GB2312797A

GB2312797A - An electrical-energy distribution board

Info

Publication number: GB2312797A
Application number: GB9707721A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Gianpaolo Rossetti
Original assignee: BTicino SpA
Current assignee: BTicino SpA
Priority date: 1996-04-18
Filing date: 1997-04-16
Publication date: 1997-11-05
Also published as: CO4600618A1; IT1283746B1; ITMI960750A0; ITMI960750A1; MX9702804A; GB9707721D0

Abstract

An electrical distribution board comprises a main switch (20), a plurality of secondary switches (26), electrical conductors (27-30) which connect the secondary switches (26) to the main switch (20), and means (20b, 21, 24) for mounting the switches on the base (22) of the board. To achieve quick and easy assembly of the board with the use of secondary switches of different shapes and sizes, a body of insulating material (21), partly omitted for clarity is provided, fixed removably to the base (22 ) the electrical conductors being incorporated in the body (21) in the form of substantially rigid metal elements (27-29) with ends (27a, 29) projecting from the body for connection to the main switch (20) and to the secondary switches (26).

Description

AN ELECTRICAL - ENERGY DISTRIBUTION BOARD The present invention relates to electrical energy distribution boards and, more particularly, to an electrical distribution board comprising: a box-like support and housing structure having a front panel with openings and a base, a unit with a main switch having input connectors for electrical connection to supply conductors and output connectors, a plurality of secondary switches having respective input and output connectors, electrical conductors which electrically connect the input connectors of the secondary switches to respective output connectors of the unit with the main switch, and first and second mounting means for fixing the unit with the main switch, and the secondary switches, respectively, to the base of the board in a manner such that the operating and indicating elements of the switches are arranged in predetermined positions in which they are accessible and visible through the openings in the front panel.

Electrical distribution boards of the type described above are used mainly for supplying electrical-energy distribution networks of residential or industrial units with overall power loads of between 250 and 500 kw. Switches of various shapes and sizes are available on the market for these applications and the type of switch to be used in the case in question is therefore taken into account in the construction of electrical distribution boards. More particularly, after selecting a support and housing structure of suitable dimensions, the fitter arranges mounting accessories suitable for the preselected switches, fixes these accessories to the base of the support structure, fits the electrical devices, that is, the switches and any other electrical devices, makes the necessary electrical connections between the unit with the main switch and the secondary switches using, for this purpose, any interconnection modules which may be available or generic electrical conductors such as wires and metal strips, and, finally, fits a front closure panel having openings formed beforehand in the region of the operating and indicating elements of the electrical devices fitted.

The object of the present invention is to propose an electrical distribution board which is suitable for quick and easy fitting with any type of switch.

This object is achieved according to the invention, by virtue of the fact that the electrical di.stribution board comprises a body of insulating material fixed removably to the base, and that the electrical conductors comprise substantially rigid metal elements incorpora ed in the insulating body and having first end portions projecting from the insulating body for connection to the output connectors of the unit with the main switch, and second end pcr ih..S: for connection to the input connectors of the secoi-i:3ry siics.

The invention will be understood better from the following detailed description of two embodiments given by way of nonlimiting example with reference to the appended drawings, in which: Figure 1 shows a generic electrical distribution board which can be formed in accordance with the invention, seen from the front, Figure 2 is a perspective view, not to scale, of a portion of the electrical distribution board of Figure 1, without the front panel and with portions removed in order to show the interior in accordance with a first embodiment of the invention, Figure 3 is a sectioned view of a portion of the board of Figure 2, Figure 4 is a perspective view of a portion of the electrical distribution board of Figure 1, in accordance with a second embodiment of the invention, and Figure 5 is a sectioned view of a portion of the board of Figure 4.

As can be seen in Figure 1, a generic electrical distribution board comprises a box-like support and housing structure 10 in the form of a fastenable cabinet with walls, a door 11, a glass window 12, and a lock 13. A front panel 14 covers the components and the internal structures of the board, leaving visible and accessible through suitable openings only the operating and indicating elements 15 of a main switch and the operating and indicating elements 16 of a plurality of secondary switches arranged in two parallel, vertical rows.

Figure 2 shows a unit 20 which, in this embodiment, is constituted solely by a main switch but which could also include a differential protection device and/or other electrical apparatus or devices, and which is fixed to the base 22 of the board by means of screws 20a and spacer mounting means 20b of a thickness such as to bring the operating and indicating elements 15 and 16 to the correct level so that they appear through the openings in the panel 14, as can be seen in Figure 1.

Also visible in Figure 1 and in section in Figure 2 are a body 21 of insulating material, for example, a plastics material fixed to the base 22 of the board by screws 21a, as well as two shaped plates 24 which are also fixed to the base 22 of the board by screws 21a and each of which has a rail 24b for the interlocked mounting of standardized switches 26.

Substantially rigid metal elements are housed in suitable seats in the body 21 and have terminals outside the body. More particularly, the metal elements are constituted by three parallel copper bars 27 and by appendages 28 also of copper, welded to the bars and extending perpendicular to the bars at substantially regular intervals, each appendage having two ends, all indicated 29, projecting from the body. The projecting ends 29 form two opposed comb-like structures disposed in the same plane.

