WO2002047226A1

WO2002047226A1 - Electrical panel with simplified assembly of panel components

Info

Publication number: WO2002047226A1
Application number: PCT/EP2001/014159
Authority: WO
Inventors: Cristian Cagliani
Original assignee: Abb Service S.R.L.; Asea Brown Boveri Jumet S.A.
Priority date: 2000-12-05
Filing date: 2001-11-29
Publication date: 2002-06-13
Also published as: AU2002219152A1; ITMI20002633A1; IT1319352B1

Abstract

An electrical panel comprising:-- a cabinet, which has a supporting structure that is shaped substantially like a parallelepiped and forms inside it a free volume that is suitable to accommodate components and electrical and/or electronic devices of the panel; -- at least one plate for mounting said electrical and/or electronic devices; its particularity consists of the fact that the plate has at least one end edge that is shaped so as to facilitate connection to the supporting structure and a flat fixing element that is structurally continuous with respect to the end edge and has a plurality of holes suitable to receive means for fixing first electrical and/or electronic devices, means for coupling to second electronic and/or electronic devices being furthermore provided on at least one first face of said flat fixing element.

Description

ELECTRICAL PANEL WITH SIMPLIFIED ASSEMBLY OF PANEL COMPONENTS

DESCRIPTION

The present invention relates to an electrical panel having improved functions and characteristics.

It is known that electrical panels use a cabinet that is generally realized according to a parallelepiped structure inside which there is an adequate volume of space suitable to accommodate the components and the electrical and/or electronic devices of the panel, such as for example circuit breakers, capacitors, PLCs, control buttons, et cetera. These electrical and/or electronic devices are generally arranged, during bench assembly, on one or more mounting plates that are then placed within the space delimited by the cabinet and are operatively fixed to its structure. In the current state of the art, although electrical panels adequately achieve the required performance, they have drawbacks and disadvantages regarding both production aspects, particularly the execution of the structure of the cabinet, and the steps of the assembly of the panel, especially with reference to the mounting of the devices on the plates, the execution of the structure of the cabinet, and the coupling between the plates and said structure. In particular, as regards device-plate mounting, in the most typical embodiment the devices are bench-mounted on a single face of a plate; said plate is then positioned inside the cabinet, for example by using a lifting hoist. Clearly, in view of the generally considerable dimensions of the plate and of the considerable weight of the plate-device assembly, the operations required to insert the plate and arrange it in the intended position inside the cabinet, and for subsequently fixing it to the structure of said cabinet, are complicated and require considerable involvement in terms of labor and execution times. Furthermore, if it is necessary to produce cabinets that require the use of multiple mutually different devices that cannot be mounted on a single face of a single plate, two or more plates are used or the devices are mounted on the two faces of the same plate. In the first case, the plates can be arranged in series within a single cabinet, with the consequent need to use a cabinet that is larger and accordingly occupies more space, or multiple cabinets arranged mutually side by side are used; in the second case, the devices are mounted by providing holes in the plate and using fixing screws that are inserted from one face of the plate and are screwed onto the other face for example by means of nuts. This solution is very awkward for operators, even in the presence of small plates, and especially if the devices must be mounted when the plate is already installed in the cabinet.

As regards the structure of the cabinet, it is generally made of multiple parts, for example posts, cross-members, cladding walls, et cetera, which are mutually connected generally by welds or by using fixing means, for example screws, or again by using both types of connection.

Clearly, these solutions are not ideal regarding both the production aspect and the assembly of the various parts.

In particular, the need to produce multiple separate parts having mutually different shapes entails the adoption of multiple production lines, the use of several inventory codes and the management of the corresponding reserves, ultimately forcing a significant cost increase.

Furthermore, the assembly of the various parts of the cabinet, owing to the many connections to be provided, be they performed by welding, screw coupling or other methods, increases the involvement and operating difficulties of the workforce and causes a further increase in production costs and times. The aim of the present invention is to provide an electrical panel that allows to obviate the drawbacks of the prior art and in particular can be manufactured in a highly simplified manner with respect to the electrical panels of the known art. !

