CN221766651U - A plug-in circuit breaker for series installation and its assembly - Google Patents

Abstract

The utility model discloses a plug-in circuit breaker for serial installation and a component thereof. The plug comprises a base element and a plug, wherein the plug has a circuit breaker, the plug is inserted into the base element in a detachable manner, the base element has a mounting element for mounting on a mounting guide rail, the base element has a first electrical connector and a second electrical connector, the first electrical connector is guided into an insertion area to contact with one end of the inserted plug, the second electrical connector is guided into the insertion area to contact with the other end of the inserted plug, at least a first bridging groove is arranged in the insertion area, the first bridging groove provides an electrical connection to the first electrical connector or to the second electrical connector, a bridging plug is inserted into the first bridging groove to lead out the first electrical connector or the second electrical connector for serial installation, and the plug in an inserted state covers the bridging plug, so that the bridging plug cannot be removed.

Description

A plug-in circuit breaker for series installation and its assembly

Technical Field

The utility model relates to a plug-in circuit breaker for series installation and a component thereof.

Background Art

Thermal magnetic circuit breakers for devices protect electrical equipment from overload and short-circuit currents. If the circuit breakers of these devices fail, they must be replaced. To facilitate replacement, solutions using plug-in circuit breakers have been proposed in the past.

Plug-in circuit breakers offer the further advantage that circuit breakers for devices of different current levels can be provided and that the required current level can be responded to in a flexible manner by using a suitable circuit breaker as a plug.

A plug-in circuit breaker is known, for example, from European patent EP 2 780 984 B1.

However, with previous thermomagnetic solutions, it is only possible to a limited extent to transfer the protection provided by the circuit breaker to the adjacent terminals through standard materials in order to achieve this potential and thus extend the protection to multiple consumers. However, these solutions also have disadvantages, since it is necessary to ensure that these terminals are de-energized when connection work is carried out on them. However, this step is often forgotten.

This requires special and therefore expensive solutions or individual and therefore time-intensive wiring.

Although in the case of the plug-in solution known from European patent EP 2 780 984 B1 it is possible to provide adjacent terminals by means of bridges, this only concerns input potentials. It is not possible to reproduce protected output potentials using jumpers.

Summary of the invention

The object of the present invention is to provide a plug-in circuit breaker for series installation and a component solution thereof, which enables the distribution of the protected potential to be provided in a cost-effective manner. Furthermore, the object of the present invention is to improve safety during installation and maintenance.

A plug-in circuit breaker for series installation, having a base element and a plug,

• said plug has a circuit breaker;

• the plug is removably inserted into the base element;

• the base element has a mounting element for mounting on a mounting rail;

• the base element has a first electrical connector and a second electrical connector;

• the first electrical connector in the base element is guided into the insertion area into contact with one end of an inserted plug;

• the second electrical connector in the base element is guided into the insertion area into contact with the other end of the inserted plug;

• at least a first bridging groove is provided in the insertion area, the first bridging groove provides an electrical connection to the first electrical connector or to the second electrical connector, a bridging plug is inserted into the first bridging groove to lead out the first electrical connector or the second electrical connector for serial installation;

• The plug in the inserted state covers the bridging plug so that the bridging plug cannot be removed.

Furthermore, a second bridge slot is provided in the insertion area, the first bridge slot provides an electrical connection to the first electrical connector, the second bridge slot provides an electrical connection to the second electrical connector, and two bridge plugs are respectively inserted into the first bridge slot and the second bridge slot.

Furthermore, a joint for measurement is arranged on the base element.

Furthermore, the circuit breaker in the plug is a mechanical thermal magnetic circuit breaker.

Furthermore, the circuit breaker is a mechanical circuit breaker or a thermal circuit breaker.

An assembly having a plug-in circuit breaker according to the foregoing and a series terminal, the series terminal being arranged adjacent to the circuit breaker, wherein the series terminal provides an electrical connection to the first electrical connector or the second electrical connector via a bridging slot located in the insertion area by means of a bridging plug.

Furthermore, the series terminal is a feeder terminal.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will be explained in more detail below based on preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In the attached figure

FIG1 shows a schematic perspective view of an embodiment of the utility model in an installed state,

FIG2 shows a schematic side view of an embodiment of the utility model in an installed state,

FIG3 shows a schematic side view of an embodiment of the present invention in a disassembled state, and

FIG. 4 shows a schematic side view of a portion of an embodiment of the present invention in a partially installed state.

