EP0325501B1 - Automatic switches, in particular differential switches and circuit breakers - Google Patents

Abstract

Electrical apparatus with automatic cutoff, in particular a differential switch, circuit-breaker or differential circuit-breaker, of the type comprising, between a rotary operating member (31) and a rocking contact-holder (34), a lock mechanism with toggle and ratchet (50) consisting of a connecting-rod (42) articulated on the operating member (31), of a link-rod (44) articulated to the other end of the connecting-rod (42) and to the contact-holder (34), and of a release lever (47) articulated about a fixed axis and provided with a longitudinal slot in which the fulcrum pin (45) between connecting-rod and link-rod can slide, the ratchet being ratcheted on the release lever. The ratchet (50) comprises at least two distinct zones, such as fingers (53, 54, 56) actuated by respective release means. <IMAGE>

Description

The present invention relates to electrical devices with automatic cut-off, in particular differential switches, circuit breakers or differential circuit breakers, or else devices combining several of these functions, of the type of those comprising between a rotary actuator, actuated for example by using an operating lever or by push button, and a tilting contact carrier on which is mounted at least one movable contact each cooperating respectively with a corresponding fixed contact and which is biased by a first spring in the direction of opening or separation of the movable contact from the fixed contact, a toggle and ratchet mechanism capable, on the one hand, when this mechanism is tensioned, of transmitting the movement of the operating member to the contact carrier both in the opening direction only in the contact closing direction and, on the other hand, when this mechanism is relaxed by triggering means a sliding independently of the operating member on the pawl, causing the contact carrier to return from its closed position to its open position, this mechanism being arranged so as to allow the operating member to reset the device, that is to say to tighten the mechanism by bringing it back from its opened open position to its normal open position, after the intervention of the trigger means has ceased and under the action of a second acting spring on the operating member, said mechanism essentially consisting of a connecting rod articulated by one of its ends on the operating member, along an axis eccentric relative to the axis of rotation of the operating member, a link articulated by one of its ends to the other end of the rod and by the other of its ends to the contact carrier, along an axis eccentric with respect to the tilting axis of the contact carrier, and an arti trigger lever butted by one of its ends around a fixed axis and provided with a longitudinal groove in which can slide, practically without transverse play, the articulation axis between the connecting rod and the connecting rod, all these axes being parallel the to each other, the fixed axis pawl being urged into the latching position by a third spring and acting on the trigger lever.

Such devices are described, for example, in the German patent application DE-A-1,490,307 or the Swiss patent CH-A-387,760. A more sophisticated device is described in European patent application EP-A-0.143.682, which corresponds to the preamble of the present claim 1, in which the pawl is arranged in such a way and in particular its axis is located in such a way that this pawl occupies itself a stable position in the closed position of the device, and in which the triggering means are arranged so as to act mechanically by pushing on this pawl against the action of the third spring.

Also known, according to patent application DE-B-1,286,187, an apparatus in which a latching part is pivoted about an eccentric axis on a lever forming part of a kinematic chain for triggering contact electric, this latching part holding the lever in the armed position under the tension of a powerful spring acting directly on said part and, indirectly, on the lever. This latching part can be released by various triggering means acting in several places of the part. However, this arrangement lacks sensitivity and cannot be triggered directly by weak triggering means, such as differential relays.

The object of the invention is to improve a mechanism of the type of that of patent application EP-A-0.143.682 in order to allow it to be actuated by several different triggering means which act independently of the operating member on the pawl and in particular tripping means such as thermal trip bimetal, electromagnetic trip plunger and, of course, auxiliary tripping relay such as voltage relay or differential switch relay.

Another objective of the invention is to achieve such an improvement so as to allow an optimal spatial distribution of the triggering means in the volume offered by the device carrying the mechanism.

Yet another objective of the invention is to improve the mechanism so as to ensure maximum longevity and efficiency and a lower cost price both with regard to the individual parts and the assembly, and this, in particular, by eliminating the holders important overhangs.

The invention relates to such an electrical device with automatic cut-off, in particular differential switch, circuit breaker or differential circuit breaker as defined in claim 1.

It is preferred that the pawl has three zones or reliefs of this kind so that it can be tilted for tripping both by a differential switch relay and by a tripping bimetal and by an electromagnetic tripping element, for example a plunger core an electromagnetic circuit breaker coil.

In a preferred embodiment, the pawl is shaped like a lever extending in a direction clearly transverse to the direction of the articulated rod and the lever trigger, having its axis of articulation at one end of the pawl.

Preferably, the pawl cooperates, by one of said reliefs, with a triggering part or lever also ensuring the resetting of a differential switch relay, this lever being returned to the resetting position by a spring and this, preferably by by means of a pivoting part returned by a spring, preferably independent, and by the contact carrier, in the ratchet release position and kept away from this position, and against the action of its spring, by the reset lever acting as a pawl for retaining the pivoting part.

