EP2503078A1

EP2503078A1 - Shelter structure, in particular for electrical equipment

Info

Publication number: EP2503078A1
Application number: EP11425075A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Alfredo Tremacchi
Original assignee: Smitt Technology Srl
Current assignee: Smitt Technology Srl
Priority date: 2011-03-23
Filing date: 2011-03-23
Publication date: 2012-09-26

Abstract

Shelter structure, in particular for electrical equipment, comprising a load-bearing frame (10), which supports a floor (20), walls (30) and a roof (40) of said structure, a base in prefabricated reinforced concrete (50) suitable for being transported and laid on a support plane of the shelter, and attachment means (56) suitable to connect said base (50) in reinforced concrete to said load-bearing frame (10).

Description

The present invention relates to a shelter structure, in particular for electrical equipment, for example for telecommunications systems, normally known with the English term "shelter".
WO2007144913Al , in the name of the same applicant describes a particularly advantageous shelter having a modular structure, that is to say consisting of a series of elements assemblable, even in the place of use, extremely fast to assemble and suitable for making shelters of different sizes, as needed. In one embodiment, the shelter structure described rests on the ground by means of support feet screwed to the frame of the structure.
However when the soil is not sufficiently firm, all the known shelters, including the one mentioned above, require building excavation works and the construction of foundations, such as an invert in reinforced concrete to anchor the shelter to. Consequently, the advantages in terms of assembly times and production costs, transport and the labour needed for installation offered by a shelter such as that of WO2007144913A1 are reduced by the need to carry out the aforementioned building works.
The purpose of the present invention is to provide a shelter structure which effectively permits a reduction of installation times and costs, even when the ground conditions of the site do not allow it to be merely laid on the ground.
Such purpose is achieved by a shelter structure according to claim 1.
The details and advantages of the structure according to the invention will however be clearer from the description given below of a preferred embodiment, made by way of a non-limiting example with reference to the appended drawings, wherein:
Figure 1 is an exploded perspective view of the support frame and reinforced concrete base of the shelter structure according to the invention;
Figure 1a is an enlarged view of the detail in the box in figure 1;
Figure 2 is a section of a shelter according to the invention when assembled;
Figure 2a is an enlarged view of the detail in the box in figure 2;
Figure 3 shows the reinforced concrete base in a ground view;
Figure 3a is an enlarged view of the detail in the box in figure 3;
Figure 4 shows the base in a side view;
Figure 5 is a cross-section of the base along the line E-E in figure 4; and
Figure 5a shows an enlarged view of the detail in the box in figure 5.
The shelter structure according to the present invention, particularly suitable for housing electrical equipment, is globally denoted by reference numeral 1 and comprises a load-bearing frame 10, which supports the floor 20, the walls 30 and the roof 40 of said structure, a base in prefabricated reinforced concrete 50 suitable for being transported and laid on a support plane of the shelter, and attachment means suitable to connect said base in reinforced concrete 50 to said load-bearing frame 10.
In other words, the base in reinforced concrete 50 is in the form of a cement plate, reinforced with at least one metal mesh 52, preferably a double mesh, building before realisation of the excavations suitable for housing the shelter, as a separate and independent unit from said excavation, and suitable for being transported to the place of use and simply laid on a support plane, without the need to be anchored to said plane.
Preferably, the reinforced concrete base 50 is a shape and size substantially equal to that of the floor plan of the shelter structure, for example a square floor plan. Preferably, the thickness of said base is 5 to 10cm, for example equal to 7cm.
Preferably, the (double) metal mesh has a link having a diameter of 8mm.
According to a preferred embodiment, the base in reinforced concrete 50 is screwed to the load-bearing frame 10. The frame may therefore be anchored to the base directly in the place of use, rapidly and without the need for special equipment or skills.
In particular, in one embodiment wherein the load-bearing frame has a base comprising angular connection joints 12 supporting horizontal bars 14 acting as sides of said base, the reinforced concrete base 50 is screwed to said angular joints 12.
More in detail, in a preferred embodiment, angular anchorage plates 54 are drowned in the reinforced concrete base screwed to said angular connection joints 12. Said angular anchorage plates 54 are screwed to the angular joints 12 by means of a locking screw 56 which traverses a through hole 54' made in the angular plates 54 and screws into a threaded hole made in the angular joints, as shown for example in figure 1a.
For example, the anchorage plates 54 are square and are positioned at the corners of the base, so as to be flush with the sides of said base.
Advantageously, said angular anchorage plates 54 are coplanar with the upper surface of the reinforced concrete base so as to abut with the lower surface of the angular connection joints 12. The reinforced concrete base has an access channel 51 below each angular plate 54 so as to permit the insertion of the locking screws 56 from below. For example, said access channel 51 extends in height all along the thickness of the base. Consequently, once the base has been laid on the support plane and the load-bearing frame has been positioned over such base, the labourer can easily insert a hand under the anchorage plates and insert the locking screws in the respective threaded holes.
