US3315023A - Transformer housing and locking means therefor - Google Patents

Description

April 18, 1967 J, N, DAV|S 3,315,023

TRANSFORMER HOUSING AND LOCKING MEANS THEREFOR Filed March 23, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet l ff? l@ l,"

J. N. DAVIS April 1s, 1967 TRANSFORMER HOUSING AND LOCKING MEANS THEREFOR- 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 23, 1964 United States Patent O 3,315,023 TRANSFORMER HUSHNG AND LOCKING MEANS THIEREFR .Folin N. Davis, Pittsfield, Mass., assignor to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Filed Mar. 23, i964, Ser. No. 354,076 S Claims. (Cl. Urt-52) This invention lrelates to transformer housings used for pad mounted transformers and more particularly to a novel transformer housing and to a locking means for such housing.

As is well known to those skilled in the transformer art, in recent years the underground distribution system of power has become increasingly in demand, particularly for residential and retail sales developments. In general, this demand has arisen because the underground distribution systems eliminate the overhead wires, the transformers, the poles and other equipment which are necessary for overhead distribution and which are considered unsightly, particularly in the newer developments. In order to provide for `adequate underground distribution it is necessary either to bury transformers in vaults or else to mount the transformer directly at ground level. As the art has developed, the ground level mounted transformers have been termed pad mounted transformers.

In many types of pad mounted transformers a large rectangular housing or enclosure is provided which is mounted on a concrete pad. A transformer is contained within the housing, sometimes in its own tank or else in a portion of the housing which is specically built for the transformer. Further, high and low voltage sections are provided in another portion of the housing. Usually all of the Wiring to and from the pad mounted housing is carried underground, entering the housing from the prepared openings in the concrete pad. With the Wires entering the pad from underground it is desirable to have separate sections within the housing for making the vari* ous connections to and from the transformer. Further, since it is necessary to make various connection changes and to perform repairs and maintenance and the like during the use of the transformer, it is necessary that ready access be provided to the transformer housing. Usually such access is provided by means of hinged doors on the front of the housingwhich provide immediate access to the high and low voltage sections but not to the transformer itself. To prevent unauthorized ent-ry into the transformer housing, particularly in View of the high voltage available within the housing, various types of locking means have been provided on the doors of the housing.

In many residential areas the large housings are considered undesirable because of the extra cost involved in such housing and because the appearance is large and bulky, especially when compared to the modern homes that such type of transformer serves. Therefore, it has been found desirable to devise a small, compact housing for use in such residential areas to make the transformers as inconspicuous as possible. Further, it is considered necessary to make the housing as smooth as possible to prevent injury to children who might play around the tranformer. Also it is necessary to provide ladequate locking means to prevent unauthorized entry into the housing where contact with dangerous high voltage could be made. However, as will be understood it is also desirable that authorized entry may readily be made to the housing for maintenance and repairs, as necessary.

It is, therefore, one object of this invention to provide a novel transformer housing that utilizes a portion of the transformer tank as a housing.

A further object of this invention is to provide a simple,

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inexpensive transformer housing, containing high and low voltage sections, which is attached directly to the tank of a t-ransformer.

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel transformer housing utilizing the transformer tank which has a novel locking means to prevent unauthorized entry into the housing and yet does not have any undesirable projecting parts.

In carrying out this invention in one form, a transformer housing is provided utilizing portions of a transformer tank. The housing comprises a pair of side wall members which are fastened to opposite sides of the transformer tank and which extend substantially parallel the-refrom. Upper and lower sill members are provided, connected to the free ends of the side wall members. A removable front wall is provided which is engaged behind the lower sill member and contacts the upper sill member. A removable cover member is provided having -a flange for engaging beneath the transfo-rmer tank cover and having a second flange which extends over and en gages the removable front wall member.

Locking means are provided in the form of a lug member having a hole therethrough which is secured to and extends from the removable cover into the housing. A second lug having a hole therethrough is secu-red to a side wall member and extends into the housing in a complementary manner to the first lug. A third lug is provided secured to the outer portion of the same side wall and beneath the removable cover. A movable rod is provided extending from an opening in the side wall adjacent the third lug, the rod extending through the complementary holes in both the first and second lugs. As will be understood, withdrawing the rod from the lug connected to the cover allows the cover to be removed. The end of the movable rod is provided with a locking plate having a hole which is complementary with a hole in the third lug when the rod is in locking position such that a padlock may be inserted through the locking plate and the third lug to securely lock the housing closed.

