FR2777694A1 - AUXILIARY SIGNALING BLOCK ADAPTABLE TO A PROTECTION CIRCUIT BREAKER - Google Patents

Abstract

An auxiliary signaling unit comprises a first switch - inverter 38 indicating a first OF open - closed signaling of the circuit breaker, and a second switch - inverter 36 indicating either the first OF signaling or a second fault SD signaling. The second change-over switch 36 is configured either by replacing the actuating lever 54 with a predetermined cam profile, or by means of a selector. A pair of control rods 94, 96 is associated with the operating lever 82 of the second switch - reverser 36, one of the rods 94 cooperating with the cam means 54A, 54B, 108 of the operating lever 54, 154, 254, and the other link 96 being coupled to a rotating plate 74 of mechanism 40.

Description

AUXILIARY SIGNALING BLOCK ADAPTABLE TO A

PROTECTION CIRCUIT BREAKER

  The invention relates to an auxiliary signaling unit with a housing intended to be attached to a circuit breaker and comprising two reversing switches controlled manually or automatically by a mechanism coupled to the circuit breaker by a first mechanical tripping link, and a second mechanical reset link. , respectively transmitting to the mechanism of the auxiliary unit a tripping movement coming from the trip unit of the circuit breaker after detection of a fault, and the position of the handle of the circuit breaker, said mechanism of the auxiliary unit comprising: - an actuating handle, a tab drive passing through a first orifice of the housing to form said second mechanical connection, - a trigger pin passing through a second orifice of the housing, - and two operating levers associated with springs for ensuring the switching of the movable contacts of the reversing switches, of which the first indicates a

  first OF signaling open - closed of the circuit breaker.

  Document EP 303965 describes an auxiliary signaling unit of the type mentioned, comprising two juxtaposed levers and projecting from the front face of the housing. The first lever is used to activate the mechanism of one of the changeover switches to allow manual engagement of the latter, and to indicate the switching position. The second joystick is coupled to the joystick of the

  circuit breaker and serves for the simultaneous switching on of the auxiliary unit and the circuit breaker.

  The document EP147605 relates to an auxiliary switchable signaling unit, one of the reversing switches of which can be locked in the latching position by means of a stop pawl cooperating with the control lever, which passes through the face front of the case. A selector limits the area of

pivoting of the pawl.

  The object of the invention is to provide an auxiliary signaling unit without an apparent handle, and having a change-over switch which can easily be transformed into an open position switch closed, or a switch

fault signal.

  The auxiliary unit according to the invention is characterized in that the actuation handle is housed inside the housing being provided with said drive tab, and further comprises cam means arranged so that the second reversing switch indicates either said first OF signaling open - closed, or a second fault signaling SD signaling the tripping of the circuit breaker. A pair of control rods is associated with the operating lever of the second reversing switch; one of the rods cooperating with the cam means of the actuating lever, and the other rod being coupled to a plate

rotary mechanism.

  We can easily switch from the OF version to the SD version by replacing the

  lever, the rest of the mechanism remains unchanged.

  According to a characteristic of the invention, the operating lever of the first change-over switch is pivotally mounted on the pivot of the plate, and is

  driven by it between the extreme closed and open positions.

  According to a preferred embodiment, the actuating lever is driven towards an intermediate position when the circuit breaker trips, the auxiliary block is reset when the actuating lever passes from the intermediate position to the position opening hours. The lever cam for the OF version does not act on the link during resetting, and confirms the first open signaling of the second changeover switch. The cam of the lever of the SD version acts on the link during resetting, to cause the tilting of the bistable lever, and the switching of the second switch - reverser, the second signaling indicating the passage of the position

  to reset position - open.

  According to a development of the invention, the two non-switchable OF and SD devices can be replaced by a single switchable device equipped with a selector making it possible to transform the profile of the actuating lever by means of

an adjustable cam.

  Other advantages and characteristics will emerge more clearly from the description

