WO2018230042A1

WO2018230042A1 - Din rail fitting structure, attachment and device

Info

Publication number: WO2018230042A1
Application number: PCT/JP2018/005486
Authority: WO
Inventors: 昌明長野; 伊彦小川; 正彦久保; 寛明石井; 啓岡田; 葵魁河良
Original assignee: オムロン株式会社
Priority date: 2017-06-15
Filing date: 2018-02-16
Publication date: 2018-12-20
Also published as: TW201906518A; JP2019004041A; JP6972685B2; TWI653924B

Abstract

Provided is a fitting structure fitted onto a DIN rail without undue play regardless of the thickness of the DIN rail. The DIN rail fitting structure (4) comprises an engaging section (11) having formed therein a groove part (11A) mating with a flange section (1B) of the DIN rail (1). The engaging section (11) includes an interfering part (37) provided in the groove part (11A) so as not to prevent the insertion of the flange section (1B) of the DIN rail (1) into the groove part (11A), while interfering with the flange section (1B) when the flange section (1B) moves inside the groove part (11A). The minimum width of the groove part (11A) governed by the interfering part (37) is the minimum thickness as defined by the DIN rail standards, or thinner.

Description

DIN rail mounting structure, attachment and device

The present invention relates to a DIN rail mounting structure, an attachment, and a device.

A rail mount type mounting structure has been proposed as a structure for mounting an object such as an electronic device on an instrument panel or the like. As such a rail, a DIN (German Industrial Standard) rail is generally used.

For example, Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2005-64114 (Patent Document 1) discloses a DIN rail for the purpose of preventing damage to an internal structure or circuit of a device due to vibration and damage to a rail engaging means due to vibration. A mounting structure is disclosed. The DIN rail mounting structure has a vibration absorbing portion that absorbs vibration by interfering with the DIN rail when vibration is applied to the power supply device.

For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2014-13860 (Patent Document 2) discloses a mounting bracket formed by bending a metal plate. One end of the mounting bracket is provided with an engaging portion in which one flange portion of the rail is fitted. The other end of the mounting bracket incorporates a locking mechanism that is urged and driven by the elastic force of the spring and locked to the other flange portion of the rail.

JP 2005-64114 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2014-13860

There are at least two types of standards for the thickness of the DIN rail. In Europe, a thick DIN rail (thickness 1.5 mm) is generally used. On the other hand, in Japan, a thin DIN rail (thickness: 1.0 mm) is generally used.

The conventional DIN rail mounting structure was designed to be able to engage with either a thick DIN rail or a thin DIN rail. For this reason, the mounting structure adapted to the thin DIN rail cannot be mounted on the thick DIN rail. On the other hand, in the case of a mounting structure adapted to a thick DIN rail, when the mounting structure is mounted on a thin DIN rail, a gap is likely to be generated between the mounting structure and the rail. Even if such a mounting structure can pass the vibration test, in an actual use situation, rattling may cause anxiety to the user. In order to eliminate the user's anxiety, there is a need for a mounting structure that does not cause backlash even when mounted on the DIN rail, regardless of the thickness of the DIN rail.

An object of the present invention is to provide a mounting structure that does not cause backlash even when mounted on a DIN rail, regardless of the thickness of the DIN rail.

According to one aspect of the present invention, a DIN rail mounting structure for mounting a device to a DIN rail having a first flange portion and a second flange portion includes a groove portion that fits into the first flange portion of the DIN rail. And a fixing portion that engages with the second flange portion of the DIN rail located on the opposite side of the first flange portion. The engaging part is provided in the groove part so as not to interfere with the insertion of the first flange part of the DIN rail into the groove part and to interfere with the first flange part when the first flange part moves in the groove part. Including an interference portion. The minimum width of the groove defined by the interference portion is equal to or less than the minimum thickness defined by the DIN rail standard.

Preferably, the groove portion includes an end portion for restricting insertion of the first flange portion, a first corner portion and a second end portion respectively formed at the first end portion and the second end portion of the end portion. A corner portion, a first side portion connected to the first corner portion, a tapered portion connected to the first side portion, and a second side portion connected to the second corner portion are included. The first end of the terminal end is on the side far from the side attached to the device in the DIN rail mounting structure, and the second end of the terminal end is the side attached to the device in the DIN rail mounting structure. On the near side. The interference part is formed by the second side part of the groove part and the inlet of the groove part. The second side portion forms an acute angle with respect to the inlet of the groove portion.

