ELECTRICAL COMPONENT AND SWITCHGEAR
FIELD
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Example embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to a field of low voltage electrical component, and more particularly, to an electrical component and corresponding switchgear.
BACKGROUND
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In switchgear with high, medium or low voltage, rectangular copper sheets are usually used as the main bus bar and distribution branch bus. In a current solution, the cross-sectional area of the conductor is layered with multi-layer copper bars in order to guarantee the current carrying capacity. However, the connection among copper bars should usually be fixed by means of the fasteners, and the contact resistance at the connecting joints is usually greater than that at the other positions. Thus, more connecting joints means more power loss.
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In the actual applications, the power loss of the conductor is relatively high, which limits the application scope of the approach. Therefore, there still exists a need for the designers to further reduce the power loss of the conductors in the low voltage switchgear.
SUMMARY
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In general, example embodiments of the present disclosure provide an electrical component and corresponding switchgear, which address the existing problems and/or any potential problems.
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In a first aspect, there is provided an electrical component. The electrical component comprising: a hollow tubular conductor; and at least two sheets coupled to a first end of the hollow tubular conductor, two adjacent sheets among the at least two sheets are spaced by a gap adapted to accommodate a first portion of a main bus bar.
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According to example embodiments of the present disclosure, since less connecting members can be used, the power loss caused by the connecting members can be reduced.
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In some example embodiments, at least two further sheets are coupled to a second end of the hollow tubular conductor opposite to the first end, and the at least two sheet are oriented parallel or non-parallel to the at least two further sheets.
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In some example embodiments, a second end of the hollow tubular conductor opposite to the first end is provided with an opening.
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In some example embodiments, the at least two sheets is coupled to a second portion of the main bus bar different from the first portion.
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In some example embodiments, the at least two sheets and the hollow tubular conductor are integrally formed.
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In some example embodiments, the at least two sheets and the hollow tubular conductor are separately formed.
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In some example embodiments, the at least two sheets are firstly formed by machining or molding and then weld to the hollow tubular conductor.
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In some example embodiments, the hollow tubular conductor is made of a material selected from copper, aluminum, alloys or a combination thereof.
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In some example embodiments, the at least two sheets are made of a material selected from copper, aluminum, alloys or a combination thereof.
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In some example embodiments, an external cross section of hollow tubular conductor is selected from circle, oval or polygon.
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In some example embodiments, an internal cross section of hollow tubular conductor is selected from circle, oval or polygon.
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In some example embodiments, a shape of each of the at least two sheets is selected from circle, oval or polygon.
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In some example embodiments, the shapes of the at least two sheets are different.
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In a second aspect, there is provided a switchgear. The switchgear comprises an electrical component in the first aspect.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
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Through the following detailed description with reference to the accompanying drawings, the above and other objectives, features and advantages of the example embodiments disclosed herein will become more comprehensible. In the drawings, several example embodiments disclosed herein will be illustrated in an exemplary and in a non-limiting manner, wherein:
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Fig. 1A illustrates a plurality of electrical components according to a first example embodiment of the present disclosure;
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Fig. 1B illustrates a perspective view of the electrical component according to the first example embodiment of the present disclosure;
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Fig. 1C illustrates a cross sectional view of the electrical component according to the first example embodiment of the present disclosure;
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Fig. 1D illustrates the connection between the electrical component and the corresponding portions of the main bus bar according to the first example embodiment of the present disclosure;
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Fig. 2A illustrates a perspective view of the electrical component according to a second example embodiment of the present disclosure;
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Fig. 2B illustrates an explosive view of the electrical component according to the second example embodiment of the present disclosure;
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Fig. 2C illustrates a cross sectional view of the electrical component according to the second example embodiment of the present disclosure;
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Fig. 3A illustrates a plurality of electrical components according to a third example embodiment of the present disclosure;
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Fig. 3B illustrates a perspective view of the electrical component according to the third example embodiment of the present disclosure;
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Fig. 3C illustrates the connection between the electrical component and the corresponding portions of the main bus bar according to the third example embodiment of the present disclosure;
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Fig. 4A illustrates a plurality of electrical components according to a fourth example embodiment of the present disclosure;
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Fig. 4B illustrates a perspective view of the electrical component according to the fourth example embodiment of the present disclosure;
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Fig. 4C illustrates the connection between the electrical component and the corresponding portions of the main bus bar according to the fourth example embodiment of the present disclosure; and
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Fig. 5 illustrates a switchgear according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure.
