DE1640126A1 - Electric switch with reset mechanism - Google Patents

Description

US Serial No. 427, 717 I 0 HUI I D

Convention date; January 25, 1965

General Electric Company, Schenectady, N.Y., USA

"Electrical switch with reset mechanism ¹¹

The present invention relates to electrical switches and, more particularly, to electrical switches commonly used in one of the Main insulating housing of the switch, separate housing a release « contain a mechanism, and have the means and device at their disposal, to open when the actuator of the switch is actuated of the live main contacts, if certain overload conditions occur, to carry out an automatic reset of the tripping device.

With electrical overcurrent circuit breakers of the mentioned Art are usually several current-carrying main contact pairs, each containing a fixed and a movable contact piece, in a pole chamber arranged. The movable contact pieces can each, e.g. be arranged on a pivotable contact arm. The contact arms are usually preloaded by a spring so that it can be removed from the closed position very quickly to interrupt overflows of a certain size

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" ² " 16A0126

Be able to move the contact position into an open contact position. To the The movable contact arm is usually a spring-loaded actuator assigned, which generally contains a releasable member that can be held in the latched position and thereby the contact arm and the pairs of contacts with the "movable and fixed" Keeps contact pieces in the closed state. When the releasable link is released, the spring-loaded actuation mechanism occurs, which is connected to the movable contact arm, in action and opens the contact pairs very quickly, thereby interrupting the overload current will. The operating device of the switch usually also includes an outwardly extending back and forth movable hand control handle, which, when actuated in this way, opens the contact pairs of his one operating position moved to the other. Most well-known Switch of the type described, the outwardly extending, reciprocating switch handle can be brought into an extreme position to to reset the triggering device of the switch to the ready-to-respond state, before the current-carrying main contacts of the switch are closed again by the protruding handle of the Switch is manually moved to the opposite position.

It is the object of the invention to provide a device for automatic To provide resetting of the trip device of an electrical switch. The resetting of the release device should be done by this

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the same forces are seen that the opening of the current-carrying main contacts of the switch in the event of an overcurrent. In particular, a switch is to be specified, the contact arm of which carries an arrangement that contributes the opening movement of the contact arm engages the trip device and resets them; especially by opening the contacts of a multi-pole Switch the movement of a contact cross ar ms is used, to detect and reset the release mechanism.

The provision of a collapsible toggle joint assembly in a stretched working position is done by utilizing the movement of the contact cross arm when opening the current-carrying main contacts of the switch.

The invention thus provides a device at the opening movement of the main operating device of the switch is used to automatically reset the trip device of the switch. To open the current-carrying main contacts, the same forces are used that reset the release device after it has been actuated to trigger the main operating mechanism of the switch.

An electrical switch with at least one relatively fixed and one relatively movable contact, which is on a pivotable Contact arm is arranged; an actuating device for actuating the rotatable contact arm in biased movement between a

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closed and one open position of the contacts, with one link, that can be triggered from a latched position to an automatic Effect opening of the contacts and two toggle levers that are movable between a collapsed and an extended position are, is characterized according to the invention in that the Knee joint lever in its extended position, the releasable member in his hold latched position and are under a bias, which the toggle levers collapse, strives; and that a current sensitive Device that latches and holds the pretensioning device of the toggle levers so that they do not collapse, and on certain Overload current conditions responds to the toggle lever pretensioner and a restoring member, which is carried by the contact arm during its prestressed pivoting movement, around the prestressing device to be seized and, subject to a restriction by the current-sensitive arrangement, to be returned to the latched state, are provided.

