CN114830477A

CN114830477A - Two-part electrical housing

Info

Publication number: CN114830477A
Application number: CN202080088162.9A
Authority: CN
Inventors: A·鲍杜; L·雅尼科
Original assignee: Legrand SNC; Legrand France SA
Current assignee: Legrand SNC; Legrand France SA
Priority date: 2019-12-20
Filing date: 2020-12-03
Publication date: 2022-07-29
Anticipated expiration: 2040-12-03
Also published as: CN114830477B; FR3105561A1; EP4078745A1; FR3105561B1; WO2021122043A1

Abstract

The invention relates to an electrical housing (1) comprising a plate-type support (10) and a frame (20) comprising complementary latching means (110, 260) which are movable relative to each other between a fixing position in which the frame is fixed on the plate-type support and a release position in which the frame is released relative to the plate-type support. According to the invention, the frame comprises at least one lever (250) movable to force the locker towards the release position, elastic return means adapted to automatically return the lever in one direction, and retaining means for retaining the locker in the release position.

Description

Two-part electrical housing

Technical Field

The present invention generally relates to the field of insulated electrical housings (boxes) for housing electrical mechanisms, typically socket mechanisms, circuit breaker mechanisms or detection mechanisms.

More particularly, the present invention relates to electrical housings, particularly sealed electrical housings, that are attached protruding from a wall.

More precisely, the invention relates to a two-part electrical housing comprising a plate-type support (support plate) and a frame, the plate-type support and the frame comprising complementary latching means (attachment means, connection means) which are movable relative to each other between a fixing position in which the frame is fixed on the plate-type support and a release position in which the frame is released relative to the plate-type support.

Background

At present, in order to assemble different parts of an electrical housing, assembly methods using screws or claws are known. Different fastening systems must be designed to meet the requirements of impact resistance, tightness, etc. This is why a plurality of fixing points are usually provided.

These different fixing systems have the common drawback that their operation is tedious and tiring when it is desired to release the frame from its plate support.

In the case of screws, in fact, each screw needs to be unscrewed in turn, which operation takes a long time and can cause damage to the hole in which it is screwed.

In the case of jaws, it is necessary to operate on all the jaws simultaneously using a plurality of tools, which, in practice, proves particularly difficult to achieve and often results in breakage of a portion of these jaws.

These disadvantages are all the more pronounced the greater the number of fastening points of the frame to the plate support.

Disclosure of Invention

To remedy the above-mentioned drawbacks of the prior art, the invention proposes a novel fixing system which is easy to assemble the frame on the panel-type support and is also easy to disassemble.

More specifically, according to the invention, an electrical housing as described in the introduction is proposed, in which:

the frame comprises at least one lever adapted to place the locker in the release position;

-providing elastic return means adapted to automatically bring the locker back into the fixed position;

-retaining means are provided for retaining the latching means in the release position.

Thus, by means of the invention, the lockers are arranged to automatically fit together during assembly of the panel support and the frame. When it is desired to disassemble both elements, the retaining means make it possible to simultaneously retain all the catch means in the release position, so that the frame can be removed from the plate support without difficulty.

In fact, when the frame is in the connection position on the plate-like support, the retaining means can retain the catch means in the release position without any manual force being applied on any element of the electrical casing (in particular the catch means or the elastic return means). Preferably, the retaining means is a snap-fit means adapted to cooperate with the latching means.

Other non-limiting and advantageous features of the electrical housing according to the invention are the following:

-a ramp is provided which, with the assembly of the frame on the plate support, can force the displacement of the catch towards the release position, without reaching the release position, the shape of the ramp being such that the catch can return to the securing position when the frame reaches its assembly position on the plate support;

the catch means of the plate-like support comprise a bayonet element (catch portion) fixed to the plate-like support, the catch means of the frame being carried by the lever and adapted to hook said bayonet element;

the catch means of the frame comprise a bayonet element fixed to the frame, the catch means of the plate-type support comprise an elastically deformable claw adapted to hook said bayonet element, said lever being adapted to deform the elastically deformable claw in the release position;

the retaining means comprise a concave recess in the lever adapted to retain the elastically deformable claw in the release position;

-the retaining means are formed with the plate support;

the retaining means comprise two uprights arranged on either side of the lever and at least partially elastically deformable for being separated from each other to allow the passage of the lever in one direction and for automatically returning to their initial position to retain the lever in the other direction;

each lever forms a single part (one piece) with the frame and is elastically deformable;

each lever is attached to a portion of the frame so as to have a unique pivotal movability with respect to that portion of the frame;

each lever is adapted to pivot with respect to said portion of the frame about an axis perpendicular to the assembly direction of the frame on the plate support;

each lever is adapted to pivot with respect to said portion of the frame about an axis parallel to the assembly direction of the frame on the plate support;

each lever has a grip portion that can be accessed by a finger of a user for operation;

each lever has an operating portion accessible by the tool for operation;

at least four levers are provided.

The invention also proposes an electrical box (box) comprising an electrical casing as defined above and a trim panel attached to the front of the frame of the electrical casing, said trim panel comprising a blocking heel adapted to be placed against the lever for preventing its displacement.

The invention also proposes an assembly comprising an equipment mechanism, a trim panel and an electrical housing as described above, the equipment mechanism being secured to the interior of the electrical housing and the trim panel being secured to the front of the electrical housing.

Drawings

The following description, given as a non-limiting example and made with reference to the accompanying drawings, will make apparent what the invention consists of and how it may be carried out.