Preferably, the interference part is deformable by a force applied to the second side part.
Preferably, the angle formed by the tapered portion with respect to the end portion is an obtuse angle, and is larger than the angle formed by the second side portion with respect to the end portion.

Preferably, the angle formed between the first side portion and the terminal portion is smaller than the angle formed between the tapered portion and the terminal portion.

The attachment according to one aspect of the present invention is configured to be attachable to a device and attaches the device to a DIN rail, and includes the DIN rail mounting structure described above.

The apparatus which concerns on 1 aspect of this invention is equipped with one of said DIN rail attachment structures.
The apparatus which concerns on 1 aspect of this invention is equipped with said attachment.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a structure that does not generate backlash even when mounted on the DIN rail, regardless of the difference in thickness of the DIN rail.

It is a perspective view of the apparatus attached to the DIN rail by the DIN rail attachment structure which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is the schematic which showed the state in the middle of attaching the apparatus shown in FIG. 1 to a DIN rail. It is the schematic which showed the state which attached the apparatus shown in FIG. 1 to the DIN rail. It is the exploded perspective view which looked at the DIN rail attachment structure concerning one embodiment of the present invention from the 1st direction. It is the disassembled perspective view which looked at the DIN rail attachment structure concerning one Embodiment of this invention from the 2nd direction. It is the elements on larger scale explaining in detail the engaging part which a rail attaching part has. It is the 1st partial enlarged view explaining movement which attaches the DIN rail attachment structure concerning one embodiment of the present invention to a thick DIN rail (thickness: large). It is the 2nd partial enlarged view explaining a motion which attaches the DIN rail attachment structure concerning one embodiment of the present invention to a thick DIN rail (thickness: large). It is the elements on larger scale explaining the motion which attaches the DIN rail attachment structure which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention to a thin DIN rail (thickness: small). It is the elements on larger scale which showed the comparative example of the engaging part which a rail attachment part has. It is the elements on larger scale explaining the movement which attaches the DIN rail attachment structure which concerns on the comparative example shown in FIG. 10 to a DIN rail. It is the perspective view which showed another embodiment of this invention.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In addition, about the same or equivalent part in a figure, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected and the description is not repeated.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an apparatus attached to a DIN rail by a DIN rail attachment structure according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the DIN rail 1 has a rail body 1A and

flange portions

1B and 1C. The

flange portions

1B and 1C are arranged on one side and the other side of the rail body 1A, respectively. The DIN rail 1 is provided in a control panel (not shown), for example. The rail body 1A is fixed to the wall of the control panel by fasteners (not shown) such as screws.

The device 2 is detachably attached to the DIN rail 1 by the attachment 3. In addition, the kind of apparatus 2 is not limited. The attachment 3 is attached to the device 2 with screws 5. Therefore, the attachment 3 can be attached to and detached from the device 2.

The attachment 3 has a DIN rail mounting structure 4 for mounting the device 2 to the DIN rail 1. The DIN rail mounting structure 4 is fixed to the attachment 3 with screws 6. The attachment 3 may have a through hole through which the screw 6 is passed, and the housing of the device 2 may have a hole for screwing with the screw 6. In this case, the screw 6 can be fixed to the housing of the device 2 through the through hole.

The DIN rail mounting structure 4 is composed of a metal member (metal fitting). Specifically, the DIN rail mounting structure 4 includes a rail mounting portion 10 and a rail fixing portion 20. The rail attachment portion 10 has

engagement portions

11 and 12 for engaging with the flange portion 1B of the DIN rail 1. The rail fixing portion 20 has engaging

