EP0454018B1 - Electrical switch gear - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to an electrical switching device according to the preamble of claim 1, such as known from US-A-4 112 270.

A similar electrical switching device, which can be used as an auxiliary switch attachment for circuit breakers, is also known from DE-GM 74 26 189. The movable contact pieces are arranged on contact bridges which are mounted in a displaceable contact bridge support which can be actuated by a self-switch via a crank-like coupling element. This attachment only contains an auxiliary switch and no signal switch.

A switching device which has two switch poles which serve as auxiliary switches and as signal switches has become known from DE-PS 31 19 165. With this arrangement, the switch pole, which is to serve as an auxiliary switch, always assumes the position of the contact points of the circuit breaker with which it is assigned, whereas the switch pole, which is to act as a signal switch, only switches when the circuit breaker is triggered automatically, ie opened automatically due to a short circuit or overcurrent Has. If the circuit breaker is switched manually, this has no effect on the signal switch. The Ausgesatltung with contact rockers, corresponding switching elements and actuators is relatively complicated.

An electrical switching device of the type mentioned is known from EP-A 0 303 965. This switching device is connected to a circuit breaker and adapted to the contour of the circuit breaker. It has two control handles, which act separately on the auxiliary switch switch pole and the signal switch switch pole. This arrangement can essentially be used for installation devices, but not readily for residual current circuit breakers.

From US-A 4 112 270 an auxiliary switch arrangement has become known which interacts with a self-switch, a coupling element being provided which has at one end a slot-like or hexagonal recess which is provided with a switching shaft which is designed in a corresponding manner, cooperates.

The object of the invention is to design an electrical switching device of the type mentioned in such a way that it can be assembled in a simple manner with the automatic switch, without special adjustment work being required.

This object is achieved according to the invention by the features of claim 1.

Further advantageous refinements and improvements of the invention can be found in the subclaims.

According to the invention, in particular the auxiliary switch is actuated via a coupling member which is connected to the contact roller of the installation switching device. The contact roller is an axis of rotation which is coupled to the movable contact lever and about which the contact lever rotates. For the purpose of an optimal and, in particular, tolerance-free connection between the coupling member and the contact roller, the contact roller and the coupling member are provided with conically interlocking recesses or projections, in such a way that in one version the contact roller has a conically tapering recess towards the bottom and the coupling member has a corresponding shape tapering extension or the contact roller has a tapering extension towards the free end and the coupling member has a correspondingly designed and adapted recess. Due to the spring which is formed on the housing of the switching device, the extension is pressed into one another into the recess and thus a play-free connection between the contact roller and the coupling piece.

The associated contact element is held in two contact positions by a spring arrangement which presses on the tab on which the contact element is fastened and on which the connecting bracket between the coupling member and the tab engages. When the coupling member is rotated in the corresponding direction, the spring and bracket arrangement rotates the tab and thus the contact elements into one stable or the other stable position in which the contact element interacts with a fixed contact. With this configuration, the auxiliary switch is actuated, which interacts in the same direction with the contact apparatus of the installation switching device, that is to say the line circuit breaker or the residual current circuit breaker.

The switching device also has a second switch pole with which the switching position is signaled, in particular when the installation switching device has automatically triggered and opened due to a short-circuit current, overcurrent or fault current.

In this embodiment, similarly to EP-A 0 303 965 mentioned at the outset, a slide is provided with which the coupling element designed in accordance with claim 12 interacts. This slide has a recess for receiving the corresponding crank pin of the coupling member and accordingly a correspondingly designed shape in the area of this recess, so that a defined transmission surface of the movement of the slide on the release lever is generated.

As mentioned at the beginning, the control handle is divided into two control handle parts, similar to the switching device according to EP-A 0 303 965. The control handle part, which is used to actuate the switch pole, which serves as a signal switch, has according to the characterizing features of claim 14 a hook which cooperates with one end of a transmission bracket and in such a way that the transmission bracket is only carried by the hook in the closed position. As a result, the switch pole serving as a signal switch can be switched on manually, but cannot be switched off manually because the switching handle part is designed accordingly; The hook acts in one direction and a part corresponding to the hook is not provided in the other direction, so that when the switch handle is switched on, it can be pivoted back and forth without acting on the switch pole.

Based on the drawing, in which an embodiment of the invention is shown, the invention and further advantageous refinements and improvements of the invention are to be explained and described in more detail.

