WO2021122043A1

WO2021122043A1 - Two-part electrical housing

Info

Publication number: WO2021122043A1
Application number: PCT/EP2020/084520
Authority: WO
Inventors: Alain Baudou; Laurent Janicot
Original assignee: Legrand France; Legrand Snc
Priority date: 2019-12-20
Filing date: 2020-12-03
Publication date: 2021-06-24
Also published as: CN114830477A; CN114830477B; FR3105561B1; EP4078745A1; FR3105561A1

Abstract

The invention relates to an electrical housing (1) comprising a support plate (10) and a frame (20), the support plate and the frame comprising complementary attachment means (110, 260) which are movable relative to each other between a position in which the frame is attached to the support plate and a position in which the frame is released from the support plate. According to the invention, the frame comprises at least one lever (250) which is movable so as to forcibly move the attachment means into the release position, an elastic return means suitable for automatically returning the lever in one direction, and a means for retaining the attachment means in the release position.

Description

Title of the invention: Electrical box in two parts

The present invention relates generally to the field of insulating electrical boxes intended to house electrical mechanisms (typically, outlet or switch or detection mechanisms).

It relates more particularly to electrical boxes to be attached projecting from the wall walls, and in particular waterproof electrical boxes.

The invention relates more exactly to an electrical box in two parts, comprising a support plate and a frame, the support plate and the frame comprising complementary attachment means which are movable relative to each other between a fixing position of the frame on the support plate and a position of release of the frame relative to the support plate.

Currently, to assemble the different parts of an electrical box, it is known to use screws or latching tabs. These different fixing systems must then be designed to meet the requirements of impact resistance, sealing, etc. This is the reason why several fixing points are generally provided.

The drawback common to these different fixing systems is that they prove to be tedious to operate when it is desired to release the frame from its support plate.

When it comes to screws, each of the screws must in fact be unscrewed successively, which takes a long time to implement and which is potentially destructive for the bores in which the screws are screwed.

When it comes to latching tabs, it is necessary to act simultaneously on all the latching lugs with several tools, which in practice proves particularly difficult to achieve and which often causes the breakage of a part. of these latching tabs.

These drawbacks are all the more significant as the number of fixing points of the frame on the support plate is large.

In order to remedy the aforementioned drawback of the state of the art, the present invention proposes a new fixing system which allows easy assembly of the frame to the support plate and equally easy disassembly.

More particularly, according to the invention, an electrical box as defined in the introduction is proposed and in which: - the frame comprises at least one lever adapted to place the attachment means in the release position,

- There is provided an elastic return means adapted to automatically return the attachment means to the attachment position, and

- There is provided a retaining means in the release position of the attachment means.

Thus, thanks to the invention, the attachment means are provided to automatically cooperate together during the assembly of the support plate with the frame. When it is desired to disassemble these two elements, the retaining means make it possible to simultaneously maintain all the attachment means in the release position, which makes it possible to extract the frame from the support plate without difficulty.

The retaining means in fact makes it possible to retain the attachment means in the release position while the frame is in the coupled position on the support plate, without any manual force having to be exerted on any of the elements of the electrical box (and in particular on the attachment or elastic return means). This retaining means is, preferably, a latching means adapted to cooperate with the attachment means.

Other advantageous and non-limiting characteristics of the electrical box according to the invention are as follows:

- A ramp is provided which makes it possible to force the attachment means to move towards the release position, without reaching this release position, by means of the assembly of the frame on the support plate, this ramp being shaped to allow the attachment means to return to the attachment position when the frame reaches its assembled position on the support plate;

- The attachment means of the support plate comprises a notch which is fixed on the support plate, and the frame attachment means is carried by the lever and is adapted to be hooked to said notch;

- the frame attachment means comprises a notch which is fixed on the frame, the attachment means of the support plate comprises an elastically deformable lug adapted to be hooked to said notch, and the lever is adapted to deform the lug elastically deformable in the release position;

- The retaining means comprises a recessed notch in the lever, adapted to retain the elastically deformable tab in the release position; - the retaining means is formed with the support plate;

- The retaining means comprises two uprights which are arranged on either side of the lever and which are at least partly elastically deformable to move apart in order to allow the lever to pass in one direction and to automatically return to their initial position in order to hold the lever in the other direction;

- Each lever is formed in one piece with the frame and is elastically deformable;

- Each lever is attached to a part of the frame so as to have a single pivoting mobility with respect to this part of the frame; - Each lever is adapted to pivot relative to said part of the frame about an axis perpendicular to a direction of assembly of the frame on the support plate;

- Each lever is adapted to pivot relative to said part of the frame about an axis parallel to a direction of assembly of the frame on the support plate;

- Each lever has a gripping part accessible to a finger of a user in order to maneuver it;

- Each lever has an operating part accessible to a tool for operating it;

- at least four levers are planned.

The invention also provides an electrical box comprising an electrical box as defined above and a cover to be attached to the front of the frame of the electrical box, said cover comprising a locking heel adapted to be placed against the lever for the 'prevent moving.

The invention also proposes an assembly comprising an equipment mechanism, a cover and an electrical box as mentioned above, inside which the equipment mechanism is fixed and to the front of which the cover is fixed. The description which will follow with reference to the appended drawings, given by way of nonlimiting examples, will make it clear what the invention consists of and how it can be implemented.

