Abstract:
An apparatus for mounting bus bars having at least one bus bar holder which can be attached to a loadbearing structure and which has at least one foot receptacle for introducing a foot section of a bus bar and fixing the latter by a holding piece. Simple, stable mounting of bus bars can be achieved if the holding piece is configured as a separate part which can be attached releasably or which is attached releasably to a base part of the bus bar holder and which has a connecting section for attachment to an adapted holding piece receptacle of the base part and a head part which engages over the former for fixing the foot section.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   This invention relates to a bus bar mounting device having at least one bus bar holder, which can be applied to a support structure and that has at least one base receptacle for inserting a base section of a bus bar and fixing the base section in place by a holding element. 
   2. Discussion of Related Art 
   A bus bar mounting device is shown on pages 546, 552 and 553 of the RITTAL Handbook 29 (printed September 1997). With this known bus bar mounting device, bus bars with flat base sections, which laterally project in cross section, are received in matched base receptacles of bus bar holders. The base receptacles are shaped to correspond to the cross section of the base sections and are undercut on both sides. An intermediate section of the bus bars projects out of the bus bar holder through a center longitudinal opening of the base receptacles and, on its end facing away from the bus bar holder, makes a transition into a flat contacting section angled off toward one side. During mounting, a relative longitudinal displacement between the bus bar and the bus bar holder is required for relatively long bus bars of this type. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   One object of this invention is to provide a bus bar mounting device of the type mentioned above but with simplified mounting possibilities. 
   This object is attained with an apparatus having characteristics described in this specification and in the claims. The holding element can be embodied as a separate element, which can be releasably attached, or is releasably attached, on a base element of the bus bar holder and which, for attachment to a matched holding element receptacle of the base element, has a connecting section and, for fixation in place of the base section, has a head piece extending over the base section. 
   Thus, it is possible to perform mounting of bus bars in the bus bar holders simply by first mounting the bus bar holders on a platform and then simply inserting the base sections of the bus bars from the front, or from above, into the appropriate base receptacles of the bus bar holder, and then connecting the holding elements with the base element. 
   Alternative design options exist for a dependable connection which is simple to perform because the holding element receptacle is designed as a hollow space bordered on both sides by wall areas of the base element. The connecting section, as a plug-in section, can be inserted therein or in a reverse manner the holding element receptacle can be designed as a plug-in section and the connecting section as a hollow space receiving it. Thus, it is possible to fix the holding element in place simply and definitely in the connecting section, in a stable manner. 
   Simple manipulation is enhanced if the distance between the facing longitudinal edges of the contacting sections protruding past or beyond the bus bar holder of two adjoining bus bars is less than the extension of the head piece of the holding element in the longitudinal direction of the bus bar holder. The height of the holding element from its underside facing the base element to its top facing away from the base element is matched to the clearance between the respective contacting section and the base receptacle so that the holding element can be inserted, canted between the facing longitudinal edges of the contacting sections of two adjoining bus bars, can be tilted and then plugged into the base receptacle perpendicularly with respect to the top of the base element. 
   Those measures contribute to simple manipulation during installation wherein per inserted holding element two portions of the base sections facing each other of two adjoining bus bars overlap. 
   A simple construction is achieved if the connecting sections and the holding element receptacles have locking devices which work together directly or indirectly via at least one further locking element in order to fix the holding element releasably in place on the base element. Direct fixation in place can occur, for example, with formed-on snap-in elements and counter-snap-in elements as the locking device on the connecting sections or holding element receptacles. An indirect connection can be provided by screws or plug-in pins. 
   Here, an advantageous embodiment with simple manipulation and secure connection exists if the locking device of the holding element receptacles have pin receivers extending transversely with respect to the longitudinal direction of the bus bar holder. The locking elements of the connecting sections can be fixation openings which, in the plugged-in state, are aligned with the pin receivers. The locking element can have a respective connecting element which can be introduced through the pin receivers and the fixation openings. 
   In this connection, a simple structure and simple manipulation advantageously result because the connecting element is a connecting pin with a shaft, where on one end a head section and in an other end area at least one snap-in element are arranged. 
   Those steps contribute to a simple, secure and stable attachment of the bus bars, wherein the two base receptacles which are outermost in the longitudinal direction of the bus bar holder have undercuts formed in end sections on both sides of the base element, into which a lateral portion of the associated base section can be pushed by displacing the bus bar transversely with respect to a longitudinal direction. 
   Here, an embodiment which is advantageous for fixing the bus bar in place includes, in cross section, the base section of the bus bars having sections of different length on both sides, and the undercuts in the two end sections are formed with different depths corresponding to the portions of different lengths of the base sections. 
   Mounting with a defined arrangement of the bus bars is favored if an inner base receptacle arranged between two outer base receptacles is matched to the width of the base section. 
   Manipulation during mounting is helpful if the outer base receptacles are wider than the width of the base section by the length of the respective undercut. It is thus possible to also insert the bus bars simply into the outer base receptacles and then fix them in place by a simple lateral displacement in the longitudinal direction of the bus bar holder, after which the respective holding elements are inserted. The space in the outer base receptacles which is free because of the displacement is filled by a filler, which can be formed on the holding elements. 
