Abstract:
An interconnect for an installation environment adapted for housing at least one electrical component having a number of first connectors each having a first configuration, wherein the installation environment has pre-installed wiring having a number of second connectors each having a second configuration. The interconnect includes a backplane component including a number of third connectors adapted to connect with the number of first connectors, and a number of fourth connectors adapted to connect with the number of second connectors, wherein each of the number of fourth connectors is coupled to a respective one of the number of third connectors in a manner that maps the second configuration to the first configuration, and includes a mechanical bracket component adapted to allow for the installation of at least one electrical component such that the first connectors are connected to the third connectors.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) from U.S. provisional patent application no. 62/090,413, entitled “Cabinet Backplane Interconnect” and filed on Dec. 11, 2014, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    1. Field 
         [0003]    This disclosure relates generally to components coupled to the power distribution grid, and more specifically to systems and methods for replacing obsolete components coupled to the power distribution grid. 
         [0004]    2. Background Information 
         [0005]    In electric power systems substations, cabinets are used to house equipment of various types. These cabinets may be installed outdoors, in which case they are designed to protect the equipment from the elements (rain, cold, heat, etc.). A lockable front door is used to access the equipment for maintenance and to protect it from unauthorized access. 
         [0006]    Depending on the size and the specific communication requirements of the substation, the type of equipment inside the cabinet may vary, but will often be a combination of an Intelligent Electronic Devices (IEDs), Remote Terminal Units (RTU) and other I/O devices, connectors, cables, modems, radios, batteries and power supplies. As a whole, the equipment plays a critical role in an electric power system since they collect data from the substation (e.g. voltage, current, alarm indications) and perform remote control operations (e.g. open a breaker). 
         [0007]    Space is often very limited in these cabinets. Hence, the equipment is usually installed very closely together and the wiring between devices is customized to fit perfectly. Replacing faulty equipment often requires using the exact same make and model to avoid any rewiring or worse, redesigning the entire layout of the equipment. For cases in which a new model of a component is desired, often a complete or near-complete rewiring of the devices in the cabinet is required. Such rewiring is expensive, time consuming, and prone to errors. 
         [0008]    A more efficient and cost-effective way to replace components stored inside cabinets is desired. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0009]    Objects and advantages of the present disclosure will be set forth in the following description, or may be obvious from the description, or may be learned through practice of the present disclosure. 
         [0010]    In one embodiment, a cabinet backplane interconnect for an installation environment adapted for housing at least one electrical component is provided. The at least one electrical component has a number of first connectors each having a first configuration, and the installation environment has pre-installed wiring having a number of second connectors each having a second configuration. The interconnect includes a backplane component including a number of third connectors adapted to connect with the number of first connectors of the at least one electrical component, and a number of fourth connectors adapted to connect with the number of second connectors of the pre-installed wiring, wherein each of the number of fourth connectors is coupled to a respective one of the number of third connectors in a manner that maps the second configuration to the first configuration. The interconnect also includes a mechanical bracket component adapted to allow for the installation of at least one electrical component in a manner wherein each of the number of first connectors is connected to a respective one of the number of third connectors. 
