Claims:WE CLAIM:

1. A busbar arrangement for switchboards, said arrangement comprising:
a base frame assembly (7) placed horizontally to form base of the busbar arrangement;
wherein base assembly is substantially quadrilateral shaped;
a plurality of corner pillars (1) vertically mounted at each corner of the base frame assembly (7), said plurality of corner pillars (1) are circumferentially coupled to each other by a cross channel (5), said cross channel (5) is a rectangular plate of substantial thickness and is parallel to the base frame assembly (7);
wherein said cross channel (5) is parallel to the base frame assembly (7); and
wherein each corner pillar (1) is a rectangular plate of substantial thickness;
at least one mid pillar (2) vertically mounted over said cross channel (5), said mid pillar (2) comprising a series of holes punched therein to facilitate front access for mounting a feeder base plate (6);
wherein said mid pillar (2) is a rectangular plate of substantial thickness and is parallel to the corner pillars (1);
a top frame assembly (4) circumferentially mounted over free ends of the plurality of corner pillars (1), said top frame assembly (4) is parallel to the base frame assembly (7) and cross channel (5);
a top plate (3) mounted over the top frame assembly (4)
wherein said top plate (3) is substantially quadrilateral shaped and parallel to the base frame assembly (7).

2. The busbar arrangement as claimed in claim 1, comprising:
a bottom busbar (8) mounted over the base frame assembly (7);
a direct link (12) rigidly bolted to said bottom busbar (8) at one end and operably coupled to a feeder (11) comprising terminals at other end;
said feeder (11) is operably bridged to a riser link (9) and positioned over said bottom busbar (8) to optimize the direct link (12);
said riser link (9) is connected to at least one cable link (10), said cable link (10) terminates cables nursing the feeder (11).

3. The busbar arrangement as claimed in claim 1, comprising a plurality of cross channels (5), wherein each cross channel (5) is parallel to the base frame assembly (7).

4. The busbar arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein said plurality of corner pillars (1) is parallel to each other.

5. The busbar arrangement as claimed in claim 2, wherein said bottom busbar (8) is adapted to ensure minimum electromagnetic losses.

6. The busbar arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein said corner pillar (1) comprises a series of holes punched therein.

7. The busbar arrangement as claimed in claim 2, optionally comprises a compartment (13) substantially positioned above the feeder (11) for installing meters in the busbar arrangement.

8. The busbar arrangement as claimed 7, wherein top portion of the compartment (13) houses an auxiliary busbar arrangement.

9. The busbar arrangement as claimed in claim 2, wherein the bottom busbar (8) system is optionally coupled to a distribution board or other busbar system in the same plane.

Dated this 31st day of March 2018

Abhishek Sen
Of S. MAJUMDAR & CO.
(Applicant’s Agent)
, Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[001] The subject matter of the present invention, in general, relates to electrical power distribution and control systems, and more particularly, pertains to a busbar arrangement for switchboards.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

[002] In electric power distribution, a busbar is a metallic strip or bar, typically housed inside switchgear, panel boards, and busway enclosures for local high current power distribution. They are also used to connect high voltage equipment at electrical switchyards, and low voltage equipment in battery banks. They are generally uninsulated, and have sufficient stiffness to be supported in air by insulated pillars. These features allow sufficient cooling of the conductors, and the ability to tap in at various points without creating a new joint.

[003] In switchboard systems, the main power supply busbars are located on the top compartment to which the line connections of the control devices must be connected and load or output terminals are connected to outgoing conductors or to other devices within the switchboard, such load terminal connections can be accessible from rear end. In this arrangement the top busbar system always has higher temperature as the heat generated from feeders moves upwards. Moreover, the busbar system is under stress in this type of erection. To neutralize the same, a plurality of supports needs to be added at equal intervals.

[004] For some existing technology in this field, reference is made to US Patent Number 5067043 B2, wherein an electric power distribution panel board-switchboard bus bar insulation shield is disclosed. Combination panel board-switchboard housing accepts plug-on connection with a plurality of electric switch-circuit breaker modules. Circuit breakers can also be directly connected into the bus bars in a plug-on connection with minor modification. The busbars are edge-mounted such that the minor dimension of the bus bars is perpendicular to the bottom of the housing to receive the modules as well as the circuit breakers, parse. Plastic or fiber insulation shields are arranged over those bus bars that are not connected with the circuit breakers or modules to prevent inadvertent contact with the bus bars when energized. This document discloses convenient and inexpensive bus bar insulation shields that are removably replaceable and can be installed either at the factory or on-site.

