Communications: electrical – Condition responsive indicating system – With particular system function
Reexamination Certificate
1998-03-10
2001-04-24
Pope, Daryl (Department: 2736)
Communications: electrical
Condition responsive indicating system
With particular system function
C340S511000, C340S870030
Reexamination Certificate
active
06222448
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a switchgear cabinet with a central control device for monitoring and controlling built-in and/or attached units of the switchgear cabinet in a predetermined manner.
2. Description of Prior Art
In connection with a known switchgear cabinet, such as disclosed in German Patent Publication DE 33 26 977 C2, a built-in or attached unit in the form of an air-conditioning assembly, for example, is monitored and controlled, particularly regulated. In such a switchgear cabinet, air-conditioning can only be regulated for the entire volume of the cabinet, and an adaptation to special functions is not possible, not only with respect to air-conditioning, but also to other functions of the switchgear cabinet.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is one object of this invention to make a switchgear cabinet available which, along with simple programming regarding the monitoring and control, offers many adaptation options to varied employment conditions, while the design is simple and clear.
This object is attained with a central control device having components of a personal computer, through which it is programmable and by means of which monitoring, control and/or regulation takes place in accordance with predetermined programs.
The information from and for various functional monitoring and control assemblies thus is brought together in a central control device having components of a personal computer. It is possible to match the states of the various built-in, or respectively attached, units of the switchgear cabinet to respectively prevailing use conditions of the switchgear cabinet individually, but also as a function of each other. Thus, the switchgear cabinet can be simply matched, both in the interior and the exterior area, to completely different requirements wherein the required states are dependably monitored and maintained. Standard software can be used with the components of the personal computer and standardized interfaces can be used. Programming need not take place at the assembler level and instead can be performed with higher programming languages, so that the user is not required to learn a special programming language. The application programs can be adopted from a personal computer or can be developed in it. Library elements can be used for input and output, which allow simple programming. The hardware for connection to a bus, in particular an I
2
C bus, can also be adopted from the personal computer.
One advantageous design of the central control device is that the components comprise a microprocessor typical for a personal computer, a standard personal computer operating system and a command processor compatible therewith, as well a driver unit. These components can be arranged on a main board and require little space. Since the control functions are automatically performed once they are programmed, the installation of a monitor display and a keyboard can be omitted. If further programming is required, this can be easily accomplished by an independent personal computer or the like which is temporarily connected via a driver unit and appropriate interface.
To simplify programming, the control device has an application program portion, by which monitoring, control and/or regulating data can be determined, i.e. preset and/or calculated.
Measures are advantageous for a versatile standardized contact between the monitoring and/or control assemblies which provide, that the driver units have an input/output driver, by means of which sensors can be interrogated, a driver for a serial interface, through which peripheral devices, including an independent personal computer, can be connected, and a network driver, through which the control device can be connected with a data bus.
The monitoring assemblies can have a sensor device with selectively at least one humidity sensor, a door limit switch, a temperature sensor, a vibration sensor, a smoke detector, a current transducer, a voltage transducer, a temperature sensor provided by the customer, a code lock and/or a card reader. Various types of information regarding different operational states and safety measures can thus be obtained and evaluated. The transmission of signals and processing are simply designed, if the sensor device is in bidirectional contact with the central control device via an input interface.
In this case the functional dependability of the entire monitoring system is improved by the measures which provide that the monitoring assemblies have a function-monitoring device with a voltage supply installation and an operating value monitoring device, that in case of an outage of the normal power supply a switch to an emergency power supply is made in order to maintain programmed emergency functions, and that the central control device is separately buffered.
The air-conditioning system is organized simply and clearly with respect to control and regulation by the measures which provide that the control assemblies have a regulating and control interface, which is in bidirectional contact with the central control device on the one side and with an air-conditioning installation on the other side. The air-conditioning installation selectively has at least one heat exchanger, a fan, a cooling device, a heater, a door magnet and/or a ventilator provided by the customer. The signals required for the regulation and control can be generated in the regulation and control interface. The air-conditioning device can be triggered in accordance with signals from the central control device.
A check of the operational status and the possibility of triggering appropriate output units in this respect is achieved in that the control assemblies have an output interface, which on the one side is in bidirectional contact with the central control device and on the other side with an output device. The output device selectively has at least one parallel output, a relay, an optical coupler, a bus system output, a telemetry output, a network output, a PC interface output, an analog signal output, a display device, an LED display and/or a symbol display with symbol display elements. Signals from the central control unit can be converted for contacting the output device.
If operating keys, a programming, setting and testing device and/or a control position are bidirectionally connected with the central control device, and that with the programming, setting and testing device permanently stored test procedures can be called up, defined portions of the program changed and/or customer-specific reference value entered, it is possible to perform a functional check and a change of set parameters, for example temperature adjustment values, at any time and in a simple manner. Adjustment to changed conditions is thus easier.
A clear structure is furthermore advantageously provided because the central control device is installed on a main board, and all inputs and outputs can be linked with each other.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5400246 (1995-03-01), Wilson et al.
patent: 3326977 (1987-03-01), None
Beck Wilfried
Hain Markus
Kreiling Jorg
Pauley Petersen Kinne & Fejer
Pope Daryl
Rittal--Werk Rudolf Loh GmbH & Co. KG
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