DEVICE AND METHOD FOR TESTING THE CONTENTS OF A SWITCHGEAR CABINET FOLLOWING INSTALLATION ACCORDING TO A PLAN

Abstract

A device for testing the contents of a switch cabinet following installation of equipment components (2a-2e) according to a plan and the wiring thereof via terminals (6) provided therefor by means of designated electrical cables (5), includes a camera unit (7) for the at least two-dimensional image capture of the components (2a-2e) fully installed and wired on an installation board (4) of a switch cabinet (1). The device can further include an evaluation unit (8) for carrying out a comparison between an imaged layout (100), on the basis of the image capture, of the actual state with a provided plan layout (200) of the target state.

Claims

1. A device for testing contents of a switch cabinet after planning-based assembly of technical components (2a-2e) and their wiring via terminal connections (6) provided for this purpose by means of marked electrical lines (5), the device comprising: a camera unit (7) for at least two-dimensional image acquisition of the components (2a-2e) mounted and wired on a mounting plate (4) of a switch cabinet (1), an evaluation unit (8) for carrying out a comparison between an image layout (100) of an actual state based on the image acquisition with a provided planning layout (200) of target state, at least with regard to: a) a completeness and position of the installed components (2a-2e), b) assignment of the terminal connections (6), c) wiring of the electrical lines (5), an output unit (11) for providing a test result on structural consistency of the switch cabinet (1) for an assessment with regard to delivery release or fault rectification.

2. The device according to claim 1, wherein, in addition to the structural consistency of the switch cabinet (1), the evaluation unit (8) also checks functional consistency by comparing functionality produced by the components (2a-2e) and their connection via the electrical lines (5) with an electrical circuit diagram (300) associated with the planning layout (200).

3. The device according to claim 2, wherein a simulation unit (12) is provided which, on the basis of a positive structural and functional test, carries out a simulation of various operating states of the switch cabinet (1) over a predefined period of time.

4. The device according to claim 1, wherein the evaluation unit (8) further performs the comparison of the actual state with the target state with regard to: d) size and type of the selected switch cabinet (1), or e) a correctness of the used wire types of the electrical lines (5).

5. The device according to claim 1, wherein the evaluation unit (8) comprises optical filter means for graphically abstracting an image of the layout captured by the camera unit (7) in order to generate the image layout (100) corresponding to the degree of abstraction of the planning layout (200) for comparison purposes.

6. The device according to claim 1, wherein the camera unit (7) creates a three-dimensional image to detect a height position of the components (2a-2e) and the terminal connections (6) and to take into account when checking against a 3D planning layout.

7. The device according to claim 1, wherein the device-related components (2a-2e) are designed as electrical or electronic built-in modules.

8. A computer-assisted method for testing contents of a switch cabinet after preceding planning-based assembly of technical components (2a-2e) and their wiring via terminal connections (6) provided for this purpose by means of marked electrical lines (5), comprising the steps: image acquisition of the components (2a-2e) mounted and wired on a mounting plate (4) of a switch cabinet (1) via a camera unit (7), carrying out a comparison between an image layout (100) of an ACTUAL state based on the image acquisition with a provided planning layout (200) of TARGET state by means of an evaluation unit (8), at least with regard to: a) a completeness of the installed components (2a-2e), b) assignment of the terminal connections (6), c) wiring of the electrical lines (5), provision of a test result on structural consistency of the switch cabinet (1) for an assessment with regard to delivery release or fault rectification by an output unit (11).

9. The computer-assisted method according to claim 8, characterised in that the comparison of the ACTUAL state with the TARGET state is further performed with respect to: d) size and type of the selected switch cabinet (1), or e) a correctness of the used wire types of the electric lines (5).

10. The computer-assisted method according to claim 8, characterised in that, in addition to the structural consistency of the switch cabinet (1), the functional consistency is also checked by matching functionality resulting from the components (2a-2e) and their connection via the electrical lines (5) with an electrical circuit diagram (300) associated with the planning layout (200).

11. The computer-assisted method according to claim 10, characterised in that, on the basis of a positive structural and functional test, a simulation of various operating states of the switch cabinet (1) is carried out over a predefined period of time.

12. The computer-assisted method according to claim 8, characterised in that the planning layout (200) is provided by a software-controlled design tool in the form of a layout file with a two-dimensional or three-dimensional representation form.

13. The computer-assisted method according to claim 8, characterised in that the comparison of the actual state with the target state is carried out taking into account permissible tolerance ranges with respect to the installed components (2a-2e), the electrical lines (5) used or their installation or routing positions.

