EP4016743B1

EP4016743B1 - Releasing fork for actuating springs of push-in terminals

Info

Publication number: EP4016743B1
Application number: EP20215285.6A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Vincent Parniere; Jorge RESTA DE LOZOYA; Stéphane BOVIS
Original assignee: ABB Schweiz AG
Current assignee: ABB Schweiz AG
Priority date: 2020-12-18
Filing date: 2020-12-18
Publication date: 2024-04-03
Anticipated expiration: 2040-12-18
Also published as: CN114649715A; EP4016743A1

Description

The present invention concerns a releasing assembly comprising two releasing forks for actuating springs of push-in terminals to dismantle connection devices inserted in said push-in terminals.

Prior art

It is known to use electrical apparatus such as contactors or breakers provided with push-in terminals. Such terminals are satisfying in that electrical connectors in one part can be inserted and maintained in position thanks to the form of the spring of a terminal that is acting as a harpoon.
To disconnect an electrical connector, a screwdriver is needed to move the spring so that the electrical connector is released. To this purpose, each terminal presents an actuating orifice offering an access to the spring that is designed for a screwdriver.
This provision enables to easily plug and unplug electrical connectors. However, this can necessitate a long time to plug or unplug a plurality of electrical connectors as each electrical connector should be plugged or unplugged at a time.
Documents DE202016100323U1 , EP3176876A1 , EP1667286A2 , CH697113A5 and DE102010015011A1 also disclose releasing assemblies.
Therefore, there is a need for fast plugging and unplugging systems for several electrical connectors. This is especially true for three phase electrical apparatus as each connection requires plugging three electrical connectors.
The present invention aims to solve all or some of the disadvantages mentioned above.

