FR2626104A1 - IMPROVEMENTS ON AUTOMATIC SWITCHES, ESPECIALLY DIFFERENTIAL SWITCHES AND CIRCUIT BREAKERS - Google Patents

Abstract

Electrical apparatus with automatic cutoff, in particular a differential switch, circuit-breaker or differential circuit-breaker, of the type comprising, between a rotary operating member (31) and a rocking contact-holder (34), a lock mechanism with toggle and ratchet (50) consisting of a connecting-rod (42) articulated on the operating member (31), of a link-rod (44) articulated to the other end of the connecting-rod (42) and to the contact-holder (34), and of a release lever (47) articulated about a fixed axis and provided with a longitudinal slot in which the fulcrum pin (45) between connecting-rod and link-rod can slide, the ratchet being ratcheted on the release lever. The ratchet (50) comprises at least two distinct zones, such as fingers (53, 54, 56) actuated by respective release means.

Description

Improvement to switches with automatic cut-off,

  including differential switches and circuit breakers.

  The present invention relates to electrical apparatus

  triques with automatic cut-off, in particular differential switches, circuit-breakers or differential circuit-breakers, or apparatus combining several of these functions, of the type comprising those between a rotary operating member, actuated for example using a lever

  operation or by push button, and a tilting contact carrier

  lant on which is mounted at least one movable contact cooperating with a fixed contact and which is biased by a first spring in the direction of opening or separation of the movable contact from the fixed contact, a toggle and ratchet mechanism capable on the one hand, when this mechanism is tensioned, to transmit the movement of the operating member to the contact carrier both in the direction of opening and in the direction of contact closure and, on the other hand , when this mechanism is relaxed by triggering means acting independently of the operating member on the pawl, to cause the contact holder to return from its closed position to its position

  opening, this mechanism being arranged so as to allow

  be for the operating member to rearm the device, that is

  say to tighten the mechanism by bringing it back from its position

2626 104

  open triggered in its normal open position, after cessation of the intervention of the trigger means and under the action of a second spring acting on the operating member, said mechanism essentially consisting of a connecting rod articulated by the 'one of its ends on the operating member, along an axis eccentric relative to the axis of rotation of the operating member, of a link articulated by one of its ends at the other end of the connecting rod and by the other of its ends to the contact carrier, along an axis eccentric with respect to the pivot axis of the contact carrier, and of a trigger lever articulated by one of its ends around an axis fixed and provided with a longitudinal groove in which the articulation axis between the connecting rod and the connecting rod can slide, practically without transverse play, all these axes being parallel to one another, the pawl of fixed axis being biased in latching position by a third spring and acting on the

trigger lever.

  Such devices are described, for example, in the German patent application DE-A-1,490,307 or the Swiss patent CH-A-387,760. A more sophisticated device is described in European patent application EP-A-0. 143.682

  in which the pawl is arranged in such a way and

  ticier its axis is located such that this pawl occupies itself a stable position in the closed position of the device, and in which the triggering means are arranged to act mechanically by

  push on this pawl against the action of the third spring.

  The invention aims to improve such a mechanism to allow it to be actuated by several different triggering means which act independently of the operating member on the pawl and

  in particular trigger means such as bimetal ther-

  circuit breaker, electromagnetic circuit breaker

  tion and, of course, auxiliary trip relay such as voltage relay or switch relay 2626 1 i 4 differential. Another object of the invention is to achieve such a

  improvement in order to authorize a spatial distribution

  optimal trigger means in the volume offered by the device carrying the mechanism.

  Yet another object of the invention is to improve

  operating the mechanism so as to ensure maximum longevity and efficiency and lower cost price both with regard to individual parts and assembly and

  this, in particular, by eliminating the overhangs.

  The invention relates to such an electrical device with automatic cut-off, in particular a differential switch,

  circuit breaker or differential circuit breaker of the type defined above

  above, and preferably comprising a pawl arranged in such a way and in particular with an axis situated in such a way that this pawl occupies itself a stable position in the closed position of the device, a triggering means being arranged to so as to act mechanically by transmission of a thrust on this pawl, characterized in that the pawl comprises at least two, and preferably three distinct zones cooperating with respective triggering means, these zones preferably forming reliefs such as for example fingers, likely to be encountered respectively by a moving part of the

  respective trigger means in order to toggle the click

  quet in the release position of the mechanism.

