MXPA99011162A - Electric device capable of installing in support base - Google Patents

Abstract

The electrical apparatus (1) has a front face (11) and one or more fixings (4) that engage with a lip (21) formed inside the cabinet or ducting. The apparatus clicks into place, and can be removed with a tool (3) which has a tip (32) that separates the fixing from the lip to allow removal of the apparatus.

Description

ELECTRICAL APPLIANCE INTENDED TO BE PLACED ON HN SUPPORT The present invention refers in a general way to an electrical device intended to be arranged in a support, a rail, a gutter, a cabinet, a flat bar arranged in a piece of furniture, etc. Such an apparatus can be used for the distribution of electrical energy (strong current of 230 volts), and can carry all kinds of functions such as command, administration, security, etc. and also transport certain communication signs that are usually of weak current. During the construction of housing and professional buildings it is difficult to assess the ulterior needs of the occupants. It has been noted, for example, that the electrical installations of existing buildings, whether for private or professional use, generally have an insufficient number of sockets and connection points to the telecommunication network or that such sockets are incorrectly placed in the rooms. in relation to the implementation contemplated during a specific installation. During the realization of an electrical installation, the installer selects the devices that carry the functions that are necessary and arranges these devices in a support, a rail or a gutter, which can be fixed, for example, along a wall in the manner of a plinth or can also constitute a pole for electrical distribution or a closet. The above statement is equally applicable to less common electrical appliances. First electrical appliances have been proposed which in turn carry units that are connected electrically and eventually mechanically between them to form a set that is inserted as such into a rail-shaped support by an open end of the latter and is placed in its place inside this rail by sliding. The rapid evolution of techniques, maintenance, reconfiguration, the redefinition of wiring, the application of management devices, etc .; they require quick and permanent access to a specific device, housed in a support, a rail, a post, a shelf, a plinth, a junction box, a tablet, a distribution cabinet, a distribution box, etc. These subsequent arrangements are difficult to perform on the devices introduced by sliding due to the fact that it is necessary to have at the end of the rail the space necessary to remove them from the support. Interventions such as, for example, the adaptation of these assemblies or strips to new needs, or the exchange of lightning rods that have been destroyed by lightning, take a long time. Thus it has been proposed to introduce the apparatuses through the open front face of the support. For this purpose, the fixing elements that serve to rest on the internal walls of the support have been placed on the apparatuses. These fastening elements move in the usual way between an active position, for which they ensure the good positioning of the apparatus in the support, and a withdrawal position for which they authorize the removal of the apparatus with the help of command elements such as example screws or levers. In certain embodiments, the control elements of the fixing elements act from a side face of the apparatus, so that they can be accessible when the devices are placed in their support and in such a case it is necessary to arrange these devices in a projected manner in front of the support. In other embodiments, the fastening elements are accessible from the front after proceeding with the disassembly of the security and / or decoration plates. Another drawback of the known apparatuses is that the fastening elements they hold do not allow them to be fixed on a support other than in a certain predefined direction. When it is desired to place these elements in a support disposed at a right angle with respect to such predefined direction, the direction of use of the function established by the device is in such a case offset by an angle of 90 ° with respect to the usual direction. The present invention proposes a simple and easy arrangement for its application in practice and thus allows solving the aforementioned problems. In the proposed arrangement, the fastening elements are accessible from the front face of the apparatus and without having to disassemble certain components related to the finish, which allows the device to be fitted to its support and thus provide easily modified installations and also with an improved aesthetics. For this purpose, the present invention is related to an electrical device which is intended to be put in place on a support, and which bears a front face and at least one fixing element adapted to cooperate, in an active position, with a flange of said support to ensure the support of this apparatus in the support and is characterized in that the fixing element can be removed from said active position introducing a disassembly tool in a space or clear provided for that purpose in the mentioned front face and because the fastening element has a free end arranged near the front face and having an inclined plane in such a way that the movement of the tool induces a movement according to an orthogonal direction of the free end of the fastening element, with a tendency to its separation from your active position to address your retirement position. The apparatus according to the invention is also characterized in that: the fastening element is constituted by a tongue held by a side wall disposed perpendicularly to the front face and near the edge thereof, the tongue being defined by a cutout made in the wall lateral, somewhat that that side of the cut that is farthest from the front face is not open in order to form the foot