Installation switching device having a housing and having a screw connecting clamp

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10793151-B2
Application number	US-201715616948-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 8, 2017
Priority date	Jun 27, 2016
Publication date	Oct 6, 2020
Grant date	Oct 6, 2020

Abstract

An installation switching device has a housing and screw connecting clamp with an essentially frame-shaped clamping part having longitudinal faces, narrow faces and broad faces, a head-clamp screw received in a clamping part threaded aperture, and a current rail arranged fixed in the device extending through the frame-shaped clamping part interior, wherein a current rail broad face is oriented, as assembled, parallel to a clamping part broad face facing the head clamping screw, the screw supporting itself, screwed in, on the current rail, wherein consequently, the clamping part is displaceable in its longitudinal direction, parallel to the narrow face, relative to the current rail by further screwing in the head clamping screw so a connecting conductor can be fixedly clamped between the current rail face remote from the screw and the clamping part broad face remote from the screw, the housing having a screw receiving region guiding the screw head.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An installation switching device, comprising:
a housing;
a screw connecting clamp including an essentially frame-shaped clamping part including longitudinal faces, narrow faces, and broad faces;
a head clamping screw configured to be received in a threaded aperture of the clamping part; and
a current rail arranged in a fixed manner in the installation switching device, the current rail extending through an interior of the frame-shaped clamping part,
wherein a current rail broad face is oriented, as assembled, parallel to a clamping part broad face facing the head clamping screw, and
wherein the head clamping screw supports itself, screwed-in, on the current rail and, consequently, the clamping part can be displaced in its longitudinal direction, parallel to one of the narrow faces, relative to the current rail during further screwing in the head clamping screw so that a connecting conductor can be fixedly clamped between a face of the current rail remote from the head clamping screw and the broad face of the clamping part that is remote from the head clamping screw,
wherein the housing includes a screw receiving region configured to guide a screw head of the head clamping screw laterally in its axial movement direction,
wherein the screw receiving region includes a housing-side screw access aperture that opens an access to the screw head,
wherein the screw receiving region includes a delimiter configured to prevent the screw head from penetrating the screw access aperture,
wherein a thread-free end section is located on an end section of a screw shaft of the head clamping screw lying opposite the screw head,
wherein a threaded section is located on an intermediate section of the screw shaft of the head clamping screw between the screw head and the thread-free end section,
wherein, the clamping part and the head clamping screw are operatively configured such that in the case of the head clamping screw being rotated out, the thread-free end section of the head clamping screw is located further within the threaded aperture when the thread of the clamping screw is no longer in engagement with the thread of the threaded aperture so that the head clamping screw can be further rotated in this position without a position of the clamping part changing further,
wherein the head clamping screw is dimensioned such that a length from a lower most delimiter contact point of the screw head to an end of the threaded section of the screw shaft is approximately equal to a distance from a top of the clamping part to a lower most portion of the delimiter that is configured to contact the screw head,
wherein the screw receiving region is dimensioned such that the screw head of the head clamping screw is guided therein such that the screw head can be displaced in an axial displacement direction in relation to a longitudinal center axis of the screw shaft,
wherein the screw receiving region comprises walls bounding at least two sides of the screw head that prevent the screw head from tilting,
wherein the screw receiving region comprises a transition in the direction away from the front face into a clamp receiving chamber, the clamp receiving chamber being configured to receive the screw connecting clamp and being wider than the screw receiving region,
wherein a length of the screw receiving region in the axial direction from the delimiter to the transition is configured such that at least a portion of the screw head remains within the screw receiving region from an entirely opened screw connecting clamp state to an entire closed screw connecting claim state.

2. The device of claim 1 , wherein the housing includes a front face, a fastening face lying opposite the front face, and narrow faces and broad faces that connect the front face and the fastening face,
wherein the clamp receiving chamber is formed in the housing near to a narrow face of the narrow faces of the housing and between the broad faces of the housing, and
wherein the clamp receiving chamber is issuing in a front face direction into the screw receiving region.

3. The device of claim 2 , wherein the screw receiving region includes a transition in the direction of the front face into the screw access aperture that opens the housing-side access to the screw head, and
wherein an inner diameter of the screw access aperture is smaller than an outer diameter of the screw head, as a result of which the delimiter, in the form of a shoulder, is formed in the housing on the transition between the screw access aperture and the screw receiving region.

4. The device of claim 1 , wherein the clamping screw is configured as a head screw including a bolt-shaped shaft that supports the thread, and the screw head in which a connecting geometry is attached so as to provide a positive-locking contact with an assembly tool.

5. The device of claim 1 , wherein the clamping part is formed by a curved conductor strip that is bent to an approximately right-angled or box-shaped frame and the two free ends of the conductor strip are bent towards one another at a right-angle so that the free ends form overlapping frame arms that represent a broad face, of the broad faces, of the clamping part facing the clamping screw and the threaded aperture including an inner thread configured to receive the clamping screw is located in the broad face.

6. The device of claim 5 , wherein the current rail is shaped as a rectangular, planar conductor piece and is located in an interior of the clamping part between the broad face facing the clamping screw and a broad face, of the broad faces, of the clamping part remote from the clamping screw, and
wherein the clamping part is configured to be guided in a displaceable manner in its longitudinal extent direction relative to the current rail.

7. The device of claim 6 , wherein a free end of the current rail, facing an insertion aperture, supports a rectangular contact plate extending with its broad face parallel to a longitudinal face, of the longitudinal faces, of the clamping part and in an insertion direction of a connecting conductor in front of the longitudinal face, and
wherein free ends of the contact plate protrude laterally beyond the clamping part so that the free ends form with their ends that protrude beyond clamping part retaining tongues adapted for the contact plate.

8. The device of claim 1 ,
wherein the thread free end section begins at the end of the threaded section, and
wherein the head clamping screw is dimensioned such that an axial length from the lower most delimiter contact point of the screw head to a terminal end-face of the screw shaft lying opposite the screw head allows for a portion of the thread free end section to be within and surrounded by the threaded aperture in a state where the lower most delimiter contact point of the screw head contacts the delimiter.

Assignees

• Abb Schweiz Ag

Inventors

• Weber Ralf
• Muders Erwin
• Eppe Klaus-Peter

Classifications

• H01H71/08 Primary

  Terminals; Connections · CPC title

• B60W2554/00

  Input parameters relating to objects · CPC title

• B60W30/08

  Active safety systems} predicting or avoiding probable or impending collision {or attempting to minimise its consequences · CPC title

• B60W50/045

  Monitoring control system parameters · CPC title

• H01H73/20

  Terminals; Connections · CPC title