[005] Reference is also made to IN Patent Application Number 598/KOL/2015, wherein a busbar connection assembly for a power distribution system is disclosed. The busbar connection assembly comprises main double distribution busbar arrangement formed of an array of parallel and spaced apart front horizontal busbars and an array of parallel and spaced apart of rear horizontal busbars, a sub-distribution busbar arrangement, an array of switch connection busbars connected to an electrical device like a circuit breaker, and busbar links for linking said sub-distribution busbar arrangement with said switch connection busbars switch connection busbars. It also provides an electrical cabinet for housing the busbar connection assembly.

[006] Reference is also made to Chinese Publication Number CN 205863656 U, wherein a low-voltage bus bar system cabinet is disclosed. The cabinet includes a low pressure and low pressure located in the top of cabinet busbar chamber, the central lumen is provided with a low-voltage switch that is connected to cabinet exhaust, and a bus system. This busbar system comprises a bus clip bus, bus comprising two on-chip bus and two lower buses, two upper buses and two lower buses are respectively arranged in parallel. The upper bus and the lower bus are clamped in the bus clamp at least in order from above, and the upper bus and the lower bus are arranged in parallel, and the switch connects the top of the bus. The new bus system of the low-voltage cabinet realizes a non-porous lap joint between the busbar and the switch connection row, and no longer needs to punch on the busbar, so that the switch connection row of the whole low-voltage cabinet will not cause the dimension of the switch connection row after the bus specification changes. It will change and modularize and standardize the busbar system, reducing the number of busbars and switch connections required and greatly increasing the efficiency of the production busbar system

[007] Since switchboards are commonly used to accommodate a large variety of control devices, a primary requirement is to provide the required versatility in the switchboard for accepting devices of different sizes and ratings without the necessity of providing specially formed conductors, special drilling, and so forth, to accommodate such different devices. Therefore, switchboards are ordinarily required to accept devices ranging in size from a given large size which occupies the full width of a given switchboard section to smaller devices of less than half the width of such a switchboard section which may be conveniently mounted in side by side relation rather than in vertically aligned relation.

[008] The drawbacks associated with the existing technology are that they are bulky, complex, require special modifications to be connected to auxiliary busbars and somewhat un-safe for the personnel installing and operating them as there remains a possibility of said personnel coming in contact with a live element. They require an Add On chamber (AOC) to bridge a single unit panel with the distribution board thereby making them large and difficult to transport. The complex structures of the existing busbars increases the time required to assemble the same and also the downtime during panel maintenance.

[009] Accordingly, there is a need for a busbar arrangement for switchboards that is simple, requires lesser number of components, is economical, does away with the AOC used to bridge single unit panel with distribution board thereby compacting the transport unit assembly, and reduces the downtime during panel maintenance.

[0010] The above-described need for a busbar arrangement for switchboards that does away with the AOC to compact the transport unit assembly is merely intended to provide an overview of some of the shortcomings of conventional systems / mechanism / techniques, and is not intended to be exhaustive. Other problems/ shortcomings with conventional systems/mechanism/techniques and corresponding benefits of the various non-limiting embodiments described herein may become further apparent upon review of the following description.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0011] The following presents a simplified summary of the invention in order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the invention. This summary is not an extensive overview of the present invention. It is not intended to identify the key/critical elements of the invention or to delineate the scope of the invention. Its sole purpose is to present some concept of the invention in a simplified form as a prelude to a more detailed description of the invention presented later.

[0012] An object of the present invention is to provide a busbar arrangement for switchboards.

[0013] Another object of the present invention is to do away with add on chamber to bridge single unit panel with distribution board thereby compacting the transport unit assembly.

[0014] Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a busbar arrangement that utilizes fewer materials, is easy to assemble, requires less downtime during maintenance and prevents an individual from putting his hand inside the unit and touching any live elements therein.

[0015] Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a busbar arrangement that can be readily used with an auxiliary busbar arrangement without special modifications and is accessible from front as well as from rear.

[0016] Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a switchboard housing wherein center post, or pair of center posts, are used as the load bearing member or members for various components.

[0017] According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a busbar arrangement for switchboards, said busbar arrangement comprising: a base frame assembly placed horizontally to form base of the busbar arrangement; wherein base assembly is substantially quadrilateral shaped; a plurality of corner pillars vertically mounted at each corner of the base frame assembly, said plurality of corner pillars are circumferentially coupled to each other by a cross channel, said cross channel is a rectangular plate of substantial thickness and is parallel to the base frame assembly; wherein said cross channel is parallel to the base frame assembly; and wherein each corner pillar is a rectangular plate of substantial thickness; at least one mid pillar vertically mounted over said cross channel, said mid pillar comprising a series of holes punched therein to facilitate front access for mounting a feeder base plate; wherein said mid pillar is a rectangular plate of substantial thickness and is parallel to the corner pillars; a top frame assembly circumferentially mounted over free ends of the plurality of corner pillars, said top frame assembly is parallel to the base frame assembly and cross channel; a top plate mounted over the top frame assembly wherein said top plate is substantially quadrilateral shaped and parallel to the base frame assembly.