with which the tongue joins the side wall, each tongue has a shoulder that exceeds its face turned towards the outside of the apparatus, this projection carrying an upper face perpendicular to the wall of the tongue and turned towards the free end thereof, intended to rest against the end of the support flange to ensure the support of the apparatus in the support when the tongue is located. in its active position, each clearing protrudes or collapses on a tongue and is arranged transversely with respect to the plane of the tongue, there are fixing elements and clearings or ports that allow, its operation with the help of a tool that are on all four sides of the device, the device has a front face and four angled pillars that each consist of two side walls that carry the tabs, these side walls extending respectively under two mutually perpendicular sides of the front face and with their arrangement near a same angle of the front face, the lower face of the front face sustains a rear shoulder which follows the inclined plane of the fixing element when the latter is in its withdrawal position, the dismantling tool is constituted by a sleeve and a flat top intended to penetrate a port of the front face, - the end of the tool has a sharp shape and has a first edge parallel to the sleeve as well as a second edge, oblique, which forms an angle with the first ero The invention will be better understood by noting the following description, which is presented by way of example, not limiting, and in which reference is made to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a top perspective view of an apparatus according to a first embodiment of the invention. Figure 2 is a view analogous to Figure 1 for an apparatus according to a second embodiment of the invention. Figure 3 is a view from below, in perspective, of the apparatus according to Figure 1. Figure 4 is a side view of the apparatus according to Figure 1. Figure 5 is a perspective view showing the rear face of the apparatus according to Figure 1, with an enlargement of the detail V. Figures 6a to 6c are average views in section showing 3 phases of the extraction to present the removal of the box of an apparatus according to the invention. Figures 7a to 7e show different uses of an apparatus. In the embodiment shown in Figure 1, the apparatus 1 carries a connector 10 on its front face 11. This connector 10 can be used in telephony. In a manner known per se and not shown in the drawing, the front face 11 of the apparatus 1 can carry any other type of connector or functional element such as, for example, an outlet box or several outlet boxes, with the any standard that must follow, one or several switches, one or more visible signals, some circuit breaker, etc. By way of example, the apparatus 1 represented in Figure 2 is an apparatus whose front face 11 carries two connectors 10. In order not to overload the drawing, the apparatuses are represented in a simplified manner, all the non-essential elements have been omitted for the understanding of the invention, such as those referring to the circulation and distribution of the current to the functional element. In the exemplary embodiment shown in the drawing, the front face 11 has a peripheral skirt 5 crossed by opening 50 intended to allow the engagement of a box, not shown, which contains the various connection elements of the connector 10. These devices 1 are intended for placed on a support 2 as the rail 2 represented by way of example in figures 6a to 6c. This rail 2, which constitutes the support for the placement of the apparatuses 1, has on its front face a longitudinal opening 22 of transversal dimension equal to the width of the apparatus 1. This longitudinal opening 22 is elongated by a wall 20 having a flange 21 intended for to contribute to the maintenance or to the support of the apparatus in the support, as will be described later. The apparatuses 1 carry fastening elements 4 which serve to cooperate with the flange 21. As can be seen in the drawing, the fixing elements 4 are formed by tabs 4 cut into side walls 14 of the apparatus 1, arranged perpendicularly to the front face 11. and near the edge of it. The side walls 14 may constitute a kind of angle pillar, as represented in the drawing, or walls that at least partially close the space below the front face of the apparatus 1 in order to constitute a box in which are arranged the necessary elements for the circulation and distribution of the current. In the embodiment shown in the drawing, the side walls 14 are located near the angles of the front face 11. There are two side walls 14 which respectively extend below two mutually perpendicular sides of the front face and which are they have near a same angle of said front face, and these walls are joined by a wall 19. Thus the apparatus 1 is composed by a front face 11 that supports the connector 10 and 4 open angle pillars, each of which carries two side walls 14 that hold the tongues 4. The tongues 4 are defined by cutouts 15 made in the side walls 14. The side 16, represented in fine line in Figure 4, which belongs to the cutouts 15, and which is further apart from the front face 11, it does not have an open shape. This side constitutes the foot by means of which the tab 4 joins the side wall 14. The end of the tabs 4 which is arranged near the front face 11, is free. The apparatuses according to the invention are made of plastic material, for example by molding. The elasticity of the plastic material used gives the tongues 4 cut into the side walls 14 a possibility of displacement in flexion with respect to the wall 14 around a fictitious axis constituted by the non-open side 16 of the cutout 15. The tabs 4 of this In this manner, they can be embossed towards the interior of the apparatus in order to return elastically to their initial resting position for which they extend in the plane of the wall 14 from which they exit. Here, the interior space of the apparatus