GB2540771A

GB2540771A - Flood resistant housing

Info

Publication number: GB2540771A
Application number: GB1513171.7A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Robinson Andrew; Griffiths Shaun
Original assignee: Total Flood Solutions Ltd
Current assignee: Total Flood Solutions Ltd
Priority date: 2015-07-27
Filing date: 2015-07-27
Publication date: 2017-02-01
Also published as: GB201513171D0

Abstract

A flood resistant housing for electrically powered equipment having a chamber defined between support surface 22 and upstanding walls 24 and 26. The chamber is further defined by inward faces of front and rear doors (not shown) and top 34 with lid. A passageway inlet 14 is provided in the base through which cabling can be received and directed through upright passageway channel 16 and chamber inlet 18 into the chamber. In flood conditions, water external to the housing will first fill the passageway inlet and then will have to rise in the upright passageway channel before reaching the chamber inlet and flooding the chamber. In this way electrically powered equipment placed within the chamber can be protected during flooding as external water level may increase as high as the lower edge of the chamber inlet without water entering the chamber. In the embodiment shown, the passageway forks into a second passageway providing two inlets to the chamber. The passageways are enclosed by covers 32 secured to the upstanding walls of the enclosure.

Description

Flood Resistant Housing

The present invention relates to a flood resistant housing for outdoor use for housing of electrically powered equipment.

There are numerous available housings for outdoor housing of electrically powered equipment where the housings are typically called kiosks, cabinets or enclosures. Such housings may be used for roadside equipment or may be used in other industries such as water, construction, petro-chemical as well as telecommunication and electrical industries. Such housings must withstand the external environment and prevent water ingress through rain, and must also be capable of withstanding a vandal attack as are often sited in public places. Numerous housings exist made of different materials of varying sizes and shapes dependent on the equipment to be housed. A problem exists with outdoor housings with resisting attack from weather and preventing unauthorised access. As electrical equipment is typically housed within such housings, cabling is required to the electrical equipment. If the cabling is provided running along the ground externally of the housing there is the possibility of unauthorised removal of the cable or damage to the cable. The typical response to prevent this is to either heavily armour the cable or provide fencing around the housing. This is expensive and impractical, particularly for housings that may be provided at regular intervals along the roadside where large numbers of housings are required.

In order to overcome this problem, cabling is laid into the ground and protmdes upwardly from the ground, typically provided in the form of a concrete base. A housing is then positioned on the concrete base through which the cable protrudes and the cable is then fed through the base of the housing into a chamber within the housing and connected to the electrical equipment. Whilst this is an effective solution for preventing unauthorised access to the cabling, a problem exists in that a port must be provided in the base of the housing in order to enable access for the cabling to the electrical equipment. Cabling comes in different thicknesses due to the different cable requirements. For example, some cables may be power cables, other cables may be data cables which all must be provided with an access port in the base of the enclosure. The access port therefore is made enlarged to ensure that all of the cabling can be accommodated.

With recent increases in extreme weather patterns, it is more and more common for large amounts of rain to fall within shorter periods of time. Accordingly, flooding has become more and more of a problem. The enclosures are often positioned in areas susceptible to flooding leading to a significant problem with water ingress through the port into the chamber housing the electrical equipment. If the water rises to the height of the port then water enters the chamber leading to damage to the electrical equipment and significant repair costs. It is difficult to seal the access port due to the variety of cable diameters that may be utilised dependent upon the housed electrical equipment and number of cables in a bundle. A solution to this problem is to raise the chamber for housing the electrical equipment however this leads to increased size of the enclosure and height off the ground and increased associated costs.

The present invention addresses these problems.

According to the present invention there is a flood resistant housing for outdoor housing of electrically powered equipment, the housing comprising a base and an upstanding wall extending in an upward direction from the base defining a chamber for receiving electrically powered equipment, the housing having a chamber inlet for receipt of an electrical cable for powering the electrical equipment, the housing further comprising a passageway having an inlet for directing an electrical cable from external of the housing to the chamber inlet, wherein the inlet to the passageway is below the inlet to the chamber.

The provision of the inlet to the passageway being below the inlet to the chamber means that if the water level rises, the passageway can fill up to the height of the chamber inlet before damage to the electrical equipment contained therein will occur. In a vertical orientation, the inlet to the chamber is effectively higher than or above the inlet to the passageway. The cabling is thus passed into the passageway inlet, through the passageway and out of the passageway and into the inlet of the chamber to be connected to the electrical equipment. A dual function is provided of ensuring security to the cabling and also allowing the enclosure to be at least partially submerged without water entering the chamber.

