KR0152135B1 - Electrical terminal device - Google Patents

Abstract

An electrical connecting terminal device having an insulation-piercing terminal contact (16) which is arranged in an insulating material housing (1) is constructed especially for use for automatic wiring, in such a manner that the housing, on at least one side, has a slot- or groove-like depression (21), which opens towards the insertion side for the conductor, adjacent to the insertion slot for the insulation-piercing terminal contact. The dimensions of this depression are selected such that a free end (27) (which is located in the vicinity of the insulation-piercing terminal contact) of a line (24) (which makes contact in the insulation-piercing terminal contact) is held in the depression such that it is protected against being touched. <IMAGE>

Description

Electric clamp terminal device

1 is a perspective view of a clamp terminal according to the present invention.

2 is a front view of the clamp terminal of FIG.

3 is a side cross-sectional view of the clamp terminal of FIG. 1 taken along the wire III-III of FIG.

4 is a plan view of the clamp terminal of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the electric wire introduction region of the clamp terminal of FIG. 1 at different scales, and is a detailed cross-sectional view corresponding to FIG.

6 and 7 are side cross-sectional views taken along the wires VI-VI and VIII of FIG. 5, respectively.

8 is a plan view of a modified embodiment of the clamp terminal of FIG.

9 is a cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 5 with the clamp terminal of FIG. 1 having an IPC contact provided with a fixed edge.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of an electrofluorescent lamp choke with the two clamp terminals of FIG.

11 is a perspective view of a capacitor having an associated retainer and having a clamp terminal device according to the invention.

12 is a perspective view of a lamp base for a rod-like gas discharge lamp having a molded clamp terminal device according to the present invention.

13 and 14 are schematic cross-sectional views similar to FIG. 5 showing the connection of the clamp terminals of FIG. 1, showing two successive steps, respectively.

FIG. 15 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 5 showing the connected clamp terminal of FIG.

16 is a plan view corresponding to the clamp terminal contacted in FIG. 4 and FIG. 1, which is a plan view showing the insulated conductor in contact.

The clamp terminals shown in FIGS. 1 to 7 have a housing 1 of insulating material, the rectangular housing 1 being fastened in the form of a continuous longitudinal slit 3 arranged in the vicinity of the flat bottom surface or It is arranged on a molding base 2 of insulating material having a fixing device. As can be seen in FIG. 3, the clamp terminal is located on the base plate 4 of the electric fluorescent lamp choke 5, for example, and its bottom surface is attached to the base plate by the tab 6. And it is notched out of the base plate and curved upwards, protruding through the longitudinal slit (3).

The two side walls 7 of the housing 1, which are open from the top toward the wire introduction side, have two opposing ribs 8 therein, which are arranged at the two end sides of the housing 1 ( 9) An introduction slit 10 is formed in the shape of a wedge or parallel side, which is disposed approximately in the middle between the ribs and is widened by the introduction inclined portion 11 at the top. Two opposing narrow grooves 13 (FIG. 5) extend from below to the height of the inlet ramp 11 into the ribs 8, at the edge of the IPC contact 16 made of spring steel or spring bronze. It receives two legs 15, which form an open IPC slit 14.

The narrow IPC contact portion 16, which is small plate-shaped and U-shaped in the region of the IPC slit 14, is embedded in the insulating material of the housing 1 at all sides except the cut segment formed in the leg 15, so that the IPC slit 14 And both legs 15 are guided by a limited movement in the groove 13. In its non-slit region adjacent to the two legs 15, the IPC contact is suitably formed in 17 (FIG. 3) and introduced into the groove of the base 2, which is also supported axially in this groove. The electrical winding of the choke 5 is connected via a conductor 19, which is housed in an insulating material 20 on top of the choke 5 and at the other end of the IPC contact 16. Is electrically conductively connected to the Together with the IPC slit 14, the IPC contact 16 forms a connection area of the clamp terminal.

