WIRING ASSEMBLY FOR ELECTRICAL COMPONENT AND CORRESPONDING ELECTRICAL COMPONENT

Abstract

 Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a wiring assembly for an electrical component and corresponding electrical components. The wiring assembly comprises a current-carrying component for conducting current and comprising a through hole formed thereon; a resilient terminal arranged on the current-carrying component and comprising a resilient component capable of clamping a first wire between the resilient component and the current-carrying component by resilient deformation thereof; and a screw terminal comprising a screw rotatably arranged in the through hole and a clamping portion coupled to the screw, the clamping portion being operable to, in response to rotation of the screw, move toward or away from the current-carrying component to clamp or loosen a second wire between the clamping portion and the current-carrying component. The wiring assembly described herein is more compact in structure, less costly and widely-used and more reliable in terms of wire connections.

Description

FIELD

[0001] Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to wiring assemblies, and more specifically, to wiring assemblies for electrical components.

BACKGROUND

[0002] Conventional electrical components, such as wall switches, wall sockets, electrical switches, electrical sockets, etc., can work only when connected to wires such as null lines or live lines embedded in the wall. Wires are typically fixed to terminals of the wiring assemblies for electrical components. The terminals are usually arranged on current-carrying components. Conventional wires have types of a multi-core wire and a single-core wire and the like. Various types of wires are usually fixed to different terminals depending on their rigidity or other properties. For example, multi-core wires are usually fixed by means of screw extrusion due to low rigidity while single-core wires are usually fixed by means of resilient snapping due to the relatively higher rigidity.

SUMMARY

[0003] Some wires, especially multi-core wires, are usually fixed to terminals by means of screw extrusion due to their low rigidity. However, the conventional approach of screw extrusion is typically to screw the screw into a chamber located on the current-carrying component. Specifically, this can be achieved by screwing the screw to squeeze the wire onto the chamber wall using the screw ends. However, this results in a larger volume of the terminals due to the presence of the chamber, which also results in the wiring assembly in larger size and therefore requires the wiring assembly to be in a specific position to fix the wire. This further makes the layout of the components in the electrical components unreasonable.

[0004] In order to at least partially address the above and other potential problems, embodiments of the present disclosure provide wiring assemblies for electrical components and corresponding electrical components such as to achieve compact wiring assemblies and electrical components in a reasonable layout.

[0005] In a first aspect of the present application, a wiring assembly for an electrical component is provided. The wiring assembly comprises a current-carrying component for conducting current and comprising a through hole formed thereon; a resilient terminal arranged on the current-carrying component and comprising a resilient component, the resilient component being capable of clamping a first wire between the resilient component and the current-carrying component by resilient deformation thereof; and a screw terminal comprising a screw rotatably arranged in the through hole and a clamping portion coupled to the screw, the clamping portion being operable to, in response to rotation of the screw, move toward or away from the current-carrying component to clamp or loosen a second wire between the clamping portion and the current-carrying component.

[0006] According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the wire can be clamped by a cooperation of the screw with the clamping portion without providing a chamber for the engagement of the screw on the current-carrying component. This design allows the screw terminal to be placed in any suitable position of the current-carrying component without considering how to set the chamber which requires a large space. This allows the wiring assembly to be more compact in size, which in turn makes the electrical component layout more reasonable.

[0007] In some embodiments, the wiring assembly further comprises a housing for receiving the current-carrying component, the resilient terminal, and the screw terminal; and a wire hole formed on the housing for the first wire and the second wire to pass through. With the above design, the structure of the housing that receives the above components can be made more compact and reasonable. Each wire can be inserted in a separate wiring hole to ensure that each wire can be wired in a stable manner.

[0008] In some embodiments, the wiring assembly further comprises a limiting portion formed within the housing for receiving the clamping portion to prevent the clamping portion from rotating. The limiting portion only needs to limit the rotation of the clamping portion without taking up too much space. Thus, the wiring assembly can be placed in any suitable location within the housing such that the layout within the housing can be more reasonable.

[0009] In some embodiments, the wiring assembly further comprises an unlocking member pivotally arranged on the housing and comprising an actuation portion abutting the resilient component, and the resilient component being operable to, in response to the unlocking member being pressed, resiliently deform the resilient component. By providing the unlocking member, it is only necessary to press the unlocking member to elastically deform the resilient component, thereby making the installation and removal of the wire easier and labor-saving. This also enables the resilient terminal to clamp multi-core wires.

[0010] In some embodiments, the clamping portion is a square nut. Taking the square nut in standard size as the clamping portion can further reduce the cost of the wiring assembly.

