electrical wires 300 in the openings 104.

Figure 9 shows a cross-sectional view of the connector 100 with the screws 103 almost fully inserted, i.e. the configuration of the screws 103 when an LED strip 200 is retained in the slots 105a, 105b of the connector 100. The screws 103 are inserted all the way through the screw terminals 102 through the upper holes 108a and lower holes 108b of the screw terminals 102.

Figure 10 shows a side view of the connector 100 with the screws 103 partially withdrawn. This is the approximate position of the screws 103 when an electrical wire 300 is retained.

While the above embodiment has two screw terminals 102 and is intended for use with LED strips 200 having two electrical terminals 202, alternative embodiments are envisaged with more or fewer screw terminals 102, for example having additional screw terminals 102 to control separate colour channels, or just a single screw terminal 102 for LED strips with a single electrical terminal 202 that are components in a complete circuit.

Although the above embodiment uses screws 103 to secure the electrical cables 300 and LED strips 200, alternative means for retaining electrical wires and LED strips are envisaged, including spring-loaded pins or rods in which a spring exerts a retaining force, and interference-fit pins or rods in which the screws 103 are replaced by pins or rods that are held in position by way of an interference fit. In these instances, the screw terminals 102 could be replaced by suitable conductive elements, such as brass or copper blocks with threadless holes.

The connector 100 illustrated in Figures 1-10 has connections on opposing sides of the connector 100. However, alternative embodiments are also envisaged in which the connector has an L-shaped configuration, i.e. has connections at a right angle to each other rather than opposing sides. An example of such an L-shaped connector 100 is shown in Figures 11, 12 and 13.

The L-shaped connector 100 is similar to the connector 100 of Figure 1, with two sides of the L-shaped connector 100 having screw terminals 102 with openings 104 for receiving electrical cables 300, and two slots 105a, 105b arranged to receive LED strips 200 of different widths. Electrical cables 300 and LED strips 200 can be retained as described above in relation to Figures 5 to 8.

Unlike the connector 100 of Figure 1, the L-shaped connector has four screw terminals 102 in total rather than two, and the screw terminals 102 do not run all the way through the L-shaped connector 100 but are instead electrically coupled by discrete conductive elements, for example electrical wires (not shown) connected to the corresponding screw terminals 102 on each side of the connector 100. Such an electrical wire could be coupled to the screw terminals 102 by any suitable means, such as by a soldered connection, crimped connection, or screwed connection.

Further embodiments are also envisaged in which the first and second sides of the connector are arranged at other angles, for example at approximately 45 degrees or approximately 135 degrees to each other, or in which the connector is hinged, thereby allowing the connector to be reconfigured at different angles depending on installation requirements. Such embodiments may use a similar arrangement to the L-shaped connector 100, with screw terminals on first and second sides connected by a conductive element such as a wire.

The terms "top", "bottom", "side", "front", "back", "forward", "rear" and other terms describing the orientation of features are not intended to be limiting and, where used, are purely included in order to facilitate the description of the relative location of these features in the context of the accompanying drawings. In use, or during storage, the features may be disposed in other orientations.

Claims

CLAIMS1. An LED strip electrical connector comprising: means for retaining an electrical wire within an opening on a first side of the connector in electrical contact with a conductive element; means for retaining an LED strip within a slot on the first side of the connector in electrical contact with the conductive element; and, means for retaining another LED strip within a slot on a second side of the connector in electrical contact with the conductive element.
2. The connector of claim 1, further comprising means for retaining an electrical wire within an opening on the second side of the connector in electrical contact with the conductive element.
3. The connector of any preceding claim, wherein the means for retaining an electrical wire is a screw terminal
4. The connector of claim 3, wherein the means for retaining an LED strip is a screw of the screw terminal, wherein in use, the screw is tightened against an electrical terminal of an LED strip to thereby clamp the LED strip within the slot on the first side of the connector.
5. The connector of any preceding claim, wherein at least one of the first and second sides of the connector has a pair of slots of different widths for receiving LED strips of different widths.
6. The connector of claim 5, wherein the widths of the slots are two selected from the list consisting of 8 mm, 10 mm and 12 mm.
7. The connector of any preceding claim, wherein the opening on the first side of the connector is positioned above the slot on the first side of the 25 connector.
8. The connector of any preceding claim, wherein each of the first and second sides of the connector has a pair of openings for receiving respective electrical wires.
9. The connector of any preceding claim, wherein the first side opposes the second side
10. The connector of any of claims 1 to 8, wherein the first side is arranged at a right angle to the second side.
11. The connector of any of claims 1 to 8, wherein the connector further comprises a hinge allowing an angle between the first and second sides to be adjusted.