As shown for example in FIGS. 1 to 5, the housing 1 adjacent to the introduction slit 10 and on both sides of the rib 8 has one grooved indent 21, which is indented. It has a negative rectangular or slightly wedge convergent cross section and is open to the introduction side of the housing 1 adjacent to the introduction slit 10. Two grooved indentations 21 with introduction slits 10 are positioned in alignment with each other and likewise formed upwards by introduction inclinations 22. 3 to 6 show that the depth of the grooved indentation 21 is greater than the depth of the inlet slit 10, and that the width 23 of the indentation is actually greater than the width of the inlet slit 10.

The dimensions of each part are such that the insulator 25 is connected by the legs 15 of the IPC contact 16 with the insulator 25 for the insulated wire 24 pressed through the inlet slit 10 in the manner shown in FIG. 14 is selected to establish a hermetic connection between the IPC contact 16 and the metal conductor 26 which is cut open and simultaneously deformed at the clamp point. The pressed wire 24 is clamped tightly to the inlet slit 10 by an insulator 25 between the two ribs 8, with the extension at FIG. 12 (FIG. 6) into the inlet slit 10. When press-fitted, the insulator 25 acts to lock in the form of a detent. This fixedly connected wire 24 extends through one of the grooved indentations 21, the clipped end 27 of which is further grooved indentation as described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 14 to 16. Is located at 21.

The width 23 and the depth and the axial length of the grooved indentation 21 are dimensioned such that contact protection is automatically made to the clipped end of the wire 24. This means that in tests to avoid the risk of impact, the standard sensing prongs cannot penetrate to the peeled and clipped cut-out of the wire 24 end 27 at the depth of the associated grooved indentation 21. The metal IPC contact 16 itself is completely protected outwardly by its legs 15 in the groove 13 of the insulating material housing 12. This is a depth at which the impact risk is reliably prevented even in the region of the introduction slit 10.

In the embodiment of the housing 1 described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7, two grooved indentations 21 which are mutually aligned are provided on either side of the introduction slit 10, the width 23 of which is And the depth is larger than the diameter of the wire 24 to be received. If the wires 24 are only laid continuously through the contact area, one of the grooved indentations 21 of special consideration may be omitted. In each case, two grooved indentations 21 can also be omitted.

8 is a plan view of a variant embodiment of the housing 1.

In this embodiment, there is only one grooved indentation 21, which is formed on both sides in the housing 1a by a pair of ribs 8 with the introduction slit 10 formed in a chamber manner. do. These rib pairs 8 each have side walls 9a in the housing 1a and are formed coplanar at the ends and are aligned with the longitudinal axis of the grooved indentation 21 by their introduction slit 10.

In the region of the two introduction slits 10 of FIG. 8, grooves 13 are formed in each of the corresponding pairs of ribs 8, in which the legs 15 of the two IPC contacts 16 are shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, the support is elastically spread out. Each pair of legs 15 forms an IPC slit 14 that is aligned with the associated introduction slit 10. The embodiment of FIG. 8 can immediately clip off the connected conductor in the connection area.

In the illustrated embodiment, the IPC contact 16 may only provide a connection with the conductor 26 pressed in, for example, the method shown in FIG. When the wire 24 is clipped off in the contact zone, this is done by the tool itself, as described in detail below with reference to FIGS. 13 and 14. However, the housings 1 and 1a can be provided with at least one clipper edge for the wires 24 pressed against the IPC slit 10. Therefore, the wires can be clipped off at the same time as they are press fit.

This embodiment is shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 5, the IPC contacts 160 introduced into the housing are again supported in the two grooves 13 by the two elastic metal legs 150 so as to be unfolded in a limited manner. However, on both sides of the leg 150, the IPC contact 160 extends slightly laterally spaced from the leg 150 to the introduction slit 10 laterally from the leg 150 to the forming leg portion 29 bent with its U-shape. It has two upper-pointing clipper edges 28. The clipper edge 28 is finally lowered onto one clipper edge 28 after the wire 24 pressurized from above via the inlet slit 10 has its conductors 26 in contact with the IPC slit 14. It is located at a distance above the bottom 30 of the introduction slit 10 so that it can be pressed and cut there.

