Modular electronic component

Abstract

The invention relates to a modular electronic component, in particular a terminal block (1), comprising a housing (11), at least one printed circuit board (12), and at least two connections (13, 14, 16, 17) for electrical conductors, wherein the electronic component additionally has a separating element (15) in the housing (11), said separating element being linearly movable parallel to the printed circuit board (12), and the at least one printed circuit board (12) has at least one first and at least one second electrically conductive contact surface (121, 122). The separating element (15) has at least one electrically conductive portion (151) which contacts the contact surfaces (121, 122) in a first position (P1) and thus connects them to one another in an electrically conductive manner such that, by means of the at least one printed circuit board (12), a current can be conducted between the connections (13, 14, 16, 17), i.e. from one of the connections (13, 16) to the respective other connection (14, 17) via the contact surfaces (121, 122) and the separating element (15) in each case, and the separating element (15) can be moved into a second position (P2) in which no current can be conducted between the connections (13, 14, 16, 17). The at least one first contact surface (121) and the at least one second contact surface (122) are provided on respective opposite faces (12a, 12b) of the at least one printed circuit board (12).

Description

[0001] Stackable electronic module

[0002] The present invention relates to a series-connectable electronic component, in particular a terminal block, comprising a housing, at least one printed circuit board and at least two connections for electrical conductors, wherein the electronic component further comprises a separating element arranged in the housing, which is linearly movable parallel to the printed circuit board, wherein the at least one printed circuit board has at least one first and at least one second electrically conductive contact surface, and wherein the separating element has at least one electrically conductive section which contacts the contact surfaces in a first position and thus electrically conductively connects them to one another, so that by means of the at least one printed circuit board, a current can be conducted between the connections, i.e. from one of the connections via the contact surfaces and the separating element to the other connection, and wherein the separating element is movable into a second position,in which no current can be conducted between the terminals.

[0003] DE 10 2015 121 057 A1 discloses a terminal block comprising a housing and a separating element arranged therein for separating an electrical line. The separating element can be pulled out of the housing and comprises an electrically conductive section that connects two contact elements arranged one behind the other on a circuit board in the direction of withdrawal of the separating element such that a current can be conducted between them. Pulling the separating element out of the housing breaks the connection between the contact elements, so that no current can be conducted between them.

[0004] The problem with the terminal block according to the state of the art is that repeated disconnection and reconnection between the contact elements only allows very small manufacturing tolerances, which makes production expensive and complex and leads to increased wear of the contacts, especially when the disconnection element is repeatedly pulled out.

[0005] Based on the prior art, it is therefore the object of the present invention to provide an improved electronic component which has an electrical line which is particularly easy to separate.

[0006] The present invention solves this problem with a series-connectable electronic module having the features of claim 1. According to the invention, the series-connectable electronic module, in particular the terminal block, comprises a housing, at least one printed circuit board and at least two connections for electrical conductors, wherein the electronic module also has a separating element arranged in the housing, which is linearly movable parallel to the printed circuit board, wherein the at least one printed circuit board has at least one first and at least one second electrically conductive contact surface, and wherein the separating element has at least one electrically conductive section which contacts the contact surfaces in a first position and thus connects them to one another in an electrically conductive manner, so that by means of the at least one printed circuit board a current can be passed between the connections,i.e., from one of the terminals via the contact surfaces and the separating element to the other terminal, and wherein the separating element is movable into a second position in which no current can be conducted between the terminals. The at least one first contact surface and the at least one second contact surface are each arranged on opposite sides of the at least one printed circuit board. This enables particularly simple and reliable separation of the terminals by means of the separating element.

[0007] In particular, the contact surfaces are arranged one behind the other vertically relative to the direction of movement of the separating element and a plane of extension of the circuit board. Optionally, the contact surfaces can be congruent, i.e., with the same, essentially two-dimensional shape in planes running parallel to each other, and can be connected to each other particularly easily using the electrically conductive section.

