POWER CONVERTER FOR OUTDOOR USE

Abstract

The invention relates to a power converter for outdoor use comprising at least a first cabinet having an air inlet (1) and a second cabinet having an air outlet (2) that surround a cell cabinet (3) having a plurality of power cells (3a) and a transformer cabinet (4) with at least one power transformer (4a); and wherein the air inlet (1) comprises a sand trap (5); a cold air stream (9) from outside the converter passes from the air inlet (1) to the cells (3a) and the transformer (4a) through a cyclonic air filter (6) comprising a tubular duct with an inner geometry formed by helical-shaped blades; and wherein a warm air stream (10) from the cells (3a) and the transformer (4a) is expelled through the air outlet (2).

Claims

1. A power converter for outdoor use comprising at least a first cabinet having an air inlet (1) and a second cabinet having an air outlet (2) that surround a cell cabinet (3) having a plurality of power cells (3a), wherein the air inlet (1) comprises a sand trap (5); a cold air stream (9) from outside the converter passes from the air inlet (1) to the cells (3a) through a cyclonic air filter (6); and wherein a warm air stream (10) from the cells (3a) is expelled through the air outlet (2), and characterized in that the cyclonic filter (6) comprises a tubular duct with an inner geometry formed by helical-shaped blades such that when the air passes through the blades, driven by an associated centrifugal fan, the dirt present in the air is centrifuged therein, being collected through a duct and expelled to the outside and in that the warm air (10) is expelled through an upper duct (7) incorporating at least one fan (8) located in the air outlet (2).

2. (canceled)

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011] A series of drawings which aid to better understand the invention and are expressly related to an embodiment of said invention presented as a non-limiting example thereof will be briefly described below.

[0012] FIG. 1 shows a front view of the power converter object of the invention.

[0013] FIG. 2 shows a horizontal section A-A of the top view of the converter of FIG. 1.

[0014] FIG. 3 shows the section of FIG. 2 depicting the air extraction duct.

[0015] FIG. 4 shows the section of FIG. 2 depicting the airflow inside the converter.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0016] FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the power converter object of the invention, incorporating a first cabinet having an air inlet (1) and a second cabinet having an air outlet (2) that surround a cell cabinet (3) and a transformer cabinet (4) such as the one described in the current state of the art.

[0017] The novelty and usefulness of the power converter object of the invention lies in the cooling design of the converter, as best seen in FIGS. 2 and 3. In this sense, there is incorporated in the first cabinet having an air inlet (1) a sand trap (5) which prevents the passage of coarse particles into the dirty area of the equipment, i.e., to the cells (3a) and therefore, to the transformer (4a),

[0018] The air at the inlet of the cells (3a) and the transformer (4a) is filtered by means of cyclonic air filters (6) that prevent the entry of particles in the air since they are tubular ducts with a specific inner geometry, basically helical-shaped blades, which causes, as the air passes through said blades, the dirt present in the air to be centrifuged therein, being collected through a duct and expelled to the outside. The air at the outlet of the cyclonic air filters (6) is therefore free of impurities and can cool both the cells (3a) and the transformer (4a). In the cyclonic air filters (6), the air is driven by means of centrifugal fans associated therewith. Finally, warm air is expelled through an upper duct (7) incorporating at least one fan (8) be it an axial fan, a centrifugal fan or another type of fan.

[0019] The airflow is depicted in FIG. 4 by means of a dashed line, showing how the air enters through the sand trap (5) integrated in the air inlet (1). The airflow then goes to the cyclonic filters (6) through which clean and cold air (9) will pass to the power cells (3a) located in a leak-tight area (the cell cabinet (3)) and to the transformer (4a). The warm air (10) passing through the upper duct (7) is expelled from the converter through the fans (8).