EP4042526A1

EP4042526A1 - Bus bar for lights or electrical units

Info

Publication number: EP4042526A1
Application number: EP20785963.8A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Andreas Machate
Original assignee: Zumtobel Lighting GmbH Austria
Current assignee: Zumtobel Lighting GmbH Austria
Priority date: 2019-10-08
Filing date: 2020-10-01
Publication date: 2022-08-17
Also published as: DE102019126931A1; WO2021069304A1; AT17494U1

Abstract

A bus bar (45) for lights (90) or electrical loads has conductors (10) running in a longitudinal direction, for supplying current and/or for transmitting signals. The connecting region between two successive bus bar sections (45₁, 45₂) is provided with connection contacts (1), to which the respective end faces of two conductors (10) to be interconnected are connected and which form a contacting surface (5) that is accessible from a contacting side, the connection contacts (1) in the connecting region between two successive bus bar sections (45₁, 45₂) being offset alternately in two longitudinal positions (A, B).

Description

description

Conductor rail for lights or electrical units

The present invention relates to a busbar for lights or other electrical units and a light strip system which has such a busbar.

Busbars are characterized in that the wires or lines used for power supply are accessible or contactable over an at least larger elongated section, which opens up the possibility of being able to position consumers to be connected more or less flexibly at least over this area. This means that the consumers - for example the lights of a trunking system - can not only be arranged at fixed, predetermined positions, but can also be positioned freely at the desired location.

A well-known trunking system in which such busbars are used is sold by the applicant under the name “TECTON”. A special feature of this trunking system is that the lines used for power supply provide a normal mains supply voltage of e.g. 250 volts and are still continuously accessible for contacting over the entire length of the trunking system. This is achieved, among other things, in that the lines are arranged in a line receiving structure made of an insulating material, which forms grooves that are open towards one contacting side. From this side, the lines can then be contacted by lights or other consumers connected to the trunking system, whereby the grooves and the individual components of the line receiving structure are designed in such a way that accidental contact with the current-carrying lines is prevented or the corresponding safety regulations are implemented which should be prevented from accidentally touching the cables.

In principle, the power rail used in the above-mentioned trunking system could be implemented in any length. For manufacturing reasons, however, the line receiving structure consisting of the insulating material or the support rail containing the line receiving structure, which is the load-bearing element of the trunking system, is only manufactured and transported up to a certain length. Accordingly, in the system known from the prior art, corresponding Support rails, which are equipped with sections of a power rail, made available in standard lengths, in which case the support rails and the power rail sections must be connected to one another when the trunking system is installed on site.

Another special feature of the “TECTON” trunking system mentioned is that it is also possible to position luminaires or other loads and make contact in the area where two consecutive support rails or busbar sections are connected. This is made possible through the use of special electrical connection contacts, as shown in Figure 28 are shown.

FIG. 28 shows a single electrical connection contact as it is currently used in the “TECTON” system and is known, for example, from EP 1 284 033 B1. This connecting contact 100 consists of an elongated contacting plate 101 which is bent on its long sides and whose function is to take over and forward the electrical current of the lines that are routed along the busbar. For this purpose, spring contacts 102 are arranged at the ends of the contacting plate 101, which enable the end regions of the wires of two current sections to be connected to be connected to one another in a clamping manner.

As FIG. 29 shows, connecting elements 110 are also provided in the transition area of two mounting rails 120 to be connected to one another (here the front end area of a mounting rail, which is to be connected to another structurally identical mounting rail) of the trunking system is provided, which serve to accommodate the electrical connection contacts 100. These connecting elements 110 have groove-like recesses 111 corresponding to the grooves of the line receiving structure, the electrical connecting contacts 100 being inserted into the connecting element 110 in such a way that the groove-shaped

Recesses 111 the contacting plates 101 of the connection contacts 100 are accessible. The recesses 111 of the connecting element 110 thus continue the grooves of the line receiving structure and the contacting plate 101 bridges the lines of the busbar sections to be connected to one another. Ultimately, this leads to the fact that a

There is a contact option for luminaires or consumers to be connected, so that in the case of the known light strip system there is actually the possibility of contacting uninterrupted over the entire length. This creates an im Compared to other known systems, it achieves outstanding flexibility in terms of the possibility of arranging lights or other electrical units. The concept known from the prior art for connecting

Busbar sections therefore lead to clear advantages in terms of flexibility when arranging lights or other consumers of the system. However, the components that are used mean that in the area of the connection the space requirement is increased due to the larger cross-section of the connection contacts compared to the actual line cross-section. In the case of multi-core busbars, it is therefore necessary to divide the lines and arrange them, for example, on both sides of the side walls of a support rail profile. A more compact arrangement of the lines, however, is not possible. The present invention is therefore based on the object of a

Offering the possibility of connecting busbar sections with one another and, despite everything, allowing a more compact arrangement of the lines.

