EP0678934A1 - Single- or multipole cross connector for terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

The cross connector is used to provide a releasable electrical connection between the current rails of one or more serial terminal and/or connection clamps. Each pole has a contact pin (3) and a cooperating contact spring (13), which lie in plane parallel contact upon their assembly. Pref the contact pins are arranged in series in the manner of comb teeth and attached to a metal cross rail (6), to form a contact comb, the contact springs coupled together at one end by a spring strap, for providing a spring comb. <IMAGE>

Description

The invention relates to a cross connector with the features of the preamble of claim 1.

Such cross connectors are used to switch several busbars of one or more terminals to the same electrical potential. With their insulating terminal housing, the terminals are e.g. fixed to a mounting rail and lined up there. A busbar or a plurality of busbars for electrical contacting with one pole of the cross connector are arranged within the terminal housing.

If it is a single-pole cross connector, it is simply inserted into a single terminal. In this clamp, e.g. in a so-called multi-level terminal block, several busbars are arranged one above the other. When plugged into such a terminal, the cross connector contacts the busbars and thereby switches them to the same electrical potential.

A multi-pole cross connector is used to insert the individual poles into the busbars of several terminals. In this way, busbars of different terminals are switched to the same electrical potential.

During the insertion process of the contact pins into the busbars, the contact pins penetrate a correspondingly shaped slot in the busbars. A contact spring is assigned to each contact pin. The spring force of the contact spring is normally effective perpendicular to the longitudinal axis or to the flat plane of the contact pin. The contact pin inserted into the rail slot is thereby clamped to the busbar.

A multi-pole cross connector is known from DE 42 23 540 A1 . There the contact spring is an integral part of the contact pin. The resilient contact area of the contact pin requires an elaborate design and, accordingly, a large manufacturing effort for the contact pins. Since both elastic and electrical properties have to be taken into account in the contact pin, the material selection and dimensioning of the contact pin is additionally difficult. So that the contact area of the contact pin also acts as a contact spring, the contact pin must be built very long in the direction of insertion.

From DE 42 01 219 C1 a multi-pole cross connector is known which avoids the above-mentioned disadvantages by the contact pin inserted into the busbar being acted upon by a separate contact spring. However, the contact springs are attached to the cross connector via additional components. These components increase the manufacturing effort, the costs and also the space requirement of the cross connector. Furthermore, the contact spring itself is constructed in a space-consuming manner.

Based on the disadvantages described, the invention has for its object to further simplify the construction of a cross connector of the type described while maintaining the advantages of separate contact springs. This object is achieved by the combination of features of claim 1.

In the assembled state, the contact pin and the contact spring lie directly against one another and are connected to one another in a mechanically stable manner. As a result, the entire cross connector can be aligned essentially in a single plane in the assembled state. The very flat structure of the cross connector enables easy manual handling. The receiving spaces of the clamps for the cross connector can also be manufactured more easily because of its very simple and flat geometric structure. In addition, the receiving spaces of the terminals can be dimensioned smaller, so that the receiving spaces and the busbars lying therein are better protected against possible mechanical damage.

The material of the contact spring can only be selected according to mechanical criteria for a good spring effect, since the electrical contacting of the cross connector with one or more terminals is already done via the Contact pins is made. Depending on the expediency, the electrical contacting of the clamping connector with the busbars can be improved by the material of the contact spring also having good electrical conductivity, so that its effective electrical contact area with the busbars is increased when the cross connector is inserted.

According to claim 2, the contact pins form the comb teeth of a comb-like structure. They are mechanically and electrically connected to one another via a metallic cross bar aligned in the row direction of the contact pins. By means of its contact pins, this contact comb switches the desired busbars of several terminals lying side by side to the same electrical potential.

The cross connector consists essentially of the contact comb, the contact springs and the suitable fasteners. These few components make warehousing easier and thus reduce the storage and logistics costs of the cross connector. The few components also promote the mechanical stability of the cross connector. They also help to save a large number of connection means between individual components that are prone to wear.