[0008] In a particularly preferred variant, the separating element is displaceable within the housing, in particular without protruding from the housing, which leads to a particularly space-saving design of the electronic component.

[0009] Preferably, the extension planes of the at least one first contact surface, the at least one second contact surface and the circuit board are parallel to one another in order to enable a movement of the separating element particularly easily.

[0010] The housing can have a guide that at least partially surrounds the separating element perpendicular to its direction of movement. The guide can, in particular, be an opening in the housing that essentially corresponds to the dimensions of the separating element, so that the separating element can be inserted into the opening and / or into the housing perpendicular to its direction of movement with essentially no gap. The guide also enables precise repeatability of the separating element's movement.

[0011] For particularly simple actuation of the separating element, a pivotable lever is preferably arranged on the housing, by means of which the separating element can be moved between the first and the second position. In particular, the lever is in a pressed-in state in which its upper side is arranged approximately perpendicular to an axis corresponding to the direction of movement of the separating element when the separating element is in the first position. Preferably, the lever is in a pivoted-out, i.e. released, state when the separating element is in the second position, and in this state its upper side is arranged at an angle of 135° to 145° and more preferably of approximately 140° to an axis corresponding to the direction of movement of the separating element.Particularly preferably, the lever can be pivoted within a circular arc which corresponds to an angular range between the pressed-in and the released state of the lever and which is preferably from 25° to 75° and in particular from 45° to 55°.

[0012] In a preferred variant in which the separating element is arranged to be displaceable only within the housing, the lever pivotably mounted on the housing prevents the separating element from being pulled out of the housing, which further increases the reliability of the device.

[0013] A pin guide is preferably formed on the separating element, in which a pin arranged on the lever is guided, such that the separating element can be moved by means of the pin when the lever is pivoted. When the lever is pivoted from the pressed-in position to the released position, the pin preferably presses against a side of the pin guide that is arranged in the direction of the second position of the separating element, and thus moves the separating element into the second position, wherein when the lever is pivoted into the pressed-in position, the pin conversely presses against a side of the pin guide in the direction of the first position in order to move the separating element into the first position. The pin guide can optionally be designed such that the pin is moved linearly within the pin guide when the lever is pivoted.

[0014] Optionally, the separating element has a contour that rests gap-free against a projection of the lever in the second position. This prevents a rotational movement of the separating element in the second position and / or limits an opening angle of the lever. For even better fixation of the separating element in the second position, the separating element can be supported in this position at one point by means of the contour on the projection of the lever and by means of the pin guide on the pin of the lever, wherein these supports prevent the separating element from moving in one direction along an axis running vertically to the direction of movement. The contour serves in particular to enable movement of the projection such that the opening angle of the lever can be determined by means of the contour, since the contour determines at which point in the pivoting movement of the lever the projection of the lever strikes the separating element.

[0015] In one embodiment, the at least one electrically conductive section of the separating element can comprise at least one clamping contact that surrounds the at least one circuit board and is made of electrically conductive material, in particular metal. Particularly preferably, the clamping contact or the entire conductive section is a contact tulip.

[0016] Electrically conductive in the sense of the present invention means in particular that the electrically conductive section, or electrically conductive parts of the electronic component, in particular the circuit board, or its material, has an electrical conductivity of more than 1 MS / m. For this purpose, copper or aluminum, for example, is used, and even more preferably, to prevent oxidation or corrosion, a copper alloy or tin coating or silver or gold. In one variant, nickel intermediate layers can also be used to form a diffusion barrier between the copper base material and the tin coating. Otherwise, the separating element, i.e. apart from the electrically conductive section, like the other non-electrically conductive parts of the series-connectable electronic component, i.e. the terminal block, is preferably made of plastic with a conductivity of less than 1 S / m, for example polyamide or polybutylene terephthalate.The at least one circuit board can also comprise composite materials such as FR4 material, for example.

