US20040027040A1

US20040027040A1 - Housing for receiving a measuring device

Info

Publication number: US20040027040A1
Application number: US10/450,323
Authority: US
Inventors: Andreas Derr; Manfred Streicher; Peter Schulz
Original assignee: Testo SE and Co KGaA
Current assignee: Testo SE and Co KGaA
Priority date: 2000-12-12
Filing date: 2001-11-30
Publication date: 2004-02-12
Also published as: CN1480016A; WO2002049406A2; WO2002049406A3; DE10061893A1; JP2004516663A; BR0115717A; EP1342396A2

Abstract

The invention relates to a housing for receiving a measuring device, comprising at least two housing elements which can be positively connected to each other by a fixing device. At least one housing element comprises a window which is at least partially transparent. An insertion device comprises a gap provided in the housing, in addition to an insertion pocket for receiving a label.

Description

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

The present invention relates to a housing for receiving a measuring device according to the definition of the species in claim 1, i.e., a closed housing for receiving and enclosing a measuring device, having at least two housing parts which may be positively connected to one another via a fixing device, at least one housing part having an at least partially transparent inspection window.

Measurement devices of this type are generally known in manifold embodiments for measuring different measured variables, such as temperature, humidity, pH, current, and voltage, and therefore require no further explanation.

For protection from external influences, such as humidity, shocks, dirt or dust, and bacterial contamination, for example, the measurement devices cited are typically provided with a housing which is sealed from the outside or are embedded in such a housing. The housing may be implemented in two parts in such a way that in the closed state the parts press positively against one another and receive the measurement device inside them while sealing it to the outside. Such housings are usually flexibly usable and are capable of receiving greatly varying measuring devices, i.e., measuring devices having different measuring ranges or different measured variables.

This requires a professional configuration identification for the “building block system” just described of a measurement device positioned in the housing, since precisely this building block system makes it possible for numerous differently configured measurement devices to be positioned in the same housing. Since the differently configured measurement devices are frequently specially tailored to their measurement functions and therefore may not be confused, these measurement devices must be reliably labeled.

For this purpose, the measurement devices are typically provided with stickers applied to the outside of the housing, which indicate the most important variable data of the measurement device. Stickers of this type present the problem that they are subjected to the same external influences as the housing and, over time, may become contaminated or may detach from the housing due to the influence of moisture. In contrast, if water-resistant stickers are used, it may be difficult or impossible to detach them from the housing when the measurement device is changed.

In order to avoid disadvantageous effects of this type, the stickers are frequently applied to the inside of the housing or on the measurement device itself in such a way that the stickers, i.e., the measurement device data contained on the sticker are visible from the outside via an inspection window. If the labeling is forgotten for such measurement devices, this may only be corrected by opening the housing again, which requires additional time and work. Such additional opening and closing procedures also stress any seals existing between the housing parts in an undesired way. This form of labeling is also problematic because it is impossible to replace the marking during a measurement procedure.

The present invention is therefore based on the object of providing more flexible labeling for a measurement device embedded in a housing.

According to the present invention, this object is achieved by a housing having the features of claim 1, i.e., a housing according to the definition of the species in the main claim for receiving a measurement device, which is distinguished in that an insertion device is provided for inserting and removing a label when the housing is closed, which has an opening gap provided in the housing and an insertion button [sic; pocket] for receiving the label inside the housing.

The present invention is based on the idea of providing an insertion pocket for receiving a label in the inside of a housing. Labels may then be inserted into their own insertion pocket provided for this purpose in the inside of the housing or removed therefrom at any time, i.e., even during a measurement procedure, it not being necessary to separate the two housing parts from one another. The measurement device positioned in the housing thus remains embedded in the housing, protected to the maximum degree, in spite of a label being removed and/or inserted. The insertion and/or removal procedure of a label may be performed as frequently as desired, without the quality of the label and/or the particular housing parts being damaged. In this way, the greatest possible flexibility in the marking of a measurement device embedded in a housing is provided.

In a preferred embodiment, the housing has a fixing device, implemented as a bayonet lock, via which the two housing parts may be connected to one another. However, any other type of fixing device would also be conceivable here, for example, a hinge between the two housing parts which may be secured via a latch. The fixing device advantageously has a groove and a web which engage in one another in the closed state of the housing and connect the two housing parts to one another in this way.

It is especially advantageous if the fixing device additionally has a first sealing lip, via which the two housing parts may be sealed in a watertight, airtight, or dustproof manner. This sealing lip, attached to the groove, protrudes from the groove in such a way that it engages in the diametrically opposite web to form a seal when the two housing parts are joined together. Of course, a reversed configuration, in which the sealing lip is attached to the web, or a configuration in which both groove and web have a sealing lip, would also be conceivable.

