Patent Application
20240297466
The present invention relates to a contacting element, which is used to connect a luminaire or an electrical unit to a mounting rail. In particular, the contacting element is provided to connect luminaires or electrical units to mounting rails having a mounting rail profile with at least one busbar, arranged therein, with electrically contactable conductors, wherein the contacting clement has a plurality of connecting contacts which are adjustable in order to be able to make a selection of the conductors to be contacted of the busbar(s).
Mounting rail systems with an elongate mounting profile rail as well as a busbar held in the mounting profile rail are known from the prior art and are used, for example, to implement elongate so-called light strip systems. A known light strip system is sold by the Applicant under the name “TECTON” and is characterized in that luminaires or other electrical units can be flexibly positioned on the mounting rail over the entire length of the system. This is made possible in that, due to a special mounting of the conductors of the busbar(s), the latter are accessible to the consumers over the substantially entire length of the light strip system so that contacting of the conductors can take place not only at fixedly predetermined positions but rather at any desired location. Such an active light strip system is shown in WO 2001/091250 A1, for example.
In the “TECTON” system mentioned above, two busbars are arranged opposite one another on the two side walls of a U-shaped mounting profile rail that is open downward. The contacting of the conductors of these two busbars then takes place in that the luminaire or, in general, the consumer to be connected has a rotatable contacting element, which is inserted from the bottom side via the elongate coupling opening of the mounting profile rail into the latter and subsequently rotated by about 45°. Here, contacts arranged on the contacting element are designed in such a way that they are laterally pivoted outward by the rotation of the contacting element and ultimately contact the conductors of the busbars in the rotated state. In addition, a mechanical locking also takes place simultaneously so that the luminaire or the consumer is reliably fixed to the mounting rail.
At least a part of the contacts of the known contacting element is adjustable here. This is achieved by the contacting element having a contact holding body which serves to hold the various contacts, wherein at least a part of the contacts are mounted on the contact holding body in a height-adjustable manner or can be arranged at different heights on the contact holding body. The possibility of different height positioning of individual contacts results here in that they can be selected to specifically contact specific conductors of the busbar(s). In this way, for example, there is the possibility of selectively selecting individual phases of a power supply network for contacting by the luminaire or the electrical unit.
Modern mounting rail systems have an increasing number of internally running electrical conductors, through which the functionality of the thus implementable system can be extended. In addition to the possibility of providing special emergency power supply circuits, via which at least a part of the luminaires can still be powered in case of an emergency state, in addition to the general power supply, additional conductors are also used to transmit data or signals. This data transmission can then be used, for example, to control the individual connected luminaires from a control center by means of digital commands. Moreover, in the meantime, however, it is also provided, for example, to use individual conductors of the busbar, independently of a lighting controller, for the transmission of signals used otherwise. For example, conductors could be used within the framework of using 100 V voltage to transmit digital acoustic signals, so that speakers or other suitable devices for playing back the acoustic information can then be connected to the corresponding pair of conductors. The use of conductors for signal transmission within the framework of a powerline carrier method in order to use at least a portion of the conductors of the busbar as a communication network for general information transmission would also be conceivable.
However, the extension of the functionality of such systems has the consequence that a variety of contacting possibilities exist for the contacting of the busbar(s) by luminaires or other electrical units and the connecting contacts must be positioned accordingly in a suitable manner. In so doing, it must be ensured that erroneous arrangements of the connecting contacts are avoided in order to reduce the risk of incorrect contacting. In extreme cases, undesirable short circuits could occur, which could result in damage to individual or multiple components of the system.
At the same time, however, the effort required to correspondingly contact the conductors should be kept as low as possible. The object of the present invention is to offer an improved solution in this respect.
The object is achieved by a contacting element having the features of claim 1. Advantageous developments of the invention are the subject matter of the dependent claims.