Figur 1

eine schematische Teilschnittansicht im Bereich eines Kupplungsgliedes eines elektrischen Schaltgerätes in einer ersten Stellung,

Figur 2

ein um ein ebenfalls nur schematisch und teilweise dargestellten Fehlerstromschutzschalter ergänztes Schaltgerät ähnlich dem der Figur 1, bei dem allerdings für die Funktionsweise unwesentliche Teile weggelassen sind,

Figuren 3 bis 6

unterschiedliche Schaltstellungen für den als Hilfsschalter wirkenden Schalterpol,

Figur 7

eine Schnittansicht ähnlich der der Figur 2 mit einem Kupplungsglied für den Schalterpol, der als Signalschalter wirkt,

Figur 8

eine Einsicht in ein erfindungsgemäßes Schaltgerät und

Figur 9

ein Zwischenstück, welches mit dem Schaltgerät nach Figur 8 verbindbar ist.

Show it:

Figure 1

2 shows a schematic partial sectional view in the region of a coupling member of an electrical switching device in a first position,

Figure 2

a switching device similar to that of FIG. 1 supplemented by a residual current circuit breaker, which is also only shown schematically and partially, but in which parts which are insignificant for the mode of operation are omitted,

Figures 3 to 6

different switching positions for the switch pole acting as an auxiliary switch,

Figure 7

3 shows a sectional view similar to that of FIG. 2 with a coupling member for the switch pole, which acts as a signal switch,

Figure 8

an insight into a switching device according to the invention and

Figure 9

an intermediate piece which can be connected to the switching device according to Figure 8.

Reference is made to FIGS. 8 and 9.

EP-A 0 303 965, in particular FIGS. 1 and 2, shows an assignment of a switching device similar to that of the present invention to circuit breakers, FIG. 2 showing the switching device individually in a perspective view. FIG. 3 of EP-A 0 303 965 shows an insight into the switching device according to FIG. 2 of EP-A 0 303 965, and FIG. 8 shows that known switching device in modified form and virtually from the rear. The following description refers to the content of EP-A 0 303 965 insofar as the reference numbers in brackets correspond to the reference numbers of the embodiment according to EP-A 0 303 965.

The switching device according to Figure 8 has a housing 10 (40) with terminals 11 (25) and terminals 12 (25). A terminal lug 13 (60) is formed on the clamp shown at the top left in the drawing, and a fixed contact piece 14 is attached to its free end located inside the housing 12. On the middle clamp 11 there is a further connecting lug 15 (62) on which a further fixed contact piece 16 is attached, which is arranged at a distance from the fixed contact piece 14. A third terminal lug 17 is formed on the terminal of the terminal 11 in the bottom area, to which a stranded conductor 18 (50) is attached, the other end of which is attached to a bearing part 19 (54) for a contact spring 20 (56) with a movable contact piece 21 ( without reference number) is articulated. The movable contact piece 21 swings back and forth between the two fixed contact pieces 14 and 16 depending on the drive direction.

A transfer bracket 22 (58) is articulated on the bearing piece 19, the other end of which is articulated on a release lever 23 (76). This release lever interacts with a ratchet lever 24 (78) to form a latching point 25 (77).

In the drawing in FIG. 8, a slide 26 is drawn in front of the release lever 23, which, except for certain modifications, corresponds to the slide 80 of EP-A 0 303 965. The slider 26 has an L-shaped configuration, the one leg 27 has an elongated hole-like recess 28 which is delimited in the region of the outside of the leg 27 by a projection 29 which presses against the latch lever 24 in order to unlatch the latching point 25 . In order for this to work optimally, the pawl lever 24 is acted upon by a spring 30. The pawl lever 24 is mounted in the same way as the pawl lever 78 in an axis of rotation 31 which passes through a banana-like recess 32 (82). At the trigger lever 23 connects one end of a transmission bracket 33 (75), the other end of which cooperates with a hook 34 on the control handle 35 such that when switched on, that is to say when the control handle moves in the direction of arrow E, the hook pushes the transmission bracket 33 downward , so that the element 19 is rotated so that the movable contact piece 21 can be rotated from the position shown in Figure 8 to the position in which the movable contact piece cooperates with the fixed contact piece 16.

It can be seen from FIG. 8 that there is a great similarity to the design according to EP-A 0 303 965.

To supplement the above statements, reference is now made to FIG. 7.

In FIG. 7, a residual current circuit breaker 40 can be seen in a purely schematic manner, which has a pin 41 which oscillates approximately perpendicular to the plane of the drawing and which is connected to the switch lock of the residual current circuit breaker (not shown in any more detail).

