FR3029350A1 - DEVICE FOR DIFFERENTIAL PROTECTION - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a differential protection device (20) comprising a differential fault detector (22) having a second order voltage multiplication device (6). The invention also relates to a differential circuit breaker comprising such a device (20) for differential protection and at least one cut-off device. Finally, the subject of the invention is a method of controlling a cut-off device by means of a differential protection device (20).

Description

DESCRIPTION The present invention relates to a differential protection device, a differential circuit breaker comprising such a differential protection device, a differential switch comprising such a differential protection device and a method for controlling at least one electrical device, preferably at least one cut-off device, using a differential protection device. By definition, this differential circuit breaker comprises, on the one hand, a number of cut-off devices, and on the other hand, a differential protection device. It may for example be a bipolar differential circuit breaker, the differential circuit breaker then comprising a differential protection device and two cut-off devices, or a four-pole differential circuit breaker, the differential circuit breaker then comprising four cut-off devices and a protection device. differential.

In a differential circuit breaker of this type, the breaking devices may be circuit breakers of magnetothermic type, which, for example comprise a thermal actuator and a magnetic actuator able to trigger the opening of contacts according to two different types of defects (respectively overload on the line to be protected or short circuit on the line to be protected). In a differential switch, the cut-off devices are switches that may be able to allow manual opening or closing of the contacts by means of a control lever of the cut-off device and automatic opening of the contacts through the switch. differential module for example. Each of the switching devices is associated with an input terminal and an output terminal, intervening therebetween with switch contacts, at least one of which is movable under the control of a mechanism commonly known as a lock.

When the corresponding pole protects a phase conductor, this mechanism is itself under the control of at least one triggering member, such as for example a magnetic tripping member and / or a thermal tripping member, capable of provoking if necessary a command in opening of the contacts of the switch. - 2 - When the pole protects a neutral conductor, which may be for example the case when the differential circuit breaker is a four-pole differential circuit breaker, such a neutral is associated with three phases, no triggering member is usually against against the corresponding mechanism is then simply under the control of the mechanism of any of the other phases. Indeed, whether it is to protect a phase conductor or neutral, the mechanisms of the various cut-off devices are usually coupled together, so that an opening command of any one of them causes a command of the same type for all of these. As a corollary, the differential protection device is equipped with a fault detector capable of detecting the presence of a differential current between the electrical lines to be protected or between an electrical line to be protected and earth, this defect is commonly called differential defect. The differential protection device is also equipped with a mechanism commonly called differential lock, able to intervene triggering on the mechanism of at least one of the cut-off devices.

The present invention is more particularly the case where the multipole differential protection device or modular differential switch concerned is what is called a modular device. As is known, the housing of such a modular device has two main faces parallel to one another. The width of the modular apparatus is equal to the distance separating these main faces from one another. The width of the modular device is then a multiple of a given basic module common to all modular devices of the same type. These modular devices are thus advantageously able to be arranged contiguously side by side on the same support rail. They are then reported on it by a fixing face which belongs to the edge of their housing. In multipolar differential circuit breakers of such a modular design, the cut-off devices are usually arranged parallel to one another and they all have the same width equal to the base module. As a corollary, the differential protection device also extends most often to date parallel to the cut-off devices, in practice being attached thereto at one or the other end of the alignment. that it forms and its width it, equal to three times the basic module. As a result, to date, the overall width of a four-pole differential circuit breaker for example is traditionally equal to seven times the basic module. In the publication of patent application FR 2 777 110 has been proposed an embodiment in which this overall width has been reduced to four times the basic module. According to this embodiment, for a four-pole differential circuit breaker, the differential protection device is reduced to an equal width of four thirds of a module, which, for a differential circuit breaker of a width equal to four modules, leaves a width of two thirds. a module width for each breaking device. These differential circuit breakers have the disadvantage that the short-circuit performance, particularly cut-off devices, are relatively low. These differential circuit breakers also have the disadvantage that the heating of the cut-off devices is difficult to contain. The present invention therefore aims to provide a differential protection device for a differential circuit breaker advantageously to avoid these disadvantages while leading to a comparable compactness of the differential circuit breaker. To this end, the subject of the invention is a differential protection device comprising a differential fault detector comprising a first electrical circuit and a second electrical circuit, the first electrical circuit comprising a coil, said differential fault detector further comprising a 30 torus being traversable at least once by at least one conductor, the coil being wound around the torus and connected to the first electrical circuit for applying a first voltage to the first electrical circuit when a magnetic flux is induced in the toroid, said differential fault detector comprising at least one voltage multiplying device connected to the second electrical circuit and capable of applying a second voltage to the second electrical circuit as a function of the first voltage, said multiplication device comprising at least one device electrical energy storage, ca characterized in that the multiplication device is adapted to apply the second voltage to the second circuit such that the second voltage is greater than the first voltage by a multiplicative factor greater than 2. Thus, the differential fault detector can be equipped with a torus 10 of reduced size compared to known cores of the prior art so that the dimensions of the differential protection device can be further reduced, and this while keeping a tripping time in case of differential defect of less than 300 ms (time imposed by standards on differential products. Preferably, the multiplying device is adapted to apply the second voltage to the second circuit so that the second voltage is greater than the first voltage by an ideal multiplying factor greater than 2. In general, the coefficients for the devices multiplications, often referred to as voltage multipliers, are given for perfect, ideal, lossless voltage multipliers. Indeed, the voltage doublers often have a real coefficient substantially equal to 1.4 and not 2. Preferably, the voltage multiplier of the differential protection device is capable of applying a second voltage greater than the first voltage of a voltage. multiplying factor less than or equal to 8. Preferably, the voltage multiplier of the differential protection device is adapted to apply a second voltage greater than the first voltage of an ideal multiplicative factor less than or equal to 8. According to an additional possible characteristic the voltage multiplier may be a voltage tripler, a voltage quadruple, a voltage multiplier, or a voltage octupler. Thus, the size of the core as well as the width of the differential protection device can be reduced while keeping a sufficiently short trip time. The higher the voltage multiplier circuit, the smaller the toroid size can be. According to one possibility, the differential fault detector may comprise an intermediate electrical circuit connected to the first electrical circuit via a conditioning module capable of supplying a conditioned voltage, as a function of the first voltage, to the intermediate circuit, the intermediate electrical circuit being preferably connected to the second electrical circuit via the voltage multiplier device.

