SE538841C2

SE538841C2 - Armature fastener

Info

Publication number: SE538841C2
Application number: SE1550339A
Authority: SE
Inventors: Isaksson Marcus
Original assignee: Caleidoscope Systems Ab
Priority date: 2015-03-23
Filing date: 2015-03-23
Publication date: 2016-12-27
Also published as: EP3274626A1; WO2016153417A1; CN107429904A; EP3274626A4; SE1550339A1

Abstract

ABSTRACT An arrnature fastener (100) coniprises n1agnets (121, 121 °, 131, 131”), facing inboth a sideWays direction and in upward direction for allowing the arrnature fastener tobe fastened onto a ferroniagnetic structure coniprising a doWnWard1y facing surface anda surface facing sideWays. The arrnature fastener further coniprises a connector (140)for connection to an electrical grid, Wherein the connector (140) is internally Wired to asystem track (150) for connection to an arrnature being provided With a connector for connection to such system tracks. To be published With Fig. 1.

Description

The present invention relates to an armature fastener allowing for ﬂexiblemounting of armatures designed for connection to system tracks on e. g. functional ceiling systems.

PRIOR ART Functional ceiling systems, e.g. a ceiling system comprising a grid of beamsarranged in a web-like configuration and being suspended from the roof of a building,are often used in large buildings in order to create room-like environments for e.g.display of furniture. Functional ceiling systems are also used to suspend e. g. i. appliances.

One common standard for -šigåæïraé« appliances is a track havinginternal conductors that can be connected to a armature. The tracks areat both ends suspended from the functional ceiling system, or may be fastened directlyto a ceiling or a wall in order to provide for a ﬂexible lighting system. For functionalceiling system, the tracks are often considered to be too bulky and costly, and theirminimal length correspond to the distance between the distance between the beams ofthe functional ceiling system, which is often in the order of one or several meters.

The invention aims to provide an easy-to-use and handy annature fastener forfunctional ceiling systems that allow for use of armatures designed for tracks havinginternal conductors to be fastened to a functional ceiling without the need for changingthe properties of the functional ceiling system, without drilling e.g. holes and withouthampering with the functional ceiling system.

The armature of the invention cannot only be used on functional ceilingsystems, but on any structure comprising orthogonally oriented surfaces of a ferromagnetic material.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThese and other objects are achieved by an armature fastener comprisingmagnets facing in both a sideways direction and in upward direction for allowing the armature fastener to be fastened onto a ferromagnetic structure comprising adownwardly facing surface and a surface facing sideways, the armature fastener furthercomprising a connector for connection to an electrical grid, the connector beinginternally wired to a system track for connection to an armature being provided with aconnector for connection to such system tracks.

In order to provide for the manufacturability of the armature fastener, it maycomprise a housing divided into an inner portion and an outer portion.

In order to provide for the fastening to the ferromagnetic structure comprising adownwardly facing surface and a surface facing sideways, the inner portion maycomprise an upwardly facing surface in Which the connector is provided, and aninwardly facing surface, where at least one magnet is provided.

Preferably, the system track is adapted to accommodate armatures designed for ' tracks. av.. 'i Üsrsf tracks, the system track “A3 rfß11 In order to comply o the standard _ xexhibits ﬁve elongate grooves provided on each side of the system track, and onegroove at the bottom thereof, Wherein some of the grooves each are provided with aconductive strip arranged to contact corresponding conductive elements of the armatureto be fastened in the system track. The conductive strips may be made from copper orany other suitable alloy having good electric conductivity and corrosion resistance.

Conveniently, the inner and outer portions are made from injection moldedplastic.

In order to provide sufﬁciently large magnetic force and ageing resistance, themagnets may be manufactured from sintered neodymium, boron and iron.

In order to provide for a sufﬁcient space for the system track, the armaturefastener may have a width f about 50-100 mm, a length of 100-200 mm and a height of50-70 mm.

In order to provide for a sufﬁcient holding force while allowing for easy andconvenient removal of the armature fastener from the ferromagnetic structurecomprising a downwardly facing surface and a surface facing sideways, the magnetsmay each have a magnetic attraction to steel on the order of 10-100 N/magnet,preferably about 50-70 N/magnet.