Within the scope of this aim, an object of the present invention is to provide an electrical panel in which the assembly operations, particularly for assembling the electrical and/or electronic devices with the plate and for assembling said plate with the structure of the cabinet, are facilitated with respect to the known art and allow to utilize in an optimized manner the space available inside the cabinet.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an electrical panel that lends itself to a significant simplification of production steps, particularly as regards the components of the structure of the cabinet, and to a reduction of the associated costs.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an electrical panel in which the operations for mutually assembling the various parts, particularly the components of the structure of the cabinet, are reduced and facilitated with respect to the known art. Another object of the present invention is to provide an electrical panel that allows an overall reduction in the number of its constructive components, with a consequent benefit from the economic point of view and a reduction in inventory codes to be managed. Another object of the present invention is to provide an electrical panel that is highly reliable, relatively easy to manufacture and at competitive costs.

This aim, these objects and others that will become apparent hereinafter are achieved by an electrical panel comprising:

— a cabinet, which has a supporting structure that is shaped substantially like a parallelepiped and forms inside it a free volume that is suitable to accommodate components and electrical and/or electronic devices of the panel;

-- at least one plate for mounting said electrical and/or electronic devices; characterized in that said plate has at least one end edge that is shaped so as to facilitate connection to said supporting structure and a flat fixing element that is structurally continuous with respect to said end edge and has a plurality of holes suitable to receive means for fixing first electrical and/or electronic devices, means for coupling to second electrical and/or electronic devices being furthermore provided on at least one first face of said flat fixing element. Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the description of preferred but not exclusive embodiments of the panel according to the invention, illustrated only by way of non-limitative example in the accompanying drawings, wherein: Figure 1 is a perspective view of the cabinet of the electrical panel according to the invention;

Figure 2 is a bottom plan view of the cabinet of Figure 1 ;

Figures 3 and 4 are schematic front views of two walls of the cabinet of Figure

1;

Figure 5 is an exploded perspective view of a mounting plate for electrical and/or electronic devices of the electrical panel according to the invention; Figure 6 is a top view of the plate of Figure 5;

Figure 7 is a view of the plate of Figure 5, on which devices of the electrical panel according to the invention are mounted. With reference to the above cited figures, the electrical panel according to the invention comprises at least one plate 50 for mounting electrical and/or electronic devices of said panel and a cabinet 100 that has a substantially parallelepiped supporting structure that forms internally a free volume suitable to accommodate the various components of the electrical panel, for example raceways, conductors, et cetera, and the various electrical and/or electronic devices.

As shown in Figure 5, the plate 50 has a first end edge 51 and a second end edge 52, which are mutually opposite and are shaped so as to facilitate connection to the supporting structure of the cabinet 100, and a flat fixing element 53, which is structurally continuous with respect to the end edges 51 and 52 and is interposed between them. Advantageously, the flat element 53 has a plurality of holes 54 that are suitable to receive means for fixing first electrical and/or electronic devices meant to be arranged on a first face of said element 53 and means for coupling to second electrical and/or electronic devices that are arranged on at least one of its two faces. In particular, in the embodiment shown in Figure 6, the coupling means are formed on a single face of the element 53, and according to a solution that it very simple from the point of view of production and effective from the functional point of view, they comprise a plurality of copper-plated pins 55 that protrude transversely from the face of said element. Said pins 55 are arranged on the surface of one face of the element 53 according to configurations dictated by the various requirements of application, and allow coupling to the devices by entering directly corresponding seats of said devices or seats formed in additional supporting elements to which said devices are connected. This avoids the use of fixing screws, at least for part of the devices to be used, with a consequent benefit in terms of time and difficulty for labor; moreover, the copper-plated pins 55, indeed because of their constructive structure, allow to provide the ground connection of the various conducting parts. Clearly, the pins can be used, according to the applications, on both faces of the element 53.

In turn, the end edges 51 and 52 have a first portion, which protrudes transversely from the flat fixing element 53, and a second portion, which protrudes from the first portion substantially at right angles thereto and on which there are slots 56 suitable to accommodate means for fixing with the structure of the cabinet 100, in the manner described in detail hereinafter. Finally, with respect to a front view of the plate 50, the edges 51 and 52 have end parts that protrude upward and downward with respect to the body of the flat fixing element 53; this allows to reduce the space that the wiring conductors of the devices must cover and therefore allows to reduce their length, allowing to have more tidy configurations and to have free access to the slots 56 arranged in the end parts of the edges. In turn, the cabinet 100 of the electrical panel according to the invention has a modular structure that comprises at least one first containment module 1 and a second containment module 2, which are mutually connected in the manner described hereinafter and are configured so as to form respectively a first volume and a second volume that are suitable to accommodate the components and devices of the electrical panel. Advantageously, the first module 1 is obtained from a single folded and punched metal plate and comprises a base wall 10, a top wall 11, a rear wall 12 provided with a first opening 13, shown schematically in Figure 3, two side walls 14 and 15, and a front wall 16, which are arranged so as to form said first accommodation volume. In particular, as shown in Figure 1, the front wall 16 of the module 1 is also open and is configured so as to be coupled to a door 30 for opening/closing the cabinet 100; the door 30 is provided with at least one window 31 for accessing the electrical panel; said window 31 is generally arranged so as to mate geometrically with a component of the electrical panel, for example a power factor control.

