CN211605053U

CN211605053U - Auxiliary contact module, contactor assembly and electrical cabinet

Info

Publication number: CN211605053U
Application number: CN201922438134.2U
Authority: CN
Inventors: 徐敏; 石聪慧; 王远钟; D.劳格特
Original assignee: Schneider Electric Industries SAS
Current assignee: Schneider Electric Industries SAS
Priority date: 2019-12-30
Filing date: 2019-12-30
Publication date: 2020-09-29
Anticipated expiration: 2029-12-30
Also published as: EP3846191A1; ES2967113T3; EP3846191B1

Abstract

Disclosed is an auxiliary contact module including: a housing; the static contact is fixed in the shell and comprises a movable contact point; the moving contact comprises a moving contact point, and the moving contact is arranged on a moving contact support, wherein the moving contact support is movably arranged in the shell to move between a closed position and an open position; wherein the auxiliary contact module further comprises an electrically insulating partition wall extending across opposing surfaces of the housing and defining with a portion of the opposing surfaces of the housing an enclosed chamber, wherein the stationary contacts extend into the chamber such that the stationary contact is located within the chamber and the movable contacts and the movable contact support are disposed within the chamber. A contactor assembly and an electrical cabinet are also disclosed. By adopting the partition wall to accommodate the working space of the auxiliary contact inside the isolation chamber, dust can be sufficiently prevented from invading the working space, and the reliability of the module is improved.

Description

Auxiliary contact module, contactor assembly and electrical cabinet

Technical Field

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to an auxiliary contact module, a contactor assembly including the auxiliary contact module, and an electrical cabinet including the contactor assembly.

Background

Auxiliary contacts are commonly used to control, for example, the start and stop of electrical equipment. The auxiliary contacts are typically designed primarily for control loops and are intended for loaded applications, which accounts for approximately 80-90% of auxiliary contact applications. Examples of the "load" include an alternating current inductive load (AC-15) and a direct current inductive load (DC-13). The auxiliary contacts in such loaded applications are not sensitive to the ingress and deposition of dust.

However, with the development of PLC and VSD technologies, auxiliary contacts are increasingly widely used in low-current applications in the power industry, for example, in low-current systems of intelligent buildings. The weak current design before the 70 s is only a telephone and broadcast design, and after the 80 s, the contents of a weak current system are added with fire alarm and linkage control, shared antenna, security monitoring, air conditioner DDC control and the like. The design content of the weak current design is further expanding. With the development of increasingly widely used PLC technology, the reliable performance of auxiliary contacts is also gaining increasing importance in low current environments, especially for harsh industrial conditions.

It is therefore desirable to develop an improved auxiliary contact module which still has reliable performance under dusty operating conditions.

SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL

The present invention has been made in order to overcome or at least partially alleviate the above problems.

According to a first aspect, the utility model discloses an auxiliary contact module, include: a housing; the static contact is fixed in the shell and comprises a movable contact point; the moving contact comprises a moving contact point, and the moving contact point is arranged on a moving contact support, wherein the moving contact support is movably arranged in the shell to move between a closed position and an open position, the moving contact point is electrically connected with the static contact point at the closed position, and the moving contact point is disconnected with the static contact point at the open position; wherein the auxiliary contact module further comprises an electrically insulating partition wall extending across opposing surfaces of the housing and defining with a portion of the opposing surfaces of the housing an enclosed chamber, wherein the stationary contacts extend into the chamber such that the stationary contact is located within the chamber and the movable contacts and the movable contact support are disposed within the chamber. By adopting the partition wall to accommodate the working space of the auxiliary contact inside the isolation chamber, dust can be sufficiently prevented from invading the working space, and the reliability of the module is improved.

Preferably, the partition wall is formed integrally with one of the opposed surfaces and is joined to the other of the opposed surfaces by ultrasonic welding. Through ultrasonic welding, can better guarantee the integrality of isolation cavity, further prevent that dust from invading this cavity.

