AU732404B2

AU732404B2 - Device for mounting on a top-hat rail

Info

Publication number: AU732404B2
Application number: AU56241/99A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Dieter Kropp; Thorsten Schlegel
Original assignee: AEG Niederspannungstechnik GmbH and Co KG
Current assignee: AEG Niederspannungstechnik GmbH and Co KG
Priority date: 1998-08-24
Filing date: 1999-08-23
Publication date: 2001-04-26
Anticipated expiration: 2019-08-23
Also published as: EP1025627B1; TR200001972T1; NO20002055D0; CN1287701A; DE19838432C1; DE59914365D1; EP1025627A1; NO317523B1; HUP0004904A2; WO2000011768A1; HU221563B; EG21704A; PL193439B1; DE19981651D2; ATE364246T1; ES2286894T3; BR9906767A; NO20002055L; AU5624199A; CN1196237C

Abstract

The invention relates to a device, preferably a circuit-breaker, for mounting on a top-hat rail, comprising a housing, one side of which is configured as a mounting section. A locking bar is provided in the mounting section, said locking bar being fitted on the housing in such a way that it slides and having a projection which extends in the direction of sliding in order to tightly clamp the circuit-breaker on the top-hat rail. A strap-shaped clamp element also provided in the mounting section is fixed on the housing in such a way that when the locking bar moves into a latching or clamping position, the clamp element is at least partially gripped from underneath and is hereby moved into a position in which it clamps the top-hat rail tight.

Description

Description "Device for Mounting on a Top-Hat Rail" The present invention relates to a device mounted on a top-hat rail according to the preamble of claim i.

As a rule, devices for mounting on top-hat rails are circuit breakers (automatic cutouts) having standardized mounting sections in accordance with the shape of the top-hat rails and standardized electrical connections for use for so-called collecting bars, but with different trip characteristics and rated amperages.

A device of this kind is known from the prior art, e.g. the DE 295 05 531 Ul. This device consists of a substantially rectangular, flat built housing, on the narrow front side of which a switching means is provided. The narrow rear side is formed as a mounting section for fixing the housing to a top-hat rail.

The mounting section comprises a substantially plane contact surface which is dimensioned in accordance with the dimension of S the top-hat rail and is restricted at its upper narrow end edge by a claw-shaped projection integrally formed on the housing as a retaining strip extending over the entire width of the small Sside of the housing. At the lower end edge of the plane contact surface, extending at the longitudinal distance with respect to 9% S the housing, the rear side of the housing is shaped so as to *o comprise a guide for a longitudinally movable locking bar or slider. On its upper edge facing the claw-shaped projection, the locking bar comprises a nose extending in the longitudinal direction and constituting the counterpart of the claw-shaped pro- S jection on the housing.

For mounting the known device on the top-hat rail, the locking bar is shifted downward, i.e. away from the claw-shaped projection until the longitudinal distance of the claw-shaped projec- -2tion to the nose is larger than the width of the top-hat rail and, thus, allows an insertion of the top-hat rail between the upper projection and the nose. As soon as the contact surface of the housing, during the mounting thereof, abuts on the top-hat rail, the device is slightly shifted downwards, so that the claw-shaped projection grips behind the top-hat rail. Finally, the locking bar is moved upwards into a self-locking latching position in which the nose also grips behind the top-hat rail, thereby fixing the device on the top-hat rail.

It has now become evident that, due to the movable arrangement of the locking bar, there is automatically a play between the locking bar and the housing as well as between the locking bar and the top-hat rail, so that the housing can be twisted or reciprocated slightly also in the latching position of the locking bar. Furthermore, forces which act on the housing and have to be received by the top-hat rail, might be transferred to the locking bar, thereby unintentionally pressing the latter out of its latching position and, accordingly, loosening the device from the top-hat rail.

Thus, it is the object underlying the invention to create a device of this type, which boasts an improved reliability while mounting remains simple.

o. According to the invention, this problem is solved by a device 0000 comprising the features according to claim I.

•ooe *5 Accordingly, the invention consists in that a strap-shaped clamp S element is arranged on the housing in such a way that, when the locking bar slides into its latching position, in which a noseshaped projection of the locking bar grips behind the top-hat rail, the clamp element is at least partially gripped from underneath and is hereby moved into a position clamping the tophat rail tight. Hereby, the clamp element is pressed against the top-hat rail and, thus, closes the flux of force between the nting section on the housing and the top-hat rail by, as it AK S S -1_ -3were, avoiding the locking bar. By this measure, external forces such as pushes or pressures, which might act upon the housing, are not transferred to the locking bar, but to the clamp element, so that an unintentional displacement of the locking bar from its latching position is prevented. Besides, the clamp element compensates a play between the housing and the top-hat rail.