In the accompanying drawings: - Figure 1 is a schematic exploded perspective view of an electrical box comprising an electrical box according to a first embodiment of the invention and a cover;

- Figure 2 is a schematic exploded perspective view of the frame of the electrical box of Figure 1;

- Figure 3 is a schematic perspective view of a lever of the frame of the electrical box of Figure 1;

- Figure 4 is a schematic perspective view of a detail of the support plate of the electrical box of Figure 1; - Figure 5 is a schematic sectional view of part of the electrical box of Figure

1, illustrating a first step of assembling the frame to the support plate;

FIG. 6 is a detail view of zone VI of FIG. 5;

- Figure 7 is a schematic sectional view of the part of the electrical box of Figure 5, illustrating a second step of assembling the frame to the support plate; - Figure 8 is a schematic sectional view of the part of the electrical box of Figure

5, illustrating a third step of assembling the frame to the support plate;

- Figure 9 is a schematic cutaway perspective view of part of the electrical box of Figure 1;

- Figure 10 is a schematic perspective view of the electrical box of Figure 1, illustrating a first step allowing the extraction of the frame relative to the support plate;

- Figure 11 is a schematic perspective view of the electrical box of Figure 1, illustrating a second step allowing the extraction of the frame relative to the support plate; - Figure 12 is a schematic exploded perspective view of an electrical box according to a second embodiment of the invention;

- Figure 13 is a schematic perspective view of a lever of the frame of the electrical box of Figure 12;

- Figure 14 is a schematic cutaway perspective view of the lever of Figure 13; FIG. 15 is a schematic perspective view of a detail of the support plate of the electrical box of FIG. 12;

- Figure 16 is a schematic cutaway perspective view of part of the electrical box of Figure 12, illustrating a first step of assembly of the frame to the support plate;

- Figure 17 is a schematic cutaway perspective view of the part of the electrical box of Figure 16, illustrating a second step of assembling the frame to the support plate;

- Figure 18 is a schematic perspective view of the electrical box of Figure 12, illustrating a first step allowing the extraction of the frame relative to the support plate;

- Figure 19 is a schematic perspective view of the electrical box of Figure 12, illustrating a second step allowing the extraction of the frame relative to the support plate;

- Figure 20 is a schematic exploded perspective view of a section of an electrical box according to a third embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 21 is a diagrammatic cutaway perspective view of a lever of the frame and of a corresponding part of the support plate of the electrical box of FIG. 20;

- Figure 22 is a schematic sectional view of part of the electrical box of Figure 20, illustrating a first step of assembling the frame to the support plate;

- Figure 23 is a schematic sectional view of the part of the electrical box of Figure 22, illustrating a second step of assembling the frame to the support plate;

- Figure 24 is a schematic sectional view of the part of the electrical box of Figure 22, illustrating a third step of assembling the frame to the support plate;

- Figure 25 is a schematic sectional view of the part of the electrical box of Figure 22, illustrating a fourth step of assembling the frame to the support plate;

- Figure 26 is a schematic sectional view of the part of the electrical box of Figure 22, illustrating a fifth step of assembling the frame to the support plate;

- Figure U is a schematic sectional view of the electrical box of Figure 20, illustrating a first step allowing the extraction of the frame relative to the support plate; - Figure 28 is a schematic sectional view of the electrical box of Figure 20, illustrating a second step allowing the extraction of the frame relative to the support plate;

- Figure 29 is a schematic exploded perspective view of a section of an electrical box according to a fourth embodiment of the invention;

- Figure 30 is a schematic perspective view of a lever of the frame of the electrical box of Figure 29;

- Figure 31 is a schematic perspective view of part of the electrical box of Figure 29, illustrating a first step of assembling the frame to the support plate;

- Figure 32 is a schematic sectional view of the part of the electrical box of Figure 31, illustrating a second step of assembling the frame to the support plate;

- Figure 33 is a schematic perspective view of the part of the electrical box of Figure 31, illustrating a third step of assembling the frame to the support plate;

- Figure 34 is a schematic perspective view of an assembly comprising the electrical box of Figure 1 and a socket mechanism; and

- Figure 35 is a schematic perspective view of an assembly comprising the electrical box of Figure 1 and a switch mechanism.

In Figures 1, 12, 20 and 29, four embodiments of an electrical box 1 have been shown.

In these four embodiments, it is a waterproof electrical box to be attached projecting on a wall wall and arranged to receive internally an electrical equipment mechanism such as a switch mechanism 3B (FIG. 35) or 3A socket (figure 34) or detector (smoke, light, etc.).

As a preliminary note, it will be noted that the identical or similar elements of the various embodiments of the invention shown in the various figures will, as far as possible, be referenced by the same reference signs and will not be described each time.

In the description, the terms “front” and “rear” will be used with respect to the direction of gaze of the installer of the electrical box on the wall to which the latter is attached. For example, when the wall will be a room wall partition, the front of an element will designate the side of that element facing the interior of the room and the rear will designate the side of that element facing the interior of the room. outside the room. The terms "interior" (or "internal") and "exterior" (or external ") will be used in relation to the electrical box itself, to denote respectively the side of an element facing the center of the unit. electrical box and the side of an element facing the outside of this box.

In the four embodiments of the invention illustrated in the various figures, the electrical box 1 generally has the same shape.

It is thus produced in two distinct parts, including a rear part called “support plate 10” and a front part called “frame 20”.