   A stable fixation in place of the bus bars in the bus bar holders can be provided if, in an area projecting past the associated portion of the base section, the head pieces of the holding elements have threaded bores directed perpendicularly with respect to the top of the bus bar holder. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     This invention is explained in greater detail in view of exemplary embodiments, making reference to the drawings, wherein: 
       FIG. 1  is a lateral view of a bus bar mounting device with the bus bars inserted into a bus bar holder; 
       FIG. 2  is a lateral view of the mounting device in accordance with  FIG. 1 , with holding elements removed; 
       FIG. 3  shows the mounting device in accordance with  FIG. 1 , in a perspective plan view, without bus bars inserted; 
       FIG. 4  shows a perspective plan view, without holding elements; 
       FIG. 5  shows the mounting device in accordance with  FIG. 4 , with inserted bus bars, in a perspective plan view; 
       FIG. 6  shows the mounting device in accordance with  FIG. 5 , with holding elements removed, in a perspective plan view; 
       FIG. 7  shows the mounting device in accordance with  FIG. 6 , in another perspective plan view; 
       FIG. 8  shows the mounting device in accordance with the preceding figures with holding elements inserted, but not fixed in place, in a perspective plan view; 
       FIG. 9  shows the mounting device in accordance with  FIG. 8 , with holding elements fixed in place, in a perspective plan view; 
       FIG. 10  shows the mounting device in accordance with  FIG. 9 , in another perspective plan view; 
       FIG. 11  shows a lateral plan view of another embodiment of the bus bar mounting device, with different bus bars than in  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 12  shows the mounting device in accordance with  FIG. 11 , with holding elements removed, in a lateral view from the opposite side; 
       FIG. 13  shows a perspective plan view of the holding device, in accordance with  FIGS. 11 and 12  without bus bars; 
       FIG. 14  shows the mounting device in accordance with  FIG. 13 , with bus bars inserted; 
       FIG. 15  shows the mounting device in accordance with  FIGS. 11 to 14 , without bus bars and holding elements, in a perspective plan view; and 
       FIG. 16  shows the mounting device in accordance with  FIG. 15 , with inserted bus bars and with holding elements removed. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
   A mounting device  1 , or a mounting system for bus bars with a flat platform  2  having lateral edges protruding at right angles with end sections, which are angled toward the outside, and which is held between profiled strips  3 , is shown in  FIG. 1 . The platform  2  itself can be mounted on a suitable support rack and can extend over the entire length of bus bars  10  to be mounted on it, or only over a partial length thereof. Bus bar holders  20 , in which the bus bars  10  are fixed in place by base sections  12  extending flat, are attached, for example by screws or by being snapped in, to the platform  2  between the lateral edges, in the present case over the entire width of the platform  2 . On their tops, the base sections  12  transition into strip-like intermediate sections  13 , which are formed in one piece on them and project at right angles with respect to the top of the bus bar holder  20  and which, at their outward projecting end sections, transition into contacting sections  11 , which are laterally angled-off parallel with the mounting level. In another embodiment of the bus bars  10 , the angled-off contacting sections  11  can be omitted, so that the contacting sections are formed directly by the free ends of the protruding intermediate sections  13 . The base section  12  of a bus bar  10  has a portion on each side of the intermediate section  13 , each of which laterally protrudes flange-like and is of different length in the present embodiment, which is also shown in  FIGS. 2 ,  5 ,  6 ,  7  and  10 . 
   As  FIG. 1  shows, the bus bar holder  20  substantially comprises a base element  21  with lateral end sections  24  or  25 , and of holding elements  30 , which are inserted into the base element and are releasably fixed therein. Base receptacles  22 ,  22 ′,  22 ″, which are matched to the base sections  12  of the bus bars  10 , are cut into the base element  21 , as shown in  FIGS. 2 to 4 . The base receptacles  22 ,  22 ′, which adjoin the two end sections  24 ,  25  and whose datum level is aligned with that of the center base receptacle  22  parallel with the mounting level, transition toward the end sections  24  or  25  into undercuts made in them, whose depth is matched to the respective length of the facing portion of the base section  12 , and a width is also matched perpendicularly with respect to the mounting level to the thickness of the corresponding portions of the respective base sections  12 . The widths of the outer base receptacles  22 ,  22 ′ correspond to the width of the base section  12  plus the depth of the respective undercut. With this layout of the outer base receptacles  20 ,  20 ′, the bus bars  10  can be inserted in a simple way into the base receptacles  22 ,  22 ′ perpendicularly with respect to the mounting level, and the respective portion of the base section  12  can be subsequently pushed into the respectively assigned undercut by a lateral movement in the longitudinal direction of the bus bar holder  20  and parallel with the mounting level. The resulting lateral gap in the base receptacle  22  or  22 ′ is afterwards filled by a respectively matched filler which, in the present case, is formed as a filler section  34 ,  34 ′ on the respective holding element  30 , so that in the fixed state a lateral displacement of the bus bars  10  is also dependably prevented, which is shown in  FIG. 1 , for example. 