The dimensions of the body 21 and of the plates 24, the spacing and the dimensions of the ends 29 of the comb-like structures, and the relative arrangement of their various parts are such that each of the switches 26 is disposed with its input connector or terminal in the region of an end 29. In this embodiment, each of three adjacent switches is connected to one of the bars 27 and the switches have their operating levers connected to one another. They can therefore put the three terminals of a user circuit, not shown, connected to the output connectors or terminals of the three switches, into communication with the three supply phases supplied to the three bars 27. This takes place by means of rigid copper connectors 30 each fixed, on the one hand, to an end 27a of one of the bars 27 by a screw 31 and, on the other hand, to an output connector of the main switch 20. The input connectors of the main switch are generally intended to be connected to three supply leads of the electrical distribution board, not shown.

The dimensions of the mounting means, that is, the dimensions of the body 21, the plates 24, and the spacer 20b, are selected in a manner such that the operating and indicating portions 16 of the secondary switches 26 are disposed substantially in the same plane as the operating and indicating portions of the main switch 20 so that they can project from the appropriate openings in the panel 14 of the board (Figure 1).

In the embodiment of Figures 4 and 5, in which parts corresponding to those of Figure 2 are indicated by the same reference numerals, the insulating body 21 which houses the electrical connection conductors 27, 28 and 29 also includes the means for mounting the secondary switches 26. These are also standardized switches but their dimensions and mounting system differ from those shown in Figure 2.

In this embodiment, the elements which extend from the three bars 27 also have ends 29 arranged at regular intervals and aligned along the bars, but each of them is in a plane perpendicular to the bars. These ends 29 are shaped like forks which can be fitted in c:orresponding housings of the input connectors of the switches.

It will be noted that the dimes'sons of the insulating body 21 are selected in a manner such tbat the operating and indicating portions are spaced substantially as far as the switches of the embodiment of Figure 1 from the base of the board. The positions and dimensions of the connecting portions 30 are also preferably the same as t;osei of the embodiment of Figure 2 so that, although the mounting and electrical connection structures are different in the two embodiments, they are easily interchangeable.

Clearly, the structure of the insulating body 21 and that of the other elements characteristic of the invention may be modified in many different ways to allow secondary switches of other types to be mounted.

As can easily be seen, with the electrical distribution board according to the invention, the following advantages are achieved. the support and housing structure 10 can be massproduced since it remains substantially the same for any type of switch used, the electrical connections between the unit 20 with the main switch and the secondary switches 26 are formed in a structure which can be replaced as a whole very easily if it is necessary to change the secondary switches for others of a different type, the assembly of the board is extremely easy since it consists simply in the fixing of the insulating body with the electrical connections, and of the structures for supporting the switches if these are separate from the insulating body, and the connection between the unit 20 with the main switch and the secondary switches 26 is practically automatic since the only operation necessary is the fixing of the rigid connectors 30 which join the bars 27 of the insulating body to the output connectors of the unit with the main switch.

Claims

1. An electrical distribution board comprising: a boxlike support and housing structure (10) having a front panel (14) with openings and a base (22), a unit (20) with a main switch having input connectors for electrical connection to supply conductors and output connectors, a plurality of secondary switches (26) having respective input and output connectors, electrical conductors (27-30) which electrically connect the input connectors of the secondary switches (26) to respective output connectors of the unit (20) with the main switch, and first mounting means (20b) and second mounting means (21, 24) for fixing the unit (20) with the main switch, and the secondary switches (26), respectively, to the base (22) of the board in a manner such that the operating and indicating elements (15 and 16) of the switches are arranged in predetermined positions in which they are accessible and visible through the openings in the front panel (14), characterized in that it comprises a body (21) of insulating material fixed removably to the base (22), and in that the electrical conductors comprise substantially rigid metal elements (27-29) incorporated in the insulating body (21) and having first end portions (27a) projecting from the insulating body (21) for connection to the output connectors of the unit (20) with the main switch, and second end portions (29) for connection to the input connectors of the secondary switches (26).

2. An electrical distribution board according to Claim 1, in which the electrical conductors comprise substantially rigid connectors (30) between the first end portions (27a) of the metal elements and the output connectors of the unit (20) with the main switch.

3. An electrical distribution board according to Claim 1 or Claim 2, in which the second mounting means (21, 24) and the insulating body (21) are formed in a single piece.

4. An electrical distribution board according to any one of Claims 1, 2 and 3, in which the metal elements (27, 29) incorporated in the insulating body comprise three bars which extend parallel to one another inside the insulating body (21), and a plurality of appendages (28), each fixed to a bar (27) and extending in a direction substantially perpendicular to the bars (27), one end (27a) of each of the bars (27) being one of the end portions for connection to the output connectors of the unit (20) with the main switch, and the ends (29) of the appendages (28) being the end portions for connection to the input connectors of the secondary switches (26).

5. An electrical distribution board according to Claim 4, in which the ends (29) of the appendages (28) are arranged at substantially regular intervals in the same plane, parallel to the bars (27).

6. An electrical distribution board according to Claim 5, in which the ends (29) of the appendages (28) are in a substantially comb-like arrangement.

7. An electrical distribution board according to Claim 5, in which the ends (29) of the appendages (28) are arranged substantially to form two opposed combs lying in the same plane.

8. An electrical distribution board according to Claim 4, in which the ends (29) of the appendages (28) are arranged at substantially regular intervals, each end (29) being in a plane perpendicular to the bars (27) and the ends (29) being aligned with one another along the bars (27).

9. An electrical distribution board substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.