The invention relates to a patchboard with multiple honeycomb components, whereby the individual honeycomb components in each case have a box-shaped housing with two front surfaces and four side surfaces, which extend between the front surfaces, and whereby the two front surfaces of the honeycomb components in each case have at least one connecting area.
Patchboards are used in particular in places where a number of electrical conductors must be connected in a very tight space. To this end, patchboards are known from experience in which within a solid, rectangular assembly frame, a number of honeycomb components are arranged in corresponding chambers of the frame. Electrical conductors can be connected to the patchboard or the individual honeycomb components both from the front, or field side, and from the rear, or plant side. To this end, connecting elements are arranged in the box-shaped housings of the individual honeycomb components, which elements are in general connected to one another via corresponding busbars, so that an electrical conductor that is inserted through a corresponding conductor inflow opening in the forward front surface can be electrically connected to an electrical conductor or to a connecting contact that is inserted through a corresponding inflow opening in the rear front surface of the housing.
Such a patchboard having a number of honeycomb components is known from, for example, DE 195 12 226 A1. In the patchboard that is disclosed in this publication, the individual honeycomb components, which are inserted into the individual chambers of the assembly frame, all have the same dimensions and the same number and size of conductor inflow openings. On its upper and lower edge sides, in each case a fastening flange base is tightly connected to the patchboard, via which the patchboard can be screwed onto an assembly frame. In addition, clamping modules can be mechanically fastened via dovetail-shaped connections to the fastening flange bases, whereby an electrical connection to the metal assembly frame can be made via a contact plate that is inserted into the bottom of the clamping module. Adapting the patchboard to a user's individual needs is not possible in the case of this known patchboard. If the number of conductors that are to be connected has to be increased, a correspondingly larger patchboard having a larger number of individual honeycomb components thus has to be used, whereby in practice, patchboards with 18, 32, 48, 54 or 80 honeycomb components are available. For fastening, a different assembly frame that is adapted to the dimensions of the patchboard must then be used.
A patchboard, as it is used in, for example, rolling stock for electrical distribution, is known from DE 10 2013 101 830 A1. Depicted in FIGS. 7 and 8 of this publication are two different assembly frames or distributor housings, in which in each case, a preset number—18 or 54—of chambers is laid out in matrix form, in which in each case a honeycomb component with two conductor inflow openings in the forward front surface is arranged. Also, in the case of this patchboard, a fastening flange base is also tightly connected to the patchboard on the upper and lower edge sides of the patchboard, so that the patchboard can be fastened by means of two screws, for example, to a switch cabinet wall. In the case of this patchboard, the production of the individual honeycomb components is to be simplified in such a way that the housing has a main housing part and a housing closure part, so that a contact insert having the connecting elements can be easily inserted through an assembly opening in the main housing. Flexible adaptation of the patchboard to a user's individual needs is, however, also not possible here.
The object of this invention is therefore to make available a patchboard with multiple honeycomb components, which are distinguished by an increased flexibility and better adaptability to a user's individual needs.
This object is achieved in the case of the above-described patchboard with the features that at least two side surfaces of the honeycomb components in each case have at least one latching element for connecting to another honeycomb component, and in that at least one terminal element is arranged on at least one side of the patchboard. On at least one side surface, the terminal element has at least one mating latching element, by means of which the terminal element is connected to an adjacent honeycomb component.
The patchboard according to this invention first has a greater flexibility, so that the individual honeycomb components can be directly connected to one another, so that they have in each case at least one latching element on at least two side surfaces, and so that the use of a rigid assembly frame that sets the number of individual honeycomb components can be eliminated. As a result, the patchboard can have any number of honeycomb components, so that the size and the number of poles of the patchboard can be adapted to the respective requirement and, if necessary, can also be easily changed. In the case of the patchboard according to the invention, the flexibility and the number of different possible applications are further increased in such a way that at least one terminal element is arranged on at least one side of the patchboard, whereby the terminal element can be fastened in a flexible manner to an edge-side honeycomb component of the patchboard by making a mating latching element. The latching connection between the at least one latching element and the at least one mating latching element, made between the terminal element and the honeycomb components, makes it possible in this case to detachably connect the terminal element to the desired position on the patchboard. In this regard, adapting the patchboard to changed requirements is easily possible.
Preferably, on all four side surfaces of the honeycomb components, at least one latching element for connecting to another honeycomb component is provided. In this case, the latching elements, which are designed on side surfaces that are opposite to one another, are designed corresponding to one another, so that a honeycomb component can be connected to another honeycomb component both in the x-direction and in the z-direction. The latching elements that correspond to one another in this case can be designed as, for example, latching pins and latching openings, as arms and grooves, in particular as dovetail-shaped arms and corresponding dovetail-shaped grooves or as latching catches and latching projections.
