DE29906583U1 - Coding device for coding an electrical device - Google Patents

Description

Coding device for coding an electrical device

The invention relates to a coding device for an electrical device, wherein the electrical device has a first component with a first coding element section and a second component, which can be connected to the first component, in particular in a unique position assignment, with a second coding element section, which can be plugged together with the first coding element section to form an overlapping coding element.

Coding devices are known in a wide variety of designs. For example, DE 38 30 187 shows a coding device for switch cabinet inserts for the clear assignment of inserts and insert chambers using coding pins on the insert and corresponding coding devices on the insert carrier. The coding pins are attached vertically to the underside of a insert base in a row at right angles to the insertion direction. On the base plate of the insert carrier, a coding plate is provided with grooves in the insertion direction, the distance between which corresponds to the distance between the coding pins. The coding pins protrude into the grooves. Coding systems such as this have the disadvantage that...

Dr. LOESENBECK (1980) · DIPL.-ING. STRACKE · Cflfrt.-flfG. LOES^NBECK - PATENT ATTORNEYS - BIELEFELD

Registration text dated 14.04.99 Page 2

Coding is often omitted in practice due to the installation effort. However, this can lead to problems or damage, for example if different potentials (e.g. 24V and 230V) are brought together.

Based on this state of the art, the invention addresses the task of creating a simple coding system that can be implemented in a small space and is characterized by high coding security and a large number of coding variants that can also be implemented in a small space.

The invention solves this problem by the subject matter of claim 1.

Unlike the prior art, the base area of the coding element section for the first component has at least one pin, which is designed to be guided on a corresponding pin or in a corresponding socket on the base area of the coding element section for the second component when plugged together with the second component, the pluggable pins and/or sockets of different coding element variants have such different cross-sectional geometries that only the associated coding element sections of one coding element variant can be plugged together. By assigning (completely) different cross-sectional geometries, it is possible to realize an almost unlimited number of coding element variants in a very small space. In addition, a coding system is created in which, due to the different, non-pluggable contours, a particularly high level of security is provided against inadvertently plugging together non-related coding element sections. Thus, in a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention, the pins and/or bushings comprise the following pin and/or bushing cross sections: a circular shape and/or a rectangular shape and/or a U-shape and/or an H-shape and/or a wedge shape and/or a cross shape. Further coding element variants

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Registration text dated 14.04.99 Page 3

ants can be created using the selected coding element geometries by providing the pins and/or bushings with dovetail-like cuts and/or projections on their edges.

In addition, according to a particularly preferred embodiment, the invention solves another partial problem. In electrical devices in which a first component that is the same for all devices is to be combined with various second components, for example in electrical devices that are based on terminal supports that are to be provided with different electronics housings, the coding devices make storage more difficult because a matching terminal body with the corresponding second coding element section must be kept in stock for each electronics housing with the first coding element section. This problem is solved by the fact that the two coding element sections can be attached together to the first component and are designed in such a way that when the two components are joined together, the second coding element section snaps onto the second component in such a way that when the two components are separated from one another, the second coding element section remains on the second component, so that it forms a counterpart for the first coding element section that remains on the first component when the two components are separated.

For example - and the invention is particularly suitable for this embodiment - the second coding element section attached to the base terminal body is designed in such a way that when the housing is placed on a base component, e.g. the base terminal carrier, it snaps into a recess in which it remains after the housing is removed from the base terminal carrier, so that it forms the counterpart for the first coding element section that remains on the electronics housing when the electronics housing is removed. Unlike in the prior art, this offers the advantage that one of the two components, in particular the base terminal bodies, does not have to be provided with any coding device or with any

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the coding element sections must be provided, so that the storage of these components is significantly simplified. The electronics of different types - e.g. electronics for implementing communication between an external field bus and actuators, initiators, etc. - are each provided with a different two-part coding element, whereby the second coding element section is only "set down" on the base terminal body when the electronics are first placed on it. If the electronics are later replaced, the second coding element section remains on the base terminal body and then protects the electrical device formed from the base terminal body against inadvertently placing "wrong" electronics with an inappropriate coding. This idea is particularly advantageously combined with the coding system according to the invention, which can be implemented in a small space.

With a view to creating an uncomplicated and quick assembly of the coding device, the invention provides that the two coding element sections of each coding element are connected in one piece via constrictions or tear-off edges to a flexible base body, in particular a handle, on which the two coding element sections can be joined together to form a coding element. The handle is preferably designed as a plastic bracket that can be bent by hand. Since the plastic bracket is dimensioned in such a way that the two coding element sections of the coding elements that belong together can each be joined together to form the coding element on the bracket, confusion during assembly is reliably ruled out. In addition, it is easy to handle and it is avoided that two elements that match each other have to be searched for during assembly. The high level of assembly reliability is supported by a label applied to the handle.