portions

21A and 22A for engaging with the flange portion 1C of the DIN rail 1.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a state in the middle of attaching the apparatus shown in FIG. 1 to the DIN rail. FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing a state where the apparatus shown in FIG. 1 is attached to a DIN rail. With reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, the engaging portion 11 and the engaging portion 12 (the engaging portion 12 is not shown) of the rail attachment portion 10 are engaged with the flange portion 1 B of the DIN rail 1. In this state, the device 2 is rotated to bring the rail fixing portion 20 closer to the flange portion 1C of the DIN rail 1. Then, the engaging portion 21A and the engaging portion 22A (the engaging portion 22A is not shown) of the rail fixing portion 20 are engaged with the flange portion 1C of the DIN rail 1.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the DIN rail mounting structure according to the embodiment of the present invention as viewed from the first direction. FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the DIN rail mounting structure according to the embodiment of the present invention as viewed from the second direction. Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, rail mounting portion 10 includes engaging

portions

11, 12, mounting portions 13 A, 13 B, 14, bent portions 15 A, 15 B, 15 C, 15 D, main plane 16, It has

engagement parts

17A and 17B.

The engaging

portions

11 and 12 are arranged on both sides of the mounting portion 14 so as to be perpendicular to the mounting portion 14. The mounting portion 14 is planar, and a plurality of (for example, two in this embodiment) mounting holes 14A for inserting screws are formed in the mounting portion 14. The engaging

portions

11 and 12 are formed with groove portions 11A and 12B for engaging with the flange portion 1B of the DIN rail 1, respectively. The shape of the grooves 11A and 12B will be described in detail later.

The main plane 16 is connected to the mounting portion 14 by a bent portion 15A. The bent portion 15A is bent so as to protrude in the same direction as the direction in which the engaging

portions

11, 12 protrude, and is further bent so that the main plane 16 and the mounting portion 14 are substantially parallel. .

Further, the main plane 16 is connected to the

attachment portions

13A and 13B by the

bent portions

15C and 15D, respectively. The

bent portions

15C and 15D have shapes bent from the mounting

portions

13A and 13B so as to protrude in the same direction as the direction in which the engaging

portions

11 and 12 protrude. The

attachment portions

13A and 13B are planar, and

attachment holes

18A and 18B for inserting screws are formed in the

attachment portions

13A and 13B, respectively.

The bent portion 15B has a shape bent from the end of the main plane 16 in the direction opposite to the direction in which the engaging

portions

11 and 12 protrude. The engaging portion 17A is formed between the bent portion 15B and the bent portion 15C. The engaging portion 17B is formed between the bent portion 15B and the bent portion 15D.

The rail fixing portion 20 has bent

portions

21 and 22, a main plane 23, and a protruding portion 24. The

bent portions

21 and 22 are disposed on both sides of the main plane 23 so as to be perpendicular to the main plane 23.

Engaging portions

21A and 22A are formed in the

bent portions

21 and 22, respectively. The engaging

portions

21A and 22A have

groove portions

21B and 22B, respectively.

Grooves

21B and 22B are formed to be engaged with the engaging

portions

17A and 17B of the rail mounting portion 10, respectively. In the state where the

groove portions

21B and 22B are engaged with the engaging

portions

17A and 17B, the gaps for inserting the flange portion 1C of the DIN rail 1 are between the groove portion 21B and the engaging portion 17A, and the groove portion 22B. And the engaging portion 17B. The engaging

portions

21A and 22A serve to fix the flange portion 1C of the DIN rail 1 inserted in the gap.

The protruding portion 24 is bent so as to protrude in the same direction as the protruding direction of the engaging

portions

11 and 12. Further, a hole 25 is formed in the main plane 23. When the rail mounting portion 10 and the rail fixing portion 20 are engaged, the projecting portion 24 is accommodated in a space surrounded by the main plane 16 and the

bent portions

15A, 15B, 15C, and 15D of the rail mounting portion 10. Can be done. On the other hand, the bent portion 15 B of the rail attachment portion 10 can be inserted into the hole 25 of the rail fixing portion 20.

In a state where the rail mounting portion 10 and the rail fixing portion 20 are combined, the rail fixing portion 20 can slide in the vertical direction on the paper surface. In a state where the rail fixing portion 20 is slid downward, the engaging

portions

11 and 12 of the rail mounting portion 10 are engaged with the flange portion 1B of the DIN rail 1. Next, the rail fixing portion 20 can be slid upward to engage the engaging portion 21A and the engaging portion 22A of the rail fixing portion 20 with the flange portion 1C of the DIN rail 1.