Summary of the invention

For this purpose, the present invention relates to a releasing assembly comprising two releasing forks for actuating springs of push-in terminals, the releasing fork comprising a handle and a plurality of prongs linked to and extending from the handle, each prong extending according to a corresponding extension direction and comprising an end fraction and a main fraction linking the end fraction to the handle, the end fraction having a decreasing section along the extension direction by moving away from the main fraction and the main fraction presenting two opposed and parallel cooperation surfaces extending parallel to the extension direction and defining a constant thickness of the main fraction.
The releasing fork enables to actuate a plurality of push-in terminals at the same time. For an equivalent result, a plurality of screwdrivers would be necessary. As there is a difficulty to hold a plurality of screwdrivers by hand, a releasing fork become an important tool for releasing a plurality of plugged conductors in one operation.
The end fraction with its growing section in direction of the main fraction facilitates the insertion of the prong in the actuating orifice of the push-in terminal. When completely inserted, the spring of the push-in terminal releases the plugged conductor.
The two cooperation surfaces of the main fraction that are extending in a parallel way allow the blocking of the releasing fork when inserted. Indeed, it maximizes the frictions with the spring and the actuating orifice wall.
According to an aspect of the invention, the prongs are extending in the same plane called main extension plane.
According to the invention, for each prong, the end fraction presents a contact surface that is inclined with respect to the contiguous cooperation surface of the main fraction.
This provision enables a smooth insertion of each prong in the corresponding actuating orifice. According to an aspect of the invention, the contact surface corresponds to a beveled or chamfered end of the prong. In particular, each prong is rod with a rectangular or square base presenting said beveled or chamfered end at its free extremity.
According to an aspect of the invention, the extension directions of the prongs are parallel and at least one of the prongs is shorter than the longest prong(s) according to the extension directions.
In other words, the prongs are extending in a parallel way from the handle and at least one of the prongs is shorter, that is to say extending less than the others according to the extension directions.
The fact that one or more of the prongs is shorter facilitates the insertion of the releasing fork in the corresponding actuating orifices of the push-in terminals. In this way, there is less resistance when the user pushes the releasing fork in the actuating orifices. The insertion effort is distributed along the insertion path. This is not necessary to strongly push at the beginning of the insertion.
According to an aspect of the invention, the plurality of prongs is constituted of three prongs that are reported on a transverse side of the handle and that are aligned transversally to the extension directions, the middle prong of the three prongs being shorter than the two other prongs.
A three prong releasing fork with a shorter middle prong is a good compromise for easily and reliably unplugging conductors. As the number of prongs is relatively low, the positioning with regard to the actuating orifices is easy. The length difference of the middle prongs distributes the insertion effort so that the user shall not press to heavily on the handle.
According to an aspect of the invention, the releasing fork presents a hole for inserting a tool as a screwdriver, said hole extending transversally to the extension directions of the prongs.
The present invention hence concerns a releasing assembly comprising two releasing forks as detailed above and a three phase connection device, the three phase connection device comprising an alignment of six electrical connectors extending in parallel, each electrical connector of a first group of three consecutive electrical connectors being electrically linked to a corresponding electrical connector of a distinct second group of three consecutive electrical connectors.
The three phase connection device is designed to electrically connect three phases of two electrical apparatus as contactors or breakers positioned side by side. Thus, starting from one side of the three phase connection device, the first three electrical connectors constitute the first group and the following three the second group.
The releasing assembly thus comprises three complementary devices: the three phase connection device and two releasing forks to be inserted in corresponding actuating orifices to enable a single user to easily dismantle the three phase connection device.
As each releasing fork remains positioned when inserted in the actuating orifices, the user can easily position the releasing forks one after another and then remove the three phase connection device.
According to an aspect of the invention, each push-in terminal comprises an actuating orifice designed to access the spring from the outside with a dedicated tool and a connector opening designed to receive an electrical connector.
Said electrical connector comprises a conductive end in one part to be inserted without a tool inserted in the actuating orifice. The insertion suffices to reach the end position. Indeed, each spring is configured to act as a harpoon to accept easily insertion but to block extraction.
The gap between each consecutive electrical connector of a same group is constant and corresponds to the gap between two consecutive prongs of the releasing forks.
According to an aspect of the invention, each of the releasing forks comprises a marking for the positioning along a complementary marking of the three phase connection device so as to align each prong of the two releasing forks with the six electrical connectors.
In other words, the two releasing forks form an alignment extending in parallel to the alignment of the six electrical connectors. The markings of the releasing forks and the complementary marking is designed to orient the contact surface of the release forks opposite to the electrical connectors.
This disposition allows to avoid a misconnection of the prongs as the contact surface should cooperate with the springs.
According to an aspect of the invention, the markings comprises each at least one triangle with an angle designed to be aligned with a corresponding angle of the complementary marking.
Therefore, each triangle of the markings is positioned in a mirrored way with the complementary marking. As angles are pointing a same virtual point the middle, a precise alignment can be realized by the user. Once aligned, the releasing forks can be easily inserted in the actuating orifices.
According to the invention, the releasing assembly comprises a latch mechanism configured to releasably fix the two releasing forks on a back surface of the three phase connection device, the back surface being located opposite to the electrical connectors.
This provision allows having the releasing assembly as one entity that can be plugged in six connector openings. The two releasing forks can be removed when the user would like to disassemble the three phase connection device from the six-connector openings.
According to an aspect of the invention, the latch mechanism comprises a first part that is reported on the back surface and a second part that is comprised in each releasing fork. According to a possibility, the first part comprises lugs and the second part comprises slots.
According to an aspect of the invention, the three phase connection device presents a cabling illustration indicating the electrical connections between the electrical connectors of the first group and the electrical connectors of the second group.
Preferably, several connection scheme can exist depending on the three phase connection device variant. This provision enables to easily realize several cabling possibilities as the user will take the proposer three phase connection device according to his needs.
According to an aspect of the invention, the cabling illustration is located on the back surface of the three phase connection device. The cabling illustration is located on a part of the back surface that is not in front of the releasing forks when cooperating with the latch mechanism. The cabling illustration is therefore always visible for the user.
According to an aspect of the invention, the releasing assembly also comprises at least one common point connection device provided with two electrical connectors that are electrically linked, said two electrical connectors extending in a parallel way according to a gap corresponding to a gap between two consecutive prongs.
The releasing fork can be used to unplug a common point connection device as well as a three phase connection device. The releasing assembly is therefore adaptable to the cabling necessities.
The present invention also concerns an electrical system comprising a releasing assembly as detailed above and two or more electrical apparatus, each electrical apparatus comprising a plurality of push-in terminals, the three phase connection device being adapted to connect the first group of electrical connectors to push-in terminals of one of the electrical apparatus and the second group of electrical connectors to push-in terminals of the other electrical apparatus.
The three phase connection device serves as a bridge between the two electrical apparatus, which is advantageous compared to connections realized by cables. One connection operation is necessary instead of six when using individual cables between each push-in terminal. Thus, the risk of a bad cabling is reduced.
The two electrical apparatus can be three phase contactors with push-in terminals to realize starter, reverser or star-delta devices.
The different aspects defined above that are not incompatible can be combined.