14. The computer-assisted method according to claim 8, characterised in that the test result is transferred via the at least structural consistency of the switch cabinet (1) into an archive database (10) for maintaining an electronic switch cabinet folder for the switch cabinet (1) tested after assembly.

15. A computer program product with program code means for carrying out the method according to claim 8.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] FIG. 1 a schematic block diagram representation of a device for testing the contents of a switch cabinet according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, and

[0022] FIG. 2 a flow chart of individual steps of the testing procedure to be carried out with this device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] According to FIG. 1, after assembly carried out in the course of the manufacturing process, a switch cabinet 1 is to be tested, the contents of which contain various technical components 2a to 2e, which are attached to a mounting plate 4 of the switch cabinet 1 via top-hat rails 3 and are wired to one another via various electrical lines 5 (exemplary). For this purpose, each component 2a to 2e has corresponding terminal connections 6 (exemplary), which are designed as screw or plug-in terminal means.

[0024] For inspecting the contents of the switch cabinet, a camera unit 7, which is arranged at a distance from the switch cabinet 1 and aligned with the mounting plate 4, is assigned to the switch cabinet 1 and generates a three-dimensional image of the components 2a to 2e that are completely mounted and wired on the mounting plate 4. An evaluation unit 8 connected downstream of the camera unit 7 performs an image-processing comparison between an image layout 100 of the ACTUAL state of the enclosure contents recorded by the camera unit 7 and a planning layout 200 of the TARGET state provided by a computer-aided planning tool.

[0025] This comparison is made by means of an image evaluation algorithm which not only reads out the planning layout 200 from a planning database 9, but also the associated parts list information. On this basis, a check is made with regard to the completeness and position of the installed components 2a to 2e, the assignment of the electrical terminal connections 6, the wiring courses of the electrical lines 5 and also the correctness of the types of wire used for this on the basis of the characteristics present on the electrical lines 5, which are accessible to the image-technical evaluation. The image evaluation algorithm is based on a neural system working according to the so-called best mapping method. Since all components to be installed are known from the previous planning, the neural system is able to determine, for example, on the basis of geometric criteria, whether the correct component is actually installed.

[0026] The test result generated by the evaluation unit 8 is made available to an output unit 11 connected downstream of it, which represents an information interface to the user in the form of a screen display. This informs the user whether the tested switch cabinet 1 can be released for delivery or requires troubleshooting.

[0027] In addition to the structural consistency of the switch cabinet 1, the evaluation unit 8 also checks its functional consistency by comparing the functionality created by the components 2a to 2e and their wiring with an electrical circuit diagram 300 assigned to the planning layout 200. After a positive structural and functional check, a simulation unit 12 connected to the evaluation unit 8 can also carry out a simulation of various operating states of the switch cabinet 1 over a predefined period of time, for example in order to test the temperature behaviour against a corresponding planning specification using simulation technology.

[0028] According to FIG. 2, the test procedure of the switch cabinet contents carried out with the above-described device is carried out in which, after the planning-based assembly has been completed, in a first step A an image capture of the switch cabinet contents is first carried out. In a second step B, the image layout 100 of the ACTUAL state of the assembled switch cabinet content is compared with the provided planning layout 200 of the TARGET state. In the subsequent third step C, in addition to the structural consistency of the switch cabinet contents, a functional consistency is also checked with recourse to the electrical circuit diagram 300 linked to the planning layout 200. If the ACTUAL state of the switch cabinet content, which is characterised by its components and their wiring, also corresponds to the circuit diagram specifications, it can be assumed that the functional consistency of the switch cabinet 1 is present. In a fourth step D, building on this and in addition, various operating states are tested over a predefined period of time, for example 24 hours, within the framework of a simulation. In this way, it is possible to find out, for example, whether the switch cabinet contents comply with the thermal limit values or the power consumption specifications with regard to temperature development or power consumption.

[0029] The solution according to the invention thus ensures a multi-layered, in-depth automated quality inspection of an assembled switch cabinet, which is not limited solely to the aspects described above by way of example, but also enables other variations within the scope of the following claims. For example, it is also possible to check the correctness of the selected enclosure type as a housing for the component assembly executed on the mounting plate.

REFERENCE SIGNS

[0030] 1 switch cabinet [0031] 2 component [0032] 3 top-hat rail [0033] 4 mounting plate [0034] 5 electrical cable [0035] 6 terminal connection [0036] 7 camera unit [0037] 8 evaluation unit [0038] 9 planning database [0039] 10 archive database [0040] 11 output unit [0041] 12 simulation unit [0042] 100 image layout [0043] 200 planning layout [0044] 300 electrical circuit diagram