Patent Application
20060070767
Existing enclosures for electronic assemblies consist largely of pieces of sheet metal that have been cut, formed and assembled together. Because there are many types of electronic assemblies available today, there also exists many different enclosures of varying sizes. Typically, to make an enclosure of a particular size, sheet metal is cut to form pieces of various, required lengths. These pieces are then formed and assembled.
This process is very labor-intensive because each different size enclosure typically requires a cutting machine to be separately prepared, adjusted or otherwise set up in order to cut pieces to specified lengths.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide for enclosures which can be formed using techniques that involve less, labor-intensive preparation and setup.
We have recognized that the labor involved in forming electrical enclosures can be reduced by forming enclosures using a plurality of subcomponents, where each subcomponent has a predetermined size. The use of subcomponents with predetermined sizes greatly reduces the time required to form an enclosure. Instead of separately preparing, and setting up a cutting machine in order to form sheet metal pieces of varying sizes, subcomponents of predetermined sizes are pre-cut and available to use to form an electrical enclosure.
The present invention also provides for means for forming an electrical enclosure of varying size from the subcomponents without changing the size of any of the subcomponents. More specifically, overlapping means (e.g., one or more channels) are used to create enclosures of varying sizes. Once a certain size has been formed using the overlapping means, connection means (e.g., a slotted key arrangement) are provided for connecting one or more overlapped subcomponents to form a sized enclosure.
Referring now to
Though the subcomponents 2a-2h each have a predetermined size, their size need not be the same. That is, subcomponent 2a may be larger or smaller in dimensions than subcomponent 2b. If required, however, subcomponents 2a and 2b may be of an identical size. As used herein, the term “size” includes both size and shape of a subcomponent.
To form an electrical enclosure using the one or more subcomponents 2a-2h, the subcomponents must be connected together. In a further embodiment of the present invention, the enclosure 2 comprises means for forming an electrical enclosure of varying size from subcomponents 2a-2h without changing the size of any of the subcomponents. More specifically, this means may comprise an overlapping means 3, such as channels to form an electrical enclosure and connection means 4. The overlapping means 3 allows the positions of subcomponents to be varied (e.g., moved up and down) such that the overall length, width or height of the enclosure 2 may also be varied depending on the amount of overlap. Once the subcomponents have been placed in a desired overlapping position corresponding to a desired size of enclosure 2, the present invention provides for connection means 4 for connecting the one or more overlapped subcomponents to form a size enclosure.
In further embodiments of the present invention, the connection means may be selected from the group consisting of at least welds, rivets, and slotted keys, though it should be understood that other equivalent connection means may be used. In the case of a slotted key arrangement, the keys may be removed from the slots to allow the subcomponents to be re-positioned, forming a different size enclosure.
In yet a further embodiment of the present invention, the position of the connection means 4 may be varied such that it is located at selected positions separated by an interval (regular or irregular) so that by selecting a specific position of the connection means, a specific-sized enclosure can be formed.
Though the subcomponents may be made of many different materials, typically one or more of the subcomponents will be made from sheet metal.
To help hold the overlapped subcomponents prior to connecting them, the present invention also envisions the use of a novel fixture (not shown in
It should be understood that this fixture may comprise a unique fixture for each size enclosure or may comprise an adaptable fixture capable of being used with one or more different size enclosures.
Referring now to
The discussion above has attempted to set forth some examples of adaptable electrical enclosures which are formed from subcomponents of predetermined sizes. These enclosures require less labor to create than conventional enclosures.
Modifications may be envisioned by those skilled in the art which may fall within the scope of the present invention as defined by the claims which follow.
