EP1280177B1 - Disjoncteur basse tension - Google Patents

Disjoncteur basse tension Download PDF

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Publication number
EP1280177B1
EP1280177B1 EP01202800A EP01202800A EP1280177B1 EP 1280177 B1 EP1280177 B1 EP 1280177B1 EP 01202800 A EP01202800 A EP 01202800A EP 01202800 A EP01202800 A EP 01202800A EP 1280177 B1 EP1280177 B1 EP 1280177B1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
circuit breaker
low voltage
voltage circuit
conductive arm
movable conductive
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
EP01202800A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
Other versions
EP1280177A1 (fr
Inventor
Giuseppe Bertolotto Bianc
Pietro Mandurino
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.)
ABB Research Ltd Switzerland
ABB Research Ltd Sweden
Original Assignee
ABB Research Ltd Switzerland
ABB Research Ltd Sweden
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 ABB Research Ltd Switzerland, ABB Research Ltd Sweden filed Critical ABB Research Ltd Switzerland
Priority to AT01202800T priority Critical patent/ATE346372T1/de
Priority to EP01202800A priority patent/EP1280177B1/fr
Priority to DE60124693T priority patent/DE60124693T2/de
Publication of EP1280177A1 publication Critical patent/EP1280177A1/fr
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP1280177B1 publication Critical patent/EP1280177B1/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
    • H01H57/00—Electrostrictive relays; Piezoelectric relays
    • 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
    • H01H1/20—Bridging contacts
    • H01H1/2041—Rotating bridge

