AU2009251102B2 - A Gland Plate Connection System - Google Patents

Abstract

Abstract The present invention relates to a gland plate connection system for connecting a gland plate to the frame 10 of a switching cabinet. The frame 10 5 includes vertical and horizontal frame members 12, 14 connected at corners by corner elements 22. Each corner element 22 has an inwardly projecting mounting member 40. The gland plate connection system includes a gland plate sub-frame 18, 20 10 formed by sub-frame members 26 connected at each corner by a corner bracket 28. The sub-frame is able to receive and secure the gland plate. Each corner bracket 28 is capable of receiving and securing adjacent sub frame members and is adapted to seat upon and capture the inwardly projecting mounting members 40 of an adjacent corner element 22. 16 16b - 16c 12a - - 24 12b 1230 26b 12c 32 26a --- 18 o 28 28 - 14b 14a'* - 22 - 32 4 14d14 24 26b 26d 32 Figure I

Description

P/00/011 Regulation 3.2 AUSTRALIA Patents Act 1990 ORIGINAL COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT Invention Title: A Gland Plate Connection System Applicant: B&R Enclosures Pty Ltd The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me: 1 2 A GLAND PLATE CONNECTION SYSTEM Field of the Invention 5 The present invention relates generally to a system for connecting a gland plate to a frame. Although the present invention will hereafter generally be described with particular reference to frames of switching cabinets, it should be appreciated that the gland plate connection system of the present 10 invention is not necessarily limited to being used only with switching cabinets and that it may also be used with other types of cabinets and/or frames. Background of the Invention 15 Electrical/electronic power meters, switches, circuit breakers and other electrical/electronic equipment for commercial and industrial installations, houses and other buildings are usually housed inside a switching cabinet located either inside or outside a building. A typical switching cabinet can include side, rear, bottom and/or top walls, together with a door which covers 20 an opening of the cabinet and which is hinged to the cabinet. Opening a door enables the equipment housed in the cabinet to be accessed. Such switching cabinets are available in many sizes ranging from relatively small cabinets to large wardrobe-sized cabinets which are used in factories, 25 shopping centres, office blocks and other buildings. The large wardrobe-sized cabinets usually include a metal frame (referred to in the art as a "rack"), which maintains the structural integrity of the cabinet. The frame usually includes a plurality of vertical frame members, together with a plurality of horizontal frame members. 30 The vertical frame members are usually located at the upright corners of the cabinet, and the horizontal frame members usually extend between those vertical frame members at the top and bottom of the cabinet, forming the basis for the cabinet's four sides. The top, the bottom and three of the sides of the 3 cabinet are usually covered by metal panels to form walls, with the remaining side (normally the front) being covered by a door which is usually hinged to a vertical frame member to provide access to the interior of the cabinet. However, it may also be possible to fix doors to any of the other sides of a 5 cabinet in place of the metal panels. In some situations, multiple of these cabinets are secured together as modules (referred to in the art as "baying") to form a bayed enclosure. The top and bottom walls will sometimes be formed by a plurality of plates that 10 together form a panel, which plates are generally referred to in the industry as gland plates. Indeed, the use of gland plates to form one of these walls is very common for forming the bottom wall of a switching cabinet. Switching cabinets are typically assembled on-site and installers typically 15 need to carry with them a range of parts and accessories to be able to purpose-build a suitable switching cabinet in whatever circumstances they encounter. Thus, there is a general aim for the manufacturers of switching cabinets to ensure that only the minimum number of parts are needed, giving rise to a desire for parts to be multi-purpose or usable in a variety of 20 circumstances (such as in either left- or right- handed situations, upright or upside down, or in both upper and lower configurations). Indeed, symmetry is often of assistance, and a part that is symmetrical in some form, for use in a switching cabinet that itself is formed with a focus on configurational symmetry, will generally provide a more useful solution than a non 25 symmetrical part. One solution for simplistically forming a bottom wall for a switching cabinet has been to utilise a separate sub-frame securable to the four horizontal frame members at the bottom of the switching cabinet, the sub-frame then 30 carrying one or more gland plates. The sub-frames have themselves been formed from frame members and have required purpose-built corner connections that have typically not been usable elsewhere in the switching cabinet. Two such solutions are described in US patents 6,164,460 and 6,409,416.