With a multi-pole switch, e.g. a three-phase switch, is a collapsible toggle joint assembly, normally biased towards the collapsed position, arranged so that them by a current sensitive device that is thermal or magnetic can respond to the flow of overload currents, is locked in its extended working position. The stretched toggle joint arrangement can be used to adjust the release device,

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so that it is the releasable link of the main actuator of the Keeps the switch engaged. When overload conditions occur, the current-sensitive arrangement enables the toggle joint arrangement to be folded up by the biasing forces acting on them, causing the following releasable member of the main control device · des Switch is released from its latched position; this opens the current-carrying main contacts of the switch and the one flowing through it Overload current interrupted. After the movable contact arm has begun its contact opening movement, a suitable device carried by the contact arm, e.g. B. a contact cross arm engaged moved with part of the trip device, e.g. B. with a pivotable Extension of one of the knee levers. The much higher pre-tensioning force the main actuator of the switch overcomes the smaller biasing force of the trip device and brings the toggle levers into theirs extended working position, so that the releasable member of the main control device of the switch can be held in the latched and latched position when the outwardly extending manual switching device is brought into the corresponding extreme position and thus the current-carrying main contacts by actuating the main control device of the switch must be closed again.

To further explain the invention, an embodiment is given. example described in more detail with reference to the drawings. Show it;

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Fig. 1 is a partially sectioned side view of a switch according to the invention;

Fig. 2 is a partially sectioned side view of the cooperating inventive components of the switch shown in Figure 1;

Fig. 3 is a partially sectioned side view of the shown in Fig. 2, interacting components, which the operation of the release device shows when overcurrents occur; and

Fig. 4 is a partially sectioned side view showing the automatic Resetting process of the interacting elements according to the invention, which are contained in the switch according to FIG. 1, shows.

Fig. 1 shows a switch incorporating an embodiment of the invention. The switch of FIG. 1 includes a molded insulating main housing 10 _# which contains a number of input and output terminals 11 and 12, respectively, only one of which is shown. In a multi-pole switch designed for high rated currents of the type shown in Fig. 1, several pairs of relatively movable contacts, such as. B. 13, 14 or 15, 16 can be connected between each input terminal 11 and its corresponding output terminal 12. The contact pair 13, 14, which can move relative to one another, represents arcing contacts, while the current-carrying main contacts can comprise several contact pairs, such as the pair 15, 16. The fixed contacts 14 and 16 are fixed on a conductor 17, while the movable contacts 13 and 15

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are arranged on a movable contact arm 18, which at its ends is held in a bearing arrangement (not shown) attached to the bottom of the insulating housing 10

In the multi-pole switch according to FIG. 1, a contact cross arm 19 extends over the poles of the switch and is firmly connected to a number of contact arms which correspond to the contact arm 18. Each movable contact arm is electrically connected to a connection strip 21 of a trip unit 22 via suitable conductors, including a flexible stranded conductor 20. Each connection strip 21 of a trip unit can be electrically connected through this with a corresponding output connection strip 23. An actuating device 25 is used to actuate the contact arm 18 and to move the movable contacts from a closed to an open position; it includes a releasable member 26 and a reciprocating hand control handle 24 which extends through an opening in the insulating housing 10, is rotatably mounted and is connected to a toggle spring arrangement. The releasable member 26 has a click part 26a which can be grasped by a suitable arrangement, such as a main pawl 27, and releasably held in the latched position by this. The reciprocating manual control handle 24 can be brought into the "off" position by hand ( indicated on the left in FIG. 1 _m by a dashed outline), the various contact pairs on the contact arm 18 becoming detached from their mating contacts

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and so the current flow through these contacts is interrupted. Alternatively current-sensitive devices in the trigger unit 22 act when flowing of overload currents of a certain level on the release device and cause the releasable member 26 to disengage, whereupon the main « actuating device 25 of the switch separates the various contact pairs 13, 14 and 15, 16. Figs. 2, 3 and 4 show the operation even more clearly the release device according to the invention and their interaction in engagement with and in response to the opening movement of the Main actuator of the switch.

