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US-12620785-B2 - Plug-in socket system

US12620785B2US 12620785 B2US12620785 B2US 12620785B2US-12620785-B2

Abstract

The invention relates to a plug-in socket system ( 100 ) for one or more rail-mounted devices ( 400, 600, 610 ) to be releasably fastened to an advantageously designed electrically conducive mounting rail that can be connected to the ground and acts as a protective conductor (FIG. 9 A).

Inventors

  • Martin Kämpf
  • Tobias Wicki

Assignees

  • HAGER INDUSTRIE AG

Dates

Publication Date
20260505
Application Date
20220421
Priority Date
20210422

Claims (20)

  1. 1 . A plug-in socket system for one or more rail-mounted devices for detachable fastening to an electrically conductive mounting rail acting as a protective conductor, comprising: an electrically insulating busbar component for receiving current-carrying busbars; an electrically insulating protective part detachably mounted on the busbar component and comprising an exterior surface, an interior surface, and a plurality of access slots with protection against direct access; wherein the plurality of access slots is configured and arranged to be detachably mounted on one or more rail-mounted devices on the exterior surface; and wherein the plurality of access slots is configured and arranged to allow one or more electrical contacts of the one or more rail-mounted devices to provide an electrical contact with the one or more busbars; wherein the one or more rail-mounted devices comprise one or more locking protrusions; wherein the busbar component comprises one or more interlocks configured and arranged adjacent to the access slots to mechanically lock the one or more rail-mounted devices after attachment such that the one or more locking protrusions of the rail-mounted device are passed through the protective part and the protective part is also mechanically locked to the busbar component; at least one protective conductor terminal, which is designed and can be arranged on the busbar component in such a way that it provides electrical grounding for the one or more rail-mounted devices of the mounting rail acting as protective conductor.
  2. 2 . The plug-in socket system according to claim 1 , wherein the one or more interlocks comprise one or more locking protrusions, and said locking protrusions are configured and arranged to mechanically engage with each other and form at least one pair of locking protrusions when the one or more rail-mounted mounting devices are inserted into one or more access slots.
  3. 3 . The plug-in socket system according to claim 2 , wherein the one or more interlocks are configured and arranged to move within a locking slot, and wherein the plug-in socket system is configured and arranged to fasten the one or more locking protrusions to the locking slot adjacent to one or more of the rail-mounted devices.
  4. 4 . The plug-in socket system according to claim 3 , wherein the one or more locking protrusions are configured and arranged to provide a protrusion width along the second axis that is greater than the width of the locking slot.
  5. 5 . The plug-in socket system according to claim 1 , wherein the one or more interlocks are configured and arranged to be moved to a first locking position or second locking position, wherein in the first locking position, the one or more rail-mounted devices are mechanically locked, and wherein in the second locking position, the one or more rail-mounted devices are mechanically unlocked.
  6. 6 . The plug-in socket system according to claim 5 , wherein the one or more interlocks are configured and arranged to be movable in a locking slot, and the locking slot has a constriction of average width between the first and second locking positions.
  7. 7 . The plug-in socket system according to claim 1 , wherein the protective part and/or the busbar component further comprise one or more locking protrusions configured and arranged such that the protective part and the busbar component are mechanically lockable to each other with the one or more locking protrusions in a releasable manner.
  8. 8 . The plug-in socket system according to claim 1 , wherein the plurality of access slots is configured and arranged such that one or more electrical contacts of the one or more rail-mounted devices can provide direct electrical contact with the one or more busbars.
  9. 9 . The plug-in socket system according to claim 1 , wherein the plurality of access slots is configured and arranged such that one or more electrical contacts of a rail-mounted device have an indirect electrical contact with the one or more busbars through another rail-mounted device in the form of an adapter.
  10. 10 . The plug-in socket system according to claim 9 , wherein the adapter forms an L-shape with two legs of different length orthogonal to each other in such a way that a carriage arranged on the longer leg is suitable for fastening another rail-mounted device for electrical contact with the plug-in socket system, wherein the carriage is movable along the longer leg in such a way that the other rail-mounted device is fastened in the first position located near the shorter leg and the electrical contact is near the shorter leg in the second position.
  11. 11 . The rail-mounted device for a plug-in socket system according to claim 1 , wherein the rail-mounted device is configured and arranged in the form of an adapter so as to be detachably mountable to the exterior surface of the protective part and comprises one or more locking protrusions, to form a pair of locking protrusions with one or more locking protrusions of one or more interlocks of the busbar component and arranged to mechanically lock with each other and the one or more locking protrusions of the rail-mounted device are passed through the protective part, when the rail-mounted device is inserted into one or more access slots.
  12. 12 . The rail-mounted device according to claim 11 , wherein the plurality of access slots is configured and arranged such that electrical contact with the one or more busbars can be made with one or more electrical contacts of the rail-mounted device.
  13. 13 . The rail-mounted device according to claim 11 , wherein the rail-mounted device is formed in an L-shape by two orthogonally arranged legs of different length, so that a carriage arranged on the longer leg is suitable for receiving another rail-mounted device for electrical contact with the plug-in socket system, wherein the carriage is movable along the longer leg in such a way that another rail-mounted device is fastened in the first position located near the shorter leg and the electrical contact is near the shorter leg in the second position.
  14. 14 . The rail-mounted device according to claim 11 , wherein the movement of the carriage along the longer leg is predetermined by a bolt running in a guide, and the bolt is releasably lockable in at least one position in the guide.
