Information
-
Patent Grant
-
6497529
-
Patent Number
6,497,529
-
Date Filed
Monday, March 13, 200024 years ago
-
Date Issued
Tuesday, December 24, 200221 years ago
-
Inventors
-
Original Assignees
-
Examiners
- Browne; Lynne H.
- Ferguson; Michael P
Agents
- Oblon, Spivak, McClelland, Maier & Neustadt, P.C.
-
CPC
-
US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- 403 326
- 403 325
- 403 327
- 403 329
- 403 321
- 403 3221
- 403 3224
- 403 257
- 403 286
- 403 338
- 403 363
- 403 3745
- 403 373
- 403 375
- 248 22511
- 248 29511
- 248 2981
- 248 34604
- 248 694
- 439 110
- 439 116
- 439 119
- 439 121
- 439 532
- 439 709
-
International Classifications
-
Abstract
A electrical device can be snapped onto a support rail by a compression spring orthogonal to a length of the rail and arranged in a cylindrical housing. The housing opens to the outside, opposite the edge of the rail, via an opening in a top adapted to axial insertion of the spring during its assembly and includes an elastic wall capable of transversal movement, with the wall having a bearing surface on a rail edge side on which the spring is buttressed or having another similar bearing surface that can be activated after the axial insertion of the spring.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an electrical device comprising a support rail equipped with a locking end, a part that can be snapped onto the support rail and that includes, in a rear panel, at least one compression spring with an axis orthogonal to the length of the support rail, arranged in a housing which opens onto the locking end of the support rail and offers a stop for the spring.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Snapping electrical devices onto rails such as standardised sections is well known. The use of helical compression springs that can be applied directly onto the edge of the rail is also known, e.g. according to the document FR-2 551 807. The springs are generally assembled in their housing by inserting them via an opening on the rear of the device by forcing walls of the housing. The fact that the housing remains open at the rear of the device results in a risk of the spring being extracted from its housing, when non-axial strain is applied on the spring. Such non-axial strain is frequently encountered when devices are assembled or disassembled.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The purpose of the invention is to prevent the risk of extraction of the compression springs used in electrical devices to lock them onto support rails such as standardised sections, in a low production cost solution.
According to the invention, the housing opens onto the outside, opposite the rail locking edge, via an opening used for the axial insertion of the spring for its assembly and the housing comprises a spring support bearing surface opposite the stop, this bearing surface being inactive during the insertion of the spring and rendered active after the insertion of the spring.
The bearing surface may be provided either on an elastic housing wall co-operating with a plain helical spring, e.g. by means of a ramped tongue and locking jaw or by means of a locking frame, or on a cavity of the device casing co-operating with a special helical spring, with, in this case, this spring being equipped with a transversal catch set to the locking position by a rotation.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The description will be made below using non-restrictive applications of the invention, illustrated by the drawings appended.
FIG. 1
is a vertical schematic view of an electrical device according to the invention.
FIGS. 2
a
and
2
b
are perspective representations of two variants of the invention, before assembly of the springs.
FIGS. 3
to
5
are enlarged sections of a spring housing, in the first variant, during the assembly of the spring, before engagement of the jaw and in the operating position, respectively.
FIGS. 6 and 7
show the top view and section of the housing according to plane VIIāVII of FIG.
5
.
FIG. 8
is a section of the second variant.
FIGS. 9 and 10
show a third variant.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The electrical device illustrated in the figures is a low-voltage device equipped with an insulating casing
10
, e.g. an insulating body or base, capable of snapping onto a top support section rail
11
. At its rear panel
12
, i.e. on the side opposite its front
13
accessible to the operator, the casing
10
comprising two recesses
14
a
,
14
b
in which the ends
11
a
,
11
b
of the rail
11
can be inserted. Two helical springs
20
are each arranged in a cylindrical housing
15
provided in the casing
10
, near its rear panel
12
. Each spring
20
comprises a bottom end spiral
20
a
and a top end spiral
20
b
(see
FIGS. 3
to
5
).
Each housing
15
comprises an axis Z orthogonal to the general direction L of the rail; the housing
15
opens onto the recess
14
a
via an opening
17
(see
FIGS. 3 and 5
) in such a way that the spring
20
, protruding slightly in the recess
14
a
, can lock against the edge of the rail with its bottom spiral
20
a
; the housing
15
opens to the top via an approximately circular opening
16
enabling the assembly of the spring.
In the application in
FIGS. 2
a
and
3
to
7
, the housing
15
is delimited at the front by a rigid wall
22
and at the rear by an elastic wall
23
and a rigid wall
24
. The elastic wall
23
is located at the top, while the rigid wall
24
is located at the bottom.
The elastic wall
23
is composed of a tongue
25
attached to the casing
10
at its top end
25
a
and is able to bend at its bottom end
25
b
. The tongue
25
is detached for this purpose from the rear panel
12
by lateral slots
26
. The bottom end
25
b
of the tongue
25
comprises a ramp
27
and a bearing surface composed of a jaw
28
that can be locked on the top end spiral
20
b
of the spring
20
. Therefore, in the operating position (FIG.