Further advantageous embodiments of the invention can be found in the remaining subclaims.

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Dr. LOESENBECK (1980) · DIPL.-ING. STRACKE · DIPL.-ING. LOESENBECK - PATENT ATTORNEYS - BIELEFELD

Registration text dated 14.04.99 Page 5

The invention is described in more detail below with reference to the drawing using exemplary embodiments. It shows:

Fig. 1 is an exploded view of a module disk of an electrical device with

a coding device according to the invention;

Fig. 2 is a side view of elements of the module disc from Fig. 1 for use

illustration of the function of the coding element as well as an enlargement

ed perspective view of the coding element;

Fig. 3a-c essential steps of the process for mounting the coding device on the electrical device; and
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Fig. 4 Top views of different coding element sections.

Fig. 1 shows a module disk MS for an automation technology device not otherwise shown here. The device includes a gateway (not shown here) to which the module disks MS can be connected. The module disk MS can be combined with other module disks MS to form a connection block of variable length.

According to Fig. 1, the module disk MS has a disk-shaped base terminal carrier 2 for locking the individual module on a mounting rail (not shown here). The base terminal carrier 2 is provided with plastic locking feet 4, with which the locking connection to the mounting rail is established in a manner known per se.

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can be manufactured. The base terminal support 2 comprises a lower base section 6, which extends into an area above the support rail feet 4 and next to the support rail feet 4 on both sides beyond the support rail. In the base section 6, in the outer area facing away from the support rail, a bus conductor opening 8 is provided, which penetrates the base terminal support 2 perpendicular to its main extension plane, for receiving the internal bus conductor section 10, which allows the bus conductor signals to be forwarded from individual module to individual module and into the electronic circuit board 14.

To accommodate the electronic circuit board 14, a circumferential recess 12 is formed in the base terminal carrier 2 in the area that extends approximately from the vertical to the center of the support rail to the internal bus conductor section 10. The electronic circuit board 14 is provided with an electronic circuit (not shown here) for processing/forwarding the signals routed to the electronic circuit board 14.

In the area between the internal bus conductor section 10 and the locking foot 4, the base section 6 is provided with three further openings 16, 17, 18 lying next to one another, each of which penetrates the base terminal carrier 2 perpendicular to the main disk or module plane, and two of which are provided with contact elements 20, 22 designed as preferably one-piece cross jumpers (on one side with a plug pin 20a, 22a, on the other with a matching, one-piece socket 20b, 22b and contact receptacles 20c, 22c molded onto it vertically upwards), which enable the assigned potentials - preferably the plus or minus supply potential - to be passed on from module to module. In their interaction, the contact elements 20, 22 form potential guides. The additional opening 17 serves - like other openings in the base terminal carrier not described here - merely to save material.

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From the cross jumpers 20, 22, these potentials are led into the circuit board and/or via a suitable separate connector 24 or one attached to the electronic circuit board to the connections of the busbars SM, SP in the base terminal carrier 2 and via these to the connection levels of the module disk MS.
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The recess 12 is delimited at the end of the individual module facing away from the support rail by a web 26 that projects perpendicularly from the base section and is provided on its side facing the support rail 4 with an insertion groove 28 for inserting the electronic circuit board 14 and an electronic housing 29.

Approximately at the end of the base terminal support 2 opposite the web 26, a connection section 30 protruding vertically upwards is formed on the base section 6, which is provided with the six single (Al, A2) and double connections Bl, B2, Cl, C2 arranged in two rows of three each. Openings 34 with a square cross section next to connection openings 32 for the connections Al, A2, Bl, B2 ... allow a screwdriver to be inserted to open the spring contact elements 36 arranged in the connection section 30. Outside the third connection level C, a further opening 38 is provided in the base section, perpendicular to the module disk plane and penetrating the base terminal support 2, in which a further contact element 40 is located, via which the protective conductor PE is passed on from individual module to individual module.

The conductive connection between the contact springs 36 of the connections A, B, C, ... and the electronic circuit board 14 is realized by means of busbars SM (for the negative potential, not visible here), SP (for the positive potential), SSI (for the signal), which initially run vertically downwards from the contact springs 36 in the connection area 30 of the base terminal carrier 2 into the base section 6 and

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then in the base section 6 to the electronic circuit board 14. The busbars SM, SP run from the contact springs 36 in lateral grooves/recesses 42 of the base element 2 in a substantially U-shape on both main outer surfaces of the base terminal carrier 2. Below the recess 12 for the electronic circuit board, the busbars are angled upwards and run to the peripheral recess 12, which in this area is provided with six connection openings 44 in two rows next to each other for attaching the device plug 24 to the electronic circuit board and/or the edge of the circuit board. The end areas of the busbars SSI, SM, SP are designed as stamped and bent part sockets and themselves form the connection sockets for the device plug 24 to the electronic circuit board 14 and/or to the edge of the circuit board.

