DE9404870U1 - Cable junction box for small light poles - Google Patents

Description

Page 1 ,·.*.::·!. 5lfej.March 1994

Description:

The invention relates to a cable connection box, consisting of a housing base, an insert part, a strain relief clamp and a cover, which is detachably connected to the housing base at one end via a clamping tongue and at its other end via a screw fastening, wherein the insert part has all the cable connection terminals, at least one fuse base and at both ends in its lower area fastening openings for screws to pass through for screwing into fastening studs on the inner base of the housing base.

A cable connection box of this type according to the unpublished patent DE 43 18 015 is intended for relatively large light masts with corresponding cross-sectional dimensions and has, in addition to the steps arranged one behind the other in the cable feed direction at different levels with three terminals each, which are separated from each other by partitions, several fuses with corresponding threaded baskets and an additional protective cover for the cable entry. This consists of a flexible plastic tab that can be pivoted around two bearing pins and has an elastic tongue that fits under a projection on the lower part of the housing.

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near its cable inlet. The cover is provided with two clamping tongues at one end, each of which engages in a recess in a protruding tab on the lower housing section, which is located at the end of the lower housing section facing away from the strain relief clamp. At the opposite end, the cover is screwed onto the lower housing section using two screws, which are located outside the sealing contour of the lower housing section and cover. Although this design of the cable connection box is ideal for large light poles, it cannot be used for installation in small light poles, such as those intended for wayfinding lights, bollard lights, garden and park lights, and lighting for pedestrian zones. The reason for this is, among other things, the dimensions prescribed by the individual standards and the other DIN regulations for the cable input and output terminals and for the fuse bases as well as the contact protection associated with all of these parts.

This also applies to other cable connection boxes, for example according to DE-OS 15 39 592, CH-PS 508 294 and DE-AS 20 05 953, whose lid can even be swivelled, and according to DE-OS 34 26 212. This is due, among other things, to the fact that the assembly door, which is obligatory even for small light masts and through which the cables must be installed, causes a static weakening of the light mast against external forces.

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which must be kept as small as possible. Since the height and width of such an assembly door ultimately determines the size of this weak point, the size of this opening within the light mast must be kept as small and low as possible, especially in the case of small light masts, which requires a correspondingly compact cable connection box.

Another problem with creating suitable cable junction boxes for such small light masts is that at best protection class I and a protection rating of IP 42 were achievable for them. A luminaire of protection class I according to section 1.2.22 of the European standard (EN)60598 is one in which protection against electric shock is not based solely on basic insulation, but which contains an additional safety precaution such that accessible conductive parts can be connected to a protective conductor on the mains side, so that in the event of a fault in the basic insulation, accessible conductive parts cannot become active. In the case of a luminaire designed for a flexible connecting cable, this means that the connecting cable must have a protective conductor. If a luminaire according to this protection class I is equipped with a two-core, flexible connecting cable with a plug that cannot be inserted into a socket with earthing contact (formerly protection class 01), the luminaire still complies with

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Protection class O if the protective conductor connection of the luminaire meets all the requirements of protection class I.

The protection class IP 42 means with regard to the first digit 4 that a straight, stiff steel wire of about 1 mm diameter can be pressed against the equipment (housing) with a force of about 1 N without the wire being able to penetrate the equipment (housing). The word "about" is intended to indicate the prescribed tolerance values. The second digit 2 means that the part is watertight in the case of a drip water shower according to DIN-40053 Part 5.

However, both protection class I and protection type IP 42 have proven to be inadequate on several occasions in the past.

Based on this state of the art, the invention is based on the object of creating a cable connection box 0 for small outdoor lights, such as for masts of wayfinding lights, bollard lights, garden and park lights as well as pedestrian lighting, which is not only characterized by an extremely compact design, which therefore only causes a relatively small weakening of the light mast, but also ensures a higher protection class, e.g. II, and a higher IP protection type.

