EP0628975B1 - Circuit de suppression d'étincelle pour protection d'un interrupteur électrique, et dispositif électrique thermique comportant un tel circuit - Google Patents

Circuit de suppression d'étincelle pour protection d'un interrupteur électrique, et dispositif électrique thermique comportant un tel circuit Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0628975B1
EP0628975B1 EP19940201488 EP94201488A EP0628975B1 EP 0628975 B1 EP0628975 B1 EP 0628975B1 EP 19940201488 EP19940201488 EP 19940201488 EP 94201488 A EP94201488 A EP 94201488A EP 0628975 B1 EP0628975 B1 EP 0628975B1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
switch
terminal
electrical
supply voltage
circuit
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 - Lifetime
Application number
EP19940201488
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
Other versions
EP0628975A3 (fr
EP0628975A2 (fr
Inventor
Bernardus Fredericus Rudolphus Ignatius Wilkens
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.)
Koninklijke Philips NV
Original Assignee
Koninklijke Philips Electronics NV
Philips Electronics NV
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Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Koninklijke Philips Electronics NV, Philips Electronics NV filed Critical Koninklijke Philips Electronics NV
Priority to EP19940201488 priority Critical patent/EP0628975B1/fr
Publication of EP0628975A2 publication Critical patent/EP0628975A2/fr
Publication of EP0628975A3 publication Critical patent/EP0628975A3/fr
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP0628975B1 publication Critical patent/EP0628975B1/fr
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01H—ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES
    • H01H9/00—Details of switching devices, not covered by groups H01H1/00 - H01H7/00
    • H01H9/54—Circuit arrangements not adapted to a particular application of the switching device and for which no provision exists elsewhere
    • H01H9/541—Contacts shunted by semiconductor devices
    • H01H9/542—Contacts shunted by static switch means
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01H—ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES
    • H01H9/00—Details of switching devices, not covered by groups H01H1/00 - H01H7/00
    • H01H9/54—Circuit arrangements not adapted to a particular application of the switching device and for which no provision exists elsewhere
    • H01H9/541—Contacts shunted by semiconductor devices
    • H01H9/542—Contacts shunted by static switch means
    • H01H2009/546—Contacts shunted by static switch means the static switching means being triggered by the voltage over the mechanical switch contacts

