FR2504772A1 - Removable component housing incorporated in display control panel - comprises U=shaped cover and outer sleeve acting as resilient locking clip applying lateral pressure - Google Patents

Abstract

The component housing has a cover (3) which is fitted into an opening (1) formed in the surface of the panel (2). The front edges of the cover (3) have a peripheral lip (8,9) which abuts the periphery of the opening (1). A sliding sleeve (4) acting as a locking clip is then pushed over the cover from behind the panel (2) and is pressed against the rear of the panel (2) under the action of a bolt carried by the component. Pref. the sleeve (4) comprises a split tube with resilience tending to close the distance between the two split sides, so that it presses against the outside of the cover. The housing is intended to facilitate maintenance, e.g. for an aircraft instrument panel.

Description

The present invention relates to a removable housing for an electrical or electronic component mounted on a panel.

It is known that many installations and aircraft require, for monitoring their operation, tables on which a plurality of alarm, monitoring or control devices are assembled, such as indicator lights, relays, etc. The multiplicity of functions to be monitored or controlled generally means that the number of these devices must be very large; the individual size of these is therefore relatively small and their density high.

For obvious maintenance purposes, it is essential that said devices are easily removable from said panels.

We already know, especially by the American patent
N03 090 949, a box for electrical or electronic component, intended to be mounted in an opening provided in a panel or board. This casing is open in its front face so as to allow the component to be put in and disassembled through said front face of the casing, which is generally closable by a transparent or translucent plate, the component and the casing being secured by plugging .

Thus, it is possible to remove the component from the housing when the latter is fixed to the panel. To do this, this known housing comprises a sheath to be introduced into the corresponding opening of the panel and provided at its front end with a flange intended to come into abutment against the edges of said opening, on the front side of said panel, and means blocking blocking said sheath in position when said flange is applied against the switchboard.These blocking means comprise, on the one hand, at least one movable latch carried by the sheath and movable by rotation of a screw rotatably mounted on said sheath and accessible from the outside through the open front face of the housing and, on the other hand, a slide capable of being brought into engagement with said movable lock to be pressed against the rear face of said panel. Thus, the case can be fixed to the panel by pinching the edges of said opening.

In such a case, the assembly and disassembly of the electrical or electronic component in the case is easy, since they require only a simple pinout or # pinning. In addition, the locking means being independent of the component, the housing remains securely fixed to the switchboard when said component is removed from the case.

However, now, in a standardized manner, the components carry their own movable lock intended to cooperate with the slide and the corresponding actuating screw.

Thus, owing to the fact that the lock is integral with the component and no longer with the sheath, as soon as the component is dismantled, the slide is no longer pressed against the rear face of the panel, so that the housing tends to become detached of the panel.

The object of the present invention is to remedy this drawback.

To this end, according to the invention, the housing for an electrical or electronic component intended to be mounted in an opening provided in a panel and comprising a sheath to be introduced into said opening and provided at its front end with a flange intended to come resting against the edges of said opening, on the front side of said panel, and a movable locking slide relative to said sheath and coming to press the rear face of said panel under the action of a movable lock carried by said component, is remarkable in that said slide has the at least approximate shape of an envelope of said sleeve pressing elastically and transversely at least a part of it.

Thus, when the component is removed from the housing and there is no longer any locking between the sheath and the slider, these elements are held integral with one another thanks to the elastic pressure exerted by the slider on the sheath.

In an advantageous embodiment, the slide has a tubular shape split longitudinally and it is provided with its own elasticity tending to bring the edges of the slot closer together.

The sheath and the slide can have a quadrangular section and, in this case, the slide can press # two opposite edges of the sheath. The slide can be formed by a blade of a rigid and elastic material folded.

In an alternative embodiment, the edges of the slider slot have irregularities which cooperate elastically with at least one element integral with the sheath to allow a plurality of marked relative positions between the sheath and the slider. These irregulars can be notches, which cooperate with a pin integral with the sheath. Preferably, the pin has an enlarged head and the edges of the slit slot sQnt between the sheath and said head of the pin.

In the case where the elastic forces applied by the slider on the sheath are large, in order to facilitate the mounting and dismounting of the slider on the sheath, the said sheath has an openwork structure so as to allow a tool inserted therein , to be able to widen the slide transversely, against the proper elastic action of the latter. To this end, the sheath can have two opposite opposite walls and be open between said walls and the slider externally envelops the sheath to close it between said walls, the longitudinal slot of the slider being opposite one of said walls.

 The sheath can also consist of a folded blade.

The figures of the appended drawing will make it clear how the invention can be implemented.

Figure 1 is an exploded perspective view of the housing according to the invention.

Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the housing according to the invention, mounted on a panel.

Figure 3 is an enlarged schematic cross section of a slider according to the invention.

Figure 4 is a schematic cross section of an alternative embodiment of the sleeve according to the invention.

FIG. 5 illustrates, in cross section, the assembly of the slide of FIG. 3 on the sheath of FIG. 4.

Figure 6 schematically illustrates an alternative embodiment of the boot maker according to the invention.

Figure 7 illustrates in perspective a tool to facilitate the assembly and disassembly of the shoemaker according to the invention.

The component housing according to the invention, intended to be fixed in a rectangular opening 1 of a table or panel 2, comprises a sheath 3 and a slide 4 (see FIG. 1-).

