GB2483447A

GB2483447A - Cabinet mounting platform

Info

Publication number: GB2483447A
Application number: GB201014829A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Trevor C Burden; Graham Plumley
Original assignee: Francis and Lewis International Ltd
Current assignee: Francis and Lewis International Ltd
Priority date: 2010-09-07
Filing date: 2010-09-07
Publication date: 2012-03-14
Also published as: GB201014829D0

Abstract

The platform, primarily for supporting systems control cabinets, comprises an assembly of girders 11, 12 bolted together to form a principal rectangular structure which supports floor panels 59, 60 which in use define a mounting location for a cabinet which is displaced towards one of the girders. Additional front, rear and side girders 51, 52, 53, 54 are bolted together to form a subsidiary rectangular structure attached to the principal structure in a cantilever arrangement to provide a mounting location for additional cabinets. The platform may include legs 64, 65 attached to ground engaging elements and a ladder 57 and a handrail 58. Ducting may be provided beneath the floor paneling to contain cabling. A method of installation which may take place on site is also claimed.

Description

Cabinet Mounting Platform This invention relates to cabinet mounting platforms especially for use in installations of systems control cabinets and the like adjacent, in particular, railway lines.

Conventionally, cabinet mounting platforms of the type described comprise a base frame formed from front, rear and side girders welded together and supported by legs which are attached to ground-engaging piles or other foundation elements, the legs generally being attached at the corner regions of the frame. The frame supports flooring panels usually of the "open grid" type, the arrangement of which defines a central location for the control cabinet. Beneath the floor level is provided mounting means for the cabinet and ducting to enable cabling from the cabinet to be housed for connection to trackside cabling to the appropriate infrastructure equipment, such as signalling or points control equipment.

In installations where two or more cabinets are required to be used, it is necessary to provide two or more frames mounted side by side. Some installations may require four or even more frames. Each frame is required to be supported on its respective legs, adjacent legs on adjacent frames requiring separate piles or other foundation elements. In some instances, however, either a common concrete foundation element can be provided to which can be secured two adjacent legs, or each of two adjacent legs may be supported in a respective socket, two adjacent sockets being carried by a common plate which is attached, in use, to a single pile. In any event, however, conventional multi-frame installations require additional foundation elements compared with those required for a single frame.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a platform of the type described which is of modular construction and can be built by hand on site, with the component parts being selected and used according to the requirements of the site concerned, especially where by nature it is of difficult access, and which does not require additional foundation elements for supporting more than one frame.

In one aspect, the present invention provides a cabinet mounting platform for use in installation of systems control cabinets and comprising an assembly of girders bolted together to form a principal rectangular structure having respective front, rear and side girders supporting floor panels defining a mounting location for a system control cabinet, in which the cabinet location is displaced towards one of the girders and additional front, rear and side girders are bolted together to form a subsidiary rectangular structure attached to the principal structure in a cantilever arrangement to provide a mounting location for any required additional system control cabinet.

In another aspect, the invention provides a method of installation of a cabinet mounting platform, the method comprising bolting together respective front, rear and side girders at the site of installation to form a principal rectangular structure and attaching the girders to legs, the legs being attached to ground-engaging foundation elements, applying floor panels to the structure to define a mounting location for a system control cabinet displaced towards one of the girders and bolting together and to the principal rectangular structure additional front, rear and side girders forming a subsidiary rectangular structure including floor panels defining a mounting location for any required additional system control cabinet, the subsidiary rectangular structure being attached to the principal rectangular structure in a cantilever arrangement.

A cabinet mounting platform according to the invention includes legs preferably bolted to the girders of the principal structure at the corner regions thereof. The legs may be of different heights according to the local ground conditions and gradients.

The legs may be attached either to ground-engaging piles or other foundation elements such as concrete pads embedded in the ground. Any subsidiary structure is attached to the girders of the principal structure in a cantilever arrangement with suitable supports or braces connected to the legs or foundation elements of the principal structure as may be required, thus avoiding the need for additional legs and foundation elements for the subsidiary structure or structures.

By disposing the cabinet location towards one of the girders, in most instances the rear girder, a saving in floor area, and hence in the size of the principal structure, is realised, while still leaving sufficient room for access and servicing purposes on the other three sides of the cabinet.

Handrails, access ladders and the like may be bolted to the girders as required; handrails are preferably supported by stanchions which may include diagonal bracing elements to the girders of the principal and subsidiary structures, especially where a stanchion is bolted to a principal structure girder and is diagonally braced to a subsidiary structure girder to provide additional support for the cantilever structure.

The rectangular structures also include girders comprising internal cross members to support the floor panels and to which the control cabinets are attached at the defined locations, ducting being provided beneath the floor panels for containing cabling for connection to trackside cabling. Optionally, the ducting or the cabinets themselves include armouring to protect against fire, vandalism, wildlife encroachment and the like.

