EP1168391B1 - Circuit breaker - Google Patents

Circuit breaker Download PDF

Info

Publication number
EP1168391B1
EP1168391B1 EP00900171A EP00900171A EP1168391B1 EP 1168391 B1 EP1168391 B1 EP 1168391B1 EP 00900171 A EP00900171 A EP 00900171A EP 00900171 A EP00900171 A EP 00900171A EP 1168391 B1 EP1168391 B1 EP 1168391B1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
pin
movable
contact arm
circuit interrupter
housing
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
EP00900171A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
French (fr)
Other versions
EP1168391A4 (en
EP1168391A1 (en
Inventor
Hiroshi Mitsubishi Denki KK OKASHITA
Junichi Mitsubishi Denki KK KAWAKAMI
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.)
Mitsubishi Electric Corp
Original Assignee
Mitsubishi Electric Corp
Priority date (The priority date 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 date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Mitsubishi Electric Corp filed Critical Mitsubishi Electric Corp
Publication of EP1168391A1 publication Critical patent/EP1168391A1/en
Publication of EP1168391A4 publication Critical patent/EP1168391A4/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP1168391B1 publication Critical patent/EP1168391B1/en
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
    • H01H1/00—Contacts
    • H01H1/12—Contacts characterised by the manner in which co-operating contacts engage
    • H01H1/14—Contacts characterised by the manner in which co-operating contacts engage by abutting
    • H01H1/22—Contacts characterised by the manner in which co-operating contacts engage by abutting with rigid pivoted member carrying the moving contact
    • H01H1/221—Contacts characterised by the manner in which co-operating contacts engage by abutting with rigid pivoted member carrying the moving contact and a contact pressure spring acting between the pivoted member and a supporting member
    • H01H1/226—Contacts characterised by the manner in which co-operating contacts engage by abutting with rigid pivoted member carrying the moving contact and a contact pressure spring acting between the pivoted member and a supporting member having a plurality of parallel contact bars
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01H—ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES
    • H01H71/00—Details of the protective switches or relays covered by groups H01H73/00 - H01H83/00
    • H01H71/02—Housings; Casings; Bases; Mountings
    • H01H2071/0292—Housing or frames containing grooves or slots for guiding movable parts
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01H—ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES
    • H01H71/00—Details of the protective switches or relays covered by groups H01H73/00 - H01H83/00
    • H01H71/02—Housings; Casings; Bases; Mountings
    • H01H71/0207—Mounting or assembling the different parts of the circuit breaker
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01H—ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES
    • H01H71/00—Details of the protective switches or relays covered by groups H01H73/00 - H01H83/00
    • H01H71/02—Housings; Casings; Bases; Mountings
    • H01H71/025—Constructional details of housings or casings not concerning the mounting or assembly of the different internal parts
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01H—ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES
    • H01H71/00—Details of the protective switches or relays covered by groups H01H73/00 - H01H83/00
    • H01H71/10—Operating or release mechanisms
    • H01H71/50—Manual reset mechanisms which may be also used for manual release
    • H01H71/504—Manual reset mechanisms which may be also used for manual release provided with anti-rebound means
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01H—ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES
    • H01H73/00—Protective overload circuit-breaking switches in which excess current opens the contacts by automatic release of mechanical energy stored by previous operation of a hand reset mechanism
    • H01H73/02—Details
    • H01H73/04—Contacts