According to one possibility, the electrical energy storage device is an electrical capacitor having a capacitance between 470 nF and 2200 nF. According to one possibility, the electrical energy storage device is a set of electrical capacitors having a capacitance between 470 nF and 2200 nF. According to an additional possible feature, the coil may comprise a number of turns between 800 turns and 1100 turns. According to one possibility, the voltage multiplying device may comprise an AC / DC converter capable of converting an applied alternating voltage to the first circuit and / or, where appropriate, to the intermediate circuit into a DC or quasi-DC voltage applied to the second circuit. The invention also relates to a differential circuit breaker comprising at least two cut-off devices and a differential protection device according to the invention, the cut-off devices then each comprising at least one conductor passing through the toroid of the differential protection device at least on one occasion. Thus, the invention provides a differential circuit breaker of compact dimensions with satisfactory performance to the need of a user. According to an additional possible characteristic, the differential circuit breaker may comprise four cut-off devices each comprising a conductor passing through the toroid of the differential protection device respectively at least once, the differential protection device and the cut-off devices being preferably arranged in so that two cut-off devices are respectively arranged on either side of the differential protection device. Thus, it is proposed a four-phase differential circuit breaker to minimize the lengths of the conductors of cut-off devices passing through the torus, which has the effect that the heating of the conductors can be reduced to a minimum.

In addition, according to one possibility, the cutoff device connected to the neutral may be, relative to the front face, disposed at the right end or at the left end of the circuit breaker. According to an additional possible feature, the differential protection device has a first width substantially equal to the width of a basic module. According to one possibility, the cutoff device or devices may have a second width substantially equal to 0.75 times the width of a basic module. A basic width may be substantially a width of about 17.5 mm. This basic width is standardized between the various manufacturers of modular circuit breaker type electrical equipment and is generally between 17 and 18 mm depending on the manufacturer. Thus, this dimension of the cutoff device allows a breaking chamber of sufficiently large size to meet the requirements with respect to the performance of the circuit breaker in short circuit test, while maintaining the compactness of the circuit breaker. In addition, the additional space available compared to the solutions of the prior art allow the use of cutting devices of sizes up to 40 amps and breaking capacity up to 10 kAmpere. The invention also relates to a method for controlling at least one electrical device, preferably at least one switching device, with the aid of a differential protection device according to the invention, a method comprising the successive steps: - applying a first voltage to a first electrical circuit 30 from a magnetic field using a toroid and a coil; applying a second voltage to a second electric circuit as a function of the first voltage by means of a voltage multiplier device, the second voltage being greater than the first voltage by a factor greater than 2 and energy accumulation using an energy storage device connected to the second electrical circuit. According to one possibility, the method may comprise the following additional step: discharging the accumulated electrical energy into the energy storage device in a third circuit when a third voltage detected in the device energy accumulation exceeds a predetermined threshold voltage. According to one possibility, the method may comprise the following additional step: sending a command for the electrical apparatus by discharging into the third circuit the electrical energy accumulated in the energy storage device. According to one possibility, the sending of the command intended for the electrical apparatus may consist in applying a force on a control member of the cut-off device by means of an actuator. The features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description, by way of example, with reference to the appended diagrammatic drawings in which: FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic representation of a differential protection device according to the invention; Figure 2 is a schematic representation of a voltage doubler; Fig. 3 is a schematic representation of a voltage quadruplifier; Fig. 4 is a graph showing the voltage provided by the voltage doubler and the voltage quadrupler as a function of time; Figure 5 is a schematic representation of a differential fault detector including a voltage doubler; Figure 5A is a schematic representation of a voltage tripler; Figure 5B is a schematic representation of a voltage quadruplifier; Figure 5C is a schematic representation of a voltage octupler; Figure 5D is a schematic representation of a voltage sextupler; FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a differential circuit breaker, according to the invention, comprising four breaking devices; Figure 7 is a schematic representation of the differential circuit breaker of Figure 6; Figure 8 is a perspective view of the differential protection device according to the invention; Figure 9 is a perspective view of the differential circuit breaker of Figure 6; Figure 10 is a top view of the differential circuit breaker of Figure 6, with the cut-off device to be connected to the neutral phase arranged on the right; and, Figure 11 is a top view of the differential circuit breaker of Figure 6, with the cut-off device to be connected to the neutral phase arranged on the left. As disclosed in FIG. 1, the invention relates to a differential protection device 20 capable of detecting differential fault currents and / or leakage currents to earth. The differential protection device 20 comprises a differential fault detector 22 having a first electrical circuit 24 and a second electrical circuit 26. The first electrical circuit 24 comprises a coil 4. The differential fault detector 22 further comprises a torus 1 capable of at least once is passed through at least one conductor 3. The coil 4 is wound around the torus 1 and connected to the first electrical circuit 24 to apply a first voltage U2 in the first circuit 24 when a magnetic flux is induced in the torus 1. The differential fault detector 22 comprises at least one voltage multiplication device 6 connected to the second electrical circuit 24 and capable of applying a second voltage V2 to the second electric circuit 26 as a function of the first voltage U2. The voltage multiplication device 6 comprises at least one device 7 for storing electrical energy. The voltage multiplier device 6 is adapted to apply the second voltage V2 in the second circuit 26 so that the second voltage V2 is greater than the first voltage U2 by a factor greater than two. The voltage multiplying device 6 of the differential fault detector 22 disclosed in FIG. 1 may be a voltage tripler, a voltage quadrupeater, a voltage multiplier, or a voltage octupler. The differential fault detector 22 may comprise a third electrical circuit 28 comprising a comparison module 8. The electrical energy storage device 7 can apply the third voltage V3 to the third electrical circuit 28. At least one device 6 for multiplying the voltage connected to the second electric circuit 26 is capable of applying a second voltage V2 to the second electric circuit 26 as a function of the first voltage U2.

