ES2728090T3 - Power supply with pivot lever connection terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

Power supply (10) with a casing (12) and at least one electrical connection terminal (30, 32) for connecting primary and/or secondary conductors to the power supply (10), wherein - the casing (12) It has two essentially parallel main surfaces (20, 22) and a peripheral surface (24), characterized in that - to connect the conductors to the connection terminal (30, 32) at least one lever (34, 36, 42) is provided , 44) assigned to be pivotally mounted and operable from the outside of the casing (12), - with the casing (12) not mounted, the lever (34, 36, 42, 44) is pivotable between a closed position and a closed position open, - the lever (34, 36, 42, 44) is not pivotable from the closed to the open position if the casing (12) is mounted with one of its main surfaces (20) on a wall, and - the lever (34, 36, 42, 44) is pivotally mounted such that the lever (34, 36, 42, 44) pivots away from the peripheral surface (24) or away from the peripheral surface (24) and a main surface ( 20) from the casing (12) when the lever (34, 36, 42, 44) is pivoted from the closed position to the open position.

Description

DESCRIPTION

Power supply with pivot lever connection terminal

The present invention relates to a power supply with a housing and at least one electrical connection terminal that is used to connect primary and / or secondary conductors to the power supply. A power supply of this type is basically known and generally includes a transformer that transforms an alternating current voltage applied by means of the primary conductors into a lower voltage that is taken through the secondary conductors. In addition, the power supply may include electrical circuits that perform a rectification and / or stabilization of the transformed voltage. For example, the power supply can convert a mains voltage of 230 V with a frequency of 50 Hz into a stabilized DC voltage of 12 V.

To connect a conductor to the connection terminal, the end of the respective conductor must be attached to the connection terminal in such a way that an involuntary disconnection of the conductor from the connection terminal is avoided and an electrical contact of the conductor is guaranteed. For this purpose, a threaded terminal disposed within the housing is conventionally used, where a screw rotates through an opening of the housing to fix an end of the conductor inserted into the connection terminal on the connection terminal. Such a connection of a conductor is perceived by some installers as uncomfortable because the necessary fastening of the conductor and the housing, on the one hand, and the simultaneous rotation of the screw by means of a screwdriver, on the other hand, require special manual skills .

As an alternative to a threaded terminal, an elastic terminal that allows simplified connection of the conductor can be used by manually operating an assigned lever. However, an elastic terminal is disadvantageous compared to a threaded terminal in the sense that it requires more space. This aspect is particularly important if the power supply must not exceed predetermined dimensions, for example if the power supply is to be mounted in a standard flush-mounted box.

In addition, the risk of unwanted disconnection of a conductor connected to an elastic terminal increases compared to a threaded terminal, since the activation button of the elastic terminal, especially if it is accessible from the outside of the housing, can easily be released from unintentionally, for example during assembly of the housing.

From EP 1865578 A1 and DE 102013 109875 B3, electrical installation equipment for mounting in flush-mounted boxes is known in each case in which the contact of an electrical conductor is produced by means of a connection terminal with a pivotally mounted lever, which can be operated from outside the electrical installation equipment. In the case of unmounted installation equipment, the lever is pivotable between a closed position and an open position.

EP 0915537 A1 also discloses an electrical installation equipment for mounting in flush-mounted boxes, in which to connect the electrical conductors with the installation equipment, elastic terminals operated by means of a push-button are provided.

From EP1237269 A2 a switching power supply is known with a housing having two substantially parallel main surfaces and a peripheral surface, and at least one electrical connection terminal for connecting primary and / or secondary conductors to the power supply, where the connection terminal is shaped like a threaded terminal.

Therefore, an objective of the invention is to create a power supply of the type mentioned at the beginning that, on the one hand, allows a simple installation and, on the other hand, avoids the mentioned disadvantages.

This objective is achieved by the features of claim 1.

