Abstract:
A kit for a bus bar system for connecting bus bars with connectors of an electric installation device, which avoids the production of special connecting rails, depending on the position of the connecting planes of the bus bars and the connectors of the installation device.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0002]    This invention relates to a kit for a bus bar system for connecting bus bars with the connectors of an electric installation device.  
           [0003]    2. Description of Related Art  
           [0004]    In the field of switchgear cabinet production, connecting rails, which are bent from a flat material and/or beveled and which must be particularly matched to the installation locations of these elements, are used for connecting bus bars of the bus bar system with the connectors of the installation device. To worsen matters, the bus bars and the connectors of the installation device are arranged in planes which extend perpendicular with respect to each other and, depending on the installation possibilities in the switchgear cabinet, their planes can be differently offset horizontally and vertically with respect to each other. Further problems arise when it is necessary to transmit particularly high currents via the connections. This requires large cross sections of the connecting rails, which often can only be matched to the installation situation at the site after the bus bars and the installation devices are installed.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0005]    It is one object of this invention to provide a kit for a bus bar system of the type mentioned above but with which even connecting rails for high currents can be combined, which can be adapted to different current strengths and different installation situations.  
           [0006]    In accordance with this invention, this object is achieved with a kit that includes connecting elbows, flat rail sections and Z-shaped angle cleats made from a flat material of uniform cross section. The connecting elbows have connecting legs and junction legs, which can be connected with the bus bar, wherein in an installed position of the connecting elbow the connecting legs rest on top of each other and the junction legs are at a distance from each other, which corresponds to the thickness of the flat material. In the installed position of the angle cleat sets of a junction leg the Z-shaped angle cleats have a distance from each other, which corresponds to a thickness of the flat material.  
           [0007]    Here, the connection can be made, depending on the current strength, by one or several connecting elbows, flat rail sections and/or Z-shaped angle cleats. In one embodiment, the kit comprises an equal number of connecting elbows, flat rail sections and/or Z-shaped angle cleats.  
           [0008]    It is possible with the connecting elbows, flat rail sections and/or Z-shaped angle cleats to take the installation planes of the bus bars and the connectors of the installation device into account without the use of specially produced connecting rails for the connections. It is within the scope of this invention to use differently embodied connecting elbows in place of the flat rail sections and/or the Z-shaped angle cleats, or to make available flat rail sections of different lengths and/or Z-shaped angle cleats with center legs of different length.  
           [0009]    These variations can be employed in particular if, in connection with a multi-phase bus bar system the connecting elbows for a bus bar system with several, spaced apart bus bars have connecting legs of different lengths matched to the distance between the bus bars and with connecting bores associated with the bus bars. The supply of different connecting elbows in the kit can be avoided because with bus bar systems having several spaced apart bus bars, for connecting each bus bar, uniform connecting elbows are used, with connecting legs that extend transversely over all bus bars and have associated connecting bores in the area of each bus bar. However, the connecting legs of a connecting elbow set can be connected with the associated bus bar via insulating pieces, which receive a contact bow only in the area of the associated bus bar, which makes the electrical connection between the bus bar and the connecting elbow set.  
           [0010]    The individual parts of a connection between a bus bar and a connector of an installation device can be simply connected with each other because the connecting legs of the connecting elbow sets of the flat rail sections and the junction legs of the angle cleat sets have fastening bores, which are matched to each other.  
           [0011]    In one embodiment, the angle cleat sets uniformly have Z-shaped angle cleats, with a center leg having additional connecting receivers for fixing the angle cleat which is set in place in the installed position, and the Z-shaped angle cleats selected for a connection can be combined into a fixed angle cleat set, in which the junction legs maintain a defined position.  
           [0012]    If the installation device has a flat junction contact, it can be connected with a good electrical contact with the spaced apart junction legs of a connection elbow set or an angle cleat set because contact plates have unused distances between the angle cleats of the angle cleat set, whose thickness corresponds to the thickness of the flat material and which can be connected with the junction legs. The flat junction contact of the installation device is in flat contact with all connecting legs. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0013]    This invention is explained in greater detail in view of an embodiment represented in the drawings, wherein:  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 1 is a side view of three different connecting elbow sets with respectively three connecting elbows, but with connecting legs of different lengths;  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 2 is a side view of a flat rail set with three flat rail sections;  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 3 is a side view of an angle cleat set with three Z-shaped angle cleats; and  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 4 is a side view of the bus bars installed in a switchgear cabinet. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0018]    As FIGS.  1  to  3  show, all connecting elements are made of a flat material of a uniform cross section. Depending on the maximum current strength to be transmitted, a more or less large number of individual parts can be used. This invention will be explained in view of respectively three combined individual elements, which are called individual element sets.  