The armature fastener is particularly useful for suspending armatures from e.g.a functional ceiling system comprising a grid made from pressed sheet metal membersand comprising a lower part on which some of the at least one magnets may be fastened and side walls on which the other of the at least one magnet may be fastened.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the following, embodiments of the invention will be described withreference to the appended drawings, wherein: Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing an armature fastener according to thepresent invention; Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the armature fastener according to the presentinvention; Fig. 3 is a section view of the armature fastener according to the presentinvention, the section being taken along the line C-C of Fig. 2; and Figs. 4, 5 and 6 are exploded views of the armature fastener according to the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS With reference to Figs. 1-4, an armature fastener 100 according to oneembodiment of the present invention comprises a housing 110, which is divided in twoportions, an inner portion 120 and an outer portion 130. Both the inner and the outerportions comprise magnets 121, 121” and 131, 131”, respectively, Wherein the magnets121, 121 ” face in a sideways direction and the magnets 131, 131” face in an upwarddirection. The armature fastener also comprises a connector 140 for connection to anelectrical grid. The connector 140 is internally Wired to a system track 150 forconnection to an armature being provided with a connector for connection to suchsystem tracks. In the shown embodiment, the system track 150 and the connector 140are both fastened to the inner portion 120 - an opening 132 provided in the housingportion 130 provide for access to the system track 150.

The inner portion 120 comprises an upwardly facing surface 122, in which theconnector 140 is provided, and an inwardly facing surface 123, where the magnets 121,121” are provided. The upwardly facing surface is provided at a right angle from theinwardly facing surface, and is, except for the connector, provided with two throughopenings for allowing passage of fastening elements, for example screws (not shown).

The inwardly facing surface 123 is provided With through openings 125 forallowing fastening of the magnets 121, 121”. The width of the inwardly facing surface123 is slightly smaller than the width of the upwardly facing surface 122.

The outer portion 130 is provided with an outwardly facing surface 133, whichhas a shape corresponding to a perimeter shape of the upwardly facing surface 122 ofthe inner portion 120. The outwardly facing surface 133 neighbors a downwardly facingsurface 134 by a right angle, wherein an outer perimeter of the downwardly facingsurface 134 has a shape corresponding to the shape of the outwardly facing surface 133and hence the perimeter shape of the upwardly facing surface 122 of the inner portion120. Ends of the outwardly facing surface 13«L?.~_§_ are provided with support tracks 137,which are adapted to support and hold outer edges of the inwardly facing surface 123 ofthe inner portion 120. Moreover, the downwardly facing surface 134 is provided withthe aforementioned opening 132 for allowing access to the system track 150 and withtwo through openings 135 for allowing fastening of the magnets 131, 131”, for exampleby means of screws (not shown). The downwardly facing surface also provides guidemeans 136 arranged at ends of the opening 132 for guiding the system track 150 whenthe inner 120 and outer 130 portions are mounted together to form the armature fastener100.

The system track 150 is similar to the long tracks that are on the market for suspending and connecting armatures. In the shown embodiment, the system track 150 and the connector 140 are one-phase connected. By choosing otherconnections and system tracks, it is, however, possible to three-phase connect theconnector and the system track. In one preferred embodiment of the invention, thesystem track is completely integrated in the inner portion 120. In such embodiments, themeans 136 arranged at end of the openingl32 will assist in keeping the inner and outerportions properly aligned.

With reference to Fig. 3, the system track 150 exhibits five elongate grooves151,152, 153, 154 and 155 provided on each side of the system track, and one groove156 provided at the bottom thereof. The grooves 155 and 153 are each provided with aconductive strip arranged to contact corresponding conductive elements of the armatureto be fastened in the system track 150, wherein the conductive strips are connected tosuitable electrical phases via the connector 140. The groove 156 is provided with aconductive strip being connected to earth via the connector 140.

The grooves 151 and 152 are provided for allowing fastening of the armatureto be connected to the armature fastener 100. This is usually done by twisting a lockingmember having an oval or asymmetrical shape, such that the wider portions of the ovalshaped member will contact the grooves 151 and 152 and thereby prevent the armature from disengaging from the system track 150.

The armature fastener according to the invention is especially useful forsuspending armatures from e. g. a functional ceiling system comprising a grid madefrom pressed sheet metal members and comprising a lower part on which the magnets131, 131 ° may be fastened and side walls on which the magnets 121, 121” may befastened. However, the armature fastener can be used on any beam or structurecomprising By the provision of magnets on two perpendicularly arranged surfaces, thearmature fastener will be held in place in a safe way.