It is especially advantageous if a sealing lip is also provided in the region of the opening gap, thus also sealing the housing to the outside in the region of the opening gap.

In an advantageous refinement, those regions of the housing part in which the sealing lips engage each have at least one depression. When the two housing parts are closed, one sealing lip may engage in the particular depression and also expand there, thus enhancing the sealing force.

The sealing lips are advantageously implemented as wedge-shaped, rib-shaped, nub-shaped, or pointed; however, any other shape of the sealing lips would also be conceivable.

The housing expediently has at least one latching device, via which the two housing parts may be fixed in relation to one another in a permanently selected latching position. This latching device may be implemented in an especially simple way as a rocker which engages in a groove of the particular other housing part.

The insertion device according to the present invention typically has a lateral guide strip which fixes the label laterally inside the insertion pocket and, in addition, is used to guide the label as it is inserted into the insertion pocket. Additionally or alternatively, the insertion device may contain a stop which fixes a final position of the label inside the insertion pocket. It is especially advantageous if the insertion device also has a latching device, which latches when the label has reached its final position as it is inserted into the insertion pocket.

At least one latching recognition device is advantageously provided, which recognizes and indicates whether one or both latching devices are latched, i.e., which indicates whether the rocker is locked and/or the label is latched into the insertion pocket.

Typically, at least one housing part is at least partially made of a shock-absorbing, essentially elastic material. A material of this type may, for example, be implemented as a rubber-like plastic. At least one housing part is also advantageously at least partially manufactured from TPU, TPE, or PVC. However, other materials would also be conceivable here, in particular those which display a similarly good shock-absorbing and sealing effect as the materials cited.

Furthermore, it is especially advantageous if at least one housing part is made entirely of a transparent or partially transparent material. The special advantage of the use of such transparent or at least partially transparent materials is that symbols, letters, numbers, and the like in the display panel and on the buttons of the measurement device and, in addition, identifications which are printed directly on the measurement device, such as manufacturer identifications, are visible through the housing from the outside. In this case, a separate inspection window provided in a housing part may be dispensed with, since the function of this inspection window is implemented by the particular housing part itself.

Typically, one housing part at a time is implemented as a base body to receive a measuring device, while the particular other housing part is used as a protective cover for this same measuring device. Through this protective covering, shock-sensitive parts of the measurement device, such as the keypad, the display, or even a possibly exposed circuit board, may be protected in particular.

The housing is implemented so it is completely sealed to the outside, i.e., both in the region of the housing parts and in the region of the opening gap. The housing is advantageously also sealed as much as possible during insertion and removal of a label.

Further advantageous embodiments and refinements of the present invention may be inferred from the subclaims and the description with reference to the drawing.