Normally, the contact comb alone already has sufficient mechanical stability since, as the sole current-carrying element, it must provide a sufficient line cross section. In the case of largely automated, mechanical production, it can be advantageous here to fasten the contact springs as individual parts directly on the contact comb. The contact springs can then be made from a strip material with the cross-sectional dimensions of the contact spring. The preformed strip material is fed from the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal extension of the contact comb to the associated contact pin of the contact comb and fastened and cut off in one operation. The particular advantage of this manufacturing method is that the contact springs can be produced without waste and the blank of the cross connector can be stored in endless format.

Claim 3 proposes a simple connection technology for the mechanically stable attachment of the contact springs to the associated contact pins.

Claim 4 takes into account that the attachment point between the contact pin and contact spring is outside the components of the cross connector to be inserted into the terminals. Therefore, the connection point is not damaged by inserting it into or removing it from the terminals. The stable attachment between the contact pin and contact spring is maintained over a very long period of operation.

According to claim 5, the contact springs are part of a comb-like structure. This spring comb can be manufactured in a structurally simple manner. The simple structure supports the easy assembly of the cross connector. The spring comb carries the contact springs. The contact springs therefore do not have to be mounted individually on the cross connector. Rather, the entire spring comb can be attached to the contact comb in a single step.

Usually, the contact comb and the spring comb are mechanically connected to one another via their brackets connecting the contact pins or contact springs. Since the bracket, i.e. the cross bar and the spring clip extend in the row direction of the contact pins, the inherent stability of the cross connector along the row direction is further improved.

Claim 6 supports the technically simple manufacture and the inherent stability of the spring comb.

The contact comb and the spring comb are aligned approximately in a single plane. A large number of metallic plate or sheet materials are available inexpensively as raw material for such contact or spring combs. These raw materials are processed into contact combs or spring combs in very few steps. The work steps themselves can be carried out very easily in terms of production technology with just a few production machines. The raw materials essentially only have to be cut and punched.

According to claims 8 and 9, the geometric shape of the contact pin and the contact spring or the contact comb and the spring comb can be used as a fixing aid during their assembly. As soon as the corresponding components of the cross connector are approximately congruent with one another, the work step that creates the mechanical connection can be carried out.

In addition, the approximately congruent system supports the effect of the cross connector as a compact unit, which is better protected against mechanical damage by missing projections or other geometric deviations of individual components from the overall shape of the cross connector.

According to claim 10, the contact spring is structurally particularly simple. Designed as a leaf spring, the contact spring combines in a simple manner the flat, compact structure of the cross connector with a good spring action of the spring comb.

A cross connector according to claim 11 is suitable not only to connect the busbars of clamped strings together, but also two or more busbars of the same clamp with the same potential. The busbars are then in the longitudinal direction of the contact pin in the terminal, e.g. in a multi-level terminal block, one above the other. For this purpose, the pole or the poles of the cross connector are correspondingly extended in the longitudinal direction of the pin and each have at least two terminal contact points spaced apart from one another in the longitudinal direction of the pin, which are assigned to the respective busbars. It is conceivable to use a pole constructed in this way for a single-pole cross connector. It is also conceivable that with a multi-pole cross connector individual or all poles are constructed according to claim 11. Such a cross connector can be used with a corresponding series of tier terminal blocks and terminals with a single busbar.

Claim 12 proposes a simple measure for the electrical insulation of the surface areas of the cross connector normally used as handling surfaces during the insertion process or during the detachment from the busbars.

The insulating jacket can be produced, for example, by an appropriate plastic extrusion coating of the cross bar and the adjoining areas of the contact pins and the contact springs. Another possibility for producing the insulating jacket is to insert the components of the cross connector to be encased in two correspondingly pre-shaped insulating half-shells. The two insulating half-shells are then connected to one another in one piece with the interposition of the cross connector, for example by welding.

Claim 13 supports the easy handling of the cross connector by an operator.

