Rail mounting pushbutton locking terminal block - has conductor clamped between forked sprung prongs of button with insulation cutting knife edge and accepting different wire sizes

摘要

The terminal joins or connects together conducting wires irrespective of whether they are insulated or of the wire diameter. It consists of a conducting rail (15) fixed in an insulating body (13) with at least one locking spring (16) which is mounted in the body and holds the one locking spring (16) which is mounted in the body and holds the wire electrically and mechanically in contact with the rail. The spring takes the form of a push-button (26) which slides into the body and locks in the engaged position like a fork with the conductor held in the U-shaped gap between the prongs and the ends of the prongs (20) in contact with the rail. The connector is located by a guiding channel at either side of the spring. The insides of the prongs have symmetrically stepped sharpened edges which remove insulation and make contact with the conductors of different section. The prongs may be guided by their outer edges between elastic jaws in the conducting rail, and are curved to increase the locking force as the button is pushed further. The knife edged ends of the prongs cut the insulation, the insides clean the oxide layer of the wire by friction, and then make sharp edged contact as the button is locked in place. The connector is mountable on a supporting rail (14) and the push-button may be lockable in three positions to take account of three conductor sizes.