In one embodiment, the anchorage plates 54 comprise, along the sides facing inwards, that is in contact with the reinforced concrete base, vertical walls 55 extending for example all along the thickness of the base and delimiting the access channel 51 for screwing of the locking screws.
According to a preferred embodiment, reinforcement plates 60 are drowned in the reinforced concrete base 50 near the corners of said base. Said reinforcement plates 60 are preferably made of steel, have a thickness generally ranging from 5 to 10 mm and are traversed by a plurality of through holes 61 so as to be tightly drowned in the concrete.
In one embodiment, the reinforcement plates 60 are placed in contact with the metal mesh 52, for example, are welded to each other, so as to further stiffen the structure and, as will be explained below, provide an electrical connection for the earthing of the reinforced concrete base 50.
In one embodiment, the outermost corner of the reinforcement plates is recessed so as to couple geometrically with the vertical walls 55 of the anchorage plates 54. In one embodiment, the vertical walls of the anchorage plates are welded to the reinforcement plates, so that the anchorage plates and reinforcement plates are positioned and drowned as a single body in the concrete of the base.
According to one embodiment, in the reinforced concrete base 50 there is at least one through aperture 70 for the passage of cables 72 or other means between the inside of the structure and the ground which the base rests on. This way, the cables can be made to pass from the floor of the shelter without perforating the side walls 30, so that such walls are entirely utilisable throughout their width.
Advantageously, a braided copper wire 80 is drowned in the reinforced concrete 50 for the earthing of the structure. In particular, said braided copper wire 80 is in electrical contact with the metal mesh 52 which in turn is electrically connected to the reinforcement plates 60 and then to the angular anchorage plates 54. Since the latter are, by means of the blocking screws 56, electrically connected to the support frame 10 which has its own earthing circuit thanks to the braided copper wire 80 the reinforced concrete base 50 has the same earthing potential as the load-bearing frame 10.
Getting back to the angular connection joints 12, in one preferred embodiment each one of these has three arms orthogonal to each other and extending in the three spatial directions x, y and z. The load-bearing frame 10 of the shelter structure then comprises a series of hollow horizontal bars 14 suitable for being fitted at the ends to the horizontal arms of said angular joints 12 and a series of hollow vertical uprights 16 suitable to be fitted at the ends to the vertical arms of said joints.
The structure lastly comprises a plurality of rectangular panels suitable to form respectively the walls 30, the ceiling 40 and the floor 20 of the shelter.
Each of the horizontal bars 14 has longitudinally, that is in the direction of its horizontal extension and preferably all along its length, an outer vertical support shoulder 14' of the vertical panels acting as walls 30 of the structure.
Each of said horizontal bars 14 further defines a horizontal shelf 14" for supporting the horizontal panels acting as floor 20 or the horizontal panels acting as roof (depending on whether it is a bar of the perimeter of the base or of the ceiling of the structure).
In the embodiment shown in figures 2 and 2a, the horizontal shelves 14" of the horizontal bars of two opposite sides of the base of the structure support intermediate horizontal bars 15 having a "Ω" section such as to permit the support of multiple panels acting as floor 20. The height of the horizontal shelf 14" in relation to the base in reinforced concrete 50 and the height of the intermediate horizontal bars 15 define the height of the cavity 21 between the base 50 and the floor 20 of the shelter. Thanks to such cavity 21, the floor 20 is not directly in contact with the base in reinforced concrete 50 and, in the event of flooding, the cavity 21 acts as an out and out trap to prevent the floor from getting wet except when the level of water exceeds the height at which the bottom of the door of the shelter is placed, that is to say the height of the floor of the shelter in relation to the ground.
According to one embodiment, the horizontal bars 14 and the uprights 16 are further secured to the angular joints by means of cross screws which connect the end portions of said bars and uprights to the respective arms of the joints.
According to a preferred embodiment, in the threaded hole made in each angular joint 12 and open at least on the side opposite the vertical arm, alternatively to the reinforced concrete base, a foot for the support of the shelter structure on the ground may be screwed. In other words, the same shelter structure may be supported, depending for example on the ground where it is to be located, either by the reinforced concrete base or by simple support feet.
The realisation and installation of the shelter structure according to the invention therefore foresees the realisation of the entire structure in the factory, in particular the load-bearing frame and the base in reinforced concrete.
The load-bearing frame and the base in reinforced concrete are then transported to the installation site of the structure; the base in reinforced concrete is positioned in the excavation, on a support plane made previously and without the need for anchorage.
At this point, the load-bearing frame can be attached to the base in reinforced concrete, for example by screwing.
Lastly, the other elements of the shelter structure, such as the panels forming the floor, the walls and the roof, can be connected to the load-bearing structure.
A person skilled in the art may make modifications, adaptations and replacements of elements with others functionally equivalent to the embodiments of the structure described above, while remaining within the scope of the following claims. Each of the characteristics described as belonging to one possible embodiment may be realised independently of the other embodiments described.

