End piece with adhesive

Abstract

End piece (15) for an electrical installation duct (10), wherein the end piece can cover an open end of the electrical installation duct, characterized in that the end piece has a rectangular cover surface (16), an end face (18) perpendicularly adjacent to an edge of the cover surface and two side surfaces (17) perpendicularly adjacent to an edge of the cover surface and to an edge of the end face, wherein the end piece has an adhesive material (20), wherein the end piece can be force-fitted to the electrical installation duct by means of the adhesive material.

Description

[0001] The invention relates to an end piece for an electrical installation duct, wherein the end piece can cover an open end of the electrical installation duct. The invention further relates to an electrical installation duct with an end piece.

[0002] Electrical installation trunking, also known as cable trunking, is regularly used in residential and industrial installations to neatly and bundle wires and cables. Electrical installation trunking typically has a C- or U-shaped profile, with one side of the profile attached to a wall, floor, ceiling, or trunking support. To allow for closure or subsequent opening of the electrical installation trunking, it usually has a cover that conceals one open side of the profile. The cover is often snapped into place at the outer end of the profile using a locking mechanism.

[0003] End caps are regularly attached to the open ends of electrical installation trunking, closing off the trunking at its end and covering an opening. They provide a visually appealing finish to the trunking while simultaneously protecting it from the ingress of dust and foreign objects. End caps known from the prior art are often attached to the trunking by snapping, screwing, or positive locking. This often requires protrusions, locking lugs, or separate retaining structures. This can complicate installation, necessitate additional components, or lead to increased manufacturing effort. The end cap is slid onto the trunking in the direction of its longitudinal expansion. If the end cap is screwed to the trunking, for example,The electrical installation duct must have at least a threaded hole for a screw. According to current best practices, the fasteners on the end piece or on the electrical installation duct must be molded onto the duct or end piece, which is typically made of plastic, sheet steel, or aluminum, either during or after manufacturing, and therefore require considerable production effort.

[0004] According to the aforementioned end piece designs, the end piece is typically slid onto or into the electrical installation duct in a longitudinal direction. If the electrical installation duct, with an opening at one end, extends to a transverse wall, or if space is otherwise limited, an end piece cannot be subsequently slid onto an already installed electrical installation duct. The end piece must therefore be permanently installed during the installation of the electrical installation duct. In such confined spaces, it is also not possible to subsequently remove the end piece from the electrical installation duct, for example, to extend an installation area.

[0005] The object of the invention is therefore to propose an end piece and an electrical installation duct that is easy to manufacture and assemble.

[0006] This problem is solved by an end piece having the features of claim 1 and an electrical installation duct having the features of claim 11.

[0007] The end piece according to the invention for an electrical installation duct can cover an open end of the electrical installation duct, wherein the end piece has a rectangular cover surface, an end face perpendicularly adjacent to an edge of the cover surface and two side surfaces perpendicularly adjacent to an edge of the cover surface and an edge of the end face, wherein the end piece has an adhesive material, and wherein the end piece can be bonded to the electrical installation duct by means of the adhesive material.

