The invention relates to a modularly assemblable switching contactor arrangement, which can be used in particular for use in a safety-oriented application, for example in an industrial automation system.
So as to be able to switch high charges in electrical systems, for example in industrial automation systems, two contactors comprising make contacts and break contacts, which are used for feeding back the switching state, are connected in series. The contactors are actuated by means of a safety switching device, which controls the contactors by way of output signals and can thus switch a charge via the contactors. A drawback of the known contactors is that the contactors formed as separate switching elements have to be wired to one another and to the safety switching device by the user himself. In addition, the lateral installation of the contactors on a safety switching device results in a relatively high space requirement, since the total width results from the sum of the individual widths of the contactors and of the safety switching device.
Usually, the safety switching device is accommodated in a housing having a standard width of 22.5 mm, while the two switches are each accommodated in a standard housing having a width of 45 mm. This results in a total width of 112.5 mm for a safety switching system.
The object of the invention is to create a modular switching contactor arrangement which requires a small construction space and can be assembled without any electrical wiring that additionally has to be undertaken.
A central idea of the invention is that two switching contactor modules are arranged in succession by means of a coupling module, the switching contactor modules and the coupling module merely having to be joined together by a user, without any external wiring, so as to be mechanically and electrically coupled to one another. In this context, in the mounted state, the construction width of the switching contactor arrangement is substantially determined by the narrow faces of the switching contactor modules.
In accordance with a further consideration, the modular switching contactor arrangement may have a safety switching module, to which the two switching contactor modules and the coupling module can be electrically and mechanically coupled in a simple manner, in other words without additional manual wiring.
The aforementioned technical problem is solved by the features of claim 1. Advantageous developments form the subject matter of the dependent claims.
Accordingly, a modular, in other words modularly assemblable, switching contactor arrangement for use in a safety-oriented application is provided. The modular switching contactor arrangement has a first and a second switching contactor module, each switching contactor module having the following features:
a switching contactor arranged in a housing and first electrical terminals and second electrical terminals, one make contact of the switching contactor being arranged in each case between each first electrical terminal and each second electrical terminal, the housing having a rectangular base face of a first predetermined width, two side faces, which are arranged mutually parallel and at a distance from one another that corresponds to the first predetermined width of the housing, and a first terminal face and a second terminal face, which oppose one another, have a first predetermined width and are each arranged perpendicular to the base face at least in portions, the first electrical terminals being arranged on the first terminal face and the second electrical terminals being arranged on the second terminal face,
In an advantageous development, the coupling module has a housing of a width that substantially corresponds to the second predetermined width. The coupling device is arranged in the housing, the housing of the coupling module having two side faces, which are arranged mutually parallel and at a distance from one another that defines the second predetermined width of the housing, and a first terminal face and a second terminal face, which oppose one another, each have the second predetermined width and are arranged perpendicular to the two side faces. The first electrical terminals are arranged on the first terminal face and the second electrical terminals are arranged on the second terminal face.
An advantageous configuration provides that the first and second predetermined widths are each between 20 mm and 30 mm. A width of substantially 22.5 mm is found to be particularly advantageous.
It should be noted that the side faces of the housing form longitudinal faces and the first and second terminal faces of the housing form narrow faces.
To make a narrow construction possible, in the mounted state the first electrical terminals and the second electrical terminals of the first switching contactor module, of the second switching contactor module and of the coupling module are positioned in a shared plane that extends parallel or perpendicular to the base face of the housings of the switching contactor modules.
Expediently, the first electrical terminals and the second electrical terminals of the first switching contactor module, of the second switching contactor module and of the coupling module may in each case be arranged along a straight line that extends perpendicular or parallel between the two side faces of the switching contactor module housing in question.
So as to be placeable in a power safety switching device, the first switching contactor module and the second switching contactor module have three first electrical terminals each and three second electrical terminals each, the switching contactors of the first and second switching contactor modules each having three make contacts. The coupling module has three first electrical terminals and three second electrical terminals in this case. In this way, for example a three-phase motor can be connected to the modular switching contactor arrangement.