In the drawings:

fig. 1 is an exploded perspective schematic view of an electrical box including an electrical housing and a trim panel according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective schematic view of a frame of the electrical housing of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective schematic view of one lever of the frame of the electrical housing of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a perspective schematic view of one detail of a plate bearing of the electrical housing of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a portion of the electrical housing of FIG. 1, showing a first step of assembly of the frame on the panel-form support;

FIG. 6 is a detailed view of the VI region of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the portion of the electrical housing of FIG. 5, showing a second step of assembly of the frame on the panel support;

FIG. 8 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the portion of the electrical housing of FIG. 5, showing a third step of assembly of the frame on the panel support;

FIG. 9 is a schematic cut-away perspective view of a portion of the electrical housing of FIG. 1;

FIG. 10 is a perspective schematic view of the electrical housing of FIG. 1, showing a first step of removing the frame relative to the plate carrier;

FIG. 11 is a perspective schematic view of the electrical housing of FIG. 1, showing a second step of removing the frame relative to the plate carrier;

fig. 12 is an exploded perspective schematic view of an electrical housing according to a second embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 13 is a perspective schematic view of one lever of the frame of the electrical housing of FIG. 12;

FIG. 14 is a schematic view in section and perspective of the lever of FIG. 13;

FIG. 15 is a perspective schematic view of one detail of a plate bearing of the electrical housing of FIG. 12;

FIG. 16 is a schematic cut-away perspective view of a portion of the electrical housing of FIG. 12, showing a first step in the assembly of the frame on the plate carrier;

FIG. 17 is a schematic cut-away perspective view of the portion of the electrical housing of FIG. 16, showing a second step of assembly of the frame on the plate carrier;

FIG. 18 is a perspective schematic view of the electrical housing of FIG. 12, showing a first step of removing the frame relative to the plate carrier;

FIG. 19 is a perspective schematic view of the electrical housing of FIG. 12, showing a second step of removing the frame relative to the plate carrier;

fig. 20 is a schematic diagram in cross-sectional exploded perspective of an electrical housing according to a third embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 21 is a schematic perspective cut-away view of one lever of the frame and a corresponding portion of the plate support of the electrical housing of FIG. 20;

FIG. 22 is a cross-sectional schematic view of a portion of the electrical housing of FIG. 20, showing a first step of assembly of the frame on the panel support;

FIG. 23 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the portion of the electrical housing of FIG. 22, showing a second step of assembly of the frame on the panel support;

FIG. 24 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the portion of the electrical housing of FIG. 22, showing a third step of assembly of the frame on the panel support;

FIG. 25 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the portion of the electrical housing of FIG. 22, showing a fourth step of assembly of the frame on the plate carrier;

FIG. 26 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the portion of the electrical housing of FIG. 22, showing a fifth step of assembly of the frame on the panel support;

FIG. 27 is a cross-sectional schematic view of the electrical housing of FIG. 20, showing a first step of removing the frame relative to the plate carrier;

FIG. 28 is a cross-sectional schematic view of the electrical housing of FIG. 20, showing a second step of removing the frame relative to the plate carrier;

fig. 29 is a schematic cross-sectional exploded perspective view of an electrical housing according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 30 is a perspective schematic view of one lever of the frame of the electrical housing of FIG. 29;

FIG. 31 is a perspective schematic view of a portion of the electrical housing of FIG. 29, showing a first step of assembly of the frame on the panel support;

FIG. 32 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the portion of the electrical housing of FIG. 31, showing a second step of assembly of the frame on the panel support;

FIG. 33 is a perspective schematic view of the portion of the electrical housing of FIG. 31, showing a third step of assembly of the frame on the panel support;

FIG. 34 is a perspective schematic view of an assembly including the electrical housing and receptacle mechanism of FIG. 1;

fig. 35 is a perspective schematic view of an assembly including the electrical housing and circuit breaker mechanism of fig. 1.

Detailed Description

In fig. 1, 12, 20 and 29, four embodiments of an electrical housing 1 are shown.

In these four embodiments, it concerns a sealed electrical housing intended to be mounted protruding from a wall and arranged for receiving internally an electrical equipment mechanism, such as a circuit breaker mechanism 3B (see fig. 35), a socket mechanism 3A (see fig. 34) or a (smoke, light) detection mechanism.

As a precondition, it should be noted that identical or similar elements of the different embodiments of the invention shown in the various figures will be marked with the same reference signs and will not be described every time.

In the description, the terms "front" and "rear" are used with respect to a line of sight direction of an installer of the electrical housing towards a wall to which the electrical housing is attached. For example, when the wall is a partition wall in a room, the front of the element refers to the side of the element facing the inside of the room and the back of the element refers to the side of the element facing the outside of the room.

The terms "inner" (or "inner") and "outer" (or "outer") are then used with respect to the electrical housing itself and refer to the side of the element facing the center of the electrical housing and the side of the element facing the outside of the electrical housing, respectively.

In the four embodiments of the invention shown in the various figures, the electrical housings 1 have substantially the same shape.

It is therefore made of two distinct parts, namely a rear part, called "plate support 10", and a front part, called "frame 20".

The plate support 10 is provided for fixing to a support, for example a partition wall, and for supporting the

equipment mechanisms

3A, 3B. The frame 20 has the function of protecting the equipment mechanism and of supporting interface means allowing the user to interact with the

equipment mechanism

3A, 3B.

