CN119698681A

CN119698681A - Multi-pole rail-mounted device with modular construction

Info

Publication number: CN119698681A
Application number: CN202380061309.9A
Authority: CN
Inventors: J-M·马特尔; A·蒙特; F·内斯; G·诺尔; S·沙伊奇
Original assignee: Siemens Corp
Current assignee: Siemens Corp
Priority date: 2022-08-22
Filing date: 2023-08-01
Publication date: 2025-03-25
Also published as: DE102022208674A1; WO2024041855A1

Abstract

The modularly constructed multi-pole rail mounting device (1) according to the invention comprises a first device module (10) for connecting a first phase conductor, a second device module (20) for connecting a second phase conductor, and an insulating material housing (2) formed by connecting a first housing module (11) and a second housing module (12) by means of a first connecting element (9), wherein the first housing module (11) is associated with the first device module (10) and the second housing module (21) is associated with the second device module (20). In addition, the multi-pole rail mounting device (1) comprises a first circuit board (12) accommodated and fixed in the first housing module (11) and a second circuit board (22) accommodated and fixed in the second housing module (21). The first circuit board (12) and the second circuit board (22) are electrically conductively connected via a mechanical plug connection (50), the plug connection having at least one contact element (51) and at least one contact seat (52) associated therewith, wherein the first circuit board (12) is arranged floating in the first housing module (11) in a first direction (x) and in a second direction (y) orthogonal to the first direction (x). The floating arrangement of the first printed circuit board effectively avoids mechanical over-determination of the mating partner, namely the plug connection (50) and the connected printed circuit boards (10, 20).

Description

Modular multipole rail mounting apparatus

Technical Field

The invention relates to a multipole rail mounting arrangement of modular construction, comprising a first equipment module for connecting a first phase conductor, a second equipment module for connecting a second phase conductor, and an insulating material housing consisting of a first housing module and a second housing module, wherein the first housing module is associated with the first equipment module and the second housing module is associated with the second equipment module.

Background

Electromechanical protection switching devices (e.g., circuit breakers, line protection switches, fault current protection switches, and arc or fire protection switches) are used to monitor and protect electrical circuits, particularly in power supply and distribution networks as switches and safety elements. For monitoring and protecting the circuit, the protection switching device is electrically conductively connected to the electrical line of the circuit to be monitored via two or more connection terminals in order to interrupt the current in the respective monitored line if necessary. For this purpose, the protection switching device has at least one switching contact which can be opened when a predefined state occurs (for example when a short circuit or a fault current is detected), so that the monitored circuit is disconnected from the power network. Such protective switching devices are also referred to in the low-voltage art as rail-mounted devices.

The circuit breaker is specifically designed for high currents. Line protection switches (so-called LS switches), which are also referred to as "miniature circuit breakers" (MCBs, miniature Circuit Breaker), are so-called overcurrent protection devices in electrical installations, in particular for the range of low-voltage networks. Circuit breakers and line protection switches ensure a safe opening in the event of a short circuit and protect consumers and devices from overload, for example from damage due to overheating of the wires as a result of excessive currents. They are designed to automatically open the monitored circuit in the event of a short circuit or overload, so that they are separated from the rest of the power grid. Circuit breakers and line protection switches are thus used in particular as switches and safety elements for monitoring and protecting electrical circuits in an electrical power supply network. Line protection switches are known in principle from documents DE 10 2015 217 704 A1, EP 2 980 A1, DE 10 2015 213 375 A1, DE 10 2013 211 539 A1 or EP 2 685 482 B1.

To disconnect single-phase conductors, single-pole line protection switches are typically used, which are typically one pitch unit (corresponding to about 18 mm) wide. For three-phase connections, three-pole line protection switches (instead of three single-pole switching devices) are used, the width of which is correspondingly three pitch units (corresponding to approximately 54 mm). Each of the three phase conductors is associated with a pole, i.e. a switching point. If it is desired to break the neutral conductor in addition to the three phase conductors, it is called a quadrupole device, which has four switching points, three for the three phase conductors and one for the common neutral conductor.

A fault current protection switch is a protection device for preventing dangerous fault currents in electrical equipment. Such fault currents, which are also referred to as differential currents, occur when electrical contact occurs between the line portion of the pilot voltage and ground. This is the case, for example, when a person touches a part of the guiding voltage of the electrical device, the current flows as a fault current through the person's body to ground. In order to prevent such body currents, the fault current protection switch must rapidly and safely disconnect the electrical device from the power grid on all poles when such fault currents occur. In daily terms, FI protection switches (FI switches for short), differential current protection switches (DI switches for short) or RCDs (Residual Current Protective Device, "residual current protection devices") are correspondingly used instead of the term "fault current protection switches".

