EP0036432B2 - Contactor, particularly a power or control or starter contactor - Google Patents

Abstract

In a switch, in particular a power, control or starter switch, a contact system and a magnetic system are provided in a housing whereby the magnetic system actuates the contact system. The contact system is provided with contact bars having rigid contact pieces, as well as actuable bridges with movable contact pieces which are actuated by means of a common bridge, whereby each bridge and the associated contact bars are mounted in a switch chamber. Furthermore, a switch-on contact with a self-locking contact is provided. In switches of this type, it is typically required to hold a switching operation for a longer time period, without necessitating the manually pushing down of a push key. The required separate switch-on contact is typically mounted in a separate large housing. In order to reduce the structural and space requirements and to permit a simple wiring, a contact yoke is structurally integrated with the switch for the switch-on contact which can be actuated from the outside by means of an actuating element and which cooperates with the common bridge support.

Description

The invention relates to a contactor, in particular power or control or starter contactor, with a contact system accommodated in a housing and a magnet system actuating the contact system, the contact system being able to operate contact rails with fixed contact pieces and by means of a common bridge girder, as openers and / or closer bridges with movable contact pieces, each bridge and the associated contact rails are accommodated in a switching chamber, a switch-on and a switch-off contact for the magnet system and a switch-on contact for locking the magnet system are provided, which can be actuated by actuating elements from the outside.

These types of contactors can be used both as single contactors and in combinations of contactors.

Contactors of the aforementioned type are known in practice in various types. In these contactors, a plunger is generally provided, which can be actuated from the outside, for example by hand using a push button, and which acts on a common bridge girder and causes it to move, so that when the contactor is connected to the voltage, a certain switching operation with the provided break contacts -and / or normally open contacts can be made. After releasing the push button, the contactor returns to the original position and the switching process is finished. In practice, however, it is necessary to hold a switching operation for a longer period of time without the push button being constantly pressed by hand during this time. For this purpose, a special switch-on contact is provided and it has been proposed to use a normally open contact of the contactor for the self-holding of the contactor. Another separate switch-off contact is provided to switch off the contactor.

According to the prior art, these two switch-on and switch-off contacts are each housed in a separate switch housing, which are connected to the contactor via electrical connecting lines. These separate device parts require a lot of construction and a large amount of space and also complicated, at least costly, wiring.

A special contactor of the type explained at the beginning is known from US-A-2 013 013. This contactor also fulfills the three functions of switching on, switching off and latching, but this requires a great deal of construction work. A contact device with a rigid angle lever is required for switching on and holding, and a completely separate switch, also with an angle lever and other transmission elements, is required for switching off. The two switches are spatially very far apart from one another within the rifle housing. You also need contact bridges, so that a total of eight contact pieces are provided for the three switching functions. This also results in complicated, complex wiring.

From DE-U-1 813 182 a contactor with double break and a latching contact is known, which is designed as a closing contact and can be actuated by means of a push button. This contactor requires a relatively complicated construction with two coil springs between the manually operated push button and a switching bridge support. The switching bridge with double interruption is guided downwards when the push button is pressed and an electrical connection is established between the fixed contact pieces, which can attract the magnet system and the switching bridge can be locked. Switching off on the contactor itself is not possible; a special external switch with corresponding additional wiring is required.

In the known electromagnetic contactor with auxiliary switch according to DD-A-95 051 it is possible to switch on, hold the switch contact and switch it off, but the construction effort is also very great here. Auxiliary switches for manual operation of auxiliary switch contacts located in the coil circuit are used for the aforementioned switching functions. For this purpose, attachments and push buttons are placed on the auxiliary switch. To switch on the contactor, a push button is pressed, the plunger of which acts on the auxiliary switch plunger, which takes the normally open contact in the form of a contact bridge, so that the movable contact pieces of the contact bridge come into contact with fixed contact rails, the control circuit is closed and the magnetic coil system is attracted . The auxiliary switch plunger is then held in its switching position by the armature. To switch off the contactor, a similar but separate construction is required, namely with a push button, a plunger and an auxiliary switch plunger, which again interacts with the armature and with the contact bridge as a break contact. This design not only provides two push buttons with plungers and auxiliary switch plungers, both of which interact with the armature, but also two contact bridges, i.e. a total of four contact bridges, which force a total of eight connections for the wiring. The construction effort and also the wiring effort are therefore quite considerable, apart from the fact that the auxiliary switches which are responsible for these functions are used, are practically lost for other switching purposes.