Brief description of the figures

The invention will be better understood with the aid of the detailed description that is set out below with reference to the appended drawing in which:

figure 1 is a perspective view of a releasing fork;
figure 2 is a perspective view of a three phase connection device;
figure 3 is a perspective view of a releasing assembly comprising a three phase connection device and two releasing forks;
figure 4 is a perspective view of an electrical system comprising two electrical apparatus and releasing assemblies;
figures 5 and 6 are perspective views of the electrical system when releasing the three phase connection device;
figure 7 is a perspective view of two common point connection devices which connect two phases;
figure 8 is a perspective view of three electrical apparatus with releasing assemblies.

Description with reference to the figures

In the following detailed description of the figures defined above, the same elements or the elements that are fulfilling identical functions may retain the same references so as to simplify the understanding of the invention.
As illustrated in figure 1 to 8, there is a releasing fork 1 for actuating springs of push-in terminals 3. The releasing fork 1 comprises a handle 5 and a plurality of prongs 7 linked to and extending from the handle 5.
Each prong 7 is extending according to a corresponding extension direction 9 and comprises an end fraction 11 and a main fraction 13 linking the end fraction 11 to the handle 5.
The end fraction 11 has a decreasing section along the extension direction 9 by moving away from the main fraction 13 and the main fraction 13 presenting two opposed and parallel cooperation surfaces 15 extending parallel to the extension direction 9 and defining a constant thickness of the main fraction 13.
The prongs 7 are extending in the same plane called main extension plane 17. For each prong 7, the end fraction 11 presents a contact surface 19 that is inclined with respect to the contiguous cooperation surface 15 of the main fraction 13.
The contact surface 19 corresponds to a beveled or chamfered end of the prong 7. Each prong 7 is rod with a rectangular or square base presenting said beveled or chamfered end at its free extremity.
The extension directions 9 of the prongs 7 are parallel and at least one of the prongs 7 is shorter than the longest prong(s) 7 according to the extension directions 9. In other words, the prongs 7 are extending in a parallel way from the handle 5 and at least one of the prongs 7 is shorter, that is to say extending less than the others according to the extension directions 9.
Here, the plurality of prongs 7 is constituted of three prongs 7 that are reported on a transverse side 21 of the handle 5 and that are aligned transversally to the extension directions 9, the middle prong 7of the three prongs being shorter than the two other prongs 7.
The releasing fork 1 presents a hole 23 for inserting a tool as a screwdriver, said hole 23 is extending transversally to the extension directions 9 of the prongs 7.
As illustrated in figure 3, a releasing assembly 25 comprises two releasing forks 1 and a three phase connection device 27. As shown on figure 2, the three phase connection device 27 comprises an alignment of six electrical connectors 29 extending in parallel.
Each electrical connector 29 of a first group 31 of three consecutive electrical connectors 29 are electrically linked to a corresponding electrical connector 29 of a distinct second group 33 of three consecutive electrical connectors 29.
As disclosed in figures 4 to 6, the three phase connection device 27 is designed to electrically connect three phases of two electrical apparatus 35 as contactors or breakers positioned side by side. Thus, starting from one side of the three phase connection device 27, the first three electrical connectors 29 constitute the first group 31 and the following three the second group 33.
Each push-in terminal 3 comprises an actuating orifice 37 designed to access the spring from the outside with a dedicated tool and a connector opening 39 designed to receive an electrical connector 29.
Said electrical connector 29 comprises a conductive end in one part to be inserted without a tool inserted in the actuating orifice 37. The insertion suffices to reach the end position. Indeed, each spring is configured to act as a harpoon to accept easily insertion but to block extraction.
