US3303395A

US3303395A - Control center section

Info

Publication number: US3303395A
Application number: US552826A
Authority: US
Inventors: Robert N Eck
Original assignee: Cutler Hammer Inc
Current assignee: Cutler Hammer Inc
Priority date: 1966-05-25
Filing date: 1966-05-25
Publication date: 1967-02-07
Anticipated expiration: 1984-02-07
Also published as: GB1171209A

Description

Feb. 7; 1967 R. N. ECK

CONTROL CENTER SECTION 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 25, 1966 Feb. 7, 1967 CONTROL CENTER SECT I ON Filed May 25, 1966 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Hm llllll lill-l-illll: I. l

Feb. 7, 1967 R. N. ECK

CONTROL CENTER SECTION 1 Sheets-$heet 5 Filed May 25, 1966 United Sttes Patent 6 3,3 3 395 CONTRQL CENTER SECTEQN Robert N. Eek, Whitefish Easy, Wis, assigzzor to Cartier- Harnmer, Inn, Miiwaulree, Wis, a corporation of lEeiaware Filed May 25, 1966, Ser. No. 552,826 10 Claims. ((11. 311-11?) This invention relates to control center sections and more particularly to an enclosure for housing a plurality of electrical control units therein.

While not limited thereto, the invention is especially applicable to-metallic enclosures of the sectional type for housing electrical control apparatus such as motor control apparatus and the like in a central location for controlling remote equipment or machines.

An object of the invention is to provide an improved control center section construction.

A more specific object of the invention is to provide a control center section construction wherein the exterior control panel is independent of the doors which provide access into the enclosure, this avoiding problems in alinemcnt, gasketing, etc.

Another specific object of the invention is to provide a control center section housing a plurality of control units wherein the manual operators are on control panels integral with the respective control units and forming part of the front panel of the control center section independent of the doors.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved control unit construction.

Another specific object of the invention is to provide a control unit construction incorporating therein the control panel and external operators of the associated control center section, which control panel forms part of the front wall of the control center section when said unit is mounted therein.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter appear.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention and the manner of obtaining them will best be understood by reference to the following description of an exemplary embodiment of a control center section taken in conjunction with accompanying drawing, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a control center section constructed in accordance with the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a cross-sectional view of the front portion of the control center section taken along line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary cross-sectional View taken along line 33 of FIG. 2 showing one control unit;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken along line 44 of FIG. 2 showing one control unit;

FIGURE 5 is an isometric view of one of the control units of the control center section of FIG. 1; and

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged front elevational view of a portion of the control panel of the control unit of FIG. 5.

Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown one control center section which is adapted to be used alone or in combination with additional sections placed in side-by-side relationship. This control center section is adapted to rest on the floor and is provided with a metallic enclosure having side walls 2 and 4 and doors in the front as shown in FIG. 2. This control center section may also be provided with a rear wall if it is of single control unit depth or may be provided with rear doors like the front doors if it is of double unit depth arranged for accommodating two control units in back-to-back relationship with vertical bus bars mounted therebetween as shown in I. L. Dcfendorf et al. Patent 3,140,426, dated July 7, 1964.

When two or more control center sections such as that shown in FIG. 1 are placed side-by-side, upper side plates 6 and lower side plates 8 are removed between adjacent sections to permit continuous runs of horizontal bus bars or wiring whereby electrical power and control connections are led into each section.

As shown in FIG. 1, the front of the control center section is provided on the left side with a plurality of lefthand doors lit, 12, 14, 16 and 18 arranged in a vertical column above a bottom front panel 20 and a top front panel 22. These doors provide access to the control units and are provided in uniform sizes of one, one and a half and double heights corresponding to the sizes of the control units housed in the section. Door 10 is illustrated as being of double height and the

other doors

12, 14, 16 and 13 are illustrated as being of single height.

The front of the control center section that is shown is provided on the right side with a single right-hand door 24 extending all the way from bottom panel 20 to top panel 22 to provide access to the wiring space within the right side of the enclosure, it being understood that this door 24 could be less than full height if a larger control unit occupying the full width of the control center section is used.