The terminal elements have mating latching elements on the side surface facing the honeycomb components, which elements correspond to the latching elements of the honeycomb components that are provided on the opposite side surface. If the honeycomb components on the corresponding side surface have, for example, arms, corresponding grooves are made in the opposite side surface of the terminal elements. According to another possible embodiment, in each case at least one arm is made as a latching element on a side surface of the honeycomb component, and at least one groove that corresponds to the arm is made as a mating latching element on the opposite side surface of a terminal element. Preferably, in this case, the arms and the grooves in each case have dovetail-shaped cross-sections that correspond to one another.
In the case of the patchboard according to the invention, the cross-sectional dimensions of a terminal element can correspond to the cross-sectional dimensions of a honeycomb component; in particular, a terminal element can have the same width as a honeycomb component. In addition, however, the possibility also exists that the patchboard has a terminal element that has a greater width than a honeycomb component. Thus, in this case also, the terminal element can be easily connected to edge-side honeycomb components if the terminal element has a width WA that is a whole multiple of the width WW of a honeycomb component. The latching of such a terminal element with multiple honeycomb components is in this case ensured in such a way that the number of mating latching elements of the terminal element is a corresponding multiple of the number of latching elements of a honeycomb component. In the case of a double-wide terminal element in comparison to the width of a honeycomb component, the terminal element on its side surface facing the honeycomb component thus has a double number of mating latching elements in comparison to the number of corresponding latching elements of an individual honeycomb component. A double-wide terminal element can thus be easily fastened to two single-wide honeycomb components.
Because of the configuration of the patchboard according to the invention, there exists not only the possibility of arranging a terminal element, if necessary, in different positions of the patchboard, but also the possibility of connecting different terminal elements to the edge-side honeycomb components, if necessary. By selecting suitable terminal elements, the patchboard can thus be adapted to different requirements in a simple way, so that a customer's varying needs can be met.
The terminal elements can be designed, for example, in such a way that they are used to fasten the patchboard to a wall, for example a switch cabinet wall. To this end, a terminal element preferably has at least one fastening area with at least one opening, through which a fastening element, for example a screw, can be passed.
As an alternative or in addition, the terminal element can also have a marking area for identifying the patchboard or an area of the patchboard. The marking area in this case can be either directly inscribed or the marking area has at least one guide groove, in which a corresponding identifying sign can be engaged. Preferably, the marking area has two guide grooves on two sides that are arranged perpendicular to one another, so that the inscription or identification of the patchboard from two different directions of view is easily ensured.
According to an additional configuration of the invention, a terminal element that is used for fastening can also be designed as a snap-on foot for latching the patchboard to a support rail, whereby the terminal element then has two latching legs that are opposite one another and that accommodate the support rail in a clamping manner in between. Using such a terminal element that is fastened to the patchboard, the patchboard can then be fastened in a detachable manner to a support rail. Depending on the size of the patchboard, in this case even more than one snap-on foot, in particular two snap-on feet, can be used.
A terminal element can also be designed as an equalization element according to another advantageous configuration of the invention, so that the outside dimensions of the patchboard can be adapted to a specific installation dimension that is provided by a customer. Such a terminal element that is designed as an equalization element can in this case be used in particular for adapting the overall height of the patchboard to a preset installation height, and therefore the equalization element can be fastened to the upper side and/or to the lower side of the patchboard.
Such a terminal element that is designed as an equalization element in this case preferably has at least one arm on its side surface and at least one groove on the opposite side surface, so that the terminal element can be fastened both to the top of the patchboard and to the bottom of the patchboard on the edge-side honeycomb components. Moreover, such a configuration of the terminal element having at least one arm on a side surface and at least one groove on the opposite side surface offers the possibility that another terminal element, for example a terminal element that is provided for fastening, can be attached on the side surface of the terminal element that faces away from the edge-side honeycomb component. Furthermore, such an equalization element can then also be arranged within the patchboard, for example between two rows of honeycomb components. Also, as a result, adapting the overall height of the patchboard to a preset installation dimension by selecting a correspondingly dimensioned terminal element is easily possible, without the individual honeycomb components having to be changed.