An arc or fire switch is used to collect a fault arc, such as an arc that may occur at a defective location of the wire (e.g., loose cable terminals or due to cable breakage). If a fault arc occurs in electrical series with the consumer, the normal operating current is generally not exceeded, since the current is limited by the consumer. For this reason, conventional over-current protection devices (e.g., fuses or line protection switches) are unable to collect a fault arc. To determine whether a fault arc is present, the fire switch measures the current and voltage profiles over time and analyzes and evaluates the profiles that characterize the fault arc. In the (english) technical literature, such a protection device for detecting a fault arc is called an "arc fault detection device" (Arc Fault Detection Device, AFDD for short). In north america, the term "arc fault circuit interrupter" (Arc Fault Circuit Interrupter, AFCI for short) is more common.

In addition, there are also forms of devices that combine a fault current protection switching function with a line protection switching function, such combined protection switching devices being referred to as FI/LS in german or as RCBO (Residual current operated Circuit-Breaker with Overcurrent protection, residual current circuit breaker with overcurrent protection) in english. The advantage of these combined devices over separate fault current protection switches and line protection switches is that each circuit has its own fault current protection switch, typically, a single fault current protection switch is used for multiple circuits. If a fault current occurs, all protected circuits are opened. By using RCBO, only the relevant circuit is opened.

With the trend, more and more functions are integrated into devices, i.e. combined protection switching devices covering multiple single device functional ranges are developed, there are other forms, such as integrating fire protection switching functions into existing devices like MCB, RCD or RCBO/FI/LS, in addition to the FI/LS protection switching devices already described above, which combine the functional range of the conventional fault current protection switch (FI) with the functional range of the line protection switch (LS). The digital upgrade of such electromechanical protection switching devices requires optimal space utilization in the case of generally poor mountability of the electronic components. The individual circuit boards and electronic components are typically distributed in widely dispersed spaces and require conductive connection to each other.

In order to limit or reduce the number of rail-mounted devices in the different applications that are produced here and thus to limit or reduce the production costs of individual devices, it is attempted to modularly construct the devices according to the principle of modularity, in which the system is composed of components combined along defined interfaces. The protective switching device to be composed of the structural blocks is divided into various components or parts, which are referred to as modules, the interfaces between the individual modules being precisely defined. For a suitable form and function, different protection switching devices can then be composed of different modules, wherein the selected modules interact with one another via predefined interfaces.

Disclosure of Invention

The object of the present invention is to provide a multipole rail mounting device of modular construction, which is characterized by a simplified modular construction and at the same time has good mountability.

According to the invention, the above-mentioned technical problem is solved by a multipole rail mounting apparatus of modular construction according to claim 1. Advantageous embodiments are the subject matter of the dependent claims.

The modular multipole rail mounting arrangement according to the invention has a first device module for connecting a first phase conductor, a second device module for connecting a second phase conductor, and an insulating material housing formed by the first housing module and the second housing module by connection by means of a first connection piece, wherein the first housing module is associated with the first device module and the second housing module is associated with the second device module. Further, the multipole rail mounting apparatus includes a first circuit board housed and fixed in the first housing module, and a second circuit board housed and fixed in the second housing module. The first circuit board and the second circuit board are electrically connected by a mechanical plug connection, which has at least one contact element and at least one contact socket associated therewith, wherein the first circuit board is mounted in a floating manner in a first direction (x) and in a second direction (y) orthogonal to the first direction (x) in the first housing module.

The first and second housing modules (and thus the insulating material housing) and the first and second equipment modules (and thus the modularly constructed multipole rail mounting apparatus) each have a front face, a mounting face opposite the front face, and first and second narrow sides and a wide side connecting the front face and the mounting face. Herein, the term "housing module" refers to a modular portion of an insulating material housing. If the associated equipment module is equipped with the respective required components, the respectively equipped housing module is referred to as an "equipment module", wherein each equipment module is associated with a pole. The plurality of equipment modules thereby form a modular multipole rail mounting apparatus.

