EP0480332A1 - Ensemble with connecting rail of high reliability and associated device for garter-like arrangement - Google Patents

Abstract

This ensemble is characterised in that the strip has no wire guide in its grooves between rows of ducts which have internal self-stripping connections and in that the associated device comprises a plate (51) fitted with teeth (52) which are spaced apart with the pitch (P) of the ducts of any one row and which are perpendicular to the plane of the said plate by having a width greater than that of the grooves of the strip. <??>Application: telecommunications. <IMAGE>

Description

The present invention relates to connection strips used in the telecommunications field for the connection of telephone lines. It relates more particularly to the means of storing garters on such strips.

The aforementioned connecting strips allow the crossings of the connections of the pairs of conductors of a cable of large capacity said to transport to the pairs of conductors of cables of lesser capacity and called distribution, or of the pairs of these distribution cables to the pairs of different subscriber lines. The connection mixes are made using jumpers between two strips, in a distributor or sub-distributor box.

Such a connection strip is described in particular in document FR-A-2 611 315. This strip includes an insulating block in which are mounted and kept isolated individual connection elements accessible on both sides of the block. On its front face, for the conditions of use of the strip, the block has rows of protruding chimneys. The connection elements individually terminate in these chimneys and define there the front connections assigned to the garters. On the rear face of the block, the connection elements define corresponding rows of rear connections assigned to the cable or line conductors.

The rows of chimneys on the front face are separated from each other by grooves. These grooves are equipped with wire guides for the two wires of the different garters serving each row of chimneys or front connections. The wire guides are removably mounted in the grooves. These are flat parts each adapted to the dimensions of the grooves. They have in both of their faces channels for the wires of the jumpers.

These channels open along the front edge of the wire guide considered in place in its groove. They form on the ends of this front edge, two sets of individual partitioned outlets for the wires of the various garters concerned. The channels of the two faces also open out alternately along this front edge, substantially facing the different chimneys of the row served.

• - de réaliser un câblage ordonné,
• - d'éviter que les fils ne viennent créer des lignes de fuites courtes entre cheminées,
• - d'obtenir un aspect net de la réglette câblée.

These son guides constitute the means of storage of the garters in the grooves between chimneys. They allow :

• - to carry out an ordered wiring,
• - to prevent the wires from creating short leak lines between chimneys,
• - to obtain a clean appearance of the wired strip.

• - ces guides fils sont autant de pièces supplémentaires de la réglette elle-même,
• - ils allongent le temps de câblage de chaque jarretière car ils nécessitent :
  • . d'identifier les sorties individuelles des canaux aux extrémités du bord avant du guide fils, en plus de l'identification des connexions avant concernées par les raccordements à effectuer,
  • . de détorsader les deux fils de chaque jarretière sur une longueur au moins équivalente à celle des canaux qui les reçoivent ou en général à celle du plus long canal, avant l'introduction des fils de jarretière dans leurs canaux,
  • . de créer une boucle en sortie de canal en regard sensiblement de chaque cheminée, afin de disposer de la surlongueur de fil nécessaire pour effectuer le raccordement sur la connexion avant dans la cheminée,
  • . de résorber la boucle crééé, une fois le raccordement effectué, en tirant les fils depuis les côtés de la réglette, et de ranger le mou latéral obtenu dans le lit de jarretières situé entre deux rangées de réglettes.

The use of these son guides however has drawbacks and in particular the following:

• - these wire guides are as many additional parts of the strip itself,
• - they extend the wiring time of each jumper because they require:
  • . identify the individual outlets of the channels at the ends of the front edge of the wire guide, in addition to identifying the front connections concerned by the connections to be made,
  • . untwist the two wires of each garter over a length at least equivalent to that of the channels which receive them or in general that of the longest channel, before the introduction of the garter wires into their channels,
  • . to create a loop at the outlet of the channel facing substantially each chimney, in order to have the excess length of wire necessary to make the connection on the front connection in the chimney,
  • . to absorb the loop created, once the connection is made, by pulling the wires from the sides of the strip, and to store the lateral slack obtained in the bed of garters located between two rows of strips.

In addition, it happens in practice that the wire does not slide in its channel of the wire guide, when it is disconnected from its front connection. It is then difficult to access, opposes the withdrawal of the wire guide from the groove and can only be recovered with a special pliers with beak.