[0017] In particular, the clamping contact contacts the sides of the circuit board which have the contact surfaces, each with at least two contact fingers. In an alternative embodiment, the clamping contact contacts the sides of the circuit board which have the contact surfaces, with a different number of contact fingers. This means that the separating element can be used, for example, as a signal splitter or, for example, several circuits can be supplied with power in parallel. The clamping contact and / or the number of contact fingers or their respective dimensions can be adapted to the current strength to be transmitted. In a particularly advantageous variant, the at least one clamping contact contacts the contact surfaces of the circuit board preferably in the second position, such that the current can be conducted between the connections via the at least one clamping contact.

[0018] In a further embodiment, the separating element can comprise at least two electrically conductive sections, i.e. in particular at least two clamping contacts, each of which encompasses a circuit board of the electronic component.

[0019] Optionally, the modular electronic module or terminal block can also have more than one of the separating elements, so that a particularly large number of connections can be electrically connected and / or separated from one another in a space-saving manner.

[0020] The present invention is explained in more detail below with reference to several drawings. They show:

[0021] Fig. 1 a to 1 c views of an electronic component according to the invention, which is used as

[0022] Terminal block is designed with a separating element in a first position,

[0023] Fig. 2a and 2b are sectional views of the terminal block of Fig. 1 a with the separating element in the second position,

[0024] Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the terminal block of Fig. 1 a and 2a in the second position,

[0025] Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the separating element from Fig. 1 a to 3.

[0026] Fig. 1 a shows a terminal block 1 which has a housing 11 which is open on one side in the illustration. Two printed circuit boards 12 are arranged in the housing and the terminal block 1 has at least two connections 13, 14, 16, 17 for electrical conductors, wherein the electronic component also has a separating element 15 arranged in the housing 11 which can be moved linearly in the direction of movement B parallel to the printed circuit boards 12. The section from Fig. 1 a with the separating element 15 is shown enlarged in Fig. 1 b. The direction of movement B runs parallel to the z-axis of the coordinate system shown for illustrative purposes and corresponds to the direction of a longitudinal extent of the separating element 15. The printed circuit boards 12 each have a first electrically conductive contact surface on their first side (not visible here).On the visible second side 12b of the circuit boards 12, these each have a second electrically conductive contact surface 122. The sides 12a and 12b, and thus the contact surfaces 121 and 122, are thus located opposite each other in the direction along the y-axis of the coordinate system on opposite sides of the circuit boards 12.

[0027] The separating element 15 here has two electrically conductive sections 151, each assigned to the circuit boards 12, wherein in Fig. 1a and 1b only the section 151 assigned to the lower circuit board 12 is visible. The electrically conductive sections 151 here are clamp contacts 1511, which contact the contact surfaces in a first position P1 and thus connect them to one another in an electrically conductive manner, so that a current can be conducted between the terminals 13 and 14 and 16 and 17 in Fig. 1a by means of the one circuit board 12.

[0028] The separating element 15 in Fig. 1 a or 1 b is optionally partially arranged in a guide 111 in the housing 11, which at least partially encompasses or surrounds the separating element 15 perpendicular to its direction of movement B.

[0029] A pivotable lever 18 is mounted on the housing 11 on an axis A, by means of which the separating element 15 can be moved from the illustrated first position P1. The lever 18 can be pivoted in particular by 25° to 75° and preferably by 45° to 55° about the axis A. To move the separating element 15, the lever has a pin (not visible here) which is arranged in a pin guide 152 in the separating element 15 and which, when the lever 18 is pivoted, also pivots and moves relative to the separating element 15, in particular linearly within the pin guide 152 (here along the x-axis), and which in the process presses (here in the positive direction of the z-axis) against an upper edge of the pin guide 152 and thereby causes a linear movement of the separating element 15 towards a second position (in the positive direction of the z-axis). The lever 3 has a handle section 183 for easy operation.

