DE29606759U1 - Multi-part housing in modular design to accommodate a circuit board - Google Patents

Description

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A96 034

Description

Klöckner-Moeller GmbH 53115 Bonn

Multi-part housing in modular design to accommodate a

Circuit board

The innovation concerns a multi-part housing in modular design for low-voltage switching devices, such as time relays, thermistor protection devices, for accommodating a circuit board and block-shaped plug-in screw terminals for connecting cables, whereby the circuit board is stepped along two opposite edges and the circuit board is equipped with connector plugs for plugging in the screw terminals in the area of the stepped steps.

DE-GM 94 20 189.7 discloses a multi-part housing for accommodating a circuit board, which has a housing cap that can be attached to a standard rail and whose front side is cascade-shaped. This housing cap is closed using a front panel that is also cascade-shaped as a cover, whereby the circuit board is attached to the front panel and is located inside the housing cap and covered by the front panel when the housing is closed. Pluggable terminal strips are provided for the electrical connection of the circuit board, which can be plugged onto 5 contact devices on the circuit board in the area of the cascade-shaped steps on the front panel.

The disadvantage of this known multi-part housing is that due to the cascade-shaped design of the housing cap and

Front panel a very rigid definition of the dimensions and dimensions of the multi-part housing is made, since for each housing cap the matching front panel and correspondingly designed circuit board must be available, so that an undesirably high variety of housing shapes for the different circuit boards to be accommodated depending on their respective function must be provided.

The aim of the innovation is therefore to improve the known multi-part housings for accommodating circuit boards so that they can be easily and flexibly adapted to different sizes, shapes and functions of circuit boards and their parts are modularly interchangeable, while on the other hand the parts required for this can be manufactured using the simplest possible tools.

This object is achieved with a multi-part housing for accommodating a printed circuit board according to the characterizing features of claim 1.
20

Advantageous embodiments of the innovation can be found in the subclaims.

The innovation proposes that the housing is divided along a dividing line into a lower housing part for partially inserting the circuit board and an upper housing part for receiving the part of the circuit board protruding from the lower housing part, and that the upper housing part is stepped back from the lower housing part on two opposite sides, starting from the dividing line to the lower housing part, in accordance with the stepped steps of the circuit board, by an area for receiving the plug-on screw terminal blocks.

In this way, it is possible to design the housing base in a form that is easy to manufacture and to design the stable housing top according to the existing circuit board size and shape.

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The housing can accommodate differently equipped circuit boards and can be modified in a modular manner in the upper part of the housing by means of differently designed plug-on parts in order to form a variety of devices with different functions.

To securely fix the circuit board in the housing base during assembly and subsequent operation, guide grooves or guide rails are advantageously formed on two opposing inner sides of the housing base to accommodate the circuit board, into which the circuit board is inserted during assembly. The guide rails advantageously hold the circuit board at the smallest possible distance from the side wall of the housing base, so that the housing surrounding the circuit board takes up as little space as possible.

For the electrical connection of the circuit board located inside the housing to cables coming in from the outside, pluggable screw terminal blocks are provided in a known manner, which are advantageously attached to the stepped side walls of the housing top using dovetail guides. To further firmly fix the screw terminal blocks to the stepped side walls of the housing top, the innovation also proposes that the screw terminal blocks have a locking cam, preferably protruding in the middle, on the side that comes into contact with the stepped side walls, and that a corresponding insertion groove for this locking cam is formed on the stepped side wall of the housing top, with a locking web being formed at the end of the insertion groove for locking the locking cam behind. In this way, the screw terminal blocks are firmly connected to the housing top by locking after being pushed onto the dovetail guides.

To further increase the adaptability of the new multi-part housing to various equipped circuit boards, the innovation also proposes a

We have a dummy block that can be used to replace a screw terminal block and can be inserted and snapped into the dovetail guides of the upper part of the housing instead of a screw terminal block. This dummy block is attached to the upper part of the housing if, due to the function of the circuit board, connection options in the form of a screw terminal block are not required in this area and, like the screw terminal block, forms a closure for the stepped side wall of the upper part of the housing. The dummy block has approximately the same contours as the screw terminal block, which is visually advantageous.