The support plate 10 is designed to be fixed to a support such as for example a wall partition, and to support the fitting mechanism 3A, 3B, while the frame 20 has a function of protecting this mechanism and of supporting the device. interface means allowing the user to interact with the switchgear mechanism 3A, 3B.

As shown for example in FIG. 1 (but also in FIGS. 12, 20 and 29), the support plate 10 comprises a base 100 which here has a general parallelepipedal shape but which could of course have a different shape, in particular cylindrical.

This base 100, open at the front, comprises a square base 102 bordered by a side wall 101 which rises from the base 102, substantially perpendicular thereto. The side wall 101 then follows a generally square contour.

The bottom 102 has circular orifices 102A of small dimensions, here closed by pierceable sealing caps, through which screws can be screwed for fixing the support plate 10 to the wall partition.

It has here two opposed orifices 102A of circular shapes, and two other opposite orifices of oblong shapes, elongated along perpendicular axes.

The bottom 102 also has a central opening 102B of larger dimension, here closed by a tear-off sealing cap for the passage of an electrical sheath of the ICTA type or of an electrical cable, for example of the U1000R02V or H07RNF type or else d 'an IRL type tube.

The side wall 101 carries for its part, on opposite panels, two cable entry end pieces 101A of greater heights than the rest of the side wall 101, each having an opening 101B which is closed by a tear-off sealing cap. for the passage of an ICTA type electrical sheath or an IRL type tube or an electrical cable. The frame 20 for its part comprises a body 200 intended to extend in the extension of the side wall 101 of the base 100 of the support plate 10.

As shown for example in FIG. 2 (but also in FIGS. 21 and 29), this body 200 comprises two distinct parts assembled together, including a rear part called “side wall 220” and a front part called “extension 210”.

The side wall 220 also follows a generally square outline and has a rear edge designed to interlock with the front edge of the side wall 101 of the pedestal 100.

As is clearly shown in FIG. 11, the interlocking of the side wall 220 of the body 200 of the frame 20 on the base 100 of the support plate 10 is here produced thanks to the particular shape of the rear edge of said side wall 220, which delimits a groove 221 open towards the rear and adapted to engage on the front edge of the side wall 101 of the base 100 of the support plate 10. It is observed here that a peripheral seal 180 is provided at this edge. front, all along the latter, so as to ensure the seal between the frame 20 and the support plate 10.

The extension 210 for its part forms a frame designed to fit together and snap onto the front edge of the side wall 220. Thus, the body 200 of the frame 20 is produced by the association by clipping the side wall 220 and of the extension 210. For this, the extension 210 comprises four clips arranged at the four corners, which are housed in the corresponding shaped housings provided at the four corners of the frame 20.

The use of two sub-parts for the production of the body 200 makes it possible to simplify its design by molding. As a variant, the body of the frame could be made in one piece, for example in molded plastic material.

As shown in Figure 1, this extension 210 is specifically designed to receive a cover 2 so that the electrical box 1 forms therewith an electrical box.

It can be seen in Figure 1 that this hubcap 2 has here a structural part 2B in the form of a frame, equipped with teeth (not visible) for its snap-fit onto the extension 210.

The general shapes of the cover 2, of the support plate 10 and of the frame 20 will not be described in more detail here, insofar as the invention can be applied to electrical boxes having very different shapes.

The invention relates more specifically to the elements of the electrical box 1 which allow the support plate 10 and the frame 20 to be attached together. Indeed, if the body 200 of the frame 20 is designed to fit on the base 100 of the support plate 10, this interlocking only ensures a relative blocking of the frame 20 with respect to the support plate 10 in the plane (x , y) (which is parallel to the plane of the wall partition). On the other hand, this interlocking does not make it possible to block the frame 20 with respect to the support plate 10 along the z axis (which is orthogonal to the plane of the wall partition).

To ensure this blocking, the support plate 10 and the frame 20 include complementary attachment means.

There are provided here four sets of attachment means respectively located at the four corners of the electrical box 1, which ensures a good fixing of the frame 20 to the support plate 10.

These sets of attachment means being here identical, only one of them will be described in the remainder of this presentation.

To allow not only the assembly of the frame 20 with the support plate 10 but also their dismantling, the attachment means of each set are arranged such that:

- the attachment means 260, 1260, 3253 provided on the frame 20 is movable relative to the body 200 of the frame 20, and / or that

- The attachment means 2110 provided on the support plate 10 is movable relative to the base 100 of the support plate 10.

This set of two attachment means can thus have a fixing position in which the frame 20 is fixed on the support plate 10 and a release position in which the frame 20 is free to be withdrawn from the support plate 10. It can also have all the intermediate positions between these two extreme positions.

As will be well described in the remainder of this presentation, with reference to the figures, the electrical box 1 furthermore comprises:

- an elastic return means 252, 3255 adapted to automatically return the set of fastening means to the fixing position,

- a lever 250, 1250, 2250, 3250 designed so that an installer can easily bring the attachment means into the release position, and

- a retaining means 120, 1254, 2254 to block the attachment means in the release position, the time for the installer to extract the frame 20 from the support plate 10.

To fully understand the invention, one can first of all describe in detail the first embodiment of the invention, which is illustrated in Figures 1 to 11. As shown in Figure 4, in this embodiment, the attachment means 110 provided on the support plate 10 is in the form of a notch 110A which is formed integrally with the base 100 of the support plate 10, for example by molding a plastic material.

This notch 110A projects from the inside face of the side wall 101 of the base 100.

