WO2008056384A1

WO2008056384A1 - Support base for telecommunications cabinet

Info

Publication number: WO2008056384A1
Application number: PCT/IT2006/000783
Authority: WO
Inventors: Maurizio Foschino
Original assignee: Cms Costruzioni Meccaniche Sestesi Srl
Priority date: 2006-11-09
Filing date: 2006-11-09
Publication date: 2008-05-15

Abstract

A support base (1) for telecommunications cabinets (100) comprises a fixed base (2) and is characterized in that it comprises a movable base (8) rotatably associated with said fixed base (2) and a slide (4) which is housed inside a receiving seat (3) of said fixed base (2), said slide being able to be displaced into and out of said receiving seat (3). A telecommunications cabinet structure comprises a base mounted on the support base (1) according to the invention.

Description

Title: Support base for telecommunications cabinet

DESCRIPTION

The present invention relates to a support base for supporting cabinets in particular telecommunications cabinets, and specifically cabinets intended to house electrical or electronic equipment such as telephone switching units or analog/digital transmission equipment for telephone signals, data or the like, and the description which follows is provided with reference to this field of application with the sole aim of simplifying illustration thereof, but without being regarded as limiting.

A telecommunications cabinet structure comprises generally a cabinet comprising a compartment closed by a front door for operational access to the equipment and by a service door for service access, namely for maintenance of connectors, cables, etc. In general, these cabinet structures are static, have variable dimensions in terms of height, width, depth and weight and must take into account the environmental conditions in which they are used, such as for example closed or open environments, conditions where there is a greater or less degree of humidity and higher or lower temperatures. Normally, the cabinet structures are positioned against walls in order to minimise the space occupied and so as to allow large bundles of cables also called "polpettoni" to be accommodated along the walls, behind the cabinets, in order to prevent damage and/or tampering therewith.

Access for the purposes of maintenance, in view of these conditions, is always problematic.

The use of furniture cabinets provided with wheels, in order to facilitate movement thereof, does not solve the problem in that it gives rise to other drawbacks.

Maintenance access is therefore, in most cases, performed via the front door so as to then gain access to the rear part of the compartment, after removing

- not without some difficulty - at least some of the equipment situated there. This requires a considerable amount of time which results in higher costs and long downtimes of the equipment.

The object of the present invention is to provide a support base for cabinets which allows improved access for maintenance operations. The technical problem is solved by a support base for telecommunications cabinets comprising a fixed base and characterized in that it comprises a movable base, rotatably associated with the fixed base, and rotation means for rotating the movable base about its axis relative to the fixed base.

The present invention also relates to a telecommunications cabinet structure comprising a base and a cabinet, said cabinet comprising a front compartment which encloses electrical and/or electronic equipment and which is provided with:

- a front door for access to the equipment for conventional use thereof;

- a service door for allowing access for maintenance purposes; and characterized in that the base is mounted on the support base described above.

The characteristic features and advantages of the invention will emerge from the description, provided below, of an example of embodiment thereof provided by way of a non-limiting illustration with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

- the set of Figures A, B and C shows a support base supporting a cabinet structure according to the invention in three different operating positions;

- Figure D shows an exploded axonometric view of the components of the support base according to Figures A, B and C; - Figure F shows a partly cut-away plan view of the rotating structure according to Figure D;

- Figures G and E show cross-sectional views of the support base according to Figure F along the planes indicated by G-G and E-E.

With reference to Figure D, a support base 1 according to the invention comprises a fixed base 2 in which a receiving seat 3 for a slide 4 is formed. A movable base 8 is' integral with the slide 4 and rotatably associated therewith. According to the invention, the movable base 8 has, associated with it, a cabinet 100 which uses the support base 1. The fixed base 2 is that resting on the ground.

The receiving seat 3 occupies most of the inside of the base 2 and is defined with walls arranged parallel to three sides of the fixed base 2, defining also a rectangular opening 6 along the fourth side of the base 2, namely the front side of the said base (the side along which the front door of the cabinet structure opens).

The walls of the receiving seat 3 have rails 10 with which edges 20 provided on the slide 4 are telescopically associated. The slide 4 slides inside the receiving seat 3 as a result of the combined action of the rails 10 and the edges 20.

In a first position, the slide 4 is accommodated inside the receiving seat 3, occupying the entire volume thereof.

When a maintenance operation is required, the slide 4 is made to slide, through the opening 6, by means of engagement of the edges 20 with the rails 10, until it projects by the maximum possible amount from the fixed base 2, assuming a second working position, but remaining attached to the base 2.

As an alternative to the rails 10 and edges 20, other sliding travel means such as (manual or motor-driven) rack-and-pinion systems, systems provided with rails associated with travel roller wheels and the like may be used in order to allow the slide 4 to move from the first position into a second position where it projects fully from the fixed base 2, required for maintenance operations.

The slide 4 comprises a base surface 14 provided with a certain number of openings, namely a central hole 12, which is clearly visible in Figures D and F and guide eyelets 16.

In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the guide eyelets 16 are four in number, have a curved form and define together a non-continuous circular guide. Consequently, each individual curved guide eyelet 16 subtends a centre angle of about 90°. In other embodiments, the guides may be of a different number ranging between two (with a subtended centre angle of 180°) and 10 (with a subtended centre angle of 36°). The base 14 of the slide 4 is provided with sliding means which consist of cavities which house balls 18a, 18b, 18c and 18d which are normally made of steel and which perform a dual function, i.e. a first function of partly supporting the movable base 8 and, consequently, the cabinet structure 100 situated above and a second function of controlled braking of the sliding movement of the movable base 8.