The first and second installation modules are each designed as a single-pole circuit breaker and have their own housing module which is associated exclusively with the respective installation module, wherein a short-circuit triggering device for breaking a current flowing through the respective phase conductor (i.e. the first and second phase conductor) during a short-circuit and an overload triggering device for breaking a current flowing through the respective phase conductor (i.e. the first and second phase conductor) during an electrical overload are each arranged, i.e. accommodated and fixed. By combining the first equipment module with the second equipment module, i.e. connecting the first and second housing modules into an insulating material housing by means of a first connection, such as a rivet or screw, a bipolar line protection switch is formed, on which the first phase conductor (at the first equipment module) and the second phase conductor (at the second equipment module) can be connected.

In each of the two housing modules (i.e. in the first housing module and the second housing module), a circuit board (first circuit board and second circuit board) is arranged, which are electrically conductively connected by means of a mechanical plug connection. For this purpose, at least one contact socket is mounted on one of the circuit boards and at least one contact element is mounted on the other circuit board. The at least one contact element may be formed by one or more contact PINs (referred to as PINs) which are inserted into socket-like openings of the contact socket when connecting the two housing modules. If two circuit boards are positively mounted in their respective housing modules, the use of a rigid mechanical plug connection can lead to an overdetermination of the mounting (Ü berbestimmtheit), thereby placing a mechanical load on the circuit boards. Furthermore, disadvantageous tolerance chains can also lead to installation problems, in particular in automated production.

In order to avoid such a mechanical overdetermination of the engagement partners (i.e. the contact elements and the contact sockets, and thus the first and second circuit boards) when the mechanical plug connection is established, i.e. when the contact pins are inserted into the contact sockets, the first circuit board is arranged in the first housing module in a floating manner, i.e. in a laterally displaced manner or in an undefined manner, in the first direction and in the second direction, i.e. with play. The second circuit board is placed in the second housing module 12 in the first and second directions in a defined manner, i.e. without play. In this way, manufacturing tolerances can be compensated for and mechanical overdetermination when placing two circuit boards can be effectively avoided, which can lead to bending and shearing forces on the components of the mechanical plug connection and the circuit boards and thus to damage thereof.

In an advantageous development of the modular multipole rail mounting arrangement, the contact sockets of the plug connection are arranged on the first circuit board and the contact elements of the plug connection are arranged on the second circuit board.

By arranging the contact sockets on the first circuit board, the contact sockets are also floatingly arranged in the first housing module in the first and second direction. Accordingly, the contact element (which may comprise a plurality of contact pins) is arranged together with the second circuit board in the second housing module without play. This allows for a significantly simplified manufacturing of the mechanical plug connection when the first and second housing modules are assembled to form an insulating material housing (whereby the first and second device modules are assembled to form a modular construction multipole rail mounting device).

In a further advantageous development of the modular multipole rail mounting arrangement, the plug connection has a centering aid for orienting the first circuit board relative to the first housing module.

By using a centering aid, the insertion of at least one contact element into the contact socket can be significantly simplified. The centering aid is preferably arranged around the contact socket in order to effectively prevent incorrect insertion of the contact element beside the contact socket.

In a further advantageous development of the modularly constructed multipole rail mounting arrangement, the centering aid is mechanically connected to the first housing module by at least one elastic element. In this way, a floating mounting of the first circuit board is ensured, whereby manufacturing tolerances can be compensated for and insertion of at least one contact element into the contact socket is facilitated.

In a further advantageous development of the modular multipole rail mounting device, the centering aid has an insertion bevel.

In this way, the process of inserting the at least one contact element into the contact socket can be further simplified. This effectively prevents incorrect insertion and possible damage, for example bending or breaking of at least one contact element.

In a further advantageous development of the modular multipole rail mounting arrangement, the first housing module has a fixing element which fixes the first circuit board in a third direction by mounting a first connection which acts in a third direction orthogonal to the first and second directions.

When the first and second device modules are assembled in the third direction, a mechanical plug connection is first formed, which electrically connects the first and second circuit boards. The floating arrangement of the first circuit board is essential here to avoid mechanical stresses due to an excessively defined arrangement of the two circuit boards. At the end of the joining process in the third direction, i.e. after insertion of at least one contact element into the associated contact socket, the first circuit board is pressed by the fixing element in the third direction against the inner contour of the first housing module, so that it is positively fixed in the third direction. Depending on the pressure level, a friction-fit fastening of the first printed circuit board, which is now mounted largely stress-free, in the first or second direction can also be achieved. In this way, the first circuit board is securely accommodated and fixed in the first housing module.