However, despite the additional arrangement of t-he clamp element, the functionality regarding the handling property of the device, e.g. of the automatic cutout is maintained. In other words, the device can be loosened from the top-hat rail by operation of the locking bar and, thus, the device can also be taken separately from a system of devices without the adjacent devices having to be removed from the top-hat rail.

Further advantageous embodiments of the invention are subjectmatters of the subclaims.

In the following, the invention will be explained in greater detail by means of a preferred embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of the mounting section of a device according to the invention, having a locking bar in latching or locking position, Fig. 2 shows a leaf spring as a torsional safety device according to the invention, Fig. 3 shows a perspective view of the upper side of the locking bar according to the invention, and Fig. 4 shows the constructional assignment between the locking bar and the leaf spring according to the invention.

-4- As can be seen from Fig. 1, a housing 1 of a device, in the present case an automatic cutout, is formed with a mounting section 2 for mounting on a non-displayed top-hat rail, said mounting section comprising a locking bar 3, among others, slidably guided on the housing 1 as well as operable manually. As will be stated in greater detail in the following, this locking bar 3 serves to fix the housing 1 on the top-hat rail. Furthermore, a strap-shaped clamp element 4 in the form of a leaf spring is arranged in the mounting section 2 such that it is biased against the hat-top rail when the locking bar 3 is shifted into a locking or latching position for clamping the housing 1 tight to the top-hat rail. At the same time, a play between the top-hat rail and the housing 1 is compensated.

According to Fig. 1, which only shows an enlargement of the area of the mounting section 2, which is essential to the invention, the housing 1 of the device is configured in the form of a flat and oblong rectangular parallelepiped, said mounting section 2 being located at a narrow and oblong rear side of the housing 1.

The mounting section 2 consists of a contact surface 5 (only partially shown), which is substantially plane and adapted to a standardized hat-top rail (not shown) with respect to its dimensions. A claw-shaped projection or strip, which is not shown in any greater detail, either, in Figs. 1 to 4, is arranged at a viewed in the longitudinal direction of the housing 1 upper edge of the contact surface 5, which is preferably formed in one piece with the housing 1 and forms a kind of groove for receiving an upper edge of the top-hat rail. Thus, this last-mentioned area of the mounting section substantially corresponds to the prior art described in the beginning, so that no further description would seem to be needed.

According to Fig. 1, the lower edge of the contact surface 5 is restricted by a shoulder or step 6, which results in a guiding section 7 staggered back with respect to the contact surface In this section 7, there is a sliding and guiding means in the Nrm of two parallel rails extending in the longitudinal direction of the housing (not shown), which are also formed in one piece with the housing 1. The locking bar 3 is slidably supported on the rails such that it is movable from a locking or latching position (corresponds to the position shown in Fig. 1) into a release position.

The locking bar 3 is represented in detail in Fig. 3.

According to Fig. 3, the locking bar 3 has, at its upper side, a grid-like structure comprising a strut 8 extending individually (S-shaped) and connecting two flank walls 10 of the locking bar 3 with each other, and a substantially triangular plate 9 extending longitudinally from a rear side of the locking bar 3 and being connected to the central portion of the strut 8 at its front tip. At this tip, the plate 9 forms a latching pin 8a aligned substantially perpendicularly downwards. The latching pin 8a is rounded off at its free end. The reason for this consists in that, when the locking bar 3 is shifted, the latching pin 8a slides along the surface of the housing, at which a kind of bulge or swell (not shown) is formed between the two rails.

When sliding over this bulge, the latching pin 8a is shifted upwards, which elastically deforms the plate 9 as well as the strut 8. By this elastic biasing, a force is applied to the locking bar 3 via the pin 8a, said force having a force component acting in the sliding direction of the locking bar 3 due to the inclination of the bulge and being used for a biasing of the locking bar 3 in its latching position. At the same time, the bulge forms a stop which defines the rear release position.

At their respective lower edges, the flank walls 10 of the locking bar 3 are restricted by two strips 11, which are arranged at the interior sides of the flank walls 10 facing each other and serve to slidingly receive the rails.

In the direction of a front section of the locking bar 3, the two flank walls 10 taper in a wedge shape at their upper edges r slope downwards, respectively, to a step 12 extending perpen- -6dicularly to the lower edge, respectively. The steps 12 end shortly above the strips 11 in one flank wall extension, respectively. The front faces of the flank wall extensions 13 form a contact surface 14, respectively, which get into abutment with the step 6 on the housing in the latching position of the locking bar 3, as is shown in Fig. 1. The strips 11 extend also at the flank extensions 13 to the contact surfaces 14. The front end sections of the strips 13 are slanted in a wedge shape in the direction of the contact surfaces 14, said slant being continued by a respectively slanted notching in the flank wall extensions 13 while a kind of ramp 22 is formed.

