Device for contacting electrical conductors and / or electrical contact elements, as well as a light fixture or electrical appliance

Abstract

Device (1) for contacting electrical conductors and / or electrical connectors, - comprising at least one housing front part (2) and a housing rear part (3), - wherein at least one first electrical contact is provided via contact points in the housing front part (2) and at least one further electrical contact is provided via contact points in the housing rear part (3), - wherein the contact points in the housing front part (2) are arranged with a first grid relative to each other and the contact points in the housing rear part (3) are arranged with a further grid relative to each other, - wherein the further grid is at least partially different, in height and / or width of the device (1), from the first grid, - wherein the housing front part (2) and the housing rear part (3) are formed as a unit, and - wherein electrical connecting elements (22,23) are arranged in the unit between the contact points in the front part of the housing (2) and the contact points in the rear part of the housing (3) and electrically connect them, wherein the respective electrical connecting elements (22, 23) compensate for the offset between the connected contact points in the front part of the housing (2) and the rear part of the housing (3), characterized in that the rear part of the housing (3) has at least one recess (10) for inserting an electrical connector (8) for further electrical contacting of the contact points of the rear part of the housing (3).

Description

The invention relates to a device for contacting electrical conductors and / or electrical contact elements, according to the preamble of claim 1, as well as to a luminaire or an electrical device.Such devices, also known as connection and connection terminals, are used, for example, for the electrical connection of lamps. They can also be used in LED applications or also for other electrical devices.US 5 071 356 A discloses a modular terminal arrangement for connecting a conductor to a conductive cross bar, comprising a housing made of insulating material and arranged to transversely receive the cross bar, the housing having a terminal adapted for connection to the conductor, a bus bar connected at one end to the terminal and extending at its other end adjacent the cross bar, and a bridging element adapted for connection of the other end of the bus bar to the cross bar. The bridging member has a pair of parallel spaced leg portions, the bridging member being slidable between a connection position in which the leg portions are electrically engaged with the cross rail and extend at their free ends in electrical engagement within an opening contained in the other end of the cross bar and an disengaged position in which the leg portions are separated from the bus bar.DE 20 2004 014 617 U1 describes an adapter for a lamp operating device of a luminaire, wherein the adapter has, on the input side, a plurality of electrical adapter input contacts which emulate the mimic of a contact arrangement of the lamp operating device, and furthermore has a plurality of electrical adapter output contacts on the output side which are designed to be complementary to the contacts of the lamp operating device.The post-published DE 20 2010 005 554 U1 discloses a through connection between two connection devices for conductors in an insulating housing, in particular a terminal block, preferably a jumper terminal in planar form, wherein the connection devices are connected to one another by a metallic busbar, characterized by at least one compensating device which is designed to absorb relative length changes caused by different thermal expansion coefficients between the metallic busbar and the connection devices on the one hand and the insulating housing on the other hand.DE 10 2008 023 979 A1 discloses a connection adapter having a first plug contact arrangement which has a group of electrical connection contacts, and having a second plug contact arrangement which has a group of electrical adapter contacts which are mounted displaceably for clamping to a device connection terminal. The electrical connection contacts of the first plug contact arrangement are electrically conductively connected to respectively assigned adapter contacts of the second plug contact arrangement. At least two electrical connection contacts of the first plug contact arrangement are each connected via first busbar pieces which extend in the direction of the second plug contact arrangement and have bridge contact points. At least two adapter contacts of the second plug contact arrangement have bridge contact points or are connected to busbar pieces, which have bridge contact points and extend in the direction of the first plug contact arrangement, in electrically conductive bridges in such a way that the assignment and electrical connection of the electrical connection contacts of the first plug contact arrangement to respective adapter contacts of the second plug contact arrangement is effected with the aid of the bridges.DE 199 64 157 A1 describes an electrical device of modular construction, which comprises a connection module which can be placed on a mounting rail and is provided with connection planes made of double and / or multiple connections and has a row of disk-shaped base terminal carriers, wherein a plurality of potential guides are provided on the terminal carriers and are connected to the connection planes via busbars of the disk-shaped base terminal carriers. The busbars for supplying potential to the connection planes are guided to the associated multiple connections only on one of the sides of