FR2846157A1 - Equipment for securely locking an airtight electrical control box, comprises screw which traverses door and engages with thread in box and screw head cap with holes to receive lock and shield screw. - Google Patents

Abstract

The door which bears against a rim (28) of the box is traversed by a screw (46) which engages with a threaded hole (32) in the corner of the box. The screw passes through a spacer (44) and the screw head when tightened rests against an internal shoulder within a security cap (34). The security cap has transverse holes (60,62) which accommodate the shank of a lock and thus prevent any attempt to undo the screw

Description

i The present invention relates to an electrical safety cabinet

  waterproof intended in particular, but not exclusively, to be used in

  installations operating in an explosive environment.

  A field of application envisaged is in particular that of the chemical or petroleum industries in which many devices using electrical energy operate in an explosion risk atmosphere where the flash point is

relatively low.

  Electric safety cabinets or boxes are already known which

  have a box whose opening is adapted to be closed by a door 1i0 with fixing screws.

  To do this, holes are provided in the edges of the door and they

  coincide with threads made in the thickness of the wall of the trunk.

  In this way, after the door has been applied against the edges of the opening, it is held in a fixed position and in abutment by means of fixing screws each passing through, respectively, an orifice and a thread and the

head rests against the door.

  Some of these more easily accessible electrical cabinets,

  have hinges connecting the door to the trunk on one of their edges.

  In addition, these electrical cabinets or boxes generally comprise at least one locking device intended to lock the closed door on the

  safe to prevent it from being opened by anyone who is not authorized to do so.

  This locking device generally consists of a tab welded to the trunk and pierced with an orifice. This tab is intended to cross a

  oblong hole of the door when it is folded down on the trunk.

  To prevent the door from opening, a padlock is mounted in the hole in the tab and the padlock loop is capable of pressing against the outer wall of the door to prevent it from pivoting towards its open position. A drawback of this locking device lies in the choice of a determined position of the tab on the trunk and of the oblong hole of the door so that they cooperate together as soon as the electrical cabinet is produced. However, it turns out that this choice is not always compatible with the constraints of installation of the electrical cabinet, which force, for example, to rotate the

  door on the edge opposite the intended edge of the trunk.

  In addition, this type of locking device does not exclude that one can unscrew the fixing screws that hold the door against the trunk, so that the electrical cabinet loses its tightness. In order to overcome the aforementioned drawbacks of the prior art, the present invention provides a sealed electrical safety cabinet, as defined in the introduction, the locking device of which comprises: - a removable safety member having, on the one hand , a support portion 10 comprising a bore and a bearing face adapted to be applied against said door so that said bore is located opposite said orifice, said fixing screw being adapted to pass through said bore and said orifice to be screwed into said thread while the head of said fixing screw bears against the edge of said hole, and, on the other hand, a part comprising two portions which extend, from said bearing part, into a direction opposite to said bearing face, said portions being positioned opposite one another and diametrically opposite with respect to said bore; and - a secure lockable connection device adapted, in a locked position, to connect said portions and to be extended with respect to said bore to prevent access to said head of the fixing screw. Thus, advantageously, according to the invention, the locking device is

  directly associated with the fixing screw which keeps the door closed on the trunk 25 and cooperates with it to form a support against the door.

  In this way, the locking device is not only capable of being installed against the edge of the door where a fixing screw is engaged in an orifice, but it also makes it possible to prohibit access to the head of the screw. fixing and

  therefore to screw it without being authorized.

  In addition, this locking device can be mounted, if desired, against the edge of the door where there is an orifice. Thus, no one is dependent on the position of the locking device which would have been fixed during the production of

the electrical cabinet.

  According to a particularly advantageous embodiment of the invention, said portions of the removable safety member have two transverse bores 5, each facing one another, and said secure lockable connecting device comprises a padlock, the loop is suitable for crossing

  the two transverse holes in the locked position.