A plurality of holes 26 may be formed in the main plane 23 of the rail fixing portion 20. The plurality of holes 26 are optional elements of embodiments of the present invention. The number of holes 26 is not particularly limited.

FIG. 6 is a partially enlarged view illustrating in detail the engaging portion of the rail mounting portion 10. In FIG. 6, the engaging portion 11 will be described as a representative. Since the configuration of the engaging portion 12 is the same as that of the engaging portion 11, the following description will not be repeated. As shown in FIG. 6, the groove portion 11 A of the engaging portion 11 includes a terminal portion 31,

corner portions

32 and 33 formed at both ends of the terminal portion 31, and a side portion 34 (first side) connected to the corner portion 32. Part), a tapered part 35 connected to the side part 34, a side part 36 (second side part) connected to the corner part 33, and an interference part 37.

The end portion 31 is a portion that restricts insertion of the flange portion 1B when the flange portion 1B of the DIN rail 1 is inserted into the groove portion 11A. That is, the flange part 1B can be inserted into the groove part 11A by the length of the depth D from the inlet part 38 to the terminal part 31.

The corner portion 32 is on the side far from the side attached to the device 2 in the DIN rail mounting structure according to the present embodiment. In the DIN rail mounting structure according to the present embodiment, the corner portion 33 is on the side closer to the side attached to the device 2.

As shown in FIG. 2, the DIN rail mounting structure 4 is tilted to engage the DIN rail mounting structure 4 with the flange portion 1 B of the DIN rail 1. The angle formed by the tapered portion 35 with respect to the end portion 31 is an obtuse angle. The angle formed by the tapered portion 35 with respect to the end portion 31 is larger than the angle formed by the side portion 36 (second side portion) with respect to the end portion 31. Therefore, the flange portion 1B can be inserted into the groove portion 11A while avoiding interference by the interference portion 37.

Furthermore, the angle formed by the side portion 34 (first side portion) with respect to the terminal end portion 31 is smaller than the angle formed by the tapered portion 35 with respect to the terminal end portion 31. As a result, the DIN rail 1 can be rotated while supporting the flange portion 1B of the DIN rail 1 at the corner portion 32. Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the engaging portion 21A of the rail fixing portion 20 and The engaging portion 22A (the engaging portion 22A is not shown) can be engaged with the flange portion 1C of the DIN rail 1.

The interference part 37 is provided in the groove part 11A so as not to interfere with the insertion of the flange part 1B of the DIN rail 1 into the groove part 11A and to interfere with the flange part 1B when the flange part 1B moves in the groove part 11A. The interference part 37 corresponds to a part where the inlet part 38 and the side part 36 are connected. As shown in FIG. 6, the interference part 37 forms an acute angle with respect to the inlet part 38.

If the direction perpendicular to the direction of the depth D is defined as the width direction, the distance W in the width direction between the tip of the interference part 37 and the corner part 32 is the minimum width of the groove part 11A. The minimum width of the groove 11A is equal to or smaller than the minimum thickness defined by the DIN rail standard. For example, the width W is set to a length (for example, 0.59 ± 0.1 mm) that is equal to or less than the thickness (for example, 1.0 mm) of the thin DIN rail.

FIG. 7 is a first partial enlarged view illustrating a movement of attaching the DIN rail mounting structure 4 according to the embodiment of the present invention to the thick DIN rail 1 (thickness: large). 7 to 9, attachment of the DIN rail mounting structure 4 to the DIN rail 1 will be described by relative movement of the DIN rail 1 with respect to the DIN rail mounting structure 4.

As shown in FIG. 7, the flange portion 1B of the DIN rail 1 is inserted into the groove portion 11A up to the vicinity of the end portion 31. Next, the DIN rail mounting structure 4 is rotated. Thereby, the flange portion 1 B of the DIN rail 1 comes into contact with the corner portion 32. Further, during the rotation of the DIN rail mounting structure 4, the interference part 37 interferes with the flange part 1B.

