JP7660977B2 - Electrical equipment storage box - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a box for storing electrical equipment.

As described in Patent Document 1, a charging device for a rechargeable vehicle is known that includes a power outlet tap inside a housing and a breaker connected to the power outlet tap.

JP 2011-130622 A

In this charging device, the charging parts such as the breaker are covered with a shield plate to prevent electric shock even if the user of the device opens the door. However, because the outlet tap is exposed, there is a risk that the outlet tap may be tampered with or that an electrical accident may occur when connecting to the outlet tap. Meanwhile, in electrical device storage boxes, the space where connectors to be used in emergencies are located and the space where electrical devices to be used normally are located may be separated within the housing. In this case as well, previously there was no part inside the housing that covered the connector, so the connector was easily accessible.

The inventor of this case has thoroughly studied this issue and attempted to solve it. The problem that this invention aims to solve is to make it possible to cover the electrical equipment and the like within the housing as well as the cable side connection part of the connector in a box for storing electrical equipment that includes an electrical equipment and a connector that is connected to a cable with a connector part that is inserted from outside the housing.

To solve the above problem, the electrical equipment storage box is provided with a housing with an opening and a connector for connecting to a cable with a connector portion that is inserted from outside the housing, and the electrical equipment storage box is provided with a first protective portion within the housing that can cover the electrical equipment from the opening side, and a second protective portion that can cover the cable side connection portion of the connector from the opening side.

It is also preferable to have a door that covers the front of the housing, and to provide a second protective plate that constitutes the second protective part closer to the door than the first protective plate that constitutes the first protective part, with a portion of the second protective plate overlapping the first protective plate.

It is also preferable to provide an interlock mechanism that controls the opening and closing of the second protective unit depending on the open/closed state of the electrical device, and to configure the interlock mechanism so that the second protective unit can be opened when the electrical device is in the open state.

It is also preferable that the electrical equipment is provided with a normal breaker connected to a commercial power source and an emergency breaker connected to an emergency power source, and that the interlock mechanism that controls the opening and closing of the second protection unit is configured to open the second protection unit when the emergency breaker is in an open state.

In the present invention, in an electrical equipment storage box that includes an electrical equipment and a connector that is connected to a cable with a connector portion that is inserted from outside the housing, it is possible to cover the electrical equipment and the like within the housing, and also to cover the cable side connection portion of the connector.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an electrical device storage box according to the embodiment. 2 is a perspective view showing the electrical equipment storage box shown in FIG. 1 with a door open. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state in which a second protective plate of the electrical device storage box shown in FIG. 2 is opened. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a state in which a protective plate is removed from an electrical device storage box according to an embodiment, with the door open. 1 is a front view showing a state in which a protective portion and a door are removed from an electrical equipment storage box according to an embodiment. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the live part area and the cable connection area. 4 is a front view showing the electrical equipment storage box according to the embodiment with a door and a second protective plate open; FIG. 1 is a front view showing a state in which a door of an electrical device storage box in an embodiment is open. FIG. FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing a state in which the main part of the interlock mechanism is attached to a breaker stand. FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view of FIG. FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a main part of the interlock mechanism. 13 is a diagram showing a state in which the second protective plate cannot be opened by using an interlock mechanism. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the second protective plate is opened from the state illustrated in FIG. 12 . 13 is a diagram showing an example in which an emergency power supply is connected to a cable side connection portion of a connector. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example in which an emergency power supply is connected to a cable side connection portion of a connector. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing that both the service breaker and the emergency breaker are in the OFF state and the operating unit is in a position that allows the second protective plate to be opened. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the service breaker in an on state, the emergency breaker in an off state, and the operating portion in a position that allows the second protective plate to be opened. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a state in which both the service breaker and the emergency breaker are in an off state and the operating unit is in a position that does not allow the second protective plate to be opened. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the service breaker in an OFF state, the emergency breaker in an ON state, and the operating unit in a position that does not allow the second protective plate to be opened. FIG. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example in which a changeover switch is used in an electrical device.