The gap between each consecutive electrical connector 29 of a first group 31 and of the second group 33 is constant and corresponds to the gap between two consecutive prongs 7 of the releasing forks 1.
As depicted, the push-in terminals 3 are grouped by two so as to enable to plug two conductors at a same point. In this text, a push-in terminal 3 concerns a single location wherein an electrical connector 29 can be plugged.
As illustrated in figures 1, 2 and 5, each of the releasing forks 1 comprises a marking 41 for the positioning along a complementary marking 43 of the three phase connection device 27 so as to align each prong 7 of the two releasing forks 1 with the six electrical connectors 29.
In other words, the two releasing forks 1 form an alignment extending in parallel to the alignment of the six electrical connectors 29. The markings 41 of the releasing forks 1 and the complementary marking 43 are designed to orient the contact surface 15 of the release forks 7 opposite to the electrical connectors 29.
The markings 41 comprises each at least one triangle with an angle designed to be aligned with a corresponding angle of the complementary marking 43.
Therefore, each triangle of the markings 41 is positioned in a mirrored way with the complementary marking 43. As angles are pointing a same virtual point the middle, a precise alignment can be realized by the user. Once aligned, the releasing forks 1 can be easily inserted in the actuating orifices 37.
As illustrated in figure 3, the releasing assembly 25 comprises a latch mechanism 45 configured to releasably fix the two releasing forks 1 on a back surface 47 of the three phase connection device 27, the back surface 47 being located opposite to the electrical connectors 29.
The latch mechanism 45 comprises a first part that is reported on the back surface 47 and a second part that is comprised in each releasing fork 1. The first part comprises lugs and the second part comprises slots.
A shown on figures 2 and 3, the three phase connection device 27 presents a cabling illustration 49 indicating the electrical connections between the electrical connectors 29 of the first group 31 and the electrical connectors 29 of the second group 31. Several connection scheme can exist depending on the three phase connection device 27 variant.
The cabling illustration 49 is located on the back surface 47 of the three phase connection device 27. The cabling illustration 49 is located on a part of the back surface 47 that is not in front of the releasing forks 1 when cooperating with the latch mechanism 45. The cabling illustration 49 is therefore always visible for the user.
As illustrated in figures 7 and 8, the releasing assembly 25 can also comprise common point connection devices 51, each being provided with two electrical connectors 29 that are electrically linked, said two electrical connectors 29 extending in a parallel way according to a gap corresponding to a gap between two consecutive prongs 7.
The releasing fork 1 can be used to unplug a common point connection device 51 as well as a three phase connection device 27.
As illustrated in figures 4-6 and 8, it is provided an electrical system 53 comprising a releasing assembly 25 and two or more electrical apparatus 35, each electrical apparatus 35 comprising a plurality of push-in terminals 3, the three phase connection device 27 being adapted to connect the first group 31 of electrical connectors 29 to push-in terminals 3 of one of the electrical apparatus 35 and the second group 33 of electrical connectors 29 to push-in terminals of the other electrical apparatus 35.
The three phase connection device 27 serves as a bridge between the two electrical apparatus 35, which is advantageous compared to connections realized by cables. One connection operation is necessary instead of six when using individual cables between each push-in terminal 3. Thus, the risk of a bad cabling is reduced.
The electrical apparatus 35 can be three phase contactors with push-in terminals to realize starter, reverser or star-delta devices.
Overall, the releasing fork 1 enables to actuate a plurality of push-in terminals 3 at the same time. For an equivalent result, a plurality of screwdrivers would be necessary. As there is a difficulty to hold a plurality of screwdrivers by hand, a releasing fork 1 become an important tool for releasing a plurality of plugged conductors in one operation.
As goes without saying, the invention is not limited to the sole embodiment described above by way of example, it encompasses all the variants within the scope of the following claims.