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a low-voltage circuit breaker, i.e. a circuit breaker for applications with operating voltages up to 1000 Volt.
  • power circuit breakers operate with nominal currents varying over a wide range, and are devised to provide some performances which are essential for ensuring the correct operation of the electric power supply circuit that they protect, and of the loads connected thereto. For example, they protect the loads from abnormal events caused by malfunctions related to short circuits or due to overloads, by automatically opening said power supply circuit; they ensure that the nominal current for the various connected users is actually equal to the required one, et cetera.
  • the kinematic chains of the prior art have a very large number of components, are mechanically complex and inherently complicated, thus rendering the whole circuit breaker quite bulky, heavy and cumbersome, and reducing its overall reliability; in addition, the amount of mechanical energy that the actuating elements must provide is proportional to the various levels of electrical performance of the circuit breaker in which they are used, for example breaking capacity for short circuits, nominal current, et cetera, and requires long and complicated testing and calibration operations.
  • each movable contact on the corresponding fixed contact must be adequate and strong enough in order to have a correct electrical contact between the parts, to compensate uneven ageing of the contacts, and to avoid that possible electrodynamic forces cause undesired uncoupling during functioning; as a consequence, it is usually necessary to provide the kinematic chain with a mechanical block and to use additional contact-holding springs.
  • a two arm contact lever for example of the rotary or fork type, is used; this lever is fixed to a rotary switching bar by means of an articulated connection, and requires the use of additional springs so as to give an uniform and correct distribution of the contact pressure between the contact surfaces of each phase, and to compensate non-homogeneous wear of the contact themselves.
  • This solution clearly contributes to increase the complexity of the circuit breaker, as well as the manufacturing and assembly costs.
  • the aim of the present invention is to realize a low voltage circuit breaker which allows to overcome the above mentioned drawbacks and disadvantages, and in particular, which has a simplified structure in comparison with known circuit breakers and ensures, at the same time, optimised performances.
  • an object of the present invention is to realize a low-voltage circuit breaker in which the constructive architecture of the actuating system is considerably less complicated and requires a reduced number of components with respect to known circuit breakers.
  • Another object of the present invention is to realize a low voltage circuit breaker which allows to execute opening/closing operations in an easier and more controlled way with respect to known circuit breakers, and whose reliability is improved.
  • a further object of the present invention is to realize a low voltage circuit breaker which allows to reduce the manufacturing and assembling costs, as well as maintenance interventions required during its life.
  • Another object of the present invention is to realize a low voltage circuit breaker which is highly reliable, relatively easy to manufacture and at competitive costs.
  • Document EP 0 612 092 discloses a device according to the preamble of claim 1.
  • a low voltage circuit breaker comprising a case which contains at least one fixed contact electrically connected to a terminal which is suitable for connection with an electric circuit, a movable conductive arm provided with at least one contact piece, and actuating means which are operatively connected to the movable conductive arm and supply the energy for moving it, characterized in that said actuating means comprise:
  • the low voltage circuit breaker comprises a case (not shown), for example of the moulded type, which contains at least one fixed contact 2; the fixed contact 2 is electrically connected to a terminal of the circuit breaker which is connected to an electric circuit 3 in which the circuit breaker itself is inserted.
  • a movable arm 4 made of conductive material, which is provided with at least one contact piece 5, and actuating means 10 which are operatively connected to the movable conductive arm 4 and supply the energy for moving it; further the conductive arm 4 is operatively connected to the circuit 3 by means of conducting means, for example a flexible braid 9.
  • conducting means for example a flexible braid 9.
  • the actuating means 10 comprise a piezoelectric motor 11 - i.e. a motor which comprises piezoelectric elements and whose operations are obtained by their electric excitement - which is mechanically linked to the movable conductive arm 4; further, the actuating means 10 comprise a command and control unit 30, preferably of electronic and programmable type, which, following an intervention command, drives the piezoelectric motor 11 so that it actuates the movable conductive arm 4 and allows electrical coupling/uncoupling of the contact piece 5 with respect to the corresponding contact piece of the fixed contact 2, in the way which will be described hereinafter; the intervention command can be provided for example, by a sensor which detects an electrical fault in the circuit, or by an operator who acts on a push button, or on an actuation lever of the circuit breaker.
  • the intervention command can be provided for example, by a sensor which detects an electrical fault in the circuit, or by an operator who acts on a push button, or on an actuation lever of the circuit breaker.
