Abstract:
Replacing, and in particular extending, the body of an outdoor distributor cabinet includes removing the body of the old distributor cabinet, slipping a new hollow base over the old assembly frame and the old base. A new body, which has at least the same inner capacity as the old body, is placed on top of the old assembly frame, aligned therewith, and secured. Accordingly, the distributor cabinet remains in its original position, whereby no new authorization for installation or building permit is required.

Description:
[0001]    This application is a Continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 10/547,069, filed 12 Jun. 2006, which is a National Stage Application of PCT/EP2004/001837, filed 24 Feb. 2004, which claims benefit of Serial. No. 103 07 944.0, filed 25 Feb. 2003 in Germany and which applications are incorporated herein by reference. To the extent appropriate, a claim of priority is made to each of the above disclosed applications. 
     
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0002]    The invention relates to a distribution cabinet which is usually set up outdoors and accommodates the technical, for example electrical or optical, distribution installations for, for example, weak-current systems, for example telephone systems, with associated power-supply devices and cable-terminal/connection devices for a certain area. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    Nowadays—in addition to having sufficient structural stability and resistance to vandalism, etc.—such distribution cabinets have to satisfy further requirements, for example excessive electromagnetic radiation must not be emitted to the surroundings, and, for use in warmer countries in particular, the temperatures in the interior of the distribution cabinet must not rise to too high a level, despite the heat-emitting electrical subassemblies accommodated there, nor must they drop to too low a level. 
         [0004]    Such distribution cabinets are, in principle, produced either from metal or from plastic, plastic combining the advantage of less expensive production with the advantage of an electrically non-conductive material, with the result that, even in the case of unplanned contact being established between the housing of the distribution cabinet and an electrical component, there is never the risk of a person who touches the housing from the outside receiving an electric shock. 
         [0005]    As far as the sufficient cooling capability of such distribution cabinets is concerned, it is already known for cooling to be effected by air circulation. For this purpose, the body is of a double-walled configuration, the ambient air being able to circulate in the intermediate space between the walls, that is to say enter at the bottom and leave at the top, whereby on the one hand heating-up of the interior by sunlight and on the other hand heat dissipation is effected at the inner wall, which is heated up by the electrical subassemblies in the main space. 
         [0006]    In addition, modern distribution cabinets are made EMC-proof, with the consequent result that electromagnetic emission to the outside can only take place within the prescribed limit values. 
         [0007]    Some of such distribution cabinets are on private property, but they are often also on public property, so that the respective local authorities have to grant approval for such a distribution cabinet to be installed. As long as the telecommunication companies were also state-owned, this rarely presented any problems; with increasing privatization, the authorities are refusing installation or demand a fee for installation, quite apart from the fact that an approval procedure has to be undergone and takes considerable time. 
         [0008]    This problem arises in the case of all distribution cabinets that are to be newly installed, that is to say in particular in development areas, or if there is no longer any space available for technical components, in particular electrical components, in an existing distribution cabinet and a further distribution cabinet should be additionally set up alongside it. 
         [0009]    A further, technical problem exists when an existing distribution cabinet is replaced for technical reasons, that is to say for example if the body of an already existing distribution cabinet has to be exchanged to improve the EMC-proof shielding or the cooling capability. 
         [0010]    At the same time, it must be remembered that a distribution cabinet generally rests on a base buried deep in the ground, usually made of concrete, latterly also of plastic, into which the buried cables leading to the distribution cabinet and away from it again are led from below, and to which both the usually present installation frame on which the technical components, in particular electrical components, are fastened, is screwed in the same way as the surrounding body. The body is—in particular in the case of the double-shell type of construction mentioned with regard to the inner body—either produced from fixedly interconnected plates, or from a body frame closed by means of paneling. The outer body is fitted on such an inner body at a distance from it by means of paneling. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0011]    It is therefore the object of the present invention to provide a method for exchanging, in particular increasing the size of, the body of a distribution cabinet and also a construction kit for this, the exchange of which body is unproblematic and with which method the distribution cabinet remains at the original location and consequently no new installation approval or construction approval is necessary. 