It has a rear face 112 parallel to the bottom 102 of the base 100 and a front face which is inclined so that this notch 110A has a pointed profile. The front face of this notch 110A thus forms a ramp 111, the function of which will be detailed below.

As shown in Figure 3, the lever 250 is in the form of a rectangular plate bordered by two stiffening flanks 255. It comprises, in the central part, a shaft 253 which extends between the two flanks of stiffening 255 and which makes it possible to articulate the lever 250 on the body 200 of the frame 20, around an axis parallel to the plane (x, y). As shown in Figure 5, the internal face of the side wall 220 of the body 200 of the frame 20 comprises for this purpose a reception cradle open towards the front and inside which the shaft 253 can be snapped.

In this first embodiment of the invention, the attachment means provided on the frame 20 to cooperate with the notch 110A of the support plate 10 is carried by the lever 250. In practice, as shown in FIG. 3, the rear end of the lever 250 has an opening 260 adapted to engage on the notch 110A of the base 100 of the support plate 10.

This opening 260 has in particular a rear edge 261 adapted to hook onto the rear face 112 of the notch 110A so as to block the frame 20 on the support plate 10.

The “fixing position” of the attachment means of the frame 20 on the support plate 10 therefore corresponds to the position of the lever 250 in which the opening 260 of the lever 250 is engaged on the notch 110A.

As shown in Figure 8, in this position, the rear end of the lever 250 comes to rest against the internal face of the side wall 101 of the base 100 of the support plate 10. In this position, the rear edge 261 of the opening 260 of the lever 250 extends in a plane parallel to the rear face 112 of the notch 110A. In this way, if a user exerted a tensile force on the frame 20, the latter would not detach from the support plate 10.

The "release position" of the attachment means of the frame 20 on the support plate 10 corresponds for its part to the position of the lever 250 in which the opening 260 of the lever 250 is entirely disengaged from the notch 110A and is located at a distance. of the last. In this position, the outer face of the front end of the lever 250 comes to rest against the inner face of the side wall 101 of the base 100 of the support plate 10.

As shown in Figures 3 and 5, the internal face 251 of the front end of the lever 250 is provided to be accessible to the installer so that the latter can tilt the lever 250 from its fixing position to to its release position by simply pressing the finger.

In this embodiment, the return means are provided to automatically return the lever 250 to the fixing position. As shown in Figures 3 and 5, they comprise here an elastically deformable strip 252, which has been formed integrally with the rest of the lever 250 by molding of a plastic material, and which extends from the shaft. 253 outward and forward.

This strip 252 is thus provided to rest against the inner face of the side wall 220 of the body 200 of the frame 20.

The flexibility of this strip 252 is designed so that the support of the installer's finger on the internal face 251 of the front end of the lever 250 can counter the restoring force exerted by the strip 252, so as to that it is possible to manually tilt the lever 250 into the release position.

For its mounting on the support plate 10, the frame 20 is attached in the z direction.

During this assembly, the rear end edge of the lever 250 is provided to come to rest against the ramp 111 of the notch 110A of the support plate 10 (see Figures 5 and 6).

This ramp 111 then makes it possible to force the lever 250 to switch to its release position (see FIG. 7) through the depression of the frame 20 on the support plate 10 (without the installer having to act directly on lever 250).

When the frame 20 reaches its assembled position on the support plate (see figure 8), that is to say when the groove 221 provided in the rear edge of the side wall 220 is nested on the front edge of the side wall 101 of the base 100 of the support plate 10, the opening 260 provided in the lever 250 engages naturally on the notch 110A, thanks to the strip 252 which recalls it in this fixing position.

As shown in Figure 9, to ensure better impact resistance of the frame 20 on the support plate 10, the hubcap 2 includes a locking heel 2A which projects rearward and which, when the hubcap 2 is clipped onto the extension 210 of the frame 20, is suitable for press against the outer face of the front end of the lever 250. This support then prevents the lever 250 from tilting towards its release position.

As mentioned above, there is provided a retaining means 120 which is here designed to hold the lever 250 in the released position.

In this embodiment, this retaining means 120 is formed with the support plate 10.

As shown in Figure 4, it comprises here two uprights 121, 122 which rise from the bottom 102 of the base 100 of the support plate 10 and which are arranged on either side of the notch 110A and of the lever 250 .

These two uprights 121, 122 are at least partly elastically deformable so as to move away from one another when the lever 250 swings from its fixing position to its release position, so as not to form an obstacle to its passage.

In practice, the two uprights 121, 122 carry facing ribs 121A, 122A which extend over the entire height of these uprights. As shown in Figure 3, the lever 250 has in correspondence two ribs 255A projecting from the opposite faces of its two stiffening flanks 255.

These various ribs 121A, 122A, 255A are thus shaped so that, when the installer operates the lever 250 to make it tilt from its fixing position to its release position, the ribs 255A of the lever 250 come into contact with the ribs 121A, 122A of the two uprights 121, 122, which ribs are deformed so that the lever 250 can continue its travel and then resume their initial shapes.

When the installer releases the lever 250 and the strip 252 returns the lever 250 to its fixing position, the ribs 255A of the lever 250 again come into contact with the ribs 121A, 122A of the two uprights 121, 122. The rigidity of these ribs is this time designed so that the return force exerted by the strip 252 is not sufficient for the ribs to deform and allow the lever 250 to pass. The lever 250 is thus blocked in the release position (see figure 10).

