AU2008261117B2

AU2008261117B2 - Modular protection unit comprising a complementary electrical function such as the differential protection function

Info

Publication number: AU2008261117B2
Application number: AU2008261117A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Bernard Lebeau; Jerome Meunier Carus; Simon Tian
Original assignee: Schneider Electric Industries SAS
Current assignee: Schneider Electric Industries SAS
Priority date: 2007-12-20
Filing date: 2008-12-18
Publication date: 2012-08-09
Anticipated expiration: 2028-12-18
Also published as: AU2008261117A1; ES2404556T3; EP2073240A1; EP2073240B1; FR2925756B1; CN101465249A; CN101465249B; FR2925756A1

Abstract

MODULAR PROTECTION UNIT COMPRISING A COMPLEMENTARY ELECTRICAL FUNCTION SUCH AS THE DIFFERENTIAL PROTECTION 5 FUNCTION. The present invention relates to a modular electrical protection unit. The height of the unit is increased compared with the standard height of such a unit so as to create an additional volume (20) between said mechanism (19) and one of the terminals, said volume (20) 10 being designed to house the components of a complementary electrical function. The maximum height U of the above-mentioned volume (20) is (((X-Z)/2)3/4)-V), with Z being the height of the nose (8) of a unit, V being the height of the housing (38) of a terminal (13), and X being the minimum standardised distance between two rails arranged above one another, the above-mentioned heights being measured in a direction parallel to the 15 plane containing the fixing panel of the unit and perpendicularly to the longitudinal direction of the rail. (Figure 2) C\J coA C)Y

Description

Pool Secton 29 Regulation 3.2(2) AUSTRALIA Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT Application Number: Lodged: Invention Title: Modular protection unit comprising a complementary electrical function such as the differential protection function The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us: P1i1ABAU/1207 MODULAR PROTECTION UNIT COMPRISING A COMPLEMENTARY ELECTRICAL FUNCTION SUCH AS THE DIFFERENTIAL PROTECTION FUNCTION. 5 The present invention relates to a modular electrical protection unit comprising at least one module, each module being housed in a case of substantially parallelepipedic shape, said case comprising a rear panel for fixing onto an assembly rail called first rail, a front panel comprising a nose and housing manual operating means of the unit, said case containing line-side terminals at one of the ends thereof and load-side terminals at the opposite end 10 thereof, and containing the mechanism of the unit between these line-side and load-side terminals, this unit also comprising a complementary electrical function such as the differential function, said unit being able to be placed above or below a same unit fixed onto a second rail, said second rail extending substantially in the same plane as the first rail and in a parallel direction to the latter, the above-mentioned two rails being separated by a 15 standardized minimum distance. Differential circuit breakers presenting a width of 18 mm are for example known, wherein the differential circuits are housed in the neutral arc chute volume. This results in the breaking performances being impaired and the differential function components being 20 subjected to breaking projections. The document FR2752479 is also known describing a differential circuit breaker wherein the differential function is housed in a module presenting a width of 18mm resulting in the unit having large overall dimensions. 25 The document EP0962952 is also known describing a differential circuit breaker wherein the differential function is housed under the circuit breaker mechanism in a volume that encroaches on the space reserved for the wiring of the unit placed underneath. In this case, the space located underneath, or above, cannot be used for fitting a unit. This is a very 30 restrictive constraint, as a larger electrical cabinet then has to be provided to be able to house all the electrical units.