4 It is an aim of the present invention to provide an alternative form of gland plate connection system that can be used for connecting a gland plate to the frame of a switching cabinet, ideally in a manner that permits the use of the 5 connection system at either the bottom or the top of the switching cabinet. Before turning to a description of the present invention, it is to be appreciated that the above discussion of the background to the present invention is included to explain the context of the present invention. This is not to be 10 taken as an admission that any of the material referred to was published, known, or part of the common general knowledge in Australia (or elsewhere) as at the priority date of any of the claims in this application. Also before turning to a description of the present invention, it is useful to 15 provide an explanation of some of the terms that will be used to define the spatial relationship of various parts thereof. In this respect, spatial references throughout this specification will generally be based upon an assembled switching cabinet standing generally upright on a surface. With this environment as the basis, some parts may then be defined with reference to 20 the surface and also to the "horizontal" and the "vertical", allowing further references to "upper" or "upwardly" and "lower" or "downwardly". Further, it will be understood that a switching cabinet always has an interior, and thus some parts may be defined with directional reference to "inner" or "inwardly" and "outer" or "outwardly" with respect to the interior of the switching cabinet. 25 Summary of the Invention The present invention provides a gland plate connection system for connecting a gland plate to the frame of a switching cabinet, the frame 30 including vertical and horizontal frame members connected at corners by corner elements, each corner element having an inwardly projecting mounting member, the gland plate connection system including a gland plate sub-frame formed by sub-frame members connected at corners by a corner bracket, the sub-frame able to receive and secure the gland plate, wherein each corner 5 bracket is capable of receiving and securing adjacent sub-frame members and is adapted to seat upon and capture one of the inwardly projecting mounting members. 5 It will be appreciated that by virtue of the corner element mounting members projecting inwardly of the switching cabinet frame, and the interaction of the corner brackets (being those members that carry the gland plate sub-frame) therewith, the gland plate sub-frame will be located internally of the switching cabinet frame at the bottom thereof, being the normally desired location for a 10 gland plate sub-frame, and, of course, for the gland plate itself in forming a bottom wall for a switching cabinet. However, this arrangement also permits the same gland plate and gland plate sub-frame to interact in the manner described above with a mounting member of an upper corner element, such as one of the four corner elements that form an upper horizontal frame of a 15 switching cabinet, to thereby form a top wall for the switching cabinet. Additionally, in a preferred form of the present invention, by providing the inwardly projecting mounting members with identically configured upper and lower sides, each corner bracket may then seat upon and capture either side, 20 providing further flexibility insofar as the location of the gland plate at the top or bottom of the switching cabinet is concerned. In particular, at both top and bottom, the gland plate may thus be located to the inside or the outside of the inwardly projecting mounting member, and may thus tend to be located as either an inside wall or an outside wall, as required. 25 In a preferred form, each corner bracket has a body and at least two sub frame engaging elements. Ideally, the two sub-frame engaging elements of a corner bracket will be suitably configured male members extending orthogonally away from the body so that each male member is receivable by a 30 correspondingly shaped female portion of one end of each adjacent sub-frame member. In this form, a corner bracket can thus be said to be generally triangular, this shape being defined by the body and the two male members extending away therefrom at right angles.

6 Ideally, it is the body of each corner bracket that is adapted to seat upon and capture one of the inwardly projecting mounting members of a switching cabinet frame corner element. In a preferred form, the body will be relatively flat and will have a topside and an underside, the underside being adapted to 5 seat upon and capture one of the mounting members. The seating function can be achieved by providing the underside with a configuration that complements the upper configuration of a mounting member, such that the underside will not only seat upon the mounting member, but will also mate with the mounting member in a manner that at least prevents lateral 10 movement of the corner bracket with respect to the mounting member. Indeed, in a further preferred form, the body will also include a fastening aperture through which a fastening member may cooperate to rigidly secure the corner bracket to the mounting member, thus preventing any relative 15 movement therebetween whatsoever. It is envisaged that a preferred form for the underside of the body of the corner bracket will require the body to be generally box-shaped (preferably a shallow box), the body being hollow with its bottom open. The open bottom of 20 the body (which thus opens to a walled interior) can then receive therewithin the complementarily shaped mounting member. The mounting member will ideally be shaped so as to snugly fit within the walled interior of the body, of course from underneath. 25 In a further preferred form of the body, where the body is generally box shaped, it may be particularly useful to include an alignment opening in the topside of the body (and thus in what would be regarded as the top wall of the box). Such an alignment opening would ideally again be configured so as to snugly receive a complementarily shaped part of the mounting member, in a 30 manner that provides for ease of alignment visually and mechanically. In a preferred form, the alignment opening could be semi-circular or dome-shaped, with the mounting member including a complimentarily shaped part on the upper side thereof.

