Metal module housing having a plurality of lugs formed therein for supporting and grounding a printed circuit board

Claim 1

An input and/or output device for process data comprising: a) a mounting rack having a grounded portion; b) a bus holder located on said mounting rack; c) a plurality of substantially box-shaped modules positioned next to one another on said mounting rack so that a rear side of each of the modules contacts the mounting rack, each of said plurality of modules including: 1) a process connector inserted in a front side of the module and having a plurality of contacts; 2) a terminal strip having a plurality of contact pins which interact with the plurality of contacts of the process connector; 3) a circuit board having circuits electroconductively connected to the contact pins and to a bus connector; 4) a module housing formed predominately from a metal plate and supporting the circuit board, the terminal strip and the bus connector, the module housing being in electrical contact with the grounded portion of the mounting rack; 5) a first opening which is arranged on a front side of the module housing and which serves as a passage for the terminal strip; 6) a second opening which is arranged on a rear side of the module housing and which serves as a passage for the bus connector; 7) a fastening element which detachably fastens the module housing to the grounded part of the mounting rack; 8) a plurality of lugs formed out of the metal plate of the module housing and supporting the circuit board; 9) a conductor track arranged on the circuit board parallel to the terminal strip and located between the terminal strip and the circuits, the conductor being connected electroconductively to at least one of the plurality of lugs; and 10) at least one protective element provided on the circuit board and electroconductively connected to the conductor track by a first current terminal and to one of the contact pins by a second current terminal.