         [0019]    If, as shown in FIG. 4, three bus bars  60  of a rotary current bus bar system are arranged in a rack  40  in one horizontal plane, the connecting elbow sets VW 1 , VW 2  and VW 3 , represented in FIG. 1, can be used for connecting the associated bus bar  60 . Here, and as shown in FIG. 4, the connecting legs  11  of the connecting elbows  10 . 11 ,  10 . 12  and  10 . 13  are so long that they can be connected via the fastening bores  12  with the left bus bar  60 . With the connecting elbow set VW 2 , the connecting legs  11  of the connecting elbows  10 . 21 ,  10 . 22  and  10 . 23  are so long, that they can be connected via their fastening bores  15  with the center bus bar  60  in FIG. 4. Finally, with the connecting elbow set VW 3 , the connecting elbows  10 . 31 ,  10 . 32  and  10 . 33  can be conducted to the right bus bar  60  in FIG. 4 and connected with the right bus bar  60  via their fastening bores  16 . As shown in FIG. 4, a contact piece  65  with the bus bar  60 , which is inserted into an insulation piece  50 , is respectively used for this purpose. Thus the connecting legs  11  of the connecting elbow sets VW 2  and VW 3  can be conducted without contact over the bus bars to which they are not to be connected.  
         [0020]    The connecting elbow set VW 3  can also be used for connecting all three bus bars  60 , if the connecting legs  11  have fastening bores  12 ,  15  and  16 . The insulation pieces  50  extend transversely over all the bus bars  60  and have a receptacle for the contact piece  65  in the area of each bus bar  60 . The junction legs  13  of all connecting elbows  10 . 31 ,  10 . 32  and  10 . 33  can be aligned in one vertical plane with three connecting elbow sets VW 3 . As FIG. 1 shows, the individual connecting legs  13  in the connecting elbow sets VW 1  to VW 3  are at preset distances corresponding to a thickness of the flat material being used, so that the flat rail sections  20  in FIG. 2 and/or the junction legs  31  of the angle cleat set ZW in FIG. 3 can be interlockingly connected with each other.  
         [0021]    The connecting legs  13  of the connecting elbow sets VW 1 , VW 2  and VW 3 , the end sections of the flat rail sections  20  of the flat rail set FS, and the junction legs  31  and  33  of the angle cleat set ZW have fastening bores  14 ,  21 ,  22 ,  32  and  34 , which are matched to each other and preferably correspond in number and arrangement to the fastening bores of the installation device to be connected.  
         [0022]    The connecting elbow sets VW 1 , VW 2  and VW 3  can not only be used for connecting the bus bars  60 , they can also be included in the same or different orientation in the connection to the installation device. The connection can also take place without the flat rail set FS, or with a flat rail set FS in which the flat rail sections  20  are shorter or longer. The same applies to the angle cleat set ZW in regard to the center leg  35  of the Z-shaped angle cleat  30 .  
         [0023]    As FIG. 3 shows, the contact plates  40  with the fastening bores  41  are required if the installation device has a connecting contact designed as a flat connecting contact. The spaces between the angle cleats are filled with the contact plates  40  if the flat connecting contact of the installation device is brought into flat contact with all junction legs of the facing elbow set VW, FS or ZW.  
         [0024]    In the embodiment of FIG. 4, the bus bars  60  are arranged beneath the cover of the switchgear cabinet, wherein they extend parallel with the rear of the switchgear cabinet and are connected in the area facing the rear and are spaced apart toward the front of the switchgear cabinet. The junction legs of the connecting elbow sets VW 1  to VW 3 , or three times VW 3 , are spaced a short distance apart from the rear wall and are downwardly extended by the flat rail set FS, wherein the interlocked connection is provided via the fastening bores  14  and  21 . In this case the flat rail sections  20  can be maintained spaced apart by means of additional spacers  70 .  
         [0025]    The lower end of the flat rail sections  20  with the fastening bores  22  can be directly connected with a junction contact of the installation device. However, the connection to the junction contact of the installation device can also be extended by a connecting elbow set VW 1 , VW 2  or VW 3  and/or by an angle cleat set ZW.