Advantageously, the pivoting part has a resetting means, preferably in the form of a lever arm, the end of which can be actuated by the mechanism when it returns to the open position in order to tilt said part in reset position in latching position with the relay release and reset part.

In a particular embodiment, the mechanism can be mounted on an internal structure of an apparatus, so as to be arranged in an area extending parallel to an area containing tripping means such as bimetallic strip and / or electromagnetic circuit breaker, the pawl having fingers located in the travel of these triggering means, while the triggering lever, and the relay reset, with its pivoting intermediate piece, is housed in the zone of the mechanism under a zone receiving the relay.

In an advantageous embodiment, facilitating such a spatial arrangement, the toggle mechanism can be designed in such a way that the breaking of the toggle, when triggered, takes place in a direction away from the plane which joins the axis tilting of the contact piece and the pivot axis of the rotary actuating member.

• la figure 1 représente une vue en élévation d'un appareil selon l'invention,
• la figure 2 représente une vue de derrière de cet appareil,
• la figure 3 représente une vue en coupe transversale de cet appareil,
• la figure 4 représente une vue en perspective du mécanisme de l'appareil,
• la figure 5 représente une autre vue en perspective de ce mécanisme,
• la figure 6 représente une vue en perspective du levier déclencheur de la genouillère,
• la figure 7 représente une vue en perspective du cliquet,
• la figure 8 représente une vue de dessus de la pièce pivotante associée au levier de déclenchement et de réarmement du relais,
• la figure 9 représente une vue en perspective du levier de déclenchement et de réarmement du relais,
• les figure 10 à 13 représentent des vues en élévation d'une partie du mécanisme pendant différentes phases de fonctionnement y compris au cours d'une phase de disjonction,
• les figures 14 à 17 représentent des vues similaires aux précédentes, y compris pendant une phase de déclenchement par relais,
• les figures 18 à 21 représentent des vues schématiques de la cinématique des pièces du mécanisme pendant ces phases.

Other advantages and characteristics of the invention will appear on reading the following description, given by way of nonlimiting example and referring to the appended drawing in which:

• FIG. 1 represents an elevation view of an apparatus according to the invention,
• FIG. 2 represents a rear view of this device,
• FIG. 3 represents a cross-sectional view of this device,
• FIG. 4 represents a perspective view of the mechanism of the apparatus,
• FIG. 5 represents another perspective view of this mechanism,
• FIG. 6 represents a perspective view of the trigger lever of the toggle joint,
• FIG. 7 represents a perspective view of the pawl,
• FIG. 8 represents a top view of the pivoting part associated with the triggering and resetting lever of the relay,
• FIG. 9 represents a perspective view of the triggering and resetting lever of the relay,
• FIGS. 10 to 13 show elevation views of part of the mechanism during different operating phases including during a disjunction phase,
• FIGS. 14 to 17 show views similar to the previous ones, including during a relay tripping phase,
• Figures 18 to 21 show schematic views of the kinematics of the parts of the mechanism during these phases.

We first refer to Figures 1 to 5.

The electrical appliance shown comprises a modular housing produced in the form of two half-housings 1, 2, connected at the level of a separation line 3. The lower half-housing 2 usually exhibits hooking means 4 , 5 on a rail while the upper half-casing 1 has two pairs of successive shoulders 6, 7 and an apex 8 provided with a passage 9 for the manual actuation lever of the mechanism.

The extreme edges of the housing each have, in the lower half-housing 2, each time two openings 10 allowing access each time to the two cage terminals of the apparatus and the shoulders 6 each have two passages 11 for access to the screws of the respective cage terminals.

Inside the housing formed by the two half-housings 1, 2, the device is mounted on a structural part 12 having a generally symmetrical shape with respect to a vertical median plane forming a median partition 13 provided with a certain number of passages.

This structural part, the details of which will not be described further, receives, at its ends, the cage terminals 14 with their screws 15. It also supports thick copper blades 16 suitably bent and having the fixed contacts and it has, for the axes of rotation of the mechanism parts, bearings supplemented by an auxiliary part 17 completing the structural part and the details of which will not be described here either.

The structural part defines, in the housing, a certain number of zones, namely, in addition to the zones receiving the terminals, two contact zones 18, disposed on either side of the central partition 13 at the bottom of the structural part 12, a measurement zone 19 capable of receiving a set of differential detection toroids, a magnetothermal tripping zone 20 located on one side of the central partition 13 above one of the zones 18, a trigger zone 21 intended to receive a differential switch relay and extending, towards the upper part of the device, over any the width of the structural part, a zone 22 of the trigger lock mechanism which is roughly symmetrical with the magnetothermal trigger zone 20 on the other side of the central partition 13.