List of reference numerals: 1 plug; 2 base element; 3 bridge plug; 4 series terminal; 5 mounting rail; 6 bridge slot; 7 release member; 21 first electrical connector; 22 second electrical connector.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention is described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In this case, it should be noted that different aspects are described, which can be used separately or in combination. That is, any aspect can be used with different embodiments of the present invention, as long as it is not explicitly presented as a pure alternative.

Furthermore, in the following, for the sake of simplicity, only one entity is usually mentioned. However, in the absence of explicit indication, the present embodiment may also have multiple related entities in each case. In this regard, the use of the terms "a", "an" and "one" is only to be understood as meaning that at least one entity is used in a single embodiment.

In the following description, reference is made to the figures. In this case, identical or similar elements are generally marked with identical or similar reference symbols.

The drawing shows a plug-in circuit breaker for series installation, which has a base element 2 and a plug 1 .

In this case, the plug 1 has a circuit breaker. The circuit breaker may be of any desired type, but in particular a mechanical circuit breaker or an electronic circuit breaker.

As can be seen from a comparison of FIGS. 2 and 3 , the plug 1 can be inserted into the base element 2 in a removable manner. It can optionally be provided that the removal of the plug 2 from the base element requires a detent (self-locking) release 7 or a detent ejection mechanism. This can be provided on the plug and/or the base element. The detent of the release mechanism or the detent of the ejection mechanism can be tool-free or require the use of a tool, such as a screwdriver.

Furthermore, the base element 2 has mounting elements for mounting on a mounting rail 5. These mounting elements can be configured in a tool-free manner so that the base element can be easily disengaged from a mounting rail 5, such as a top hat rail. For this purpose, spring-loaded elements can be formed, for example, on the base element 2, as shown in FIGS. 2-4.

The base element 2 has at least one first electrical connector 21 and one second electrical connector 22, wherein the first electrical connection (not shown) guides the first electrical connector 21 into the insertion area in the base element 2 to contact one end of the inserted circuit breaker plug 1, wherein the second electrical connection (not shown) further guides the second electrical connector 22 into the insertion area in the base element 2 to contact the other end of the inserted circuit breaker plug 1. That is, in the case where there is no inserted plug 1 (and a functional circuit breaker in a non-closed state), there is no electrical connection between the first electrical connector 21 and the second electrical connector 22.

At least one first bridging groove 6 is arranged in the insertion area for inserting the bridging plug 3, the first bridging groove 6 provides an electrical connection to the first electrical connector 21 or to the second electrical connector 22, the inserted bridging plug 3 leads to the first electrical connector (21) or the second electrical connector (22) for serial installation, wherein the plug 1 in the inserted state covers the bridging plug 3 so that the bridging plug cannot be removed.

That is, during operation of installing the plug-in circuit breaker, the circuit breaker has power supply via the first electrical connector 21 (input side) and provides a protected potential for energy distribution to the second electrical connector 22 (protected output side). In this case, the output side can be electrically connected to the jumper bridge plug 3. In the event of a fault, the contacts in the circuit breaker open and the circuit breaker creates a (galvanic) isolation between the input side and the output side and interrupts the current. Circuit breakers usually protect AC voltages (usually up to 277V) and DC voltages (usually up to 50V).

However, unlike the prior art, it is no longer possible to work at the bridging plug 3 of the jumper under voltage, since, in order to access the bridging plug 3 of the jumper to be able to remove or insert it, the plug with the circuit breaker must be removed - see FIG. 4 . However, in connection with this, the electrical connection from the supply side, i.e. the first electrical connector 21 to the second electrical connector 22 (downstream of the circuit breaker) and therefore also to the bridge slot 6 is interrupted, so that the bridging plug 3 of the jumper can then be safely inserted or removed. Thus, downstream components of the electrical device, which can be electrically connected by inserting the bridging plug 3 of the jumper, are also protected.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a second bridging groove for a second bridging plug 3 is further arranged in the insertion area, so that the first bridging groove provides an electrical connection to the first electrical connector 21 and the second bridging groove provides an electrical connection to the second electrical connector 22 .

