IE45105B1 - Improvements in or relating to rack assemblies - Google Patents

Abstract

A plurality of equipment units (1) in a carrier-frequency system are installed in a receptacle for electrical plug-in modules (15) with the aid of a console-like drop-in device (21). For the electrical connection of the equipment units (1), the receptacle has contact strips (12) with forward-projecting wrap pins (5) to which the exchange and internal (ring) wiring is connected. Printed circuit boards (2) disposed at the back of the equipment units (1) have perforations (20) through which the wrap pins (5) located in the contact strips (12) protrude when inserted. Further inwardly-projecting wrap pins (9) are attached to the printed circuit boards (2) and are connected to printed conductors of the circuit boards (2) with the result that, when plug-in modules (15) are inserted in the equipment units (1), spring-loaded contact strips (16) located on the plug-in modules (15) come into contact with the first-mentioned wrap pins (5) and the further wrap pins (9) and, if necessary, make connections between the two. The whole arrangement is particularly suitable for plug-in frequency converters, amplifiers etc., such as those required in carrier-frequency systems.

Description

The present invention relates to a rack assembly comprising a connector unit for receiving at least one electrical plug-in assembly and a holder for carrying said unit, and more particularly but not exclusively to such rack assemblies used in the electrical communication-transmission field.

Such a rack assembly is described in the German AS 2 148 399. One advantage afforded by such a rack assembly is that a plurality of electric connections can be effected over a small area.

An object of the present invention is to provide a simplified rack assembly.

According to the invention, there is provided a rack assembly comprising a connector unit, and a holder for carrying said unit, said holder having mounted thereon a first contactcarrying strip on which a plurality of wrap-pins are disposed, and said connector unit comprising a printed circuit board having a plurality of contact pins arranged thereon, each of ----).- - said contact pins being in electrical connection with a printed conductor path on said circuit board, said circuit board having disposed therein a plurality of holes through which jwrap pins on the first contact-carrying strip extend when the connector unit is in its operative position in the holder, and .said.connectorunit having means for receiving at least one plug-in'assembly having a further contact-carrying strip arranged on one edge thereof, the arrangement being such that . υ a when the or each plug-in assembly is mounted in the connector unit, the contact of the or each associated contact-carrying strip are in electrical contact with ones of said wrap pins and said contact pins.

In the rack assembly according to this invention, one plug-in plane is saved in comparison with the know arrangement. The contact-carrying strips which are employed are simplified, and as a result of their design do not require to be mounted in the form of a separate housing. The construction is also space-saving,, so that more plug-in connections than previously can be effected on the same area.

To facilitate a rapid arrangement and insertion of an exchange cable, the first contact-carrying strip is divided in the vertical direction by horizontal slots, further slots arranged on the rear of tha strip permitting the exchange cable to be tisd-off in a simple fashion.

Conveniently, the holder comprises two elongate structural members, one of wnich carries the first contact-carrying strip and the connector unit is provided with guide means arranged to cooperate with corresponding guide means on said first wrap to position the strip relative to said contractor unit.

In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, the contact-carrying strip is mounted on the holder so as to be movable relative thereto. For example, the first contactcarrying strip may be provided with a hole in which a bushing is arranged, the diameter of which bushing is smaller than the diameter of the hole. Securing means, such as a screw, may then be passed through the bushing and affixed to the holder, so as to permit the strip to move relative to the holder. In order to prevent the first contact-carrying strip tilting away from the holder, each end of the bushing may have a flange arranged thereon, said flanges also preventing the bushing from leaving the hole.

To ensure correct positioning of the connector unit 5 relative to the first contact-carrying strip, the contact unit and said strip may be provided with mutually co-acting guide means. Further, the printed circuit board may be provided with guide means for facilitating entry of the wrap pins into the holes disposed therein. These measures facili10 tate satisfactory insertion of the wrap pins without imposing too heavy requirements on spacing tolerances, and at the same time afford an automatic alignment of the vzrap pins, some of which may have been bent by the wrapping process.

For the fixing of the exchange cable, the contact strips can be provided on their upper side with an opening and a groove so that the exchange cable and the internal cable can be fixed with tapes directly behind the contact strips.

Another possible fixing method consists in providing the elongate structural members with supports to which the cables are tied by means of tapes.