For example, as shown in fig. 1 (and also in fig. 12, 20 and 29), the plate-type support 10 comprises a base 100, here the base 100 is substantially parallelepiped in shape, but it can of course also be of a different shape, in particular cylindrical.

The base 100 is open at the front and comprises a square bottom 102 delimited by a side wall 101 rising from the bottom 102 and substantially perpendicular thereto. The side wall 101 also has a generally square profile.

The bottom 102 has small-sized circular apertures 102A, which are closed here by pierceable sealing caps, through which screws can be screwed to fix the plate support 10 to the partition.

Here it has two opposite circular orifices 102A and two other opposite oblong orifices, the latter elongated along a vertical axis.

The bottom 102 also has a central opening 102B of larger dimensions, closed here by a tearable sealing cap for the passage of an ICTA type wire sheath, a U1000RO2V type or HO7RNF type cable or even an IRL type tube.

As regards the side wall 101, it carries, on opposite panels, two cable input ferrule parts 101A, of greater height than the rest of the side wall 101, each having an opening 101B closed by a tearable sealing cap and intended for the passage of ICTA-type wire sheaths, IRL-type tubes or cables.

As regards the frame 20, it comprises a body 200 arranged to extend in an extension of the side wall 101 of the base 100 of the plate-like support 10.

For example, as shown in fig. 2 (and also in fig. 21 and 29), the main body 200 comprises two distinct parts assembled to each other, namely a rear part called "side wall 220" and a front part called "raised part (reinforcement part) 210".

The side wall 220 is also of generally square profile and has a rear edge designed to be scarf-jointed to the front edge of the side wall 101 of the base 100.

As is clearly shown in fig. 11, the engagement of the side wall 220 of the body 200 of the frame 20 on the base 100 of the panel-type support 10 is here achieved thanks to the particular shape of the rear edge of said side wall 220, which delimits a groove 221 open towards the rear and adapted to engage the front edge of the side wall 101 of the base 100 of the panel-type support 10. Here, a circumferential joint 180 is visible, provided at the front edge, which is entirely along the front edge, to ensure tightness between the frame 20 and the panel-type support 10.

The raised portion 210 itself forms a rim and is provided for scarf and snap-fitting to the front edge of the side wall 220. Thus, the main body 200 of the frame 20 is formed by the combination of the side walls 220 and the elevated portions 210 by means of clamping. To this end, the raised portion 210 comprises four clips arranged at its four corners, which are received in housings provided at the four corners of the frame 20, said housings being shaped in correspondence with said clips.

Making the body 200 from two sub-components can simplify the design by molding. In a variant, the body of the frame may be formed from a single part, for example of moulded plastics material.

As shown in fig. 1, the elevated portion 210 is specifically designed to receive the decorative plate 2, so that the electrical housing 1 forms an electrical box together with the decorative plate 2.

In fig. 1 it can be seen that the decorative plate 2 here has a structural part 2B in the form of a frame, which is equipped with teeth (not visible) for snapping onto the raised portion 210.

Here, as long as the present invention can be applied to electric housings having various shapes, the shapes common to the decorative plate 2, the panel type stay 10, and the frame 20 will not be described in detail.

More particularly, the invention relates to elements of an electrical casing 1 that can connect together a panel-type support 10 and a frame 20.

In fact, although the body 200 of the frame 20 is provided for engagement to the base 100 of the panel-type support 10, such engagement only ensures relative blocking (locking) of the frame 20 with respect to the panel-type support 10 in the plane (x, y) (parallel to the plane of the partition). Conversely, such engagement does not allow blocking of the frame 20 along the axis z (orthogonal to the plane of the partition) with respect to the panel-type support 10.

To ensure such blocking, the plate support 10 and the frame 20 comprise complementary latching means.

Here, four sets of latching devices are provided, one at each corner of the electrical housing 1, which ensures that the frame 20 is firmly fixed to the plate bearing 10.

Here, the sets of lockers are identical, and only one of them will be described later in this description.

In order to make it possible not only to assemble the frame 20 and the panel-type support 10 together, but also to disassemble them, each set of locking devices is arranged so that:

the

lockers

260, 1260, 3253 provided on the frame 20 are movable relative to the main body 200 of the frame 20 and/or;

the locker 2110, provided on the plate support 10, is movable with respect to the base 100 of the plate support 10.

The two lockers of the set may thus have a fixing position, in which the frame 20 is fixed to the plate support 10, and a release position, in which the frame 20 may be removed from the plate support 10. The two lockers of the set may also have all intermediate positions between the two extreme positions mentioned above.

As will be explained in detail later in this description, with reference to the accompanying drawings, the electric housing 1 further includes:

elastic return means 252, 3255 adapted to automatically return the locker to the fixing position;

a

lever

250, 1250, 2250, 3250 designed to ease the installer in bringing the locker into the release position;

a

retaining device

120, 1254, 2254 for blocking the catch device in the release position during the time the installer removes the frame 20 from the plate support 10.

In order to fully understand the present invention, a detailed description may be first made of a first embodiment of the present invention, which is shown in fig. 1 to 11.

As shown in fig. 4, in this embodiment, catch means 110 provided on plate-like support 10 are in the form of a bayonet piece 110A which, together with base 100 of plate-like support 10, is formed as a single part, for example by moulding a plastic material.

The bayonet 110A extends protruding from the inner surface of the sidewall 101 of the base 100.

It has a rear surface 112 parallel to the bottom 102 of the base 100 and has a front surface that is inclined so that the bayonet 110A has a pointed profile. Thus, the front surface of the bayonet 110A forms a slope 111, the function of which will be described in detail later.