  which follows of an embodiment of the invention, given by way of nonlimiting example and shown in the appended drawings in which: FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an auxiliary signaling unit according to the invention, the block being shown on the side of the male coupling links; - Figure 2 is a schematic view of the association of the auxiliary signaling unit with a protective circuit breaker; - Figure 3 shows a perspective view of the mechanism of the auxiliary signaling unit after removal of the housing cover; - Figures 4 to 10 show the first OF-OF version of the auxiliary signaling unit in the following positions - Figure 4: closed, - Figure 5: shift from neutral after manual opening, Figure 6: open after manual opening, - Figure 7: unlocking of the mechanism following tripping of the circuit breaker, - figure 8: passage of neutral points on tripping, - figure 9: tripped - open - figure 10: reset - open following resetting by the circuit breaker, - figures 11 to 14 show the second version SD - OF of the auxiliary signaling unit in the following positions: - figure 11: passage of neutral position of the right bistable lever after manual opening, - figure 12: open after manual opening, - figure 13: passage of neutral position of the left bistable lever during resetting, - Figure 14: reset - opened following resetting by the circuit breaker, - Figure 15 shows a perspective view of an auxiliary signaling unit com mutable OF-OF / SD-OF, and vice versa; - Figure 16 is a side view of Figure 15 - Figures 17 and 18 are detail views on enlarged scales of the selector of Figure 15, respectively in the SD and OF position; - Figures 19 to 21 show the selector in the SD position with different positions of the lever during a rearming phase; - Figures 22 to 24 show the selector in the OF position with different positions

of the joystick during resetting.

  In FIGS. 1 and 2, an auxiliary signaling unit 10 and housed in a box 12 intended to be attached to a breaking device, in particular a circuit breaker 14, with coupling of a first mechanical link 16 for tripping and a second mechanical link 18 for rearming. The auxiliary signaling unit 10 is equipped with a drive lug 20 projecting from the housing 12 through a first curvilinear orifice 22, and capable of being coupled to the pivoting support 24 of the handle 26 of the circuit breaker 14 to form the second mechanical connection 18. A trip pin 28 passes through a second orifice 30 of the housing 12, and is intended to fit into the trip bar of the circuit breaker 14 to constitute the first mechanical trip link 16. Snap hooks 32, 34 are provided on the side face of the housing 12 to allow the attachment of the auxiliary unit 10 on the circuit breaker 14. The mechanism 35 of the circuit breaker 14 is of the type described in patent FR 2 616 583 in which the lever 26 can occupy, upon triggering, an intermediate position located between the two extreme positions

opening and closing.

  Referring to Figure 3, the housing 12 of the auxiliary signaling unit 10 contains two reversing switches 36, 38 controlled by a control mechanism 40, capable of being coupled to the mechanism 35 of the circuit breaker 14 by the two links

mechanical 16, 18.

  Each change-over switch 36, 38 is composed of a movable contact 42, 44

  cooperating with a pair of fixed contacts 46, 48; 50, 52. The first switch -

  inverter 38 on the right allows OF (open / closed) signaling, and the second inverter circuit 36 on the left indicates OF (open / closed) or SD signaling

  (fault signal) as a function of the cam profile of the operating handle 54.

  The contacts 42, 46, 48 of the second reversing switch 36 on the left are electrically connected to connection terminals 56, 58, 60 housed in cells on the small left lateral face of the housing 12. The contacts 44, 50, 52 of the first reversing switch 38 are electrically connected to terminals of

  connection 62, 64, 66 provided on the small right side face.

  The actuating handle 54 is mounted with limited rotation on an axis 68 inside

  of the housing 12, and carries the drive tab 20 eccentric with respect to the axis 68.

  A transmission link 70 connects the actuating handle 54 to the hook 72 of the mechanism 40, which comprises a rotating plate 74, and a trigger lever 76. The trigger pin 28 is secured to the lever of the

  trigger 76, extending parallel to the drive tab 20.

  The rotary plate 74 can rotate around a pivot 78 between two extreme positions, and the trigger lever 76 is articulated on an axis 80 integral with the plate 74. The movable contacts 42, 44 are shaped according to flexible metal blades, actuated by a pair of operating levers 82, 84 bistable cooperating

  with springs 86, 88 housed in guide members 90.92.

  To the operating lever 82 of movable contact 42 associated with the reversing circuit 36 is articulated a pair of control rods 94, 96 cooperating by their opposite ends respectively with a stop 55 of the housing 12 (OF) or the lever 54 (SD) and the plate 74. The other operating lever 84 of the movable contact 44 associated with the first reversing circuit 38, is pivotally mounted on the pivot 78 so as to be driven by the plate 74 rotating between the two extreme positions. The curved end of the rod 96 moves in an oblong hole 98 formed in the area

of articulation with the lever 82.

  1) The operation of the auxiliary signaling unit 10 in OF-OF version is shown in FIGS. 4 to 10. The internal lever 54 in this case comprises a first configuration of the profile 54A allowing the control rod 94 to

  come to rest on the stop 55 of the housing 12.