[0008] Due to its shape, the end piece can be slid onto the electrical installation channel either lengthwise or perpendicular to the channel's length from one side of a cable cover. When installed, the end piece's side surfaces rest flush against the sides of the electrical installation channel, and its end surface rests flush against the cable cover. The cover surface conceals the open end of the electrical installation channel, protecting it from the ingress of dust or foreign objects. The adhesive is applied to the end piece in such a way that, when installed, it forms a strong bond between the end piece and the electrical installation channel.The adhesive can be pre-attached to the end piece before installation or supplied separately and applied during installation. This makes mounting the end piece to the electrical conduit particularly easy, as it simply needs to be slid onto the conduit and, if necessary, pressed firmly to increase tensile strength. Mounting with the adhesive also allows for a certain degree of tolerance if the end piece is not slid perfectly straight onto the conduit. This tolerance also accommodates minor dimensional variations between the conduit and the end piece. Because the adhesive bond allows the end piece to be connected to the conduit, the need for complex alternative connectors is eliminated, making the production of both the end piece and the conduit particularly simple and cost-effective.The end piece can also incorporate additional connecting elements, such as sealing lips or grooves, for a watertight or gas-tight seal of the electrical installation duct and end piece. The adhesive material can be designed so that the end piece can be manually detached from the electrical installation duct. Sufficient adhesive strength ensures that the end piece remains securely attached to the electrical installation duct during operation, while still allowing for easy removal at any time for opening and inspection of the duct. The adhesive material can be designed to adhere to the electrical installation duct a second, third, or even more times, or it can be replaceable, allowing the adhesive to be replaced after an inspection and the end piece to be reattached to the electrical installation duct with a new adhesive.The adhesive material is preferably selected to exhibit advantageous adhesion to various materials, particularly plastic, sheet steel, and aluminum. The end piece can then be used with electrical installation channels from different manufacturers and made of different materials, thus offering particularly advantageous flexibility.

[0009] The adhesive material can be formed by a carrier medium with a pressure-sensitive adhesive layer, preferably a self-adhesive carrier medium, and most preferably by a double-sided adhesive tape. Double-sided adhesive tape is readily available and inexpensive from industrial suppliers, thus facilitating the simple formation of the adhesive material. The double-sided adhesive tape can then be pre-mounted on the end piece with one adhesive side already in place and have a release liner on the other adhesive side, which must be removed before the end piece is mounted to the electrical installation duct. If the adhesive material is formed by a foam adhesive tape, its sufficient thickness and flexibility allow it to compensate for certain dimensional tolerances of the electrical installation duct and thus be particularly easy to apply to non-flat surfaces of the electrical installation duct.Electrical installation channels are often cut to size on-site, and the resulting cut surfaces are not deburred or straightened. A soft adhesive material can compensate for such burrs or unevenness, allowing the end piece to cover them.

[0010] The inner surfaces of the cover, end, and side surfaces can be flat. This allows the end piece to fit snugly against the open end of the electrical installation channel, as the channel itself also has regularly flat surfaces. Consequently, the open end of the electrical installation channel can be covered with a particularly tight seal.

[0011] The inner surfaces of the top, end, and side surfaces can be free of protrusions. Manufacturing the end piece is then particularly simple, as its shaping is limited to flat surfaces and eliminates the need for connecting elements such as grooves or locking lugs, which can be difficult to produce. Furthermore, the end piece is compatible with a wide range of electrical installation channels, provided these channels generally have flat outer surfaces.

[0012] The end piece can be slid onto the electrical installation channel using its side surfaces, creating a positive fit. These side surfaces can act as guides to slide the end piece onto the electrical installation channel and into its mounting position.

[0013] The adhesive material can be applied to an inner surface of the end face facing the top surface. If the end piece is slid onto the electrical installation channel using the side surfaces, and the installation is carried out in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal dimension of the electrical installation channel, the end face comes into contact with the electrical installation channel last, so that the end piece can first be slid on freely and then finally glued to the electrical installation channel.

[0014] The adhesive material can be applied to an inner surface of the side facing the top surface. It can be applied exclusively to one or more side surfaces, or additionally to an adhesive material on the end face. When installed, particularly good adhesion between the end piece and the electrical conduit can be achieved if the side surface of the end piece adheres to a side surface of the conduit, thus making it more difficult to detach the end piece from the conduit. If the end piece is to be slid onto the conduit using its side surfaces, it can be slightly spread apart so that the adhesive material does not adhere to the conduit during the sliding process.However, the adhesive material can also have a non-adhesive protective film with a handle tab, which, when the end piece has been pushed into the final mounting position, can be pulled out between the adhesive material and the side surface of the electrical installation channel, so that the adhesive material comes into contact with the electrical installation channel.