The torus 1 can be crossed at least once by at least one conductor 3. In the case disclosed in Figure 1, the torus 1 is crossed by four conductors 3 corresponding to the four phases. The appearance of the first voltage U2 in the first electrical circuit 24 then indicates that the sum of the magnetic fields generated by the conductors 3 is not zero. The differential fault detector 22 may furthermore comprise an intermediate electrical circuit 25 connected to the first electrical circuit 24 via a conditioning module 5 capable of supplying a conditioned voltage V1 to the intermediate circuit 25 as a function of the first voltage U2. . The intermediate circuit 25 can be connected to the second electric circuit 24 via the voltage multiplier device 6, the first voltage U2 then constitutes the input voltage of the conditioning module 5. The conditioning module 5 can be adapted to perform the following main functions: filtering, protection against strong currents, EMC adaptation and others. The output of the conditioning module 5 then constitutes the input of the voltage multiplier 6. The voltage multiplier 6 makes it possible, on the one hand, to amplify the first voltage U 2 and / or the conditioned voltage V 1 and the storage of the energy required to trigger a relay 10 in the device 7 for accumulating electrical energy or several device 7 for storing electrical energy. The devices 7 for storing electrical energy may be capacitors 7. The capacitors 7 may be called capacitors 7. The second voltage V2 is constantly compared to a reference using the comparison module 8. voltage V2 exceeds the reference, a command is given to a control member 9 to discharge the capacitor 7 in the relay 10 by means of the third electrical circuit 28. The triggering of the relay 10 allows the unlocking of a lock Thus, by using a voltage multiplier of greater than 2, a torus 1 of relatively small volume can be used. As the cost of a torus 1 increases with the increase in the volume of its material, a relatively small torus 1 makes it possible to reduce the costs of the differential defect detector 22. In addition, the integration of a torus 1 of reduced size further simplifies the integration of it into the product.

