Busbar adapter for the electrical connection of at least one plug-in module to at least one busbar

Abstract

The invention relates to a busbar adapter (40, 41) for electrically connecting a plug-in module (60, 70) with a mounting rail (42), wherein the mounting rail (42) comprises a contact strip (44, 44') extending in the longitudinal direction of the mounting rail (42), and wherein the busbar adapter (40, 41) has clamping means (47, 47') by which the busbar adapter can be clipped onto the mounting rail (42), an interface (48) for contacting the plug-in module (60, 70), and at least one contact element (61, 61') for contacting the contact strip (44, 44') and for establishing an electrical connection between the contact strip (44, 44') and the plug-in module (60, 70).

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present invention relates to a busbar adapter for electrically connecting at least one plug-in module with at least one longitudinally extending busbar along a mounting rail. The busbar can be mounted on an insert which is inserted into the mounting rail. The busbar adapter is mechanically fastened to the mounting rail. BACKGROUND

[0002] In electrical engineering, mounting rails are generally used for fastening electrically operating components, such as plug-in modules, in switch cabinets or distribution boxes. The mounting rails are usually profiled rails made of metal and have, for example, a cap or G profile. The mounting rails can also have busbars, for example in the case of an insert with one or more busbars being pushed into the cavity of the mounting rail. Such mounting rails enable simple system expansion by plugging in further plug-in modules and reduce maintenance costs, since an electrical plug-in connection to at least one busbar is already established by plugging in, thus reducing the wiring effort. Plug-in modules are used, for example, for controlling electric motors or other electrical devices and in particular for measuring devices and switching devices, such as relays, current transformers, multiplexers, circuit breakers and isolation amplifiers.

[0003] A mounting rail bus connector (T-Bus) 11 for use with a top hat rail 10 is disclosed in a product description of the company Phoenix Contact, Germany (https: / / www.phoenixcontact.com / de / produkte / 2969401), as shown in Figure 1 The T-Bus 11 has two lateral clamping devices 12 for "snapably" fastening the T-Bus 11 on the lateral ends of the top hat rail 10 during installation. The T-Bus 11 has one plug-in connection for electrical contacts 15 on each of its longitudinal sides 13, so that a plurality of T-Buses 11 arranged side by side on the top hat rail 10 are electrically connected to one another. The electrical contacts 15 are in particular for transmitting a supply voltage, but can also be used for transmitting system and data transmission signals.

[0004] The T-Bus 11 has two interfaces 13 on the side facing away from the top hat rail 10, on each of which one plug-in module (not shown) can be plugged in. In this way, the top hat rail 10 enables the installation of a plurality of plug-in modules, if the length of the top hat rail 10 is chosen accordingly. The T-Bus 11 can not only plug in a wider plug-in module, in which case only one interface 13 is contacted, but also two narrower plug-in modules, one on each of the two interfaces 13.

[0005] Figure 2A universal mounting rail system "Power Rail" 20 of the type UPR-05 supplied by the company Beckhoff Automation GmbH is shown, which has a top hat rail 21. This mounting rail system is also described in the corresponding data sheet 038005_ger.pdf. A particular feature is an insert 22 made of plastic, which is equipped with a longitudinally extending busbar 23 and a contact strip 24. The busbar 23 can be used, inter alia, for energizing, and the contact strip 24 contains a conductor for collecting fault messages and two conductors for bus connection. It is noted that the terms busbar and contact strip can be used synonymously, since current also flows through the contact strip. In the center of the insert 22 two electrically non-conducting partitions 25 are arranged, for spatially separating the busbar 23 from the contact strip 24. The Power Rail 20 is, for example, able to supply power to and to realize bus connections for plugged-in plug-in modules of the K system of the company Beckhoff Automation GmbH.

