GRIPPER ARRANGEMENT FOR COMPONENT PLACEMENT ON MOUNTING PLATES IN SWITCHGEAR AND CONTROL SYSTEM MANUFACTURING

Abstract

The invention relates to a gripper arrangement for component placement on mounting plates in switchgear and control system construction, the gripper arrangement having two gripper jaws whose distance from one another can be adjusted by means of a linear adjusting unit, wherein the gripper jaws each have at least one projection at the end on their outer sides facing away from one another.

Claims

1. A gripper arrangement for component placement on mounting plates in switchgear and control system manufacturing, the gripper arrangement having two gripper jaws whose distance from one another can be adjusted by means of a linear adjusting unit wherein the gripper jaws each have at least one projection at the end on their outer sides facing away from one another, wherein the gripper jaws are plate-shaped and have a thickness in the direction of displacement of the gripper jaws relative to each other which is substantially smaller than a width and a height of the gripper jaws perpendicular to each other and perpendicular to the thickness, wherein at least one of the gripper jaws has, on its inner side facing the respective opposite gripper jaw, a recess, wherein the recess is open towards an end face and towards a longitudinal side of the gripper jaw.

2. The gripper arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the thickness is one fifth and particularly preferably less than one tenth of at least one of the height and width.

3. The gripper arrangement according to claim 1, which further comprises a cable duct which has a respective longitudinal groove on the bottom side on its opposite inner-side longitudinal sides, wherein the gripper jaws dip into the cable duct from an upper side of the cable duct and engage in the longitudinal grooves with their projections on the outer sides facing away from one another.

4. (canceled)

5. The gripper assembly according to claim 1, wherein both gripper jaws have the contoured recess, which in both gripper jaws is open both to the end face and to the longitudinal side of the gripper jaw.

6. The gripper arrangement according to claim 5, in which the recess opens into an end corner of the gripper jaw and, in the region of the corner, is open without interruption both to the end face and to the longitudinal side of the gripper jaw.

7. The gripper assembly according to claim 1, wherein the gripper jaws have at least one pair of opposing identical recesses n their inner sides facing the respective opposing gripper jaw.

8. The gripper assembly according to claim 5, further comprising a placement component, for example a terminal block, which engages with at least one of its opposite end sides in a recess on the inner side of at least one of the gripper jaws.

9. The gripper arrangement according to claim 8, in which the placement component protrudes from the recess with its end side engaging in the recess beyond the end face and/or the longitudinal side of the gripper jaw.

10. The gripper arrangement according to claim 8, in which the placement component rests against at least one stop formed by a rim of the recess, the recess preferably having a rim extending in the width direction of the gripper jaw and forming a height stop and/or a rim extending in the height direction and forming a side stop.

11. The gripper arrangement according to claim 1, in which at least one of the gripper jaws has, on its inner side facing the respective opposite gripper jaw, a groove which extends along an end face of the gripper jaw.

12. The gripper arrangement according to claim 11, in which the groove opens into a recess on an inner side of the gripper jaw facing the respective opposite gripper jaw.

13. The gripper assembly according to claim 11, further comprising a channel- or rail-shaped placement component, for example a mounting rail, a top-hat rail, a cable duct, or a cable duct cover, which engages with longitudinal edges facing away from and parallel to each other in a respective groove on the opposing and facing inner sides of the gripper jaws.

14. The gripper arrangement according to claim 1, in which the gripper jaws have, at their end facing the linear adjusting unit, on their outer sides facing away from one another, a trough which preferably has the geometry of a concave groove and extends along the width of the respective gripper jaw.

15. The gripper assembly according to claim 14, further comprising a cable channel whose parallel longitudinal sides are formed by a plurality of fingers extending from the bottom of the cable channel and having a bead-shaped contour (104) at their free end on the inner side of the cable channel, wherein the gripper jaws dip into the cable duct from an upper side of the cable duct and the fingers engage in the troughs on the outer sides of the gripper jaws facing away from each other.

Description

DRAWINGS

[0024] The drawings described herein are for illustrative purposes only of selected embodiments and not all possible implementations, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

[0025] Further details of the invention are explained with reference to the figures below. Thereby shows:

[0026] FIG. 1 a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of a gripper arrangement according to the invention;

[0027] FIG. 2 a side view of the gripper arrangement according to FIG. 1;

[0028] FIG. 3 a perspective view of the underside of the gripper assembly according to FIGS. 1 and 2;

[0029] FIG. 4 a perspective view of a further embodiment of a gripper arrangement according to the invention;

[0030] FIG. 5 a side view of the gripper arrangement according to FIG. 4;

[0031] FIG. 6 a perspective view of another embodiment of the gripper arrangement according to the invention with a cable duct;

[0032] FIG. 7 a side view with detailed view of the embodiment according to FIG. 6;

[0033] FIG. 8 a perspective view of another embodiment of the gripper arrangement according to the invention with a cable duct;

[0034] FIG. 9 a side view of the embodiment according to FIG. 8;

[0035] FIG. 10 another perspective view of a gripper arrangement according to the invention with a terminal block;

[0036] FIG. 11 a side view of the embodiment according to FIG. 10.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0037] Example embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0038] FIGS. 1 to 3 show a first embodiment of a gripper arrangement 1 according to the invention for component placement on mounting plates in switchgear and control system construction. The gripper arrangement 1 essentially comprises two gripper jaws 2, the distance between which can be varied via the linear adjusting unit 3 in order to clamp components between the gripper jaws or, as is in particular also possible according to the invention, to fix a component, preferably a flexible component, at two opposite inner sides of the component via the outer sides 4 of the gripper jaws 2 facing away from each other.

