Abstract:
A switchgear cabinet including covering parts and at least one cabinet door mounted on a cabinet carcass by hinges and having a door frame including two vertical profiled elements and two horizontal profiled elements as well as corner pieces joining the profiled elements. In order to simplify the structure and assembly of the switchgear cabinet, hinge receptacles on which the hinges are mounted are supplied on or in the corner pieces of the same side of the door frame.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    This invention relates to a switchgear cabinet with covering elements and at least one cabinet door attached to the body of the cabinet by hinges, which door has a door frame made of two vertical profiled elements and two horizontal profiled elements and corner pieces connecting them. 
         [0003]    2. Discussion of Related Art 
         [0004]    A switchgear cabinet is taught by German Patent Reference DE 28 47 994 C2. There, a door of the switchgear cabinet has a door frame with an inserted door leaf. The door of the switchgear cabinet is hingedly attached to the frame of the switchgear cabinet by hinges, wherein the hinges are received in a frame by a hinge part. For this purpose, the portion of the frame receiving the hinge parts is adapted in a particular way to a section of the hinge parts, which involves a corresponding cost outlay. The profiled elements forming the door frame are beveled in the corner areas and put together by corner connectors in order to clamp the profiled frame sections with respect to each other. No specific information is provided in regard to the corner connectors. 
         [0005]    A switchgear cabinet disclosed by German Patent Reference DE 29723 273 U1, has a door frame made of hollow profiled sections, which are connected with each other at right angles by corner pieces, and is attached to the back of the door facing the switchgear cabinet interior, but no detailed information regarding the embodiment of the corner pieces is provided. Hinge elements are attached to the back of the door leaf outside of a circumferential seal, while further hinge elements, which are hingedly connected therewith are fixed in place on an adjoining vertical frame leg of the switchgear cabinet. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0006]    One object of this invention is to provide a switchgear cabinet of the type mentioned above but which permits the manufacture of the door frame in the simplest possible manner and offers increased options for use, along with simple assembly. 
         [0007]    This object is attained with characteristics taught in this specification and in the claims. Here, hinge receptacles, to which hinges are attached, are provided on or in the corner pieces. 
         [0008]    With these steps, substantial functions of the door frame are transferred to the corner pieces, so that the profiled sections of the door frame do not require extensive working, and assembly is easier. 
         [0009]    For a stable, unequivocal introduction of the respective hinge section, the receptacles are embodied as cutouts in an exterior side remote from the frame interior. 
         [0010]    The step, wherein a hinge element is embodied in the corner piece, contributes to a simple construction. 
         [0011]    If the corner piece has at least one profiled section, in which a rotational shaft of the hinge is arranged and which protrudes beyond the front plane of a door opening of the switchgear cabinet, it is possible to provide the door with a wide opening range without elaborate measures. 
         [0012]    A simple structure of the door frame and of the hinges is also aided if a hinge element, which is connected with the cabinet body, has bearing pins, which are rotatably seated on the corner piece. 
         [0013]    Here, in one design of an embodiment of the hinge, the bearing pins are seated in the at least one profiled section provided with bearing sections and are rotatably fixed in place by bearing pieces introduced into the bearing section. Hinge eyes are provided in the corner piece by these steps, wherein the latter is complemented by the bearing elements. 
         [0014]    Unequivocal stable positioning of the corner pieces and the connection of the associated profiled sections is achieved if the corner pieces have holding pins for the connection with the associated profiled vertical elements and profiled horizontal elements which, in the assembled state of the door frame, are introduced into a respective profiled chamber of the profiled vertical element and profiled horizontal element and are fixed in place therein, wherein a cross section of the holding pins is matched to the cross section of the profiled chambers. 
         [0015]    In this case, a dependable fixation in place results if the holding pins are fixed in place in the profiled chambers by screws, which are turned crosswise into the profiled chambers and the holding pins, or are glued in or welded on to fix in place. 
         [0016]    Definite seating, along with a stable connection, are aided if the profiled vertical elements and profiled horizontal elements are embodied as multi-chambered hollow profiled elements, wherein the profiled chambers receiving the holding pins have a rectangular-shaped cross section. In this case it is advantageous if, for insertion, the end sections of the holding pins are approximately conically tapered. 
         [0017]    Those steps are advantageous for the unhampered attachment of assembly pieces, for example seals or installation elements, such as of a locking device, in which the back of the profiled vertical elements and of the profiled horizontal elements facing the cabinet interior and of the corner pieces connecting them is embodied as flat and parallel with the plane of the door, and wherein the rear profiled wall delimits the respective profiled chamber at the rear. 