The solution according to the invention benefits, on the one hand, from the advantages of an easy installation, since, to connect a conductor, the corresponding conductor end is inserted into the connection terminal and the lever is operated merely in a manner manual, that is, it must be pivoted from the open position to the closed position. A separate tool is not necessary. In order for the lever to be easily operated from the outside of the housing, the lever is preferably located close to the peripheral surface, so that the terminal connecting with the lever occupies as little space as possible inside the housing.

On the other hand, in the invention the problem of the subsequent unintentional disconnection of a connected conductor is avoided, since in the assembled state of the housing it is not possible to pivot the lever from the closed position to the open position.

The mounted state is when the housing is mounted with one of its main surfaces on a wall. The respective main surface may in particular contact the surface of the wall, or at least be separated from the surface of the wall at a minimum distance. In accordance with the invention, it is merely important that a spatial proximity be made between the wall and the housing that is appropriate to restrict the pivotibility of the lever to exclude at least one pivoting of the lever to the open position. Therefore, the wall constitutes in this case a stop section that is in the path of movement of the lever and thus limits the pivotability. In particular, during pivoting the lever can pivot out of the housing and be locked by the wall.

According to the invention, the lever is pivotally mounted so that the lever pivots outward from a main surface and / or the peripheral surface of the housing in the course of a pivot from the closed position to the open position. Pivoting outward from the peripheral surface is particularly advantageous if the power supply is mounted in a flush-mounted box and an inner peripheral surface of the flush-mounted box is facing the peripheral (outer) surface of the housing. The lever is blocked in this case by the inner peripheral surface and, therefore, is particularly well secured with respect to an unwanted pivot. Alternatively or additionally, the lever or a section thereof can pivot out of a main surface, in particular the main surface mounted on the wall.

The wall in question may in particular be the wall of a room or the wall of a housing or a flush-mounted box. So that the housing can be mounted in a common flush-mounted box with an inner diameter of 55 mm, the housing preferably has a properly sized shape, so that it can be inscribed in the inner circumference of the flush-mounted box and be completely housed inside from the box.

The housing preferably has the shape of a hollow cylinder or a prism, in which the peripheral surface is in the form of a cylinder liner or a prism liner. The main surfaces of the housing are perpendicular to the peripheral surface of the housing.

Advantageous embodiments of the invention are described in the descriptions, drawings and secondary claims.

According to a first embodiment, a main surface is spaced closer to an axis of rotation of the lever than the other main surface, the housing being mounted on one of the main surfaces. In other words, the axis of rotation is arranged asymmetrically with respect to the two main surfaces. In this way, the pivot range of the lever can be assigned to one of the main surfaces on which, for example, the lever only moves outward from the assigned main surface when the lever is pivoted from the closed position to the open position The respective main surface is preferably that main surface through which the housing is mounted on the wall.

According to an improvement of the invention, the housing has a recessed housing in which the lever in the closed position is totally or partially retractable. In this way, the lever is protected against unintentional pivoting outside a carcass surface. However, at the same time, the lever can also be operated from the outside of the housing so that the conductors can easily connect to the connection terminal without special tools. In the closed position, the lever may slightly protrude from the peripheral surface, that is, the lever may be inserted, but not completely into the recessed housing. In this way, in particular, a lever travel can be shortened, whereby the lever is kept particularly secure in the closed position. Additionally, a section of the lever can be supported on the wall or on an inner peripheral surface of a flush-mounted box or a wall of a wall recess, when the housing is mounted on the wall or on the flush-mounted box.

According to a further embodiment, the lever in the closed position ends at least essentially flush with a main surface and / or the peripheral surface of the housing. As a result, an installer can pivot the lever more easily to the closed position and also perceive manually when the lever is flush with the housing and, correspondingly, closed. In addition, when the lever is in the closed position it is immediately visible from the outside.