1.1.- MANUAL OPENING

  The signaling unit 10 being in the closed state (FIG. 4), the movable contact 42 is in engagement against the fixed contact 46, and the other movable contact 44 is in abutment on the fixed contact 50. During a manual operation of the circuit breaker 14 by means of the handle 26, the auxiliary signaling unit 10 is actuated by the drive lug 20 of the second mechanical link 18, causing the lever 54 to rock in an anticlockwise direction. 'a watch. FIG. 5 shows the mechanism 40 in the vicinity of the dead center of the two operating levers 82, 84. The two movable contacts 42, 44 are driven towards a middle position of separation with the corresponding fixed contacts. When the lever 54 arrives in the extreme left position corresponding to the open state of the auxiliary unit 10 (FIG. 6), the passage of neutral position of the two levers 82, 84 causes the simultaneous switching of the two movable contacts 42, 44, which arrive respectively against the fixed contact 48 of the reversing circuit 36, and the fixed contact 52 of the reversing circuit 38. The auxiliary signaling unit 10 also delivers two

  signals representative of the open state of the circuit breaker 14.

1.2.- MANUAL CLOSING

  The manual closing operation of the auxiliary signaling unit takes place in the opposite direction to FIGS. 4 to 6 after actuation of the handle 26 of the circuit breaker 14

towards the closed state.

1.3.- FAULT TRIGGER

  The closed state of the auxiliary unit 10 corresponds to FIG. 4. The tripping movement of the circuit breaker 14 following a fault detection is transmitted to the auxiliary unit 10 by the first mechanical link 16, causing the tripping lever 76 to pivot anticlockwise to unlock the hooking with the hook 72 of the mechanism 40 (Figure 7). The handle 54 is also driven by the tab 20 of the second mechanical link 18 to an intermediate position (FIG. 8) corresponding to the tripped position of the handle 26 of the circuit breaker 14. The opening spring rotates the plate 74 in counterclockwise to bring it to a stop. The plate 74 drives the two levers 82, 84 bistable beyond neutral, and the two movable contacts 42, 44 are switched respectively to the fixed contacts 48, 52 corresponding to the open tripped state (FIG. 9). The lever 82 is tilted by means of the link 96. The auxiliary signaling unit 10

  1 5 thus delivers two signals representative of the open or closed state of the circuit breaker.

1.4.- RESET OF THE CIRCUIT BREAKER

  The circuit breaker is reset by tilting the handle 26 of the circuit breaker 14 from the tripped intermediate position to the open position. The second mechanical link 18 returns the hook 72 to an armed position, following the driving of the lever 54 towards the end of opening travel position. The lever 82 remains stationary during this rearming maneuver, because the link 94 is not actuated. In the reset - open position in Figure 10, the contacts

  mobiles 42, 44 remain in the same position as that illustrated in FIG. 9.

  To transform the signaling block into an SD-OF version, it suffices to replace the handle 54 of the OF-OF version by a handle 154 having a cam 54B. The rest of the mechanism 40 is identical to that described above with reference to

Figures 4 to 10.

  2. The operation of the auxiliary signaling unit 10 in SD-OF version is illustrated in Figures 11 to 14:

2.1.- MANUAL OPENING

  From the closed position identical to that of FIG. 4, the manual opening of the circuit breaker 14 drives the lever 154 anticlockwise, causing the turntable 74 to rotate in the same direction. The plate 74 drives the lever 84 in the vicinity of the neutral point (FIG. 11) with separation of the movable contact 44 which is in an intermediate position. The tilting of the lever 84 occurs at the end of travel of the plate 74 (FIG. 12), with switching of the movable contact 44 to the fixed contact 52. The auxiliary signaling unit is then in the open position, and the other movable contact 42 remains stationary while pressing the contact

  fixed 46. Manual opening is signaled by the first reversing switch 38.

2.2.- MANUAL CLOSING

  Manual closing by the circuit breaker 14 takes place in the opposite direction to FIGS. 12, 11 and 4, following the rotation of the lever 154 in the clockwise direction

towards the other extreme position.

2.3.- FAULT TRIGGERING

  1 5 This tripping phase on fault of the SD-OF version is identical to that of

  the OF-OF version of Figures 7 to 9.

2.4.- RESET

  Resetting from the triggered - open position in FIG. 9, is carried out after driving the lever 154 from the intermediate position to the open position (FIG. 13). The hook 72 is reset, and the cam 54B of the lever 154

  causes the rod 94 to descend, followed by the tilting of the bistable lever 82.

  The movable contact 42 is switched from the fixed contact 48 (default position) to the other fixed contact 46 (reset position - open in FIG. 14). The movable contact 44 of the other reversing switch 38 remains stationary during the resetting phase, and

indicates the open position.

  The two versions OF-OF and SD-OF of the auxiliary signaling unit constitute two separate non-switchable devices, which differ from each other by the

  profile of the internal handles 54, 154.