Definitions

  • This invention relates to a circuit interrupter including a plurality of movable members parallel-disposed on a single pole and a flexible conductor connected to each of the movable members.
  • Fig. 5 is a schematical illustration showing a conventional circuit interrupter disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-118825 for example.
  • Fig. 6 is a sectional view showing a contact member portion of the circuit interrupter shown in Fig. 5.
  • Fig. 7 is an enlarged sectional view of the main portion taken along line VII - VII of Fig. 6 for illustrating the contact member portion of the circuit interrupter in a closed position.
  • Fig. 8 is a sectional view, similar to Fig. 7, of the contact member portion of the circuit interrupter in an open position.
  • 1 is a housing made of a synthetic resin material
  • 2 are a plurality of stationary conductors disposed in parallel within the housing 1
  • 3 are stationary contacts secured to the stationary conductors 2.
  • 4 are movable contacts separating and contacting relative to the stationary contacts 2 in opposition thereto
  • 5 are plurality of parallel-disposed (shown in Fig. 7) movable members to which the movable contacts 4 are attached.
  • 6 is a contact arm for rotatably supporting and holding the movable members 5 by a movable member pin
  • 8 is a contact arm pin for rotatably supporting the contact arm 6 from the housing 1.
  • 9 is a conductor constituting a terminal
  • 10 is a flexible conductor for connecting the movable member 5 and the conductor 9
  • 11 is a contact spring
  • 12 is an operating mechanism portion connected to the contact arm 6 by a pin 13 for operating the movable contacts 4
  • 14 is a trip relay portion
  • 15 is an arc extinguishing device.
  • the above instantaneous interruption is to be achieved after the prescribed guarantied time interval (maximum holding time of 0.5 seconds). Therefore, within the prescribed short-time period, even when a fault current flows, the circuit interrupter must maintain the closed position and both the contacts 3 and 4 should not melt or weld to each other by the fault current.
  • This invention has been made in order to solve the above-discussed problems and has as its object the provision of a circuit interrupter capable of achieving smooth opening and closing operation without the lateral movement of the contacts even when the short-time overcurrent flows through the circuit interrupter.
  • the circuit interrupter of the present invention comprises a housing, a plurality of stationary contacts disposed within the housing, a plurality of movable members each having a movable contact separable from the stationary contact and a contact arm rotatably supporting the movable members by a movable member pin, and is characterized in that the housing has a side wall including a sloped surface facing to a end surface of the movable member pin, the arrangement being such that a predetermined gap is defined between the end surface of the movable member pin and the side wall of the housing when the movable members are in the open position, and that a small gap is defined between the end surface of the movable member pin and the side wall when the movable members are in the closed position.
  • the side wall of the housing opposing to the end surface of the movable member pin may be provided with a friction reducing member.
  • the end surface of the movable member pin may be a sphere-shaped.
  • the contact arm may be rotatably supported by a contact arm pin, and a tubular bush may be provided between the contact arm and the contact arm pin for reducing a play therebetween and preventing the movable members from laterally moving.
  • a circuit interrupter may comprise a housing, a plurality of stationary contacts disposed within the housing, a plurality of movable members each having a movable contact separable from the stationary contact, a contact arm rotatably supporting the movable members, and a contact arm pin for rotatably supporting the contact arm, and a tubular bush may be provided on the contact arm pin for preventing lateral movement.
  • FIGs. 1 and 2 enlarged sectional views of the main portion of the circuit interrupter of the first embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 1 showing the open position and Fig. 2 showing the closed position.
  • the reference numerals 1 to 7 depicts the same components as those of the conventional device as above described, so that their explanations are omitted.
  • the housing 1 a are side walls of the housing 1 and has formed therein a tapered surface having a slope for pulling out the mold from the mold die so as to have a dimension L1 on the side of the stationary conductor 2 and a dimension L2 on the side of the movable members 5.
  • These sloped surface is tapered so that a predetermined gap G1 is defined between the movable member pin end surface 7a and the side wall 1 a of the housing 1 when the movable members 5 are in the open position as shown in Fig. 1 and that a gap G2 is defined between the movable member pin end surface 7a and the side wall 1 a of the housing 1 when the movable members 5 are in the closed position as shown in Fig. 2.
  • the gap G1 is equal to or more than 2 mm and gap G2 is 0.05 - 0.5 mm for an air circuit interrupter of from 630 A frame to 6300 A frame, for example.
  • a friction reducing member or a sliding piece which is made for example of a phosphor bronze plate, a stainless steel plate, a wear-resisting treated carbon steel plate or the like, attached by bonding, inlaying or the like to the side walls 1a at the portions opposing to the end surfaces 7a of the movable pin 7 when the movable pin 7 is rotated during the opening and closing movement of the movable members 5.
  • end surfaces 7a of the movable member pin 7 are formed into sphere-shaped in order to minimize the frictional force with respect to the sliding piece 16.
  • the housing 1 has the side walls 1a each including a sloped surface facing to the end surface 7a of the movable member pin 7, the sloped surface being such that the predetermined gap G1 is defined between the end surface 7a of the movable member pin 7 and the side wall 1a of the housing 1 when the movable members 5 are in the open position, and that the small gap G2 is defined between the end surface 7a of the movable member pin 7 and the side wall 1a of the housing 1 when the movable members 5 are in the closed position, so that, when an excessive current such as a fault current flows through the electrical path in the closed state, the movable members are prevented from moving in the lateral directions, making the contacting relationship stable and no arc is generated across the movable contacts 4 and the stationary contact 3 before the short time interruption operation by the circuit interrupter.
  • the spherical end surfaces 7a disposed at the opposite ends of the movable member pin 7 are moved into the closing direction while maintaining the contact with the sliding pieces 16, the operation being smooth because the contact frictional force are small.
  • the gaps G2 between the end surfaces 7a of the movable member pin 7 and the sliding pieces 16 are very small but allowing the movable members 5 to move, so that even when the electromagnetic forces between the different pole units due to the short time current interact therebetween, the movable members 5 and the movable contacts 4 are allowed to move only by this small gap, eliminating the arcing between the contacts and improving the short time current carrying performance.
  • Figs. 3 and 4 show the movable contact member portion of the circuit interrupter of another embodiment, Fig. 3 being a plan view and Fig. 4 is a front view.
  • the reference numerals 4 - 13 depict similar components to those of the conventional device, so that their explanation will be omitted.
  • 17 is a tubular bushing disposed on a contact arm pin 8 which is a rotational center of the rotatable movable members 5 and the flexible conductors 10.
  • the bush 17 is in intimate contact at its inner circumferential surface with the contact arm pin 8 and its opposite end surfaces are in abutment with the side plates 6a of the contact arm 6.
  • the bush 17 is brought into contact with substantially no play therebetween with the contact arm 6 and a shunt holders 18 which holds and positions the entire movable member portion within the housing 1, so that the movable members 5 and the flexible conductors 10 are allowed to freely rotate about the contact arm pin 8 without any resistance but not allowed to make any translational or rotational movement in the axial direction of the contact arm pin 8 as shown by an arrow Y. Therefore the lateral movements of the movable members 5 and the movable contacts 4 are suppressed.
  • this embodiment illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4 in which the bush is disposed between the contact arm pin 8 and the contact arm 6 and the embodiment illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 in which the gap defined between the side walls of the housing 1 and the movable member pin 7 is made small may be used together in combination or independently.
  • the housing having a side wall including a sloped surface facing to a end surface of the movable member pin, the arrangement being such that a predetermined gap is defined between the end surface of the movable member pin and the side wall of the housing when the movable members are in the open position, and that a small gap is defined between the end surface of the movable member pin and the side wall when the movable members are in the closed position.
  • the movable members are prevented from moving in the lateral directions, making the contacting relationship stable and no arc is generated across the contacts before the short time interruption operation by the circuit interrupter. Also, the operation can be smooth because the contact frictional force is small. Also, even when the electromagnetic forces between the different pole units due to the short time current interact therebetween, the movable members and the movable contacts are allowed to move only by the small gap, eliminating the arcing between the contacts and improving the short time current carrying performance.
  • the side wall of the housing opposing to the end surface of the movable member pin is provided with a friction reducing member or the end surface of the movable member pin is a sphere-shaped, so that the opening and closing movement of the movable members is not influenced.
  • a tubular bush is provided between the contact arm and the contact arm pin for reducing a play therebetween and preventing the movable members from laterally moving, so that the lateral movement of the movable members due to the mutually acting electromagnetic forces between the poles can be prevented, eliminating the arcing between the contacts and improving the short time current carrying performance.
  • the circuit interrupter of the present invention in which the contacting relationship is stable and no arc is generated across the contacts before the short time interruption operation by the circuit interrupter, the operation is smooth, the short time current carrying performance is improved and in which the opening and closing operation durability is improved, can be used as the circuit interrupter for power distribution.