[0011] In some embodiments, the resilient terminal further comprises: a mounting portion arranged on the current-carrying component, and an end portion of the mounting portion is bent toward the current-carrying component and coupled to the current-carrying component to form a cavity for receiving the resilient component. In this way, the resilient component is limited in the cavity, preventing the occurrence of instability such as displacement due to excessive deformation.

[0012] In some embodiments, the current-carrying component is integrally formed. In this way, the structural strength of the current-carrying component is higher and the electric resistance is reduced to prevent overheating.

[0013] In some embodiments, the resilient component is a resilient sheet which is integrally-formed. Since the resilient component can be formed only by stamping or the like, on the one hand, the processing and assembly cost of the resilient component can be reduced, on the other hand, the strength of the resilient component can also be increased.

[0014] In a second aspect of the present application, an electrical component comprising the above wiring assemblies is provided. With the wiring assembly according to embodiments of the present disclosure, the overall layout of the electrical components can be made more reasonable.

[0015] In some embodiments, the electrical component is a switch or a socket.

[0016] Further features of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following description of exemplary embodiments. It is to be understood that the scope of the present disclosure is not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will be readily understood by the following description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] Through the following detailed description of example embodiments of the present disclosure with reference to the accompanying drawings, the above and other objectives, features, and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent. In the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, the same reference signs generally refer to the same components.

FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of a wiring assembly in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 illustrates an exploded view of a wiring assembly in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 illustrates a perspective view of a wiring assembly comprising a housing in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure, wherein the housing is cut away from a section for ease of display; and

FIG. 4 illustrates a perspective view of a wiring assembly comprising a housing viewed from another angle according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0018] Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference signs are used to refer to the same or similar elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

[0019] Example embodiments disclosed herein will now be described with reference to various example embodiments. It should be appreciated that description of those embodiments is merely to enable those skilled in the art to better understand and further implement example embodiments disclosed herein and is not intended for limiting the scope disclosed herein in any manner.

[0020] As used herein, the term "comprises" and its variants are to be read as open-ended terms that mean "comprises, but is not limited to." The term "based on" is to be read as "based at least in part on." The term "one example embodiment" and "an example embodiment" are to be read as "at least one example embodiment." The term "another embodiment" is to be read as "at least one other embodiment." The terms "first", "second" and the like may refer to different or identical objects. Other explicit and implicit definitions may be included below. Unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the definition of a term is consistent throughout the specification.

[0021] Conventional electrical components such as switches or sockets typically have wiring assemblies. In order to meet the various wiring needs of multi-core wires and single-core wires, the wiring assembly typically comprises a resilient terminal and a screw terminal. However, screw terminals currently have larger chambers. The screw is screwed into the chamber to fix the wire by abutting the wire against a wall of the chamber. In this way, the screw terminals need to occupy a large space, so that the screw terminals and even the wiring assemblies need to be disposed in a position with a large space. This leads to unreasonable layout of the wiring terminals in the electrical components in some cases.

[0022] Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a wiring assembly 100 for an electrical component 200 to address or at least partially address the above problems of conventional wiring assemblies. Some example embodiments will now be described with reference to FIGS. 1-4.

[0023] In general, the wiring assembly 100 for the electrical component 200 disclosed herein comprises a current-carrying component 101, a resilient terminal 102, and a screw terminal 103. The current-carrying component 101 is used to connect the terminals to conduct current. A through hole 1011 is formed on the current-carrying component 101, as shown in FIG. 2. In order to meet different needs, the current-carrying component 101 can be of various appropriate shapes depending on the types of the electrical component 200 and the needs of the internal space arrangement. For example, in some embodiments, the current-carrying component 101 may have a plurality of bending portions and protrusion portions. In some alternative embodiments, the current-carrying component 101 may have a socket contact for contacting a plug.

[0024] The resilient terminal 102 is arranged on the current-carrying component 101 and comprises a resilient component 1021. The resilient component 1021 can be elastically deformed by a force applied thereto. The force may be provided by a wire to be inserted, that is, when a wire such as a single-core wire is used to abut the resilient component 1021, the resilient component 1021 can be elastically deformed so that the wire (referred to as the first wire 201 for ease of discussion) can be inserted between the resilient component 1021 and the current-carrying component 101. Of course, the force may also be provided by other components, which will be discussed further below.

