Title of Invention	"SWITCHGEAR CABINET WITH AN ASSEMBELD SHELF UNIT"
Abstract	The invention relates to a switchgear cabinet with a rack, which has vertical frame members, the vertical frame members being connected to a bottom or top unit. The incorporation of electronic components is then possible with little outlay if two adjacent vertical frame members are connected with connector pieces to form a separate assembly unit and the built-in components may be secured thereto.

Full Text

The present invention relates to a switch gear cabinet with an assembled shelf unit The invention relates to a switchgear cabinet with a rack which has vertical frame members, the vertical frame members being connected to a bottom or top unit. Electronic components or assemblies are secured in the switchgear cabinets. An assembly panel is used in order to attach these parts. The assembly panel is placed parallel -to a. rear wall of the switchgear cabinet and 'secured to the.-bottom or to the top unit. Such a switchgear cabinet is for example known from DE 41 40 0721 Al. In this case webs are integrally formed on the bottom unit. The webs extend in the direction of the depth of the switchgear cabinet and serve to receive sliders made of plastic. The sliders carry the assembly panel. The assembly panel can be fitted outwith the switchgear cabinet and then wired. Then the assembly panel with its sliders is placed through the open front side of the switchgear cabinet on to the webs. On the webs the assembly panel is pushed into the interior of the frame until it reaches its assembly position. In order also to use the interior of the switchgea'r cabinet for further components, the assembly panel in the majority of cases is positioned directly in front of the rear wall of the switchgear cabinet. A considerable Outlay on parts and assembly is necessary in order to prepare the assembly panel and the webs upon which the sliders are guided. It. is the object of the invention to provide a switchgear cabinet of the type already mentioned in which the incorporation of electronic components is simple and may be carried out with low outlay. The present invention relates to a switch gear cabinet with an assembled shelf unit characterized in that vertical frame pieces with a vertical fastener holder and horizontal connection-pieces for fixtures, the assembled unit is connected to a floor and a covering unit, the floor, and the covering unit have vertically aligned corner connectors at the co-rners, lodged' in the' vertical fastener holders of the vertical frame pieces, of the assembled unit and are connected with the frame piece.s. This object of tne invention is achieved in that two t s adjacent vertical frame members are connected with fconnector pieces to form a separate assembly unit, and the components may be secured thereon. The vertical frame members, as a part of the rack, are used to construct the assembly unit. The assembly unit is prefabricated as a component assembly with the connector pieces. It can then be equipped and wired outwith the rack. Then the rack may be completed by means of the assembly unit. In this case it may be envisaged that a partial rack is prefabricated as an independent free standing unit, upon which the assembly unit is mounted. It is however also possible to use the assembly unit as a basic body, to which the remaining parts of the rack are then connected. The invention makes use of the recognition that in the majority of cases it is necessary to incorporate the electronic components close to the side wall or the rear wall. This requirement is satisfied in that the lateral and/or the rear portion of the rack serves directly as an assembly unit. The outlay for this is extremely low, as already existing elements of the rack are used for the assembly unit. Because the assembly unit is disposed directly on a rear wall or on a side portion, the space requirement is low. The interior of the switchgear cabinet remains freely available. According to one development of the invention, the vertical frame members have attachment means by means of which they are connected via corner connectors to the bottom or top unit. Because the vertical frame members directly form the attachment means, the outlay on parts is kept low. No additional connecting members need be used to attach the assembly unit. If the connector pieces are in the form of assembly rails, and if the assembly rails have an assembly surface facing the interior of the rack, and one or more side portions are connected to the assembly surface at an angle, and if the assembly surface and the side portions have rows of attachment means, then the connector pieces may be directly used for attaching built-in components. The components may thus be secured to the rows of attachment means. Simple attachment of the assembly unit to the bottom and top unit is possible if the latter have, facing the outer side of the rack, open receiving means into which the unit formed from vertical frame members and connector pieces may be inserted. In this respect it is advantageous if the receiving means are disposed in the corner area of the bottom and/or top unit, and accommodate the ends of the vertical frame members, and if the receiving means have stops which limit the insertion movement of the vertical frame members, and if the insertion movement is guided on guide means of the bottom/top unit and/or the vertical frame members. Via the guide means, an equipped and thus heavy assembly unit may be simply inserted into the receiving means. The stops secure the assembly unit in its determined position. It may then be permanently connected by attachment