         [0011]    In another embodiment, a method of replacing a legacy electrical component with a new electrical component in an installation environment is provided, the new electrical component having a number of first connectors each having a first configuration, and the installation environment having pre-installed wiring having a number of second connectors each having a second configuration. The method includes disconnecting the pre-installed wiring from the legacy electrical component, removing the legacy electrical component from the installation environment, installing a backplane component in the installation environment, the backplane component including a number of third connectors adapted to connect with the number of first connectors of the new electrical component, and a number of fourth connectors adapted to connect with the number of second connectors of the pre-installed wiring, wherein each of the number of fourth connectors is coupled to a respective one of the number of third connectors in a manner that maps the second configuration to the first configuration, installing a mechanical bracket component in the installation environment, installing the new electrical component in the mechanical bracket component such that each of the number of first connectors is connected to a respective one of the number of third connectors, and connecting each of the number of second connectors to a respective one of the number of fourth connectors. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0012]    A full understanding of the disclosed concept can be gained from the following description of the preferred embodiments when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which: 
           [0013]      FIG. 1  is a front schematic view of one embodiment of the disclosed concept; 
           [0014]      FIG. 2  is a partial isometric view of the backplane component of one embodiment of the disclosed concept in relation to one of the I/O devices; 
           [0015]      FIG. 3  is a partial side view of the backplane component of one embodiment of the disclosed concept in relation to one of the I/O devices; 
           [0016]      FIG. 4  is a top view of an I/O device connected to the backplane component of one embodiment of the disclosed concept; 
           [0017]      FIG. 5  is a front view of one embodiment of the backplane component of the disclosed concept with three I/O devices connected to the backplane component; 
           [0018]      FIG. 6  is an isometric view of one embodiment of the invention with three I/O devices connected to the backplane; 
           [0019]      FIG. 7  is a front view of the backplane component of one embodiment of the disclosed concept; 
           [0020]      FIG. 8  is a front view of an example of a legacy electrical device configuration. 
           [0021]      FIG. 9  is an isometric view of one particular embodiment of the disclosed concept; and 
           [0022]      FIG. 10  is an isometric view of one particular embodiment of the mechanical bracket component of the disclosed concept. 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0023]    Directional phrases used herein, such as, for example, left, right, front, back, top, bottom and derivatives thereof, relate to the orientation of the elements shown in the drawings and are not limiting upon the claims unless expressly recited therein. As employed herein, the term “number” shall mean one or an integer greater than one (i.e., a plurality). 
         [0024]    As employed herein, the statement that two or more parts are “coupled” together shall mean that the parts are joined together either directly or joined through one or more intermediate parts. 
         [0025]      FIG. 8  is a front schematic view of an exemplary legacy electrical device  20  that may be used in, for example, and without limitation, a substation of an electrical power system for housing various type of electrical equipment. In the illustrated embodiment, legacy electrical device  20  comprises a variety of electrical components located within an enclosure comprising a cabinet  300  (a lockable front door of cabinet  300  is not shown for ease of illustration). The electrical components located within legacy electrical device  20  may include, for example, a legacy master control unit  600  that operates as the main control for legacy electrical device  20 . Legacy electrical device  20  may also include, for example, a number of legacy input-output (I/O) components  700  that allow legacy electrical device  20  to send control information to, and receive information from, locations remote from legacy electrical device  20 . Such transfer of information may be done directly from legacy I/O components  700 , or indirectly through other components located within or outside cabinet  300 . Legacy electrical device  20  may also include wiring in the form of cabling  800  having connectors  203  structured to connect to legacy connectors  202  of legacy I/O components  700  or other components within cabinet  300 . Although legacy I/O components  700  are described herein as an exemplary electrical component that may be housed within cabinet  300 , it will understood that that is not meant to be limiting, and that various other types of electronic components, such as RTUs, or a combination of different types of components, may be used instead of or in addition to one or more of legacy I/O components  700 . Finally, the electrical components located within legacy electrical device  20  may include a legacy relay module  900 . 
         [0026]    Over time, the electrical components housed within legacy electrical device  20  may become obsolete for any of a number of reasons, such as reliability concerns due to the age of the components, performance issues with older components, security concerns, or improved features in newer generations of components. However, for cost reasons or other concerns, the owner of legacy electrical device  20  may desire to only replace certain components within cabinet  300  while leaving the remainder of the components and cabling  800  intact. 
         [0027]      FIG. 1  a front schematic view of an exemplary electrical device  10  according to an exemplary embodiment of the disclosed concept. Electrical device  10  includes a number of the same parts and/or components as legacy electrical device  20 , and like parts and/or components are labelled with like reference numerals. However, as described in detail herein, in electrical device  10 , certain components of legacy electrical device  20  have been replaced with new components. 