FIG. 2 discloses a voltage multiplication device 6a of order of magnitude two, i.e., a voltage doubler 6a. Such a voltage doubler 6a for a differential fault detector 22 is known from the prior art FR 2 777 110. The differential fault detector 22 of the differential protection device 20 according to the invention comprises a voltage multiplication device 6 of the present invention. an order greater than two, that is, a voltage tripler, a voltage quadruple, a voltage multiplier, or a voltage octupler. These second order voltage multiplication devices 6 are disclosed by way of example in FIGS. 3, 5A and 5B. Figures 3 and 5B disclose voltage quadruplers and Figure 5A a voltage tripler. Comparing a second-order voltage multiplication device 6a with a second-order voltage multiplication device 6, the latter needs a substantially reduced input voltage U2, V1 compared to required by the second order voltage multiplication device 6a. Nevertheless, the second order voltage multiplication device 6 takes longer to reach the steady state of the output voltage. In summary, the second order voltage multiplication devices 6 require more time to accumulate the energy required to trigger the relay 10 for a lower input voltage, which results in less voluminous cores 1 and / or a reduced number of primary passages. The number of primary passes is the number of times each driver crosses the torus. A reduced number of primary passages simplifies the manufacturing process and allows for easy tuning of the current path pattern in the product, reduction of material used in connections, reduction of overheating and - 11 possibly reducing the impact of the magnetic radiation of the current paths on the other bricks in the product and reducing the overall volume of the toroid and primary conductors taken in a set. The reduction in the volume of the torus 1 allows the reduction of its cost and simplifies the process of its integration into the product. It also allows the increase of the section of the conductors 3 to reduce among other things the heating or the passage of a caliber to another higher caliber in less cost. For a second voltage V2 worth, for example, 5.55 volts, a second-order voltage multiplication device 6 a needs an input voltage U 2, V 1 of 2.88 volts. For the same second voltage of 5.55 volts, a voltage multiplication device 6 of order four, requires an input voltage U2, V1 of only 1.5 volts. Nevertheless, the fourth-order voltage multiplication device 6 needs more time (243 ms = 345 ms-103 ms) to exceed the reference voltage (example: 4.5 volts) and trigger the relay 10 , while remaining below a trigger time of 300 ms. These results are disclosed in Fig. 4. The tripping time of the differential defect detector 22 of the differential protection device 20 having a voltage multiplier 6 of greater order than two is longer than that of the voltage multiplying device. This can have the consequence that the tripping time exceeds the normative value of 300 ms or the desired target.

To overcome these disadvantages, it may be necessary to reduce the tripping time using the implementation of palliative solutions. Such a reduction in trip time can be achieved by reducing the impedance of torus 1. This reduction in the impedance of core 1 results in a reduction in the number of turns in coil 4. The coil 4 in FIG. Differential protection device 20 according to the invention may comprise between 800 and 1100 turns, in order to obtain a sufficiently short trip time. In addition, the reduction of the tripping time can be achieved by reducing the value of the storage capacitance 7 to a minimum value ensuring the tripping of the relay 10, i.e., to give the relay the energy just needed for secure operation. The invention also relates to a differential circuit breaker 40 comprising at least one differential protection device 20 and at least one switching device 60. The differential circuit breaker 40 may, for example, consist of four switching devices 60 and a differential protection device 20. The differential circuit breaker 40 may be a modular apparatus comprising a first main face 42 and a second main face 44. As disclosed in particular in FIGS. 6 and 7, the differential circuit breaker 40 may be arranged so that two circuit breakers 60 are arranged both sides of the differential protection device 20. Each cut-off device 60 may be provided with an input terminal 62 and an output terminal 64. The input terminals 62 and the output terminals 64 may be respectively linearly arranged. The input terminals 62 and the output terminals 64 can also be respectively arranged equidistantly from each other. The differential protection device 20 is provided with a first width Li. The cut-off devices 60 are provided with a second width L2. The first width Li is preferably substantially equal to the width of a basic module. The second width, for its part, can correspond to a width substantially equal to 0.75 times the width of a basic module. The width of a basic module corresponds approximately to a width of 17.5 mm. This basic width is standardized between the various manufacturers of modular circuit-breaker type electrical equipment and is generally between 17 and 18 mm according to the manufacturers. The differential circuit breaker 40 is thus provided with a width equal to four modules (four times the second width L2 of the cut-off device and once the first width L1 of the differential protection device 20). Thus, the additional space available compared to the solutions of the prior art allow the use of cut-off devices 60 of 40 amps and breaking capacity up to 10 kAmpere. The width of a 17.5 mm module corresponds to the pitch of the bridging terminals that can connect the terminals 62, 64 of the cut-off devices 60. - 13 - The application also relates to a circuit breaker, preferably a differential circuit breaker having a mechanism for opening and closing at least one electrical contact between an upstream power line and a downstream power line.

In general, the opening and closing mechanism has two stable states, a first state that can be called the "open contacts" state for which the upstream electrical line is not electrically connected to the downstream line and a second state that can be called state "closed contacts" for which the upstream power line is electrically connected to the downstream line. The main function of the circuit breaker is to protect the downstream power line from faults, electrical overload type faults, short circuit, earth leakage fault. In general, the circuit breaker comprises an actuator adapted to bring the opening and closing mechanism back into the first state ("open contacts" state) in the event of overload (abnormal over-current) on the protected line. Preferably, the actuator is a thermal actuator adapted to deform according to its temperature. Preferably, the actuator may consist of a bimetallic traversed or not by the current. The circuit breaker may also include a trainer, preferably a thermal trainer. The trainer is usually the connecting part between the opening and closing mechanism and the actuator (against overloads). Generally the opening and closing mechanism of the contacts is provided with a trigger which, when moved by the actuator, allows the opening of the contacts, i.e. allows the change of the contacts. state, from the closed contact state (second state) to the open contact state (first state), of the opening and closing mechanism of the contacts. The opening of the contacts can be performed when the opening and closing mechanism of the contacts moves from the second state to the first state. In general, the trigger can be provided with a protrusion able to be moved directly by the actuator in order to trigger the opening and closing mechanism of the contacts. In other cases, this connection can also be made via a separate part of the trigger, called coach or thermal trainer. The trainer may be generally mechanically guided into envelope pieces of the apparatus and may be in contact or pivotally connected to the trigger. In some cases, the connection can be made directly between the trigger and the (thermal) actuator.

