Patent Publication Number: US-10312484-B2

Title: Tiered battery cabinet

Description:
The present application is a continuation application of application U.S. Ser. No. 13/354,822, filed on Jan. 20, 2012, which issued as U.S. Pat. No. 9,112,205 on Aug. 18, 2015, which is a divisional application of U.S. Ser. No. 11/346,042, filed on Feb. 2, 2006, and which issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,100,271 on Jan. 24, 2012, each of which is incorporated by reference herein. 
    
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present application may relate to an apparatus for retaining storage batteries, and more specifically to an apparatus which may permit convenient access to the battery terminals. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Battery cabinets or battery racks are used to house groups of storage batteries and ancillary equipment and may be a component of battery backup systems as used in telephone, computer and other systems requiring auxiliary or uninterrupted power. The batteries may be required to supply high currents. As the batteries have a finite lifetime, and the connections to the batteries require servicing, such as verifying or resetting the torque of the connection, easy access to the battery terminals and to the batteries for servicing and replacement is desired. 
     Where the batteries are arranged so as to be disposed in rows situated directly above each other, the structure of an upper battery interferes with access to a lower battery, particularly with respect to the battery terminals, which are difficult to access if they are disposed on the top surface of the battery. A large vertical space may have to be provided between adjacent tiers of batteries to permit clearance for servicing tools such as wrenches and the like. Such an arrangement increases the height of a battery cabinet or rack and has undesirable economic and ergonomic consequences. Alternatively, the terminals of the batteries may be disposed on a front surface of the battery. Even with such a construction, the placement of the batteries in vertically oriented tiers directly above one another limits access for tools, requiring extension parts for the tools or specialized fasteners. 
     In another configuration, the battery connection terminals may be at the top of the battery, but extended to the front face of the battery by “L”-shaped brackets. In this circumstance, one end of the “L”-shaped bracket is bolted to the battery terminal on top of the battery, and the battery cable is bolted to other end of the bracket at the front face of the battery; such construction increases the number of joints or connections, increasing the circuit resistance and involving more maintenance and reduced reliability. 
     The servicing of batteries by replacement, and the maintenance of the installation, involving inspecting, torquing or otherwise tightening the cable connections to the batteries would be facilitated if convenient top access to a portion of the battery at one end thereof, where the battery terminals are located was provided. 
     SUMMARY 
     An apparatus is disclosed where a battery cabinet or battery rack is provided. Generally, the terms battery rack and battery cabinet are used interchangeably herein. The battery cabinet is capable of accepting a plurality of batteries which may be positioned on a plurality of supports in a tiered arrangement such that a front surface of the batteries in each tier of batteries is set back further from the front of the cabinet as the tier rank as measured from the base of the cabinet, increases. The set back between successive tiers is dimensioned such that access to battery terminals on successive tiers is facilitated. In this manner, the battery terminals on the each battery may be accessed from either the top or the front thereof for servicing of the connections and replacement of the batteries. Individual batteries may be connected and disconnected from system cables and busses, and individual batteries may be removed or inserted in predetermined positions in the battery cabinet. Batteries of simple form factor, where the terminals need not be recessed from the battery top surface are also usable. Batteries with the terminals on the front thereof may also be used in this arrangement. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  illustrates a front elevation view of a battery cabinet; 
         FIG. 2  illustrates a side elevation view of the battery cabinet of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  illustrates a top plan view of the battery cabinet of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 4  illustrates a tray for supporting a tier of batteries; 
         FIG. 5  illustrates a battery rack with trays and batteries installed; 
         FIG. 6A  illustrates another tray for supporting a tier of batteries; 
         FIG. 6B  illustrates a side view of the tray of  FIG. 6A  with a hole pattern suitable for a single vertical support on each side; 
         FIG. 6C  illustrates a side view of the tray of  FIG. 6A  with a hole pattern suitable for two vertical supports on each side; 
         FIG. 7A  illustrates a front view of a battery rack; 
         FIG. 7B  illustrates a side view of the battery rack of  FIG. 7A  with one vertical support one each side thereof; and, 
         FIG. 7C  illustrates a side view of the battery rack of  FIG. 7A  with two vertical supports on each side thereof. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Exemplary embodiments may be better understood with reference to the drawings, but these examples are not intended to be of a limiting nature. Like numbered elements in the same or different drawings perform equivalent functions. 
