Patent Publication Number: US-2022220652-A1

Title: Dryer Terminal And Terminal Block Interface

Description:
FIELD 
     The present disclosure relates to dryer appliances, more particularly, to a dryer terminal block and terminal with an interlocking design. 
     BACKGROUND 
     In a dryer appliance, an electric terminal block is utilized to receive power wires. The terminal block is, in turn, secured to an appliance electrical system or the like. During the attachment of the wires, the terminals must be held in place so that a technician can secure the wires, via the terminals, to the terminal block. It is important during attachment of the terminals to the terminal blocks, that the terminal is steadied or locked in position during the assembly process. Thus, the terminal block and terminal assembly can be secured with the dryer electronics during the installation process. 
     Accordingly, it is desirable to hold the terminals, during installation of the wires onto the terminal block, against longitudinal movement, lateral movement as well as tipping or pitch movement. Thus, it is desirable to eliminate these three directional elements to enhance efficient and accurate assembly of the terminals with the terminal block. 
     Various types of assemblies exist to hold the terminals in the terminal block during the installation process. While these different types of assemblies appear to work satisfactory for their intended purposes, designers are striving to improve the art and provide new and useful designs. 
     The present disclosure provides the art with a terminal and terminal block locking interface that prohibits movement of the terminal in the block during installation of the terminal in the terminal block. The present disclosure eliminates longitudinal movement, lateral movement as well as up and down tipping or pitch movement of the terminal during the installation process. This enables an accurate and efficient attachment of the terminal in the terminal block as well as with the dryer electronics. 
     SUMMARY 
     This section provides a general summary of the disclosure, and is not a comprehensive disclosure of its full scope or all of its features. 
     It is an object of the present disclosure to provide a terminal block and a terminal that comprises a terminal block including a base with at least one terminal receiving area. The at least one tab receiving area, of which there are multiple, includes a floor and a pair of opposing sidewalls extending substantially perpendicular to the floor to define a channel. At least one tab projects from one of the pair of opposing walls and extends toward the other wall. The terminal includes a base with a wire connector portion at one end and a locking mechanism at the other end. The locking mechanism includes a portion to receive the at least one tab so that the tab is sandwiched by the locking mechanism locking the terminal in the terminal receiving area. 
     The locking mechanism portion includes a cutout to receive the at least one tab. The at least one tab is preferably a pair of tabs, one positioned on each of the opposing walls. Likewise, the terminal includes a pair of cutouts. The locking mechanism includes an angular portion angling away from the base. The angular portion include at least one arm to engage the at least one tab. The arm may include a detent to engage the at least one tab. 
     According to a second embodiment, a terminal block and a terminal comprises a terminal block including a base, with a terminal retention mechanism and at least one terminal receiving area. The at least one terminal receiving area includes a floor and a pair of opposing walls that extends substantially parallel to the floor to define a channel. At least one tab projects from one of the pair of opposing walls extending toward the other wall. A pair of terminal lock members are positioned on each wall of the pair of opposing walls. The pair of terminal lock members oppose one another and are spaced from the floor to provide a gap to receive the terminal. The terminal includes a base with a wire connector portion at one end and a locking mechanism at the other. The base includes a projecting finger adjacent to the wire connector portion. The projecting finger and pair of terminal lock members prevent longitudinal and lateral movement of the terminal in the channel of the terminal receiving area. The locking mechanism engages the at least one tab to prevent tipping or pitch movement of the terminal. The locking mechanism includes a portion engaging the tab to prevent pitch movement. The locking mechanism includes a cutout to receive the at least one tab. Preferably there are a pair of tabs as well as a pair of cutouts. The locking mechanism includes an angled portion angling away from the base. The angled portion includes at least one arm to engage the at least one tab. The arm may include a detent to engage the at least one tab. 
     According to a third embodiment of the present disclosure, a terminal block and terminal comprises a terminal block including a plurality of terminal receiving areas and at least one terminal. The plurality of terminal receiving areas each include a floor and a pair of opposing walls that extend substantially perpendicular to the floor to define a channel. A pair of tabs are positioned on the opposing walls and extend toward one other in the terminal receiving area. The terminal includes a base with a wire connector portion and a locking mechanism. The locking mechanism includes a portion engaging the tab to prevent pitch movement of the terminal. The locking mechanism includes a cutout to receive the pair of tabs. Preferably, there are a pair of cutouts. The locking mechanism includes an angled portion angling away from the base. The angled portion includes a pair of arms to engage the tabs. The arms may include a detent to engage the tab. 
     Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the description provided herein. The description and specific examples in this summary are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. 
    
