Head or bottom element of a component support

• US 20070167070A1
• Filed: 11/22/2006
• Published: 07/19/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 11/24/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Rittal RES Electronic Systems GmbH & Company KG
• Original Assignee: Rittal RES Electronic Systems GmbH & Company KG
• Inventors: Schaffer, Kurt, Waltz, Eike, Korber, Werner
• Application Number:
  US11/604,175
• Publication Number:
  US 20070167070A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 439/527
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 7/1418 Card guides, e.g. grooves H05K7/1425 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 9/0062 Structures of standardised dimensions, e.g. 19" rack, chassis for servers or telecommunications

Abstract

A head or bottom element of a component support, having guide rails which are arranged side-by-side and aligned in an insertion direction for receiving a printed circuit board of a plug-in module. The guide rails are constituted or formed by one-piece guide elements of the head or bottom element. The head or bottom element includes an electrically conductive material at least over portions of its area. If the head or bottom element has a surface coating of electrically non-conductive material, at least partially in the area of the guide rail, it is then possible to achieve a dependable insulation of the printed circuit board from the head or bottom element in a simple and cost-effective manner.

Claims

1. A head element or a bottom element of a component support, having guide rails arranged side-by-side and aligned in an insertion direction for receiving a printed circuit board of a plug-in module, wherein the guide rails are formed by one-piece guide elements of the head element or the bottom element, and the head element or the bottom element has an electrically conductive material at least over a portion of an area, the head element or the bottom element comprising:

the head element or the bottom element (10) having a surface coating of electrically non-conductive material, at least partially near one of the guide rails.

2. The head element or the bottom element in accordance with claim 1, wherein the surface coating is incorporated into the material of the surface of at least one of the bottom element and the head element (10).

3. The head element or the bottom element in accordance with claim 2, wherein the surface coating is one of a powder coating and a whirl-sintered coating.

4. The head element or the bottom element in accordance with claim 3, wherein the guide elements are formed by respectively two rows of guide strips (14) per each of the guide rails, which extend in the insertion direction and are spaced apart, are punched out of the head element or the bottom element (10) which is plate shaped, and are beveled and protrude in a direction of the underside of the head element or a top of the bottom element, a spacing of the guide strips (14) of the guide rails matched to a thickness of the printed circuit boards of the plug-in modules, and the head element or the bottom element (10) forms guide tracks (13) between the rows of guide strips (14) of the guide rails for the printed circuit boards of the plug-in modules.

5. The head element or the bottom element in accordance with claim 4, wherein the guide tracks (13) and the guide strips (14) on sides facing the guide tracks (13) have the surface coating.

6. The head element or the bottom element in accordance with claim 5, wherein a distance between the guide strips (13) slightly increases in a direction toward end edges of the guide strips (14).

7. The head element or the bottom element in accordance with claim 6, wherein the head element or the bottom element (10) is formed as a perforated sheet by perforations (16) outside of the guide tracks (13) and the guide strips (14).

8. The head element or the bottom element in accordance with claim 7, wherein sides of the plate-shaped head element or the bottom element (10) are reinforced by beveled lateral walls (11, 12).

9. The head element or the bottom element in accordance with claim 8, wherein the lateral walls (11, 12) are clear of the surface coating, at least in some areas.

10. The head element or the bottom element in accordance with claim 9, wherein the head element and the bottom element (10) are designed identical and are installed in the component support rotated by 180°

.

11. The head element or the bottom element in accordance with claim 10, wherein the guide elements (14) of the guide tracks (13) are arranged in pairs opposite each other.

12. The head element or the bottom element in accordance with claim 11, wherein a first pair of the guide strips of a guide track (13) facing the insertion side extend as insertion strips (15), and the insertion strips (15) extend with sides facing each other at an acute angle, which opens in the direction toward the insertion side, and the insertion strips (15) of the guide tracks (13) form an insertion receiver (19) having an insertion slope.

13. The head element or the bottom element in accordance with claim 12, wherein the head element or the bottom element (10) is made as a punched and bent element from a sheet steel blank.

14. The head element or the bottom element in accordance with claim 13, wherein a spring element (20) projects with a spring leaf (27) into the guide rail and can be attached to one of the insertion strips (15).

15. The head element or the bottom element in accordance with claim 14, wherein the spring element (20) has an attachment hood (21) matched to a cross section of the insertion element (25).

16. The head element or the bottom element in accordance with claim 15, wherein a U-shaped plug-in element adjoins the attachment hood (21) of the spring element (20) which has two legs (22, 23) with snap-in flaps (25, 26), and the plug-in element is snappable into the punched-out receiver (17) of the head element or the bottom element (10) and is formed when the insertion strip is punched out and beveled.

17. The head element or the bottom element in accordance with claim 16, wherein the plug-in element terminates in an angled off end stop (24), which limits an insertion movement of the plug-in element and the attachment movement of the attachment hood (21).

18. The head element or the bottom element in accordance with claim 17, wherein the spring leaf (27) forms a direct contact point (28) with the printed circuit board of the plug-in module, and downstream of the direct contact point (28) the spring leaf (27) transitions into an end section (29) which forms a tightening slope.

19. The head element or the bottom element in accordance with claim 1, wherein the guide elements are formed by respectively two rows of guide strips (14) per each of the guide rails, which extend in an insertion direction and are spaced apart, are punched out of the head element or the bottom element (10) which is plate shaped, and are beveled and protrude in a direction of an underside of the head element or a top of the bottom element, a spacing of the guide strips (14) of the guide rails matched to a thickness of the printed circuit boards of the plug-in modules, and the head element or the bottom element (10) forms guide tracks (13) between the rows of guide strips (14) of the guide rails for the printed circuit boards of the plug-in modules.

20. The head element or the bottom element in accordance with claim 4, wherein a distance between the guide strips (13) slightly increases in a direction toward end edges of the guide strips (14).

21. The head element or the bottom element in accordance with claim 4, wherein the head element or the bottom element (10) is formed as a perforated sheet by perforations (16) outside of the guide tracks (13) and the guide strips (14).

22. The head element or the bottom element in accordance with claim 1, wherein sides of the plate-shaped head element or the bottom element (10) are reinforced by beveled lateral walls (11, 12).

23. The head element or the bottom element in accordance with claim 1, wherein the head element and the bottom element (10) are designed identical and are installed in the component support rotated by 180°

.

24. The head element or the bottom element in accordance with claim 1, wherein the guide elements (14) of the guide tracks (13) are arranged in pairs opposite each other.

25. The head element or the bottom element in accordance with claim 4, wherein a first pair of the guide strips of a guide track (13) facing the insertion side extend as insertion strips (15), and the insertion strips (15) extend with sides facing each other at an acute angle, which opens in the direction toward the insertion side, and the insertion strips (15) of the guide tracks (13) form an insertion receiver (19) having an insertion slope.

26. The head element or the bottom element in accordance with claim 1, wherein the head element or the bottom element (10) is made as a punched and bent element from a sheet steel blank.

27. The head element or the bottom element in accordance with claim 1, wherein a spring element (20) projects with a spring leaf (27) into the guide rail and can be attached to one of the insertion strips (15).

28. The head element or the bottom element in accordance with claim 14, wherein the spring leaf (27) forms a direct contact point (28) with the printed circuit board of the plug-in module, and downstream of the direct contact point (28) the spring leaf (27) transitions into an end section (29) which forms a tightening slope.