The invention which it is desired to protect will be specifically pointed out and distinctly claimed in the claims appended hereto. However, it is believed that this invention and the manner in which its various objects and advantages are obtained, as well as other objects and advantages thereof, will be better understood from the following detailed description of a preferred embodimentl thereof especially when considered in the light of the aocompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE l is a perspective View of one form of transformer housing according to this invention with portions broken away to show a part of a preferred locking means:

FIGURE 2 is a top view of the transformer housing, partially in section, taken along the line 2-2 of FIG. 3, showing certain features of the construction and locking means;

FGURE 3 is a side view partly in section showing further features of the construction and locking means;

FIGURE 4 is a partial exploded perspective view showing certain features of the removable front wall;

FIGURE 5 is a partial side view similar to FIG. 3 showing a modification of the locking means;

FIGURE 6 is a partial perspective View of the high voltage portion of the transformer housing showing an insulation barrier therefor;

FIGURE 7 is a partial perspective view similar to FIG. 6 showing the barrier in another position; and

FIG. 8 is a sectional View of the barrier showing a preferred form of attachment to the housing.

Reference will now be made to the drawings in which like numerals are used to indicate like parts throughout the various views thereof. Referring first to FIG. l, there is shown a preferred form of the transformer housing 1t) according to this invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the transformer housing is mounted on a concrete pad 12 and includes a transformer tank 14 having a transformer (not shown) sealed within the tank 14. In general, the transformer housing comprises the transformer tank 14, a pair of side walls, 16 and 18, which are secured to the tank 14 and a removable cover member 20 which extends completely over the side walls 16 and 18 and the top of the transformer tank 14, in the manner shown in FIG. 1. A removable front wall member completes the housing, as will become apparent from the description following. A locking means, which will be further described is provided which safely locks the removable cover 20 to the side walls 16 and 18.

The specific construction of the preferred embodiment of the transformer housing 10 can best be seen in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 to which reference will now be made. As shown in these figures, the housing 1i) has the pair of side walls 16 and 18 having flanged members 22 and 24, respectively, which are secured to the opposite sides of the tank 14, as shown most particularly in FIG. 2 of the drawings. The side walls 16 and 18 may be secured to tank 14 in any desired manner such as, for example, by welding. As is shown particularly in FIGS. 2 and 3, bolt members 26 may also be utilized for securing side walls 16 and 18 to the transformer tank 14. If bolts such as 26 are used, the bolts will preferably be welded to the tank 14 and will be fastened within the housing, in the manner shown, to prevent tampering with such bolts.

The side walls 16 and 18 are desirably provided with channel-shaped members 28 and 3i) which are secured to the forward free portions of the side walls in the manner shown, especially in FIG. 4. The channel members 28 and 30 desirably extend inwardly from the forward free portions of side walls 16 and 18 as best shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. Removable sill members 32 and 34 are secured to the channel members 28 and 38, the sill member 32 forming an upper sill while the member 34 forms a lower sill against the bed 12, particularly as shown in FIG. 4 of the drawings. The sill members 32 and 34 in conjunction with the channel members 28 and 30 are used to aid in securing a removable front wall member to the transformer housing.

As is shown, especially in the exploded view of FIG. 4, the removable front wall 36 has an upper flange portion 38 and a lower flange portion 40. The upper flanged portion 38 fits against the upper sill 32 while the lower flanged portion 4t) ts behind the lower sill member 34. The removable front wall 36 is preferably formed from a single sheet of metal with flanges 38 and 41) offset from the central portion, as shown especially in FIG. 3. Preferably, side flanges 37 are provided on each side of the central portion. The side flanges 37 of the front cover 36 fit against the channel members 28 and 311 and extend exactly to the end of the walls 16 and 18 to provide a flush-fitting front wall. If desired, the upper flange 38 may be provided with a quick-release member 42 which fits within an opening 44 of the upper sill 32. As is well understood by those skilled in the art, the quick-release member 42 ts within the opening 44 and by turning apn; proximately a quarter of a turn secures the upper flange 38 to the upper sill 32. Of course, by merely reversing the quick-release member 42 a quarter turn, the quick-release member 42 will be released from hole 44 to allow the front wall 36 to be withdrawn.