According to another configuration of the invention, in each case a terminal element is arranged on two opposite sides of the patchboard, whereby the two terminal elements are designed in such a way that they make possible a pivotable fastening of the patchboard. To this end, the two terminal elements preferably in each case have a connecting area, a holding area, and a fastening area with at least one opening. The at least one mating latching element of the terminal element is in this case made on the connecting area, so that the latter is connected in the mounted state having at least one, preferably a number of, edge-side honeycomb component(s). The connecting area is connected via a swivel axis to the holding area, which is arranged in a perpendicular manner to the fastening area. The holding area and the fastening area thus form a fastening angle that can be attached by means of screws, which are inserted through the openings in the fastening area, to a wall, for example to a switch cabinet wall.
In the case of another configuration, the terminal element has a connecting area and a conductor guide area, whereby even in the case of this variant of the terminal element, the at least one mating latching element is made on the connecting area. The conductor guide area that is made preferably in an integral manner with the connecting area projects when mounted over the forward front surface of the honeycomb components, so that the conductors that are to be connected to the honeycomb components can be fastened to the conductor guide area. The fastening of the conductors that are to be connected to the conductor guide area can be done, for example, using cable ties, by which traction relief of the conductors that are to be connected is also ensured. As an alternative, the conductor guide area can also have multiple clamping sections for clamping individual conductors, so that also in this regard, both a guide and traction relief of the connected conductors are provided.
More specifically, there are now a considerable number of possibilities to configure and to further develop the patchboard according to the invention and the individual honeycomb components. To this end, reference is made both to the claims following claim 1 and the subsequent description of preferred embodiments in connection with the drawings. In the drawings,
The individual honeycomb components 2 in each case have a box-shaped housing 3 with two front surfaces 4a, 4b and four side surfaces 5a, 5b, 5c, and 5d. In this case, the individual side surfaces 5a, 5b, 5c, 5d extend between the two front surfaces 4a, 4b and in each case have an angle of 90° to the front surfaces 4a, 4b. The honeycomb component 2 thus has a rectangular cross-section, having a width W and a height H. Furthermore, the honeycomb components 2 have a length or depth D. In the depicted patchboard 1, all honeycomb components 2 have the same dimensions, without the invention, however, being limited thereto. In the depicted honeycomb components 2, the dimensions W×H×D are, for example, 12 mm×11 mm×30 mm, whereby these dimensions are also by no means limiting.
On the forward front surface 4a of the honeycomb components 2, in each case three connecting areas 6, which are preferably designed as spring-force clamping connections, are provided. Within the housing 3, three clamping springs are arranged, whereby by means of the clamping springs, a conductor, stripped of insulation, that is inserted through a respective conductor inflow opening of a connecting area 6, can be clamped against a busbar, also arranged in the housing 3, and thus can be connected in an electrically conductive manner to the busbar. The rear front surface 4b can also have three connecting areas. In addition, it is also possible, however, that the two front surfaces 4a, 4b have a different number of connecting areas; the rear front surface 4b, for example, has only two connecting areas.
To connect the honeycomb components below one another, the honeycomb components 2 on all four side surfaces 5a, 5b, 5c, 5d have at least one latching element. As a result, a honeycomb component 2 can be connected on all four of its side surfaces 5a, 5b, 5c, 5d, and thus both in the x-direction and in the z-direction, to another honeycomb component 2, in order to form a patchboard 1, as it is depicted in, for example,
The honeycomb components 2 in each case have four dovetail-shaped arms 7 on the first side surface 5a, to which arms grooves 8 that correspond to the side surface 5c of a honeycomb component 2 that is opposite to the side surface 5a are made, which grooves also have a dovetail-shaped cross-section. As a result, two honeycomb components 2 can be connected to one another in the x-direction by the arms 7, arranged on the side surface 5a of the one honeycomb component 2, being inserted into the grooves 8 made on the side surface 5c of the adjacent honeycomb component 2.
In each case, a groove 9, which extends approximately over the entire depth D of a honeycomb component 2, is made on the upper side surface 5b of the housing 3. Corresponding to the groove 9, an arm 10 is made in each case on the lower side surface 5d of the honeycomb components 2, so that two honeycomb components 2 can also be arranged in the z-direction one above the other by the arm 10 on the lower side surface 5d of an upper honeycomb component 2 being inserted into the groove 9 on the upper side surface 5b of a lower honeycomb component 2.
As
In the case of the embodiment of the patchboard 1 that is depicted in
The upper left terminal element 11 that is depicted in
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In the case of the patchboard 1 that is depicted in
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A patchboard 1 is depicted in
In
The terminal element 11 that is depicted in
The two terminal elements 11 that are depicted in
Finally,
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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10 2015 105 548.1 | Apr 2015 | DE | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/EP2016/057709 | 4/8/2016 | WO | 00 |