    
     
       DRAWINGS 
       The drawings described herein are for illustrative purposes only of selected embodiments and not all possible implementations, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a terminal block as installed to a dryer. 
         FIG. 2  is a top plan view of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3A  is a cross-section view partially in perspective of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3B  is an enlarged view of  FIG. 3A . 
         FIG. 4  is an exploded view of  FIG. 3A . 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective enlarged view of a second embodiment of the disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Example embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
     Turning to the figures, a terminal block assembly is illustrated and designated with the reference numeral  10 . The terminal block assembly  10  includes a terminal block  12  and one or more terminals  14 . The terminal block  12  includes a retention member  16  that enables securement of the terminal block  12  to a support  18 . Generally, the retention member  16  includes an aperture  20  that receives a fastener (not shown) to pass through the terminal block  12  to retain it on the support  18 . 
     The terminal block base  12  includes at least one terminal receiving area  22 , three are illustrated in  FIG. 1 . The terminal receiving area  22  receives the terminal  14 . The terminal receiving area  22  includes a floor  24  with a pair of opposing sidewalls  26 . The pair of opposing sidewalls  26  are substantially perpendicular to the floor  24  and define a channel to receive the terminal  14 . 
     At the rear of the terminal receiving area  22 , a pair of terminal lock members  28  project from the walls  26 . Generally, the pair of lock members  28  oppose one another and are located over an aperture  30  in the terminal block  12 . 
     The floor  24  defines a recess  32  that receives a block  34  secured to the terminal  14 . A slot  36  is formed at the bottom of the recess  32  to enable a fastener  38  to pass through the terminal  14  and block  34  to secure with the terminal block  12 , as seen in  FIG. 3 . Also, the terminal block  12  includes a rear wall  42  that includes a cutout  44  to receive the wire securement portion  62  of the terminal  14 . The front of the terminal block receiving area  22  includes an opening  48  that enables positioning of the terminal  14  and sliding of the terminal  14  as will be described herein. 
     A pair of tabs  50  project from the sidewalls  26  of the terminal receiving area  22 . The tabs  50  can be of any desired configuration as illustrated having an overall rectangular design. The tabs  50  receive the electrical terminal  14  as will be described herein. Generally the tabs  50  include an angled or tapered surface  52  to enable easy insertion of the terminal  14  onto the tabs  50 . 
     The terminal  14  includes a base  60  with a wire connecting portion  62  and a locking mechanism  64 . The base  60  is generally planar and includes an aperture  66  to receive the fastener  38  to secure the terminal  14  to the terminal block  12 . The terminal  14  also includes a projecting finger  68  adjacent to the wire connector portion  62 . The finger  68  engages the floor wall to prohibit longitudinal sliding movement forward once the terminal  14  is in a to be connected position, as will be described later. 
     The locking mechanism  64  includes an angled portion  70  angling away from the base  60 . Generally, the angled portion  70  is perpendicular to the base  60 . The angled portion  70  secures the block  34  in position in the recess  32  to enable the fastener  38  to pass through the base  60  and block  34  and into the slot  36 . The angled portion  70  includes a pair of arms  72  that project outwardly towards the walls  26 . Thus, a cutout  74  is formed at the lateral sides of the angled portions  70 . The cutout  74  enables the tabs  50  to be received in the cutouts  74 . Thus, the arms  72  are positioned on the bottom of the tabs  50  while the base  60  includes a portion positioned on top of the tab  50 . Thus, as seen in  FIG. 3B , the tabs  50  are sandwiched between the base  60  and locking portion arms  72 . This prohibits up and down tipping or pitch movement of the terminal  14  once it is installed in the terminal block  12 . 
     Turning to  FIG. 5 , another embodiment illustrates the arm  72  with a detent  74 . The detent  74  registers with a recess  76  in the tabs  50  to position and lock the terminal  14  onto the tabs  50 . 
     During insulation, the terminal  14  is positioned in the terminal block  12  as illustrated on the right hand side of  FIG. 2 . The terminal  14  is slid rearwardly into the position illustrated on the left side of  FIG. 2 . As this this occurs, due to the gap between the lock members  28  and floor  24 , the terminal  14  slides underneath of the lock members  28  securing the terminal  14  against lateral sliding movement. Also, the finger  66  projects below the floor and will contact the wall of the floor to prohibit forward longitudinal sliding movement during assembly of the terminal  14  to the terminal block  12 . As the terminal  14  is slid towards the rear wall  42 , the arms  72  slide under the tabs  50  locking the front of the terminal  14  with the terminal block  12 . This prohibits the terminal  14  from moving up and down or in a pitch direction on the terminal block  12 . Thus, the terminal  14  is secured in the terminal block  12  against three degrees of movement. The fastener  38  is then passed through the apertures in the terminal  14  and block  34  until it is secured with the terminal block slot  36  as illustrated in  FIG. 3 . Thus, the terminals  14  are then securely positioned on the terminal block  12  to transfer the electrical power from the wires. 
     The foregoing description of the embodiments has been provided for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure. Individual elements or features of a particular embodiment are generally not limited to that particular embodiment, but, where applicable, are interchangeable and can be used in a selected embodiment, even if not specifically shown or described. The same may also be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the disclosure, and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the disclosure.