the base terminal carrier. With the base clamp carriers, both a block and a disk construction as well as a combination of these two application cases can be realized.In existing systems for lamps, especially rail lamps with individual lamps which are arranged on a rail, devices are provided which have, on the one hand, a connection terminal for the current and / or control lines and, on the other hand, a tap in order to be able to ensure the further electrical connection to the lighting means. The terminal and the tap may be known products which are independent of each other. The grid of the connection terminal and the grid of the tap can thus be partly different. The connection terminal and the tap can be connected, for example, to individual conductors, wherein the conductors are to be crimped off and insulated, among other things. The assembly effort is thus considerable, many individual components are required and the entire device requires a large amount of space in the luminaire, above all in terms of length.From the prior art, a uniform device is also known, wherein the grid in the front part of the device and the grid in the rear part of the device are identical, viewed in height and width of the device. Both connection sides are connected to stamped parts. At least the width of such devices is however greater than the width of per se known terminals used for such systems, since the same grid is provided in the front and in the rear part.The invention is based on the object of further developing a device of the types specified at the beginning in such a way that the overall size of the entire device becomes smaller or the overall shape becomes more compact. It is also intended to reduce the cost of manufacturing and assembling the device and to simplify the assembly of the device in the luminaire.The objects are achieved according to the invention by the features specified in independent claim 1. The dependent claims define preferred and advantageous embodiments of the invention.The device according to the invention for contacting electrical conductors and / or electrical plug connectors has at least one housing front part and one housing rear part, wherein at least one first electrical contact is provided via contact points in the housing front part and at least one further electrical contact is provided via contact points in the housing rear part, wherein the contact points in the housing front part are arranged with a first grid to one another and the contact points in the housing rear part are arranged with a further grid to one another, and wherein the further grid is at least partially different from the first grid, as viewed in the height and / or in the width of the device.A feature of the device according to the invention is that the front part of the housing and the rear part of the housing are formed as a unit. The front housing part and the rear housing part can be directly connected to one another.A further feature of the device according to the invention is that electrical connecting elements are arranged between the contacting points in the front housing part and the contacting points in the rear housing part in the unit and connect these in each case electrically, wherein the respective electrical connecting elements can compensate for the offset between the connected contacting points in the front housing part and the rear housing part.This has the advantage that the connecting elements can serve as compensating elements for different separations or grids of the contacting points, wherein the installation space of the device can remain very small or limited.According to a preferred embodiment of the device, the electrical connection elements can be arranged so as to be guided at least between the housing front part and the housing rear part, preferably in tracks.It is advantageous if a ground contact is present and at least one contact point is provided for the ground contact.Preferably, the electrical connection elements which are not provided for the contacting points of the ground contact can be formed identically.The electrical connection elements can be formed as a wire, preferably as a rigid wire.Furthermore, the electrical connection elements can be bent, in particular with a Z-shaped bend, in order to be able to compensate for the height offset between the respective contacting points of the housing front part and of the housing rear part.In addition, the electrical connecting elements can be arranged rotated about their longitudinal axis, in particular free of stress, in order to be able to compensate for the offset, viewed in the width of the device, between the respective contacting points of the housing front part and of the housing rear part.It is preferred that the contacting points of the front part of the housing comprise stamped parts with at least spring elements and connecting poles for electrical conductors.Furthermore, the contact points of the housing rear part can be designed for electrical contact with at least one electrical contact element, preferably with a tap.The device according to the invention can be used, for example, as a luminaire connection terminal, in particular for individual luminaires which can also be located in a rail system. Due to its small or low design in terms of height and width, it can also be used in LED applications.The device according to the invention can preferably be a screwless connection terminal.The invention also relates to a luminaire having the device according to the invention. The invention can also relate to an electrical device having the device according to the invention.The invention is described in more detail below with reference to an embodiment which, however, is