The lever may have at least one elevation that extends outwardly away from the lever with respect to the housing. In particular, the lever may have a profile with a plurality of elevations or projections directed outwards, whereby a surface of the lever away from the housing is uneven. Then, the installer can easily operate the lever without slipping. Furthermore, by means of a protuberance, the minimum distance from the lever to the wall can be shortened, so that the pivotibility of the lever is particularly effectively limited when the housing is mounted.

According to an improvement, the peripheral surface has at least one flattened section in which the connection terminal is provided. In this case, a plurality of levers may be advantageously arranged, in particular side by side, where the levers in the closed position may slightly protrude from the plane of the flattened section, without forming a disturbing projection with respect to the housing.

The connection terminal can have two parallel aligned levers that, in particular, are connected to each other fixed in terms of rotation. A fixed coupling in terms of rotation can facilitate the connection of the conductors to the connection terminal, especially if the connection terminal is small, since, for example, two primary conductors (forward and return conductors) can be connected with one handle, that is, a separate and problematic connection of individual conductors can be omitted. In addition, the levers can be arranged in the connection terminal dimensioned more compactly and less spaced apart.

According to a preferred embodiment, a first connection terminal is provided for connecting the primary conductors and a second connection terminal for connecting the secondary conductors, the first connection terminal being diametrically facing the second connection terminal. The first connection terminal is assigned at least a first lever and a second connection terminal is assigned at least a second lever, the two levers being mounted pivotally such that they are pivotable outward, at least section by section in opposite directions, from the peripheral surface and / or a main surface of the housing, when they are pivoted from the closed position to the open position. In particular, the levers can be pivotally mounted so that they pivot outwardly from both the peripheral surface and from that main surface with which the housing is mounted on the wall. This embodiment is particularly advantageous if the housing is mounted in a flush-mounted box, since in this case the involuntary pivoting of the lever from the closed position to the open position is particularly effectively avoided.

According to an improvement, the peripheral surface has a first flat section and a second flat section diametrically facing, where the first connection terminal is provided in the first flat section and the second connection terminal in the second flat section.

The first lever and the second lever may differ from each other in regard to their shape. In this way the information can be provided to the installer, both visually and tactilely, on which of the two terminals the primary and secondary conductors must be connected.

To secure the housing on a wall, the housing may have at least two fixing sections in the area of the perimeter surface that are, in particular, arranged in the housing, in particular diametrically facing each other. The fixing sections can be shaped, for example, as hollow cylindrical channels extending through the housing between the main surfaces.

According to one embodiment, the fixing sections are arranged on the peripheral surface, that is to say that the fixing sections extend within the peripheral surface and, therefore, are especially space-saving with respect to a housing as large as possible. of the housing. A fixing section can be shaped as a hollow cylinder or as an essentially hollow cylindrical groove.

A slot of this type may in particular be complementary to a fixing section of a recessed box in which the housing is to be mounted. In this case, the housing can be mounted, for example, simply by inserting the housing into the flush-mounted box, without the need for additional tools or screws for mounting. According to further refinement, at least one wall section of the groove protrudes outward from the peripheral surface. As a result, the groove is arranged in the housing, on the one hand saving even more space with respect to the housing housing space. On the other hand, the protruding wall section of the groove can ensure flexibility of the groove, for example because the wall section can be bent radially outwards due to elastic properties. Therefore, in order to use the power supply as universally as possible, the slot can be compatible, in particular, with fixing sections of different dimensions of embedding boxes.

Next, the present invention is described by way of a pure example by an advantageous embodiment and with reference to the accompanying drawings. They show:

Figure 1, a perspective view of a power supply according to the invention;

Figure 2, a top view on the power supply of Figure 1.

Figure 1 shows a power supply 10 according to the invention with a housing 12 in which a transformer device (not shown) is housed. The housing 12 is made up of two parts, where an upper part 14 is connected by means of hook connections 16, 17 with a lower part 18. For the connection of the upper part 14 with the lower part 18 other connections are provided. hitch that, however, are not visible in figure 1 due to the oblique perspective from above. The housing 12 has two parallel main surfaces 20, 22 and a peripheral surface 24 perpendicular thereto. The housing 12 is substantially cylindrical shaped, the peripheral surface 24 including a first flattened section 26 and a second flattened section 28 that are parallel and diametrically opposed with respect to the housing 12.