7 The mounting member is thus preferably shaped so as to snugly fit within the (preferably) walled interior of the body, and in one form the mounting member may have a triangular shaped mating head that is able to be received by the body of the corner bracket in this manner. Also, the complimentarily shaped 5 part on the upper side of the mounting member will preferably be a semi circular alignment part shaped to be snugly received by the alignment opening mentioned above. In this form, the mounting member at least notionally interacts with both the topside and the underside of the body of the corner bracket, the interaction with the underside being to seat and capture the 10 mating head of the mounting member (in one form within the walled interior of the underside of the body), and the interaction with the topside being to assist with aligning the mounting member with respect to the corner bracket. Further, in this form, it can also be seen that by providing the mounting 15 member with upper and lower alignment parts (on its upper and lower surfaces respectively), it becomes possible to seat a corner bracket on the mounting member from either side, namely either its upper side or its lower side, depending upon its orientation. Not only does this mean that a gland plate sub-frame can be located either at the bottom or the top of the switching 20 cabinet, but also at either the inside or outside of the mounting member (so as to be slightly upwardly or downwardly of that mounting member). The present invention also provides a corner bracket for a gland plate connection system for connecting a gland plate to the frame of a switching 25 cabinet, the frame including vertical and horizontal frame members connected at corners by corner elements and each corner element having an inwardly projecting mounting member, the corner bracket including a body and at least two sub-frame engaging elements for securing adjacent sub-frame members of a gland plate sub-frame, said body arranged so as to seat upon and 30 capture one of the inwardly projecting mounting members of the corner elements of the frame of the switching cabinet. The invention further provides a corner element for a frame of a switching cabinet, said corner element arranged for connecting vertical and horizontal 8 frame members of the frame to form corners of the switching cabinet, the corner element further arranged to connect a gland plate to the frame of the switching cabinet, the gland plate including a gland plate sub-frame formed by sub-frame members connected at corners by a corner bracket, the corner 5 bracket including a body and at least two sub-frame engaging elements, the corner element including an inwardly projecting mounting member arranged to be seated upon and captured by said body of the corner bracket. Brief Description of the Drawings 10 Having briefly described the general concepts involved with the present invention, a preferred embodiment of a gland plate connection system that is in accordance with the present invention will now be described. However, it is to be understood that the following description is not to limit the generality of 15 the above description. In the drawings: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a switching cabinet frame showing upper and 20 lower gland plate sub-frames each having a gland plate fitted thereto, which utilizes a preferred embodiment of a gland plate connection system in accordance with the present invention; Figure 2 is a schematic perspective view of the gland plate connection system 25 of Figure 1 shown in a semi-assembled state; Figure 3 is a perspective view of a corner bracket seated and captured upon a corner element, being parts of the gland plate connection system of Figure 1; 30 Figure 4a is a perspective view from above of the corner bracket of Figure 3; Figure 4b is a perspective view from below of the corner bracket of Figure 3; 9 Figure 5a is a perspective view from above of the corner element of Figure 3; and Figure 5b is a perspective view from below of the corner element of Figure 2. 5 Description of the Embodiment Illustrated in the Drawings Illustrated in Figure 1 is a frame 10 for a switching cabinet, the frame 10 having vertical frame members 12a, 12b, 12c and 12d, horizontal frame 10 members 14a, 14b, 14c, and 14d forming a bottom frame, and horizontal frame members 16a, 16b, 16c and 16d forming a top frame. The vertical and horizontal frame members are generally in accordance with the frame member profile that is described in our co-pending Australian patent application 2006319764, the content of which is hereby incorporated by 15 reference, and are connected at their corners by corner elements 22 bound externally by corner flanges 24. Also illustrated in Figure 1 are two gland plate sub-frames, being a bottom sub-frame 18 and a top sub-frame 20. The bottom gland plate sub-frame 18 20 is formed from sub-frame members 26a, 26b, 26c and 26d connected at corners by corner brackets 28, together with (in this embodiment) a single gland plate 30 secured to the sub-frame members 26a, 26b, 26c and 26d by clamps 32. The same components make up the top gland plate sub-frame 20, but the various components have not been numbered for the sake of simplicity 25 in the illustration. The two gland plate sub-frames 18 and 20 are shown in Figure 1 in semi assembled state, in that they are both shown slightly above the normal position where they would seat and be mounted. In this respect, the bottom 30 gland plate sub-frame 18 would lower down onto the corner elements 22 of the bottom frame to form (by virtue of the gland plate connection system of the present invention) a bottom wall in the switching cabinet, and the top gland plate sub-frame 20 would lower down onto the corner elements 22 of the top 10 frame to form (again by virtue of the gland plate connection system of the present invention) a top wall in the switching cabinet. The gland plate connection system of this preferred embodiment is more 5 easily seen in Figure 2. Figure 2 shows a partially assembled frame for a switching cabinet, and shows the vertical frame member 12a connected via a corner element 22 to two horizontal frame members 14a and 14b. A further corner element 22 is shown in position at the top of the vertical frame member 22, together with its external corner flange 24. Figure 2 also shows two 10 adjacent gland plate sub-frame members 26a and 26b that are connected by the corner bracket 28, these elements though being shown in Figure 2 in a notional position in the air above where they would be located in use. Two clamps 32 are also shown in Figure 2, each functioning to secure the 15 corner bracket 28 to the adjacent sub-frame members 26a and 26b. The corner elements 22 visible in Figure 2 are identical in shape and thus only one (the lower corner element 22) will herein be described in detail (albeit in more detail later with respect to Figures 3, 5a and 5b). In this respect, the 20 corner element 22 has an inwardly projecting mounting member 40 ("inwardly" with respect to the interior of the switching cabinet), which is configured so as to interact with the corner bracket 28 of the gland plate frame such that the corner bracket 28 can seat upon and capture the mounting member 40. The final relationship of the corner bracket 28 to the mounting member 40 of the 25 corner element 22 is best shown in Figure 3, albeit without there being present in Figure 3 any of the sub-frame members 26a and 26b, the vertical and horizontal frame members 12a, 14a and 14b, or the gland plate 30. From Figures 1, 2 and 3 it will be appreciated that by virtue of the corner 30 element mounting members 40 projecting inwardly of the switching cabinet, and the interaction of the corner brackets 28 (being those members that carry the gland plate sub-frame) therewith, the gland plate sub-frame is located internally of the switching cabinet at the bottom thereof, being the normally desired location for a gland plate sub-frame, and, of course, for the gland 11 plate 30 itself in forming a bottom wall for the switching cabinet. However, this arrangement also permits the same gland plate 30 and gland plate sub-frame to interact in the manner described above with a mounting member 40 of an upper corner element 22, such as one of the four corner elements that form 5 the top horizontal frame of the switching cabinet, to thereby form a top wall for the switching cabinet. Specifically, the same corner elements 22 are able to be used for the top and the bottom, and the same corner brackets 28 and gland plate sub-frames are able to be used for the top and the bottom. 10 Referring now to Figures 4a and 4b, each corner bracket 28 has a body 42 and two sub-frame engaging elements 44a and 44b. These two sub-frame engaging elements 44a and 44b are male members configured to be snugly receivable within the channel 46 (see Figure 2) of each of the gland plate sub frame members 26a, 26b, 26c and 26d, which in this embodiment thus form 15 female members. It can thus be seen that the sub-frame engaging elements 44a and 44b extend orthogonally away from the body 42, such that the corner bracket 28 can thus be said to be generally triangular. The generally triangular shape is thus defined by the body 42 and the two male members (elements 44a and 44b) extending away therefrom at right angles. 20 In this embodiment, it is the body 42 of the corner bracket 28 that is adapted to seat upon and capture the inwardly projecting mounting member 40 of one of the corner elements 22. The body 42 is relatively flat and has a topside 46 (shown in Figure 4a) and an underside 48 (shown in Figure 4b), the underside 25 48 being adapted to seat upon and capture one of the mounting members 40. The seating function of the body 42 is achieved by providing the underside 48 with a configuration that complements the configuration of the mounting member 40, such that the underside 48 will not only seat upon the mounting 30 member 40, but will also mate with the mounting member 40 in a manner that at least prevents lateral movement of the corner bracket 28 with respect to the mounting member 40.