Connected to the broad side 43 of the residual current circuit breaker 40 is an intermediate piece 44 which is approximately T-shaped in cross section and has an outer wall 45 which corresponds to the outer contour of the switching device according to the invention. In the interior of the housing wall 45, an intermediate wall 46 is provided, which is formed approximately in the middle at a distance from the respective ends of the housing wall and which has an elongated hole 47, which again runs approximately perpendicular to the plane of the drawing. On the residual current circuit breaker-side surface of the intermediate wall 46, two locking pins 48 and 49 are formed with locking lugs 50 and 51 formed on the ends thereof, which reach through an opening 52 of a coupling member 53, are locked behind recesses 54 and permit rotatable mounting of the coupling member 53.

The coupling member 53 has an approximately cylindrical shape and a crank pin 55 and 56 are formed on diametrically opposite ends on the opposite side, the crank pin 55 engaging through an elongated hole 57 in the broad side wall 43 extending approximately perpendicular to the plane of the drawing. The crank pin 55 has a blind hole depression 58, in which the pin 41 engages.

On the opposite end of the coupling member 53 sits the crank pin 56, which extends through the elongated hole 47 and on the other side of the intermediate wall 46, in which there are those parts that are visible in FIG. 8, in the elongated hole recess 28 of the leg 29 of the Slider 26 engages. The release lever 23 or ratchet lever 24 and the like located behind the slide 26 in FIG. 8 would be arranged to the right of the slide 26 in the embodiment according to FIG. 7 and in the illustration. The elongated holes 57 and 47 are accordingly designed as a circular arc, the circular radius of which corresponds to the turning radii of the crank pins 55 and 56 in relation to the axis of rotation of the coupling member 53; this axis of rotation is the line of symmetry of the two arms 48 and 49, indicated by dash-dotted lines.

The free end of the housing wall 45 is covered by a cover 60. The residual current circuit breaker 40 is connected to the switching device, designated as a whole by 61, by means of snap holding brackets 62 and 63. Of course, all other types of connecting links can also be provided.

FIG. 9 shows the switching device 61 with the residual current circuit breaker 40 removed in accordance with the direction of the arrow P. The crank pin 55 and the two lugs 50 and 51 of the coupling member 53 can be seen. A recess 64 in the intermediate wall 46 also shows the transmission bracket 33 and the slide 26.

Reference is now made to FIGS. 1 to 6. The residual current circuit breaker, the intermediate wall 46, the housing wall 45 and the cover 60 can be seen there. The residual current circuit breaker, which is also only used for Part is shown, as already indicated in FIG. 7, has a contact roller 70 which is connected to a movable contact lever (not shown) and forms its axis of rotation and which is mounted with a pin 71 in a hole 72 in the side wall of the residual current circuit breaker. The contact roller 70, more precisely the pin 71, has at its or its free end a recess or depression 73 which tapers conically from the free end to the bottom and has a profile shape.

In this recess 73 a conical pin 74 of a coupling member 75 engages, which coupling member has a central recess 76 which is open to the outside via a lateral recess 78, so that a recess 77 is formed, behind which a nose 79 grips an arm 80. A further locking arm 81 is assigned to the locking arm 80, which, however, does not have a nose, but only takes on management tasks. In the position shown in Figure 2, the detent 79 is removed from the recess 77 by the dimension A. A spring 81 is formed on the intermediate wall 46, which presses with a projection 82 against the coupling member 75 and presses the coupling member with the pin 74 into the recess 73. The position of the spring 81 can be seen in FIG. 1, in which the distance between the detent 79 and the recess 77 is zero.

The coupling member 75 has an eccentric through-hole 83 which runs in the axial direction of the coupling member 75 and into which the angled end 84 of a transmission bracket 85 engages; The bracket 85 is guided by means of an L-shaped bracket 86 formed on the intermediate wall 46, so that it can move approximately in its longitudinal direction.

FIG. 3 shows the coupling member 75 in a top view in the direction of the arrow P. One can see the pin 74, the hole 83 and a cross section through the end 84 and the bracket 85. The hole 83 is designed as an elongated hole which has an arcuate shape, the center line of which 87 has its center in the pivot point of the coupling member 75.