In cases where the connection is made indirectly, that is to say with the help of a part (the trainer), several different types of connection can be possible: - Trailer is rotating in the triggering part and is guided in translation in the envelope pieces; -Traveler in guided translation in the envelopes parts and in point contact on the trigger. In the case where the release is provided with an outgrowth adapted to be moved directly by the actuator to trigger the opening and closing mechanism of the contacts, the size of this function when arming and triggering the lock can become important, in fact the closing mechanism of contact closure passing from one stable state to the other generally by a rotational movement about an axis, the trigger can be also animated by a rotational movement , the angular sector swept by the mechanism can also be scanned by the protrusion of the trigger. This movement imposes the fact of having a free space allowing the free movement of the trigger during the change of state of the mechanism of opening and closing of the contacts. This free space is even more important for the following reason: when closing the contacts, if the trigger is retained by any component, it can automatically trigger the triggering of the opening and closing mechanism of the contacts, which may prevent the contacts from closing unexpectedly, which may cause the circuit breaker to malfunction. As a result, in the devices equipped with this technical solution, a large space is released around the trigger, which prevents the production of compact devices or in a limited space In cases where the connection is made using a coach in rotation relative to the trigger, the stroke of the trainer can be important since it is linked directly to the movement of the trigger during the opening and closing maneuvers contacts. The guidance of the trainer can also be difficult to achieve to find the right compromise between the different positions (open and / or closed contact), the - 15 - good orientation of the forces during an unlocking, avoid the jamming between the trainer and the guide casing parts and keep precise guidance to reduce the variability of the function. In cases where the connection is made using a translational driver in the envelope parts, the circuit breaker can be difficult to assemble in an architecture or the assembly is done by stacking, particularly if a lock has two contacts. Because in this case there must be a trainer on both sides of the lock (a trainer by thermal function), It would then be necessary to find a system to pre-mount the trainer in the envelopes and hold it before assembling the lock on the envelope piece. Such circuit breakers of the prior art are known, for example, from documents FR 2 661 776 and EP 0 295 158 B1. The object of the application is thus to overcome the difficulties of space involved in the movements of the parts, the difficulties of guiding or even of 'assembly. The purpose of the application is also to obtain a complete and compact subassembly that can be installed in an environment with a reduced space. For this purpose the application proposes a circuit breaker comprising a subassembly comprising an opening and closing mechanism having at least two stable states, a first state for which an upstream electrical line is not electrically connected to a downstream line (open contact ) and a second state for which the upstream power line is electrically connected to the downstream line (closed contact), said circuit breaker comprising a trigger able to switch the opening and closing mechanism of the second state to the first state when the trigger is moved, relative to the opening and closing mechanism, to return the opening and closing mechanism to the first state, said subassembly also comprising an actuator, preferably a thermal actuator, adapted to move the trainer so as to bring back the mechanism of opening and closing in the first state when a product connected to the downstream power line is traversed by a current greater than the rated current for which the product is provided (current overload), said subassembly comprising a trainer.

Preferably, the subassembly comprises means for guiding the trainer. Preferably, the trainer has a general shape of U, the first leg of the U being connected to the trigger and the second leg of the U being in connection with the actuator, the middle part of the U connecting the two branches. from U.

Thus, the circuit breaker can gain compactness (and therefore in margin of adjustment of the thermal protection). Preferably, the trainer can be, on the one hand, connected to the actuator and, on the other hand, connected to the trigger. Preferably the trainer is made of metal material, prevence from a wire. Preferably, the section of this wire may be round or square. The wire has the advantage of being easily achievable and rigid by using a wire of small diameter (compared to a plastic part). Preferably the trainer is made of plastic.

Preferably, the coach is guided on the envelopes. Preferably, the envelopes can hold the various parts of the lock (subassembly) (including thermal) in a guide rail. Preferably, the trainer can be held in the guide rail by deformable clips of the subassembly holding envelope or by an additional piece which is fixed on the envelopes or by at least one clipping pin. Thus the subset is complete and autonomous. The subassembly comprises at least one holding shell which may be formed by at least one envelope piece, preferably two envelope pieces.