12 Indeed, Figure 4b shows a form of the underside 48 of the body 42 of the corner bracket 28 where the body 42 is generally box-shaped (in this embodiment, a relatively shallow box), the body 42 being hollow with its bottom open (open downwardly in Figure 4a and open upwardly in Figure 4b). 5 The interior of the body 42 is thus provided by a wall 52 (which thus provides the body with a "walled interior" in its underside), and it is this walled interior that is able to receive therewithin the complementarily shaped mounting member 40. 10 The mounting member 40 is shaped so as to snugly fit within the walled interior of the body 42, of course from underneath, and in this embodiment is shown having a generally triangular shaped mating head 50. The mating head 50 is shown having a fastening aperture 60 through which a fastening member may cooperate to rigidly secure the corner bracket 28 to the 15 mounting member 40 via a similarly shaped fastening aperture 62 in the corner bracket 28, thus preventing (when fastened together) any relative movement therebetween whatsoever. Figures 4a and 4b also show an alignment opening 54 in the body 42, which 20 extends into both the topside 46 and the underside 48 of the body 42, and thus into the walled interior of the body 42. Such an alignment opening 54 is shown with a semi-circular shape configured so as to snugly receive a complementarily shaped semi-circular alignment part 56 of the mounting member 40, in a manner that provides for ease of alignment visually and 25 mechanically of the corner bracket 28 with respect to the corner element 22. In this embodiment, it can be seen that by providing the mounting member 40 with the alignment part 56 and the mating head 50, the mounting member 40 will thus at least notionally interact (as is shown in Figure 3) with both the 30 topside 46 and the underside 48 of the body 42 of the corner bracket 28, the interaction with the underside 48 being to seat and capture the mating head 50 of the mounting member 40 (within the walled interior of the underside 48 of the body 42), and the interaction with the topside 46 being to assist with aligning the mounting member 40 with respect to the corner bracket 28.