In approximately that area in which the flank walls 10 gradually turn into the sections 15 which slope in a wedge-shaped way, there is arranged a rigid transverse wall 16 which connects the flank walls and on which a nose-shaped latching projection 17 is formed, said latching projection extending in parallel to and between the two flank wall extensions 13. According to Fig. 3, this projection 17 consists of two parallelly spaced apart webs 18 which stick out perpendicularly to the transverse wall 16 from the same above the flank wall extensions 13, and an end plate 19 which connects the free end sections of the webs 18 with each other and, furthermore, extends at an obtuse angle with respect to the strips 11 in the direction of the front section of the locking bar 3. The free ends of the webs 18 are formed with engaging surfaces 20 for the top-hat rail at the lower sides thereof. According to Fig. 1, at the rear side of the transverse wall 19, there are unitarily formed two knobs 19a which are adapted to be abutted on the bulge of the housing 1, when the locking bar 3 is in its release position, and, thus, restrict the distance of displacement.

At the rear end section of the locking bar 3, the latter further has an actuating means in the form of a receiver or a hole 21 which is formed in the plate 9 and serves to receive a normal screwdriver and/or a cross-tip screwdriver.

-7- As can be seen from Fig. 2, the leaf spring 4 forms a flat and closed leaf spring frame 23 of a rectangular shape. Preferably, this leaf spring 4 can be manufactured as a stamping.' At a narrow side of the leaf spring frame 23, the latter is essentially bent at right angles to a retaining or fixing strip 24. From this side, a spring tongue 25 extends at right angles in the direction of an opposite side of the leaf spring frame 23, said spring tongue 25 being spaced apart at an acute angle from a plane put up by the leaf spring frame 23 in the direction of its free end. The free end of the spring tongue 25 is again slightly angle-shaped, so that there is generated an abutting or supporting surface 26 aligned parallel to the plane.

The side of the leaf spring frame 23 opposite to the retaining strip 24 is, contrary to the retaining strip 24, essentially bent rectangularly, and forms two clamping edges 27 spaced apart in the lateral direction. A sliding nose 28 is provided in one piece with the leaf spring frame 23 between the clamping edges 27. This sliding nose consists of a pin being bulged upwards) in its central section and, thus, forms a rounded-off sliding-off surface at its upper side.

In the following, the mode of operation as well as the cooperation of the locking bar 3 and the leaf spring 4 shall be described in greater detail by means of Figs. 1 and 4: According to Fig. 1, the housing 1 has a transversely extending receiving groove 28a in the area of the mounting section 2, the retaining/fixing strip 24 of the leaf spring 4 being inserted into said receiving groove such that the leaf spring 4/the leaf spring frame 23 can be swung in the area of a predetermined angle with respect to the guiding section 7 of the locking bar 3 in the receiving groove 28a. Additionally, there are two knobshaped projections 29 in the mounting section 2, which extend into an opening enclosed by the leaf spring frame 23 and, thus, position and align the leaf spring frame 23.

-8- For mounting the housing 1 on a top-hat rail, the locking bar 3 is withdrawn from its latching position according to Fig. 1 into its position of release in which the knobs 19a abut on the bulge of the housing and, thus, restrict the movement of withdrawal.

In this position, there results a gap between the nose-shaped projection 17 of the locking bar 3 and the non-shown claw-shaped holding device on the housing 1, said gap allowing an insertion of the top-hat rail into the claw-shaped holding device and an abutment of the contact surface 5 of the housing 1 on the tophat rail.

As soon as the contact surface 5 of the housing 1 abuts on the top-hat rail, the locking bar 3 is shifted from its position of release in the direction of its latching position. During this shifting movement, the sliding pin 8a of the locking bar 3 slides over the bulge of the housing 1 in the area of the guiding section 7, wherein initially a force resulting from the deformation of the plate 8 and the web 8 has to be overcome against the shifting movement of the locking bar 3. As soon as the sliding pin 8a has exceeded the vertex of the bulge of the housing, the direction of the resulting spring force turns in the sliding direction of the locking bar 3 and moves the latter snap-like into its latching position. In this last-mentioned moving stage, in the area of their ramps 22, the flank wall extensions 13 of the locking bar 3 grip the free end of the leaf spring 4 from underneath below its clamping edges 27 and gradually lift the leaf spring 4 in accordance with the angle of the ramps 22.

In the lifting movement of the leaf spring 4, first the spring tongue 25 is pressed against the top-hat rail, which thus exerts a readjusting spring force onto the leaf spring frame 23. At the same time, the nose-shaped projection 17 of the locking bar 3 grips over the rear side of the top-hat rail, said top-hat rail being pressed by the spring force of the spring tongue against the contact surfaces 20 of the projection 17, i.e. the -9top-hat rail is clamped between the projection 17 of the locking bar 3 and the spring tongue 25, as it were.