Reliable and secure coupling of the switching contactor modules to the coupling module can be achieved if the first and second switching contactor modules each have mechanical connecting elements for mechanical connection to mechanical connecting elements of the coupling module.
So as to be able to signal the switching state of the switching contactor modules, the switching contactors of the first switching contactor module and of the second switching contactor module each have a break contact and a magnet system comprising a coil. Further, the first switching contactor module and the second switching contactor module each have two third electrical terminals, connected to the break contact, for connecting a control and evaluation device, and each have two fourth electrical terminals, connected to the coil, for connecting a supply source. The third and fourth electrical terminals are arranged on a third terminal face, which opposes the base face of the housing in question.
A narrow construction of the switching contactor modules and of the coupling module can be achieved if the two third and fourth electrical terminals of the first and second switching contactor modules are in each case arranged along a straight line that extends perpendicular or parallel between the two side faces of the housing in question.
So as to be able to expand the switching contactor arrangement into a modular safety switching system, a control and evaluation device that can be connected to the third terminals of the first and second switching contactor modules is provided, and is formed to monitor and read back the switching states of the break contacts and to switch on and off a power supply source to the fourth terminals of the first and second switching contactor modules in a controlled manner.
A particularly compact construction is brought about if the control and evaluation device is arranged in the housing of the coupling module. In this case, the coupling module has a first set of third and fourth terminals and a second set of third and fourth terminals, which are arranged in such a way that, in the assembled state of the modular switching contactor arrangement, the terminals are electrically connected to the third and fourth terminals of the first switching contactor module and to the third and fourth terminals of the second switching second switching contactor module respectively.
Alternatively, a safety switching module may be provided which has a width that substantially corresponds to the second predetermined width, the control and evaluation device being arranged in the housing of the safety switching module. The housing of the safety switching module has a base face on which a first set of first and second electrical terminals and a second set of first and second electrical terminals are arranged in such a way that, in the assembled state, the first and second electrical terminals respectively of the safety switching module are electrically connected to the third and fourth terminals of the first switching contactor module and to the third and fourth terminals of the second switching contactor module respectively. The base face of the safety switching module has fixing means for mechanical coupling to the first switching contactor module and/or the second switching contactor module and/or to the coupling module.
An advantageous development provides that the coupling module has a measurement device that is assigned to the first and second terminals of the coupling module for measuring currents and/or voltages, the measurement device being electrically connected to the control and evaluation device.
So as to be able to mount the module switching contactor arrangement on a carrier rail, the housing of the first and/or second switching contactor module and/or the housing of the coupling module and/or the safety module may have fixing means for fixing to a carrier rail. In the latched-on state, the first and second terminal faces of the switching contactor modules extend parallel to the longitudinal axis of the carrier rails. In other words, the switching contactor modules that are arranged in succession by means of the coupling module have a longitudinal extent that extends perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the carrier rail. Consequently, the width of the switching contactor arrangement in the latched-on state is determined by the width of the first and second terminal faces, which is preferably only 22.5 mm.
Hereinafter, the invention is described in greater detail by way of two embodiments in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:
The modular switching contactor arrangement 180 has a first switching contactor module 10 and a second switching contactor module 11, which can be mechanically and electrically coupled to one another via a coupling module 70. As is shown in
The internal construction of the switching contactor module 10, and thus also of the switching contactor module 11, can be seen most clearly in
Consequently, a three-phase load can be connected to the switching contactor arrangement.
The first and second electrical terminals are advantageously formed as contact pins, and are preferably positioned entirely within the housing 20. It is naturally also conceivable that the first and second terminals may be formed as contact sockets.
The housing 20 has a rectangular base face 21, which has a predetermined width B1. At this point, it should be noted that the width B1 may preferably be between 20 mm and 30 mm. It is particularly advantageous if the width B1 is substantially 22.5 mm.
