EP3018689B1 - System comprising a base and a hot-swap module - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL AREA

The invention relates to a system comprising a base and a module mechanically inserted in this base to be electrically connected, while being removable from the base to be disconnected without risk, even if this withdrawal is not preceded by a power off.

STATE OF THE PRIOR ART

Such a withdrawable module comprises a set of electrical contacts and makes it possible to supply one or more electrical receivers from a base provided for this purpose, for example to establish a power supply at 200 volts with an intensity of up to 10A.

Such a module is equipped with electrical relays controlled by an external system via a data bus, each relay thus making it possible to establish or interrupt the power supply of an electric receiver powered via the base to which this module is connected. .

Prior to the removal of such a module, it is thus necessary to control the opening of the relays in question in order to cut off the power supply of the module before unplugging so as to avoid the appearance of an electric arc.

However, if the module is removed from service for any reason, its relays have not been opened, this removal may cause an arcing between the module contacts and the module contacts. , which is detrimental to the safe use of such a system. Another system is known from the document EP 0 507 729 A2 . The object of the invention is to propose a solution making it possible to make the module of such a system withdrawable without risk.

STATEMENT OF THE INVENTION

For this purpose, the subject of the invention is a system comprising a base and a module inserted in this base to be electrically connected with this base, an electrical relay that can be open or closed to respectively decouple or couple the module to the base, a movable mechanical locking member between a blocking state and an unlocking state being operable by an operator to unlock the module to extract it from the base, this system comprising a module presence sensor in the base and a locking sensor for detecting the state of the locking member, and means for opening the relay as soon as the locking sensor detects that the locking member is in the unlocked state or that the presence sensor detects that the module is absent from the base, the locking member being arranged to be able to leave its unlocking state only when the module has been moved in the base a distance greater than the detection distance of the presence sensor.

With this arrangement, the module is disconnected as soon as the operator starts to unlock, and it is not likely to reconnect during removal from the base.

The invention also relates to a system thus defined, wherein the locking member and each relay are integrated in the module.

The invention also relates to a system thus defined, wherein the locking member comprises a lever resiliently biased towards its blocking state, this lever being provided with a lug adapted to engage in a corresponding housing made in the base to block the module, this lug having in the direction of movement of the module in the base a length greater than the detection distance of the presence sensor.

The invention also relates to a system thus defined, comprising a lever biasing member exerting on a free end of the lever an elastic return force continuously tending to return to its locking position.

The invention also relates to a system thus defined, in which the sensors are of the Hall effect type.

The invention also relates to a system thus defined, comprising at least one Hall type sensor.

The invention also relates to a system thus defined, comprising at least one sensor of the electric switch type.

The invention also relates to a system thus defined, comprising at least one Hall type sensor and at least one electric switch type sensor.

The invention also relates to a system thus defined, comprising two sensors carried by the same printed circuit which is integrated in the module.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

• the figure 1 is a sectional view showing the base with the module engaged and blocked in this base to be electrically connected to each other;
• the figure 2 is a sectional view showing the base with the module engaged in this base being released for removal;
• the figure 3 is a sectional view showing the base with the module engaged in this base but completely unlocked for removal;
• the figure 4 is a sectional view showing the base with the module engaged in this base at the beginning of withdrawal and the locking member which is held in the unlocking position;
• the figure 5 is a sectional view showing the base and the module while it is removed from this base with the locking member held in the unlocking position;
• the figure 6 is a sectional view showing the base and the module being removed once the electrical contacts are separated and the locking member was able to resume its locking position.

DETAILED PRESENTATION OF PARTICULAR EMBODIMENTS

The idea underlying the invention is to integrate in the system formed by the module and its base, a module blocking sensor and a module presence sensor, with an electrical relay controlled by these sensors to open. as soon as a release or no module is detected, ensuring that the blocking sensor can not return to the blocking state before the presence sensor starts to detect the absence of the module.

In the example described below, the invention is implemented on a module equipped with a relay, but the same module can also be equipped with several relays.

The system according to the invention which is represented in the figure 1 1 being provided with a base 2 equipped with an electrical contact 3 and a module 4 equipped with another electrical contact 6, the module 4 being adapted to fit into the base to be electrically connected to the this.

As shown in the figure, the base has a hollow shape delimiting a cavity 7 generally parallelepipedic and extending along a longitudinal axis AX to form the female element. The module comprises a cover 8 carrying a body 9 having a generally parallelepipedal male shape adapted to engage in the cavity 7 of the base being moved parallel and in the direction AX.

The electrical contact 6 is located at the free end of the body 9 protruding from this end, while the electrical contact 3 is located in the bottom of the cavity 7 being connected to a connection terminal 5 of the base to a cable.