  It is preferred that the pawl has three zones or reliefs of this kind so that it can be toggled for tripping both by a differential switch relay and by a tripping bimetallic strip and by an electromagnetic tripping element, for example a

  plunger core of an electromagnetic coil

  trunk. In a preferred embodiment, the pawl is

  shaped like a lever extending in one direction

  clearly transverse to the direction of the articulated rod and the trigger lever, having its axis

  hinge at one end of the pawl.

  Preferably, the pawl cooperates, by one of said reliefs, with a triggering part or lever also ensuring the resetting of the differential switch relay, this lever being returned to the resetting position by a spring and this, preferably by by means of a pivoting part returned by a spring, preferably independent, and by the contact carrier, in the ratchet release position and kept away from this position, and against the action of its spring, by the rearming lever acting as a retaining pawl

the pivoting part.

  Advantageously, the pivoting part has a resetting means, preferably in the form of a lever arm, the end of which can be actuated by the mechanism when it returns to the open position in order to tilt said part in reset position in latching engagement with the trigger and

reset the relay.

  In a particular embodiment, the mechanism can be mounted on an internal structure of an apparatus, so as to be arranged in an area extending parallel to an area containing tripping means such as bimetallic strip and / or electromagnetic circuit breaker, the pawl having fingers located in the travel of these triggering means, while the triggering and resetting lever of the relay, with its pivoting intermediate piece, is housed in the zone

  of the mechanism under an area receiving the relay.

  In an advantageous embodiment, facilitating such a spatial arrangement, the toggle mechanism can be designed in such a way that the breaking of the toggle, when triggered, takes place in a direction away from the plane which joins the axis for tilting the contact piece and the pivot axis of the member

rotary maneuver.

  Other advantages and characteristics of the invention

  will appear on reading the following description, made

  by way of nonlimiting example and referring to the appended drawing in which: FIG. 1 represents an elevation view of an apparatus according to the invention, FIG. 2 represents a rear view of this apparatus, FIG. 3 represents a cross-sectional view of this apparatus, FIG. 4 represents a perspective view of the mechanism of the apparatus, FIG. 5 represents another perspective view of this mechanism, FIG. 6 represents a perspective view of the trigger lever for the toggle joint ,

  Figure 7 shows a perspective view of the

  quet, FIG. 8 represents a top view of the pivoting part associated with the triggering and resetting lever of the relay, FIG. 9 represents a perspective view of the triggering and resetting lever of the relay, FIGS. 10 to 13 represent elevation views of part of the mechanism during different phases of

  operation including during a disjunction phase

  tion, Figures 14 to 17 show views similar to the previous ones, including during a relay tripping phase, Figures 18 to 21 show schematic views of the kinematics of the parts of the mechanism during these phases.

  We first refer to Figures 1 to 5.

  The electrical appliance shown comprises a modular box made in the form of two half-boxes 1, 2,

  connected at a separation line 3. Half

  lower housing 2 has, in the usual manner, hooking means 4, 5 on a rail while the upper half-housing 1 has two pairs of successive shoulders 6, 7 and a top 8 provided with a passage 9 for the controller

  manual actuation of the mechanism.

  The extreme edges of the case each have, in the lower half-case 2, each time two openings 10 allowing access each time to the two cage terminals of

  the apparatus and the shoulders 6 each have two steps

  wise 11 for access to the screws of the respective cage terminals.

  Inside the case formed by the two half

  boxes 1, 2, the device is mounted on a piece of struc-

  ture 12 having a generally symmetrical shape with respect to a vertical median plane forming a partition

  median 13 provided with a certain number of passages.

  This structural part, the details of which will not be described further, receives, at its ends, the cage terminals 14 with their screws 15. It also supports thick copper blades 16 suitably curved and having the fixed contacts and it has, for the axes of rotation of the mechanism parts, bearings completed by an auxiliary part 17 completing the part

  structure and the details of which will not be described here either.

