The present invention relates to load tap changers and, more particularly, to an oil catch tray for collecting residual oil that may drain from the load tap changer tank upon opening an inspection door.
A load tap changer switches connections between taps of windings of a transformer while the transformer is connected to the voltage source. Components of the tap changer are housed in an oil-filled tank so as to suppress arcing. The oil-filled tank typically has a side mounted inspection door. When the oil-filled tank is drained, some residual oil remains trapped by gaskets and/or gasket stop associated with the door. When the door is opened, this trapped oil can fall to the ground which can lead to environmental and safety issues.
Thus, there is a need to provide an oil tank for a load tap changer that can catch residual oil when an inspection door of the tank is opened.
An objective of the present invention is to fulfill the need referred to above. In accordance with the principles of the invention, this objective is obtained by providing a tank for a load tap changer. The tank includes opposing front and rear walls, opposing side walls, and a bottom wall joined to define a box-like structure. Door structure is removably coupled to one of the walls. An oil catch tray is coupled to the tank and is movable between a retracted, storage position generally adjacent to the bottom of the tank, and an operative position extending outwardly from the one wall to which the door structure is coupled and generally under a portion of the door structure. In the operative position, the oil catch tray is constructed and arranged to collect oil that drips from the door structure and the one wall when the door structure is removed from the one wall.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, an oil catch tray for a tap changer oil tank includes a pair of opposing end walls, a pair of elongated, opposing side walls, and a bottom wall defining an oil contacting surface. Each end wall includes a though-hole such that the oil catch tray can be pivotally coupled with the oil tank, via the through-holes, so as to be movable between a storage position and an operative, oil catching position.
In accordance with yet another aspect of the invention, a method is provided for catching oil that may drip from an load tap changer oil tank when a door structure thereof is removed. The method provides an oil catch tray pivotally coupled to the oil tank. The oil catch tray is moved from a retracted, storage position to an operative position extending from a wall of the tank to which the door structure is coupled and generally under a portion of the door structure. When the door structure is removed from the wall, the oil catch tray collects oil that may drip from the door structure and the wall.
Other objectives, features and characteristics of the present invention, as well as the methods of operation and the functions of the related elements of the structure, the combination of parts and economics of manufacture will become more apparent upon consideration of the following detailed description and appended claims with reference to the accompanying drawings, all of which form a part of this specification.
The invention will be better understood from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments thereof, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts, in which:
With reference to
The door structure 20 is shown being initially removed from the front wall 14 in
Thus, in accordance with an embodiment, the tank 10 includes an oil catch tray, generally indicated at 32, constructed and arranged to extend outwardly from the front wall 14 and generally under a portion of the door structure 20. Thus, the oil catch tray 32 is in position (
With reference to
With reference to
Thus, it can be seen that the oil catch tray 10 provides an effective means for collecting residual oil that may drip from the tray 10 when the door structure 20 is opened or removed.
The foregoing preferred embodiments have been shown and described for the purposes of illustrating the structural and functional principles of the present invention, as well as illustrating the methods of employing the preferred embodiments and are subject to change without departing from such principles. Therefore, this invention includes all modifications encompassed within the spirit of the following claims.
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Entry |
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PCT Search Report & Written Opinion in PCT/US12/025835 mailed on Jun. 14, 2012. |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20120222988 A1 | Sep 2012 | US |