Intersection system for overhead cable trays

Abstract

To provide an intersection system for cable trays used to support cables and connect cable trays at an intersection.SOLUTION: A cable-tray intersection system connects a first wire basket and an intersecting second wire basket. Each wire basket is formed of a plurality of wires that extends in a horizontal direction to form a floor and a plurality of wires that extends in a vertical direction to form side walls. The intersection system includes a top plate mounted on the floors of the wire baskets and a pair of corner braces. The top plate has a first edge, a second edge, and a pair of corner edges formed between the first edge and the second edge. The pair of corner braces are mounted between the first wire basket and the second wire basket and are spaced apart from the top plate.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Cross - reference to Related Applications This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 136,289, filed on January 12, 2021, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] This application is directed to a cable tray system for supporting cables and joining cable trays at intersections.

Background Art

[0003] Cable tray systems typically support cables such as electrical wiring, conduit, and data transmission lines. A cable tray may be a wire basket cable tray having metal wires interconnected within a mesh.

[0004] Cable trays are connected at intersections to other cable trays to route cables and form a cable tray system. The intersections may be three - way or T - intersections, or four - way or cross - intersections.

Summary of the Invention

[0005] In one embodiment, a cable tray crossing system is provided. The crossing system connects a first wire basket that crosses a second wire basket along a cable routing. The first and second baskets are each formed of a plurality of wires extending horizontally to form a floor and a plurality of wires extending vertically to form the side walls of the basket. The crossing system has an upper plate, the upper plate having a first edge for mounting to the floor of the first wire basket and a second edge for mounting to the floor of the second wire basket. The upper plate has a pair of corner edges formed between the first edge and the second edge. Each corner edge is formed on the opposite sides of the upper plate. A pair of corner braces are positioned between the first and second wire baskets and mounted on the first and second wire baskets, spaced apart from the upper plate. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0006] [Figure 1] This diagram illustrates a cable tray system with two wire baskets arranged to connect at an intersection. [Figure 2] Figure 1 illustrates the cable tray system, along with an exploded assembly diagram of the upper plate and clamp according to one embodiment. [Figure 3] This is a cross-sectional view passing through the clamp position between the top plate and the floor of the wire basket. [Figure 4] Figure 2 illustrates the cable tray system along with a pair of corner braces. [Figure 5] This diagram illustrates one of the corner braces in more detail. [Figure 6] Figure 4 illustrates the cable tray system, along with one of the corner braces suspended by a support rod. [Figure 7] Figure 4 illustrates the cable tray system, along with one of the attached corner protectors. [Figure 8] This is a diagram illustrating one of the corner protectors in more detail. [Figure 9] This is a plan view of a cable tray system according to one embodiment having a three-way intersection. [Figure 10] Figure 9 is a perspective view of the cable tray system. [Figure 11] This is a perspective view of a cable tray system according to one embodiment having four intersecting sections. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0007] Where necessary, detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein. However, naturally, the embodiments disclosed are merely typical of the present invention and can be embodied in various and alternative forms. Figures are not necessarily to a constant proportion. Some mechanisms may be exaggerated or minimized to illustrate the details of certain components. Therefore, the specific structural and functional details disclosed herein should not be construed as limiting, but merely as representative grounds for teaching various uses of the present invention to those skilled in the art.

[0008] The overhead wire basket is made of steel wire mesh and designed for routing cables. Where two vertical wire baskets intersect, the joint needs to be secured and the ends of the wires covered.

[0009] Figure 1 illustrates a cable tray assembly 100 with two intersecting wire baskets. The two wire baskets are pre-formed and positioned to connect at the intersection. The first wire basket 110 intersects with the second wire basket 120. The first and second baskets 110 and 120 are each formed by a plurality of cross wires extending horizontally to form a basket floor 122 and a plurality of wires extending vertically to form the side walls 124 of the baskets 110 and 120.

[0010] As shown in Figure 1, the first wire basket 110 may be a terminal basket having a terminal portion 128, while the second wire basket 120 may be a continuous wire basket 120 in which the floor 122 extends continuously through the intersection.

[0011] The intersection is formed by cutting an opening 126 in the side wall 124 of the continuous second wire basket 120 and bringing it into contact with the end 128 of the terminating first wire basket 110 at the cut opening position 126. The side wall 124 of the terminating wire basket 110 may be cut to provide a corner relief as described later, while ensuring that the floor wire 122 of the terminating wire basket 110 is as close as possible to the continuous wire basket 120. Minimizing the gap between the floor wire of the terminating wire basket 110 and the floor wire of the continuous wire basket 120 increases the strength of the intersection.