The object is achieved by a busbar with the features of the independent claims. Advantageous developments of the invention are the subject of the dependent claims.

The inventive concept also provides for connecting contacts to be used in the connection area of two consecutive busbar sections, to which the front ends of the lines to be connected are connected and which in turn form a contacting surface accessible from the contacting side. A modified arrangement of the connection contacts, however, now enables a more compact arrangement of the lines.

According to a first idea, it is provided that the connection contacts in the connection area of two consecutive busbar sections are arranged alternately offset at two longitudinal positions. In a second inventive concept, however, it is provided that the lines in the connection area of two consecutive busbar sections are alternately arranged in two substantially parallel planes and are then each connected by the connection contacts. According to a first aspect of the present invention, a busbar for lights or electrical units is proposed which has several interconnectable busbar sections, each of which has several lines running in a longitudinal direction for power supply and / or signal transmission, which are inserted in grooves open to one contacting side are arranged from an insulating material existing line receiving structure. According to the invention, connection contacts are provided in a connection area of two consecutive busbar sections, to which the front ends of two lines to be connected are connected and which form a contacting surface accessible from the contacting side, the connecting contacts in the connection area of two consecutive busbar sections being arranged alternately offset at two longitudinal positions .

Because, according to this first aspect of the invention, the connection contacts are each offset, the enlarged cross section claimed by the connection contacts is not concentrated on a short section of the busbar, but instead is distributed over two offset areas. Ultimately, this leads to the fact that a parallel routing of the busbar lines is possible with a smaller spacing from one another and accordingly the number of lines can be increased with the same available space.

In this case, it is preferably provided that the lines of a busbar section with alternating lengths of different lengths protrude beyond the insulating line receiving structure. This configuration makes it possible, as described above, to arrange the connection contacts offset in two longitudinal positions and to connect the lines here.

Furthermore, it can be provided that the connection contacts are arranged in connection elements, which in turn consist of an insulating material and have groove-like recesses corresponding to the grooves of the line receiving structure. In particular, it can be provided that two connecting elements are provided in the connection area of two successive busbar sections, each of which is assigned to one of the busbar sections and in their groove-like recesses each alternating connection contact and a line of the busbar section extending beyond the connecting element are arranged such that the contacting surface of the contact or the line is accessible via the groove-shaped recess. In the case of the solution according to the invention, it is thus also ensured that all lines of the busbar or the contacting surfaces of the connection contacts used can be contacted throughout the connection area.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a busbar for lights or electrical units is also proposed, which has several interconnectable busbar sections, each having several lines running in a longitudinal direction for power supply and / or signal transmission, which are in grooves open to one contacting side are arranged from an insulating material existing line receiving structure. According to the invention, connection contacts are provided in a connection area of two consecutive busbar sections, to which the front ends of two lines to be connected to one another are connected and which form a contacting surface accessible from the contacting side, the lines in the connecting area of two consecutive busbar sections alternating in two substantially parallel running Arranged levels and are connected to one another here by the connecting contacts.

In this case, too, there is an offset arrangement of the connecting contacts, but now not in the longitudinal direction of the busbar, but in a direction transverse or perpendicular thereto. In spite of everything, the solution according to the second aspect of the invention also has the advantage that a more compact arrangement of the lines is made possible.

A combination of the two staggered arrangements just described is particularly preferred: They enable the most compact possible arrangement of the conductors.

According to a first variant of this second aspect of the invention, it can be provided that the lines of the busbar sections run outside the connection area in a common plane. Only in the area of the connection are some of the lines led out into a second level, while in the remaining area of the busbar all lines run parallel to one another in one level. As an alternative to this, however, it would also be conceivable that the lines over the essentially entire length of the Busbar are arranged away in two parallel planes. Depending on the line to be contacted, it is then necessary for the contacts of a unit to be connected to the busbar to engage sufficiently deeply into the corresponding busbar. However, this can be made possible by appropriate solutions described in more detail below.