In a further advantageous development of the modularly constructed multipole rail mounting arrangement, the first housing module has a wall opening for receiving a contact socket arranged on the first circuit board.

By means of the walls of the housing modules, components and parts arranged in the first equipment module can be safely protected from the external environment and from adjacently arranged second equipment modules. The wall opening formed in the wall serves only for the mechanical plug connection between the first circuit board arranged in the first housing module and the second circuit board arranged in the second housing module.

In a further advantageous development, the modularly constructed multipole rail mounting arrangement has a third device module for connecting a third phase conductor, wherein the third device module has a third housing module which is arranged between the first housing module and the second housing module.

The third installation module arranged between the first and the second installation module is also configured as a single-pole line protection switch and has its own housing module which is uniquely associated therewith, in which a short-circuit triggering device and an overload triggering device for breaking a current flowing through the third phase conductor in the event of an electrical short-circuit or overload are arranged, i.e. accommodated and fixed. The third housing module may be connected by means of a first connector, such as a rivet or screw, to form a tripolar insulating material housing for a tripolar rail mounting apparatus of modular construction. To form a four-pole FI/LS or RCBO protection switching device, an additional RCD module can be installed on the outer broad side of the second device module, which is equipped with components of the fault current protection switch, so that three phase conductors and a neutral conductor can be connected to the four-pole protection switching device and monitored for short-circuits, electrical overloads and ground fault currents.

In a further advantageous development of the modularly constructed multipole rail mounting arrangement, the third device module has a third circuit board arranged in the third housing module, which third circuit board is floatingly arranged in the first direction and in the second direction and has further contact seats which are associated with respect to their position in the first and second direction with the positions of the contact seats arranged on the first circuit board, so that at least one contact element arranged on the second circuit board can be guided through the further contact seats for electrically conductive connection with the contact seats arranged on the first circuit board.

In this way, an overdetermined arrangement of the third circuit board can also be effectively avoided. The electrical contacting of the third circuit board, for example, can also be achieved when at least one contact element is guided through the further contact socket, for example, to which the required electrical energy is supplied.

In a further advantageous development of the modular multipole rail mounting arrangement, the width of each housing module is one pitch unit. In this way it is ensured that the width dimension of the modular construction of the multipole rail mounting apparatus corresponds to the standard snap-in dimension of the width of such rail mounting apparatus.

Drawings

Various embodiments of a modular construction multipole rail mounting apparatus are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 shows in perspective view a schematic view of a multipole rail mounting apparatus made up of a plurality of apparatus modules in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 shows a schematic view of a broken first equipment module in a perspective view;

FIG. 3 shows a schematic diagram of pre-assembled first and second equipment modules in perspective view;

FIG. 4 shows a schematic diagram of a further assembly step of the pre-assembled first and second equipment modules in perspective view;

Fig. 5 shows in perspective view a schematic view of another embodiment of a multipole rail mounting apparatus formed from a plurality of housing modules.

Like parts are denoted by like reference numerals throughout the different drawings. The description applies to all figures in which the corresponding parts likewise appear.

Detailed Description

Fig. 1 schematically shows the principle structure of a modularly constructed multipole rail mounting apparatus 1 according to the invention. The multipole rail mounting device 1 has a front face 3, a mounting face 4 opposite the front face, and a narrow side 5 and a wide side 6 connecting the front face 3 and the mounting face 4, and is designed as a quadrupole FI/LS or RCBO, but this is only an example of a possible device structure, two-pole and three-pole (modularly constructed) rail mounting devices, irrespective of their functional scope, which can also be the subject matter of the invention.

The rail mounting apparatus 1 shown in fig. 1 is composed of a first apparatus module 10 for connecting a first phase conductor, a second apparatus module 20 for connecting a second phase conductor, a third apparatus module 30 for connecting a third phase conductor, and a fourth apparatus module 40 for connecting a neutral conductor, which are arranged side by side on the wide side.

