EP0156692B1 - Snap closing mechanism for a miniature circuit breaker - Google Patents

Snap closing mechanism for a miniature circuit breaker Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0156692B1
EP0156692B1 EP85400357A EP85400357A EP0156692B1 EP 0156692 B1 EP0156692 B1 EP 0156692B1 EP 85400357 A EP85400357 A EP 85400357A EP 85400357 A EP85400357 A EP 85400357A EP 0156692 B1 EP0156692 B1 EP 0156692B1
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EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
handle
overrun
protuberance
closing
contact
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired
Application number
EP85400357A
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German (de)
French (fr)
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EP0156692A1 (en
Inventor
Louis Boillot
Michel Lazareth
Jean-Claude Ramacciotti
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Merlin Gerin SA
Original Assignee
Merlin Gerin SA
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Publication date
Application filed by Merlin Gerin SA filed Critical Merlin Gerin SA
Priority to AT85400357T priority Critical patent/ATE42865T1/en
Publication of EP0156692A1 publication Critical patent/EP0156692A1/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP0156692B1 publication Critical patent/EP0156692B1/en
Expired legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01H—ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES
    • H01H71/00—Details of the protective switches or relays covered by groups H01H73/00 - H01H83/00
    • H01H71/10—Operating or release mechanisms
    • H01H71/50—Manual reset mechanisms which may be also used for manual release
    • H01H71/52—Manual reset mechanisms which may be also used for manual release actuated by lever
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01H—ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES
    • H01H2300/00—Orthogonal indexing scheme relating to electric switches, relays, selectors or emergency protective devices covered by H01H
    • H01H2300/046—Orthogonal indexing scheme relating to electric switches, relays, selectors or emergency protective devices covered by H01H using snap closing mechanisms

