A JUNCTION BOX

Abstract: A junction box for data and/or telecommunication installations comprises a printed circuit board (12) which is mounted to a rear supporting plate (10) and provided with terminal blocks (13), mounted on the front side thereof. The circuit board (12) is mounted at a distance in front of the supporting plate (10) to form a free wire laying space (19) behind the circuit board (12), between said board and the supporting plate (10). The supporting plate (10) is provided with wire lead-in openings (26), located behind the circuit board (12), and the circuit board (12) is provided with wire lead-in openings (25) which are formed by cut-outs in the circuit board (12), extending into said board from edge portions (23, 24) thereof. The wire lead-in openings (26) in the supporting plate (10) are located in displaced positions in the supporting plate (10) in relation to the wire lead-in openings (25) in the circuit board (12) and at a distance from the latter openings.

Description: A junction box The present invention relates to a junction box for data and/or telecommunication installations. More particularly, the invention relates to such a junction box of the kind comprising a printed circuit board which is mounted to a rear supporting plate and provided with one or more terminal blocks, mounted to the circuit board on the front side thereof. The invention has for its purpose to provide a junction box which is substantially improved in relation to previously known junction boxes of the above kind and which above all facilitates the steps of drawing in wires into the junction box and connecting them to the terminal blocks mounted to the circuit board. The junction box, according to the invention pro- posed for said purpose, is primarly characterized in that the circuit board is mounted at a sufficient dis¬ tance in front of the supporting plate to form a free wire laying space behind the circuit board, between said board and the supporting plate, in that the sup- porting plate is provided with one or more wire lead-in openings which are located behind the circuit board, and in that the circuit board is provided with one or more wire lead-in openings which are formed by cut-outs in the circuit board, extending into said board from edge portions thereof, the wire lead-in openings in the supporting plate being located in displaced posi¬ tions in the supporting plate in relation to the wire lead-in openings in the circuit board and at a distance from the latter openings. The above design of the junction box according to the invention makes it possible to simplify to a great extent the required operations to be effected by an installer in connection with drawing in wires into the junction box and connecting conductors thereof to terminals forming part of the terminal blocks mounted to the circuit board. Moreover, the invention also makes it possible to achieve a satisfactory holding of the wires in the junction box without requiring any special means for relieving them from outer pulling forces. According to the invention, the wire lead-in ope¬ nings in the supporting plate may preferably be substan¬ tially larger than the wire lead-in openings in the circuit board. Such a design of the wire lead-in ope- nings makes it possible to permit several wires intended to be connected to the circuit board, for instance an incoming wire and one or more outgoing wires, to extend through one and the same opening in the supporting plate, while the individual conductors of each wire may extend from the rear side of the circuit board to the front side thereof through one or more wire lead-in openings in the circuit board for each wire. In order to facilitate the installation, the space between the circuit board and the supporting plate may suitably be laterally open at least within the region of each wire lead-in opening provided in the circuit board. In this case, the junction box may comprise a cover which is adapted to be releasably mounted in front of the circuit board and provided with side walls, ex- tending in a rearward direction from a front wall of the cover and arranged to cover said space laterally. According to the invention, the circuit board may comprise a plurality of circuit board modules, located in side-by-side relationship and preferably formed in one single piece, and at least some of which have terminal blocks mounted thereto and wire lead-in openings provided therein. The supporting plate may then suitably be provided with one or more wire lead- in openings behind each circuit board module provided with terminal blocks and wire lead-in openings. Such a design of the junction box results in that each wire intended to be connected to a certain circuit board module may be inserted through a wire lead-in opening in the supporting plate located behind said module. Moreover, the two circuit board modules within each pair of adjacent circuit board modules having terminal blocks mounted thereto may be provided with at least one common wire lead-in opening which is located at the transition between said two modules and extends into each one of said two modules. By providing the circuit board with such wire lead-in openings common to two adjacent circuit board modules it is possible to achieve a reduction of the total number of separate wire lead-in openings in the circuit board. The junction box may be designed so as to be mounted in a distribution frame. In order to make it possible to mount the junction box in an easy manner, the supporting plate may then suitably be provided with two mounting flanges which are located at opposite ends thereof and by means of which the supporting plate may be mounted to two vertical uprights of a distribution frame. If the junction box is instead intended to be wall-mounted, the supporting plate may preferably be provided with spacing means projecting therefrom at the rear side thererof and serving to ensure that, when mounted to a wall, the supporting plate will be located at a sufficient distance in front of said wall to form a wire laying space behind the supporting plate, between the