As shown in fig. 3, as regards the lever 250, here it is in the form of a rectangular platelet, the two reinforcing sides 255 forming its boundary. It comprises, in a central portion, a shaft 253 which extends between the two reinforcing sides 255 and which can hinge the lever 250 to the body 200 of the frame 20 about an axis parallel to the plane (x, y). As shown in fig. 5, for this purpose, the inner surface of the side wall 220 of the body 200 of the frame 20 comprises a housing bracket open towards the front, inside which the shaft 253 can be snapped.

In this first embodiment of the invention, the catch means provided on the frame 20 intended to cooperate with the bayonet element 110A of the plate-like support 10 are carried by the lever 250. In practice, as shown in fig. 3, the rear end of lever 250 has an opening 260 adapted to engage bayonet member 110A of base 100 of plate support 10.

Opening 260 has, in particular, a rear edge 261 adapted to hook against rear surface 112 of bayonet 110A to block frame 20 against plate support 10.

Thus, the "fixed position" of the locker of the frame 20 on the plate-like support 10 corresponds to the position of the lever 250 in which the opening 260 of this lever 250 is engaged to the bayonet 110A.

As shown in fig. 8, in this position, the rear end of lever 250 abuts against the inner surface of side wall 101 of base 100 of plate bearing 10. In this position, the rear edge 261 of the opening 260 of the lever 250 extends in a plane parallel to the rear surface 112 of the bayonet 110A. In this manner, if a user exerts a pulling force on the frame 20, the frame 20 will not disengage from the plate support 10.

The "release position" of the locker of the frame 20 on the plate-like support 10 corresponds to a position of the lever 250 in which the opening 260 of the lever 250 is completely disengaged from the bayonet 110A and is located at a distance therefrom.

In this position, the outer surface of the front end of lever 250 abuts against the inner surface of side wall 101 of base 100 of panel-form support 10.

As shown in fig. 3 and 5, the inner surface 251 of the front end of the lever 250 is provided accessible to the installer so that the installer can flip the lever 250 from its secured position to its released position by simple pressing with a finger.

In this embodiment, the return means is arranged to automatically bring the lever 250 back to the fixed position. As shown in fig. 3 and 5, the return means here comprise an elastically deformable small plate (vane, leaf) 252, which is formed in a single piece with the rest of the lever 250 by moulding a plastic material and extends from a shaft 253 towards the outside and the front.

Thus, the small plate 252 is disposed for abutment against the inner surface of the side wall 220 of the body 200 of the frame 20.

The resilient design of the small plate 252 is such that the pressing of the installer's finger on the inner surface 251 of the front end of the lever 250 counteracts the restoring force exerted by the small plate 252, so that the lever 250 can be manually flipped to the release position.

For mounting to the plate support 10, a frame 20 is attached along the direction z.

During this mounting, the rear end edge of the lever 250 is set to abut against the inclined surface 111 of the bayonet 110A of the board bearing 10 (see fig. 5 and 6).

By means of the frame 20 reaching deep on the plate support 10 (without the installer having to directly operate the lever 250), the ramp 111 can thus force the lever 250 to turn towards its release position (see fig. 7).

When frame 20 reaches its assembled position on the shelf support (see fig. 8), that is to say when groove 221 provided in the rear edge of lateral wall 220 engages against the front edge of lateral wall 101 of base 100 of shelf support 10, opening 260 provided in lever 250 naturally engages bayonet 110A by means of small plate 252 which returns lever 250 to the fixed position.

As shown in fig. 9, in order to ensure better impact resistance of the frame 20 on the panel-type support 10, the trim panel 2 includes a locking heel 2A that projects toward the rear, and the locking heel 2A is adapted to abut against the outer surface of the front end of the lever 250 when the trim panel 2 is clamped to the raised portion 210 of the frame 20. This abutment thus prevents the lever 250 from flipping towards its release position.

As mentioned above, a holding device 120 is provided, which is designed here for holding the lever 250 in the release position.

In this embodiment, the retaining means 120 is formed together with the plate bearing 10.

As shown in fig. 4, it comprises here two

uprights

121, 122 rising from the bottom 102 of the base 100 of the plate-like support 10 and arranged on either side of the bayonet 110A of the lever 250.

The two

uprights

121, 122 are at least partially elastically deformable so as to be separated from each other when the lever 250 is turned from its fixing position towards its release position, so as not to obstruct the passage of the lever 250.

In fact, the two

uprights

121, 122 carry opposite ribs 121A, 122A, which extend over the entire height of the uprights. As shown in fig. 3, the lever 250 includes two ribs 255A protruding from opposite surfaces of two reinforcing sides 255 thereof, respectively.

These

different ribs

121A, 122A, 255A are thus shaped so that, when the installer operates the lever 250 to flip it from its fixing position towards its release position, the rib 255A of the lever 250 comes into contact with the ribs 121A, 122A of the two

uprights

121, 122, said ribs deforming so that the lever 250 can continue its stroke and then said ribs resume their original shape.

When the installer releases the lever 250 and the small plate 252 brings the lever 250 back to its fixed position, the rib 255A of the lever 250 comes back into contact with the ribs 121A, 122A of the two

uprights

121, 122. This time, the stiffness of these ribs is such that the return force exerted by the small plate 252 is insufficient to deform the ribs and allow the lever 250 to pass. Thus, the lever 250 is blocked in the release position (see fig. 10).

