Abstract:
An electrical equipment support is associated with an adapter for fitting it to trunking of nominal width or to trunking of predetermined lower width. The adapter includes two closure flanges which are fitted between the trunking of lower width and the support along a respective portion of the transverse edges of the support. A baseplate is fitted to flank the base section of the trunking of lower width from one of the closure flanges to the other and has an engagement system for fastening the flanges together.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The invention relates to electrical equipment supports for attachment to wiring trunking. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     EP 0 702 442 A2 describes an electrical equipment support including a baseplate fixed to the wall above the trunking and a trunking fitted to the baseplate and covering the trunking. The cover can have one of three predetermined widths. 
     For the widest trunking, the baseplate is placed directly against one longitudinal edge of the base section of the trunking. For narrower trunking, flanges are used which act as spacers between the baseplate and the longitudinal edge of the base section of the trunking. These flanges also close off the remaining holes in the side walls of the cover. 
     The invention relates to a support of the same kind but which is improved in terms of fitting it to narrow trunking. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     To this end the invention proposes an electrical equipment support for attaching to trunking of nominal width, the support including adapter means enabling it to be fitted to trunking of predetermined lower width, said adapter means including two closure flanges adapted to be fitted between said trunking of lower width and said support along a respective portion of the transverse edges of said support; wherein the adapter means further include a baseplate adapted to be fitted to flank the base section of said trunking of lower width from one of the closure flanges to the other and having engagement means adapted to fasten said flanges together. 
     The baseplate has the advantage of excellent retention of the flanges, which is beneficial in the event of an impact, in particular an impact in the longitudinal direction, unlike the closure flanges of the prior art support mentioned above, which have no interengagement means at the location of the opening which they close. 
     According to preferred features of the invention the support includes a clip-on member having along a first longitudinal edge a first series of clips comprising at least one clip and along its second longitudinal edge a second series of clips comprising at least one clip, each clip of the first and second series is adapted to interengage with a respective first retaining member and a respective second retaining member of the base section of said trunking of nominal width, and said baseplate has retaining means adapted to receive said first series of clips to enable said member of the support to be clipped by said first series of clips to said retaining means of said baseplate, when it flanks the base section of said trunking of lower width, and by said second series of clips to a retaining member of said trunking of lower width. 
     Thus the support according to the invention is fitted directly to trunking of the nominal width, which is simple, fast and convenient, unlike the prior art support mentioned above, with which the baseplate must be fixed to the wall above the trunking in all cases, including when it is used with the widest trunking. 
     In accordance with other features of the invention which are preferred because of quality of the retention obtained and for reasons of simplicity and convenience both in manufacture and installation: 
     said closure flanges each include tenons adapted to be engaged in mortises in said baseplate; and/or optionally 
     said closure flanges each include a tenon adapted to interengage with a cap of said support; and/or optionally 
     said closure flanges each have a plane wall framed on the inside by a rim transverse to said plane wall. 
     In accordance with other features of the invention which are preferred for reasons of convenience and simplicity of manufacture and use said baseplate and said closure flanges are molded in one piece with a portion of said support and adapted to be separated from it by areas adapted to be cut. 
     The explanation of the invention will now continue with a description of two embodiments, which description is given hereinafter by way of illustrative and nonlimiting example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing how a plate which includes a first embodiment of an electrical equipment support according to the invention is fitted to a base section of trunking of nominal width. 
     FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the plate fitted to the base section with electrical equipment installed in the plate and the trunking cover fitted either side of the plate, and shows how the cap of this embodiment of the equipment support is fitted to the resulting assembly. 
     FIG. 3 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 2 showing the cap fitted to the plate and also showing an embellisher which can be fitted to the plate and to the cap. 
     FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an assembly molded in one piece and comprising the support plate, a baseplate and two closure flanges enabling the equipment support to be fitted to trunking which is narrower than that shown in FIGS. 1 to  3 . 
     FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 1, relating to the narrower trunking, and also showing how the baseplate is fitted to the same wall as that to which the base section of the trunking is fixed, before installing the plate. 
     FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 2, also showing how the closure flanges are fitted. 
     FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 3 but omitting the embellisher and relating to a second embodiment of the support according to the invention, incorporating only a cap that fits directly over the trunking. 
     FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the cap. 
     FIG. 9 is a view similar to FIGS. 5 and 6 showing how the baseplate, the cover section of the trunking and the closure flanges are fitted to narrower trunking before installing the equipment support. 
     FIG. 10 shows the components when installed. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The base section  1  shown in FIGS. 1 to  3  is part of trunking which is 120 mm high and 20 mm deep. The base section has a globally flat back or apron  2  whose rear face (the face which is hidden in FIGS. 1 to  3 ) is designed to be placed against the wall along which cables are to be routed, here at the base of a vertical wall to which the apron  2  is fixed by screws  3 . The base section  1  also has a plurality of angle irons projecting from the front face of the apron  2 , here three angle irons, namely a first longitudinal border angle iron  4 A, a central angle iron  4 B and a second longitudinal border angle iron  4 C. 