A particularly space-saving arrangement of the busbars is achieved by the fact that one of the potential-carrying busbars SM is guided on one outside and the other potential-carrying busbar SP is guided on the other outside of the base terminal carrier 2. Only in the area of the connection springs 36 does the through-connection take place between the two double connections B1 and B2, etc., which are located next to one another in a connection level B or C.

A cover housing 46 made of plastic can be placed over the connection section 30, which has openings 48 that correspond to the connection openings 32 and the openings 34. Towards the area of the recess 12 of the base terminal carrier 2, the cover is also provided with a lateral groove 50, which, in conjunction with the groove 28, accommodates the electronic circuit board 14 and the housing 29 protecting the electronic circuit board 14, which can be placed on the base terminal carrier 2 in the plug-in direction SR. Guide pins on the base terminal carrier support the mechanical connection of the terminal carriers that are lined up next to one another when they engage in an associated opening in the neighboring terminal.

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The base terminal carrier 2 or the module disk MS comprises the following functional areas in the area of the recess 12 on/below the base wall 52 of the recess 12 (seen from the web 26 inwards towards the support rail):
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Module bus (opening) BUS / 8

Marking channel (for one or two signs) 54

side locking hook 56 as connection to the neighbouring terminal with
Opening 57 for actuating the locking hook from above 57

- FE contact (functional earth) 58

Potential guide contact opening 59

Plug sockets/connection openings 44.

In addition to the FE contact 58 and the openings 44 to the potential guides PE+, PE-, a recess 62 is provided in a particularly space-saving manner for a lower section 64 of a coding element 66, which snaps into the recess 62 when the circuit board or the electronics are placed on the housing 29 of the electronic circuit board 14 and thus forms the counterpart for an upper coding element section 68 remaining on the electronic unit 12/29. To implement the actual coding function, the upper and lower coding element sections 64, 68 are provided with adjacent pins 70, 72, see Fig. 2. Alternatively, according to Figs. 3 and 4, it is also possible to provide one of the coding element sections with sockets that match the pins. The electronics housing 29 (the "first component" of the electrical device in the sense of claim 1) can only be snapped onto the base terminal body 2 ("second component") in a clearly defined position.

When the electronics housing 29 is first placed on the base terminal carrier 2 the coding element 66 - i.e. the locking lugs 74 in recesses 76 of the

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The upper coding element section 68, which is locked into the electronics housing 29, is guided into the opening 62 together with the lower coding element section 64 which locks onto it. The lower coding element section 64 locks onto the pins 70, 72 on the upper coding element section 68 by means of the locking lugs and locking recesses 78, 80. There, beveled edges 82 of the base plate 84 of the lower coding element section 64 engage undercuts 86 of the recess 62 in such a way that when the electronics housing 29 is removed from the base terminal carrier 2, the locking lugs 78 and recesses 80 on the pins are released from one another, but the lower coding element section 64 is not released from the base terminal carrier 2. In this way, the user can place any desired electronic unit on the base terminal carrier 2 and thus implement the coding function required in each case. A large storage of various complete module disks is no longer necessary. A rectangular pin 88 attached to the coding element section 68 for engaging in an opening 90 of the second coding element section 64 ensures that the two coding element sections are prevented from rotating relative to one another.

Fig. 3 shows an embodiment of the invention in which the two coding element sections 64, 68 of each coding element 66 are formed in one piece via constrictions or tear-off edges 92 with a flexible, U-shaped handle 94 with a handle 96 which enables easy assembly of the coding element 66 and minimizes the risk of confusion during assembly.

Fig. 3a shows the initial position when gripping the handle 94 together with the coding element sections 64 and 68. As indicated, the flat, band-like handle 94 can be bent by hand in such a way that the two coding element sections 64 and 68 snap together (Fig. 3b). The snapped together coding element 66 is then placed directly on a component to be coded (e.g. the housing 29 in Fig. 1) and the constriction 92 is torn apart by a rotary movement (Fig. 5c). In this way, the

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Coding element 66 can be attached as a single element to the electronics housing 29 from Fig. 1 with just one movement. Incorrect coding is reliably excluded in this way. Furthermore, the storage of the coding elements and the installation of the coding elements on the electrical device are significantly simplified.
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Fig. 4 illustrates a coding system with sixteen different coding element variants 66-1 to 66-16, of which top views of the two associated coding element sections 64, 68 (here referred to as upper part and lower part) are shown.

