Abstract:
A clamp fastener for fastening a housing to a rail, such as a top-hat rail, includes a slider which is clampable to the rail, wherein, for simultaneous connection of the housing to an adjacent housing that is already fastened to the rail, the slider is transferable to the clamping position via a slider lock comprising an additional slider, which can be actuated by the adjacent housing, and the slider additionally includes a housing lock for locking the housing to the adjacent housing when transferring the slider to the clamping position.

Description:
REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This is a U.S. national stage of application No. PCT/EP2013/050626 filed 15 Jan. 2013. Priority is claimed on European Application No. 12155061 filed 13 Feb. 2012, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0003]    The invention relates to a clamp fastening for fastening a housing to a rail, such as a top-hat rail, having a slider which can be clamped to the rail. 
         [0004]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0005]    Fastenings are also referred to as snap-on fastenings. They are used in conjunction with rail-mounted devices, especially with switches from bus bar networks. Here, the rail-mounted device has a housing that has a shape advantageous for a bus bar network. On the one hand, for space reasons, an accumulation of the rail-mounted devices is supported by the housing of the rail-mounted device, which is designed as a switch or as a contactor, for example, allowing a planar arrangement of further housings on two or more sides and simultaneously having a clamp or snap-on fastening, which is intended for fastening the housing to a rail, i.e., a top-hat rail. 
         [0006]    Such a switch or contactor is fixed to the top-hat rail with the aid of a slider. The problem here is that the top-hat rail is disposed on the side facing away from the user when the switch is being used and releasing it from the bus bar network is not something that can readily be performed because of the lack of access on account of switches in close spatial proximity to one another. As a consequence, conventional sliders have an actuation element that is always accessible to the user even in the installed state and also have a locking element that is disposed on the rear side of the housing in the vicinity of the rail. The two elements are connected via a connection area. The task of the connection area is to redirect the actuation force exerted by the user on the actuation element into the line of movement of the locking element. 
         [0007]    At the same time, convenient methods of installation or dismantling of the switch are to be guaranteed. For dismantling, the actuation element of the switch is able to be moved in the direction of the user, where unlocking is guaranteed by a corresponding movement of the locking element. 
         [0008]    Because of the complex form of the slider expensive, multi-part sliders have been used in the past. DE 297 10 310 U1 discloses a multi-part slider, which is divided into a locking part and a separate actuating part. 
         [0009]    DE 10 2007 015 470 A1 discloses a snap-on fastening for fastening a housing to a rail with a slider, where the slider has an actuation element, a locking element and a connection area between the actuation element and the locking element for redirecting the direction of the actuation force that acts on the locking element via the connecting area. With the one-piece slider, at least the connecting area is embodied for elastic resetting. 
         [0010]    Neither of the two publications DE 297 10 310 U1 and DE 10 2007 015 470 A1, however, provide a solution as to how a number of housings of the rail-mounted device can be connected to one another mechanically. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0011]    It is an object of the present invention to make available a clamp fastening which not only clamps a housing to a rail but also clamps adjacent housings to one another. 
         [0012]    This and other objects and advantages are achieved by providing a clamp fastening for fastening a housing to a rail is provided with a slider, where for simultaneous connection of the housing to an adjacent housing already fastened to the rail, the slider is able to be actuated via a slider lock comprising a further slider which is able to be actuated through the adjacent housing, is able to be transferred into the clamping position and the slider additionally has a housing lock for locking the housing with the adjacent housing during transfer of the slider into the clamping position. 
         [0013]    Through this, when the housing with the slider in accordance with the invention is moved towards a housing already clamped to the rail, the slider lock is pushed by the wall of this adjacent housing into the housing and the slider is released. As a result, the slider can be moved from the open position into the clamping position and, during this movement, the housing lock is simultaneously brought into engagement with a corresponding mating piece on the adjacent housing. Thus, after the slider has the reached the clamping position the housing is also locked with the adjacent housing. 