Consequently, after having tilted the four levers 250 of the electrical box 1, the installer can release these levers and then exert a tensile force on the frame 20 along the z axis (towards the front) so as to remove the frame 20 of the support plate 10 (see figure 11). During this extraction, the ribs 255A of the lever 255 cease to cooperate with those of the uprights 121, 122, so that the lever 250 is automatically returned to the fixing position. Thus the frame 20 is again ready to be installed on the support plate 10.

Advantageously, the ramp 111 of the notch 110A is designed so that, during the assembly of the frame 20 on the support plate 10, the lever 250 only swings over part of its travel. In this way, the lever 250 does not swing enough for its ribs 255A to pass between the ribs 121A, 122A of the uprights 121, 122. This is the reason why, when assembling the frame 20 on the support plate 10, the lever 250 is not found blocked in the release position but is on the contrary automatically recalled to the fixing position.

In Figures 12 to 19, there is shown a second embodiment of the invention.

In this second embodiment, the set of attachment means differs from that shown in Figures 1 to 11 in that the lever does not form a separate part of the body 200 of the frame 20, but is formed integrally from a single part with the body 200, here by molding a plastic material.

Thus, as shown in Figures 12 and 15, in this embodiment, the attachment means 110 provided on the support plate 10 is here again in the form of a notch 110A.

As shown in Figures 13 and 14, the lever 1250 is in the form of a rectangular plate 1251 bordered by two stiffening flanks 1255.

This lever 1250 is attached to the body 200 of the frame 20 only by its front end. It is elastically deformable at its junction to the body 200, which thus forms a kind of hinge. It can thus be considered that the lever 1250 is articulated on the body 200 about an axis parallel to the plane (x, y).

The rear end of lever 1250 is bent towards the inside of the electrical box, so as to form a flange 1256. This flange 1256 has a slot 1257 into which the end of a screwdriver 400 can be inserted (see figures 18 and 19).

By inserting the end of the screwdriver 400 into the slot 1257, the installer can thus force the lever 1250 to swing towards the interior of the electrical box.

As shown in Figures 18 and 19, to ensure the guidance of the screwdriver 400 towards this slot 1257, the lever 250 comprises, on the side of its front end, a return 1258 which extends orthogonally to the rectangular plate 1251, towards the inside the box electric. This return has an end edge which is curved so as to be able to match the shape of the shank of the screwdriver 400.

As a variant, as shown in Figures 13 and 14, provision could be made for the lever 250 to have no return and for the side wall 220 of the body 20 to have an inner peripheral rib, which runs along the front edge of this side wall and whose inner face has curved zones 1258 ′ provided to match the shape of the shank of the screwdriver 400.

As shown in Figure 14, the rectangular plate 1251 of the lever 1250 has, on the side of its rear end, an opening 1260 adapted to engage on the notch 110A of the base 100 of the support plate 10.

The “fixing position” of the attachment means of the frame 20 on the support plate 10 therefore corresponds to the rest position of the lever 1250 (that is to say to the non-elastically deformed position of the lever). In this position, the opening 1260 of the lever 1250 is engaged on the notch 110A. As shown in Figure 14, in this position, the lever 1250 extends parallel to the side wall 220 of the body 200 of the frame 20.

The “release position” of the attachment means of the frame 20 on the support plate 10 corresponds for its part to the position of the lever 1250 in which the opening 1260 of the lever 1250 is entirely released from the notch 110A and located at a distance of this last. This elastically deformed position of the lever 1250 is achieved using the screwdriver 400.

In this embodiment, the return means, which it will be recalled that they are intended to automatically return the lever 1250 to the fixing position, are formed by the lever 1250 itself, in that its elastically deformable character ensures its return to the fixing position when no effort is exerted on it.

When mounting the frame 20 on the support plate 10, the rear end edge of the lever 1250 is provided to come to rest against the ramp 111 of the notch 110A of the support plate 10.

This ramp 111 then makes it possible to force the lever 1250 to switch to its release position (see FIG. 16) through the depression of the frame 20 on the support plate 10 (that is to say without the installer does not have to act directly on lever 1250). The rear end edge of the lever 1250 is here bevelled so as to facilitate its sliding on the notch 110A. When the frame 20 reaches its assembled position on the support plate (see FIG. 17), the elasticity of the lever 1250 allows this lever to return to the fixing position so that the opening 1260 automatically engages on the notch 110A.

As shown in Figure 15, the retaining means 120, which it will be recalled that it is designed to hold the lever 1250 in the release position, is here again formed of two uprights 121, 122 which rise from the bottom 102 of the base 100 of the support plate 10 and which are arranged on either side of the notch 110A and of the lever 1250.

In this mode, the two uprights 121, 122 are devoid of ribs and are therefore designed to tilt entirely in opposite directions during the passage of the lever 1250 from its fixing position to its release position.

As shown in Figure 15, these uprights 121, 122 are bevelled at their ends, which form ramps 121B, 122B. As shown in FIG. 19, the lever 1255 is here flanked in correspondence with two lateral teeth 1254 which project from the stiffening flanks 1255 and which are designed to slide on these ramps 121B.

These lateral teeth 1254 each have an inclined inner face so as to facilitate the elastic deformation of the uprights 121, 122 during the passage of the lever 1250 from its fixing position to its release position.