The balls project partially above and below the base 14; they are housed inside respective receiving seats distributed uniformly and on the outside of the non-continuous circular guide and, in the preferred embodiment, they are arranged at 90° with respect to each other; preferably the receiving seats are arranged in the vicinity of the four corners of the base 14.

Alternatively, a greater number of receiving seats (and consequently balls) may be used and also the arrangement on the base 14 may be varied.

In a further embodiment, other types of sliding means may be used.

The movable base 8 is arranged above the slide 4 and constrained thereto by means of a pin 41 passing through the first central hole 12 in the slide 4 and the second central hole 22 in the movable base 8.

Underneath and parallel to the slide 4, a flat member 40 is constrained rotationally by means of fixing means 30a, 30b, 30c, 30d to the guide eyelets 16 present on the support surface of the slide 4. The flat member 40 is also constrained rotationally with respect to the axis passing through the first central hole 12 of the slide 4 and the second central hole 22 of the movable base 8, owing to the presence of the pin 41.

The angle at the centre of the guide eyelets 16 is equivalent to the angle of possible rotation of the movable base 8 (and consequently the cabinet positioned above) relative to the axis of the pin 41.

The sliding means allow a rotation guided by a rolling friction so as to brake rotation of the movable base 8 and prevent damage to the bundles of cables leading into/coming out of the cabinet.

These cables, which ensure the supplying of power and the transmission of incoming/outgoing data, from the cabinet structure, ensuring therefore operation thereof, are made to pass, according to a preferred embodiment, through openings 24 shown in Figure E.

Alternatively, they may pass out from the ground by means of a specially formed channel or directly from a wall so as to access the cabinet structure in a location different from the movable base 8. Locking means, not shown, allow the slide 4 to be kept in the desired positions, preventing the accidental displacement of the slide 4.

Both the displacement of the slide 4 and the rotation of the movable base 8 may be controlled either manually or by means of a specially provided drive system. Rotation of the movable base 8 may occur independently of the positions in which the slide 4 is situated, between the first position fully inserted inside the receiving seat 3 and the position projecting fully from the support base 2.

From the above description it is possible to understand operation of the present invention in the case where the support base supports a telecommunications cabinet.

In the case where the cabinet is arranged resting against a fixed wall - a position which it normally occupies - and access for ordinary or extraordinary maintenance is required, if present the mechanism for locking the slide 4 is operated so that the latter is released and able to slide from the first position, corresponding to the closed cabinet position aligned with the support base 2, into the second position.

The displacement of the slide 4 also causes displacement of the movable base 8 on which the telecommunications cabinet rests, the rear door of which moves away from the wall against which it is was resting. The access to the compartment, at the rear, via the service door, which is necessary For the maintenance operations, is already made easier with this first displacement of the cabinet.

In order to facilitate, however, any type of maintenance operation according to the invention, the movable base is made to rotate about the axis of the first and second central hole 12 and 22 through an angle such that access is possible with opening of the rear door of the cabinet.. At this point the rear compartment can be simply accessed and all the maintenance operations may be easily and quickly performed.

Claims

1. Support base (1) for telecommunications cabinets (100), comprising a fixed base (2) and characterized in that it comprises a movable base (8) rotatably associated with said fixed base (2) and rotation means for rotation of said movable base about its axis relative to said fixed base (2).

2. Support base (2) according to Claim 1, comprising a fixed base (2) and characterized in that it comprises:

- a slide (4) which is housed inside a receiving seat (3) of said fixed base (2) and is able to be displaced into and out of said receiving seat (3); - a movable base (8) which is rotatably associated with said fixed base (2) and with said slide (4) and is able to rotate about its axis by means of said rotation means.

3. Support base (1) according to Claims 1 or 2, in which said rotation means comprise a rotating flat member (40) provided with fixing means (30a, 30b, 30c, 30d) rotationally integral with said movable base (8) by means of sliding of said fixing means (30a, 30b, 30c, 30d) inside non-continuous circular guide eyelets (16) formed in said slide (4).

4. Support base (1) according to Claim 3, in which the angle of rotation of said rotatable flat member (40) is between 0 and 180°.

5. Support base (1) according to Claim 3, in which the angle of rotation of said rotatable flat member (40) is between 0 and 90°.

6. Support base (1) according to one of the preceding claims, comprising furthermore sliding means arranged on a base (14) of said slide (4) and able to allow a rotation of said movable base (8), relative to said support base (2), braked by a rolling friction.

7. Support base (1) according to the preceding claim, in which said sliding means comprise cavities which are formed in said base (14) and house balls (18a, 18b, 18c, 18d).

8. Support base (1) according to one of the preceding claims in which said slide (4) is able to be displaced into and out of said receiving seat (3) by means of sliding travel means.

9. Support base (1) according to Claim 8, in which said sliding travel means comprise rails (10) and edges (20) which are arranged on said support base (2) and on said slide (4), respectively.

10. Support base (1) according to Claim 8, in which said sliding travel means comprise a rack-and-pinion system.

11. Support base (1) according to one of Claims 8, 9 or 10, in which said sliding travel means comprise manually operated means.

12. Support base (1) according to one of Claims 8, 9 or 10, in which said sliding travel means comprise motor-driven means.

13. Support base (1) according to one of the preceding claims, in which said rotation means comprise manually operated means.

14. Support base (1) according to one of the preceding claims, in which said rotation means comprise motor-driven means.

15. Support base (1) according to one of the preceding claims, comprising furthermore means for blocking the sliding movement of said slide (4) inside said receiving seat (3).

16. Telecommunications cabinet structure comprising a base and a cabinet (100), said cabinet (100) comprising a compartment which encloses electrical and/or electronic equipment and is provided with: - a front door for access to the equipment for conventional use thereof;

- a service door for allowing access for maintenance purposes; and characterized in that said base is mounted on the support base (1) according to Claims 1 to 15.