  • the piezoelectric motor 11 is an ultrasonic self-braking motor, i.e. a motor in which braking during manoeuvre is obtained thanks to the intrinsic structure of the motor itself, without using additional braking devices, and in which the exciting signals are in the ultrasonic frequency range.
  • the use of a self-braking ultrasonic piezoelectric motor allows to realize a circuit breaker whose operations are executed in an easier and more controllable way, with negligible levels of electric power consumption required for moving the movable equipment and, above all, for keeping the circuit breaker in the desired position. Further, the ultrasonic piezoelectric motor allows to have a high torque-levels/weight ratio at low speed and relatively reduced response times, and to perform substantially noise-free operations.
  • the piezoelectric motor 11 is an ultrasonic rotating self-braking motor
  • the actuating means 10 further comprise a rotary switching bar 12 which is mechanically connected to the movable conductive arm 4; as illustrated in figure 2, the movable conductive arm 4 is mounted, and in particular directly fulcrumed on the rotary switching bar 12 transversal to the rotation axis 13 of the bar 12 itself, with the contact piece 5 positioned at its end portion.
  • the body of the movable contact arm 4 can be realized with at least two substantially rigid portions 6 interconnected by means of a substantially flexible element 7, such as a flexible pivot obtainable by reducing the thickness of a portion of the arm 4 with respect to the surrounding parts; in this way, the movable conductive arm 4 is provided with a structural elasticity and, thanks also to the action of the motor which keeps the arm in position and pushes it against the fixed contact, the contact piece 5 is adequately pressed on the corresponding fixed contact 2. In this manner, it is possible to compensate ageing and non-homogeneous wear of the contact surfaces 5 and 2, to guarantee adequate electric contact between them, and definitely to increase the useful life of the circuit breaker.
  • the body of the arm 4 can be realized in a single, substantially uniform body.
  • the structure of the fixed contact 2 may be realized by means of two substantially rigid portions interconnected by a substantially flexible element, such as a flexible pivot obtainable as described above.
  • FIG. 4 One example of a rotating self-braking piezoelectric motor, particularly suitable for application in the circuit breaker according to the invention, is shown in figure 4.
  • the piezoelectric motor 11 comprises a stator unit and a rotor unit; the rotor unit comprises a metallic disc 15 which is structurally integral with the rotary switching bar 12; in this way, the rotary switching bar 12 constitutes the shaft of the motor 11 itself, according to a solution constructively simple and functionally effective.
  • the rotary switching bar 12 constitutes the shaft of the motor 11 itself, according to a solution constructively simple and functionally effective.
  • an additional bar connected to the shaft of the motor 11.
  • a bearing 16 is associated to the rotary bar 12 in order to allow its rotation.
  • the stator unit comprises a flange 17 to which the bearing 16 is connected, and an annular elastic disc 18 which is also connected to the flange 17 and has a base plate 19 and a teeth-shaped ring 20 which protrudes transversally, in particular in a perpendicular direction, from the base plate 19; according to the applications and/or specific needs, the teeth-shaped ring 20 can be positioned at the external edge of the base plate 19, as indicated in figure 4, or along an internal circumference.
  • the stator unit also comprises at least one layer of piezoelectric material 21, for example of the PZT type, which is fixed, for instance glued, on the elastic disc 18; in particular, the layer of piezoelectric material 21 comprises a plurality of sectors 22 which are electrically excited by the command signals supplied by the command and control unit 30, for the purpose and in the way which will be described hereinafter.
  • the layer of piezoelectric material 21 comprises a plurality of sectors 22 which are electrically excited by the command signals supplied by the command and control unit 30, for the purpose and in the way which will be described hereinafter.
  • the motor 11 further comprises friction means 23, for example constituted by a layer of rubber, which are positioned interposed between the metallic disc 15 and the teeth-shaped ring 20, and retaining means;
  • the retaining means can be constituted by a metallic elastic body 24 which is positioned on a face of the metallic disc 15 opposite to the annular elastic disc 18, and a nut 25 which is screwed to a threaded end of the bar 12 and allows keeping the various elements of the rotor packed on the stator.
  • Damping means 26 constituted for example by a ring-shaped layer of rubber, are interposed between the retaining means and the face of the metallic disc 15 opposite to the annular elastic disc 18, so as to dampen undesired vibrations of the motor.
  • the command and control unit 30 comprises sensing means 31 suitable for detecting a possible fault in the electric circuit, and control means 32 which supply electric signals for driving the motor 11; further, the unit 30 comprises an auxiliary energy-accumulation unit 33, constituted for example by one or more capacitors, for the purpose which will become more apparent hereinafter.
  • the sensing means 31 detect a possible fault on the electric circuit 3, they output a signal to the control means 32; in turn, the control means 32 supply electric signals, i.e. voltage signals to the motor 11; the electric signals needed may be provided either by the circuit 3 or by a pre-stored power supply unit.