2 The present invention seeks to alleviate these problems and proposes a differential circuit breaker or a circuit breaker presenting another complementary electrical function than the differential function, and presenting a particularly small dimension in the width-wise direction. 5 Any discussion of documents, devices, acts or knowledge in this specification is included to explain the context of the invention. It should not be taken as an admission that any of the material formed part of the prior art base or the common general knowledge in the relevant art in Australia on or before the priority date of the claims herein. 10 Comprises/comprising and grammatical variations thereof when used in this specification are to be taken to specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps or components or groups thereof, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, components or groups thereof. 15 In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a modular electrical protection unit including at least one module, each module being housed in a case of substantially parallelepipedic shape, said case including a rear panel for fixing onto an assembly rail called first rail, a front panel including a nose and housing manual operating means of the 20 unit, said case containing line-side terminals at one of the ends thereof and load-side terminals at the opposite end thereof, and containing the mechanism of the unit between these line-side and load-side terminals, this unit also including a complementary electrical function such as the differential function, said unit being able to be placed above or below a same unit fixed onto a second rail, said second rail extending substantially in the same 25 plane as the first rail and in a parallel direction to the latter, the above-mentioned two rails being separated by a standardized minimum distance X, wherein the height of the unit is increased compared with the standard height of such a unit so as to create a volume between said mechanism and one of the (line-side or load-side) terminals of the unit, this volume being designed to house the components of a complementary electrical function, 30 and wherein the maximum height U of the above-mentioned volume is (((X-Z)/2)3/4)-V, with Z being the height of the nose of a unit and V being the height of the housing of said terminal, the above-mentioned heights being measured in a direction parallel to the plane containing the fixing panel of the unit and perpendicularly to the longitudinal direction of 3 the rail, and wherein the mechanism of the unit includes a trip device including an electromagnetic actuator, and wherein, inside the additional volume, the electronic components supplied with low voltage are grouped together so as to be located near the above-mentioned electromagnetic actuator, whereas the electronic signal processing 5 components are grouped together and located away from the electronic components supplied with low voltage. On account of these features, the circuit breaker is not modified by addition of the appended function and the performances of the circuit breaker are therefore not impaired. 10 The height of the circuit breaker case is thereby increased to create a sufficient volume without penalizing ease of wiring of the facing load-side and line-side terminals belonging to two units situated above one another. Wiring habits are therefore not upset. 15 According to an embodiment of the invention, the circuits internal to the additional volume of the unit constitute interchangeable modules performing different electrical functions. Advantageously, each module is housed in a case that is separable from the case of the unit. 20 The base circuit breaker can thereby be enriched with additional functions that can be appended to suit the user's requirements without creating a specific circuit breaker for each added function, with all the industrial advantages that this procures. In another embodiment, the complementary electrical function is one of the functions 25 comprised in the group comprising the differential function, voltage surge protection, specific protection devices for the load-side receivers, and remote control devices of the circuit breaker. Preferably, the components supplied with low voltage and the signal processing 30 components are supported by one and the same printed circuit board.

3a Preferably, the components supplied with low voltage are supported by a first printed circuit board and the signal processing components are supported by at least one second printed circuit board. By separating the components under low voltage or under surge voltage from the signal 5 processing components, the clearances between the signal processing components are reduced to the functional minimum necessary for this part of the circuit. By induced effect, the surface of the printed circuit is also reduced to the minimum and all the components can be integrated in the available volume. In the opposite case, the clearances are a few millimetres and it is impossible to integrate 10 all the components in the volume imposed by the dimensional constraints of a circuit breaker associated with an appended function placed underneath, in particular the constraint relating to the space left free to enable wiring of this circuit breaker and of the circuit breaker located underneath. 15 Preferably, the above-mentioned printed circuit board is placed at the end of said actuator, on the same side as the additional volume, and extends substantially perpendicularly to the axis of said actuator. This enables space to be left clear between the trip device and the load-side terminal. 20 4 According to another feature, the first board is placed at the end of said actuator situated on the same side as the additional volume, substantially perpendicularly to its axis, whereas the second board is placed between the terminal situated on the same side as the additional volume on the one hand, and the rail on the other hand, forming a certain angle with 5 respect to the first board. According to another feature, the mechanism of the unit comprising a trip device comprising an electromagnetic actuator comprising a coil, this device is characterized in that it comprises an additional electromagnetic actuator called second actuator, and that the 10 additional volume comprises control means of said additional actuator. The unit can thereby be completed by an auxiliary control device such as a remote control. According to a first embodiment, said additional actuator is fitted partly inside the volume of the electrical protection unit and partly in the additional volume. 15 According to another embodiment, the additional actuator is fitted totally inside the volume of the electrical protection unit. According to another feature, the additional actuator is placed at one of the ends of the axis 20 of the coil of the first electromagnetic actuator. According to another feature, the first electromagnetic actuator comprises a coil supported by a sheath, inside which sheath there are mounted a fixed core called first fixed core and also a moving core mounted sliding inside the sheath, and an actuating rod mounted sliding 25 inside the fixed core and comprising a first end operating in conjunction with the moving core and a second end operating in conjunction with the tripping mechanism of the unit, and the additional actuator comprises a moving core called second moving core mounted sliding inside a sheath called second sheath and operating in conjunction with the above mentioned first moving core then acting as fixed core and the rod, to drive the actuating rod 30 to a tripped position. This embodiment enables space to be gained inside the unit.