[0012] As shown in Figure 2, the cable tray system 100 has a pre-formed crossing system 200 for securely connecting a first wire basket 110 to a second wire basket 120. The crossing system 200 has an upper plate 210. The upper plate 210 covers the cut ends 128 of the wire basket floor wires 122 and provides rigidity to the assembly. In other conventional cable tray systems, continuous wire baskets are not possible, and instead multiple terminal wire baskets may be adjacent at the crossing. In such systems, the upper plate needs to extend across the entire crossing. As a result, the upper plate needs to be larger and heavier and bear all the rigidity to the crossing. In such conventional systems, the upper plate is limited to the exact size of the wire basket and does not allow for flexible assembly deformation. With the upper plate 210 of this application, various crossing configurations are possible with only one upper plate. The upper plate 210 may be provided in multiple sizes specific to the width of each terminal wire basket 110, but the size of the upper plate 210 is independent of the second wire basket 120 and can be used with continuous baskets 120 of any width. In addition to being lighter, the upper plate 210 has increased rigidity compared to conventional designs because the continuous wire basket 120 itself extends to the intersection.

[0013] The upper plate 210 has a first edge 212 for mounting to the floor 122 of the first wire basket 110 and a second edge 214 for mounting to the floor 122 of the second wire basket 120. The upper plate 210 has a pair of corner edges 218 formed between the first edge 212 and the second edge 214. Each corner edge 218 is formed on the opposite side 216 of the upper plate 210. The edges 212, 214, and 216 of the upper plate 210 may be rounded flanges or be bent perpendicular to the direction of cable routing to prevent abrasion or damage to the cables from the edges of the upper plate 210.

[0014] As shown in Figure 3, the upper plate has several elongated slots 220 extending from the upper surface 226 to the lower surface 228 through the upper plate 210. Several carriage bolts 222 engage through the slots 220 of the upper plate 210. U-shaped clips 230 clamp the cross wire on the floor 122 to the upper plate 210. The U-shaped clips 230 are secured to the carriage bolts 222 by lock nuts 224. Because the position of the upper plate 210 can change relative to the position of the cross wire on the floor 122, the slots 220 must be arranged in groups that are sufficiently long or shorter to ensure that each U-shaped clip 230 can reliably reach the cross wire. Figure 3 illustrates in more detail a cross section through the clamping position between the upper plate 210 and the floor 122 of the wire basket.

[0015] Figure 4 illustrates an exploded view of the cable tray crossing system 200, showing an upper plate 210 assembled on the floor 122 of the first and second wire baskets 110, 120. The upper plate 210 may include a bead 236 to increase its rigidity and the rigidity of the crossing. Figure 4 also illustrates a crossing system 200 having a pair of corner braces 300. The corner braces 300 are mounted between the first wire basket 110 and the second wire basket 120 and attached to the first and second wire baskets 110 and the second wire basket 120, and are positioned spaced apart from the upper plate 210. The corner braces 300 are attached to the side walls 124 of each wire basket 110, 120 to reinforce the cable tray assembly 100.

[0016] Each corner brace 300 is rigid and made of metal. Figure 5 illustrates a corner brace 300 in more detail. Each corner brace 300 has a radial central portion 310 and a pair of rigid legs 312. As shown in Figure 6, one leg 312 is fixed to the first wire basket 110 and the other leg 312 is fixed to the second wire basket 120.

[0017] The corner brace 300 is fixed to the wire baskets 110, 120 using clips 320. As shown in FIG. 4, the clip 320 may have a stud 322 configured to extend through and engage with a slot 314 (see FIG. 5) on the corner brace 300. The stud 322 may be a threaded stud that engages with a corresponding nut 324, clamping the vertical cross wires along the side walls 124 of the wire baskets 110, 120 to the corner brace 300. The stud 322 may be any threaded fastener or other suitable fastener that secures the clip 320 to the slot 314.

[0018] To reduce the bias at the intersection and obtain additional rigidity, the corner brace 300 may have an angled wall 328 that connects the legs �12. As shown in FIG. 6, the corner brace 300 has a mounting mechanism 330 for fixing a support rod 400 for suspending the cable tray system 100 within the facility.

[0019] As shown in FIG. 5, the mounting mechanism 330 has holes 332 that extend in a generally vertical direction for fixing the wire baskets 110, 120 to the support rod 400. The mounting holes 332 are formed within tabs 334. The support rod 400 is suspended from the ceiling and passes through the holes 332. A lock nut 402 secures the intersection system 200 to the support rod 400 (see FIG. 6).

