Low-voltage or medium-voltage switchgear with a touch protection cover

Abstract

Low-voltage and medium-voltage switchgear with a touch protection cover (1), wherein the touch protection cover (1) has a cover and at least two locking devices arranged at opposite ends of the cover, which can be moved into an open position with a tool and enable the touch protection cover (1) to be removed from a carrier (25), and wherein each locking device has a detent lug (15) which can be deflected against a restoring force and which automatically moves into a locking position engaging with the carrier (25) when the touch protection cover (1) is mounted on the carrier (25), characterized in that the touch protection cover (1) has a flat front plate (2) and a frame (5) laterally surrounding the front plate (2), and that the frame (5) consists of two side frames (3) and two cross frames (4).and that opposing end areas (12) of the front panel (2) can each be positively locked in an associated cross frame (4).

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a touch protection cover for electrical installations, namely for low-voltage or medium-voltage switchgear, comprising a cover and at least two locking devices arranged at opposite ends of the cover, which can be moved into an open position with a tool and enable the touch protection cover to be removed from a carrier, wherein each locking device has a detent that can be deflected against a restoring force and which automatically moves into a locking position engaging with the carrier when the touch protection cover is mounted on the carrier.

[0002] Low-voltage and medium-voltage switchgear can be housed in a cabinet enclosure. The enclosure typically contains at least one mounting plate on a rear panel for electrical cables, components, and switching elements. Operating elements or indicators may also be provided to allow monitoring and / or operation of the switchgear.

[0003] For the operational safety of such a control cabinet, in addition to the electrical configuration and mechanical stability, electrical safety must also be taken into account in order to protect the operating personnel from unintentional contact with live conductors during an inspection or operation of individual components in the open control cabinet.

[0004] For this reason, wherever possible, all current-carrying conductor elements that are not separately insulated or secured are covered with insulating touch protection covers.

[0005] The touch protection covers should be quick and easy to mount and dismount on a support located inside the control cabinet. For this purpose, the touch protection covers are designed to be detachably attached to the support so that they can be removed, for example, for maintenance or inspection. Such a touch protection cover is disclosed, for example, in JP 2 502 440 Y2.

[0006] For safety reasons, it is usually required that the protective cover can only be removed from the carrier using a suitable tool. The locking devices used for this purpose are intended, on the one hand, to allow for easy installation and removal of the protective cover, and on the other hand, to fundamentally prevent the protective cover from being removed without a suitable tool.

[0007] For this purpose, it is known, for example, from DE 44 13 353 C2, to attach a touch protection cover to a support using quick-release screws located in each corner. The quick-release screws serve as the locking devices for the touch protection cover. By rotating the quick-release screws 90 degrees, which can only be done with the aid of a suitable tool such as a screwdriver, the screws can be turned into a locking position in which a laterally projecting projection of the quick-release screws engages with a corresponding projection or recess in the support.

[0008] However, these types of touch protection covers, which are frequently used in practice, require a relatively complex manufacturing process and installation on the mounting bracket. To secure the touch protection cover to the bracket, each quick-release screw must be moved from an open position to a locked position using the appropriate tool. The time required for this is considerable, especially when installing a large number of touch protection covers in a control cabinet.

[0009] Covers for busbar systems that can be plugged onto a busbar are known from EP 1 206 019 A2.

[0010] Furthermore, the contact protection covers known from practical experience are relatively difficult to manufacture. Subsequent adaptation of the contact protection cover to the often unique arrangement of the individual components, or to the display and operating elements accessible through the contact protection cover, is often only possible with considerable effort.

[0011] It is therefore considered an object of the present invention to design a touch protection cover of the type mentioned at the outset in such a way that the assembly and also the manufacture of the touch protection cover is as simple and cost-effective as possible.

[0012] This problem is solved according to the invention in that the touch protection cover has a flat front panel and a frame surrounding the front panel laterally, that the frame consists of two side frames and two cross frames, and that opposite end areas of the front panel can each be positively locked in an associated cross frame.

[0013] A flat front panel can be easily manufactured from a sheet-shaped material such as plastic, using standard stamping or cutting processes. Subsequent shaping of the front panel is not required; it simply needs to be attached to the surrounding frame.

[0014] A particularly cost-effective frame consists of two side frames and two cross frames. The side frames and cross frames can each have an identical shape. Therefore, only three different components are required to manufacture the touch protection cover: the front panel, the side frames, and the cross frames.

[0015] To securely fix the front panel in its corresponding crossbar, the crossbars can have locking mechanisms that engage with a recess in the front panel to secure it. Alternatively, both the crossbars and the front panel can have recesses that align when the ends of the front panel are inserted into the crossbars. By inserting a locking pin that extends over the aligned recesses in the crossbars and the front panel, the front panel can be fixed to the two crossbars. In this case, separate fixing of the side panels is no longer necessary, as their placement in slot-like recesses in the crossbars provides sufficient fixation and security.

