CH683808A5 - double-break circuit breaker-contactor. - Google Patents

Description

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CH 683 808 A5

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Description

The present invention relates to a low-voltage electrical device of the double break contactor-breaker type, in which the mechanical transmission of the opening movement to the contact bridges is improved.

The documents EP 179 677 and EP 281 443 describe low-voltage electrical devices of the contactor-circuit breaker type comprising several pole paths in which is inserted a movable contact bridge cooperating with fixed contacts to ensure a double break in response, either to actuation of a lock following the detection of an overcurrent fault (circuit breaker mode) or a manual command (manual mode), or the command of an electromagnet (contactor mode). In these devices, the transmission of the movement of the electromagnet armature to the contact bridge is designed so as not to operate the lock, so that it is only requested in circuit breaker or manual mode.

It is desirable to improve the design of such devices with regard to the simplicity, size and reliability of the mechanical transmission of the opening movement to the contact bridges, while taking into account the electrical characteristics and the volume which must be necessarily occupy the other rooms: magnetic and / or thermal releases, manual control buttons, lock, electromagnet.

The document EP 270 158 shows a contactor-circuit breaker in which a contact carrier accommodates, in recesses, the contact bridges of the respective polar paths and accommodates, in wells communicating with these recesses, opening pushers. The pushers are capable of receiving the opening energy, on the one hand, of a rake lever movable by the electromagnet armature, on the other hand, of an individual lever associated with a respective magnetic trigger . The high stress on the contact carrier, as well as the guiding and the number of surfaces required for the various parts of the drive mechanism, are not mechanically satisfactory.

The object of the invention is in particular to improve the arrangement of low-voltage electrical devices of the double break contactor type to make it simpler and more reliable the mechanical transmission of the opening movement to the contact bridges, while ensuring that the '' no solicitation of the tripping mechanism in contactor mode.

It relates to a contactor-circuit breaker of the double break type, comprising in a housing:

- at least one polar path provided with a movable contact bridge, cooperating with fixed contacts,

- magnetic and / or thermal trip devices arranged on the polar paths and capable of controlling the opening of the contacts via a tripping mechanism when they detect an overcurrent,

- at least one manual control button placed on the front of the housing and acting on the trigger mechanism to open and close the contacts and reset the mechanism, and comprising:

- an electromagnet which has a coil and a movable armature to which a control mechanism is coupled, this mechanism being arranged to open and close the contacts according to the current flowing through the coil,

- drive means which urge the opening of the contact bridges in response to the movement, on the one hand, of a rapid opening member of the trigger mechanism and, on the other hand, of a part belonging to the control mechanism.

“Front” and “rear” designate the parts of the device respectively located towards the operator and opposite the operator.

According to the invention, the drive means comprise, for each pole path, an individual drive part capable of sliding in guide surfaces fixed relative to the housing and associated with the respective contact bridge to receive the impact of the 'quick opening device and drive the bridge; the mechanism comprises a bucket slide movable parallel to the median plane of the contact bridges and able to slide in guide surfaces of the housing, the slide being applicable on the various drive parts.

The combination of the translational movements of the slide and the individual drive part guided relative to the housing guarantees good transmission of the movement and reliable operation. The arrangement adopted is particularly advantageous when the trigger compartment is flat, the slide being a flat part adjacent to the compartment and provided with cantilever feet applicable on the drive parts in bearing zones close to the median plane. .

Preferably, each contact bridge is detached from the respective drive part and is biased by a contact pressure and return spring towards a wall of the drive part on which the quick opening member is applicable and the slide, the drive part having guide surfaces for the contact bridge. The drive piece is advantageously a stirrup, or even a cage, covering a central part of the contact bridge, led into fixed guide surfaces provided in the housing on the side of the contact bridge opposite to the fixed and mobile contacts and providing a passage for the return and contact pressure spring.

The rapid opening member and / or the slide may comprise a cross-member connecting between them support zones applicable on the various drive parts; in this case, the cross-member can advantageously be provided with notches for the passage of support zones provided in cantilever on the slide and / or the quick-opening member for applying to the pieces of training near the median plane.

Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will emerge from the description of a nonlimiting exemplary embodiment, which will be made with reference to the appended drawings.

Fig. 1 is the diagram of a double break contactor-breaker according to the invention;

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Fig. 2 shows, in section, a drive part coupled to a contact bridge;

Fig. 3 is an elevational view of an embodiment of the contactor-circuit breaker;

Figs. 4 and 5 are sections IV-IV and V-V of the apparatus of FIG. 3;

Fig. 6 shows, on a larger scale, part of FIG. 5;

Fig. 7 is a sectional view along the plane VII-VII of FIG. 3 showing the applicable parts on the drive parts;

Figs. 8 to 10 show a contact bridge of the device in different operating phases;

Fig. 11 partially shows the diagram of a variant of the contactor-circuit breaker.

