Title of Invention

"ASSEMBLY UNIT WITH AN ASSEMBLY RAIL"

Abstract

The invention relates to an assembly unit with an assembly rail provided with assembly receiving means, and which is attachable to frame profiles of a switchgear cabinet, one or a plurality of attachment members being attachable to at least a portion of the frame profiles in order to retain the assembly rail. The assembly rail may be attached with low outlay and in a simple way to a frame profile, if the assembly rail has at least one profile member with at least one plug-in receiving means, by means of which it may be thrust on to the attachment member, and if the attachment member is adjustable relative to the vertical frame profile in order to fix the assembly rail.

Full Text

The invention relates to an assembly unit with an assembly rail provided with assembly receiving means, which is attachable to frame profiles of a switchgear cabinet, one or a plurality of attachment members for retaining the assembly rail being attachable to at least one portion of the frame profiles. Such assembly units are known from the Company Prospectus: Rittal Handbuch 27, pages 178, 179. Such assembly units use assembly rails, which can be attached to the frame profiles of a rack for a switchgear cabinet. The assembly rails are in the form of open, multiple-fold hollow profiles. At their end faces the assembly rails have plug-in receiving means. Plug-in projections of connectors may be thrust into these plug-in receiving means. The connectors are securely connected to the assembly rails. By means of attachment screws, the connector may be screwed to the frame profiles. For this purpose these have rows of attachment means inserted at identical intervals. Preferably, such assembly rails are built in between two vertical frame profiles of the rack. Electronic components or the like may be attached to the assembly receiving means of the assembly rails. It is the object of the invention to provide an assembly unit of the type already mentioned, in which the assembly unit may be simply attached to frame profiles with low outlay. This object of the invention is achieved in that the assembly rail has at least one profile member with at least one plug-in receiving means, by means of which it may be thrust on to the attachment member, and in that the attachment member is adjustable relative to the vertical frame profile in order to secure the assembly rail. In order to attach such an assembly rail to a frame profile, this latter must firstly be provided at the corresponding points with one or a plurality of attachment members. Then the assembly rail with its plug-in receiving means easily accessible on the profile member is pushed on to the attachment member. For final fixing the attachment member need only be displaced, so that the assembly rail is clamped. A factor which has proved of particular value in this assembly unit is that the attachment members can be mounted independently of the assembly rail. In this way simple handling is possible, so that the time required for assembly is considerably reduced. According to a preferred development of the invention, the assembly rail is in the form of an open hollow profile, the profile member holds the plug-in receiving means in the area of the open profile side, and the plug-in receiving means is open towards the open profile side. On the open profile side, the plug-in receiving means is easily accessible, so that attachment to the attachment member is simple. In addition the assembly rail is simple to manufacture. It can for example be in the form of a stamped and bent part. The plug-in receiving means is then hollowed out from the profile member. In order also to be able simply to mount the assembly rail in various positions even at points which are difficult for access, it has two profile members at an angle to one another which extend in the longitudinal direction of the assembly unit, the two profile members carry at least one plug-in receiving means each, and the profile members may be applied to longitudinally extended inner walls of the frame profiles of the switchgear cabinet. The inner walls of the frame profile can be fitted with the attachment members. Depending on the accessibility to the frame profile, the attachment members may be attached to one or to the other inner wall. The assembly rail can be aligned and positioned relative to the frame profile by means of the profile members standing at an angle.A possible variant of the invention is characterised in that the profile member (members) of the assembly rail has/have, in addition to the plug-in receiving means, attachment holes which may be aligned to register with thread receiving means in the frame profiles, and attachment members may be screwed into the attachment holes. By means of the attachment members which come into engagement with the plug-in receiving means, the assembly unit is firstly positioned on the frame profile and fixed. If for example heavy components are to be mounted on the assembly rail, then additional attachment members may be secured in the attachment holes. An advantageous development of the assembly unit is characterised according to the invention in that the assembly rail is substantially square or rectangular in cross-section, comprising two assembly sections at a right angles to one another and to the profile members connected thereto, in that the assembly sections are provided with assembly receiving means in the form of apertures, and in that the assembly receiving means provide access to the attachment members. The assembly rail may be thrust with