[0016] No special tools are required for mounting the touch protection cover. The cover simply needs to be positioned on the support in the designated location. As the cover approaches the support, the locking tabs deflect laterally against a restoring force. Once the cover reaches its predetermined end position on the support, the restoring force allows the locking tabs to snap back into their original, locked position, engaging with the support and securing the cover to it.

[0017] The locking lugs can, for example, be designed as snap latches that engage a corresponding recess in the carrier. The locking lugs can be integrally formed with the body of the touch protection cover. It is also conceivable that the locking lugs are manufactured separately and permanently attached to the body of the touch protection cover, or that they can only be removed with a suitable tool.

[0018] According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, each locking lug has a mounting surface oriented at an angle to the front face. During installation of the touch protection cover, this mounting surface slides along an edge of a recess in the carrier, deflecting the locking lug laterally from its locked position. The orientation of the mounting surface relative to the front face of the touch protection cover, or relative to a mounting direction typically perpendicular to it, in which the touch protection cover is brought into contact with the carrier, is intended, on the one hand, to allow the locking lug to slide along the edge of the recess as freely as possible during installation, and on the other hand, to ensure a sufficiently large displacement path so that the locking lug cannot unintentionally disengage from the carrier in its locked position.Experience has shown that an angle between 45 degrees and approximately 80 degrees relative to the front of the touch protection cover is suitable for the mounting surface.

[0019] To facilitate the simplest possible disassembly or removal of the touch protection cover from the carrier, the locking lug is designed with an actuating surface extending obliquely from the opening in the front of the touch protection cover. This surface acts as a stop for the tool inserted through the opening to the locking lug and allows the tool to laterally displace the locking lug. The actuating surface has at least one orientation opposite to the mounting surface and can, for example, protrude almost perpendicularly from the mounting surface.

[0020] The opening in the front of the touch protection cover must be positioned relative to the locking lug or actuating surface in such a way that a suitable tool, such as a screwdriver, can be used to access the actuating surface of the locking lug from the outside through the opening. The inclination of the actuating surface of the locking lug is advantageously such that when a screwdriver is inserted, the front end of the screwdriver presses against the actuating surface and moves the actuating surface along with the locking lug. As the screwdriver penetrates further, the locking lug is moved further and further from its locked position into an open position, thus releasing the engagement of the locking lug with the carrier and allowing the touch protection cover to be removed from the carrier.

[0021] With a view to ensuring the greatest possible operational safety, it is provided that a locking lug is arranged at each of the four corners or in each corner area of ​​the touch protection cover, with which the respective corner of the touch protection cover can be fixed to the carrier.

[0022] The side frames can have a profile that laterally encompasses the front panel. This allows the front panel to be securely held and supported in the side frames along its side edges.

[0023] According to a particularly advantageous embodiment of the invention, the crossbars have slot-like recesses for receiving the end regions of the side frames and the front panel. In this case, the touch protection cover can be manufactured very easily and without additional tools. First, one end of the front panel and the two connected side frames is inserted into a first crossbar. Then, the opposite end regions of the front panel and the two side frames are inserted into a second crossbar. The crossbars only need to be secured at the end regions of the side frames and / or the front panel.

[0024] It is of course possible to equip the touch protection cover, which consists of a front panel, two side frames, and two cross frames, with conventional locking devices such as quick-release screws, thus eliminating the need for locking lugs. In this way, the very simple and cost-effective touch protection covers can be mounted on supports or in control cabinets where conventional locking devices were previously used and where corresponding bearings or mounting areas are already provided. The cost-effective assembly of the individual components of the touch protection cover and the ability to easily adapt the cutouts in the completely flat front panel are also maintained with this embodiment of the invention.

[0025] An embodiment of the invention, illustrated in the drawing, is explained in more detail below. It shows: Fig. 1 a perspective view of an exemplary touch protection cover, Fig. 2 a view of the in Fig. 1. Touch protection cover shown in an expanded view, Fig. 3 a sectional view through a transverse frame of the touch protection cover along line III-III in Fig. 2, Fig. 4 a side view of the in Fig. 3 shown area of ​​the cross frame, and Fig. 5 a sectional view of the cross frame according to the Fig. 3 and Fig. 4, wherein for illustration purposes an end area of ​​a front panel fixed in the cross frame, a stop element of a carrier and a tool laterally displacing a locking lug are shown.

[0026] One in the Fig. 1 and Fig. The exemplary touch protection cover 1 has a front panel 2, two side frames 3 and two cross frames 4. The two side frames 3 and the two cross frames 4 form a frame 5 that surrounds the front panel 2 laterally.

[0027] The two side frames 3 each have a C-shaped mounting profile 6, which is formed at one end of a side wall 7 of the side frames 3 as shown in the figures above. In a fully assembled state of the touch protection cover 1, a side edge 8 of the front panel 2 is received and secured in a groove-shaped extension 9 in the mounting profile 6 of the side frames 3.