Thus, after having turned the four levers 250 of the electrical casing 1, the installer can release these levers and then exert a drawing force on the frame 20 along the axis z (towards the front) to remove the frame 20 from the plate support 10 (see fig. 11).

During this disassembly, rib 255A of lever 250 no longer engages the rib of

upright

121, 122, thereby causing lever 250 to automatically return to the secured position. Thus, the frame 20 is again ready to be mounted to the panel-type support 10.

Advantageously, the inclined surface 111 of the bayonet 110A is designed so that the lever 250 is turned over only over a portion of its travel during the assembly of the frame 20 to the plate support 10. As such, lever 250 is not flipped sufficiently so that its rib 255A passes between ribs 121A, 122A and

uprights

121, 122. This is why the lever 250 is not blocked in the release position but is able to return automatically to the fixing position during the assembly of the frame 20 to the plate-type support 10.

In fig. 12 to 19, a second embodiment of the present invention is shown.

In this second embodiment, the set of lockers differs from the lockers described in fig. 1 to 11 in that the lever does not form a part distinct from the main body 200 of the frame 20, but is formed integrally with this main body 200 as a single part, here made by moulding a plastic material.

Thus, as shown in fig. 12 and 15, in this embodiment, the catch means 110 provided here on the plate carrier 10 is still in the form of a bayonet piece 110A.

As shown in fig. 13 and 14, the lever 1250 is itself in the form of a rectangular platelet 1251, the two reinforcing sides 1255 forming the boundary thereof.

The lever 1250 is connected to the main body 200 of the frame 20 only through the front end thereof. It forms a hinge structure at the junction with the main body 200 and thus can be elastically deformed. Accordingly, the lever 1250 may be considered to be hinged to the body 200 about an axis parallel to the plane (x, y).

The rear end of the lever 1250 is bent toward the inside of the electric housing, thereby forming a flange 1256. The flange 1256 includes a slot 1257 into which the end of a screwdriver 400 may be inserted (see fig. 18 and 19).

By inserting the end of screwdriver 400 into slot 1257, the installer may force lever 1250 to flip toward the interior of the electrical housing.

As shown in fig. 18 and 19, in order to ensure that the screwdriver 400 is guided toward the slit 1257, the lever 250 includes a folded-back portion 1258 on the front end side thereof, which extends toward the inside of the electric housing orthogonal to the rectangular small plate 1251. The return portion has an end edge that is curved so as to conform to the shape of the shank of screwdriver 400.

In a modification, as shown in fig. 13 and 14, it may be considered that the lever 250 has no folded-back portion, and the side wall 220 of the main body 20 has an inner circumferential rib along a front edge thereof, and an inner surface of the inner circumferential rib has a bent region 1258' provided to conform to the shape of the shaft portion of the screwdriver 400.

As shown in fig. 14, the small rectangular plate 1251 of the lever 1250 includes an opening 1260 on the rear end side thereof, which is adapted to be engaged to the bayonet 110A of the base 100 of the plate type support 10.

The "fixed position" of the catch of the frame 20 on the plate-like support 10 therefore corresponds to the rest position of the lever 1250 (that is to say, to the position in which it is not elastically deformed). In this position, the opening 1260 of the lever 1250 is engaged to the bayonet 110A. As shown in fig. 14, in this position, the lever 1250 extends parallel to the side wall 220 of the body 200 of the frame 20.

The "release position" of the latching means of the frame 20 on the plate-like support 10 corresponds to a position of the lever 1250 in which the opening 1260 of the lever 1250 is completely free of and at a distance from the bayonet 110A. This elastically deformed position of the lever 1250 is achieved by means of the screwdriver 400.

It will be recalled that return means are provided for automatically bringing the lever 1250 back to the secured position, in this embodiment the return means are formed by the lever 1250 itself, so that its elastically deformable feature ensures that it returns to the secured position when no force is applied to it anymore.

During the mounting of the frame 20 to the plate-type support 10, the rear end edge of the lever 1250 is disposed against the inclined surface 111 of the bayonet 110A of the plate-type support 10.

With the frame 20 deep on the plate support 10 (that is to say without the installer having to directly operate the lever 1250), the ramp 111 can thus force the lever 1250 to flip towards its release position (see fig. 16). Here, the rear end edge of the lever 1250 is chamfered to facilitate its sliding on the bayonet 110A.

When the frame 20 reaches its assembled position on the plate support (see fig. 17), the resilience of the lever 1250 may return the lever to a fixed position to automatically engage the opening 1260 to the bayonet 110A.

It should be recalled that the retaining means 120 are designed to retain the lever 1250 in the release position, as shown in fig. 15, which are here also formed by two

uprights

121, 122 rising from the bottom 102 of the base 100 of the plate-like support 10 and arranged on either side of the bayonet 110A of the lever 1250.

In this embodiment, the two

uprights

121, 122 do not have ribs and are therefore designed to be completely turned in opposite directions during the transition of the lever 1250 from its fixing position towards its release position.

As shown in fig. 15, these

posts

121, 122 are chamfered at their ends, thus forming

inclined surfaces

121B, 122B. As shown in fig. 19, two corresponding side teeth 1254 are located on the side of the lever 1250, which extend over the reinforcement side 1255 and are intended to slide on the

inclined surfaces

121B, 122B.

These side teeth 1254 each have an inclined inner surface so as to facilitate the elastic deformation of the

uprights

121, 122 during the transition of the lever 1250 from its fixing position towards its release position.