In turn, and as shown in detail in Figure 3, the rear wall 12 has a frame 20 that lies substantially along an entire rim formed by the top wall 11 , by the two side walls 14 and 15 and by the wall 10, transversely to said rim, and perimetrically delimits the opening 13; holes 21 are furthermore provided in the frame 20 and are arranged along two opposite sides of said frame 20 along two corresponding rows that are substantially mutually parallel. Said holes 21 are suitable to allow the fixing of at least one plate 50; clearly, the arrangement of the holes on the frame 20 might be changed appropriately according to the various requirements of application.

Advantageously, the second module 2 is also obtained from a single folded and punched metal plate and comprises a base wall 3, a top wall 4, a rear wall 5, two side walls 6 and 7, and a front wall 8 provided with an opening 9, which are arranged so as to form said second accommodation volume.

In particular, as shown in Figure 4, the front wall 8 has a frame 17 that is shown in dashed lines in Figure 1, is narrower than the frame 20 of the first module, and runs substantially along an entire rim formed by the top wall 4, by the two side walls 6 and 7 and by the base wall 3, transversely to said rim, and delimits the opening 9 perimetrically.

On the base wall 3 of the module 2 and/or on the base wall 10 of the module 1 there is at least one grating for the natural ventilation of the components and devices of the electrical panel and there is at least one opening suitable to facilitate the passage of conductors meant for connection to the devices of the electrical panel; furthermore, on the top wall 4 of the module 2 and/or on the top wall 11 of the module 1 there is at least one opening, suitable to facilitate the passage of conductors meant for connection to the devices of the electrical panel, and there is at least one opening for forced ventilation of said components and devices. The adoption of the various gratings, ports and openings allows adequate ventilation, both forced and natural, of the various components and devices of the panel and allows easy insertion and use of the various cables required for wiring.

In particular, in the embodiment shown in Figures 1 and 2, on the base wall 3 of the module 2 there is a grating 18 for natural ventilation of the devices, while on the top wall 4 there are two circular openings 19, to which two corresponding fans for forced ventilation are connected. On the base wall 10 of the module 1 there is a grating 25 for natural ventilation of the devices and there is an opening 26 for the passage of the conductors meant for connection to the devices; an additional opening 27 for the passage of the connecting conductors is provided on the top wall 11.

Obviously, the shape, number and arrangement of the gratings and of the various openings can be varied appropriately according to the various requirements and/or needs of the application.

Preferably, the cabinet 100 furthermore comprises a flat element 22, which has a quadrilateral front cross-section and which, in the embodiment shown in Figure 1, is arranged along the line that connects the base wall 10 and the top wall 11 of the first module 1 and is fixed to two mutually opposite sides of the frame 20 in a position that is substantially symmetrical with respect to the two rows of fixing holes 21. Furthermore, on the element 22 there are fixing holes 23 arranged along two rows that are symmetrical with respect to the centerline of said element 22 and are substantially parallel to the two rows of fixing holes 21; these holes, too, are suitable to facilitate the fixing of one or more mounting plates 50.

Depending on production requirements, the element 22 can be provided separately with respect to the module 1 and can then be connected thereto, for example by welding, or can be provided monolithically therewith; furthermore, it is possible to use a structural stiffening cross-member, shown schematically in Figure 1 and designated by the reference numeral 28, whose two opposite ends are respectively connected to the flat element 22 and to the rear wall 5 of the module 2.