Each equipment module 10, 20, 30, 40 has its own housing module, a first equipment module 10 being associated with a first housing module 11, a second equipment module 20 being associated with a second housing module 21, a third equipment module 30 being associated with a third housing module 31, and a fourth equipment module 40 being associated with a fourth housing module 41, wherein all equipment modules 10, 20, 30, 40 and all housing modules 11, 21, 31, 41 also have a front face 3, a mounting face 4 arranged opposite the front face and a narrow side 5 and a wide side 6 connecting the front face 3 and the mounting face 4. Furthermore, the width B of all housing modules 11, 21, 31, 41 (and thus all equipment modules 10, 20, 30, 40) is only one pitch unit (TE), which corresponds to about 18 millimeters or 0.75 inches. The insulating material housing 2 of the four-pole guide rail installation apparatus 1 of modular construction is formed by four housing modules 11, 21, 31, 41 which are arranged side by side from broad side and are fastened together by means of a first connection piece (which is shown here by way of example as a rivet 9).

In principle, a housing of narrow design (i.e. having a width of only one pitch unit) has two half-shells which are assembled together at the end of the assembly process by means of suitable connectors (for example rivet connections, screw connections or snap connections) to form a circumferential joining line. Each half-shell comprises here one broad side 6 and parts (complete or whole) of the front, mounting and narrow sides 3,4, 5. The housing modules 11, 21, 31 and 41 shown in fig. 1 are also embodied in a narrow design, which is assembled first during assembly and then the individual housing modules 11, 12, 13 and 14 are assembled to form the mechanically stable insulating material housing 2 of the modular multipole rail mounting device 1.

In the region of each narrow side 5, each device module 10, 20, 30, 40 has a screw terminal 7 for contacting a network-side or load-side connection conductor (phase or neutral conductor, not shown), which is accommodated and fixed in the housing module 11, 21, 31, 41 associated with the respective device module 10, 20, 30, 40. For manual operation, each of the device modules 10, 20, 30, 40 has an operating element arranged in the region of the front face 3, wherein the individual operating elements are associated with a common operation by means of a handle element 8 connected to the individual operating elements.

Since the modular rail mounting apparatus 1 shown in fig. 1 is a four pole FI/LS or RCBO, the first three apparatus modules 10, 20 and 30 are designed as MCB modules, i.e. line protection switches, and are equipped with typical components of line protection switches (e.g. switching mechanisms, overload and short-circuit triggering devices, arc extinguishing chambers, connection terminals, etc.) accordingly, and are provided for contacting respectively associated phase conductors (not shown) of a three-phase power distribution system. In contrast, the fourth installation module 40 is designed as an RCD module (shown on the right in fig. 1), i.e. is equipped with typical components of a fault current protection switch, and is provided for contacting a neutral conductor (not shown).

Fig. 2 shows schematically in perspective view the interior of a first equipment module 10 (MCB module) configured as a line protection switch. The first housing module 11 has a first housing half 11-1 and a second housing half 11-2 that are assembled together to form a surrounding bond wire. In the region of the front face 3, the first device module 10 has an actuating element 14 for manually actuating a switching contact (not shown) arranged in the first housing half-shell 11-1.

Typical components and parts of a circuit breaker are installed in the region of the first housing half-shell 11-1, while in the second housing half-shell 11-2 (separated from the first housing half-shell 11-1 by a partition) a first circuit board 12 is arranged in the first housing module 11. The first circuit board 12 is arranged in the first housing module 11 in a floating manner, i.e. indefinitely or laterally movable manner, in the first direction x and in the second direction y perpendicular thereto, so that its arrangement in the first and second directions x, y has a certain play. In a third direction z, which is orthogonal to the first and second directions x, y, the first circuit board 12 is fixed by means of a second device module 20 (see fig. 3) which is arranged next to the first direction z by means of fixing elements (not shown) which are arranged at the second housing module 21. The fastening element may be, for example, a housing contour molded on the second housing module 21, which, after successful assembly of the two housing modules 11 and 21, presses the first circuit board in the third direction z against a mounting contour formed on the first housing module 11.

Below the operating element 14, i.e. in the direction of the mounting surface 4, a contact socket 52 is arranged on the first circuit board 12. The contact socket 52 is part of the mechanical plug connection 50 and is formed by a block with a plurality of socket-like openings into which a contact pin 51 (see fig. 4) can be inserted in order to be electrically conductively connected to the first circuit board 12.

Fig. 3 schematically shows a perspective view of the preassembled first and second equipment modules 10, 20. A portion of the front narrow side 5 is omitted in order to be able to see the interior of the housing. The second housing module 21 is also formed in a housing design (Schalenbauweise) from the first housing half-shell 21-1 and the second housing half-shell 21-2. In the region of the front face 3, the second device module 20 has an operating element 24 for its manual operation.