[0025] The resilient terminal 102 may have a structure that prevents the inserted first wire 201 from being accidentally pulled out. For example, the resilient terminal 102 may be inclined toward the direction S in which the first wire 201 is inserted. On the one hand, this structure allows the first wire 201 to be conveniently inserted between the resilient terminal 102 and the current-carrying component 101. On the other hand, when the inserted first wire 201 is pulled in the opposite direction to the direction S, due to friction, the resilient component 1021 cannot be deformed away from the current-carrying component 101 by the first wire 201, but is slightly deformed and further close to the current-carrying component 101. This causes the first wire 201 to be clamped tighter. Therefore, this can prevent the inserted first wire 201 from being accidentally pulled out.

[0026] Unlike the design of a conventional wiring assembly, the screw terminal 103 in the wiring assembly according to embodiments of the present disclosure comprises a screw 1031 and a clamping portion 1032 that cooperates with the screw 1031. It can be seen that the screw terminal 103 according to the embodiments of the present disclosure no longer requires a chamber occupying a large space and the wire can be reliably clamped only by cooperating the screw 1031 with the clamping portion 1032. The screw 1031 is rotatably disposed in the through hole 1011 of the current-carrying component 101 as shown in FIG. 3. By screwing the screw 1031 to rotate the screw 1031, the clamping portion 1032 can be moved toward or away from the current-carrying component 101 to clamp or loosen the wire arranged between the clamping portion 1032 and the current-carrying component 101 (referred to as the second wire 202 for ease of discussion).

[0027] According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the screw terminal 103 no longer needs a chamber occupying a large space. This allows the wiring assembly 100 to be placed in any suitable position, thereby resulting in a more reasonable internal layout of the wiring assembly 100 and even of the entire electrical component 200. Further, since the chamber and the structure forming the chamber are omitted, the screw terminal 103 according to embodiments of the present disclosure can further reduce the cost. Compared with the conventional approach to fix the wire by abutting the wire using the screw end, the approach to fix the wire using the clamping portion 1032 increases the contact area of the second wire 202 with the current-carrying component 101, thereby improving the electrical connection performance. In some embodiments, to further reduce cost, the clamping portion 1032 can employ a square nut of a standard size. In some other alternative embodiments, the clamping portion 1032 may also take any other suitable configurations capable of performing the functions described above.

[0028] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 3, the current-carrying component 101, the resilient terminal 102, and the screw terminal 103 described above are all housed in the housing 104. Separate wire holes 105 are provided on the housing 104 corresponding to wire insertion openings of the resilient terminal 102 and the screw terminal 103. Each wire is inserted through a separate wire hole 105, which allows each wire to be reliably connected.

[0029] As shown in FIG. 3, in some embodiments, a limiting portion 106 is provided within the housing 104 for receiving the clamping portion 1032. The clamping portion 1032 can limit the rotation of the clamping portion 1032 received therein such that when the screw 1031 is rotated, the clamping portion 1032 only can be moved toward or away from the current-carrying component 101 without being rotated.

[0030] Of course, it is understood that such an approach to provide the limiting portion 106 is merely an embodiment where the rotation of the clamping portion 1032 is limited, which is merely for illustration without suggesting any limitations as to the scope of the disclosure. Any other suitable structures or arrangements that allow the clamping portion 1032 to move only toward or away from the current-carrying component 101 are possible. For example, in some alternative embodiments, the above object may also be achieved by providing a guide post on the current-carrying component 101 or the housing 104 to pass through a guide hole set in the circumferential direction of the clamping portion 1032.

[0031] As mentioned above, the resilient component 1021 may also be deformed by the force provided by other members to insert or pull the first wire 201. For example, in some embodiments, the wiring assembly 100 may also comprise an unlocking component 108, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. The unlocking component 108 is pivotally arranged at a suitable location of the housing 104 and has an actuation portion 1081 adjacent to the resilient component 1021. The unlocking member 108 may also have a button portion to be pressed easily from outside of the housing 104. By pressing the button portion, the actuation portion 1081 can be deformed toward the direction in which the resilient component 1021 is away from the current-carrying component 101. This deformation allows the first wire 201 to be inserted into or pulled out of the space between the resilient component 1021 and the current-carrying component 101 with less labor. This allows the first wire 201 to be a multi-core wire having less rigidity. With the unlocking component 108, the force to deform the resilient component 1021 no longer requires the first wire 201 to provide. This further expands the range of application of the resilient terminal 102 and even the wiring assembly 100.