members to the base and top unit. If the base and/or the top unit form a projection which at least partly covers the end face of the vertical frame member, then the vertical frame member is also guided at both its ends, and is securely fixed in the receiving means. In a preferred development of the invention, the vertical frame members have a groove extending in the longitudinal direction and facing the interior of the rack, a corner connector is accommodated in the groove and the vertical frame members are detachably or non-detachably connectable to the corner connector. For detachable connection it may be envisaged that the vertical frame members are screwed directly to the corner connector. For a non-detachable connection, welding can be provided. The corner connector serves on the one hand for attaching the vertical frame members to the bottom and the top unit. On the other hand, depending on how far it projects into the groove, it can serve as a reinforcing member. A possible variant of the invention is characterised in that the assembly unit carries one or a plurality of cladding members for covering the rear side of the assembly unit or of the interior of the rack. The cladding member can abut as a flat panel at the rear on the vertical frame members. It may however also be envisaged that the cladding member is outwardly curved, so that an installation of cable space is provided. A plurality of possible attachments to the assembly unit is provided in a simple way if the vertical frame members have profile sides in pairs, by means of which two or a plurality of assembly planes parallel to one another are formed. The invention will be explained in more detail in the following with reference to an embodiment given by way of example and shown in the drawing. The drawing shows in a partial perspective view a bottom unit 10 of a rack for a switchgear cabinet and a vertical assembly unit. The bottom unit 10 is made up of horizontal depth and longitudinal braces 11 and 12. These are of identical cross-section and are connected together at their ends, so that an enclosed frame results. Formed in the corner areas of the bottom unit 10 are outwardly open receiving means 20, into which the corner connectors 14 are inserted. The corner connectors 14 are in the form of parallelepipedic members, which are set on a panel-shaped projection 24 in the form of a base surface. The panel-shaped projection 24 is integrally connected to the bottom unit 10. On its two sides associated with the longitudinal and depth braces 11 and 12, the corner connector forms contact surfaces 15 and 16. By means of these contact surfaces 15 and 16, it is set flush on the end faces of the longitudinal and depth braces 11 and 12. The corner connector 14 is welded to the bottom unit 10. In this case weld seams are passed along the contact surfaces 15 and 16 and in the area of the projection 24 of the bottom unit 10. It may however also be envisaged that the corner connector is screwed to the bottom unit 10, and is thus interchangeable. The two sides of the corner connector 14 facing away from the contact surfaces 15 and 16 are in the form of guide means 17 and 18. These guide means 17 and 18 serve to accommodate the assembly unit. The assembly unit is substantially formed from two vertical frame members 30 and connector pieces 40 connecting these. The frame members 30 are in the form of enclosed hollow profiles, which have an attachment means 35 aligned towards the interior of the rack. The attachment means 35 is in the form of an undercut dovetail groove. Connecting laterally with the attachment means 35 are centering devices 33, 34. The centering devices 33, 34 are at right angles to one another and are provided with attachment means 37. The attachment means 37 are spaced apart from one another at identical intervals. In this case a slot-shaped and a bore-shaped receiving means are provided in alternation. The two guide means 33, 34 merge into profile sides 31, 32. The profile sides 31, 32 are vertical to the associated outer sides of the rack. The two connector pieces 40 are in the present case in the form of assembly rails. These assembly rails are U-shaped in cross-section and are formed from an assembly surface 41 and two lateral portions 42, 43 connected thereto. The lateral portions 42, 43 are parallel to one another. The assembly surface 41 faces the interior of the rack. Laterally connected to the assembly surface 41 at the end is a respective attachment section 45. The attachment section 45 is in the form of a tab which partly covers the associated centering device 34. As shown in the drawing, the connector piece 40 may be screwed to the vertical frame members 30 via the attachment section 45. Electronic components may be secured to the connector pieces 40. For this purpose attachment means 44a, 44b are incorporated in the assembly surface 41 and the lateral portions 42, 43. The attachment means 44a, 44b are disposed in lines and are at a uniform distance apart. This uniform interval is co-ordinated with the uniform interval of the attachment means 37 of the vertical frame member 30. In the case of the assembly unit shown in the drawing, connector pieces 40 are provided in the upper and in the lower area of the vertical frame member 30. However, more than two connector pieces 40 may also be used, in order to form the assembly unit. In particular, cross braces may also be used, which are inserted obliquely between the two vertical frame members 30. In order to mount the assembly unit on the bottom unit 10, the latter is inserted in its vertical erect position into the receiving means 20. Firstly the vertical