The solution according to the invention is based on a corresponding pairing of at least two connecting contacts of the contacting element. The basis for this is a corresponding arrangement of the conductors of circuits as well as the fact that two specific conductors of the busbar(s) generally have to be contacted in order to use a specific functionality. In that the paired connecting contacts are arranged in such a way that they are only adjustable with respect to a contact holding body of the contacting element in a fixed relation to one another, it is ensured that two conductors of the busbar(s) associated with one another are always contacted by this pair of connecting contacts. At the same time, in addition to increased safety in adjusting the contacting options, it is ensured that the effort required to arrange the connecting contacts in the correct position is reduced.
According to the present invention, a contacting element for connecting a luminaire or another electrical unit to a mounting rail, which has a mounting rail profile with at least one busbar, arranged therein, with electrically contactable conductors, is proposed, wherein the contacting element has a contact holding body having a plurality of connecting contacts, which contact holding body is adjustable between an open position, in which an insertion and removal of the contacting element from the mounting rail profile is possible, and a contacting position, in which the connecting contacts contact conductors of the busbar, and wherein at least two connecting contacts are arranged adjustably on the contact holding body. According to the invention, it is provided here that at least two of the connecting contacts arranged on the contact holding body are combined into a group and mounted on the contact holding body in such a way that they are only adjustable with respect to the contact holding body in a fixed relation to one another.
The pairing according to the invention of two connecting contacts is in particular useful for using the contacts to contact conductors that are always present in pairs in order to provide a specific functionality. In this respect, conductors that are used, for example, according to the so-called DALI standard for the transmission of information for lighting control are in particular conceivable. Conductors for transmitting digital signals for speakers, cameras, or the like, or in general for data communication, could also be contacted in this way in a simple and elegant manner. In contrast, the solution is less suited for a classical phase selection when contacting power supply lines, since one of the connecting contacts here generally has to contact a fixedly predetermined conductor, namely the neutral conductor, whereas the second connecting contact is to variably tap one of the three phase conductors. Nevertheless, in particular in more complex systems that provide a variety of different functionalities, the manner of contacting can be made easier and safer.
Of course, according to an advantageous development of the invention, the contacting element could also have a plurality of groups of combined connecting contacts. In this case, it can in particular be provided that a group respectively has two connecting contacts.
The contact holding body of the contacting element according to the invention can in particular be rotatable about a pivot axis, wherein the connecting contacts are then arranged on the contact holding body in such a way that the connecting contacts are pivoted outward by a rotation of the contact holding body and are brought into abutment against the conductors to be contacted. In this case, the adjustable connecting contacts are mounted on the contact holding body so as to be displaceable in parallel to the pivot axis, wherein it can in particular be provided that the two connecting contacts of a group are arranged opposite one another with respect to the pivot axis, preferably substantially in a common plane aligned perpendicularly to the pivot axis. In this case, the paired connecting contacts are thus basically always arranged at the same height on the contact holding body so that the associated conductors are easily correctly contacted when the conductors of the busbar or busbars are correspondingly configured.
The connecting contacts of a group are preferably arranged adjustably on the outer circumference of the contact holding body. In particular, the connecting contacts of a group may be arranged on a shared contact holding part, which is then displaced in a corresponding manner in order to position the connecting contacts correctly.
A further advantageous option is to arrange the adjustable paired connecting contacts on an adapter that is attached to the contact holding body. In particular, the connecting contacts can be fixedly arranged on the adapter and the adapter itself can be mounted adjustably on the contact holding body. In order to correctly position the connecting contacts, only the corresponding adapter has to be displaced appropriately with respect to the contact holding body.
As already mentioned, it is generally provided that a consumer to be connected to the system or, in general, a luminaire or an electrical unit contacts not only the conductors used for transmitting signals but also conductors intended for supplying power. Since at least one of the conductors generally has a fixed position, it can additionally be provided according to an advantageous development that the contacting element according to the invention has at least one individually adjustable and/or one non-adjustable further connecting contact. These two contacts can then in particular be used for contacting power supply lines, including an associated phase selection. In this case, it is preferably then again provided that the individually adjustable or the non-adjustable further connecting contact is arranged on the contact holding body.