  Thus, the padlock loop extends above the head of the fixing screw when it is fully engaged in the removable security member 10 so that it is no longer accessible by any tool to be driven

in rotation.

  Preferably, said removable safety member is formed of a cylindrical part having a first end constituting said support part and a second end having an axial recess and forming said

1 5 free part.

  Thus, the second end of the cylindrical part completely surrounds the head of the fixing screw, and the secure locking connection device, for example consisting of a padlock, obstructs with its loop the axial recess facing the head of the fixing screw and even more covers said head. In this way, the head of the fixing screw is even less accessible and cannot be

actuated in rotation.

  According to a particularly advantageous embodiment of the invention, at least one orifice of said door is provided in the vicinity of one of its edges, and said bearing part of said removable safety member has a peripheral portion 25 projecting from said bearing face adapted to be applied against said edge when said bearing face is applied against said door, so as to block said removable safety member in rotation around said fixing screw when it is engaged in the bore of said support part and said orifice. In this way, when the locking device is installed on the door and the head of the fixing screw bears against the edge of said bore, the removable safety member cannot be rotated because said peripheral portion projecting from said bearing face abuts against the edge of the door. Thanks to this feature, the fixing screw cannot be unscrewed

  causing the removable safety member to rotate.

  According to another particular embodiment of the invention intended to position the locking device on any side, said trunk has walls each having an inner edge and an outer edge, said inner edge being extended by a free edge, each being tapped between said outer and inner edges of one of the walls, and the electrical cabinet comprises removable means forming a hinge for the articulation of the door on the trunk, said removable means forming a hinge comprising an angle piece including a first wing is adapted to be connected to said door and the second wing of which has a hole intended to coincide with said tapping for receiving screw means, said second wing having a free edge of which at least a portion is shaped to bear against said flange 1 5 free when said screwable means are rotated in order to reli st

  said corner piece to said trunk.

  Thus, according to this characteristic, on the one hand, the removable means forming an articulation hinge are adapted to be mounted where desired in the edge of the trunk at a predetermined location where the threads have been provided, and in which no device locking will only be mounted, and, on the other hand, thanks to the conformation of a portion of a free edge of said second wing which is capable of bearing against the free edge when the angle piece is

  connected to the trunk, the positioning of said angle piece is easily achieved.

  It is understood that the choice of two consecutive corners of the trunk for installing hinges makes it possible to mount a locking device in

  each of the other two corners and vice versa.

  According to an advantageous characteristic, the removable means forming

  hinge can be removed and replaced by two locking devices, so that each of the four corners of said electrical cabinet includes a locking device securely holding the door of the trunk.

  Advantageously, said second wing of said angle piece has a single bore adapted to receive said screw means. Thus, although there is only one bore in the second wing thanks to the portion of the free edge which bears against the free edge when the screwable means are screwed, the part

  angle iron is blocked in rotation. In this way, its adjustment is simplified.

  According to a particular embodiment of the invention, said second wing 5 of said angle piece extends between the inner and outer edges, and said first wing extends substantially perpendicular to said second wing

  in the extension of said outer edge.

  So the second wing extends between the inner and outer edges so

  that it does not protrude from said outer edge and does not in any way hinder the juxtaposition of several electrical cabinets of the same type.

  In addition, since said first wing extends substantially perpendicular to the second, it also does not project from said outer edge. In a particularly advantageous manner, at least one internal thread is formed in a corner of said trunk corresponding to the intersection of a first and

  a second wall and in the vicinity of which the two free edges of the two walls meet, respectively; said second wing has a first part which extends from said bore between the inner and outer edges of said first wall and a second part which extends from said bore between the inner and outer edges of said first wall second wall.

  Thanks to this feature, the angle piece is perfectly adjusted in the corner of the boot since a first part of the second wing is capable of being pressed against one of the free edges, and the second part of the second wing is capable of bear against the other of the free edges while the screw means are in abutment around the bore of the

second wing.