The housing 20 has two side faces 22 and 26, which are arranged mutually parallel and at a distance from one another that corresponds to the first predetermined width B1 of the housing 20. The side faces 22 and 26 form the longitudinal faces of the housing 20. Further, a first terminal face 24 and a second terminal face 25 are provided, which oppose one another, have the first predetermined width B1 and are preferably each arranged perpendicular to the two side faces 22 and 26 and perpendicular to the base face 21 at least in portions. The terminal faces 24 and 25 form the narrow faces of the housing 20.
The housing 20 shown in
An example construction of the coupling module 70 is shown in greater detail in
As can be seen in
The first switching contactor module 10 and the second switching contactor module 11 are electrically and mechanically couplable by means of the coupling module 70 in such a way that, in the mounted state, the make contacts 61 to 63 of the first switching contactor module 10 and the make contacts of the second switching contactor module 11 are electrically connected in series in each case, as can be discerned from
Preferably, the coupling module 70 is accommodated in the housing 90, which has substantially the second predetermined construction width B2. The coupling device 80 is arranged at least in part within the housing 90. Between the terminals, which are preferably formed as contact sockets, an electrical connection extends in each case. Specifically, an electrical connection 87 extends between the terminals 81 and 81′, an electrical connection 88 extends between the terminals 82 and 82′, and a further electrical connection 89 extends between the terminals 83 and 83′. The electrical connections 87 to 89 may each be an electrically conductive wire.
The housing 90 of the coupling module 70 has two side faces 91 and 92, which are arranged mutually parallel at a predefined distance from one another that defines the second predetermined width B2 of the housing, and a first terminal face 93 and a second terminal face 94, which oppose one another, each have the second predetermined width B2 and are arranged perpendicular to the two side faces 91 and 92. The first electrical terminals 81 to 83 are preferably arranged on the first terminal face 93, while the second electrical terminals 81′ to 83′ are arranged on the second terminal face 94. As mentioned previously, terminals 81 to 83 and 81′ to 83′ may in part or in whole be passed out of the respective terminal faces 93 and 94.
As can be seen in
To maintain such a narrow construction of the modular switching contactor arrangement 180, it may be provided that in the mounted state of the switching contactor arrangement 180 the first electrical terminals 43 to 45 of the first and second switching contactor modules, the first electrical terminals 81 to 83 of the coupling module, the second electrical terminals 40 to 42 of the first and second switching contactor modules and the second electrical terminals 81′ to 83′ of the coupling module are positioned in a shared plane that extends parallel or perpendicular to the base face of the housing 20 of the two switching contactor modules 10 and 11. In the embodiment shown in
In other words, in the mounted state, the first electrical terminals 43 to 45 and the second electrical terminals 40 to 42 of the first and second switching contactor modules and the first electrical terminals 81 to 83 and the second electrical terminals 81′ to 83′ of the coupling module 70 are preferably in each case arranged along a straight line that extends perpendicular between the two side faces 22 and 26 of the associated switching contactor module housing 20 or perpendicular between the two side faces 91 and 92 of the housing 90.
As can be seen in
So as to be able to connect the two switching contactor modules 10 and 11 mechanically to the coupling module 70, the switching contactor modules 10 and 11 have corresponding mechanical connecting elements 162 and 163, which are couplable to corresponding complementary connecting elements 160 and 161 of the housing 90 of the coupling module 70. The corresponding mechanical connecting or coupling elements are shown in
So as to be able to monitor the switching state of the switching contactor modules, as is shown in
As can be seen in
So as to be able to expand the modular switching contactor arrangement 180 into a safety switching system, a control and evaluation device 135 may be connected to the third terminals 50 and 51 of the respective switching contactor modules 10 and 11, and is formed to monitor and read back the switching states of the break contacts 64 and to switch on and off a power supply source to the fourth terminals 52 and 53 of the respective switching contactor modules 10 and 11 in a controlled manner.