One or more jacket slots according to claim 14 can be used to further simplify the handling of the cross connector as a contact surface for a tool, e.g. a screwdriver. As a result, the cross connector can be detached from the busbars without any significant effort.

Furthermore, the jacket slot can be used as a fixing aid for an optical marking to be made on the cross connector. This will e.g. Confusion of individual cross connectors arranged in the row direction avoided by an operator.

According to claim 15, a jacket slot is assigned to each contact pin. The jacket slots are usually configured identically and are lined up in a row at a constant distance. As a result, a tool can always be attached to the cross connector in its row direction at the currently most effective point of attack. Furthermore, the jacket slots enable simple visual identification of all contact pins of the cross connector. This can e.g. be predetermined indications of very specific terminals arranged in the row direction and to be switched to a specific electrical potential. The recesses also enable a convenient exchange of optical markings attached to them. In this way, any incorrect information for an operator can be easily corrected.

Fig. 1

eine Draufsicht eines 10-poligen Kontaktkammes mit seinen Kontaktstiften,

Fig. 2

die Seitenansicht des Kontaktkammes entsprechend der Schnittlinie II-II in Fig. 1,

Fig. 3

eine Draufsicht eines 10-poligen Federkammes mit seinen Kontaktfedern,

Fig. 4

die Seitenansicht des Federkammes entsprechend der Schnittlinie IV-IV in Fig. 3,

Fig. 5

die Draufsicht des Kontaktkammes und des Federkammes in ihrem Montagezustand,

Fig. 6

die Seitenansicht des 10-poligen Querverbinders entsprechend der Schnittlinie VI-VI in Fig. 5,

Fig. 7

die Darstellung des Querverbinders gemäß Fig. 6 und daran fixiertem Isoliermantel,

Fig. 8

die Darstellung einer 2-poligen Ausführungsform des Querverbinders gem. Fig. 7,

Fig. 9

die Seitenansicht des Querverbinders entsprechend der Schnittlinie IX-IX in Fig. 7,

Fig. 10

die Darstellung des Querverbinders gemäß Fig. 7, jedoch mit verlängerten Polen zur potentialgleichen Verbindung zweier Stromschienen derselben Anschlußklemme,

Fig. 11

die Darstellung einer einpoligen Ausführungsform des Querverbinders gemäß Fig. 10,

Fig. 12

die Seitenansicht des Querverbinders entsprechend der Schnittlinie XII-XII in Fig. 10.

The subject matter of the invention is explained in more detail with reference to the exemplary embodiments shown in the figures. Show it:

Fig. 1

a top view of a 10-pin contact comb with its contact pins,

Fig. 2

the side view of the contact comb according to the section line II-II in Fig. 1,

Fig. 3

a top view of a 10-pin spring comb with its contact springs,

Fig. 4

the side view of the spring comb according to the section line IV-IV in Fig. 3,

Fig. 5

the top view of the contact comb and the spring comb in their assembled state,

Fig. 6

the side view of the 10-pin cross connector according to the section line VI-VI in Fig. 5,

Fig. 7

6 and the insulating jacket fixed thereon,

Fig. 8

the representation of a 2-pin embodiment of the cross connector acc. Fig. 7,

Fig. 9

the side view of the cross connector according to section line IX-IX in Fig. 7,

Fig. 10

7, but with extended poles for the equipotential connection of two busbars of the same connection terminal,

Fig. 11

the representation of a single-pole embodiment of the cross connector according to FIG. 10,

Fig. 12

the side view of the cross connector according to the section line XII-XII in Fig. 10th

In Fig. 1, a contact comb 1 is shown as part of a cross connector 2. The contact comb 1 with its comb-like cross-sectional shape is electrically conductive and e.g. punched out of a metal plate. A total of ten identical contact pins 3 are arranged on the contact comb 1. They form the comb teeth of the contact comb 1 and are lined up in a row direction 4 at a uniform distance from one another. The contact pins 3 are aligned in a pin longitudinal direction 5 arranged at right angles to the row direction 4. Along this direction, the cross connector 2 is inserted into the busbars of the terminals (not shown in the figures) or withdrawn from the busbars.