  According to yet another particularly advantageous embodiment of the invention, said trunk is of rectangular parallelepiped shape and comprises said removable hinge means mounted in two consecutive corners 30 so that said first wings of said removable hinge means are arranged opposite l 'from each other to receive each of the coaxial means forming pivots, said door being secured by said means coaxial to said first wings so as to be able to pivot between a position

open and a closed position.

  In this way, the door is hinged on one side of the trunk, and as we

  will explain it in more detail in the following description, the internal threads 5 in the two other consecutive corners of said trunk allow screws to be introduced

  fixing device and mount the locking device.

  Other features and advantages of the invention will emerge on reading

  of the description given below of particular embodiments of the invention, given by way of indication but not limitation, with reference to the accompanying drawings on

  1 0 which: - Figure 1 is a schematic perspective view showing an embodiment of the invention; - Figure 2 is an exploded detail view of Figure 1 - Figure 3 is a view along section 111-111 of Figure 1 1 5 - Figure 4 is an exploded detail view of the object of invention according to figure I and

  - Figure 5 is a detail view in elevation of Figure 4.

  We will first refer to Figure 1 to describe a cabinet

  electric waterproof security 10 according to the invention.

  This electrical cabinet 10 comprises a trunk 12 and a door 14 which closes the opening of the trunk. It is intended to be installed on a support and, to do this, the trunk 12 has fixing lugs 16 mounted against the edge of its rear wall. The electrical cabinet 10 also includes hinges 18 connecting together an edge of the door 14 and an edge of the trunk 12. Thus, the door 14 is capable of being pivoted about an axis

common to both edges.

  Furthermore, the electrical cabinet 10 is provided with two identical locking devices 20, 22 which will be described in more detail with reference to

Figures 2 and 3.

  We find in Figure 2 a portion of the trunk 12 and elements of each locking device 22 as illustrated in Figure 1. The portion of the trunk 12 illustrated in this Figure 2 is located in a corner where two walls 23 meet , 24 of the boot 12. The walls 23, 24, which define an interior surface 26, are extended by a return 30, substantially perpendicular to each of the walls 23, 24, said return 30 in turn being extended by a free rim 28

  projecting from said return 30, towards the outside of the trunk 12.

  In addition, a thread 32 is formed in the return 30 between an inner rim 31 and an outer rim 33, and in the vicinity of the intersection of the two walls 23 and 24 substantially parallel to the edge of the trunk 12 formed by the

walls 23 and 24.

  The elements of each locking device 20, 22 comprise a removable safety member 34 having a support part 36 which has a support face 37 and a free part 38, the free part 38 comprising two portions 40, 42 extending from the support portion 36 in one direction

opposite the support face 37.

  Each locking device also comprises a spacer 44 1 5 and a fixing screw 46 which will be described the cooperation with said member

  removable security 34 with reference to FIG. 3.

  Found in Figure 3 the trunk 12 and the removable safety member 34 between which the edge of the door 14 is interposed. We also find the fixing screw 46 which passes through a bore 48 formed in the bearing part 36 20 of the removable safety member 34 and an orifice 50 formed in the door 14 for

  join the internal thread 32 into which it is screwed.

  Thus, the bearing face 37 of the bearing part 36 is in abutment against an edge 52 of the door 14 while the head of the fixing screw 46 bears against the

edge 54 of the hole 48.

  Furthermore, the door 14 which has a main wall 56 has a seal 58 secured to the edge of the internal face of the main wall 56 and adapted to come into abutment against the free edge 28 of the trunk 12 to ensure the tightness of

the electrical cabinet 10.

  It is thus understood that the rotation drive of the fixing screw 46 30 makes it possible to compress the removable safety member 34 against the door 14 and that the seal 58 comes to be crushed on the free edge 28. It is also understood that the free rim 28 and the seal 58 seal form a closed surface surrounding the opening of the trunk 12 and thus, by cooperating together, they ensure

  the tightness of the electrical cabinet 10.

