EP0375488A1 - Housing for modular electrical devices with a closing device - Google Patents

Abstract

In order to enable adjustment and personalisation, at the end of the production process, of modular electrical devices of the cut-out, telebreaker, breaker and similar type, a housing (1, 2) is made having an aperture (12) in its top (7), an aperture (12) through which the adjustment of the electrical device can be performed, and a rigid closing device (14) which closes the said aperture by clipping and which is arranged so as to permanently present indicators (17, 18, 19) regarding the adjusted device. <IMAGE>

Description

The present invention relates to a box for modular electrical devices of the circuit breaker, remote control, switch, differential switch and the like type, to be fixed on a usual support rail.

By modular devices is meant devices whose thickness is equal to a fixed value or "module", or to a multiple of this module.

In general, these boxes consist of two parts which are intended to enclose the mechanism of the device in question and which are fixed together after the assembly of said mechanism has been completed.

At this stage, it is no longer possible to access the mechanism. Therefore, the various adjustments must be made before the final assembly of the housing, which is not without posing certain problems such as the maintenance of the adjustments during the assembly operations subsequent to said adjustments.

On the other hand, there may be storage problems and a certain lack of flexibility, especially in the case of devices whose different settings provide a whole range of products or variants.

However, boxes are already known which have openings through which the adjustment members of the electrical appliance are accessible.

This is particularly the case of the line circuit breaker described in FR-A-2,389,221. This circuit breaker comprises a housing formed by two half-shells, the assembly of which is provided in part by rivets and in part by adhesive tapes applied to at least two short opposite sides. The openings of the housing, through which the circuit breaker adjustment members are accessible, are covered by said ribbons. In addition, one of the adhesive tapes can be used as a nameplate.

One can validly ask the question of the durability over time of these adhesive tapes, of the problems linked to the printing of such surfaces and of the durability of this printing over time.

The object of the present invention is to remedy these drawbacks by proposing a housing arrangement for modular electrical appliances which allows adjustment of the appliance after assembly of the housing.

Another object of the invention is to provide a housing arrangement which makes it possible to postpone the adjustment over time in order to allow the personalization of the products of a complete range of devices, at the end of the production process.

Another objective of the invention is to provide a housing which is easy to implement, inexpensive and of advantageous presentation.

The present invention relates to a box for modular electrical devices of the circuit breaker, remote control, switch, differential switch and the like, formed of at least two parts and comprising a bottom face or bottom which is provided with means for hooking the box to an installation support rail electric and, at its upper part, a top which is the part immediately visible when the device is mounted on a support rail, which top has on the one hand at least one member for adjusting the mechanism of the electric device, such as as the adjusting screw for a toggle joint or the like, and / or for the automatic triggering means of said device, such as the adjusting screw for a bimetallic strip, a triggering relay, an adjusting spring magnetic trigger or the like, as well as possibly on the other hand, at least one control and / or display member of the apparatus, such as a manual mechanism actuating member of said apparatus, a test button or similar, said apex extending longitudinally by at least one pair of shoulders at which the cage terminals of the apparatus are accessible, the parts forming the housing being arranged so that the housing has an opening at its apex. r which the or at least some of the adjustment members are accessible, characterized in that there is provided a rigid closure device which comprises clip means intended to engage with complementary means carried by the housing to close said opening and which is arranged so as to present, permanently and from before mounting, indications concerning the adjusted device, in particular its characteristics and its serial number.

This arrangement therefore has an additional advantage in that it is possible to use a closure device on which, by a durable marking process, the characteristics of the product have been brought as they emerge from the final adjustment of the electrical device, which avoids the usual use of glued labels or other usual means of indication, the holding of which is random.

We can thus consider a marking by ink transfer or hot marking, or any other marking process providing an impeccable and lasting result.

Preferably, the shutter device has a flat outer surface. The affixing of indications is thereby facilitated, in particular with respect to the usual thin casings which, for this purpose, have a small useful surface, which surface, moreover, can be substantially convex.

In addition, this common type of housing often has a junction line between the two half-housings on the upper face of the housing, which junction line can be a hindrance to the affixing of indications. The use of the closure device according to the invention overcomes this problem.

Preferably, the complementary means carried by the housing come from molding with the housing part or parts which are provided with it.

According to a particular embodiment of the invention, in the case of thin devices, in particular the thickness of which corresponds to a module, and which comprise a lever serving to operate the lock of the electrical appliance and transversely separating the top in two parts, the shutter device can be made up of two parts which are placed on either side of said maneuver.

According to another embodiment of the invention, in the case of devices the thickness of which is greater than a module, the shutter device can be made in one piece and include one or more openings for the member (s) control and / or display of the electrical appliance.