Another known electromagnetic contactor according to DE-B-1 167 948 is about plugging an additional housing onto the normal contactor housing, the additional housing being intended to have push-button switches and connecting terminals for the control line of the contactor. From the type of arrangement of the connection terminals, it can be concluded that movable contact bridges with contact pieces on both sides, etc., are to be provided within the push-button switch. Although mechanical switching on and off and a latching contact are also mentioned here, constructive details are not disclosed.

Furthermore, DE-C-592 266 discloses an electromagnetic contactor which can be operated by means of a switch-on push button. This contactor has a curved spring clip which is connected at one end to a fixed contact rail and at the other end a movable contact piece is attached. Furthermore, an auxiliary contact controlled by the contactor armature is provided for holding the contactor in the switched-on position. The auxiliary contact is closed by a contact on the switch-on button. The push button has a recess so that the auxiliary contact can be closed regardless of the switch's switch-off position.

The invention has for its object to provide a contactor which directly fulfills the functions of switching on, latching and switching off and in which the construction and space requirements are considerably reduced and simple wiring is possible.

The stated object is achieved in that, in order to form the switch-on contact, the switch-off contact and the switch-on contact to hold the magnet system in place, only two spring clips are arranged in a separate switching chamber, which are fastened at one end to fixed contact rails and overlap one another at their other end movable contact pieces that at least one spring clip engages in an opening of the common bridge girder and that an actuating element for switching on and holding on to the one spring clip and another actuating element for switching off acts on the other spring clip.

In this way, there is the essential advantage that three functions are realized in a contact track, namely switching on, holding and switching off the contactor without the need for additional separate switches or switch housings and corresponding wiring.

This previously explained functional principle permits a number of further advantageous configurations, which are characterized in the dependent claims.

• Figur 1 ein Schaltschema für ein Schütz,
• Figur 2 einen Vertikalschnitt durch ein vereinfacht dargestelltes Schütz mit integrierten Schaltkammer für Einschalt- und Ausschaltkontakte in Ruhestellung,
• Figur 3 ein Schnitt gemäß Figur 2, wobei der Einschaltkontakt betätigt ist,
• Figur 4 ein Schnitt gemäß Figur 2, wobei das Schütz durch den Einschaltkontakt in Selbsthaltung gegangen ist,
• Figur 5 einen Schnitt gemäß Figur 2 im Augenblick der Betätigung des Betätigungselementes für den Ausschaltkontakt,
• Figur 6 einen Vertikalschnitt mit fertigungsmäßig vereinfachter symmetrischer Ausgestaltung und Gleichheit der Teile für Einschalt - und Ausschaltkontakt sowie für die beiden Betätigungselemente,
• Figur 7 einen Schnitt durch eine Schaltkammer mit anders gestalteten, ebenfalls symmetrisch angeordneten und gleichen Teilen für die Kontaktbügel der Ein- und Ausschaltkontakte und Betätigungselemente,
• Figur 8 eine andere Ausbildung, wobei das Betätigungselement des Einschaltkontaktes in Baueinheit mit dem Stöße des Brückenträgers ausgebildet ist,
• Figur 9 einen Querschnitt hierzu,
• Figur 10 eine perspektivische Ansicht eines Schützes,
• Figur 11 eine Explosionszeichnung mit perspektivischer Ansicht auf die Einzelteile des Schützes gemäß Figur 10, wobei Magnetanker und Magnetkern nicht dargestellt sind,
• Figur 12 einen Längsschnitt durch eine andere Ebene des Schützes gemäß Schnittlinie XII - XII in Figur 10.
• Figur 13 eine Seitenansicht auf ein Schütz mit Vertikalschnitt durch die Schaltkammer der Ein-und Ausschaltkontakte mit einem vorgesetzten Motorschutzschalter,
• Figur 14 eine Draufsicht zu Figur 13.