The present invention is described in greater detail in the following on the basis of the exemplary embodiment illustrated in the figures of the drawing. [0023]
FIG. 1 shows the overall illustration of a housing according to the present invention, implemented in two parts, for receiving a measuring device; [0024]
FIG. 2 shows a cross-sectional illustration of the housing according to the present invention; [0025]
FIG. 3 shows a detail of the insertion device in longitudinal section; [0026]
FIG. 4 shows an enlarged detail of the opening region of the insertion device.[0027]
In the following figures—if not indicated otherwise—elements and parts which are identical or have identical functions are indicated using identical reference numbers. [0028]
FIG. 1 shows the overall illustration of a housing according to the present invention for receiving a measuring device. [0029]
In FIG. 1, the housing is indicated using the [0030] reference number 1. Housing 1 is implemented in two parts, i.e., it has a first housing part 2 and a second housing part 3. Both housing parts 2, 3 are positively connected to one another, via a fixing device 4, whose construction and mode of operation will be described in greater detail on the basis of the following figures, in such a way that both housing parts 2, 3 are used in the closed state for receiving a measuring device (not shown in FIG. 1). Fixing device 4 has a latching device 5, implemented as a rocker, via which both housing parts 2, 3 may be fixed in relation to one another in the closed state, so that they cannot be displaced or detached from one another. In the present exemplary embodiment, first housing part 2 is implemented as a base body, in which the measuring device may be embedded. Alternatively, first housing part 2 may also be a component of the housing of the measuring device itself. Second housing part 3, which is implemented as a shock-resistant protective cover or lid, is used to protect the shock-sensitive parts of the measuring device. Alternatively or additionally, first housing part 2 may also fulfill this protective cover function.
According to the present invention, [0031] housing 1 has an opening gap 6 as a part of an insertion device (not shown completely in FIG. 1). A label, for example, a paper, paperboard, or plastic card or the like, may be placed, via opening gap 6 in insertion device X, into its own insertion pocket provided for this purpose, in such a way that this label is visible from the outside via an inspection window 7, which is provided in second housing part 3.
The operating and display elements (not shown in FIG. 1), buttons and a display, for example, are reachable in FIG. 1 via [0032] first housing part 2 from the surface pointing downward. Alternatively, of course, it would also be conceivable for these operating and display elements to be operated from second housing part 3.
FIG. 2 shows a cross-sectional illustration which shows [0033] housing 1 according to the present invention on the basis of a cross-sectional surface at the height of rocker 5.
[0034] First housing part 2 has a receiving device 10 for receiving a circuit board 11. Circuit board 11 may be coupled to a keypad (not shown in FIG. 2) via appropriate contact-sensitive connections and to a display panel via electrical connections. In the present case first housing [sic; housing part] 2 is implemented as the housing of the measuring device itself. The measuring device is not completely illustrated in FIG. 2, but rather is merely indicated by circuit board 11.
Fixing [0035] device 4 has a groove 12, provided in second housing part 3, and a web 13, provided in first housing part 2. In this case, the open end of web 13, which points inward, engages in the U-shaped or rectangular groove 12. Groove 12 and web 13 are therefore used as quasi-guide rails of both housing parts 2, 3 during an opening or closing procedure. In the present exemplary embodiment, groove 12 and web 13 of fixing device 4 are implemented as a bayonet lock, which allows both housing parts 2, 3 to be displaced only more or less slightly from one another during an opening or closing procedure. It is especially advantageous if web 13 is also at least partially implemented as grooved and has a supporting surface 13′ for groove 12 engaging in web 13, which thus functions as a stop for groove 12.
To increase the sealing effect, a sealing [0036] lip 14 is provided on second housing part 3, in particular on groove 12, and is in close contact with groove 12 and web 13 in the region of the connection between groove 12 and web 13.
FIG. 2 also shows the cross-section of [0037] rocker 5. Rocker 5 has a ribbed button region 15 and a spring 16, positioned thereunder, via which rocker 5 is movable in direction Y around a bearing 17. On its end opposite ribbed button 15, rocker 5 has a latching head 18, which, in the latched state, is fixed in its own latching groove 19 in second housing part 3, which is provided for this purpose. When the button is moved in direction Y, the latching head also undergoes a movement in direction Y′, through which latching head 18 comes out of latching groove 19 and therefore releases second housing part 3 from first housing part 2. Both housing parts 2, 3 may then be detached from one another via a corresponding displacement of the bayonet lock.
In connection with the longitudinal section in FIG. 3, FIG. 2 shows the insertion device. The insertion device has an [0038] insertion pocket 20, which is fixed on top by inspection window 7 and on the bottom by a supporting part 21, which extends over the entire width of first housing part 2. The lateral delimitations of insertion pocket 20 are formed by the essentially horizontal walls of second housing part 3, on which additional guide strips 22 are provided for lateral fixing of the label in the insertion pocket. The insertion device also has multiple stops 23 for fixing a final position of the label in insertion pocket 20. Stops 23, which project upward like pegs from first housing part 2, advantageously also have a latching device. The label may be fixed inside insertion pocket 20 via guide strips 22, stops 23, and the latching device, so that it will not slip.
FIG. 4 shows an enlarged detail of a side view of the opening region of the insertion device. FIG. 4 shows that a further sealing [0039] lip 24 is attached to second housing part 3 in the opening region of the housing. This further sealing lip 24 is positioned in front of and covering opening gap 6 and is used for the purpose of sealing housing 1 also in the region of opening gap 6. Further sealing lip 24 is designed in such a way that when a label is inserted into the housing in direction Y or when the label is removed from the housing, sealing lip 24 may be elastically deformed and thus allows insertion and/or removal of the label. Otherwise, however, sealing lip 24 presses tightly against first housing part 2 (not shown in FIG. 4) and thus seals opening gap 6 of the housing 1 to the outside. Typically, a depression 4 (also not shown in FIG. 4), which sealing lip 24 may sink into thus increasing the sealing effect, is provided in first housing part 2, which is diametrically opposite the second housing part. A depression of this type may also advantageously be provided between the first sealing lip, which is used for sealing web and groove, in first housing part 2.
The present invention is suitable in particular for all housings for receiving measuring devices. However, the present invention is not exclusively restricted to such housings, but rather may be expanded in the scope of the present invention to housings for receiving any arbitrary devices, mechanical or other electrical devices, for example, which are positioned in a housing for reasons of better shock protection, temperature protection, humidity protection, and the like. [0040]
In summary, it may be established that through the use of an insertion device having an insertion pocket for receiving a label, a flexible configuration identification of measuring devices positioned in the housing may be implemented in a way which is very simple, but nonetheless very effective, without the disadvantages of known multipart housings of this type having to be accepted. [0041]
The present invention is not exclusively restricted to the exemplary embodiment of FIGS. [0042] 1 to 4. Rather, the present invention may be implemented in a suitable way in manifold embodiments and alterations in the scope of the knowledge and action of one skilled in the art.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