In the solution according to the second aspect of the invention, it is also preferably provided that the connection contacts are arranged in connection elements which have groove-like recesses corresponding to the grooves of the line receiving structure and in which the connection contacts are inserted in such a way that the contacting surfaces of the contacts are accessible via the groove-shaped recesses .

In both aspects of the invention described above, it can be provided that the connection contacts each have an elongated contacting plate which forms the contacting surface and at the end of which clamping or spring contacts are arranged for clamping the lines to be connected to the connection contact.

Furthermore, it can advantageously be provided that the line receiving structure of the busbar sections consisting of the insulating material consists of several plastic parts joined together in the longitudinal direction, which are preferably formed by injection molded parts, the lines being inserted into the grooves of the joined plastic parts. This corresponds to the solution already known from the prior art, which makes it possible to create continuous receiving grooves in almost any length in which the lines are received in such a way that they can be contacted by lights or other consumers of the system. As an alternative to this variant, however, it could also be provided that the line receiving structure of the busbar sections consisting of the insulating material consist of plastic parts produced in the extrusion process, the lines possibly being partially embedded in the plastic material.

According to the present invention, a support rail for lights or electrical units is also proposed, which has a support rail profile and at least one busbar held by the support rail profile, as described above. The support rail profile is preferably designed in such a way that it encloses an elongated receiving space in which the busbar is arranged, it can be provided in particular that the receiving space is open on a longitudinal side and the busbar is arranged on a wall of the support rail profile opposite the opening. In comparison to previously known solutions, a slightly different, direct contacting of the lines is made here, which in terms of the design of the

Contacting elements of the units to be connected leads to clear advantages. In this case, the wall of the mounting rail profile opposite the opening is primarily available for the arrangement of the busbar, but this can now provide a comparable number of contacting options due to the more compact arrangement of the lines according to the invention. In addition, there would also be the possibility of arranging additional busbars on the side walls of the mounting rail profile. The invention will be explained in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawing. Show it:

Figure 1 shows the connection of two lines with the help of one from the prior

Known connection contact technique;

FIGS. 2-5 are views of the arrangement of the connecting contacts according to the first aspect of the invention;

FIG. 6 shows the configuration of a connecting element for receiving the connecting contacts;

FIGS. 7 to 10 are views of two sections of a support rail to be connected to one another, which each have busbar sections configured according to the invention;

FIG. 11 shows a support rail with a busbar configured according to the invention in a front view;

FIG. 12 shows a consumer inserted into the mounting rail and contacting the lines;

FIG. 13 an advantageous mounting of the lines of a busbar; FIGS. 14-17 show the arrangement and positioning of the lines and

Connection contacts according to the second aspect of the invention in a first variant; Figures 18-21 the arrangement and positioning of the lines and

Connection contacts according to the second aspect of the invention in a second variant;

FIGS. 22 to 24 are views of the arrangement and positioning of the lines and connecting contacts according to a particularly preferred one

Embodiment which combines both aspects of the invention:

FIG. 25 shows the configuration of a connecting element suitable for realizing the variant shown in FIGS. 22 to 24 for receiving the connecting contacts;

FIGS. 26 and 27 show the end regions of two to be connected to one another

Busbar sections corresponding to the variant of FIGS. 22 to 24;

FIG. 28 shows an electrical connection contact known from the prior art, and FIG. 29 shows a procedure known from the prior art for connecting two successive busbar sections.

In the following, the configuration of an individual electrical connection contact and the resulting problem with regard to the arrangement of lines of a busbar will first be described. It is then explained in detail to what extent, despite the use of this connecting contact, a more compact arrangement of the lines is made possible due to a special design. With regard to its structure, it corresponds to that shown in FIG. 1, with the

The electrical connection contact provided with the reference numeral 1 corresponds to the already known connection contact, as shown in FIG. In the present case, too, this consists of an elongated contacting plate 2 which is bent a little downwards on the long sides and whose task it is to take over and forward the electrical current from the wires or lines of the busbar sections. For this purpose, a spring contact element 3, preferably made of a chromium-nickel alloy, is arranged at the ends of the contacting plate 2 and has an inwardly bent spring tongue 4 through which a wire 10 inserted into the connecting contact 1 is clamped and sufficiently firmly in view is pressed onto the electrical contact resistances against the contacting plate 2. The surfaces of the spring contact elements 3 that come into contact with the conductors are preferably gold-plated in order to counteract fretting corrosion even with the inevitable relative displacements of both parts due to thermal expansion. The side facing away from the wires 10 of the contacting plate 2, which is preferably made of tinned copper, then forms the primary contacting surface 5 for consumers to be connected.