[0020] As shown in FIG. 5, the tab 334 may extend from the angled wall 328 or the radial central portion 310. The mounting mechanism 330 is located outside the side wall 124, fixing the rod outside the wire baskets 110, 120. In a conventional cable tray system, it was necessary to fix the rod to the upper plate, and the suspended rod was located within the wiring path. Having the intersection system 200 have the mounting mechanism 330 outside the wire baskets 110, 120 has many advantages. For example, an excellent wiring path without obstacles interfering with cable wiring at the intersection can be obtained.

[0021] Figure 7 shows a cable tray intersection system equipped with one of the corner protectors 500. The corner protector 500 is designed to cover the cut wire ends of the side wall 124 and / or the floor 122, so as to control the bending radius for the cables around the corner. Each corner protector 500 is located between one corner brace 300 and the corner edge 218 of the upper plate 210.

[0022] The corner protector 500 is formed of flexible plastic. The corner protector 500 may be formed of a plastic with a combustion rating. As shown in Figure 8, the corner protector 500 is supplied flat. Each corner protector 500 has a pair of flexible arms 502 extending from opposite sides of the flexible body 504. The corner protector 500 is installed by first bending the arms 502 under the vertical cross wires of the side wall 124. One arm 502 is fixed to the first wire basket 110, and the other flexible arm 502 is fixed to the second wire basket 120. Then the corner protector 500 is fixed to the intersection system 200 by a fastener 510 (see Figure 7). The fastener 510 may be a plastic push-in rivet with ribs or a Christmas tree fastener. As shown in Figure 7, two fasteners 510 are installed through the lower slots 512, and two fasteners are installed through the upper slots 514.

[0023] The upper plate 210 has a plurality of tabs 520 extending from the corner edge 218. The lower slots 512 are aligned with the fastener holes of the tabs 520, and the fastener 510 extends through one of the slots 512 and mates with one of the fastener holes of the tabs 520 to fix the corner protector 500 to the upper plate 210.

[0024] The corner protector 500 may abut the upper plate 210 with no or minimal gap between the bottom edge 516 of the corner protector 500 and the upper surface of the upper plate 210. The fastener 510 is installed through the upper slot 514 and engages with the hole 340 of the corner brace 300. The size of the upper slot 514 is provided to account for the height tolerance of the side walls 124 of the wire baskets 110 and 120. The size of the lower slot 512 is provided to account for horizontal misalignment between the upper plate 210 and the corner brace 300. In this way, the corner protector 500 can be easily fixed to the cross assembly 200 even if there are tolerance or misalignment problems in the wire baskets. The arm 502 of the corner protector 500 may be fixed to the vertical cross wires of the wire baskets 110 and 120 using a cable tie passed through the hole 518 (see Figure 8).

[0025] The crossing system 200 provides flexibility in providing different crossing configurations without requiring top plates of different configurations. For example, Figures 9-10 show a cable tray system 600 using the crossing system 200 to form a three-way crossing configuration 610. In another example, Figure 11 shows a cable tray system 700 to form a four-way crossing configuration 710.

[0026] As illustrated in Figures 9 and 10, the three-way cross configuration 610 forms a T-shaped intersection. The three-way cross configuration 610 uses a continuous wire basket 120, with the first wire basket 110 abutting against the opening 126 in the side wall 124 of the continuous wire basket 120. The three-way cross configuration 610 uses one upper plate 210 and a pair of corner braces 300. Figures 9 and 10 also show a trapeze bracket 620 offset from the intersection. As is well known in typical installations, the trapeze bracket provides a mounting mechanism for connecting support rods 400. This application provides a corner brace 300 with a mounting mechanism 330 for connecting support rods 400 which should be positioned towards the outside of the cable path at the intersection. Thus, as shown in Figure 9, the support rods 400 adjacent to the intersection 610 are also aligned with the support rods 400 in the trapeze bracket 620 along the length of the wire baskets 110 and 120.

[0027] As illustrated in Figure 11, the four-way cross configuration 710 forms a cross-shaped intersection. The four-way cross configuration 710 uses a continuous wire basket 120 and two terminal wire baskets 110. The two terminal wire baskets 110 each abut against an opening 126 in the opposite side wall 124 of the continuous wire basket 120. The four-way cross configuration 710 uses two upper plates 210 and two pairs of corner braces 300. The four-way cross configuration 710 may also use trapeze brackets to connect support rods 400. For clarity, the trapeze brackets and support rods are not shown in Figure 11.