Preferably, the trainer operates in translation and has no rigid connection with the triggering part, which reduces its bulk during operation. In this circuit breaker, the trainer is free and has no relative movement with respect to the fixed parts of the product during the movement of the mechanism (opening or closing of the contacts). Preferably, the coach can be clipped into the pieces. envelopes, which eliminates assembly difficulties for this type of subassembly (a mechanism with two contacts and a drive in translation with a stack assembly). The trainer can also be held in the wrapped pieces by an additional piece which would itself be attached to the wraps. Thus, the trainer can be assembled by simple clipping after constitution of the complete subassembly, thus the complete subset is functional and can be tested in a template before assembly of the complete product, thus independently of the complete product. This functionality can not be achieved in the case where the coach is guided by the product envelope for example. The circuit breaker that is the subject of the application has the advantage of saving space for future developments more and more compact, as well as to have a complete and independent mechanical subassembly with the trainer already assembled on it, or to assemble in the final environment without the constraint of a necessary maintenance in the envelopes (in the case of a stack assembly). The characteristics and advantages of the circuit breaker proposed by the application will become apparent from the following description, by way of example, with reference to the appended diagrammatic drawings in which: FIG. 12 is a diagrammatic representation of a liaison trainer. pivot in a triggering part and guided in translation in envelopes of a circuit breaker known from the prior art; Figure 12a is a schematic representation of the trainer 20 pivotally connected in the trigger piece and guided in translation in the casings of the circuit breaker known from the prior art; Figure 13 is a schematic representation of a circuit breaker proposed by the application; Figure 13a is a schematic representation of a trainer of the circuit breaker proposed by the application; Figure 14 is a schematic representation of the circuit breaker proposed by the application in a first position (open contact position); Figure 15 is a schematic representation of the circuit breaker 30 proposed by the application in a second position (closed contact position); As disclosed in FIGS. 13 to 15, the application relates to a circuit breaker comprising a subassembly 123 comprising an opening and closing mechanism having at least two stable states, a first state for which an upstream electrical line is not electrically connected to a downstream line (open contact) and a second state for which the upstream power line is electrically connected to the downstream line (closed contact), said circuit breaker comprising a trigger capable of tilting the opening mechanism and closing the first state to the first state when the trigger is moved, relative to the opening and closing mechanism, to return the opening and closing mechanism to the first state, said subassembly also comprising an actuator, preferably an actuator thermal, able to return the opening and closing mechanism to the first state when a product connected to the electr line Downstream is traversed by a current greater than the rated current for which the product is provided (current overload), said subassembly comprising a driver 120. Preferably, the subassembly comprises guide means of the trainer. Preferably, the trainer has a general shape of U, the first leg of the U being connected to the trigger and the second leg of the U being connected to the actuator, the middle part of the U connecting the two branches of the U Thus, the circuit-breaker can gain in compactness (and thus in margin of adjustment of the thermal protection). Preferably, the driver 120 may be, on the one hand, connected to the actuator and, on the other hand, connected to the trigger. Preferably the trainer 120 is made of metal material, preferably from a wire. Preferably, the section of this wire may be round or square. The wire has the advantage of being easily achievable and rigid by using a small diameter wire (as compared to a plastic part). Preferably the trainer is made of plastic. Preferably, the driver 120 is guided on the envelopes 121, 122. Preferably, the envelopes 121, 122 can hold the various parts of the lock (subassembly 123) (including thermal) 30 and in particular the driver 120 in a guide rail. Preferably, the different parts of the lock can be held by deformable clips or by an additional piece to be fixed on the envelopes or by at least one clipping pin. Thus the subset is complete and autonomous 123. The subassembly 123 comprises at least one holding shell which can be made by at least one envelope piece 121, 122, preferably two envelope pieces 121, 122. Preferably , the trainer operates in translation and has no rigid connection with the trigger part, which reduces its bulk during operation. In this invention, the trainer is free and has no relative movement with respect to the fixed parts of the product during the movement of the mechanics (opening or closing of the contacts). Preferably, the trainer can be clipped into the parts. envelopes, which eliminates the assembly difficulties for this type of subassembly (a mechanism with two contacts and a translational drive with a stack assembly). The coach can also be maintained in the envelopes by an additional piece which would itself be fixed on the envelopes. Thus the trainer 120 can be assembled by simple clipping after constitution of the complete subset, so the complete subassembly 15 is functional and can be tested in a template before assembly of the complete product, therefore independently of the complete product. This functionality can not be achieved in the case where the coach is guided by the product envelope for example. The circuit breaker which is the subject of the application has the advantage of gaining space for future developments increasingly compact, as well as to have a complete and independent mechanical subassembly with the trainer already assembled on it, or to to assemble in the final environment without the constraint of a necessary maintenance in the envelopes (in the case of a stack assembly). The application also relates to a modular differential circuit breaker. Circuit breakers of this type may comprise at least one cut-off compartment and a differential protection compartment, the cut-off compartment (s) having a mechanism for opening and closing at least one electrical contact between a power line. upstream and a downstream power line. Differential circuit breakers may include test functions to test the proper functioning of the differential protection compartment. The differential protection compartment 35 then comprises in a test circuit, the test circuit comprising a first switch that can be closed by pressing a test button. This test can be done by pressing the test button which has the effect of to close the test circuit which simulates a differential fault which causes the tripping of the differential module of the product, this differential fault is generally produced by a leakage current between the neutral and at least one phase of the product, this current passing through a resistor having the effect to limit the leakage current. In general, the circuit breaker comprises a connecting piece 250 mounted inside the differential protection compartment and which makes it possible to mechanically connect the breaking compartments to one another by means of at least one lateral lug 251, 251 ', preferably two lateral lugs. 251, 251 '. The connecting piece can protrude from either side of the differential protection compartment 252 and can enter the breaking compartments located, where appropriate, on either side of the differential protection compartment.