         [0014]    In such cases, there can be provision for the slider lock to be able to be moved in a straight-line direction, and indeed normal to any direction in which the slider is able to be moved into the clamping position. Thus, when the slider is located in the installed state on the rear wall of the housing and is brought into the clamping position from bottom to top, then the slider lock will be able to be moved horizontally, from left to right, for example. 
         [0015]    In an embodiment of the invention, the slider lock has an element that can be pre-tensioned in the direction of movement of the slider lock, with which the slider lock is able to be fastened to the inner side of the housing. The pre-tensionable element can be a spring, e.g., a coil spring. 
         [0016]    In an especially simple mechanical embodiment of the invention, the housing lock is connected rigidly to the slider. The housing lock can have openings that are suspended into suspension tabs of the slider. The same suspension tabs can simultaneously be used for guiding the slider in the housing. 
         [0017]    If the slider is formed as a planar element it is inherently stable and can be manufactured easily, such as from a metal sheet. The slider then also has enough space if it is disposed on the rear side of the housing. Any tabs of the slider can be manufactured by bending the sheet metal. Planar here means that the length and width of the slider have the same order of magnitude and the thickness of the slider, including any suspension tabs, is only a fraction of the length or width, such as only around a quarter. 
         [0018]    In an embodiment of the invention, the slider has at least one suspension tab which, to establish the clamping position of the slider, is able to be latched with a cutout of the slider lock. This represents a simple type of engagement between slider and slider lock. The same suspension tabs can simultaneously be used to guide the slider in the housing. 
         [0019]    There can be provision for the slider—for holding the slider in the open position—to have an, especially exchangeable, latching hook. Thus, the slider can have tabs, over which a small plate with the latching hook is laid. This latching hook can then rest against a corresponding opening of the housing, as a rule in the rear wall, and hold the slider in the open position if the slider lock cannot fulfill this function because of its position. The latching hook, in the open position of the slider, can additionally be engaged with an extension of the slider lock which presses the latching hook in the direction towards the outside of the housing. 
         [0020]    The clamp fastening in accordance with the invention is disposed in a housing so that the slider is supported movably in the housing in a straight-line direction (as a rule that direction which, in the clamping position of the housing on the rail, runs normal to the rail), so that the slider lock is supported movably in the housing at right angles thereto (as a rule that direction which, in the clamping position of the housing on the rail, runs parallel to the rail), so that the housing lock partly projects through the housing, where in the free position of the housing (i.e., if the housing could be moved on the rail) the slider lock projects beyond the housing and holds the pre-tensioned slider in the open position, while in the clamping position of the housing (i.e., if the housing were clamped rigidly on the rail) the slider lock is moved in relation to the open position into the inside of the housing and the slider is released. 
         [0021]    This enables the slider, as a result of its pre-tensioning, to move in the direction towards the housing and it will assume its clamping position. Thus, when the housing is placed on the rail, the rail would grip the housing from behind and clamp the housing firmly onto the rail. 
         [0022]    The housing lock makes it possible to hang the housing on the top-hat rail with the slider opened and still be able to move it along the top-hat rail. 
         [0023]    The simplest arrangement of the slider is on the outer side of the housing and it is guided via suspension tabs in corresponding cutouts of the housing. 
         [0024]    Accordingly, the slider lock could be supported to enable straight-line movement on the inner side of the housing and indeed normal to that direction in which the slider is able to be moved from the open position into the clamped position. 
         [0025]    If the slider, for holding the slider in the open position, has an, especially exchangeable, latching hook which rests against the housing and holds the slider in the open position, this has the following advantage: During manual opening of the slider, the slider does not have to be held in the open position until such time as the housing is far enough from the adjacent housing for the slider as a result of its pre-tensioning (and the absence of the side part of the adjacent housing) to be moved far enough for it to hold the slider in the open position itself. 