For simple and flexible assembly of the upper and lower parts of the housing, it is intended that these are locked together using locking feet that protrude over the dividing line on the upper part of the housing and corresponding locking slots on the lower part of the housing, so that the multi-part housing according to the innovation can be easily plugged together. To attach this housing, for example in a control cabinet, a recess and a spring-loaded locking wedge for plugging onto mounting rails are provided on the base of the lower part of the housing opposite the dividing line.

Depending on the type and function of the circuit board held in the housing according to the innovation, openings can be made on the front side of the housing top opposite the dividing line to accommodate light guides, switching shafts, switching disks, buttons, etc. In this way, display and control elements of the circuit board can be made easily accessible by means of corresponding openings on the front side of the housing top.

Advantageously, the front side of the upper part of the housing can be covered by means of a cover that can be attached, whereby the cover can be equipped with recesses for light guides, one or more recesses for the operation of switching wheels and

Switching shafts and/or recesses for a button, etc., so that, depending on the circuit board used, it is only necessary to snap a correspondingly designed cover onto the front of the upper housing part. This means that all of the maximum recesses required can always be formed on the front of the upper housing part, whereby only the recesses required in the respective design of the circuit board are also provided in the cover, while the other unused recesses in the front of the upper housing part are covered by the cover. This makes it possible to create a modular structure of a multi-part housing with always the same upper and lower housing parts and an individually designed cover in a simple and cost-effective manner.

To further increase the modular interchangeability and combinability of the parts of the new housing, a recess is designed on the cover to accommodate a labeling plate, so that the labeling corresponding to the respective function of the circuit board can be easily attached to the cover.

In this way, it is possible to provide a modular, multi-part housing for accommodating thermistor or time relay circuits on the circuit board, whereby it is only necessary to assemble upper and lower housing parts roughly adapted to the size of the circuit board, as well as a cover designed to suit the function of the circuit board, together with labeling, and to provide the upper housing part with the desired number of screw terminal blocks or dummy blocks, so that a wide range of adaptation options to different circuit board types can be implemented with just a few components of the new, multi-part housing.

In order to create a harmonious visual impression of the new multi-part housing, it is also proposed that the dividing line between the housing top and

The housing base is slightly angled in the side area associated with the screw terminal blocks towards the bottom of the housing base. This angle is preferably around 10° to 20°. It is also visually advantageous if the housing top and bottom are approximately the same height. In particular, the housing’s dividing line is designed to be directly below the screw terminal area.

The innovation is explained in more detail below using an example in the drawing.

Fig. la-c in perspective view various low-voltage switchgear with new multi-part housing with circuit board for

various electronic time relays

Fig. Id, e further embodiments of devices with

multi-part housing with circuit board for various thermistor

Machine protection devices

Fig. 2 an exploded view of the new

Housing according to Fig. la,b,c,d,e with a printed circuit board, contained in the device according to Fig. la and

Ic

Fig. 3a-e further modular components of the new multi-part housing according to Fig. 2 for variation 0 of the device structure

Fig. 4a,b further embodiments of circuit boards for devices according to Fig. Ib, Id or Fig. Ie.

Fig. la shows a multi-part housing 1,2 for an electronic time relay according to the innovation. The multi-part housing has a lower housing part 1 and an upper housing part 2, which surround an interior space into which the dashed

shown circuit board 3 is inserted, which carries the electronic circuit. The dividing line 22 marks the housing upper part 2 and the housing lower part 1, whereby the two housing parts have approximately the same height. The circuit board 3 is partially inserted into the housing lower part 1 and the part of the circuit board 3 protruding from the housing lower part 1 is received by the housing upper part 2.

As can also be seen from Fig. 2, the circuit board 3 is stepped along two opposite edges for plugging in connectors and the upper housing part 2 is stepped back from the dividing joint 22 to the lower housing part 1 by an area on two opposite sides corresponding to these stepped steps of the circuit board 3 compared to the lower housing part. The stepped back areas of the side walls of the upper housing part serve as a receptacle for plug-in screw terminal blocks 4 or dummy blocks 6 replacing them, which are shown in Fig. 1a in the plugged-in state. The removed area is therefore dimensioned so that screw terminal blocks or dummy blocks 6 can be used here if no screw terminals are required.