[0032] In some embodiments, in order to attach the resilient terminal 102 more stably to the current-carrying component 101, the wiring assembly 100 may further comprise a mounting portion 107 arranged on the current-carrying component 101. Both ends of the mounting portion 107 are bent toward the current-carrying component 101 and coupled to the current-carrying component 101 so as to form a cavity that accommodates the resilient component 1021. The resilient component 1021 can be arbitrarily deformed in the cavity without being displaced or falling off. The mounting portion 107 can be integrally formed by stamping or the like. This reduces the processing cost and assembly cost and increases the strength of the resilient terminal 102.

[0033] Similarly, in some embodiments, the current-carrying component 101 and the resilient component 1021 are also integrally formed. For example, in some embodiments, the resilient component 1021 may be a resilient sheet that is integrally formed. On the one hand, the resilient sheet that is integrally formed reduces the processing and assembly costs of the resilient components of the current-carrying component 101. On the other hand, the strength of the resilient component 1021 and the current transmission capability of the current-carrying component 101 can be improved. Of course, it is understood that the current-carrying component 101 and the resilient component 1021 may also be formed in any other suitable manner. For example, in some embodiments, the current-carrying component 101 and the resilient component 1021 may also be assembled separately.

[0034] As can be seen from the above description, the wiring assembly 100 according to embodiments of the present disclosure can be more compact, and thus can be disposed at any suitable position of the electrical component 200 such as a switch or a socket. This makes the spatial layout of the electrical component 200 more reasonable. Further, by providing the unlocking member 108 adjacent to the resilient terminal 102, the first wire 201 is allowed to be inserted into or removed from the resilient terminal 102 with less labor. This enables the multi-core wire to be clamped into the resilient terminal 102, expanding the range of application of the resilient terminal 102. In addition, the housing 104 has separate wire holes 105 for each wire, which ensures reliable wiring for each wire.

[0035] It should be understood that the above detailed embodiments of the present disclosure are merely intended to illustrate or explain the principles of the present disclosure rather than to limit the disclosure. Therefore, any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements and the like made within the spirit and scope of the present invention are intended to be included within the scope of the present utility. In the meantime, the appended claims are intended to cover all changes and modifications falling within scope or border of the claims or equivalents of the scope and border.

Claims

1. A wiring assembly (100) for an electrical component comprising:

a current-carrying component (101) for conducting current and comprising a through hole (1011) formed thereon;

a resilient terminal (102) arranged on the current-carrying component (101) and comprising a resilient component (1021), the resilient component (1021) being capable of clamping a first wire (201) between the resilient component (1021) and the current-carrying component (101) by resilient deformation thereof; and

a screw terminal (103) comprising a screw (1031) rotatably arranged in the through hole (1011) and a clamping portion (1032) coupled to the screw (1031), the clamping portion (1032) being operable to, in response to a rotation of the screw (1031), move toward or away from the current-carrying component (101) to clamp or loosen a second wire (202) between the clamping portion (1032) and the current-carrying component (101).

2. The wiring assembly (100) of Claim 1, further comprising:

a housing (104) for receiving the current-carrying component (101), the resilient terminal (102) and the screw terminal (103);and

a wire hole (105) formed on the housing (104) for the first wire (201) and the second wire (202) to pass through.

3. The wiring assembly (100) of Claim 2, further comprising:
a limiting portion (106) formed within the housing (104) for receiving the clamping portion (1032) to prevent the clamping portion (1032) from rotating.

4. The wiring assembly (100) of Claim 2 or 3, further comprising:
an unlocking member (108) pivotally arranged on the housing (104) and comprising an actuation portion (1081) abutting the resilient component (1021), the resilient component (1021) being operable to, in response to the unlocking member (108) being pressed, resiliently deform the resilient component (1021).

5. The wiring assembly (100) of any of Claims 1 - 4, wherein the clamping portion (1032) is a square nut.

6. The wiring assembly (100) of any of Claims 1 - 5, wherein the resilient terminal (102) further comprises: a mounting portion (107) arranged on the current-carrying component (101), and an end portion (1071) of the mounting portion (107) is bent toward the current-carrying component (101) and coupled to the current-carrying component (101) to form a cavity for receiving the resilient component (1021).

7. The wiring assembly (100) of any of Claims 1 - 6, wherein the current-carrying component (101) is integrally formed.

8. The wiring assembly (100) of any of Claims 1 - 7, wherein the resilient component (1021) is a resilient sheet which is integrally formed.

9. An electrical component (200) comprising a wiring assembly (100) of any of Claims 1-8.

10. The electrical component (200) of Claim 9, wherein the electrical component (200) is a switch or a socket.

Drawing