The coding element sections 64 and 68 of the sixteen coding element variants 66-1 to 66-16 each have pins and sockets (see, for example, variant 66-6) or pins and pins 70, 71 (see, for example, variant 66-1), which are coordinated with one another in such a way that accidental plugging together of different coding element variants is reliably avoided. For example, variants 66-1, 66-9 and 66-10 have rectangular pins with or without a dovetail attachment or dovetail recess. Variant 66-6 is provided with two cylindrical pins 70 and recesses 71, variant 68-8 has a pin 70 and a recess 71 in the shape of a cross. The other coding element variants have pins and sockets with irregular contours (H-shape, wedge shape, irregular polygon, etc.).

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Registration text from 14.04.99 Page

Reference symbols MS 30 Module disc A, B, C,... 32 Connection levels A1,A2,B2,B2, 34 Multiple connections P.E. 36 Protective earth FE 38 Functional earth SP, SSI, SPE 40 Power supply rails SR 42 Plug direction 2 44 Base terminal carrier 4 46 Plastic locking feet 6 48 Base section 8th 50 Bus conductor opening 10 52 Internal bus conductor section 12 54 Circumferential recess 14 57 Electronic circuit board 16, 17, 18 58 openings 20,22 59 Contact elements 24 Plug 26 web 28 Insertion groove Electronics housing (I/O module housing) 29 Connection section Round openings Square openings Spring contact elements opening Contact element Recesses Connection openings Cover housing openings Groove Base wall Marking channel opening FE-Contact Potential contact opening

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opening 61 Recess 62 lower coding element section 64-1 to 64-16 Coding element 66-1 to 66-16 upper coding element section 68-1 to 68-16 cone 70.72 Bushings 71 Locking lugs 74 Recesses 76 Locking lugs 78 Recesses 80 edge 82 Base plate 84 Undercuts 86 Pen 88 opening 90 Constrictions 92 Handle 94

Claims (10)

Dr. LOESENBECK (1980) · DIPL.-ING. STRACKE*· DIPL.-ING* LOEs'eNBECK* - PATENT LAWYERS - BIELEFELD Application text dated 14.04.99 Page 14 Protection claims 1. Coding device for an electrical device, wherein the electrical device has a first component (14, 29) with a first coding element section (68) and a second component (2) which can be connected to the first component (14, 29), in particular in a unique position assignment, with a second coding element section (64) which can be plugged together with the first coding element section (68) to form an overlapping coding element (66), characterized in that the base surface of the coding element section (64, 68) for the first component (29) has at least one pin (70, 72) which is designed to be guided on a corresponding pin (70, 72) or in a corresponding socket (71) on the base surface of the coding element section for the second component (2) when plugged together with the second component (2), the pluggable pins (70, 72) and/or bushings (71) of different coding element variants have such different cross-sectional geometries that only the associated coding element sections of one coding element variant can be plugged together. 2. Coding device according to claim 1, characterized in that the pins and/or bushings (70, 72, 71) comprise the following pin and/or bushing cross sections : a circular shape and/or a rectangular shape and/or a U-shape and/or an �EEgr; shape and/or a wedge shape and/or a cross shape. 3. !Encoding device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the pins and/or bushings (70, 72, 71) are provided with dovetail-like incisions and/or projections. K PAT Dr. LOESENBECK(1980) · DIPL-ING. STRAcke*· l3fPL.-ING*.*LOES*ENBECK- PATENT ATTORNEYS - BIELEFELD Registration text dated 14.04.99 Page 15 4. Coding device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the surfaces of the various pin/pin or pin/socket combinations at least partially overlap. 5. Coding device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the pins and/or bushings are provided with locking lugs (78) and/or locking recesses (80) which, when the first and second coding element sections are pushed together, lock the second coding element section (64) to the first coding element section (68). 6. Coding device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by a design such that the force for releasing the second coding element section (64) from the recess of the base clamp body (2) is greater than the force for releasing the second coding element section (64) from the first coding element section (68). 7. Coding device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the two coding element sections can be jointly attached to the first component (14, 29) and are designed in such a way that when the two components (14, 29, 2) are joined together, the second coding element section (64) snaps onto the second component (2) in such a way that when the two components (14, 29, 2) are separated from one another, the second coding element section (64) remains on the second component (2) so that it forms a counterpart for the first coding element section remaining on the first component (14, 29) when the two components (14, 29, 2) are separated. (68) forms. Dr. LOESENBECK (1980)» DIPL.-ING. STRACKE* · dTpL.-INg"lOESENBECK - PATENT ATTORNEYS - BIELEFELD Registration text dated 14.04.99 Page 16 8. Coding device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the two coding element sections (64, 68) of each coding element (66) are connected in one piece via constrictions or tear-off edges (92) to a base body, in particular a flexible handle (94) - on which the two coding element sections (64, 68) can each be plugged together to form one of the coding elements (66). 9. Coding device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the handle (94) is designed as a band-like, U-shaped plastic bracket with a handle (96). 10. Coding device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the constriction (92) is designed such that the assembled coding element (66) can be separated from the handle (94) by a rotary movement.