Crossover systems 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 January 12, 2021, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This application is directed to a cable tray system used to support cables and join cable trays at intersections. [Background technology]

[0003] Cable tray systems typically provide support for cables such as electrical wiring, conduits, and data transmission lines. The cable trays may be wire basket cable trays having metal wires interconnected in a mesh.

[0004] Cable trays are connected to other cable trays at intersections 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] One embodiment provides a cable tray intersection system. The intersection system connects a first wire basket that intersects with a second wire basket along a cable run. The first and second baskets are each formed with a plurality of wires extending horizontally to form a floor and a plurality of wires extending vertically to form side walls of the basket. The intersection system includes a top plate having a first edge for attaching to the floor of the first wire basket and a second edge for attaching to the floor of the second wire basket. The top plate has a pair of corner edges formed between the first and second edges, each corner edge formed on opposite sides of the top plate. A pair of corner braces are attached to the first and second wire baskets and are spaced apart from the top plate. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0006] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 illustrates a cable tray system with two wire baskets arranged to connect at an intersection. [Figure 2] 2 illustrates the cable tray system of FIG. 1 with an exploded view of the top plate and clamp according to one embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view through the clamping location between the top plate and the floor of the wire basket. [Figure 4] FIG. 3 illustrates the cable tray system of FIG. 2 with a pair of corner braces. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 illustrates one of the corner braces in more detail. [Figure 6] FIG. 5 illustrates the cable tray system of FIG. 4 with one of the corner braces suspended by the support rod. [Figure 7] FIG. 5 illustrates the cable tray system of FIG. 4 with one corner protector installed. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 illustrates one of the corner protectors in more detail. [Figure 9] FIG. 1 is a plan view of a cable tray system according to one embodiment having a three-way intersection. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the cable tray system of FIG. [Figure 11] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a cable tray system according to one embodiment having a four-way intersection. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0007] Where necessary, detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein. However, it should be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention, which may be embodied in various and alternative forms. The figures are not necessarily to scale. Some features may be exaggerated or minimized to show details of particular components. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein should not be construed as limiting, but merely as a representative basis for teaching those skilled in the art various ways of using the present invention.

[0008] Overhead wire baskets are made of steel wire mesh and are designed to route cables. When two vertical wire baskets cross, the joints must be secured to cover the ends of the wires.

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

[0010] As shown in FIG. 1, the first wire basket 110 may be a terminal basket having a terminal end 128, while the second wire basket 120 may be a continuous wire basket 120 with a floor 122 extending continuously through the intersection.

[0011] The intersection is formed by cutting an opening 126 in a side wall 124 from the continuous second wire basket 120 and abutting an end 128 of the terminating first wire basket 110 at the cut opening location 126. The side wall 124 of the terminating wire basket 110 may be cut to provide corner relief, as described below, while allowing the floor wires 122 of the terminating wire basket 110 to be as close as possible to the floor wires of the continuous wire basket 120. Minimizing the gap between the floor wires of the terminating wire basket 110 and the floor wires of the continuous wire basket 120 increases the strength of the intersection.

[0012] As shown in FIG. 2 , the cable tray system 100 includes a pre-formed intersection system 200 for securely connecting the first wire basket 110 to the second wire basket 120. The intersection system 200 includes a top plate 210. The top 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, a continuous wire basket is not possible; instead, multiple terminated wire baskets may be adjacent at the intersection. In such systems, the top plate must span the entire intersection. As a result, the top plate must be larger and heavier, and must provide all of the rigidity for the intersection. In such conventional systems, the top plate is limited to the exact size of the wire basket and does not allow for flexible assembly variations. The present invention's top plate 210 allows for various intersection configurations with only one top plate. The top plate 210 may be provided in multiple sizes specific to the width of each terminal wire basket 110, but the size of the top plate 210 is independent of the second wire basket 120 and can be used with any width of continuous basket 120. Along with being lighter, the top plate 210 provides increased rigidity compared to conventional designs because the continuous wire basket 120 itself spans the intersection.

[0013] Top plate 210 has a first edge 212 for attachment to floor 122 of first wire basket 110 and a second edge 214 for attachment to floor 122 of second wire basket 120. Top plate 210 has a pair of corner edges 218 formed between first edge 212 and second edge 214. Each corner edge 218 is formed on opposite sides 216 of top plate 210. Edges 212, 214, 216 of top plate 210 may be rounded flanged or bent perpendicular to the direction of the cable routing to prevent wear or damage to the cables from the edges of top plate 210.