In the drawing, embodiments of the invention are shown in the diagram, namely show

• 1 shows a circuit diagram for a contactor,
• 2 shows a vertical section through a contactor, shown in simplified form, with an integrated switching chamber for make and break contacts in the rest position,
• FIG. 3 shows a section according to FIG. 2, the switch-on contact being actuated,
• FIG. 4 shows a section according to FIG. 2, the contactor being held in a self-holding manner by the switch-on contact,
• 5 shows a section according to FIG. 2 at the moment of actuation of the actuating element for the switch-off contact,
• FIG. 6 shows a vertical section with a production-related simplified symmetrical design and identical parts for the switch-on and switch-off contacts and for the two actuating elements,
• 7 shows a section through a switching chamber with differently designed, likewise symmetrically arranged and identical parts for the contact bracket of the on and off contacts and actuating elements,
• 8 shows another embodiment, the actuating element of the switch-on contact being constructed in a structural unit with the joints of the bridge girder,
• FIG. 9 shows a cross section for this,
• FIG. 10 shows a perspective view of a contactor,
• FIG. 11 shows an exploded drawing with a perspective view of the individual parts of the contactor according to FIG. 10, the armature and magnetic core not being shown,
• FIG. 12 shows a longitudinal section through another plane of the contactor according to section line XII - XII in FIG. 10.
• FIG. 13 shows a side view of a contactor with a vertical section through the switching chamber of the on and off contacts with a motor protection switch in front,
• FIG. 14 is a top view of FIG. 13.

Figure 1 shows a simplified circuit diagram for a contactor, which is connected to a power network with lines 1 and 2. If the main switch 20 is closed, the contactor 3 can only pull in when the switch-on contact 8 is also actuated. A further contact 4 is connected in parallel to this switch-on contact 8 via lines 5, 6, which can be designed as a contact of the contactor 3 and also closes after the contactor has closed and keeps the contactor energized even when the switch-on contact 8 is opened again. The dash-dotted line 7 indicates that the contact 4 is one of the contacts of the contact system of the contactor 3. A is used to switch off the contactor Switch-off contact 9, which interrupts the circuit and lets the contactor drop out again. A conventional fuse is also designated by reference number 10. According to the prior art, as explained at the beginning, the two contacts 8 and 9 are housed as a switch-on contact and a switch-off contact in separate switch housings.

An exemplary embodiment of the invention is shown in FIGS. 2 to 5 in different switching positions. A magnet system with a magnetic core 36, a coil 37 and a magnet armature 45 is located in the simplified housing of the contactor 3. A common bridge support 38 is connected to the magnet armature and is explained in more detail below with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12. In the upper part of the housing of the contactor there is a switching chamber 35, in which a contact bracket 39 for the switch-on contact and a contact bracket 41 for the switch-off contact are arranged. As can be seen from the figures, the contact bracket 41 is provided in a structural unit with the contact bracket 39 of the switch-on contact. In this exemplary embodiment, the contact clips of the switch-on and switch-off contacts with associated fixed contact rails 40 and 42 are accommodated in the common switching chamber 35. In this exemplary embodiment, the contact brackets are designed as U-shaped spring brackets which are fastened to the contact rails 40 and 42 with their one end 39b or 41b. At their other end, the spring clips carry overlapping movable contact pieces 39a and 41a. The contact bracket 39 of the closing contact engages in an opening 38a of the bridge girder 38.

The contact bracket 39 can be actuated by an actuating element 43 or a push button, while a further actuating element 44 or a further push button is provided for actuating the contact bracket 41 of the switch-off contact.

The operation of the above-mentioned contactor is essentially as follows. In the rest position, the contact brackets 39, 41 of the on and off contacts and the actuating elements 43, 44 or pusher buttons are in the position shown in FIG. 2, the movable contact pieces 39a and 41a being at a distance from one another. When actuating the actuating element 43 from the outside, the free leg of the U-shaped contact bracket 39 of the switch-on contact is moved downward, so that the contact piece 39a comes into contact with the contact piece 41a, as shown in FIG. 3. This causes the contactor to switch on. When the contactor is switched on, the armature 45 with the common bridge support 38 is pulled downward, so that the web 38b comes to rest on the free leg of the contact bracket 39 of the switch-on contact. This allows the contactor to keep itself energized. These

The switching position is shown in FIG. 4. The contactor is switched off by means of the actuating element 44, which bends the free leg of the spring clip of the switch-off contact downward, so that the movable contact piece 41a lifts off the contact piece 39a. The armature 45 with the bridge support 38 is returned by spring force from the switching position according to FIG. 5 back to the original position according to FIG. 2. The construction explained above has essentially four functions, namely switching on, switching the contactor self-holding, switching off and also using the integrated contact device for normal closing, such as those explained below with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12 Bridge or NO contacts. It is understood that in the latter case the actuators 43 and 44 are not actuated. A further advantage of the exemplary embodiment according to FIGS. 2 to 5 is that the switching chamber 35 is accommodated in the contactor housing in accordance with the other switching chambers 12d (FIG. 11), which brings about a considerable simplification of production.