The following describes an embodiment of the invention. As can be understood from FIG. 1 to FIG. 6, the electrical equipment storage box 1 of this embodiment includes a housing 11 with an opening and a connector 20 that is connected to a cable with a connector portion that is inserted from outside the housing 11. The electrical equipment storage box 1 includes, within the housing 11, a first protective section that can cover the electrical equipment from the opening side, and a second protective section that can cover the cable side connection section 22 of the connector 20 from the opening side. Therefore, in the electrical equipment storage box 1 that includes the electrical equipment and the connector 20 that is connected to a cable with a connector portion that is inserted from outside the housing 11, the electrical equipment and the like can be covered within the housing 11, and the cable side connection section 22 of the connector 20 can be covered.

Here, the configuration of the electrical equipment storage box 1 of the embodiment will be explained from an outline. The electrical equipment storage box 1 of the embodiment is a distribution board, and includes a housing 11 with an opening, and a door 12 attached to the housing 11 so as to be able to cover the opening of the housing 11. This electrical equipment storage box 1 is an electrical equipment storage box 1 that can supply power to a load even in the event of a commercial power outage, by connecting a cable with a connector part that is inserted from outside the housing 11 to a connector 20 provided inside.

The electrical equipment storage box 1 of the embodiment includes conductive members such as cables and busbars, and electrical equipment such as breakers, electromagnetic contactors, and relays, and includes a charging section area EA that stores the charging section, which is the part that receives power when used under normal operating conditions. The electrical equipment storage box 1 also includes a cable connection area EB that stores the cable side connection section 22 of a connector 20 that has an electrical equipment side connection section 21 to which an electrical equipment is connected, and a cable side connection section 22 to which a cable with a connector section that is inserted from outside the housing 11 is connected.

In the embodiment, the electrical equipment storage box 1 has an internal space that can be divided into two areas, a charging area EA and a cable connection area EB, when viewed from the front. More specifically, the internal space of the electrical equipment storage box 1 is divided into two areas, a charging area EA and a cable connection area EB, when viewed from the front, by a partition member 13 to which a connector 20 is attached. In the example shown in Figures 5 and 6, the areas are lined up vertically, with the charging area EA located at the top and the cable connection area EB located at the bottom. Note that in the embodiment, power is not normally supplied to the equipment placed in the cable connection area EB.

In the example shown in FIG. 5, the connector 20 is installed below a normal breaker 81 and an emergency breaker 82 that are arranged in parallel inside the housing 11. The connector 20 attached to the partition member 13 has an electrical equipment side connection part 21 on one end and a cable side connection part 22 on the other end. In the embodiment, with the partition member 13 as the base, the electrical equipment side connection part 21 side is the live section area EA, and the cable side connection part 22 side is the cable connection area EB.

The live area EA may include not only the normal circuit breaker 81, the emergency circuit breaker 82, and the electrical equipment side connection part 21 of the connector 20 arranged within the housing 11, but also conductive members such as cables for connecting the normal circuit breaker 81 to a commercial power source, the normal circuit breaker 81 to a load, and the emergency circuit breaker 82 to the electrical equipment side connection part 21 of the connector 20, and terminal blocks for relaying the conductive members.

The cable connection area EB may include not only the cable side connection portion 22 of the connector 20, but also other components that will not pose a risk of electric shock even if they come into contact with each other during power supply.

The electrical device side connection part 21 of the connector 20 is located within the live section area EA. The live section area EA is covered on its front side with a first protective plate 41 that constitutes the first protective part, since contact with the live section area EA during power supply may cause electrical accidents such as electric shock, ground faults, and short circuits. However, as can be seen from FIG. 7, the first protective plate 41 of the embodiment does not cover the cable side connection part 22 of the connector 20.

On the other hand, the cable connection area EB is an area where electricity does not normally flow. For this reason, the possibility of an electrical accident occurring is smaller than in the live section area EA. However, an electrical accident may occur if the connection to the cable side connection part 22 of the connector 20 is not made properly. For example, this may occur when connecting a cable with a connector part that is not compatible with the connector 20. There is also a risk of tampering with the cable side connection part 22 of the connector 20. Taking this into consideration, in the embodiment, the front side of the cable connection area EB can be covered with a second protective plate 42 that constitutes a second protective part (see Figures 2 and 8). In this way, it is possible to prevent the cable connection area EB from being exposed when the door 12 is opened, and the occurrence of electrical accidents and tampering can be suppressed.

It is possible to form the first protective section and the second protective section from a single protective plate, but in such a structure, the live section will be exposed when the cable is connected to the connector 20. This is not desirable, so it is preferable to provide the first protective section and the second protective section separately.

