Spring clamp contact and connecting terminal for electrical conductors

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9502790-B2
Application number	US-201414767719-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 12, 2014
Priority date	Feb 13, 2013
Publication date	Nov 22, 2016
Grant date	Nov 22, 2016

Abstract

A resilient clamping contact for contacting electrical conductors, said resilient clamping contact having a current rail and having at least two resilient clamping elements that each have a contacting limb, a resilient bend that adjoins the contacting limb and a clamping limb that adjoins the resilient bend and comprises a clamping section at the free end, and having frame parts that extend away from the current rail and have in each case two lateral connecting pieces that are spaced apart from one another and transverse connecting pieces that connect the lateral connecting pieces one to the other, and a conductor feedthrough opening that is formed by the lateral connecting pieces and the transverse connecting pieces. A resilient clamping element is fastened to the current rail by means of the contact of the contacting limb of the resilient clamping element and/or a retaining element of the current rail to a transverse connecting piece in such a manner that the clamping section acts in the direction of the current rail under the influence of the resilient force of the resilient clamping element. The at least two frame parts for the at least two resilient clamping elements are arranged spaced apart from one another with an intermediate space between two spaced apart lateral connecting pieces of adjacent frame parts.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A resilient clamping contact for contacting electrical conductors, comprising:
a current rail including at least two frame parts that extend away from the current rail, each frame part comprising two lateral connecting pieces that are spaced apart from one another and a transverse connecting piece that connects the two lateral connecting pieces one to the other, and a conductor feedthrough opening that is formed by the lateral connecting pieces and the transverse connecting piece;
at least two resilient clamping elements each including a contacting limb, a resilient bend that adjoins the contacting limb, and a clamping limb that adjoins the resilient bend, the clamping limb including a clamping section at a free end of the clamping limb, wherein a clamping site for clamping an electrical conductor is formed between the respective clamping section and the current rail,
wherein a resilient clamping element is fastened to the current rail via a contact of the contacting limb and/or a retaining element of the current rail to a transverse connecting piece in a manner that the clamping section acts in the direction of the current rail under the influence of the resilient force of the resilient clamping element, and
wherein the at least two frame parts for the at least two resilient clamping elements are arranged spaced apart from one another with an intermediate space between two spaced apart lateral connecting pieces of adjacent frame parts.

2. The resilient clamping contact as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the at least two frame parts are formed as one piece with the current rail.

3. The resilient clamping contact as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the at least two frame parts are embodied as at least one frame element that is separate from the current rail, the separate at least one frame element latched into the current rail.

4. The resilient clamping contact as claimed in claim 3 , wherein the current rail comprises retaining protrusions as a retaining element for the at least two frame parts, wach of the at least two frame parts having a transverse connecting piece configured to engage under the retaining protrusions of the current rail.

5. The resilient clamping contact as claimed in claim 3 , wherein the current rail comprises latching openings or latching recesses and that the at least two frame parts each comprises latching fingers that latch into allocated latching openings or latching recesses.

6. The resilient clamping contact as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the clamping section is bent away or down from a section of the clamping limb in a direction towards the current rail, said section of the clamping limb adjoining the resilient bend.

7. The resilient clamping contact as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the clamping section comprises a narrower width than a remaining section of the clamping limb.

8. The resilient clamping contact as claimed in claim 7 , wherein at least one region of the section of the clamping limb that is wider in relation to the clamping section comprises an actuating section, said at least one region protruding laterally relative to the clamping section, and wherein a clamping site for an electrical conductor is openable via an actuating element that cooperates with the actuating section, said clamping site being formed between the clamping section, the resilient clamping element and the current rail.

9. A connecting clamp for electrical conductors, comprising:
a housing embodied from an insulating material;
at least one resilient clamping contact as claimed in claim 1 ; and
at least one actuating element movably arranged in the housing embodied from an insulating material,
wherein the at least one actuating element protrudes into an allocated intermediate space between two adjacent lateral connecting pieces of adjacent frame parts and comprises a contour for influencing at least one resilient clamping element in order to open a clamping site that is formed between the clamping section of the resilient clamping element and the current rail in order to clamp an electrical conductor.

Assignees

• Wago Verwaltungs Gmbh

Inventors

• Kollmann Hans-Josef
• Gerberding Wolfgang

Classifications

• H01R4/4818 Primary

  Electricity · mapped topic

• H01R4/4836

  Electricity · mapped topic

• H01R4/483

  Pivoting arrangements, e.g. lever pushing on the spring · CPC title

• H01R4/4852

  Means for improving the contact with the conductor, e.g. uneven wire-receiving surface · CPC title

• H01R4/485 Primary

  Single busbar common to multiple springs · CPC title