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

[0015] FIG. 4 illustrates a partially exploded view of the cable tray intersection system 200, showing the top plate 210 assembled to the floors 122 of the first and second wire baskets 110, 120. The top plate 210 may include beads 236 to increase its rigidity and the rigidity of the intersection. FIG. 4 also illustrates the intersection system 200 with a pair of corner braces 300. The corner braces 300 are attached between and to the first and second wire baskets 110, 120, and are spaced apart from the top 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 radially extending central portion 310 and a pair of rigid legs 312. As shown in Figure 6, one leg 312 is secured to the first wire basket 110 and the other leg 312 is secured to the second wire basket 120.

[0017] The corner braces 300 are secured to the wire baskets 110, 120 using clips 320. As shown in FIG. 4, the clips 320 may have studs 322 configured to extend through and mate with slots 314 (see FIG. 5) on the corner braces 300. The studs 322 may be threaded studs that mate with corresponding nuts 324 to clamp the vertical cross wires along the side walls 124 of the wire baskets 110, 120 to the corner braces 300. The studs 322 may be any threaded fastener or other suitable fastener that secures the clips 320 in the slots 314.

[0018] To reduce intersection deflection and provide additional rigidity, the corner brace 300 may have angled walls 328 connecting the legs 312. As shown in Figure 6, the corner brace 300 has a mounting mechanism 330 for securing a support rod 400 for suspending the cable tray system 100 within the facility.

[0019] As shown in Figure 5, the mounting mechanism 330 has generally vertically extending holes 332 for securing the wire baskets 110, 120 to the support rod 400. The mounting holes 332 are formed in tabs 334. The support rod 400 is suspended from the ceiling and passes through the holes 332. A lock nut 402 secures the crossing system 200 to the support rod 400 (see Figure 6).

[0020] As shown in FIG. 5 , tabs 334 may extend from angled wall 328 or radial center portion 310. Mounting mechanism 330 is located on the exterior of side wall 124 to secure the rods to the exterior of wire baskets 110, 120. In conventional cable tray systems, the rods must be secured to the top plate, with the suspended rods located within the wire path. By having mounting mechanism 330 on the exterior of wire baskets 110, 120, intersection system 200 provides many advantages, including a superior cable path with no obstructions that can impede cable routing at the intersection.

[0021] 7 shows a cable tray crossing system equipped with one of the corner protectors 500. The corner protectors 500 are designed to cover cut wire ends in the sidewalls 124 and / or floor 122 to provide bend radius control for the cables around the corners. Each corner protector 500 is positioned between one corner brace 300 and the corner edge 218 of the top plate 210.

[0022] The corner protectors 500 are formed from a flexible plastic. They may be formed from a flame-rated plastic. As shown in FIG. 8, the corner protectors 500 are supplied flat. Each corner protector 500 has a pair of flexible arms 502 extending from opposite sides of a flexible body 504. The corner protectors 500 are installed by first bending the arms 502 under the vertical cross wires of the sidewall 124. One arm 502 is secured to the first wire basket 110, and the other flexible arm 502 is secured to the second wire basket 120. The corner protectors 500 are then secured to the cross system 200 with fasteners 510 (see FIG. 7). The fasteners 510 may be plastic ribbed push-in rivets or Christmas tree fasteners. As shown in FIG. 7, two fasteners 510 are installed through lower slots 512 and two fasteners are installed through upper slots 514.

[0023] Top plate 210 has a number of tabs 520 extending from corner edge 218. Lower slots 512 align with fastener holes in tabs 520, and fastener 510 extends through one of slots 512 and mates with the fastener hole in one of tabs 520 to secure corner protector 500 to top plate 210.

[0024] The corner protector 500 may abut the top plate 210 with no or minimal gap between the bottom edge 516 of the corner protector 500 and the upper surface of the top plate 210. The fasteners 510 are installed through the upper slots 514 and mate with the holes 340 in the corner brace 300. The upper slots 514 are sized to accommodate height tolerances in the side walls 124 of the wire baskets 110, 120. The lower slots 512 are sized to accommodate horizontal misalignment between the top plate 210 and the corner brace 300. In this way, the corner protector 500 can be easily secured to the cross assembly 200, even if there are tolerance or misalignment issues with the wire baskets. The arms 502 of the corner protector 500 may be secured to the vertical cross wires of the wire baskets 110, 120 using cable ties threaded through the holes 518 (see FIG. 8 ).

