GB938688A - Improvements in or relating to rack-mounting arrangements for electrical apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

938,688. Rack-mounted electrical equipment. AUTOMATIC TELEPHONE & ELECTRIC CO. Ltd. Feb. 27, 1962 [March 16, 1961], No. 9621/61. Class 37. [Also in Group XXXIX] A mounting arrangement for electrical equipment, which is particularly suitable for crossbar switch telephone exchanges of the kind described in Specification 890,235, comprises a plurality of racks connected together side by side to form a suite, the side walls of adjacent racks forming vertical cable ducts. As shown, Fig. 3, each rack comprises vertical channelled members 58 to which are fixed side walls 60, 61, of W-section and steel cross-rails 19. Side wall 61 is connected to side wall 62 of an adjacent rack by tie-bars 73, to form a cable duct between them. The electrical equipment, e.g. cross-bar switches and relays, is mounted on shelves (not shown) which are inserted from both sides of the rack, the shelves being pivoted in U-shaped members 68, 69 to facilitate access to the wiring side. A lower cable duct is defined by a floor 74, 75, and coverplates 24, 25, 70; an upper cable duct (not shown) is provided above the racks. Each side wall has two apertures 63 adjacent each shelfposition; these apertures accommodate tagboards 52, Fig. 2, fuse-mountings 53, or are filled by closure plates 54. Each vertical cable duct is enclosed by three doors 31, separated by horizontal members 32, 33. Cables 55 are connected to tags on the duct side of tagboards 52 and the shelf wiring is connected to tags on the opposite side of the tagboards ; alternatively, the shelf wiring may terminate in connectors which plug into modified tagboards. Fig. 1 shows two suites 10, 11 of racks, connected by a cable duct 30. The equipment shelf areas are closed by removable doors 17 made of transparent material, e.g. p.v.c.,. in frames which are pivotally mounted on devices 21, on the cross-rails 19, which also co-operate with catches 20 on the doors. The section at the near end of each suite accommodates supervisory and control equipment, being enclosed by detachable coverplates 35, 36 and fixed plates 37, 38; a recess 39 contains main fuses while a control panel 40, hinged for easy access, incorporates key and lamp strips, tone-supply jacks, &c. The remote end of each suite comprises an enclosed cable duct comprising one W-section side-wall, as may be deduced from Fig. 3. The doors and detachable cover-plates are provided with compressible synthetic material around their closing edges to seal them against the ingress of dust.