In the case of devices whose housing consists of two half-housings connected on a junction line extending longitudinally on the lower and upper faces of the housing, the shutter device can tighten the two half-housings. one against the other at the top of the case.

Preferably, the side edges of the device shutter extend to the right of the corresponding side walls of the housing.

The closure device is advantageously obtained by molding plastic material or by cutting a plastic profile.

The invention also relates to a closure device for a housing of the type described above.

• - la figure 1 représente en perspective un disjoncteur muni d'un dispositif d'obturation selon l'invention,
• - la figure 2 représente en perspective un interrupteur différentiel à deux modules muni d'un dispositif d'obturation selon l'invention, et
• - la figure 3 représente en perspective un interrupteur différentiel à quatre modules muni d'un dispositif d'obturation selon l'invention.

The invention will now be described in more detail with the aid of nonlimiting exemplary embodiments, taken with reference to the appended drawing in which:

• FIG. 1 shows in perspective a circuit breaker provided with a shutter device according to the invention,
• FIG. 2 represents in perspective a differential switch with two modules provided with a shutter device according to the invention, and
• - Figure 3 shows in perspective a differential switch with four modules provided with a closure device according to the invention.

The device shown in Figure 1 is dressed by a box of general conventional configuration. This box is made in the form of two half-boxes 1, 2 connected on a junction line 3 and fixed to each other by rivets.

At its lower face 4, the housing usually has hooking means 5, 6 on a support rail (not shown).

At its upper part, the housing has a top 7 provided with a passage for the lever or manual actuation handle 8 of the mechanism of the electrical apparatus and two pairs of successive shoulders 9 and 10 at which the terminals are accessible. cage 11 of the device.

On either side of the actuation lever 8, the apex 7 has an opening 12 bordered laterally by clipping means 13 with a ramp.

The trigger mechanism, which is not visible, may include, for example, a bimetallic strip whose screw adjustment is arranged in the part of the housing close to the top 7 and is accessible by one of the two openings 12, and a magnetic trip device, of a type known per se, which comprises a spring intended to adjust the speed of opening of contacts during magnetic triggering (see for example FR-A-2.616.584) and a device for adjusting the tension of said spring as a function of the desired triggering characteristics, which adjusting device is accessible through one of the openings 12.

The openings 12 are closed by rigid closing pieces 14 which engage with the clipping means 13. In place, the closing pieces 14 completely block the openings 12, on either side of the passage for the actuating lever 8, and their lateral edges 15 extend in line with the lateral walls 16 of the housing.

The closure pieces 14, or only one of them in the present case, advantageously bear, on their external or visible face, the characteristics of the product, reference 17, as they appear in particular from the final adjustment of the above-mentioned members the serial number of the appliance, reference 18, and the manufacturer's mark, reference 19.

This is a permanent marking of the above type, which can be carried out beforehand, that is to say before assembly.

For this type of housing, the closure device or part advantageously contributes to the maintenance of the two half-housings 1, 2 one against the other at the top 7 of the housing. In addition, it advantageously eliminates the junction line with the immediately visible part of the housing when the latter is in place on a support rail and can improve the tightness of this part of the housing, in particular in the case of devices capable of often be used manually.

This gives an apparatus having, on the one hand, a great ease of adjustment and, on the other hand, a neat aesthetic and lasting marking and allowing better inventory management.

We now refer to FIG. 2 which represents a differential switch with two modules.

The device shown is covered by a housing made in the form of two half-housings 20, 21, namely an upper half-housing 20 and a lower half-housing 21, the two half-housings being connected on a junction line 22 The lower half-casing 21 usually has hooking means 23, 24 on a support rail (not shown) while the upper half-casing 20 has two pairs of successive shoulders 25, 26 and a top provided with an opening 27. A pair of cage terminals 28 is accessible at the shoulders 26.

From the opening 27 emerge a manual actuation lever 29 of the mechanism of the apparatus, a test button 30 making it possible to check the good electrical operating condition of the apparatus and a member 31 allowing the display of the position of the contacts of the device.

The apparatus may include, for example, automatic trip means such as a trip relay having a permanent magnet in the vicinity of which an external electromagnet is placed for adjusting the sensitivity of the relay by demagnetization (see par example FR-A-2,552,931).

After adjusting the various organs of the apparatus, the opening 27 is closed by a rigid cover 32, the edges of the opening 27 and said cover 32 having for this purpose complementary clipping means.

In addition to an opening 35 to offer the contact position indicator 31 to view, the cover 32 has openings 33 and 34 for the lever 29 and the test button 30 respectively.

The side edges 36 of the cover 32 extend to the right of the side walls 37 of the housing.

Furthermore, the cover 32 has a certain number of indications concerning the electrical appliance considered. The marking process used provides careful and permanent marking.