13 In this embodiment, it can also be seen that by providing the mounting member 40 with upper and lower alignment parts (the reference numeral 56 in Figure 5a representing the "upper" alignment part, and the reference numeral 5 58 in Figure 5b representing the "lower" alignment part), it becomes possible to seat a corner bracket on the mounting member 40 from either side, namely either its upper side or its lower side, depending upon its orientation. Thus, and referring to Figures 1 and 2, a gland plate sub-frame (the same gland plate sub-frame) can be located either at the bottom or the top of the switching 10 cabinet, by seating the underside 48 of a corner bracket 28 on the mating head 50 of a mounting member 40, aligned either with the upper alignment part 56 (for the bottom gland plate sub-frame 18) or with the lower alignment part 58 (for the top gland plate sub-frame 20). 15 Also, at both the bottom and the top of the switching cabinet, it similarly becomes possible for the same gland plate sub-frame to be located either to the inside or the outside of the mounting member 40, by fastening the corner bracket to either the upper or lower sides of the mounting member 40. The same corner bracket 28 can be used in all configurations, and the same 20 corner element 22 is used in all configurations. Finally, it will be apparent from the illustrations in Figures 3, 4a and 4b that the corner bracket may additionally include additional support members in the form of wings 70 extending upwardly from the topside of the body 42 at the 25 outer edges thereof. These wings 70 are formed so as to seat upon a lower portion of the frame member being secured by the corner element 22. In this respect, it will be appreciated from Figure 3 that the interaction of the corner bracket 28 with the corner element 22 is shown without the respective frame members in place, secured by the arms 72 of the corner element 22. 30 There may be other variations and modifications made to the configurations described herein that are also within the scope of the present invention.

Claims (22)

1. A gland plate connection system for connecting a gland plate to the frame of a switching cabinet, the frame including vertical and horizontal 5 frame members connected at corners by corner elements, each corner element having an inwardly projecting mounting member, the gland plate connection system including a gland plate sub-frame formed by sub-frame members connected at corners by a corner bracket, the sub frame able to receive and secure the gland plate, wherein each corner 10 bracket is capable of receiving and securing adjacent sub-frame members and is adapted to seat upon and capture one of the inwardly projecting mounting members.

2. A gland plate connection system according to claim 1, wherein each 15 corner bracket has a body and at least two sub-frame engaging elements.