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Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals represent the same or similar element.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
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Principles of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some example embodiments. It is to be understood that these embodiments are described only for the purpose of illustration and to help those skilled in the art to understand and implement the present disclosure, without suggesting any limitation as to the scope of the disclosure. The disclosure described herein can be implemented in various manners other than the ones described below.
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In the following description and claims, unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs.
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References in the present disclosure to “one embodiment, ” “an embodiment, ” “an example embodiment, ” and the like indicate that the embodiment described may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but it is not necessary that every embodiment includes the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Further, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, it is submitted that it is within the knowledge of one skilled in the art to apply such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other embodiments whether or not explicitly described. Unless specified or limited otherwise, the terms “mounted” , “connected” , “supported” , and “coupled” and variations thereof are used broadly and encompass direct mountings, connections, supports, couplings and indirect
mountings, connections, supports, couplings by means of any intermediate element (s) . Furthermore, “connected” and “coupled” are not restricted to physical or mechanical connections or couplings.
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It should be understood that although the terms “first” and “second” etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another. For example, a first element could be termed a second element, and similarly, a second element could be termed a first element, without departing from the scope of example embodiments. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the listed terms.
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The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of example embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms “a” , “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” , “comprising” , “has” , “having” , “includes” and/or “including” , when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, elements, and/or components etc., but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components and/or combinations thereof.
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As described above, for the existing solutions, the power loss of the conductor within the switchgear are still too high. For example, when the lap surfaces of the main bus bar and the switch terminal are not in the same plane, at least three rectangular copper bars shall be required. There are too many stacked copper sheets and too many connecting joints should be required accordingly. Since the materials of the conductor are too heavy and expensive, the overall cost of the switchgear is high. Worse still, more connecting joins means longer time for assembly. As another example, the single hollow tubular conductor has a flat end and only one or two coupling surfaces with the main bus bar, and the coupling surfaces are quite limited.
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At least to address the problems existed in the conventional approaches, the present disclosure proposes a solution involving an electronic component and a corresponding switchgear, which greatly reduces the power loss.
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Example embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in more
detail hereinafter in accordance with Figs. 1A-4D. With reference to Figs. 1A-1D first, which illustrate different views of the electrical component 10 in accordance with a first example embodiment of the present disclosure.
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Fig. 1A illustrates a plurality of electrical components 10 according to the first example embodiment of the present disclosure. The electrical components 10 may be used to couple a main bus bar to an air circuit breaker. In the shown embodiment, three electrical components 10 are illustrated, each of the electrical components 10 may correspond to a respective phase of the AC power. In the shown embodiment, the three electrical components 10 may be similar to each other. It is to be understood that the three electrical components 10 may be different to each other in other example embodiments. It should be appreciated that even though three electrical components 10 are illustrated, in other example embodiments, other numbers of electrical components 10, for example, four, five, six, seven or even more, are also possible, which can be adjusted according to the need of the actual scenarios, and type or the pole number of the switch.
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Fig. 1B illustrates a perspective view of the electrical component 10 in Fig. 1A. As shown, the electrical component 10 generally includes a hollow tubular conductor 11 and at least two sheets 12 coupled to the hollow tubular conductor 11. As shown in Fig. 1B, the hollow tubular conductor 11 has two ends, i.e., a first end 111 and a second end 112 opposite to the first end 111. The sheets 12 are coupled adjacent to the first end 111. The hollow tubular conductor 11 may have a circular cross section. It is to be understood that this is illustrative, rather than restrictive. In the embodiments shown in Fig. 1B, two sheets 12 are coupled to the hollow tubular conductor 11. It is to be understood that other numbers of the sheets 12 are also possible. The two sheets 12 may be generally parallel to each other to form a gap.
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In some example embodiment, the hollow tubular conductor 11 and the at least two sheets 12 may be together clamped by a clamping device. That is, before being clamped, the hollow tubular conductor 11 is purely a tube without sheets at its end. After being clamped by the specific clamping device, the sheets 12 may be formed and still integrally formed with the hollow tubular conductor 11.