  Furthermore, in order to avoid crushing and destruction of the seal 58, the spacer 44, disposed between the internal surface of the main wall 56 and the edge 30 of the wall of the trunk 12, makes it possible to limit the travel of the fixing screw and, consequently, to fix a minimum distance between the door 14 and the trunk 12. In this way, the seal 58 does not risk being damaged by excessive screwing

  of the removable safety member 34 on the door 14.

  The two portions 40, 42 of the free part 38 of the removable safety member 1 0 34, as illustrated in FIG. 2, extend opposite one another in a diametrically opposite manner relative to the hole 48 and they each have a transverse hole 60, 62 respectively, the transverse holes 60 and 62 being located opposite one another. In this way, it is understood that by extending the same rod through the two transverse bores 60 and 62 after the fixing screw 46 has been completely introduced into said free part 38, the head of the fixing screw 46 is masked and so it is

  impossible to access to possibly unscrew it.

  FIG. 1 shows secure lockable connection devices 64 formed by a padlock and mounted on said removable security members 34 in the locked position. The loop of each padlock crosses the two transverse bores facing said portions of the free part of each removable safety member 34 to prevent access to the head of each

screw.

  As shown more particularly in FIGS. 2 and 3, each removable safety member 34 further comprises a peripheral portion 66 projecting from the bearing face 37 and intended to bear against the edge of the door 14 to block said member removable security 34 in rotation when the

  head of the fixing screw 46 is in contact with the edge 54 of the bore 48.

  In this way, it is impossible to rotate the removable safety member 30 to possibly attempt to drive the fixing screw 46 in rotation

and thus unlock the door.

  As illustrated in FIG. 1, each locking device 20, 22 is

  can be placed in two different positions.

  In particular, the locking device 22, mounted in the upper part of the door 14, has a removable safety member 34, the peripheral portion 66 of which bears against the upper edge of the door 14 and the two transverse holes of the portions of its free part define a horizontal axis. In this way, the loop of the padlock 64 is necessarily arranged horizontally so that the lock of the padlock 64 is located laterally by

  relative to the removable safety device 34.

  On the other hand, the locking device 20, located in the lower part of the door 14, is mounted so that the peripheral portion of the removable safety member 34 bears against the lateral edge of the door 14 and, as a result, done, the two transverse bores of the portions of its free part define a vertical axis in which the loop of the padlock 64 is engaged. So the lock on the

  1 5 padlock 64 is arranged below the removable security member 34.

  In this way, it is understood that the lockable connecting device 20, 22 of the electrical cabinet 10 can be arranged in different configurations which make it possible to take account of the physical environment in which the cabinet

electric 10 is installed.

  We will now describe with reference to Figures 4 and 5 the means

  removable 18 forming a hinge partially illustrated in FIG. 1.

  We find in Figure 4 another portion of the trunk 12 having two walls 23 'and 24', the walls defining an inner surface 26 'and there is also a free rim 28' which projects from a return 30 'to the outside the trunk 25 12. In addition, a thread 32 'is provided in the return 30' between the edges

  inside 70 and outside 72 of the walls at the intersection of the walls 23 'and 24'.

  Also found in Figure 4 a portion of the door 14 and the seal

  58 which is intended to be applied on the free edge 28 '.

  FIG. 4 also illustrates, in exploded form, removable means 18 forming a hinge enabling the door to be articulated on the trunk. The removable means 18 forming a hinge comprise an angle piece 74 having a first wing 76 to which the door 14 is capable of being connected and a second wing 78 in which a bore 80 is formed capable of coinciding with the internal thread 32 '. In this way, screw means 82, for example consisting of a screw, are able to be introduced into the bore 80 to be screwed into the thread 32 '. In addition, the second wing 78 has a free edge 5 84 whose portions 86 and 88 are shaped to bear against the rim

  free 28 ', as will be explained with reference to FIG. 5.