     The plate  5  of the embodiment of the equipment support according to the invention shown in FIGS. 1 to  6  takes the general form of a frame with a central opening  6  to accommodate the electrical equipment. The edges of the plate  5  seen at the top and at the bottom in FIG. 1 are curved towards the rear and the edges seen on the left and on the right each have on their front face two fingers  7  for attaching electrical equipment such as the equipment  8  shown in FIGS. 2,  3  and  6 . 
     Three openings are formed in the curved edge seen at the top in FIG.  1  and the rear side of each opening is extended by a clip  9  projecting slightly on the inside and lying in a plane parallel to that of the opening  6 . 
     Similarly, the edge of the plate  5  seen at the bottom in FIG. 1 has two openings and the rear edge of each opening has a clip  10  (see FIG. 4) of similar shape to the clips  9 . 
     The longitudinal edges of the plate  5 , i.e. the edges seen at the top and at the bottom in FIG. 1, are separated at the locations of the series of clips  9  and the series of clips  10  by a distance substantially corresponding to the distance between the angle irons  4 A and  4 C, with which the clips  9  and the clips  10  respectively interengage when the plate  5  is pressed against the base section  1 . The plate  5  is sufficiently elastic to be clipped on in this way, the clips  9  locating behind the flange of the angle iron  4 A on the side opposite the apron  2  and the clips  10  engaging over a flange of the angle iron  4 C which cannot be seen in FIGS. 1,  3  and  5  and projects relative to the flange of the angle iron  4 C which is joined to the apron  2 , on the side which is at the bottom in FIG.  1 . 
     When the plate  5  has been clipped to the base section  1  in this way, the holes  11  are opposite the flange of the angle iron  4 B which is joined to the apron  2 . Screws  12  are passed through the holes  11  and screwed into this flange of the angle iron  4 B, which is hollow for this purpose, to fasten the plate  5  firmly to the base section  1 . 
     To install the equipment  8 , the cables to be connected to it are fed out through the opening  6  and connected up and the equipment  8  is then clipped to the fingers  7 . 
     The cap  14  is then clipped to the plate  5  when lengths of the cover section  13  of the trunking have been fitted on respective opposite sides of the plate  5  which lies against the trunking. The cap  14  has clips adapted to fit over the longitudinal edges of the plate  5 , to be more precise, in the case of the edge seen at the top in FIGS. 1 and 2, over the side of the two end openings opposite the clips  9  and, in the case of the edge seen at the bottom, the side of the openings opposite the clips  10 . 
     The cap  14  is wider than the plate  5  so that when it is fitted to the plate not only does it cover the plate but each of its transverse edges also covers a length of the cover section  13 . The inside edge of each of the longitudinal edge portions of the cap  14  has exactly the same profile as the outside surface of the cover section  13 , as can be seen in FIG. 3, with the result that the edge of the transverse edge portion of the cap  14  is in contact with the outside surface of the cover section  13  and mates closely with it, which is beneficial in terms of protecting the electrical components inside the base section  1 , cover section  13  and inside the plate  5  and cap  14  from the external environment. 
     The embellisher  15  is then fitted to complete the installation of the equipment  8 . The embellisher has clips  16  at the edge of its opening  17  for clipping it to the equipment  8 . 
     The assembly  18  shown in FIG. 4 includes the plate  5  in particular and is molded in one piece from a plastics material. 
     In addition to the plate  5 , it includes a baseplate  19  and two flanges  20 A and  20 B. There is a connecting tongue  21  between the plate  5  and the baseplate  19 . The tongue  21  is joined to the plate  5  at the location of the central opening in its longitudinal edge which is seen at the top in FIGS. 1 and 2 by an area that is adapted to be cut. The tongue  21  is similarly joined to the center of one of the longitudinal edges of the baseplate  19  by an area that is adapted to be cut. Each flange  20 A and  20 B is joined to the baseplate  19  at the longitudinal edge opposite that joined to the tongue  21  by a tenon  22  (see FIG.  6 ). There is an area adapted to be cut between each tenon  22  and the baseplate  19 , for detaching the flanges  20 A and  20 B therefrom. 
     As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the baseplate  19  and the flanges  20 A and  20 B enable the plate  5  an cap  14  to be fitted to base section  1 ′ and cover section  13 ′ which is narrower than the base section  1  and cover section  13 , in this instance 80 mm wide rather than 120 mm. Components of the smaller trunking similar to those of the first mentioned trunking are generally identified by the same reference numbers “primed”. 
     The baseplate  19  is of generally rectangular shape. Its width corresponds to that of the cap  14  (and is therefore greater than that of the plate  5 ). Its width is equal to the difference between that of the base section  1  and that of the base section  1 ′. 
     The baseplate  19  has a lateral rib  23  designed to facilitate locating the baseplate  19  on the longitudinal edge of the base section  1 ′ along the longitudinal edge at which it was formerly joined to the tongue  21 . The baseplate  19  has other longitudinal ribs on the same face and connected by transverse ribs with the result that the baseplate  19  has a ladder-like arrangement of ribs. 