Figure 6 shows another embodiment of a contactor, which is constructed similar to that of Figures 2 to 5, so that the same reference numerals have been used for parts acting in the same way. In this exemplary embodiment, however, the U-shaped contact brackets 46, 47 of the switch-on contact on the one hand and the switch-off contact on the other hand are completely identical or symmetrical, which also applies to the fixed contact rails 40, 42. The only difference between the two spring clips is that, in the rest position, their legs are bent to different extents, as can be seen from FIG. This different bending is done during pre-assembly. For production, however, there is the advantage that the spring clips and the contact rails are dimensioned in the same way. In this case, the movable contact pieces 46a and 47a overlap in the area of the opening 38a of the bridge support 38. The operation of this contactor corresponds to that of the contactor according to FIGS. 2 to 5.

In another exemplary embodiment according to FIG. 7, the contact brackets 48, 49 of the switch-on and switch-off contacts with their movable contact pieces are essentially designed as flat spring brackets which are fastened at one end. The movable contact pieces at the other end advantageously overlap in the area of the opening 38a of the bridge girder 38, so that even in this embodiment the spring clips are of identical dimensions and are arranged symmetrically to one another, which in turn simplifies production.

The further exemplary embodiment according to FIG. 8 essentially corresponds to that of FIG. 7, so that the contact brackets 50, 51 of the on and off contacts again are essentially designed as flat spring brackets and are arranged in the switching chamber 35. In this case, a further simplification is achieved in that the actuating element 52 of the switch-on contact is constructed in a structural unit with the plunger of the bridge girder which can be actuated from the outside. This means that there is no need for a separate actuating element or a push button for the switch-on contact. The switching chamber 35 of this exemplary embodiment according to FIGS. 8 and 9 is particularly suitable as a special chamber, i.e. this switching chamber can first be produced as a separate chamber and then optionally arranged on the contactor housing or laterally on the contactor housing. With a directly integrated lateral arrangement of the switching chamber on the housing, a connecting web 52a is then provided to the common bridge support 38 of the contactor, so that all functions, i.e. Switching on and off of the contacts, self-holding of the contactor and usability as normal NO contact are guaranteed. When the switching chamber is arranged on the housing of the contactor, the connecting web to the bridge girder can be designed differently.

For a better understanding of the overall structure of a contactor, another embodiment will be explained with reference to Figures 10, 11 and 12. The housing of the contactor consists of several housing parts 11, 12 and 13, which are made of tough plastic. The housing part 11 is used with its bottom plate 11 a for attachment to an attachment level, for. B. on a control panel or in a control cabinet. The side projections 11e with bores can be used for fastening, or a bolt 11h under pressure from a spring 11k (FIG. 12) can be provided, which engages together with a counter-stop in a profiled rail (not shown) of the control panel or the control cabinet. Inside the housing part 11, the magnet system is housed, which consists of a coil 16 with connecting lines 17 and connectors 18, 19 and a magnetic core 34 and a movable armature 31. The coil 16 and the magnetic core can be fastened using a Bracket 14 can only be done by simply inserting it with a clamping effect.

At the top and bottom of the housing part 11 resilient tongues 11 c are provided, which cooperate with recesses and locking points 12 b of the housing part 12. On the two side surfaces of the housing part 12, tongue-like projections 12c are also provided, which engage in recesses with locking points 11d of the housing part 11. Thus, the housing parts 11 and 12 are firmly connected to each other by simply pushing them together by hand.

The housing part 12 contains a contact system. For this purpose, four switching chambers 12d are provided in parallel next to each other within the predetermined width between the two side surfaces 12a. One of these switching chambers, preferably the switching chamber 12f shown in FIG. 11 near the front edge, is designed in accordance with the switching chamber 35 explained above. The interrupters as such are essentially designed as U-shaped grooves with open end faces. The U-shaped channels open towards the side away from the mounting level. In the switching chambers 12d there are two contact rails 24 with fixed contact pieces 24a, which are held by inserting in guides 26, 27 of the housing part 12 and in an essentially rectangular frame 30 by contact connection screws 21. The contact connection screws 21 simultaneously hold the electrical connection lines 28.

A bridge 25 with movable contact pieces 25a cooperates with the two contact rails 24 in the switching chambers 12d. The illustrated embodiment is a make contact, but can also be converted as a break contact, in that the two contact rails 24 of the relevant switching chamber are rotated by 180 °, so that the contact pieces 24a point towards the mounting plane. Furthermore, the bridge 25 together with the contact spring 33 is removed from the opening 38c of the bridge girder 38 common to all bridges and, after being turned through 180 °, is reinserted into the opening 38e.

