AC interface for electrical equipment racks

Details AC interface for electrical equipment racks AC interface for electrical equipment racks

2000-06-02

2002-07-09

Sircus, Brian (Department: 2839)

Electrical connectors

With supporting means for coupling part

Interfitting with channel or double rail

Reexamination Certificate

active

06416356

ABSTRACT:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to equipment racks for stacked power converters, and more particularly to an AC interface for connecting power converters or other electrical equipment having a high current demand to AC cabling at any desired height in the rack.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Installations using large amounts of DC current, e.g. mainframe computers and the like, typically use a large number of AC-to-DC power converters or rectifiers mounted one above the other in rack cabinets. These converters typically have a chassis with a rear face on which connectors are provided for connecting the converters to rack-mounted AC input cables and DC output buses. Drawbacks of prior AC interfaces for high power rack mounted equipment include the excessive amount of space used for coupling the AC supply cables to the equipment and the fact that it is typically difficult to reconfigure AC plugs in the rack once the rack has been installed in a system.
It is also desirable to be able to slide individual power converters or the like into and out of the rack while the power circuits are live. Ideally, sliding the converter into the rack should automatically make secure contact with both the AC input and the DC output. One problem with such an arrangement is that the converters can be of different heights and can be placed in the rack at any desired height. Consequently, it would be advantageous to provide an AC connector module which can be mounted with a minimum number of tools at any incremental height in the rack so that it can be vertically and horizontally aligned with a mating connector on the converter chassis. The AC connector module also has to be able to accommodate various types of AC supply cables as well as loose conductors from conduit. It must also be able to handle high current demand while remaining compact and easy to install.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention satisfies the above-stated requirements by providing a vertically extending AC cable duct along one side of the rack cabinet, and providing adjacent thereto a mounting strip which has a series of openings and notches at close intervals among its length. The mounting strip is arranged to receive AC connector modules that clip onto the strip at any desired incremental height and can be connected in that position to an appropriate AC power cable extracted from the cable duct.
To avoid the need for hand wiring inside the AC connector module, the connector module includes printed circuit interconnections between the posts to which the AC cable is connected and the contacts into which the power converter chassis is plugged. An individual power connector is guided into alignment with the AC connector module's contacts during the plug-in action by a protruding ground locator pin. This pin also makes sure that the ground contact is the first made and the last broken.


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