The contact pins 3 are connected in one piece to a cross bar 6 running in the row direction 4. A total of ten fixing pins 7 are integrally formed on the cross bar 6. They are arranged in the row direction 4. The center point of the fixing pin 7, which is circular in cross section, lies on the imaginary extension of a pin symmetry axis 8 running in the longitudinal direction 5 of the pin. The contact pin 3 is constructed symmetrically with respect to the pin symmetry axis 8.

In Fig. 2 it can be seen that the fixing pin 7 are formed by lifting out the material of the cross bar 6 in the depth direction 9. The depth direction 9 is arranged at right angles to the row direction 4 and to the pin longitudinal direction 5. 2 that the contact comb 1 is very flat in the depth direction 9 and lies essentially in a single plane, namely the comb plane. The ridge plane is spanned by the row direction 4 and the pin longitudinal direction 5.

The contact pin 3 has a predetermined breaking point. For this purpose, the contact pin 3 is recessed on both sides of its pin symmetry axis 8 by a pin groove 10. The pin grooves 10 are arranged approximately half the pin length of the contact pin 3. The detachable contact pins 3 at the predetermined breaking point ensure that the cross connector 2 reliably bridges those terminals that are within the selected row, but should not be switched to the electrical potential.

The flat plane of the contact pin 3 has two different widths along its pin length. The wider area directly adjoins the cross bar 6. The narrower region is arranged facing away from the transverse bar 6 in the longitudinal direction 5 of the pin and contains the free end of the contact pin 3. The wider and the narrower surface area of the contact pin 3 are connected to one another by two shoulder edges which run obliquely to the longitudinal direction of the pin 5. The heel edges act as limit stops 18. They limit the travel of the cross connector 2 while it is inserted into the busbars of the terminals and also enable the cross connector 2 to fit well on the busbars.

Analogous to contact comb 1, a spring comb 11 with a comb-like cross-sectional shape is shown in FIG. 3. The spring comb 11 is also very flat and is therefore essentially in a single plane. During assembly, the spring comb 11 is placed directly on the contact comb 1 (FIG. 6). The comb plane of the spring comb 11 is therefore also spanned by the row direction 4 and the pin longitudinal direction 5.

The spring comb 11 consists of a spring clip 12 running in the row direction 4 and contact springs 13 integrally formed thereon. The spring comb 11 has a total of ten contact springs 13. They form the comb teeth of the spring comb 11 and are even in the row direction 4 Distance strung together. In the assembled state, a contact spring 13 is assigned to each contact pin 3.

The contact spring 13 has an approximately rectangular cross-sectional shape and extends in the longitudinal direction 5 of the pin approximately as far as the contact pin 3. The part which generates the spring force of the contact spring 13 is the surface area of the contact spring 13 which is arranged away from the spring clip 12 in the longitudinal direction 5 of the pin. This surface area is called the spring area 14 designated. 4 that the spring region 14 is designed in the manner of a leaf spring. The spring region 14 is delimited in the longitudinal direction 5 of the pin by a spring fixed end 15 adjoining the spring clip 12 and a spring free end 16. Between the spring-fixed end 15 and the spring-free end 16, the spring region 14 with a clamping contact point 17 is slightly bent out relative to the ridge plane of the spring ridge 11 and is therefore mechanically prestressed. The pretension generates a spring force in the depth direction 9. The clamping contact point 17 forms the surface area of the contact spring 13 which is in direct contact with the busbar as soon as the contact pin 3 is inserted into the busbar. With a suitable choice of material for the spring comb 11, the terminal contact point 17 can additionally serve for good electrical contacting on the busbar.

The spring clip 12 is pierced by ten fixing recesses 19. During the installation of the cross connector 2, each fixing pin 7 passes through a fixing recess 19 assigned to it. In this way, the fixing recesses 19 serve as an assembly aid when the spring comb 11 is placed on the contact comb 1. After the spring comb 11 is placed on the contact comb 1, the fixing pins 7 are caulked . This creates a mechanically stable attachment between the contact comb 1 and the spring comb 11.