In an advantageous configuration, which is shown in
As is shown in
As is shown in
As is further shown in
The base face 121 of the housing 120 of the safety switching module 130 has fixing means 125 for mechanical coupling to the first switching contactor module 10 and/or the second switching contactor module 11 and/or to the coupling module 70. As can be seen in
It should be noted that the phase conductors of a three-phase supply can be connected to the terminals 40 to 42 of the switching contactor module 10. Similarly, the connecting lines of a three-phase load (not shown) can be connected to the terminals 40 to 42 of the second switching contactor module 11 and can be actuated by the modular switching contactor arrangement 180. So as to be able to measure conductor currents and/or voltages that flow through the switching contactor modules 10 and 11, a measurement device 100 may be provided in the coupling module 70, as is shown schematically in
As is shown by way of example in
It should further be noted that the base face 21 of the housing, as shown in
The modular switching contactor arrangement 190 may be formed in particular for use in a safety-oriented application. It has a first switching contactor module 240 and a second switching contactor module 260. The switching contactor module 240 has a switching contactor arranged in a housing 310 to 314 as well as first electrical terminals 257 to 259 and second electrical terminals 250 to 252, a make contact 243 to 245 of the switching contactor being arranged in each case between each first electrical terminal 257 to 259 and each second electrical terminal 250 to 252. In the example shown, three first and three second terminals and three make contacts are implemented in each case. The housing of the switching contactor module 240 has a rectangular base shape 310 having a first predetermined width pointing in the y-direction, two side faces 314 positioned in the xz-plane, which are arranged mutually parallel and at a distance from one another that corresponds to the first predetermined width of the housing, and a first terminal face 311 and a second terminal face 313, which oppose one another in the yz-plane, have the first predetermined width and are arranged perpendicular to the base face 310 at least in portions. The first electrical terminals 257 to 259 are arranged on the first terminal face 311 and the second electrical terminals 250-252 are arranged on the second terminal face 313. The second switching contactor module 260 is preferably constructed substantially identically to the switching contactor module 240.
The switching contactor module 260 has a switching contactor arranged in a housing as well as first electrical terminals 273 to 275 and second electrical terminals 270 to 272, a make contact 263 to 265 of the switching contactor being arranged in each case between each first electrical terminal 273 to 275 and each second electrical terminal 270 to 272. In the example shown, three first and three second terminals and three make contacts are provided in each case. The housing of the switching contactor module 260 has a rectangular base shape 300 having a first predetermined width pointing in the y-direction, two side faces 304 positioned in the xz-plane, which are arranged mutually parallel and at a distance from one another that corresponds to the first predetermined width of the housing, and a first terminal face 303 and a second terminal face 301, which oppose one another in the yz-plane, have the first predetermined width and are arranged perpendicular to the base face 300 at least in portions. The first electrical terminals 273 to 275 are arranged on the first terminal face 303 and the second electrical terminals 270-272 are arranged on the second terminal face 301.
The coupling module 230 is further provided, and has a second predetermined width that is substantially equal to the first predetermined width. The coupling module 230 has an electrical coupling device having first electrical terminals 290 to 292 and second electrical terminals 293 to 295 that are formed and arranged for electrical coupling to the first electrical terminals 257-259 of the first and the first electrical terminals 273 to 275 of the second switching contactor module 260 respectively, the first switching contactor module 240 and the second switching contactor module 260 being electrically and mechanically couplable by means of the coupling module 230 in such a way that, in the mounted state, the make contacts 243-245 of the first switching contactor module 240 and the make contacts 263-265 of the second switching contactor module 260 are electrically connected in series in each case.
It should again be noted that a phase conductor L1 to L3 of a three-phase supply can be connected to each of the terminals 250 to 252 of the switching contactor module 240, while a connecting line of a three-phase load (not shown) can be connected to each of the terminals 270 to 272. The terminals 250 to 252 and 270 to 272 may be formed as contact pins or contact sockets, which may be passed out of the respective housings in part.