[0039] Particularly for stabilizing flexurally limp components, the gripper jaws 2 are plate-shaped and thus provide a comparatively large contact surface for flexurally limp components, which are thereby stabilized. The flexurally limp component can, for example, be a cable duct with a rectangular cross-section and removable cover, the opposing parallel sidewalls of which are formed by a plurality of elastic fingers arranged next to one another. Such a cable duct is shown, for example, in FIG. 6.

[0040] The gripper jaws have a thickness d in the direction of displacement x of the gripper jaws 2 relative to each other, which in the present case is less than 1/10 of both the width b and the height h of the gripper jaws 2. This allows the gripper jaws 2 to form a compact unit in a fully collapsed state in which the gripper jaws 2 are maximally approached to each other, the thickness of which is approximately twice the thickness d or slightly more. This makes it possible for the gripper jaws 2 to also dip into comparatively compactly constructed components, in particular flexible components such as cable ducts of the type described above with a small cross-section, and to secure them in the manner described above by clamping them over the opposing outer sides 4 of the gripper jaws 2.

[0041] The gripper jaws 2 each have two recesses 7 of different geometry on their inner side 6 to enable the clamping of components with differently shaped end sides. The recesses 7 are open towards the end face 8 and towards the longitudinal side 9 of the gripper jaw 2 in order to promote simple and positionally secure insertion of the component between the gripper jaws 2. The recesses 7 are arranged in a lower corner region 10 of the gripper jaws 2 and the openings to the end face 8 and the longitudinal side 9 merge into one another in the corner region 10, so that insertion of a component into the recess 7 is possible by sliding into it.

[0042] To enable precise arrangement of the component between the gripper jaws 2, which is absolutely necessary for reproducible arrangement of the components in the context of switchgear and control system construction, the recesses 7 have two stops 11, 12, which are formed straight by two edges of the recesses 7 that are perpendicular to each other. The two stops 11, 12 are perpendicular to each other and extend parallel to and at a distance from the longitudinal side 9 and the end face 8 of the gripper jaw 2, respectively.

[0043] FIGS. 10 and 11 show an embodiment in which a placement component 200, which is a terminal block, is received via its opposing outer sides 210 in a respective one of two opposing recesses 7 on the inner sides 6 of the opposing jaws 2. It can further be seen that the row clamp 200 merely abuts the vertical stop 12 and is spaced from the horizontal stop 11. It can further be seen that the placement component 200 protrudes from the recesses 7 with its end sides 201 engaging in the recesses 7 over the end faces 8 of the gripper jaw 2, while the outer flat side wall of the placement component 200 connecting the end sides 201 is aligned with the longitudinal sides 9 of the gripper jaw 2.

[0044] In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the gripper jaws 2 have a groove 13 on their inner sides 6 facing the respective opposite gripper jaw 2, which groove extends along the end face 8 of the gripper jaw 2. The gripper arrangement 1 further has a rail-shaped placement component, which in the present case is designed as a top-hat rail-shaped mounting rail 202, which engages with its mutually remote parallel longitudinal edges 203 in a respective one of the grooves 13 on the opposing and mutually facing inner sides 6 of the gripper jaws 2 and can thus be clamped in a fixed position between the gripper jaws 2.

[0045] The embodiment shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 illustrates a gripper arrangement 1 in which the gripper jaws 2 engage over substantially their entire height with the placement component 100, which in the present case is formed as a cable duct with the cover removed (not shown). The cable channel 100 has parallel longitudinal sides 106 formed by a plurality of fingers 105 extending from the bottom of the cable channel 100. The fingers 105 have a bead-like contour 104 at their free end on the inner side 103 of the cable duct 100. The gripper jaws 2 dip into the cable duct 100 from the upper side of the cable duct 100, so that the fingers 105 engage with the bead-shaped contour 104 in the troughs 14 on the outer sides 4 of the gripper jaws 2 facing away from each other, whereby the unstable free ends of the fingers 105 undergo stabilization. Further fixation of the gripper jaws 2 with respect to the cable duct 100 is achieved by the gripper jaws 2 engaging with their end projections 5 on the outer sides 4 facing away from each other in a groove 102 on the bottom side.

[0046] Deviating from the embodiment shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, in the embodiment according to FIGS. 8 and 9, it is provided that the gripper jaws 2, when maneuvering a cable duct 100, exclusively engage the upper free and parallel longitudinal edges 107 at the ends of the fingers 105, whereby an elastic deformation of the fingers 105 occurs in order to establish the necessary frictional connection between the gripper jaws 2 and the fingers 105 of the cable duct 100. This type of maneuvering is also made possible by the fact that the gripper jaws 2 are plate-shaped and thus provide a comparatively large contact surface of the gripper jaws 2 against the ends of the fingers 105.

[0047] The features of the invention disclosed in the foregoing description, in the drawings as well as in the claims may be essential to the realization of the invention both individually and in any combination.

[0048] The foregoing description of the embodiments has been provided for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure. Individual elements or features of a particular embodiment are generally not limited to that particular embodiment, but, where applicable, are interchangeable and can be used in a selected embodiment, even if not specifically shown or described. The same may also be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the disclosure, and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the disclosure.