The armature fastener according to the invention allows for e.g. armatures to be fastened on functional ceiling systems in a very ﬂexible way. Also, due to the connector 140, connection and disconnection of thearmature fastener can be made with unskilled personnel, and the wiring between theconnector 140 and the power supply can be hidden in the functional ceiling system.

It should be noted that the invention may be varied within wide boundarieswithout departing from the scope of the invention, such as it defined in the appendedclaim set. For example, the division of the housing 110, which is divided into twoportions, an inner portion 120 and an outer portion 130, may be done in an entirelydifferent manner. For example, the housing 110 may be divided into a holding portioncomprising both magnet means and a connection portion comprising the system trackand the electric connector. Moreover, in the disclosed embodiment, there are fourmagnets, but the number of magnets may be varied within wide limits, from e. g. two magnets to six, eight or even more magnets.

MAT ERIALS The inner and outer portions 120, 130 are preferably made from injectionmolded plastic. The conductive strips provided in the grooves 155, 156 and 153 of thesystem track 150, which system track may be injection molded in the same process asthe inner portion, are preferably made from copper or any other suitable alloy havinggood electric conductivity and corrosion resistance. The magnets are preferably manufactured from sintered neodymium, boron and iron.

DIMENSIONS The armature fastener 100 may have a width of about 80-100 mm and a lengthof 150-200 mm. The height may be 50-70 mm. The magnets 121, 121 ”, 131, 131” mayeach have a magnetic attraction to steel plate on the order of 10-100 N/magnet,preferably about 50-70 N/magnet. This is achieved by a magnet having an own Weightof 14 grams, a thickness of 5 mm and a diameter of 27 mm. The system track 150 may have a length of 50-100 mm.

Claims

1. An armature fastener (100) comprising magnets (121, 121 ”, 131, 131 ”), facing in both a sideways direction and in upward direction for allowing the armaturefastener to be fastened onto a ferromagnetic structure comprising a downwardly facingsurface and a surface facing sideways, the armature fastener further comprising aconnector (140) for connection to an electrical grid, the connector (140) being Wired toa system track (150) for connection to an armature being provided With a connector forconnection to such system tracks.

2. The armature fastener (100) of claim 1, Wherein the armature fastener (100)comprises a housing (110) being divided into an inner portion (120) and an outerportion (130).

3. The armature fastener (100) of claim 2, Wherein the inner portion (120) comprises an upwardly facing surface (122) in which the connector (140) is provided, and an inwardly facing surface (123), Where at least one magnet (121, 121 ”) is provided.

4. The armature fastener (100) of claim 3, Wherein the upwardly facing surface(122) is provided at a right angle from the inwardly facing surface (123).

5. The armature fastener (100) according to any of the preceding claims,Wherein the system track (150) is adapted to accommodate armatures designed forlightaæing tracks.

6. The armature fastener of claim 5, Wherein the system track (150) exhibitsfive elongate grooves (151,152, 153, 154, 155) provided on each side of the systemtrack, and one groove (156) at the bottom thereof, Wherein some of the grooves (153,155) each are provided With a conductive strip arranged to contact correspondingconductive elements of the armature to be fastened in the system track (150).

7. The armature fastener of claim 6, Wherein the conductive strips are madefrom copper or any other suitable alloy having good electric conductivity and corrosionresistance.

8. The armature fastener (100) of any of whereinthe inner and outer portions (120, 130) are made from injection molded plastic.

9. The armature fastener of any of the preceding claims, wherein the magnets(121, 121”, 131, 131”) are manufactured from sintered neodymium, boron and iron.

10. The armature fastener of any of the preceding claims, wherein the armaturefastener (100) has a width of about 80-100 mm, a length of 150-200 mm and a height of50-70 mm.

11. The armature fastener of any of the preceding claims, wherein the magnets(121, 121 ”, 131, l31”) each have a magnetic attraction to steel on the order of 10-100N/magnet, preferably about 50-70 N/magnet.

12. Use of an armature fastener (100) according to any of the preceding claimsfor suspending armatures from e. g. a functional ceiling system comprising a grid madefrom pressed sheet metal members and comprising a lower part on Which some of the atleast one magnets (131, 13 1°) may be fastened and side Walls on Which the other of theat least one magnet (121, 121”) may be fastened.