  The structural part defines, in the housing, a

  any number of zones, namely, in addition to the zones receiving the terminals, two contact zones 18, disposed on either side of the central partition 13 at the bottom of the structural part 12, a measurement zone 19 which can receive a set of differential detection toroid, a magnetothermal tripping zone 20 located on one side of the central partition 13 above one of the zones 18, a tripping zone 21 intended to receive a differential switch relay and extending, towards the upper part of the apparatus, over the entire width of the structural part, a zone 22 of the trigger lock mechanism approximately symmetrical with the magnetothermal trigger zone 20 on the other side of the

center partition 13.

  The contact areas 18 receive, in addition to the fixed contacts carried by the blades 16 and the usual arc or arc chambers 23, the respective movable contacts carried by a single rotary contact holder. The core area 19 receives the set of detection core 24. The area of

  circuit breaker 20 receives a set of circuit breakers

  junction, the details of which will not be described, but which presents, on the one hand, a sensitive disjunction bimetallic strip 25

  to the intensity that runs through it to struggle in the

  tie of the zone 20 which is reserved for it, and a magnetic tripping assembly comprising a coil 26 capable, when it is traversed by an overcurrent, of driving, against its return spring 26a, a plunger core 27 comprising an integral striker 28, the plunger core having at its rear end a part 29 returned by the return spring 26a of the plunger core and capable of acting on the mechanism. In the differential switch relay zone 21 is located the relay 30 with its rod 30i capable of moving vertically downwards when the relay is energized, that is to say in a direction perpendicular to the direction, horizontal on the

  drawing, of displacement of the plunger 27 with its striker 28.

  The mechanism, the essentials of which, except for the movable contact-carrying part, is provided in the mechanism zone 22 will now be described with reference to

the set of figures.

  The mechanism is of the toggle and ratchet type and extends between a manual rotary operating member 31 with its operating lever 32 mounted on an axis 33 fixed in the structural part, and a contact carrier 34 rocking around its axis 35, also carried by the structural part and usually carrying the movable contacts 36, cooperating with the fixed contacts 37 formed in the blades 16, the movable contact holder 34 being capable of tilting between a contact opening position, shown in particular in Figures 1, 2, 10 and 14, and a contact closed position shown in particular in Figures 11 and 15. The movable contacts 36 and, therefore, the contact carrier 34 are biased in the opening direction contact by two powerful springs 38 which extend, in compression, between a bottom 39 of the auxiliary part 17 and a boss 40 of the respective movable contact. The assembly of the contact holder and of the movable contacts is preferably arranged in the manner described in the French patent application FR-A-83.15783 of October 4, 1983, that is to say so that the same springs ensure both the separation of the contacts 36, 37 during the opening movement and the pressure of the contacts 36, 37 on each other in the closed position. The mechanism is capable, on the one hand, when it is tensioned, of transmitting the movement of the operating member 31 actuated by the lever 32 to the contact carrier 34, both in the opening direction and in the direction of contact closure and, on the other hand, when the mechanism is relaxed by triggering means acting independently of the lever on a mechanism pawl, to cause the return of the tilting contact carrier 34 from its position closing at

  its open position, even if the lever is held.

  The mechanism is further arranged so as to allow the lever 32, as soon as it is released, to reset the device, that is to say to tighten the mechanism by bringing it back from its

  position after release (Figures 13 and 17) at its posi-

  normal opening (Figures 1, 10 or 14), after

  tion of the intervention of the triggering means, and this under the action of a spring 41 acting on the rotary actuating member 31 in the direction of the contact opening, that is to say in the direction anti-clockwise in Figures 11 to 13. The mechanism includes:

262 610 4

  - A connecting rod 42 articulated by one of its ends on the rotary actuating member 31, along an axis 43 eccentric relative to the axis of rotation 33 of this member; - A rod 44 articulated by one of its ends to the other end of the rod 42, along an axis, and by the other of its ends to the contact carrier 34 along an axis 46 eccentric relative to the axis fixed tilting of the contact carrier; and - a trigger lever 47 articulated by one of its

  ends around a fixed axis 48 close to the rotating member

  tif de maneuver 31 and provided with a longitudinal groove 49 forming a very obtuse angle with the general axis of the trigger lever, groove in which an protruding end of the articulation axis 45 between connecting rod and connecting rod can slide practically without transverse play ; the obtuse angle, between the trigger lever 47 and the groove 49, is intended to limit the triggering forces of the pawl at any time of the progression of the axis 45 in

said groove 49.