Preferably, the auxiliary contact module includes at least one group of moving contacts and static contacts, wherein each group of moving contacts and static contacts controls the on/off of a circuit, the static contacts of each group are spaced apart along the moving direction of the moving contact support, and the moving contacts of each group are arranged on the same moving contact support.

Preferably, the auxiliary contact module includes two or more sets of moving contacts and fixed contacts, and the auxiliary contact module further includes a chamber partition wall dividing the chamber into a plurality of sub-chambers, so as to accommodate each set of moving contacts and fixed contacts in the corresponding sub-chamber respectively. Thereby, a plurality of auxiliary contacts are included in one module, and each auxiliary contact is provided with a corresponding sub-chamber, so that the interference among the auxiliary contacts is minimized, and the reliability of the module is further improved. Preferably, the auxiliary contact module includes two groups of moving contacts and static contacts, wherein the first group of moving contacts and static contacts controls the on/off of one circuit, the second group of moving contacts and static contacts controls the on/off of another circuit, the static contacts of each group are spaced apart along the moving direction of the moving contact support, and the moving contacts of each group are arranged on the same moving contact support. Preferably, the partition wall includes a first partition wall, a second partition wall, a third partition wall, and a fourth partition wall, where the first partition wall is disposed above the first group of the static contacts, the second partition wall and the third partition wall are disposed between the first group of the static contacts and the second group of the static contacts, and the fourth partition wall is disposed below the second group of the static contacts. Preferably, the auxiliary contact module further comprises a chamber partition wall, the chamber is divided into a first chamber and a second chamber by the chamber partition wall, wherein the first set of moving contacts and static contacts are positioned in the first chamber, the second set of moving contacts and static contacts are positioned in the second chamber, and the moving contact support passes through the chamber partition wall and keeps contact with the chamber partition wall, so that the chamber partition wall divides the first chamber from the second chamber.

Preferably, the auxiliary contact module further includes a latch, one end of the movable contact support includes a snap-fit structure, the latch may be snap-fit with the snap-fit structure of the movable contact support to hold the movable contact support in the installed position, and the latch may be released after installation is completed to allow the movable contact support to move. So that a simple mounting can be achieved without the need for a return spring.

Preferably, the auxiliary contact module is provided with at least two clamping positions at the bottom of the front surface, at least one positioning structure at the middle part and at least two clamping positions at the upper part. Such a structure may be used to mate with a corresponding structure of another module to mount the auxiliary contact module to the other module. Preferably, the snap-fit position comprises a notch and a protrusion arranged in the notch, the positioning structure comprises a positioning hole, and the snap-fit position comprises a notch and a protrusion arranged in the notch. So that the auxiliary contact module can be easily and reliably mounted together with other modules.

Preferably, an L-shaped engaging member extending from the rear surface and used for engaging with the engaging position, a positioning post used for engaging with the positioning hole, and a fastening member used for engaging with the engaging position are disposed at corresponding positions on the rear surface of the auxiliary contact module. Such that a plurality of auxiliary contact modules can be reliably mounted together in sequence to form an auxiliary contact module assembly. Preferably, the upper part of the auxiliary contact module comprises an unlocking button mounted on the top of the housing by means of an elastic element, the catch being formed integrally with the unlocking button, pressing the unlocking button downwards against the elastic force being able to push the catch into the unlocking position. So that the auxiliary contact module can be simply removed from the contactor module by pressing the button and then snapping it open when the auxiliary contact module is to be removed from the contactor module.

In a second aspect, there is provided a contactor assembly comprising a contactor and an auxiliary contact module as described in any preceding paragraph mounted to the contactor.

In a third aspect, there is provided an electrical cabinet comprising at least one auxiliary contact module as described in any of the preceding paragraphs.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present disclosure, the drawings needed to be used in the embodiments will be briefly described below, it should be understood that the following drawings only illustrate some embodiments of the present disclosure, and therefore should not be considered as limiting the scope of protection, and for those skilled in the art, other related drawings may be obtained from the drawings without inventive effort.

Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of an auxiliary contact module according to an embodiment of the invention;

fig. 2 shows an exploded view of an auxiliary contact module according to an embodiment of the invention;

fig. 3 shows a schematic cross-sectional view of an auxiliary contact module according to an embodiment of the invention;

fig. 4 shows a schematic view of an isolation chamber of an auxiliary contact module according to an embodiment of the invention; and

fig. 5 shows a rear view schematic of an auxiliary contact module according to an embodiment of the invention.

List of reference numerals

10 auxiliary contact module 32 first chamber

11 main housing part 43 control lever

12 cover 44L-shaped fastener

13 slender groove 45 positioning column

14 catch recess 46 catch

15 positioning hole 141 notch

16 latch 142 projection

17 unlocking button 171 elastic element

18 divider wall 181 first divider wall

21 second partition wall of movable contact support 182

22 third partition wall of first fixed contact 183

23 second stationary contact 184 fourth dividing wall

24 spring assembly 185 fifth dividing wall

25 first moving contact 221 first stationary contact

26 second moving contact 231 second fixed contact

31 second chamber

Detailed Description

In order to make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present disclosure more apparent, the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present disclosure will be described clearly and completely with reference to the drawings of the embodiments of the present disclosure. It is to be understood that the described embodiments are only a few embodiments of the present disclosure, and not all embodiments. For example, one skilled in the art will appreciate that features of the various embodiments of the disclosure can be combined with each other and that the combined embodiments are within the scope of the disclosure. All other embodiments, which can be derived by a person skilled in the art from the described embodiments of the disclosure without any inventive step, are within the scope of protection of the disclosure.

Unless otherwise defined, technical or scientific terms used herein shall have the ordinary meaning as understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs. The use of "first," "second," and similar terms in this disclosure is not intended to indicate any order, quantity, or importance, but rather is used to distinguish one element from another. The word "comprising" or "comprises", and the like, means that the element or item listed before the word covers the element or item listed after the word and its equivalents, but does not exclude other elements or items. "upper", "lower", "left", "right", and the like are used merely to indicate relative positional relationships, and when the absolute position of the object being described is changed, the relative positional relationships may also be changed accordingly.

Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of an auxiliary contact module according to an embodiment; fig. 2 shows an exploded view of the auxiliary contact module. The auxiliary contact module 10 includes a housing. In the present embodiment, the housing is divided into a main housing portion 11 and a cover plate 12. The auxiliary contact module 10 has a flat shape. That is, the housing includes a cover plate 12 extending perpendicular to the thickness direction, and the main housing portion 11 includes a bottom plate extending perpendicular to the thickness direction and a side wall rising around the periphery of the bottom plate, as viewed from the thickness direction. The cover plate 12 and the bottom and side walls of the main housing part 11 together form an enclosing housing for the auxiliary contact module. The cover plate 12 is also provided with an elongated slot 13 which allows the notch on the movable contact support 21 to be exposed for connection to a control lever of another module to control the movement of the movable contact support 21.