Claims

Shelter structure, in particular for electrical equipment, comprising a load-bearing frame (10), which supports the floor (20), the walls (30) and the roof (40) of said structure, a base in prefabricated reinforced concrete (50) suitable for being transported and laid on a support plane of the shelter, and attachment means suitable to connect said base in reinforced concrete (50) to said load-bearing frame (10).
Structure according to claim 1, wherein the base in reinforced concrete (50) is screwed to the load-bearing frame (10).
Structure according to claim 2, wherein the load-bearing frame (10) has a base comprising angular connection joints (12) supporting horizontal bars (14) acting as sides of said base, the reinforced concrete base being screwed to said angular joints (12).
Structure according to claim 3, wherein angular anchorage plates (54) screwed to said angular connection joints (12) are drowned in the reinforced concrete base (50).
Structure according to claim 4, wherein said angular anchorage plates (54) are screwed to the angular joints by means of a locking screw (56) which traverses a through hole made in the angular plates (54) and screws into a threaded hole made in the angular connection joints (12).
Structure according to claim 5, wherein said angular anchorage plates (54) are coplanar with the upper surface of the reinforced concrete base so as to abut with the lower surface of the angular connection joints (12), and wherein the reinforced concrete base (50) has an access channel (51) below each angular anchorage plate (54) so as to permit the insertion of the locking screws (56) from below.
Structure according to any of the previous claims, wherein reinforcement plates (60) are drowned in the reinforced concrete base near the corners of said base.
Structure according to claim 7, wherein the anchorage plates (54) are rigidly connected to the reinforcement plates (60).
Structure according to any of the previous claims, wherein at least one through aperture (70)is made in the reinforced concrete base for the passage of cables between the inside of the structure and the ground which the base rests on.
Structure according to claim 8 or 9, a braided copper wire (80) is drowned in the reinforced concrete base electrically connected with the load-bearing frame (10) by means of the metal mesh (52), the reinforcement plates (60) and the anchorage plates (54) for the earthing of the structure.
Structure according to any of the previous claims, wherein the reinforced concrete base is 5 to 10 cm thick.
Structure according to any of the previous claims, wherein the horizontal bars (14) of the base of the load-bearing frame (10) support the floor (20) of the shelter creating a cavity (21) between the floor and the reinforced concrete base (50).
Method of making a shelter structure according to any of the previous claims, comprising the steps of:
- making the load-bearing frame;

- making the base in reinforced concrete;

- transporting the load-bearing frame and the base in reinforced concrete to the installation site of the structure;

- positioning the base in reinforced concrete in the excavation;

- attaching the load-bearing frame to the base in reinforced concrete.