The common bridge support 38 consists essentially of a plate, one end of which is connected to the armature 31 of the magnet system. In addition, compression springs 32 are provided which, when the coil 16 is not switched on, press the armature 31 and the common bridge support 38 back into the rest position shown. At the end remote from the fastening plane, the bridge support 38 has a projection 38d which projects through an opening 13d of the housing part 13 serving as a cover. The housing part 13 covers the contact system in the housing part 12. In this housing part two rows of holes 13b are provided, through which a screwdriver can be inserted, which is simultaneously guided by the wall of the hole concerned and which allows the contact terminal screws 21 and 22 to be tightened in a freely accessible manner.

In addition to the explained switching chambers 12d and 12f of the housing part 12, there is another channel-like within the predetermined width between the side walls 12a Room 12-e provided in which the two connection screws 22 for the coil of the magnet system are accommodated. The housing part 13 can also be attached to the housing part 12 by sliding and clamping.

FIGS. 13 and 14 show a further exemplary embodiment of the invention, namely a contactor 53 with contact connection screws 56, 57 and further connection screws 58 and 67 for the coil and with an integrated switching chamber 54, which essentially corresponds to the configuration according to FIGS 5 matches. The same reference numerals have therefore been used for parts with the same effect. The common bridge girder has an extension 55 which protrudes outwards from the housing and can be used as a push button. Furthermore, actuating elements 43, 44 are again provided. A motor protection device 59 is connected upstream of the contactor 53 and is connected to the contactor 53 via electrical lines 60 and 61. The motor protection device has an adjusting lever 62 in relation to a scale 63, so that the trigger sensitivity of this device can be set. This motor protection device also has contact connection screws 64, 65 and 66. In addition, pusher buttons 68 and 69 are also provided, the pusher button 68 also being usable as a switch-off button since it acts on a switch-off contact. In this embodiment of the combined device, the actuating element 44 or the push button 68 can thus be actuated either to switch it off. Under certain circumstances, the actuating element 44 can then also be omitted.

Claims (8)

1. Contactor, in particular power or control or starter contactor, with a contact system located in a housing and a magnet system (36, 37,45) actuating the contact system, the contact system comprising contact bars (24) with stationary contact members (24a) and bridges (25) with movable contact members (25a) acting as opening and/or closing members and able to be actuated by means of a common bridge support (38), each bridge and the associated contact bars being located in a switching chamber (12d), whereby a closing contact and an opening contact for the magnet system and a closing contact for self-holding of the magnet system are provided, which can be actuated from outside by actuating members (43,44), characterised in that for the purpose of forming the closing contact, the opening contact and the closing contact for self-holding of the magnet system, exclusively two spring clips (39,41; 46, 47; 48, 49; 50, 51) are located in a separate switching chamber (35, 54), which are attached by their one end to stationary contact bars (40,42) and at their other end support overlapping, movable contact members (39a, 41 a; 46a, 47a), that at least one spring clip (39; 46, 47; 48, 49) engages in an opening (38a) in the common bridge support (38) and that an actuating member (43; 52) for closing and self-holding acts on one spring clip (39; 46; 48; 50) and a further actuating member (44) for opening acts on the other spring clip (41; 47; 49; 51).

2. Contactor according to claim 1, characterised in that the two spring clips (39, 41; 46,47) are constructed with a U-shape.

3. Contactor according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the spring clip (39; 46; 48; 50) of the closing contact engages in the opening (38a) of the bridge support (38).

4. Contactor according to claim 1, characterised in that the spring clips (48, 49) are substantially constructed as flat spring clips, which are attached by their one end and at their other end support the movable contact members, which overlap in the region of the opening (38a) of the bridge support (38).

5. Contactor according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the switching chamber (35; 54) is located in the contactor housing corresponding to the remaining switching chambers (12d).

6. Contactor according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterised in that the switching chamber (35) is located selectively on the housing of the contactor or at the side of the housing and a connecting web (52a) to the bridge support (38) is provided.

7. Contactor according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the actuating member (52) of the spring clip (50) of the closing contact is constructed in the structural unit with the plunger of the bridge support (38) able to be actuated from outside.

8. Contactor according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the two spring clips (46,47; 48, 49; 50, 51) are of the same size and arranged symmetrically with respect to each other.

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