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Fig. 1C illustrates a cross sectional view of the electrical component 10 in Fig. 1A. As shown, the gap G is adapted to accommodate a portion of the main bus bar. Fig. 1D illustrates the connection between the electrical component 10 and the
corresponding portions of the main bus bar. With reference to Fig. 1D, a first portion 17 may be embedded into the space G between the two adjacent sheets 12. A second portion 19 of the main bus bar may be coupled to one sheet 12 of the electrical components 10. In the shown embodiment, the second portion 19 is arranged outside of the rightmost row of sheets 12, i.e., on the right of the rightmost row of sheets 12. It is to be understood that the spatial relation between the sheet 12 and the first and second portions 17, 19 of the main bus bar are only illustrative, rather than restrictive. In other example embodiments, the second portion 19 may also be arranged outside of the leftmost row of sheets 12, i.e., on the left of the leftmost row of sheets 12. In further example embodiments, the two rows of the sheets 12 may be coupled to three rows of metal portions of the main bus bar.
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With reference back to Fig. 1B, at least two further sheets 13 are provided adjacent to the second end 112 opposite to the first end 111. The further sheets 13 may be formed similar to the sheet 12; that is, the further sheets 13 may be integrally formed with the hollow tubular conductor 11 by the clamping device. The at least two further sheets 13 may be parallel to each other. Gap can be formed between adjacent further sheets 13. Therefore, with reference back to Fig. 1A, a connector 18 coupled to the air circuit breaker are allowed to be accommodated within the respective gap, so as to establish a firm electrical connection between the hollow tubular conductor 11 and the air circuit breaker. The spatial relationship between the connector 18 and the further sheets 13 may be provided similar to that between the first and second portions 17, 19 and the sheets 12, which are described above.
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As shown in Fig. 1B, the orientation of the further sheets 13 may be in any angle between 0 degree and 360 degrees relative to the orientation of the sheets 12. In a specific embodiment, the further sheets 13 may be perpendicular to the sheets 12. Other relative angles of the sheets 12 and the further sheets 13 are also possible, for example, 0 degree, 30 degrees, 45 degrees, 60 degrees, 120 degrees, 135 degrees, 150 degrees, 180 degrees, etc.
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According to the example embodiment of the present disclosure, the tubular conductor 11 is made hollow with its end being multiple sheets 12, the weight of the electrical component 10 can be reduced. Moreover, since there is no need to provide many layers of conductor and relevant connecting members, the connecting joints and the
resistance loss of the entire electrical loop can be reduced accordingly.
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Also, by making the tubular conductor 11 to be hollow, the heat can be conducted freely within the inner space, which reduces the risk of temperature rise.
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With reference to Fig. 1B, one or more connecting holes 123 may be provided on the sheet 12 to allow the screw to pass through when mounting the sheet 12 to the first and second portions 17, 19 of the of the main bus bar. In this way, a secure mechanical connection can be established to ensure good electrical performance.
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With reference to Fig. 1B, one or more heat emission holes 114 may be provided on the hollow tubular conductor 11 to allow heat inside the hollow tubular conductor 11 to be dissipated towards the ambient environment. In this way, the temperature inside the hollow tubular conductor 11 can be reduced effectively.
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In some example embodiments, the hollow tubular conductor 11 may be made of copper. It is to be understood that this is solely illustrative, and the specific materials are not limited to embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, in other example embodiments, the hollow tubular conductor 11 may be made of aluminum in consideration of the cost or other aspects. In further example embodiments, the hollow tubular conductor 11 may be made of alloy.
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In some example embodiments, the sheets 12 may be made of copper. It is to be understood that this is solely illustrative, and the specific materials are not limited to embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, in other example embodiments, the sheets 12 may be made of aluminum in consideration of the cost or other aspects. In further example embodiments, the sheets 12 may be made of alloy.
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In some example embodiments, an external cross section of hollow tubular conductor 11 may be a circle. In some example embodiments, an internal cross section of hollow tubular conductor 11 may be also a circle. It is to be understood that the hollow tubular conductor 11 may be of any suitable shape, depending on the individual requirement from the user. For example, the external cross section or the internal cross section of hollow tubular conductor 11 may also be oval or polygon, etc.
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It is to be understood that the sheet 12 includes planar surface to ensure secure connection with the main bus bar. In the shown embodiments, each of the sheets 12 are substantially of rectangular shape. It is to be understood that this is only for illustration
without suggesting any limitations as to the scope of the subject matter described here. The shapes of the sheet 12 may be selected from circle, oval, triangle, pentagon, etc. Among the at least two sheets 12, the shapes may be different from each other or the same.