In the first flattened section 26, a first connection terminal 30 is provided to connect two primary conductors (not shown). In the first flattened section 28 a second connection terminal 32 is provided to connect two secondary conductors (not shown).

Two levers 34, 36 are pivotally mounted on the first connection terminal 30, the levers 34, 36 of Figure 1 being in their closed position in which the levers 34, 36 are aligned, at least essentially, parallel to the peripheral surface. The levers 34, 36 are pivotable on a rotation axis 38 in a direction 40, where the rotation range is approximately 90 °. Therefore, at least essentially the levers in the open position are aligned parallel to the main surface 20. If the levers 34, 36 are pivoted from the closed position to the open position, the levers 34, 36 pivot out section per section, both from the peripheral surface 24 and from the main surface 20.

In the second flattened section 28, the second connection terminal 32, symmetrical by reflection, is correspondingly formed with respect to the first connection terminal 30. The second connection terminal 32 includes levers 42, 44 which are pivotally mounted on the second terminal of connection 32 and are pivotable about an axis of rotation 46 from the closed position shown in figure 1 in a direction 48, where the levers 42, 44 pivot outward both from the peripheral surface 24 and from the main surface 20. In the open position, the levers 42, 44 are aligned, at least essentially, parallel to the main surface 20 of the housing 12. Due to the diametrically facing arrangement of the first connection terminal 30 with the second connection terminals 32 , the levers 34, 36 pivot, in comparison with the levers 42, 44, out of the housing 12 at least section by section in opposite directions.

The housing 12 is mounted, for example, with the main surface 20 on an inner wall (not shown) of a hollow cylindrical recessed box (not shown), the main surface 20 being supported on the inner wall. At the same time, the peripheral surface 24 of an inner peripheral surface (not shown) is in the assembled state facing the flush-mounted box. The levers 34, 36, 42, 44 are, in this case, doubly secured against a pivot from the closed position to the open position.

The housing 12 has a recessed housing 50 in the area of the first connection terminal 30 in which the levers 34, 36 are partially submerged when the levers 34, 36, as shown in Figure 1, are in their closed position . In the closed position, the levers 34, 36 emerge slightly from the peripheral surface 24. The lever 34 has two elevations 52, 54 on its side away from the housing 12. The lever 36 conforms correspondingly with respect to the lever 34. Of the same Thus, the levers 42, 44 of the second connection terminal 32 conform correspondingly to the levers 34, 36. However, it is also possible that the pairs of levers differ from each other so as to visually and tactically differentiate the first connection terminal 30 and the second connection terminal 32.

The housing 12 further includes two fixing sections 56, 58 that extend through the peripheral surface 24 diametrically facing each other. The fixing sections 56, 58 are each shaped as a hollow cylindrical groove.

In Figure 2, the power supply 10 of Figure 1 is shown in a top view on the main surface 20 of the housing 12. Two wall sections 60, 62 of the fixing section 58 emerge from the peripheral surface 24 of the housing 12, the fixing section 56 facing correspondingly facing the fixing section 58.

The housing 12 is sized so that it can be inserted into a commercial flush-mounted box (not shown) with an inside diameter of 55 mm. In each case, a cylindrical section (not shown) molded to the flush-mounted box fits into the respective hollow cylindrical fixing sections 56, 58, whereby two corresponding tightening connections are formed in positive connection, whereby the housing 12 It is mounted without special tools in the inlay box.