According to the present invention, a luminaire or electrical unit is also proposed for connection to a mounting rail comprising a mounting rail profile with at least one busbar, arranged therein, with electrically contactable conductors, wherein according to the present invention, the luminaire or electrical unit has at least one contacting element as described above.
The invention is explained in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawing. The figures show:
As already mentioned, the present invention constitutes a development of the known “TECTON” system, for example. Before the solution according to the invention is to be described in more detail, the basic design of such a support rail system is therefore to be explained below on the basis of
It can be seen here that in this known mounting rail system 100, an elongate mounting profile rail 101, which is U-shaped and opens downward in cross-section, is used, and, together with the two side walls 102 and the upper connecting wall 103, delimits an elongate receiving chamber, which is accessible from the bottom side via an elongate coupling opening. In the case shown, a so-called busbar 110 or 120 (which cannot be seen in
A luminaire 130 to be connected to this mounting rail system 100 then has at least one rotatably mounted contacting element or tapping element 135, as can be seen in particular in
In the illustrated case, contacts 136 are arranged on both sides of the contacting element 135 in order to be able to contact the busbars 110, 120 positioned on both side walls 102 of the mounting profile rail 101. In that the contacts 136 can be vertically displaced, with respect to a contact holding body 138 of the tapping element 135, with their associated contact holding part 137 and the cable (not shown) connected thereto, they can be arranged according to the position of a desired conductor 111, 121, in order to then contact this corresponding conductor as desired. On the one hand, this provides the possibility of a phase selection as well as a selection of the neutral conductor for the power supply. However, depending on the number of conductors provided by the busbars 110, 120, the conductors can then also be used for other purposes, such as for communication. This provides the possibility of combining the light units connected to the mounting profile rail 101 into a larger light strip system and of controlling the luminaires centrally from a central control unit.
In addition to the light units shown in the figures, other electrical units can moreover also be connected to the mounting rail system. In this case, sensors, such as presence or brightness sensors, that support automated operation of the lighting system are in particular conceivable here. Units that enable communication or transmission, independent of the lighting controller, of data for other purposes would also be conceivable as meaningful units to be connected to the mounting rail system. Lastly, of course, a wide variety of types of luminaires are also conceivable, which can together be connected to the mounting profile rail and here fulfill different tasks of the lighting technology.
In the system shown and known from the prior art, some of the connecting contacts are positioned at a predetermined height since they are basically to contact a specific conductor of the busbars 110, 120, for example the conductor provided for grounding. However, at least one contact can be positioned height-adjustably on the contacting element 135 since a phase selection for the power supply is to be made via this contact. Depending on the height at which the corresponding connecting contact is located, a different conductor and thus a corresponding phase of the power supply network is contacted, which thus opens the possibility of, for example, assigning luminaires to different groups which are respectively connected to a specific phase of the supply voltage.
Developments of the illustrated mounting rail system have increasingly more conductors since these systems are to fulfill additional tasks in addition to mere lighting and/or the control of the connected luminaires is to be designed to be more flexible and comfortable. For example, it would be conceivable to use two conductors of the busbars for general data transmission, e.g., by means of a PLC, in order to implement a communication network that extends across the area of the entire mounting rail system. That is to say, at specific positions, electrical consumers in the form of routers or so-called access points are connected, which then communicate with a central communication device via the conductors of the busbars on the one hand, and provide an interface for wireless communication with end devices on the other hand. Another option, in turn, is to use two conductors of the busbars for digitally transmitting audio and/or video information. In particular, so-called ELA speakers or other playback devices, which play back the corresponding acoustic information or visual information, could then be connected to the respective conductors at desired positions. Finally, it would also be conceivable to use conductors to implement emergency power supply circuits. Individual luminaires of the system could then be connected to these conductors in order to provide some minimum lighting based on the emergency power supply in case of an emergency state.