The first housing module 11 and the second housing module 21 are separated by a partition 19 arranged between the two housing modules 11, 21 to protect the first circuit board 12 arranged in the interior of the second housing half-shell 11-2 of the first housing module 11 from the second equipment module 20 components arranged in the interior of the first housing half-shell 21-1 of the second housing module 21. In the region of the contact socket 52, the spacer 19 has a wall opening 13 through which the contact socket 52 fastened to the first circuit board 12 is guided partially in order to effect insertion of the contact pins 51 (see fig. 4) in order to effect contact of the first circuit board 12 from the second housing module 21. Since the first circuit board 12 is arranged in a floating manner in the first housing module 11, i.e. in the first and second directions x, y, there is a gap, the contact seat 52 also has a corresponding gap in the wall opening 13, in order to avoid a mechanically overdetermined arrangement, and thus possible damage to the first circuit board 12.

Fig. 4 schematically shows in perspective view a further assembly step of the pre-assembled first and second equipment modules 10, 20. In this case, a second printed circuit board 22 is arranged in the second housing half 21-2 of the second housing module 21, on which a further contact socket 52 is fastened in the third direction z, so that the further third printed circuit board is electrically conductively connected to the second printed circuit board 22 via the further contact socket.

In a direction opposite to the third direction z, the second circuit board 22 has a plurality of contact elements 51, which in fig. 4 are designed as contact pins and are inserted into socket-like openings of contact sockets 52 arranged on the first circuit board 12 in order to realize an electrically conductive connection between the first circuit board 12 and the second circuit board 22 in this way. The contact element 51 thus forms an electromechanical plug connection 50 together with the contact socket 52.

If the arrangement is extended by a third housing module and a further third circuit board is arranged in the third housing module, the third circuit board can be electrically conductively connected to the first and/or second circuit board 12, 22. This can be achieved in that the third circuit board has one or more contact elements 51 which are arranged on the third circuit board in a direction opposite to the third direction z and which are inserted into socket-like openings of the further contact sockets 52 when the third equipment module is assembled to the second equipment module. Alternatively, the longer contact elements 51 arranged on the third circuit board can be guided through the socket-like openings of the further contact sockets 52 and inserted into the contact sockets 52 arranged on the first circuit board 12, wherein a contact of the third circuit board with the first circuit board 12 and with the second circuit board 22 can thereby be achieved.

The last circuit board which is in contact with the previous circuit board in this way should be placed without play, i.e. with certainty, in its associated housing module 21, 31, 41, since it determines the placement of the entire circuit board arrangement, i.e. of all circuit boards 12, 22 etc. which are connected to one another in this way, which are accommodated in the different housing modules 11, 21, 31, 41. In the case of a bipolar rail mounting device, this would be the second circuit board 22 arranged in the second housing module 21. In this way, mechanically overdetermined positioning of one or more circuit boards 12, 22, which may lead to mechanical stresses and thus possibly to damage of the individual circuit boards or of the mechanical plug connection 50 and may thus lead to a failure of a specific function of the rail mounting device 1, can be avoided.

Fig. 5 schematically shows a further embodiment of a multipole rail mounting apparatus 1 made up of a plurality of apparatus modules. Similar to fig. 2, fig. 5 also shows a view in perspective of the interior of the first equipment module 10 (MCB module) configured as a line protection switch. In contrast to the illustration of fig. 2, the embodiment shown in fig. 5 has a centering aid 53 which is arranged around a contact socket 52 arranged on the first circuit board 12. The centering aid 53 has a substantially cuboid body with a through-hole in which the contact socket 52 is accommodated without play.

The centering aid 53 serves to facilitate the insertion of the contact element 51 into the contact seat 52. For this purpose, the centering aid 53 has an insertion bevel 55 which is inclined to the through-hole on the side of the cube-shaped body facing the contact element 51 and in this way facilitates the insertion of the contact element 51 into the socket-like openings of the contact socket 52 in that the contact element slides into the insertion bevel 55 and into the socket-like opening respectively associated therewith during the insertion process.

With the aid of the centering aid 53, the first circuit board 12 is oriented with respect to the first housing module 11. For this purpose, the centering aid 53 has two elongated spring elements 54 molded onto the cube-shaped body, which are fastened at their distal ends to the first housing module 11. Due to the flexibility of the two spring elements 54, the stresses acting on the first circuit board 12 or the mechanical plug connection 50 can be compensated, which two spring elements 54 thus act as flexible spring arms. Furthermore, by using the centering aid 53, erroneous insertion of one or more contact elements 51 into the gap formed by the wall opening and the contact seat 52 can be effectively avoided.