       FIG. 1  illustrates a front elevation view of a battery cabinet  10  for mounting a plurality of storage batteries  12  as may be provided in a back-up battery power supply or similar application requiring a plurality of batteries being connected in series, in parallel, or in some combination of connection configurations. The batteries may all be of the same capacity and type, but this is not required. Not all features of a battery cabinet are shown, and a battery cabinet may include doors or removable panels providing access from the front, side, and rear thereof; brackets, bars, lips or tie downs to prevent the batteries from being dislodged during seismic events; circuit breakers, battery chargers, and battery monitors, fuses and other accessories as are known in the art. Such accessories are optional and may be added as desired to meet specific design requirements. The front and rear doors and side panels, connecting cables and ancillary equipment, except for the batteries, are typically not shown in the figures herein in order to avoid excessive detail. 
     Rack or cabinet mounted electrical or electronic equipment and enclosures or mounting arrangements for such equipment may be designed in accordance with industry standard dimensions and configurations, so as to be more economically produced by multiple manufacturers. Such a standard dimensional measure for the vertical separation of units is a Rack Unit (RU) as standardized by the Electronic Industries Association (EIA), where 1RU is a distance of 1.75″. Mounting hole patterns may also be standardized, such as the EIA 1032 hole pattern. While such standardized dimensions are economically useful, and often used to describe physical objects as, for example, a 19″ relay rack, or a device that is 7RU high, nothing in the use of such terms in the description or figures herein is intended to require or suggest that the dimensions of any aspect of the apparatus conform to any industry standard, nor is compliance to such standards precluded. 
     In a side elevation view of the battery cabinet  10  as illustrated in  FIG. 2 , the batteries  12  are disposed such that a front surface or end  14  of each battery in successively higher tiers, as measured from the bottom  16  of the battery cabinet  10 , is disposed further from the front opening of the battery cabinet  10 . The set-back distance D between the front ends  14  of the batteries  12  in successive tiers is sufficient that access from a top direction or a front direction is afforded to the connection terminals  18  on each of the batteries  12  or to a front  14  of a battery  12 . The distance D may be chosen depending on the construction of the batteries, the choice of a connector type for the battery interface terminals, and other ergonomic considerations, including the types of servicing tools that are desired to be used. 
     When compared with a cabinet or rack arrangement where the battery tiers are arranged with each successive tier directly above each other, and having a depth L measured from the front to the back of the battery assembly overall, having N tiers, the overall depth of the enclosure in this example may be increased by approximately D*(N−1). 
     Each tier of batteries is supported by one or more mechanical supports which may extend between opposite sides of the battery cabinet. Such supports may be transverse elements  20  in the form of “U” channels, “L” channels, box beams or any such structure capable of supporting the battery weight without permanent deflection of the support or damage to the battery, and which meet customer structural requirements or applicable civil or industry codes. A sufficient number of mechanical supports may be provided under each battery  12  so that, as the battery is slid into the tier, there is little or no tendency for the battery lower surface  82  to drop below the plane established by the top surface of the supports  20 . 
     For a battery cabinet or rack, such as in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the transverse horizontal supports  20  may be connected to a network of vertical supports  24  near each side of the cabinet, and the vertical supports  24  may be fixedly connected to the base  16  by bolting, welding, or the like. The vertical supports  24  may be disposed at the four corners of the cabinet or rack, or supports, disposed at one or more locations along the side of the cabinet, and intermediate between the front and rear of the cabinet. 