FIG. 2 presents a cover 32 showing in particular the characteristics of the apparatus, reference 38, the manufacturer's mark, reference 39, and an inscription "Test" at 39a to indicate the location of the emerging part of the test button 30 a cover 32 in place on the housing.

We now refer to Figure 3.

It is now a differential switch with four modules covered by a housing formed as above of two half-housings, upper and lower, respectively 40 and 41, the upper half-housing 40 having a top provided with an opening 42 and the lower half-housing 41 of the hooking means 43, 44 on a support rail (not shown).

The inside of the housing is here partially isolated from the outside by a wall 45 which in particular allows passage to a test button 46 and to the axis 47 of a manual actuation button 48 of the mechanism and which has an opening 49 substantially circular.

This opening 49 allows access to one or more adjustment members of the mechanism and / or to means for triggering the device, which can be of any usual type, for example an adjustment screw, not visible, intended for adjustment of the angle of the toggle joint of a toggle mechanism as described in FR-A-2,516,700, or of members of the type of those described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

After adjusting the device, the opening 42 is closed by a rigid cover 50, the edges of the opening 42 and said cover 50 having for this purpose complementary clipping means. The side edges 51 of the cover 50 extend to the right of the side walls 52 of the housing.

The cover 50 has openings 53 and 54 for respectively the test button 46 and the axis 47. Once the cover 50 is in place, the actuation button 48 is placed on its axis 47.

Of course, it is possible, as in the examples of FIGS. 1 and 2, to affix permanently to the cover 50 the characteristics of the final adjustment.

The device for closing off the top of the boxes described above can optionally be removable using a special tool. Such a possibility can advantageously allow an authorized person to adjust the settings after mounting.

Although the invention has been described with regard to particular embodiments, it is understood that it is in no way limited thereto and that it can be made various modifications of shape or material without thereby departing from or of its frame nor of its spirit.

Claims (9)

1. Box for modular electrical devices of the circuit breaker, remote control, switch, differential switch and the like, formed of at least two parts (1, 2; 20, 21; 40, 41) and comprising a bottom face or bottom which is provided means for hooking (5,6; 23, 24; 43, 44) of the housing on a support rail of an electrical installation and, at its upper part, a top which is the part immediately visible when the appliance is mounted on a support rail, which top has on the one hand at least one adjustment member of the mechanism of the electrical appliance, such as the adjusting screw of a toggle joint or the like, and / or of the release means automatic of said device, such as the adjusting screw for a bimetal strip, a trigger relay, a magnetic trigger adjustment spring or the like, as well as possibly on the other hand, at least one control member (8; 29, 30; 46, 48) and / or display (31) of the device, such as a manual actuator (8; 29; 48) of the mechanism of said apparatus, a test button (30; 46) or the like, said apex extending longitudinally by at least one pair of shoulders (9, 10; 25, 26) at which the cage terminals are accessible (11; 28) of the apparatus, the parts (1, 2; 20, 21; 40, 41) forming the housing being arranged so that the housing has an opening (12; 27; 42) at its top through which the or at least some of the adjustment members are accessible, characterized in that there is provided a rigid closure device (14; 32; 50) which comprises clip means intended to come into engagement with complementary means carried by the housing for closing said opening (12; 27; 42) and which is arranged so as to present permanently and from before mounting, indications (17, 18, 19; 38, 39, 39a) concerning the set device. 2. Housing according to claim 1, characterized in that the closure device (14; 32; 50) has a flat outer surface. 3. Housing according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the complementary means carried by the housing come from molding with the housing part or parts which are provided therewith. 4. Housing according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, in the case of thin devices, in particular whose thickness corresponds to a module, and which include a handle (8) for operating the lock of the electrical appliance and dividing the crown transversely into two parts, the shutter device (14) is made up of two parts which are placed on either side of said operating lever (8). 5. Housing according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, in the case of devices whose thickness is greater than a module, the closure device (32; 50) consists of a single holding and includes one or more openings (33, 34, 35; 53, 54) for the control member (s) (29, 30; 46, 48) and / or display (31) of the electrical appliance. 6. Housing according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that, in the case of devices whose housing consists of two half-housings (1, 2) connected on a junction line extending longitudinally on the faces, lower (4) and upper, of the housing, the closure device (14) clamps the two half-housings (1, 2) one against the other at the top (7) of the housing. 7. Housing according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the lateral edges (15; 36; 51) of the closure device (14; 32; 50) extend in line with the lateral walls (16 ; 37; 52) corresponding to the housing. 8. Housing according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the closure device (14; 32; 50) is obtained by plastic molding or by cutting of a plastic profile. 9. Sealing device for the housing according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

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