Definitions

  • the invention relates to an abrupt manual closing mechanism of a power cut device, in particular of a switch or circuit breaker, with lever connected by a kinematic chain to a contact carrier arm.
  • Miniature circuit breakers particularly of modular electrical distribution systems, include a manual control lever for opening and closing.
  • the closing maneuver causes the arming of a spring ensuring the abrupt opening of the contacts in the event of a fault and assisting the lever in the opening maneuver.
  • the contact pressure may be insufficient for a good current flow and the heating of the contacts may cause welding or erosion.
  • US-A 3,239,621 it has already been proposed to insert into the transmission mechanism between the lever and the contact-carrying arm an energy accumulator spring which comes into action at the end of the closing stroke. to cause the abrupt closure of the contacts.
  • This known device is complicated and requires a special mechanism which cannot be adapted or added to standard circuit breakers.
  • the document DE-A 2534827 describes an elastic piece slowing down the movement of the lever at the end of the contact closure stroke and accumulating a return energy of the lever in the open position. The braking force increases until the contacts are closed and thereafter abruptly decreases, but this reduction does not cause an abrupt closure.
  • the present invention aims to allow the realization of an operating mechanism of a miniature circuit breaker extremely simple and capable of causing a sudden closure of the contacts and this object is achieved by the implementation of the features set out in claim 1.
  • the presence of a hard point on the closing stroke of the handle obliges the operator to apply to the handle an increased actuating force sufficient to pass this hard point.
  • This actuating force becomes fully available as soon as the retaining stop is erased when the hard point is passed, and it is sufficient to cause the sudden displacement of the contacts towards the closed position.
  • the hard point corresponds to a position of the contacts close to that of the closure, and it is practically impossible for an operator to move the lever beyond the hard point and to maintain it in an intermediate position between this hard point and the position of closing.
  • the erasable stop is advantageously provided by an elastic piece deforming under the action of the lever and automatically erasing after a predetermined deformation.
  • the elastic bandaged piece does not restore energy to the mechanism to ensure the abrupt closing, the latter being carried out by the action of the operator on the lever. It is easy to see that the erasable stop or the elastic piece can be added without significant modification to standard mechanisms to transform a circuit breaker and ensure the abrupt closing of the contacts.
  • the erasable stop is inactive in the direction of pivoting of the lever corresponding to a contact opening so as not to hamper this pivoting of the lever, either under manual action or under the effect of a spring return during '' tripping of the circuit breaker.
  • the elastic piece is advantageously constituted by an elastic blade capable of pivoting freely in the direction corresponding to an opening of the contacts, while it comes to brace on a projection of the housing during a pivoting of the lever in the direction reverse contact closure.
  • the elastic blade is held by a return spring in support of the projection of the housing.
  • Figures 1 and 2 are views of a mechanism described in detail in French Patent No. 2,344,950 which will advantageously be referred to for further details. It suffices to recall that the pivoting lever 10 is mounted for rotation on an axis 12, the body 14 of the lever carrying a crank pin 16 attacking a toggle joint 20 with links 18, 22.
  • the link 22 belongs to a plate 24 pivotally mounted on an axis 26 and having an extension 28 carrying an axis 30 of articulation of a contact-carrying arm 32.
  • One of the ends 34 of the arm 32 carries the movable contact 38 cooperating with a fixed contact 40, while the end opposite cooperates with an attachment 36 of a trigger lever 44 rotatably mounted on a pivot 46.
  • a contact pressure spring 42 urges the movable contact 38 in the closed position.
  • a lock 48 controlled by a magnetic or thermal trip unit 50 (not shown), cooperates with the lever 44 to cause tripping of the circuit breaker in the event of a fault.
  • a spring 52 biases the contact-carrying arm in the contact opening position.
  • the body 14 of the lever 10 has a protuberance or a boss 54 moving along a circular path during a pivoting of the lever 10 and meeting during its movement the end of an articulated blade 56 on a fixed pivot 58 integral with the housing 60.
  • a spiral spring 62 biases the blade 56 in abutment with a stop 64 integral with the housing 60 which limits the pivoting of the blade 56 in the trigonometric direction in FIG. 1. Pivoting in the opposite direction takes place freely, defeating the force of the return spring 62.
  • the blade 56 is elastic to allow deformation under the action of the protuberance 54, deformation causing on the one hand an accumulation of energy , and secondly, an erasure of the end of the elastic blade 56 from the path of movement of the protuberance 54 which, after crossing the blade 56, moves freely.
  • the elastic blade 56 In the open position of the circuit breaker, shown in Figure 1, the elastic blade 56 is held by the spring 62 in abutment of the stop 64, the protrusion 54 being remote from the blade 56.
  • the protuberance 54 meets the end of the elastic blade 56 and causes the latter to bend, kept in abutment with the stop 64 (fig. 3).
  • the deformation of the elastic blade 56 requires increased actuation torque of the handle 10, shown in FIG. 6 as a function of the pivot angle of the lever 10.
  • Position a corresponds to the engagement of the protuberance 54 against the blade 56, position a 2 corresponding to the crossing of the blade 56 by the protuberance 54 (fig. . 4).
  • the protuberance 54 abuts against the end of the elastic blade 56 by rotating it clockwise against the return spring 62 (fig. 5).
  • the opposing force is practically negligible and it is possible to admit that the blade 56 has no influence on the opening operation of the circuit breaker.
  • the invention is in no way limited to the mode of implementation more particularly described, the elastic blade 56 being able to cooperate very well with another element of the mechanism, in particular of the contact arm 32 or of the toggle joint system, that the opposing force can be generated by any other elastic or energy accumulation system, and that the movement of the lever can be rectilinear.

Landscapes

  • Breakers (AREA)
  • Driving Mechanisms And Operating Circuits Of Arc-Extinguishing High-Tension Switches (AREA)
  • Mechanisms For Operating Contacts (AREA)
  • Scissors And Nippers (AREA)
  • Electrical Discharge Machining, Electrochemical Machining, And Combined Machining (AREA)
  • Switch Cases, Indication, And Locking (AREA)

Abstract

1. Mechanism for rapid manual closing of a current breaking device, notably a switch or circuit breaker, having a handle (10) connected by a kinematic chain to a contact arm (32), characterized in that elastic part (56) forming an abutment which can be overrun, is located at a predetermined point on the trajectory of movement of one (54) of the elements of the switchgear closing mechanism in such a way as to impede said movement and to constitue a hangup point (alpha2 ) requiring an increased force on the handle to overrun said point 'alpha2 ) corresponding to a position of the contact arm (32) close to the position where the contacts (38, 40) come into contact, said part (56) being inactive after said overrun, to bring about rapid closing by the action of said increased force and when the handle (10) is moved in the switchgear opening direction.