  The various aforementioned axes are parallel to each other, the fixed axes (in translation) 33, 35, 48 being carried by the structural part 12 supplemented by its part

auxiliary 17.

  The mechanism also includes: - a pawl 50 rotating around a fixed axis 51 disposed to the left of a plane passing through the two fixed axes 33 and 35 (Figure 15), that is to say on the same side as the movable axes 45 and 46 of the rod 44 but in a plane located to the right of these axes. The pawl 50 has a first elongated arm 52, perpendicular to the trigger lever 47, and extending transversely relative to the plane joining the axes 33 and 35 and moving to the left and slightly upwards in FIG. 15, this arm 52 ending with two perpendicular fingers 53, 54 aligned on either side of the lever, the finger 53 being intended to cooperate with a part of the mechanism actuated by the relay 30, and the finger 54 to cooperate with the part 29 linked to the core and striker 28 and shaped ramp; the pawl 50 has a second markedly shorter arm 55 extending more frankly upwards and to the left in FIG. 11, and ending with a finger 56 oriented on the same side as the finger 54 and capable of being repelled by bimetallic strip 25 in the event of thermal expansion thereof; the ratchet

  has, towards the lever 52, a hooking spout 57, suscep-

  tible to hang a complementary spout 58 presented by the free end of the trigger lever 47, beyond the groove 49 and approximately in its extension, while

  said lever 47 has a stiffening rib

  longitudinal section 47a, the free end of which, on the side of the pawl 50, forms a stop cooperating with the face

  upper pawl 50; the pawl is called elastic-

  clockwise (in FIG. 15) by a spring 50a, so that the pawl constantly tends to be held in its high position defined by abutment against the lower end of the rib 47a of the trigger lever 47 and it is understood that the pawl is thus arranged so as to occupy a stable position in the closed position of the device, the action of the springs 38 on the trigger lever 47 being unable to rotate the pawl about its axis 51, the general direction of the pawl being aligned with the force component exerted by the beak of the

  trigger lever on the ratchet spout.

  The fixed axis 48 of the trigger lever 47 is located in such a way that, in the closed position (see in particular FIG. 15), this trigger lever is substantially parallel to the assembly of the connecting rod 42 and of the connecting rod 44 which, in this position, is almost aligned with the

  connecting rod, forming therewith, at their axis

  mun 45, a very obtuse angle, slightly less than a flat angle. In detail, the connecting rod 42 is preferably articulated at its upper end in a housing taken in the thickness of the rotary actuating member 31 and the connecting rod 44 can advantageously be made in the form of a link consisting of two identical parallel arms having the passages for the axes 45, 46, these arms being interconnected by an integral cross-member 59. The useful length of the connecting rod 42 is significantly greater than that of the

link 44.

  The length of the groove 49 formed in the trigger lever 47 is sufficient to allow all the O10 movements of the axis 45 in the different positions of

operation of the mechanism.

  The contact carrier 34 has a transverse arm 60 which extends across the straight path of the striker 28 when the plunger core which carries the latter is violently displaced by the appearance of an overcurrent in the coil 26 so as to cause abrupt rotation of the contact carrier and, consequently, the lifting of the movable contacts 36 by the forced separation from the fixed contacts

  37 after opening the knee lifter.