  We find in this figure 5 the corner of the trunk 12 consisting of the intersection of the two walls 23 'and 24' and against the returns 30 'which is applied the second wing 78 of the angle piece 74. In addition, plumb from the inner edge 10 10, there is the free rim 28 'which projects from the return 30'. The free rim 28 'has a first portion 90 coplanar with the interior surface 26' and a second upper portion 92 substantially perpendicular to said

first portion 90.

  It will be understood in this FIG. 5 that the free edge portions 86 and 88 of 1 5 the second wing 78 will come to apply one against the lower portion of the free edge corresponding to the wall 24 'and the other against the portion bottom of the free edge corresponding to the wall 23 '. In this way, it is understood that, when the screwable means 82 are introduced into the bore 80 of the second wing and into the thread 32 ', the angle piece 74 is locked in rotation around said 20 screwable means 82 along a plane substantially parallel to the plan defined by the return 30 '. Consequently, the simple screwing of the screwable means 82 in the tapping without any other intervention allows the blocking of the angle piece 74 and its maintenance in a fixed position against the return 30 ′ without the need for the

position by other means.

  In addition, as illustrated in Figure 5, the edges of the second wing 78 are flush with the outer edges 72 of the walls 23 'and 24' and thus do not project from the envelope defined by the walls of said trunk. It is understood that this characteristic makes it possible to superimpose or juxtapose the electrical cabinets without the removable means 18 forming a hinge causing discomfort. The first wing 76 being extended perpendicular to said second wing 78 it

also does not cause discomfort.

  1 1 FIG. 4 also illustrates screwable connection means 94 for connecting the first wing 76 of the angle piece with the door 14 by means of a

  sleeve 96 which fits into a hole 98 in the edge of the door.

  Found in Figure 1 an electrical cabinet according to the invention 5 comprising said removable means 18 forming a hinge mounted in two

  consecutive corners. The screwable connection means 94 of the two removable means 18 forming a hinge respectively of the two consecutive corners constitute coaxial means forming pivots, said door 14, being secured by said coaxial means, it can pivot between an open position and a closed position.

  As illustrated in FIG. 1, the two other corners of the electrical cabinet each include a removable safety member 34 and a device for

  secure lockable link 64.

  In addition, each of the elements of the electrical cabinet, and in particular the

  1 5 trunk 12 and the door, 14 are made of stainless steel.

  The seal 58 is, in turn, made of elastomer, for example polyurethane.

  The present invention is in no way limited to the embodiments described and shown, but a person skilled in the art will know how to make any variant.

conforms to his spirit.

  In particular, the electrical cabinet is likely to include four locking devices, one in each of its corners, and to be devoid of removable means forming a hinge. This configuration is advantageous because the hinges are more fragile elements than the locking devices, and the trunk is thus completely secure. This type of safe can be used for medium voltage installations of around kV. On the other hand, when the electrical cabinet according to the invention is provided with

  removable means forming a hinge, they can be arranged at any determined location in the electrical cabinet so that the installer chooses the direction of opening of the door mounted on the trunk of said cabinet.

Claims (11)