An exemplary embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying schematic drawings, in which:Figure 1 is a perspective view of a rack assembly 25 according' to the invention, with the connector unit separated from its holder, Figure 2 is a plan view of said assembly showing means for aligning the connector unit relative to a contact-carrying strip, Figure 3 is a perspective view showing the assembly of Figure 1 in more detail Figure 4 is a perspective view showing said means for aligning the connector unit relative to said contact-carrying strip, Figure 5 shows means for mounting the contact-carrying strip to the holder in a manner enabling the strip to move relative to ths holder, and Figure 5 is a side view showing a plug-in assembly in more detail, In Figure I there is shown a holder comprising two elongate members in the form of angle-strips 11 which togethe: form a path for a plurality of exchange cables 7. Mounted on one of the strips 11 is a plug-in contact-carrying strip 12 having a plurality of wrap-pins 5 disposei thereon, around which pins respective conductors of the cables 7, and also of the rack-wiring, shall be wrapped. Mounted between two mutually opposed surfaces of the angle-strips 11 is a bracket structure 21 which receives a connector unit 1, It will be understood that the holder is arranged to receive a plurality of such units, although the following description will, in general, be made with reference only to the illustrated unit. The connector unit 1 is provided witn a printed-circuit board 2 having openings 2o through which tne wrap-pins extend when the unit 1 is inserted into the bracket 21- subsequent to wrapping said conductors around their allotted pins 5. The plug-in strip 12 can be secured to the right-hand or lefthand angle-strip of the holder. Uniformly spaced cn the surface of the circuit board 2 remote from angle-strips 11 are pin contacts 9, arranged in a pattern similar to that of the wrap pins 5 and connected by wave soldering to the conductor pattern on the surface of the board. The circuit board 2 may also be provided with multi-pole spring strips 10, which may be wave-soldered to the board either above or beneath the exchange connection sone. The wrap pins 5 together with exchange connection windings 6, are impressed into the strip 12 which is preferably made of a synthetic resin material.

As previously mentioned, the internal rack wiring, which carries alarms, signals, current supply and carrier lines from connector unit to connector unit mounted on the holder, is connected to tha wrap pins 5 on the strip 12.

The conductors of the exchange cables 7 and of the rack wiring can be readily connected to the wrap pins 5 from the front. In order to better distribute the conductors, and to enable them to be readily passed to the wrap pins 5, the strip is provided with horizontally extending slots 13. The slots are arranged in accordance with the spacing of the contacts 9 and openings 20 of unit 1. The strip 12 is also provided with slots 14 which allow tha cables to be tied-off with synthetic resin tapes.. Due to the inherent stability of the wrap-pins 5 and the contacts 9, these do not require a surrounding housing.

As shown in Figure 1, the connector unit 1 is constructed to receive at least one plug-in assembly 15. Mounted on one edge of the or each assembly 15. for example by wave-soldering techniques, and extending across the whole width thereof, is a contact-carrying strip 16 having three rows of sockets, said rows being arranged one above the other, as best seen from Figure 6, and being provided with spring contact elements for electrical contact with wrap pins. The or each strip 16 is arranged.to engage the contacts 9 located on circuit board 2, and also adjoining wrap-pins 5 projecting from the contact- 7 carrying strip 12 into the insertion area, said wrap pins 5 carrying exchange- and rack wiring. As /-ill also bast be seen from Figure 6, the inlets of respective sockets on the or each strip 16 are funnel shaped, to facilitate entry of respective wrap-pins 5 and pin contacts 9 therein.

Attached to the angle-strips 11 is a stirrup-like element 13 having a screw-threaded block IS mounted on the web thereof. The element IS forms a support for the connector unit 1, which is secured to s? id element by means of a screw 17 which screws into the block 19.

Figure 3 is a perspective view in greater detail of part of the holder shown in Figure 1, with a connector unit 1 inserted into the holder. As seen in the Figure, a printed circuit board 15 is slidably received in the unit 1 in two slotted grooves 4 mounted on respective, mutually opposed sides of the unit 1, on the front or leading side of the connector unit is a printed circuit board 2. Exchange cables 47 extend from the rear of the hous-ng, in a cable path intended therefor, to the unit. Each angle-strip 11 is provided wxth a respective plugin contact-carrying strip 12 having wrap-pins 5 disposed thereon. Each plug-in strip 12 has a multiplicity of horizontally extending slots, through which conductors 54 of the exchange cables 47 and rack-wiring cables 51 pass, said conductors being wrapped around respective wrap-pins 5 on tlie face of the strip 12 adjacent the circuit board 2, Subsequent to wrapping the conductors 54 around respective wrap-pins 5 the unit 1 is inserted between ths mutually opposed surfaces of the angle-strips 11, and is held in position there by means of a bracket similar to the bracket 21 shown in Figure 1. The rack-wiring 51 and the exchange cables 7 are either secured directly to the contact strip 12, or to a rack-holder 18, by means of securing straps 43, 45. The conductor 54 can be led to the wrap-pins 5 via slots 13, or via a series of keyhole like channels comprising slots 23 vzith insertion slots 22 extending generally at right angles therefrom.

Arranged on each strip 12 are guide pins 25 having tapered ends 24, said guide pins being received in corresponding holes 26 in the printed circuit board 2 so that when the unit 1 is inserted into the bracket 21, the unit will be positioned correctly in relation to the strips 12 for plugging-in the plugin assembly 15. To facilitate guidance of the wrap-pins 5 into respective holes in the printed-circuit board 2, which pins may have become bent during wiring, the holes may be of funnelshape configuration, as shoxvn in Figure 6.

The wrap-pins 5 may also be guided into the printedcircuit board 2 with the aid of a perforated guide plate 29 whioh has been previously placed onto the wrap pins 5, either as an alternative to the funnel-shape configuration or additional thereto. When the plate 29 is used, the holes 20 in the circuit board 2 may be replaced by relatively large openings 30. The contacts 9 for the internal v/iring in the circuit board 2 are either directly impressed into the latter, or, in the case of multi-layer boards, are held in separate strips 32.