The present invention aims to simplify the strip while retaining the essential advantages provided by the aforementioned son guides but avoiding their drawbacks.

The present invention therefore relates to an assembly with a high reliability connection strip and associated jumper storage device, in which said strip comprises an insulating block having, in one of its so-called front faces, rows of protruding chimneys and not regular on each of the rows, grooves between the rows of chimneys and transverse slots between the chimneys of each row, and comprises individual connection elements mounted and maintained isolated from each other in said block and defining front connections in said respective chimneys and rear connections on the opposite so-called rear face of the block, said rear connections being assigned to the connection of cable conductors thereon and said front connections to the connection of jumper conductors thereon, said assembly being characterized in that said strip is free from all means of guidance and storage of said garters in said grooves, mounted on said block and belonging directly to said strip, and in that said garter storage device constitutes an external tool and comprises a plate provided, at one of its so-called lower end portions, with teeth perpendicular to the plane of said plate and spaced at said pitch from said chimneys.

In this assembly, the dimensions of the teeth are adapted to ensure proper guiding of the device in the transverse slots between the chimneys of two consecutive rows and to abut at the bottom of these slots, without the lower edge of the plate being able to injure the insulators of the conductors of the garters pushed to the bottom of the throat or could come to stress too strongly the connection points of the conductors on the front connections.

In addition, the strip is itself equipped with obstacles at the end of the respective grooves defining terminal rings for passage and retention of the garters substantially at the bottom of these grooves.

• - la figure 1 est une vue de dessus éclatée, illustrant une réglette de raccordement selon l'invention,
• - la figure 2 est une vue partielle de face donnée à échelle agrandie du bloc isolant ou corps de la réglette de la figure 1,
• - la figure 3 est une vue de côté du bloc isolant de la figure 2,
• - la figure 4 représente le dispositif de rangement de jarretières associé à ladite réglette,
• - la figure 5 est une vue en coupe de ce dispositif, effectuée selon la ligne V-V de la figure 4,

The characteristics and advantages of the present invention will emerge from the description given below with regard to a preferred embodiment illustrated in the attached drawings. In these drawings:

• FIG. 1 is an exploded top view, illustrating a connection strip according to the invention,
• FIG. 2 is a partial front view on an enlarged scale of the insulating block or body of the strip of FIG. 1,
• FIG. 3 is a side view of the insulating block of FIG. 2,
• FIG. 4 represents the device for storing garters associated with said strip,
• FIG. 5 is a sectional view of this device, taken along the line VV in FIG. 4,

Referring to Figures 1 to 3, it can be seen that the connection strip according to the invention comprises a block or body 1 of insulating material equipped with a plurality of individual connection elements 2. The terminal portions of the connection elements constitute connections 3 and 4. They are accessible on both sides, called the intervention front face 5 and rear face 6 of the block 1, for the conditions of use of the connection strip, and are arranged in several rows on these two faces.

In the example illustrated, the insulating block is equipped with 4 rows of 14 connections each, on one and the other of its two front and rear faces, for a cable of 28 pairs. Of course these numbers can be different.

The front connections 3 are assigned to the jumper conductors and are preferably insulation displacement connections. The rear connections 4 are assigned to the conductors of the different pairs of the cable, not shown. These connections 4 are insulation displacement connections or of another type. The connections of the conductors of the different pairs to the connections 4 are considered fixed and final, although intervention on the rear face remains as such possible for a modification of the pairs previously formed. Those on the front panel can be modified as required.

The connection elements 2 are firmly retained in the block. The connections 4 of the rear face 6 are framed by a continuous fin 7 and a series of pairs of fins 8, on the longitudinal edges of each row, called longitudinal fins, and by transverse fins 9 on each row.

The retention of the connection elements 2 in the block 1 is ensured by the continuous fins 7. For this purpose, as shown at the cutout made in the block 1 of FIG. 1, the edge of each continuous fin 7, inside block 1, has shims 7A for retaining the connection elements of the row concerned against the inner edge of the pairs of fins 8 formed on the block. Each continuous fin 7, starting independently of the block 1, is welded to the block by ultrasound, after assembly and retention of the connection elements in the block.