A cover member 2G is provided fitting over the top of the enclosure and also over the top of the tank 14 in the manner particularly shown in FIG. 1 of the drawing. The removable cover 20 is provided with a lower flange member 46 as best shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 which extends beneath the rim of the cover 48 of the tank 14. Cover 2f) also has a forward, downwardly extending member 5t) which extends below the edge of the side walls 16 and 18 and over the front wall 36 in the manner shown particularly in FIG. 3 of the drawings. As will be understood, the cover 20 is placed over the enclosure by sliding it on an angle over the transformer tank 14 and the side walls 16 and 18 until flange 46 buts against the transformer 14, the cover may then be pushed downward over the side walls 16 and 18 and the front wall 36 in the manner shown. In this way the cover 20 completes the enclosure 18 and firmly secures the front wall to the side walls 16 and 18. In order to gain access to this transformer housing it is only necessary to reverse the movement; first, lifting the transformer cover upwardly away from the walls 16, 18 and front walls 36 and then sliding it rearwardly to unhook flange 46 from the cover 48.

In order to divide the enclosure into a high and low voltage section a dividing wall 52 is provided which is preferably bolted to the tank 14 midway between walls 16 and 18, particularly in the manner indicated in FIG. 2 of the drawings. The wall 52 extends from the t-op of tank 14 substantially to the pad 12 thereby dividing the enclosure 10 into a low voltage compartment 54 and a high voltage compartment 56 particularly as indicated in FIGS. 2 and 4 of the drawings. As will be understood, wall 52 can be made lof any desired size, consistent with the number and type of high voltage connections used. Various connections extend outwardly from the transformer tank 14 into both the high and low voltage compartments to provide for the desired high and low voltage connections to the transformer within the tank 14. Inasmuch as these connections form no part of this invention, the various connections to the transformer are not shown in the drawings.

In order to provide a desired locking means for the enclosure 111 to prevent unauthorized entry thereto the novel locking means preferred will now be described. As shown particularly in FIGS. 2 and 3 of the drawings, a lug member 58 is secured to the side wall 18 and extends into the low voltage compartment 54. A second lug member 68 is secured to the cover 28 and similarly extends into the low voltage compartment 54. Lug 58 is provided with a hole 62 while lug 611 is provided with a hole 64. As can be seen, especially from FIG. 3 of the drawings, the holes are complementary and substantially in line with each other. A movable bar member 66 is provided which extends through an opening 67 in flange 24 of side wall 18 and also through openings 62 and 64 in the manner shown in both FIGS. 2 and 3 of the drawings. The bar member 66 is provided with a locking plate 68 at one end thereof, the locking plate having an opening 70 therein. A third lug member '72 is provided which is secured to flange 24 of wall 18 beneath cover 20 in the manner shown particularly in FIGS. l and 2 of the drawings. The lug 72 is similarly provided with a hole 74 therein and when the bar member 66 is in its locking position through the openings in lugs 58 and 60 the hole 74 is in line with the hole 72. A padlock may then be secured through lug 72 and locking plate 70 to firmly lock the bar 66 in its locked position. As can be seen from FIGS. 2 and 3, with the bar 66 extending through the openings in plate 58 and 68 the cover member 2t) is securely locked to the side wall 18 and cannot be removed. In this manner a novel locking means is provided which is substantially hidden by the cover 26 providing an easily accessible locking means to allow authorized entry to the enclosure and yet is unobtrusive and has no projecting parts which could injure children who might play about the transformer enclosure 1t). The novel locking means will firmly hold the enclosure securely locked preventing any unauthorized entry and yet readily allows authorized persons to enter the enclosure 10 to perform any desired service or maintenance to the transformer connections within the low or high voltage sections 54 and 56. Of course it will be understood that entry to the enclosure 10 may be obtained by unlocking the cover by removing bar 66 from lug 68, then lifting cover 26 and sliding it to the rear sufficiently to clear the front wall 36. The front wall 36 i may then be readily removed and the desired service performed to either the low or high voltage sections 54 and 56.