The electrical connection of the circuit board 3 is made via the screw terminal blocks 4, for which purpose the screw terminal blocks 4 have screw openings 40 for screwing on and off contact openings 41 for connecting cables. The arrangement of screw terminal blocks 4 and dummy blocks 6 can be selected depending on the type and function of the circuit board used.

The front side of the upper housing part 2 is closed by means of a cover, see cover 7a in fig. 1a, which can be snapped onto the upper housing part 2, for example. The cover can be designed in different ways and have recesses for switching wheels, switching shafts, buttons according to the equipment of the circuit board 3.

In Fig. 3a, covers 7a-e with the same basic shape but different recesses 72, 78 are shown. All covers 7a-e have openings for light guides and a locking surface 73 for a license plate 74 as well as locking pins 75 on the
Bottom for locking onto the upper part of the housing. The cover 7a
has two recesses 72 for shift wheels or shift shafts
the cover 7b only has a recess 72 and the cover 7c
three recesses 72. The covers 7a,b,c are for housing,

containing an electronic time relay. The cover 7d has a recess 72 and a hole 78 for a reset button and a marking field 79, while the cover 7e has no
has no recesses or holes. The covers 7a and 7e are
intended for enclosures containing thermistor devices.

The design, number and arrangement of the recesses in the lid is arbitrary and depends on the type and
Function of the housing to be accommodated by the new
Circuit board 3. Thus, the circuit board shown in Fig. la

Cover 7a two recesses 72 for the operation of
switching wheels.

The new housing 1,2 for accommodating a
Circuit board 3 is constructed according to the modular construction system and can be equipped with various circuit boards

and adapted thereto with modularly constructed interchangeable components, in particular screw terminal blocks 4, blind blocks 6 and various covers 7a,b,c,d,e, see Fig. 3a,
be completed.

In Fig. 2, the housing according to the innovation is shown in Fig. la-e in an exploded view. The
Housing base 1 has side surfaces 10, 11, which
are connected to each other at the bottom via a base 17. In the preferably middle area of the base 17, a

Recess 13 is formed into which a spring-loaded locking web 80 projects, see Fig. la-e, so that the housing base 1 can be attached in a known manner, for example to standard rails for mounting

can be mounted in control cabinets or the like. The locking bar 80 and the locking spring 81 are shown in Fig. 3e.

Furthermore, the housing base 1 has guide grooves 15 on the inside of the two narrow sides 11 facing each other, into which the circuit board 3 can be inserted with its insertion area 31. The guide rails 15 of the housing base 1 are attached at such a distance from the side wall 10 that the circuit board 3 inserted parallel to the side wall 10 into the housing base is held at the smallest possible distance from this side wall 10.

The circuit board 3 has, in its upper area, with which it protrudes into the upper part of the housing 2, along its two opposite, stepped edges 30, slots marked by plug holes, onto which connectors 5 can be attached for contacting the screw terminal blocks 4 as shown in Fig. 1. The connectors with an approximately cuboid-shaped body have contact pins 52, 50 protruding along two consecutive narrow sides, which are used on the one hand for connection to the screw terminal block 4 and on the other hand for connection to the circuit board 3. The connectors 5 are also equipped with fastening pins 51, optionally hook-shaped fastening pins, on the side facing the circuit board 3 between the contact pins 58. The connectors 5 are inserted and secured with the fastening pins 51 through corresponding plug holes in the circuit board 3 and the contact pins 50 are soldered into corresponding contact openings in the circuit board 3. At right angles to the contact pins 50, the connectors 5 have further contact pins 52 connected to the contact pins 50, onto which the 5 screw terminal blocks 4 can be plugged, so that an electrical connection of the circuit board 3 to external cables is made by means of the screw terminal blocks 4 and the connectors 5 in a known manner. The arrangement shown in Fig. 2

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The double-stepped circuit board 3 can be equipped with either two (see Fig. 2) or four connector plugs 5 (see Fig. 4a,b).

When the circuit board 3 is now inserted into the guide grooves 15 of the housing base 1, its stepped area 20 protrudes from the housing base 1. This area is covered with the housing top 2. For this purpose, the housing top 2 has locking feet 24 that protrude beyond the dividing line 22 and can be inserted into corresponding locking slots formed on the housing base, so that the housing top 2 can be plugged onto the housing base 1 in a locking manner. The stepped recessed areas 21 of the side walls of the housing top 2 form receptacles 21a, 21b for the screw terminal blocks 4 or dummy blocks 6 according to Fig. 1a. The receptacles 21a, b have dovetail guides 210 along the vertical side edges for sliding on the screw terminal blocks 4 or dummy blocks 6 formed with corresponding strips, with a flat insertion groove 211 and a locking web 211a at the end of the insertion groove 211 being arranged centrally between the individual dovetail guides 210.