[0006] DE 100 61 940 A1 discloses a busbar adapter, which has on its upper side a longitudinally extending channel for accommodating a contact strip, and is equipped with a sealing cover. The sealing cover has on one of its end sides a protruding insulating tongue, for sealing the end of the contact strip in a way that is safe against electric shock. This makes it possible to safely plug in and exchange plug-in modules. SUMMARY

[0007] The object of the present application is to expand the range of applications of plug-in modules of the type mentioned at the outset.

[0008] The solution according to the application to achieve the object specified above is a busbar adapter according to claim 1.

[0009] The dependent claims contain advantageous further developments and improvements of the application according to the description that follows.

[0010] The busbar adapter contains clamping means by which the busbar adapter can be clipped onto a mounting rail, at least one interface for contact with a plug-in module, and at least one contact element for contact with a busbar of the mounting rail, in order to establish an electrical connection between the contact strip and the busbar adapter. Thereby, after plugging in a plug-in module, an electrical connection is formed between the plug-in module and the contact strip.

[0011] According to a preferred technical variant, the busbar adapter is designed for a mounting rail having a hat-shaped profile. An insert arranged with a plurality of busbars and / or contact strips is inserted into the mounting rail. The busbar adapter preferably has clamping means with at least one clamping hook, with which the clamping means hooks under the edge of the lateral support surface of the mounting rail having a hat-shaped profile.

[0012] In another embodiment, the clamping device is arranged on the side of the busbar adapter, wherein the clamping device has at least on one side two hooks arranged next to each other at a distance, the width of the hooks being such that during the turning-in of two narrower plug-in modules, one spring element of the respective plug-in module can hook under the edge of the lateral support surface of the mounting rail next to the hooks.

[0013] In a preferred embodiment, the busbar adapter is designed in such a way that it allows the turning-in of plug-in modules from both sides. To this end, in particular the plug-in faces of one or both interfaces of the busbar adapter are designed for the turning-in of one wider or two narrower plug-in modules from one side, wherein the plug-in faces for the turning-in from the other side are mirrored on the center line of the mounting rail. Thereby, different kinds of plug-in modules of different manufacturers or of the same manufacturer with mirrored electrical distribution can be used for the busbar adapter.

[0014] To achieve this, different busbar adapters are required. One busbar adapter is designed for the turning-in of plug-in modules from one side, another busbar adapter is designed for the turning-in of another kind of plug-in modules turning-in from the other side. That is, the same busbar adapter cannot be used for both kinds of plug-in modules.

[0015] In a technical variant, the contact elements of the busbar adapter have a first contact tongue for contacting at least one busbar of the insert, a second contact tongue for establishing an electrical connection with the contacts of the plug-in module, and a third contact tongue for establishing an electrical connection with the second plug-in module. This enables the contacting of one wider or two narrower plug-in modules by means of this special contact element.

[0016] A particularly advantageous expanded embodiment is that the first, second and third contact tongues each complement each other by means of the opposite contact tongue to form a contact terminal each. This ensures a reliable contacting.

[0017] A particularly advantageous measure is also that the second and third contact tongues are twisted by 90° relative to the first contact tongue. In this case, this enables the lateral turning-in of the plug-in modules from both sides without the contact tongues being bent.

[0018] Advantageously, the busbar adapter has in particular at least two contact elements for contacting at least two busbars of the insert to implement the power supply.

[0019] In an expanded embodiment, the busbar adapter has at least one further contact element for contacting at least one further contact strip of the insert to implement the power supply and / or the system or data communication between plug-in modules installed at different positions of the mounting rail.