[0018] In a possible implementation of the busbar arrangement according to the first aspect comprises a bottom busbar mounted over the base frame assembly; a direct link rigidly bolted to said bottom busbar at one end and operably coupled to a feeder comprising terminals at other end; said feeder is operably bridged to a riser link and positioned over said bottom busbar to optimize the direct link; said riser link is connected to at least one cable link, said cable link terminates cables nursing the feeder.

[0019] In another possible implementation of the busbar arrangement according to the first aspect comprises a plurality of cross channels, wherein each cross channel is parallel to the base frame assembly.

[0020] In yet another possible implementation of the busbar arrangement according to the first aspect, said plurality of corner pillars is parallel to each other.

[0021] In yet another possible implementation of the busbar arrangement according to the first aspect, said bottom busbar is adapted to ensure minimum electromagnetic losses.

[0022] In yet another possible implementation of the busbar arrangement according to the first aspect, said corner pillar comprises a series of holes punched therein.

[0023] In yet another possible implementation of the busbar arrangement according to the first aspect optionally comprises a compartment substantially positioned above the feeder for installing meters in the busbar arrangement.

[0024] In yet another possible implementation of the busbar arrangement according to the first aspect, top portion of the compartment houses an auxiliary busbar arrangement.

[0025] In yet another possible implementation of the busbar arrangement according to the first aspect, the bottom busbar system is optionally coupled to a distribution board or other busbar system in the same plane.

[0026] Other aspects, advantages, and salient features of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description, which, taken in conjunction with the annexed drawings, discloses exemplary embodiments of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS

[0027] The above and other aspects, features, and advantages of certain exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be more apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

[0028] Figure 1 illustrates the perspective view of the busbar arrangement according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0029] Figure 2 illustrates the perspective view of the busbar arrangement with the feeder and link work inserted therein according to an implementation of the first embodiment of the present invention.

[0030] Persons skilled in the art will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and may have not been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figure may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. Throughout the drawings, it should be noted that like reference numbers are used to depict the same or similar elements, features, and structures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

[0031] The following description with reference to the accompanying drawings is provided to assist in a comprehensive understanding of exemplary embodiments of the invention. It includes various specific details to assist in that understanding but these are to be regarded as merely exemplary.

[0032] Accordingly, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that various changes and modifications of the embodiments described herein can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. In addition, descriptions of well-known functions and constructions are omitted for clarity and conciseness.

[0033] The terms and words used in the following description and claims are not limited to the bibliographical meanings, but, are merely used by the inventor to enable a clear and consistent understanding of the invention. Accordingly, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the following description of exemplary embodiments of the present invention are provided for illustration purpose only and not for the purpose of limiting the invention as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

[0034] It is to be understood that the singular forms “a”, “an”, and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

[0035] By the term “substantially” it is meant that the recited characteristic, parameter, or value need not be achieved exactly, but that deviations or variations, including for example, tolerances, measurement error, measurement accuracy limitations and other factors known to those of skill in the art, may occur in amounts that do not preclude the effect the characteristic was intended to provide.

[0036] Features that are described and/or illustrated with respect to one embodiment may be used in the same way or in a similar way in one or more other embodiments and/or in combination with or instead of the features of the other embodiments.

[0037] It should be emphasized that the term “comprises/comprising” when used in this specification is taken to specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps or component but does not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, components or groups thereof.

[0038] The present invention lies in providing a compact bottom busbar arrangement that runs cooler, is easy to maintain, accessible from both front and rear readily and can be used with any auxiliary busbar arrangement without special modifications.

[0039] A busbar system consists of an isolator and the circuit breaker and on the occurrence of a fault, the circuit breaker is tripped off and the faulty section of the busbar is easily disconnected from the circuit. Electrical busbars are available in rectangular, cross-sectional, round and many other shapes. The rectangular busbar is mostly used in the power system.

[0040] The present invention eliminates the need of add on chamber to bridge the single unit panel with the distribution board thereby making the arrangement compact and easy to transport. It utilizes fewer materials thereby making it easy to assemble, requires less downtime during maintenance and the housing of the switchboard prevents an individual from putting his hand inside the unit and touching any live elements therein.