Although not shown in FIG. 7, in order to fix the DIN rail 1, the flange portion 1C of the DIN rail 1 is engaged with the engaging

portions

21A and 22A (see FIGS. 4 and 5) of the rail fixing portion 20. . In this case, for example, a force that presses the DIN rail 1 against the DIN rail mounting structure 4 (force toward the DIN rail mounting structure 4 from the DIN rail 1) is applied to the DIN rail 1. Since the flange portion 1B is fixed by the corner portion 32 and the interference portion 37, no gap is generated between the flange portion 1B and the engaging portion 11. Therefore, after the DIN rail mounting structure 4 is attached to the DIN rail 1, it is possible to prevent the DIN rail mounting structure 4 from rattling.

Since the interference part 37 has an acute angle, the interference part 37 can bite into the DIN rail 1 when the DIN rail 1 is softer than the rail mounting part 10. Therefore, the flange portion 1 B is more reliably fixed by the corner portion 32 and the interference portion 37. The above case is, for example, the case where the material of the DIN rail 1 is aluminum and the material of the rail mounting portion 10 is stainless steel.

FIG. 8 is a second partial enlarged view illustrating the movement of attaching the DIN rail mounting structure 4 according to the embodiment of the present invention to the thick DIN rail 1 (thickness: large). The movement of the DIN rail 1 shown in FIG. 8 is the same as the movement shown in FIG. During the rotation of the DIN rail mounting structure 4, the interference part 37 interferes with the flange part 1B. Since the interference part 37 forms an acute angle, when the DIN rail 1 and the rail mounting part 10 have the same degree of hardness, the interference part 37 is deformed to the inlet part 38 side by the movement of the DIN rail 1. Can be made. In such a case, for example, the material of the DIN rail 1 and the material of the rail mounting portion 10 are both stainless. Also in this case, since the flange portion 1B of the DIN rail 1 remains sandwiched between the corner portion 32 and the interference portion 37, no gap is generated between the flange portion 1B and the engaging portion 11. Therefore, after the DIN rail mounting structure 4 is attached to the DIN rail 1, it is possible to prevent the DIN rail mounting structure 4 from rattling.

FIG. 9 is a partially enlarged view illustrating the movement of attaching the DIN rail mounting structure 4 according to the embodiment of the present invention to the thin DIN rail 1 (thickness: small). The movement of the DIN rail 1 shown in FIG. 9 is the same as the movement shown in FIG. 7 and FIG. As shown in FIG. 6, the width (distance W in the width direction shown in FIG. 6) between the tip of the interference part 37 and the corner part 32 is set to be equal to or less than the thickness of the thin DIN rail. Therefore, the flange portion 1 B is in contact with the interference portion 37 and is further pressed against the corner portion 32 by the interference portion 37. Thereby, the flange part 1B is fixed by the corner part 32 and the interference part 37 like the case where the DIN rail 1 is thick. Therefore, even when the DIN rail 1 is thin, it is possible to prevent the DIN rail mounting structure 4 from rattling after the DIN rail mounting structure 4 is attached to the DIN rail 1.

The DIN rail mounting structure 4 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in comparison with a comparative example. FIG. 10 is a partially enlarged view showing a comparative example of the engaging portion of the rail mounting portion 10. Referring to FIG. 10, in the case of the comparative example, the side portion 36 is formed substantially perpendicular to the end portion 31. Furthermore, a protrusion 37A is formed in the groove 11A so as to protrude in a direction substantially perpendicular to the side portion 36 (a direction substantially parallel to the end portion 31).

FIG. 11 is a partially enlarged view for explaining the movement of attaching the DIN rail mounting structure 4 according to the comparative example shown in FIG. 10 to the DIN rail 1. As shown in FIG. 11, the protrusion 37A does not interfere with the flange 1B during the rotation of the thick DIN rail. In a state where the attachment of the DIN rail attachment structure 4 to the thick DIN rail is completed, the length from the side portion 36 to the tip of the protrusion 37A is determined so that the protrusion 37A contacts the DIN rail. That is, the distance W in the width direction between the tip of the protrusion 37A and the corner 32 is determined so as to substantially match the thickness of the thick DIN rail. For this reason, when the DIN rail mounting structure 4 is mounted on a thin DIN rail, a gap is generated between the protrusion 37A and the flange portion 1B. Therefore, in the state where the DIN rail 1 is attached to the DIN rail mounting structure 4, the device is likely to be rattled.