5 According to a particular feature, said unit comprising an electromagnetic actuator, the additional volume comprises supply means of the signal processing circuits, control means of the electromagnetic actuator and voltage surge protection means. 5 According to another feature, the complementary electrical function is the differential function and the additional volume comprises a toroid comprising a coated core and a secondary circuit directly wound on the core of the toroid. These features enable a small toroid to be had that fits in the volume without taking up space for the other components while at the same time presenting a central hole that is 10 large enough to let primary wires of large current rating pass through. The coating enables either a first case for the core, or a case for the secondary winding, or both the cases to be eliminated. According to a particular feature, the secondary circuit of the toroid is also of the coated 15 type. According to another feature, the toroid is placed on an axis parallel to the axis of the actuator called first actuator in the signal processing components zone. 20 According to another feature, the differential toroid is placed on the second printed circuit board supporting the signal processing components. According to another feature, the circuits internal to the additional volume constitute an interchangeable module and the printed circuit board(s) comprise(s) holes or notches on at 25 least one edge accessible to a soldering iron after the appended module has been associated with the unit, and the edges of these holes or of these notches comprise metal strips for soldering the wires or rigid connections of the actuator to said board. The actuator can thereby be integrated in the circuit breaker in the direction of the axis of the coil and the appended module can be installed with delayed differentiation. 30 It is a further object of the present invention to provide a phase and neutral circuit breaker comprising the features mentioned above taken either alone or in combination.