Finally, according to a particularly preferred embodiment shown in Figure 1, the structure of the cabinet 100 comprises a covering element 32 which, once the modules 1 and 2 have been mutually coupled in the manner described hereinafter, is fixed to the top walls 4 and 11 and forms, above them, a free volume meant to accommodate the fans for the forced ventilation of the components of the electrical panel. In particular, according to an embodiment that is advantageous both from the functional point of view and from the point of view of production, the covering element 32 is constituted by a single part which is shaped substantially like a square wave and has first and second end edges 34, which are mutually opposite and are fixed to the top walls 4 and 11, and an intermediate portion 35 that mutually connects the end edges 34. Said portion 35 has a first part that protrudes at right angles from an edge 34, a second part that is perpendicular to the first one, and a third part that connects the second portion to the second edge 34 and is perpendicular thereto; furthermore, on the frame 35 there is an opening 36 for the passage of the conductors meant for connection to the devices of the panel.

The covering element 32 allows to provide, with respect to the top wall of the cabinet, a space that is adequate for accommodating the fans for forced ventilation, ensuring in any case, by virtue of its shape and in particular by virtue of the presence of the portion 35, their adequate covering and protection, for example from the action of external agents, such as drops of water that might otherwise seep and enter the panel. The covering element 32 is fixed to the top walls 14 and 11 advantageously by using the screw coupling of eyebolts 33 used typically for any lifting and movement of the cabinet 100, without having to resort to additional fixing means and to the corresponding operations.

Finally, additional copper-plated pins 37 are provided on various parts of the cabinet 100 for grounding the various parts of the structure. In practice, the structure of the cabinet 100 is produced by arranging the front wall 8 of the module 2 and the rear wall 12 of the module 1 so that they rest against each other, so as to at least partially overlap the opening 9 and the opening 13 and mutually connect the two accommodation volumes. In particular, the connection between the two modules occurs by mutually fixing, by virtue of ordinary fixing means, the frame 17 and the frame 20 with the fixing holes 21 that are not affected by the volume of the body of the frame 17 by virtue of the greater width of the frame 20 with respect to said frame 17, and so that the two modules are mutually aligned, with respect to an external view of the cabinet. Then the covering element 32 is fixed on the top walls 4 and 11 and the door 30 is fixed to the wall 16.

During the assembly of the electrical panel, the devices to be used are mounted on the plate 50; in particular, as shown in Figure 7, first devices 60, for example modular circuit breakers, molded case circuit breakers, contactors, et cetera are positioned on one face of the element 53; said devices 60 are operatively connected to the plate, for example by mounting them on supporting guides 61, which are in turn fixed to the element 53 by virtue of fixing screws screwed into corresponding holes 54. Second devices 70, for example banks of capacitors, are then mounted on the second face of the element 53, coupling them directly to the pins 55 or utilizing a supporting element to which the devices 70 are connected, said supporting element being provided with seats for direct coupling to said pins. The plate 50 thus obtained is then fixed to the frame 20, placing the slots 56 so that they overlap corresponding holes 21 and using conventional fixing means. This solution allows to significantly facilitate the mounting of the devices on the plate and the mounting of said plate on the cabinet structure, and also allows to utilize in an optimum manner the space available in the cabinet, also by virtue of the adoption of the two modules 1 and 2 and of the corresponding frames 20 and 17, without resorting to over sizing the cabinet. The presence of the element 22 is furthermore particularly advantageous, since it allows to use smaller plates 50 and to increase the number of plates that can be used. In this case it is in fact possible to fix one edge of the plate to one of the rows of holes 21 and the second edge to one of the rows of holes 23. Accordingly, this allows an operator to install directly the plate in the cabinet without using lifting hoists; moreover, according to highly flexible solutions, it is possible to adopt various constructive configurations. For example, it is possible to use four plates, two of which are fixed to a row of holes 21 and to a row of holes 23, the other two plates being fixed to the other row of holes 21 formed in the opposite side of the frame 20 and to the second row of holes 23. In practice it has been found that the panel according to the invention fully achieves the intended aim and objects, providing a significant series of advantages with respect to the known art. In addition to the above cited advantages, the constructive solution of the cabinet with two modules described above in fact allows a significant simplification of production steps, a considerable reduction of the number of required constructive components and of the corresponding inventory codes and reserves to be managed, and therefore allows ultimately a great advantage from an economic point of view as regards the final production of the panel. Additional and certainly significant advantages in terms of costs and utilization times of labor are found not only in the step for mounting the plate but also during the assembly of the cabinet 100, since it is only necessary to mutually connect the two frames 17 and 20 by adopting conventional fixing means and according to a solution that is at once very easy, quick and effective. Furthermore, the resulting configuration is aesthetically clean, since the modules are externally mutually aligned, and can be implemented easily because of its modularity. It is in fact possible to use one or more modules in addition to the ones mentioned above; for example, it is possible to use a third module interposed between the first module 1 and the second module 2, configuring it like the first module 1 and optionally modifying its front wall 16, making it identical to the front wall 8 of the module 2.