  • the intervention signal may be also sent to the control means 32 by an operator who acts on the circuit breaker remotely or directly, so as to interrupt the current flowing in the circuit, for example for performing maintenance interventions.
  • the electric signals are supplied to the piezoelectric sectors 22 and cause their electrical excitation; in particular, when using a piezoelectric rotating motor, adjacent pairs of piezoelectric sectors 22 are alternatively polarised, i.e. two adjacent sectors are both polarised in a direction perpendicular to the sectors themselves and in opposite directions to each other, and are fed with ultrasonic voltage signals, which are, for instance, about 90°-phase shifted with respect to each other.
  • the piezoelectric sectors 22 vibrate with a 90° phase-shift and the vibrations are transmitted to the annular elastic disc 18; in turn, the annular elastic disc 18 vibrates too and, thanks to the teeth of the ring 20, the small vibrations produced by the piezoelectric sectors are conveniently amplified.
  • the composition of the two 90°-shifted vibrations brings to the generation of travelling waves along the ring 20; by means of the friction means 23, the movement is transmitted to the metallic disc 15 and thus, the rotor is dragged into rotation thanks to the friction action. In this manner, the rotary switching bar 12 is driven into rotation together with the movable conductive arm 4 operatively connected therewith, so as the movable contact piece 5 uncouples electrically from the corresponding fixed contact 2.
  • the sensing means 31 when re-closing the circuit breaker, if the fault detected by the sensing means 31 is still present on the circuit, the sensing means 31 output a signal to the control means 32 which, in this case, send a corresponding signal to the auxiliary energy-accumulation unit 33; in turn the unit 33 discharges and sends, in output, electric signals driving the motor 11. In this way, it is thus possible to perform the so-called "trip-free maneuver" in a simple and independent way from the main circuit.
  • the movable conductive arm 4 is provided with two contact pieces 5 which are positioned on opposite sides of the movable conductive arm 4 itself, at the corresponding end portions, and symmetrically to each other with respect to the rotation axis 13; correspondingly, there are two fixed contacts 2 which are also positioned substantially symmetric with respect to the rotation axis 13.
  • the double contact arm may be of the fork type.
  • the body of the arm 4 can be advantageously realized with at least two substantially rigid portions 6 interconnected by means of a substantially flexible element 7, so as to have an elastic structure and compensate ageing and non-homogeneous wear of the contact surfaces 5 and 2, to guarantee adequate electric contact between them, and to increase the useful life of the circuit breaker.
  • each phase of the electric circuit 3 at least a first fixed contact 2 and a movable conductive arm 4 provided with a first contact piece 5.
  • the arms 4 are connected to the bar 12 transversally to its rotation axis 13, and the bar 12 is actuated, together with the arms 4, by a single piezoelectric motor 11, in the manner previously described.
  • the piezoelectric motor 11 comprises a structural frame 29; two stacks of piezoelectric sectors 22 which are positioned in an elliptic metallic frame 27 which gives the necessary pre-stress to the stacks themselves and amplifies their displacements under excitation; a metallic mass 28 is interposed between the two stacks 22.
  • the movable arm 4 can be directly coupled to the motor 11, or it may be mounted on the switching bar 12, as previously described, and mechanically linked to the motor by the interposition of coupling means; these coupling means, for example of the pinion-rack type, are suitable to transform the linear movement of the motor 11 into a rotating movement of the switching bar 12.
  • adjacent layers of piezoelectric elements constituting the stacks 22 are alternatively polarised, i.e. two adjacent layers are both polarised in a direction perpendicular to the layers themselves and in opposite directions to each other, indicated by the arrows 34; during operations, the two stacks 22 are fed each with an ultrasonic voltage signal, the two signals being for instance about 45°-phase shifted with respect to each other.
  • the piezoelectric stacks 22 deform and cause the vibration of the mass 28 in the direction of the arrows 34; as a consequence, the frame 27 vibrates and the composition of its vibrations brings to the generation of an elliptic motion and definitely to a translation of its portion 35; correspondingly, the movable arm 4, directly connected to the portion 35 translates together with the frame 27; if instead coupling means are used for connecting the arm 4 to the portion 35, the translation is transformed into a rotation of the switching bar 12. Also in this case, in order to invert the movement, it is sufficient to invert of 90° the phase of one of the two electric signals supplied to the piezoelectric sectors 22.
  • the use of the actuating means as described, and specifically of the piezoelectric motor 11, allows to simplify the structure of the whole circuit breaker, and in particular to drastically reduce the mechanical equipment, thus realizing a circuit breaker which is smaller and lighter, has a reduced number of components, and with an improved reliability. Accordingly, the manufacturing and assembling costs, the relative calibration operations, and the maintenance interventions are considerably reduced.