In Fig. 3c, a screw terminal block 4 is shown in two perspective views. As can be seen from Fig. 3c, the screw terminal blocks 4 have molded strips 44 and a protruding locking cam 46 on their side 43 facing the receptacle 21 of the upper housing part 2 for insertion into the dovetail guides 210, so that these can be pushed onto the receptacles 21a, b of the upper housing part 2 and the protruding locking cam 46 locks the block 4 behind the locking web 211a of the upper housing part. Furthermore, the screw terminal blocks 4 have protruding locking hooks 45 on the upper end of the strips 44, which form an end stop for the pushed-on screw terminal blocks 4 or dummy blocks 6. Instead of screw terminal blocks 4, dummy blocks 6, see perspective view in fig. 3d, can also be inserted into the upper part of the housing

11 ♦ · ···· »&idiagr; l,t

2 are inserted laterally at the points where there are no connectors 5 on the circuit board 3, see for example Fig. 1a and 2. The dummy blocks 6 are constructed analogously to the screw terminal blocks in terms of their fastening means and have the same design with strips, locking hooks and locking cams in the connection area to the upper part of the housing.

In this way, it is possible to equip the upper housing part 2 with screw terminal blocks 4 or dummy blocks 6 depending on the function and design of the circuit board 3 and the corresponding connector plugs 5 present on the circuit board 3. In the embodiment according to Fig. 1a and 1c, in which two screw terminal blocks 4 and two dummy blocks 6 are attached to the upper housing part, the circuit board 3 according to Fig. 2 has only two connector plugs 5 in the corresponding position, while in the embodiment according to Fig. 1b,d,e, in which four screw terminal blocks 4 are used, it also has four connector plugs 5 on the circuit board 3, which can be seen in Fig.

4a,b. Thus, by simply varying the individual components, a modular housing can be created to accommodate differently equipped circuit boards 3 for different functions of devices, such as time relays or thermistor devices.

Furthermore, the upper housing part 2 according to Fig. 2 has several recesses 26a, b, c, 27 on its front side 23 for the passage of switching wheels 8a, switching shafts 8, light guides 9 and buttons or the like. The recesses 26a, b, c are provided for switching wheels, switching shafts or buttons and are surrounded by circular arc-shaped guides 26. Examples of possible switching shafts 8 or switching wheels 8a are shown in Fig. 3b. Their number and arrangement again depends on the function and design of the respective circuit board 3. Furthermore, light guides 9 according to Fig. 3b can be inserted through the recesses 27 in the upper housing part and thus be perceived on the front side. The number and

The arrangement of the recesses in the front side 23 of the upper housing part is intended as a universal design for all types of circuit boards to be accommodated in the housing, which can be used as required or left free.

A cover 7a-e can be placed, in particular snapped on, onto this front side 23 of the upper housing part 2, for which purpose corresponding openings 28 for locking pins of the cover are formed in the front side 23. Depending on the different equipment of the circuit board and the functions of the devices formed in the housing 1, 2, different covers 7a, b, c, d, e are provided, as shown in Fig. 3a. The locking pins 75 protruding from the underside of the cover can be inserted into openings 28 in the front side 23 of the upper housing part 2, so that the cover can be fastened to the front side 23 of the upper housing part 2. Depending on the type and number of light guides and switching wheels, switching shafts and buttons provided on the circuit board 3, which are arranged in the recesses 26a, 27 of the upper housing part 2, the cover 7 has corresponding recesses 71, 72 so that these are accessible from the outside or unused recesses 26a, 27 in the front side 23 of the upper housing part 2 are covered. The cover 7 also has a recess 73 for attaching a label plate 74, so that it is possible, starting from a basic cover shape, to create a wide variety of covers 7 for the respective applications depending on the type and function of the circuit board 3 to be accommodated in the housing 0 according to the innovation.