Description

L'invention est relative à un mécanisme de fermeture manuelle brusque d'un appareil de coupure de courant, notamment d'un interrupteur ou disjoncteur, à manette reliée par une chaîne cinématique à un bras porte-contact.The invention relates to an abrupt manual closing mechanism of a power cut device, in particular of a switch or circuit breaker, with lever connected by a kinematic chain to a contact carrier arm.

Les disjoncteurs miniatures, notamment d'installations modulaires de distribution électrique, comportent une manette de commande manuelle d'ouverture et de fermeture. La manoeuvre de fermeture provoque l'armement d'un ressort assurant l'ouverture brusque des contacts en cas de défaut et assistant la manette dans la manoeuvre d'ouverture. Lors d'une manoeuvre lente de fermeture ou du maintien de la manette dans une position intermédiaire la pression de contact peut être insuffisante à un bon passage du courant et l'échauffement des contacts peut provoquer un soudage ou une érosion. Pour éviter cet inconvénient, il a déjà été proposé (US-A 3 239 621 ) d'insérer dans le mécanisme de transmission entre la manette et le bras porte-contact un ressort accumulateur d'énergie entrant en action en fin de course de fermeture pour provoquer la fermeture brusque des contacts. Ce dispositif connu est compliqué et nécessite un mécanisme spécial qui ne peut être adapté ou adjoint à des disjoncteurs standard.Miniature circuit breakers, particularly of modular electrical distribution systems, include a manual control lever for opening and closing. The closing maneuver causes the arming of a spring ensuring the abrupt opening of the contacts in the event of a fault and assisting the lever in the opening maneuver. During a slow closing maneuver or maintaining the lever in an intermediate position, the contact pressure may be insufficient for a good current flow and the heating of the contacts may cause welding or erosion. To avoid this drawback, it has already been proposed (US-A 3,239,621) to insert into the transmission mechanism between the lever and the contact-carrying arm an energy accumulator spring which comes into action at the end of the closing stroke. to cause the abrupt closure of the contacts. This known device is complicated and requires a special mechanism which cannot be adapted or added to standard circuit breakers.

Le document DE-A 2534827 décrit une pièce élastique freinant le déplacement de la manette en fin de course de fermeture des contacts et accumulant une énergie de rappel de la manette en position d'ouverture. La force de freinage augmente jusqu'à la fermeture de contacts et diminue par la suite brusquement, mais cette diminution n'engendre pas une fermeture brusque.The document DE-A 2534827 describes an elastic piece slowing down the movement of the lever at the end of the contact closure stroke and accumulating a return energy of the lever in the open position. The braking force increases until the contacts are closed and thereafter abruptly decreases, but this reduction does not cause an abrupt closure.

La présente invention a pour but de permettre la réalisation d'un mécanisme de manoeuvre d'un disjoncteur miniature extrêmement simple et susceptible de provoquer une fermeture brusque des contacts et ce but est atteint par la mise en oeuvre des caractéristiques énoncées dans la revendication 1.The present invention aims to allow the realization of an operating mechanism of a miniature circuit breaker extremely simple and capable of causing a sudden closure of the contacts and this object is achieved by the implementation of the features set out in claim 1.

La présence d'un point dur sur la course de fermeture de la manette oblige l'opérateur d'appliquer sur la manette une force d'actionnement accrue suffisante pour franchir ce point dur. Cette force d'actionnement devient entièrement disponible dès l'effacement de la butée de retenue au moment du passage du point dur et elle est suffisante pour provoquer le déplacement brusque des contacts vers la position de fermeture. Le point dur correspond à une position des contacts voisine de celle de la fermeture, et il est pratiquement impossible à un opérateur de déplacer la manette au-delà du point dur et de la maintenir dans une position intermédiaire entre ce point dur et la position de fermeture. La butée effaçable est avantageusement assurée par une pièce élastique se déformant sous l'action de la manette et s'effaçant automatiquement après une déformation prédéterminée. A l'inverse des mécanismes connus, à emmagasinage d'énergie, la pièce élastique bandée ne restitue pas l'énergie au mécanisme pour assurer la fermeture brusque, cette dernière étant réalisée par l'action de l'opérateur sur la manette. Il est facile de voir que la butée effaçable ou la pièce élastique peut être adjointe sans modification notable à des mécanismes standard pour transformer un disjoncteur et assurer la fermeture brusque des contacts.The presence of a hard point on the closing stroke of the handle obliges the operator to apply to the handle an increased actuating force sufficient to pass this hard point. This actuating force becomes fully available as soon as the retaining stop is erased when the hard point is passed, and it is sufficient to cause the sudden displacement of the contacts towards the closed position. The hard point corresponds to a position of the contacts close to that of the closure, and it is practically impossible for an operator to move the lever beyond the hard point and to maintain it in an intermediate position between this hard point and the position of closing. The erasable stop is advantageously provided by an elastic piece deforming under the action of the lever and automatically erasing after a predetermined deformation. Unlike known mechanisms, with energy storage, the elastic bandaged piece does not restore energy to the mechanism to ensure the abrupt closing, the latter being carried out by the action of the operator on the lever. It is easy to see that the erasable stop or the elastic piece can be added without significant modification to standard mechanisms to transform a circuit breaker and ensure the abrupt closing of the contacts.