It is further noted that the continuous upper terminal fin 7 once welded to the block constitutes the fourth side wall of a reservoir defined over the entire periphery of the rear face 6 of the block. This reservoir can receive a sealant when the connections of the pairs of conductors on the connections 4 have been made.

In block 1, the insulation displacement connections 3 of the front face are arranged in individual chimneys 10. They are, for example, bossed on their branches for cutting the insulation of the conductor introduced between their branches.

The chimneys come from the block and are defined in longitudinal ribs on its front face. Each row corresponds to a row of chimneys 10 associated with a row of insulation displacement connections 3. Each row of chimneys 10 is separated from the adjacent row by a longitudinal groove 11, used for the passage of the garters serving the row of chimneys above it, a groove 11 is also provided for the lower row of chimneys. On each of the rows, each chimney 10 is separated from the neighboring chimney by a transverse slot 12. On each row the chimneys are thus at a regular pitch P. From one row to another, the transverse slots 12 are facing each other. opposite.

The chimneys 10 have meanwhile two lateral slots 13 and 14 on their walls extending along the length of the row. These two slots 13 and 14 are opposite one another and the axis of the insulation displacement connection in the chimney. The slot 13, called the lower slot, for the conditions of use of the connecting strip, is of narrower width than the other 14, called the upper slot, and slightly less than the diameter of the jumper conductors. It allows locking or good retention, by pinching, of the conductor connected to its insulation displacement connection 3, at a point close to this connection.

The grooves 11 between the rows of chimneys are free from any part commonly called a wire guide, ensuring the storage and retention of the conductors of the jumpers in each of them.

Block 1 ends in two rows of risers 20, at both ends of the rows of chimneys. The risers are aligned with the rows of chimneys and define between them and below the lower column of the grooves 21 directly extending the aforementioned grooves 11 thus rendered open on the sides of the block.

These risers 20 are provided slightly less protruding than the chimneys 10.

Each of these risers 20 can receive an identification pad for the garters in the corresponding groove 21 or 11, not shown, which is blocked in a hole 20A provided in its end face.

Each of the columns also has a boss 22A or 22B, forming from one column to the other a pair of obstacles 22A and 22B substantially opposite and projecting in the groove 21 between them.

These pairs of obstacles define, between them and the bottom of the end grooves 21 of the son pass rings assigned to the garters serving the rows of chimneys. They separate the sets of garters serving the different rows of chimneys from the side bed of garters and ensure the maintenance of each set at the bottom of the groove 21 or 11.

The front opening 22C between the two obstacles of each pair makes it possible to release the garters.

The front risers 20 correspond to the rear legs 23, facing the grooves 21 and projecting from the rear face of the block 1, forming an integral part of the row of columns and of the block. These rear legs 23 are with terminal lumen 23A allowing the attachment of cable conductors thereon serving the various rows of rear connections 4. They also stiffen the block at its ends.

The block 1 also has two lateral latching tabs 24 for mounting and holding on a rear support, not shown.

The connection strip further comprises caps or preferably pushers, single or double, for example such that the only so-called simple cap 25 shown in FIG. 1 or the only so-called simple cap 30 also shown for the preferred variant in Figure 1, which are associated with the block 1, in particular for the protection of the insulation displacement connections 3 in the individual chimneys 10 of the front face. It also includes caps 40 in the form of a protective bar, associated with block 1 for each of the rows of connections 4 on its rear face. The pushers such as 30 or the caps 25 close the chimneys 10, after connection of the jumpers to the connections 3. The caps 40 cover the rows of connections 4 after the pairs of cable conductors have been connected to the connections 4. The caps such as 25 or 40 are filled with special gel or grease for effective protection.

The cap 40 is formed by a hollow U-shaped bar 41 and comprises a piston plate 44 inside the U-shaped bar, with studs 45 projecting outwardly on the bottom of the U, actuating the plate 44, for the distribution of gel, complete filling and sealing of the row of connections 4. The transverse fins 9 separating the connections 4 of each row from the rear face 6 constitute end-of-travel stops for the piston plate 44.

Two lateral snap-on tabs 47 ensure that the cap 40 is held firmly on the insulating block 1. A protruding ear 48 on each tab allows the cap to be removed, if necessary.