  In order to cause the triggering of the mechanism in the event of actuation of the differential switch relay 30, the mechanism further comprises: - a pivoting triggering part 61 rotating around a fixed axis 62 carried by the structure 12 and by the complementary part 17, this part having a ramp-shaped spout 63 capable of coming to press on the finger 53 of the pawl 50 when the triggering part 61 is pivoted clockwise (in FIG. 16), under the action of a spring 64 hooked on the one hand to the complementary part 17, on the other hand at the end of a small lever 65 of the part 61; this part 61 also has a large lever 66 whose end overhangs the second

  free, protruding end of the axis common to the holder

  contacts 34 and to the link so that, when moving

  ment up this axis, the part 61 is tilted counterclockwise (in FIG. 17) in order to cause its reset at the same speed as the opening of the contacts to allow a spout 72 of a reset lever to relay to be placed under a spout 67 of part 61 before

  it does not return to its position.

  - The trigger lever, and relay reset, 68 capable of tilting around a fixed axis 69 also carried by the structural part 12 and by the complementary part 17 and having a first arm 70 coming to be disposed under the end lower of the relay rod 30a and a second arm 71 substantially perpendicular to the first, oriented downwards and mounted so as to cross the space left free between the axis 62 and the beak-shaped return 67, presenting the beak 72 complementary to the spout 67, so that, when the pivoting part 61 is in the stationary rearming position as shown in the figure, it is prevented from tilting, despite the action of its spring 64, due to the presence of the spout 72 which is then held in the latching position by transmission of the action of the spring 64 while a spring 73 hooked in traction between the end of the arm 70 and a hooking point for example, the axis 43, on the rotary actuator 31 es t relaxed in this position, but will tighten if the operating lever switches to the open position; the spring 73 will serve to bring back the lever 68 after tripping of the relay 30, thus ensuring the resetting of the relay; the attachment point is chosen so that, in the closed contact position, the traction exerted at rest on the spring is weak or zero then

  that in the open contact position it is maximum.

  The relay reset and trigger lever 68 is intended, in the event of a trigger under the action of the relay, to be driven and tilted by the movable rod 30a of the relay thus releasing the trigger part 61 and, at the end tripping and once the relay is no longer energized, to return this rod 30a to the reset initial position. The operation is as follows: In the normal open position (Figures 1, 14 and 18), the spring 41 tends to rotate the operating member 31 with its lever 32 clockwise, that is to say at pull the axis 43 of the connecting rod 42 upwards, and, consequently, tends to align the axes 43, 45 and 46, the connecting rod 44 tending to be placed in the extension of the connecting rod and tending to pull on the holder tilting contact 34 in the direction which would tend to rotate it clockwise, that is to say in the spacing position. However, the rod 42 and the rod 44 are held at the obtuse angle shown in the figures by a stop suitably disposed on the intermediate part 17, cooperating with an end projecting from the axis 43 between lever and rod, and which prevents that get

  continues the clockwise rotation of the operating member 31.

  The contact carrier 34 is, in turn, essentially pushed clockwise by the powerful springs 38 and remains held in the open position shown against a stop of the fixed structure so that the springs 38 are then without influence on the rest of the mechanism and in particular the rod and the rod. The movable contacts 36 are therefore distant from the fixed contacts 37. The lever

  trigger 47, articulated at its fixed point 48, remains main-

  held in its position by the abutment effect of the protruding part of the axis 45 between rod and rod in the groove 49 of the trigger lever and, in this position, we see that there is a slight clearance between the two spouts 57 and 58 of the pawl 50 and of the trigger lever 47. The pawl 50, for its part, remains maintained in the position shown under the action of its return spring 50a which tends to rotate it clockwise, while being held in this position by the abutment effect of the free end of the rib 47a of the trigger lever 47. The trigger part 61, urged clockwise by its spring 64, remains held in the position represented by the fact that the end of its long arm abuts against an end protruding from the axis 46 between link and contact carrier, while the relay reset lever 68 abuts on the relay rod 30a, the rod 30a being in the high position inside of relay 30. There then remains a game between the ux nozzles 67 and 72 of the reset lever 68 and

  of the pivoting trigger part 61.