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This object is achieved in conjunction with the feature of the generic term mentioned at the outset by the following features:

a) The strain relief clamp is fitted with a

integrally formed bracket with opening for the clamping tongue of the lid,

b) the lid has a

Strain relief clamp facing end has a clamping tongue,

c) at the other end of the cover there is a through hole for a fastening screw, outside the sealing contour of the housing base and cover,

d) the cover is provided with a rubber ring seal in a circumferential groove facing the housing base, into which a correspondingly configured circumferential edge web of the housing base and the strain relief clamp engages to seal against splash water and

e) all cable connection terminals for the phase, neutral and protective conductors as well as the fuse base are set back from the respective surface area within the insert part in such a way that, in the installed position of these conductors, the contact protection required for protection class I according to European standard 60598 Part 1 (IEC 598) is met without additional components.

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Such a cable junction box not only meets the requirements of protection class II, but also has a protection rating of IP 54.

The length of the base box can be shortened accordingly by feature a), since the strain relief clamp, which is required anyway, is now provided with the through-opening for this clamping tongue and the tab with the two through-openings required at the other end according to the state of the art according to German patent 43 18 015 is no longer required. Consequently, the cover is also provided with a clamping tongue at the end facing the strain relief clamp according to feature b).

According to feature c), at the other end of the cover there is a through hole for a fastening screw, which is located outside the sealing contour of the housing base and cover. As a result, the sealing contour jumps accordingly at this end, whereby the shortened length of the housing can be maintained.

According to feature d), the cover is splash-proof in relation to the housing base. In conjunction with the relatively rigid cover, after inserting the clamping tongue into the through hole of the molded bracket of the strain relief clamp and after tightening the fastening screw at the other end, the peripheral edge of the housing base and the

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Strain relief clamp pressed evenly against the elastic rubber ring seal in the groove of the cover.

Since, in accordance with feature e), all cable connection terminals and the fuse base within the insert part are set back from the respective surface area by correspondingly narrow recesses and raised partitions, in the assembled position of this conductor even if the cover is missing, the contact protection required for protection class I according to European standard 60598 is met without additional parts, e.g. in the form of an additional cover.

In conjunction with the cover according to features a) to d) and feature e), a cable junction box of protection class II is created, since the protection against electric shock is not based solely on the basic insulation formed by the cover and the lower part of the housing, but additional safety precautions are created by the corresponding recesses in the insert part.

In a further development of the invention, the cable outlet hole is offset to one side to ensure a compact and relatively short overall length, relative to the longitudinal axis of symmetry of the housing base. For the same reason, the cable outlet hole arranged near this cable outlet hole is

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Through hole for the fastening screw of the cover outside of its Syranetriel longitudinal axis.

For the same reason of a compact design, the fastening eyelet on the housing base near the cable outlet hole has a keyhole shape, the wide opening part of which is offset inwards towards the housing base over its outer contour.

The part of the cable junction box that protrudes the most in terms of height is the fuse base. In order to achieve a cable junction box that is compact in height despite this fuse base, the cover is provided with a bulge in the area of the fuse base.

Apart from this bulge in its lid, it is otherwise cuboid-shaped. This cuboid shape has a length of about 160 mm, a width of about 60 mm and a height without the bulge in the lid of 45 mm and with the bulge of 67 mm.

To achieve this low overall height without bulging the cover, the edge of the lower part of the housing and the circumferential groove in the cover near the cable outlet hole protrude downwards over a bevelled area at the height of the fuse base towards the bottom of the lower part of the housing. This means that the seal between the cover and

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The lower part of the housing is not in one plane, but is spatially offset in several planes, which allows an extremely low overall height to be achieved. The lower part of the housing, the insert, the strain relief clamp and the cover are made of an impact-resistant GRP plastic in a conventional manner.