6 But other advantages and features of the invention will become more clearly apparent from the following detailed description which refers to the appended drawings given for example purposes only and in which: 5 -Figure 1 is a perspective view illustrating a phase and neutral differential circuit breaker according to the invention, -Figure 2 is a schematic view illustrating two circuit breakers each fitted on an assembly 10 rail, said rails being fitted above one another, -Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of the unit more particularly illustrating the part of the unit concerning the phase, 15 -Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view of the unit more particularly illustrating the part of the unit concerning the neutral, -Figure 5 is a perspective view illustrating the tripping control device according to the invention equipped with a differential protection module according to one embodiment of 20 the invention, -Figure 6 is a perspective view illustrating the tripping control device according to the invention equipped with a differential protection module according to another embodiment of the invention, 25 -Figure 7 represents the electromagnetic actuator and the additional electromagnetic actuator in side view and in cross-section along D-D. A phase/neutral differential circuit breaker D is illustrated in figure 1 housed in a modular 30 case with a width of 18 mm and comprising two parts 1,2, i.e. a part I designed to perform breaking of an electric phase and a part 2 designed to perform breaking of the neutral. This case presents a rear panel 3 comprising a recess 4 for fixing to an assembly rail 16 (fig.2), 7 two main panels 5,6 via which said case can be adjoined to other cases of the same type, a front panel 7 comprising a nose 8 comprising manual operating means 9 of the unit, a top part 10 and a bottom part I I in which there are respectively fitted line-side terminals 12 for connecting the unit to an electric power supply device and load-side terminals 13 for 5 connecting said unit to other units located load-side from said unit. In figure 2, two units 14,15 are represented each fitted on an assembly rail 16,17, said rails 16,17 being fixed one above the other on a support surface 18. In figures 3 and 4, it can be seen that the circuit breaker comprises, in a manner known as such, an actuating mechanism 19 actuating two contacts 50,51 and 52,53, a manual 10 operating handle 22 of this mechanism, electromagnetic trip means 23 designed to trip circuit breaker mechanism 19 when a short-circuit current occurs and thermal trip means 24 designed to perform tripping of the mechanism in the event of an overload current occurring. Thermal trip means 24 comprise a bimetal strip 25 whereas electromagnetic trip means 23 comprise an electromagnetic actuator 27. This actuator called first actuator 15 comprises a coil 28 (fig.7) supported by a sheath 29, inside which sheath are fitted a fixed core 30 called first fixed core and a moving core 31 called first moving core fitted sliding inside said sheath, and an actuating rod 32 fitted sliding inside fixed core 30 and comprising a first end operating in conjunction with moving core 31 and a second end operating in conjunction with the trip mechanism of the circuit breaker in such a way that 20 when a short-circuit occurs, moving core 31 drives rod 32 to a position in which the latter actuates the trip device resulting in opening of contacts 50,51 and 52,53. The unit also comprises an auxiliary electromagnetic actuating device 33, or additional actuator, comprising a moving core 34 called second moving core (fig.7), fitted sliding in a sheath (35) called second sheath and operating in conjunction with the above-mentioned 25 first moving core 31 then acting as fixed core and the rod, to drive the actuating rod to the tripped position of the unit when a tripping order is given by the auxiliary trip device. Auxiliary device 33 is fitted at the end of main actuator 27, the two actuators acting on one and the same actuating rod 32. This enables the space required inside the unit to be reduced. 30 As illustrated in figure 2, it can be seen that the height of a unit has been increased by a few millimetres compared with the standard height of such a unit so as to create a volume 20 between mechanism 19 and load-side terminal 13, a volume designed to house the 8 elements of a complementary electrical function such as the differential function, voltage surge protection, specific protections for load-side receivers, etc. The height of the volume thus created is chosen such as not to hamper wiring of facing load-side terminals 13 and line-side terminals 36 respectively belonging to the two units 14,15 fitted above one 5 another, these two units being respectively fixed on the two rails 16,17 fixed above one another on the same support surface. In this figure, U is considered as being the height of the volume created between the bottom base of nose 8 and partition 37 of housing 38 of load-side terminal 13, V the height of housing 38 of load-side terminal 13, E the distance between two units 14,15, Z the standardised height of nose 8 of a unit outside the front 10 panel, Y the distance between two superposed noses and X the standardised minimum distance between two rails 16,17, these heights being measured in a direction parallel to the rear surface of the units and perpendicularly to the longitudinal direction of rails 16,17. According to this embodiment of the invention, this height U is less than (((X-Z)/2)3/4)-V so as not to hamper wiring operations. According to a particular embodiment of the 15 invention: Z=45; Y=80 and the minimum distance between the rails is 125mm. According to the embodiment illustrated in figure 2, the heights of the units have been increased at the level of their bottom parts. Another embodiment could consist in providing an additional volume, in the bottom part for the unit situated on the upper level, and in the top part for the unit situated underneath. 20 This configuration in which the space between the two units is minimal does not hamper wiring if the height of the volume created does not exceed the above-mentioned value of (((X-Z)/2)3/4)-V. In figures 3 to 6, it can be seen that the complementary electrical volume is designed to perform the differential function. Inside this volume, and according to the embodiment 25 illustrated in figures 3,4 and 6, a printed circuit board 39 is located arranged perpendicularly to the axis W of actuators 27,33 and at the end of these actuators so as to create a maximum space between auxiliary actuator 33 and load-side terminal 13. The components subjected to low voltage or to voltage surges due to atmospheric phenomena are located on the part 40 of printed circuit board 39 situated facing auxiliary actuator 33. 30 The signal processing components are located on the other part 41 of printed circuit board 39. The components performing power supply of the signal processing devices, the protection means against voltage surges of atmospheric origin and the control means of the 9 actuators are fitted on this first part 40 of the board. These elements can for example comprise a voltage dropping capacitor, a voltage-dependent resistor, a thyristor, etc. Differential toroid 42 (fig.6) is placed on an axis T parallel to the axis W of the actuators in the signal processing components zone. 5 According to one embodiment as illustrated in figure 5, the signal processing components can be fitted on a separate board 43 placed at a certain angle behind the volume of load side terminal 13 with respect to a first printed circuit board 44. It should be noted that in the embodiment illustrated in figure 6, another board 54 can be provided to support other signal processing components. 10 A module has thereby been created comprising a power supply device of the signal processing, electromagnetic actuator control, and voltage surge protection circuits that is able to be used by different signal processing circuits and is located in the same zone as the electromagnetic actuator. By providing this module, the components under low voltage and under voltage surges due to storms and the coil of the additional actuator are located in the 15 same place. This module can use the coil of the additional electromagnetic actuator in the protection circuit against voltage surges (typically 6KV) due to storms. The voltage at the terminals of the coil can in fact go up to 5KV. This enables a volume not subjected to these voltages to be cleared to house the different signal processing circuits. A standardised function is thereby achieved that is available to different signal processing circuits. 20 According to the particular embodiment illustrated, the toroid is of the coated type. The core of the toroid is coated and the secondary circuit is directly wound thereon, which enables small overall dimensions to be obtained. According to an advantageous embodiment, the appended module is a module that is separable from the circuit breaker case. 25 In this case, the wires or connections of the electromagnetic actuator can be soldered onto the printed circuit after the appended module has been associated with the fully assembled circuit breaker. For this purpose, the printed circuit has holes 58 or notches on an edge accessible to a soldering iron after the appended module has been associated with the circuit breaker. Metal strips on the edges of the holes or notches enable the wires or rigid 30 connections of the electromagnetic actuator to be soldered.