The simple pusher 30 which is the preferred mode of protection of the insulation displacement connections 3 ensures on the one hand the insertion of a jumper conductor in the desired insulation displacement connection 3 in its chimney 10, or the extraction of the conductor place, and secondly the protection of the insulation displacement connection 3, with or without a jumper conductor in this connection, by closing the chimney.

It has a single leg 31 adapted to the internal contour of each chimney for perfect guidance and split longitudinally for its insertion on either side of the insulation displacement connection 3. It has a front end head 32, actuation of the pusher and d shutter of the chimney. It has lateral shoulders 33, between its leg 31 and its head 32, for stopping the pusher in the pressed-in position in the chimney, and terminal latching lugs 34 at the end of the leg 31, for captive mounting and stopping plunger in the pulled position in the chimney, itself fitted with interior shoulders, not visible, with teeth stop 34 for this drawn position.

This leg 31 has, in its front part close to the head, a through hole 35 for receiving a jumper conductor and ensuring its connection to the front connection in the chimney by simply depressing the pusher from its pulled position to its depressed position. It further carries a guide V 36, for blind insertion of the conductor into the hole 35, on its underside, and an insertion viewing eye of this conductor, on its rear face.

With this strip, defined on block 1 and also thus designated below by this reference 1, is associated a specific device for storing garters in the grooves between the rows of chimneys, which are free of any wire guide means.

This device is described with reference to Figures 4 and 5, in which it is designated under the reference 50, and with reference to Figures 1 to 3 for the parts of the strip with which it cooperates.

This device 50 does not belong to the strip 1 itself. It functionally replaces the wire guides mounted in the grooves between rows of chimneys of strips of known art, to ensure the storage in the grooves of the garters connected to the front connections 3.

This device is described as seen vertically, although it is horizontal in its normal conditions of use with the strip. It is constituted by a plate 51 provided at its so-called lower part with a row of teeth 52 and at its upper part with a grip handle 53. This plate 51 with the teeth 52 and the grip handle is preferably made of material plastic and obtained from molding.

The teeth 52 are perpendicular to the plane of the plate 51 and spaced from each other at the same pitch P as the chimneys of the strip. They are adapted to the dimensions of the transverse slots 12 for insertion.

These teeth 52 are projecting on either side of the plane of the plate 51. They have a projecting lower part beyond the plate below its lower edge 51A and a projecting upper part on the faces of the plate itself. even. They are of total length greater than the depth of the transverse slots 12, with the length of their only lower part which is less than the depth of the transverse slots 12 but slightly greater than the distance between the bottom of these slots 12 and the retaining point conductors at the bottom of the slots 13 in the walls of the chimneys. They have a width greater than the width of the grooves 11, so as to fit well into the transverse slots of two consecutive rows of chimneys.

As can be seen in these two Figures 4 and 5, the lower edge 51A of the plate and the lower edge 52A of the teeth are rounded and do not have any sharp edges capable of injuring the insulators of the conductors.

The teeth 52 also have their upper edge 52B of junction with the two faces of the plate, forming a chamfer substantially at 45 °.

The handle 53 is in turn in the plane of the plate 51 and centered on its upper edge 51 B. Its junction 53A with the upper edge of the plate defines a clearance to facilitate its gripping. The upper edge 51 B of the plate is itself oblique on each side of the handle to increase the clearance given by the junction 53A.

In the example illustrated, the device 50 is shown to be of length less than that of the grooves 11 and just slightly greater than half the length of these grooves. It is then used twice to store the garters in the same groove. Of course, this dimension is in no way limiting and can be different and in particular correspond to the length of the grooves.

The garters are stored in their groove after being connected to all or part of the insulation displacement connections of the row of chimneys. For this storage, the device is taken and positioned by hand in front of the strip 1, with its plate 51 facing the groove in which the garters must be pushed and its teeth 52 facing the transverse slots 12 between the chimneys of the two rows on either side of this gorge. It is then simply pushed to the bottom, until its teeth 52 abut in the bottom of the transverse slots 12. The lower edge 51A of the plate 51 is then located along the pushers in the position pressed into the chimneys, just at the front of the chimney and push-button wire outlets, so as not to injure the insulation of the conductors of the jumpers.