will be defined as the space disposed below the front face and inside the lateral faces defined with their imaginary connection to the side walls 14. Each tongue 4 carries a shoulder 41 that extends beyond its face turned towards the outside of the appliance. This shoulder 41 is constituted by an upper face 42 perpendicular to the wall of the tongue 4 and is turned towards the free end thereof, and of a face 43 inclined in the direction towards the foot of the tongue. In the exemplary embodiments shown in the drawing, each tongue has a shoulder 41 with a thickness that is substantially smaller than the width of the tongue, but it is clear that other embodiments can also be applied with the presentation of a wide shoulder or several projections arranged parallel to each other and that lie over the width of the tongue. As can be seen in the drawing, and more especially in Figures 6a to 6c, the free end, arranged near the front face 11, of the tabs 4, has an inclined plane 48. This inclined plane is separated from the outer wall of the tongue as one moves away from the front face 11 of the apparatus. Thus, each tongue 14 is of little thickness near its free end while this thickness increases when one moves along the inclined plane 44 in the direction of the foot. As can be seen in Figures 6a to 6c, the opening 22 of the support 2 is of a width equal to the width of the front face 11 of the apparatus 1 while the flanges 21 arranged along each edge of the opening are separated by a distance equal to the distance separating the outer faces from the side walls of the apparatus 1. When an apparatus 1, or a set of interconnected apparatuses, is to be placed in the support 2, it is introduced into the opening 22 in a direction perpendicular to it. The side walls 14 slide along the flanges 21 while the tabs 4 are embossed towards the interior of the apparatus 1 when the inclined faces 43 of the shoulders 41 come into contact with the flanges 21. At the end of the insertion movement of the apparatus 1 in the support 2, the projections 41 remain completely arranged behind the flanges 21 and the tongues 4 again occupy and elastically their rest position for which they are arranged in the plane of the side walls 14. Once this operation has been carried out, the upper faces 42 of the shoulders 41 rest against the end of the flanges 21 and ensure the support of the apparatus 1 on the support 2. The rest position of the tongues 4 is in this case equivalent to their position active for which they ensure the support of the apparatus 1 in the support 2. As can be seen in the drawing the front face 11 of the apparatuses 1 remains in the plane of the open face of the support, and thus the apa times are completely set in the mentioned support. According to the invention it is possible to act on the tongues 4 from the front face 11 of the apparatus 1 to remove this apparatus 1 from the support 2 without having to previously proceed with the disassembly of other elements such as for example the positioning elements. For this purpose, ports 18 are formed on the front face 11 of the apparatus, above each tab 4. Each of these ports 18 is arranged transversely with respect to the plane of the tongue 4, which collapses therein., and thus it is parallel to the direction according to which the tongue 4 can move during its flexion around the imaginary axis 16 formed by its foot. To remove a tab 4 from its active position, a disassembly tool 3 is inserted into the port 18 disposed above this tab as shown in Figures 6a to 6c. This tool is constituted for example by a sleeve 31 and a flat top 30, which has a thickness such that it can penetrate the port 18 of the front face 11. As a variant, a tool can be provided that carries two or more different finishes to allow the disassembly of different devices whose elements are of different dimensions or shapes. In the embodiment shown in the drawing, the clear 18 are very narrow rectangular ports in order to take into account the safety instructions that regulate which foreign bodies can not be introduced into the apparatus. In the example shown in the drawing, the top 30 is sharp, and has a first edge 32 parallel to the sleeve 31 as well as a second edge 33, oblique, forming an acute angle with the first. As shown in Figure 6a, the port 18 has a dimension such that the tip of the cap 30 of the tool 3 can be inserted between the edge of the port 18 and the outer wall of the tab 4, with the cap 30 arranged with its first edge 32 against the end of the port 18 and its second edge 33, obliquely, against the inclined plane 44 of the tongue 4. During the insertion of the tool 3, the oblique edge 33 of the end piece 30 slides on the plane inclined 44 of the tongue 4 and acts on the latter to separate the tongue 4 in the direction of its withdrawal position. The movement of the tool 3 induces a movement in orthogonal direction of the free end of the tongue 4, and with the tendency to separate it from its active position, in the direction towards its withdrawal position. Figure 6b shows the positions of the tool 3 and the tongue 4 in the course of this movement. Figure 6c shows the position of the different elements at the end of the insertion of the tool 3. The lower face of the front face 11 of the apparatus carries a rear shoulder 17, which goes towards the end of the tongue 4, that is to say the inclined plane 44, when the latter is in its withdrawal position. The positioning of the end of the tongue 4 which is behind the shoulder 17 allows it to be immobilized in a withdrawal position in which it is held against its inherent elasticity to its construction. In this position, the shoulder 41 of the rim 21 of the support 2 is detached, which makes it possible to remove the apparatus or the assembly constituted by several devices of the mentioned support. It is noted that the shoulder 17 is interrupted at the site of the port 18, and is present on one side or the other of said port.