Reference List

10 power supply

12 housing

14 top

16 hitch connection

17 hitch connection

18 bottom

20 main surface

22 main surface

24 perimeter surface

26 flattened section

28 flattened section

connection terminal lever connection terminal

lever

axis of rotation

pivot direction lever

lever

axis of rotation

recessed pivoting direction of hoisting housing

elevation

fixing section fixing section wall section wall section

Claims (14)

1. Power supply (10) with a housing (12) and at least one electrical connection terminal (30, 32) to connect primary and / or secondary conductors to the power supply (10), where - the housing (12) has two main surfaces (20, 22) essentially parallel and a peripheral surface (24), characterized by that, - to connect the conductors to the connection terminal (30, 32), at least one assigned lever (34, 36, 42, 44) is provided which is pivotally mounted and operable from the outside of the housing (12), - with the housing (12) not mounted, the lever (34, 36, 42, 44) is pivotable between a closed position and an open position, - the lever (34, 36, 42, 44) is not pivotable from the closed position to the open position if the housing (12) is mounted with one of its main surfaces (20) on a wall, and - the lever (34, 36, 42, 44) is pivotally mounted such that the lever (34, 36, 42, 44) pivots out of the peripheral surface (24) or out of the peripheral surface (24) and a main surface (20) of the housing (12) when the lever (34, 36, 42, 44) is pivoted from the closed position to the open position. 2. Power supply (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that a main surface (20) is spaced closer to an axis of rotation (38, 46) of the lever (34, 36, 42, 44) than the another main surface (22), the housing (12) being mounted on one of the main surfaces (20). 3. Power supply (10) according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the housing (12) has a housing recess (50) in which the lever (34, 36, 42, 44) in the position Closed is totally or partially retractable. 4. Power supply (10) according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the lever (34, 36, 42, 44) in the closed position ends, at least essentially, flush with a main surface ( 20) and / or the peripheral surface (24) of the housing (12). 5. Power supply (10) according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the lever (34, 36, 42, 44) has at least one elevation (52, 54) extending outwardly away from the lever (34, 36, 42, 44) with respect to the housing (12). 6. Power supply (10) according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the peripheral surface (24) has at least one flattened section (26, 28) in which the connection terminal (30, 32). 7. Power supply (10) according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the connecting terminal (30, 32) has two parallel aligned levers (34, 36, 42, 44) which, in particular, are connected each other fixed in terms of rotation. 8. Power supply (10) according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a first connection terminal (30) is provided for connecting the primary conductors and a second connection terminal (32) for connecting the secondary conductors, the first connection terminal (30) being diametrically facing the second connection terminal (32), wherein the first connection terminal (30) is assigned at least a first lever (34, 36) and a second connection terminal (32 ) is assigned at least a second lever (42, 44), and the two levers (34, 36, 42, 44) are pivotally mounted so that they pivot outward, at least section by section in opposite directions (40, 48 ), from the peripheral surface (24) or from a main surface (24) and a main surface (20) of the housing (12), when pivoted from the closed position to the open position. 9. Power supply (10) according to claim 8, characterized in that the peripheral surface (24) has a first flat section (26) and a second flat section (28) diametrically facing, wherein the first connection terminal (30 ) is provided in the first flattened section (26) and the second connection terminal (32) in the second flattened section (28). 10. Power supply (10) according to claims 8 or 9, characterized in that the first lever (34, 36) and the second lever (42, 44) differ from each other in terms of their shape. 11. Power supply (10) according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the housing (12) has at least two fixing sections (56, 58) in the area of the perimeter surface (24) for the fixing of the housing (12) on a wall, the fixing sections (56, 58) being arranged in the housing (12), in particular diametrically facing each other. 12. Power supply (10) according to claim 11, characterized in that a fixing section (56, 58) is disposed on the perimeter surface (24). 13. Power supply (10) according to claims 11 or 12, characterized in that a fixing section (56, 58) is formed as an essentially hollow cylindrical groove. 14. Power supply (10) according to claim 13, characterized in that at least one wall section (60, 62) of the groove protrudes outward from the peripheral surface (24).