To prevent the occurrence of electric shock, it is preferable that the first protective plate 41 constituting the first protective section has a structure that cannot be easily opened. For example, in order to keep the first protective plate 41 covering the live section area EA, it is preferable to fix the first protective plate 41 to the protective plate support member with a member that is fixed using a tool, such as a screw or bolt. In the embodiment, the first protective plate 41 covering the live section area EA is supported by protective plate support members provided at the upper left and right corners of the housing 11 and the partition member 13 that separates the connector 20, and is fixed with screws.

On the other hand, it is preferable that the second protective plate 42 has a structure that allows it to be easily opened in order to connect a cable to the connector 20. For example, it is preferable that one end of the second protective plate 42 is rotatably fixed to the protective plate support member, and the other end is fixed with a member that can be manually released, such as a latch lock or knurled screw. However, it goes without saying that a member that can be fixed with a tool to the other end of the second protective plate 42 may be used to improve security.

In this embodiment, the second protective plate 42 is supported by protective plate support members provided at approximately the center left and right of the housing 11 and at the lower left and right corners of the housing 11, and the second protective plate 42 is rotatably fixed to a protective plate support member provided on the right side of the housing 11.

In this embodiment, notches 45 are provided on the left and right of the center of the first protective plate 41 to allow the protective plate support members to pass through, so that the protective plate support members on the left and right of the center of the housing 11 do not come into contact with the first protective plate 41.

As can be seen from Figures 2 and 3, when the first protective plate 41 and the second protective plate 42 cover the electrical equipment, the connector 20, etc., it is preferable to configure the second protective plate 42 to be located closer to the front (door 12 side) than the first protective plate 41. In this way, the second protective plate 42 can be opened without opening the first protective plate 41. Therefore, it is possible to prevent electrical accidents from occurring when connecting a cable to the connector 20.

It is also preferable to provide a portion of the second protective plate 42 overlapping the first protective plate 41. This configuration can eliminate the gap between the protective plates that occurs when the first protective plate 41 and the second protective plate 42 are installed in parallel. This can therefore prevent foreign objects from entering or being tampered with through the gap between the first protective plate 41 and the second protective plate 42.

The first protective plate 41 of the embodiment has an opening 46 for inserting an electrical device. This opening 46 allows a part of the electrical device, such as the handle of the electrical device, to be inserted. With this configuration, it is possible to perform operations such as turning off the electrical device without opening the first protective plate 41.

The second protective plate 42 also has an opening 47 similar to that of the first protective plate 41, through which a part of the electrical device, such as the handle of the electrical device, can be inserted. This allows operations such as turning off the electrical device to be performed without opening the first protective plate 41 and the second protective plate 42.

In the embodiment, further, an interlock mechanism 50 is provided that controls the opening and closing of the second protective plate 42 depending on the open/closed state (on/off state) of the electrical device. This interlock mechanism 50 is preferably configured to be capable of opening the second protective part when the electrical device is in the open state. The interlock mechanism 50 in the embodiment includes a base part 51 that is fixed to a stand 91 on which the electrical device is mounted, an operating part 52 that clamps the base part 51 from the front and rear directions, a locking part 53 that is fixed to the base part 51, and a locking part 54 that is fixed to the second protective plate 42 (see Figures 9 to 11).

The base portion 51 of the embodiment is formed with a generally U-shaped cross section so as to cover the left and right side surfaces and front of an electrical device such as a breaker. The base portion 51 can be fixed to the stand 91 by screwing the folded pieces 51a formed by folding both ends of the base portion 51 to the stand 91 that fixes the electrical device. The front side edge 51b of the base portion 51 is provided with an insertion hole 51c through which the front surface including the handle of the electrical device is inserted, so that the handle of the electrical device can be protruded forward from the insertion hole 51c.

As can be seen from FIG. 11, the operating unit 52 of the embodiment is a combination of a rear operating unit 52a that is located on the electrical device side and a front operating unit 52b that is located on the door 12 side, and these are fixed with screws to allow the operating unit 52 to be attached so as to sandwich the base unit 51.

