Conductor strip and housing therefor for a current conductor rail
OwnerHugues E. Waldmeierinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
There is disclosed a metallic conductor strip of approximately Z-shaped cross-section which serves as current conductor in a housing. The strip in cross-section has a limb with a flat contact surface and a limb with an inwardly curved contact surface. The strip is retained in the housing, with which it forms a current conductor rail, by two ribs protruding into an interior space of the housing and by two outwardly bent edge portions of the strip which are engaged in corresponding grooves in the housing. The possibility exists of including a copper conductor member in the housing to cope with higher current intensities.
Claims8
A conductor rail arrangement comprising a housing made of an insulating material, said housing having a downwardly extending opening, and a conductor comprising an elongated sectional bar extending within said housing and having a cross-section which is rotatably symmetrical in a 180-degree rotation about the horizontal axis of the elongated sectional bar, said housing having wall means defining grooves on opposite sides of said housing, a strip-shaped conductor mounted in said grooves on both sides of the downward opening to increase the current carrying capacity, said strip-shaped conductor having a surface remote from the opening of bearing against said sectional bar only for low-amperage currents and a surface on its side facing the opening adapted to be contacted by a current collector.
A conductor strip of metallic material for insertion into a downwardly open housing of electrically insulating material to form therewith an electric current conductor rail, wherein the conductor strip comprises a cross-section being approximately Z-shaped, said Z-shaped cross-section having transverse limbs at the upper and lower extremities, and at least one of said transverse limbs at the upper and lower extremities of said cross-section having an external surface being inwardly curved, a respective web portion adjoining each end of each of said limbs, each of said web portions extending at a right angle to the associated one of said limbs and in direction toward the other of said limbs, said strips comprising a connecting web, two diagonally opposite ones of said web portions connected together by said connecting web, said connecting web comprising two end portions which are offset relative to each other and which are each connected at right angles to a respective one of said two diagonally opposite web portions, and an intermediate portion connecting said end portions together, each of the other two diagonally opposite ones of said web portions comprising a free end portion angled to extend outwardly away from the rest of the strip, the housing defining an interior hollow space of substantially rectangular cross-section for reception of said conductor strip, said interior space having a greater cross-sectional height than that of said conductor strip, a respective support rib protruding into said interior hollow space from each vertical side thereof, a respective first recess adjoining each said support rib to receive a respective one of said outwardly angled free end portions of said conductor strip web portions, and a respective second recess arranged at each of said vertical sides directly adjacent the portion of said interior hollow space occupied by said conductor strip when received therein with said outwardly angled free and portions engaged in said first recesses, said second recesses being aligned in a transverse plane of said interior hollow space, and a supplementary conductor member having mutually opposite edge portions received in said second recesses.
An electric current conductor rail comprising a conductor strip of metallic material, said conductor strip having a cross-section being approximately Z-shaped, said Z-shaped cross-section having transverse limbs at the upper and lower extremities, at least one of the two transverse limbs at the upper and lower extremities of said cross-section having an external surface being inwardly curved, and a downwardly open housing of electrically insulating material defining an interior hollow space of substantially rectangular cross-section receiving said conductor strip, said interior hollow space having a greater cross-sectional height than that of said conductor strip and said housing further defining retaining means for retaining said conductor strip in said interior space, said housing further defining a respective recess arranged at each vertical side of said interior hollow space directly adjacent to the portion of said interior hollow space occupied by said conductor strip, said recesses being aligned in a transverse plane of said interior hollow space.
An electric current conductor rail comprising a conductor strip of metallic material, said conductor strip having a cross-section being approximately Z-shaped, said Z-shaped cross-section having transverse limbs at the upper and lower extremities, at least one of the two transverse limbs at the upper and lower extremities of said cross-section having an external surface being inwardly curved, and a downwardly open housing of electrically insulating material defining an interior hollow space of substantially rectangular cross-section receiving said conductor strip, said interior hollow space having a greater cross-sectional height than that of said conductor strip and said housing further defining retaining means for retaining said conductor strip in said interior space, said conductor strip further comprising a respective web portion adjoining each end of each of said limbs, each of said web portions extending at a right angle to the associated one of said limbs and in direction toward the other one of said limbs, said conductor strip comprising a connecting web having two end portions, two diagonally opposite ones of said web portions being connected together by a connecting web, said two end portions being offset relative to each other and each of said end portions being connected at right angles to a respective one of said two web portions, and an intermediate portion connecting said-end portions together, and a pair of connecting elements of metallic material each so engaged in said conductor strip as to be received in a space bounded in part by a respective one of said transverse limbs thereof, the associated ones of said web portions and the associated ones of said end portions of said connecting web, said connecting elements projecting from said conductor strip for corresponding engagement in a further such conductor strip thereby to electrically interconnect the strips, and clamping means being provided to cause said connecting elements to be clamped in place.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.