[0028] The two crossbars 4 each have slot-shaped recesses 10 and 11. An end section 12 of the front panel 2 can be inserted into the slot-shaped recess 10 of the associated crossbar 4 and secured therein. The two side frames 3 arranged laterally on the front panel 2 are simultaneously secured in their respective slot-shaped recesses 11 in the crossbar 4.

[0029] The front panel 2 has slot-shaped recesses 13 in each of its opposite end regions 12. In the Fig. 3, Fig. 4 to Fig. The locking tongues 14, projecting towards the front panel 2 as shown in Figure 5, engage with the slot-shaped recesses 13 as soon as the end sections 12 of the front panel 2 have been fully inserted into the corresponding slot-shaped recess 10 of the respective cross frame 4, thereby reliably securing the cross frame to the end section 12 of the front panel 2. No additional fasteners, gluing, or joining of the front panel 2 to the two cross frames 4 or the two cross frames 3 is required.

[0030] In the Fig. 3 and Fig. Figure 5 shows sectional views of an area in the transverse frame 4. Fig. Figure 4 shows a side view of this area of ​​the cross frame 4. In this area, a locking lug 15 is integrally formed on the cross frame 4, extending transversely to the front panel 2, or transversely to a front surface 16 of the touch protection cover 1. The locking lug has a laterally displaceable locking section 17. The locking section 17 has a mounting surface 18 extending obliquely at an angle to the front surface 16, or to the front panel 2, and an actuating surface 19 arranged on a side opposite the mounting surface 18, which projects approximately perpendicularly from the mounting surface 18.

[0031] In Fig.Figure 5 shows, by way of example, that the end section 12 of the front panel 2 is inserted into the slotted recess 10 and secured there by the locking tongue 14. One end 20 of a screwdriver 21 penetrates through a recess 22 in the transverse frame 4 and the corresponding slotted recess 13 of the front panel 2 below it, and rests against the actuating surface 19 of the locking section 17 of the locking lug 15. As the screwdriver 21 penetrates deeper, its end 20 slides along the inclined actuating surface 19 and displaces the locking section 17 together with a stop 23 of the locking lug 15 to the side until the stop 23 no longer engages with a bearing surface 24 of a support 25 (not shown) and the locking lug 15 can be removed from the support 25.

[0032] If all four locking tabs 15 are successively released from the carrier 25, the touch protection cover can be removed from the carrier 25. It is also conceivable that only the two locking tabs 15 of the preferably upper crossbar 4 are released from the carrier 25 using the screwdriver 21, so that the touch protection cover 1 can be pivoted forward.

[0033] The front panel 2 has several recesses 26 which are adapted to the dimensions and arrangements of display devices or actuating devices which are arranged in a control cabinet (not shown) behind the touch protection cover 1 and which must be left clear by the touch protection cover 1 to allow visual contact or actuation of the components concerned.

[0034] The front panel 2, as well as the side panels 3 and the cross panels 4, are made of a suitable insulating plastic material.

Claims

[1] Low-voltage and medium-voltage switchgear with a touch protection cover (1), wherein the touch protection cover (1) has a cover and at least two locking devices arranged at opposite ends of the cover, which can be moved into an open position with a tool and enable the touch protection cover (1) to be removed from a carrier (25), and wherein each locking device has a detent lug (15) which can be deflected against a restoring force and which automatically moves into a locking position engaging with the carrier (25) when the touch protection cover (1) is mounted on the carrier (25), characterized by, that the touch protection cover (1) has a flat front panel (2) and a frame (5) surrounding the front panel (2) laterally, that the frame (5) consists of two side frames (3) and two cross frames (4), and that opposite end areas (12) of the front panel (2) can each be positively locked in an associated cross frame (4). [2] Low-voltage and medium-voltage switchgear with a touch protection cover (1) according to claim 1, characterized by , that each locking lug (15) can be moved into the open position by means of a tool through an opening in a front side (16) of the touch protection cover (1). [3] Low-voltage and medium-voltage switchgear with a touch protection cover (1) according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized by, that each locking lug (15) has a mounting surface (18) oriented at an angle to the front (16), which, during the installation of the touch protection cover (1), slides along an edge of a recess in the carrier (25) and deflects the locking lug (15) laterally out of the locking position. [4] Low-voltage and medium-voltage switchgear with a touch protection cover (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by , that each locking lug (15) has an actuating surface (19) extending obliquely from the opening in the front (16) of the touch protection cover (1), which forms a stop for the tool brought towards the locking lug (15) through the opening in the front (16) and allows the tool to displace the locking lug (15) laterally. [5] Low-voltage and medium-voltage switchgear with a touch protection cover (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized bythat the side frames (3) have a profile that laterally encompasses the front panel (2). [6] Low-voltage and medium-voltage switchgear with a touch protection cover (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by , that the cross frames (4) have slot-like recesses (10, 11) for receiving end areas (12) of the front panel (2) and the side frames (3). [7] Low-voltage and medium-voltage switchgear with a touch protection cover (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by , that the crossbars (4) have locking means (14) which engage with a recess (22) in the front panel (2) to secure the front panel (2).

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