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With the sheets 12 being a planar surface, the contact area may be increased to ensure good electrical connection. Moreover, since the top and bottom ends of the electrical component 10 are opened, the internal heat can be cooled down in a fast manner.
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Figs. 2A-2C illustrate different views of the electrical component 20 in accordance with a second example embodiment of the present disclosure. The electrical component 20 in accordance with the second example embodiment differs from the electrical component 10 in accordance with the first example embodiment mainly in the second end 212 of the hollow tubular conductor 21. With reference to Figs. 2B-2C, the second end 212 is provided with an opening 25. In other words, no further sheets are provided adjacent to the second end 212 of the hollow tubular conductor 21. In this way, since the hollow tubular conductor 11 is designed with top chapped terminal and bottom opening, its top and bottom sides are opened, the internal temperature can be reduce from bottom to top very fast due to the chimney effect.
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The connection between the hollow tubular conductor 21 and the connector 28 are exemplarily illustrated in Fig. 2B. The connector 28 may be coupled to an air circuit breaker. As shown, the connector 28 may be formed with a curved portion 282 to match the hollow tubular conductor 21. One or more mounting holes 281 may also be provided to allow screw (s) to pass through. While assembling, the two adjacent connectors 28 are moved to each other to allow the curve portions 282 to encircle the hollow tubular conductor 21 at its lower portion adjacent to the second end 212. One or more screws are provided to pass through corresponding mounting holes 281 to firmly secure the two adjacent connectors 28. In this way, the secure connection between the hollow tubular conductor 21 and the connectors 28 can be established.
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The embodiments as shown in Figs. 2A-2C may be similar to those as shown in Figs. 1A-1D, which will be omitted for brevity.
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Figs. 3A-3C illustrate different views of the electrical component 30 in
accordance with a third example embodiment of the present disclosure. The electrical component 30 in accordance with the second example embodiment differs from the electrical component 10 in accordance with the first example embodiment mainly in the sheets 32. The sheets 32 and the base 34 supporting the sheets 32 may be a separate part individually from the hollow tubular conductor 31. In some example embodiments, the sheets 32 and the base 34 (if any) may be formed firstly by molding and then be welded to the hollow tubular conductor 31. It is to be understood that this is just one possible process to manufacture the electrical component 30, and other process are also possible. For example, in other example embodiments, the sheets 32 and the base 34 (if any) may be formed firstly by machining with computer numerical control machine tools and then be welded to the hollow tubular conductor 31.
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Fig. 3C illustrates the connection between the electrical component 30 and the corresponding portions of the main bus bar. As shown, the gap G is formed between two adjacent sheets 32 and adapted to accommodate a first portion 37 of the main bus bar. With reference to Fig. 3C, the first portion 37 may be embedded into the space between the two adjacent sheets 32.
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As can be seen from the enlarged view of the sheet 32 in the left circle of Fig. 3C, second portions 39 of the main bus bar may be coupled to one sheet 32 of the electrical components 30. In the shown embodiment, the second portions 39 is arranged outside of the rightmost row of sheets 32, i.e., on the right of the rightmost row of sheets 32. It is to be understood that the spatial relation between the sheet 32 and the first and second portions 37, 39 of the main bus bar are only illustrative, rather than restrictive. In other example embodiments, as shown from the enlarged view of the sheet in the right circle of Fig. 3C, the second portion 39 may further be arranged outside of the leftmost row of sheets 32, i.e., on the left of the leftmost row of sheets 32. In this way, the two sheets 32 may be coupled to three rows of metal portions of the main bus bar to allow more electrical connections.
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In some example embodiments, the hollow tubular conductor 31 may be made of copper. It is to be understood that this is solely illustrative, and the specific materials are not limited to embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, in other example embodiments, the hollow tubular conductor 31 may be made of aluminum in consideration of the cost or other aspects. In further example embodiments, the hollow
tubular conductor 11 may be made of alloy.
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In some example embodiments, the sheets 32 may be made of copper. It is to be understood that this is solely illustrative, and the specific materials are not limited to embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, in other example embodiments, the sheets 32 may be made of aluminum in consideration of the cost or other aspects. In further example embodiments, the sheets 32 may be made of alloy.