The body 9 of the module is a plastic or metal element incorporating several electrical components and which is equipped with a mechanical locking member 11. This mechanical locking member is here a flexible lever which longitudinally covers a portion of the body 9 in s extending in the direction AX.

This flexible lever 11 has an end by which it is rigidly secured to the free end of the body 9, and an opposite end, free and located in the vicinity of the cover 8. This other end is movable so that it can be either close to or away from the body 9.

This lever 11 which continuously tends to deviate from the body 9 has a locking lug 12 which protrudes radially relative to the axis AX. When the module 4 is in place in the cavity 7 and the lever 11 is released, the lug 12 is engaged in a corresponding housing 13 formed in a lateral internal side of the cavity 7 to retain the body 9 in the base.

As visible on the figure 1 , the free end of the lever 11 is retained by an internal lug of the cover 8, marked by 10, which continuously on this free end a return force tending to replace it in its blocking state.

This lever 11 further comprises a button 14 which protrudes radially like the lug, but which is located between the base 2 and the cover 8 of the module 4 in place in the base.

In this situation which corresponds to that of the figure 1 , an operator can press the button 14 of the lever 11 to bring it against the body 9 to disengage the lug 12 of the housing 13, so as to unlock the body 9 to allow its removal.

The module 4 comprises a blocking sensor 16 which is sensitive to the position of the lever 11. This blocking sensor 16 makes it possible to determine whether this lever 11 is in a state of locking or locking, or if it is on the contrary in an unlock state. In the lock state that corresponds to the figure 1 , the free end of the lever 11 is spaced from the body 9, whereas in the unlocked state, the free end of this lever is on the contrary close to the body 9.

The locking sensor 16 here comprises a permanent magnet 17 installed in the end of the lever 11, and a Hall effect sensor 18 mounted in the body 9 to the right of this permanent magnet. This blocking sensor 16 detects that the lever is in a blocking state when the permanent magnet that it integrates is spaced from the Hall effect probe. It detects that this lever is in unlocked state when on the contrary its permanent magnet is close to the Hall effect probe.

The system is also provided with a presence sensor 19 which detects the presence or absence of the module 4 in the base 2. This sensor also comprises a permanent magnet 22 mounted in the bottom of the base 2, and a Hall effect sensor 21 installed at the end of the body 9 to the right of the magnet 22 when the module is in place in the base.

The presence sensor detects that the module is in the base when its Hall effect sensor 21 detects the proximity of the permanent magnet 22, and it detects that the module 4 is out of the base when 2 when the permanent magnet 22 is no longer detected by the probe 21, that is to say when it is beyond the detection distance of the probe 21.

As shown schematically in the figure 1 both Hall effect probes 18 and 21 are carried by the same circuit board 23 which is housed inside the body 9.

This body 9 also incorporates another printed circuit, indicated by 24, and which carries an electrical relay 26. This other printed circuit 24 and the relay 26 that it carries are connected on the one hand to a power supply cable of the module not shown, and secondly to the contact 6 of the module 4. The contact 6 is thus electrically powered when the relay 26 is electrically closed, and it is on the contrary disconnected as soon as this relay 6 is open. The relay 26 thus makes it possible to decouple the module from the base when it is electrically open, and to couple the module to the base when it is electrically closed.

The relay 26 is controlled by components not shown to be open if the locking sensor 16 detects that the member 11 is in an unlocked state or if the presence sensor 19 detects that the body 9 is absent from the base 2. In other words, the electrical relay 26 is controlled to be electrically closed only if the sensor 16 detects that the member 11 is in a blocking state and that the presence sensor 19 detects that the body 9 is present in the base 2.

Furthermore, the lug 12 and the groove 13 are dimensioned in view of the sensitivity of the sensors 16 and 19, so that when removing the module after depressing the lever 11, the release of the lever and the subsequent detection of the state blocking by the sensor 16 takes place once the presence sensor 19 has detected that the driver 9 is absent from the base.

In other words, the lug 12 has a length along the axis AX which is sufficient so that during the withdrawal, the release of the lever 11 to its locking position is possible only after a stroke such that the sensor 19 then detects necessarily that the module is absent from the base.

The length of the lug 12 is thus greater than the detection distance of the presence sensor 19 in the direction AX, the housing 13 having meanwhile substantially the same length along the axis AX.

Thus, an overlap is obtained between the change of state of the blocking sensor and the change of state of the presence sensor: during the withdrawal, the unlocking sensor can not return to a blocking state before the presence sensor starts to detect that the module is missing.

Furthermore, and as will be understood, each electrical relay 26 is dimensioned and designed to have a breaking capacity sufficient to interrupt the nominal current of the system, while the contacts 3 and 6 are not designed to withstand a cut-off. rated current of the system by their separation without being damaged.

