DE29906749U1 - Electrical switch, in particular device built-in switch - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to an electrical switch, in particular a device-mounted switch, with a housing for accommodating the switching contacts and connection terminals, furthermore with a switching actuating element surrounded by a housing flange such as a rocker switch, whereby the housing flange is intended to rest on the edge of a device wall cutout and the housing is assigned spring-loaded locking elements for snapping the switch into the device wall cutout from the visible side (so-called 'snap-in assembly'), which in the fastening position clamp the device wall cutout between themselves and the underside of the flange edge, whereby the locking elements enable the switch to be fixed to device walls of different thicknesses by means of abutment surfaces.

Such switches are known in numerous designs. In the 'snap-in assembly', the switch is attached with its housing part first from the outside of the device

Postbank Credit and Volksbank eG Commerzbank AG VAT ID No. Eat Wuppertal-Barmen Wuppertal-Barmen VAT No. (Bank code 360 100 43)445 04-431 (Bank code 330 600 98) 301 891 024 (Bank code 330 400 01) 4 034 823 DE 121068676

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inserted through the cutout in the device wall until the underside of its flange edge rests on the outside of the device and the locking elements on the back of the device wall clamp onto the edge of the cutout.

The locking elements are supported by abutment surfaces under the cut-out edge, whereby these abutment surfaces are usually inclined surfaces so that they are able to compensate for certain tolerances, particularly with regard to the thickness of the device wall.

It is known in the prior art to design switches of the type referred to in such a way that they can be used for different device wall thicknesses or device wall thickness ranges. Two prominent examples of this are:

The built-in rocker switch with the type designation 43.408 of the applicant (see page 706 of the 1999-2002 catalog of the company Brökelmann, Jaeger & Busse GmbH & Co, Arnsberg) has a total of four protruding spring tongues on the device housing, each in pairs opposite one another, whose free ends are stepped. The longer ends further in are used to install the switch in device wall cutouts with a device wall thickness of 0.5-1.0 mm, whereas the shorter steps further out at the locking element ends allow the switch to be installed in device wall cutouts with a wall thickness of 1.6-2.0 mm.

In both cases, the device wall cutouts are the same for this switch example and have the dimensions

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22 x 30 mm. Rigid centering ribs are molded onto the outside of the housing so that the switch can fit snugly into the cutout in the device wall.

This well-known built-in rocker switch is very reliable in terms of its 'snap-in assembly' and the way it is held on the device. However, it would be desirable to be able to handle a larger and continuously variable range of device wall thicknesses with a single switch.

This is basically known in principle. For example, the company Marquard GmbH in Rietheim-Weilheim sells a two-pole rocker switch for 10(4) A 250 volts, in which the locking elements are provided with a fine tooth-like locking mechanism on their abutment surfaces. This switch is suitable for device wall thicknesses of 0.75-3 mm. However, the disadvantage here is that the device wall cut-out dimensions are different in each case, namely the length of the short sides of a rectangular cut-out varies. In an example given in a brochure, this is 19.2 mm for a device wall thickness range of 0.7-1.25 mm, 19.4 mm for a range of 1.25-2.0 mm and 19.8 mm for the device wall thickness range of 2-3 mm. Such different dimensions complicate the production effort and storage.

From this state of the art, the present invention derives the task of providing a switch that can be used for a large range of device wall thicknesses, but which does not require any variations in the device wall cutout. In conjunction with the features of the preamble of claim 1, the invention solves

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This task is achieved by having at least two different types of locking elements arranged at least in pairs on the switch housing, each of which is designed for different ranges of device wall thicknesses.

The essential core of the invention is therefore to assign a type of locking element to different areas of device wall thickness, whereby these are present at least in pairs. This means that, on the one hand, each locking element type can be adapted to the specific and constant device wall cutout and that each locking element type only comes into contact with the edge of the device wall cutout for whose wall thickness or for whose wall thickness range it is intended. The abutment surfaces of the locking elements therefore do not need to be stepped or toothed or similar. Simple inclined surfaces are sufficient here, with the advantage of optimal centering and tolerance-compensating clamping.

