Beckhoff EL1904 - System description; The Beckhoff Bus Terminal system

System description
EL190414 Version: 3.0.0
3 System description
3.1 The Beckhoff Bus Terminal system
The Beckhoff Bus Terminal system is used for decentralized connection of sensors and actuators to a
control system. The Beckhoff Bus Terminal system components are mainly used in industrial automation and
building management applications. In its minimum configuration, a bus station consists of a Bus Coupler or a
Bus Terminal Controller and Bus Terminals connected to it. The Bus Coupler forms the communication
interface to the higher-level controller, and the terminals are the interface to sensors and actuators. The
whole bus station is clipped onto a 35 mm DIN mounting rail (EN 60715). The mechanical cross connection
of the bus station is established via a slot and key system at the Bus Coupler and the Bus Terminals.
The sensors and actuators are connected with the terminals via the screwless (spring-loaded) connection
system.
Fig.1: Slot and key system and screwless (spring-loaded) connection system.
In order to accommodate the wide range of different communication standards encountered in industrial
automation, Beckhoff offers Bus Couplers for a number of common bus systems (e.g. EK1100 for
EtherCAT).