IE53439B1

IE53439B1 - Electrical distribution device

Info

Publication number: IE53439B1
Application number: IE221682A
Authority: IE
Original assignee: Telemecanique Electrique
Priority date: 1981-09-17
Filing date: 1982-09-09
Publication date: 1988-11-09
Also published as: ES275412Y; FR2513030A1; EP0076183B1; EP0076183A1; IE822216L; DE3262436D1; ES275412U; FR2513030B1

Abstract

1. An electrical distribution apparatus including at least one junction box and a plurality of flexible conductors having a connecting plug at at least one end thereof, the junction box consisting of an insulating prism-shaped body (1) in which are provided a plurality of stacks of housings (17) disposed above each other and electrically insulated from each other by horizontal partition walls (10), each stack being separated from another by a vertical partition wall (11) said housings opening on two opposite parallel surfaces, said body being provided with a plurality of means for inserting and fastening a plurality of first connecting members (2) the number of which is the same as the number of housings in a stack, said connecting members (2) being disposed parallel over each other and consisting of at least one piece cut through a planar, electrically conducting and resilient material including a transverse bar (22) integral with at least two pairs of legs (23, 25, 24, 26) extending perpendicular to said transverse bar, the legs (25, 23) of a pair being symmetrically disposed with respect to said transverse bar and located in a same housing and the legs (24, 23) of two separate pairs being located in housings of two separate stacks, characterized in that the insertion means of the first connecting members (2) are slots (111) provided in the vertical partition walls (11) and extending at least into half of the length of the junction box, the fastening means for the connecting members being teeth (21) provided on an extension of the transverse bar (22) and cooperating with the internal side faces of the body (1).

Description

The invention relates to a power distribution system adapted to be modified, supplemented or dismantled without any deep action be required in the premises which are to be equipped therewith, and comprising juncticn boxes provid5 ed with first connecting means and flexible leads or conductors each having two ends on which are fitted second connecting means adapted to cooperate with said first connecting means, respectively.

Such systems can particularly be used in premises , offices, furniture which may have removable walls, as well as in connection with a power distribution mode in which such systems are installed under a false floor or over a false ceiling consisting of removable elements.

In heretofore known systems there is generally no provision by which assembly and/or disassembly or, if need be, any enlargement or modification of the system can be easily carried out. Thus, up to now, power distribution has been carried out by means of individual, insulated elec trical conductors which are associated to connection boxes provided with screwed fastening means where tightening is effected by the operator as many times as necessary, if needed by clamping several leads under a single connecting terminal It is also known to make multi-stage connection boxes in which the connections between the plugs of the individual stages are provided by brass pins which are accomodated into borings in said connecting pins. Such an arrangement requires manufacture of a two-part box which can be joined together after said electrical connection pins and plugs have been inserted between the plugs of a particular stage and the plugs of the stage immediately thereabove.

This results in a plurality of assembly steps and thence in a connection box having a high cost of manufacture. In addition, in such an arrangement the number of contacts is increased since the plug-pin contacts become added to the contacts of the connecting plugs of the connection box with the plugs of the flexible conductors.

It is the main object of the invention to provide a distribution system which is simple, of low cost and which can be easily assembled.

Another object of the invention is to provide a system which is adapted at any time to a change or extension of the number of its power outputs.

A third object of the invention is to prevent the combination of the various elements of the system with each other from clausing short-circuiting without provisions such as selected colors for the individual conductors be required, and to provide a system which can be installed and modified without any danger by non-skilled persons who may not be well aware of electrical risks.

In accordance with the invention, the electrical distribution system includes at least one junction box and a plurality of flexible conductors each having a connecting plug at at least one end thereof, said junction box consisting of an insulating prism-shaped body in which are provided a plurality of stacks of housings disposed above each other and electrically insulated from each other by horizontally extending partition walls, each of said stacks being separated from another by a vertically extending par10 tition wall, said housings opening on two opposite parallel surfaces, said body being provided with a plurality of means for inserting and fastening a plurality of first connecting members, the number of which is the same as the number of housings in a stack, said connecting members being disposed parallel over each other and consisting of at least one piece cut through a resilient, electrically conducting planar material including a transverse bar integrally formed with at least two pairs of legs extending perpendicular to said transverse bar, the legs of a particular pair being symmetrically disposed with respect to said transverse bar and located in a same housing and the legs of two separate pairs being located in housings of two separate stacks, the Inserting means of the first connecting members being slots provided in the vertical walls and extending at least into half of the length of the junction box, said fastening means of the connecting members being teeth provided on an extension of the transverse bar and cooperating with the internal lateral surfaces of the body.