Each side tooth 1254 has an outer surface orthogonal to the reinforcement side 1255, and each side tooth 1254 extends from the reinforcement surface and is configured to abut the

ramps

121B, 122B to retain the lever 1250 in the released position.

The side teeth 1254 and the

ramps

121B, 122B can cause the lever 1250 to gradually return to a seated position when an installer removes the frame 20 from the plate support 10.

Still here, the inclined surface 111 of the bayonet element 110A is designed such that the lever 1250 is only turned over a portion of its travel during the assembly of the frame 20 to the plate bearing 10. As such, lever 1250 is not flipped sufficiently so that its side teeth 1254 abut posts 121, 122. This is why the lever 1250 is not blocked in the release position and can automatically return to the fixing position during the assembly of the frame 20 to the plate-type support 10.

In fig. 20 to 28, a third embodiment of the present invention is shown.

In this third embodiment, the locking means that lock the frame 20 to the plate-like support 10 are not carried by the lever, but by the body 200 of the frame 20. It is a snap fit device. The lever thus has the primary function of forcing the lockers away from each other.

As shown in fig. 20, in this embodiment, the catch means provided on the frame 20 are in the form of a bayonet member 2240 which is formed as a single part with the main body 200 of the frame 20, for example by moulding a plastics material.

The bayonet 2240 extends protruding from the inner surface of the sidewall 220 of the frame 20. It has a front surface extending in a plane (x, y) and has a rear surface inclined with respect to this plane, so that bayonet 2240 has a trapezoidal profile. Thus, the rear surface of the bayonet 2240 forms a ramp 2241.

The catch means provided on the plate support 10 are in the form of resiliently flexible fingers 2110 which, together with the base 100 of the plate support 10, are formed as a single part, for example by moulding of plastics material.

The resiliently flexible fingers 2110 rise from the bottom 102 of the base 100 of the plate bearing 10 and along the side walls 101 of the base 100. It has an opening 2112 adapted to engage a bayonet 2240 of the frame 20, hooking the bayonet 2240.

During assembly of the frame 20 to the plate-type support 10, the front end edge of the elastically bendable claw 2110 is arranged to slide against the inclined surface 2241 of the bayonet 2240, thereby forcing the elastically bendable claw 2110 to elastically bend towards the interior of the electrical housing (see fig. 22 to 24).

It will be recalled that return means are provided for automatically bringing the locker back to the secured position, in this embodiment the return means are formed by the resiliently flexible fingers 2110 themselves, so that its resiliently deformable feature ensures that it returns to the secured position when no force is applied to it anymore.

Thus, when assembly is complete, opening 2112 provided in elastically bendable claw 2110 automatically engages bayonet 2240, which makes it possible to block frame 20 on plate support 10.

Thus, in this embodiment, the "fixed position" of the locker of frame 20 on plate support 10 corresponds to the position in which opening 2112 provided in resiliently flexible claw 2110 engages bayonet 2240.

The "release position" of the locker corresponds to a position in which the opening 2112 provided in the resiliently bendable claw 2110 is completely free of and at a distance from the bayonet 2240.

In this embodiment, a lever 2250 is provided for forcing the elastically bendable claw 2210 to bend in the released position.

As shown in fig. 20 and 21, it comprises for this purpose a curved main plate 2251 which carries on its outer surface a shaft 2253, the ends of which extend on both sides of the main plate 2251. This shaft 2253 allows the lever 2250 to be hinged to the body 200 of the frame 20 about an axis parallel to the plane (x, y). The inner surface of the side wall 220 of the body 200 of the frame 20 comprises correspondingly two housing brackets 2230, which are open towards the front and inside which the ends of the shafts 2253 can be snapped in.

Here, these brackets 2230 are provided on the top of two ribs extending on either side of bayonet 2240 protruding from the inner surface of the side wall 220, between which the elastically bendable fingers 2110 slide during assembly of the frame 20 to the plate bearing 10.

By means of this articulation, the lever 2250 is adapted to be turned between two extreme positions, hereinafter referred to as inactive position and active position.

The front end of the main plate 2251 of the lever 2250 is provided for operation by the fingers of the installer. It has a curved shape for this purpose.

In the inactive position, lever 2250 does not exert any stress on elastically bendable fingers 2110.

When the installer presses the front end of the lever 2250 to flip it toward the outside, it reaches an active position where the lever 2250 abuts against the resiliently bendable claw 2110 to force it to bend to the release position (see fig. 27).

Here, a rear end edge of the lever 2250 defines an inner groove 2252 configured for receiving an upper end of the elastically bendable claw 2110.

As shown in fig. 24, the inner groove 2252 is thus bounded on one side by the inner flange 2252A and on the other side by the outer flange 2252B.

The inner flange 2252A is inclined towards the outside so that during assembly of the frame 20 to the plate support 10, the front end of the elastically bendable claw 2110 abuts against this inner flange 2252A and thus forces the lever to flip towards its active position (see fig. 23 and 24).

As such, when the resiliently bendable fingers 2110 return to the secured position, it naturally brings the lever 2250 back to the inactive position (see fig. 25) such that its upper end is received by the inner flange 2252.

As shown in fig. 26, to ensure better impact resistance of the frame 20 on the panel-type support 10, the trim panel 2 comprises a blocking heel 2A projecting towards the rear, adapted to abut against the lever 2250 when the trim panel 2 is clamped to the raised portion 210 of the frame 20. This abutment thus prevents the lever 2250 from flipping toward its release position.