latter and said wall. Below the invention will be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:- Figure 1 shows a perspective partial view of a junction box according to a first embodiment of the invention, selected by way of example only and intended to be mounted in a distribution frame, Figure 2 shows a side elevation, in cross-section, of the junction box according to Figure 1 , Figure 3 shows a partial front view of the junction box according to Figures 1 and 2 with the cover of said box removed, Figure 4 shows an inclined perspective front view of a circuit board forming part of the junction box according to Figures 1 to 3, Figure 5 shows an inclined perspective rear view of the circuit board according to Figure 4, and Figure 6 shows a side elevation cross-sectional view, corresponding to Figure 2, of a junction box ac¬ cording to a second embodiment of the invention, also selected by way of example only and intended to be mounted on a wall. The junction box shown in Figures 1 and 2 comprises an elongate rectangular supporting plate 10 and a printed circuit board 12, mounted at a distance in front of the supporting plate by means of spacing means 11 and having terminal blocks 13 mounted thereto at its front side . At its two short sides, supporting plate 10 is provided with projecting mounting flanges 14 by means of which it may be mounted to two vertical uprights 15 of a distribution frame. Reference numeral 16 designates a cover which may be releasably mounted in front of circuit board 12 and which is provided with side walls 18, extending in a rearward direction froma front wall 17 of said cover and serving to cover the space 19 between supporting plate 10 and circuit board 12 in lateral directions . Circuit board 12 comprises a plurality of mutually equal modules 12A - 12J (Figures 4 and 5) forming an integral single piece. At its front side, each such module has two parallel rows of terminal blocks 13. In the illustrated case, these terminal blocks are formed as so-called slot blocks, provided with forwardly and laterally open slots 20 into which insulated conductors may be pressed by a suitable tool and brought into electrical connection with terminals, not shown, which extend into the slots from the rear ends thereof. Each such terminal comprises a contact pin which is inserted into a through hole 21 in circuit board 12 and connected to a conductor 22 printed on the rear side of the circuit board. In the case shown in Figures 4 and 5, conductors 22 are arranged to connect opposite terminals of the two parallel rows of terminal blocks 13 on each circuit board module to each other. As may be seen from Figures 1, 4 and 5, along its two longitudinal edges 23 and 24, circuit board 12 is provided with a plurality of openings 25 having the shape of generally rectangular cut-outs and extending into the cicuit board from said edges thereof. These openings 25 include on the one hand four openings provided at the different four corners of circuit board 12, and on the other hand openings provided at the transition between each pair of adjacent circuit board modules and extending into each one of the two modules of each pair. Openings 25 serve as wire lead-in openings for conductors intended to be connected to terminal blocks 13 located adjacent to said openings. In supporting plate 10, there is provided a plura¬ lity of circular openings 26 which are located in central positions behind different circuit board modules. These openings 26, which are substantially larger than openings 25 in circuit board 12, serve as wire lead-in openings through which external wires may be inserted into the junction box. When utilizing the above-described junction box, each wire intended to be connected to a terminal block 13 is inserted through that opening 26 in supporting plate 10 that is located behind the circuit board module to which the terminal block 13 in question is mounted. The individual conductors of the wire are then connected to the terminal block upon preceding removal of the in- sulating outer covering and any screen from an end portion of the wire. In this connection, the conductors are placed in positions such as to bring them to extend in a bent shape from space 19 between circuit board 12 and suppor¬ ting plate 10 to terminal block 13 through an opening 25 in the circuit board. As a consequence of the fact that space 19 is laterally open, the insertion and connection of the wire may be effected in a manner convenient to an installer. The bending of the conductors of the wire at openings 25 in circuit board 12 and the bending of the wire as a whole preferably effected at opening 26 in the supporting plate result in a firm holding and locking of the wire to the junction box without requiring any special means for said purpose. Figure 6 shows a junction box according to an alter- native embodiment of the invention which is intended to be wall-mounted. This embodiment differs from the embodi¬ ment shown in Figures 1 to 5 in that supporting plate 10 has a larger height and lacks flanges extending in a rearward direction therefrom. In the embodiment shown in Figure 6, supporting plate 10 is provided with spacing means 27 which project from the rear side of said plate and serve to ensure that, when mounted to a wall 28, supporting plate 10 will be located at a sufficient distance in front of said wall to make it possible to draw in wires intended to be connected to the junction box to openings 26 in the supporting plate through the space 29 between supporting plate 10 and wall 28. The invention is not restricted to the embodiments above described and shown in the drawings. Instead, many other embodiments are feasible within the scope of the invention. For instance, the junction box may contain circuit boards which are provided not only with terminal blocks mounted thereto but also with various electric or electronic components, such as resistors, capacitors and different kinds of semiconductor circuits. Moreover, the wire lead-in openings may have other shapes and be located in other positions than those shown in the drawings.