  15. 15 . The rail-mounted device according to claim 14 , wherein the bolt engages with an access slot.
  16. 16 . The rail-mounted device according to claim 13 , wherein the carriage emulates a DIN rail-shaped cross-section.
  17. 17 . The kit-of-parts comprising a plug-in socket system according to claim 1 with one or more rail-mounted devices, wherein the one or more rail-mounted devices comprises a rail device that is configured and arranged in the form of an adapter so as to be detachably mountable to the exterior surface of the protective part and comprises one or more locking protrusions, to form a pair of locking protrusions with one or more locking protrusions of one or more interlocks of the busbar component and arranged to mechanically lock with each other and the one or more locking protrusions of the rail-mounted device are passed through the protective part, when the rail-mounted device is inserted into one or more access slots.
  18. 18 . The kit-of-parts according to claim 17 additionally comprising a protective conductor terminal for the plug-in socket system which can be fastened in a releasable manner to an electrically conductive mounting rail that can be connected to the ground and acts as a protective conductor, having a busbar component, wherein there is at least one insertion opening, the protective conductor terminal being designed in such a manner that it can be inserted into an insertion opening of the busbar component in such a way that by means of one or more electrical contacts of the protective conductor terminal to the mounting rail an electrical grounding can be provided for one or more rail-mounted devices or electrical loads connected thereto.
  19. 19 . The kit-of-parts comprising a plug-in socket system according to claim 1 and at least one mounting rail on which the plug-in socket system can be snapped on.
  20. 20 . The kit-of-parts comprising a plug-in socket system according to claim 1 and an electrical distribution cabinet that is adapted to receive the plug-in socket system during assembly.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This is a United States national phase under 35 USC § 371 of International Patent Application No. PCT/IB2022/053754 filed Apr. 21, 2022, which in turn claims priority under 35 USC § 119 of German Patent Application No. 102021110327.4 filed Apr. 22, 2021. The disclosures of all such applications are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their respective entireties, for all purposes. TECHNICAL FIELD The invention relates to plug-in socket systems for rail-mounted devices such as protection devices and/or switchgears and for the protection of such operating plug-in socket systems. PRIOR ART Various push-fit and plug-in socket systems are known, in particular for use and application in building concepts and machines in which safety, availability and options for flexible expansion and modification are critical for power distribution. The main advantage of such plug-in socket systems is that live devices and components can be plugged in and removed without any additional protective equipment. This should make it possible for rail-mounted devices, such as protection devices and/or switchgears to be plugged into a plug-in socket system quickly and easily, thereby avoiding the need for any complex electrical contact of the power feed. EP 0 229 590 describes a plug-in system. It typically has a total of five or seven busbars, three main buses, a neutral conductor, a protective conductor and two auxiliary busbars. A wide variety of rail-mounted devices such as circuit breakers and accessories can be plugged into such a system. A plug-in system is also known from EP 0 753 916 A2. It has a bottom part on which busbars are arranged. They are contacted by an adapter, which is hooked onto a pivot point on the underside and then tilted onto the underside. The adapter is locked in place by a latching lug, which engages to another latching lug in the lower part. A cover plate is placed on the adapter, into which circuit breakers are clamped. The adapter also has a microswitch, which is closed as soon as the adapter is folded onto the underside. The switch is the only device for ensuring that the adapter cannot be removed while it is actively managing an electrical load. However, in addition to the base on which the busbars are located, the adapter must also have electrical contacts alongside the microswitch and leads, since the switches provide contact on the adapter. Thus, the system contains a plurality of electrical parts and a plurality of components, which makes the system susceptible to faults and incurs costs. The adapter also has large openings into which the contacts are fully inserted, thus posing an increased risk of anybody working with the system touching live parts. When the electrical circuit controlled by the microswitch located on the adapter plate is active, there is a risk of contact with live components if just the cover plate is removed. Another plug-in system known from the prior art contains busbars on which plates made of electrically insulating material can be mounted to protect against accidental contact in order to cover unused slots in the system and make them safe from contact. Similar to the rail-mounted devices, but as an alternative to them, these boards are plugged into the slots and can be positioned in one or more slots. The disadvantage of this system is the inability to recognize whether it is operating with or without the insulating plates, so there is no safe way to protect against contact because the system does not know whether there are still free slots. In addition, the number of insulating plates should reflect the number of free slots with insulating plates of different widths available. The insulating plates no longer provide protection during replacement of the rail-mounted device since there are open contacts to the busbars after removal of the rail-mounted device. Nonetheless, demands for the availability of electrical power are increasing. There is increasing pressure for maintenance and expansion of low-voltage installations to be done quickly and while components are live to keep unavailability times brief (in banks, insurance companies, telecommunications facilities, airports, etc). GB 2 351 852 A discloses a so-called bus-bar system in which miniature circuit breakers can be plugged onto two opposite sides of the system. Placing the cover plate on the busbars themselves or on spacers between the busbars protects them against contact. The cover plate covers the busbars so that the circuit breakers have contact from the side with the busbars. However, miniature circuit breakers can be plugged in with or without a cover plate, and even if the busbars have a cover plate above them, there is no protection against accidental contact when the rail-mounted devices are removed. An additional insulating plate can be attached to cover the busbars, but since the system can still operate without an insulating plate, it only offers limited sa