초록 ▼

Modular operating centers for use in electric power generating plants and other industrial and commercial plants, processes and systems are constructed by using a novel prefabricated modular technique. This technique includes loading a plurality of transportable room-size building modules with contr

Modular operating centers for use in electric power generating plants and other industrial and commercial plants, processes and systems are constructed by using a novel prefabricated modular technique. This technique includes loading a plurality of transportable room-size building modules with control system equipment at a factory site. Typically, the control system equipment includes sophisticated and complex electrical and electronics data processing and control equipment. The control system equipment is installed and bolted down in the different building modules and the equipment in each module is inter-wired at the factory site. Temporary inter-module connections are established between the control system equipment in different ones of the building modules and such equipment, as a whole, is then thoroughly tested and adjusted under simulated use conditions. Thereafter, the loaded and tested building modules are separated and separately transported to the industrial or commercial installation site. At the installation site, the building modules are joined together to form an integral weatherproof building structure and the inter-module control system equipment connections are re-established to provide a tested and substantially ready-to-go control center for the plant, process or system in question. A novel feature of this technique is that structural building modules are used as the shipping containers for transporting complex electrical and electronics equipment to the final installation site.

대표청구항 ▼

A method of building an operating center for a plant designed to produce goods or services, the steps of said method comprising: loading each of a plurality of transportable room-size building modules with predetermined electrical control system equipment units at a factory site, such building modul

A method of building an operating center for a plant designed to produce goods or services, the steps of said method comprising: loading each of a plurality of transportable room-size building modules with predetermined electrical control system equipment units at a factory site, such building modules constituting structural parts of a unitary operating center building and such control system equipment units constituting parts of a system for use in monitoring and/or controlling the operation of the production plant; establishing at the factory site predetermined intramodule connections among the control equipment units within each building module; establishing at the factory site predetermined intermodule connections among the control system equipment units in different ones of the building modules; establishing at the factory site predetermined connections to the control system equipment units for ultimate attachment from one or more of the modules to the production plant at predetermined plant points; employing a plurality of conductors to establish the intramodule connections; employing a plurality of cables having a plurality of conductors to establish the intermodule and plant connections through cable connection points; testing the control system equipment at the factory site, such testing including the combined testing of the control system equipment interconnected by the intermodule cable connections; preparing the loaded building modules for transportation to the plant installation site including disconnecting the intermodule and any test connections at the cable connection points; transporting the modules to the plant site; and installing the modules and establishing the cable connections from the modules to the plant points and reestablishing the intermodules cable connection. [2. A method of building an operating center in accordance with claim 1 and further including: forming each building module as a transportable, room-size, three-dimensional, rectangular, metal frame structure; and securing permanent closure means to and closing the roof and floor and some but not all sides of the frame structure, any side not so closed being one that will abut another module in forming a complete operating center building.] [3. A method of building an operating center in accordance with claim 2 wherein the preparing of the loaded building modules for transportation to the installation site includes the securing of temporary closure means to the sides of the building modules not closed by permanent closure means thereby enabling the building module to be its own shipping container for the housed control equipment.] [4. A method of building an operating center for a production plant as set forth in claim 1 and further including: housing the control equipment units in cabinets and securing the cabinets to a floor of the operating center in cabinet rows which cross through the interfacing sides of adjacent building modules.] [5. A method of building an operating center for a production plant as set forth in claim 4 and further including: providing walkways between the cabinet rows and providing intramodule connections between cabinets in different rows through cables housed in cables trays which are supported to extend over and between adjacent cabinet rows.]