Landscapes

  • General Electrical Machinery Utilizing Piezoelectricity, Electrostriction Or Magnetostriction (AREA)
  • Keying Circuit Devices (AREA)
  • Control Of Eletrric Generators (AREA)
  • Emergency Protection Circuit Devices (AREA)
  • Confectionery (AREA)
  • Breakers (AREA)

Claims (10)

  1. Disjoncteur basse tension (1) comprenant un boîtier qui contient au moins un contact fixe (2) raccordé électriquement à une borne qui est appropriée pour le raccordement avec un circuit électrique (3), un bras conducteur mobile (4) prévu avec au moins une pièce de contact (5), et des moyens d'actionnement (10) qui sont reliés fonctionnellement au bras conducteur mobile (4) et fournissent l'énergie pour le déplacer, caractérisé en ce que lesdits moyens d'actionnement (10) comprennent :
    - un moteur piézo-électrique (11) qui est relié mécaniquement audit bras conducteur mobile (4) ; et
    - une unité de commande et de contrôle (30) qui, suite à une commande d'intervention, entraîne ledit moteur piézo-électrique (11) de sorte qu'il actionne le bras conducteur mobile (4) et permet le couplage/découplage électrique de ladite pièce de contact (5) par rapport audit contact fixe (2).
  2. Disjoncteur basse tension (1) selon la revendication 1, caractérisé en ce que ledit moteur piézo-électrique (11) est un moteur piézo-électrique à ultrasons autofreinant.
  3. Disjoncteur basse tension (1) selon la revendication 2, caractérisé en ce que ledit moteur piézo-électrique à ultrasons autofreinant (11) est un moteur piézo-électrique rotatif et en ce que lesdits moyens d'actionnement (10) comprennent en outre une barre de commutation rotative (12) qui est reliée mécaniquement audit bras conducteur mobile (4) et constitue l'arbre du moteur piézo-électrique rotatif (11) lui-même.
  4. Disjoncteur basse tension (1) selon la revendication 3, caractérisé en ce que ledit bras conducteur mobile (4) est pivoté directement sur ladite barre de commutation rotative (12), de manière transversale par rapport à son axe de rotation (13).
  5. Disjoncteur basse tension (1) selon ou une plusieurs des revendications précédentes, caractérisé en ce que ledit bras conducteur mobile (4) est pivoté directement sur ladite barre de commutation rotative (12), de manière transversale à son axe de rotation (13) et est prévu avec deux pièces de contact (5) qui sont positionnées sur des faces opposées du bras conducteur mobile (4) lui-même, au niveau des parties d'extrémité correspondantes, et de manière symétrique l'une par rapport à l'autre par rapport à l'axe de rotation (13), lesdites pièces de contact (5) étant appropriées pour se coupler électriquement avec deux contacts fixes (2) correspondants.
  6. Disjoncteur basse tension (1) selon la revendication 2, caractérisé en ce que ledit moteur piézo-électrique à ultrasons autofreinant (11) est un moteur piézo-électrique linéaire.
  7. Disjoncteur basse tension (1) selon la revendication 6, caractérisé en ce que lesdits moyens d'actionnement (10) comprennent une barre de commutation rotative (12) qui est reliée mécaniquement audit bras conducteur mobile (4), et des moyens de couplage qui sont reliés fonctionnellement à ladite barre de commutation rotative (12) et audit moteur piézo-électrique linéaire (11) respectivement, lesdits moyens de couplage étant appropriés pour transformer le mouvement linéaire du moteur (11) en un mouvement rotatif de la barre de commutation (12).
  8. Disjoncteur basse tension (1) selon une ou plusieurs des revendications précédentes, caractérisé en ce que l'unité de commande et de contrôle (30) comprend :
    - des moyens de détection (31) appropriés pour détecter un défaut dans le circuit électrique ;
    - des moyens de contrôle (32) qui, suite à un défaut détecté par lesdits moyens de détection (31), fournissent des signaux électriques entraînant ledit moteur (11).
  9. Disjoncteur basse tension (1) selon la revendication 8, caractérisé en ce que ladite unité de commande et de contrôle (30) comprend en outre une unité auxiliaire d'accumulation d'énergie (33) qui, suite à un défaut détecté par lesdits moyens de détection (31), reçoit, en entrée, un signal de livraison par lesdits moyens électroniques de contrôle (32) et fournit, en sortie, des signaux électriques d'entraînement audit moteur (10).
  10. Disjoncteur basse tension (1) selon une ou plusieurs des revendications précédentes, caractérisé en ce que ledit bras de contact mobile (4) comprend au moins deux parties (6) sensiblement rigides qui sont interconnectées au moyen d'un élément sensiblement flexible (7).
EP01202800A 2001-07-23 2001-07-23 Disjoncteur basse tension Expired - Lifetime EP1280177B1 (fr)

Priority Applications (3)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
AT01202800T ATE346372T1 (de) 2001-07-23 2001-07-23 Niederspannungsschutzschalter
EP01202800A EP1280177B1 (fr) 2001-07-23 2001-07-23 Disjoncteur basse tension
DE60124693T DE60124693T2 (de) 2001-07-23 2001-07-23 Niederspannungsschutzschalter

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
EP01202800A EP1280177B1 (fr) 2001-07-23 2001-07-23 Disjoncteur basse tension

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP1280177A1 EP1280177A1 (fr) 2003-01-29
EP1280177B1 true EP1280177B1 (fr) 2006-11-22

Family

ID=8180687

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP01202800A Expired - Lifetime EP1280177B1 (fr) 2001-07-23 2001-07-23 Disjoncteur basse tension

Country Status (3)

Country Link
EP (1) EP1280177B1 (fr)
AT (1) ATE346372T1 (fr)
DE (1) DE60124693T2 (fr)

Family Cites Families (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5170088A (en) * 1989-06-23 1992-12-08 Alps Electric Co., Ltd. Driving structure for electronic parts in a mechanism
FR2701595B1 (fr) * 1993-02-16 1995-04-14 Merlin Gerin Disjoncteur à bloc de télécommande adaptable.
JPH1145649A (ja) * 1997-07-28 1999-02-16 Fujitsu Takamizawa Component Kk 進行波型超音波継電器

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
DE60124693T2 (de) 2007-09-13
DE60124693D1 (de) 2007-01-04
ATE346372T1 (de) 2006-12-15
EP1280177A1 (fr) 2003-01-29

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