The electrical panel thus conceived is susceptible of numerous modifications and variations, all of which are within the scope of the inventive concept; all the

n details may furthermore be replaced with other technically equivalent elements. In practice, the materials and the dimensions may be any according to the requirements and the state of the art.

Claims

1. An electrical panel comprising:

~ at least one plate for mounting said electrical and/or electronic devices; characterized in that said plate has at least one end edge that is shaped so as to facilitate connection to said supporting structure and a flat fixing element that is structurally continuous with respect to said end edge and has a plurality of holes suitable to receive means for fixing first electrical and/or electronic devices, means for coupling to second electrical and/or electronic devices being furthermore provided on at least one first face of said flat fixing element.

2. The electrical panel according to claim 1, characterized in that said mounting plate has a first end edge and a second end edge that are mutually opposite and are shaped so as to facilitate connection to said supporting structure, said flat fixing element being interposed between said first and second end edges and said coupling means being formed on a second face of said flat fixing element.

3. The electrical panel according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that said coupling means comprise a plurality of pins that protrude transversely from said second face of the flat fixing element.

4. The electrical panel according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the supporting structure of said cabinet comprises:

- at least one first containment module, which comprises a base wall, a top wall, a rear wall provided with a first opening, two side walls and a front wall, said first containment module forming a first volume suitable to accommodate said first devices;

- at least one second containment module, which comprises a base wall, a top wall, a rear wall, two side walls, and a front wall provided with a second opening, said second containment module forming a second volume that is suitable to accommodate said second devices; said first and second modules being mutually connected so as to at least partially overlap said first and second openings and put in communication said first and second volumes.

5. The electrical panel according to claim 4, characterized in that said rear wall of the first module has a first frame that lies substantially along an entire rim formed by the top wall, the two side walls and the base wall, transversely to said rim, and perimetrically delimits said first opening, fixing holes for said mounting plate being provided on said first frame.

6. The electrical panel according to claims 4 or 5, characterized in that said front wall of the second module has a second frame that runs substantially along an entire rim formed by the top wall, the two side walls and the base wall, transversely to said rim, and perimetrically delimits said second opening.

7. The electrical panel according to one or more of claims 4 to 6, characterized in that said front wall and said rear wall rest against each other with the first frame and the second frame connected to each other by virtue of fixing means, so that said fixing holes arranged on the first frame are free from the encumbrance of the body of the second frame, said first and second modules being mutually connected and aligned.

8. The electrical panel according to one or more of claims 4 to 7, characterized in that said first module and/or said second module are obtained from a single folded metal plate.

9. The electrical panel according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said first and second end edges have a first portion that protrudes transversely from the flat fixing element and a second portion that protrudes from the first portion substantially at right angles thereto, slots being formed in said second portion and being suitable to accommodate means for fixing to said first frame.

10. The electrical panel according to claim 9, characterized in that with respect to a front view of the plate, said, first and second end edges have end portions that protrude upward and downward with respect to the body of the flat fixing element.

11. The electrical panel according to one or more of the preceding claims,

I characterized in that said cabinet furthermore comprises a flat element arranged along the line that connects the base wall and the top wall of the first module and fixed to two mutually opposite sides of the first frame, holes for fixing said mounting plate are provided in said flat element, said holes being formed along two rows arranged symmetrically with respect to the centerline of said element.

12. The electrical panel according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises a covering element that is fixed to the top walls of said first and second modules and forms a free volume above said top walls, said covering element being constituted by a single part that is shaped like a square wave and is provided with an opening for the passage of conductors that are operatively associated with the devices of the panel.

13. The electrical panel according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that on the base wall of the first module and/or on the base wall of the second module there is at least one grating for ventilation of the devices of the panel and at least one opening suitable to facilitate the passage of conductors operatively associated with said devices; and in that on the top wall of the first module and/or on the top wall of the second module there is at least one opening suitable to facilitate the passage of conductors operatively associated with the devices of the panel and at least one opening for forced ventilation of the components of the panel.