     The base  16  may be a beam structure, skid structure, or the like, having an outline in plan view substantially corresponding to the plan view dimensions of the cabinet  10 . The base may include a plurality of box beams  30  to raise the base  16  off of a supporting floor, and may facilitate the movement of the battery cabinet  10  by a fork lift or the like. Any configuration of base structure may be used which directly or indirectly connects to the vertical supports  24   a, b . The vertical supports  24  serve to support the horizontal structures  20 ,  26  extending therebetween so as to provide one or more planes or tiers for supporting the batteries in a horizontal plane defining a tier. 
     The battery cabinet  10 , whether empty, partially or fully loaded with batteries  12 , may be configured such that a center of gravity of the entire assembly, in plan view, is within a perimeter of the base  16 . This has the effect of maintaining the stability of the battery cabinet  10 , and batteries  12  may be loaded or unloaded from the battery cabinet  10  in any sequence. One means of ensuring that the center of gravity of the battery cabinet  10  or battery rack remains within the plan view periphery of the base  16  is to dimension the base  16  so that the perimeter of the base encloses within the projection of the plan view of the cabinet  10  the outlines of all of the batteries  12  which may be loaded into the cabinet  10  or rack. The perimeter of the base  16  may be rectangular, for example. 
     The transverse horizontal supports  20  are further supported by longitudinal supports  26  joining front and rear vertical supports  24   a, b  along each side of the cabinet  10 . The connections between the transverse  20 , longitudinal  26 , and vertical  24  supports may be by a nut and bolt, screws and tapped screw holes, welding, or the like, or a combination thereof, so as to form a fixedly connected truss-like structure of beams and surfaces to support the batteries  12 . A retaining plate  32  may be connected between the longitudinal members  26  at each tier to restrain the battery  12  from sliding backwards more than a desired distance in each tier. A similar retaining plate or structure (not shown) may be installed at the front of each battery  12 , after a tier of batteries  12  has been installed in the cabinet. 
     A vertical separation distance H between the top  34  of a battery  12  of one tier and the bottom  82  of a battery  12  of the next higher tier may be reduced to that required for the battery support structures  20 . The battery support structures  20 ,  26  may be replaced by a tray, further reducing the spacing distance H. Vertical rails may be used in place of the longitudinal supports  26  and the tray may be used in place of the transverse supports  20 . A clearance between the top of a battery  12  and the longitudinal support structure  26  for the next highest tier is shown, but may not be needed, with only a clearance between the top  34  of the battery  12  and the horizontal support members  20  being provided. 
       FIG. 3  is a top view of the assembly of  FIGS. 1 and 2  and shows four tiers of batteries, where each higher tier is disposed with a set back distance D. It may be seen that top mounted access terminals  18  are visible from above and can be conveniently accessed from above by tools for servicing. 
     In another example, as shown in  FIG. 4 , each battery tier may be supported by a tray  46 , the tray being fabricated so as to be capable of supporting the weight of the batteries  12  without permanent deformation or deflection. Alternatively the tray may be of a lesser strength and be supported by the same types of structures as shown in  FIG. 2 , or the tray may be manufactured with integral beams of the types previously described so as to form a unitary structure. The tray  46  may have either a front retaining portion  88  (see  FIG. 6 ) or front lip  44  and either a rear retaining portion or a rear lip  42  to assist in retaining the battery  12  in the battery cabinet  10 . Such retention may be a requirement in geographical areas subject to seismic effects, or to meet other safety or industry codes. The front lip structure  44  may bend downwards, or be omitted entirely, and the rear lip structure  42  may bend upwards. Such an arrangement may facilitate inserting and removing the batteries  12  through the front portion of the battery cabinet  10 . 
     A battery  12  may be inserted into a tier through the front of the battery cabinet  10 , and slid in a rearward direction until the motion is resisted by the rear lip  42 , thus positioning the battery  12  in the tier. Once the batteries  12  have been installed in a tier, a front retaining plate  52  or rod may be installed. The battery retaining devices  52 ,  42 ,  44  may be fabricated from metal or a suitable high strength material such as Kevlar. 