La butée effaçable est inactive dans le sens de pivotement de la manette correspondant à une ouverture de contacts afin de ne pas entraver ce pivotement de la manette, soit sous l'action manuelle, soit sous l'effet de rappel d'un ressort lors d'un déclenchement du disjoncteur. La pièce élastique est avantageusement constituée par une lame élastique susceptible de pivoter librement dans le sens correspondant à une ouverture des contacts, tandis qu'elle vient s'arc-bouter sur une saillie du boîtier lors d'un pivotement de la manette dans le sens inverse de fermeture des contacts.The erasable stop is inactive in the direction of pivoting of the lever corresponding to a contact opening so as not to hamper this pivoting of the lever, either under manual action or under the effect of a spring return during '' tripping of the circuit breaker. The elastic piece is advantageously constituted by an elastic blade capable of pivoting freely in the direction corresponding to an opening of the contacts, while it comes to brace on a projection of the housing during a pivoting of the lever in the direction reverse contact closure.

La lame élastique est maintenue par un ressort de rappel en appui de la saillie du boîtier.The elastic blade is held by a return spring in support of the projection of the housing.

D'autres avantages et caractéristiques ressortiront plus clairement de la description qui va suivre d'un mode de mise en oeuvre de l'invention, donné à titre d'exemple non limitatif et représenté aux dessins annexés, dans lesquels:

  • - la figure 1 est une vue schématique en coupe médiane d'un mécanisme selon l'invention, représenté en position d'ouverture des contacts;
  • - la figure 2 est une vue analogue à celle de la fig. 1, montrant le mécanisme en position de fermeture des contacts;
  • - les figures 3 à 5 sont des vues partielles de la fig. 1, montrant la manette et la butée effaçable respectivement en cours de mouvement de fermeture avant et après passage du point dur, et en cours de mouvement d'ouverture des contacts;
  • - la figure 6 illustre la courbe de variation du couple nécessaire au pivotement de la manette lors d'une manoeuvre de fermeture.
Other advantages and characteristics will emerge more clearly from the description which follows of an embodiment of the invention, given by way of nonlimiting example and represented in the appended drawings, in which:
  • - Figure 1 is a schematic view in median section of a mechanism according to the invention, shown in the open position of the contacts;
  • - Figure 2 is a view similar to that of FIG. 1, showing the mechanism in the closed position of the contacts;
  • - Figures 3 to 5 are partial views of FIG. 1, showing the handle and the erasable stop respectively during the closing movement before and after passage of the hard point, and during the opening movement of the contacts;
  • - Figure 6 illustrates the curve of variation of the torque necessary for the pivoting of the lever during a closing operation.