Fig. 2 shows the releasable member 26 of the main actuator 25 of the switch with its pawl part 26a latched into the main pawl 27. The main pawl 27 is around a support 28 which is on the insulating Housing 10 of the switch is supported, diehbar and is clockwise spring loaded. It has an extension 27a on which an adjacent Can attack part of the triggering device of the switch. The extension 27a of the main mnke 27 can be attached to a rotatably mounted roller 29 of the release device click into place. The invention can of course Also used for a switch, its release mechanism interacts or latches directly with its main operating device and its releasable member, instead of the connection via a main pawl 27 takes place as in the embodiment according to FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 4. As can be seen from FIG. 2, the roller 29 is the one for engaging the main pawl 27 and whose latching with the release member 26 is extended, movable in their position, since they are on a movable rotation "

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point is stored; which connects a link 30 to a toggle lever 31. The member 30 is attached to a shoulder 32 which is attached to the insulating housing of the trip unit 22. The release unit in the embodiment according to FIG. 2 contains two toggle _{levers 31 -} 33 which are connected to one another at a common pivot point 34. The toggle lever 33 is rotatable about a point 35 j the pair of toggle levers 31, 33 can collapse around the pivot point 34 under the action of the bias of a spring 36 which acts on the pivot point. The toggle levers 31, 32 can be brought into an extended position (FIG. 2) in which the releasable member 26 is held in its locked position by the main pawl 27. The toggle levers 31 and 33 are held in the extended, set position in that the toggle lever 33 is latched to a latch nose 37 of a release rod 38 which is pressed into the latched position shown by means of a spring arrangement 39. A current-sensitive device 40, which responds to heat and which is sensitive to heat, is arranged next to the trigger rod 38, which heats up when overcurrents of a certain height occur and is bent to the left (FIG. 2) so that it presses on the trigger rod 38.

The operation of the current sensitive device can be seen more clearly from FIG. 3; the curved, heat-sensitive, current-sensitive Device 40 presses on the release rod 38 and rotates it about a pivot point 38a ,, so that the latch nose 37 is out of engagement with it is pulled away from the end of the toggle lever 33; this enables this

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rotate clockwise according to the bias force exerted on the knee pivot point. The toggle levers 31, 33 fold down and pull the upper part of the link 30 in a counterclockwise direction about its lower rotatable mounting on the extension 32. Thus, the roller 29 is pulled to the left (Fig. 3), whereupon the main pawl 27 is moved away by the larger pretensioning force acting on the releasable member 26 against its own oppositely directed pretensioning force, so that the releasable member 26 is released from locking with the main pawl 27. As shown in Fig. 3, (the releasable member 26 is disengaged from the latched position indicated by dash-dotted lines), the main operating device 25 of the switch pivots the contact arm 18 under the influence of its spring bias so that it separates the contacts of the switch _# ^ has caused the overload current responsive to the actuation of the heat on, current sensing device 40 to interrupt. Fig. Shows the point in time at which the contact arm 18 has just started to move upwards about its working pivot point, the current-carrying main contacts of the switch having just been opened or being opened. During the further movement of the contact arm 18 about its pivot point by the force exerted by the main operating device of the switch, it assumes the position shown in FIG.

In Fig. 4 the contact arm is up about its pivot point rotated, which opened the main power contacts of the switch and

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the overcurrent is interrupted. The contact cross arm 19 has (Fig. 4) around d the pivot point of the contact arm 18, with which it is connected, rotated to the extreme position against a contact arm stop 41 and one of the corners of the contact cross arm 19 is on an extension 31a of the toggle lever 31 encountered. The counter-clockwise rotating contact cross arm 19 seeks, because of its engagement with the toggle lever 31, to move it clockwise around its pivot point on the roller 29. Characterized the knee of the knee lever 31 and 33 is opposite to the Kral the spring m pulled upwardly 36, wherein the knee lever 33 rotates in the counterclockwise · »clockwise direction, and its end is in a position, will be detected by the latch tab 37 of the trip bar 38 in the can. The overload current is thus interrupted and the heat-sensitive, current-sensitive device 40 will gradually return to its normal position, as a result of which the toggle lever 33 engages on the release rod 38 again. The tripping device of the switch has thus automatically returned to the reset state. When the outer manual control handle 24 is actuated from the "off" position to the "reset ^11" position, the releasable member 26 is locked with the main pawl 27 (dash-dotted line in FIG. 4) and when the manual control handle 24 is turned to the "on" position «Position, the contact arm 18 is brought back into the closed current-carrying main contacts corresponding position of the switch.