To remove frame 20 from plate support 10, the installer operates lever 2250 to place it in the active position. When the lever 2250 is turned, it abuts with its outer flange 2252B against the elastically bendable claw 2110 and forces the elastically bendable claw 2110 to displace to the release position (see fig. 27).

As shown in fig. 27, the outer flange 2252B of lever 2250 forms a recessed notch 2254. This notch 2254 constitutes a holding means for the resiliently bendable fingers 2110 in the release position (see fig. 28). In fact, it is provided for engaging the upper edge of the elastically bendable claw 2110 when the lever 2250 reaches the release position.

As shown in fig. 24, advantageously, the inclined surface 2241 of the bayonet piece 2240 is designed such that during assembly of the frame 20 to the plate support 10, the elastically bendable claw 2110 bends towards its release position, but does not reach this position. In this manner, the resiliently bendable fingers 2110 cause the lever 2250 to flip over only a portion of its travel so that its notch 2254 does not engage the upper edge of the resiliently bendable fingers 2110. Thus, the elastically bendable claws 2110 are not blocked in the release position during assembly of the frame 20 to the plate support 10.

In fig. 29 to 33, a fourth embodiment of the present invention is shown.

In this fourth embodiment, as in the first two embodiments, lever 3250 carries a locking device for locking frame 20 to plate support 10. However, in this embodiment, the lever is mounted rotatably movable about the axis z and functions in the manner of a quarter turn screw.

As shown in fig. 29, to accommodate lever 3250, and to guide lever 3250 in rotation about axis z, side wall 220 of frame 20 carries on its inner surface a tubular sleeve 3221, substantially in the form of a rotating cylindrical surface.

As shown in fig. 30, the lever 3250 has a rotating cylindrical body with a front portion 3251, having a diameter equal to the inner diameter of the tubular sleeve 3221, and a rear portion 3252, having a smaller diameter.

The rear portion 3252 includes a lateral lug 3253 near its free end. The lateral lug 3253 has a rectangular cross-section so that its front surface 3257 is orthogonal to the axis z. However, one of its trailing edges is chamfered to form a chamfer 3254.

The front portion 3251 of the lever 3250 comprises, near its free end, a return tongue 3255, which is S-shaped and extends in a plane orthogonal to the axis z. The return tongue 3255 comprises a first portion 3255A, which extends radially with respect to the front portion 3251 of the lever 3250, and a second portion, which continues said first portion, is bent S-shaped and has a smaller thickness so as to be elastically deformable.

As shown in fig. 31, lever 3250 engages through tubular sleeve 3221 of side wall 220 of frame 20 such that its return tab 3255 abuts against a front end edge of tubular sleeve 3221 and its rear portion 3252 projects rearwardly of the sleeve.

The return tongue 3255 is thus arranged to abut, with its free end, against the inner surface of the side wall 220 of the body 200 of the frame 20 to hold the lever 3250 in a first angular position in which the return tongue 3255 is not deformed. That position is its fixed position.

As shown in fig. 29, 31 and 33, a locking device is provided on the plate support 10 and is adapted to cooperate with a lever 3250 for blocking the frame 20 on the plate support 10, which is in the form of a tubular base 3110.

The tubular seat 3110 is raised from the bottom 102 of the base 100 of the plate-like support 10 and forms a single part therewith, for example made by moulding a plastic material.

It defines a receiving cavity for the rear end of lever 3250.

The tubular base 3110 has a front edge 3111, half of which is spiral in shape over half of the circumference.

It is open at the front to define an opening at the lateral lug 3253 having a cross section larger than that of the lever 3250.

It has a portion that widens at an intermediate height to form a shoulder 3112 (see fig. 33).

The tubular base 3110 is thus shaped so that the rear end of the lever 3250 can engage within the tubular base 3110 when the frame 20 is attached to the panel support 10.

During this engagement, the lateral lug 3253 of the lever 3250 abuts, by means of its inclined surface 3254, against the helical front edge 3111 of the tubular base 3110, thus forcing the lever to pivot with constraint of the return tongue 3255 to an angular position in which the lever 3250 can be inserted into the tubular base 3110.

Once the lateral lug 3253 is fully inserted into the tubular base 3110, the return tongue 3255 brings the lever 3250 back into the fixing position so that the front surface 3257 of the lateral lug 3253 is placed behind the shoulder 3112 of the tubular base 3110, which thus forms a stop preventing the lever 3250 and the frame 20 from being removed from the plate support 10.

As shown in fig. 31, in this embodiment, the first portion of the return tongue 3255 is accessible to the installer and thus forms a bearing surface so that the installer can force the lever to pivot to its release position.

The retaining means are designed to retain the lever 3250 in a release position, in this case in the form of a snap-tooth (not visible in the figures), inside the tubular base 3110 and are adapted to catch the lateral lug 3253 when the lever 3250 is pivoted over its entire travel to the release position.

As such, when the installer pivots lever 3250 to its release position, the lever remains in that position. The lateral lugs 3253 of the lever 3250 are thus offset with respect to the shoulders 3112 of the tubular base 3110 so as to no longer hinder the disassembly of the frame 20 with respect to the plate-like support 10.

Still here, it should be noted that the snapper teeth are positioned such that they do not hook the lateral lug 3253 of the lever 3250 during assembly of the frame 20 to the plate support 10, and thus do not prevent pivoting of the lever 3250 to the fixed position.

In variants, the snapper teeth may be located elsewhere, for example in the tubular sleeve 3221 (in which case the lever will be equipped with ribs, which the snapper teeth will be able to hook).

