Automation field device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10015893-B2
Application number	US-201515427436-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 5, 2015
Priority date	Aug 8, 2014
Publication date	Jul 3, 2018
Grant date	Jul 3, 2018

Abstract

An automation field device having a housing and a modular field device electronics unit located inside the housing. The electronics unit has a first circuit board having at least one first and one second plug-in connector element, wherein the first plug-in connector element is used to electrically connect a peripheral unit, wherein both the first and the second plug-in connector elements can be contacted essentially from the same preferred plug-in direction, and a second circuit board having at least one third plug-in connector element, wherein the circuit boards are arranged such that the second plug-in connector element is connected to the third plug-in connector element in a detachable manner to electrically connect the peripheral unit to the second circuit board, and the second circuit board has at least one opening, via which the first plug-in connector element of the first circuit board is accessible for connecting the peripheral unit.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An automation field device comprising:
a housing having a passage; and
a modular field device electronics unit disposed within the housing, the electronics unit including:
a first printed circuit board having a first connector embodied to transmit energy and data and to connect electrically to a peripheral unit, and a second connector embodied to transmit energy and data, wherein the first connector and the second connector are disposed on the first circuit board such that each connector is enabled to be mated from a same direction,
a second printed circuit board having a third connector embodied to transmit energy and data and to be complementary to the second connector and an opening, wherein:

the first circuit board and the second circuit board are embodied to be detachably connectable with each other,
the second connector and the third connector are disposed such that they couple with each other when the first circuit board is connected to the second circuit board,
the first circuit board is embodied to pass energy and data signals from the first connector to the third connector via the second connector when the first circuit board is connected to the second circuit board, and
the opening is embodied to permit access to the first connector when the first circuit board is connected to the second circuit board.

2. The field device according to claim 1 , the first circuit board further having a fourth connector embodied to transmit energy and data, the fourth connector disposed on the first circuit board such that the fourth connector is enabled to be contacted from the same direction in which the first connector and the second connector are contacted.

3. The field device according to claim 2 , wherein the fourth connector is connected via at least one gas-filled tube or gas arrestor to the first connector.

4. The field device according to claim 2 , the second printed circuit board further having a fifth connector having contact pins, the fifth connector embodied to transmit energy and data and to be complementary to the fourth connector, the fifth connector disposed on the same side of the printed circuit board as the third connector, wherein the contact pins of the fifth connector are connected to ground.

5. The field device according to claim 4 , the second printed circuit board further having
additional third connectors,
additional fifth connectors, and
additional openings, wherein the additional third connectors are embodied to permit additional first circuit boards to be connected with the second circuit board, the additional openings are embodied to permit access to the first connectors of the connected first circuit boards, and the contact pins of the fifth plug connectors are connected to ground.

6. The field device according to claim 5 , the second circuit board further having an internal bus that electrically connects all third plug-in connectors to each other.

7. The field device according to claim 1 , wherein the second plug-in connector is embodied according to a bus specification.

8. The field device according to claim 5 , wherein the third connectors and the fifth connectors are disposed in an alternating sequence on the second printed circuit board.

9. The field device according to claim 2 , wherein the first, second, and fourth connectors of the first circuit board are disposed on a same printed circuit board edge or side.

10. The field device according to claim 1 , wherein the first circuit board and second circuit board are disposed relative to each other such that a surface plane of the first printed circuit board intersects with a surface plane of the second printed circuit board.

11. The field device according to claim 1 , wherein the peripheral unit is disposed outside of the housing and a lead is electrically connected to the first connector, passes through the opening or passage and is electrically connected to the peripheral unit.

12. The field device according to claim 7 , wherein the bus specification is the CAN bus specification.

Assignees

• Endress Hauser Gmbh Co Kg

Inventors

• Grozinger Roland
• Kaiser Andreas
• Spanke Dietmar

Classifications

• H05K5/0026 Primary

  provided with connectors and printed circuit boards [PCB], e.g. automotive electronic control units · CPC title

• H05K7/1462 Primary

  for programmable logic controllers [PLC] for automation or industrial process control · CPC title

• G01D21/00

  Measuring or testing not otherwise provided for · CPC title