The invention relates to an overvoltage protection plug for connection or distribution board modules in telecommunications and data technology and to a grounding rail suitable for this purpose.
Such overvoltage protection plugs are known, for example, from DE 100 29 650 A1 and comprise, for example, a housing and a printed circuit board, at least one overvoltage protection element being arranged on the printed circuit board, and the printed circuit board having a plug-in region, on which electrical contact pads are arranged, which are electrically connected to the overvoltage protection element, the overvoltage protection element being connected to at least one ground line. In this case, a metal web is arranged on the printed circuit board, which metal web is electrically connected to the ground line and makes electrical contact with a grounding rail when the overvoltage protection plug is plugged.
The invention is based on the technical problem of providing an overvoltage protection plug which is simpler in terms of design and of providing a grounding rail suitable for this purpose.
The solution to the technical problem results from the subject matters with the features of patent claims 1 and 13. Further advantageous configurations of the invention result from the dependent claims.
For this purpose, the overvoltage protection plug comprises a housing and a printed circuit board, at least one overvoltage protection element on the printed circuit board having a plug-in region, on which electrical contact pads are arranged, which are electrically connected to the overvoltage protection element, the overvoltage protection element being connected to at least one ground line, the housing being designed to be at least partially electrically conductive, and the housing being electrically connected to the ground line on the printed circuit board or a ground connection of the overvoltage protection element at an electrically conductive point. As a result, the separate contact element on the printed circuit board is no longer required and the housing can be connected to the printed circuit board in a similar manner to an SMD element. If the housing is directly electrically connected to the ground connection of the overvoltage protection element, this connection represents the ground line, so that separate ground lines on the printed circuit board are no longer required.
In a preferred embodiment, the housing is designed to have at least one contact web for making contact with a fork contact of a grounding rail.
Preferably, the contact web is arranged on the inner side of an upper part of the housing.
In a further preferred embodiment, guide elements, in which parts of a grounding rail can be guided, are arranged on the inner sides of side parts of the housing.
In a further preferred embodiment, the housing is completely electrically conductive. This has the advantage of simple manufacture. On the other hand, an embodiment may also be advantageous where part of the housing is electrically nonconductive, so that a user can grip an electrically nonconductive region when handling the plug.
In a further preferred embodiment, the housing is designed to be integral.
In a further preferred embodiment, the housing is made from metal, a metal alloy or a metallized plastic. As the alloy, the housing is preferably formed using zinc diecasting. In embodiments where the housing is only partially electrically conductive, it is preferably manufactured from a two-component plastic, in this case the electrically conductive parts being electroplated.
In a further preferred embodiment, in each case two contact pads are arranged on the upper and the lower side of the printed circuit board in the plug-in region of the printed circuit board. In embodiments only with surge arrestors, in this case the contact pads on the upper side are plated through to the contact pads on the lower side. In embodiments with coordinated protection, the contact pads, on the other hand, are not plated through since the PTC thermistors lie electrically therebetween.
In a further preferred embodiment, the printed circuit board is in the form of a multilayer printed circuit board, the conductor tracks being guided from the overvoltage protection element to the contact pads in a central plane of the multilayer printed circuit board. As a result, the risk of undesired short circuits between the conductor tracks and the housing is reduced.
In a further preferred embodiment, the housing has at least one latching element, via which the overvoltage protection plug can be latched on a housing of a connection or distribution board module.
In a further preferred embodiment, at least two overvoltage protection elements, which are applied to the printed circuit board as a prefabricated unit, are arranged on the printed circuit board. As a result, the overvoltage protection elements have greater mechanical stability, so that unintentional sliding of components against the housing during manufacture and therefore the risk of short circuits is reduced.
In a further preferred embodiment, the housing is soldered to the ground line on the printed circuit board.
In a further preferred embodiment, the housing is adhesively bonded to the ground line on the printed circuit board with electrically conductive adhesive bonds. This type of connection can preferably be used for UESS circuits with low requirements for current-carrying capacity.
The invention will be explained in more detail below with reference to a preferred exemplary embodiment. In the figures:
If the overvoltage protection plug 1 is now plugged into a connection or distribution board module with the grounding rail 2, the two limbs 10, 11 pass through the slots 9, contact being made with the contact web 14 by means of the fork contact 12. A ground connection via the housing 3 is thus produced. The overvoltage protection plug 1 is mechanically latched on the housing of the connection or distribution board module via the latching tab 17 or the latching element 18.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
10 2007 055 259.0 | Nov 2007 | DE | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
---|---|---|---|---|
PCT/EP08/08633 | 10/13/2008 | WO | 00 | 5/20/2010 |