Claims

Releasing assembly (25) comprising:
- two releasing forks (1) for actuating springs of push-in terminals (3), each releasing fork (1) comprising a handle (5) and a plurality of prongs (7) linked to and extending from the handle (5), each prong (7) extending according to a corresponding extension direction (9) and comprising an end fraction (11) and a main fraction (13) linking the end fraction (11) to the handle (5), the end fraction (11) having a decreasing section along the extension direction (9) by moving away from the main fraction (13) and the main fraction (13) presenting two opposed and parallel cooperation surfaces (15) extending parallel to the extension direction (9) and defining a constant thickness of the main fraction (13), wherein, for each prong (7), the end fraction (11) presenting a contact surface (19) that is inclined with respect to the contiguous cooperation surface (15) of the main fraction (13),

- a three phase connection device (27), the three phase connection device (27) comprising an alignment of six electrical connectors (29) extending in parallel,
characterized in that
each electrical connector (29) of a first group (31) of three consecutive electrical connectors (29) is electrically linked to a single corresponding electrical connector (29) of a distinct second group (33) of three consecutive electrical connectors (29),

wherein the releasing assembly (25) further comprises a latch mechanism (45) configured to releasably fix the two releasing forks (1) on a back surface (47) of the three phase connection device (27), the back surface (47) being located opposite to the electrical connectors (29).
Releasing assembly (25) according to claim 1, wherein the extension directions (9) of the prongs (7) are parallel and at least one of the prongs (7) is shorter than the longest prong(s) (7) according to the extension directions (9).
Releasing assembly (25) according to claim 2, wherein the plurality of prongs (7) is constituted of three prongs (7) that are reported on a transverse side (21) of the handle (5) and that are aligned transversally to the extension directions (9), the middle prong (7) of the three prongs (7) being shorter than the two other prongs (7).
Releasing assembly (25) according to one of the claims 1 to 3, wherein each of the releasing forks (1) comprises a marking (41) for the positioning along a complementary marking (43) of the three phase connection device (27) so as to align each prong (7) of the two releasing forks (1) with the six electrical connectors (29).
Releasing assembly (25) according to one of the claims 1 to 4, wherein the three phase connection device (27) presents a cabling illustration (49) indicating the electrical connections between the electrical connectors (29) of the first group (31) and the electrical connectors (29) of the second group (33).
Releasing assembly (25) according to one of the claim 1 to 5, also comprising at least one common point connection device (27) provided with two electrical connectors (29) that are electrically linked, said two electrical connectors (29) extending in a parallel way according to a gap corresponding to a gap between two consecutive prongs (7).
Electrical system (53) comprising a releasing assembly (25) according to one of the claims 1 to 6 and two or more electrical apparatus (35), each electrical apparatus (35) comprising a plurality of push-in terminals (3), the three phase connection device (27) being adapted to connect the first group (31) of electrical connectors (29) to push-in terminals (3) of one of the electrical apparatus (35) and the second group (33) of electrical connectors (29) to push-in terminals (3) of the other electrical apparatus (35).