  Figures 15 to 18 show an auxiliary signaling unit 100 switchable, comprising a selector 102 disposed in the vicinity of the orifice 22 of the drive lug 20. The selector 102 is pivoted by means of a screwdriver recess, between two stable positions, represented in FIGS. 17 and 18, and corresponding respectively to the SD-OF version and to the OF-OF version. A window 104 is housed in the front face of the housing 12 for viewing the position of

selector 102.

  The auxiliary signaling unit 100 comprises a handle 254 which can be transformed into a handle 54 of the OF version, or into a handle 154 of the SD version depending on the position of the selector 102. The handle 254 is provided with a base 106 pivotally mounted on the axis 68, and equipped with the drive tab 20. The selector 102 cooperates with an adjustable cam 108 pivotally mounted on an axis 110 of the base 106. In the SD version (Figures 19 to 21), the selector 102 is in the first adjustment position (6 o'clock), and does not come into engagement with the cam 108 during the rotation of the lever 254. The end of the cam 108 is bevelled, and engages between the base 106 and the rod 94 so as to push the latter towards

  the bottom during the rearming maneuver (Figures 20 and 21).

  In the OF version (Figures 22 to 24), the selector 102 is positioned in the second adjustment position (4 hours), by rotating the cam 108 anticlockwise. The cam 108 passes under the link 94 during the movement of

joystick rotation 254.

Claims (9)

  1.- Auxiliary signaling unit (10, 100) with housing (12) intended to be attached to a circuit breaker (14) and comprising two reversing switches (36, 38) controlled manually or automatically by a mechanism (40) coupled to the circuit breaker (14) by a first mechanical connection (16) for tripping, and a second mechanical connection (18) for resetting, respectively transmitting to the mechanism (40) of the auxiliary block (10, 100) a tripping movement coming from the tripping device of the circuit breaker (14) after detection of a fault, and the position of the handle (26) of the circuit breaker (14), said mechanism (40) of the auxiliary unit (10, 100) comprising: - an actuation handle (54, 154 , 254), - a drive tab (20) passing through a first orifice (22) of the housing (12) to form said second mechanical connection (18), a trigger pin (28) passing through a second orifice (30) of the housing (12), - and two operating levers (82, 84) as associated with springs (86, 88) for switching the movable contacts (42, 44) of the reversing switches (36, 38), the first of which (38) indicates a first open - closed OF signaling of the circuit breaker (14), characterized in that the actuating handle (54, 154, 254) is housed inside the housing (12) being provided with said drive tab (20), and further comprises profiles (54A, 54B , 108) arranged so that the second reversing switch (36) indicates either said first OF signaling open - closed, or a second   SD fault signaling signaling tripping of the circuit breaker (14).   2.- auxiliary signaling unit according to claim 1, characterized in that a pair of control rods (94, 96) is associated with the operating lever (82) of the second switch - reverser (36), one of the rods (94) being oriented towards the actuating lever (54, 154, 254), and the other link (96) being coupled to a   rotary plate (74) of the mechanism (40).   3.- auxiliary signaling unit according to claim 2, characterized in that the curved end of the link (96) is housed in an oblong hole (98) of the lever   of operation (82) associated with the second reversing switch (36).   4.- auxiliary signaling unit according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the operating lever (84) of the first reversing switch (38) is pivotally mounted on the pivot (78) of the plate (74), and is driven by it between the   extreme closing and opening positions.   5.- auxiliary signaling unit according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in   that each spring (86, 88) is housed in a guide member (90, 92) cooperating with the corresponding operating lever (82, 84) to form a toggle joint shift from neutral.   6.- auxiliary signaling unit according to one of claims 2 to 5, in which the   actuating handle (54, 154, 254) is driven to an intermediate position when the circuit breaker (14) trips, said intermediate position being located between extreme positions corresponding to the closed and open state, characterized in that the auxiliary unit is reset when the actuating lever (54, 154, 254) passes from the intermediate position to the open position. 7. Auxiliary signaling block according to claim 6, characterized in that the cam (54A) of the lever (54) for the OF version does not act on the link (94) during resetting, and confirms the first open signaling of the second changeover switch (36).   8.- auxiliary signaling unit according to claim 6, characterized in that the cam (54B) of the lever (154) of the SD version acts on the rod (94) during resetting, to cause the lever to tilt (82 ) bistable, and the switching of the second reversing switch 36, the second signaling indicating the   passage from the fault position to the reset position - open.   9.- auxiliary signaling unit according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in   that it comprises a selector (102) accessible from the outside and cooperating with a cam (108) to conform the actuation handle (254) into two different profiles suitable for said first OF signaling, or said second   SD signaling of the second reversing switch (36).