[0043] 1 housing
[0044] 2 first housing part
[0045] 3 second housing part
[0046] 4 fixing device
[0047] 5 first latching device, rocker
[0048] 6 opening gap
[0049] 7 inspection window
[0050] 10 receiving device
[0051] 11 circuit board
[0052] 12 groove
[0053] 13 web
[0054] 13′ supporting surface of the web
[0055] 14 first sealing lip
[0056] 15 ribbed button
[0057] 16 spring
[0058] 17 bearing
[0059] 18 latching head
[0060] 19 latching groove
[0061] 20 insertion pocket
[0062] 21 supporting part
[0063] 22 guide strip
[0064] 23 stop
[0065] 24 further/second sealing lip
X insertion direction [0066]
Y, Y′ tilting direction [0067]

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A closed housing for receiving and enclosing a measuring device comprising at least two housing parts (2, 3), which are positively connectable to one another via a fixing device (4), at least one housing part (2, 3) having an at least partially transparent inspection window (7), wherein an insertion device (6, 20, 21, 22, 23) is provided for inserting and removing a label when the housing (1) is closed, the insertion device having an opening gap (6) provided in the housing (1) and an insertion pocket (20) for receiving the label inside the housing (1).

2. The housing as recited in one of the preceding claims [sic],

wherein the fixing device (4) is implemented as a bayonet lock.

3. The housing as recited in one of the preceding claims, wherein the fixing device (4) has a groove (12) and a web (13), which engage in one another in the closed state of the housing (1).

4. The housing as recited in claim 3,

wherein the fixing device (4) has a sealing lip (14), which is attached to the groove (12) and/or to the web (13) and protrudes from the groove (12) and/or the web (13), the sealing lip (14) engaging in the web (13) and/or in the groove (12) to form a seal when the two housing parts (2, 3) are joined together.

5. The housing as recited in one of the preceding claims, wherein a further sealing lip (24), which is attached to a housing part (3) and which presses against the particular other housing part (2) to form a seal in the closed state of the housing (1), is provided in the region of the opening gap (6).

6. The housing as recited in one of claims 4 and 5, wherein depressions, into which at least one of the sealing lips (14, 24) sinks into in the closed state of the housing (1), are provided in at least one housing part (2, 3).

7. The housing as recited in one of claims 4 through 6, wherein at least one of the sealing lips (14, 24) has a wedge-shaped, rib-shaped, nub-shaped, or pointed design.

8. The housing as recited in one of the preceding claims, wherein a housing part (2) has at least one latching device (5), in particular a rocker (5) which engages in a latching groove (19) of the other housing part (3), via which the two housing parts (2, 3) may be fixed in relation to one another.

9. The housing as recited in one of the preceding claims, wherein the insertion device (6, 20, 21, 22, 23) has a guide strip (22) for lateral fixing of the label in the insertion pocket (20) and for guiding the label during insertion and/or a stop (23) for establishing a final position of the label in the insertion pocket (20).

10. The housing as recited in one of the preceding claims, wherein the insertion device (6, 20, 21, 22, 23) has a second latching device, which, upon insertion of the label into the insertion pocket (20), latches when the label is situated in the final position.

11. The housing as recited in one of the preceding claims, wherein the first and/or the second latching device (5) has a latching recognition device, which recognizes and displays the latching of the particular latching device (5).

12. The housing as recited in one of the preceding claims, wherein at least one housing part (2, 3) is at least partially made of a shock-absorbing, elastic material, in particular a rubber-like plastic.

13. The housing as recited in one of the preceding claims, wherein at least one housing part (2, 3) at least partially has a material containing TPU, TPE, or PVC.

14. The housing as recited in one of the preceding claims, wherein at least one housing part (2, 3) is made completely of a transparent or partially transparent material.

15. The housing as recited in one of the preceding claims, wherein one housing part (2) is implemented as a base body for receiving the measuring device and the other housing part (3) is implemented as a protective cover and for protecting the shock-sensitive parts of the measuring device.

16. The housing as recited in one of the preceding claims, wherein the housing (1) is sealed to the outside.