The combs 1, 11 connected in this way are shown in FIGS. 5 and 6.

In a further exemplary embodiment, which is not shown here, the blank of the cross connector 2 is produced in a fully automatic production by the application and fastening of individual contact springs 13. A cross connector 2 manufactured in this way differs from the exemplary embodiment according to FIG. 5 only in the absence of the spring clip 12.

The spring comb 11 in FIGS. 5 and 6 lies approximately plane-parallel and congruent with the contact comb 1 directly. The two combs 1, 11 thus lie in the same plane spanned by the row direction 4 and the longitudinal direction 5 of the pin. The spring fixed end 15 of the contact spring 13 is arranged approximately in the region of the pin groove 10 of the contact pin 3. The spring free end 16 of the contact spring 13 abuts the free end of the contact pin 3 aligned in the longitudinal direction 5 of the pin. Due to the mechanical prestressing of the spring area 14, there is a small air gap between the contact pin 3 and the contact area 17. The cross-sectional profile of the spring region 14 facilitates the insertion of the contact pin 3 into a correspondingly shaped slot in the busbar and at the same time ensures good contact of the contact pin 3 with the busbar.

In FIG. 7, the combs 1, 11 which are connected to one another are surrounded by an insulating jacket 20 in a form-fitting or material-locking manner. It protrudes slightly in the row direction 4 from the contact comb 1. In the longitudinal direction 5 of the pin, the insulating jacket 20 also protrudes from the contact comb 1. In this protruding area, the insulating jacket 20 is broken by a total of ten identical jacket slots 21. They have a rectangular cross-sectional shape with a longitudinal edge running in the row direction 4. They are lined up at the same distance in the row direction 4. Each jacket slot 21 is assigned a contact pin 3.

The insulating jacket 20 also surrounds the surface areas of the contact pins 3 or the contact springs 13 which are adjacent to the cross bar 6 or the spring clip 12. However, the insulating jacket 20 extends in the longitudinal direction 5 of the pin only to such an extent that the pin grooves 10 are not surrounded by the insulating jacket 20. The pin grooves 10 must remain free so that the contact pin 3 in question can be severed at this predetermined breaking point if necessary. The cross-sectional shape of the insulating jacket 20 is also comb-like. Its comb teeth surround the aforementioned surface areas of the contact pins 3 and the contact springs 13.

While a 10-pin embodiment of the cross connector 2 is shown in FIGS. 1 to 7, a 2-pin embodiment of the cross connector 2 with two contact pins 3 can be seen in FIG. 8. The two combs 1, 11 are accordingly U-shaped. The insulating jacket 20 in FIG. 8 has a plurality of grip grooves 22 running in the row direction in the area between its jacket slot 21 and its two comb teeth.

The two combs 1, 11 according to FIGS. 1 to 9 can each be produced in one piece with any number of poles. Accordingly, the cross connector 2 in other embodiments has n contact pins 3, where 2 ≦ n <∞.

10 shows a further 10-pin embodiment of the cross connector 2. This cross connector 2 differs from the exemplary embodiment according to FIG. 7 only in the case of contact pins 3 which are elongated in the longitudinal direction 5 of the pin and correspondingly elongated contact springs 13. In the longitudinal direction of the pin 5, each contact spring 13 has two clamping contact points 17. Accordingly, the contact spring 13 contains two spring regions 14 lined up in the longitudinal direction 5 of the pin (FIG. 12). Such a cross connector 2 is used for the equipotential connection of two busbars of the same terminal block, e.g. a tier terminal block. The two busbars are arranged one above the other in the manner of a tier in the longitudinal direction 5 of the pin. In this way, the individual poles of the cross connector 2 in accordance with FIGS. 10 to 12 each contact two busbars as soon as the cross connector 2 is inserted into the multi-level terminal blocks.