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The output from the main operating device of the switch the pre-tension force exerted is much greater than that of the release " device, so that the force exerted by the spring preload caused pivoting of the contact arm is perfectly sufficient and suitable, the trip device against its own counter-directed To reset the initial force.

Due to the automatic resetting of the triggering device of a switch according to the invention, it is not necessary, as with the known switches, to bring the outer manual control handle of the switch into an extreme "reset" position (dashed in FIG. 1) in order to reset the triggering mechanism cause the movement of the amdshalt handle in the "reset position only the releasable member 26 of the main control device 25 of the switch latches. In addition, in the case of manual and external actuation of the switch, the invention brings an improvement in moving the outer manual handle from the" Off "- into the " reset "position, since the hand control handle only needs to be moved against the spring tension of the main operating device and the spring tensioning force of the release device does not have to be overcome in addition to that of the main operating device to reset the switch and to" on " -Condition attributed to, as it is known to many nth switches was the case.

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In addition, the invention has the advantage »the spring preload force and to utilize the kinetic energy of the movable contact arm of a multipole switch so that part of the energy otherwise by a contact stop arm or an equivalent Arrangement must be recorded, is made usable.

The trip device described is only an example üjisffthrtingsform the invention. There can be many types of triggering * · directions are used, e.g. the release device is not required but rather of the type with collapsible toggle levers may consist of any other suitable arrangement. At a The triggering device does not need any further alternative embodiment Main pawl included but can be connected directly to the main control of the switch work together or are functionally related to it via other suitable arrangements. The trigger device may also include a separate biasing arrangement to which in their latched position can suddenly attack a joint arrangement, which in turn, the release of the releasable link of the main control direction of the switch and the subsequent opening of the live main contacts of the switch causes.

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Claims (4)

Claims 1. Electrical switch with at least one relative fixed and a relatively movable contact on a swivel « baen contact arm is arranged, an actuator that a To cause pivoting of the rotatable contact arm under the action of a bias between closed and open positions and the contacts capable of a releasable member that comes from a latched position » treatment can be triggered to allow the contacts to open automatically. works; and two toggle levers that are folded between one and a stretched position are movable, thereby ge indicates that the toggle lever (31, 33) is in its stretched position Position the releasable member (26) in the locked position harbor; that the toggle lever are under the action of a bias (spring 36) which tends to collapse; that the toggle lever counteracts the action the preload can be latched and fixed against collapsing by a current-sensitive device (40), which is based on an overload corresponding currents responds and disengages the toggle lever, and that contact arm (18) carries a restoring member (19), which is through pivoting movement caused by its preload on the preload Order the knee lever acts and this locked into the, through the current-sensitive arrangement resets latchable state 009822/1588 2. Switch according to claim 1, with a common contact « transverse arm, which is firmly attached to the opening under the action of the bias the contacts are connected to swiveling contact arms, marked " net by a component (31, 31a) on which the contact cross arm (19) at attacks its rotational movement in such a way that it engages the prestressed toggle lever assembly returns to its latched position. 3. Switch according to claim 1 and 2, characterized in that » indicates that the toggle levers (31, 33) part (31a) ent « hold, which extends in the way of the contact arm (18) carried by the contact cross arms (19) that the toggle lever {31, 33) in their latched, extended position can be reset. 4. Switch according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the contact arm (18) ge « supported contact cross arm pivotable under the effect of the prestress (19) is arranged in such a way that it interacts functionally with the release device after the pretensioning force has essentially decreased. is needed, and then the release device again with the current-sensitive borrowed device (40) locked. 5 »Switch according to claim 4, characterized in that the pretensioning force of the actuating device (25) is much larger than that of the release device. 009822/1588 Blank page