That is, it can be provided that an unprotected potential can be transferred. Thus, for example, a plurality of plug-in circuit breakers for different electrical subsystems can be arranged next to each other on the mounting rail 5. An unprotected potential can be transferred from the first base element 2 of a first plug-in circuit breaker to the second base element 3 of a second plug-in circuit breaker via a bridging plug 3 as a jumper.

In another embodiment, the taps for the sensor measurements are arranged on the base element 2 .

Therefore, the measurement can be made at the circuit breaker without further measurements.

According to another embodiment of the invention, the circuit breaker in the plug is a mechanical circuit breaker, in particular a thermal-magnetic circuit breaker, or an electronic circuit breaker or a thermal circuit breaker.

As already pointed out above and shown in FIG. 1 , the present embodiment also relates to an assembly having a plug-in circuit breaker according to the present invention and a series terminal 4, the series terminal 4 being arranged adjacent to the circuit breaker, wherein the series terminal 4 is electrically connected to a first electrical connector 21 or a second electrical connector 22 via a bridging slot 6 located in the insertion area through a bridging plug 3.

The series terminal 4 can in particular be a feed-through terminal.

That is, by means of the invention, a circuit breaker with a base element can be provided, whose protection potential can be distributed to standard feed-through terminals using jumpers. The jumpers can only be removed or inserted if the circuit breaker is not inserted into the base element.

This makes it possible that the jumper on the output side (protection potential) of the base element is voltage-free during operation, which is advantageous for electrical safety. Furthermore, the circuit breaker and base element 2 are configured and arranged so that standard products can be used for the distribution of the protected potential and the protection can therefore be easily expanded.

Without limiting the generality of the present embodiment, the plug may be provided with circuit breakers for different current values and characteristic curves without having to modify the base element 2 .

Furthermore, without limiting the generality of the present embodiment, it is possible in this way to provide not only single-pole circuit breakers, but also multi-pole circuit breakers. By means of a suitable configuration, these allow the distribution of a plurality of protected potentials by means of a bridge slot 6 in the insertion area, so that in each case there is also protection, since the bridge plug 3 or the bridge slot 6 as a jumper can only be reached when the plug 1 is pulled out. For this purpose, for example, a base element 2 and an associated bridge plug 3 can be provided for each pole. Alternatively, it can be provided that a plurality of circuit breakers, one per pole, are plugged into a common base element 2.

Claims (7)

1. Plug-in circuit breaker for series installation, with a base element (2) and a plug (1), characterized in that:

The plug (1) has a circuit breaker;

-said plug (1) is removably inserted in said base element (2);

The base element (2) has a mounting element for mounting on a mounting rail (5);

the base element (2) has a first electrical connector (21) and a second electrical connector (22);

-said first electrical connector (21) in said base element (2) is guided into the insertion area in contact with one end of the inserted plug (1);

-said second electrical connector (22) in said base element (2) is guided into the insertion area in contact with the other end of the inserted plug (1);

-at least a first bridging groove is provided in the insertion area, which provides an electrical connection to the first electrical connector (21) or to the second electrical connector (22), one bridging plug (3) being inserted into the first bridging groove leading out the first electrical connector (21) or the second electrical connector (22) for serial installation;

the plug (1) in the inserted state covers the bridging plug (3) such that the bridging plug cannot be removed.

2. Plug-in circuit breaker according to claim 1, characterized in that a second bridging groove is also provided in the plug-in area, the first bridging groove providing an electrical connection to the first electrical connector (21), the second bridging groove providing an electrical connection to the second electrical connector (22), two bridging plugs (3) being plugged into the first bridging groove and the second bridging groove, respectively.

3. Plug-in circuit breaker according to claim 1, characterized in that a joint for measurement is provided on the base element (2).

4. A plug-in circuit breaker according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the circuit breaker in the plug (1) is a mechanical thermo-magnetic circuit breaker.

5. A plug-in circuit breaker according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the circuit breaker is a mechanical circuit breaker or a thermal circuit breaker.

6. An assembly with a plug-in circuit breaker according to any one of claims 1 to 5, comprising a series terminal (4), characterized in that the series terminal (4) is arranged adjacent to the circuit breaker, wherein the series terminal (4) provides an electrical connection to the first electrical connector (21) or the second electrical connector (22) via a bridging slot in the plug-in area by means of a bridging plug (3).

7. The assembly according to claim 6, characterized in that the series terminal (4) is a feeder terminal.