Les figures 1 et 2 sont des vues d'un mécanisme décrit en détail dans le brevet français no 2 344 950 auquel on se référera avantageusement pour de plus amples détails. Il suffit de rappeler que la manette pivotante 10 est montée à rotation sur un axe 12, le corps 14 de la manette portant un maneton 16 attaquant une genouillère 20 à biellettes 18, 22. La biellette 22 appartient à une platine 24 montée à pivotement sur un axe 26 et ayant une extension 28 portant un axe 30 d'articulation d'un bras porte-contact 32. L'une des extrémités 34 du bras 32 porte le contact mobile 38 coopérant avec un contact fixe 40, tandis que l'extrémité opposée coopère avec un accrochage 36 d'un levier de déclenchement 44 monté à rotation sur un pivot 46. Un ressort de pression de contact 42 sollicite le contact mobile 38 en position de fermeture. Un verrou 48, commandé par un déclencheur magnétique 50 ou thermique (non représenté), coopère avec le levier 44 pour provoquer le déclenchement du disjoncteur en cas de défaut. Un ressort 52 sollicite le bras porte-contact en position d'ouverture des contacts.Figures 1 and 2 are views of a mechanism described in detail in French Patent No. 2,344,950 which will advantageously be referred to for further details. It suffices to recall that the pivoting lever 10 is mounted for rotation on an axis 12, the body 14 of the lever carrying a crank pin 16 attacking a toggle joint 20 with links 18, 22. The link 22 belongs to a plate 24 pivotally mounted on an axis 26 and having an extension 28 carrying an axis 30 of articulation of a contact-carrying arm 32. One of the ends 34 of the arm 32 carries the movable contact 38 cooperating with a fixed contact 40, while the end opposite cooperates with an attachment 36 of a trigger lever 44 rotatably mounted on a pivot 46. A contact pressure spring 42 urges the movable contact 38 in the closed position. A lock 48, controlled by a magnetic or thermal trip unit 50 (not shown), cooperates with the lever 44 to cause tripping of the circuit breaker in the event of a fault. A spring 52 biases the contact-carrying arm in the contact opening position.

Un tel mécanisme, décrit en détail dans le brevet précité, est bien connu des spécialistes, et il est inutile de le décrire plus en détail.Such a mechanism, described in detail in the bre vet supra, is well known to specialists, and there is no need to describe it in more detail.

Selon la présente invention, le corps 14 de la manette 10 présente une protubérance ou un bossage 54 se déplaçant selon une trajectoire circulaire lors d'un pivotement de la manette 10 et rencontrant au cours de son déplacement l'extrémité d'une lame 56 articulée sur un pivot fixe 58 solidaire du boîtier 60. Un ressort à spirales 62 sollicite la lame 56 en appui d'une butée 64 solidaire du boîtier 60 qui limite le pivotement de la lame 56 dans le sens trigonométrique sur la fig. 1. Un pivotement en sens opposé s'effectue librement en vainquant la force du ressort de rappel 62. La lame 56 est élastique pour permettre une déformation sous l'action de la protubérance 54, déformation provoquant d'une part une accumulation d'énergie, et d'autre part, un effacement de l'extrémité de la lame élastique 56 de la trajectoire de déplacement de la protubérance 54 qui, après franchissement de la lame 56, se déplace librement.According to the present invention, the body 14 of the lever 10 has a protuberance or a boss 54 moving along a circular path during a pivoting of the lever 10 and meeting during its movement the end of an articulated blade 56 on a fixed pivot 58 integral with the housing 60. A spiral spring 62 biases the blade 56 in abutment with a stop 64 integral with the housing 60 which limits the pivoting of the blade 56 in the trigonometric direction in FIG. 1. Pivoting in the opposite direction takes place freely, defeating the force of the return spring 62. The blade 56 is elastic to allow deformation under the action of the protuberance 54, deformation causing on the one hand an accumulation of energy , and secondly, an erasure of the end of the elastic blade 56 from the path of movement of the protuberance 54 which, after crossing the blade 56, moves freely.

Le fonctionnement du dispositif selon l'invention est décrit ci-dessous, plus particulièrement en référence aux figures 3 à 6:The operation of the device according to the invention is described below, more particularly with reference to FIGS. 3 to 6:

En position ouvert du disjoncteur, représentée sur la figure 1, la lame élastique 56 est maintenue par le ressort 62 en appui de la butée 64, la protubérance 54 étant éloignée de la lame 56. Au cours d'une manoeuvre de fermeture de l'appareil par pivotement dans le sens des aiguilles d'une montre de la manette 10, la protubérance 54 rencontre l'extrémité de la lame élastique 56 et provoque une flexion de cette dernière maintenue en appui de la butée 64 (fig. 3). La déformation de la lame élastique 56 nécessite un couple accru d'actionnement de la manette 10, représenté sur la fig. 6 en fonction de l'angle a de pivotement de la manette 10. La position a, correspond à l'engagement de la protubérance 54 contre la lame 56, la position a2 correspondant au franchissement de la lame 56 par la protubérance 54 (fig. 4). Le franchissement de la lame 56 correspondant à la position a2 intervient juste avant la venue en contact des contacts 38, 40 correspondant à la position 03. A partir de cette venue en contact un effort supplémentaire est nécessaire au bandage du ressort de contact 42, qui se traduit par une augmentation du couple C d'actionnement de la manette 10. Au cours du mouvement poursuivi de pivotement de la manette 10 le ressort 42 est armé jusqu'au franchissement du point mort P.M. de la genouillère constituée par les biellettes 18, 22. Au-delà de ce point mort la manette est sollicitée par le mécanisme vers la position stable de fermeture. Dès le franchissement de la lame élastique 56 cette dernière revient en position initiale sans que l'énergie emmagasinée soit restituée au mécanisme. Il ressort clairement de la figure 6 que la présence de la lame élastique 56 impose un effort accru d'actionnement de la manette 10 pendant toute la phase de déformation de la lame élastique 56, cet effort accru permettant, après franchissement de la lame élastique 56, de fermer les contacts rapidement en absorbant sans difficulté l'effort de compression du ressort de contact 42.In the open position of the circuit breaker, shown in Figure 1, the elastic blade 56 is held by the spring 62 in abutment of the stop 64, the protrusion 54 being remote from the blade 56. During a closing operation of the apparatus by pivoting clockwise from the handle 10, the protuberance 54 meets the end of the elastic blade 56 and causes the latter to bend, kept in abutment with the stop 64 (fig. 3). The deformation of the elastic blade 56 requires increased actuation torque of the handle 10, shown in FIG. 6 as a function of the pivot angle of the lever 10. Position a, corresponds to the engagement of the protuberance 54 against the blade 56, position a 2 corresponding to the crossing of the blade 56 by the protuberance 54 (fig. . 4). The blade 56 corresponding to position a 2 crosses just before the contacts 38, 40 corresponding to position 03 come into contact. From this coming into contact an additional effort is necessary for the bandage of the contact spring 42, which results in an increase in the torque C for actuating the lever 10. During the continued pivoting movement of the lever 10 the spring 42 is armed until the neutral point PM of the toggle joint constituted by the links 18, 22 is crossed. Beyond this neutral point the lever is urged by the mechanism towards the stable closed position. As soon as the elastic blade 56 is crossed, the latter returns to the initial position without the stored energy being returned to the mechanism. It is clear from FIG. 6 that the presence of the elastic blade 56 requires an increased effort to actuate the lever 10 during the entire deformation phase of the elastic blade 56, this increased effort allowing, after crossing the elastic blade 56 , to close the contacts quickly by easily absorbing the compression force of the contact spring 42.

Au cours d'une manoeuvre d'ouverture manuelle du disjoncteur la protubérance 54 bute contre l'extrémité de la lame élastique 56 en la faisant pivoter dans le sens des aiguilles d'une montre à l'encontre du ressort de rappel 62 (fig. 5). L'effort antagoniste est pratiquement négligeable et il est possible d'admettre que la lame 56 n'exerce aucune influence sur la manoeuvre d'ouverture du disjoncteur.During a manual opening operation of the circuit breaker, the protuberance 54 abuts against the end of the elastic blade 56 by rotating it clockwise against the return spring 62 (fig. 5). The opposing force is practically negligible and it is possible to admit that the blade 56 has no influence on the opening operation of the circuit breaker.

Il est clair que l'invention n'est nullement limitée au mode de mise en oeuvre plus particulièrement décrit, la lame élastique 56 pouvant fort bien coopérer avec un autre élément du mécanisme, notamment du bras de contact 32 ou du système de genouillère, que l'effort antagoniste peut être engendré par tout autre système élastique ou d'accumulation d'énergie, et que le mouvement de la manette peut être rectiligne.It is clear that the invention is in no way limited to the mode of implementation more particularly described, the elastic blade 56 being able to cooperate very well with another element of the mechanism, in particular of the contact arm 32 or of the toggle joint system, that the opposing force can be generated by any other elastic or energy accumulation system, and that the movement of the lever can be rectilinear.