In principle, the different types of locking elements differ essentially only in the distance of their abutment surfaces from the underside of the flange edge, and the abutment surfaces of all locking elements can easily form self-centering and self-tightening inclined surfaces.

A further advantageous feature of the invention is that the locking elements are integrated into cutouts in the housing wall. In the prior art, however, special spring tongues arranged and designed to be spring-loaded are placed in front of housing wall areas.

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The integration of the locking elements into cutouts in the housing wall according to the invention, whereby the locking elements can be accommodated in cutouts in the housing wall and can be designed to be resilient by means of slot-like incisions therein, is of particular importance in terms of design and manufacturing technology and also saves insulating material, which is certainly important at least for this extremely mass-produced article.

In a switch with a rectangular housing, the locking elements are preferably assigned to the long sides of the housing. In a preferred embodiment, - relative to the longitudinal center axis of the switch - identical locking elements are arranged diametrically opposite one another or - relative to a longitudinal center plane of the switch - different locking elements are arranged opposite one another.

It has been proven that with the aid of the teaching according to the invention, a switch in which two locking elements of different types are arranged on the switch housing can reliably handle device wall thicknesses of 0.5-3.0 mm in every respect.

The invention can be understood particularly clearly and precisely from the following description of an embodiment shown in the drawings. In the drawings:

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Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic side view of a switch designed as a rocker switch for 'snap-in mounting',

Fig. 2 an oblique view slightly from above with a partially broken off housing edge and with an additional enlarged detail in the area of a locking element,

Fig. 3 a top view of a switch with the switch rocker removed,

Fig. 4 a cross-section through the switch according to section IV-IV in Fig. 3 in the assembled state,

Fig. 5 a corresponding representation, but along the section line V-V of Fig. 3,

Fig. 6 is a plan view corresponding to Fig. 3,

Fig. 7 shows a cross section through the switch of Fig. 6 mounted in a housing cutout according to section number VII-VII and
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Fig. 8 shows a corresponding representation according to section line VIII-VIII in Fig. 6.

A switch designated as a whole by 10 and intended for 'snap-in assembly' comprises a switch housing 11 made of insulating material with a peripheral flange edge 12 preferably formed integrally thereon. In

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A switching actuator 14 is arranged in an upper housing opening 13 surrounded by the flange edge 12 and facing the viewer. In the embodiment shown, this switching actuator is designed as a rocker switch which is pivotably mounted in housing bearings 16 via axes 15.

Functional parts not shown, such as switching contacts and connection terminals, are housed inside the housing 11.
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To fix the switch 10 in a cutout 17

In the embodiment, two types of locking elements 19 and 19' are arranged on the switch housing 11 on a device wall 18, 18', namely two of each of these two types.

As the figures clearly show, the locking elements 19 and 19' are each basically designed in the same way, but they differ in their distance or in the distance of their inclined abutment surfaces 20 from the flange edge 12.

The locking element type 19 is located a shorter distance from the flange edge 12 than the locking element type 19'. Accordingly, the locking elements 19 are intended for installing the switch 10 in a device wall cutout 17 of a device wall 18 of small thickness (Fig. 3 to 5). The locking elements 19', with their abutment surfaces 20 further away from the underside of the flange edge 12, engage when the switch 10 is inserted into a cutout 17 of a thicker device wall 18' (Fig. 6 to 8) - identical in terms of edge dimensions.

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If - depending on the existing device wall thickness (device wall 18 or 18') - the corresponding locking elements 19 or 19' are in action, the locking elements 19' or 19 of the other type are ineffective.

The ineffectiveness of the locking elements 19' when the locking elements 19 attack the cutout 17 of a thin device wall

18 is simply due to the fact that the locking elements 19' are spaced so far from the device wall 18 that they cannot come into contact with it (Fig. 4 and 5). The ineffectiveness of the locking elements 19 is due to the fact that they (see Fig. 7 and 8) can plunge into the device wall cutout 17 by springing into the inside of the housing from the rear of the housing wall 18'.

