Switchgear cabinet arrangement with a safety function, and a corresponding method
AssigneeRittal GmbH & Co. KG
InventorsThorsten Heimberg, Steffen Wagner
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The invention relates to a switch cabinet arrangement with at least one switch cabinet housing and at least one cooling device for cooling air contained in the switch cabinet arrangement, wherein the cooling device has at least one refrigerant circuit including a flammable refrigerant, wherein the switch cabinet arrangement has at least one refrigerant sensor which detects a concentration of the flammable refrigerant in the air and is evaluated by a control unit which is adapted to trigger a safety function for reducing the concentration of the flammable refrigerant in the air below the threshold value if a threshold value of the concentration is exceeded. A corresponding method is also described.
Claims13
A switch cabinet arrangement comprising at least one switch cabinet housing including electrical switchgear and at least one cooling device for cooling air received in the switch cabinet arrangement, the cooling device having at least one refrigerant circuit which has a flammable refrigerant, the cooling device having an air inner circuit and an air outer circuit fluidly separated from each other, the switch cabinet arrangement having at least one refrigerant sensor, which detects a concentration of the flammable refrigerant in said air and is evaluated by a control unit which, if a threshold value of the concentration is exceeded, is adapted to trigger a safety function for reducing the concentration of the flammable refrigerant in the air below the threshold value, wherein in that the safety function comprises a closure mechanism for the cooling device, via which an air inlet of the air inner circuit of the cooling device, which is open towards the inside of the switch cabinet, and/or an air outlet of the air inner circuit of the cooling device, which is open towards the inside of the switch cabinet, is selectively closed by the closure mechanism.
A method for operating a switch cabinet arrangement with at least one switch cabinet housing and at least one cooling device which has at least one refrigerant circuit with a flammable refrigerant, the method comprising:
- cooling the air received in the switch cabinet arrangement with the cooling device, for which purpose the air is passed through the cooling device for cooling electrical switchgear in the housing, the cooling device having an air inner circuit and an air outer circuit fluidly separated from each other;
- monitoring a concentration of the flammable refrigerant in the air for exceeding a threshold value;
- and
- triggering of a safety function for reducing the concentration of the flammable refrigerant in the air below the threshold value if an exceeding of the threshold value has been detected during monitoring, wherein
- the triggering of a safety function includes the actuation of a closure mechanism of the cooling device, via which the air inner circuit of the cooling device, which is open towards the inside of the switch cabinet, and/or an air outlet of the cooling device, which is open towards the inside of the switch cabinet, is selectively closed by the closure mechanism.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.