frame members 30 are set with their end faces 36 on the projection 24 of the bottom unit 10. Then the complete assembly unit is inserted contrary to the direction of the arrows shown in the drawing into the receiving means 20. The centering devices 33 of the vertical frame members 30 slide along the guides 18 of the corner connector 14. The insertion movement is restricted with the profile side 32. These come to rest on the end faces of the depth braces 11, which are in the form of stops 22. Simultaneously the entering device 34 abuts on the guide 17. Provided between the two guides 17 and 18 of the corner connector 14 is a bevelled flank 19. This projects into the attachment means 35 of the vertical frame member. Between the flank 19 and the base surface of the attachment means 35 there is formed a free space. This free space ensures that the vertical frame members 30 always abut only with their centering devices 33, 34 on the guides 17, 18. In this way the assembly unit may be precisely aligned on the bottom unit 10. In order to secure it, the assembly unit is screwed to the bottom unit 10. For this purpose screw receiving means not shown in the drawing are provided in the corner connectors 14 and in the base surface of the attachment means 35 of the vertical frame members 30. Attachment screws may be thrust through these and secured by a nut or screwed into a thread in the corner connector 14. It is however also possible to weld the vertical frame members 30 directly to the bottom units 10 and to the corner connector 14. In addition to the bottom unit 10, a constructively identical top unit can advantageously be used. This is connected in the upper area to the vertical frame member 30. The rack may then be completed with further vertical frame members 30. The assembly unit is advantageously disposed at the rear side of the switchgear cabinet. It is however also possible to provide the assembly unit on one side wall. The assembly unit affords a plurality of possible attachments. In particular, the profile sides 32 associated with one another in pairs, or the centering devices 34 of the vertical frame members 30 may be used to form two assembly planes offset parallel to one another. In the drawing, the first assembly plane is partly formed by the assembly surfaces 41 of the connector pieces 40. Such offset assembly planes may also be embodied vertically to the assembly unit in the rack. For this purpose the attachment means 37 of the profile side 31 or of the centering device 33 are used. In order to avoid risk of injury, the projections 24 of the receiving means 20 are provided with a profiling 21. The profiling 21 in this case is adapted to the external geometry of the vertical frame members 30. Thus there are no edges of the bottom unit 10 projecting over the vertical frame members 30. If the assembly unit is to be permanently connected to the bottom unit 10, a weld seam may be applied along the profiling 21. WE CLAIM: 1. Switch gear cabinet with an assembled shelf unit characterized in that vertical frame pieces (30) with a vertical fastener holder (35) and horizontal connection pieces (40) for fixtures, the assembled unit is connected to a floor and a covering unit (10), the floor and the covering unit (10) have vertically aligned corner connectors at the corners lodged in the vertical fastener holders (35) of the vertical frame pieces (30) of the assembled unit and are connected with the frame pieces (30). 2. Switch gear cabinet as claimed in claim 1, wherein the connection pieces (40) have a assembly area turned to the internal space of the shelf. 3. Switch gear cabinet as claimed in claim 2, wherein the connection pieces (40) connect to one or more side frames at an angle to the assembly area and in which the assembly area (41) and the side frames (42,43) have a series of fastener holders (44a, 44b). 4. Switch gear cabinet as claimed in claim 1, wherein the floor and covering unit (10) forms holders (20) for the ends of the vertical frame pieces of the assembled unit, the holders (20) have limit stops (22,23) which limit the mounted movement of the vertical frame pieces (30) and the mounted movement is guided on the guideways (17,18) of the floor and covering unit and/or of the vertical frame pieces(30). 5. Switch gear cabinet as claimed in claim 4, wherein there is a protrusion (24) in the holder (20) in the corner areas of the floor and covering unit, which at least partially covers the front face (36) of the ends of the vertical frame pieces. 6. Switch gear cabinet as claimed in claim 1, wherein the floor and covering unit (10) is screwed with the vertical frame pieces (30). 7. Switch gear cabinet as claimed in claim 1, wherein the assembled units on the back side that is turned away from the internal space are covered with one or more covering elements. 8. Switch gear cabinet as claimed in claim 1, wherein profile sides dedicated to one other (31, 32) or centering guides are connected on both sides to the fastener holders (35) of the vertical frame pieces (30). 9. Switch gear cabinet with an assembled shelf unit substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

Documents:

3253-del-1997-abstract.pdf

3253-del-1997-claims.pdf

3253-del-1997-correspondence-others.pdf

3253-del-1997-correspondence-po.pdf

3253-del-1997-description (complete).pdf

3253-del-1997-drawings.pdf

3253-del-1997-form-1.pdf

3253-del-1997-form-13.pdf

3253-del-1997-form-19.pdf

3253-del-1997-form-2.pdf

3253-del-1997-form-3.pdf

3253-del-1997-form-4.pdf

3253-del-1997-form-5.pdf

3253-del-1997-form-6.pdf

3253-del-1997-gpa.pdf

3253-del-1997-petition-137.pdf

3253-del-1997-petition-138.pdf