  In the absence of intervention by any triggering member, it is then possible, by rotating the operating part 31 counterclockwise, against its return spring, to move the entire assembly downward. rod 42 and rod 44, which lowers the axis 45 between rod and rod which slides in the

  groove 49 of trigger lever 47 and, because the biel-

  lette 42 is offset to the left relative to the trigger lever, it will tend to tilt clockwise until its beak 58 abuts against beak 57 of the pawl 50 (Figures 11 and 15), after which the immobility of the trigger lever 47 requires the axis 45 to descend along the groove 49, which then requires the contact carrier 34 to tilt counterclockwise as the

  rod goes down. At the end of this movement, the holder

  contact came to rock against its springs 38

  and, in this movement, the movable contacts 36 come to

  counter the fixed contacts 37, after which the continued tilting of the operating lever 31 causes the final phase of the tilting of the contact carrier 34 so that,

  in a manner known per se, the springs 38 apply firm

  the movable contacts against the fixed contacts. In the closed position thus reached, the rod axes 45 and 46 are both located to the left of a plane passing through the axes 43 and 35 so that the force exerted by the springs 38 acting on the tilting contact carrier 34, and which clearly prevails over the weaker return spring of the operating part 31, tends to push the axis 45 between connecting rod and connecting rod to the left, movement prevented by the presence of the groove 49 of the lever

2626 1 4 trigger 47, itself immobilized by abutment against the ratchet spout 58,

  so that the connecting rod and the connecting rod are braced against the operating part 31, the continued rotation of the operating member 31 being prevented by a second stop. During the downward movement which has just been mentioned, the axis 46, with its projecting part, descended and moved away from the end of the long arm 66 of the pivoting part 61, the latter having no However, it was able to perform only a very small clockwise rotation under the action of its spring because it is immediately blocked by the spout 72 of the trigger lever, and of the relay reset, 68 which, for its part, has turned very slightly clockwise because its return spring 73 is relaxed, by rotation

  of part 31. The spring 73 then releases from all

drag the rod 30a of the relay 30.

  In the absence of intervention by the triggering members, it is possible by turning the lever 32 of the operating member 31 in the opposite direction, that is to say clockwise, to bring the whole of the closed position shown in Figures 11, 15 and 19 in the open position (Figures 10, 14 and 18), the different operations described above then being repeated in reverse order. On the occurrence of an overcurrent or a short circuit in the closed contact position, one or more of the interrupting or tripping devices concerned, namely bimetallic strip, magnetic circuit breaker 26, 27, 28, are found

  actuated, so that the pawl 50 will be stressed

  cited by the action of one of the aforementioned means on its respective actuating finger, namely one of the fingers 54 and 56, any one of these actions then causing the pawl 50 to tilt counterclockwise to the against its return spring. Quickly, the spout 57 of the pawl releases the spout 58 of the trigger lever 47 (FIGS. 16 and 20), which allows the trigger or "break" of the toggle formed by the

26 2 6 1 0 4

  connecting rod 42 and connecting rod 44. Under the strong thrust of the

  spells 38, axis 45 can then move to the left (figure 16) until it reaches the extreme position of

  break (Figure 17) and axis 46 between link and holder

  contact 34 is raised by allowing the contact carrier to rotate clockwise and to separate the movable contacts 36 from their respective fixed contacts 37, the trigger lever 47 tilting to follow this movement, which also has the effect of maintaining the pawl 50 in its tilted position even in the case where the triggering means have ceased to act, due to the presence of the end of the trigger lever rib 47a which prevents movement of the pawl in a clockwise direction. Once the contact carrier 34 has arrived in its open position determined by its stop, the springs 38 no longer exert any force on the rest of the mechanism and the

  return spring 41 of the rotary actuating member requested

  cites this body in a clockwise direction, which has the effect of driving upwards and to the right the axis 45 between connecting rod and connecting rod, driving the trigger lever 47 and this until one finds oneself in the position

  open shown in Figures 10, 14 and 18, the movement

  ment of the trigger lever 47 then releasing the pawl 50 which comes back to its initial position. This phase of breakage of the toggle joint is common to operation regardless of that of the triggering means which caused the breakage and it is understood that this breakage occurs even if the lever 32 of the operating member is maintained in its closed position as shown in the

Figures 13, 17 and 21.