In order to be able to use these various functionalities of the system, the corresponding contacting elements of the luminaires or electrical units to be connected must be designed or configured in such a way that they can contact the conductors of the system provided for this purpose, in a desired manner. However, since the conductors of a busbar can be configured differently depending on the wishes of the end user, and thus provide different functionalities, the contacting elements should enable contacting of the conductors of the busbars that is as flexible as possible.
In principle, it would therefore be possible to design all connecting contacts in the manner described above as well as the connecting contact for the phase connection adjustably or in such a way that they can be selectively arranged at different heights on the contacting element. However, this entails the risk that when the connecting contacts are arranged, errors happen and the conductors are contacted in an undesirable manner. Apart from the fact that potentially desired functionalities of the system cannot be used in this case, there is moreover also the risk that, for example, individual components of the units to be connected or of the system as a whole are damaged due to the occurrence of unwanted short circuits, for example.
With the present invention, a solution is provided that at least reduces the problems just described. There is thus greater certainty with regard to the conductors being contacted correctly. At the same time, the effort required to correspondingly arrange the contacts is reduced. This concept according to the invention is to be explained below on the basis of the further figures.
In the exemplary embodiment shown in
In the present case, it is in particular provided that the three lower left conductors L1, L2, L3 form the three phases of a power supply network, whereas the two lower right conductors GND and N allow grounding of connected units on the one hand and constitute the neutral conductor of the power supply network on the other hand. Above these five conductors, conductors EL1, EN1 of a first emergency power supply circuit “EMERCENCY 1” and conductors EL2, EN2 of a second emergency power supply circuit “EMERGENCY 2” then lie opposite one another in pairs in each case.
The additional functions of the system are provided by two conductors 58 opposite one another above level E in each case, wherein a first pair of conductors S1+, S1− forms a DALI bus, via which communication, in particular for lighting control, can thus take place by means of digital signals in accordance with the DALI standard. The overlying pair of conductors S2+, S2− on the other hand forms an ELA-100V circuit, which can in particular be used to transmit acoustic information as well as to connect corresponding speakers. Finally, a further pair of conductors S3+, S3− is available, to which 230V is in turn applied, which can now however be used for communication, independent of the lighting control, via power line carriers. Of course, this configuration of the conductors 58 of the two busbars 55 is merely to be understood as exemplary and it would of course also be conceivable to use the conductors 58 in another way. The conductors of the two emergency power supply circuits could also already be considered as conductors, which already constitute an additional function beyond mere lighting. In other words, the division of the conductors and the two groups mentioned above should also be understood merely as an example in order to explain the idea according to the invention.
In the example shown in
If a unit to be connected, i.e., a luminaire, for example, is to be connected to the normal power supply lines, the right connecting contact 202 must be positioned at the height of the neutral conductor N, whereas the left connecting contact 201 can then be selectively arranged at the height of one of the three lower conductors L1, L2, or L3 in order to assign the luminaire to a specific phase of the power supply. In the event that the luminaire is to contact one of the two emergency power supply circuits, on the other hand, both contacts 201, 202 must respectively be arranged at the same height of the conductors EL1, EN1 or EL2, EN2 associated with the corresponding emergency power supply circuit. In addition, the contacting element 10 must of course still have a fixedly positioned connecting contact 12 or a comparable contacting part via which a grounding is secured.
The connecting contacts 201, 202 responsible for the power supply should thus each be respectively height-adjustable, but in particular height-adjustable independently of one another, in order to enable a selective connection to one of the three phases of the general power supply network or to one of the two emergency power supply circuits. In any case, it must be ensured here that the two contacts 201, 202 are correctly arranged before the luminaire or a different consumer is connected to the system in a corresponding manner.