In FIG. 9, the two clipper edges are located inside the rib 8, whereby the cut surface of the wire 24 still remains inside the lateral boundary of the introduction slit 10. In principle, the clipper edge 28 may be moved slightly laterally away from the leg 150, and only one clipper edge 8 may be associated with the IPC contact 160.

The clamp terminals described in connection with FIGS. 1 to 9 can be associated as independent clamp terminals with various types of electrical installations, switch elements and device systems, including electrical wiring boards, as already described. An example is shown in FIGS. 3 and 10, wherein two clamps are located together with their housing 1 on the base plate of the magnetic choke 5 of the gas discharge lamp in the manner described above.

In addition, the clamp terminal is in the form of a double clamp terminal which is arranged in a joint together with a single clamp terminal 32 on the base portion 33 of an insulating material, as shown in FIG. As shown, it can be formed with multiple clamps. Capacitor 34 is fixed to base 33 of insulating material and is electrically connected to an IPC contact or double clamp terminal 31 which is no longer described in detail. The double clamp terminal 31 is a combination of two clamp terminals to form a unit, and the two housings 1b are separated from each other by slits 34 extending slightly beyond the depth of the grooved indentation 21. These housings have essentially the same structure as the clamping terminals described in connection with FIGS. 1-7, except that their cross section seats on a common shaped continuous base plate 2b equivalent to FIG. Have

Depending on the electrical device or electrical device system to be connected, the clamp terminal device can be manufactured integrally with this device or device system. One example is shown in FIG. The lamp socket 35 for the rod-shaped gas discharge lamp is formed-on plastic fastening in which two housings 12 of two clamping terminals designed basically according to FIGS. 1 to 7 are formed therein. foot) 36.

The axes of the grooved indentations 21 of the two clamp terminal devices are laterally aligned with respect to the longitudinal length of the gas discharge lamp to be introduced into the lamp socket 35. Its basic structure is the same as in FIGS. 1-7, and therefore will not be described herein again.

The new clamp terminal device is specifically designed for automation for automatic direct wiring. This is described below in connection with FIGS. 13 and 14.

In automatic direct wiring, the wiring tool, shown only schematically at 37, is moved along a predetermined path over a pre-assembled electrical device to be wired, for example by a program controlled industrial robot that will not be described in detail below, These paths coincide with the wiring course and extend between the various terminals of the electronic component. Each of these terminals has a clamp terminal arrangement similar to that shown in FIG. 1, and is proposed by the upper part of the housing 1 in correspondence with FIG.

The wiring tool 37 has a rigid wiring prong 38 with a rectangular cross section at the bottom thereof, the width for its minimum movement at right angles to the drawing is equal to the width 23 of the grooved indentation 21 (first See also 7).

A wire guide conduit 39 is formed in the wiring prong 38, and the wire drawn continuously from the coil or the like is supplied to the conduit via a supply device, and the conduit is an electric wire from the mouth 41. (24) The segment is opened at 41 of the vertical side 40 to be horizontally aligned as shown in FIG.

A ram 42 is provided parallel to and spaced laterally from the flat side 40, the ram being supported to be elevated on the wiring tool 36, the horizontal segment of the wire 24 protruding from the mouse 41. It can be supported by the pressing surface 43 on. Thus, the horizontal segment is fixedly supported on the pressing surface 43 on the one hand and on the upper boundary of the wire guide conduit 39 on the other hand in the region of the mouth 41.

A gap 44 is formed between the ram 42 and the side 40, the width of which is equal to or greater than the width of the pair of ribs 8 of the housing 1. The ram 42 itself has a rectangular cross section. In this case, the width in the direction perpendicular to the plane of the drawing corresponds to the width of the inlet slit 10, including the necessary spacing for movement, but may be selected to match the width 23 of the grooved indentation 21. .