Claims (5)

1. Mechanism for rapid manual closing of a current breaking device, notably a switch or circuit breaker, having a handle (10) connected by a kinematic chain to a contact arm (32), characterized in that an elastic part (56) forming an abutment which can be overrun, is located at a predetermined point on the trajectory of movement of one (54) of the elements of the switchgear closing mechanism in such a way as to impede said movement and to constitute a hangup point (a2) requiring an increased force on the handle to overrun said point (a2) corresponding to a position of the contact arm (32) close to the position where the contacts (38, 40) come into contact, said part (56) being inactive after said overrun, to bring about rapid closing by the action of said increased force and when the handle (10) is moved in the switchgear opening direction.
2. Mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises a pivoting handle (10), a desmodromic linkage system of articulated levers (18, 22) between the handle (10) and the contact arm (32) having a locking abutment (36) which can be freed by a trip device (50) to break said link and to enable the switchgear to open by the action of a spring (52), said handle having a protuberance (54) coming into abutment against a flexible strip (56) when the handle (10) pivots in the closing direction, said strip (56) being designed to be deformed during a continuing pivoting movement of the handle exerting an opposite force on the handle and with drawing suddenly from the trajectory of the protuberance (54) to enable the handle to pivot freely to the closed position.
3. Mechanism according to claim 2, characterized in that the end of said flexible strip (56), opposite to the one cooperating with said protuberance (54), is mounted for free one-way pivoting to allow said protuberance a free passage in the opening direction by pivoting of said strip.
4. Mechanism according to claim 3, characterized in that the flexible strip (56) is urged against a protrusion (64), said strip coming into abutment against the protrusion and being deformed during the engagement phase by said protuberance (54).
5. Mechanism according to any one of the above claims, characterized in that the abutment or flexible strip (56) is overrun just before the contacts (38, 40) come into contact and a pressure spring (42) is loaded.
EP85400357A 1984-03-02 1985-02-26 Snap closing mechanism for a miniature circuit breaker Expired EP0156692B1 (en)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
AT85400357T ATE42865T1 (en) 1984-03-02 1985-02-26 RAPID CONNECTION DEVICE FOR MINIATURE CONTACTORS.

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
FR8403417 1984-03-02
FR8403417A FR2560713B1 (en) 1984-03-02 1984-03-02 MECHANISM FOR QUICK CLOSING OF A MINIATURE CIRCUIT BREAKER

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0156692A1 EP0156692A1 (en) 1985-10-02
EP0156692B1 true EP0156692B1 (en) 1989-05-03

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Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP85400357A Expired EP0156692B1 (en) 1984-03-02 1985-02-26 Snap closing mechanism for a miniature circuit breaker

Country Status (9)

Country Link
EP (1) EP0156692B1 (en)
JP (1) JPS617532A (en)
AT (1) ATE42865T1 (en)
AU (1) AU577833B2 (en)
CA (1) CA1253552A (en)
DE (1) DE3570010D1 (en)
ES (1) ES8606731A1 (en)
FR (1) FR2560713B1 (en)
ZA (1) ZA851522B (en)

Families Citing this family (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4739291A (en) * 1986-12-08 1988-04-19 Lee Wen Fong Magnetic vacuum circuit breaker
DE4339425B4 (en) * 1993-11-18 2005-11-10 Heinrich Kopp Ag Switch lock for a residual current circuit breaker
JP4186407B2 (en) * 2000-10-10 2008-11-26 富士電機機器制御株式会社 Handle operating mechanism of circuit breaker
FR2827076B1 (en) * 2001-07-06 2004-03-12 Schneider Electric Ind Sa CIRCUIT BREAKER AND ITS CONTROL MECHANISM
CN207425751U (en) * 2017-06-08 2018-05-29 李文杰 A kind of high-breaking miniature breaker

Family Cites Families (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
FR1388664A (en) * 1963-06-27 1965-02-12 Comp Generale Electricite Independent closing device for electrical devices
GB1087135A (en) * 1963-07-24 1967-10-11 Plessey Uk Ltd Improvements in or relating to electric snap-action switch devices
DE2534827C3 (en) * 1975-08-05 1978-04-20 Ellenberger & Poensgen Gmbh, 8503 Altdorf Double-armed rocker arm especially for a switch lock
FR2344950A1 (en) * 1976-03-15 1977-10-14 Merlin Gerin CIRCUIT BREAKER CONTROL MECHANISM

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
ES540721A0 (en) 1986-04-16
FR2560713A1 (en) 1985-09-06
EP0156692A1 (en) 1985-10-02
CA1253552A (en) 1989-05-02
ES8606731A1 (en) 1986-04-16
DE3570010D1 (en) 1989-06-08
JPS617532A (en) 1986-01-14
AU577833B2 (en) 1988-10-06
ATE42865T1 (en) 1989-05-15
ZA851522B (en) 1985-10-30
AU3943285A (en) 1985-09-05
FR2560713B1 (en) 1988-04-29

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