The contact areas 18 receive, in addition to the fixed contacts carried by the blades 16 and the usual arc or arc chambers 23, the respective mobile contacts carried by a single rotary contact holder. The toroidal area 19 receives the detection toroid assembly 24. The magnetothermal circuit breaker 20 receives a circuit breaker, the details of which will not be described but which, on the one hand, has a circuit breaker 25 sensitive to the intensity which traverses it to struggle in the part of the zone 20 which is reserved for it, and a set of magnetic disjunction comprising a coil 26 capable, when it is traversed by an overcurrent, of causing, against its return spring 26a, a plunger core 27 comprising an integral striker 28, the plunger core having at its rear end a part 29 recalled by the return spring 26a of the plunger core and capable of acting on the mechanism. In the differential switch relay zone 21, the relay 30 is arranged with its rod 30a capable of moving vertically downwards when the relay is energized, that is to say in a direction perpendicular to the direction, horizontal on the drawing, of displacement of the plunger 27 with its striker 28.

The mechanism, the essentials of which, with the exception of the movable contact-carrying part, is available in the mechanism zone 22 will now be described with reference to all of the figures.

The mechanism is of the toggle and ratchet type and extends between a manual rotary operating member 31 with its operating lever 32 mounted on an axis 33 fixed in the structural part, and a contact carrier 34 rocking around its axis 35, also carried by the structural part and usually carrying the movable contacts 36, cooperating with the fixed contacts 37 formed in the blades 16, the movable contact holder 34 being capable of tilting between a contact opening position, shown in particular in Figures 1, 2, 10 and 14, and a contact closed position shown in particular in Figures 11 and 15. The movable contacts 36 and, therefore, the contact carrier 34 are biased in the opening direction contact by two powerful springs 38 which extend, in compression, between a bottom 39 of the auxiliary part 17 and a boss 40 of the respective movable contact. The assembly of the contact carrier and of the movable contacts is preferably arranged in the manner described in the French patent application FR-A-83.15783 of October 4, 1983, that is to say so that the same springs ensure that both the separation of the contacts 36, 37 during the opening movement and the pressure of the contacts 36, 37 on each other in the closed position. The mechanism is capable, on the one hand, when it is tensioned, of transmitting the movement of the operating member 31 actuated by the lever 32 to the contact carrier 34, both in the opening direction and in the direction of contact closure and, on the other hand, when the mechanism is relaxed by triggering means acting independently of the lever on a mechanism pawl, to cause the return of the tilting contact carrier 34 from its position closed in its open position, even if the lever is held. The mechanism is further arranged so as to allow the lever 32, as soon as it is released, to reset the device, that is to say to re-tighten the mechanism by bringing it back from its position after tripping (Figures 13 and 17) in its normal opening position (FIGS. 1, 10 or 14), after the intervention of the triggering means has ceased, and this under the action of a spring 41 acting on the rotary actuating member 31 in the direction of the contact opening, that is to say counterclockwise in FIGS. 11 to 13.

• - une bielle 42 articulée par l'une de ses extrémités sur l'organe rotatif de manoeuvre 31, selon un axe 43 excentré par rapport à l'axe de rotation 33 de cet organe;
• - une biellette 44 articulée par l'une de ses extrémités à l'autre extrémité de la bielle 42, selon un axe 45, et par l'autre de ses extrémités au porte-contact 34 selon un axe 46 excentré par rapport à l'axe de basculement 35 fixe du porte-contact; et
• - un levier déclencheur 47 articulé par l'une de ses extrémités autour d'un axe fixe 48 proche de l'organe rotatif de manoeuvre 31 et muni d'une rainure longitudinale 49 formant un angle très obtus avec l'axe général du levier déclencheur, rainure dans laquelle une extrémité dépassante de l'axe d'articulation 45 entre bielle 42 et biellette 44 peut glisser pratiquement sans jeu transversal ; l'angle obtus, entre le levier déclencheur 47 et la rainure 49, est destiné à limiter les efforts de déclenchement du cliquet à n'importe quel moment de la progression de l'axe 45 dans ladite rainure 49.

The mechanism includes:

• - A connecting rod 42 articulated by one of its ends on the rotary actuating member 31, along an axis 43 eccentric relative to the axis of rotation 33 of this member;
• - A link 44 articulated by one of its ends to the other end of the rod 42, along an axis 45, and by the other of its ends to the contact carrier 34 along an axis 46 eccentric relative to the fixed tilting axis 35 of the contact carrier; and
• a trigger lever 47 articulated by one of its ends around a fixed axis 48 close to the rotary actuating member 31 and provided with a longitudinal groove 49 forming a very obtuse angle with the general axis of the trigger lever , groove in which an protruding end of the hinge pin 45 between rod 42 and rod 44 can slide practically without transverse play; the obtuse angle between the trigger lever 47 and the groove 49 is intended to limit the efforts to trigger the pawl at any time during the progression of the axis 45 in said groove 49.

The various aforementioned axes are parallel to each other, the fixed axes (in translation) 33, 35, 48 being carried by the structural part 12 supplemented by its auxiliary part 17.