[0020] In another embodiment, the bus adapter has cross contacts to implement power supply and / or system or data communication between adjacent bus adapters. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0021] Further embodiments of the present application are described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0022] wherein:

[0023] Figure 1 is a bus connector for mounting rails in the prior art;

[0024] Figure 2 is a top hat rail with an insert in the prior art;

[0025] Figure 3 are two bus adapters of the present application placed on a top hat rail in Figure 2 ;

[0026] Figure 4 is a detailed view of a bus adapter of the present application clipped on a mounting rail;

[0027] Figure 5 shows a wider plug-in module deflected onto a bus adapter in Figure 4 ;

[0028] Figure 6 is the wider plug-in module shown in Figure 5 deflected onto a bus adapter of the present application;

[0029] Figure 7 shows another wider plug-in module deflected onto a corresponding bus adapter of the present application;

[0030] Figure 8 are contact elements of the bus adapter;

[0031] Figure 9 shows a narrower plug-in module deflected onto a bus adapter of the present application, which already has a narrower plug-in module plugged in;

[0032] Figure 10 is an end side of the bus adapter containing the narrower plug-in module shown in Figure 9 deflected onto the bus adapter of the present application; DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0033] The principles of the present application are explained in this specification. It is understood that those skilled in the art will be able to devise various embodiments without departing from the principles of the present application, which are to be given the broadest possible scope.

[0034] Figure 3 Two structurally identical busbar adapters 40, 41 are shown schematically as being clipped onto the mounting rail 42. The mounting rail 42 comprises an insert 43 having two busbars 44 and three contact strips 44' which extend in the longitudinal direction relative to the mounting rail. The busbars 44 are used in particular for supplying power, and the contact strips 44' comprise, for example, one conductor for collecting fault information and two conductors for busbar connections. It should be noted that the terms busbar and contact strip can also be used synonymously, since current also flows through the contact strips. The contact strips can be designed by selection of the conductor material such that they cannot transport too much current to supply power to the different modules connected. If there is no such requirement, the contact strips 44 can also be designed in the same way as the busbars. In the centre of the insert 43 there are two electrically non-conducting partitions 45 for spatial and electrical separation of the busbars 44 from the contact strips 44'. Depending on the specific length of the mounting rail 42, a plurality of busbar adapters 40, 41 can be clipped on accordingly.

[0035] The busbar adapter 40 has lateral clamping means 47, 47' for clip-on mounting of the busbar adapter 40 on the mounting rail 42 on the lateral support surfaces 46, 46' of the mounting rail 42 during installation. Two clamping means 47 are clipped onto the support surface 46 and two clamping means 47' are clipped onto the support surface 46', so that the busbar adapter 40 is fixed on the mounting rail 42 but can be simply removed from the mounting rail 42 without the use of tools. The busbar adapter 40 has two interfaces 48 on the upper side, i.e. on the side facing away from the mounting rail 42, on which one (not shown) plug-in module each can be clipped. The interfaces 48 have the interface function for plug-in modules having a corresponding number of plug-in contacts.

[0036] The mounting rail 42 has, for example, a hat-shaped profile, comprising two lateral support surfaces 46, 46' and a recess between the support surfaces 46, 46' into which the insert 43 is inserted. The mounting rail 42 is preferably constructed as a top hat rail, but other embodiments are also possible, for example a mounting rail having a G-shaped profile.

[0037] In a preferred embodiment, the mounting rail 42 and the insert 43 are identical to the arrangement described in conjunction with Figure 2 the interfaces 48 are identical to the interfaces 13 of Figure 1 so that plug-in modules which are suitable for use with the mounting rail busbar connector 11 of Figure 1 can also be used with the Power Rail of Figure 2 In the same way, the interfaces 48 are able to plug in, in particular, both a wider plug-in module and two narrower plug-in modules.

[0038] The clamping devices 47 and 47' preferably each have at least one hook that hooks from below onto the edge of the lateral support surface 46 and 46' of the top-cap rail 42. Clamping device 47 has two detachable hooks spaced apart, as does clamping device 47'. Thus, the bus adapters 40 and 41 can be plugged into and removed from the top-cap rail 42 without tools or using only a screwdriver.