  1. Waterproof electrical cabinet (10) comprising an open trunk (12), a door (14) closing the trunk (12) with at least one fixing screw (46) which is adapted to pass through a hole (50) provided in said door (14) and to be screwed into a thread (32) provided in said trunk (12) and at least one locking device adapted to lock the door (14) closed on the trunk (12), characterized in that that said locking device comprises: - a removable safety member (34) having, on the one hand, a support part (36) comprising a bore (48) and a support face (37) adapted to be 10 applied against said door (14) so that said bore (48) is located opposite said orifice (50), said fixing screw (46) being adapted to pass through said bore (48) and said orifice (50) to be screwed in said thread (32) while the head of said fixing screw (46) bears against the edge of said hole e (48), and, on the other hand, a free part (38) comprising two portions (40, 42) which 1 5 extend, from said bearing part, in a direction opposite to said face d 'support, said portions (40, 42) being positioned opposite one another and diametrically opposite with respect to said bore; and - a suitable lockable secure connection device (64), in a   locked position, to connect said portions (40, 42) and to be extended with respect to said bore to prevent access to said head of the fixing screw.   2. Electrical cabinet according to claim 1, characterized in that   said portions (40, 42) have two transverse holes (60, 62), each facing one another, and in that said secure lockable connection device comprises a padlock (64) whose loop is adapted to cross the two transverse holes in the locked position.   3. Electrical cabinet according to claim 1, characterized in that said removable safety member (34) is formed of a cylindrical piece having a first end constituting said support part (36) and a second   end having an axial recess and forming said free part (38).   4. Electrical cabinet according to any one of claims 1 to 3,   characterized in that at least one orifice (50) of said door (14) is formed in the vicinity of one of its edges, and in that said bearing part (36) of said removable safety member 1 3 ( 34) has a peripheral portion (66) projecting from said bearing face (37) adapted to be applied against said edge when said bearing face (37) is applied against said door (14), so as to block said removable safety member (34) rotating around said fixing screw (46) when it is engaged in the bore (48) of said bearing portion (36) and said orifice (50).   5. Electrical cabinet according to any one of claims 1 to 4,   characterized in that said trunk (12) has walls (23, 24; 23 ', 24' each having an inner edge (31, 70) and an outer edge (33, 72), said inner edge (31, 70) being extended by a free flange (28; 28 '), each tapping (32; 32') being formed between said outer (33, 72) and inner (31, 70) edges of one of the walls (23, 24; 23 ', 24'), and in that it comprises removable means (18) forming a hinge for hinging the door on the trunk, said removable means forming a hinge comprising an angle piece (74) including a first wing (76 ) is adapted to be connected to said door (14) and the second wing (78) of which has a bore (80) intended to coincide with said   internal thread (32 ') for receiving screw means (82), said second wing having a free edge (84) at least a portion of which (86, 88) is shaped to bear against said free edge (28, 28') when said screw means are rotated to connect said corner piece to said trunk.   6. Electrical cabinet according to claim 5, characterized in that said second wing (78) of said angle piece (74) has a single bore   (80) adapted to receive said screwable means (82).   7. Electrical cabinet according to claim 6, characterized in that said second wing (78) of said angle piece (74) extends between the inner (70) and outer (72) edges, and in that said first wing extends substantially perpendicular to said second wing (78) in the   extension of said outer edge (72).   8. Electrical cabinet according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that at least one internal thread (32 ') is formed in a corner of said trunk (12) corresponding to the intersection of a first (23') and d 'a second (24') wall, and in the vicinity of which the two free edges (28 ') of the two walls (23', 24 ') meet, respectively, and in that said second wing (78) has a first part which extends, from said bore (80), between the inner (70) and external (72) edges of said first wall (23 ') and a second part which extends, from said bore (80) , between the inner (70) and outer (72) edges of said second wall (24 '). 9. Electrical cabinet according to claim 8, characterized in that said trunk (12) is of rectangular parallelepiped shape and in that it comprises said removable means (18) forming a hinge mounted in two first consecutive corners so that said first wings (76) of said removable means (18) forming a hinge are disposed facing one another to receive each of the coaxial means (94) forming pivots, said door (14) being secured by said coaxial means (94) to said first wings so   be able to rotate between an open position and a closed position.   10. Electrical cabinet according to claim 9, characterized in that 1 5 said trunk (12) closed by said door (14) comprises a removable security member (34) and a secure locking connection device (64) in each of   two corners respectively opposite to said first corners.   11. Electrical cabinet according to any one of claims 1 to 4,   characterized in that said trunk (12) closed by said door (14) comprises a removable safety member (34) in each of the four corners of said trunk (12).