An embodiment of the invention is shown in the drawing. In the drawing: 10

Fig. 1 is a perspective exploded view of the housing base, insert, strain relief clamp and cover,

Fig. 2 the top view of the housing base of Fig. 1,

Fig. 2a the bottom view of the housing bottom part of Fig. 2, 20

Fig. 3 the view of the housing base in the direction of arrow III of Fig. 2,

Fig. 4 the view of the housing base in the direction of arrow IV of Fig. 2,

Fig. 5 the top view and

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Fig. 6 the bottom view of the insert part with inserted clamps and connecting rails,

Fig. 7 the view of the insert part in the direction of arrow VII of Fig. 5 without clamps,

Fig. 8 the view of the insert part in the direction of arrow VIII of Fig. 5 without clamps,

Fig. 9 the view of the insert part in the direction of arrow IX of Fig. 5 without clamps,

Fig. 10 the top view of the strain relief clamp from Fig. 1 in a position offset by 90°, 15

Fig. 11 the view of the strain relief clamp in the direction of arrow XI of Fig. 10,

Fig. 12 the sectional view of the strain relief clamp according to the line XII-XII of Fig. 11,

Fig. 13 the top view of the lid.

Fig. 14 the sectional view of the cover in the direction of arrows XIV-XIV of Fig. 13 and

Fig. 15 is a front view of the cover in the direction of arrow XV of Fig. 13.

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According to Fig. 1, the cable connection box 1 consists of a housing base 2, an insert part 3, a strain relief clamp 4 and a cover 5. The cover 5 is detachably connected to the housing base 2 and mounted strain relief clamp 4 at one end 5a via a clamping tongue 6 and at its other end 5b via a screw fastening 7.

The insert part 3 has at least one securing base 8 and at its two ends 3a, 3b in its lower area fastening openings 10 provided in eyelets 9 for the passage of screws for screwing into fastening studs 11, 12 on the inner base 2a of the housing lower part 2. 15

This housing base 2 is shown in Figures 2 to 4. It is provided at its end 2b with a fork-shaped fastening eyelet 13 and at its other end 2c with a fastening eyelet 14 with a recess 15 in the form of a keyhole, the wide opening part 15a of which is offset inwards in the direction of arrow 16 on the housing base 2 over its outer contour 17.

As can also be seen from Fig. 2 in conjunction with Fig. 4, the cable outlet hole 18 is located side the longitudinal axis of symmetry 19 of the cable connection box 1. The through hole 20 (see Fig. 2) for the

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The fastening screw (not shown) of the cover 5 is also located outside this longitudinal axis of symmetry 19. Within the longitudinal axis of symmetry 19 there are only the fork-shaped opening 13a at the end 2b and the fastening eyelet 14 with the keyhole-shaped recess 15 at the other end 2c. As a result, the peripheral edge web 21 at the end 2c protrudes towards the interior of the housing base 2, as a result of which the total length of this housing base 2 including the eyelets 13 and 14 can be kept relatively short, namely at 160 mm.

The fuse base 8 of the insert part 3 is located near the end 2c of the lower box 2. Since this fuse base 8 protrudes from the insert part 3 in this area, whereas the adjacent surface areas 22, 23 (see Fig. 1) are set back from it, both the housing base 2 and the cover 5 are provided with a special spatial shape to achieve a compact overall height. This is based on the fact that the edge web 21 of the housing base 2 and the circumferential groove 24 in the cover 5 (see Fig. 14) in the vicinity of the cable outlet hole 18 in the housing base 2 project downwards over a beveled area 25 at the height of the fuse base in the direction of the base 2a of the housing base 2. This bevelled area 25 is clearly visible, particularly in Figures 1, 3 and 14.

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As can be seen from Fig. 4 in conjunction with Fig. 2, the housing base 2 has two adjacent, semicircular openings 26 at its fastening end 2b for the strain relief clamp 4, which, together with corresponding semicircular openings 27 of the strain relief clamp 4 (see Figures 1 and 11), form circular through-openings for the cable feed.

As can be seen from Fig. 1 in conjunction with Figures 10 to 12, the strain relief clamp 4 is screwed to the lower housing part 2 via two through holes 28 (see Fig. 11) using screws (not shown) with corresponding access openings 29 in the lower housing part 2 (see Fig. 2). On its upper side 30, the strain relief clamp 4 is provided with a materially integrally formed bracket 31, which has a through opening 32 for the tongue 6 of the cover 5. In addition, the strain relief clamp 4 is provided with an edge web 21 on its long side facing the interior of the housing base 2, which corresponds exactly in width and height to the edge web 21 of the housing base 2 and is connected seamlessly with its ends 33a to the ends 33 of the edge web 21 of the housing base 2 (see Figures 1 and 10). This creates a peripheral edge web 21 of the housing base 2 and the strain relief clamp 4, which fits into the corresponding peripheral groove 24 (see Figure 14) with its

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The rubber seal (not shown) in the cover 5 provides a splash-proof seal.

