Landscape controller housing with pivotable locking face pack

• US 9,345,155 B1
• Filed: 06/07/2013
• Issued: 05/17/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 04/29/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hunter Industries Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Hunter Industries Incorporated
• Inventors: Schmuckle, Darrin I.
• Primary Examiner(s): LOPEZ CRUZ, DIMARY S
• Application Number:
  US13/912,671
• Time in Patent Office: 1,075 Days
• Field of Search: 361/600, 361/610, 361/615, 361/627, 361/807, 361/809, 361/679.04, 361/679.06, 361/679.29, 361/679.27, 361/622, 361/679.01, 174/50, 174/520, 174/535, 174/542
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 5/0017 with operator interface units
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 5/0018 having an electronic display
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 5/0226 Hinges
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 5/0247 Electrical details of casings, e.g. terminals, passages for cables or wiring

Abstract

A landscape controller housing can be used to enclose the electronic components of a landscape lighting system or an irrigation system includes a face pack that is pivotably and removably mounted in an outer housing. The face pack can be installed in the outer housing in a normal upright position in which a pair of pivot pins are each received in a corresponding bearing slot and a pair of locking pins are each received in a corresponding lock recess. The face pack can be swung through a predetermined angle to release the locking pins from the lock recesses to allow the face pack to be removed from the outer housing by sliding the pivot pins out of the bearing slots and removing the locking pins from the lock recesses. The face pack can be inserted into the outer housing into a substantially horizontal service position by sliding both the pivot pins and the locking pins into the bearing slots.

Claims

1. A landscape controller housing, comprising:

a face pack including an enclosure, at least one manual input device mounted in a front side of the enclosure, a pair of pivot pins extending from a pair of opposite ends of the enclosure, and at least one locking pin extending from an end of the enclosure and spaced from one of the pivot pins; and

an outer housing defining an interior sufficiently large to enclosure the face pack, the outer housing enclosing a chassis having a pair of bearing slots each on opposite sides of the chassis, the bearing slots being configured such that the face pack can be installed in the outer housing in a normal upright position in which the pivot pins are each received in a corresponding one of the bearing slots, the face pack can be swung through a predetermined angle to allow the face pack to be removed from the outer housing by sliding the pivot pins out of the bearing slots, and the face pack can be inserted into the outer housing into a substantially horizontal service position by sliding both the pivot pins and the locking pin into the bearing slots.

2. The landscape controller housing of claim 1, further comprising a first electrical connector mounted in the face pack enclosure.

3. The landscape controller of claim 2, further comprising a second electrical connector mounted in the outer housing.

4. The landscape controller of claim 3, further comprising a cable with third and fourth electrical connectors that mate with the first and second electrical connectors, respectively.

5. The landscape controller of claim 1, wherein the outer housing includes a rear portion and a door dimensioned to cover a front opening defined by an interior of the rear housing portion, and a hinge assembly connected to a side edge of the door and a side edge of the rear housing portion.

6. The landscape controller of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of wire connection terminals mounted in the outer housing, the wire connection terminals being concealed behind the face pack when the face pack is installed in the outer housing in the normal upright position, and the wire connection terminals being accessible for manually connecting wires to the wire connection terminals when the face pack is in the service position.

7. The landscape controller of claim 1, wherein the face pack enclosure includes a cut-out region.

8. The landscape controller of claim 1, wherein each of the pivot pins has a truncated cylindrical configuration including a pair of opposing flat outer surfaces.

9. The landscape controller of claim 1, wherein the locking pin has a truncated cylindrical configuration including a pair of opposing flat outer surfaces.

10. A landscape controller housing, comprising:

a face pack including an enclosure, at least one manual input device mounted in a front side of the enclosure, a pair of pivot pins extending from a pair of opposite ends of the enclosure, and a pair of locking pins extending from the opposite ends of the enclosure and spaced from the pivot pins; and

a rear housing portion defining an interior sufficiently large to enclose the face pack, the rear housing including a chassis having a pair of bearing slots each on opposite sides of the chassis, the bearing slots being configured such that the face pack can be installed in the rear housing portion in a normal upright position in which the pivot pins are each received in a corresponding one of the bearing slots the face pack can be swung through a predetermined angle to allow the face pack to be removed from the rear housing portion by sliding the pivot pins out of the bearing slots, and the face pack can be inserted into the rear housing portion into a substantially horizontal service position by sliding both the pivot pins and the locking pins into the bearing slots.

11. The landscape controller of claim 10, further comprising a first electrical connector mounted in the face pack enclosure.

12. The landscape controller of claim 11, further comprising a second electrical connector mounted in the rear housing portion.

13. The landscape controller of claim 12, further comprising a cable with third and fourth electrical connectors that mate with the first and second electrical connectors, respectively.

14. The landscape controller of claim 10, further comprising a door dimensioned to cover a front opening defined by the interior of the rear housing portions, and a hinge assembly connected to a side edge of the door and a side edge of the rear housing portion.

15. The landscape controller of claim 10, further comprising a plurality of wire connection terminals mounted in the rear housing portions, the wire connection terminals being concealed behind the face pack when the face pack is installed in the rear housing portion in the normal upright position, and the wire connection terminals being accessible for manually connecting wires to the wire connection terminals when the face pack is in the service position.

16. The landscape controller of claim 10, wherein the face pack enclosure includes a cut-out region.

17. The landscape controller of claim 10, wherein each of the pivot pins has a truncated cylindrical configuration including a pair of opposing flat outer surfaces.

18. The landscape controller of claim 10, wherein the locking pin has a truncated cylindrical configuration including a pair of opposing flat outer surfaces.