[0030] Fig. 1 c shows a cross-section perpendicular to the view of the terminal block 1 from Fig. 1 a and the illustration in Fig. 1 b, i.e. along a plane that defines the y-axis and the z-axis. The pin 181 of the lever 18 in the pin guide 152 for moving the separating element 15 is shown here. It can also be seen that the two circuit boards 12 each have the first contact surfaces on the first side 12a, which can be seen here, and the second contact surfaces 122 from Fig. 1 b on the second, opposite side 12b. In the first position P1 of the separating element 15, the contact surfaces are connected to one another via the electrically conductive sections 151, i.e. the clamping contacts 1511, which are contact tulips here. The conductive sections 151 each encompass the printed circuit boards 12, as shown in the illustration. By means of the separating element 15, in its first position P1, one of the terminals 13, 16 from Fig.1a via the first contact surfaces and the second contact surfaces 122 to the respective other terminal 14, 17, a current can be conducted.

[0031] The contact surfaces are arranged one behind the other, corresponding to sides 12a and 12b, as can be seen in Fig. 1b, vertically relative to the direction of movement B of the separating element 15 and a plane of extension of the circuit board 12. The planes of extension of the at least one first contact surface 121, the at least one second contact surface 122, and the circuit board 12 are parallel to one another and also run parallel to the direction of movement B of the separating element and a plane defined by the x- and z-axes of the coordinate system.

[0032] The separating element 15 is movable in the terminal block 1 of Fig. 1a and 1b into a second position P2, in which it is shown in Fig. 2a. In the second position P2, the electrically conductive sections 151 do not contact the contact surfaces 121, 122, and consequently, no current can be conducted between the contact surfaces and the terminals.

[0033] Fig. 2b shows a cross-section of the illustration in Fig. 2a which essentially corresponds to the cross-section in Fig. 1b, the separating element being shown in the second position P2 here, as in Fig. 2a. The first and second contact surfaces 121 and 122 are not electrically conductively connected to one another. The lever 18 is shown rotated (optionally by approximately 50°) around the axis A in Fig. 2a and 2b, so that the pin 181 of the lever 18 visible in Fig. 2b has moved from the first end of the pin guide 152 on the right in Fig. 2a, at which end it was in the first position P1 in Fig. 1a, along the x-axis to the left end of the pin guide 152 in Fig. 2a and along the z-axis in the direction of movement B of the separating element 15. In this position, the lever 18 can of course also be pivoted in such a way that the device or the separating element 15 can be pivoted from the second position P2 back into the first position P1.

[0034] Fig. 3 shows the side of the separating element 15 and the upper circuit board 12 from Fig. 2a, opposite in the direction of the y-axis, approximately in a plan view of the first side 12a of the circuit board 12 and the first contact surface 121. The clamping contact 1511 shown still engages around the circuit board 12 in the second position P2, but with three contact pins 1512 each, it only contacts a non-conductive section of the circuit board 12. In Fig. 3, the pin 181 of the lever 18 is also visibly shown within the pin guide 152. The separating element also has a contour 154 against which a projection 182 of the lever 18 abuts.

[0035] Fig. 4 shows an isometric view of the separating element 15 from the preceding figures in a top view of the two clamping contacts 1511, which contact the circuit boards 12 in Fig. 1a to 3. The clamping contacts 1511 are each contact tulips with six contact pins 1512, of which in the preceding figures three each contact one of the sides 12a and 12b of the circuit board.