The invention will be better understood and further advantages, purposes, features and details thereof will become evident from the following disclosure with reference to the appended drawings in which : Figure 1 is a side view in cross-section along CC of the junction box in which a connecting member is shown in the uppermost housing ; Figure 2 is a right-hand view of the junction box in which the connecting members are shown in each housing ; Figure 3 is a left-hand view of the junction box without any connecting member ; Figure 4 is a top view in cross-section along bb of the junction box in which a connecting member is incorporated .

Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view along a conductor axis through a connecting plug cooperating with the junction boxes ; and Figure 6 is a perspective view of an application of - 6 •the electrical distribution system of the invention in which the junction boxes and connecting plugs in accordance with the invention are combined with each other.

Figures 1,2,3 and 4 show a junction box comprising 5 an insulating body 1 shaped as a hollow prism open at two ends 18, 19, the inner space of which is partitioned by a series of horizontally extending walls 10 and a symmetrical, vertically extending wall 11 so as to form two series of housings 17 each of which opens on both open sides 18, 19 of the body. The housings of a same series opening on a side of the body are adapted to accomodate a connecting member, which will be described hereinafter and provided with a series of plugs the volume and the shape of which match with the housings of the junction box. These hous15 ings are provided with grooves 16 adapted to cooperate with ribs formed on the male connecting plugs so that poorly skilled people cannot connect two leading-in conductors to a same junction box.

A groove lll provided in said box vertically ex20 tending wall approximately half-height of each housing enables insertion of a connecting element 2 consisting of a pair of resilient members 27, 28 cut from a sheet of conducting metal and joined to each other by crimping, welding or any other suitable means. This connect25 ing member 2 is advantageously H-shaped as shown in - 7 Figure 4. The transverse portion 22 of the H-shaped member is located in groove 111; The above connecting member may be secured in the box by teeth 21 formed on the sides of the connecting member and cooperating with grooves 15 provided in the inner side surfaces of the box, at mid-height of each housing opening on an open end thereof.

Box 1 is also provided with a T- or dovetail-shaped rib 12 in its lower portion and a groove 14 matching with the T- or dovetail rib in its upper portion. The groove 14 of a particular box cooperates-with the rib 12 of another box to form a stack of junction boxes.

Fastening means (not shown) are provided on rib 12 so that the box can be secured to a piece of furniture, a wall, a floor or a false ceiling.

Near the box ends and on an outer side of the box there are provided a pair of eyelets 13 adapted to accomodate a resilient tongue integrally formed with the connecting plug so as to snap-lock the plug in the box.

Figure 3 shows a connecting plug adapted to cooperate with a series of connecting members located in a series of housings disposed over each other along a same vertical plane.

Said plug comprises a prism-shaped body 3 made of an insulating material in which are provided a series of hollow receptacles 34 defined by walls having an outer shape matching with housings 17 of junction box 1 and a less outer size than the inner size of housings 17.

The outer walls are provided with ribs disposed so as to cooperate with the grooves in the box housings for warning an unexperienced operator of any mistake.

Open housings 30 formed in the hollow spaces of the receptacles are adapted to accomodate tongues 31 of electrically conducting metal one end of which is connected, by known means, to a conductive wire 4 making part of a flexible conductor 5.

When the first connection element 2 is formed by a single blade, the second connection element 31 is formed by two resilient blades or vice versa.

A catch 310 provided by tongue 31 and bearing against a shoulder 301 of the body 3 prevents the tongues from being pulled out from their housings before the molding operation.

Body 3 is also provided with a tongue 32 having a shoulder and adapted to snap into an eyelet 13 in the junct ion box.