[0039] In another embodiment, bus adapter 40 has plug-in connectors 50 containing electrical contacts on its two longitudinal sides 49, 49' along the longitudinal direction of mounting rail 42. Pins of the plug-in connector 50 are shown on longitudinal side 49'. A mating socket for the plug-in connector 50 is provided on the other longitudinal side 49. Bus adapter 41 has corresponding plug-in connectors 51 containing electrical contacts, such that bus adapters 40, 41, when pushed towards each other after being placed on mounting rail 42, can be electrically connected to each other via plug-in connectors 50, 51. The electrical contacts of plug-in connectors 50, 51 can be used, for example, to transmit supply voltage, but can also transmit system and data transmission signals.

[0040] Figure 4 The bus adapter 40 is schematically shown placed on the mounting rail 42, and in conjunction with the foregoing. Figure 3 The described insert 43 has a busbar 44 and a contact strip 44'. A portion of the plug-in module 60, which snaps onto the busbar adapter 40 and the mounting rail 42, is also shown. The plug-in module 60 and the busbar adapter 40 are partially shown in the drawings such that two contact elements 61, 61' of the busbar adapter 40 are visible, each contacting one of the busbars 44 to establish an electrical connection between the busbar 44 and the contact 67 of the plug-in module 60. In this embodiment, there is no contact with the contact strip 44'.

[0041] In this embodiment, the plug-in module 60 is first placed on the bus adapter 40 on the supply voltage side, and then the plug-in module 60 is deflected to the other side. To prevent damage to the contacts of the plug-in module 60 and the bus adapter 40 during lateral insertion, the bus adapter 40 has a plug-in surface designed to deflect from the right side. Here, the correct orientation of the contact elements positioned within the bus adapter 40 is crucial. This will be discussed further below. Figure 8 To clarify this point, the insert module 60 also has a movable retaining element 66 that engages below the lateral support surface 46 of the mounting rail 42.

[0042] Now combined Figure 5 and Figure 6 The process of deflecting the plug-in module 60 onto the bus adapter 40 and mounting rail 42 is described in detail. Figure 5In this configuration, the plug-in module 60 is first placed on the mounting rail 42 and the bus adapter 40 on the side where the bus 44 is supplied with power. The protrusion 68 of the housing outline of the plug-in module 60 is fixedly hooked below the right lateral support surface 46' of the mounting rail 42.

[0043] Subsequently, the insert module 60 is deflected to the other side, causing the movable retaining element 66 of the insert module 60 to slide on the edge of the top-cap rail 42, wherein the movable retaining element 66 is hooked below the edge of the top-cap rail 42 beside the clamping device 47 and forms a stable but separable connection with the mounting rail 42.

[0044] Figure 6 The bus adapter 40 and mounting rail 42 are shown after the insert module 60 has been placed. The insert module 60 in question is the wider type. The insert module 60 is hooked securely to the side of the power supply voltage via a protrusion 68 below the lateral support surface of the mounting rail 42. On the other side, the insert module 60 is detachably hooked to the side of the lateral support surface of the mounting rail 42 because the retaining element 66 is movable. The insert module 60 is particularly securely fastened to the mounting rail 42 because it has a fixed housing profile on one side that abuts against the mounting rail 42, while on the other side it is held by the retaining element 66, which hooks the insert module 60 below the other lateral end of the mounting rail 42.

[0045] Another plug-in module 70, with side-swappable movable retaining elements and plug-in surfaces, can also be deflected to the mounting rail 42 and the bus adapter 40 designed accordingly, and in Figure 7 As shown in the diagram, the correspondingly designed bus adapter has a plug-in surface facing left. This also indicates that the plug-in surface has a sliding surface inclined to the right. Figure 3 In the middle, a sliding surface tilted to the left can be seen at the first interface 48, because this insert module 60 is rotated in from the right, see [reference]. Figure 5 .