Definitions

  • the invention relates to a spark suppressor circuit for protection of an electrical switch which in series with a load is connected between a first supply voltage terminal and a second supply voltage terminal, the load and the electrical switch being interconnected at a switch terminal, the spark suppressor circuit comprising:
  • the invention further relates to an electrical thermal appliance compnsing such a spark suppressor circuit.
  • a spark suppressor circuit of this type is known from Japanese Patent Application JP-A-60 119 121.
  • Electrical thermal appliances such as irons, coffee-makers and cookers, use thermostats to control the temperature.
  • a bimetal operates an electrical switch to interrupt the current to the heating element.
  • the higher power results in a larger current, causing increased wear of the contacts of the electrical switch.
  • the increased wear reduces the lifetime of the thermostat, which may even become less than the life expectancy of the thermal appliance.
  • the wear is caused by sparking between the contacts of the electrical switch at the instants of opening, closing and bouncing of the electrical switch.
  • a spark suppression circuit may be employed to prevent sparking and to increase the lifetime of the electrical switch.
  • a spark suppression circuit in which the electrical switch is connected in series with an inductive load at the switch terminal.
  • the series connection of the switch and the load is arranged between the first and the second supply voltage terminal, which terminals are connected to an a.c. mains voltage.
  • the first main electrode of the triggerable electronic switch is connected to the switch terminal via a resistor.
  • the trigger gate of the triggerable electronic switch is connected to the first main electrode of the triggerable electronic switch via a threshold device.
  • a drawback of this known spark suppression circuit is that it is only suitable for use with inductive loads, such as relay coils, transformers and motors.
  • a resistive load, such as a heating element in a thermal electrical appliance will not produce a voltage peak which is sufficiently high to trigger the triggerable electronic switch.
  • the spark suppression circuit known from JP-A-60 119 121 provides a circuit which also operates with resistive loads.
  • the trigger means comprises current supply means coupled between the first connection terminal and the gate electrode of the triggerable electronic switch.
  • the current supply means for example a resistor or any other suitable impedance, produces a current flowing into the gate of the triggerable electronic switch.
  • the triggerable electronic switch is not triggered as long as the electrical switch is closed. At the instant at which the electrical switch opens a sudden voltage increase appears across the main electrodes of the triggerable electronic switch. The voltage increase and the gate current cause the triggerable electronic switch to be triggered, the contacts of the electrical switch are short-circuited and any spark is suppressed. At the next zero crossing of the supply voltage the triggerable electronic switch is turned off. Since the voltage increase in the next half-cycle of the mains voltage is too slow to retrigger the triggerable electronic switch, the contacts of the electrical switch are no longer short-circuited in the next half-cycle.
  • the voltage increase needed to trigger the triggerable electronic switch is susceptible to tolerances and may cause uncertainty as to the effectiveness of the spark suppression effect.
  • the threshold device and the current supply means form a series arrangement which is connected between the gate electrode of the triggerable electronic switch and the first connection terminal.
  • the capacitor is connected between the third connection terminal and the node interconnecting the threshold device and the current supply means.
  • DE-A-35 43 804 discloses a spark suppression circuit also having a series arrangement of a threshold device and a current supply means. However, this series arrangement is connected differently between the gate electrode of the triggerable electronic switch and the switch terminal. Said spark suppression circuit also features a capacitor. Also this capacitor is connected differently and is placed across a resistor in series with the triggerable electronic switch.
  • the electrical switch When the electrical switch is closed a voltage will appear across the load and the current supply means will charge the capacitor until the threshold voltage of the threshold device is reached. The accumulated charge in the capacitor is sufficient to trigger the triggerable electronic switch and the capacitor is discharged via the threshold device and the gate electrode of the triggerable electronic switch. As long as the electrical switch remains closed triggering will not cause the triggerable electronic switch to be turned on because the voltage across the main electrodes is zero. However, if the electrical switch is opened the supply voltage will appear across the main electrodes of the triggerable electronic switch and subsequent triggering will cause the triggerable electronic switch to be turned on, thereby short-circuiting the electrical switch until the next half-cycle of the supply voltage.
  • the capacitor cannot be charged by the current supply means because there is no voltage difference across the load, and the triggerable electronic switch will not be triggered.
  • the operation of the spark suppressor circuit according to the invention is now independent of the magnitude of a voltage increase at the switch terminal.
  • the triggerable electronic switch is preferably a triac and the threshold device is preferably a diac, allowing both non-rectified and rectified mains supply voltages to be used.
  • the current supply means is preferably a resistor.
  • the spark suppressor circuit according to the invention is very advantageous in thermal electrical appliances. It enables the use of a comparatively cheap and simple thermostat without excessive wear of the electrical switch. Compared with a fully electronic temperature control the advantage of the spark suppressor circuit is its lower costprice and the low power dissipation of the triggerable electronic switch because this switch is conductive only for short periods of time.