It is usually provided that several of the electrical connection contacts 1 shown in FIG. 1 are arranged in a connection element made of an insulating material, which is then located on an end face of a busbar section and is already coupled on one side to the lines of this section. A further busbar section to be connected to this busbar section then has protruding line ends which are plugged into the corresponding electrical connection contacts 1 from the other side when the two busbar sections are joined together, so that the desired connection ultimately results. The connecting contacts 1 then each bridge the gap between two adjacent line ends and enable continuous contacting through lights or other electrical components in the manner described above.

In order to avoid short circuits or other problems with regard to power or signal transmission, it must be ensured that the lines running in the longitudinal direction of the busbar are sufficiently separated from one another. In particular, certain minimum distances between the electrically conductive surfaces must be observed in order to meet the requirements with regard to so-called creepage distances.

These requirements must also be met in the connection area of two busbar sections to be connected to one another, although the problem arises shows that the electrical connection contacts have larger dimensions due to their design than the lines to be connected to one another. In particular, the connection contacts thus limit the possibility of routing the lines as closely as possible next to one another along the busbar, so that the number of lines made available by a busbar and thus the contact options of the system are limited.

The present invention now opens up the possibility of reducing the distances between the lines of a busbar by means of a particularly advantageous arrangement or positioning of the connecting contacts, the above-mentioned conditions still being met in spite of everything. A first embodiment according to the invention for this purpose will be explained below with reference to FIGS. 2-5, the illustration of the insulating line receiving structure and the connecting elements initially being dispensed with in order to better illustrate the arrangement of the connecting contacts.

As can be seen from FIGS. 2-5, the solution according to the invention according to the first aspect consists in that the connecting contacts 1 are now not all arranged in the same place next to one another in the system, but instead are alternately offset from one another at two positions A and B in the longitudinal direction , ie positioned in the direction of the course of the lines 1. The lines 10 of the busbar system are thus divided into two groups, each line 10 being assigned alternately to one of the two groups.

The arrangement of the connection contacts 1 is then such that the lines of the first group 10i are connected to one another by connection contacts 1 that are located at a first position A in the longitudinal direction of the system, while the lines of the second group IO2 are connected to the second position B. arranged electrical connection contacts 1 are connected to one another. Ultimately, this leads to the offset arrangement of the connecting contacts 1 or the points at which two line sections are connected to one another, which can be seen in FIGS. 2-5.

As the illustration in a plane E perpendicular to the longitudinal direction according to FIG. 3 shows, all connection contacts 1 are arranged side by side when viewed in projection, the distances d in this projection being so small that they may not meet the above-mentioned requirements with regard to the creepage distances. However, these distances d are now not decisive, since due to the offset arrangement of the connection contacts 1 actually the distance between an electrical connection contact 1 and the line 10 running next to it must be considered. This larger distance D (see FIG. 2), on the other hand, in turn fulfills the above-mentioned requirements, so that overall the possibility is created of choosing a smaller distance between the lines 10. Ultimately, this makes better use of the space available for a given width of the busbar and - compared to an arrangement of the connecting contacts next to one another - a more compact arrangement of the lines 10 can be selected, whereby the number of lines 10 can be increased. At the same time, however, the advantage is retained that the lines 10 of the busbar can also be continuously contacted in the connection area of two consecutive busbar sections or that the connection contacts 1 create a continuous contacting option.

As already known hitherto, it is preferably provided that the electrical connection contacts 1 are held in a connection element made of an insulating material. One of these can be seen in FIG. 6 and is provided with the reference number 20. It consists of two components 21, 22 which are to be connected to one another and which initially serve to receive and support the connecting contacts 1. The first component 21 here forms openings or elongated recesses for receiving the electrical connection contacts 1. As in the prior art, it is provided that these recesses continue the receiving channels of the line receiving structure, i.e. are open to one contacting side - downward in the illustration and thus open up the possibility of contacting the contacting plates 2 of the connecting contacts 1 from the same direction from which contact is made with the lines 10 in the remaining area of the busbar section. After the connection contacts 1 have been inserted into the corresponding recesses of the first part 21 from the rear, this is closed from the rear by a cover 22 which can be latched to the first part 21, whereby the electrical connection contacts 1 accordingly in the position explained above secured.