Between the left-hand doors and the right-hand door there are provided a plurality of

control panels

26, 28, 30, 32 and 34 arranged in a vertical column and onto the opposite sides of which the doors close. Each such control panel is formed integrally with the associated control unit and has a height corresponding to the height of the associated left-hand or

control unit door

10, 12, 14, 16 and 18. Each such control panel is wide enough to receive the necessary operating and indicating devices hereinafter described in connection with FIGS. 5 and 6.

As shown in FIG. 2, the left-hand side wall 2 of the control center section is provided with a structure 36 affording a hinge for control unit door 14. Similarly, the

right-hand side of the section is provided with structure 33 affording a hinge for wiring space door 24. On the insides of side walls 2 and 4 towards the rear there are provided U-shaped

brackets

40 and 42 or the like on which are mounted control unit supporting bars 44 and- 46, respectively. These

brackets

40 and 42 are also adapted to support therebetween vertical bus bars, not shown, onto which the control connectors are plugged in when the control unit is inserted in place to supply power to the control units, reference being had to the aforementioned Patent No. 3,140,426 for a disclosure of one manner of mounting such vertical bus bars and control unit plug-in connectors.

As shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, control

unit supporting bars

44 and 46 are bolted to

brackets

40 and 42 and extend forwardly therefrom to provide runners on which the control unit is slid into position. Bar 44 in FIG. 3 is provided with a slide 44a on which left-hand headed stud 48a of the control unit slides. In a similar manner,

bar 46 in FIG. 4 is provided with a slide 46a on which right-hand headed stud 43b slides when the control unit is pushed into position. These supporting bars are also each provided with one or two pair of rectangular holes 441; and 4%!) for receiving hook latches 480 for locking the control unit in either its inserted or pulled-forward positions.

As shown in FIG. 5, the control unit 48 which is removable from the control center section is provided at its right front with the aforementioned control panel 30. This control unit is also provided with a rear wall 48d from which extend forwardly an upper wall 48e and a lower wall 48f between the forward edges of which control panel 30 is mounted at the right. A pair of handles 48g and 4811 (or only one handle if desired) are secured tothe central forward portions of the upper and lower walls which can be grasped to pull the control unit forward for servicing. This control unit is illustrated in FIG. minus its electrical apparatus such as disconnect switch 50 or the like shown in FIGS. 1 and 4 to clearly reveal its construction. As shown in FIG. 5, control panel is provided with suitable apertures for accommodating therein operating and indicating means or the like. For example, an operating lever 30a may extend through this control panel for actuating the disconnect switch or the like mounted in the control unit as shown in broken lines in FIG. 4. This operating lever may be of the slide type as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 and provided with suitable on-off legends to be visible only in the appropriate positions of the lever. Below the operating lever, the control panel may accommodate an indicating light 30b and pushbuttons 30c or the like, the important thing being that all of these control and indicating devices are on the control panelintegral with the control unit and forming part of the front wall of the control center section. Thus, none of these control and indicating devices need extend through the doors whereby registration and sealing problems inherent in the latter are completely avoided.

This control panel 30 shown in FIG. 5 is provided with

recessed lips

30d and 3% on the left and right edges thereof which form stops for the control unit door and the wiring space door, respectively. As shown in FIGS. 2-4, these lips of the control panel may be provided with strips of gasket or the like against which the inwardly bent edges of the doors close. The upper and lower inwardly turned edges of the doors may abut or close against inverted U-shaped channel members extending across the front of the control center section from the left wall thereof to bar 46 behind the crevices between adjacent doors as shown in FIGS. 2-4. For securing these channel members, tabs on the ends thereof may be bent vertically and bolted to the door hinge bracket at the left end and to bar 46 at the right end.

As shown in FIG. 2, a suitable connector block 52 may be secured by a bracket to the right side of the control unit so that it occupies a position in the wiring space when the control unit is slid into place. After the control unit is in place, a mating connector "block 54 to which the control wires have been connected is manually plugged into block 52 so as to connect the control unit to an external system.

While the apparatus hereinbefore described is effectively adapted to fulfill the objects stated, it is to be understood that I do not intend to confine my invention to the particular preferred embodiment of control center section disclosed, inasmuch as it is susceptible of various modifications without departing from the scope of the appended claims.