The connecting piece can actuate the opening of the contact of the compartments of cuts during a differential defect via its lateral pins 251, 251 '. Such a circuit breaker known from the prior art is for example disclosed by the document EP0948021 B1 The circuit breakers known from the prior art have the disadvantage of leaving the test circuit active after a mechanical opening of the contacts of the breaking compartments and / or after a differential fault, and thus leaves unnecessarily the current in the test circuit during a long press on the test button, which could result in the destruction of the test function by damaging a resistance of the test function. The purpose of this application is to overcome these disadvantages. For this purpose the application proposes a circuit breaker comprising a test circuit comprising a first switch that can be opened and / or closed by pressing a test button and a second switch that can be opened and / or closed by the test piece. link. Preferably, the connecting piece closes the second switch when the contact of the compartment (s) cutoff is (are) closed (s). Preferably, the connecting piece opens the second switch when the contact or the compartment (s) cutoff is (are) open (s). Preferably, the connecting piece can deactivate the test circuit during mechanical opening of the breaking compartments and / or by the differential protection compartment during a differential defect. Preferably, when the circuit breaker is in the ON position, that is to say when the contact of the at least one compartment (s) is (are) closed and the differential protection compartment does not detect any fault , the connecting piece can be adapted to allow the establishment of good contact of the test circuit in the differential compartment, that is to say to close the test circuit (second closed switch, possibility of performing the test function). Preferably, when the circuit breaker is in the OFF position, that is to say when the contact (s) of the cutoff compartment (s) is (are) open and / or when the differential protection compartment detects a defect , the connecting piece physically opens the test circuit 15 (second open switch and thus protects against a short circuit in case of prolonged support and closure of the test button contact). Indeed, when pressing the test button, the first switch test button is closed but as the second is open, the test function is disabled Thus, the connecting piece can disable the test circuit during a mechanical opening switching compartments and / or the differential protection compartment during a differential fault. The characteristics and advantages of the circuit breaker proposed by the application will become apparent from the following description, by way of example, with reference to the appended diagrammatic drawings in which: FIG. 16 is a diagrammatic representation of a connecting piece a circuit breaker proposed by the application; Figure 16a is a schematic representation of the circuit breaker proposed by the application comprising the connecting part of Figure 16; Figure 17 is a schematic representation of the circuit breaker 30 proposed by the request in the ON position; Figure 18 is a schematic representation of the circuit breaker proposed by the request in the OFF position; As disclosed in FIGS. 16 to 18, the application relates to a circuit breaker comprising a test circuit comprising a first switch that can be opened and / or closed by pressing a test button and a second switch that can be opened and / or closed by the connecting piece. Preferably, the connecting piece closes the second switch when the contact of the compartment (s) of cutoff is (are) closed (s). Preferably, the connecting piece opens the second switch when the contact of the compartment (s) cutoff is (are) open (s).

Preferably, the connecting piece 250 can deactivate the test circuit during mechanical opening of the breaking compartments and / or by the differential protection compartment during a differential fault. Preferably, when the circuit breaker is in ON position 253, that is to say when the contact of the at least one compartment (s) is closed (s) and the differential protection compartment does not detect differential defect, the connecting piece can be adapted to allow the establishment of good contact of the test circuit 254 in the differential compartment, that is to say to close the test circuit 256 (second closed switch, ability to perform the function test). Preferably, when the circuit breaker is in the OFF position 255, that is, when the contact (s) of the cutoff compartment (s) is (are) open and / or when the differential protection compartment detects a differential defect, the connecting piece physically opens the test circuit 256 (second open switch and thus protects it from a short-circuit in case of prolonged support and closure of the test button 257 contact). Indeed when pressing the test button, the first switch test button is closed but as the second is open, the test function is disabled Thus, the connecting piece can disable the test circuit during a mechanical opening switching compartments and / or the differential protection compartment during a differential fault. The subject of the application is also a method of manufacturing a modular electrical appliance providing at least two electrical functions, preferably a modular differential circuit breaker. Circuit breakers of this type may comprise at least one cut-off compartment and a differential protection compartment, the cut-off compartment (s) having a mechanism for opening and closing at least one electrical contact between a power line. upstream and a downstream power line. The differential protection compartment may comprise a differential fault detector comprising a toroid and a detection circuit. The differential protection compartment may further comprise a test circuit comprising a test button. Current differential circuit breakers are first assembled in their entirety and adjusted and controlled as a result of assembly. In case of problems related to adjustment and / or control the product is thrown because difficult to disassemble. The object of the application is to propose a method of manufacturing an electrical appliance providing at least two electrical functions, preferably a modular differential circuit breaker, making it possible to reduce the number of products discarded. To this end, the application proposes a method of manufacturing an electrical appliance providing at least two electrical functions, preferably a modular differential circuit breaker, comprising the following successive steps: a) providing a differential protection compartment comprising a differential fault detector and a test circuit, said test circuit comprising a test button, said differential fault detector comprising a toroid and a detection circuit; b) passing at least one primary connection through torus; C) testing the operation of the differential protection compartment by firstly pressing the test button and secondly applying a voltage to the primary connection (s) so that a magnetic flux is induced in the toroid and triggers the differential fault detector; D) arranging at least one cutoff compartment adjacent to the differential protection compartment. Preferably, the method comprises the further step of: e) electrically welding external pole terminals of the electrical apparatus. Preferably, the method comprises the following additional step: f) embedding the cutoff compartment (s) and / or the apparatus Preferably, the method comprises the additional electrical step. following: g) Electrically solder the connection or connections respectively to a conductor of the cutoff compartment or compartments, each conductor being preferably connected to a magnetic coil of the breaking compartment.