In principle, it would be conceivable that a single connection element 20 is used, which receives all of the electrical connection contacts 1. Due to the staggered arrangement of the connecting contacts 1 according to the invention, as shown in FIGS. 2-5, however, it is preferably provided that the Connection contacts 1 of a group are each received in a separate connection element 20. That is to say, in the illustration in FIG. 6, it is provided that the electrical connection contacts 1 inserted into the connection element 20 are only provided for connecting the lines of the first group 10i, whereas the lines of the second groups IO2 are connected by connection contacts 1, which in another , connecting element not shown in Figure 9 are arranged. The connecting elements are particularly preferably arranged on both sides of an individual support rail / busbar, but can furthermore also be arranged one after the other in only one end region of a support rail.

The offset arrangement of the connecting contacts 1 also means that the lines - as can be seen in FIG. 6 - protrude with alternating lengths over the line receiving structure 30 of the busbar section, which is made of an insulating material. This line receiving structure 30 has grooves or channels running in the longitudinal direction to the exception of the lines 10, these grooves or channels being open on one contacting side and thus enabling the lines 10 to be contacted. The protrusion of the lines of the second group IO2, which are only connected by the further connecting element, not shown, is greater than that of the lines of the first group 10i, which are connected by the connecting element 20 shown.

In spite of everything, the lines of the second group IO2 should also be stored in a protected manner in that area in which the connecting element 20 is located, or they should be able to be passed through this and still be able to be contacted. Accordingly, this connecting element 20 not only has elongated grooves for receiving the connecting contacts 1, but also grooves in between, through which the protruding line ends of the lines of the second group IO2 are guided. Thus, only every second elongated recess of the connecting element 20 is filled with a connecting contact 1, while the further recesses or channels in between serve to continue the lines of the second group IO2 in such a way that they can still be contacted on the one hand and their ends into the connecting contacts of the can engage second connecting element.

Overall, this results in the configuration shown in FIGS. 7 to 10, which shows two support rail sections 40i and 40 ₂ to be connected to one another, the mechanical connection being made with the aid of a U-shaped connecting part 46 which is pushed into the end faces of the support rail parts. Each support rail 40i, 4O2 is provided with a corresponding busbar section 45i, 45 ₂ , with a connecting element 20i or 2O2 being arranged in the end region of each busbar section 45i, 45 ₂ , which on the one hand has electrical connection contacts for one of the two conductor groups and through which the Lines 10i, IO2 of the other group are passed through in such a way that they protrude slightly.

When the two mounting rail sections 40i, 4Ü ₂ are joined together, the protruding line areas are then introduced into the free end areas of the connecting contacts of the corresponding other connecting element 20i or 2O2. This results in the configuration shown in FIGS. 8 and 10, which shows that the lines are connected alternately at two different points in the longitudinal direction. For all lines 10, however, a contact option is continuously created across the connection area.

In this regard, it should be pointed out that, in particular, the individual busbar sections do not necessarily have to be designed and arranged as is known from the prior art. In the state of the art of the “TECTON” system, the line support structures are formed from several interconnected individual line support elements, which are manufactured using the injection molding process and are designed in such a way that they allow relative displacement to one another, despite everything enclosing the lines in a protected manner. Even if this represents the ideal case of realizing a busbar for the present invention, the corresponding line receiving structures could also be designed to be less complex and, for example, manufactured using the extrusion process, provided that they nevertheless have corresponding grooves in which the lines are received.

FIG. 11 shows the sectional illustration of a conceivable support rail 40, which consists of a U-shaped support rail profile 41 with a busbar 45 configured according to the invention and arranged therein. An end view is shown here, on the one hand it can be seen that on the one hand the line ends of the lines of the first group 10i protrude in the end area, which are then provided to be connected to the connecting element of the further busbar section to be coupled to the mounting rail 40. On the other hand are alternating to These protruding lines of the first group 10i, the end regions of the electrical connection contacts 1 recognizable, which are mounted in the associated connecting element 20 and provided for connecting the lines of the second group.

The configuration of the mounting rail 40 shown in FIG. 11 now opens up the possibility of connecting a consumer, shown by way of example in FIG. 12, to the mounting rail 40. The consumer provided with the reference numeral 90 in the present case represents a so-called bar light, which has an elongated carrier element 91, which is used to hold illuminants (not shown) and an optical element 92, via which the light output is influenced in the desired manner. Furthermore, a contacting element 95 is provided on the upper side of the carrier element 91, which has vertically upwardly projecting contacts 96 which contact the corresponding lines 10 and / or electrical connection contacts 1 of the busbar 45, in particular also a contact possibility in the transition area between two interconnected busbar sections consists.