Two engaging recesses 14 are provided near both ends of the bottom side of the cover plate 12. The engaging recess 14 includes a notch 141 formed on the cover plate 12, and a protrusion 142 formed on the bottom of the main casing and located in the notch 141 in an assembled state. An L-shaped engaging member 44 is formed on the back side of the main housing 11 (i.e., the back side of the bottom plate) at a position corresponding thereto, as shown in fig. 5. The engaging portion 14 thus constructed can be engaged with the L-shaped engaging piece 44 on the other module, the engaging piece 44 is inserted into the recess at an angle such that the L-shape thereof goes over the protrusion 142, and then the engaging piece returns to the normal position, so that the L-shaped engaging piece 44 turns around and hooks the protrusion 142. This ensures that the snap-fit member 44 cannot be moved out of the way in the snap-fit condition. The disengagement of the engaging member 44 requires that the other module and the auxiliary contact module housing are first separated from each other from the top by a certain angle and then the engaging member is obliquely withdrawn (reverse to the engaging process). The cover plate 12 is provided at a middle portion thereof with two positioning holes 15 at left and right sides, and the main housing 11 is provided at a position corresponding to the backside thereof with a positioning post 45. Therefore, the positioning hole can be matched with the positioning column 45 on the other module shell during assembly, and the positioning effect is achieved. The upper portion of the cover 12 is provided with two snap-in portions 16. The snap-in portion 16 includes a recess and a protrusion disposed within the recess. A latch 46 extending out of the back side of the main housing 11 is formed at a corresponding position on the back side of the main housing 11. In this way, the catch 46 on the other module housing can be inserted into the recess and displaced under the action of the projection and then snapped and locked into place. The catch 46 is formed integrally with the unlock button 17. The upper part of the housing includes an unlocking button 17 mounted on the top of the housing by means of an elastic member 171. Pressing the unlocking button 17 downwards against the spring force pushes the catch 46 to the unlocking position.

According to one embodiment, the auxiliary contact module 10 comprises two sets of contact assemblies, each set comprising two stationary contacts and two movable contacts. The two fixed contacts are respectively connected to an external circuit and comprise fixed contact contacts, and the two movable contacts comprise corresponding movable contact contacts for connecting (closing) or disconnecting the two fixed contacts. Therefore, each group of contact assemblies can control the closing and opening of one circuit. That is, the auxiliary contact module 10 includes two auxiliary contacts, two NO contacts in the embodiment shown in fig. 3. This is not essential, however, and may include two NO contacts, two NC contacts, or one NO contact and one NC contact depending on the arrangement.

In the present embodiment, as shown in fig. 2, the first auxiliary contacts include two first fixed contacts 22 and two first movable contacts 25. The first stationary contact 22 is mounted in the housing, and the first stationary contact 25 is mounted on the movable contact support 21 to move with the movable contact support 21. It can be seen from fig. 3 that the two first stationary contacts are arranged symmetrically with respect to the center line of the module, as are the two first movable contacts. Each first stationary contact comprises a first stationary contact 221. Each of the first movable contacts 25 comprises a movable contact point. The second auxiliary contacts comprise two second stationary contacts 23 and two second movable contacts 26. A second stationary contact 23 is mounted in the housing and a second stationary contact 26 is mounted on the movable contact support 21 for movement with the movable contact support 21. It can be seen from fig. 3 that the two second stationary contacts are arranged symmetrically with respect to the center line of the module, as are the two second movable contacts. In the embodiment shown, the first and second

stationary contacts

22, 23 are also fixed in position by a spring assembly 24.

The movable contact support 21 is slidably mounted in the housing. From the perspective shown in the figure, the movable contact support 21 can slide up and down in the housing. In the position shown in fig. 3, the contacts of each movable contact are separated from the contacts of the stationary contact, so that both auxiliary contacts are in the open state. When the movable contact support 21 slides upward, the movable contact moves upward along with the movable contact support until the movable contact contacts on the first and second

movable contacts

25 and 26 are engaged with the first and second stationary contact points 221 and 231, and both the auxiliary contact points are brought into a closed state.