Each lateral tooth 1254 has an outer face orthogonal to the stiffening flank 1255 from which it extends, which is designed to bear against the ramps 121B, 122B in order to keep the lever 1250 in the release position.

These lateral teeth 1254 and these ramps 121B, 122B make it possible to ensure that, when the installer removes the frame 20 from the support plate 10, the lever 1250 gradually returns to the fixing position.

Here again, the ramp 111 of the notch 110A is designed so that, during the assembly of the frame 20 on the support plate 10, the lever 1250 only swings over part of its stroke. In this way, the lever 1250 does not tilt enough for its side teeth 1254 to press against the uprights 121, 122. This is the reason why, when assembling the frame 20 on the support plate 10, the lever 1250 is not found blocked in the release position but is on the contrary automatically returned to the fixing position.

In Figures 20 to 28, there is shown a third embodiment of the invention. In this third embodiment, the means for attaching the frame 20 to the support plate 10 are not carried by the lever but by the body 200 of the frame 20. These are latching means. The main function of the lever is then to force the attachment means to disengage from one another.

As shown in Figure 20, in this embodiment, the attachment means provided on the frame 20 is in the form of a notch 2240 which is formed integrally with the body 200 of the frame 20, for example by molding a plastic material.

This notch 2240 projects from the inner face of the side wall 220 of the frame 20. It has a front face extending in a plane (x, y) and a rear face inclined relative to this plane so as to that this notch 2240 has a trapezoidal profile. The rear face of this notch 2240 thus forms a ramp 2241.

The attachment means provided on the support plate 10 is in the form of an elastically flexible tab 2110 which is formed in one piece with the base 100 of the support plate 10, for example by molding of a plastic material.

This resiliently flexible tab 2110 rises from the bottom 102 of the base 100 of the support plate 10, along the lateral face 101 of this base 100. It has an opening 2112 adapted to engage on the notch 2240 of the frame 20 so as to cling to it.

During the assembly of the frame 20 on the support plate 10, the front end edge of this elastically flexible tab 2110 is provided to rest and slide against the ramp 2241 of the notch 2240, which forces the flexible tab elastically 2110 to flex elastically towards the inside of the electrical box (see figures 22 to 24).

In this embodiment, the return means, which it will be recalled that they are provided to automatically return the attachment means to the fixing position, are formed by the resiliently flexible tab 2110 itself, in the sense that its character elastically deformable ensures its return to the fixing position when no force is exerted on it.

Thus, at the end of the assembly, the opening 2112 provided in the resiliently flexible tab 2110 automatically engages on the notch 2240, which makes it possible to block the frame 20 on the support plate 10.

In this embodiment, the “fixing position” of the attachment means of the frame 20 on the support plate 10 therefore corresponds to the position in which the opening 2112 provided in the resiliently flexible tab 2110 is engaged on the notch 2240. . The “release position” of the attachment means corresponds for its part to the position in which the opening 2112 provided in the resiliently flexible tab 2110 is entirely released from the notch 2240 and located at a distance from the latter.

In this embodiment, the lever 2250 is provided to force the resiliently flexible tab 2110 to flex into the release position.

As shown in Figures 20 and 21, it comprises for this purpose a curved main plate 2251 which carries on its outer face a shaft 2253 whose ends extend on either side of the main plate 2251. This shaft 2253 allows to articulate the lever 2250 on the body 200 of the frame 20, around an axis parallel to the plane (x, y). The internal face of the side wall 220 of the body 200 of the frame 20 comprises in correspondence two reception cradles 2230 which are open towards the front and inside which the ends of the shaft 2253 can be snapped.

Here, these cradles 2230 are provided at the tops of two ribs which project from the internal face of the side wall 220, on either side of the notch 2240, and between which slides the resiliently flexible tab 2110 during the '' assembly of the frame 20 on the support plate 10.

Thanks to its articulation, the lever 2250 is adapted to switch between two extreme positions, hereinafter called inactive position and activated position.

The front end of the main plate 2251 of the lever 2250 is intended to be manipulated by the installer's finger. It has for this purpose a curved shape.

In the inactive position, the lever 2250 exerts no stress on the resiliently flexible tab 2110.

In the activated position, which is reached when the installer presses the front end of lever 2250 to swing it out, lever 2250 presses against resiliently flexible tab 2110 to force it to flex until it locks. release position (see figure 27).

Here, the rear end edge of lever 2250 defines an interior groove 2252 shaped to receive the upper end of the resiliently flexible tab 2110.

As shown in FIG. 24, this internal groove 2252 is thus bordered, on one side, by an internal rim 2252A, and, on the other, by an external rim 2252B. The inner rim 2252A is inclined outwards so that, during the assembly of the frame 20 on the support plate 10, the front end of the resiliently flexible tab 2110 comes to rest against this inner rim 2252A, forcing thus the lever to swing to its activated position (see figures 23 and 24).

In this way, when the resiliently flexible tab 2110 returns to the fixing position, it naturally returns the lever 2250 to the inactive position (see figure 25), so that its upper end fits into the inner groove 2252.

As shown in Figure 26, to ensure better impact resistance of the frame 20 on the support plate 10, the cover 2 comprises a locking heel 2A which projects rearward and which, when the hubcap 2 is clipped onto the extension 210 of the frame 20, is adapted to press against the lever 2250. This support then prevents the lever 2250 from tilting towards its release position.