  In the case where the triggering is caused by the operation of the bimetallic strip 25 which, during its deformation, comes to push the finger 56 of the pawl 50 located at

  the end of the small pawl arm 55, this causes pure-

  simply the sequence of the knee brace break described above. Of course, if an attempt is made to reset the device manually by acting on the operating lever 31, the pawl 50 will remain tilted by the presence of the bimetallic strip acting on the finger 56 and the closing movement of the operating member 31 will be unable to be communicated to the contact carrier 34 because the trigger lever 47 cannot be immobilized by the spout of the pawl 50, then in the lowered position. The rearmament does

  may intervene only after the bimetallic strip has returned to its posi-

  initial tin after cooling.

  If the triggering results from the actuation of the electromagnetic disjunction means, the plunger core with its striker 28 and its part 29 will be thrown suddenly to the right from the rest position shown in Figure 10. First, the ramp of the part 29 comes into contact with the finger 54 of the pawl presented by the large lever 52 thereof, which has the effect of tilting the pawl anti-clockwise, as before, and immediately causing breakage

  knee brace. The continuation of the brutal advance of the person

  cutter 28 and part 29 will keep the pawl 50 in its tilted position while the end of the striker 28

  strikes the arm 60 of the contact-carrying part 34 (fig-

  ure 12) which is then suddenly tilted, so that the tearing of the movable contacts from the fixed contacts will be ensured. It will be noted that the lowering of the pawl, whatever its cause, prevents any action on the operating member 31 from interfering with the separation of the contacts or by switching the contact carrier back into

contact closing position.

  If, finally, the trigger is produced by the relay, the rod 30a of which is pushed down, the trigger lever 68 is then tilted clockwise by the relay rod 30a and its spout 72 then releases the spout 67 from the intermediate triggering part 61 which can then tilt around its axis, clockwise, under the effect of the spring 64, so that the ramp 63 of the triggering part 61 is quickly tilted downward when coming into contact finger 53 of the pawl 50 which, pushed counterclockwise, immediately releases the toggle and causes the opening of the contact carrier. Furthermore, the rise of the axis 46 between the link and the contact carrier caused by the breakage (FIGS. 17 and 21) causes, by the action of the projecting part of this axis, a tilting in a counter-clockwise direction. 61 which returns to the reset position. Thanks to an appropriate form of ramp given to the lower part of the spout 72 of the relay reset lever 68, the movement towards the reset position of the part 61 occurs, until the spouts 67 and 72 are hooked; the trigger piece 61 will be reset before the trigger and reset lever 68 is tensioned by the effect of the spring 73, the movement of the contact carrier 34 being faster than that

of the operating lever 31.

Claims (12)