         [0018]    Advantageous mounting possibilities, for example for the locking device, result at the front side if at least the profiled vertical elements have a flat profiled section on their front side, which extends parallel with respect to the plane of the door, delimits the respectively profiled chamber at the front and is adjoined toward the exterior of the door frame by the profiled section, which projects from the front and is closed off on its exterior by a flat exterior wall, which is connected at right angles with the back wall. 
         [0019]    A defined flat delimitation of the door frame on its exterior is obtained if the profiled horizontal elements have a flat exterior wall on the exterior of the door frame, which adjoins the back wall at right angles and makes a transition at its front end into a convexly forward curved wall at the front, which extends as far as the interior of the profiled horizontal element which delimits the clear area of the frame. 
         [0020]    Further advantages in connection with the corner piece are obtained if the corner piece has a horizontal leg, which is at least matched to the exterior cross section of the profiled horizontal element, and a vertical leg, which is at least matched to the exterior cross section of the profiled vertical element, and if cable conduits, which are open toward the back of the door frame and can be closed with a removable cover and are arranged in such a way, that they make continuous transitions into each other, are formed in the profiled vertical elements and the profiled horizontal elements, as well as in the horizontal leg and the vertical leg of the corner pieces. Here, the corner piece provides advantageous transitions between the cable conduits and the adjoining profiled sections. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0021]    This invention is explained in greater detail in view of exemplary embodiments, making reference to the drawings, wherein: 
           [0022]      FIG. 1  shows a door with a door frame and door leaf in a perspective plan view; 
           [0023]      FIGS. 2A and 2B , show the door in accordance with  FIG. 1  in a front view and in a top view, respectively; 
           [0024]      FIG. 3  shows the door in accordance with  FIG. 1  in a rear view; 
           [0025]      FIG. 4  shows a section of a profiled vertical element of the door in accordance with  FIG. 1 , in a perspective plan view and in cross section; 
           [0026]      FIG. 5  shows a section of a profiled horizontal element of the door in accordance with  FIG. 1 , in a perspective plan view and in cross section; 
           [0027]      FIG. 6  shows a corner area of a switchgear cabinet with a partially open door in accordance with  FIG. 1 , in a perspective plan view; 
           [0028]      FIG. 7  shows a corner area of a door frame in accordance with  FIG. 1 , with a separate corner piece in a perspective plan view; 
           [0029]      FIG. 8  shows a corner area of the frame in accordance with  FIG. 7A , in an exploded perspective front view; 
           [0030]      FIG. 9  shows the corner area in accordance with  FIG. 8 , in the assembled state in a perspective front view; 
           [0031]      FIG. 10  shows the corner area of the frame in accordance with  FIG. 8 , in an exploded perspective rear view; and 
           [0032]      FIG. 11  shows the corner area of the door frame in accordance with  FIG. 10 , in an assembled representation. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0033]      FIG. 1  shows a door  1  for a switchgear cabinet, having a door leaf  3 , for example a transparent glass pane or other material, also opaque if desired, contained in a door frame  2 . On the front of the door frame facing away from the cabinet interior, see  FIG. 6 , an exterior portion of a locking device  5  is attached to one of the two profiled vertical elements  20 , while on the other vertical side, namely on the exterior  25  remote from the clear frame area in which the door leaf  3  is inserted, hinges  4  are attached in the area of an upper and a lower corner piece  40 . Corner pieces  40  are also inserted in the other two corners between an upper and a lower profiled horizontal element  30  and the respective profiled vertical element  20 . 
         [0034]      FIG. 2A  shows the door in accordance with  FIG. 1  in a front view, while  FIG. 2B  shows the door in accordance with  FIG. 1  in a top view. As shown, adjoining the flat respective exterior lateral surface  25 , the two profiled vertical elements  20  have a profiled section  23  protruding in a hump shape toward the front, which is adjoined by a flat profiled section  27  and offers advantageous mounting options, for example for the locking device  5 . The hump-shaped profiled section  23  contributes to stability and torsional rigidity, and also results in an arrangement of the center of rotation of the hinge which is placed far to the front, so that the door can be opened wide, for example over 180° or more, without hindrance, as shown in  FIG. 6 . 
         [0035]      FIG. 3  shows the door  1  from its back, facing the switchgear cabinet interior, in which the locking elements of the locking device  5  located on the inside, and also the hinges  4 , are shown. A circumferential cable conduit  10  can also be seen, which is open, or can be opened, toward the inside of the door frame  2  and has a cover, see  FIGS. 4 and 5 , and extends over the length of the profiled vertical elements  20  and the profiled horizontal elements  30 , and a connection is provided via the corner pieces  40 . 