[0046] Figure 8 A preferred embodiment of the contact element 61 of the bus adapter 40 is shown. The contact element 61 has a first contact tongue 80 for contacting a first component in the bus 44, a second contact tongue 81 for establishing an electrical connection with a narrower first insert module, and a third contact tongue 82 for establishing an electrical connection with a narrower second insert module. Figure 8 In this configuration, the first, second, and third contact tongues complement each other with their opposite contact tongues to form contact terminals. This creates a fixed and reliable contact. Figure 8It is clear that the contact tongues 81, 82 are rotated by 90° relative to the contact tongue 80. Thus, these contact tongues are aligned in the deflection direction of the plug-in module and can be contacted by the plug-in module without bending, whether turned in from the left or the right. The contact elements 61' are identical to the contact elements 61 and contact the second of the busbars 44. Thus, the interface 48 can either plug a wider plug-in module onto the busbar adapter 40 or two narrower plug-in modules onto the busbar adapter. The contact elements 61, 61' are used, for example, to transmit a supply voltage from the contact strip 44 to the two plugged-in narrower plug-in modules.

[0047] Figure 9 It is shown that two narrower plug-in modules 60' are plugged onto the busbar adapter 40 with two interfaces. No movable retaining elements are provided in these plug-in modules. Instead, the plug-in modules have spring elements 64 made of plastic, which hook under the lateral end of the mounting rail 42. Two different embodiments are also possible for the narrower plug-in modules 60', namely one turned in from one side and one turned in from the other side. The protrusion, which hooks under the lateral support surface of the mounting rail 42, is designated by the reference 68'.

[0048] In another embodiment of the application, the busbar adapter 40 has a larger free surface 90, which is still visible in the case of the plug-in modules 60 or 70 being clipped in, as shown. Figure 10 Advantageously, this free surface can be used for labeling, for example for the company name of the manufacturer. A free surface is present on both sides of the busbar adapter 40. Thus, Figure 10 It is also shown that this busbar adapter does not have any plug connections arranged above the left contact strip 44'. Instead, these contact strips of the busbar connection can be contacted by other contact elements 61 in the busbar adapter. Two plug-in modules of the same manufacturer, which are mounted on the mounting rail 42 in different positions, can simultaneously be in contact with the busbars of the busbar connection and thus communicate with each other. System or data communication can be carried out via the busbar connection. Even if other plug-in modules of another manufacturer are used between the two plug-in modules, communication is still possible if these plug-in modules do not connect the busbars of the busbar connection.

[0049] The disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described herein. There is room for various adaptations and modifications which are considered to be within the scope of the disclosure by a person skilled in the art on the basis of the disclosure.

[0050] Legend of the Figures

[0051] Top hat rail 10

[0052] Mounting rail bus connector (T-Bus) 11

[0053] Clamping device 12

[0054] Interface 13

[0055] Electrical contact 15

[0056] Power rail 20

[0057] Top hat rail 21

[0058] Insert 22

[0059] Busbar 23

[0060] Contact strip 24

[0061] Partition wall 25

[0062] Busbar adapter 40, 41

[0063] Mounting rail 42

[0064] Insert 43

[0065] Busbar 44

[0066] Contact strip 44'

[0067] Partition wall 45

[0068] Transverse support surface of the mounting rail 46, 46'

[0069] Clamping device 47, 47'

[0070] Interface 48

[0071] Longitudinal side of the busbar adapter 49, 49'

[0072] Plug-in connection of the busbar adapter 40 50

[0073] Plug-in connection of the busbar adapter 41 51

[0074] Wider plug-in module 60

[0075] Narrower plug-in module 60'

[0076] Contact element 61, 61'