[0036] List of reference symbols

[0037] I Terminal block

[0038] II Housing

[0039] III Leadership

[0040] 12 circuit board

[0041] 12a first page

[0042] 12b second page

[0043] 121 first contact surface

[0044] 122 second contact surface

[0045] 13 Connection

[0046] 14 Connection

[0047] 15 terminal blocks

[0048] Section 151

[0049] 1511 terminal contact

[0050] 1512 contact fingers

[0051] 152 pen guide

[0052] 154 Contour

[0053] 16 connection

[0054] 17 Connection

[0055] 18 levers

[0056] 181 pen

[0057] 182 lead

[0058] 183 Handle section

[0059] P1 first position

[0060] P2 second position

[0061] B Direction of movement

[0062] L Longitudinal extension

[0063] A axis

Claims

Claims 1. A series-connectable electronic component, in particular a terminal block (1), comprising a housing (11), at least one printed circuit board (12) and at least two terminals (13, 14, 16, 17) for electrical conductors, wherein the electronic component further comprises a separating element (15) arranged in the housing (11) which is linearly movable parallel to the printed circuit board (12), wherein the at least one printed circuit board (12) comprises at least one first and at least one second electrically conductive contact surface (121, 122), and wherein the separating element (15) comprises at least one electrically conductive section (151) which contacts the contact surfaces (121, 122) in a first position (P1) and thus connects them to one another in an electrically conductive manner, so that by means of the at least one printed circuit board (12) a current can be conducted between the terminals (13, 14, 16, 17), i.e. from one of the terminals (13, 16) via the contact surfaces (121, 122) and the separating element (15) to the respective other terminal (14,17), and wherein the separating element (15) is movable into a second position (P2) in which no current can be conducted between the terminals (13, 14, 16, 17), characterized in that the at least one first contact surface (121) and the at least one second contact surface (122) are each arranged on opposite sides (12a, 12b) of the at least one printed circuit board (12).

2. A series-mountable electronic component according to claim 1, characterized in that the contact surfaces (121, 122) are arranged one behind the other vertically to the direction of movement (B) of the separating element (15) and an extension plane (E) of the at least one printed circuit board (12).

3. A series-connectable electronic component according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the extension planes of the at least one first contact surface (121), the at least one second contact surface (122) and the at least one printed circuit board (12) are parallel to one another.

4. A series-mountable electronic module according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the housing (11) has a guide (111) which at least partially encompasses the separating element (15) perpendicular to its direction of movement (B).

5. A modular electronic module according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a pivotable Lever (18) is arranged, by means of which the separating element (15) is movable between the first position (P1) and the second position (P2).

6. A series-mountable electronic module according to claim 5, characterized in that the lever (18) is pivotable by 25° to 75° and in particular by 45° to 55°.

7. A series-connectable electronic module according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that a pin guide (152) is formed on the separating element (15), in which a pin (181) arranged on the lever (18) is guided, so that the separating element (15) is movable by means of the pin (181) when the lever (18) is pivoted.

8. A series-connectable electronic module according to claim 7, characterized in that the pin guide (152) is designed such that the pin (181) is moved linearly within the pin guide (152) when the lever (18) is pivoted.

9. A series-connectable electronic module according to one of claims 5 to 8, characterized in that the separating element (15) has a contour (154) which, in the second position (P2), rests without a gap against a projection (182) of the lever (18).

10. A series-connectable electronic component according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the at least one electrically conductive section (151) of the separating element (15) comprises at least one clamping contact (1511) which surrounds the at least one printed circuit board (12) and which consists of electrically conductive material.

11. A series-connectable electronic module according to claim 10, characterized in that the at least one terminal contact (1511) is a contact tulip.

12. A series-connectable electronic component according to claim 10 or 11, characterized in that the at least one terminal contact (1511) contacts the sides (12a, 12b) of the at least one printed circuit board (12) which have the contact surfaces (121, 122), each with at least two contact fingers (1512).

13. A series-connectable electronic module according to one of claims 10 to 12, characterized in that the at least one terminal contact (1511) contacts the sides (12a, 12b) of the at least one printed circuit board (12) which Contact surfaces (121, 122) are contacted with different numbers of contact fingers (1512).

14. A series-connectable electronic component according to one of claims 10 to 13, characterized in that the at least one terminal contact (1511) contacts the contact surfaces (121, 122) of the at least one printed circuit board (12) in the second position (P2), so that the current can be conducted via the at least one terminal contact (1511) between the terminals (13, 14, 16, 17).

15. A series-connectable electronic component according to one of claims 10 to 14, characterized in that the separating element (15) comprises two electrically conductive sections (151) and / or two clamping contacts (1511), each of which encompasses one of the at least one printed circuit board (12).

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