         [0012]    By slipping a new base and also a new body—after removal of the old body—over the old components enclosed by the switch cabinet, that is to say leaving the old base and the transmission equipment mounted on it, that is to say the technical, in particular electrical functional parts, in their place, no disconnection from the power supply system, that is disconnection of the technical, in particular electrical, functional elements, inside the switch cabinet is necessary. 
         [0013]    Since the switch cabinet remains in its existing position and only the outside dimensions of the new body increase to a greater or lesser extent, generally no new official installation approval is necessary either. 
         [0014]    By removing the ground from around the base, but preferably not quite as far as the lower edge of the old base, not only does the old base remain in its position, but usually it is also not entirely deprived of its stability during the conversion work, with the result that there is no reason to fear that the stripped old switch cabinet may tip over during the work. 
         [0015]    However, if need be it is possible at any time for the stripped old switch cabinet to be destabilized deliberately—by removing the ground down to the lower edge of the old base—in order to set it straight again—for example if it is tilted—or else move it slightly from where it is located. The latter is often necessary for example whenever the old switch cabinet was positioned with its rear side too close to an existing building, garden wall or the like, and must be shifted a few centimeters away from there to slip the new switch cabinet over it. 
         [0016]    Slipping over the new base box, which is hollow in plan view and preferably in the form of a closed box profile, and in particular the base feet projecting preferably laterally outward from the base box, have the effect of increasing the size of the standing area of the latter in such a way that secure support in the ground is ensured—despite the smaller installation depth. 
         [0017]    The base is in this case preferably assembled before it is slipped over, from the usually one-piece, but possibly also multi-part, base box and the base feet, the base feet preferably in turn comprising base-foot side parts and a base-foot plate which is continuous on each side, and consequently for two side parts. 
         [0018]    For transport, the base feet are often already fastened to the base box, but turned by 180° with respect to a vertical axis, with the result that the base-foot plate does not project outward beyond the base box. In this transporting position, the base can also be used in the case where a distribution cabinet is newly constructed. 
         [0019]    This on the one hand reduces the transporting volume of the base and on the other hand allows the parts to be produced from the most favorable material in each case, for example the base-foot plates from galvanized sheet-steel meshes or plastic meshes, while the base-foot side parts may be bent sheet-steel parts. The base box itself consists for example of concrete, plastic, metal or a mixture of these materials. 
         [0020]    The production of the base-foot plates as mesh parts and in particular from plastic has proven to be advantageous for several reasons: on the one hand, the mesh form makes it possible for the base to be vibrated and consequently leveled exactly horizontally in a simple way. If this base-foot plate consists of plastic, apertures and cutouts can be made in a simple way in the plate on site, for example to accommodate cables leading away from the distribution cabinet. 
         [0021]    Once the base has been aligned, in particular horizontally, but also approximately in its lateral distance from the old base, placement of the new body on the new base takes place in that the new body is raised by a crane, in particular the loading crane of the delivery truck, by means of lifting lugs screwed into the body, and slipped from above over the electrical components enclosed by the old switch cabinet—which has been freed of its old housing—and also over its base, since the new base generally rises up less far than the old base, with the result that the new body also extends vertically over part of the old base. Generally, further work will necessitate removal of the outer cladding of the new body, that is to say of the outer side walls, rear wall and doors, which, depending on the size and weight of the new body, can take place before or after it is slipped over. 
         [0022]    By contrast, the removal of the roof module, usually comprising an upper cover and an upper intermediate part located under said cover, which rests on the intrinsically stable main part of the new body, is generally essential, since, for the slipping-over operation, the lifting lugs for attaching the crane are screwed into this main part of the new body from above, or fastened in some other way. 
         [0023]    For this purpose, when the new body is delivered, the roof module is only loosely in place and not already fixedly connected to the rest of the body. 
         [0024]    After connecting, in particular screwing, the new body to the new base, in particular the lower edge of the new body to the upper edge of the new base, the new body—and consequently also the new base already connected to it—is brought to the desired distance from the old base in the horizontal direction, preferably by means of horizontally lying adjusting screws in the new body. 
         [0025]    For this purpose, the body, and in particular the body frame of the new body, has horizontally running cross struts just below the height of the upper edge of the body, to which or through which, by means of horizontal threaded bores, the adjusting screws can be screwed from outside and support themselves on the outer surface of the old base. 