Apart from the cantilever attachment of subsidiary structures to the principal structure and the consequential obviation of additional legs and foundation elements, other advantages of the invention are that the component parts are small and readily carried by hand, whereby the frames may be assembled on site for installation. All parts are modular and interchangeable and extensions can readily be added at a later date.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example with the reference to the accompanying drawings, of which: Figure 1 is a plan view of the structural steelwork of one embodiment of a cabinet mounting platform according to the invention; Figure 2 is a plan view of the floor assembly of the embodiment of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a front elevation of the embodiment of Figure 1; Figure 4 is a side elevation of the embodiment of Figure 1, supported on ground-engaging legs; Figure 5 is a plan view of the structural steelwork of another embodiment of a cabinet mounting platform according to the invention; Figure 6 is a plan view showing the floor assembly of the embodiment of Figure 5; Figure 7 is a front elevation of the embodiment of Figure 6; and Figure 8 is a further front elevation similar to that shown in Figure 7, attached to ground-engaging legs.

The embodiment of Figures 1 to 4 is a cabinet mounting platform suitable for a single system control cabinet whereas the embodiment of Figures 5 to 8 is a cabinet mounting platform suitable for three system control cabinets ananged side by side.

In Figure 1, a principal rectangular frame structure consists of a front girder 11, a rear girder 12 and side girders 13, 14 bolted together to form a rectangle. Internal girders 15, 16 span between the front and rear girders and internal girders 17, 18 span between side girder 13 and internal girder 15 and side girder 14 and internal girder 16, respectively. An access ladder 19 is attached to side girder 14 and a hand rail 20 is also provided.

Referring to Figure 2, floor panels 21 and 22 are arranged on the girders to define a mounting location for a control cabinet 23. A kick plate 24 is upstanding from the structural girders and surrounds the floor panels, except for the mounting position for the access ladder 19. The floor panels are formed from steel, as are the girders, and are of the "open grid" type.

Figure 3 shows the provision of a hand rail consisting of upright members 25 bolted to the structural flooring girders and intermediate and upper horizontal rails 26, 27 bolted to the uprights.

Figure 4 is a side elevation also showing an access gate 28. The rectangular frame structure is attached, at its corners, to legs 29, 30, the legs being braced by a sloping cross member 31 and leg 29 having a lower extension 32, the feet of legs 30 and 32 being connected to ground-engaging piles (not shown).

Figure 5 is similar to Figure 1 but the front and rear girders 11, 12 are extended at each side by respective front girders 51, 52 and rear girders 53, 54 to form two subsidiary frame structures. The outer ends of the side extension girders are connected together by end girders 55, 56 and additional internal girders are provided to support the flooring panels. An access ladder 57 and handrails 58 are attached to the end girder 56.

Figure 6 shows the arrangement of flooring panels 59, 60 for the embodiment of Figure 5, to provide mounting locations for control cabinets 61, 62, 63.

Figure 7 shows the cantilever arrangement of the subsidiary frame structures with the side extension girders 51, 52, bolted to the girders 11, 12 of the principal frame structure.

Figure 8 is a front elevation similar to that of Figure 7 but shows the frame mounted on ground-engaging legs 64, 65 with diagonal braces 66, 67. The platform includes an access ladder and hand rail (not shown) attached as described with reference to Figure 5 and the platform also includes a peripheral hand rail 68 supported by stanchions bolted to girders of the principal and subsidiary frame structures.

Stanchions 69 are bolted to the girders 11, 12 of the principal frame structure with diagonal braces 70, 71 respectively to the girders 11, 12 and the girders 51, 52 (and, at the rear, girders, 53, 54) of the subsidiary frame structures as additional cantilever support. Stanchions 72, 73 are bolted only to the girders of the respective subsidiary frame structure.

Claims

Claims 1. A cabinet mounting platform for use in installation of systems control cabinets, the platform comprising an assembly of girders bolted together to form a principal rectangular structure having respective front, rear and side girders supporting floor panels defining a mounting location for a system control cabinet, in which the cabinet location is displaced towards one of the girders and additional front, rear and side girders are bolted together to form a subsidiary rectangular structure attached to the principal structure in a cantilever arrangement to provide a mounting location for any required additional system control cabinet.
2. A platform according to claim 1, including legs bolted to the girders of the principal structure at the corner regions thereof and attached to ground-engaging foundation elements.
3. A platform according to claim 2, in which a subsidiary structure is attached to the girders of the principal structure in a cantilever arrangement with suitable supports or braces connected to the legs or foundation elements of the principal structure.
4. A platform according to any preceding claim, including handrails and/or access ladders bolted to the girders.
5. A platform according to claim 4, including handrails supported by stanchions which include diagonal bracing elements to the girders of the principal and subsidiary structures.
6. A platform according to any preceding claim, in which each rectangular structure also includes girders comprising internal cross members to support the floor panels and to which the control cabinets are attached at the defined locations, ducting being provided beneath the floor panels for containing cabling.
7. A method of installation of a cabinet mounting platform, the method comprising bolting together respective front, rear and side girders to form a principal rectangular structure and attaching the girders to legs, the legs being attached to ground-engaging foundation elements, applying floor panels to the structure to define a mounting location for a system control cabinet displaced towards one of the girders and bolting together and to the principal rectangular structure additional front, rear and side girders forming a subsidiary rectangular structure including floor panels defining a mounting location for any required additional system control cabinet, the subsidiary rectangular structure being attached to the principal rectangular structure in a cantilever arrangement.
8. A method according to claim 7, carried out at the site of installation.
9. A cabinet mounting platform substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated in any of the accompanying drawings.