As can be seen from FIG. 11, the front operating portion 52b of the embodiment is provided with a locking piece 52c extending in the left-right direction. As can be seen from FIG. 12 and FIG. 13, the operating portion 52 of the embodiment can move in the left-right direction, and the locking piece 52c can be locked to the locking portion 54 of the second protective plate 42 to restrict the opening of the second protective plate 42.

The front operating section 52b can be positioned within the movable range of the handle of the electrical device, and is preferably configured to be positioned so as to prevent the electrical device from changing from an open (off state) to a closed (on state).

In the example shown in FIG. 5, the electrical equipment includes a normal breaker 81 that is connected to a commercial power source, and an emergency breaker 82 that is connected to an emergency power source or is intended for connection to an emergency power source. The emergency breaker 82 is connected to the electrical equipment side connection portion 21 of the connector 20.

There are two typical examples of what is connected to the cable side connection part 22 of the connector 20. The first is an emergency power supply. As shown in FIG. 14, when the primary side of the emergency breaker 82 is connected to the electrical equipment side connection part 21 of the connector 20 and the secondary side is connected to a load, if the supply of power to the load is cut off due to a commercial power outage or the like, an emergency power supply (strictly speaking, a cable with a connector part to which the emergency power supply is connected) is connected to the cable side connection part 22 of the connector 20, power is supplied from the emergency power supply to the emergency breaker 82, and power is supplied to the load via the emergency breaker 82.

In this case, the load connected to the emergency breaker 82 may be the entire load connected to the normal breaker 81, or may be a portion of the load connected to the normal breaker 81.

A second example of what is connected to the cable side connection part 22 of the connector 20 is a load. As shown in FIG. 15, when the primary side of the emergency breaker 82 is connected to an emergency power source and the secondary side is connected to the electrical equipment side connection part 21 of the connector 20, by connecting a load (strictly speaking, a cable with a connector part to which a load is connected) to the cable side connection part 22 of the connector 20, power is supplied from the emergency power source to the emergency breaker 82, and power can be supplied to the load via the emergency breaker 82. In this case, the load connected to the emergency breaker 82 may be different from the load connected to the normal breaker 81.

Here, the movement of the interlock mechanism 50 will be described. The operation unit 52 of the interlock mechanism 50 in this embodiment can slide left and right. The left and right length of the portion of the operation unit 52 in this embodiment that protrudes toward the electrical equipment is set to a length that always covers only one of the movable areas of the handles of the service breaker 81 and the emergency breaker 82. In other words, when the operation unit 52 is within the movable area of the handle of the service breaker 81, the handle of the emergency breaker 82 can be opened and closed, and when the operation unit 52 is within the movable area of the handle of the emergency breaker 82, the handle of the service breaker 81 can be opened and closed.

The length in the left-right direction of the operating portion 52 of the interlock mechanism 50 is such that when the locking piece 52c is disengaged from the locking portion 54 of the second protective plate 42, it is in a position that covers the movable area of the handle of the emergency breaker 82. Therefore, the locking piece 52c and the locking portion 54 are disengaged only when the emergency breaker 82 is in the OFF state, allowing the second protective plate 42 to be opened.

The relationship between the interlock mechanism 50, the service breaker 81, and the emergency breaker 82 in this embodiment will be described in more detail. Here, the breaker located on the left side of the adjacent breakers will be described as the service breaker 81, and the breaker located on the right side will be described as the emergency breaker 82. Note that the service breaker 81 and the emergency breaker 82 may be arranged in reverse.

In the example shown in FIG. 16, the operating unit 52 is located on the right side within the movable range. In this state, the second protective plate 42 can be opened. In the state shown in FIG. 16, the handle 87 is located at a position where the emergency breaker 82 is in the OFF state. In addition, the operating unit 52 is positioned so as to prevent the handle 87 of the emergency breaker 82 from being switched from the OFF state to the ON state. Therefore, the emergency breaker 82 is restricted from moving to the ON state, and the OFF state is maintained.

In the example shown in FIG. 16, the service breaker 81 is in an OFF state, but in the operation unit 52 of the embodiment, the service breaker 81 can be switched from the state shown in FIG. 16 to an ON state (see FIG. 17). In the embodiment, the state shown in FIG. 17 can be achieved by using the handle 86 of the service breaker 81 to prevent the operation unit 52 from moving leftward, so that the second protective plate 42 cannot be locked. From another perspective, this structure can also be said to require the service breaker 81 to be in an OFF state in order to lock the second protective plate 42.

