ZA200807710B

ZA200807710B - Distribution device

Info

Publication number: ZA200807710B
Application number: ZA200807710A
Authority: ZA
Inventors: Schmitt Reinhard
Original assignee: Siemens Ag
Priority date: 2007-09-28
Filing date: 2008-09-08
Publication date: 2009-10-28
Also published as: EP2043374A2; DE102007046433A1; EP2043374A3

Description

13 4 ‘ i 2007P21134US i [ il ,

Description

Distribution device

The present invention relates to a distribution device for the fixed connection of incoming lines with outgoing lines.

In order to control and regulate different types of large industrial plants, large quantities of input/output signals must be processed by a central control facility. Each individual peripheral facility, i.e. for instance each individual field device (actuator/sensor) must be electrically connected via a field cable to a fixedly defined output/input end of the central control facility at the end of plant project planning.

Thousands of electrical connections must thus be realized between the peripheral facilities and the central control facility by means of a distribution device.

A distribution device which fulfills the following requirements is needed for a realization of this type: - shortest project development time - most cost-effective realization of these connections - highest availability of connections - extensions and modifications to signal connections onsite. :

The following different connection concepts are nowadays available for a distribution device in order to create electrical connections between peripheral facilities and a central control facility.

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One concept is the indirect connection technique. Field devices (actuators/sensors) are located on different sites in industrial plants. The individual lines of these field devices are merged in sub-distributors such that they are guided from there to a central distribution cabinet by means of a multi- conductor cable (e.g. 64 conductors). Pre-installed through terminals are located in this distribution cabinet. The through terminals are used both to connect multi-conductor field cables as well as to connect the input/output ends of. the central control facility. With the aid of a wiring list, the free ends of the through terminals are now electrically connected with the aid of a wire. This wire connection (jumper connection) can be produced manually or semi-automatically depending on the design concept.

A further concept is the direct connection technique. The direct connection technique of field devices with a central control facility is characterized in that no additional jumper line is used in the distribution cabinet. The field cables are not connected to preinstalled through terminals in the central distribution cabinet, but are instead directly connected to the free input end of the preinstalled through terminal of the central control unit. This connection is carried out with the aid of a wiring list. This connection technique can only be carried out manually.

Industry nowadays offers different types of through terminals as standard products. Different design concepts can be realized depending on the choice of through terminal.

The indirect connection technique on site was previously a manual action, which is to be implemented upon completion of the project planning stage. This type of jumper wiring is very

2007P21134US : time-consuming. Experience has shown that an error rate of approximately 5% is to be expected with this connection technique.

An indirect connection technique is already known, with which the through terminals used are optimized such that jumper connections in a control technology cabinet can be realized together with the electronics system with the aid of "wire wrap technology". The jumper connections are produced with the aid of a semiautomatic machine. This semiautomatic machine is controlled by a software program. Faulty connections are not possible. The disadvantage here is that this cabinet can only - be wired once the manufacturer’s project planning stage is complete. Furthermore, once the cabinet has been set up on site, the field cabling can be started. This procedure has in the past led to the project runtime being extended.

The direct connection technique is a purely manual action on site, which is likewise subjected to an error rate of approximately 5%. Due to space restrictions, this type of connection technique was never realized in a cabinet together with an evaluation electronics system. The field cables can only be connected to the through terminals of the evaluation electronics system once the project planning state has ended.

This means however that the field cables can only be layed out in the cabinet designed herefor once the project planning stage has ended. This connection technique also enforces a temporally consecutive sequence of work processes. This results in the project runtime increasing.

The object of the present invention is thus to specify a distribution device which fulfills the afore-cited requirements.

2007P21134US .. 5

This object is achieved in accordance with the invention for the distribution device mentioned in the introduction such that the incoming and outgoing lines are connected to a jumper module containing the jumper wires by way of plug connector.

With the distribution device according to the invention, the actual jumper unit, the jumper module, is separated from the remaining components of the distribution device.

This separation allows the cable laying on site to be carried out in parallel with the project planning stage. Once the . jumper modules are wired, they are installed on site into a jumper cabinet provided herefor and are connected to the lines already installed.