         [0026]    Preferably, the old installation frame, on which the transmission equipment is mounted, is also detached from the old base, in particular by unscrewing or extracting the connecting screws, and instead fixed, in particular screwed, with respect to the new body. 
         [0027]    This takes place for example by means of the known perforated strips of metal or plastic, which on the one hand are screwed to the old installation frame, and on the other hand to the new body on the inner side, in particular to the body frame of the latter. For this purpose, sliding blocks in undercut grooves, which run along the edge profiles of the body frame, can be screwed in particular to such a body frame. 
         [0028]    Such fixing preferably takes place in the upper region of the old installation frame and, if appropriate, in its lower region. The use of the perforated strips allows different forms and positions of the old installation frames to be fastened to the new body. 
         [0029]    In addition, the EMC-proof shielding is achieved, in that the gap between the old base and the new body, which is peripheral when considered in plan view, is closed by an EMC seal—acting on the upper side of the old base. 
         [0030]    If the new body surrounds the old base only at a small distance, this takes place by adhesively attaching a strip of metal foil, for example a bitumen strip covered with aluminum foil, which rests with its one edge on the upper side of the old base and with the other edge on the cross struts extending at this height of the body frame of the new frame. 
         [0031]    If the new body serves for increasing the size of the interior space for new technical or electrical components, the then larger open surface area next to the old base is closed by means of a corresponding plate consisting of metal or covered with metal. 
         [0032]    In the additional interior space there is already—preferably already connected to the new body and in particular the body frame of the latter—a new installation frame for receiving the new electrical components. 
         [0033]    Finally, the new body, previously stripped of its cladding for better accessibility, is provided with panels again, that is to say the side walls are suspended from the top on the outside, and so is the rear wall, and the folding doors are fitted by pushing in from the top the hinge rod which extends over the entire height of the door and is passed through both by hinge lobes of the side part and by hinge lobes of the door. 
         [0034]    In this respect, care must be taken in particular not to damage the peripheral, combined splash-water and EMC seal, arranged in the doors and/or in the housing frame, which preferably consists of a customary soft plastic or rubber material, preferably of a hollow cross section, as the splash-water seal, and on the outer surface of which a metallized foil, or a foil that contains a metal gauze and is preferably self-adhesive, is applied as the EMC seal. 
         [0035]    Finally, the roof module is placed on, positively engaging with its lower edge over the upper edge of the side walls and rear wall. The roof module in this case reaches down with securing continuations, which have a transverse bore, between the housing frame and the outer side wall. The roof module is secured against lifting off when the doors are fully opened, in that a securing bar is respectively pushed in horizontally from the front in the intermediate space between the housing frame and the side wall of the housing in such a way that it positively engages through both the bores of the securing continuations of the roof module and corresponding bores of analogous securing continuations projecting outward from the housing frame. After closing and barring the doors, this securing bar is no longer accessible from the outside, consequently cannot be removed, in order that the roof module is not taken off, and as a consequence the side walls and the rear wall are also not detached upward, and—as long as the lock is not destroyed—the front doors are not opened either. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
         [0036]    An embodiment according to the invention is described in more detail below by way of example. In the drawing: 
           [0037]      FIG. 1  shows the slipping-over of the new base, 
           [0038]      FIG. 2  shows the slipped-over, set-down new base, 
           [0039]      FIG. 3  shows the slipping-over of the inner body, 
           [0040]      FIG. 4  shows the slipped-over, set-down and fastened inner body, 
           [0041]      FIG. 5  shows the inner body provided with peripheral cladding plates, 
           [0042]      FIG. 6  shows the roof module additionally placed on; 
           [0043]      FIG. 7  shows the inner body on its own, 
           [0044]      FIG. 8  shows it provided with side parts, 
           [0045]      FIG. 9  shows it with additional cladding at the front and rear in the lower region, 
           [0046]      FIG. 10  shows it with an additionally attached rear wall and front doors, 
           [0047]      FIG. 11  shows it with the roof module to be additionally placed on, 
           [0048]      FIG. 12  shows it in the ready assembled state of the body and 
           [0049]      FIG. 13  shows the base on its own. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0050]    Before the procedure involved in slipping over the new distribution cabinet is explained on the basis of  FIGS. 1 to 6 , its individual parts, namely the new base  2  and the new body  3 , are described individually on the basis of  FIGS. 7 to 13 , and the different states of construction of the new body  3  are thereby explained on the basis of  FIGS. 7 to 12 . 