• - un cliquet 50 tournant autour d'un axe fixe 51 disposé à gauche d'un plan passant par les deux axes fixes 33 et 35 (figure 15), c'est-à-dire du même côté que les axes mobiles 45 et 46 de la biellette 44 mais dans un plan situé à droite de ces axes. Le cliquet 50 présente un premier bras allongé 52, perpendiculaire au levier déclencheur 47, et s'étendant transversalement par rapport au plan joignant les axes 33 et 35 et se dirigeant vers la gauche et légèrement vers le haut de la figure 15, ce bras 52 se terminant par deux doigts perpendiculaires 53, 54 alignés de part et d'autre du levier déclencheur 47, le doigt 53 étant destiné à coopérer avec une partie de mécanisme actionnée par le relais 30, et le doigt 54 à coopérer avec la pièce 29 liée au noyau et au percuteur 28 et conformée en rampe; le cliquet 50 présente un second bras nettement plus court 55 s'étendant plus franchement vers le haut et vers la gauche sur la figure 11, et se terminant par un doigt 56 orienté du même côté que le doigt 54 et susceptible d'être repoussé par la bilame 25 en cas de dilatation thermique de celle-ci; le cliquet présente, vers le bras 52, un bec d'accrochage 57, susceptible d'accrocher un bec complémentaire 58 présenté par l'extrémité libre du levier déclencheur 47, au-delà de la rainure 49 et à peu près dans son prolongement, alors que ledit levier 47 présente une nervure de rigidification longitudinale 47a dont l'extrémité libre, du côté du cliquet 50, forme une butée coopérant avec la face supérieure du cliquet 50; le cliquet est rappelé élastiquement en sens horaire (sur la figure 15) par un ressort 50a, de sorte que le cliquet tend constamment à être maintenu dans sa position haute définie par butée contre l'extrémité inférieure de la nervure 47a du levier déclencheur 47 et on comprend que le cliquet est ainsi agencé de façon à occuper une position stable dans la position de fermeture de l'appareil, l'action des ressorts 38 sur le levier déclencheur 47 étant incapable de faire tourner le cliquet autour de son axe 51, la direction générale du cliquet étant alignée avec la composante de force exercée par le bec du levier déclencheur sur le bec du cliquet.

L'axe fixe 48 du levier déclencheur 47 est situé de façon telle que, en position de fermeture (voir notamment la figure 15), ce levier déclencheur soit sensiblement parallèle à l'ensemble de la bielle 42 et de la biellette 44 qui, dans cette position, est presque alignée avec la bielle, en formant avec celle-ci, au niveau de leur axe commun 45, un angle très obtus, légèrement inférieur à un angle plat.The mechanism also includes:

• - A pawl 50 rotating around a fixed axis 51 disposed to the left of a plane passing through the two fixed axes 33 and 35 (Figure 15), that is to say on the same side as the movable axes 45 and 46 of the rod 44 but in a plane located to the right of these axes. The pawl 50 has a first elongated arm 52, perpendicular to the trigger lever 47, and extending transversely relative to the plane joining the axes 33 and 35 and pointing to the left and slightly upwards in FIG. 15, this arm 52 ending with two perpendicular fingers 53, 54 aligned on either side of the trigger lever 47, the finger 53 being intended to cooperate with a part of the mechanism actuated by the relay 30, and the finger 54 to cooperate with the linked part 29 to the core and to the striker 28 and shaped as a ramp; the pawl 50 has a second markedly shorter arm 55 extending more frankly upwards and to the left in FIG. 11, and ending with a finger 56 oriented on the same side as the finger 54 and capable of being repelled by bimetallic strip 25 in the event of thermal expansion thereof; the pawl has, towards the arm 52, a hooking spout 57, capable of hanging a complementary spout 58 presented by the free end of the trigger lever 47, beyond the groove 49 and roughly in its extension, while said lever 47 has a longitudinal stiffening rib 47a whose free end, on the side of the pawl 50, forms a stop cooperating with the upper face of the pawl 50; the pawl is returned elastically in a clockwise direction (in FIG. 15) by a spring 50a, so that the pawl constantly tends to be held in its high position defined by a stop against the lower end of the rib 47a of the trigger lever 47 and it is understood that the pawl is thus arranged so as to occupy a stable position in the closed position of the device, the action of the springs 38 on the trigger lever 47 being unable to rotate the pawl about its axis 51, the general direction of the pawl being aligned with the force component exerted by the beak of the trigger lever on the beak of the pawl.

The fixed axis 48 of the trigger lever 47 is located such that, in the closed position (see in particular FIG. 15), this trigger lever is substantially parallel to the assembly of the connecting rod 42 and the connecting rod 44 which, in this position is almost aligned with the connecting rod, forming with the latter, at their common axis 45, a very obtuse angle, slightly less than a flat angle.

In detail, the connecting rod 42 is preferably articulated at its upper end in a housing taken in the thickness of the rotary operating member 31 and the connecting rod 44 can advantageously be made in the form of a link consisting of two identical parallel arms having the passages for the axes 45, 46, these arms being interconnected by an integral cross-member 59. The useful length of the connecting rod 42 is significantly greater than that of the connecting rod 44.