When the locking bar 3 is further shifted, the clamping edges 27 moving in the direction of the top-hat rail engage with a lower longitudinal edge of the top-hat rail and, in this way, pull the housing 1 downwards with the upper longitudinal edge of the tophat rail latching into the claw-shaped holding device of the housing 1. The shifting movement of the locking bar 3 into its latching position is restricted by the stopping of the stop faces 14 against the step 6, wherein in this latching position the sliding pin 8a still being in the area of the bulge of the housing exerts a force in the sliding direction onto the locking bar 3 by the elastic deformation of the plate 9 and the web 8 and, thus, locks the same in its latching position.

At the same time, two stop blocks 30 which are formed as one piece on the housing 1 and extend in parallel to the leaf spring frame 23 prevent a further swinging of the leaf spring frame 23 about the retaining strip 24.

Thus, according to the foregoing description, the leaf spring 4 compensates a play between the housing 1 and the top-hat rail due to the sliding arrangement of the locking bar 3 in that, in the latching position of the locking bar 3 according to Fig. 1, the leaf spring 4 is lifted by the ramps 22 to the top-hat rail until the clamping edges 27 are pressed against the lower edge of the top-hat rail and clamp the top-hat rail between themselves and the claw-shaped holding device on the housing. Thus, the clamping force is introduced via the clamping strips 27, the leaf spring frame 23 and the retaining strip 24 of the leaf spring 4 into the groove 28a of the housing 1, the frictional connection between the leaf spring 4 and the top-hat rail being essentially free from play due to the exact retaining of the leaf spring 4 in the groove 28a and the spring bias by the locking bar 3. Since, furthermore, external forces on the housing 1, a slight twisting or tilting of the housing 1, are received P:\pdocs\dys\specie\74801 10spe.doc-09/02/0 by the claw-shaped holding device of the housing 1 and the clamping edges 27 of the leaf spring 4 and are introduced via the leaf spring frame 23 directly into the groove 28a of the housing 1, the locking bar 3 remains unaffected by these external forces and can, in this way, safely maintain its latching position.

Throughout this specification and the claims which follow, unless the context requires otherwise, the word "comprise", and variations such as "comprises" or "comprising" will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated integer or step or group of integers or steps but not the exclusion of any other integer or step or group of integers or steps.

The reference to any prior art in this specification is not, and should not be taken as, an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that that prior art forms part of the common general knowledge in Australia.

*oo• i* 0

Claims

1. A device for mounting on a top-hat rail including a housing, one side of which is configured as a mounting section in which a locking bar supported slidably on the housing is provided, said locking bar having at least one projection extending in a direction of sliding, said projection being engageable in a latching position in an undercut manner with said top-hat rail, characterised by a strap-shaped clamp element fixed on the housing in such a way that, when the locking bar slides into its latching position, it can at least partially grip the clamp element from underneath and hereby be moved into a position clamping the top-hat rail tight.

2. A device according to claim 1, characterised in that the clamp element is a leaf spring. oooooo 15

3. A device according to claim 2, characterised in that the leaf spring includes a substantially rectangular leaf spring frame which is bent at a narrow side at a right *angle while forming a retaining strip and at the opposite narrow side also at a right angle, but opposite to the retaining strip while forming at least one clamping edge. 0 20

4. A device according to claim 3, characterised in that two clamping edges are provided in the comer areas of the narrow side, forming among them a notch- shaped space into which a sliding nose formed in one piece with the leaf spring S: frame projects.

5. A device according to one of claims 3 and 4, characterised by a spring tongue extending from the narrow side of the leaf spring frame, forming the retaining strip, in the direction of the opposite narrow side while being aligned at an angle acute with respect to a plane put up by the leaf spring frame. I

6. A device according to claim 5, characterised in that the spring tongue has a contact surface aligned substantially parallel to the plane in its position of construction. PA" PdocS'4)'XWid\X74&01 IOspc.dom.O9A)2/I -12-

7. A device according to any one of claims 3 to 6, characterised in that, at a front side, viewed in the sliding direction, which includes the projection, the locking bar has at least one extension forming a ramp tapering in the form of a wedge in the direction of sliding, said ramp sliding under the leaf spring in the area of the clamping edges thereof, when the locking bar is shifted into its latching position, and raising the lead spring in the form of a swinging movement about the retaining strip until the clamping edges abut on the top-hat rail.

8. A device substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. SDated this 8 t day of February, 2001 AEG NIEDERSPANNUNGSTECHNIK 15 By Its Patent Attorneys DAVIES COLLISON CAVE o• Ck *•g *o*