FIGURE shows a modification of the locking means in which the bar 66' is provided, having a pin member 76 which prevents complete removal of the bar 66. In this modification, pin member 76 is placed in bar 66 adjacent the cover lug 60 when bar 66 is in its locking position as shown in FIG. 5. When bar 66' is unlocked from the lug 72 the bar may be withdrawn from opening 64 in the cover lug 60 until it clears the cover lug. However, due to pin 76 the bar 66' may not be Withdrawn through the side wall lug 58. With this modification there is no danger of the bar 66' dropping into the low voltage section 54 as it is being removed from the lug 58. Further, since the bar will remain in the transformer housing there will be no problem of misplacing the bar 66 while the enclosure 10 is open.

Referring to FIGURES 6, 7 and 8 there is shown a preferred barrier member for the high voltage ysection of the transformer enclosure 10. As will be understood by those skilled in this art, when the transformer enclosure 10 is opened it is `desired that the high voltage section be still inaccessible to prevent accidental contact with any of the high voltage terminals in this section. In order to provide this high voltage barrier, a barrier member 78 may be provided which is made of any insulating fiber or plastic material. The barrier member 78 fits in stirrups 80 in the lower sill 34 and stirrups 82 in the upper sill 32. A handle member may be provided such as handle 84 in the barrier 78 to allow maneuvering of such barrier. AS will be understood, the barrier is placed in position as shown in FIG. 6 by engaging the barrier 78 between stirrups 82 and the upper sill member 32. The barrier is then raised to its uppermost position between stirrups 82 and sill 32 until the lower end of barrier 78 clears the sill 34. The barrier is then lowered into the stirrupsv 80 between the stirrups 80 and the sill 34. As can be seen, especially in FIG. 8 of the drawings, when the barrier is resting on the stirrups 80 the top portion of barrier 78 is still held between stirrups 82 and the upper sill 32. Obviously to remove the barrier it is only necessary to reverse the above procedure. It will be understood that sufficient clearance is provided between sill 34 and barrier 78 to allow front wall 36 to be connected as earlier described.

Barrier member 78 is provided with slot 86 in the lower portion of the barrier, as can be most clearly seen from FIGS. 6 and 7. The slot 86 is used in the manner shown in FIG. 7 to provide a dual use of barrier 78. As shown in FIG. 7, after the barrier is removed from the high voltage section 56 the barrier may be turned 90 and by means of slot 86 placed in a straddle position over the lower sill 34 and against the side wall 16. In this position of the barrier, service may be provided to the various high voltage connections by means of a hot stick without danger of contacting the side wall 16. In other Words, the barrier 78 in the position shown in FIG. 7 acts as an insulation against the side wall 16, while electric utility personnel are working on the high voltage connections in the high voltage section. As will be apparent this provides an additional utility to the barrier 78 and also prevents it from being placed on the ground or in other positions where it might become subject to damage while work is being performed within the transformer housing 10.

While there has been shown and described the present preferred embodiments of the transformer housing of this invention and the preferred locking means for use therewith, it will be understood that various changes may be made in the connections and in the shapes of the various members Without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention particularly as is set forth in the claims appended hereto.

What is claimed as new and which it is desired t-o secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A transformer housing for use with a pad mounted transformer comprising, in combination, a transformer tank, a pair of side wall members secured to opposite sides of said transformer tank, sill members connecting the free ends of the side Walls, a removable front wall member engaging one of said sill members and being in contact with the other sill member, a removable cover member, said removable cover member having a flange in the rear thereof interlocking with the cover of said transformer tank, and the front end of said cover extending over said removable front wall firmly securing said removable front wall to said enclosure.

2. A transformer housing as claimed in claim 1 in which locking means are provided, said locking means including a first lug member secured to said removable cover and extending into said housing, a second lug member secured to yone of said side walls and extending into said housing, said first and said second lug members having complementary openin-gs therethrough, a bar member extending through an opening in said one of said side walls and through said complementary openings in said first and said second lug members.

3. A transformer housing as claimed in claim 2 in which said bar member is provided with a locking plate and a third lug member is secured to said one of said side walls on the exterior thereof and adjacent said opening therein, said locking plate and said third lug having complementary openings therethrough for locking said bar in one position.