its plug-in receiving means on to the attachment members. In order now to achieve a secure connection to the frame profile, the attachment members are accessible through the assembly receiving means. The attachment member may be actuated by a tool thrust into the assembly receiving means. In this way a compact construction is achieved for the assembly rail. The attachment members do not project in a disturbing way over the frame profile or the assembly rail, at which point they would restrict the assembly space. In this respect it is particularly advantageous if in addition attachment members are passed through the assembly receiving means and may be introduced into the attachment holes, and if the screws are accessible by a tool through the assembly receiving means. Thus in a simple way the additional attachment of the assembly rail to the attachment holes may be carried out. In an assembly unit according to the invention the attachment member for the plug-in receiving means may be in the form of a screw, upon whose bolt section the plug-in receiving means is thrust transversely to the central axis of the screw, and the screw head can be clamped against the associated profile member. The screws may be used in a cost-effective way as a simple component. In addition they have the advantage that they represent scarcely any restriction with their screw head to the free assembly space. If the assembly rail is attachable in a vertically aligned manner to the vertical frame profiles of the switchgear cabinet, the profile members abutting on inner walls of the frame profiles forming an internal receiving means, then additional attachment possibilities may be provided on a vertical frame profile. The invention will be explained in more detail in the following with reference to an embodiment given by way of example and shown in the drawings, which shows: Figure 1: a perspective side view of a rack for a switchgear cabinet made up of frame profiles, and Figure 2: a perspective exploded view of a vertical frame member of the rack according to Figure 1 and an assembly rail. Figure 1 shows a rack for a switchgear cabinet. The rack is substantially made up of a bottom frame 10, a top frame 20 and four vertical frame profiles 40. The vertical frame profiles 40 connect the bottom frame 10 to the top frame 20. The bottom and top frames 10 and 20 are identical in structure, so that they may be interchanged. The bottom and top frames 10 and 20 each have two depth and two width braces 21, 22. The depth and width braces 21, 22 are provided on their profile sides facing the interior of the rack with rows of attachment means 23, 24. The vertical frame profiles 40 also are provided with attachment means 44 facing the interior of the rack. Assembly rails 50 may for example be attached to attachment means 23, 24, 44. The vertical frame profiles 40 are connected via connectors 30 to the base or top frame 10, 20. The connectors 30 are disposed in the area of corner receiving means 25 of the bottom or top frame 10, 20. The vertical frame profiles 40 are attached to the connector for example by means of screws. For this purpose the vertical frame profiles 40 are provided at the ends with screw receiving means 41. Figure 2 shows in more detail how an assembly rails 50 can be attached to one of the vertical frame profiles 40. Only a portion of the vertical frame profile 40 is shown in the drawing in Figure 2. The assembly rail 50 has a length corresponding to this part. This view shows that the assembly rails 50 are attachable in sections at optional points along the vertical frame profile 40. Naturally the assembly rails used may vary in length. They may for example extend over the entire axial length of the vertical frame profiles 40. The vertical frame profile 40 has two inner walls 43, which are at right angles to one another. They from an inner receiving means 45, aligned towards the interior of the rack. Connecting to the two inner walls 43 in each case is a profile side 42 at right angles. The profile sides 42 are vertical to the associated outer sides of the rack. The profile sides 42 and the inner walls 43 are provided with rows of attachment means 44.1 to 44.2 provided at uniform intervals. In an alternating manner, slot-shaped apertures and bores are used as attachment means. Attachment members 46, in the present case screws are used, can be screwed into the bores. The attachment members 46 enable positioning and fixing of the assembly rail 50. The assembly rail 50 is square in cross-section. This cross-section is formed by two assembly sections 52, 53 connected together at right angles, and two profile sections 51, 54. The profile sections 51, 54 are each folded over from the free ends of the assembly sections 52, 53. Thus there is formed a hollow profile which is open in the area between the profile sections 51, 54. Assembly receiving means 56, 57 are provided in the assembly sections 52, 53. Attachment holes 55, 58 are stamped out of the profile threads 51, 54. The assembly receiving means 51, 54 and the attachment holes 55, 58 are spaced apart at uniform intervals. The attachment holes 55, 58 in this case are so disposed that they are in registry with an assembly receiving means 56, 57 of the assembly section standing parallel to the respective profile section. The attachment holes 55, 58 are thus accessible via the assembly receiving means 56, 57. In order to attach the assembly rail 50 t the vertical frame profile, plug-in receiving means 59 are inserted in the profile sides 51, 54. The plug-in receiving means 59 are slot-shaped and open towards the