This immersion of the non-functional locking elements 19 is essentially facilitated by the fact that the locking elements

19 are integrated into the corresponding device wall, as the figures clearly show. The locking elements 19, but also the locking elements 19', are integrated housing wall components and are formed from it in a material-locking manner. For this purpose, the housing 11 has cutouts 21 (Fig. 1) which are created by cutting out the housing wall. Slot-like incisions 22 on both sides of each locking element 19 or 19' enable or promote their compression and rebound in the manner of spring tongues.

In the embodiment shown, two locking elements 19 and two locking elements 19' are arranged diametrically opposite one another with respect to the longitudinal center axis 23 (Fig. 2) of the switch 10. This is illustrated

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also Fig. 7 and 8 in conjunction with Fig. 6, which has the corresponding sectional information, on the one hand, as well as the joint consideration of Fig. 4 and 5 with the corresponding Fig. 3 on the other hand. In relation to the longitudinal center plane of a switch 10, the track of which is designated 24, a locking element of type 19 and a locking element of type 19' are located directly opposite each other.

As shown in particular in Fig. 7 for a thicker device wall and Fig. 4 for a thinner device wall, the respective locking element types 19 or 19' act independently and in the same way. Their inclined, self-centering and self-tightening abutment surfaces 20 always act the same over a certain device wall thickness range. In this way, it is possible to cover a device wall thickness range of approximately 0.5-3.0 mm with just two pairs of different locking element types arranged offset, despite identical device wall cutouts 17.
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Claims (9)

Brökelmann, Jaeger & Busse GmbH &Qd;; I Il &bull; · · I Claims 1. Electrical switch (10), in particular a device-mounted switch, with a housing (11) for accommodating the switching contacts and connection terminals, furthermore with a switching actuating element (14) surrounded by a flange edge (12), such as a rocker switch, the flange edge (12) being intended to rest on the edge of a device wall cutout (17) and the housing (11) being assigned resilient locking elements (19, 19") for snap-fitting the switch (10) into the device wall cutout (17) from the view side (so-called ¹ snap-in assembly), which in the fastening position clamp the device wall cutout (17) between themselves and the underside of the flange edge (12), the locking elements (19, 19') enabling the switch (10) to be fixed to device walls (18, 18') of different thicknesses by means of abutment surfaces (20), characterized in that the switch housing (11) at least two different types of locking elements (19 and 19') are provided in at least a paired arrangement, each of which is designed for different ranges of device wall thicknesses (18 and 18'). 2. Switch according to claim 1, characterized in that the different types of locking elements (19, 19') differ essentially in the distance of their abutment surfaces (20) from the underside of the flange edge (12). 3. Switch according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the abutment surfaces (20) of all locking members Brökelmann, Jaeger & Busse GmbH & Cfc: : : (19, 19') form self-centering and self-tightening inclined surfaces and are arranged such that the areas of device wall thicknesses which they can cover adjoin one another dimensionally without gaps.
5 4. Switch according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the locking elements (19, 19') are integrated into cutouts (21) of the housing wall. 5. Switch according to claim 4, characterized in that the locking elements (19, 19') are accommodated in cutouts in the housing wall (11) and are designed to be resilient by means of slot-like incisions (22) therein. 6. Switch according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that in a switch (10) with a rectangular housing (11) the locking members (19, 19') are assigned to the long sides of the housing (11). 7. Switch according to claim 1 or 6, characterized in that - with respect to the longitudinal center axis (23) of the switch (10) - identical locking elements (19 or 19') are arranged diametrically opposite one another. 8. Switch according to claim 7, characterized in that - with respect to a longitudinal center plane (24) of the switch (10) - different locking elements (19 and 19') are arranged opposite one another. 9. Switch according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that on the switch housing (11) Brökelmann, Jaeger & Busse GmbH & CJo &Idigr; I11 ! two locking members (19; 19') of two different types are arranged.