[0015] The shape of the cover surface can essentially correspond to the outer cross-section of the electrical installation duct. The cover surface can be flush with the open end of the electrical installation duct. Alternatively, the cover surface can slightly exceed the outer cross-section of the electrical installation duct, so that the adjacent side surfaces and the end face can just slide over the electrical installation duct.

[0016] The end piece can be made of a thermoplastic or thermosetting plastic. These plastics are particularly easy to process and offer advantageous stability as well as cost-effective manufacturing of the end piece. Alternatively, the end piece can be made of sheet steel or aluminum. Additionally, the end piece can incorporate special materials for specific requirements, as well as material-related derivatives of the aforementioned material groups.

[0017] The end piece can be manufactured using an injection molding process. Due to its simple shape, requiring no separate joining elements, injection molding is particularly easy to perform, as it essentially only needs to create flat surfaces. The molds for injection molding are therefore easy to produce. This allows for economical and highly accurate manufacturing of the end piece.

[0018] The electrical installation duct according to the invention comprises an end piece according to the invention. For the advantages and further embodiments of the electrical installation duct, reference is made to the descriptions of features in the dependent claims relating to the end piece according to the invention.

[0019] The invention is explained in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawing.

[0020] The Fig.Figure 1 shows an electrical installation duct 10 comprising a duct body 11 and a cover 12. The cover 12 is snapped onto a non-visible locking device on the upper edge 14 of a side surface 13 of the duct body 11. The end piece 15 includes a cover surface 16, perpendicularly adjacent side surfaces 17, and an end surface 18. To mount the end piece 15 to the electrical installation duct 10, an adhesive material 20 in the form of a double-sided adhesive tape 21 is applied, as indicated by the directional arrow 19, to a non-visible side of the end surface 18 of the end piece 15 facing the cover surface 16.Subsequently, the end piece 15 together with the adhesive material 20 is pushed along the direction arrow 22 with inner surfaces 23 of side surfaces 17 of the end piece 15 onto the side surfaces 13 of the electrical installation channel 10 and then an adhesive connection is made between an inner surface of the end face 18 (not shown) and a top surface 24 of the cover 12 by means of the adhesive material 20.

Claims

[1] End piece (15) for an electrical installation duct (10), wherein the end piece can cover an open end of the electrical installation duct, characterized by , that the end piece has a rectangular cover surface (16), an end face (18) perpendicularly adjacent to an edge of the cover surface and two side surfaces (17) perpendicularly adjacent to an edge of the cover surface and to an edge of the end face, wherein the end piece has an adhesive material (20), wherein the end piece can be force-fitted to the electrical installation duct by means of the adhesive material. [2] End piece according to claim 1, characterized by , that the adhesive material (20) is formed by a carrier medium with a pressure-sensitive adhesive layer, preferably by a self-adhesive carrier medium, particularly preferably by a double-sided adhesive tape (21). [3] End piece according to one of claims 1 or 2, characterized by, that the inner surfaces (23) of the top surface (16), end surface (18) and side surfaces (17) are flat. [4] End piece according to any of the preceding claims, characterized by , that the inner surfaces (23) of the top surface (16), front surface (18) and side surfaces (17) are free of protrusions. [5] End piece according to any of the preceding claims, characterized by , that the end piece (15) can be slid onto the electrical installation duct (10) in a form-fitting manner along the side surfaces (17). [6] End piece according to any of the preceding claims, characterized by , that the adhesive material (20) is arranged on an inner side of the end face (18) facing the top surface (16). [7] End piece according to any of the preceding claims, characterized by , that the adhesive material (20) is arranged on an inner side (23) of the side surface (17) facing the top surface (16). [8] End piece according to any of the preceding claims, characterized by, that a shape of the cover surface (16) essentially corresponds to an outer cross-section of the electrical installation duct (10). [9] End piece according to any of the preceding claims, characterized by , that the end piece (15) is made of a thermoplastic or thermosetting plastic. [10] End piece according to any of the preceding claims, characterized by , that the end piece (15) is manufactured by an injection molding process. [11] Electrical installation duct (10) with an end piece (15) according to one of the preceding claims.

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