         [0036]    The profiled vertical elements  20  are perspectively shown in  FIG. 4  in a section and in a cross section. Toward the interior, the profiled section  23 , which protrudes in a hump shape toward the front and is rounded toward the front in cross section, adjoins the flat exterior side  25  facing away from the clear area of the frame and surrounds a hollow chamber  26 , which is closed off toward the back of the profiled vertical section  20  by a flat wall section extending as far as the inside surrounding the clear area and is only interrupted by the opening side of the cable conduit  10 , into whose opening side a cover  50  is inserted flush with the interior surface. The flat exterior lateral surface  25 , or exterior wall, which is oriented at right angles with respect to the back, and thus also to the plane of the door, continues beyond the interior surface with a free end section  28 . The flat profiled section  27  adjoins the hump-shaped profiled section  23  in the direction toward the interior, extends parallel with the flat back of the profiled element, or respectively the plane of the door, and makes a transition via an inclined portion into the interior of the profiled vertical element surrounding the clear area. A receiving groove  22 , open toward the clear area, is arranged on the interior of the profiled element for receiving the edge of the door leaf  3 , so that the door leaf  3  is securely received, if desired along with the employment of a seal, by the vertical and horizontal profiled frame sections pushed vertically with respect to the edge of the door leaf  3  in the direction of the plane of the door and are completed to form the finished frame by the corner connectors  40 . The front leg of the groove is also supported toward the front by the wall of the flat profiled section. A lateral wall section  14  of the cable conduit  10  adjoins the groove bottom of the receiving groove  22 , and its base wall  15  extends parallel with the plane of the door and also with the flat profiled section  27 , as well as the flat back of the profiled element. The other lateral wall section of the cable conduit, which is rectangular in cross section, delimits at the same time a rectangular profiled chamber  24 , which is delimited by the back of the profiled element, or respectively by the back wall located there, and toward the front by the flat profiled section  27 , and is separated by a further chamber wall from the hollow chamber  26 . In the edge area of the opening of the cable conduit, the one lateral wall section  13  has a holding groove  11  extending along and parallel with the back, while the oppositely located lateral wall section  14  has a holding strip  12  located opposite the groove and also extending longitudinally. The cover  50  is inserted into the holding groove  11  by a plug-in edge  51 , which is set back with respect to the cover surface  52  by the thickness of the outside-located groove leg, this insertion into the groove takes place obliquely, and the play of the plug-in edge  51 , or the elasticity of the cover  50 , is sufficient to make an oblique insertion possible. The other longitudinal edge of the cover  50  facing the holding strip  12  has a snap-in edge  53 , which has an oblique insertion section or insertion curvature and a snap-in groove matched to the holding strip  12 . The cover  50  is sufficiently elastic for snapping into the area of the snap-in edge  53  and/or of the cover section  52 , in particular if the cover is made of a plastic material. 
         [0037]      FIG. 5  shows the profiled horizontal elements  30  in greater detail, namely by sections in a perspective plan view and in cross section. Here, the exterior lateral surface  35  facing away from the clear area of the frame is flat and extends at right angles with respect to the back, also flat, which is oriented parallel with the plane of the door. The flat exterior lateral surface  35 , or respectively the exterior wall section containing it, also projects with a free end section  38  over the back surface. At the front edge, the exterior lateral surface  35  makes a transition into a convexly forward curved front  31 , which extends as far as the leg on the front side of a receiving groove  32  for the door leaf  3  on the interior, which delimits the clear frame area and extends over several chambers on the front. The receiving groove  32  is located in the same plane as the receiving groove  22  of the profiled vertical elements and is inwardly delimited by a rear leg on the back of the profiled horizontal element  30  located in the cabinet interior. The cable conduit  10  is also in a rectangular shape in cross section, corresponding to the cable conduit in the profiled vertical elements  20 , and the one lateral wall section  14  is delimited by the back of the receiving groove  32 . The other lateral wall section  13  delimits a rectangularly-shaped profiled chamber  34  toward the interior, which is delimited on the outside by the outside of the exterior lateral surface  35 . The opening side and the base wall  15  of the cable conduit  10  are located in the same plane parallel with the plane of the door as in connection with the profiled vertical elements  20 . The opening side is covered in the same way as the profiled vertical elements  20  by the cover  50 , which is fixed in place by respective holding elements, holding groove  11  and holding strip  12 . The front-located delimiting wall of the rectangularly-shaped profiled chamber  34  is located in the same plane parallel with the plane of the door as the base wall  15  of the cable conduit  10 . Thus, two further hollow chambers, separated from each other by a strip, result at the front of the cable conduit  10  and the profiled chamber  34 , which contribute to the reinforcement of the profiled horizontal element. 