Thus, according to the invention, a modular system is created for the production of housings containing different equipment and accommodating circuit boards, whereby the different devices can be built using the same components, as for example Fig. la, Ib, Ic show housings with circuit boards for electronic time relays, whereby the devices according to Fig. la and Ic each have only two screw terminal blocks 4 and two

• 0 · ·

have connector plugs 5 on the circuit board 3 and each contain two dummy blocks 6. The device according to Fig. la has two recesses 72 for switching wheels, the device according to Fig. Ic only one recess, while the device according to Fig. Ib has three recesses 72 in the cover 7c and is equipped with four pairs of screw terminals 4 and four connector plugs 5 with a circuit board according to Fig. 4a.

Fig. Id and Ie show housings for thermistor machine protection devices, wherein the device according to Fig. Id is provided with a circuit board according to Fig. 4a and a cover 7e and the device according to Fig. Ie is provided with a circuit board 3 according to Fig. 4b with button 7b and reset button 77 and cover 7d according to Fig. 3a.

Claims (12)

&Aacgr; 96 034 Protection claims 1. Multi-part housing in modular design for low-voltage switching devices, such as time relays, thermistor protection devices, for accommodating a circuit board and pluggable screw terminals in block form for connecting cables, the circuit board being stepped along two opposite edges and the circuit board being equipped with connector plugs for plugging in the screw terminals in the area of the stepped steps, characterized in that the housing is divided along a dividing line (22) into a lower housing part (1) for partially plugging in the circuit board (3) and an upper housing part (2) for accommodating the part of the circuit board (3) protruding from the lower housing part (1), and the upper housing part (2), starting from the dividing line (22) to the lower housing part (1), is extended on two opposite sides in accordance with the stepped steps of the circuit board (3) by an area for accommodating the pluggable screw terminal blocks (4) opposite the The lower housing part (1) is dismantled in stages. 2. Multi-part housing according to claim 1, 0 characterized in that guide grooves (15) or guide rails for receiving the circuit board (3) are formed on two opposite inner sides of the housing lower part (1). 5 3. Multi-part housing according to one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that on the housing upper part (2) on the side walls (21) which are reduced by the gradation Dovetail guides (210) are designed to accommodate the screw terminal blocks (4). 4. Multi-part housing according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the screw terminal blocks (4) have a preferably centrally projecting locking cam (46) on their side (43) coming to rest on the removed side walls (21) and a corresponding insertion groove (211) for this locking cam (46) is formed on the removed side wall (21) of the upper housing part (2), wherein a locking web (211a) for locking the locking cam (46) behind is formed at the end of the insertion groove (211). 5. Multi-part housing according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that a blind block (6) replacing a screw terminal block (4) is provided, which can be inserted and snapped into the dovetail guides (210) of the housing upper part (2) in place of the screw terminal block. 6. Multi-part housing according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the housing upper part (2) and the housing lower part (1) can be locked together by means of locking feet (24) projecting on the housing upper part (2) beyond the dividing line (22) and locking slots (14) formed correspondingly on the housing lower part, and on the base (17) of the housing lower part (1) opposite the dividing line (12) a recess (13) and a spring-loaded locking wedge (80) for plugging onto mounting rails are provided. 7. Multi-part housing according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that on the end face (23) of the upper housing part opposite the dividing joint 5, openings (26a, b, c; 27) for receiving light guides, switching shafts, switching disks, buttons are formed. Λ C Λ * Λ m Λ · · · 8. Multi-part housing according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the front side (23) of the housing upper part (2) can be covered by means of a plug-on cover (7a, b, c, d, e), the cover being designed with recesses (71) for light guides, one or more recesses (72) for the actuation of switching wheels and shafts and/or a recess (78) for a button in accordance with the different equipment and functions of the circuit board (3). 9. Multi-part housing according to claim 8, characterized in that a recess (73) for receiving a label plate (74) is formed on the cover (Ta.,h,c,d,e.) . 10. Multi-part housing according to one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the dividing joint (22) runs below the screw terminal area. 11. Multi-part housing according to one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that the dividing joint in the lateral region associated with the screw terminal blocks runs slightly angled towards the bottom. 12. Multi-part housing according to one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that the upper part of the housing can be modified in a modular manner by means of plug-on screw terminal blocks, blind blocks, covers and can be adapted to circuit boards with different electrical/electronic equipment inserted into the housing.