         [0026]    Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood, however, that the drawings are designed solely for purposes of illustration and not as a definition of the limits of the invention, for which reference should be made to the appended claims. It should be further understood that the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale and that, unless otherwise indicated, they are merely intended to conceptually illustrate the structures and procedures described herein. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0027]    For further explanation of the invention the reader is referred in the subsequent part of the description to the figures, from which further advantageous embodiments, details and developments of the invention are to be taken, in which: 
           [0028]      FIG. 1  shows a view of an housing in the open position on a top-hat rail in accordance with the invention; 
           [0029]      FIG. 2  shows the housing of  FIG. 1  in the clamped position and locked with an adjacent housing; 
           [0030]      FIG. 3  shows the housing of  FIG. 1  or  2  during opening of the housing lock; 
           [0031]      FIG. 4  shows the housing of  FIGS. 1 to 3  after it moves away from the adjacent housing; 
           [0032]      FIG. 5  shows a cross section of  FIG. 1 , where the slider is shown enlarged; 
           [0033]      FIG. 6  shows a slider; and 
           [0034]      FIG. 7  shows a latching hook. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0035]      FIG. 1  shows an housing  1  in accordance with the invention which is placed on a top-hat rail  2  but is not clamped firmly onto the latter, however. The adjacent housing  3  shown to the left of housing  1  is already clamped firmly on the top-hat rail  2 . The two housings have flat side walls  4 ,  5  that delimit the housing. The side walls  4 ,  5  are normal to the plane of the top-hat rail  2 . 
         [0036]    The slider  6  is disposed outside the housing  1 , i.e., on its rear wall, and projects behind the housing  1 , here on the lower. side, so that it can also be actuated (moved) by hand. The slider  6  could also be disposed on the rear wall of the housing  1  so that it projects upwards above the housing on the upper side of the housing. 
         [0037]    The slider  6  has at least one suspension tab  7  on each of its long sides, which are aligned towards the housing  1  and are threaded through corresponding openings into the rear wall of the housing. The suspension tabs  7  serve as a guide for the slider  6 , the right and left upper suspension tab  7  also rests however in  FIG. 1  against the slider lock  8 . In this position, its open position, i.e., the slider  6  is pre-tensioned. 
         [0038]    The slider lock  8  is an elongated, essentially flat part, made of sheet metal, for example, which is guided via a slot  9 , and is guided in parallel to the rear wall by a pin or by a screw  10 , which is fastened in the rear wall of the housing  1 . The (right-hand) end of the slider lock  8  located inside the housing is connected via a coil spring  11  to the right-hand side wall of the housing  1 . The coil spring  11  is not under tension in this position of the slider lock  8 . The right-hand side wall of the housing  1  serves as a stop for the (right-hand) end of the slider lock  8  located inside the housing when the slider lock is tensioned. 
         [0039]    The other (left-hand) end of the slider lock  8  projects through an opening of the housing  1 , more precisely through its side wall  4 , and projects as far as the suspension tabs  7 , in the longitudinal direction of the slider lock  8 , are at a distance from the cutouts  12 . 
         [0040]    The housing lock  13 , of which only a hook bent upwards is visible here, is formed as a flat strip and has openings through which the lower suspension tabs  7  of the slider  6  project, see also  FIG. 5 , and in this way they connect the housing lock  13  rigidly to the slider  6 . The housing lock  13  can be formed, for example, as a strip of sheet metal, but it can also be manufactured via die-casting or in plastic via plastic injection molding. 
         [0041]    Also provided on the slider  6  is a (here exchangeable) latching hook  14 , which likewise holds the slider in the open position. In this case, the latching hook  14  rests against a cutout or a similar device on the rear wall of the housing. The latching hook  14  is suspended via cutouts in corresponding tabs  15  of the slider  6 , see  FIG. 6 , and is fixed by the housing lock  13  partly disposed above the hook. The latching hook  14  could, however, likewise be formed in one piece with the slider  6  or be connected to the slider so that it cannot be released. 
         [0042]    Provided in the central area of the slider lock  8  is an extension that engages with the latching hook  14  in the open position of the slider and pushes the latching hook in the direction of the outer side of the housing. 