In automatic direct wiring, the wiring tool 31 is precisely and precisely positioned above the housing 12 of the clamp terminal device of the terminal in cooperation with the industrial robot and the sensing means, whereby the entire system is supported by the ram 42 at its advanced support position. In the position shown in FIG.

The wiring tool 37 is now vertically moved downwards by its wiring prong 38, and the wiring prong 38 moves from the top into the right grooved indent 21 as seen in FIG. 42 slides into the left grooved indent 21 and partially into the inlet slit 10. The IPC contact 16 lies in the gap 44 between the side 40 and the ram 42.

In the downward movement of the wiring tool 37, the wire segment that is supported and held accurately between the pressing surface 43 and the upper portion of the mouse 41 at two points on both sides of the IPC contact portion 16 is an enlarged portion 12. (Figure 5) is pressed from above into the IPC slit 14 through the inlet slit 10 until it is locked in the form of a detent. In this way the electrical conductor 26 is in perfect contact with the IPC contact 16 and the electrical insulator 25 of the wire 24 is clamped laterally and fixed between the opposing ribs 8 in the inlet slit 10. Thus, the wires 24 are not connected in air-tight form but are fixed to the insulator 25 in a strain relief manner (see also FIG. 16).

In introducing the wires 24 into the inlet slit 10 and the IPC slit 14, the grooved indentation 21 is perfectly and precisely lateral to the two slits described above by the wiring prong 38 and the ram 42. To ensure that they are relevant.

The small error in assembling the clamp terminal device is automatically corrected by the introduction inclination portion 22. The side of the indent 21 acts as a guide surface.

If the wires 24 are only through-wired to the terminals, that is to say arranged continuously through the terminals, then after the wires 24 are introduced into the inlet slit 10 and the conductors 26 are in contact with the IPC slit 14, the ram 42 is only moved upwards to a distant resting position in the wiring tool 37, wherein the industrial robot uses the clamp terminal device of a similar design, triggered according to FIG. 13, to connect the wiring tool 37 to its wiring prong. Move to the next path along the path programmed with (38). During this displacement movement of the wiring tool 36 the required wire length is supplied synchronously with the displacement movement via the wire guide conduit 39.

However, if the wire 24 is to be clipped at the terminal, then one other IPC contact, corresponding to FIG. 9, may be provided at this terminal, and at its clipper edge 28 the ram 42 is connected to the conductor 26. Is simply pressed onto the clipper edge 28 to contact and clip the conductor 26. As an alternative, however, a controlled clipper blade 45 on the wiring tool 37 can also be used for this purpose, which blade can be lifted up and down by being supported on the side 40 and its clipper edge ( 46, and out of the position shown in FIG. 13, it is moved forward to the clipping position shown in FIG. 14. At this position, the clipper edge 46 overtakes the mouse 41 and cuts the wire 24. .

The clipper blade 45 is formed so that there is space for the blade in the grooved indentation 21 of the housing 1. An inclined surface 47 exists near the fixed edge 46, which is bent downward by about 90 ° by bending the wire end 27 securely clamped to the inlet slit 10 by the insulator 25 during the clipping process. The exposed metal cut surface of the conductor 26 is directed toward the bottom of the indent 21 as shown in FIGS. 14 and 15.

Once the wire 24 is clipped, the clipper blade 45 and the ram 42 return to their rest position, the wiring tool 37 moves away from the terminal, and the clamp terminal device is shown in FIG. Will be in.

Since the depth, width, and length of the groove-shaped indentation 21 are selected so that the cut surface of the metal conductor is not accidentally contacted from the outside, the wire end 27 is automatically and reliably automatically impacted at the terminal when the clipping operation shown in FIG. 14 is completed. The risk is protected and no other equipment is required to achieve this.

If a clamp terminal device of the type shown in FIG. 8 is used, the clipped wire end 27 is rested at the chamber-shaped indentation 21, preventing the risk of impact again at the indentation, but at the same time clamping terminal device Can be formed with a shorter structural length. Moreover, two wires may be in contact with both sides.