to be understood as merely exemplary, but not restrictive.The following are shown: FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a device according to the invention with a fastening plate, FIG. 2 shows a further perspective view of a device according to the invention with a fastening plate. FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of a device according to the invention with a tap. FIG. 4 shows a further perspective view of a device according to the invention with a tap. FIG. 5 is an exploded view of a device according to the invention. FIG. 6 shows a further exploded illustration of a perspective view of a device according to the invention FIG. 7 is an exploded rear view of a device according to the invention. FIG. 8 is an exploded view of a side view of a device according to the invention.FIGS. 1 and 2 show an apparatus 1 according to the invention for contacting electrical conductors 7 (depicted schematically in FIG. 4 ) and an electrical plug connector (depicted for example as tap 8 in FIGS. 3 and 4 ). This device 1 is designed here as a connection and connection terminal.The device 1 has a front housing part 2 and a rear housing part 3. Electrical connections can be made in the front housing part 2, and further electrical connections can be made in the rear housing part 3.The housing of the device 1 can be formed in two parts, wherein a housing upper part 4 can be connected to a housing lower part 5. In this case, the front housing part 2 is formed with the front part of the upper housing part 4 and with the front part of the lower housing part 5, and the rear housing part 3 is formed with the rear part of the upper housing part 4 and with the rear part of the lower housing part 5. In the assembled state, the housing front part 2 forms a unit with the housing rear part 3, and the housing upper part 4 forms a unit with the housing lower part 5.The device 1 can be fastened on a metal sheet 6 (only shown here as a partial section). The sheet metal 6 is preferably a fastening sheet metal of a luminaire, a luminaire rail system or an electrical device. The device 1 has fastening elements 12, here for example as snap feet. The sheet 6 has a corresponding hole pattern with holes 14 for the mounting of the device 1 by means of the fastening elements 12 of the device 1.Furthermore, the device 1 can have a ground contact 13 which is arranged in a fitting manner in the slot 15 of the metal sheet 6 during the mounting. Other types of ground contact, for example as a screwdriver, are not to be excluded.The arrangement of the fastening elements 12 and the ground contact 13 on or in the device 1 can be selected such that the arrangement is maintained with per se known connection and connection terminals or other devices so that the products can be exchanged. For example, it is thereby conceivable that the luminaire manufacturer continues to use the same sheet metal 6 and does not use the devices known per se and more complex, but rather uses the device 1 according to the invention and advantageous.The device 1 has connection poles 9 and push buttons 11 in the front housing part 2. The arrangement of the connection poles 9 and the push buttons 11 can at least partially correspond to the arrangement in connection terminals known per se, in order to be able to ensure compatibility with connection terminals known per se. A distance Y is provided between the central axes of the respective connection poles 9, as viewed in the width of the device 1. This results in a first grid with the distances Y. The distances Y can be at least partially identical or can be different. In this embodiment they are identical.The device 1 has one or more recesses 10 in the housing rear part 3, into which recesses a plug connector can be inserted for further electrical connection. In order to be able to ensure compatibility with plug connectors or taps 8 known per se, it is advantageous if the recesses 10 in the device 1 are formed to match such plug connectors or taps 8. Between the central axes of the respective recesses 10, as viewed in the width of the device 1, distances X (shown in FIG. 7 ) are provided. This results in a further grid with the distances X. The distances X can be at least partially identical or can be different. In this embodiment, they are different.Due to the configuration of the connection poles 9 and the recesses 10, the respective distances Y in the housing front part 2 are not identical to the respective distances X in the housing rear part 3.The device 1 can ensure compatibility with existing or per se known products and with existing assembly and / or connection methods on the one hand in the front housing part 2 and on the other hand in the rear housing part 3. According to the invention, a connection between the front housing part 2 and the rear housing part 3 is to be created in order to reduce the overall size of the entire device 1 or to make the overall size more compact, wherein the manufacturing and assembly costs can also be reduced.In the device 1, a receptacle for strain relief can also be provided, here for example by the recess 36 and the fastening elements 37.FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 show the device 1 with a plug connector, here as a tap 8. The pole plugs 35 of the tap 8 are inserted into the recesses 10 in the housing rear part 3 in order to enable further electrical contacting. For example, fork contacts 16 are provided in the pole plugs 35 and can contact electrical connecting elements 22, 23 (shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 ).The tap 8 can have connection poles 17 in the pole plugs 35 for further electrical conductors which are provided for internal wiring