The length of the groove 49 formed in the trigger lever 47 is sufficient to allow all the movements of the axis 45 in the different operating positions of the mechanism.

The contact carrier 34 has a transverse arm 60 which extends through the rectilinear trajectory of the striker 28 when the plunger core which carries the latter is violently displaced by the appearance of an overcurrent in the coil 26 so as to cause abrupt rotation of the contact carrier and, consequently, the lifting of the movable contacts 36 by the forced separation from the fixed contacts 37 after opening the toggle.

• - une pièce pivotante de déclenchement 61 tournant autour d'un axe fixe 62 porté par la structure 12 et par la pièce complémentaire 17, cette pièce présentant un bec en forme de rampe 63 susceptible de venir appuyer sur le doigt 53 du cliquet 50 lorsque la pièce de déclenchement 61 est pivotée en sens horaire (sur la figure 16), sous l'action d'un ressort 64 accroché d'une part à la pièce complémentaire 17, d'autre part à l'extrémité d'un petit levier 65 de la pièce 61; cette pièce 61 présente encore un grand levier 66 dont l'extrémité surplombe la deuxième extrémité dépassante, libre, de l'axe commun au porte-contacts 34 et à la biellette de façon que, lors d'un mouvement vers le haut de cet axe, la pièce 61 soit basculée en sens anti-horaire (sur la figure 17) afin de provoquer son réarmement à la même vitesse que l'ouverture des contacts pour permettre à un bec 72 d'un levier de réarmement de relais de se placer sous un bec 67 de la pièce 61 avant que celui-ci ne revienne à sa position.
• - le levier de déclenchement, et de réarmement de relais, 68 susceptible de basculer autour d'un axe fixe 69 également porté par la pièce de structure 12 et par la pièce complémentaire 17 et comportant un grand bras 70 venant se disposer sous l'extrémité inférieure de la tige de relais 30a et un petit bras 71 sensiblement perpendiculaire au premier, orienté vers le bas et monté de façon à traverser l'espace laissé libre entre l'axe 62 et le retour en forme de bec 67, en présentant le bec 72 complémentaire au bec 67, de sorte que, lorsque la pièce pivotante 61 est en position immobile de réarmement telle que représentée sur la figure 15, elle est empêchée de basculer, malgré l'action de son ressort 64, en raison de la présence du bec 72 qui est alors maintenu en position d'encliquetage par transmission de l'action du ressort 64 alors qu'un ressort 73 accroché en traction entre l'extrémité du bras 70 et un point d'accrochage par exemple, l'axe 43, sur l'organe de manoeuvre rotatif 31 est détendu dans cette position, mais se tendra en cas de basculement du levier de manoeuvre en position d'ouverture ; le ressort 73 servira à ramener le levier 68 après déclenchement du relais 30, assurant ainsi le réarmement du relais ; le point d'accrochage est choisi de façon que, dans la position de contact fermé, la traction exercée au repos sur le ressort soit faible ou nulle alors qu'en position de contact ouvert elle soit maximale.

In order to trigger the mechanism when the differential switch relay 30 is actuated, the mechanism also includes:

• a pivoting triggering part 61 rotating about a fixed axis 62 carried by the structure 12 and by the complementary part 17, this part having a ramp-shaped spout 63 capable of coming to press on the finger 53 of the pawl 50 when the trigger part 61 is pivoted clockwise (in FIG. 16), under the action of a spring 64 hooked on the one hand to the complementary part 17, on the other hand at the end of a small lever 65 from room 61; this part 61 also has a large lever 66, the end of which overhangs the second protruding free end of the axis common to the contact carrier 34 and to the link so that, during an upward movement of this axis , the part 61 is tilted counterclockwise (in FIG. 17) in order to cause its reset at the same speed as the opening of the contacts to allow a spout 72 of a relay reset lever to be placed under a spout 67 of the part 61 before the latter returns to its position.
• - The trigger lever, and relay reset, 68 capable of tilting around a fixed axis 69 also carried by the structural part 12 and by the part com 17 and comprising a large arm 70 coming to be placed under the lower end of the relay rod 30a and a small arm 71 substantially perpendicular to the first, oriented downwards and mounted so as to cross the space left free between the axis 62 and the beak-shaped return 67, by presenting the beak 72 complementary to the beak 67, so that, when the pivoting part 61 is in the stationary rearming position as shown in FIG. 15, it is prevented from tilting, despite the action of its spring 64, due to the presence of the spout 72 which is then held in the latching position by transmission of the action of the spring 64 while a spring 73 hooked in traction between the end of the arm 70 and a hooking point for example, the axis 43, on the rotary actuator 31 is relaxed in this position, but will tighten in the event of the actuator lever tilting in the open position; the spring 73 will serve to bring back the lever 68 after tripping of the relay 30, thus ensuring the resetting of the relay; the attachment point is chosen so that, in the closed contact position, the traction exerted at rest on the spring is low or zero while in the open contact position it is maximum.