     In another example, the batteries may be supported by a battery rack  90 . As shown in  FIG. 5 , the battery rack  90  includes a base  60 , vertical side members  70  and, optionally, a top member  72  connecting opposing vertical side members  70 . A gusset plate  74  may be fitted where the base  60  and the vertical members  70  join, so as to increase the strength and rigidity of the joint. The vertical supports  70  have mounting holes provided therein, disposed such that an attachment bracket  48  may be fastened thereto. This arrangement may also be used in a cabinet installation. 
     The tray structure shown in  FIG. 4  may be used for accommodating batteries  12  in the rack  90 .  FIG. 6  shows an example of another tray structure  46  which may be suitable for use with the battery cabinet  10  or rack  90 . The tray bottom surface  92  supports the batteries  12 , and a front and rear lip as previously shown, or a retaining plate  52  may be provided to retain the batteries  12 . Each side of the tray  46  is provided with a side surface  54 , perpendicular to the bottom surface  92 . The side surface  54  may be provided with a plurality of mounting holes  76  to which an attachment bracket  48  may be fastened. Groups of the plurality of holes for attaching the attachment bracket  48  to the side surface  54  may each be spaced at a distance D, corresponding to the distance increment by which successive tiers may be set back by a horizontal distance from each other. The hole pattern in the side plate shown in  FIG. 6B  may be suitable for connecting to a rack having a single vertical member on each side, whereas the hole pattern shown in  FIG. 6C  may be suitable for mounting to a rack structure which has two vertical members  70  on each side, with a distance A between centers. Where there are two vertical members on each side, the groups horizontal rows of holes may be pairs of holes, each pair of holes having a separation distance equal to A. A horizontal distance between the first of each of two pairs of holes is the spacing D. 
     Each battery tray  46  may be mounted to the vertical supports by attaching the battery tray attachment brackets  48  to the corresponding vertical supports  70  with screws, nuts and bolts or other fasteners, by welding or by a combination of techniques. For example, the lowest battery tray is attached to the vertical supports so that the front lip  44  of the battery tray  46  is at a front most position with respect to the base. The second battery tray is mounted to the vertical supports such that the front lip of the second battery tray is disposed a distance D further from the front of the assembly than that of the lowest battery tray. The remainder of the battery trays  46  may be mounted in a similar manner. The difference in height H between successive battery trays  46 , corresponding to battery tiers, is at least the height of a battery  12 . 
     The center of gravity of each battery tray  46 , when loaded with batteries, may be forward or behind the attachment bracket  48 , depending on the tier height, and the sizing and dimensioning of the tray sides  54  and the attachments  48  are suitable to resist the bending torque as well as the weight or the tray and batteries. The overall disposition of the batteries  12  may result in a center of gravity for the assembly that lies near the plane passing though the two opposing vertical members  70 . 
     In an alternative, shown in a side elevation view in  FIG. 7C , two vertical members  70   a, b  may be provided on each side of the rack assembly  90 . The spacing between the two vertical members  70   a, b  may be a distance A, where mounting holes on the battery tray are correspondingly spaced as shown in  FIG. 6C , or other similar arrangement, so that the battery tray  42  may be attached to the two vertical members  70   a, b  on each side of the rack  90  by attachment brackets  48  mountable to the holes on the sides  54  of the battery tray  42 . Such an arrangement may reduce the bending torque on the attachment brackets  48  between the battery tray  42  and the vertical supports  70   a, b.    
     A first plurality of tiers for receiving batteries are stepped back from the front with respect to a lower tier as the tier rank increases when measured from the base of the cabinet. A second plurality of tiers may be configured, where the lower of the tiers of the second plurality of tiers is not referenced to a tier in the first plurality of tiers. 
     Although the present invention has been explained by way of the examples described above, it should be understood to the ordinary skilled person in the art that the invention is not limited to the examples, but rather that various changes or modifications thereof are possible without departing from the spirit of the invention. Accordingly, the scope of the invention shall be determined only by the appended claims and their equivalents.