I claim: 1. In a modular control center section having an en- 'closure for housing electrical control apparatus and being adapted for use alone or in combination with one or more similar sections adapted to be electrically connected thereto and preferably situated at a central location for controlling remote equipment or machines, the combination comprising:

'rnounting means in said control center section providing spaces adapted to receive a plurality of respective control units;

a plurality of removable control units supported in said spaces by said mounting means generally along one side of said control center section leaving a wiring space along the opposite side therewithin;

each said control unit being adapted for supporting electrical control apparatus adapted to be connected to power busses and control conductors;

each said control unit being provided with a control panel forming a portion of the exterior wall of the control center section when said control unit is inserted in its operative position;

a door for each said control unit hinged to the control center section and adapted to close onto one edge of the control panel of the associated control unit;

a common door for the wiring spaces of all control units in the control center section hinged to the latter and adapted to close onto the other edges of the control panels of the control units;

and manual operating means extending through the con trol panels of the control units for operating the enclosed apparatus from the exterior of the control center section.

2. The invention defined in claim 1, wherein: the con trol panels of all the control units in one control center section are arranged in longitudinal alinement when the control units are inserted in operative position where-by corresponding edges of said control panels form a door jamb for said wiring space door.

3. The invention defined in claim 1, wherein: the opposite edges of said control panels are provided with horizontal frame members extending from one side of the control center section behind the edges of adjacent control unit doors to the control unit mounting means adjacent the wiring space and forming stops for the top and bottom edges of the control unit doors.

6. The invention defined in claim 1, wherein:

said control unit doors are free of some electrical control apparatus operating levers which are instead mounted on said control panels thereby avoiding problems of alinement and gasketing and the like.

7. The invention defined in claim 1, wherein each said control unit comprises:

a bottom panel and a top panel and a rear panel connected to one another leaving the front and sides thereof substantially open except for the control panel at the right-front portion;

and a pair of handles on the forward edges of the bottom and top panels adapted to be grasped to pull the control unit forwardly relative to the control center section.

8. The invention defined in claim 1, wherein said control panel comprises:

an elongated aperture therethrough;

and a slide lever extending through said aperture to the exterior and adapted to be manually slid to ac tuate a switch mounted on the associated control unit within the enclosure.

9. The invention defined in claim 1, wherein said con trol panel further comprises:

visual indicator means mounted on said control panel for indicating operating conditions of the control apparatus; and manual pushbutton means mounted on said control panel for performing certain control functions. 10. The invention defined in claim 1, wherein:

the control center section is a vertically standing metal I cabinet having the control panels of the control units 5 6 arranged vertically along the front wall thereof off- References Cited by the Examiner set to one side with the control unit doors on one UNITED STATES PATENTS side thereof and the wiring space door on the other 5 side thereof, and upper and lower panels respectively 3'168'683 2/196 Brokaw 317 119 above and below these doors and control panels 5 which are a part of the control unit and which com- ROBERT SCHAEFER Prlmary Examiner plete the front wall of said cabinetl M. GINSBURG, Assistant Examiner.

Claims

1. IN A MODULAR CONTROL CENTER SECTION HAVING AN ENCLOSURE FOR HOUSING ELECTRICAL CONTROL APPARATUS AND BEING ADAPTED FOR USE ALONE OR IN COMBINATION WITH ONE OR MORE SIMILAR SECTIONS ADAPTED TO BE ELECTRICALLY CONNECTED THERETO AND PREFERABLY SITUATED AT A CENTRAL LOCATION FOR CONTROLLING REMOTE EQUIPMENT OR MACHINES, THE COMBINATION COMPRISING: MOUNTING MEANS IN SAID CONTROL CENTER SECTION PROVIDING SPACES ADAPTED TO RECEIVE A PLURALITY OF RESPECTIVE CONTROL UNITS; A PLURALITY OF REMOVABLE CONTROL UNITS SUPPORTED IN SAID SPACES BY SAID MOUNTING MEANS GENERALLY ALONG ONE SIDE OF SAID CONTROL CENTER SECTION LEAVING A WIRING SPACE ALONG THE OPPOSITE SIDE THEREWITHIN; EACH SAID CONTROL UNIT BEING ADAPTED FOR SUPPORTING ELECTRICAL CONTROL APPARATUS ADAPTED TO BE CONNECTED TO POWER BUSSES AND CONTROL CONDUCTORS;