[0041] Figure 1 illustrates the bottom busbar arrangement of the present invention that includes a base frame assembly (7) which forms the base of the feeder verticals. A plurality of corner vertical pillars (1) are mounted over each corner of the base frame assembly (7), said corner vertical pillars (1) are coupled to each other by a plurality of cross channels (5). Said cross channels (5) forms the base on which the mid-vertical pillars (2) are fixed. A plurality of such mid-vertical pillars (2) can be housed in the vertical framework based on the size of the feeder selection. These mid-vertical pillars (2) have hexagonal holes punched in them to facilitate front access for mounting feeder base plate also known as the feeder channel (6). The top frame assembly (4) is mounted on the pillar arrangement (1, 2) thereby completing the bottom structure. The top plate (3) is fixed over the top frame assembly (4) to enable gland mounting.

[0042] According to a first embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a busbar arrangement for switchboards. This busbar arrangement comprises a base frame assembly (7) placed horizontally to form base of the busbar arrangement; wherein base assembly is substantially quadrilateral shaped; a plurality of corner pillars (1) vertically mounted at each corner of the base frame assembly (7), said plurality of corner pillars (1) are circumferentially coupled to each other by a cross channel (5), said cross channel (5) is a rectangular plate of substantial thickness and is parallel to the base frame assembly (7); wherein said cross channel (5) is parallel to the base frame assembly (7); and wherein each corner pillar (1) is a rectangular plate of substantial thickness; at least one mid pillar (2) vertically mounted over said cross channel (5), said mid pillar (2) comprising a series of holes punched therein to facilitate front access for mounting a feeder base plate (6); wherein said mid pillar (2) is a rectangular plate of substantial thickness and is parallel to the corner pillars (1); a top frame assembly (4) circumferentially mounted over free ends of the plurality of corner pillars (1), said top frame assembly (4) is parallel to the base frame assembly (7) and cross channel (5); a top plate (3) mounted over the top frame assembly (4); wherein said top plate (3) is substantially quadrilateral shaped and parallel to the base frame assembly (7). The busbar arrangement comprises a plurality of cross channels where each cross channel is parallel to the base frame assembly. The plurality of corner pillars is parallel to each other and each corner pillar comprises a series of holes punched therein.

[0043] Figure 2 illustrates another embodiment of the bottom busbar arrangement with the feeder and link work. The bottom busbar (8) are organized in a manner that minimum electromagnetic losses are experienced. The direct link (12) is bolted to these busbars (8) at one end and the other end is terminated at the feeder (11) terminals. The feeder (11) is positioned above the bottom busbar (8) there by optimizing the direct link (12). A compartment (13) above the feeder (11) is utilized for installing meters. The top portion of this compartment (13) is utilized for housing the auxiliary busbar arrangement. The other end of the feeder (11) is bridged to riser link (9) that is connected to cable links (10). The cable links (10) as per nomenclature are used to terminate the cables that nurse the feeder (11).

[0044] The second embodiment of the present invention comprises a bottom busbar (8) mounted over the base frame assembly (7); a direct link (12) rigidly bolted to said bottom busbar (8) at one end and operably coupled to a feeder (11) comprising terminals at other end; said feeder (11) is operably bridged to a riser link (9) and positioned over said bottom busbar (8) to optimize the direct link (12); said riser link (9) is connected to at least one cable link (10), said cable link (10) terminates cables nursing the feeder (11). The bottom busbar is adapted to ensure minimum electromagnetic losses. The bottom busbar system is optionally coupled to a distribution board or other busbar system in the same plane.

[0045] In addition, the busbar arrangement is constructed in line to provide a “dead-front”, i.e., no live conducting parts are exposed when control devices are removed. This bottom busbar (8) can be easily coupled to distribution board or other busbar systems in the same plane without the requirement of add on chamber. The concealed hinge design reduces the downtime during panel maintenance.

[0046] Some of the non-limiting advantages of the present invention are mentioned hereinbelow:
1. The busbar arrangement runs cooler and is easy for maintenance;
2. The busbar arrangement eliminates the need for the add-on chamber to bridge it to distribution board;
3. The linkages of the busbar arrangement are compact thereby reducing power loss of current carrying path;
4. The busbar arrangement is capable of housing a plurality of switches or circuit breakers of varying shapes and sizes with modifying it structure;
5. The busbar arrangement ensures easy installation of auxiliary busbar and earthbar arrangements; and
6. The busbar arrangement is simple, economic, easy to transport, install and maintain.

[0047] Although a simple, economic and compact busbar arrangement that runs cooler and does not need the add-on chamber to bridge it to distribution board has been described in language specific to structural features and/or methods as indicated, it is to be understood that the embodiments disclosed in the above section are not necessarily limited to the specific features or components or devices or methods described therein. Rather, the specific features are disclosed as examples of implementations of a bottom busbar arrangement for switchboards.