The relay reset and trigger lever 68 is intended, in the event of a trigger under the action of the relay, to be driven and tilted by the movable rod 30a of the relay thus releasing the trigger part 61 and, at the end tripping and once the relay is no longer energized, to return this rod 30a to the reset initial position.

The operation is as follows: In the normal open position (Figures 1, 10, 14 and 18), the spring 41 tends to rotate the operating member 31 with its lever 32 clockwise, that is to say tell to pull the axis 43 of the connecting rod 42 upwards, and, consequently, tends to align the axes 43, 45 and 46, the connecting rod 44 tending to be placed in the extension of the connecting rod and tending to pull on the tilting contact carrier 34 in the direction which would tend to rotate it clockwise, that is to say in the spacing position. However, the connecting rod 42 and the connecting rod 44 are held at the obtuse angle shown in the figures by a stop suitably disposed on the intermediate part 17, cooperating with an end projecting from the axis 43 between the lever and the connecting rod, and which prevents that continues the clockwise rotation of the operating member 31. The contact carrier 34 is, in turn, essentially pushed clockwise by the powerful springs 38 and remains held in the open position shown against a stop of the fixed structure of so that the springs 38 are then without influence on the rest of the mechanism and in particular the rod and the rod. The movable contacts 36 are therefore distant from the fixed contacts 37. The trigger lever 47, articulated at its fixed point 48, remains held in its position by the abutment effect of the protruding part of the axis 45 between rod and rod in the groove 49 of the trigger lever and, in this position, we see that there is a slight clearance between the two nozzles 57 and 58 of the pawl 50 and the trigger lever 47. The pawl 50, for its part, remains held in the position shown under the action of its return spring 50a which tends to rotate it clockwise, while being held in this position by the stop effect of the free end of the rib 47a of the trigger lever 47. The trigger piece 61, urged clockwise by its spring 64, remains held in the position shown by the fact that the end of its long arm abuts against an end protruding from the axis 46 between the link rod and the contact carrier, while the lever rea mement of relay 68, abuts on the relay rod 30a, the rod 30a being in the high position inside the relay 30. There is then a clearance between the two nozzles 67 and 72 of the reset lever 68 and the part pivoting trigger 61.

In the absence of intervention by any triggering member, it is then possible, by rotating the operating part 31 counterclockwise, against its return spring, to move the assembly downward. of the connecting rod 42 and of the connecting rod 44, which brings down the axis 45 between connecting rod and connecting rod which slides in the groove 49 of the trigger lever 47 and, owing to the fact that the link 42 is offset to the left relative to the trigger lever , the latter will tend to tilt clockwise until its beak 58 abuts against the beak 57 of the pawl 50 (Figures 11 and 15), after which the immobility of the trigger lever 47 imposes on the axis 45 to descend along the groove 49, which then forces the contact carrier 34 to tilt counterclockwise as the rod goes down. At the end of this movement, the contact carrier has tipped against its springs 38 and, in this movement, the movable contacts 36 come to meet the fixed contacts 37, after which the further tilting of the operating lever 31 causes the final phase of the tilting of the contact carrier 34 so that, in a manner known per se, the springs 38 firmly apply the movable contacts against the fixed contacts. In the closed position thus reached, the rod axes 45 and 46 are both located to the left of a plane passing through the axes 43 and 35 so that the force exerted by the springs 38 acting on the tilting contact carrier 34, and who clearly outweighs the weaker return spring of the operating part 31, tends to push the axis 45 between connecting rod and connecting rod to the left, movement prevented by the presence of the groove 49 of the trigger lever 47, itself immobilized by stop against the pawl spout 58, so that the connecting rod and the rod are braced against the operating part 31, the further rotation of the operating member 31 being prevented by a second stop.

During the downward movement which has just been mentioned, the axis 46, with its projecting part, descended and moved away from the end of the long arm 66 of the pivoting part 61, the latter having no However, it was able to perform only a very small clockwise rotation under the action of its spring because it is immediately blocked by the spout 72 of the trigger lever, and of the relay reset, 68 which, for its part, has turned very slightly clockwise owing to the fact that its return spring 73 is relaxed, by rotation of the part 31. The spring 73 then releases the rod 30a of the relay 30 from any constraint.

In the absence of intervention of the triggering members, it is possible by turning the lever 32 of the operating member 31 in the opposite direction, that is to say clockwise, to bring the whole of the closed position shown in Figures 11, 15 and 19 in the open position (Figures 1, 10, 14 and 18), the different operations described above then being repeated in reverse order.