5
), the spring
20
is buttressed at the top end spiral
20
b
on the jaw
28
of the elastic wall
23
and at the bottom end spiral
20
a
on a stop
29
of the rigid wall
24
and is contained laterally by the rigid walls
22
,
24
. The tongue
25
is approximately in line with the rigid wall
24
to help define an appropriate attachment plane P at the rear panel
12
of the casing
10
.
In the application of
FIGS. 2
b
and
8
, the elastic wall
23
forms a frame
30
embedded at its bottom end
31
, while its top end forms a crosspiece
32
which is ended laterally with tips
32
a
intended to lock against shoulders
33
adjacent to the housing
15
. The frame
30
comprises two legs
34
leaving a central space
35
between them in which the spring is housed, abutting at the top against a bearing surface
36
of the frame and at the bottom against the stop
29
. The space
35
also comprises a catch
37
forming a lateral support for the spring.
In the first variant, the spring
20
is assembled as shown in
FIGS. 3
to
5
. As seen in
FIG. 3
, it is inserted via the circular opening
16
and lowered by pushing into the housing
15
until its bottom spiral
20
a
rests on the ramp
27
. Due to the ramp
27
, when the spring
20
continues to move down, it deflects the elastic tongue
25
in the direction X perpendicular to the axis Z (see dotted line on
FIG. 7
) and then stops against the stop
29
(FIG.
4
). Then, the jaw
28
is pushed back in the opposite direction of X (following the arrow shown in
FIG. 5
) so that the top spiral
20
b
of the spring
20
locks against the jaw
28
while the spring
20
and the tongue
25
remain mutually buttressed in the operating position. In this position, the elastic wall
23
is approximately in line with the rigid wall
24
, with the bottom end
25
b
of the tongue
25
slightly retracted with reference to the attachment plane P.
In the second variant, suitable for longer springs, the frame
30
, initially in the position drawn in
FIG. 2
b
, is folded in the opposite direction of X to the position in
FIG. 8
, where the tips
32
a
lock against the shoulders
33
, while the spring remains constrained in the space
35
of the frame.
The pressure exerted by the device on the rail
11
when the device is snapped on is conveyed by a slight compression of the spring
20
, with the corresponding force taken up by the elastic wall
23
on which the spring
20
is buttressed, at the jaw
28
of the bearing surface
36
.
In the third variant (FIGS.
9
and
10
), the spring
20
comprises a top spiral
20
b
prolonged by a transversal catch
20
c
and the casing comprises a slot
40
which is directed parallel to the direction Z and communicates with the housing
15
. The catch
20
c
slides into the slot when the spring is inserted into the housing and then, by pivoting the spring around its axis (merged with the Z axis), is engaged under a bearing surface
41
adjacent to the housing so as to remain captive in the housing.
Claims
- 1. Electrical device comprising:a support rail equipped with a locking end, a part that can be snapped onto the support rail and that includes, in a rear panel, at least one compression spring which can be applied onto the locking end with an axis orthogonal to a length of the support rail, with the spring arranged in a housing which opens onto the locking end while having a stop for the spring, wherein the housing opens to the outside, opposite the locking end, via an opening to a top end used for axial insertion of the spring for assembly, and wherein the housing has a bearing surface opposite the stop on which bearing surface a top end spiral of the spring can be applied, said bearing surface being inactive during the axial insertion of the spring and being rendered active by being applied against the spring after the axial insertion of the spring.
- 2. Device according to claim 1, wherein the bearing surface is provided on a tongue which forms an elastic wall of the housing and has a ramp that can be actuated by a locking spiral of the spring when said spring is inserted in the opening and is pushed into the housing.
- 3. Device according to claim 2, wherein the bearing surface is formed by a jaw of the tongue which is locked on the top end spiral that is located at one end of the spring opposite an end at which the locking spiral is located.
- 4. Device according to claim 1, wherein the housing is delimited at the rear panel by an elastic wall and by a rigid wall, said elastic wall being, in a spring support position, approximately in line with the rigid wall.
- 5. Device according to claim 1, wherein the housing is defined at the rear panel by an elastic wall composed of a frame having a central space provided for passage of the spring, said frame being bent forwardly after the axial insertion of the spring to lock against shoulders in the housing.
- 6. Device according to claim 1, wherein the top end spiral is prolonged by a transversal catch liable to slide into a slot in the housing when the spring is inserted and then is applied against the bearing surface by rotating the spring around the axis.
Priority Claims (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
Kind |
99 03193 |
Mar 1999 |
FR |
|
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A |
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A |
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A |
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A |
4671697 |
Ando et al. |
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A |
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DE |
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DE |
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DE |
3426019 |
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DE |
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DE |
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DE |
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FR |
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FR |
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FR |
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