         [0028]    In particular, as seen in  FIG. 1 , in this embodiment, legacy electrical device  20  has been retrofit to form electrical device  10  in a manner wherein legacy master control unit  600  has been replaced by a new master control unit  400 , and legacy I/O components  700  have been replaced by new I/O components  100 . In addition, a mechanical bracket component  500  has been added to electrical device  10  to facilitate the installation of new I/O components  100 . In the illustrated embodiment, up to three new I/O components  100  (or other components, such as RTUs) may be installed by sliding them into mechanical bracket component  500 . It will be understood that the illustrated embodiment allowing up to three new I/O components  100  is meant to be exemplary only, and that the disclosed concept may include the capability to add a greater or lesser number of new I/O components  100  or other electrical components. 
         [0029]    Furthermore, in this embodiment, a backplane component  200  has also been added to electrical device  10 . As described in detail herein, backplane component  200  is structured to allow existing cabling  800  from legacy electrical device  20  to substantially remain in place in electrical device  10  so that it may be reused with new master control unit  400  and I/O components  100 . One potential issue with replacing the components within legacy electrical device  20  during a retrofit as described herein is that the existing pin configuration of connectors  203  at the termination of cabling  800  that were used to connect to legacy I/O components  700  is unlikely to be compatible with the pin configuration necessary to connect to new I/O components  100  which have connectors  101  ( FIGS. 3 and 4  described below). In these instances, in one or more exemplary embodiments, backplane component  200  is used to map the pin configuration of the connector  203  of the legacy or existing cabling  800  to a pin configuration suitable for connectors  101  of new I/O components  100 . This may be achieved by using a printed circuit board (PCB)  204  (shown schematically in  FIG. 7  described below) as a portion of backplane component  200  to map legacy connectors  202  provided on backplane component  200  that are suitable for connection to the connector  203  of existing cabling  800  to connectors  201  also provided on backplane component  200  that are suitable for connecting to connectors  101  of new I/O components  100 , described in more detail below. 
         [0030]      FIG. 2  is a partial isometric view of backplane component  200  of the exemplary embodiment in relation to one of the new I/O components  100 . The connector  203  from existing cabling  800  is mated with legacy connector  202  on the backplane component  200 . Using the PCB  204  of backplane component  200 , the signals from legacy connector  202  are mapped onto connector  201 , where connector  201  is suitable for connection with the I/O components  100  through connectors  101 . 
         [0031]    In one or more particular exemplary embodiments, printed circuit board  204  includes circuitry adapted to provide one or more particular functions such as, but not limited to, fusing, tension conversion, provision of resistances, transient voltage suppression, RS-232 to RS-485 conversion, signal conditioning, protocol conversion, I/O wetting, and test points. 
         [0032]      FIG. 3  is a partial side view of backplane component  200  of the exemplary embodiment in relation to one of the new I/O components  100 . As illustrated by  FIG. 3 , connectors  201  of backplane component  200  are configured to slide into connectors  101  of new I/O components  100 . 
         [0033]      FIG. 4  is a top view of backplane component  200  of the exemplary embodiment connected to one of the new I/O components  100 . Mechanical bracket component  500  may be used to align or guide connectors  101  of the new I/O component  100  onto connectors  201  of backplane component  200 . 
         [0034]      FIG. 5  is a front view and  FIG. 6  is an isometric view of backplane component  200  of the exemplary embodiment with three new I/O components  100  connected to it wherein mechanical bracket component  500 , in which new I/O components  100  are installed and legacy connectors  202  may be seen. 
         [0035]      FIG. 7  is a front view of backplane component  200 ′ of an alternative exemplary embodiment which illustrates one possible layout of connectors  201  and connectors  202 . As described elsewhere herein, connectors  202  are configured to connect to the various other devices installed in cabinet  300  using existing cabling  800 . Backplane component  200  may further comprise additional connectors  205  to allow the new I/O components  100  to communicate with the master control device  400 , and power connectors  206  to provide the installed new I/O components  100  with power through backplane component  200 . Backplane component  200  is designed such that certain connectors  201  are electrically connected to certain other connectors  202  such that the electrical interface provided by connectors  202  is compatible with the requirements of the other devices installed in cabinet  300  and the electrical interface provided by connectors  201  is compatible with the requirements of the new I/O components  100 . 
