Telescoping panels suitable for motor control center units and related motor control centers

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9451718-B2
Application number	US-201514600616-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 20, 2015
Priority date	Jun 30, 2014
Publication date	Sep 20, 2016
Grant date	Sep 20, 2016

Abstract

Motor control centers have units or bucket assemblies with a front panel configured to pivot about a long axis associated with a bottom long side thereof and slide radially with respect to the shaft, away from the shaft in an open position to thereby position the front panel a distance away from the shaft to be able to fully open to at least ninety degrees.

First claim

That which is claimed is:

1. A bucket assembly for a motor control center, the motor control center including an enclosure having at least two adjacent compartments, one above another, for each receiving a respective bucket assembly, the bucket assembly comprising:
a unit housing structured to be removably disposed within a first compartment of the at least two compartments of the enclosure;
at least one telescoping hinge assembly comprising at least one shaft attached to the unit housing; and a panel and/or at least one sub-panel with at least one handle of an operator mechanism and/or at least one pilot device pivotably attached to the at least one telescoping hinge assembly to allow the panel and/or the at least one sub-panel to move between open and closed positions, wherein, in the closed position, the panel and/or the at least one sub-panel is vertically oriented, and wherein the panel and/or the at least one sub-panel is (i) pivotable about the at least one shaft of the at least one telescoping hinge assembly to swing open from the closed position and (ii) slidable outward in a direction away from the at least one shaft of the at least one telescoping hinge assembly and the unit housing to increase a distance sufficient to provide a gap between the at least one shaft and an adjacent end portion of the panel and/or the at least one sub-panel relative to the closed position to allow the panel and/or the at least one sub-panel to swing fully open at least 90 degrees in the open position from the closed position when the bucket assembly is positioned in the first compartment, the gap sufficient to allow the panel and/or the at least one sub-panel to swing fully open to clear another bucket assembly in a second compartment of the at least two compartments, and wherein the at least one shaft of the telescoping hinge assembly either resides (a) at a bottom portion of the unit housing and the panel and/or the at least one sub-panel can open to clear the second compartment when the second compartment is below the first compartment or (b) at an upper end portion of the unit housing and the panel and/or the at least one sub-panel can open to clear the second compartment when the second compartment is above the first compartment.

2. The bucket assembly of claim 1 , wherein the panel and/or the at least one sub-panel includes opposing right and left sidewalls, each oriented in a plane that is orthogonal to a front facing primary wall of the panel and/or the at least one sub-panel, wherein the at least one shaft comprises a laterally extending shaft that resides along the bottom portion of the unit housing attached to opposing, laterally spaced apart housing sidewalls, and wherein the telescoping hinge assembly further comprises slide arms that slide in longitudinally extending slots in or co-planar with the planes of the right and left sidewalls of the panel and/or the at least one sub-panel to allow the panel and/or the at least one sub-panel to slide in a radial direction relative to the at least one laterally extending shaft (a) outward away from the laterally extending shaft to open to the open position and (b) back toward the laterally extending shaft to the closed position.

3. The bucket assembly of claim 1 , wherein the at least one shaft comprises a single laterally extending shaft that resides along the bottom portion of the unit housing, wherein the telescoping hinge assembly includes a support member attached to the laterally extending shaft, and wherein the support member comprises laterally spaced apart side segments that cooperate with the panel and/or the at least one sub-panel, arranged so that, in the closed position, the support member side segments extend upwardly away from the laterally extending shaft.

4. The bucket assembly of claim 1 , wherein the panel and/or the at least one sub-panel includes a front wall and opposing right and left sidewalls oriented in planes that are parallel to each other and orthogonal to the front wall of the panel and/or the at least one sub-panel, wherein the telescoping hinge assembly further comprises a support member with a laterally extending segment spanning between right and left upwardly extending side segments, and wherein the right and left upwardly extending side segments are co-planar to corresponding ones of the planes of the right and left sidewalls of the panel and/or the at least one sub-panel.

5. The bucket assembly of claim 4 , wherein the hinge assembly comprises right and left springs that extend in a longitudinal direction, wherein the right spring is attached to the right sidewall of the panel and/or the at least one sub-panel and the right upwardly extending side segment of the support member, and wherein the left spring is attached to the left sidewall of the panel and/or the at least one sub-panel and the left upwardly extending side segment of the support member to thereby bias the panel and/or the at least one sub-panel in a latched position whereby the springs that attach the panel and/or the at least one sub-panel to the unit housing bias the panel or the at least one sub-panel in a latched position so the panel or the at least one sub-panel remains secured to the unit housing unless there is a manual action by a user to pull the panel and/or the at least one sub-panel down to open the panel and/or the at least one sub-panel.

6. The bucket assembly of claim 4 , wherein the hinge assembly comprises right and left slide arms that slidably travel back and forth in longitudinally extending slots in or co-planar with corresponding right and left sidewalls of the panel and/or the at least one sub-panel.

7. The bucket assembly of claim 1 , wherein the at least one shaft comprises a laterally extending shaft that resides along the bottom portion of the unit housing attached to opposing, laterally spaced apart housing sidewalls, wherein the panel and/or the at least one sub-panel includes opposing right and left sidewalls oriented in planes that are parallel to each other and orthogonal to a front facing wall of the panel and/or the at least one sub-panel, and wherein a bottom of the right and left sidewalls of the panel and/or the at least one sub-panel have an open channel sized to slidably receive the laterally extending shaft when in the closed position.

8. The bucket assembly of claim 1 , wherein the at least one shaft comprises a laterally extending shaft attached to the unit housing, wherein the panel and/or the at least one sub-panel is dual adjacently positioned sub-panels with flat front surfaces with the dual adjacently positioned sub-panels being a handle operator panel and a pilot device panel, the handle operator panel having the at least one handle and the pilot device panel having the at least one pilot device, wherein the pilot device panel and the handle operator panel are metallic, and wherein the pilot device panel is in abutting contact with the laterally extending shaft of the telescoping hinge assembly when in the closed position to define an electrical ground for the at least one pilot device held by the pilot device panel.

9. The bucket assembly of claim 1 , wherein the panel and/or the at least one sub-panel is side-by-side dual sub-panels that are releasably attached along inner facing adjacent sides to be able to pivot outward together or separately, and wherein the side-by-side dual sub-panels engage at least one unit interlock attached to the unit housing to controllably lock and unlock the side-by-side dual sub-panels to allow the side-by-side dual sub-panels to open from the unit housing only when there is non-conduction of electric current through at least one stab of the bucket assembly.

10. A motor control center (MCC) comprising the bucket assembl

Assignees

• Eaton Corp

Inventors

• Oneufer Stephen William
• Kroushl Daniel Boyd
• Morris Robert Allan

Classifications

• A47B46/005

  by displacement in a vertical plane; by rotating about a horizontal axis · CPC title

• H05K5/0247

  Electrical details of casings, e.g. terminals, passages for cables or wiring · CPC title

• A47B81/00

  Cabinets or racks specially adapted for other particular purposes, e.g. for storing guns or skis · CPC title

• H02B1/38

  Hinged covers or doors · CPC title

• H05K5/0226

  Hinges · CPC title