Further expedient embodiments of the invention result from the subclaims, as well as the description of an exemplary embodiment of a distribution device according to the present invention on the basis of the appended drawings, in which;

Figure 1 shows a front view of a jumper module according to the present invention,

Figure 2 shows a cross-section through the jumper module shown in Figure 1,

Figure 3 shows a front view onto a jumper distribution unit, which consists of several jumper modules shown in

Figures 1 and 2,

Figure 4 shows a cross-section through the jumper distribution unit shown in Figure 3, .

2007P21134US

Figure 5 shows a front view of a jumper cabinet for accommodating the jumper distribution unit with incoming and outgoing lines,

Figure 6 shows a cross-section through the jumper cabinet shown in Figure 5 for accommodating the jumper distribution unit,

Figure 7 shows a front view of the jumper cabinet shown in

Figure 5 with an integrated jumper distribution unit,

Figure 8 shows a cross-section through the jumper cabinet shown in Figure 7 with an integrated jumper distribution unit,

Figure 9 shows a front view of a line module for connecting outgoing lines with the jumper module and

Figure 10 shows a cross-section through the line module shown in Figure 9.

By means of the jumper module 1 shown in Figure 1, incoming lines, which connect a central control facility to the distribution device, are to be connected to outgoing lines, which connect a plurality of peripheral facilities to the distribution device, in accordance with a predetermined wiring diagram.

The jumper module 1 essentially consists of two wrap fields 2 and 3. With the exemplary embodiment illustrated here, wrap field 2 is provided for the lines coming from the central

_e Coy : 2007P211340US 5 200 8 / 07 7 10 control facility and wrap field 3 is provided for the lines outgoing toward the peripheral facilities.

A cable channel 4, which receives the actual jumper lines, which connect the two wrap fields 2 and 3 to one another, is disposed between the two wrap fields 2 and 3.

All parts of the jumper module 1 are arranged on a printed circuit board 5, as are the sockets 6 for multi-polar plug connectors and the male multipoint connector 7.

The individual contacts of the sockets 6 as well as of the male multipoint connector 7 are ccnnected 1:1 in each instance with the barbs of the wrap field 2 and/or the pins of the wrap field 3 by way of conductor lines of the printed circuit board 5.

The sockets 6 are used to receive multi-polar plugs, which terminate the lines 14 coming from the central control facility.

The male multipoint connectors 7 are used to receive female multipoint connectors 19, which are parts of a line module 12 to be described later and which are connected to the lines 15 outgoing toward the peripheral facilities.

Figures 3 and 4 show a complete jumper distribution unit 8.

This consists in the illustrated exemplary embodiment of eight jumper modules 1 arranged one above the other, which are mounted on a mounting structure 9.

The individual jumper modules 1 are affixed to the mounting structure 9 such that they are mounted free from play in the x

2007P21134US and y direction. Each 4uaper module 1 must have a play of approximately 6mm in the z-direction. This play is the prerequisite for the contacting of the cable coming from the peripheral facilities to be able to be implemented in the jumper cabinet on site.

This jumper distribution unit 8 has to be mounted free of play for the fully automatic wiring. This can be achieved by centering spikes for instance.

A completely wired jumper distribution unit 8 can then be sent ) out to its usage location. A cabinet illustrated in Figures 5 and 6 is provided in situ. :

Figures 5 and 6 show the cabinet without the jumper distribution unit 8. A mounting plate 11 is provided within the cabinet 10, to which the jumper distribution unit 8 as well as the line module 12 described below are attached. The lines 14 with their terminating plug connectors coming from the control facility as well the lines outgoing toward the peripheral facilities are fed into the cabinet 10.

The ends of the lines 15 outgoing toward the peripheral facilities are connected in each instance to the spring terminals 20 of the line module 12.

The line module 12 consists of a printed circuit board 21, to : which the female multipoint connector 19 and the individual spring terminals 20 are attached. The spring terminals 20 are each connected 1:1 to the individual springs of the female multipoint connector 19 by way of conductor lines of the printed circuit board 21 (not shown).