The contactor-circuit breaker 10 illustrated in FIG. 1 is a low voltage electrical appliance. Although this device is multipolar, certain provisions which will be described are applicable to a unipolar device.

The apparatus comprises an insulating housing 11 composed of a body 12, a cover 13 and a base 14. The housing has, on its front face, a projecting part 15 and, on its rear face, elements 16 used for fixing the device by snap-fastening on a standardized profile.

Each polar current path is established between two power terminals 17, 18 and comprises conductive parts 19, 20 connected to respective fixed contacts 21, 22, as well as a movable contact bridge 23 provided with contacts 24, 25 respectively associated at contacts 21, 22.

The contact bridges 23 have a common plane of symmetry P; each is biased in the direction of closing of the contacts by a return and contact pressure spring 26 furthermore bearing against the bottom of the housing 11. Each contact bridge 23 can be controlled in the direction of opening of the contacts by an individual drive part 27. The part 27, the construction and guiding of which will be described later, is detached from the bridge; it is itself driven, either in circuit breaker or manual mode by a quick opening member 28, or in contactor mode by a slider 29, the quick opening member and the slider moving parallel to the median plane P. On thus obtains in both operating modes a double break; arc extinguishing devices 30 are associated with each breaking chamber.

The rapid opening member 28 is movable by a lock trigger mechanism 31 disposed in a central compartment 32 of flat shape, that is to say of relatively small thickness perpendicular to the median plane. The lock 31 is actuable from magnetic 33 and thermal triggers 34 electrically mounted in series on each pole path between the fixed contact 22 and the terminal 18. The lock 31 is also actuable from a reset push button and closing or “start” button 35 and an opening push button or “stop” button 36 arranged in the compartment 32 so as to

being able to project at the front of the housing 11. As a variant, it is possible to provide a single rotary lever for resetting, closing and opening.

The rapid opening member is in the high position (FIGS. 1 and 3) under normal operating conditions, the operating push-button 35 being pressed. It is in the low position when an electrical fault has been detected by one of the releases 33, 34 or when the stop push button 36 has been pressed.

The slide 29 is adjacent to the compartment 32 and displaceable by an electromagnet 40. The slide 29 is flat and straight; its detailed shape and its guidance will be described with reference to FIGS. 4, 6 and 7.

The electromagnet 40 comprises a coil 41 wound around an insulating carcass 42, as well as a fixed yoke 43 and a movable frame 44. A transmission mechanism is provided between the frame and the slide; this mechanism comprises a lever 45 coupled to the frame, pivoting on a fixed bearing 46 of the carcass or of the housing and having, with free end con 47, a nose which cooperates with a recess 48 of the slide to drive the latter.

The lever 45 is subject to a tension spring 49 taking, moreover, support at a fixed point; the spring 49 serves to return the armature 44-lever 45-slide 29 assembly to its rest position corresponding to the opening of the contacts. A projecting element or a boss 50 is associated with the lever to appear opposite a window 51 of the front face of the housing, in order to signal the closed state of the contacts in contactor mode. The signaling boss can be provided at the front of the slider 29. It is of course possible to provide another transmission mechanism between the frame 44 and the slider 29, as well as another system for this reminder for the frame, the lever and the transmission system.

Instead of being included in the housing 11, the assembly formed by the electromagnet 40 and the lever 45 can be housed in a housing fixed in a manner separable from the housing 11.

The detailed constitution of a preferred embodiment of the drive part 27 is illustrated in FIG. 2.

The part 27 is a partially closed stirrup in the form of a cage. The bracket 27 has a front wall 52, two side walls 53, 54 provided with guide surfaces 55 for the contact bridge 23 and a rear wall 56 provided with a passage 57 for the spring 26. The opening member rapid 28 and the slide 29 apply to the opening on a first face 52a of the wall 52, while the spring 26 exerts its force via the bridge 23 on a second face 52b of the wall 52. The sides of the stirrup 27 are led into fixed guide surfaces 58 provided in the housing. To reduce the bulk, the surfaces 58 are located on the side of the contact bridge which is opposite the fixed contacts 21, 22. This ensures satisfactory transmission to the housing of the forces received by the drive part 27 and due at its selective solicitation by the rapid opening member 28 and the slide 29.