         [0051]      FIG. 13  shows the new base  2 , which is screwed together from a number of individual parts: 
         [0052]    On the one hand, the base box  2   a,  which is hollow, that is to say open right through when viewed in plan view, and generally consists of plastic, concrete, a mixture of the two or some other non-rusting material. Fastened under its outer side regions in the transverse direction  20 , of the greater transverse extent of the base box  2   a,  are base feet  2   b,  with which the base box  2   a  is set down on the underlying ground, which is removed for this purpose down to the desired level. 
         [0053]    The base feet  2   b  comprise base-foot plates  2   d , preferably made of an intrinsically stable mesh, in particular a mesh of galvanized sheet steel with vertical ridges or a plastic mesh. These plates have a width preferably corresponding exactly to the horizontal depth, that is width, of the base box  2   a  and project laterally beyond the base box  2   a  in the transverse direction  20 . When viewed in plan view, the plates  2   d  reach only under the side walls of the base box  2   a,  in a way corresponding to the thickness of said walls, with the result that the free space in the base box, when viewed in plan view, is not made any smaller by this. 
         [0054]    The plates  2   d  are fastened in this position with the aid of in each case two approximately triangular side parts  2   c,  which are screwed by one of their two right-angled outer edges to the plate  2   d,  in particular to the upper side of the latter, and are connected by the tapering upper region to the base box  2   a  and in this way position the plates  2   d  underneath the base box  2   a  and at a distance from it. 
         [0055]    The plates  2   d  serve for increasing the size of the standing area with respect to the base area of the peripheral parts, only narrow in plan view, of the one-piece or vertically or horizontally divided, multi-piece base box and can theoretically also project outward at the front and rear sides instead of at the outer narrow sides in the transverse direction, or on all four sides. However, the result of a standing area of optimum size with only relatively little necessary excavation of the earth around the old base is obtained when the plates are fastened such that they project in the transverse direction beyond the sides of the base box  2   a.    
         [0056]      FIGS. 7 to 12  show the increasingly completed construction phases of the new body  3 . The inner body has a cubic form and is intrinsically stable on account of a body frame  16  which is made up of edge profiles  17 , which are interconnected, in particular screwed, at their ends, in particular in the corners of the body frame  16 , by means of corresponding corner connectors. 
         [0057]    In addition to the edge profiles  17 , cross struts  34  run horizontally along the edges of the cuboidal inner body  21  around the periphery between the vertical struts in the lower third of the body frame  16 , and adjusting screws  13  are likewise arranged horizontally, directed from the outside inward against said cross struts. 
         [0058]    The adjusting screws  13  are in this case arranged in pairs, spaced apart from one another, respectively on the front and rear cross struts  34  running in the transverse direction, preferably also one each in the middle of the short cross struts running transversely in relation to the transverse direction  20 . 
         [0059]    The body frame  16  is closed at the sides, at the rear side and at the upper side by preferably EMC-proof plates, which preferably lie in the range of the thickness of the edge profiles  17 , so that only the front side, in particular in this case only the region lying above the cross struts  34 , is open, as well as the base area between the edge profiles  17  running around the periphery at the bottom. 
         [0060]    Shown lying on the upper paneling are two screw-in lifting lugs  12 , which if need be, that is for lifting this inner body  21 , can be screwed into upwardly directed internal threads  22  that are open at the top of two diagonally opposite upper corner connectors of the body frame  16 . 
         [0061]      FIGS. 8  show by contrast a state in which the inner body  21  as described is already fitted with side walls  8 , which are placed from the outside against the side faces of the inner body  21  and by lowering are positively connected to the latter, or fastened in some other way. 