Fig. 3 shows a cross-sectional view of an auxiliary contact module according to an embodiment of the invention. As shown in fig. 2, 3 and 4, a plurality of partition walls 18 are provided in the main housing portion 11. In order to prevent dust from interfering with the apparatus, the partition wall 18 and the bottom plate of the housing and the cover plate 12 together enclose a partition chamber to separate the working parts of the two auxiliary contacts from the outside and prevent dust from intruding. The partition wall 18 is formed of an insulating material. In the present embodiment, the partition wall 18 is formed integrally with the main housing portion 11. The partition walls 18 extend the entire thickness of the auxiliary contact module from the floor of the main housing portion 11 and sealingly engage the cover plate 12. In the present embodiment, the dividing wall 18 is ultrasonically welded to the cover plate 12. As shown in fig. 4, the partition wall includes five portions. The first partition wall 181 is located above the two second stationary contacts 23. The first partition wall 181 extends to be closely adjacent to or in contact with the upper side surface of the stationary contact 23. The second partition wall 182 and the third partition wall 183 are respectively formed between the first stationary contact 22 and the second stationary contact 23 on the left side and between the first stationary contact 22 and the second stationary contact 23 on the right side. The second and

third partition walls

182 and 183 extend to closely approach or contact the lower side surface of the first stationary contact 22 and the upper side surface of the second stationary contact 23, respectively. The fourth dividing wall 184 is located below the two first stationary contacts 22. The fourth dividing wall 184 extends to closely approach or contact the lower side surface of the first stationary contact 22. The fourth partition wall 184 also extends below the movable contact support 21 to enclose the entire movable contact support 21 within the chamber.

Whereby the first, second, third and fourth dividing

walls

181, 182, 183, 184 together define an isolated chamber. A first stationary contact 221 and a second stationary contact 231 are positioned in the chamber. The first and second

movable contacts

25 and 26 and the movable contact support 21 are located in the chamber. The gap between the first partition wall 181 and the second partition wall 182 and the gap between the first partition wall 181 and the third partition wall 183 allow the second stationary contact 23 to be inserted into the chamber. The gap between the fourth dividing wall 184 and the second dividing wall 182 and the gap between the fourth dividing wall 184 and the third dividing wall 183 allow the first stationary contact 22 to be inserted into the chamber. Thus, the working space of the module is spaced from the outside so that dust cannot enter the space, greatly improving the reliability of the module.

In addition, a fifth partition wall 185 extends from the middle of the second and

third partition walls

182, 183 inward into the chamber and extends inward until abutting against the side wall of the movable contact support 21. Thus, the fifth partition wall 185 divides the chamber into the first chamber 32 and the second chamber 31. The first chamber 32 and the second chamber 31 are for a first contact assembly and a second contact assembly, respectively. The working spaces of the two contact assemblies are thereby separated, further ensuring the safety of the module.

The above description describes the partition walls in close proximity to or in contact with the corresponding stationary contact, which means that the upper and lower partition walls sandwich the stationary contact, while there is substantially no gap between the partition walls and the stationary contact to provide a passage for dust. This close proximity or contact may or may not be a complete gas or liquid tight seal, or may even leave a slight gap as long as it blocks most of the dust from entering the chamber. The terms "closed", "isolated", "separated", and the like, as used herein, also refer to a configuration that prevents a substantial portion of dust from entering the chamber by structurally approaching, contacting, abutting each other, and do not refer to a seal, or indicate that the structure must achieve some level of sealing.

In the embodiment shown, the first and second

stationary contacts

22, 23 are also fixed in position by a spring assembly 24. This is not essential, however, and the first and second

stationary contacts

22, 23 may also be fixed in position by screws.

In this embodiment, the auxiliary contact module may be assembled with an auxiliary contact module of the same configuration, i.e. the configuration on the outer surface of the cover plate 12 may be assembled in cooperation with the configuration on the outer surface of the base plate. This is not essential and the auxiliary contact module can be assembled in cooperation with other modules, such as other contactors, interlock modules, etc., as long as it has a similar engagement mechanism.

The scope of the present disclosure is not defined by the above-described embodiments but is defined by the appended claims and equivalents thereof.