Claims: Cl a ims 1. A junction box for data and/or telecommunication installations, comprising a printed circuit board (12) which is mounted to a rear supporting plate (10) and provided with one or more terminal blocks (13), mounted to the circuit board on the front side thereof, charac¬ terized in that the circuit board (12) is mounted at a sufficient distance in front of the supporting plate (10) to form a free wire laying space (19) behind the circuit board (12), between said board and the supporting plate (10), in that the supporting plate (10) is provided with one or more wire lead-in openings (26) which are located behind the circuit board ( 12) , and in that the circuit board (12) is provided with one or more wire lead-in openings (25) which are formed by cut-outs in the circuit board (12), extending into said board from edge portions (23, 24) thereof, the wire lead-in ope¬ nings (26) in the supporting plate (10) being located in displaced positions in the supporting plate (10) in relation to the wire lead-in openings (25) in the circuit board (12) and at a distance from the latter openings . 2. A junction box according to claim 1, characterized in that the wire lead-in openings (26) in the supporting plate (10) are substantially larger than the wire lead-in openings (25) in the circuit board (12). 3. A junction box according to claim 1 or 2, charac¬ terized in that the space (19) between the circuit board (12) and the supporting plate (10) is laterally open at least within the region of each wire lead-in opening (25) in the circuit board (12). 4. A junction box according to claim 3, characterized in that it comprises a cover (16) which is adapted to be releasably mounted in front of the circuit board (12) and provided with side walls (18), extending in a rearward direction from a front wall (17) of the cover and arranged to cover said space (19) laterally. 5. A junction box according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the circuit board (12) comprises a plurality of circuit board modules (12A - 12J), located in side-by-side relationship and preferably formed in one single piece, and at least some of which have terminal blocks (13) mounted thereto and wire lead- in openings (25) provided therein. 6. A junction box according to claim 5, characterized in that the supporting plate (10) is provided with one or more wire lead-in openings (26) behind each circuit board module ( 12A - 12J) provided with terminal blocks (13) and wire lead-in openings (25). 7. A junction box according to claim 6, characterized in that the two circuit board modules within each pair of adjacent circuit board modules ( 12A - 12J) having terminal blocks (13) mounted thereto are provided with at least one common wire lead-in opening (25) which is located at the transition between said two modules and extends into each one of said two modules. 8. A junction box according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the supporting plate (10) is provided with two mounting flanges (14) which are located at opposite ends thereof and by means of which the supporting plate may be mounted to two vertical uprights (15) of a distribution frame. 9. A junction box according to any of claims 1 to 7 , characterized in that the supporting plate (10) is pro- vided with spacing means (27) which project therefrom at the rear side thereof and which serve to ensure that, when mounted to a wall (28), the supporting plate (10) will be located at a sufficient distance in front of said wall to form a wire laying space (29) behind the supporting plate (10), between the latter and said wall (28).

Inventors: OESTERLUND CARL-GUNNAR, OESTERLUND, CARL-GUNNAR
Applicants: OESTERLUND CARL GUNNAR, OESTERLUND, CARL-GUNNAR
Application year: 1996
Main classification: H04Q1
IPC codes: H04Q1