The coupling module 230 has a housing 220a, 220b having a width extending in the y-direction that substantially corresponds to the second predetermined width, the coupling device being arranged in the housing 220a, 220b at least in part. The housing of the coupling module 230 has two side faces 225, which are arranged in the xz-plane mutually parallel and at a distance from one another that corresponds to the second predetermined width of the housing 220a, 220b, and a first terminal face 223 and a second terminal face 224, which are positioned in the yz-plane, oppose one another, each have the second predetermined width and are arranged perpendicular to the two side faces 225. The first electrical terminals 290-292 are arranged on the first terminal face 223 and the second electrical terminals 293-295 are arranged on the second terminal face 224. The second switching contactor arrangement 190 thus also has a construction width that is preferably between 20 mm and 30 mm and in particular is 22.5 mm.
In the mounted state, the make contacts 26 to 265, the make contacts 243 to 245, the first electrical terminals 273 to 275 and the second electrical terminals 270 to 272 of the switching contactor module 260, the first electrical terminals 257 to 259 and the second electrical terminals 250 to 252 of the switching contactor module 240 and the first electrical terminals 290 to 292 and the second electrical terminals 293 to 295 of the coupling module 230 are positioned in a shared plane that extends parallel, in other words in the xy-plane, or perpendicular, in other words in the xz-plane, to the base faces 21, 300 and 310. In
Similarly to the switching contactor modules 10 and 11, the switching contactor modules 240 and 260 may each have a make contact 242 or 262 and a coil 241 or 261. The housings of the switching contactor modules 240 and 260 have a third terminal face 312 or 302 that extends parallel to the base face 310 or 300. Two electrical terminals 276 and 277 that are connected to the make contact 262 and two further electrical terminals 278 and 279 that are connected to the coil 261 are provided on the terminal face 302; similarly, two electrical terminals 253 and 254 that are connected to the make contact 242 and two further electrical terminals 255 and 256 that are connected to the coil 241 are provided on the terminal face 312.
The control and evaluation device 221 may be arranged in the housing of the coupling module 230. The housing of the coupling module 230 may have a T-shaped cross section with respect to the x-z plane, it being possible for the control and evaluation device 221 to be arranged in an elongate housing portion 220a extending parallel to the x-axis. The housing portion 220a has a first and a second terminal face, which oppose the terminal face 312 of the switching contactor module 240 and the terminal face 302 of the switching contactor module 260 in the mounted state. Terminals 235 to 238 are provided on the second terminal face of the housing portion 220a flush with the terminals 276 to 279 of the switching contactor module 260, and are electrically connected to the terminals 276 to 279 in the mounted state. The terminals 235 and 236 are connected to the control and evaluation device 221, while under the control of the control and evaluation device 221 the terminals 236 and 237 can be connected to a supply voltage. Terminals 235 to 238 are provided on the second terminal face of the housing portion 220a flush with the terminals 276 to 279 of the switching contactor module 260, and are electrically connected to the terminals 276 to 279 in the mounted state. In this way, the break contact 262 is connected to the control and evaluation device 221 via the terminals 276 and 277 and the terminals 235 and 236, while under the control of the control and evaluation device 221 the coil 261 can be connected to a supply voltage via the terminals 278 and 279 and the terminals 236 and 237. As is indicated in
As is shown in
A measurement device 222 for measuring currents and/or voltages, which is electrically connected to the control and evaluation device 221, may be implemented in the housing of the coupling module 230.
For mounting on a current rail, corresponding fixing means may be provided on the housing of the coupling module 230. Further, the housings of the switching contactor modules 240 and 260 and of the coupling module 230 may have fixing means, in such a way that the switching contactor modules 240 and 260 can be mechanically connected to the coupling module 230.
It should be noted that the construction width of the housing of the switching contactor modules 240 and 260 and the construction width of the housing of the coupling module 230 have substantially the same width, which may preferably be between 20 mm and 30 mm and may in particular be 22.5 mm.
It should further be noted that the base faces of the housings of the switching contactor modules 240 and 260 are positioned, as shown in
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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102016125382.0 | Dec 2016 | DE | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/EP2017/084250 | 12/21/2017 | WO | 00 |
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WO2018/115374 | 6/28/2018 | WO | A |
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