  • Figure 1 shows the circuit diagram of a known spark suppression circuit 1.
  • a load 2 is connected in series with an electrical switch 4 at a switch terminal 6.
  • the load 2 and the electrical switch 4 are further connected to a first supply voltage terminal 8 and a second supply voltage terminal 10, respectively.
  • the supply voltage applied to the first and second supply voltage terminals 8 and 10 may be the a.c. mains supply voltage, the rectified a.c. mains supply voltage or any other suitable alternating voltage.
  • the spark suppression circuit 1 has a first connection terminal 12, a second connection terminal 14 and a third connection terminal 16, which are connected to the first supply voltage terminal 8, the second supply voltage terminal 10 and the switch terminal 6, respectively.
  • the circuit further comprises a triggerable electronic switch 18, in the present example a triac, having a first main electrode 20 connected to the third connection terminal 16, having a second main electrode 22 connected to the second connection terminal 14, and having a gate electrode 24 connected to the first connection terminal 12 via a current supply means 32.
  • the current supply means 32 for example a resistor or any other suitable impedance, produces a current into the gate 24 of the triggerable electronic switch 18.
  • the triggerable electronic switch 18 is not triggered as long as the electrical switch 4 is closed. At the instant at which the electrical switch 4 is opened a sudden voltage increase appears across the main electrodes 20, 22 of the triggerable electronic switch 18.
  • the voltage increase and the gate current cause the triggerable electronic switch 18 to be triggered, the contacts of the electrical switch 4 are short-circuited and any spark is suppressed.
  • the triggerable electronic switch 18 is turned off.
  • the contacts of the electrical switch 4 are no longer short-circuited in the next half-cycle. If the mains voltage is rectified and not smoothed the triggerable electronic switch 18 may be a thyristor.
  • FIG. 2 shows a circuit diagram of a spark suppression circuit according to the invention.
  • a threshold device 26 in the present example a diac, is added and connected between the gate electrode 24 of the triggerable electronic switch 18 and a node 28, to allow the passage of current to the gate electrode 24 when the voltage difference between the gate electrode 24 and the node 28 exceeds a predetermined value.
  • a capacitor 30 is connected between the node 28 and the third connection terminal 16.
  • the current supply means 32 is now coupled to the node 28 to supply a current in response to a voltage difference between the first connection terminal 12 and the third connection terminal 16.
  • the current supply means shown in Fig. 2 is again a resistor, which is connected between the node 28 and the first connection terminal 12.
  • any other suitable impedance or a transistor arranged as a current source are possible.
  • the spark suppressor circuit 1 shown in Figure 2 operates as follows.
  • the electrical switch 4 is either closed or open. If the electrical switch 4 is closed the full mains supply voltage appears across the load 2. During the positive half-cycle of the mains supply voltage the first connection terminal 12 is positive with respect to the third connection terminal 16.
  • the capacitor 30 will be charged via the resistor 32. As soon as the voltage Vn at the node 28 reaches the breakover voltage Vbo of the diac 26 the diac 26 is turned on and a gate current Ig discharges the capacitor 30 into the gate electrode 24 of the triac 18. This process is illustrated in Figure 3.
  • the capacitor 30 During breakover the impedance of the diac 26 is low, as a result of which the capacitor 30 will be discharged rapidly with a comparatively large current. If the voltage across the triac 18 is high enough the triac 18 will now be triggered. However, this will occur only if the electrical switch is open. Once the capacitor 30 has discharged into the gate electrode 24 the current supplied by the resistor 32 is not adequate to keep the triac 18 in conduction and the process of charging the capacitor 30 will be resumed. During the negative half-cycle of the mains supply voltage the process is the same, with the understanding that the capacitor 30 will be charged to a negative voltage Vn so that the gate current Ig will be reversed. If the mains supply voltage is rectified the voltage Vn and the current Ig will always have the same polarity and direction, enabling a unidirectional thyristor to be used instead of a triac.
  • the triac 18 When the electrical switch is now opened the next discharge of the capacitor 30 will trigger the triac 18.
  • the triac 18 will remain conductive until the next zero crossing of the mains supply voltage, thereby suppressing any voltage transient across the contacts of the electrical switch 4.
  • the electrical switch 4 Normally, the electrical switch 4 is then still open unless the contacts bounce. In that case the triac is triggered several times.
  • the spark suppression circuit 1 shown in Figure 2 is very suitable for use in electrical thermal appliances in which a heating element is switched on and off repeatedly to control the temperature of the heating element.
  • Figure 4 shows an electric iron provided with a spark suppression circuit according to the invention. Figure 4 does not show the spark suppression circuit itself but this circuit can be mounted in any suitable place inside the iron.
  • the iron comprises a housing 40 having a sole plate 42 at its bottom.
  • a heating element 2 is arranged in the sole plate 42.
  • Figure 5 shows the electrical circuit diagram of the iron.
  • the electrical switch 4 comprises a thermal element 44 (bimetal), which is thermally coupled to the sole plate 42.
  • the electrical switch 4 thus operates as a thermostatic switch which opens when the temperature of the sole plate reaches a predetermined value.
  • the iron receives a mains supply voltage via a power cord 46, which is connected to the first and second main supply terminals 8 and 10.
  • the spark suppressor 1 may be of the same type as shown in Figure 2 and is connected to the heating element 2 and the electrical switch 4 in the same way as shown in Figure 2.

