Electrical connector with clamping elements with curved sectors

Abstract

 The invention relates to the electrical connectors formed by two bodies, each of which includes some clam­ping elements that clamp the main conductor and the de­rived conductor and connect them electrically each other. The elements of a body are metallic for the electrical connection, while the elements of the other body are made of an insulating material.
According to the characteristic part of the inven­tion, at least one of these elements is formed by a pair of sectors, with proper curving within which is set a conductor, so that the latter is clamped between the pair of sectors of one body and the corresponding element of the other body consequent to the pressure of one body against the other.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to those electrical connectors of the type with two bodies provided with clamping elements fit to clamp the main conductor and the secondary conductor to electrically connect one to the other. Such connectors are usually used as shunt, junction or terminal elements for insulated or naked multiple or single-wired conductors.

[0002] Some connectors are known, a body of which is provi­ded with a first and a second series of teeth or metal­lic top lands electrically connected among them. To the above described body another body is clamped, by suita­ble means, provided with insulated elements, for exam­ple plastic material, in such a way that a main conduc­tor is laid down between the first series of teeth and the insulated elements of the second body and so like­wise the derived conductor is laid down between the first body second series of teeth and the further in­sulated elements provided on the second body. Obviously the second body insulating elements are set in proper position, in such a way that when the second body is clamped on the first, such insulated elements come to set out in correspondence with the first and the second series of metallic teeth respectively. By virtue of said electrical connections between the first and the second series of teeth, the electric current of the main input conductor into connector is transmitted to the derived conductor.

[0003] These prior art connectors, however, present the disadvantage that, when clamping the two bodies one against the other, the interposed conductors, both na­ked and insulated, suffer a damaging, this being due to the insertion of said teeth into the very conductors and / or their insulation.

[0004] Purpose of the present invention is that of elimina­ting the above said inconvenience providing some clam­ping elements of the conductors that shall show the following advantages:
- would allow the application of any clamping effort without the conductors both naked and insulated shall suffer damagings, keeping a resistance to tensile stress very close to their rated ultimate tensile strength;
- could be used for conductors having different sec­tions, ensuring a perfect self-centering; -shall be constructively economic and shouldn't re­quire servicing interventions.

[0005] The purpose and the above listed advantages are obtained by the application to the electrical connec­tors of clamping elements, each formed by a pair of properly curved sectors into which are placed the con­ ductors, without these being damaged when the connector bodies are clamped one against the other.

[0006] Further features and advantages will result evident from the following detailed description of a preferred but not exclusive form of the invention illustrated for a merely exemplifying purpose and not limitating of the enclosed figures where:

FIGURE 1 represents the front view of a connector with the subject pairs of curved sectors;

FIGURE 2 represents a plan view of the connector lower body of Fig. 1;

FIGURE 3 represents in enlarged scale a pair of such sectors;

FIGURE 4 represents the section along the line IV-IV of the detail of Fig.3; and

FIGURE 5 represents in section a variant made up by two parallel pairs of sectors.

[0007] In Figg. 1 and 2, is shown, as an example, an elec­trical connector formed by two bodies 1 and 2, provi­ded respectively with tongue 3 that goes to insert into slot 4 when the two bodies are mounted one against the other, clamping the main conductor 5 and the derived conductor 6 by means of clamping elements 7. Said bo­dies 1 and 2 are clamped one against the other by screwing the nut 8 on the screw 9 provided by the head 10 placed below the body 1. The screw 9 is through across a hole 11 made into bodies 1 and 2, as one can see in Fig. 2.

[0008] The conductors may be indifferently naked or insula­ted. For example in Fig.2 the conductors 5 and 6 are insulated by means of a sheath 12.

[0009] The elements 7 consist of the parts 13 and 15. The upper clamping 13 elements made of an insulating mate­rial being part of body 2 consist each of a pair of curved sectors 14 tapered blade-shaped on the side where they receive the conductors 5 and 6 as one can see in Figg.3 and 4. The lower metallic 15 clamping elements, for example of copper, aluminum or Zn + Al + Mg alloy, consist likewise of a pair of blade-shaped tapered curved 14 sectors that set opposed to the ele­ments 13 in a way such as to clamp to perforation the conductors between the pairs of curved 14 sectors re­spectively of parts 13 and 15.

[0010] The metallic elements 15 in contact respectively with the conductors 5 and 6 are electrically connected by the conductors 16, as illustrated in the Figg.1 and 2.

[0011] As a variant, only one of the elements 13 or 15 is formed by the curved sectors while the other may be formed in a traditional way. So, instead of only one pair of curved sectors, each element 13 or 15 can con­sist of two or more pairs of curved sectors brought closer or parallel among them.

[0012] Preferably, the elements made of plastic 13 material are machined enbloc with their own body 2 formed of plastic material by the die-casting technique. As above said, once the conductors 5 and 6 are mounted within the two bodies 1 and 2, the nut 8 is tightened by an usual spanner in such a way as to occur the tightening of the above said conductors 5 and 6 between the tigh­tening elements 7.

[0013] Said sectors 14 have a curving radius suitable to the various dimensions of the conductors and tapered in blades-shape for not damaging the conductors and for their perfect self-centering.

[0014] Finally each sector 14 both of metal and of insula­ting material, is slightly spaced from the adjacent sector by an entity 17, as one can see in Fig. 3.

[0015] Changes of practical and constructive nature may be brought to the invention without because of this going out of the range of the present invention as it is claimed below.

Claims

1. Electrical connector for the shunt or the junc­tion of a main conductor with a secondary conductor, said connector consisting of two bodies each of these including at least two clamping elements so that the elements of said bodies clamp the main conductor and the secondary conductor, said conductors being naked or insulated, the elements of a body being metallic for the electrical connection while the other body elements being of an insulating material, characterized by that at least one of said elements in a body is formed by a pair of sectors with suitable curving within which a conductor is placed so that the latter is clamped be­tween the pair of sectors of a body and the correspon­ding element of the other body consequent to the pres­sure of one body against the other.

2. Electrical connector according to Claim 1, char­acterized by that the curved sectors are blade-shaped tapered on the side where said sectors receive the con­ductors so that the latter are drilling clamped when one body is pressed against the other.

3. Electrical connector according to Claims 1 or 2 characteri­zed by that two or more pairs of curved sectors are provided, said pairs being got closer and parallel be­tween them.

4. Electrical connector according to the preceding claims characterized by that each sector is slightly spaced from the adjacent sector so that said adjacent sectors not joined among them form said pair of sec­tors.

Drawing