Claims

1. An auxiliary contact module, characterized in that the auxiliary contact module comprises:

a housing;

the static contact is fixed in the shell and comprises a movable contact point;

the moving contact comprises a moving contact point, and the moving contact point is arranged on a moving contact support, wherein the moving contact support is movably arranged in the shell to move between a closed position and an open position, the moving contact point is electrically connected with the static contact point at the closed position, and the moving contact point is disconnected with the static contact point at the open position;

wherein the auxiliary contact module further comprises an electrically insulating partition wall extending across opposing surfaces of the housing and defining with a portion of the opposing surfaces of the housing an enclosed chamber, wherein the stationary contacts extend into the chamber such that the stationary contact is located within the chamber and the movable contacts and the movable contact support are disposed within the chamber.

2. An auxiliary contact module as claimed in claim 1, wherein the partition wall is integrally formed with one of the opposing surfaces and is joined to the other of the opposing surfaces by ultrasonic welding.

3. The auxiliary contact module of claim 1, wherein the auxiliary contact module comprises at least one set of moving and stationary contacts, wherein each set of moving and stationary contacts controls the closing and opening of a circuit, and wherein the stationary contacts of each set are spaced apart along the direction of movement of the moving contact support, and wherein the moving contacts of each set are disposed on the same moving contact support.

4. The auxiliary contact module of claim 3, wherein the auxiliary contact module includes two or more sets of moving contacts and stationary contacts, and further comprising a chamber divider wall dividing the chamber into a plurality of sub-chambers to accommodate each set of moving contacts and stationary contacts in a respective sub-chamber.

5. The auxiliary contact module of claim 3, wherein the auxiliary contact module comprises two sets of moving and stationary contacts, wherein a first set of moving and stationary contacts controls the closing and opening of one circuit and a second set of moving and stationary contacts controls the closing and opening of another circuit.

6. The auxiliary contact module of claim 5, wherein the partition walls comprise a first partition wall, a second partition wall, a third partition wall, and a fourth partition wall, wherein the first partition wall is disposed above the first group of the stationary contacts, the second partition wall and the third partition wall are disposed between the first group of the stationary contacts and the second group of the stationary contacts, and the fourth partition wall is disposed below the second group of the stationary contacts.

7. The auxiliary contact module of claim 5, further comprising a chamber divider wall separating the chamber into a first chamber and a second chamber, wherein the first set of moving and stationary contacts are positioned within the first chamber and the second set of moving and stationary contacts are positioned within the second chamber, and wherein the moving contact supports pass through the chamber divider wall and maintain contact therewith such that the chamber divider wall separates the first chamber from the second chamber.

8. The auxiliary contact module of any of claims 1 to 7 further comprising a latch, wherein one end of the movable contact carrier includes a snap-fit structure, the latch being snap-fit with the snap-fit structure of the movable contact carrier to retain the movable contact carrier in the installed position, and wherein the latch is releasable after installation to allow movement of the movable contact carrier.

9. Auxiliary contact module as claimed in any of the claims 1-7, characterized in that the front surface of the auxiliary contact module is provided with at least two snap-in positions at the bottom, at least one positioning structure at the middle and at least two snap-in positions at the upper part.

10. The auxiliary contact module of claim 9, wherein the snap-fit location includes a recess and a protrusion disposed within the recess, the positioning structure includes a positioning aperture, and the snap-fit location includes a recess and a protrusion disposed within the recess.

11. The auxiliary contact module of claim 10, wherein the rear surface of the auxiliary contact module is provided at corresponding positions with L-shaped engaging members extending from the rear surface for engaging with the engaging positions, positioning posts for engaging with the positioning holes, and engaging members for engaging with the engaging positions.

12. The auxiliary contact module of claim 11, wherein the upper portion of the auxiliary contact module includes an unlock button mounted to the top of the housing by a resilient member, the latch being integrally formed with the unlock button, and pressing the unlock button downward against the resilient force urges the latch to the unlocked position.

13. A contactor assembly, characterized in that the contactor assembly comprises a contactor and at least one auxiliary contact module as claimed in any of claims 1 to 12 mounted to the contactor.

14. Electrical cabinet, characterized in that it comprises at least one auxiliary contact module according to any one of claims 1 to 12.