GB2335403A - Instrument arrays - Google Patents

Abstract

An array of instruments is constructed by connecting together a plurality of mounting elements 1, 101, 201 each of which carries one or more instruments. The instruments can be such as gauges or switches. The mounting elements have flanges through which adjacent ones are joined together. The arrangement removes the need for a custom-made mounting member preformed with a mounting site for each instrument.

Description

1 IMPROVEMENTS IN OR RELATING TO INSTRUMENT ARRAYS 2335403 This invention

relates to instrument arrays.

An instrument array, comprises a plurality of instruments arranged at a location to be within the sight and/or control of one or more monitors or operators, particularly human monitors or operators. It is to be understood that an instrument in this context is a device for measuring and/or indicating and/or monitoring and/or controlling or in any other way, being responsive to an altering or alterable parameter. Inter alia it can be a display component such as a dial, or a controller, or a switch, or an alarm, such component being responsive to and/or operable to alter a physical parameter such as temperature or pressure.

An instrument array may inter alia be provided in a vehicle but the present invention has particular utility on industrial sites where a large number of instruments need to be provided at a single location where they will be in the oversight of one or more human operators/controllers. One possible use is in a power plant, and other uses include use on a chemical processing site, or in a petroleum refinery.

Existing such arrays require the provision of a custom-made mounting member, e.g. a backplate, on which all the instruments are mounted and with the requisite mounting sites for each instrument being provided on the single mounting member. Thus the present arrangements require that the locations ofthe various instruments be already known before the backplate is designed and manufactured, and can be very costly to modif, in response to design changes. This involves a lack of flexibility both in design and assembly of the instrument array.

The present invention seeks to provide such flexibility so that the instruments can be arranged in an array of any desired size or configuration and so that the arra can be 1 y dismantled and/or rearranged and/or extended without the need to provide a new individually made mounting member.

In one aspect, the invention provides an instrument array comprising a plurality of instruments (as hereinbefore defined), wherein the instrument array comprises a plurality, of mounting members each of which mounts at least one of said instruments, the mounting members each having fixing means associated therewith whereby the mounting members may be affixed together.

The mounting members preferably comprise respective laminar members. The fixing means preferably comprise at least one flange affixed to or integral with each said larninar members, and each flange may have one or more apertures therein for the receipt of fastening means e.g. screws or bolts.

The array may comprise a protective canopy, with the canopy affixed to one or more of said mounting members.

3 Preferably the mounting members and their associated fixing means are of substantially equal size.

In a further aspect, the invention provides a method of forming an instrument array comprising a plurality of instruments (as hereinbefore defined) wherein a plurality of separate mounting members are provided each of which mounts at least one of said instruments, the method comprising arranging the mounting members adjacent one to another and utilising fixing means to fix the members together.

Such method may include the provision of fixing means including at least one flange on one or more of the mounting members.

Alternatively, the fixing means may be formed separately from the mounting members.

The method may further involve the affixing of a protective canopy to one or more of the mounting members.

In a further aspect, the invention provides a kit of parts for forming an instrument array, the kit comprising a plurality of mounting members each of which mounts or is adapted to mount at least one instrument (as hereinbefore defined), the kit further comprising fixing means to affix the mounting members together to form said instrument array.

Embodiments of the invention are hereinafter described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:- 4 Figure 1 shows a single mounting member for utilisation in an instrument array, the mounting member having a plurality of instruments mounted thereon; and Figure 2 shows three mounting members, each provided with one or more instruments thereon, the mounting members being indicated in their relative positions prior to final assembly.

Figure 3 shows a separate fixing means which can be employed with mounting members.

In Figure 1 of the drawings there is shown a mounting member 1. The mounting member, which in such an arrangement would usually be referred to as a backplate, comprises a laminar body in the form of a metal (e.g. a stainless steel) plate or sheet 10 of generally rectangular form. The instruments mounted on that plate 10 comprise a pressure transmitter 11 and an isolation and vent valve 12 connected to the pressure transmitter 11 via a conduit 13. Also mounted on member 10 is an electrical junction box 14 to incorporate electrical wiring for the instruments 11, 12 and optionally for instruments mounted on other mounting members (see e.g. Figure 2). Fixing means are provided whereby the mounting member 1 is attachable to other mounting members to form an instrument array.

Although any convenient fixing means is envisaged, the fixing means shown in Figure 1 are provided by flanges or strips 15, 16 formed integrally with the sheet 10; with the sheet 10 disposed as shown, the flange 15 is connected to a horizontal, upper edge 18 of the sheet 10, being connected to that edge 18 by means of a strip 19 angled as shown so that flange 15 lies in a plane parallel to the plane of the sheet 10.

The strip 16, on the other hand, is connected to vertical edge 20 of the sheet 10 by means of an angled strip 21 and similarly lies in a plane parallel to the plane of sheet 10.

The flanges 15, 16 are positioned to overlie regions of the sheets 10 of adjacent mounting members when the instrument array is being assembled. It should be appreciated that the distance between the plane of the sheet 10 and that of the flanges 15, 16 is shown exaggerated and will, in practice, be approximately the thickness of the sheet 10. Also, the angle of the strips 19, 21 may be more acute than the angle shown, for example it may be 90 0 to the plane of sheet 10.