free vertical end of the profile sections 51, 54. At present one plug-in receiving means 59 is used per profile section 51, 54. In order to secure the assembly rail 50, firstly an attachment member 46 is screwed into an attachment means 44.3 of the vertical frame profile 40. It may be freely selected into which of the inner walls 43 of the frame profile 40 the attachment member 46 (called screw in the following) is screwed; this is substantially determined by accessibility. The assembly rail 50 with its plug-in receiving means 59 of the profile section 54 is thrust on to the bolt section of the screw. This thrusting-on movement is symbolised by the arrow shown in Figure 2. Once the assembly rail 50 is attached to the frame profile 40 in this way, it is pre-positioned. By means of an assembly receiving means 56 of the assembly section 52 disposed in registry with the plug-in receiving means 59, the screw head is accessible to a tool. When the screw is turned further into the attachment hole 44.3, the screw head is clamped on the profile section 54 in such a way that the assembly rail 50 is drawn into the inner receiving means 45 of the frame profile 40. The two profile sections 51, 54 then abut on the inner walls 43. The assembly rail 50 is exactly aligned on the frame profile 40. For additional fixing, screws may be passed through individual assembly receiving means 56, 57 into the attachment holes 55, 58 and screwed into the respectively associated attachment receiving means 44.3 in the inner wall 43. Depending on the type and magnitude of the load applied to the assembly rail 50, one or a plurality of additional attachment members 46 may be used. Claims 1. Assembly unit with an assembly rail provided with assembly receiving means, and which is attachable to frame profiles of a switchgear cabinet, one or a plurality of attachment members being attachable in order to secure the assembly rail to at least one portion of the frame profiles, characterised in that the assembly rail (5) has at least one profile member (51, 54) with at least one plug-in receiving means (59), by means of which it may be thrust on to the attachment member (46), and in that the attachment member (46) is adjustable relative to the vertical frame profile (40) in order to fix the assembly rail (50). 2. Assembly unit according to claim 1, characterised in that the assembly rail (50) is in the form of an open hollow profile, in that that the profile member (51, 54) holds the plug-in receiving means (59) in the area of the open profile side, and in that the plug-in receiving means (59) is open towards the open profile side. 3. Assembly unit according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the assembly rail (50) has two profile members (51, 54) at an angle to one another, which extend in the longitudinal direction of the assembly unit (50), in that the two profile members (51, 54) at least carry one plug-in receiving means (59) each, and in that they may be applied to longitudinally-aligned inner walls (43) of the frame profiles (40) of the switchgear cabinet. 4. Assembly unit according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterised in that the profile member or members (51, 54) of the assembly rail (50) has, near the plug-in receiving means (59), attachment holes (55, 58) which may be aligned to register with threaded receiving means (44.3) of the frame profiles (40), and in that attachment members (46) may be screwed into the attachment holes (55, 58). 5. Assembly unit according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterised in that the assembly rail (50) is substantially square or rectangular in cross-section, comprising two assembly sections (52, 53) standing at right angles to one another and the profile members (51, 54) connected thereto, in that the assembly sections (52, 53) are provided with the assembly receiving means (56, 57) in the form of apertures, and in that the assembly receiving means provide access to the attachment members (46). 6. Assembly unit according to claim 5, characterised in that attachment members (46) are passed through the assembly receiving means (56, 57) and may be introduced into the attachment holes (55,58) and in that the screws are accessible through the assembly receiving means (56, 57) by a tool. 7. Assembly unit according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterised in that the attachment member (46) for the plug-in receiving means is in the form of a screw, on the bolt section of which the plug-in receiving means (59) is thrust transversely to the central axis of the screw, and in that the screw head may be clamped against the associated profile member (51, 54). 8. Assembly unit according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterised in that the assembly rail (50) may be attached in vertical alignment to the vertical frame profiles (40) of the switchgear cabinet, the profile members (51, 54) abutting on inner walls (43) of the frame profiles (51, 54) forming an inner receiving means (45). 9. Assembly unit substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Documents:

3254-del-1997-abstract.pdf

3254-del-1997-claims.pdf

3254-del-1997-correspondence-others.pdf

3254-del-1997-correspondence-po.pdf

3254-del-1997-description (complete).pdf

3254-del-1997-drawings.pdf

3254-del-1997-form-1.pdf

3254-del-1997-form-13.pdf

3254-del-1997-form-19.pdf

3254-del-1997-form-2.pdf

3254-del-1997-form-3.pdf

3254-del-1997-form-4.pdf

3254-del-1997-form-6.pdf

3254-del-1997-gpa.pdf

3254-del-1997-pct-409.pdf

3254-del-1997-petition-137.pdf

3254-del-1997-petition-138.pdf