Terminal Assembly

(a). Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a new terminal assembly, in which a conductor clamp is molded integrally. The conductor clamp includes a fastening piece and a leaf spring, whereby a corresponding pin can be gripped in place tightly without being disengaged un-intentionally.

(b). Description of the Prior Art

Each of the conventional terminal structures as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, comprises a male member 10, a female member 20, a plurality of conductor pins 30 and 40, which are to be assembled together by means of fastening arms 50 and fastening holes 60 in the male and female members 10 and 20 respectively. Since both the male and female members are to be connected together by means of the fastening arms, the size of the whole terminal structure has to be increased so as to occupy a given space; in other words, no matter how many pins the terminal structure has, a given number of fastening arms must be provided, and therefore the structure of the terminal becomes quite complicated which causes a higher manufacturing cost. Moreover, once a male member and a female member are assembled together, they are unable to be disengaged unless the two fastening arms are removed simultaneously; in other words, it is rather difficult to assemble or disassemble.

Further, after a pin is inserted into a pin hole, the pin will be held in place by means of a gripping leaf conductor inside the pin hole; however, the gripping leaf conductor is merely a leaf spring serving as a conductive means, and it has little gripping force to insure a complete conduction; therefore, complete conduction can only be obtained by means of the connection of the male and female members.

The prime object of the present invention is to provide a new terminal assembly which can be surely and simply connected and which cannot be disengaged un-intentionally; the fastening clamp in the assembly has been improved on a logical basis, i.e., a corresponding pin can be inserted in place to provide a sure connection without being disengaged un-intentionally for the purpose of providing a better quality control.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a new terminal assembly, in which the male and female members have been inproved, so as to have a better fastening by means of a conductor clamp, i.e., there are no fastening arms furnished in the male and female members. Therefore, the size of the terminal assembly can be reduced considerably, and the structure of the same can also be simplified so as to reduce the manufacturing cost, and the storage space therefore is also reduced.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a new terminal assembly, in which the conductor clamp includes a fastening piece and a leaf spring to provide a better gripping result. The fastening piece may be pushed backwards to insert or release a pin therefrom. In other words, the fastening piece can provide fast and easy assembling and disassembling operations.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional terminal assembly.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of another conventional terminal assembly.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of still another conventional terminal assembly.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an embodiment according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the conductor clamp of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the conductor clamp of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the conductor clamp, showing a corresponding pin being inserted in the conductor clamp according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view of a conductor clamp and a corresponding pin connected together.

Referring to FIGS. 4-8, the new terminal assembly according to the present invention comprises a male member 1 with a plurality of corresponding pins 3 and a female member with corresponding holes 4. In each of the corresponding holes 4, there are a wire 51 and a conductor clamp 6. As shown in FIG. 5, the conductor clamp 6 to connected to the wire is substantially a frame member 61 formed by means of a punching machine. The rear end of the conductor clamp has a wire clamp 62 and an insulating clamp 63. The top of the frame member 61 has an opening 64, the bottom of the frame member has a fastening piece 65 with a through hole 651, and the fastening piece 65 is raised at a suitable angle so as to project through the opening 64. The bent part of the fastening piece 65 has a curved portion 652 to provide the fastening piece 65 with a suitable resiliency. The bottom of the frame member 61 is furnished with a leaf spring 66 by means of a punching machine. The leaf spring 66 is set at a suitable elevation angle, and the front end thereof has a bent part 661. The leaf spring 66 has indented portion 662 formed by means of punching so as to increase the lifting force thereof. The wire clamp 62 and the insulation clamp 63 at the rear end of the conductor clamp 6 are for fastening a wire 5 and a wire insulating part 51 in place. The rear end of the frame member 61 has a stop leaf spring 67, which is to be mated with a check hole 21 in the female member 2 for correct positioning.

The fastening piece 65 is placed in the opening 64 of the frame member 61 in such a manner that one part of the through hole 651 of the fastening piece 65 is above the top surface of the frame member 61, while the lower part of the through hole 651 is under the top surface of the frame member 61, and the lower part of the through hole has a size that is slightly less than the diameter of a corresponding pin 3 so as to cause the fastening piece 65 to be pushed in a given distance (as shown in FIG. 7) upon a corresponding pin 3 being inserted into the frame member 61; in such case, the leaf spring 66 is pressed downwards slightly to provide a pushing up force for better electric connection. Since the fastening piece 65 has an inertia resiliency which enables it to recover its original shape, it can tightly grip the corresponding pin 3 in place (as shown in FIG. 8).

To pull the corresponding pin 3 out of the conductor clamp, the fastening piece 65 is simply pushed backwards to release the pin 3 from the through hole 651 smoothly. In other words, the present invention is easy to assemble and disassemble.