To extract the frame 20 from the support plate 10, the installer acts on the lever 2250 in order to place it in the activated position. When it swings, the lever 2250 presses by its outer rim 2252B against the resiliently flexible tab 2110 and forces the latter to move into the release position (see FIG. 27).

As shown in Figure 27, the outer rim 2252B of the lever 2250 forms a recessed notch 2254. This notch 2254 constitutes the means for retaining the resiliently flexible tab 2110 in the release position (see FIG. 28). It is in fact designed to fit on the upper edge of the resiliently flexible tab 2110 when the lever 2250 arrives in the release position.

As shown in Figure 24, advantageously, the ramp 2241 of the notch 2240 is designed so that, when assembling the frame 20 on the support plate 10, the resiliently flexible tab 2110 flexes towards its position of liberation, without however reaching this position. In this way, the resiliently flexible tab 2110 only swings the lever 2250 over part of its travel, so that its notch 2254 does not fit on the upper edge of the elastically flexible tab 2110. Thus, when letting go Assembly of the frame 20 on the support plate 10, the resiliently flexible tab 2110 is not found blocked in the release position.

In Figures 29 to 33, there is shown a fourth embodiment of the invention.

In this fourth embodiment, the lever 3250 carries, as in the first two modes, the means for attaching the frame 20 to the support plate 10. However, in this mode, the lever is mounted so as to be able to rotate around the z axis, and functions like a quarter-turn screw.

As shown in Figure 29, to accommodate the lever 3250 and to guide it in rotation about the z axis, the side wall 220 of the frame 20 carries on its inner face a tubular sleeve 3221 substantially cylindrical of revolution.

As shown in Figure 30, the lever 3250 has a cylindrical body of revolution, with a front portion 3251 of diameter equal to the inner diameter of the tubular sleeve 3221, and a rear portion 3252 of lesser diameter.

The rear part 3252 comprises, near its free end, a lateral lug 3253. This lateral lug 3253 has a section of rectangular shape, so that its front face 3257 is orthogonal to the z axis. One of its rear edges is however bevelled so as to form a ramp 3254.

The front part 3251 of the lever 3250 comprises, near its free end, a return tab 3255 which has an S shape extending in a plane orthogonal to the z axis. This return tab 3255 comprises a first part 3255A which extends radially with respect to the front part 3251 of the lever 3250, and a second part which extends the first, which is curved in S and which has a reduced thickness so as to be elastically deformable.

As shown in Figure 31, the lever 3250 is engaged through the tubular sleeve 3221 of the side wall 220 of the frame 20, so that its return tab 3255 rests against the front end edge of this sleeve tubular 3221 and that its rear part 3252 protrudes from the rear of this sleeve.

The return tab 3255 is then provided to rest by its free end against the inner face of the side wall 220 of the body 200 of the frame 20, so as to maintain the lever 3250 in a first angular position in which the return tab 3255 is not distorted. This is its fixing position.

As shown in Figures 29, 31 and 33, the attachment means which is provided on the support plate 10 and which is adapted to cooperate with the lever 3250 to block the frame 20 on the support plate 10 is provided under the in the form of a tubular base 3110.

This tubular base 3110 rises from the bottom 102 of the base 100 of the support plate 10 and is formed integrally therewith, for example by molding a plastic material. It delimits a reception housing of the rear end of lever 3250.

This tubular base 3110 has a front edge 3111, one half of which has the shape of a spiral on a half-turn.

It is open at the front so as to define an opening with a section that is wider than the section of the lever 3250 at the level of the side lug 3253.

It has a section which, at mid-height, widens so as to form a shoulder 3112 (see figure 33).

This tubular base 3110 is thus shaped so that, when the frame 20 is attached to the support plate 10, the rear end of the lever 3250 can engage inside the tubular base 3110.

During this engagement, the lateral lug 3253 of the lever 3250 comes to rest by its ramp 3254 against the spiral front edge 3111 of the tubular base 3110, which forces the lever to pivot by forcing the return tab 3255 up to 'to an angular position in which the lever 3250 can enter the tubular base 3110.

Once the side lug 3253 has fully entered this tubular base 3110, the return tab 3255 returns the lever 3250 to the fixing position, so that the front face 3257 of the side lug 3253 is placed in the rear of the shoulder 3112 of the tubular base 3110, which thus forms a stop preventing the lever 3250 and the frame 20 from being extracted from the support plate 10.

As shown in figure 31, in this embodiment, the first part of the return tab 3255 is accessible to the installer and therefore forms a bearing surface allowing the installer to force the lever to pivot until his position of liberation.

The retaining means, which is designed to keep the lever 3250 in the release position, is here in the form of a ratchet tooth (not visible in the figures) which is located inside the tubular base. 3110 and which is adapted to hook onto the lateral lug 3253 when the lever 3250 pivots over its entire travel, up to its release position.

In this way, when the installer rotates lever 3250 to its released position, that lever is held in that position. The lateral lug 3253 of the lever 3250 is then offset relative to the shoulder 3112 of the tubular base 3110, so that it no longer hinders the dismantling of the frame 20 relative to the support plate 10. Here again, it will be noted that the ratchet tooth is located in such a way that, during the assembly of the frame 20 on the support plate 10, it does not come to catch on the lateral lug 3253 of the lever 3250 and that it therefore does not prevent the latter from pivoting into the fixing position.

Alternatively, the ratchet tooth could be located elsewhere, for example in the tubular sleeve 3221 (in which case the lever will be equipped with a rib to which the ratchet tooth can hook).