In the case of the construction of the individual poles of the cross connector 2 according to FIG. 10 consisting of contact pin 3 and contact spring 13, the use of a 1-pole embodiment of the cross connector 2 according to FIG. 11 also makes sense. In its inserted state, this cross connector 2 makes a total of two conductor rails of the same terminal, as explained above.

In further exemplary embodiments, which are not shown here, the individual poles of the cross connector 2 are further extended in the longitudinal direction 5 of the pin and accordingly have more than two terminal contact points 17. Such a cross connector 2 is correspondingly suitable for use in multi-level terminal blocks with more than two busbars.

Reference list

1

Contact comb

2nd

Cross connector

3rd

Contact pin

4th

Row direction

5

Pen longitudinal direction

6

Cross bar

7

Fixing pin

8th

Axis of symmetry

9

Depth direction

10th

Pin groove

11

Feather comb

12th

Spring clip

13

Contact spring

14

Spring area

15

Spring-loaded

16

Spring free

17th

Terminal contact point

18th

Limit stop

19th

Fixing recess

20th

Insulating jacket

21

Jacket slit

22

Grip groove

Claims (15)

Single-pole or multi-pole cross connector (2) for the releasable electrical contacting of busbars of one or more connecting and / or connecting terminals, in particular modular terminals, where each pole can be inserted into a terminal and for this purpose - A contact pin (3) for contacting insertion and - A contact spring (13) for a clamping contact of the contact pin (3), characterized,
that the contact pin (3) and the contact spring (13) lie in the assembled state approximately plane-parallel to each other. Multipole cross connector according to claim 1,
characterized,
that the contact pins (3) are strung together like a comb on a metallic cross bar (6) and together with the cross bar (6) form a contact comb (1). Cross connector according to claim 1 or 2,
marked by
caulking as an attachment. Cross connector according to one of claims 1 to 3,
characterized,
that the contact spring (13) with a spring-fixed end (15) on the contact pin (3) or on the cross bar (6) of the contact comb (1) is attached. Cross connector according to one of claims 2 to 4,
characterized,
that the contact springs (13) at their spring fixed ends (15) by a spring clip (12) are connected to each other and thereby form the comb teeth of a spring comb (11). Cross connector according to claim 5,
characterized,
that the spring comb (11) is made in one piece. Cross connector according to claim 5 or 6,
characterized,
that the entire spring comb (11) and the contact comb (1) rest in the plane of the comb spanned by the longitudinal direction of the pin (5) and the row (4) of the contact pins (3) approximately plane-parallel. Cross connector according to one or more of the preceding claims,
characterized,
that the contact spring (13) lies approximately congruently on the contact pin (3). Cross connector according to one of claims 5 to 8,
characterized,
that the entire spring comb (11) lies approximately congruently on the contact comb (1). Cross connector according to one or more of the preceding claims,
characterized,
that the contact spring (13) is a leaf spring, which - With a spring-free end (15) in the longitudinal direction (5) opposite spring free end (16) on the contact pin (3) and - Between spring free end (16) and spring fixed end (15) to form a terminal contact point (17) is biased approximately at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the contact pin (3). Cross connector according to claim 10,
characterized,
that the contact spring (13) has a plurality of clamping contact points (17) spaced apart in the longitudinal direction of the pin (5). Cross connector according to one or more of the preceding claims,
characterized, - That all contact pins (3) and contact springs (13) of the cross connector are surrounded together by an insulating jacket (20) and - That the contact pins (3) protrude the insulating jacket (20) in the longitudinal direction of the pin (5) at least with their pin area which can be inserted into the terminal. Cross connector according to claim 12,
characterized,
that a plurality of gripping grooves (22) extending in the row direction (4) are arranged on at least one of the two outer surfaces of the insulating jacket (20) lying in the comb plane. Cross connector according to claim 12 or 13,
characterized,
that the insulating jacket (20) is broken through perpendicular to the comb plane by at least one jacket slot (21). Cross connector according to claim 14,
characterized,
that each contact pin (3) is assigned a jacket slot (21).

Images