This cover 5 is shown in Figures 13 to 15. The cover 5 has a clamping tongue 6 at its end 5a facing the strain relief clamp 4, while at its other end 5b there is a through-opening 7 for a fastening screw (not shown) outside its sealing contour 21a, which corresponds to the sealing contour 21a of the housing base 2. This cover 5 is provided with a rubber ring seal inserted in its circumferential groove 24 facing the housing base 2 (see Figure 14), in which the correspondingly configured circumferential edge webs 21 of the housing base 2 and the strain relief clamp (4) engage to seal against splash water.

In addition, the cover 5 has a pot-shaped bulge 34 at the level of the fuse base 8 of the insert part 3, which can not only have a circular cylindrical shape, as shown in Figures 13 to 15, but also an oval shape extending in the direction of the longitudinal axis of symmetry 19 of the cable connection box 1. The oval areas 34a running transversely to the longitudinal axis of symmetry 19 according to Figure 13 identify fields in the plane of the cover 5 for attaching the names of the manufacturers, article number, protection class and protection type.

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The height of the pot-shaped bulge 34 depends on the total height of the fuse to be inserted into the fuse base 8 and on the other hand on the angle at which the cover 5 is pivoted after its clamping tongue 6 has been inserted into the through-opening 32 of the bracket 31. Then, when the end 5b of the cover 5 is pivoted down in the direction of the arrow 43 (Fig. 1), the pot-shaped bulge of the cover 5 must be able to perfectly engage over the fuse with its screw cap in the fuse base 8.

The insert part 3 is shown in addition to Fig. 1 in the other figures 5 to 9. As can be seen in particular from Fig. 1 in conjunction with Fig. 5, all cable connection terminals 35, 36 for the phase, neutral and protective conductors as well as the fuse base 8 within the insert part 3 are set back from the surface areas 22, 23 in such a way that, when installed, the contact protection required for protection class I according to European standard 60598 Part 1 (IEC 598) is met without additional components. The conductor rails 37, 38 visible in the bottom view of Fig. 6 are located on a surface 40 that is set back accordingly from a surrounding base edge 41. The fastening screws are designated 39. As soon as the insert part 3 with this bottom edge 41 is on the bottom 2a of the housing base 2 by screwing the retaining eyelets 9 with the

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Since the retaining studs 11, 12 rest on or are clamped to them, all conductor rails 37, 38 and the fastening screws 39 are in a closed space that is not accessible even if the cover 5 is destroyed. Since the surface areas 22, 23 protrude from the interior spaces 42 of the cable connection terminals 35, 36 in such a way that the cable connection terminals 35, 36 are not accessible to touch with a finger and thus the insert part 3 in the assembled position without the cover 5 already has protection class I according to the aforementioned European standard, the cable connection box 1 together with the cover 5 is to be assigned to protection class II. The recesses 42 and the cable connection terminals 35, 36 are designed in such a way that, on the one hand, a test finger according to DIN-57470 Part 1 / VDE 0470 Part 1 has no grip on them and, on the other hand, protection against foreign bodies is ensured because a hard ball of about 12 mm diameter cannot be pressed into the openings 42 with a force of 30 N.

Figures 7 to 9 show the insert part 3 without the cable connection terminals 35, 36 and without the conductor rails 37, 38 and fastening screws 39 as a pure plastic part. In these, corresponding parts of Figures 1, 5 and 6 are provided with the same reference numbers.