It will be appreciated that the wall and the base are sealed against liquid ingress beneath the chamber inlet, so that water height surrounding the housing can reach the effective height of the chamber inlet without ingress into the chamber.

The electrical cable may include various cables including data cables for transfer of information to and from the electrically powered equipment. It is therefore imperative that unauthorised access to this cabling is prevented. The base of the housing is designed to sit on a support which is typically the floor and may be in the form of a concrete base. The cabling protrudes from the concrete base for feeding into the passageway inlet. The present invention provides ease of installation of the housing through the provision of the passageway into which the cabling may be fed, as it is not essential for the port to constrict the cables to prevent water ingress. Instead, the port may be enlarged to easily enable passage of the cables therethrough. The port may be elongate.

The passageway is beneficially positioned internally of the housing. From externally of the housing therefore the cabling is not accessible nor is easily visible.

The passageway is beneficially uninterrupted between the chamber inlet and the passageway inlet. This ensures in operation unauthorised access to the cabling is prevented.

It will be appreciated that the housing is preferably configured to prevent unauthorised access to the passageway. It is also beneficial that the passageway is inflexible. The passageway is beneficially part of the housing and is in a fixed orientation and location within the housing.

The passageway beneficially forms part of the housing structure. The chance of vandalism or accidental damage to the cabling is significantly reduced.

The passageway is beneficially at least partially defined between an outer surface of the upstanding wall and a passageway wall. The upstanding wall of the housing therefore acts as a bulkhead. In use therefore and in a flood situation the upstanding wall of the housing provides separation between the passageway and the chamber and acts as a barrier to prevent water ingress from the passageway into the chamber.

The passageway is beneficially at least partially defined between an outer surface of the base and the passageway wall. Accordingly, the passageway is beneficially at least partially positioned underneath the base. Furthermore, it is beneficial that the inlet to the passageway is positioned beneath the base. This means that the enclosure can be seated on top of the opening in the support for the enclosure through which the cabling passes and can enter directly into the housing. The inlet to the passageway may be elongate, and may be provided up to substantially across the entire width of the base of the housing.

The passageway beneficially comprises a first passageway, and the housing may further comprise a second passageway for directing further cabling to the chamber. Accordingly, flexibility of the housing is provided to accommodate different cabling. For example, a power cable may be separated from a data cable protruding from the ground and each cable may enter an individual passageway. In one embodiment, the second passageway beneficially forks from the first passageway. Accordingly, the housing may comprise a single passageway inlet/port. The first and second passageways may be provided at either side of the upstanding wall or at opposing sides of the upstanding wall and separate around the chamber. Beneficially, the chamber inlet comprises a first chamber inlet, and the second passageway directs cabling from external of the housing to a second chamber inlet. Accordingly, two chamber inlets are provided to accommodate the first and second passageway.

The chamber inlet is beneficially provided adjacent an upper edge of the upstanding wall. This maximises the height of flooding that can be accommodated relative to the height of the enclosure.

The upstanding wall of the housing beneficially comprises an access door for enabling access to the chamber. The upstanding wall may comprise first and second access doors which are beneficially provided on opposing sides of the housing. This enables the electrical equipment to be serviced or utilised from opposing sides thus reducing the size of the electrical equipment and thus the necessary size of the enclosure.

It will be appreciated that the one or more access doors are sealed by well-known sealing techniques when closed to prevent water ingress. A passageway door is beneficially provided in the passageway wall for enabling access to the passageway. This is beneficial for feeding the cabling into the chamber. The door is locked in a closed position after assembly. It will be appreciated that flood water ingress may be allowable through the passageway door as the passageway will flood upon any surrounding water level rising above the level of the passageway inlet, and as such complicated seals are not essential.

The upstanding wall beneficially comprises a front and opposing back wall, and opposing first and second side walls. It is beneficial that at least part of one or both side walls is a passageway wall. Beneficially at least one and preferably both of the first and opposing back walls comprise an access door for enabling access to the chamber.

The housing is beneficially made of metal such as steel or aluminium however non-metallic enclosure material such as glass reinforced plastic (GRP) material is equally suitable. A lid is beneficially provided for communicating with the upstanding wall, where the lid is beneficial for preventing rain water and dirt ingress entering the chamber from above.

The present invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a schematic perspective view of a housing according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a schematic alternative perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention from a rearward direction.