4. A transformer enclosure for a pad mounted transformer comprising, in combination, a transformer tank having a cover thereon, a pair of side wall members secured to opposite sides of said transformer tank, a third wall member secured to said transformer tank intermediate said side wall members, a pair of sill members secured to the free end of said side wall members, a removable front wall engaging one of said sill members and being in contact with the other sill member, a quick-release connection securing said front wall member to said other sill member, a removable cover, said removable cover having a flange member engaging beneath said cover of said transformer tank, and a downwardly extending portion of said cover member engaging the front wall to firmly secure the enclosure.

5. A transformer enclosure as claimed in claim 4 in which locking means are provided, said locking means including a first lug member secured to said removable cover and extending into said enclosure, a second lug member secured to one of said pair of side wall members and extending into said enclosure, said first and said second lug members having complementary openings therethrough, a bar member extending through an opening in said one of said pair of side wall members and through said complementary openings in said first and said second lug members, a locking plate on said bar member exterior of said enclosure, a third lug member secured to said one of said pair of side walls exteriorly thereof and adjacent said opening therein, said locking plate and said third lug having complementary openings therethrough whereby said bar may be locked against said third l-ug.

6. A transformer enclosure for a pad mounted transformer comprising, in combination, a transformer tank having a cover thereon, a pair of side wall members secured to opposite sides of said transformer tank, a third wall member secured to said transformer tank intermediate said side wall members, dividing said enclosure in two sections, a pair of sill members secured to the free end of said side wall members, an insulation barrier for one of said two sections, stirrups on each of said sill members at said one section, said insulation barrier held in place by said stirrups and said sill members, a slot in one end of said barrier whereby said barrier may Ibe rotated and straddle one of said sill members, a removable sermone front Wall engaging one of said sill members and being in Contact with the other sill member, a quick-release connection secu-ring said front wall member to said other sill member, a removable cover, said removable cover having a flange member engaging beneath said cover of said transformer tank, and a downwardly extending portion of said cover member engaging the front Wall to firmly secure the enclosure.

7. A locking means for a transformer housing which includes a pair of side Walls, a removable front Wall and a removable cover member, said removable cover member having an extending portion engaging said removable front Wall, said locking means comprising, in combination, a first lug mounted on one of said side walls and extending into said housing and having an opening therethrough, a second lug member secured to said removable cover and extending into said housing and having an opening therein complementary to said opening in said first lug, a third lug secured to said side wall at the exterior thereof and having member extending through an opening in said side wall, said bar extending through said complementary openings in said first and said second lugs, said bar having a locking plate at an end thereof which is complementary with said third lug when said =bar member is in locked position,

an opening therein and a movable bar an opening in said locking plate for reception of a padlock for locking said locking plate to said third lug.

8. A locking means for a transformer housing as claimed in claim 7 in which said first lug is intermediate said second lug and said third lug and said bar member is provided with a stop means between said second and said first lug to allow said `bar to be withdrawn from said opening in said second lug lbut preventing said bar from being withdrawn from said opening in said first lug.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 526,491 9/1894 Jones 292 145 1,891,959 12/1932 sprong 174-37X 2,707,646 5/1955 Hazy 292148 2,809,766 10/1957 Anderson 22o- 29X 2,932,771 4/1960 C1-aven 217-99 3,014,158 12/1961 Neisonetal 174-52X FOREIGN PATENTS 233,044 3/1960 Austraiia.

LEWTS H. MYERS, Primary Examiner. H. W. COLLINS, Assistant Examiner.

Claims (1)

1. A TRANSFORMER HOUSING FOR USE WITH A PAD MOUNTED TRANSFORMER COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION, A TRANSFORMER TANK, A PAIR OF SIDE WALL MEMBERS SECURED TO OPPOSITE SIDES OF SAID TRANSFORMER TANK, SILL MEMBERS CONNECTING THE FREE ENDS OF THE SIDE WALLS, A REMOVABLE FRONT WALL MEMBER ENGAGING ONE OF SAID SILL MEMBERS AND BEING IN CONTACT WITH THE OTHER SILL MEMBER, A REMOVABLE COVER MEMBER, SAID REMOVABLE COVER MEMBER HAVING A FLANGE IN THE REAR THEREOF INTERLOCKING WITH THE COVER OF SAID TRANSFORMER TANK, AND THE FRONT END OF SAID COVER EXTENDING OVER SAID REMOVABLE FRONT WALL FIRMLY SECURING SAID REMOVABLE FRONT WALL TO SAID ENCLOSURE.

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