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In some example embodiments, the material of the hollow tubular conductor 31 and the material of the sheets 32 may be the same. In some example embodiments, the material of the hollow tubular conductor 31 and the material of the sheets 32 may be different from each other.
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The embodiments as shown in Figs. 3A-3C may be similar to those as shown in Figs. 1A-1D, which will be omitted for brevity.
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In the example embodiments as shown in Figs. 3A-3C, two sheets 32 are included in the electrical component 30. It is to be understood that this is only for illustration without suggesting any limitations as to the scope of the subject matter described here. In other example embodiments, other numbers of the sheets are possible according to the actual need and the scenarios, which will be described in more detail hereinafter with reference to Figs. 4A-4C.
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Figs. 4A-4C illustrate different views of the electrical component 40 in accordance with a fourth example embodiment of the present disclosure. The electrical component 40 in accordance with the second example embodiment differs from the electrical component 30 in accordance with the third example embodiment mainly in the number of the sheets. In the example embodiments as shown in Figs. 4A-4C, three sheets 42 are included in the electrical component 40. It is to be understood that this is only for illustration without suggesting any limitations as to the scope of the subject matter described here. In other example embodiments, more than three sheets 42 are possible according to the actual need and the scenarios, and such embodiments still fall within the scope of the present disclosure.
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Fig. 4C illustrates the connection between the electrical component 40 and the corresponding portions of the main bus bar. As shown, the gap G is formed between two adjacent sheets 42 and adapted to accommodate a first portion 47 of the main bus bar.
With reference to Fig. 4C, two rows of the first portion 47 may be embedded into the space between the two adjacent sheets 42.
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As can be seen from the enlarged view of the sheet 42 in the right circle of Fig. 4C, a row of second portions 49 of the main bus bar may be coupled to one sheet 42 of the electrical components 40. In the shown embodiment, the second portions 49 is arranged outside of the rightmost row of sheets 42, i.e., on the right of the rightmost row of sheets 42. It is to be understood that the spatial relation between the sheet 42 and the first and second portions 47, 49 of the main bus bar are only illustrative, rather than restrictive. In other example embodiments, the second portion 49 may further be arranged outside of the leftmost row of sheets 42, i.e., on the left of the leftmost row of sheets 42. In this way, the three sheets 42 may be coupled to four rows of metal portions of the main bus bar to allow more electrical connections.
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The embodiments as shown in Figs. 4A-4C may be similar to those as shown in Figs. 3A-3C, which will be omitted for brevity.
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Although the hollow tubular conductor 11, 21, 31, 41 is in “Z-shape” as shown in those exemplary figures. In some other embodiments, it could be understood that the hollow tubular conductor 11 can be in direct-line shape, “C-shape” , “U-shape” or other shapes which may be designed according to the space, position or other constraints among different components to be connected.
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Even though four embodiments are described in details in the present disclosure, it is to be understood that these embodiments are merely possible embodiment for illustration, rather than restrictive. It is also to be understood that these embodiments may be combined with each other according to the actual need. For example, second end of the electrical components shown in Figs. 3A-4D may be provided with an opening, such like the embodiments as shown in Figs. 2A-2C. Other combination of the embodiments may also be possible.
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Fig. 5 illustrates a switchgear 1 as an example which incorporates those electrical components 10, 20, 30, 40. The switchgear 1 may be a high, medium or low voltage switchgear. In some example embodiments, those electrical component 10, 20, 30, 40 can be used to replace those rectangular copper sheets which are usually used as the main bus bar and distribution branch bus. The other parts of the switchgear 1 are
omitted for brevity.
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Compared with the conventional approaches, the connecting joints of the electrical component according to the present disclosure can be reduced to minimize the incurred power loss. Moreover, since there are three or four or even five sides of the connecting surfaces may be provided with the main bus bar and air circuit breaker, the electrical component can match higher current of main bus bar system.
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Further, while operations are depicted in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, or that all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirable results. In certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Likewise, while several specific implementation details are contained in the above discussions, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the present disclosure, but rather as descriptions of features that may be specific to particular embodiments. Certain features that are described in the context of separate embodiments may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. On the other hand, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitable sub-combination.
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Although the subject matter has been described in language specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the subject matter defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.