3. A gland plate connection system according to claim 2, wherein the two sub-frame engaging elements of each corner bracket are suitably 20 configured male members extending orthogonally away from the body so that each male member is receivable by a correspondingly shaped female portion of one end of each adjacent sub-frame member.

4. A gland plate connection system according to claim 2 or claim 3, 25 wherein the corner bracket is generally triangular, this shape being defined by the body and the two male members extending away therefrom at right angles.

5. A gland plate connection system according to any one of claims 2 to 5, 30 wherein the body is relatively flat and has a topside and an underside, the underside being adapted to seat upon and capture one of the mounting members. 15

6. A gland plate connection system according to claim 5, wherein the seating function is achieved by providing the underside of the body with a configuration that complements the upper configuration of a mounting member, such that the underside will not only seat upon the mounting 5 member, but will also mate with the mounting member in a manner that at least prevents lateral movement of the corner bracket with respect to the mounting member.

7. A gland plate connection system according to claim 5 or claim 6, 10 wherein the body of the corner bracket is generally box-shaped, the body being hollow with its bottom open.

8. A gland plate connection system according to claim 7, wherein the open bottom of the body can receive therewithin the complementarily 15 shaped mounting member.

9. A gland plate connection system according to any one of claims 5 to 8, wherein the topside of the body includes an alignment opening, configured so as to snugly receive a complementarily shaped part of 20 the mounting member.

10. A gland plate connection system according to claim 9, wherein the alignment is semi-circular or dome-shaped, with the mounting member including a complimentarily shaped part on the upper side thereof. 25

11. A gland plate connection system according to claim 10, wherein the mounting member interacts with both the topside and the underside of the body of the corner bracket, the interaction with the underside being to seat and capture the mounting member and the interaction with the 30 topside being to assist with aligning the mounting member with respect to the corner bracket.

12. A gland plate connection system according to any one of claims 2 to 11, wherein the body also includes a fastening aperture through which 16 a fastening member may cooperate to rigidly secure the corner bracket to the mounting member, thus preventing any relative movement therebetween whatsoever. 5

13. A gland plate connection system according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the inwardly projecting mounting member includes identically configured upper and lower sides, such that each corner bracket can seat upon and capture either side. 10

14. A gland plate connection system according to claim 1, substantially as herein described in relation to the accompanying Figures.

15. A switching cabinet assembled using a gland plate connection system in accordance with any one of claims 1 to 14. 15

16. A corner bracket for a gland plate connection system for connecting a gland plate to the frame of a switching cabinet, the frame including vertical and horizontal frame members connected at corners by corner elements and each corner element having an inwardly projecting 20 mounting member, the corner bracket including a body and at least two sub-frame engaging elements for securing adjacent sub-frame members of a gland plate sub-frame, said body arranged so as to seat upon and capture one of the inwardly projecting mounting members of the corner elements of the frame of the switching cabinet. 25

17. A corner bracket according to claim 16, wherein the two sub-frame engaging elements of the corner bracket are suitably configured male members extending orthogonally away from the body so that each male member is receivable by a correspondingly shaped female portion 30 of one end of each adjacent sub-frame member.

18. A corner element for a frame of a switching cabinet, said corner element arranged for connecting vertical and horizontal frame members of the frame to form corners of the switching cabinet, the 17 corner element further arranged to connect a gland plate to the frame of the switching cabinet, the gland plate including a gland plate sub frame formed by sub-frame members connected at corners by a corner bracket, the corner bracket including a body and at least two sub-frame 5 engaging elements, the corner element including an inwardly projecting mounting member arranged to be seated upon and captured by said body of the corner bracket.

19. A corner element according to claim 18 wherein the inwardly projecting 10 mounting member interacts with both a topside and an underside of the body of the corner bracket, the interaction with the underside being to seat and capture the mounting member and the interaction with the topside being to assist with aligning the mounting member with respect to the corner bracket. 15

20. A corner element according to claim 18, substantially as herein described in relation to the accompanying Figures.

21. A corner bracket according to claim 16, substantially as herein 20 described in relation to the accompanying Figures.

22. A kit of parts for assembling the switching cabinet of claim 16, the kit including one or more gland plate connection systems in accordance with any one of claims 1 to 15, together with one or more gland plates, 25 a gland plate sub-frame, and frame members and/or cladding for the frame members, the cladding being in the form of walls, panels and/or doors.