     The longitudinal rib  24  at the greatest distance from the rib  23  has three retaining lugs  25  projecting from its longitudinal edge in a direction parallel to the general orientation of the baseplate  19  (and therefore transverse to the rib  24 ). It extends towards the opposite side of the rib  23  and the shape of the rib  24  and the lugs  25  and their locations on the baseplate  19  are such that when the side of its longitudinal edge on the same side as the rib  23  is in contact with the longitudinal edge of the base section  1 ′ on the same side as the angle iron  4 A′ the rib  24  and the lugs  25  are able to cooperate with the plate  5  in exactly the same way as with the angle iron  4 A of the base section  1 , with each of the lugs  25  in corresponding relationship to a respective clip  9 . 
     Two holes  26  are provided for screws  27  for fixing the baseplate  19  to the same wall as the base section  1 ′. Here the holes  26  are oblong holes and are surrounded by a portion of the ribbing of the baseplate  19 . 
     The baseplate finally includes along each of its two transverse edges two elongate holes  28  providing mortises which receive tenons  29  on the flanges  20 A and  20 B. 
     When the baseplate  19  has been placed against the base section  1 ′ and fixed to the wall by the screws  27 , as shown in FIG. 5, the plate  5  is fitted to the assembly consisting of the base section  1 ′ and the baseplate  19  in the same way as to the base section  1 . As explained above, insofar as retaining the plate  5  is concerned, the rib  4 A is replaced by the rib  24  and the lugs  25 . The apron of the baseplate  19 , i.e. its flat part from which the ribbing projects, extends the apron  2 ′ of the base section  1 ′ so that there is total electrical insulation at the level of the support  5 ,  14  from the wall to which the base section  1 ′ and the baseplate  19  are fixed. 
     The flanges  20 A and  20 B are fitted when the plate  5  has been fitted to the base section  1 ′ and the baseplate  19  in this way, the screws  12  have been inserted in the holes  11  and screwed into the flange  4 B′, the equipment  8  has been fitted into the plate  5  and the cover section  13 ′ has been fitted to the base section  1 ′, as shown in FIG.  6 . They are designed to conceal the gaps that would otherwise remain between the cap  14 , the baseplate  19  and the cover section  13 ′, on the right-hand side and on the left-hand side. 
     Note that the edge of each of the closure flanges has a relatively long curved surface  30  with the same profile as the outside surface of the cover section  13  or the edge of the longitudinal edge portions of the cap  14 , over some of its length from one end, that the edge of the flanges  20 A and  20 B has another curved surface  31  which has the same profile as the outside surface of the cover section  13 ′ over part of its length from the end, and finally that the edge of the flanges  20 A and  20 B has a flat surface  32  between the surfaces  30  and  31  whose length corresponds to the width of the baseplate  19  and from which the tenons  29  project. Each of the flanges  20 A and  20 B has a plane wall flanked by a rim transverse to the plane wall and on the inside when the flanges have been fitted, as shown in FIG. 4 (this detail is not shown in FIG.  6 ). 
     The flanges  20 A and  20 B are fitted by engaging the tenons  29  in the mortises  28  with the surfaces  32  against the apron of the baseplate  19  and the surfaces  31  against the cover section  13 ′. 
     The cap  14  is then clipped to the plate  5 , after which the flanges  20 A and  20 B respectively lie between the baseplate  19 , the cover section  13 ′ and the cap  14 . 
     A longitudinal force towards the interior of the support  5 ,  14  applied to the flange  20 A or  20 B is absorbed by the corresponding edge of the plate  5  and, more generally, unseating of the flanges is very effectively prevented by the tenons  29  engaged in the mortises  28  and by the tenons  22  engaged with the cap  14 . 
     In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 7 to  10  the assembly comprising the plate  5  and the cap  14  is replaced by a single cap  114  directly incorporating clips  109  and clips  110  having the same function as the clips  9  and  10 , respectively, of the plate  5 . The equipment is not fixed by clips  7 , as to the plate  5 , but is instead screwed to columns  107 . 
     Components similar to those of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to  6  are generally identified by the same reference number increased by  100 . 
     In connection with the baseplate  119 , note that the retaining means  125  for the clips  109  have lateral portions adapted to immobilize the clips  109 , and therefore the cap  114 , in the longitudinal direction. 
     Of course, the cover  113 ′ and the flanges  120 A and  120 B are fitted before clipping the cap  114  to the base section  101 ′ and to the baseplate  119 , as shown in FIG.  9 . The distance between the two lengths of cover section at the level of the cap  114  is less than the width of the cap and of the baseplate  119  to enable contact of the flanges  120 A and  120 B and of the edge of the cap  114  with the cover section. 
     In an embodiment that is not shown the baseplate  19  is replaced with a baseplate having an area adapted to be cut in order to eliminate a portion of it so that it can be used to fit the equipment support to trunking whose width is between that of the nominal width trunking  1 ,  13  and  101 ,  113  and that of the narrower trunking  1 ′,  13 ′ and  101 ′,  113 ′. A second pair of closure flanges suitable for this intermediate width is also provided. 
     Many other embodiments are possible, depending on individual circumstances, and the invention is not limited to the examples described and shown.