However, in the sense of the present invention, two elastic elements 54 of the centering aid 53 are not necessary. The two elastic elements 54 may also be omitted. This results in a more free placement of the first circuit board 12 in the first housing module 11, whereby an overdetermined placement of the first circuit board 12 can be effectively avoided, in particular with large manufacturing tolerances.

List of reference numerals

1 Guide rail mounting apparatus

2. Insulating material shell

3. Front face

4. Mounting surface

5. Narrow side

6. Broad side

7. Screw terminal

8. Handle element

9. Rivet

10. First equipment module

11. First housing module

11-1 First housing half shell

11-2 Second housing half-shell

12 First circuit board

13 Wall opening

14. Operating element

19. Partition board

20. Second equipment module

21. Second housing module

21-1 First housing half-shell

21-2 Second housing half-shell

22. Second circuit board

30. Third equipment module

31 Third housing Module

40. Fourth equipment module

41. Fourth housing module

50. Plug connection

51. Contact element

52. Contact base

53. Centering aid

54. Elastic element

55. Lead-in inclined plane

X first direction

Y second direction

Z third direction

Width B

TE pitch units

Claims

1. A modularly constructed multi-pole rail mounting device (1), comprising:

a first device module (10) and a second device module (20), the first device module being used for connecting a first phase conductor and the second device module being used for connecting a second phase conductor,

- an insulating material housing (2), which is formed by a first housing module (11) and a second housing module (21) connected by means of a first connecting element (9), wherein the first housing module (11) is associated with the first device module (10) and the second housing module (21) is associated with the second device module (20),

- a first circuit board (12) and a second circuit board (22), the first circuit board being accommodated and fixed in the first housing module (11), the second circuit board being accommodated and fixed in the second housing module (21), wherein the first circuit board (12) and the second circuit board (13) are electrically conductively connected via a mechanical plug connection (50), the plug connection having at least one contact element (51) and at least one contact seat (52) associated with the contact element,

The first circuit board (12) is floated in the first housing module (11) in a first direction (x) and in a second direction (y) orthogonal to the first direction (x).

2. A modularly constructed multi-pole rail mounting device (1) according to claim 1,

The contact socket (52) of the plug connection (50) is arranged on the first circuit board (12), and the contact element (51) of the plug connection (50) is arranged on the second circuit board (22).

3. A modularly constructed multi-pole rail mounting device (1) according to claim 2,

The plug connection (50) has a centering aid (53) which orients the first printed circuit board (12) relative to the first housing module (11).

4. A modularly constructed multi-pole rail mounting device (1) according to claim 3,

The centering aid (53) is mechanically connected to the first housing module (11) via at least one elastic element (54).

5. A modularly constructed multi-pole rail mounting device (1) according to claim 3 or 4,

The centering aid (53) has an introduction bevel (55).

6. A modularly constructed multi-pole rail mounting device (1) according to any one of the preceding claims,

The first housing module (11) has a fixing element, which fixes the first circuit board (12) in a third direction (z) by installing a first connecting member (9), and the first connecting member acts in the third direction (z) orthogonal to the first direction (x) and the second direction (y).

7. A modularly constructed multi-pole rail mounting device (1) according to any one of the preceding claims,

The first housing module (11) has a wall opening (13), which is used to accommodate a contact socket (52) arranged on the first circuit board (12).

8. A modularly constructed multi-pole rail mounting device (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising:

A third device module for connecting a third phase conductor, wherein the third device module has a third housing module which is arranged between the first housing module (11) and the second housing module (21).

9. A modularly constructed multi-pole rail mounting device (1) according to claim 8 in combination with claim 2,

The third device module has a third circuit board arranged in the third housing module, the third circuit board is floatingly arranged in a first direction (x) and a second direction (y), and has an additional contact seat, the additional contact seat is associated with the position of the contact seat (52) arranged on the first circuit board (12) in terms of its position in the first and second directions (x, y), so that at least one contact element (51) arranged on the second circuit board (22) can be guided through the additional contact seat to be electrically conductively connected to the contact seat (52) arranged on the first circuit board (12).

10. A modularly constructed multi-pole rail mounting device (1) according to any one of the preceding claims,

The width (B) of each housing module (11, 12) is one pitch unit (TE).