         [0036]    The mechanical bracket component may further comprise means for affixing the new I/O component  100  to mechanical bracket component such that connectors  101  and connectors  201  are interlocked. More specifically,  FIG. 9  is an isometric view of one particular embodiment of the disclosed concept in which an affixing bracket  102  is used to affix the I/O components  100  (or, alternatively, an RTU) to an alternative mechanical bracket component  500 ′. The holes in the affixing bracket  102  are aligned to holes  501  in the mechanical bracket component  500 ′ (which in this case are threaded) to allow the device to be screwed into place.  FIG. 9  further shows an adaptation of the mechanical bracket component  500 ′ which allows the I/O components  100  (or, alternatively, an RTU) to align their connectors  101  with the backplane&#39;s connectors  201 . 
         [0037]    In one exemplary embodiment, the mechanical bracket component  500 ,  500 ′ and the backplane component  200 ,  200 ′ is formed as a pre-assembled assembly that is installed as a unit. 
         [0038]      FIG. 10  is an isometric view of a further alternative mechanical bracket component  500 ″ of the disclosed concept, in which holes  501 ′ allow the I/O components  100  (or alternatively, an RTU) to be fixed to the mechanical bracket component  500 ″. 
         [0039]    Although the foregoing discussion refers generally to new I/O components  100 , these components may interchangeably be RTUs. For example, all devices may be new I/O components  100 , all devices may be RTUs, or some combination thereof. Additionally, although the foregoing discussion refers to use of existing cabling  800  and the connector associated with that cabling, the invention also contemplates the potential use of additional components, such as an adapter connector that sits between the connector associated with the existing cabling and connector  202  on the backplane component  200 . Although certain connectors are illustrated as male connectors and others are illustrated as female connectors, this disclosure contemplates either case to be encompassed by the invention. 
         [0040]    Furthermore, although the foregoing discussion refers generally to the disclosed being implemented in a cabinet enclosure  300 , this disclosure also contemplates that the disclosed may be implemented with other mounting/housing structures such as, without limitation, a wall-mount or a rack-mount environment. 
         [0041]    Embodiments of the invention may also be described as a method of retrofitting a legacy electrical device  20 , such as that described in connection with  FIG. 8 , with newer components (to form electrical device  10 ), while substantially maintaining existing cabling  800  in cabinet  300 . An exemplary method is described below for replacing legacy main control component  600  with a new main control component  400 , and at least one legacy I/O component  700  with a new I/O component  100 . The technician may disconnect the existing cabling  800  from legacy main control component  600  and legacy I/O component  700 , and remove legacy main control component  600  and legacy I/O component  700  from legacy electrical device  20 . The technician may next install a backplane component  200  that includes connectors  202  compatible with the connector for existing cabling  800 , as well as connectors  201  compatible with new I/O components  100 . The technician may next install a mechanical bracket component  500  within cabinet  300 , and may use mechanical bracket component  500  to install a new I/O component  100  into the system. Connector  201  of backplane component  200  will mate with connector  101  of new I/O component  100 . The technician may also install a new main control component  400  into the system. The technician may connect the existing cabling  800  to connectors  202  on backplane connector  200 , and may connect additional connectors on the backplane connector to connectors on new main control component  400 . Although the steps are described above in a certain order, one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the steps need not necessarily be performed in that order. Not all of the preceding steps need to be performed to fall within the scope of this invention. 
         [0042]    While specific embodiments of the disclosed concept have been described in detail, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various modifications and alternatives to those details could be developed in light of the overall teachings of the disclosure. Accordingly, the particular arrangements disclosed are meant to be illustrative only and not limiting as to the scope of the disclosed concept which is to be given the full breadth of the claims appended and any and all equivalents thereof.