within the luminaire.The tap 8 can also have fastening elements 18 so that the tap 8 can be fastened, for example, in the luminaire. A ground contact 19 may also be provided. In order to simplify the mounting of the tap 8 in the device 1, a finger 20 can be provided on the tap 8 as a search finger or auxiliary function, which is inserted into a positioning funnel 21 of the device 1.FIGS. 5 and 6 show exploded views of the device 1.Chambers 38 are present in the front part of the upper housing part 4, stamped parts 29 being positioned in these chambers 38. The stamped parts 29 have at least one contact frame 24 and spring legs 25, 26, 27, 28. The stamped parts 29 enable the electrical connection between the electrical conductors 7 and the connecting elements 22, 23. The electrical conductors 7, which have been inserted into the connection poles 9, can be held via the spring legs 25 or 27, and the connecting elements 22, 23 via the spring legs 26 or 28.In the housing rear part 3, guide tracks 31 are provided on the one hand in the housing upper part 4 and positioning elements 30 are provided on the other hand in the housing lower part 5 in order to position the connecting elements 22, 23 in the housing rear part 3 and to keep them electrically separated from one another so that a connection can be made to the fork contacts 16 of the tap 8.The connecting elements 22, 23 are provided as electrically conductive wires. It is advantageous if rigid wires are used. Since they are touch-protected in the device 1, uninsulated connecting elements 22, 23 can be used. Bare copper wires are preferred. Other connecting elements, such as stamped parts, for example, cannot be ruled out, even if they are not preferred for cost reasons, since the production would be more complicated.It can be seen in FIGS. 7 and 8 that the grid of the connections in the housing front part 2 is different from the grid in the housing rear part 3.The central axes 32 of the contacting point in the housing front part 2 can be represented either in the connection terminals 9, the stamped parts 29 or in the push buttons 11.The central axes 33 of the contacting point in the housing rear part 3 can be represented either at the rear ends of the connecting elements 22, 23 or at the positioning elements 30 of the rear part of the housing lower part 5.Since the distances X between the central axes 33 are different from the distances Y between the central axes 32, an offset A, viewed in the width of the device 1, arises between the central axes 32 and 33 of the contacting points in the front housing part 2 and in the rear housing part 3 which are to be connected to one another. For each connected contact points, the offset A can be different. According to the invention, the connecting elements 22, 23 are each intended to compensate for the offset A, as viewed in the width of the device 1.In order to keep the structure of the device 1 compact, narrow pitches are provided between the various terminals as viewed in the width of the device 1.In principle, a height offset E can also be provided between the contacting points in the housing front part 2 and in the housing rear part 3. The connecting elements 22 and 23 can have a Z-shaped bend in order to be able to compensate for this height offset E.In addition, a height offset H may also be present between the connecting elements 22 and 23. For example, the connecting element 23, wherein the associated contacting point could be provided for grounding, can have a different height position than the remaining connecting elements 22 in the housing rear part 3. The connecting element 23 in this case has a different Z-shaped bend than the Z-shaped bend of the connecting elements 22.Attempts are made to have only a limited number of different Z-shaped bends in order to keep the multiplicity of individual components low and thus also the costs.In order to be able to compensate for the offset A, viewed in the width of the device 1, the connecting elements 22, 23, in particular formed as a wire, can be mounted in the tracks 31 in a twisted manner. The end of the connecting elements 22, 23 in the contacting points of the housing front part 2 is accordingly aligned on the respective bearing surfaces 34 of the stamped parts 29.An offset in the length of the device 1 could also be compensated for, but is not necessary in this embodiment. In the front housing part 2, the ends of the connecting elements 22, 23 lie on one plane. In the housing rear part 3, the connecting elements 22, 23 can be of any desired length and / or of the same length, since the fork contacts 16 of the tap 8 make possible an electrical contact from above with the connecting elements 22, 23.It is conceivable that the connecting members 22 are formed shorter in length than the connecting members 23. This brings an assembly advantage, since it is easier to identify which connecting elements are provided for which connections.By means of the device 1 according to the invention with the connecting elements 22, 23 according to the invention, a fixed pitch in the housing front part 2 can be connected to a different tap pitch in the housing rear part 3 within a narrow installation space. The connecting elements 22, 23 can serve as compensating elements. For applications in luminaires or in the LED field, for example, it is advantageous. Other applications in electrical devices are not intended to be excluded.Reference Sign:1 Device 2 Housing front part 3 Housing rear part 4 Housing upper part 5 Housing lower part 6 Sheet metal 7 Electrical conductor 8 Tap 9 Connection pole 10 Cutout 11 Trigger 12 Fastening element 13 Grounding contact 14 Hole 15 Slot 16 Fork contact 17 Connection pole 18 Fastening element 19 Grounding contact 20 Finger 21 Positioning funnel 22 Connecting element 23 Connecting element 24 Contact frame 25 Spring leg 26 Spring leg 27 Spring leg 28 Spring leg 29 Stamped part 30 Positioning element 31 Guide track 32 Central axis of the contacting point in the housing front part 33 Central axis of the contacting point in the housing rear part 34 Contact surface 35 Pole plug 36 Cutout 37 Fastening element 38 Chamber A Offset in the width E Height offset H Height offset X Distance between two contacting points in the housing front part Rear part of the housing Y Distance between two contact points in the front part of the housing