         [0062]      FIG. 9  shows a state in which, by contrast with the fittings according to  FIG. 8 , a front flap  23  and a rear flap  24 —which like the side walls  8  and the rest of the cladding preferably consist of plastic—cover the front and rear lower regions the inner body  21 , in that they are likewise placed from the outside against the latter, preferably with positive engagement, or fastened in some other way and, as a result, close at the front and rear the region from the peripheral cross struts in the lower third to the lower end of the body frame  16 , whereas the side walls  8  of course preferably extend over the entire height of the body frame  21 . 
         [0063]      FIG. 10  show a state in which the inner body  21  is additionally fitted with a rear wall  11  and front doors  4   a, b . The doors  4   a, b  are in this case hung in corresponding hinges as a pivot axis on the longitudinal outer edges of the front side, while the rear wall  11  is in turn fastened from the outside by hanging from above or in some other way. 
         [0064]    As the plan views  10   d  and  9   d  show in particular, the rear wall  11  and side walls  8  are positioned such that they are offset by a distance outward with respect to the inner body  21 —open at the top and bottom—, so that air can flow upward in between as a result of the chimney effect. 
         [0065]    For the same reason, the doors  4   a, b  are formed in a double-walled manner with through-openings from the bottom to the top, the inner wall of the doors  4   a, b  in turn preferably being formed in an EMC-proof manner. 
         [0066]      FIG. 11  show the state of the body  3  during completion by placing on the roof module  50 , which comprises an upper intermediate part  7  and a cover  5 , and preferably downwardly protruding continuations  25  serve for pushing into the remaining body  3 , in particular between the inner body  21  and the outer cladding of the latter, and screwing to the inner body  21 , in particular its body frame  16 . 
         [0067]    Since the roof module  50 , when viewed in plan view, protrudes beyond the inner body  21  and also covers the rear wall  11 , side walls  8  and the doors  4   a, b  in the closed state, the fixed roof module  50 —as shown in the final state of FIG.  12 —prevents these parts from being raised upward and consequently prevents their removal from the inner body  21 . 
         [0068]      FIG. 1  show the pushing of the base  2 , represented in  FIG. 13 , over the old installation frame  6 , loaded with technical or electrical functional parts, and the old base  2 ′, which supports said frame and to which it is connected by means of fastening screws  18 . 
         [0069]    The technical or electrical functional elements usually screwed and wired to the old installation frame  6  are not shown for reasons of overall clarity, but instead just the cable inlets  27  in the base plate  36  of the installation frame  6  are shown for reasons of overall clarity. However, when viewed in plan view, the electrical functional parts that are not shown do not protrude laterally beyond the base area of the old base  2 ′, since, before the removal of the old body (not shown here), which rested on the outer periphery of the old base  2 ′, they were of course enclosed by said old body. 
         [0070]      FIG. 2  show the final position of the new base  2 , set down on the underlying ground, after it has been slipped over. As  FIG. 2   b  shows in particular, the new base  2  is much less high than the old base  2 ′. Since the ground level, that is to say the normal level of the ground surface, can be seen on the old base  2 ′, the ground is removed around the old base  2 ′, in particular in the transverse direction to the sides of the old base  2 ′, to such a depth that the new base  2  can be placed in the removed region with its standing plates  2   d  on the new standing level  29  created in this way, which is chosen such that the upper edge of the new base  2  is at the height of the previous ground level  40 . 
         [0071]    Depending on the depth of submergence of the old base  2 ′, this new standing level may lie, as shown in  FIG. 2 , just beneath the standing level of the old base  2 ′ or else above it, the new standing level  29  preferably being chosen such that it is above the old standing level, in order not to have to dig around the old base  2 ′ until it is completely free, which reduces the stability of the old base  2 ′, and consequently of the old switch cabinet, during the conversion work. 
         [0072]    At the same time there is the possibility of varying the height of the new base  2  by means of base side parts  2   c  of different heights. 
         [0073]    The plan view of  FIG. 2   d  also shows that the width of the new base, when viewed in plan view, that is to say transversely in relation to its transverse extent  20 , is only of such a size that the inner, free space of the new base  2  that can be slipped over, that is to say in particular its base box  2   a,  is just slightly greater than the outer width of the old base  2 ′. 
