Patent Application
20190013602
The present invention relates to an electric switchboard terminal block provided with a plurality of label-holder seats.
It is known in the technical sector relating to the construction of switchboards for the wiring of electrical installations to use terminal blocks adapted to be mounted on associated mounting rails and to provide access on the front to the means —normally of the screw and/or spring type—for retaining the electric connection wires which form the electrical circuit. EP 2355251A1 illustrates an example of an electric switchboard terminal block with a body extending in a longitudinal direction (length), transverse direction (width) and vertical direction (height) and comprising: a front face and side flanks situated opposite each other in the longitudinal direction, each flank having a first seat for housing a label, and a recess arranged in a central position in the longitudinal direction, open in the vertical direction on the front face of the terminal block and extending towards the inside thereof. With this configuration it is possible to apply labels which are visible only from the sides of the terminal block.
EP 3133698A1 describes an example of a label for marking switchboard terminal blocks, which comprises a rigid base on which a flexible film is mounted, wherein the rigid base has a top side with first and second arms having a respective inwardly directed projection and a bottom side which has two legs extending in the opposite direction to the arms for insertion in a corresponding seat of a terminal block.
The increasingly greater complexity of electric switchboards results however in the need to apply on each terminal block corresponding identification labels which must be visible different angles, in particular from the front, for each wiring configuration in order to allow reading by the user and thus correct identification of the wire to be managed.
The technical problem which is posed therefore is to provide a terminal block for electric switchboards able to allow identification of a plurality of wiring elements by the user when viewing the block from different angles. It is furthermore desirable that the terminal block should have a plurality of seats for containing respective identification labels such that the latter may be engaged/disengaged in an easy and efficient manner, while ensuring safety characteristics and good visibility and preventing accidental removal of the label.
In connection with this problem it is also required that this terminal block should be easy and inexpensive to produce and assemble.
These results are obtained according to present invention by an electric switchboard terminal block comprising a plurality of label seats according to the characteristic features of claim 1.
Further details may be obtained from the following description of a non-limiting example of embodiment of the subject of the present invention provided with reference to the attached drawings in which:
As shown and assuming only for the sake of easier description and without a limiting meaning a set of a pair of reference axes in a longitudinal direction X-X (length), transverse direction Y-Y (width) and vertical direction Z-Z (height), a switchboard terminal block for connecting electric wires according to the present invention comprises essentially:
an insulating body 310 (
In greater detail said insulating body 310 has a frame formed so as to define at least one front face 310a, at least two respective flanks 310b situated opposite each other, and means 311 for engagement with a DIN rail 2 which are formed on a rear face 310c opposite to the said front face 310a in the longitudinal direction X-X.
The following are formed inside the body 310:
The seats 312 have, arranged inside them, a substantially trapezoidal body 316 with a height 316a parallel to the longitudinal direction X-X, larger base 316b parallel to the vertical direction Z-Z having an inclined face 316c directed towards the respective side face 310b of the terminal block; the body 316 is arranged inside the seat in a longitudinal position such as to form a first recess 316d designed to contain a shoulder 212 of the conductor element 200 and the first vertical arm 111 of the spring 100 (
On the front face 310a of the frame 310 the following are also formed (see
Preferably, said teeth 321,322 situated opposite each other have a suitably rounded edge.
In its central part along the longitudinal direction X-X the terminal block has a recess 330, open on the front face 310a of the terminal block and on the opposite side open towards the inside thereof, said recess being suitable (see
In a preferred embodiment, shown in the figures by way of example, the recess 330 has a vertical cross-section substantially in the form of a trapezium with the larger base open towards the front face 310a and smaller base open towards the inside of the terminal block; the recess also has opposite inclined faces 330a,330b slanting from outwards inwards and from the flanks 310b towards the central vertical axis Z-Z.
Each inclined face 330a,330b of the recess 330 has, formed thereon, a further second seat 331 for holding labels 30, preferably having characteristics similar to those already described in connection with the label-holder seats of the flanks 310b.
Although the recess is described as having a trapezium-like form for facilitating reading of the labels arranged on its inclined sides, it is within the competence of the person skilled in the art to design the recess with different forms provided that they allow the labels to be read, even with difficulty.
Preferably, at each end close to the respective top tooth 321, each second seat 331 has an incision 333 extending in the longitudinal direction X-X and in turn able to receive the opposite edges 30a and 30b of a further label 30 directed along a longitudinal-transverse plane (X-Y). Preferably, the recess 330 comprises a bottom zone (close to the smaller base) suitable for containing the jumpers, the incisions 333 being arranged at a height in the vertical direction outside of this bottom zone and between the latter and the front face such that, during use, the label arranged in the longitudinal-transverse plane (X-Y) is arranged above the jumpers which are already mounted and does not interfere with them.
Preferably (
According to preferred embodiments each label has an inner face 30c, outer reading/writing face 30d and a top edge 30a and bottom edge 30bn shaped so as to form a respective projection; the projections extend substantially over the entire width of the label in the widthwise transverse direction Y-Y, the dimensions thereof corresponding to those of the corresponding seats 320,321 of the terminal block, ensuring optimum engagement of the label. During use the terminal block/label assembly is assembled by inserting the bottom edge 30b of the label into the bottom undercut 323 of the first lateral seat 320 so that the bottom tooth 322 of the same interferes with the bottom edge 30b of the label 30; once the respective bottom edges have been engaged, the label 30 is pushed frontally in the longitudinal direction X-X so as to force insertion of the top edge 30a of the label inside the top seat 323 of the receiving slot 320 of the terminal block, causing interference between the top tooth 321 and the edge 30a of the label; engagement together frontally is facilitated by the small relative sliding friction of the surfaces due to the rounded form of the teeth and the projections which come into contact with each other.
In order to extract the labels applied to the flanks 310, the tip of a tool is inserted between the seat 320 and the label 30 so as to cause separation of the label which may be extracted without too much difficulty, also owing to the small amount of friction between the rounded teeth and the elasticity of the label; in addition, the possibility of using a tool on the rear side of the label avoids damaging the label which may be used again.
By means of a similar action it is possible to extract the other labels from the respective seats, including the seat arranged horizontally inside the recess 330.
It is therefore clear how the terminal block according to the invention is easy and inexpensive to produce and is suitable for the application of a plurality of labels which may be viewed and read from several directions by the user.
The labels may be easily applied and removed, while being able to be positioned in a stable and therefore secure and reliable manner.
Although described in connection with a number of embodiments and a number of preferred examples of implementation of the invention, it is understood that the scope of protection of the present patent is determined solely by the claims below.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 102017000076710 | Jul 2017 | IT | national |