  1. Electric apparatus with automatic cut-off, in particular differential switch, circuit breaker or differential circuit breaker, of the type comprising between a rotary operating member (31) and a tilting contact carrier (34) on which is mounted at least one movable contact (36) cooperating with a   fixed contact (37) and which is requested by a first res-   comes out in the direction of opening or separation of the movable contact (36) from the fixed contact (37), a toggle and ratchet mechanism (50) capable, on the one hand, when this mechanism is tensioned, of transmitting the movement of the operating member (31) to the contact carrier (34) both in the opening direction and in the contact closing direction and, on the other hand, when this mechanism is relaxed by triggering means acting independently of the operating member on the pawl,   cause the contact carrier to return from its closed position   in its open position, this mechanism being arranged so as to allow the operating member to reset the device, that is to say to re-tension the mechanism by bringing it back from its open position after tripping in its normal opening position, after cessation of the intervention of the triggering means and under the action of a second spring acting on the operating member, said mechanism essentially consisting of a connecting rod (42) articulated by one of its ends on the operating member (31), along an axis (43) eccentric with respect to   the axis of rotation (33) of the operating member, of a connecting rod   lette (44) articulated by one of its ends to the other end of the connecting rod (42) and by the other of its ends   to the contact carrier (34), along an axis (46) eccentric relative to   port to the pivot axis (35) of the contact carrier (34), and of a trigger lever (47) articulated by one of its ends around a fixed axis (48) and provided with a groove longitudinal (49) in which can slide, practically without transverse play, the articulation axis (45) between the 2,626,104   connecting rod and the connecting rod, all these axes being parallel the   to each other, the pawl (50) of fixed axis (51) being urged   cited in the latching position by a third spring and acting on the trigger lever, characterized in that the pawl comprises at least two, and preferably three distinct zones (53, 54, 56), in particular reliefs or fingers,   likely to be met by means respectively   respective trigger ens (25, 26, 30) in order to lower   press the pawl (50) into the broken position of the toggle release the mechanism and cause the opening contacts.   2. Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the pawl (50) comprises, in addition to its hooking beak (57), an elongated arm (52) intended to cooperate, on the one hand, with a disjunction bimetallic strip ( 25) and, on the other hand, with   a plunger core of an electromagnetic coil   tion (26), and a short arm (55) intended to cooperate with a trip relay (30).   3. Apparatus according to one of claims 1 and 2,   characterized in that the pawl has three reliefs (53, 54, 56) intended to be actuated, for the tilting of the pawl, by a trigger relay (30), a bimetallic strip   circuit breaker (25) and an electromagnetic circuit breaker element tion (26).   4. Apparatus according to any one of claims 1   to 3, characterized in that said reliefs are fingers   transverse to the pawl (50).   5. Apparatus according to any one of claims 1   to 4, characterized in that the pawl (50) is formed by a lever extending in a direction clearly transverse to the direction of the articulated rod (42) and of the trigger lever (47), having its axis d 'joint (51) at one of its ends.   6. Apparatus according to any one of claims 1   to 5, characterized in that the toggle mechanism is designed so that the breaking of the toggle, when the 2626 '1i0 is triggered, takes place in a direction away from the plane   which joins the pivot axis (35) of the support piece   contact (34) and the pivot axis (33) of the operation (31).   7. Apparatus according to any one of claims 1   6, characterized in that a triggering part or lever 68, returned to the reset position by the spring (73), cooperates with the triggering of the pawl (50) by means of a pivoting part (61) and its spring (64), under the action of the rod (30a) of the relay (30) in   releasing the snap-fit of the spouts (72, 67).   8. Apparatus according to claim 7, characterized in that the pivoting part (61) has an elongated lever arm (66) the end of which is actuated by the mechanism during its return movement in the open position for tilting the piece in reset position in engagement   latching with the release lever (68).   9. Apparatus according to one of claims 7 and 8,   characterized in that the release lever (68) comprises   carries a large arm (66) cooperating with the movable rod (30a)   of the relay and a small substantially perpendicular arm carrying   both a ratchet beak (67) and cooperating with a ratchet beak   complementary quet (63) of the pivoting part (61) in step   between the axis (62) of said piece (61) and a return   both the spout (63), ramps being provided at said level spouts for rearming.   10. Apparatus according to any one of claims   7 to 9, characterized in that the trigger lever (68) is returned by a spring (73) disposed between one of its arms (70) and a fixing point (43) on the operating member (31), such that said spring (73) is relaxed when the operating member (31) is in the closed contact position but tensioned when it is in the open contact position.   11. Apparatus according to any one of the claims   1 to 10, characterized in that the trigger lever (47) 2 6 2 6 1 0   has a relief (47a) the end of which forms a stop limiting the movement of the pawl (50) in the direction of engagement with the trigger lever (47) so that said pawl is held in an angular position distant from the position d engagement as long as the trigger lever (47) is tilted, when the knee switch is broken, away from its angular locking position knee brace.   12. Apparatus according to any one of claims   1 to 7, characterized in that it comprises a piece of struc-   internal structure (12) substantially forming a central partition and determining a zone of mechanism (22) extending parallel to a zone (20) containing tripping means such as bimetallic strip and / or electromagnetic circuit breaker, the pawl (50) having fingers located in the course of said triggering means, while the relay reset lever (68), with its triggering intermediate part (61), is housed in the zone of the mechanism (22) under a zone (21) receiving the relay (30) differential switch.