In fig. 34 and 35, there is shown an assembly comprising:

an electrical housing 1 identical to that shown in fig. 1;

a socket mechanism 3A or a circuit breaker mechanism 3B adapted to be clipped on a post rising from the bottom of the base 100 of the plate-like support 10 of the electrical casing; and

a decorative plate 2, which is suitable to be fixed to the front of the electrical casing and whose shape is associated with the mechanism.

In fig. 34, the decorative panel 2 includes a receiving opening (well) 2C of an electrical plug within a structural portion 2B in the form of a frame. It also comprises a folding cover 2E for protecting the receiving opening 2C.

In fig. 35, in contrast, the decorative panel 2 comprises a control touch panel 2D adapted to be snapped to a receiving means 2G provided on a wall 2F enclosing a structural portion 2B in the form of a frame. The receiving means 2G is used to provide the control touch panel 2D with flipping mobility. Here, it can be seen that the wall 2F has two oblong windows closed by a rigid small plate 2H attached to the edge of the oblong windows by a flexible sealing film. Thus, when the lugs provided at the rear of the control touch plate 2D abut against the wall 2F, these rigid small plates are adapted to be turned with respect to the wall 2F, and then they turn the driving member 3C of the circuit breaker mechanism 3B. Therefore, the switching mechanism 3B can switch the state by the inversion of the control touch panel 2D.

The invention is not limited to the embodiments described and shown, but a person skilled in the art will understand how to make any variants.

In the different figures, the electrical housings have a square cross-section and define a unique position (station) that can house one or two electrical equipment mechanisms: we will refer to this as a unit cell.

In a variant, it may be a multi-position cartridge, having a rectangular cross-section and defining two or three positions. In this variant, preferably, the electrical housing comprises a plurality of sets of latching means. For example, six sets are included in the case of a two-position cassette, and eight sets are included in the case of a three-position cassette.

Claims

1. Electrical housing (1) comprising a plate-like support (10) and a frame (20), the plate-like support (10) and the frame (20) comprising complementary latching devices (110, 260) movable with respect to each other between a fixing position, in which the frame (20) is fixed on the plate-like support (10), and a release position, in which the frame (20) is released with respect to the plate-like support (10), characterized in that said frame (20) comprises at least one lever (250) adapted to place the latching devices (260) in the release position, and in that it is provided with:

-elastic return means (252) adapted to automatically bring the locker (260) back into the fixed position; and

-a retaining device (120) which retains the locker (260) in the release position.

2. Electrical housing (1) according to the preceding claim, wherein a ramp (111) is provided which, with the assembly of the frame (20) on the plate-like support (10), makes it possible to force the displacement of the catch means (260) towards the release position, without reaching the release position, the ramp (111) being configured to allow the return of the catch means (260) to the fixing position when the frame (20) reaches its assembly position on the plate-like support (10).

3. The electrical enclosure (1) according to any one of claims 1 and 2, wherein the catch means (110) of the plate-like support (10) comprise a bayonet piece (110A) fixed on the plate-like support (10), the catch means (260) of the frame (20) being carried by a lever (250) and adapted to hook the bayonet piece (110A).

4. Electrical housing (1) according to any of claims 1 and 2, wherein the catch means of the frame (20) comprise a bayonet piece (2240) fixed on the frame (20), the catch means of the plate support (10) comprise an elastically deformable claw (2110) adapted to hook the bayonet piece (2240), and the lever (2250) is adapted to deform the elastically deformable claw (2110) in the release position.

5. Electrical housing (1) according to claim 4, wherein said retaining means comprises a recessed notch (2254) in said lever (2250) adapted to retain said elastically deformable claw (2110) in a release position.

6. Electrical housing (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the retaining means (120) are formed together with the plate bearing (10).

7. Electrical casing (1) according to the preceding claim, wherein said retaining means (120) comprise two uprights (121, 122) arranged on either side of a lever (250) and at least partially elastically deformable for being separated from each other to pass the lever (250) in one direction and for automatically returning to their initial position to retain said lever (250) in the other direction.

8. The electrical housing (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein each lever (1250) forms a single part with the frame (20) and is elastically deformable.

9. Electrical housing (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein each lever (250) is attached to a portion of the frame (20) so as to have a unique pivotal movability with respect to that portion of the frame (20).

10. The electrical housing (1) according to claim 9, wherein each lever (250) is adapted to pivot with respect to said portion of the frame (20) about an axis perpendicular to the assembly direction of the frame (20) on the plate support (10).

11. The electrical casing (1) according to claim 9, wherein each lever (250) is adapted to pivot with respect to said portion of the frame (20) about an axis parallel to the assembly direction of the frame (20) on the plate support (10).

12. The electrical housing (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein each lever (250) has a grip portion (251) that is accessible by a finger of a user for operation.

13. The electrical housing (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein each lever (1250) has an operating portion that is accessible for operation by a tool (400).

14. The electrical housing (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein at least four levers (250) are provided.

15. Electrical box comprising an electrical casing (1) as defined in any one of the preceding claims and a trim panel (2) attached to the front of the frame (20) of the electrical casing (1), the trim panel (2) comprising a blocking heel (2A) adapted to be placed against a lever (250) for blocking the lever displacement.

16. Assembly comprising an equipment mechanism (3A, 3B) and a trim panel (2), characterized in that it comprises an electrical housing (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 14, the equipment mechanism (3A, 3B) being fixed inside the electrical housing and the trim panel (2) being fixed in front of the electrical housing.