US1733369A

US1733369A - Metering panel

Info

Publication number: US1733369A
Authority: US
Publication date: 1929-10-29
Anticipated expiration: 1946-10-29

Description

H. J. L. FRANK METERING PANEL Oct. 29, 1929.

Filed 001;. 23. 1922 2 sheets sheet Oct. 29, 1929. H. J. FRANK METERING PANEL Filed Oct. 23. 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Shun Hot Patented Oct. 29, 1929 UNIT-E TATS HARRISON J. FRANK, or DETROIT, MICHIGAN,

AS$IGNOR TO MUTUAL ELECTRIC AND MACHINE COMPANY, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN, A CORPORATION OF WEST VIR- GINIA METERING PANEL Application filed October 23, 1922. Serial No. 586,292.

This invention relates to electric systems for large ofiice buildings and other structures where a number of tenants are individually supplied with .electric current, and its object is to provide an installation of this character which may be entirely locked to the general public-andwhich shall be so enclosed that certain portions such as the compartment containi g the circuit switch es and fuses shall be accessible to'all persons having to do with the electric service of the building while other portions such as the'meter connections shall be accessible only to persons delegated thereto by the electric service corporation.

Another object of this invention is to provide simple means whereby the circuit switches-pf 'diflerent rooms or suites of a buildi'ng' may'be connected to a single meter.

Anotherobject of this invention is to provide means so that the wires to and from the meters canbe-kept separate from the circuit wires.

Another object of this invention is to produce a complete metal-encased system of wiring between the wires of the service company and the meters which indicate the consumption of current, every part of the system being enclosed and sealed to prevent tamper- 1n lhis invention consists 'in the details of construction illustrated in the accompanying drawings and particularly pointed out in the claims. 1

In the accompanying drawings, Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a metering panel embodying the present invention. Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a section on the line 33 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a front elevation of a switch and the connecions thereto. Fig. 5 is a transverse section showing a sealing device. Fig. 6 is a section of a corner of a case on a larger scale. Fig. 7 is a perspective of a connector. Fig. 8 is a perspective of a tagging device. Fig. 9 is a front elevation of a metering panel on a smaller scale with parts of the doors broken away.

Similar reference characters refer to like parts throughout the several views.

Metering panels are installed in ofiice buildings, apartment houses and other structures where a number of persons pay individually for the current consumed and where such persons are liable to enlarge or reduce the quarters occupied. Provision must' therefore be made to group the circuit wires of any possibie group of rooms on one meter and these wires must be safeguarded so that unauthorized tampering with them will be prevented. As apartments or suites of rooms may be subdivided in the future, provisions must be made forthe installation of additional meters as they shall be needed. Provision must also be made to permit replacement of burnt fuses by a person who is not authorized to change the wires to the meters so that doors must be provided giving access to the various portions of the metering panels.

The metering panel shown in the drawings is enclosed in a case which has aback 1,

sides

2 and 3, top end and lower end 5, preferably of metal. Mounted in this case is a base 6 of non-conducting material to which areattached the side walls 7 and 8, the top wall 9, the bottom wall 10, the long transverse wall 11 which cuts off the main switch from the remainder of the circuits, the upright partition walls 12 and 13 which separate the compartments containing the private or circuit fuses and switches from the central compartment, and the short walls 14 which constitut-e the lower walls of the private fuse compartments. Extending from the bottom 1 and parallel to the

sides

2 and 3 are

partition walls

15 and 16 which may also be of metal, and which are between the spaces or troughs for the house wires from the troughs for the meter wires. The walls 7 and 8 and any of the other walls may be reinforced by the angle bars 21 shown in Fig. 2.

A pipe 17 extends through the bottom end 5 and the

main wires

18, 19 and 20 extend through the pipe 17 and openings in the wall 10 to the

main fuses

22, 23 and 24. The main switch 25 connects these fuses to the

bars

26, 27 and 28. The bar 27 is the feed Wire terminal and extends to near the wall 9 beneath a plate 30 and smaller conductors 31 extend from this main terminal to terminals of the

minal bars

26 and 28. In order to prevent tampering with the meter connections outside of the metering panel, the elbows 49 are provided, being attached to the

sides

2 and 3 and are formedto receive the lower ends of the meters. The usual shunt wires 90 are provided for meters requiring the same and these connect to the main-feed circuit eonnector bar 27 at a point where these are placed under j'seal.

"Each portion of this panel can be sealed. As indicated'in Fig. 9, a' main front plate 51 is attached to'the meter panel after all the circuit wires .35 have been installed and attached"to{ their respective -fuse terminals. Therefisrio occasion for changes after the initial installation, Side doors 52 give aceess ,to the meter. troughs and these doors may be secured by the seals 53.- The main upper dopr 154 vgivesiaecess to. the circuit switches and circuit fusesso that these can be replaced when blownout. Thisdoor is preferablyhinged-to the cabinet so that one man. can [gain access to theswitches and fuses Where the doormustbe removed entirely, several men .are often necessary to lift the heavy fronts into place. The meter'wires are covered by a door 55 and a plate 56, both of which are sealed. Removable bridges 57 extend between the

walls

7 and 15 and between the walls 8 and 16 above the circuit wires and through them the meter wires extend across the circuit wires. These bridges have bottoms 58, sides 59 and end flanges 60 and 61 to position them in the partition walls.