A further tongue 33 extending in a direction parallel to said flexible conductor serves as a label-holder.

Finally, a molding material 6 secures the tongues and conductive wires 4 to body 3.

In operation, when a connecting plug is inserted into the connection box each tongue 31 engages into the •clamp defined by one of legs 23, 24, 25, 26 of each portion 27, 28 of a connecting member located in one of the pluralities of horizontal planes of the junction box. Thus, a tongue clamped by the legs of the portions of a connecting member becomes electrically connected through the other legs to other tongues of other plugs.

As shown in Figure 5, a second wire 40 by which the installation can be earthed is connected to the lower tongue of the associated plug.

In another embodiment of the plug this second wire 40 may be omitted.

Figure 6 illustrates one of the above-mentioned examples of use of the invention in which a power supply lead 50 is connected through a plug 3 to a junction box 1 , whereby the power supply can be distributed through plugs 3 to flexible conductors 51, 52, 53 extending under false floors 7 or through pieces of furniture 8 to convey the current to other points, as necessary. It can be seen that each flexible conductor 51, 52,53 and the sup20 ply conductor 50 have at at least one end thereof a plug 3 and an earthing wire designated by numerals 400, 401, 402, 403 respectively.

The connecting member 2 could consist of a unitary cut portion 27 and each second connecting member 31 prov-id25 ed in the plug could consist of two resilient strips clamping therebetween a leg of the portion 31.

Claims

1. An electrical distribution system comprising at least one junction box and a plurality of flexible conductors each having a connecting plug at at least one end thereof, said junction box consisting of an insulating prism-shaped body 5 In which are provided a plurality of stacks of housings disposed above each other and electrically insulated from each other by horizontally extending partition walls, each of said stacks being separated from another by a vertically extending partition wall , said housings open10 ing on two opposite parallel surfaces, said body being provided with a plurality of means for inserting and fastening a plurality of first connecting members, the number of which is the same as the number of housings in a stack, said connecting members being disposed parallel over each 15 other and consisting of at least one piece cut through a resilient, electrically conducting planar material including a transverse bar integrally formed with at least two pairs of legs extending perpendicullar to said transverse bar, the legs of a parti20 cular pair being symmetrically disposed with respect to said transverse bar and located in a same housing and the legs of two separate pairs being located in housings of two separate stacks, the inserting means of the first connecting menbers being slots provided in the vertical partition walls - 11 •and extending at least into half of the length of the junction box, said fastening means of the connecting members being teeth provided on an extension of the transverse bar and cooperating with the internal lateral surfaces of the body.

2. An electrical distribution system, wherein said junction box is provided with a rib formed on its lower surface and extending in a transverse direction with respect to the symmetrical axis of said housings, which is adapted to cooperate with a groove provided in the upper surface of another junction box.

3. An electrical distribution system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said connecting plug consists of a'n insulating body in which are provided a plurality of hollow receptacles which are disposed above each other and the outer dimensions of which are less than the inner dimensions of said housings, each of said receptacles being provided with an open housing having sufficient inner size to allow passage of a leg of a first connecting member and being shaped so as to accomodate a second connecting member adapted to cooperate with a leg of a first connecting member integrally formed with said box, each of said second connecting members being electrically connected to a conducting wire integral with a flexible conductor.

4. An electrical distribution system according to claim 3, - 12 wherein, when the first connecting member comprises a single blade, the second connecting member comprises two resilient blades or vice versa.

5. An electrical distribution system according to claim 5 3 or 4 , wherein said second connecting members and flexible conductors are held in place in said insulating body by a molding material.

6. An electrical distribution system according to claim 3 or 5, wherein said connecting plug is 10 provided with a label holding tongue.

7. An electrical distribution system according to claim 3, wherein a second connecting member usinq a connecting plug is electrically connected to two flexible conductors by one of which the 15 associated installation can be earthed.

8. An electrical distribution system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said junction box and said connecting plugs are provided with means for warning the operator of any mistake. 20

9. An electrical distribution system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said box and plugs are provided with locking means preventing any inadvertent disconnection of said plugs.

10. An electrical distribution system according to claim 1, substan25 tially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the acccnpanying drawings.