In operation, when the operator wishes to disconnect the module 4, he presses the button 14 to bring it closer to the body 9, which has the effect of mechanically unlocking the module 4 of the base in which it is fitted.

At this stage, which corresponds to that of the figure 2 , the blocking sensor 16 detects that the lever 11 is in a release state, and it sends a signal corresponding to a control unit of the relay 26 which actually controls the opening of this relay, if it was in a closed state to power the electric receiver.

The electric current then no longer passes into the module and through the contacts 3 and 6, which allows the beginning of removal of the module 4 from the base 2, as illustrated in FIG. figure 2 , without arcing between the contacts 3 and 6. The operator continues to move the module 4 away from the base 4, which corresponds to the situation of the figures 4 and 5 .

At one moment or another during this phase of beginning the withdrawal of the module, the presence sensor 19 changes state to detect the absence of the module of the base, which produces the emission by this sensor of a signal corresponding to the destination of the control unit, not shown, of the electrical relay 26.

The removal of the module is then continued to reach the state of the figure 6 wherein the locking pin is entirely located outside the base 2, so that it is no longer retained by it. At this point, if the operator has released the pressure on the button 14, the lever 11 deviates from the body 9, so that the sensor 16 detects a release state and sends a corresponding signal to the control unit of the Electrical relay 26. As this control unit continues to receive an absence signal from the sensor 19, it continues to control the relay 26 so that it remains electrically open. The operator can continue to remove the module without electrical risk.

Conversely, as will be understood, when the operator inserts the module 4 inside the base 2, the relay 26 is initially open, and it is during the insertion that the sensors 19 and 16 change successively state. When the blocking sensor 16 sends a blocked state detection signal to the control unit and the presence sensor 19 sends this unit a presence detection signal of the module in the base 2, this unit controls the closing the relay 26 to allow current to flow into the body 9 and consequently into the contacts 3 and 6.

In the example of the figures, the module comprises a single locking lever 11, but the system could comprise a plurality of locking members, for example a lever on each side of the body. Regarding the presence sensor and the blocking sensor, it can be Hall effect sensors as in the example of the figures but also any suitable type of sensor such as sensors type electric contactor.

In general, the response time of the sensors for controlling the relay is sufficiently short, typically of the order of 10 milliseconds, so that the operator can not remove the module fast enough for the separation of the contacts to occur. produce before the relay opens.

The invention makes it possible to detect the disconnection by combining the blocking sensor and the presence sensor with a dimensioning ensuring that during the withdrawal, the lever remains in the unlocking state as long as the presence sensor detects that the module is in the base .

The invention applies in the case where the module is intended for the transfer of electrical power, but it also applies to a module for acquiring external signals or data. In the case of signal acquisition, the signal from the deblocking and presence sensor of the module makes it possible to inhibit any signal acquisition prior to the effective separation of the electrical contacts so as not to give rise to an erroneous transmission.

Claims (8)

1. System comprising a base (2) and a module (4) that can be inserted into this base (2) to be electrically connected with this base (2), at least one electric relay (26) that can be opened or closed to decouple the module (4) from the base (2) or to couple it to the base respectively, a mechanical blocking device (11) changing over from a blocking state to a release state that an operator can actuate to release the module (4) in order to extract it from the base (2), characterized in that this system comprises a sensor (19) to detect the presence of the module (4) in the base (2) and a blocking sensor (16) to detect the state of the blocking device (11), and means for opening the relay (26) as soon as the blocking sensor (16) detects that the blocking device (11) is in the released state or as soon as the presence sensor (19) detects that the module (4) is not present in the base, the blocking device (11) being arranged so that it can leave its released state only when the module (4) has been extracted from the base (2) by a distance more than the detection distance of the presence sensor (19).
2. System according to claim 1, in which the blocking device (11) and each relay (26) are built into the module (4).
3. System according to claim 2, in which the blocking device comprises a lever (11) elastically returned to its blocking state, this lever being provided with a stud (12) that can fit into a corresponding housing (13) made in the base (2) to block the module (4), the length of this stud (12) along the displacement direction of the module (4) in the base (2) being more than the detection distance of the presence sensor (19).
4. System according to claim 3, comprising a return element (10) of the lever (11) applying an elastic return force on a free end of this lever to continually tend to return it towards its blocking position.
5. System according to one of the previous claims, comprising at least one Hall effect type sensor.
6. System according to one of the previous claims, comprising at least an electrical contactor type sensor.
7. System according to one of the previous claims, comprising at least one Hall effect type sensor and at least one electrical contactor type sensor.
8. System according to one of the previous claims comprising two sensors (16,19) supported on a single printed circuit that is included in the module (4).

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