In the case shown, the busbar 45 is arranged on the horizontal wall 42 opposite the opening in the support rail profile 41. The contacting element 95 to be inserted into the receiving space of the support rail can therefore contact the lines 10 or electrical connection contacts 1 with its contacts 96 directly during the insertion. In particular, it is not necessary, after the introduction of the contacting element 95, that it has to be additionally actuated, for example rotated, in order to contact vertically aligned busbars located on the side walls. The structure of the contacting element 95 can thus be significantly simplified overall. At the same time, despite everything, a sufficient number of different contacting options are made available, since the solution according to the invention, as already mentioned, allows a more compact arrangement of the lines 10.

However, it must be ensured that when the lamp 90 or the consumer is installed on the mounting rail 40, the contacts 96 also press against the lines 10 or electrical connection contacts 1 with a sufficient pressing force. In the illustrated embodiment, this is achieved by a corresponding locking mechanism with what is known as a toggle lever mechanism 97. When locking with the help of the laterally protruding clamping arm 98, it is ensured that the toggle mechanism 97 additionally moves the lamp 90 in the direction of the Busbar 45 is pressed, so that a reliable contact is guaranteed. However, a locking by means of a spring, which exerts the required contact pressure or contacting pressure at the position of the contact, is preferred.

FIG. 13 also shows a possibility of designing the lines 10 of a busbar 45 in a special way in order to ensure even better contact. The sectional illustration shown does not relate to the connecting area of two busbar sections, but to the further area of the busbar 45, the lines 10 now being designed as vertically aligned strip conductors which are partially embedded in the line receiving structure 30. In this case, the contact elements 96 of the consumer have laterally bulged spring areas 99 in their end areas, which press against the surface of the lines 10. Thus, there is a rather lateral contact of the lines 10 of the busbar 45, which is preferable for the system shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, because here the contact pressure required for reliable electrical contact from the spring element 99 of the contact element 96 to the lines 10 works. The effect of the force is therefore not opposite to the fastening of the lamp 90 or the consumer on the mounting rail 40, but is perpendicular to it. As a result, the components responsible for the contacting are, so to speak, clamped together and the secure fastening of the light 90 on the mounting rail 40 is thereby additionally reinforced. If necessary, the toggle lever mechanism 97 explained with reference to FIG. 12 could then also be dispensed with, although reliable contacting of the lines is made possible in spite of everything.

Two further variants of a second aspect according to the invention are to be explained below, which in turn make it possible to achieve a more compact arrangement of the lines of a busbar. Again, for the sake of clarity, the line receiving structure and the connecting elements receiving the connecting contacts have not been shown.

In the variant shown in FIGS. 14-17 it is provided that the electrical connection contacts 1 are again arranged next to one another as seen in the longitudinal direction, so that they can in particular also be received in a common connection element. In this case, however, it is now provided that the connecting contacts 1 are arranged alternately in two different planes, as shown in FIGS. 15, 16 and 17. This arrangement of the connection contacts 1 also means that, with regard to the required distances with respect to the creepage distances, the distance between two adjacent connection contacts 1 is not to be considered in projection, but the vertical offset also plays a role here. Since this increases the actual distance between the connecting contacts 1, the lines 10 can again be arranged closer together overall.

In the variant shown in FIGS. 14-17, it is provided that the lines 10 are led out of a common plane only in the connection area, in order to enable the connection contacts 1 to be staggered here. On the other hand, the lines 1 all run parallel to one another in a common plane over the remaining area of the busbars. The variant shown in FIGS. 18-21 is very similar to the variant according to FIGS. 14-17, in particular with regard to the arrangement of the electrical connection contacts 1. Here, too, it is provided that the connection contacts 1 are arranged alternately in two different planes, with the advantages already explained above result in turn. In contrast to the variant in FIGS. 14-17, however, it is now provided that the lines of the 10 busbar sections also run over the entire length in the two different planes.

In both variants it is necessary that, when making the corresponding contact, it is taken into account that there is - at least in sections - a greater distance from the contacting element to the surface of the wire or the line or the electrical connection contact to be contacted. This means that either depending on which lines are to be contacted, the contacts must have a corresponding length or the contacts are designed to be flexible in such a way that they may also include those that are set back to be contacted

Achieve surfaces. Telescopically designed contacts that engage correspondingly far into the recesses of the line receiving structure or of the connecting element could also be provided. A particularly preferred embodiment of the present invention consists in combining the two previously described basic concepts according to the invention with one another. That is, in a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention it is provided that the connection contacts both in the longitudinal direction of the Seen busbar as well as to be arranged offset to one another in a direction perpendicular to this. Ultimately, this variant, which is shown in FIGS. 22 to 27 and is to be described in detail below, leads to the best possible compact arrangement of the lines.