         [0074]    In the transverse direction  20 , the new base  2  may likewise just fit over the old base  2 ′ or—as shown in FIG.  2 —be much larger, in order to create space for the new installation frame next to the old installation frame  6  at a later time. For this reason, the new base  2  is then slipped over the old base  2 ′ in such a way that the latter bears with one of its sides closely against the lateral (right or left) inner periphery of the new base  2 , in particular its base box  2   a,  and the additional interior space is consequently available only on one side of the old installation frame  6 , that is in one piece. 
         [0075]    Once the new base  2  has been set down and aligned horizontally at the correct height in this way, the body  3 , in particular only its inner body  21 —preferably hanging from a crane hook—is slipped from above over the old installation frame  6 , so that the latter is completely surrounded by the new inner body  21 . The body  3 , in particular its inner body  21 , is thereby lowered until it rests on the upper side of the new base  2 , and subsequently screwed to the latter by means of fastening screws  18 . 
         [0076]    Preferably—when viewed in plan view—the inner body  21  does not in this case protrude laterally beyond the outer periphery of the base box  2   a,  as can be seen from  FIG. 4 , after fastening by means of the fastening screws  18  between the inner body  21  and the new base  2 . 
         [0077]      FIG. 5  shows the state of the new body  3  analogous to  FIG. 10 , that is to say with fitted outer cladding on the inner body  21  in the form of the side walls  8 , the rear wall  11  and the two outer-attached front doors  4   a, b . As the front view of  FIG. 5   b  and the plan view of  FIG. 5   d  show in particular, the outer periphery of the new body  3  fitted out in this way is greater than the outer periphery of the new base box  2   a,  so that the side walls  8  extend over the entire height of the inner body  21  and of the base box  2   a,  and also the front flap  23 ′ and the rear flap  24 ′ that are used cover in terms of height not only the lower region of the inner body  21 , that is to say from the cross struts  34  downward, but also the part lying thereunder of the new base box  2   a.    
         [0078]      FIG. 5   a  also shows the new installation frame  6   a , which is fastened subsequently such that it laterally adjoins the old installation frame  6  in the inner body  21  of the new body  3 , which according to  FIG. 4   a  may take place already before the slipping-over of the new inner body  21  or of the new body  3 , or else subsequently. 
         [0079]    Similarly—as a departure from FIGS.  1  to  6 —the inner body  21  may be slipped over when already paneled with side walls, a rear wall and a front flap and rear flap, that is to say in the state which can be seen in  FIG. 5 . 
         [0080]      FIG. 5 , in particular  FIG. 5   c,  also show the fixing of the old installation frame  6 , in particular in the upper region—to the new body  3 , which preferably takes place by means of screwing a piece of perforated strip  14 , which preferably consists of metal or plastic, the middle region of which is screwed to the upper end, for example, of the old installation frame  6 , and the ends of which that point obliquely upwards to the front and rear are screwed to the front and rear edge profiles  17 , running in the transverse direction  20 , of the body frame  16 , preferably by screwing to sliding blocks  17 , which are displaceable in corresponding undercut grooves along these edge profiles  17 . 
         [0081]      FIG. 6  bears the final state, that is to say—once the lifting lugs  12  have been removed again—after placing the roof model  50  onto the upper side of the remaining new body  3  and connection to the latter. 
       LIST OF DESIGNATIONS 
       [0000]    
       
           1  distribution cabinet 
           2 ,  2 ′ base 
           2   a  base box 
           2   b  base foot 
           2   c  base side part 
           2   d  base plate 
           3 ,  3 ′ body 
           4  door 
           5  cover 
           6  installation frame 
           7  upper intermediate part 
           8  side wall 
           9  subrack 
           10  vertical longitudinal direction 
           11  rear wall 
           12  lifting lug 
           13  adjusting screw 
           14  perforated strip 
           15  sliding block 
           16  body frame 
           17  edge profile 
           18 ,  18 ′ fastening screw 
           19  metal foil 
           20  transverse direction 
           21  inner body 
           22  internal thread 
           23 ,  23 ′ front flap 
           24 ,  24 ′ rear flap 
           25  continuations 
           26  base plate 
           27  cable inlet 
           28  lines 
           29  new standing level 
           34  cross struts 
           40  ground level 
           50  roof module