The fixing means further comprises a plurality of holes suitably positioned in the sheet 10 and in the flanges 15, 16. In assembling the array, holes in the flanges are brought into register with holes in adjacent sheets for the passage therethrough of fixing members e.g. screws, or bolts, or rivets.

As seen in Figure 1, the sheet 10 has holes 10a, 10d respectively provided adjacent its top right and bottom left corners and a pair of holes 1 Oc, 1 Ob adjacent its lower right hand corner and each flange 15, 16 has respective holes 15a, 15b, and 16a, 16b adjacent its ends. This provides various possibilities of relative positioning of adjacent mounting members prior to their being fixed together utilising the fixing members.

6 I n Fioure '2is sho,k,,n the mounting member land mo other mounting members 101, 201 of similar form arranged in their relative positions prior to affixing to one another. Mounting member 10 1, as shown, mounts a temperature indicator 111 and mounting member 20 1, as shown, mounts a pressure indicator 211 and an isolation and vent valve 212 although such are, of course, merely examples of the instrument(s) which could be mounted thereon.

in the arrangement of Figure 2, the horizontal flange 115 of mounting member 10 1 is positioned to overlie, or overlap the lower region of mounting member 1 with the holes 11 5a, 1 Oc in register and the vertical flange 216 of mounting member 201 is positioned over the right hand region of plate 1 with. the holes 216b and 1 Oa, and 216a and 1 Ob in register. Fastening members are then passed through the pairs of holes in register to form the array.

As seen in Figure 2 a canopy 40 is provided which is affixed above mounting member 1 and is particularly of use when the instrument array is to be positioned outside e.g. on the external wall of a building. lle canopy protects the instruments below firorn adverse weather e.g. rain and from falling objects. The canopy 40 has fixing holes 40a, 40b for registration with holes 15a, 15b in flange 15, for example, though the canopy may be extended to cover more than one mounting member and may therefore have further fixing holes (not shown) for registration with corresponding holes 215a, 215b in member 20 1, and in other adjacent members.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the various mounting members, e.g.

7 members 1, 10 1, 201 in Figure 2, are of uniform size, thus enabling any,' one member to be replaced by another carrying a different instrument or instruments. A further advantage of such modular uniformity is that it is possible, once the total number of modules (members) is known, to predict the total surface area that will be occupied by the array. Still further, by utilising mounting members of uniform size cost savings can be achieved.

Whereas the preferred embodiment as shown in Figures 1, 2 has fixing means which are integral with the respective mounting members, separate fixing means may be provided which are secured to the mounting members by a further flange 57 parallel to the existing flanges 15, 16, etc., there being additional holes in the further flange and the relevant edge portions of the mounting member. Figure 3 illustrates such a separate fixing means 50 having a flange 55 and a further flange 57 with the flanges 55, 57 interconnected by a strip 59.

The advantage of employing separate fixing means is the fact that the generally superfluous fixing means at the left hand side of the array, as seen in Figure 2, and at the top (unless a canopy 40 is involved) are dispensed with. The main drawback, however, and which will generally outweigh the named advantage, is the cost of the labour involved in affixing the fixing means to the plates 10 and the possibly greater costs incurred in the manufacture of separate fixing means.

8

Claims (1)

1. CLAIMS An instrument array comprising a plurality of instruments (as

   hereinbefore defined), wherein the instrument array comprises a plurality of mounting members each of which mounts at least one of said instruments, the mounting members each having fixing means associated therewith whereby the mounting members may be affixed together.

   1 -3.

   4.

   5.

   6.

   7.

   An instrument array as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the mounting members comprise respective laminar members.

   An instrument array as claimed in Claim 2 wherein the fixing means comprise at least one flange affixed to or integral with each said laminar members.

   An instrument array as claimed in Claim 3 wherein each flange has one or more apertures therein for the receipt of fastening means e.g. screws or bolts.

   An instrument array as claimed in any previous claim comprising a protective canopy.

   An instrument array as claimed in Claim 5 wherein the canopy is affixed to one or more of said mounting members.

   An instrument array as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the mounting members and their associated fixing means are of substantially equal size.

   9 8. A method of forming an instrument array comprising a plurality of instrurnents (as hereinbefore defined) wherein a plurality of separate mounting members are provided each of which mounts at least one of said instruments, the method comprising arranging the mounting members adjacent one to another and utilising fixing means to fix the members together.

   A method of forming an instrument array as claimed in Claim 8 including the provision of fixing means including at least one flange on one or more of the mounting members.

   10. A method of forming an instrument array as claimed in Claim 8 wherein the fixing means are formed separately from the mounting members.

   11. A method as claimed in any one of claims 8-10 involving the affixing of a protective canopy to one or more of the mounting members.

   A kit of parts for forming an instrument array, the kit comprising a plurality of mounting members each of which mounts or is adapted to mount at least one instrument (as hereinbefore defined), the kit further comprising fil affix the mounting members together to form said instrument array.

   xing means to 13. A method of forming an instrument array substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

   14. An instrument array substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.