Patent Application
20100221952
The invention relates to a protective plug for distribution frame devices for telecommunications and data technology.
Protective plugs for distribution frame devices are used for protection against overvoltages and/or current surges.
DE 24 28 266 A1 has disclosed a surge arrester device for isolating blocks having contact elements, which are mounted in insulating material contact carriers and protrude therefrom with the ends in the form of conductor connection points, and an accommodating housing for the purpose of inserting and latching-in the contact carriers individually, said surge arrester device being in the form of a withdrawable component which accommodates in each case a large number of, preferably ten, surge arresters, has plugging edges, is composed of two plastic plates, can be inserted laterally into the isolating block housing, has a continuous knife edge on the underside for the purpose of providing a connection to ground, bears separate sliding contacts on the upper side which serve the purpose of making contact with the isolating block conductor connections to be protected, and has recesses, which are arranged such that they are offset in two rows between the upper side and the underside for the purpose of inserting in each case one surge arrester, a metal strip, which is integrally formed on the knife edge and is passed up to the underside of the recess, and a contact strip, which ends in the associated sliding contact and is passed up to the upper side of the recess, being embedded in an insulated manner in the plastic plates for the purpose of making contact with said surge arrester.
Contact is preferably made with the surge arresters at their contact points by means of clamping pressure, compression springs being provided which are accommodated in shell-shaped dents in a plastic plate, push the contact strips, which are bent back at right angles at the recess-side end, against the surge arrester contacts and thus at the same time press the underside contacts of the surge arresters in a clamping manner against the metal strips which are in this case likewise bent back.
DE 31 13 759 A1 has disclosed a surge arrester device for isolating blocks in the form of a withdrawable block formed from insulating material, the two-way surge arresters, which are formed with three connection legs, being plugged with the outer connection legs into clamping holders, which form tapping contacts which are accessible from the outside, and with the central connection leg into the clamping holder which is integrally formed on a U-shaped grounding strip which forms a grounding loop rail which is accessible from the outside, the surge arrester device also having a spring-loaded device, which is accessible via an opening, having a fixedly resting solder bead between the central electrode and the ground rail.
DE 41 14 947 C1 has disclosed a protective plug for connection to a contact component in a distribution frame of a telecommunications system, in particular a telephone system, having surge arresters and fuses, by means of which incoming and outgoing lines to and from the contact component can be connected to one another, the contact component being provided with contact springs which lie opposite one another in pairs and of which one is connected to one of the incoming cable cores and the other is connected to one of the outgoing cable cores, and which have contact zones at their free ends, it being possible for contact to be made between the contact zones and contact faces of the protective plug which can correspondingly be inserted, the contact faces being formed on contact parts which connect the contact faces to the ends of the fuse and to one end of the surge arrester, the protective plug having two separate contact faces having different qualities for each one of the contact springs in a contact spring pair, it being possible for contact to be made between said two separate contact faces and a contact zone of the contact spring such that the two separate contact faces are formed on two separate contact parts, of which one contact part leads to the surge arrester, and the other contact part leads to the fuse, and such that that end which bears the contact face can be deflected in a resilient manner in the case of one of the two contact parts.
The advantage of all of the protective plugs mentioned is the fact that the protective elements are replaceable, whereas typically in designs with printed circuit boards the protective elements are soldered. One disadvantage of the known protective plugs, on the other hand, is the fact that they are relatively complex to produce, in particular owing to the resilient elements. A further disadvantage is the fact that it is difficult to fit and remove individual protective elements. When the protective elements have contact legs, as described in DE 31 13 759 A1, it is especially necessary to ensure that uniform contact is made with these contact legs.
The invention is therefore based on the technical problem of providing a protective plug in which the protective elements can be mounted and removed in a simple and reliable manner and which is simple in design terms.
The solution to the technical problem is given by the subject matters having the features of claims 1 and 8. Further advantageous refinements of the invention are described in the subclaims.
For this purpose, the protective element is connected to an insertion aid which is made from an electrically nonconductive material, the insertion aid having at least one receptacle for the contact legs in which the contact legs are mechanically fixed, the insertion aid being fixed between the clamping contacts and/or elements of the housing. The insertion aid allows for simultaneous contact to be made with all of the contact legs of the protective element, as a result of which the contact legs cannot be damaged or bent as is the case when contact is made with one contact leg after the other. Furthermore, the insertion aid ensures that precise contact is always made with the contact legs such that erroneous insertions are prevented. The insertion aid remains in the protective plug together with the protective element and ensures that the protective element cannot become detached again. Furthermore, the protective element can be removed again without causing any damage using the insertion aid. The insertion aid and the housing of the protective plug are preferably made from plastic. The clamping contacts are preferably in the form of fork contacts. The contact elements are preferably injection molded into the housing. All of the contact elements and possibly further contacts are further preferably formed from an integral part and injection molded. Subsequently, the necessary isolated sections are produced between the contact elements by means of drilled holes. The contact elements are preferably made from a copper alloy. The receptacles of the insertion aid are preferably in the form of holes, further preferably one hole being associated with each contact leg.
In a further preferred embodiment, the protective element has a third contact leg, a third clamping contact being arranged between the two first clamping contacts and being connected to the third contact leg, the third clamping contact being connected to a terminal rail, which is preferably connected or formed integrally with the third clamping contact(s). The protective element is preferably in the form of a surge arrester.
In a further preferred embodiment, the two first clamping contacts lie on one plane, the third clamping contact being arranged on a plane which is offset parallel, the insertion aid being clamped between the two first clamping contacts and the third clamping contact. In this case, the clamping contacts form an insertion shaft.
In a further preferred embodiment, a dome having a bevel is arranged opposite the clamping contact, a U-shaped part adjoining said bevel, the base of the U-shaped part lying on the plane of the first clamping contacts and having a notch. In this case, the notch is aligned with the third clamping contact such that the notch delimits the insertion depth of the third contact leg. The base of the U-shaped part is in this case part of the insertion shaft formed. The dome on the one hand acts as a lever bearing when removing the insertion aid and on the other hand serves the purpose of stabilizing the U-shaped part. The bevel on the dome in this case acts as a guide for a lever tool. In this case, embodiments are possible in which the U-shaped part or the dome can be dispensed with.
In a further preferred embodiment, a web is arranged between two adjacent clamping contacts of different pairs of cores, a further web, which lies on the plane of the third clamping contacts and has in each case a notch in the region of the first clamping contacts, adjoining said web centrally at a right angle. The notches, which are in this case aligned with the clamping contacts, in this case again serve to delimit insertion. The web itself becomes part of the insertion shaft. The first web is used for electrical insulation purposes and thus increases the dielectric strength.
In a further preferred embodiment, the insertion aid is formed with a handle on the upper side, by means of which the insertion aid can be gripped better. The insertion aid is preferably notched beneath the handle, with the result that a drawing tool or lever tool can be inserted more easily between the handle and the upper side.
The invention will be explained in more detail below with reference to a preferred exemplary embodiment. In the figures:
With reference to
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 2005 029 012.4 | Jun 2005 | DE | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/EP06/05681 | 6/13/2006 | WO | 00 | 5/12/2010 |
