Patent Application
20120153093
This invention pertains to housings for electrical cables in general and, in particular, to a housing that segregates electrical and communication cables and environmentally protects them.
Electrically powered and controlled pieces of machinery such as cranes utilize a large number of power cables and control/communication wires. These cables and wires are required to connect power from the prime mover or power source to the function mechanisms, and to connect the operator commands to the proper control device. These cables and wires may be routed through conduit or conventional cable trays.
Known devices, such as wire trays, that are used for distributing the wiring about a piece of machinery in an orderly manner have disadvantages, including cost and labor associated with their installation. When using a conventional wiring tray, individual cables and wires are usually fastened to the wiring tray through the use of wire ties that are connected to various perforated mounting surfaces in the tray. This is a time consuming, labor intensive process that increases the cost of assembling and erecting heavy machinery such as, for example, a gantry crane.
Additionally, in many cases, power cables must be isolated from communication and control wires in order to avoid electro magnetic interference which acts to degrade the control and communication signals. Often this segregation of the wiring requires the use of separate trays for power and control cables and wires.
For these reasons, a cable routing device that allows for easy routing and segregation of power cables and communication wires while also protecting them from the environment would be an important improvement in the art.
Disclosed is a cable routing device for segregating and environmentally protecting electrical power cables and control/communication wires. The cable routing device is comprised of a base portion, a first and a second side wall portion that define a channel along with the base portion, an interior insulating wall separating the channel into a first and a second section, and a removable cover portion located opposite the base portion and contacting the first and second sidewalls
Disclosed is a cable routing device 10 for segregating and environmentally protecting electrical power cables and control; communication wires (not shown). As shown in
In an embodiment, as shown in
When in use, the base portion 12 of the cable routing device 10 is mounted on a frame of a machinery piece 28, as shown in
In an embodiment, the first side wall 14 of the cable routing device 10 has a first height. The second side wall 16 has a second height that is less than the first height, and the removable cover 26 is mounted so as to be slanted from the first sidewall 14 toward the second sidewall 16. In another embodiment, the interior insulating wall 20 is made of a metallic-like material, however, any suitable insulating material may be used without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.
All references, including publications, patent applications, and patents, cited herein are hereby incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each reference were individually and specifically indicated to be incorporated by reference and were set forth in its entirety herein.
The use of the terms “a” and “an” and “the” and similar referents in the context of describing the disclosed cable routing device (especially in the context of the following claims) are to be construed to cover both the singular and the plural, unless otherwise indicated herein or clearly contradicted by context. The use of any and all examples, or exemplary language (e.g., “such as”) provided herein, is intended merely to better illuminate the disclosed cable routing device and does not pose a limitation on the scope of the disclosed cable routing device unless otherwise claimed. No language in the specification should be construed as indicating any non-claimed element as essential to the practice of the disclosed cable routing device.
Preferred embodiments of this cable routing device are described herein, including the best mode known to the inventors for making and using the disclosed cable routing device. It should be understood that the illustrated embodiments are exemplary only, and should not be taken as limiting the scope of the disclosed cable routing device.