The invention relates to at least one introduction slit for an electric wire which is open at the edge towards the introduction side, and at least one cut-clamp or insulation piercing connector (IPC) contact disposed in the housing to form a contact area. And an electrical clamping terminal arrangement with an insulating material housing having an IPC contact open at the edge and aligned with the inlet slit such that the IPC slit is connected with a conductor.

Today, various techniques for connecting electrical devices or electrical components to wires of wiring (eg, screw connections, plug-in connections, solder and IPC methods) are widely used.

Most of the clamp terminal devices designed according to this connection technique require many operation steps when the wiring is manufactured, and these steps must be mainly manual and sometimes require considerable skill and attention to those who make electrical connections. This plays a less important role when connecting only some clamp terminals of an electrical device is the only concern, such as when the device is connected to a main power system. However, for complicated wiring with many terminals or when manufacturing large quantities of the same electrical device, the consumption of time and materials required to produce a fully contacted electrical contact is of great importance. In particular, the complexity of the operating steps required to make the electrical connection makes it impossible to automate the wiring or only with a significant industrial effort.

Known as a cut-clamp or insulated through connection (IPC) method in conventional connection techniques requires only a handful of labor, as it only requires securing the wire and pressing it into the IPC contact for assembly. Clamp terminal devices designed according to the basic features of this connection method are known in various forms, for example French Patent No. 2 330 159, German Utility Model (DE-GM) No. 88 04 388, 87 14 703, 88 12 057 and US Pat. Nos. 2, 501, 187, and the like, which are found on pages 491 and 492 of the July 1982 Measurement + Testing / Automatic Systems issue. However, none of these connection devices designed from various points of view have the functional characteristics that make them suitable for fully direct automatic wiring of electrical devices or electrical system.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an electrical clamp terminal device by the so-called IPC method which is suitably designed to automate direct wiring operation.

In order to achieve this object, the clamp terminal device of the present invention mentioned at the beginning has a slitlike or grooved indentation in which the housing is opened toward the introduction side at one side adjacent to the introduction slit. The dimension of the indentation portion is characterized in that the free end located near the IPC contact portion of the wire in contact with the IPC contact portion is selected to be received in the indentation in a shock + -hazard-proof manner.

In such electrical clamp terminal arrangements, for example, if the conductor is clipped adjacent to the IPC contact when an electrical connection is made, its free end is automatically completely shock-proof when the conductor is contacted. At the same time, the clamp terminal device can be through wired so that all conditions for a fully automatic direct winding can be used. The inlet slit of the housing may have a width which causes clamping fixation of the press-fitted wire, which makes it possible to immediately obtain tension relief in the contact process as well as to avoid the risk of impact. Since no other steps are required to carry out the connection, each terminal needs only one access to the wiring tool, an essential prerequisite for automating the direct wiring.

The IPC slit also contributes to the automation of the wiring since it allows a constant height error when the conductor is press-fit. At the same time, it is ensured that the conductors are hermetically contacted over a large surface area, and when pressed in, the conductors are cold-welded in such a way that oxidation of the conductor surface is not possible, as would be the case when the conductor insulator should be removed first in a separate step. Are immediately contacted. The fact that the conductors are clipped immediately adjacent to the IPC contacts and then automatically their free ends are protected against the risk of impact at slit or grooved indentations makes it possible to work with very short finishes, ie without any waste. It is. For wider wiring layouts with many terminals this leads to significant savings in materials.

The width of the slit or groove indent is actually larger than the width of the introduction slit. In order to improve the impact risk protection and simplify the design of the overall clamping device, it is advantageous for the slit or grooved indentation to be deeper than the inlet slit, in which the free end of the clipped conductor is directed towards the base or bottom of the indentation behind the IPC contact. This is to allow it to bend downward.