10 It should be noted that the toroid could comprise one or more coatings, i.e. a coating on the magnetic material then winding on this coating, then a second coating on the winding, or a case. It should be noted that this additional volume can be provided either between the 5 mechanism and the line-side terminal or between the mechanism and the load-side terminal. An electrical protection unit comprising at least one complementary electrical function has thereby been achieved by means of the invention, the width of which unit does not exceed one 18mm module. 10 Advantageously the appended functions will be interchangeable modules so as to differentiate the circuit breakers as late as possible on the production line. The differential function can be replaced by any other auxiliary function. The invention is naturally not limited to the embodiments described and illustrated which 15 have been given for example purposes only. On the contrary, the invention encompasses all the technical equivalents of the means described as well as combinations thereof if the latter are achieved according to the spirit of the invention. 20

Claims

1. A modular electrical protection unit including at least one module, each module being housed in a case of substantially parallelepipedic shape, said case including a rear panel for fixing onto an assembly rail called first rail, a front panel including a nose and 5 housing manual operating means of the unit, said case containing line-side terminals at one of the ends thereof and load-side terminals at the opposite end thereof, and containing the mechanism of the unit between these line-side and load-side terminals, this unit also including a complementary electrical function such as the differential function, said unit being able to be placed above or below a same unit fixed onto a second rail, said second 10 rail extending substantially in the same plane as the first rail and in a parallel direction to the latter, the above-mentioned two rails being separated by a standardized minimum distance X, wherein the height of the unit is increased compared with the standard height of such a unit so as to create a volume between said mechanism and one of the (line-side or 15 load-side) terminals of the unit, this volume being designed to house the components of a complementary electrical function, and wherein the maximum height U of the above-mentioned volume is (((X Z)/2)3/4)-V, with Z being the height of the nose of a unit and V being the height of the housing of said terminal, the above-mentioned heights being measured in a direction 20 parallel to the plane containing the fixing panel of the unit and perpendicularly to the longitudinal direction of the rail, and wherein the mechanism of the unit includes a trip device including an electromagnetic actuator, and wherein, inside the additional volume, the electronic components supplied 25 with low voltage are grouped together so as to be located near the above-mentioned electromagnetic actuator, whereas the electronic signal processing components are grouped together and located away from the electronic components supplied with low voltage.