The other end of the bracket 85 is articulated to a tab 90 which can be rotated about a fixed axis 91 and to which a contact spring 92 with a movable contact 93 is attached. The axis of rotation 91 of the bracket 90, the articulation point of the bracket 85 on the bracket and the contact spring 92 lie on a line 94. It can be seen that a compression spring 95 presses on the bracket 90, the line of force 96 or direction of force 96 in the figure 3 position, which represents a dead center position, runs through the axis of rotation 91 of the bracket 90 and through the connecting line between the axis of rotation 91 and the articulation point 97 of the bracket 85 on the bracket 90.

FIG. 5 shows the arrangement according to FIG. 3 in a first stable position, in which the movable contact piece 93 interacts with a first fixed contact piece 98. The line of force 96 of the spring 95 no longer runs through the center of the axis of rotation 91, but is shifted at an angle which is pivoted from the dead center position (see FIG. 3) to the articulation point 97. As a result, a torque D _M acts on the tab 90, which presses the movable contact piece 93 against the fixed contact piece 98. Since the coupling member 75 has reached its end position in the embodiment according to FIG. 3, the end 84 is displaced by an angle from the end 99 of the elongated hole 83, and there is still a distance a between this end 99 and the opposite end 100 of the elongated hole .

If the coupling member 75 rotates from the position shown in FIG. 5 in the direction of the arrow P 1 due to the rotation of the contact roller 70, then the coupling member 75 must rotate until the end 84 comes to rest against the end 100 of the elongated hole 83. Characterized a force in the direction of arrow P₂ is exerted on the tab 90 via the transmission member 85, so that the tab is pivoted clockwise, that is, in the direction of the arrow P₃, whereby the spring 95 reaches the dead center position shown in FIG 6, so that the end position shown in FIG. 6 is reached, in which the force line 96 of the compression spring 95 is rotated by an angle, the angle being measured from the dead center position in the direction outside the connection area between the axis of rotation 91 and the Articulation point 97 of the transmission bracket 85 lies. In this case, the movable contact piece 93 bears against another fixed contact piece 101. The end 84 is at an angle from the end 100 and is distant from the other end 99 by the value a.

As can be seen from the drawing, the coupling member 75 pivots about a central line M 1, in each case to the extent that in one stable position, FIG. 3, one end 99 of the elongated hole 83 cuts this line M 1, whereas in the other stable position, FIG 6, the other end 100 of the elongated hole 83 tangent to the line M 1. The distance a of the end 84 from the end 99 of the elongated hole 83 in a stable position equals the distance a of the end 84 from the other end 100 of the elongated hole 83.

The transmission bracket 85, the coupling member 75 and the elongated hole 83 can be seen in FIG.

The embodiments according to FIGS. 1 to 6 are schematic and in the actually implemented embodiment, the tab 90 can be seen, the compression spring 95 with the contact spring 92 formed on the tab 90, at the end of which the movable contact piece 93 is seated.

The turning axis 91 of the tab 90 is shown, as is the articulation point 97 of the transmission bracket, which is not visible in FIG. 8; The assignment of the movable contact piece 93 or the contact spring 92 to the connecting line between the axis of rotation 91 and the articulation point 97 differs from the embodiment according to FIGS. 3 to 6. The contact spring 92 runs parallel to this; it is also irrelevant that the contact spring 92 is aligned with the connecting line. The other relationships, in particular the force effect of the compression spring 95, are identical to the relationships shown in FIGS. 3 to 6.

The movable contact piece 93 (in relation to FIG. 3 of EP-A 0 303 965 the contact spring 57) interacts with the movable contact piece 93 with two connecting lugs 102 (63) and 103 (61), each of which is connected to the corresponding connecting terminals 12 (25) are connected. At the tab 91 (53) with the axis of rotation 91 (41) connects a strand 104 (51) which is attached to a terminal lug 105.

In the assembled state, one has to imagine that the inner parts of FIG. 8 are covered by the intermediate wall 46, so that the representation according to FIG. 9 shows the assembled state, whereas the representation according to FIG. 8 practically shows a sectional view according to section line VIII-VIII of FIG. 7 is.