FIGS. 22 and 23 initially show the line sections with the associated electrical connection contacts 1 in a state in which the busbar sections have not yet been connected to one another. FIG. 22 is a perspective view from the contacting side, while, on the other hand, FIG. 23 shows the rear side of the lines 10i, IO2 with the associated connection contacts 1 in perspective. FIG. 24 then shows the lines 10i, IO2 in the connected state.

It can be seen that, analogously to the first exemplary embodiment, the lines 10i, IO2 are divided into two groups, the length of the corresponding line sections being selected alternately in such a way that this first group of lines 10i is connected to one another by electrical connection contacts 1, which in comparison to the electrical connection contacts 1, which connect the second group of lines IO2, are arranged offset in the longitudinal direction. Again, the lines of the first group 10i are connected to one another by connecting contacts 1, which are located at a first position A in the longitudinal direction of the system, while, on the other hand, the lines of the second group IO2 are connected to one another by electrical connecting contacts 1 located at the second position B, analogous to the first exemplary embodiment according to the invention.

In addition, however, in this particularly preferred variant of FIGS. 22 to 27, analogous to the inventive concept of FIGS. 14 to 21, the lines 10i, IO2 with the associated electrical connection contacts 1 are also positioned alternately in two parallel planes in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction are. For example, FIG. 22 shows that here the lines of the second group IO2, viewed from the contacting direction, are positioned above the lines of the first group 10i with the corresponding connection contacts 1. Within the busbar, the lines of the first group 10i will therefore be positioned set back compared to those of the second group IO2.

In this case, too, it is again necessary that the corresponding contacting means of a consumer to be connected to the busbar depending on which lines are to be contacted, either have a corresponding length or are designed to be flexible or telescopic in such a way that they can contact the contacting surfaces of the lines 10i, IO2 of both groups in any case.

Because, according to this further exemplary embodiment, there is an alternating offset of the lines 10i, IO2 and the associated connection contacts 1 in two mutually perpendicular directions, a particularly compact arrangement of the lines 10 with the connection contacts 1 can be achieved, so that the variant shown here is the largest possible Allows the use of lines for a power rail within a given space.

As in the exemplary embodiment in FIGS. 1 to 12, it is provided that, in the preferred variant now discussed, two connection elements 20 are used to accommodate the electrical connection contacts 1 for the respective groups of lines 10i, IO2. FIG. 25 initially shows that the corresponding connection element 20 is designed analogously to that according to FIG. 6, but now the longitudinal channels of the connection element 20, which alternate for receiving the electrical connection contacts 1 or for passing through the lines that are not to be connected (here the lines IO2) are used, are arranged vertically offset from one another. In the assembled state of the connecting elements shown in Figures 26 and 27, so the lines of the second group IO2 are passed through the connecting member 20i so that they withstand the front side and the further current rail portion 45 ₂ can be coupled with the connecting contacts of the connecting member 2O2. The lines of the second group IO2 protrude from the end-face openings of the connecting element 20i, which are arranged offset in comparison to the insertion openings for the lines of the first group 10i in a second plane.

Analogously to the exemplary embodiments described above, the two support rail sections 40i, 402 with the associated busbar sections 45i, 45 ₂ can then be coupled to one another by simply plugging them together. The protruding line ends of the lines 10i, IO2 automatically engage in the corresponding openings of the connecting elements 20i or 2O2 and are coupled to the corresponding electrical connection contacts. The embodiment of FIGS. 24 to 27 thus represents the particularly preferred arrangement of the lines with the connecting contacts, since the two-fold staggered arrangement of the connecting contacts enables extremely narrow line routing within the busbar. With regard to the outlay for connecting the busbar sections, there are no disadvantages compared to the other described embodiments. It is only necessary to ensure that - as already stated above - the electrical units to be connected are able to contact the lines or connection contacts running in two different planes. As already explained with reference to FIGS. 14 to 21, it can be provided that the lines basically run alternately in two different planes or an arrangement is provided in which the lines all run at least in sections along the busbar in one plane, but one plane in the transition area Part of the lines is led out of this level into a second level in order to enable the additional staggered arrangement of the connection contacts here.