In Figures 34 and 35, there is shown an assembly comprising:

- an electrical box 1 identical to that shown in Figure 1,

- a 3A socket or switch 3B mechanism, adapted to clip onto uprights which rise from the bottom of the base 100 of the support plate 10 of this electrical box 1, and

- A hubcap 2 which is adapted to be fixed to the front of this electrical box and whose shape is associated with the mechanism.

In FIG. 34, the cover 2 comprises, inside the structural part 2B in the form of a frame, a well 2C for receiving an electrical plug. It also carries a folding cover 2E for protecting the well 2C.

In FIG. 35, the cover 2 comprises on the contrary a 2D control key adapted to snap onto receiving means 2G provided on a wall 2F which closes the structural part 2B in the form of a frame. These 2G reception means are provided to provide the 2D control key with tilting mobility. It is observed here that this wall 2F has two oblong windows closed by rigid plates 2H which are connected to the edges of these oblong windows by flexible sealing membranes. These rigid plates 2H are thus adapted to tilt relative to the wall 2F when the studs provided at the rear of the 2D control key come to press on it, which allows them to in turn tilt the coaches 3C of the mechanism. switch 3B. Thus, the switch mechanism 3B can switch by tilting the control key 2D.

The present invention is in no way limited to the embodiments described and shown, but those skilled in the art will know how to provide any variant in accordance with the invention.

In the various figures, the electrical box has a square section and it defines a single station making it possible to accommodate one or two switchgear mechanisms: this is said to be a single station box. As a variant, it could be a multi-station box, having a section of rectangular shape and defining two or three stations. In this variant, the electrical box will preferably include more sets of attachment means. It will include, for example, six in the case of a box with two stations and eight in the case of a box with three stations.

Claims

1. Electrical box (1) comprising a support plate (10) and a frame (20), the support plate (10) and the frame (20) comprising complementary attachment means (110, 260) which are movable with respect to each other between a position for fixing the frame (20) on the support plate (10) and a release position of the frame (20) with respect to the support plate (10), characterized in that the frame (20) comprises at least one lever (250) adapted to place the attachment means (260) in the release position, and in that it is provided:

- an elastic return means (252) adapted to automatically return the attachment means (260) to the attachment position, and

- a retaining means (120) in the release position of the attachment means (260).

2. Electrical box (1) according to the preceding claim, in which there is provided a ramp (111) which makes it possible to force the attachment means (260) to move towards the release position, without reaching this release position, by means of the assembly of the frame (20) on the support plate (10), this ramp (111) being shaped to allow the attachment means (260) to return to the attachment position when the frame (20) reaches its assembled position on the support plate (10).

3. Electrical box (1) according to one of claims 1 and 2, wherein the attachment means (110) of the support plate (10) comprises a notch (110A) which is fixed on the support plate ( 10) and in which the attachment means (260) of the frame (20) is carried by the lever (250) and is adapted to be hooked to said notch (110A).

4. Electrical box (1) according to one of claims 1 and 2, wherein the frame attachment means (20) comprises a notch (2240) which is fixed on the frame (20), wherein the means of the attachment of the support plate (10) comprises an elastically deformable tab (2110) adapted to hook onto said notch (2240), and in which the lever (2250) is adapted to deform the elastically deformable tab (2110) in position release.

5. Electrical box (1) according to claim 4, wherein the retaining means comprises a notch (2254) recessed in the lever (2250), adapted to retain the elastically deformable tab (2110) in the release position.

6. Electrical box (1) according to one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the retaining means (120) is formed with the support plate (10).

7. Electrical box (1) according to the preceding claim, wherein the retaining means (120) comprises two uprights (121, 122) which are arranged on either side of the lever (250) and which are at least partly elastically deformable to move apart to leave move the lever (250) in one direction and automatically return to their initial position in order to retain the lever (250) in the other direction.

8. Electrical box (1) according to one of claims 1 to 7, wherein each lever (1250) is formed integrally with the frame (20) and is elastically deformable.

9. Electrical box (1) according to one of claims 1 to 7, wherein each lever (250) is attached to a part of the frame (20) so as to have a single pivoting mobility relative to this part of the frame. (20).

10. Electrical box (1) according to claim 9, wherein each lever (250) is adapted to pivot relative to said part of the frame (20) about an axis perpendicular to an assembly direction of the frame (20). on the support plate (10).

11. Electrical box (1) according to claim 9, wherein each lever (250) is adapted to pivot relative to said part of the frame (20) about an axis parallel to an assembly direction of the frame (20). on the support plate (10).

12. Electrical box (1) according to one of claims 1 to 11, wherein each lever (250) has a gripping portion (251) accessible to a finger of a user to operate it.

13. Electrical box (1) according to one of claims 1 to 11, wherein each lever (1250) has an operating part accessible to a tool (400) to operate it.

14. Electrical box (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein there are provided at least four levers (250).

15. Electrical box comprising an electrical box (1) as defined in one of the preceding claims and a cover (2) to be attached to the front of the frame (20) of the electrical box (1), said cover (2) ) comprising a locking heel (2A) adapted to be placed against the lever (250) to prevent it from moving.

16. An assembly comprising an equipment mechanism (3A, 3B) and a cover (2), characterized in that it comprises an electrical box (1) according to one of claims 1 to 14, inside which is fixed the gear mechanism (3A, 3B) and to the front of which is fixed the cover (2).