Terminal block arrangement for an electrical system

Details Terminal block arrangement for an electrical system Terminal block arrangement for an electrical system

2000-01-24

2001-06-05

Sircus, Brian (Department: 2839)

Electrical connectors

With insulation other than conductor sheath

Insulating body having plural mutually insulated terminals...

C439S928000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06241561

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
A terminal block for an electrical power and signal distribution system is disclosed including internal bus connector means that are removably supported on the terminal block for connecting the conductors of the distribution system with the circuits of a printed circuit board removably mounted on the terminal block, and/or with the various terminals of an adjacent terminal block. The terminal blocks are mounted on a common support rail, and the internal bus conductor means of each terminal block are mounted orthoganally of the terminal block and parallel with the support rail.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
A typical bus conductor section for an electrical appliance is known from European Patent Application No. EP 95 113 729 A2 (now European Patent No. 709,932). In the appliance shown in this patent, where the internal bus conductor section is made as a continuous thin plate with strip conductors applied thereupon, terminal blocks that can be lined up on support rails are used for the purpose of signal adaptation between a superordinate field bus and initiators, field units or the like that are connected to the terminal blocks. The terminal blocks are assembled as connection or module blocks with different functions; here, we distinguish between protective conductor discs, feed-in discs, supply/signal conductor discs and notch foot discs. One or several terminal blocks can be connected via the internal bus conductor with a connecting module for the field bus.
The internal bus conductor section of this solution entails the following problem: In case of a randomly long lineup of module discs and module blocks of various types within the connecting module, there will not be enough versatility.
Other terminal block electrical distribution systems are shown and described in the prior U.S. patents to Strate et al U.S. Pat. No. 5,071,356, Frikkee et al U.S. Pat. No. 5,318,461, Horn et al U.S. Pat. No. 5,411,417, and Eggert et al U.S. Pat. No. 5,588,881, which are assigned to the same assignee as that of the present invention.
The present invention is intended to solve this problem in a simple, space-saving manner through design and structure.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, a primary object of the present invention is to provide an improved terminal block for a signal and power electrical distribution system in which an internal bus connecting means is removably connected with the terminal block, said internal bus connection means including a thin support plate that extends parallel with the support rail and carries a plurality of L-shaped connecting pins each having orthogonally arranged portions that extend parallel with and normal to the support plate, respectively. The pin portions that extend normal to the support plate are adapted for connection with the female terminals of a connector strip that is mounted on a printed circuit board that is to be connected with the system. The pin portions that are parallel with the thin plate are adapted for connection with terminals on the terminal block, or with terminals on an adjacent terminal block mounted on common support rail.
The structural separation of the bus conductor sections of each module unit first of all offers the advantage of almost random alignability also of the bus conductor sections and thus increases the variability of the entire module system. Moreover, the selected structural design of the bus conductor section with a thin plate and with angle pins of special length that penetrate the thin plate offers the advantage that one can eliminate separate plug elements for contacting a separate appliance plug or an appliance plug that is molded upon an electronic printed circuit board.
As an alternative, it is also conceivable that the bus conductor sections of the individual base terminal carriers in each case have a thin plate upon which is set at least one row of the angled metal pins, which, with their opposite ends, extend normal to and parallel with the thin plate, respectively, and where, again, the pin row ends that stand normal to the thin plate are so dimensioned that they can be used directly for contacting a socket board. This embodiment is particularly suitable for connection with a surface-mounted device.
Preferably, the signal paths of the bus conductor sections of adjacent modules are so connected in a manner offset with respect to each other that as a function of the number of offset data lines, one can recognize in a simple manner whether several circuit boards provided by a subscriber are or are not present on the base terminal carrier.


REFERENCES:
patent: 3172014 (1965-03-01), Johnson
patent: 4401351 (1983-08-01), Record
patent: 4477862 (1984-10-01), Gonzales
patent: 5071356 (1991-12-01), Strate et al.
patent: 5318461 (1994-06-01), Frikkee et al.
patent: 5411417 (1995-05-01), Horn et al.
patent: 5588881 (1996-12-01), Eggert et al.
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