Figure 4 show’s a portion of the holder, with the anglestrips 11, the bracket-like suspension device 21, and the plugin strip 12. The connector unit 1 is guided ih guide tracks provided on the bracket 21, and the plug-in contact-carrying strips 12 are secured in floating fashion to the angle-strips 11.

Each plug-in contact-carrying strip 12 is secured to its associated angle-strip 11 by attachment means which permit movement of the strip relative to its angle-strip 11. As will ·: 5 ί Ο δ be seen from Figure 5, each contact strip 12 has providsd therein a hole 52 which receives a bushing -.'J 'whose diameter is smaller than that of the hole 52. Extending through the bushing 47 is a screw 42 which screws into a corresponding threaded hole in the angle-strip 11. Since the bushing 47 is of smaller diameter than the hole 52, each strip 12 is able tc move relative to its angle-strip 11. In order to prevent, inter alia, tilting of the strips 12, each bushing 47 is provided at both ends thereof with flanges 4c which abut respective surfaces of the angle-strip 11 ar.d the strip 12.

The flanges 48 also prevent the bushings 47 from being inadvertently removed from the plug-in strip 12.

Guide pin 25 and guide hole may also be arranged in a reverse manner to that previously described, i.e. the guide pin being arranged on the circuit board 2 and the hole 26 in the strip 12.

The contact-carrying strip 16 is provided for common positioning of the plug-in units 15 onto the contacts 9, and the wrap pins 5 of the strip 12. As will be seen from Figure 6, the strip 16 comprises an insulating body 34, in which there are arranged in superposed relationship three rows of sockets each naving a contact spring 35 arranged in a millimetre or inch pattern, e.g. a 5 mm pattern. The arrangement of the lowest row of contacts in the horizontal plane of the circuit board, here referenced 36. affords a saving in space. The strip 16 may be fixed by conventic:.vl means, such as by riveting. The angled connectors 37 are provided for connecting the contact springs 35 to the circuit board 36. Each socket has a funnel-like configuration, as shown at 38, thereby to ensure reliable location of the wrap pins 5 and the contacts 9, and thus a reliable plug-in operation.

- IG As previously mentioned any wrap pins which may have become bent as a result of the wrapping operation, can bs aligned on strips 11 by placing a perforated guide plate 29 onto the plug-in strip 12, before the unit 1 is inserted into the holder.

Claims (11)

1. CLAIMS:1. A rack assembly comprising a connector unit and a holder for carrying said unit, said holder having mounted thereon a first contact-carrying strip on which a plurality 5 of wrap-pins are disposed, and said connector unit comprising a printed circuit board having a plurality of contact pins arranged thereon, each of said contact pins being in electrical connection with a printed conductor path on said circuit board, said circuit board havtng disposed therein a 10 plurality of holes through which wrap pins on the first contact-carrying strip extend when the connector unit is in its operative position in the holder, and said connector unit having means for receiving at least one plug-in assembly having a further contact-carrying strip arranged on one edge 15 thereof, the arrangement being such that when the or each plug-in assembly is mounted in tiie connector unit, the contacts of the cr each associated contact-carrying strip are in electrical contact with ones of said wrap pins and said contact pins, 20 A rack assembly as claimed in claim 1, in which the first contact-carrying strip has a longitudinal axis, and a multiplicity of mutually parallel slots extend at right angles to th.e longitudinal axis of said strip.

2. 3. A rack assembly as claimed in Claim 2, wherein the 25 first contact-carrying strip is provided with further slots.

3. 4. A rack assembly as claimed in any one of the preceding Claims, wherein the holder comprises two elongate structural members, wherein a said first contact-carrying strip is mounted on one or on each of said members, and wherein said connector 30 unit, is provided with guide means arranged to cooperate with -J.Q 5 corresponding guide means on the or each first contact-carrying strip to position said strip relative to said connector unit.

4. 5. A rack assembly as claimed in Claim 4, wherein the elongate structural members carry support means for supporting 5 said unit in its operative position on the holder.

5. 6. A rack assembly as claimed in any one of the preceding Claims, -wherein the contact-carrying strips are provided with means for securing electrical wiring thereto.

6. 7. A rack assembly as claimed in any one of the preceding IG Claims, wherein the or each first contact-carrying strip is mounted on said holder for movement relative thereto.

7. 8. A.rack assembly as claimed in Claim 7, wherein the or each first contact-carrying strip has arranged therein a bore through v/hich there extends a bushing whose diameter is 15 smaller than the diameter of said bore, said bushing being arranged to receive a securing device v/hich co-acts with a corresponding securing device on said holder to secure the or each first contact-carrying strip thereto while permitting movement thereof relative to said holder. 20

8. 9. A rack assembly as claimed in Claim 8, wherein a flange is provided at each end of the bushing.

9.

10. A rack assembly as claimed in any one of the preceding Claims, wherein the printed circuit board has guide means v/hich facilitate entry of said wrap pins into said holes. 25

11. A rack assembly substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to, and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.