2. The electrical protection unit according to claim 1, wherein the circuits internal to 30 the additional volume of the unit constitute interchangeable modules performing different electrical functions. 12

3. The electrical protection unit according to claim 2, wherein each module is housed in a case that is separable from the case of the unit.

4. The electrical protection unit according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the complementary electrical function is one of the functions included in the group including 5 the differential function, voltage surge protection, specific protection devices for load-side receivers or circuit breaker remote control devices.

5. The electrical protection unit according to any one of the foregoing claims, wherein the components supplied with low voltage and the signal processing components are supported by one and the same printed circuit board. 10

6. The electrical protection unit according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the components supplied with low voltage are supported by a first printed circuit board and the signal processing components are supported by at least one second printed circuit board.

7. The electrical protection unit according to claim 5, wherein the above-mentioned 15 printed circuit board is placed at the end of said actuator on the same side as the additional volume, and extends substantially perpendicularly to the axis W of said actuator.

8. The electrical protection unit according to claim 6, wherein the first board placed at the end of said actuator situated on the same side as the additional volume, substantially perpendicularly to its axis W, whereas the second board is placed between the terminal 20 situated on the same side as the additional volume on the one hand and the rail on the other hand, forming a certain angle with respect to the first board.

9. The electrical protection unit according to any one of the foregoing claims, the mechanism of the unit including a trip device including an electromagnetic actuator including a coil, wherein it includes an additional electromagnetic actuator called second 25 actuator, and that the additional volume includes control means of said additional actuator. 13

10. The electrical protection unit according to claim 9, wherein said additional actuator is fitted partly inside the volume of the electrical protection unit and partly in the additional volume.

11. The electrical protection unit according to claim 9, wherein the additional actuator 5 is fitted totally inside the volume of the electrical protection unit.

12. The electrical protection unit according to any one of claims 9, 10 or 11, wherein the additional actuator is placed at one of the ends of the axis W of the coil of the first electromagnetic actuator.

13. The electrical protection unit according to any one of claims 9 to 12, wherein the 10 first electromagnetic actuator includes a coil supported by a sheath, inside which sheath there are mounted a fixed core called first fixed core and also a moving core mounted sliding inside the sheath, and an actuating rod mounted sliding inside the fixed core and including a first end operating in conjunction with the moving core and a second end operating in conjunction with the tripping mechanism of the unit, and that the additional 15 actuator includes a moving core called second moving core mounted sliding inside a sheath called second sheath and operating in conjunction with the above-mentioned first moving core then acting as fixed core and the rod, to drive the actuating rod to the tripped position.

14. The electrical protection unit according to any one of the foregoing claims, said 20 unit including an electromagnetic actuator, wherein the additional volume includes power supply means, signal processing circuits, control means of the electromagnetic actuator and protection means against voltage surges.

15. The electrical protection unit according to any one of claims 1 to 14, wherein the complementary electrical function is the differential function and that the additional 25 volume includes a toroid including a coated core and a secondary circuit directly wound on the core of the toroid.

16. The electrical protection unit according to claim 15, wherein the secondary circuit of the toroid is also of the coated type. 14

17. The electrical protection unit according to claim 9 and 15, wherein the toroid is placed on an axis T parallel to the axis W of the actuator called first actuator in the signal processing components zone.

18. The electrical protection unit according to claims 6 and 17, wherein the differential 5 toroid is placed on the second printed circuit board supporting the signal processing components.

19. The electrical protection unit according to any one of claims 6 to 18, wherein the circuits internal to the additional volume constitute an interchangeable module and that the printed circuit board(s) include(s) holes or notches on at least one edge accessible to a 10 soldering iron after the appended module has been associated with the unit, and that the edges of these holes or of these notches include metal strips enabling the wires or rigid connections of the actuator to be soldered to said board.

20. The electrical protection unit according to any one of claims 1 to 19, wherein it is a phase/neutral circuit breaker. 15

21. A modular electrical protection unit substantially as herein before described with reference to the accompanying drawings. SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC INDUSTRIES SAS WATERMARK PATENT & TRADE MARK ATTORNEYS P31239AU00