This is different for the connections for the additional functions of the system. As can be seen in the representation on the left hand side of
This is shown on the right side of
In contrast, within the framework of a single adjusting process in the solution according to the invention and shown in
A simple possibility for the implementation of the solution according to the invention is shown in
However, it should be noted that the variant shown in
It should further be noted that, as an alternative to rotating the contacting element, different mechanisms would also be conceivable by which the connecting contacts can be transferred from an open position to a contacting position in order to contact conductors of one or more busbars. In particular, linear displacements of a corresponding contact holding body would also be conceivable here. In this case, too, a plurality of contacts can be combined into a group in the sense of the present invention in order to simplify contacting the conductors.
In the exemplary embodiment described so far, the contacting element 10 had a group, designed according to the invention, of two paired connecting contacts 301, 302 as well as two further individually adjustable connecting contacts 201, 202 via which a connection to the power supply conductors of the system was made. Here, too, there are, of course, possibilities for variation, wherein individual contacts can, for example, also be provided in a fixedly predetermined position, i.e., not adjustably, on the contacting element. Furthermore, a contacting clement designed according to the invention can of course also have a plurality of connecting contact pairs or connecting contact groups, which are adjustable in the manner according to the invention in such a way that the connecting contacts of a group can always only be arranged with respect to the contact holding body 15 in a fixed relation to one another.
Finally, it would also be conceivable to design a contacting element according to the invention in such a way that it has exclusively connecting contacts adjustable as a group, in particular only a single connecting contact pair combined according to the invention into a group. A corresponding exemplary embodiment in this respect is shown in
The special feature of the contacting element 40 shown in
The contacting element shown in
The cylindrical projection 43 continues in the form of a hollow cylinder on the bottom side of the oval plate 42 so that a hollow cylindrical receptacle is formed in which a height-adjustable contact holding part 45 engages. This contact holding part 45 consisting of an insulating material initially forms a vertically aligned, in turn cylindrical projection 46 that engages in the receptacle of the base body 41. On this outside of this projection 46, outward projecting annular projections may be provided, which correspond to corresponding annular recesses on the inside of the cylindrical receptacle of the base body 41, thereby defining latching positions that define different preferred height positions for the contact holding part 45. At the bottom side of the contact holding part 45, two laterally projecting, holders 471 and 472 pointing in opposite directions are formed, said holders then supporting the actual pin-type connecting contacts 301 and 302. respectively. The latter are coupled to the end region of the connecting cable via internally running conductors.
If a consumer is now to be connected to the conductors of a mounting rail profile with the aid of the contacting element 40 shown, a first step is to bring the contact holding part 45 in the receptacle of the base part 41 to a desired position, which corresponds to one of the predetermined latching positions. The connecting contacts 301 and 302 are thus at a fixedly predetermined height with respect to the bottom side of the oval plate 42 of the base part 41. Subsequently, the contacting element 40 is attached from the top to the mounting rail profile, wherein the initially longitudinally aligned connecting contacts 301, 302 with the lower region of the contact holding part 45 penetrate the opening (not shown in the figures) at the top of the mounting rail profile 50. If the oval plate 42 with its bottom side lies on the top of the mounting rail profile 50, a rotation takes place by 90°, wherein the contacts 301, 302 are then pivoted laterally outward in order to contact the associated conductors. This is shown in
In this case, too, by simply adjusting the contact holding part 45 with respect to the base part 41 or contact holding body 15, the position of the paired contacts 301, 302 can be selected in such a way that they always correctly contact two associated conductors of the busbar(s) of the system. Incorrect contacting is thus largely excluded. The illustrated embodiment thus represents a particularly simple and elegant variant of connecting additional consumers to the system and at the same time ensuring that the respectively correct conductors are contacted.
It should furthermore be noted that the procedure explained on the basis of
Overall, the solution according to the invention thus helps to further optimize the versatile contacting of conductors of busbars of a mounting rail profile.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 2021 110 389.4 | Apr 2021 | DE | national |
The present application is the U.S. national stage application of international application PCT/EP2021/082946 filed Nov. 25, 2021. The international application claims priority to German Patent Application 10 2021 110 389.4 filed Apr. 23, 2021.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/EP2021/082946 | 11/25/2021 | WO |