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  • Power Conversion In General (AREA)
  • Relay Circuits (AREA)

Claims (8)

  1. Circuit de suppression d'étincelles (1) pour la protection d'un interrupteur électrique (4) qui est connecté, en série avec une charge (2), entre une première borne de tension d'alimentation (8) et une deuxième borne de tension d'alimentation (10), la charge (2) et l'interrupteur électrique (4) étant interconnectés à une borne (6) de l'interrupteur, le circuit de suppression d'étincelles (1) comprenant :
    une première (12), une deuxième (14) et une troisième (16) bornes de connexion pouvant être connectées respectivement à la première borne de tension d'alimentation (8), à la deuxième borne de tension d'alimentation (10) et à la borne (6) de l'interrupteur;
    un interrupteur électronique à déclenchement (18) comprenant une première électrode principale (20) connectée à la troisième borne de connexion (16), une deuxième électrode principale (22) connectée à la deuxième borne de connexion (14) et une électrode de gâchette (24);
    des moyens de déclenchement en vue de déclencher l'interrupteur électronique à déclenchement, les moyens de déclenchement comprenant un moyen d'alimentation électrique (32) couplé entre la première borne de connexion (12) et l'électrode de gâchette (24) de l'interrupteur électronique à déclenchement (18);
       caractérisé en ce que le moyen de déclenchement comprend en outre :
    un dispositif à seuil (26) connecté entre l'électrode de gâchette (24) de l'interrupteur électronique à déclenchement (18) et un noeud (28) interconnectant le dispositif à seuil (26) et le moyen d'alimentation électrique (32), afin de fournir du courant à l'électrode de gâchette (24) lorsque la différence de tension entre l'électrode de gâchette (24) et le noeud (28) dépasse une valeur préalablement déterminée, et
    un condensateur (30) connecté entre le noeud (28) et la troisième borne de connexion (16).
  2. Circuit de suppression d'étincelles suivant la revendication 1, caractérisé en ce que l'interrupteur électronique à déclenchement (18) est un triac.
  3. Circuit de suppression d'étincelles suivant la revendication 1, caractérisé en ce que l'interrupteur électronique à déclenchement (18) est un thyristor.
  4. Circuit de suppression d'étincelles suivant la revendication 1, 2 ou 3, caractérisé en ce que le dispositif de seuil (26) comprend un diac.
  5. Circuit de suppression d'étincelles suivant la revendication 1, 2, 3 ou 4, caractérisé en ce que le moyen d'alimentation électrique (32) comprend une résistance.
  6. Appareil électrique thermique comprenant une première borne d'alimentation (8), une deuxième borne d'alimentation (10) et une borne (6) de l'interrupteur, un interrupteur électrique (4) qui est connecté, en série avec un élément chauffant (2), entre la première borne de tension d'alimentation (8) et la deuxième borne de tension d'alimentation (10), l'élément chauffant (4) et l'interrupteur électrique (4) étant interconnectés à la borne (6) de l'interrupteur, et un circuit de suppression d'étincelles (1) suivant l'une quelconque des revendications précédentes, la première (12), la deuxième (14) et la troisième (16) bornes de connexion du circuit de suppression d'étincelles étant connectées respectivement à la première borne de tension d'alimentation (8), à la deuxième borne de tension d'alimentation (10) et à la borne (6) de l'interrupteur.
  7. Dispositif électrique suivant la revendication 6, caractérisé en ce que l'interrupteur électrique (4) est un interrupteur thermostatique comprenant un élément chauffant (44) qui est couplé thermiquement à l'élément chauffant (2).
  8. Dispositif électrique suivant la revendication 7, caractérisé en ce que le dispositif électrique est un fer à repasser électrique.
EP19940201488 1993-06-01 1994-05-26 Circuit de suppression d'étincelle pour protection d'un interrupteur électrique, et dispositif électrique thermique comportant un tel circuit Expired - Lifetime EP0628975B1 (fr)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
EP19940201488 EP0628975B1 (fr) 1993-06-01 1994-05-26 Circuit de suppression d'étincelle pour protection d'un interrupteur électrique, et dispositif électrique thermique comportant un tel circuit

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
EP93201553 1993-06-01
EP93201553 1993-06-01
EP19940201488 EP0628975B1 (fr) 1993-06-01 1994-05-26 Circuit de suppression d'étincelle pour protection d'un interrupteur électrique, et dispositif électrique thermique comportant un tel circuit

Publications (3)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0628975A2 EP0628975A2 (fr) 1994-12-14
EP0628975A3 EP0628975A3 (fr) 1995-08-23
EP0628975B1 true EP0628975B1 (fr) 1998-04-08

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EP19940201488 Expired - Lifetime EP0628975B1 (fr) 1993-06-01 1994-05-26 Circuit de suppression d'étincelle pour protection d'un interrupteur électrique, et dispositif électrique thermique comportant un tel circuit

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* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB9714521D0 (en) * 1997-07-11 1997-09-17 Gorton & Associates Electronic Circuit means for minimising ARC generation during switching operations

Family Cites Families (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
FR2430679A1 (fr) * 1978-07-04 1980-02-01 Orega Electro Mecanique Circuit de securite, notamment de temperatures maximales, pour plaque de cuisson par induction
JPS60119129A (ja) * 1983-12-01 1985-06-26 Matsushita Electric Ind Co Ltd スイッチング装置
DE3543804A1 (de) * 1984-12-14 1986-06-19 General Electric Co., Schenectady, N.Y. Schalter mit lichtbogenkommutierung

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EP0628975A3 (fr) 1995-08-23
EP0628975A2 (fr) 1994-12-14

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