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

[0026] As illustrated in FIGS. 9 and 10 , a three-way intersection configuration 610 forms a T-shaped intersection. The three-way intersection configuration 610 uses a continuous wire basket 120, with a first wire basket 110 abutting an opening 126 in a sidewall 124 of the continuous wire basket 120. The three-way intersection configuration 610 uses one top plate 210 and a pair of corner braces 300. Also shown in FIGS. 9-10 is 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. The present application provides corner braces 300 with mounting mechanisms 330 for connecting support rods 400 to be positioned outboard of the cable path at the intersection. Thus, as shown in FIG. 9 , the support rods 400 adjacent the intersection 610 are also aligned with the support rods 400 at the trapeze brackets 620 along the length of the wire baskets 110, 120.

[0027] As illustrated in FIG. 11 , a four-way cross configuration 710 forms a cross-shaped intersection. The four-way cross configuration 710 uses a continuous wire basket 120 and two end wire baskets 110. The two end wire baskets 110 each abut openings 126 in opposite side walls 124 of the continuous wire basket 120. The four-way cross configuration 710 uses two top plates 210 and two pairs of corner braces 300. The four-way cross configuration 710 may also use trapeze brackets connecting support rods 400. Note that for clarity, the trapeze brackets and support rods are not shown in FIG. 11 .

[0028] While exemplary embodiments have been described above, it is not intended that these embodiments describe all possible forms of the present invention. Rather, the terms used in the specification are terms of description rather than limitation, and various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Furthermore, features of various exemplary embodiments may be combined to form additional embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

1. 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 side walls of the first wire basket, the floor of the first wire basket terminating at the intersection; a second wire basket formed of a plurality of wires extending horizontally to form a floor and a plurality of wires extending vertically to form side walls of the second wire basket, the floor of the second wire basket extending continuously through the intersection; a first top plate having a first edge for attachment to the floor of the first wire basket above the terminal end of the first wire basket and a second edge for attachment to the floor of the second wire basket, the first top plate having a pair of corner edges formed between the first edge and the second edge, each of the corner edges being formed on opposite side surfaces of the first top plate; a first pair of corner braces spaced from the first top plate and mounted between the side walls of the first wire basket and the side walls of the second wire basket at the intersection, the first pair of corner braces having a radially extending central portion and a pair of rigid legs, one leg fixed to the first wire basket and the other leg fixed to the second wire basket; Including, a cable tray crossing system, wherein each of the first pair of 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. 2. The cable tray crossing system of claim 1, wherein the attachment mechanism includes a tab having a hole extending from the angled wall through the tab, and the attachment 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 a first opening in a sidewall of the second wire basket; 2. The cable tray crossing system of claim 1, wherein the first top plate and the first pair of corner braces secure the first wire basket and the second wire basket to define a three-way crossing.

4. moreover, a third wire basket, wherein a terminal end of the third wire basket abuts 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. 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 side walls of the first wire basket, the floor of the first wire basket terminating at the intersection; a second wire basket formed of a plurality of wires extending horizontally to form a floor and a plurality of wires extending vertically to form side walls of the second wire basket, the floor of the second wire basket extending continuously through the intersection; an upper plate having a first edge for attachment to the floor of the first wire basket above the terminal end of the first wire basket and a second edge for attachment to the floor of the second wire basket, the upper plate having a pair of corner edges formed between the first edge and the second edge, each of the corner edges being formed on opposite side surfaces of the upper plate; a pair of corner braces spaced apart from the top plate and mounted between the side walls of the first wire basket and the side walls of the second wire basket at the intersection, the pair of corner braces having a radially extending central portion and a pair of rigid legs, one leg fixed to the first wire basket and the other leg fixed to the second wire basket; a pair of corner protectors, each of the corner protectors positioned between one corner brace and a corner edge of the top plate; cable tray crossing systems, including:

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 secured to the first wire basket and the other flexible arm is secured to the 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 crossover system of claim 6, wherein a fastener extends through one of the slots and mates with a fastener hole in one of the tabs to secure the corner protector to the top plate.

9. 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 side walls of the first wire basket, the floor of the first wire basket terminating at the intersection; a second wire basket formed of a plurality of wires extending horizontally to form a floor and a plurality of wires extending vertically to form side walls of the second wire basket, the floor of the second wire basket extending continuously through the intersection; an upper plate having a first edge for attachment to the floor of the first wire basket above the terminal end of the first wire basket and a second edge for attachment to the floor of the second wire basket, the upper plate having a pair of corner edges formed between the first edge and the second edge, each of the corner edges being formed on opposite side surfaces of the upper plate; a pair of corner braces spaced apart from the top plate and mounted between the side walls of the first wire basket and the side walls of the second wire basket at the intersection, the pair of corner braces having a radially extending central portion and a pair of rigid legs, one leg fixed to the first wire basket and the other leg fixed to the second wire basket; a pair of corner protectors, each of the corner protectors positioned between one corner brace 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 systems, including:

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