When the devices 1 are to be placed back on a support, it is sufficient to remove the tabs towards the outside of the apparatus in order to detach the inclined plane 44 thereof, from the projections 17. This operation can be carried out by hand or with any tool elongated, a screwdriver or with the disassembly tool 3. As it was possible to confirm the reading of the previous description, the manipulations necessary to disassemble the device from the support are summarized and restricted to the introduction of the tool 3 in each port 18 of the front faces 11. These operations are quick and easy to carry out. Advantageously, such manipulations are carried out only from the front face of the apparatuses 1. In this case it is possible to place these apparatuses 1 with their front face 11 in the plane of the opening 22 of the support, as shown in FIG. drawing. In this way more aesthetic assemblies are obtained since they do not present exits or projections. It is possible to use the louvres 18 to place, by means of securing, certain decoration or reference elements which are then removed when the devices are removed from the support.

According to another aspect of the invention, the tongues 4 and the ports 18 that allow their activation with the help of a tool 3) are practiced on the four sides of the apparatus 1. This arrangement is particularly interesting when the apparatuses can be placed indifferently within the supports 2, which can be plinths arranged horizontally or postos located vertically. In effect, when only elements of connection of the apparatus to the support are provided on two sides of the apparatus as is generally the case at present, the collectors are arranged at 90 ° with respect to their normal position when the apparatus is placed on a pole. This is illustrated in Figure 7a and 7b. Figure 7a schematically represents an apparatus 100 having a connector 110 as a telephone switch according to the French standard that is placed in place on a support 25 arranged horizontally to form a plinth or plinth. It is noted that the connector 110 is presented in the form of a T in reverse, ie with the small bar at the bottom. In known apparatuses, such apparatus 110 has fastening elements along its two sides arranged parallel to the small bar of the connector 110. Thus, when the apparatus 100 is placed on a support 26 1E arranged vertically to form a post, as shown in Figure 7b, the connector 110 is positioned at a right angle with respect to its usual position known to all, which is that of Figure 7a, as long as to place the connector in its usual known position is necessary to add adaptation elements that are fixed in the vertical support to constitute a horizontal intermediate support. The apparatus 120 according to the invention having tongues 4 on its four sides, can be arranged as shown in Figure 7c with the connector 110 in its usual position without the need to use adaptation elements. When the apparatus 130 has dimensions in width and length very different from those of Figure 2 it suffices to adapt the width of the support 27 so that it can be placed on a vertical support as shown in Figures 7d and 7e, keeping its normal direction of utilization. As it has been seen, the apparatus according to the invention is particularly interesting, on the one hand because it allows an easy placement and removal of a support and on the other hand because it can be placed on the support in the appropriate direction depending on the connector it carries .

Claims (10)

1. CLAIMS 1. An electrical device intended to be placed on a support (2), which bears a front face (11) and which has at least one fixing element (4) adapted to cooperate in an active position with flange (21) of the support (2) to ensure the support of this apparatus (1) in the support, characterized in that the fixing element (4) can be removed from the active position by introducing a disassembly tool (3) in a port (18) provided for this purpose in the front face (11) of the apparatus (1) and in that the fixing element (4) has a free end disposed of the front face (11) and having an inclined plane (44) in such a way that the movement of the tool (3) includes a movement in an orthogonal direction of the free end of the fastening element (4) which has a tendency to separate it from its active position in the direction towards its withdrawal position. The apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the fixing element (4) is constituted by a tongue (4) supported by a side wall (14) arranged perpendicularly to the front face (11) and because it is located near the edge Of the same. The apparatus according to claim 2 or claim 3, characterized in that the tongue (4) is defined by a cutout (15) made in the side wall (14), while that side (16) of said tongue is not open. cutout (15) that is more distant from the front face (11) in order to form the foot by means of which the tongue (14) joins the side wall (14). The apparatus according to claim 2 or claim 3, characterized in that each tab (4) bears a shoulder (41) that extends beyond its face turned towards the outside of the apparatus, the shoulder (41) carrying a perpendicular top face (42). to the wall of the tongue (4) and turned towards the free end thereof, intended to rest against the end of a rim (21) of the support (2) to secure the support of the apparatus (1) in the support (2). ) when the tab (4) is in its active position. The apparatus according to any of the previous claims, characterized in that each port (18) fits on a tongue and is arranged transversely with respect to the plane of this tongue (4; 6. The apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the fixing elements (4) and the ports (18) allow their operation with the help of a tool (3) and are provided on all four sides of the apparatus (1) 7. The apparatus according to claim 6, characterized in that it carries a front face (11) and four angle pillars each composed of two side walls (14) carrying tabs (4), the side walls (14) extending respectively under two mutually perpendicular sides of the front face ( 11) and because they are located near the same angle of the front face (11) 8. The apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the lower face of e the front face (11) carries a shoulder (17) behind which the inclined plane (44) of the fastening element (4) is located when the latter is in its retracted position. The apparatus according to any of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the disassembly tool (3) is constituted by a sleeve (31) and a flat top (30) intended to penetrate a port (18) made in the face front (11). The apparatus according to claim 9, characterized in that the end (30) of the tool (13) is sharp and has a first edge (32) parallel to the sleeve (31) and a second oblique edge (33) forming an angle with the first.