It should also be noted that the openings 22C in the son-pass rings allow the direct insertion of the garters between the pair of jumpers 22A 22B and their retention at the bottom of the grooves 21, 11, in particular in the terminal grooves 21, and contribute to the good maintaining the garters thus stored.

• - la simplification de la réglette elle-même, qui est exempte de tels guide fils montés dans les gorges et encliquetés dans le bloc isolant,
• - la diminution du temps d'intervention du fait même de l'absence de ces guides fils antérieurs,
• - la mise en place directe des jarretières d'une rangée de cheminées en une ou deux opérations,
• - l'absence de blessure des isolants, alors qu'une simple plaque introduite dans la gorge risquerait d'endommager les isolants ou de solliciter de manière néfaste les points de raccordements des conducteurs sur les connexions autodénudantes,
• - la réalisation d'un câblage ordonné,
• - la non nécessité de séparer des deux conducteurs de jarretières, qui restent torsadées dans les gorges, jusqu'au droit des poussoirs raccordant les conducteurs aux connexions autodénudantes avant.

Among the advantages resulting from this strip assembly without wire guide and associated storage device or tool, there may be mentioned in particular

• - the simplification of the strip itself, which is free from such wire guides mounted in the grooves and snapped into the insulating block,
• - the reduction in intervention time due to the absence of these previous son guides,
• - the direct installation of the garters of a row of chimneys in one or two operations,
• - the absence of injury to the insulation, while a simple plate inserted into the groove could damage the insulation or adversely stress the connection points of the conductors on the insulation displacement connections,
• - making orderly wiring,
• - the non-need to separate the two jumper conductors, which remain twisted in the grooves, up to the right of the pushers connecting the conductors to the insulation displacement front connections.

Claims (9)

1. High reliability connecting strip assembly and associated jumper storage device, in which said strip comprises an insulating block (1) having, in one of its so-called front faces, rows of protruding chimneys (10) regular pitch (P) on each of the rows, grooves (11) between the rows of chimneys (10) and transverse slots (12) between the chimneys of each row, and comprises individual connection elements (2) mounted and maintained insulated from each other in said block and defining front connections (3) in said respective chimneys and rear connections (4) on the opposite so-called rear face of the block, said rear connections being assigned to the connection of cable conductors thereon and the said front connections to the connection of jumper conductors thereon, the said assembly being characterized in that the said strip is free from any guiding means and r angement of said garters in said grooves (11), fixed on said block (1) and then belonging directly to the strip, and in that said device (50) for storing garters constitutes an external tool and comprises a plate (51) provided, at one of its so-called lower end portions, with teeth (52) perpendicular to the plane of said plate and spaced at said pitch (P) from said chimneys (10). 2. Assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that said teeth (52) are of thickness and length substantially adapted to the width and the depth of said transverse slots between the chimneys, into which they are inserted. 3. Assembly according to claim 2, characterized in that said teeth (52) are projecting on either side of the plane of said plate (50) and have a width greater than the width of each of said grooves (11). 4. Assembly according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that said teeth (52) have a so-called lower portion projecting beyond said plate (51) over a length less than the height of the chimneys but substantially greater than the distance between the conductor entry into the chimney and the bottom of said transverse slots. 5. An assembly according to claim 4, characterized in that the lower edge (52A) of the teeth (52) and the lower edge (51A) of the plate (51) are rounded. 6. Assembly according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that said plate is provided with a grip handle (53) on its upper edge (51 B). 7. An assembly according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that said strip further comprises, at each of the two ends of rows of chimneys (10), a lateral row of risers (20) on the block ( 1), with each riser at the end of a row of chimneys and delimiting an end groove (21) directly extending on the block (1) the corresponding groove (11) along one of the rows of chimneys (10) . 8. An assembly according to claim 7, characterized in that each riser (20) has a boss (22A, 22B) projecting into the terminal groove (21) which it delimits, the bosses forming from one column to another a pair of obstacles substantially opposite, with an opening (22C) for access between them, and defining between them and the bottom of the terminal groove (21) passage rings and retention of garters. 9. An assembly according to one of claims 7 and 8, characterized in that said block (1) further has rear lateral tabs (23) stiffening it at its ends and ensuring the attachment on them of the cable conductors for the different rows of rear connections (4).

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