The example shown in Figure 18 shows a state in which the operating unit 52 has been moved leftward from the state shown in Figure 16, and the second protective plate 42 has been locked. In the interlock mechanism 50 of the embodiment, when this state is reached, the normal breaker 81 is restricted from moving to the ON state, and is therefore maintained in the OFF state. Note that the emergency breaker 82 can be either OFF or ON.

However, when the emergency breaker 82 is turned on from the state shown in FIG. 18 (see FIG. 19), the handle 87 of the emergency breaker 82 prevents the operating unit 52 from moving to the right. Specifically, the right end of the operating unit 52 abuts against the handle 87 of the emergency breaker 82, preventing the operating unit 52 from moving any further to the right. In this way, it is possible to prevent the second protective plate 42 from being released from its locked state. From another perspective, this structure can be said to require the emergency breaker 82 to be in an off state in order to release the second protective plate 42 from its locked state.

In this example, the electrical equipment is equipped with a normal breaker 81 connected to a commercial power source and an emergency breaker 82 connected to an emergency power source, and the interlock mechanism 50 that controls the opening and closing of the second protection unit allows the second protection unit to be opened when the emergency breaker 82 is in an open state. In this way, a step of opening the emergency breaker 82 is required when releasing the protection of the second protection unit, thereby improving safety.

In this example, when the interlock mechanism 50 of the embodiment is used to lock the second protective plate 42, the normal breaker 81 cannot be turned on. Therefore, the interlock mechanism 50 is normally released, and is used to prevent the second protective plate 42 from being opened when the emergency breaker 82 must be turned on.

In the above example, there are two electrical devices, a normal breaker 81 and an emergency breaker 82. However, since it is only necessary to be able to switch between a circuit that is connected to a commercial power source under normal conditions and a circuit that is connected to an emergency power source in an emergency, a changeover switch 83 may also be used for the electrical devices.

The changeover switch 83 has three terminals, a first terminal, a second terminal, and a common terminal, and can switch the connection of the common terminal between the first terminal and the second terminal. As can be seen from FIG. 20, for example, a commercial power source can be connected to the first terminal, an emergency power source to the second terminal, and a load to the common terminal. In this case, during normal times, the common terminal is connected to the first terminal so that commercial power is supplied to the load. On the other hand, during an emergency such as a power outage, the common terminal is connected to the second terminal so that emergency power is supplied to the load. By making this possible, the power supply source can be switched between normal times and emergencies.

In the example shown in FIG. 20, the electrical device side connection part 21 of the connector 20 is connected to the second terminal. By connecting an emergency power supply to the cable side connection part 22 of the connector 20 in an emergency, power is supplied from the emergency power supply to the changeover switch 83, and power can be supplied from the changeover switch 83 to the load.

The present invention has been described above using the embodiments as examples, but the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments and can be implemented in various forms. For example, when changing the protective plate support member, the arrangement of the protective plate support member may be changed, the protective plate support member may be used in common to support the first protective plate and the second protective plate, or the number of protective plate support members may be increased or decreased.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Electrical equipment storage box 11 Housing 12 Door 20 Connector 41 First protective plate 42 Second protective plate 50 Interlock mechanism 81 Service breaker 82 Emergency breaker

Claims (2)

An electrical device storage box comprising a housing having an opening, a door covering a front surface of the housing, and a connector for connecting to a cable with a connector portion inserted from outside the housing,
The housing includes a first protective section capable of covering the electrical device from an opening side, and a second protective section capable of covering the cable side connection section of the connector from the opening side ,
a second protective plate constituting the second protective portion is provided closer to the door than a first protective plate constituting the first protective portion;
A box for storing electrical equipment, wherein a portion of the second protective plate is provided so as to overlap the first protective plate. An electrical device storage box including a housing having an opening and a connector for connecting to a cable with a connector portion inserted from outside the housing,
The housing includes a first protective section capable of covering the electrical device from an opening side, and a second protective section capable of covering the cable side connection section of the connector from the opening side,
The electrical equipment is provided with a service breaker connected to a commercial power source and an emergency breaker connected to an emergency power source,
The interlock mechanism for controlling the opening and closing of the second protection section enables the second protection section to be opened when the emergency breaker is in the open state.

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