[0077] Spring element 64

[0078] Movable holding element 66

[0079] Sliding contact of the plug-in module 67

[0080] Protrusion 68 of the housing profile of the wider plug-in module

[0081] Protrusion 68' of the housing profile of the narrower plug-in module

[0082] Second plug-in module 70

[0083] Protrusion 71 of the second plug-in module

[0084] Movable holding device 72' of the second plug-in module

[0085] Contact tongues 80, 81, 82

[0086] One of the two free surfaces of the busbar adapter 90

Claims

1. Busbar adapter (40, 41) for electrically connecting at least one plug-in module (60, 70) with at least one busbar and / or contact strip (44, 44') of an embedding of an embedded mounting rail (42), wherein a certain number of busbars and / or contact strips (44, 44') extending along the mounting rail (42) are arranged in the embedding (43), wherein the busbar adapter (40, 41) has: - clamping means (47, 47') by which the busbar adapter (40, 41) can be clipped onto the mounting rail (42), - at least one interface (48) for contacting the at least one plug-in module (60, 70), and - at least one contact element (61, 61') for contacting the at least one busbar and / or contact strip (44, 44') and for establishing an electrical connection between the busbar and / or contact strip (44, 44') and the at least one plug-in module (60, 70), wherein the plug-in face of the busbar adapter (40, 41) is designed for a turn-in from one side for one wider or two narrower plug-in modules (60, 70, 60'), wherein the plug-in face for a turn-in from the other side is mirrored on the centre line of the mounting rail (42).

2. Busbar adapter according to claim 1, wherein the clamping means (47, 47') have at least one clasp with which the clamping means (47, 47') can be hooked under the edge of the lateral support face (46, 46') of a mounting rail (42) having a hat-shaped profile.

3. Busbar adapter according to claim 2, wherein the clamping means (47, 47') have at least on one side two clamps arranged side by side at a distance, the width of which is such that during the turn-in of two narrower plug-in modules (60') each one spring element (64) of the respective plug-in module (60') can be hooked under the edge of the lateral support face (46, 46') of the mounting rail (42) next to the clamps.

4. Busbar adapter according to claim 1, wherein the busbar adapter is designed for a first plug-in module (60) which is turned in from one side, and the busbar adapter (40, 41) is likewise designed for a second plug-in module (70) which is turned in from the other side.

5. Busbar adapter according to claim 1, wherein the contact element (61, 61') has a first contact tongue (80) for contacting at least one busbar (44) of the embedding (43), a second contact tongue (81) for establishing an electrical connection with a contact of the plug-in module (70), and a third contact tongue (82) for establishing an electrical connection with a second plug-in module (70).

6. Busbar adapter according to claim 5, wherein the contact element (61, 61') has a third contact tongue (82) for establishing an electrical connection with a second narrower plug-in module (60'), which is plugged next to the first narrower plug-in module (60') on the busbar adapter (40, 41).

7. Busbar adapter according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the first, second and third contact tongues (80, 81, 82) complement each other by opposite contact tongues to form a first, second and third contact terminal, respectively.

8. Busbar adapter according to claim 6, wherein the second and third contact tongues (81, 82) are rotated by 90° with respect to the first contact tongue (80).

9. Busbar adapter according to claim 1, wherein the busbar adapter (40, 41) has at least two contact elements (61) for contacting at least two busbars (44) of the insert for implementing power supply.

10. Busbar adapter according to claim 9, wherein the busbar adapter (40, 41) has at least one further contact element (61) for contacting at least one further contact strip (44') of the insert (43) for implementing power supply and / or system or data communication between plug-in modules (60, 70) mounted at different positions of the mounting rail (42).

11. The busbar adapter of claim 1, wherein, The busbar adapter (40, 41) has plug connections (50, 51) for cross- contacting for implementing power supply and / or system or data communication.

11. Plug-in module according to claim 10, wherein the plug-in module (60, 70) has a first, second and third contact tongue (80, 81, 82) for establishing an electrical connection with a busbar adapter (40, 41) having at least two contact elements (61) for contacting at least two busbars (44) of the insert for implementing power supply.

12. Plug-in module according to claim 10 or 11, wherein the plug-in module (60, 70) has at least one further contact tongue (82) for establishing an electrical connection with a busbar adapter (40, 41) having at least one further contact element (61) for contacting at least one further contact strip (44') of the insert for implementing power supply and / or system or data communication between plug-in modules (60, 70) mounted at different positions of the mounting rail (42). The plug-in module (60, 70) has plug connections (50, 51) for cross- contacting for implementing power supply and / or system or data communication.

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