On the occurrence of an overcurrent or a short circuit in the closed contact position, one or more of the interrupting or tripping devices concerned, namely bimetallic strip 25, magnetic circuit breaker 26, 27, 28, are actuated , so that the pawl 50 will be biased by the action of one of the aforementioned means on its respective actuating finger, namely one of the fingers 54 and 56, any of these actions then causing the ratchet 50 counterclockwise against its return spring 50a. Quickly, the spout 57 of the pawl releases the spout 58 of the trigger lever 47 (Figures 16 and 20), which allows the trigger or "break" of the toggle formed by the rod 42 and the rod 44 to be released. Under the strong thrust of the springs 38, the axis 45 can then move to the left (FIG. 16) until it reaches the extreme breaking position (FIG. 17) and the axis 46 between the link and contact carrier 34 is raised, allowing the carrier contact to rotate clockwise and separate the movable contacts 36 from their respective fixed contacts 37, the trigger lever 47 tilting to follow this movement, which also has the effect of keeping the pawl 50 in its tilted position even in the case where the triggering means have ceased to act, due to the presence of the end of the rib 47a of the triggering lever which prevents movement of the pawl in a clockwise direction. Once the contact carrier 34 has arrived in its open position determined by its stop, the springs 38 no longer exert any force on the rest of the mechanism and the return spring 41 of the rotary actuating member requests this body in a clockwise direction, which has the effect of driving upwards and to the right the axis 45 between connecting rod and connecting rod, driving the release lever 47 and this until one finds oneself in the position open shown in Figures 10, 14 and 18, the movement of the trigger lever 47 then releasing the pawl 50 which comes back to its original position. This breaking phase of the toggle joint is common to operation regardless of that of the triggering means which caused the breaking and it is understood that this breaking occurs even if the lever 32 of the operating member is maintained in its closed position as shown in FIGS. 13, 17 and 21.

In the case where the triggering is caused by the operation of the bimetallic strip 25 which, during its deformation, comes to push the finger 56 of the pawl 50 located at the end of the small pawl arm 55, this purely and simply causes the sequence of broken knee brace described above. Of course, if an attempt is made to reset the device manually by acting on the operating lever 31, the pawl 50 will remain tilted by the presence of the bimetallic strip acting on the finger 56 and the closing movement of the operating member 31 will be unable to be communicated to the contact carrier 34 because the trigger lever 47 cannot be immobilized by the spout of the pawl 50, then in the lowered position. Resetting can only take place after the bimetallic strip has returned to its initial position after it has cooled down.

If the triggering results from the actuation of the electromagnetic disjunction means, the plunger core with its striker 28 and its part 29 will be thrown suddenly to the left from the rest position shown in Figure 10. First, the ramp of the part 29 comes into contact with the finger 54 of the pawl 50 presented by the large lever 52 thereof, which has the effect of tilting the pawl anti-clockwise, as before, and immediately causing the breakage of the knee brace. The continued brutal advance of the striker 28 and of the part 29 will keep the pawl 50 in its tilted position while the end of the striker 28 strikes the arm 60 of the contact-carrying part 34 (FIG. 12) which is then suddenly overturned, so that the tearing of the movable contacts from the fixed contacts is will find assured. Note that the lowering of the pawl, whatever its cause, prevents any action on the operating member 31 from interfering with the contact separation operation or switching the contact carrier back to the closed contact position.

If, finally, the trigger is produced by the relay 30, the rod 30a of which is pushed down, the trigger lever 68 is then tilted clockwise by the relay rod 30a and its spout 72 then releases the spout 67 of the intermediate triggering part 61 which can then tilt around its axis, clockwise, under the effect of the spring 64, so that the ramp 63 of the triggering part 61 is quickly tilted downward when coming to the contact of finger 53 of pawl 50 which, pushed counterclockwise, immediately releases the toggle and causes the opening of the contact carriers. Furthermore, the ascent of the axis 46 between the link and the contact carrier caused by the breakage (FIGS. 17 and 21) causes, by the action of the projecting part of this axis, a tilting in a counter-clockwise direction. 61 which returns to the reset position. Thanks to an appropriate form of ramp given to the lower part of the spout 72 of the relay reset lever 68, the movement towards the reset position of the part 61 occurs, until the spouts 67 and 72 are hooked; the triggering part 61 will be reset before the triggering and resetting lever 68 is stretched by the effect of the spring 73, the movement of the contact carrier 34 being faster than that of the operating lever 31.