Claims (11)

1. Electric switching device (10) for building onto an installation automatic circuit-breaker (40) constructed in particular as a line circuit-breaker or fault-current circuit-breaker, having contact points (15, 16, 21; 93, 102, 103) for at least one potential-free circuit-breaker pole, which contact points can be controlled by one control device each and co-operate with coupling elements (41, 53; 75, 85) which penetrate the flat side of the housing (45, 46, 60), constructed to a narrow design, of the electric switching device (10) and of an adjoining electric switching device (40) and transmit the switch position of the electric switching device (40) to the respective circuit-breaker pole via the control device, the control devices each being formed from a switch mechanism respectively assigned to a circuit-breaker pole and independent with respect to the other circuit-breaker pole, and having a contact drum (7), which is connected in a rotationally secure fashion to the moving contact pieces of the electric switching device (40) and supports them rotatably and which is positively connected to a first coupling element (75), with the result that the rotary movement of the contact drum (70) and thus the switch position of the electric switching device (40) are transmitted to the associated control device, it being possible to couple the contact drum (70) and the first coupling element (75) by means of a profiled cutout (73) in which the end of the respective other part which is appropriately constructed and adapted thereto engages, characterized in that the profiled cutout (72, 73) on the contact drum (70) or on the end of the first coupling element (75) adapted thereto and the extension on the first coupling element (75) or on the contact drum (70) are constructed conically, and in that the first coupling element (75), which can be displaced and rotated in a limited fashion on an integral shaft extension (80, 81) on a flat side of the electrical switching device (10) is pressed by means of a spring (81a) against the contact drum (70), with the result that the conical seat between the contact drum (70) and the coupling element (75) is guaranteed.
2. Electric switching device according to Claim 1, characterized in that the spring (81a) is constructed as a spring arm integrally formed on the housing (45) of the electric switching device (10).
3. Electric switching device according to Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the shaft extension (80, 81) is formed by two arms (80, 81), in that both arms (80, 81) can be pressed against one another resiliently, and in that a locating nose (79) for limiting the axial displacement of the first coupling element is integrally formed on the free end of one arm (80).
4. Electric switching device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the control device has an elongated bracket (85) whose one end is connected eccentrically to the associated first coupling element (75) and whose other end is connected to the moving contact element (93) of the associated circuit-breaker pole (first circuit-breaker pole) which forms an auxiliary contact.
5. Electric switching device according to Claim 4, characterized in that the moving contact element (93) of the first circuit-breaker pole is fastened to a fish-plate (90) at which the other end of the bracket (85) is pivoted, and in that the axis (91) of rotation of the fish-plate (90), the pivot point and, possibly, also the first moving contact element (93) lie on a connecting line.
6. Electric switching device according to Claim 5, characterized in that the pivot point (97) of the bracket (85) lies between the axis of rotation of the fish-plate (91) and the first moving contact element (93).
7. Electric switching device according to Claim 6, characterized in that acting on the fish-plate (91) on the side of the fish-plate averted from the bracket (85) is the force of a spring (95) whose direction extends at right angles to the connecting line of the axis (91) of rotation of the fish-plate (90) and pivot point (97) of the bracket and at right angles to the axis of rotation, it being possible for the fish-plate (91) with the spring (95) and the bracket (85) to be brought from a first stable position via a dead-centre position into a second stable position, and in that the direction of force of the spring (95) extends in the dead-centre position at right angles to the axis of rotation of the fish-plate (91) and through the latter, the contact element (93) being in contact in each stable position with respectively one fixed contact (98, 101).
8. Electric switching device according to Claim 7, characterized in that the first coupling element (75) has an elongated hole (87) in which one end of the bracket (85) is suspended and in which said end is guided, and in that the other end can be freely moved in the elongated hole (87) in accordance with the rotation of the fish-plate (91) from one stable position into the other, the elongated hole (87) being dimensioned such that upon rotation the first coupling element (75) drives the bracket (85) into the two stable positions via the ends of the elongated hole (87).
9. Electric switching device according to one or more of the preceding claims, in which the control device for the second circuit-breaker pole has a latching point (25) which is opened by means of a pin (27) which can be displaced by the second coupling element (53), characterized in that the second coupling element (53) is constructed in the electric switching device as a rotatably supported rotary element which is provided with two crankpins (55, 56) extending in opposite directions and at a spacing from one another, and whose one crankpin (55) co-operates with a drive part (41) located in the electric switching device and whose other crankpin cooperates with the slide (26) in order to open the latching point (25).
10. Electric switching device according to Claim 9, characterized in that the slide (26) has a cutout (28) which is situated in the region which acts on the tripping lever of the latching point in order to open the latter and in which one crankpin (56) engages.
11. Electric switching device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that there is integrally formed on the handle (35) for the second circuit-breaker pole, which serves as a signalling switch, a hook (34) which co-operates with one end of a transmitting link (33) only in one direction, specifically in the closing direction, with the result that the second circuit-breaker pole can be closed manually but cannot be opened manually.

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