[0028] While typical embodiments have been described above, these embodiments are not intended to describe all possible forms of the present invention. Rather, the terms used in this specification are descriptive rather than limiting, and various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Furthermore, features of various implementing embodiments may be combined to form further embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

1. A cable tray crossover system for connecting wire baskets at a crossover, the cable tray crossover system comprising: a first wire basket formed of a plurality of wires extending horizontally to form a floor and a plurality of wires extending vertically to form sidewalls of the first wire basket, the floor of the first wire basket terminating at the intersection; a second wire basket formed with a plurality of wires extending horizontally to form a floor and a plurality of wires extending vertically to form sidewalls of the second wire basket, the floor of the second wire basket extending continuously through the intersection; a top plate having a first edge for mounting to the floor of the first wire basket over the terminal end of the first wire basket and a second edge for mounting to the floor of the second wire basket, the top plate having a pair of corner edges formed between the first edge and the second edge, each of the corner edges formed on an opposite side of the top plate; a corner brace spaced from the top plate and mounted between the side wall of the first wire basket and the side wall of the second wire basket at the intersection, the corner brace having a radially extending central portion and a pair of rigid legs, one leg of which is secured to the second wire basket; Including, each of the corner braces has an angled wall connected to the pair of rigid legs and an attachment mechanism for securing a rod for suspending the first and second wire baskets.

2. The cable tray crossing system of claim 1, wherein the mounting mechanism includes a tab having a hole extending from the angled wall through the tab, and the mounting mechanism extends outside the side wall of the first wire basket and the side wall of the second wire basket.

3. The terminal end of the first wire basket abuts against an opening in a side wall of the second wire basket, 2. The cable tray crossing system of claim 1, wherein said top plate and said pair of corner braces secure said first wire basket and said second wire basket to define a three-way crossing.

4. moreover, a third wire basket, a terminal end of the third wire basket abutting a second opening in a side wall of the second wire basket opposite the first opening; a second top plate and a second pair of corner braces that secure the second wire basket and the third wire basket to define a four-way intersection; 4. The cable tray crossing system of claim 3, comprising:

5. 5. The cable tray crossing system of claim 4, wherein said first top plate is spaced from said second top plate by a horizontal width of said second wire basket.

6. A cable tray crossover system for connecting wire baskets at a crossover, the cable tray crossover system comprising: a first wire basket formed of a plurality of wires extending horizontally to form a floor and a plurality of wires extending vertically to form sidewalls of the first wire basket, the floor of the first wire basket terminating at the intersection; a second wire basket formed with a plurality of wires extending horizontally to form a floor and a plurality of wires extending vertically to form sidewalls of the second wire basket, the floor of the second wire basket extending continuously through the intersection; a top plate having a first edge for mounting to the floor of the first wire basket over the terminal end of the first wire basket and a second edge for mounting to the floor of the second wire basket, the top plate having a pair of corner edges formed between the first edge and the second edge, each of the corner edges formed on an opposite side of the top plate; a corner brace spaced from the top plate and mounted between the side wall of the first wire basket and the side wall of the second wire basket at the intersection, the corner brace having a radially extending central portion and a pair of rigid legs, one leg of which is secured to the second wire basket; a pair of corner protectors, each of the corner protectors being positioned between one of the corner braces and a corner edge of the top plate; Cable tray crossing system.

7. Each of the corner protectors has a pair of flexible arms, 7. The cable tray crossing system of claim 6, wherein one flexible arm is fixed to said first wire basket and the other flexible arm is fixed to said second wire basket.

8. the top plate has a plurality of tabs extending from the corner edges; the corner protector has a plurality of slots; 7. The cable tray crossing system of claim 6, wherein a fastener extends through one of said slots and mates with a fastener hole in one of said tabs to secure said corner protector to said top plate.

9. A cable tray crossover system for connecting wire baskets at a crossover, the cable tray crossover system comprising: a first wire basket formed of a plurality of wires extending horizontally to form a floor and a plurality of wires extending vertically to form sidewalls of the first wire basket, the floor of the first wire basket terminating at the intersection; a second wire basket formed with a plurality of wires extending horizontally to form a floor and a plurality of wires extending vertically to form sidewalls of the second wire basket, the floor of the second wire basket extending continuously through the intersection; a top plate having a first edge for mounting to the floor of the first wire basket over the terminal end of the first wire basket and a second edge for mounting to the floor of the second wire basket, the top plate having a pair of corner edges formed between the first edge and the second edge, each of the corner edges formed on an opposite side of the top plate; a corner brace spaced from the top plate and mounted between the side wall of the first wire basket and the side wall of the second wire basket at the intersection, the corner brace having a radially extending central portion and a pair of rigid legs, one leg of which is secured to the second wire basket; a pair of corner protectors, each of the corner protectors being positioned between one of the corner braces and a corner edge of the top plate; a plurality of U-clips, the top plate having a plurality of slots, the U-clips extending around horizontal wires, a fastener extending through one of the slots in the top plate and mating with one of the U-clips to secure the top plate to the floor of the wire basket; Cable tray crossing system.

Images