   As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , a distance a between the facing longitudinal edges of two adjoining bus bars  10  is in this case less than the length  1  of a head piece  31  of the holding element  30 . Thus, it is not easily possible with bus bars  10  with an angled-off contacting section  11  to insert the holding element  30  perpendicularly with respect to the mounting level, so instead it is introduced obliquely into the resulting free space between two adjoining bus bars  10 , is then pivoted into a horizontal position and is finally inserted with a connecting section  32  perpendicularly with respect to the mounting level into the base element  21 . In this case, the length  1  of the head piece  31  substantially corresponds to the distance between the intermediate sections  13  of two adjoining bus bars  10  and its narrow edges, which extend perpendicularly in the inserted state, are advantageously slightly beveled or rounded, so that simple pivoting between the bus bars  10  into the position parallel with the mounting level is possible. Also, the height of the holding element  30  from the underside of the connecting section  32  facing the base element  21  to the top of the head piece  31  facing away from the base element  21  is dimensioned so that the holding element  30  can be inserted without difficulty into a holding element receptacle  26  formed in the base element  21 , which can be seen, for example, in  FIGS. 6 and 7 . The holding element receptacle  26  can be a hollow space with one or several chambers in the base element  21  between two lateral wall sections thereof, and is also bordered by wall sections in the longitudinal direction of the bus bar holder  20 , so that the connecting section  32  of the holding element  30 , which is essentially matched in cross section to the holding element receptacle  26  is definitely received in the holding element receptacle  26 , wherein still further guidance or holding structures can be installed in the hollow space. The connecting section  32  has a continuous fixation opening  33  extending transversely with respect to the bus bar holder  20  which, in the inserted state of the holding element  30 , is aligned with pin receivers  23  in the wall sections of the base element  21  bordering the holding element receptacle  26 . For fixing the holding element  30  in place, a connecting element  40  with a shaft  42  is pushed through the pin receivers  23  and the fixation opening  33  which, in the end position, rests with a head section  41  against one outside of a wall section of the base element  21  and, by snap-in elements  43  attached to snap-in springs at the other end section of the shaft  42 , is snapped together with the oppositely located wall section of the base element  21 , as  FIGS. 1 ,  3 ,  8 ,  9  and  10  show. In the present case, the pin receivers  23  in the base element  21 , as well as the fixation opening  33 , are shaped rectangular, in particular square, in cross section, corresponding to the cross section of the shaft area of the connecting element  40 . Prior to the insertion of the holding element  30  into the holding element receptacle  26 , the connecting element  40  with its snap-in elements  43  can be pre-fixed on a wall section of the base element  21  while keeping the holding element receptacle  26  free, in order to push it in a simple manner through the fixation opening  33  of the holding element  30  after being inserted. 
   Once the bus bars  10  are fixed in the above described manner in the bus bar holder  20  by the holding elements  30 , a final, free-of-play fastening with respective clamping screws can be performed, which are turned into threaded bores  35  in the holding elements  30 , or in an end section  24 , to which end the threaded bores  35  are arranged perpendicularly to the mounting level by a portion, in the present case the longer portion, of the base section  12 . 
     FIGS. 11 to 16  show a modified exemplary embodiment of the bus bar mounting device, wherein the bus bar holders  20  with the base receptacles  22  formed thereon are matched to bus bars  10  with base sections  12 , whose laterally projecting sections are of equal length. Here, the undercuts in the two end sections  24 ,  25  of the base element  21  are cut to a correspondingly equal depth. Facing away from the undercuts, the base areas of the outer base receptacles are slightly stepped, because the portions of the base section  12  are relatively short and thus a relatively easy introduction of the portions of the base section  12  underneath the undercut is made possible even with the stepping. Here, the stepping of the base level has one advantage of a definite positioning. The recess being created after the insertion into the undercut on the side remote from the latter is again filled, as in the previous exemplary embodiment, by a filler section  34  formed on the connecting section  32  of the holding element  30 , so that the base sections  12  introduced into the undercuts are irrevocably fixed in place when the holding element  30  is inserted. With the holding element  30  inserted, the bus bars  10  are also securely fixed in place and can be clamped by the introduction of clamping screws into threaded bores  35 . 
   Also, in contrast to the previously described exemplary embodiment, the bus bar holders  20  in accordance with  FIGS. 11 to 16  are reinforced, such as designed widened, wherein the holding element receptacle  26  is embodied as a two-chamber hollow space with a longitudinally oriented separating wall, and the connecting section  32  of the holding elements  30  is correspondingly provided twice. A pin receiver is cut into the separating wall and fixation openings  33  in both portions of the connecting receivers. 
   In both embodiments of the mounting device, the center base receptacle  22  or  22 ″ arranged between the two outer base receptacles  22 ,  22 ′, in the system with three bus bars, is made as wide as the base section  12 , wherein the respective bus bar  10  is simply inserted perpendicularly with respect to the mounting level. The head pieces  31  of the holding element  30  project on both sides past or beyond the facing portions of the adjoining base sections  12 , so that the base sections  12  of two adjoining bus bars  10  are covered by one holding element  30  in the respective sections.