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It will be noted that the front wall 52 of the cage is advantageously of reduced thickness to contribute to the small size of the transmission device.

Fig. 3 shows, in more detail than in FIG. 1, an embodiment of the contactor-circuit breaker according to the invention. It may be noted in particular that terminals 59 are provided, on the one hand, for the connection of conductors intended for supplying the coil, on the other hand, for the connection of a signaling circuit with non-auxiliary contacts shown, these contacts being associated with the mobile assembly 44, 45 to indicate the state of the latter. A volume 60 is released between the base of the housing 11 and the electromagnet 40 to accommodate, if necessary, a limiting device with electrodynamic repulsion; such a device can, for example, use a pivoting contact lever with a single cut interposed on the current path between terminal 17 and fixed contact 21.

We see in fig. 4 that the flat slider 29 comprises a part 29a in the form of a strip provided with the recess 48 with which the nose of the lever 45 cooperates, an intermediate part 29b and a rear part 29c composed of three legs 62 ending in a door leg false 63.

This achieves that the slide 29 is applied to the drive parts 27 as close as possible to the median plane P. Each tab 62 is split at 64 to be held on a fixed stud 65 of the housing which is engaged in the slot. Shaped elements other than slots 64 and tenons 65 may be provided to guide the tabs 62.

It can be noted that the front part 29a of the slider is guided against guide surfaces 66 preferably provided in a projection 67 of the carcass 42 of the coil 41, while the rear part 29c of the slider is guided, on the one hand, on the studs 65, on the other hand, against fixed surfaces 68 of the housing.

Fig. 5 shows the rapid opening member 28 of the trigger mechanism. This member is in the form of a cross member provided with guide ribs 70 conducted in grooves 71 which are formed in interpolar partitions 72. At the rear of the grooves 71 are ribs 73 contributing to the interpolar electrical isolation at the level of the base 14. This takes advantage of the multipolar nature of the device; the grooves 71 and the ribs 70, 73 provide the desired guidance while lengthening the lines of flight between conductive parts of adjacent poles. The rapid opening member 28 is subjected to springs 74 whose effort is added to that of an unspecified spring located in ia lock 31 to accelerate the opening of the contacts.

Fig. 6 shows, on a larger scale, the rapid opening member 28 and the drive cages 27. For the purpose of protection, there is associated with the ends of the springs a cap 75 applied against the contact bridge 23 and an axial finger 76 molded with the bottom of the case. Part I of fig. 6 shows the position of the parts in the event of a cutout controlled by the electromagnet 40; part II of fig. 6 shows the position of the parts when the contacts are closed.

We see in fig. 7 an embodiment of the rapid opening cross member 28 and the slide 29. In particular, the cross member 28 includes support zones 77 applicable to the parts 27 and is provided with notches 78 for the passage of zones of support 79 overhanging the feet of the slide 29. The notches can, of course, be provided on the slide and the support areas cantilevered on the cross member, the main thing being to obtain, with a flat slide guided in translation along the compartment 32, a support socket close to the plane P on the drive part 27 guided in translation.

Fig. 8 shows a contact bridge 23 in the open position in contactor mode. The coil 41 (fig. 3) of the electromagnet 40 then being unpowered, the armature 44 is in the raised position with respect to the yoke 43; the lever 45 having pivoted clockwise, the slide 29 occupies a low position in which it is applied to the drive part 27 and the force to be applied to the bridge 23, the latter compressing the spring 26.

When a current flows through the coil 41, the slider 29 returns to the high position under the effect of the spring 49, so that the contacts close. If one of the triggers 32, 33 then detects an overcurrent fault, the lock 31 is actuated so that the rapid opening member 28 descends to strike the part 27 which drives the bridge 23 and causes the opening (fig. . 9).

The conductive parts 19, 20 (fig. 3) of the polar power paths have a C shape near the fixed contacts 21, 22, so that a high overcurrent generates an electrodynamic repulsion effect at this location. In this case, a particularly strong repulsion can determine a relative displacement of the bridge 23 relative to the drive part 27 to a stop formed by the wall 56 (fig. 2).

In the variant embodiment illustrated in FIG. 11, a specific limiting system is associated with the contact bridges 23. This system comprises a striker 80 acting at an off-center point of the contact bridge, that is to say at a point offset from the plane P. The striker 80 is actuated by the magnetic trip device 33 or by an additional magnetic trip device and is recalled by a spring 81. When a strong short-circuit current occurs between the terminals 17, 18, the striker 80 strikes the contact bridge 23, so that the latter switches and the movable contact 25 briefly separates from the fixed contact 22. This simple breaking action is relayed by the descent of the movable control member 28 which separates the movable contact 24 from the fixed contact 21, by producing a double cut maintained while the striker 80 is raised.