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List of reference symbols

Cable junction box 1

Housing base 2 Inner base of housing base 2 2a

Ends of the housing base 2 2b, 2c

Insert part 3

Ends of the insert part 3a, 3b

Strain relief clamp 4

Lid 5

Ends of the cover 5 5a, 5b

Clamping tongue 6

Screw fastening 7

Fuse base 8

Eyelets 9

Mounting holes

Fastening studs 11,

Fastening eyelets 13,

Recess 15

Opening part of the recess 15 15a

Arrows 16,

ÄUjSenkontur 17

Cable outlet hole 18

Longitudinal axis of symmetry 19

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Through holes 20,

Edge bar 21

Sealing contour of the edge web 21

and the cover 5 21a

Surface areas of the

Insert part 3 22,

Groove in the lid 5 24

bevelled area of the

Housing base 2 and cover 5 25

semicircular openings 26, 2

Access openings 29 Top of the strain relief clamp 4 30

Bracket 31

Access opening 32

Ends of the edge web 21 33, 33a

cup-shaped bulge 34

Cable connection terminals 35, 3

Conductor rails 37,

Fixing screws 39

Area at the bottom of the insert part 3 40

Bottom edge 41

Recesses 42

Claims (9)

Page 19 .··..". .··.··*: .1&bgr;#.· March 1994 Protection claims: 1. Cable connection box, consisting of a housing base, an insert part, a strain relief clamp and a cover, which is detachably connected to the housing base at one end via a clamping tongue and at its other end via a screw fastening, whereby the insert part has all the cable connection terminals, at least one fuse base and at both ends in its lower area fastening openings for screws to pass through for screwing into fastening studs on the inner base of the housing base, characterized by the following Characteristics: a) The strain relief clamp (4) is provided with a materially formed bracket (31) with through opening (32) for the clamping tongue (6) of the cover (5), b) the cover (5) has a clamping tongue (6) at its end (5a) facing the strain relief clamp (4), c) at the other end (5b) of the cover (5) there is a through hole (7) for a fastening screw, located outside the sealing contour (21a) of the housing base (2) and cover (5), Page 20 ."..*·. .",'"I l»8.»March 1994 d) the cover (5) is in a The circumferential groove (24) facing the housing base (2) is provided with a rubber ring seal, into which a correspondingly configured circumferential edge web (21) of the housing base (2) and the strain relief clamp (4) engages in a splash-proof manner, e) all cable connection terminals (35, 36) for the phase, neutral and protective conductors as well as the fuse base (8) are positioned within the insert part (3) in such a way that they are Surface area 22, 23) is set back because/3 in the assembled position of this conductor the contact protection required for protection class I according to European standard 60598 Part 1 (IEC 598) is fulfilled without additional components. 2. Cable connection box according to claim 1, characterized in that the cable outlet bore (18) is offset to one side laterally to the longitudinal axis of symmetry (19) of the housing lower part (2). 3. Cable connection box according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that/3 the the through hole (20) for the fastening screw of the cover (5) arranged near the cable outlet hole (18) is located outside its longitudinal axis of symmetry (19). Page 21 .·*..*·. .··.··*: ,1 &bgr;..· March 1994 .' .* . I I *. . "S£ft.«.88a/94 4. Cable junction box according to claim 3, characterized in that the fastening eyelet (14) has a keyhole shape (15) the wide opening part (15a) of which is offset inwards in the direction (arrow 16) towards the housing lower part (2) over its outer contour (17). 5. Cable connection box according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the edge web (21) of the lower housing part (2) and the circumferential groove (24) in the cover (5) in the vicinity of the cable outlet bore (18) in the lower housing part (2) project downwards over a beveled region (25) at the level of the fuse base (8) in the direction of the base (2a) of the lower housing part (2). 6. Cable connection box according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the cover (5) is provided with a bulge (34) in the region of the fuse base (8). 7. Cable connection box according to claim 6, characterized in that it (1) is provided with a cuboid shape except for the bulge (34) of its cover (5). Page 22 .*·..··. .'*.*··: .1*·· March 1994 ·
t · 8. Cable connection box according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that it (1) has a length of about 160 mm, a width of about 60 mm and a height without bulging (34) of the Cover (5) of 45 mm and with bulge (34) of 67 mm. 9. Cable connection box according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the housing lower part (2), the insert part (3), the strain relief clamp (4) and the cover (5) consist of an impact-resistant GRP plastic.