         [0038]      FIG. 6  shows the door  1  of a switchgear cabinet in the installed state, where the door frame  2  is pivotably connected via hinges  4  with the cabinet body by a frame  6  of horizontal and vertical frame legs  6 ,  6 ′. The body of the cabinet is preferably tightly closed by covering elements, in particular lateral walls  7  and a cover  8  and possibly a rear wall (not represented), provided it is not embodied as a door. The hinge  4  is attached to the door frame  2  in the area of or near the corner piece  40  and is screwed via a massive intermediate piece and an oblique connecting section to a mounting surface, which extends obliquely with respect to the outer edge, of the vertical frame leg in a free space formed in the edge area. A cutout  42 , see  FIG. 8 , is cut in the area of the hinge  4  on the exterior of the corner piece  40 . The hinge axis is arranged in the profiled section  23  of the hump-shaped corner piece protruding toward the front, which makes a flush transition into the hump-shaped profiled section  23  of the profiled vertical element  20 , namely in the curvature. The hump-shaped profiled sections  23  of the corner piece  40  are in a form of a hump-shaped upper bearing section  41  and a hump-shaped lower bearing section  43 , as represented in  FIG. 8 . 
         [0039]      FIG. 7  shows a corner area of the door frame  2  from the rear, where the respective profiled vertical element  20  and profiled horizontal element  30  are connected with each other by the respective corner piece  40 . It can be seen that the cable conduit  10  of the profiled vertical element  20  extends continuously into the cable conduit of the profiled horizontal element  30  via a vertical and a horizontal conduit section of the corner piece  40 . The free end sections  28  and  38  of the profiled vertical element  20  and the profiled horizontal element  30  are also continued via adjoining vertical and horizontal free end sections of the corner piece  40  and form an edge which is closed all around, which can be used, for example, for the attachment or protection of mounting elements or of a seal on the back. 
         [0040]    As  FIG. 8  shows, the connection of the corner piece  40  with the profiled horizontal element  30  and the profiled vertical element  20  takes place by holding pins  45 ,  46  attached to the corner piece  40 , which are matched to the cross section of the profiled chamber  24  of the profiled vertical element  20 , or respectively of the profiled chamber  34  of the profiled horizontal element  30 , and are slightly beveled at their ends for easy insertion. Secure fixing in place is provided by a screw turned transversely in the insertion direction, or by gluing or welding. Further securing is the result of a further pin-like holding element  44  on the corner piece  40 , which enters into the hump-shaped profiled section  23  of the profiled vertical element  20 . The hinge  4  is secured in the cutout  42  by bearing pieces  60  and is rotatably seated, while the bearing pieces  60  are fixed in place by fastening elements  61  in the form of screws and protrude from the direction of the rear into the hump-shaped bearing section  41 , or respectively  43 , as  FIG. 10  shows by way of clarification.  FIG. 9  shows the inserted corner piece  40  from the direction of the front. 
         [0041]      FIG. 10  shows a plug-in receiver  47  for introducing the bearing piece  60  for fixing a bearing pin  4 . 1  in place in the bearing section  41 . The other lower bearing pin  4 . 1  is correspondingly rotatably fixed in place in the lower bearing section  43 . For rotary seating, the bearing pieces  60  have a concave curvature on their front insertion side, which is matched to the curvature of the bearing pins  4 . 1 . The mounting section  4 . 2  is brought into contact with the inclined face of the vertical frame leg and is fixed in place on the vertical frame leg by screws via a fastening element  4 . 3  in the form of threaded bores. 
         [0042]      FIG. 11  shows the corner piece  4  mounted on the profiled vertical element  20  and the profiled horizontal element  30 , along with the hinge  4  mounted thereon by the bearing piece  60  and a fastening element  61 . Here, too, it is possible to see how the cable conduit  10  makes a transition from the profiled vertical element  20  via the corner piece  40  into the cable conduit of the profiled horizontal element  30 . 
         [0043]    The cable can be inserted into the cable conduit  10  from the interior of the switchgear cabinet, in particular in the area of the vertical side provided with the hinges  4 , and from there routed, for example, to the electronically operable door lock or to display elements in order to operate actuators, or respectively to trigger display elements. In the opposite way, it is also possible to transmit sensor signals to a monitoring device via cables  10  routed through the cable conduit.