Electrical connectors – For interfitting with uninterrupted support rail or... – Coupling part with actuating means urging contact surface to...
Patent
1999-01-04
2000-03-28
Abrams, Neil
Electrical connectors
For interfitting with uninterrupted support rail or...
Coupling part with actuating means urging contact surface to...
H01R 2500
Patent
active
060423994
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The invention relates to a power take-off adapter for a track comprising a longitudinal connection slot and longitudinal current conductors, the power take-off adapter having a box-like frame that comprises: a protruding switching member to be arranged in the connection slot of the conductor track; locking and contact fingers for connecting the power take-off adapter arranged in the connection slot of the track mechanically to the track and electrically to the current conductors of the track; a switching means that is switched from a first position to a second position and from the second position to the first position to move the locking fingers to a connecting position in which they protrude from the switching member and, respectively, to a retracted disconnecting position.
Track systems of this type are today used commonly in various rooms for connecting lighting equipment, appliances and the like to a power source by means of a power take-off adapter. Various types of both adapters and tracks have been developed. As examples of the prior art are mentioned the solutions of Finnish Patents 84,305 and 92,635.
A drawback of the prior art is, for example, the complexity of the constructions, which raises the production costs. The constructional complexity is, for example, due to the fact that in previously known power take-off adapters, after attaching the power take-off adapter, it has been selected mechanically which phase conductor the power take-off adapter is connected to, i.e. which contact finger moves to a connecting position and which remain in a disconnecting position. Due to the mechanical constructions, the number of components has increased, which has raised the production costs. A further drawback is, for example, that when more lighting equipment is installed in a system or when the positions of the lighting devices are changed, some phase of the track system may be loaded too heavily while the other phases are loaded too lightly.
The object of the invention is to provide a power take-off adapter for a track, eliminating the drawbacks of the prior art. This is achieved with the power take-off adapter provided by the invention. The power take-off adapter of the invention is characterized in that the locking and contact fingers are arranged on one and the same axle member; that a rotary movement of the switching means is also arranged to turn all the contact fingers such that they come into contact with the current conductors of the track; and that the power take-off adapter is provided with a selecting switch, by which the power take-off adapter is electrically connected to the desired phase conductor or electrically disconnected from the phase conductor, so that the power take-off adapter can be attached to the track and detached from the track by a single movement of the switching means, while the phase selected by the selecting switch remains unchanged.
The primary advantage of the invention is that it simplifies the constructions of the power take-off adapter and reduces the production costs as compared with the earlier solutions. The number of different components is minimised. Also, no spiral springs or other such components, which are difficult to handle in the assembly, are needed in the power take-off adapter. A further advantage is that the power take-off adapter can be attached and detached by a single movement of a lever, and the phase selected will not change even though the power take-off adapter is attached to or detached from the track. During the selection of the phase, the power take-off adapter can be either attached to or detached from the track. Yet another advantage is that the invention makes it possible to arrange to operate advantageously as parts of the selecting switch.
In the following the invention will be described in greater detail by means of a preferred embodiment illustrated in the attached drawing, in which
FIG. 1 shows a general view of a track,
FIG. 2 shows a general view of a power take-off adapter provided by the invention,
FIGS. 3 to 7 show partly sectio
REFERENCES:
patent: 3718886 (1973-02-01), Hoffmeister
patent: 3993385 (1976-11-01), Seger
patent: 4181388 (1980-01-01), Donato
patent: 4494808 (1985-01-01), Widell et al.
patent: 5038005 (1991-08-01), Hohorst et al.
Abrams Neil
Nordic Aluminium Oyj
Prasad Chandrika
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