Claims

Device (1) for contacting electrical conductors and / or electrical plug connectors, - with at least one housing front part (2) and one housing rear part (3), - wherein at least one first electrical contact is provided via contact points in the housing front part (2) and at least one further electrical contact is provided via contact points in the housing rear part (3), - wherein the contact points in the housing front part (2) are arranged with a first grid relative to one another and the contact points in the housing rear part (3) are arranged with a further grid relative to one another, - wherein the further grid is at least partially different from the first grid, as viewed in height and / or in width of the device (1), - wherein the housing front part (2) and the housing rear part (3) are formed as a unit, and - wherein electrical connection elements (22, 22, 23) are arranged between the contacting points in the housing front part (2) and the contacting points in the housing rear part (3) in the unit and connect these in each case electrically, wherein the respective electrical connection elements (22, 23) compensate for the offset between the connected contacting points in the housing front part (2) and housing rear part (3), characterized in that the housing rear part (3) has at least one recess (10) for inserting an electrical plug connector (8) for further electrical contacting of the contacting points of the housing rear part (3).Device (1) according to claim 1, characterised in that the electrical connection elements (22, 23) are arranged so as to be guided at least between the front housing part (2) and the rear housing part (3), preferably in tracks.Device (1) according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that a ground contact (13) is provided and at least one contact point is provided for the ground contact (13).Device (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the electrical connection elements (22) which are not provided for the contact points of the ground contact (13) are of identical design.Device (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the electrical connecting elements (22, 23) are designed as a wire, preferably as a rigid wire.Device (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the electrical connection elements (22, 23) are bent, in particular with a Z-shaped bend, in order to compensate for the height offset (E, H) between the respective contacting points of the housing front part (2) and of the housing rear part (2).Device (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the electrical connecting elements (22, 23) are arranged rotated about their longitudinal axis, in particular free of stress, in order to compensate for the offset (A), viewed in the width of the device, between the respective contacting points of the housing front part (2) and of the housing rear part (3).Device (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the contact points of the housing front part (2) have stamped parts (29) with at least spring elements (25, 26, 27, 28), and connection poles (9) for electrical conductors (7).Device (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the at least one cutout (10) of the housing rear part 3 is designed for the insertion of a pole plug (35) of the electrical plug connector (8) for the further electrical contacting of the contacting points of the housing rear part (3).Device (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the housing rear part (3) has a plurality of recesses (10) for plugging in the electrical plug connector (8) for further electrical contacting of the contacting points of the housing rear part (3), wherein the plurality of recesses (10) are spaced apart from one another in the width direction of the device (1) according to the further grid.Device (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the device (1) has the electrical plug connector (8) for insertion into the at least one cutout (10) of the housing rear part (3) for further electrical contacting of the contacting points of the housing rear part (3).Device (1) according to claim 11, characterised in that the electrical plug connector (8) has at least one pole plug (35) for insertion into the at least one recess (10) of the housing rear part.Device (1) according to claim 12, characterised in that the at least one pole plug (35) has a connection pole (17) for an electrical conductor.Device (1) according to claim 12 or claim 13, characterised in that a fork contact (16) for electrically contacting one of the electrical connection elements (22, 23) is provided in the at least one pole plug (35).Device (1) according to one of Claims 11 to 14, characterized in that the electrical plug connector (8) has a finger (20) which can be inserted into a positioning funnel (21) of the device (1) in order to simplify the mounting of the plug connector (8) on the device (1).A luminaire or electrical device comprising an apparatus (1) according to any one of the preceding claims.

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