Claims (12)

Claims 1. Double break contactor, comprising in a housing (11): - at least one pole path provided with a movable contact bridge (23), cooperating with fixed contacts (21, 22), the contact bridges having a common median plane (P), 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 4 7 CH 683 808 A5 8 - magnetic (33) and / or thermal trip devices (34) arranged on the polar paths and capable of controlling the opening of the contacts via a trip mechanism (31) when they detect an overcurrent, - at least one manual control button (35, 36) placed on the front face of the housing and acting on the trigger mechanism to open and close the contacts and reset the mechanism, and comprising: - an electromagnet (40) which has a coil and a movable armature (44) to which a control mechanism is coupled, this mechanism being arranged to open and close the contacts as a function of the current flowing through the coil, - drive means which urge the opening of the contact bridges (23) in response to the movement, on the one hand, of a rapid opening member (28) of the triggering mechanism and, on the other hand , of a part belonging to the control mechanism, characterized in that: - The drive means comprise, for each polar path, an individual drive piece (27) capable of sliding in guide surfaces (58) fixed relative to the housing and associated with the respective contact bridge (23) to receive the impact of the rapid opening member (28) and drive the bridge, - The control mechanism comprises a slide (29) movable parallel to the median plane (P) and able to slide in guide surfaces of the housing, the slide being applicable on the various drive parts (27). 2. Contactor-circuit breaker according to claim 1, characterized in that each contact bridge (23) is detached from the respective drive part (27) and is biased by a spring (26) of contact pressure and return towards a wall (52) of the drive part on which the rapid opening member (28) and the slide (29) are applicable, the drive part having guide surfaces (55) for the bridge contact. 3. Contactor-breaker according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that each drive part (27) has the shape of a stirrup covering a central part of the respective contact bridge (23), the stirrup being driven against the fixed guide surfaces (58) formed in the housing (11) on the side of the contact bridge which is opposite to the fixed and movable contacts. 4. Contactor-breaker according to claim 3, characterized in that the stirrup (27) covers the contact bridge (23) by means of a thin wall (52). 5. Contactor-breaker according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that the stirrup (27) is partially closed in the form of a cage by a wall (56) provided with a passage (57) for the spring (26) contact pressure and recall. 6. Contactor-circuit breaker according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: the triggering mechanism is housed in a flat compartment (32) whose mean plane substantially coincides with the median plane (P) of the contact bridges, the slide (29) is a flat part located between a carcass (42) of the electromagnet (40) and the flat compartment (32), - The slide (29) is provided, at its end close to the drive parts (27), with feet (63) in cantilever applicable on said parts in bearing areas close to the median plane. 7. Contactor-circuit breaker according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises a plurality of pole paths, each being provided with a movable contact bridge (23) with median plane (P) and cooperating with fixed contacts ( 21, 22), and by the fact that: - The slider is a generally flat piece extending in a plane parallel to the median plane (P) and located between a carcass (42) of the electromagnet and a flat compartment (32) which houses the mechanism trigger, to form a thin control assembly, - The slide has legs (62) equal in number to that of the poles, these legs ending in feet (63) overhanging, applicable on the drive parts (27) respective in areas of support close to the median plane (P). 8. Contactor-breaker according to claim 7, characterized in that the slide (29) is guided by guide elements (66) provided on the carcass (42) of the electromagnet (40). 9. Contactor-breaker according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that it comprises means for guiding the tabs (62) of the slide (29) constituted by first elements (64) formed on said tabs (62), able to cooperate with second elements (65) formed by the housing (11). 10. Contactor-breaker according to one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the rapid opening member (28) has guide ribs (70) provided to slide in grooves (71) which are provided in interpolar partitions (72), so as to contribute to the electrical isolation between poles. 11. Contactor-circuit breaker according to one of claims 2 to 10, characterized in that, in each pole path, there is provided an electromagnetic trip device associated with a striker (80) capable of tilting the contact bridge (23) relative to the drive part (27) in response to a short circuit current, to produce a limitation of this current by simple breaking. 12. Contactor-circuit breaker according to one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that: the rapid opening member (28) and / or the slide (29) comprises a cross member connecting between them support zones (77) applicable on the various drive parts (27), - The cross member is provided with notches (78) for the passage of support zones (79) provided in overhang on the slide and / or the quick opening member to be applied on the parts training near the midplane. 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 5