In principle, this type of grooved or slit-shaped indentation can be provided on one or both sides of the IPC contact and can be designed in the form of a channel open at one end. In some cases, however, it may also be practical to form a slit or groove indent as a chamber so that the exposed end of the contacted conductor is protected against shock. In this way, the structural length of the clamp terminal device can be further reduced. The chambers are formed on both sides by IPC contacts, each of which has an associated introduction slit, which selectively connects or clips the two conductors or uses a clamp terminal device to connect a single conductor from side to side or finally through it. Can be used for wiring.

In order to facilitate the automatic introduction of the electric wire, it is advantageous to provide a slit or grooved indentation on the introduction side with a widening which can be formed by, for example, an introduction bevel. Further, the slit or groove indentation may have a guide surface for the wiring tool. This design allows the wiring tool to be accurately positioned with respect to the IPC slit without additional guidance when the wire is introduced and in contact.

Clipping the wires to a specific terminal formed by the clamp terminal device can be done using a knife on the automatic wiring tool. Another option is to provide the clamp terminal device with at least one clipper edge for press fitting the wire into the IPC slit. The clipper edge can be formed on the IPC contact, for example. This works when the conductor is pushed in.

As independent clamp terminals a new clamp terminal device can be formed as a single or multiple clamping version. For this purpose, the housing may have shaped fixing means. However, sometimes the housing is formed as part of the electrical switch element or as part of the switch element, so it is practical to form the clamp terminal device directly integrally with the electrical switch element.

Exemplary embodiments of the invention are shown in the drawings.

Claims (12)

An electrical clamp terminal device for automatic wiring to a wiring tool, comprising: at least one inlet slit (10) open from the edge to the inlet to accommodate insulated wires (24), and shock-proof in the housing (1) An insulating material housing (1) having an insulating piercing connector (IPC) terminal 16 forming a contact area, said IPC terminal being open at an inlet edge to be connected with a conductor and aligned with said inlet slit 10 An IPC slit 14 is formed, wherein at least one side of the housing 1, 1a is formed with a slit or groove indent 21 outward with respect to the IPC terminal and aligned with the introduction slit 10. The indentation portion 21 has a larger width than the inlet slit 10, at one end thereof is adjacent to the inlet slit and is open toward the inlet side, and at the other end the outer portion of the housing from the inlet slit 10. Face away, the indentation 21 is dimensioned to receive and position the selectively cut free end 27 of the wire 24 in contact with the IPC terminal in an impact-safe manner, The housing 1 has means for guiding or centering the wiring tool with respect to the IPC slit when the wire is introduced into and contacted with the IPC slit 14, the guiding means being a slit or groove indent ( 21. An electrical clamp terminal device comprising a guide surface of 21). 2. Electrical clamp terminal device according to claim 1, characterized in that the width (23) of the slit or groove indents (21) is larger than the width of the introduction slit (10). 2. The electrical clamp terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the introduction slit (10) has a width that causes clamping of the pressed wire (24). 2. Electrical clamp terminal device according to claim 1, characterized in that the slit or groove indents (21) are deeper than the introduction slit (10). The electric clamp terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the constant slit or groove indents are formed as chambers. 6. Electrical clamp terminal device according to claim 5, characterized in that the chamber is formed by IPC contacts (16) on both sides and each contact has an associated introduction slit (10). 2. The electric clamp terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the slit or groove-shaped indentation (21) has an enlarged portion (12) on the introduction side. 2. Electrical clamp terminal device according to claim 1, characterized in that the slit or groove indentation (21) has a guide surface for the wiring tool (37, 38, 42). 2. Electrical clamp terminal device according to claim 1, comprising one or more clipper edges (28) for wires (24) to be pressed into the IPC slit (14). 10. The electrical clamp terminal device according to claim 9, wherein the clipper edge (28) is formed on an IPC contact (160). 11. Electrical clamp terminal device according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the housing (1, 1a) has formed-on securing means (3). 11. Electrical clamp terminal device according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the housing (1) is formed on a portion (36) of an electrical switch element (35).