Overall, the solutions according to the invention thus open up the possibility of arranging lines of a busbar closer to one another and thus increasing the number of lines available, while the corresponding safety regulations can nevertheless be reliably observed. As a result, the number of contact options for a mounting rail can be increased and the flexibility with regard to the connection of consumers or other components can be increased. At the same time, as explained with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12, the design of any contacting elements can be simplified, so that significant advantages result.

Claims

Expectations

1 . Busbar (45) for lamps (90) or electrical consumers, with a plurality of interconnectable busbar sections (45i, 45 ₂₎ each having a plurality of extending in a longitudinal direction lines (10) for power supply and / or signal transmission, which in a contacting side toward Open grooves of a line receiving structure (30) made of an insulating material are arranged, _{connecting contacts (1) being provided in a connection area of two consecutive busbar sections (45i, 45 2} ), to which the front ends of two lines (10) to be connected are connected and which form a contacting surface (5) accessible from the contacting side, characterized in that the connection contacts (1) are arranged alternately offset at two longitudinal positions (A, B) in the connection area of two consecutive busbar sections (45i, 45S).

2. Busbar according to claim 1, characterized in that the lines (10) of a busbar section (45i, 45 ₂ ) protrude with alternating lengths over the insulating line receiving structure (30).

3. busbar according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the connecting contacts (1) are arranged in connecting elements (20) which consist of an insulating material and the grooves of the line receiving structure (30) have corresponding groove-like recesses.

4. Busbar according to claim 2 and 3, characterized in that two connecting elements (20i, 2O2) are provided in the connection area of two successive busbar sections, each of which is assigned to one of the busbar sections and in their groove-like recesses each alternating connection contact (1) and one over the connecting element (20) extending line (10) of the Busbar section are arranged such that the contacting surface (5) or the line (10) is accessible via the groove-shaped recess.

5. Busbar according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the lines (10) in the connection area of two successive busbar sections are arranged alternately in two substantially parallel planes and are connected to one another here by the connecting contacts (1).

6. Busbar (45) for lights (90) or electrical consumers, with several interconnectable busbar sections (45i, 45 ₂ ), each of which has several lines (10) running in a longitudinal direction for power supply and / or signal transmission, which are connected to a Grooves, which are open towards the contacting side, of a line receiving structure (30) made of an insulating material are arranged, connecting contacts (1) being provided in a connection area of two consecutive busbar sections (45i, 452), to which the front ends of two lines (10) to be connected to one another are provided. are connected and which form a contacting surface (5) accessible from the contacting side, characterized in that the lines (10) in the connection area of two successive busbar sections are alternately arranged in two substantially parallel planes and here through the connection ontacts (1) are connected to each other.

7. Busbar according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that the lines (10) of the busbar sections run outside a connection area in a common plane.

8. Busbar according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that the lines (10) of the busbar sections are arranged over the substantially entire length of the busbar in two parallel planes.

9. busbar for lights according to claim 6 or one of claims 7 and 8 in reference to claim 6, characterized in that the connecting contacts (1) are arranged in connecting elements which have the grooves of the line receiving structure (30) corresponding groove-like recesses, wherein Connection contacts (1) are mounted in such a way that the contact surfaces (5) are accessible via the groove-shaped recesses.

10. busbar for lights according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the connecting contacts (1) each have an elongated contacting plate (2) which forms the contacting surface (5) and at the ends of each clamping or spring contacts (3) for clamping the lines (10) to be connected to the connecting contact (1) are arranged.

11. Busbar according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the line receiving structure (30) of the busbar sections consisting of the insulating material consists of several plastic parts joined together in the longitudinal direction, which are preferably formed by injection molded parts, the lines being inserted into the grooves of the joined plastic parts.

12. Busbar according to one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that the line receiving structure (30) of the busbar sections made of the insulating material consists of a plastic part produced by an extrusion process, the lines (10) preferably being partially embedded in the plastic material.

13. Busbar according to claim 12, characterized in that lines (10) are designed as strip conductors.

14. Support rail (40) for lights (90) or electrical units, which has a support rail profile (41) and at least one busbar (45) held by the support rail profile (41) according to one of the preceding claims.

15. Support rail according to claim 14, characterized in that the support rail profile encloses an elongated receiving space in which the busbar (45) is arranged.

16. Support rail according to claim 15, characterized in that the support rail profile (41) encloses an elongated receiving space which is open on one longitudinal side, wherein the busbar (45) is preferably arranged on a wall (42) of the support rail profile (41) opposite the opening is.