The sheath 3 is constituted by an elastic blade curved in the shape of a U comprising two parallel branches 5 and 6, connected to each other by a bridge 7. At their free ends opposite the bridge 7, the branches 5 and 6 have respective flanges 8 and 9, directed outwards. Between them, the branches 5 and 6 delimit a space 10 of rectangular section and open on both sides (between the respective parallel edges of the branches 5 and 6). At the bottom of the space 10, in the vicinity of the bridge 7, an electrical connection block 11 is arranged. An opening 12 is made in the branch 6.

The slider 4 (see also FIG. 3) is formed by a strip of elastic sheet metal folded to the shape of the sheath 3, the inner section of said slider corresponding to the outer section of the sheath 3. The edges 13 and 14 of the slider 4 spare between them a slot 15, and the slide undergoes the action of a permanent elastic deformation such that the edges 13 and 14 tend to approach each other.

To mount the housing according to the invention on the wall 2, (see also Figures 2 and 5), one begins by introducing the sheath 3 through the opening 1, through its bridge 7, until the flanges 8 and 9 come to bear on the front face 2a of the panel 2. Then, the part of the sheath 3 placed on the side of the #face rear 2b of the panel 2 is threaded into the elastic slide 4, which clamps said sheath 3, in particular on the lateral edges of the branch 5.

Optionally, as shown in Figures 4 and 5, the branch 5 has legs 16 and 17, parallel to the rest of said branch, but spaced from it and the edges 13 and 14 are housed between said legs and branch 5 .

When the housing 3,4 according to the invention is fixed to the wall 2 thanks to the elastic tightening of the slide 4 on the sheath 3, it is possible to introduce into the space 10 a component 18, provided with a lug 19 ( retracted during the introduction). The component 18 is engaged on the block 11 and the lug 19 comes opposite the opening 12 in the spindle 6 of the sleeve 3 and one of several openings 20 provided in the slide 4. By rotation of a screw carried by the component 18 and accessible from the outside between the flanges 8 and 9, it is made so that the lug 19 presses the slide 4 between the rear face 2b.

It can thus be seen that during the mounting of the component 18 in the housing 3,4, the latter remains firmly fixed to the wall 2. The same is true during the dismantling of the said component.

In Figure 6, an alternative embodiment of the invention has been shown. In this alternative embodiment, the branch 5 of the sheath 3 carries at least one stud 21, optionally provided with a large head 22. In this case, the edges 13 and 14 of the slot 15 of the slide 4 have notches facing 23 , 24 capable of pressing the stud or pin 21, between its head 22 and the branch 5.

Thus, several possible relative marked positions are obtained between the sleeve 3 and the slide 4.

 In the case where the elastic pressure exerted by the slider 4 on the sheath 3 is high, it is possible to use, for mounting and dismounting the slider on the sheath, a spacer clamp 25 of the type shown by Figure 7. This clamp has two bearing surface 26,27 which come into contact with the faces 4a and 4b of the slide 4 to spread them apart (by the rear of the pannea 2 directly in the slide 4 and / or by the before through the opening 1 and the sheath 3) and facilitate the relative movement of said slide on the sheath.

Optionally, the clamp 25 can be bent (as indicated by the dotted line 28) to allow the assembly and disassembly of the boot according to the invention in congested areas.

Claims (10)

 1.bottle for electrical or electronic component intended to be mounted in an opening (1) provided in a panel (2) and comprising a sheath (3) to be introduced into said opening (1) and provided at its front end with a flange (8,9) intended to bear against the edges of said opening (2), on the front side of said panel (1), and a locking slide (4) movable relative to said sheath (3) and pressing the face rear of said panel (1) under the action of a movable lock carried by said component, characterized in that said slide (4) has the shape at least approximately of an envelope of said sheath (3) pressing elastically and transversely at least part of it. 2. Housing according to claim 1, characterized in that the slide (4) has a longitudinally split tubular shape and is provided with its own elasticity tending to bring the edges (13,14) of the slot closer together. 3. Bottier according to one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that the sheath (3) and the slide (4) have a quadrangular section and in that the slide (4) presses two opposite edges of the sheath (3) . 4. Bootmaker according to one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that the edges (13,14) of the slider slot (4) have irregularities (23,24) which cooperate elastically with at least one element (21 ) integral with the sheath (3) to allow a plurality of marked relative positions between the sheath and the slide. 5. Housing according to claim 4, characterized in that the irregularities are notches (22,23) which cooperate with a pin (21) integral with the sheath (3). 6. Housing according to claim 5, characterized in that the pin (21) has an enlarged head (22) and the edges of the slot (15) of the slide are between the sheath (3) and said head (22) of the pawn. 7. Housing according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the sheath (3) has an openwork structure so as to allow a tool (25) inserted therein to be able to widen the slide (4) transversely, against its own elastic action.  8. Housing according to claim 7, characterized in that the sheath (3) has two opposite walls (5,6) opposite and is open between said walls, the slide (4) externally enveloping the sheath (3) for the closing off between these walls (5,6), the longitudinal slot (15) of the slide located opposite one of said walls (5,6). 9. Housing according to any one of claims 1 8, characterized in that the slide (4) is formed by a blade of a rigid and elastic material folded. 10. Housing according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the sheath (3) consists of a folded blade.