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  • Breakers (AREA)
EP00900171A 2000-01-11 2000-01-11 Circuit breaker Expired - Lifetime EP1168391B1 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
PCT/JP2000/000076 WO2001052289A1 (en) 2000-01-11 2000-01-11 Circuit breaker

Publications (3)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP1168391A1 EP1168391A1 (en) 2002-01-02
EP1168391A4 EP1168391A4 (en) 2003-08-13
EP1168391B1 true EP1168391B1 (en) 2005-11-30

Family

ID=11735563

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP00900171A Expired - Lifetime EP1168391B1 (en) 2000-01-11 2000-01-11 Circuit breaker

Country Status (8)

Country Link
EP (1) EP1168391B1 (ja)
JP (1) JP4329922B2 (ja)
KR (1) KR100447439B1 (ja)
CN (1) CN1189904C (ja)
DE (1) DE60024426T2 (ja)
ES (1) ES2249243T3 (ja)
TW (1) TW512380B (ja)
WO (1) WO2001052289A1 (ja)

Families Citing this family (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP1732098A4 (en) * 2004-01-28 2009-05-13 Mitsubishi Electric Corp BREAKER
KR100835017B1 (ko) 2006-07-27 2008-06-03 미쓰비시덴키 가부시키가이샤 차단기
JP2009134995A (ja) * 2007-11-30 2009-06-18 Mitsubishi Electric Corp 気中遮断器
KR200469351Y1 (ko) * 2009-09-11 2013-10-07 현대중공업 주식회사 고정단과 가동자의 금속간 마찰 방지를 위한 가이드링과 홈의 구조

Family Cites Families (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5146194A (en) * 1988-10-12 1992-09-08 Westinghouse Electric Corp. Screw adjustable clinch joint with bosses
JP2965332B2 (ja) * 1990-07-10 1999-10-18 テンパール工業株式会社 回路遮断器
JP2570895B2 (ja) * 1990-09-07 1997-01-16 三菱電機株式会社 遮断器
US5093544A (en) * 1991-01-18 1992-03-03 General Electric Company Molded case circuit breaker movable contact arm mounting arrangement
US5898146A (en) * 1997-09-18 1999-04-27 Eaton Corporation Molded case circuit breaker with modular crossbar
JP3794163B2 (ja) * 1998-04-21 2006-07-05 三菱電機株式会社 回路遮断器

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
EP1168391A4 (en) 2003-08-13
DE60024426D1 (de) 2006-01-05
EP1168391A1 (en) 2002-01-02
JP4329922B2 (ja) 2009-09-09
KR100447439B1 (ko) 2004-09-04
CN1189904C (zh) 2005-02-16
KR20010108328A (ko) 2001-12-07
ES2249243T3 (es) 2006-04-01
WO2001052289A1 (en) 2001-07-19
DE60024426T2 (de) 2006-08-10
CN1342324A (zh) 2002-03-27
TW512380B (en) 2002-12-01

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