Hybrid Busbar Contact Rails for Touch-Protected Live Mounting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional busbar systems require cumbersome mounting procedures and lack touch protection, making them unsafe for users, especially when devices need to be connected under voltage, and they often necessitate the use of additional adapter elements.
Innovation Solution
A touch-protected busbar system featuring hybrid busbars with current-carrying and contact-receiving rail profiles, partially covered or encapsulated by electrical isolating elements, allowing for safe mounting of devices without adapters and under voltage conditions, using either protruding contacts or hook-shaped latches, and providing flexible connectivity options.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional busbar systems are used without touch protection, then electrical devices can be connected directly to busbars, but user safety is compromised and touch protection is lacking
Solution Approach 1:
The busbar system is segmented into conductive busbar elements and separate touch protection elements. The touch protection elements can be selectively positioned to cover specific busbar sections, allowing direct connection at uncovered locations while maintaining safety at covered locations. This segmentation resolves the contradiction by spatially separating safety functions from connection functions.
Solution Approach 2:
Touch protection elements are applied locally to specific busbar sections rather than uniformly across the entire system. This allows direct device connections at locations without touch protection while providing touch protection at locations where it is needed, enabling both safety and ease of operation at different locations within the same system.
2Reliability
If touch protection elements are installed on busbars, then user safety is improved, but mounting of electrical devices becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The touch protection elements are designed with configurable positions that can be adjusted or removed based on operational requirements. This dynamic configuration allows the system to switch between fully protected mode and partially accessible mode, reducing mounting complexity when device connection is prioritized while maintaining protection when safety is prioritized.
Solution Approach 2:
The touch protection elements serve multiple functions: they provide electrical isolation for user safety, act as mounting surfaces for electrical devices, and can be configured to allow or prevent access based on operational needs. This multi-functionality reduces overall system complexity by combining safety and operational functions in a single component.
3Adaptability or versatility
If additional adapter elements are used for device connection, then connectivity is achieved, but system complexity and mounting time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The busbar system merges the connection function and the support function into a single integrated structure. Electrical devices can be directly mounted on the busbar system without requiring separate adapter elements, reducing the number of components and assembly steps. This merging eliminates the time loss associated with installing multiple separate components while maintaining versatile device connection capability.
4Reliability
If busbars are covered for touch protection, then safety is improved, but accessibility for device mounting is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
Touch protection elements are pre-configured with integrated mounting features that facilitate device attachment. The protection elements themselves serve as the mounting platform, eliminating the need to remove protection elements for device installation. This preliminary integration of mounting capability into the protection structure maintains both electrical isolation and device accessibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The touch protection elements act as an intermediary structure between the conductive busbars and the electrical devices. They provide electrical isolation while simultaneously serving as a mounting surface for devices, mediating between the conflicting requirements of safety and accessibility without requiring direct contact between devices and busbars.
Data Source
AI summary
A touch protected busbar system (TP-BSYS) comprising at least one hybrid busbar (1) having a current-carrying rail profile (2) and a contact-receiving rail profile (3) providing contact openings (4) configured to receive protruding electrical contacts (6) of electrical devices (ED-A) to be connected to said touch protected busbar system (TP-BSYS), wherein the at least one hybrid busbar (1) is at least partially covered by electrical isolating touch protection elements (TPE) of said touch protected busbar system (TP-BSYS) and/or at least partially encapsulated by an electrical isolating layer.