A second outer door 68 covers the main switch 25 and the

fuses

22, 23 and 24 together with the meter-

terminal bars

26 and 28 and the meter protective fuses 81, or any desired substitutes therefor.

It is thus apparent that the janitor or engineer of a buildingmay be in position to open the door 54 to renew the circuit fuses and open or close the circuit switches. The front door frame 51 prevents access to the circuit wires and the inner door 55, cross plate 56 and side doors 52 prevent access to the meter wires by all who are not authorized to break the seals. It is presumed that the door 63, which is capable of being both locked and sealed, will usually be locked and maintained locked by the lighting company. And

it is also'presumed that the service fuses and the meter fuses contained-in this section are fuses much heavier than the circuit fuses contained in the upper section. Therefore, these service fuses and meter fuses should not blow except under rare conditions and in this event the lighting company would send its service man to replace these fuses. Should the lighting company not deem this necessary, they could then make the fuses available to the engineer or janitor byopening the door.

In Figs. 5 and G-I-have shown "several forms of seals. In Fig. 5 the two partitions 11 and 14 are shown provided with angle bars 65 at their upper edges which carry the screws 66'which securethe plate 56 in position. The-seal wires 67extendthrough holes in these screws and in the screws 68 and thus prevent removal of this plate.

.In Fig. 6,.the side wall 3 has its upper edge 70 turned inward to' receive the door..52 and the wire 71 extends through holes inthis door and wall. The screw 72 extends through both door and wall and the; nut 73 thereon is secured by the wire 74 and'seal'75.

In Figs. 1 and .2 the swi hes .31 are shown to have terminals 77' eirtending up along the walls 12 and 13 to the bolts8 which have nuts 79 on their inner-ends. ;When two or more of these switchesare to be connected to a meter, the connector. bars- 80, are employed, these bars. having notches -,8 1 toreceive these bolts It.- is;.evidentgthat..these bars maybe made; o f any desired length or= any number of .themv may overlapped to unite the switches-fora meteri These bars and the terminals to which theyare connected are preferably spaced a distance ,from the plate 30 so-as' to be; aceess ible when' th'is compartment is filled withwires- I have indicated the

wires

45 and 48 and the wires .37 to 40 by lines-of different character. In practice, the wires for each meter will have a covering of a distinctive color -or combination of colors so that they canrbe' followed without difficulty. This may also be theease with the circuit wires 35. As a further aid to identification, .asmall .plate 83 (Figs. 4 and 8) may be attached... to each switch and this plate may be painted or have a; short piece of-the meter wire attached'lto it so that the meters-can be checked'ortested by a test meterconn'ectedto the ,proper termina1s,.and the various circuits that are grouped on a certain meter can :be identified without opening the sealed compartments.

It may be found desirable to have means for identifying the meter circuits in plain view on themeters and therefore a receptacle or plate 85.is provided on the'front of each meter to receive-the identifying marks similar to the marks on the plate 83 or short pieces of the meter circuit wires may be mounted in the receptacle and covered with a transparent plate if desired. This system or code of wires and identifying devices enables the line-men to quickly select the wires pertaining to each meter and to each tenants circuit and thus not only saves much time but also reduces the chances for mistakes. Stranded cables having each strand insulated and of a particular color or otherwise identified may often be used to advantage. The identification tags 85 may be placed in the brackets 49 or elsewhere adjacent the meters should marking the meters themselves be found inconvenient.

The details of construction and the proportions of the parts of this metering panel may all be changed by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of my invention as set forth in the following claims.

I claim 1. In a metering panel cabinet, a central compartment, bus bars and circuit controlling appliances within the central compartment, partitions, within the cabinet, segregating two parallel wiring gutters between each cabinet side wall and the central compartment, circuit wires within each inner gutter and meter wires within each outer gutter, and a trough communicating between each outer gutter and the central compartment, the meter wires in the outer gutters leading to the appliances in the central compartment through the troughs.

2. In a metering panel cabinet, a central compartment, bus bars and circuit controlling appliances within the central compartment, partitions within the cabinet, segregating two parallel wiring gutters between each cabinet side wall and the central compartment, circuit wires within each inner gutter and meter wires within each outer gutter, and a trough communicating between each outer gutter and the central compartment, the meter wires in the outer gutters leading to the appliances in the central compartment through the troughs, and a cover hinged over said compartments and troughs, said cover being divided into sections with one of said sections covering the central compartment and other sections covering said gutters and troughs.

3. In a metering panel cabinet, a central compartment, bus bars and circuit controlling appliances within the central compartment, partitions, within the cabinet, segregating two parallel wiring gutters between each cabinet side wall and the central compartment, circuit wires Within each inner gutter and meter wires within each outer gutter, troughs communicating between the outer gutters and the central compartment, the meter wires in the outer gutters leading to the appliances in the central compartment through the troughs, said central compartment being further divided into two portions in one of which are located the main leads, main fuses and main switch while the other includes the controlling appliances for the meter circuits.

4. In a metering panel cabinet, a central compartment, bus bars and circuit controlling appliances within the central compartment, partitions within the cabinet, segregating two parallel wiring gutters between each cabinet side wall and the central compartment, circuit wires within each inner gutter and meter wires within each outer gutter, and a trough communicating between each outer gutter and the central compartment, the meter wires in the outer gutters leading to the appliances in the central compartment through the troughs, said central compartment being further divided into a plurality of portions, and a separate sealing means for each portion.

HARRISON J. L. FRANK.