Claims (10)

1. An electrical automatic cut-out device particularly a differential make and break switch, circuit break or differential circuit breaker, of the type comprising, between a rotary operating member (31) and a rocking contact carrier (34) on which is mounted at least one movable contact (36) each cooperating respectively with a corresponding fixed contact (37) and which is biased by a first spring (38) in the direction of opening or separation of the movable contact (36) in respect of the fixed contact (37), a toggle and catch mechanism (50) capable on the one hand, when the mechanism is under tension, of transmitting the movement of the operating member (31) to the contact carrier (34) both in the direction of contact opening and in the direction of contact closing and, on the other, at the moment when the tension in the mechanism is relaxed by release means (25, 26, 30) acting independently of the operating member (31) on the catch (50), of causing the return of the contact carrier (39) from its closure position to its opening position, this mechanism being arranged in such a way as to permit the operating member (31) to rearm the device, that is to say allowing it to re- tension the mechanism by restoring it to its open position after triggering in its normal position of opening, after cessation of the intervention of the release means and under the action of a second spring (41) acting on the operating member (31), the said mechanism being substantially constituted by a connecting rod (42) articulated at one of its ends on the operating member (31) according to an axis (43) which is eccentric in relation to the axis of rotation (33) of the operating member, a small rod (44) articulated at one of its ends on the other end of the connecting rod (42) and at the other of its ends on the contact carrier (34) according to an axis (46) which is off-centre in relation to the tilting axis (35) of the contact carrier (34), and a release lever (47) of which one end is articulated about a fixed spindle (48), and which is provided with a longitudinal groove (49) in which the pivot spindle (45) is able to slide, virtually without any transverse play, between the connecting rod (42) and the small bar (44) which form the said toggle mechanism, all these spindles being parallel with one another, the catch (50) which has a fixed spindle (51) being biased into the click- stop position by a third spring (50a) and acting on the release lever (47), characterised in that the catch (50) comprises at least two and preferably three fingers (53, 54, 56) projecting transversely in respect of the rocking plane of the catch (50) and extending respectively on either side of the release lever (47), said fingers being capable of being respectively encountered by the said respective release means (30, 26, 25) in order to tilt the catch (50) into the relaxed position of the toggle, freeing the mechanism and causing the contacts to open.

2. A device according to Claim 1, characterised in that a release relay (30), an electromagnetic circuit-breaking coil (26) and a circuit-breaking bimetallic element (25) constitute the said release means (25, 26) and in that the catch (50), apart from its engaging nose (57), comprises an elongate arm (52) adapted to cooperate on the one hand with the release relay (30) via the first (53) of the said fingers (53, 54, 56) and, on the other, with the solenoid core of the electromagnetic circuit-breaking coil (26) via the second (54) of the said fingers and a short arm (55) intended to cooperate with the circuit-breaking bimetallic element (25) via the third (56) of the said fingers.

3. A device according to either of Claims 1 to 2, characterised in that the catch (50) is formed by a lever extending in a clearly transverse direction in relation to the direction of the articulated connecting rod (42) and the release lever (47), having its axis of articulation (51) at one of its ends.

4. A device according to any one of Claims 1 to 3, characterised in that the toggle mechanism is so designed that relaxation of the toggle, when release occurs, takes place in a direction of moving away from the plane which connects the tilting axis (35) of the contact carrier member (34) and the pivoting axis (33) of the operating member (31).

5. A device according to any one of Claims 2 to 4, characterised in that a release lever (68), restored to a rearmed position by a return spring (73), cooperates in release of the catch (50) through a pivoting member (61) and the spring (64) on this latter, under the action of the rod (30a) of the relay (30), releasing the engaged assembly formed by two noses (72, 67).

6. A device according to Claim 5, characterised in that the pivoting member (61) has an elongate lever arm (66), the end of which is actuated by the mechanism during its return to the open position in order to tilt the said pivoting member (61) into the rearmed position in which it is engaged with the release lever (68).

7. A device according to one of Claims 5 and 6, characterised in that the release lever (68) comprises a long arm (70) cooperating with the movable rod (30a) of the relay (30) and a substantially perpendicular short arm (71) carrying the first nose (72) of the said two engaging noses (72, 67) and cooperating with the second nose (67) of the said two engaging noses (72, 67), complementary to the first nose (72) and belonging to the pivoting member (61), passing between the spindle (62) of the said pivoting member (61) and a return carrying a nose (63) in the form of a ramp, ramps being provided at the level of the said release noses (72, 67) for rearming the device.

8. A device according to any one of Claims 5 to 7, characterised in that the return spring (73) is disposed between the long arm (70) of the release lever (68) and a mounting point (43) on the operating member (31) so that the said return spring (73) is relaxed when the operating member (31) is in a contact closure position but tensioned when it is in the contact open position.

9. A device according to any one of Claims 1 to 8, characterised in that the release lever (47) has a relief portion (47a) the end of which forms an abutment limiting movement of the catch (50) in the locking direction with the release lever (47) so that the said catch (50) is maintained in an angular position remote from the locking position while the release lever (47) is tilted, upon de-tensioning of the toggle, away from its angular position in which the toggle is locked.

10. A device according to Claim 5, characterised in that it comprises an internal structural member (12) which substantially forms a median partition defining a mechanism zone (22) extending parallel with a zone (20) containing the circuit-breaking bimetallic element (25) and the electromagnetic circuit-breaking element (26), the catch (50) having the said fingers (53, 54, 56) situated in the path of the said release means while the release and rearming lever of relay (68), with its pivoting member (61), is housed in the mechanism zone (22) under a zone (21) which houses the release relay (30).