Figure 3 is a schematic exploded view of components of a housing according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to Figures 1 to 3 there is a flood resistant enclosure 2 comprising a base 4 and walling generally comprising front 6, back 8, and sides 10, 12 upstanding from the base in an upwardly direction. Not visible in Figures 1 and 2 but clearly shown in Figure 3 is a passageway inlet 14 provided in the base 4 through which cabling is received. In the embodiment presented the passageway inlet 14 is a channel, however it will be appreciated that alternative shape inlets may be provided such as an access port, having various shapes. The cabling extends through passageway 16 and through a chamber inlet 18 into the chamber 20. A support surface 22 is provided by the base 4 for supporting electrical equipment within the chamber 20. Referring to Figure 3 in particular, it can be seen that the channel 16 is generally “U” shaped incorporating the inlet 14 and in the embodiment presented has opposing first and second chamber inlets 18 at the tips of the ‘IF shape.

The chamber 20 is defined between the support 22 and upstanding walls 24, 26. Further defining the chamber are the inward faces of the front door 28 and in the embodiment shown the inward face of a rear door 30. Accordingly, it can be seen that the passageway 16 and passageway inlet 14 is isolated from the chamber when the doors 28, 30 are shut until reaching the chamber inlets 18. It will therefore be appreciated that in operation the height of the water external to the housing can increase until reaching the chamber inlet 18 before water can enter the chamber 20. During this time water is allowed to fill the passageway 18 and passageway inlet 14. As the water subsides, the water level in the passageway 16 decreases.

Also presented in Figure 3 in dashed lines is the pathway taken by the cabling. The cabling can fork at or near the passageway inlet 14 around both sides of the “U” shaped channel and exit through either of the chamber inlets 18.

The channels 16 are enclosed by covers 32 secured to the upstanding walls of the enclosure. The covers 32 are secured by tamper-proof fixings. It is beneficial, however, that these covers are removable for installation purposes. It is beneficial that the covers extend substantially the length of the longitudinal length of the upright portion of the channel 16.

Further provided is a top portion 34 including a lid (not shown) for preventing rain and dirt ingress.

The present invention provides a secure and effective flood resistant housing for outdoor housing of electrically powered equipment where the electrically powered equipment positioned within the chamber 20 is at significantly lower risk during flooding than prior art arrangements. The provision of the chamber inlet 18 being above the passageway inlet 14 provides for an easy to assemble yet water resistant housing. This means that any external water level may increase as high as the chamber inlet 18 without water ingress into the chamber 20.

The present invention has been described by way of example only and it will be appreciated by the skilled addressee that variations and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of protection afforded by the appended claims. For example, single or multiple passageways may be utilised. Further, the inlet to the passageway may be provided underneath the base in one embodiment, however may be provided by the housing to the side of the base. In the embodiment shown, the passageway forks into first and second passageways, however a single passageway may be utilised. In the event of multiple passageways, it will be appreciated that one or more passageway inlets may be utilised.

Claims

1. A flood resistant housing for outdoor housing of electrically powered equipment, the housing comprising a base and an upstanding wall extending in an upward direction from the base defining a chamber for receiving electrically powered equipment, the housing having a chamber inlet for receipt of an electrical cable for powering the electrical equipment, the housing further comprising a passageway having an inlet for directing an electrical cable from external of the housing to the chamber inlet, wherein the inlet to the passageway is below the inlet to the chamber.

2. A flood resistant housing according to claim 1 wherein the passageway is positioned internally of the housing.

3. A flood resistant housing according to any preceding claim wherein the passageway is uninterrupted between the chamber inlet and passageway inlet.

4. A flood resistant housing according to any preceding claim wherein the passageway is at least partially defined between an outer surface of the upstanding wall and a passageway wall.

5. A flood resistant housing according to claim 4 wherein the passageway is at least partially defined between an outer surface of the base and the passageway wall.

6. A flood resistant housing according to any preceding claim wherein the inlet to the passageway is beneath the base.

7. A flood resistant housing according to any preceding claim wherein the passageway comprises a first passageway, and the housing further comprises a second passageway for directing further cabling to the chamber.

8. A flood resistant housing according to claim 7 wherein the second passageway forks from the first passageway.

9. A flood resistant housing according to any of claims 7-8 wherein the chamber inlet comprises a first chamber inlet, and the second passageway directs cabling from external of the housing to a second chamber inlet.

10. A flood resistant housing according to any preceding claim wherein the chamber inlet is provided adjacent an upper edge of the upstanding wall.

11. A flood resistant housing according to any preceding claim wherein the upstanding wall of the housing comprises an access door for enabling access to the chamber.

12. A flood resistant housing according to any of claims 3-11 comprising a passageway door provided in the passageway wall for enabling access to the passageway.

13. A flood housing according to any preceding claim wherein the upstanding wall comprises a front and opposing back wall, and opposing first and second side walls.

14. A flood resistant housing according to any preceding claim wherein the housing is constructed of a metal.

15. A flood resistant housing according to any preceding claim further comprising a lid for communicating with the upstanding wall.

16. A flood resistant housing as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.