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The cable 14 coming from the central control facility is a moveable cable, which is terminated by a multi-polar plug apparatus.

The jumper distribution unit 8 is fixedly connected to the mounting plate 16 of the cabinet 10 in situ of the jumper cabinet 10.

Figures 7 and 8 show the jumper cabinet 10 with an integrated jumper distribution unit 8.

The jumper distribution unit 8 is arranged with its mounting structure 9 into a receiving apparatus of the mounting plate 16 in the jumper cabinet 10. This receiving apparatus fixes the jumper distribution unit 8 in the x and y direction in the jumper cabinet 10 and sets a precise absolute reference to the line modules 12. The jumper distribution unit 8 is then pivoted into the vertical position and is mechanically fixedly connected to the mounting plate 16 of the cabinet 10, e.g. by means of screw connections. The individual transfer plug, i.e. the male multipoint connector 7 of the jumper module 1, is now directly aligned in front of the transfer plug, i.e. the female multipoint connector 19 of the line module 12. Manual pressure in the z-direction now allows the transfer plug connector to be fixed to one another so that no relative movement arises within the contact pairings. After installing the jumper distribution unit 8, all lines 14 coming from the central control facility are connected with their multi-polar plugs to the jumper module 1.

The advantages which allow the inventive separation of the actual jumper and jumper cabinet are to be summarized once more, these are: :

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I. 9

Supplying the jumper distribution cabinet before the end of : the project planning phase,

Laying and connecting incoming and outgoing lines can be realized in parallel with the project planning phase,

Modular design of the jumper distribution unit can be realized,

Fault-free fully-automatic jumper wiring economically realizable,

Use of wire wrap technique,

Fifty percent reduction in current connection costs between the central control facility and peripheral facilities.

The following project requirements are fulfilled with the afore-cited advantages: : Shortest project development time,

Cost-effective realization of these connections,

Highest availability of the connections,

Expansions and modifications of signal connections on site.

In principle, there is the option of replacing the wrap fields with other contact terminals. The illustrated jumper distribution unit 8 nevertheless allows economical

. : . _e . ! 2007P21134US : 10 realizations of fully automatic machines for the jumper wiring by means of its simple jumper paths.

It would also be conceivable to fully automatically wire spring-type terminals, screwing terminals or maxi-termi-point- pins outside of a jumper distribution cabinet using this solution.

Claims

2007P21134Us im : 11 Ca : Claims ‘

1. A distribution device for the fixed connection of incoming lines with outgoing lines, characterized in that the incoming and outgoing lines are connected to a jumper module containing the jumper wires by way of plug connectors

2. The distribution device as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that each jumper module has a terminal contact field for the incoming and the outgoing lines in each instance, with each distributor side contact of the plug connectors being : connected to a contact of the terminal contact field and the two terminal contact fields being connected to one another by way of jumper wires.

3. The distribution device as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the terminal contact field is a wrap field.

4. The distribution device as claimed in claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the plug connectors for the incoming lines, which connect a central control facility to the distribution device, are multi-polar plug connectors consisting of plugs and sockets, with a part of the multi-polar plug connector terminating the incoming flexible lines and the other part of the multi-polar plug connector being a fixed component of the jumper module in each instance.

5. The distribution device as claimed in claim 2 or 3, characterized in that

2007P21134US the plug connector for the outgoing lines, which connect a plurality of peripheral facilities to the distribution device, are multi-polar plug connectors consisting of female : multipoint connectors and male multipoint connectors, with one part of the multi-point plug connector being a fixed part of the jumper module and the other part of the multi-point plug connector being part of a line module in each instance, to which the outgoing lines are connected.

6. The distribution device as claimed in one of the preceding claims, characterized in that several jumper modules can be combined to form a jumper unit.

7. The destribution device as claimed in claim 1, substantially as herein described and exemplified and/or described with reference to the accompanying drawings. th Cot Dated this © day of Septemboera Patent nn / Agent for the Applicant