         [0043]    If the housing  1  is now moved to the left on the top-hat rail  2  towards the adjacent housing  3  (see arrow in  FIG. 2 ) the side walls  3 ,  4  of the two housings  1 ,  3  approach each other. The side wall  3  then pushes the slider lock  8  into the housing  1  (to the right), see arrow in  FIG. 2 , and also far enough for the upper suspension tabs  7  of the pre-tensioned slider  6  to latch into the cutouts  12 , the pre-tensioned slider  6  is released. Furthermore, the slider lock  8  cannot be pushed into the housing  1  because the right-hand end of the slider lock  8  is already touching the right side wall of the housing  1 . Through the movement of the slider lock  8  the coil spring  11  is tensioned. The slider  6  progresses along the rear-wall upwards into its clamping position and clamps the housing  1  firmly onto the top-hat rail  2 . The slider  6  is now in its non-tensioned position. 
         [0044]    However the device lock  13  also moves upwards with the slider  6 , where the hook projects from the housing  1  into the adjacent housing  3  hooks into the side wall  5  and thus connects the two housings  1 ,  3  mechanically to one another. This defines their mutual position in the direction of the top-hat rail  2 . The latching hook  14  moves during the movement of the slider  6  behind the rear wall of the housing.  FIG. 2  shows the clamping position just described. 
         [0045]    If the two housings  1 ,  3  are to be released from one another again and the housing  1  is to be moved to the right, the slider  6  is pushed away by hand downwards from the housing  1 , i.e., in the direction shown by the arrow in  FIG. 3 , it is released. This causes the housing lock  13  to release from the side wall  5 , i.e., to open, and it can be pulled out to the right through the opening of the side wall  5 . 
         [0046]    Pulling out the slider  6  also releases the clamping position, however the slider  6  cannot yet (as in  FIG. 1 ) rest against the slider lock (although its position corresponds to that in  FIG. 1 ), because the slider lock  8  cannot yet slide out of the housing  1  (to the left), it is still pushed by the side wall  5  into the housing  1  (to the right). 
         [0047]    However, the position of the latching hook  14  is selected so that the latching hook rests on an opening of the rear wall and thus holds the slider  6 , now pre-tensioned again, in the open position. The housing  1  can now (without the slider  6  constantly having to be held by hand in the open position) be moved along the top-hat rail  2  (see arrow at the top in  FIG. 4 ). 
         [0048]    As soon as the two side walls  4 ,  5  have moved far enough apart from each other the coil spring  11  pushes the slider lock  8  far enough out of the housing  1  again (to the left, see arrow in  FIG. 4 ), until the slider  6  can again be held by the slider lock  8  in the open position. The pre-tensioned slider  6  is partly released by the latching hook  14 . The same state as in  FIG. 1  is thus established again. 
         [0049]    In  FIG. 5 , the housing lock  13  and its fastening to the slider  6  are able to be seen more easily than in  FIG. 1 . 
         [0050]      FIG. 6  shows the slider  6  with its four suspension tabs  7 . Furthermore, the two tabs  15  for the latching hooks  14  are also seen. The latching hook  14  has a flat part with two slots that fit over the tabs  15 , and thus fix the latching hook  14  simply by insertion into the slider  6  in the plane of the slider. The fixing normal to the plane of the slider  6  is done by the housing lock  13 , see  FIG. 1 , for example. 
         [0051]    While there have been shown, described and pointed out fundamental novel features of the invention as applied to a preferred embodiment thereof, it will be understood that various omissions and substitutions and changes in the form and details of the methods described and the devices illustrated, and in their operation, may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, it is expressly intended that all combinations of those elements and/or method steps which perform substantially the same function in substantially the same way to achieve the same results are within the scope of the invention. Moreover, it should be recognized that structures and/or elements and/or method steps shown and/or described in connection with any disclosed form or embodiment of the invention may be incorporated in any other disclosed or described or suggested form or embodiment as a general matter of design choice. It is the intention, therefore, to be limited only as indicated by the scope of the claims appended hereto.