In contrast, in the DIN rail mounting structure 4 according to the embodiment of the present invention, the interference portion 37 is provided in the groove portion 11A of the engagement portion 11 (the same applies to the groove portion 12A of the engagement portion 12). Therefore, in both the thick DIN rail and the thin DIN rail, rattling can be prevented after the DIN rail 1 is attached to the DIN rail mounting structure 4.

Furthermore, the interference part 37 is formed so that the angle of the tip of the interference part 37 becomes an acute angle. Thereby, in a state where the DIN rail mounting structure 4 is attached to the thick DIN rail 1, the interference portion 37 is deformed or bites into the DIN rail 1, so that the flange portion 1B of the DIN rail 1 can be more reliably pressed. It is possible to prevent rattling more reliably.

In the embodiment described above, the attachment 3 is required to attach the DIN rail mounting structure 4 to the device 2. However, embodiments of the present invention are not so limited. FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing another embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 12, the DIN rail attachment structure 4 may be directly attachable to the housing of the device 2.

The embodiment disclosed this time should be considered as illustrative in all points and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is defined by the terms of the claims, rather than the description above, and is intended to include any modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the terms of the claims.

1 DIN rail, 1A rail body, 1B, 1C flange part, 2 device, 3 attachment, 4 DIN rail mounting structure, 5, 6 screw, 10 rail mounting part, 11, 12, 17A, 17B, 21A,

22A engaging part

11A, 12A, 12B, 21B, 22B Groove, 13A, 13B, 14 mounting portion, 14A, 18A, 18B mounting hole, 15A, 15B, 15C, 15D, 21, 22 bent portion, 16, 23 main plane, 20 Rail fixing part, 24 projecting part, 25, 26 hole, 31 terminal part, 32, 33 corner part, 34, 36 side part, 35 taper part, 37 interference part, 37A protruding part, 38 inlet part, D depth, W Distance (width).

Claims

A DIN rail mounting structure for mounting a device to a DIN rail having a first flange portion and a second flange portion,
An engaging portion formed with a groove that fits into the first flange portion of the DIN rail;
A fixing portion that engages with the second flange portion of the DIN rail located on the opposite side of the first flange portion;
The engaging portion is
The groove portion does not hinder insertion of the first flange portion of the DIN rail into the groove portion, and interferes with the first flange portion when the first flange portion moves in the groove portion. Including an interference portion provided in
The DIN rail mounting structure, wherein a minimum width of the groove portion defined by the interference portion is equal to or less than a minimum thickness defined by the DIN rail standard.
The groove is
An end portion for restricting insertion of the first flange portion;
A first corner portion and a second corner portion respectively formed on the first end portion and the second end portion of the end portion;
A first side connected to the first corner,
A tapered portion connected to the first side portion;
A second side portion connected to the second corner portion,
The first end portion of the terminal portion is on a side farther from a side attached to the device in the DIN rail mounting structure;
The second end portion of the end portion is on a side closer to a side attached to the device in the DIN rail mounting structure,
The interference part is formed by the second side part of the groove part and the inlet of the groove part,
The DIN rail mounting structure according to claim 1, wherein the second side portion forms an acute angle with respect to the inlet of the groove portion.
The DIN rail mounting structure according to claim 2, wherein the interference portion is deformable by a force applied to the second side portion.
4. The DIN according to claim 2, wherein an angle formed by the tapered portion with respect to the end portion is an obtuse angle and is larger than an angle formed by the second side portion with respect to the end portion. Rail mounting structure.
5. The DIN rail mounting structure according to claim 2, wherein an angle formed by the first side portion and the terminal end portion is smaller than an angle formed by the tapered portion and the terminal end portion. .
An attachment configured to be attachable to a device and attaching the device to a DIN rail,
An attachment comprising the DIN rail mounting structure according to any one of claims 1 to 5.
An apparatus comprising the DIN rail mounting structure according to any one of claims 1 to 5.
An apparatus comprising the attachment according to claim 6.