This step ensures that no mechanical differential defect will generate waste because the product is still repairable at this stage. Preferably, the method comprises, between step c) and step d), the following additional step: cl) embedding the differential protection compartment in a housing. The characteristics and advantages of the method of manufacturing an electrical appliance providing at least two electrical functions, preferably a modular differential circuit breaker proposed by the application will become apparent from the following description, by way of example, in reference to the appended diagrammatic drawings in which: FIG. 19 is a diagrammatic representation of a differential protection compartment according to the subject of the application; Fig. 20 is a diagrammatic representation of the differential protection compartment 20 which is the subject of the recessed application in a housing; Figure 21 is a schematic representation of a differential circuit breaker being the subject of the application; Figure 22 is a diagrammatic representation of the differential circuit breaker being the subject of the application; Figure 23 is a schematic representation of the differential circuit breaker being the subject of the application. Figure 19 is a schematic representation of a differential protection compartment 320 according to the subject of the application 30 made available in step a) of the method. The differential protection compartment 320 comprises a differential fault detector and a test circuit, said test circuit comprising a test button, said differential fault detector comprising a torus 302 and a detection circuit. Four primary connections 304 pass through the torus 302 after the execution of step 35 (b). FIG. 20 is a diagrammatic representation of the differential protection compartment 320 embedded in a housing 321 as it is after the execution of step c1). Figure 21 is a schematic representation of a differential circuit breaker 330 being the subject of the application. The differential circuit breaker 330 comprises the differential protection compartment 320 shown in FIGS. 19 and 20. The differential circuit breaker 330 comprises four breaking compartments 340, two breaking compartments 340 being arranged respectively on either side of the differential protection compartment 320. FIG. 22 is a diagrammatic representation of the differential circuit breaker 330. In particular, the figure shows the external poles 308 to be soldered electrically in step e). In FIGS. 22 and 23, the flashes represent the soldering points of the components.

FIG. 23 is a diagrammatic representation of the differential circuit breaker 330. The figure shows in particular the electrical soldering of the connections 304 respectively to a conductor 309, 310, 311, 312 of the breaking compartments 340, soldered during step g). Preferably, each conductor 309, 310, 311, 312 is connected to a magnetic coil of the breaking compartment. The application also relates to a cut-off device and a modular differential circuit breaker comprising at least one such cut-off device. Such cutoff devices generally have a mechanism for opening and closing at least one electrical contact between an upstream power line and a downstream power line. In general, the opening and closing mechanism comprises a cutting chamber comprising a yoke, an arc horn and a subset called a deion. The cutoff performance of such modular differential circuit breaker and breaker devices comprising at least one such cut-off device is the result of a compromise between different components of the switchgear. Generally the cutoff is finalized in the deion, deion comprising platelets which split the arc. The said pads are kept parallel and without contact with each other by a known electrically non-conductive mechanical device such as cardboard sheets or plastic plates. The performance of such switching devices is dependent on the number of platelets in the deion. The number of platelets is generally between 7 and 15 platelets, more particularly 7 or 11 or 12 or 13 platelets. It goes without saying that the more deion subset comprises 5 pads, the higher the cutoff performance is higher but the volume of the subset deion is important. The electric arc is created at the moment of the opening of the contact under load and is guided towards the subset deion by two elements: the arc horn and the arc plate. The current trend is to develop ever more efficient cut-off devices with equivalent or reduced volume. This trend involves increasing the performance of the cutoff device either at constant volume or by reducing the volume of the product or at least maintaining acceptable performance while reducing the volume of the product. Another important parameter in the cutoff performance of the cutoff device is whether or not there is an arc jump between the arc horn and the bolt. At present there are two bolt technologies for the prior art cut-off devices: With arc jump and Without arc jump With arc jump, either the horn is a welded component on the cylinder head, or the horn forms an integral part of the breech itself. This results in a slower arc climb and therefore high thermal stress. In this configuration, the deion subassembly can extend to the breech which allows to increase the number of deion plates, on the other hand the fact that a "jump of arc" is present on the course of 30 l electric arc, goes against the increase in performance generated by the fact that the number of deion wafers is increased. The jump of the arc is in fact a discontinuity of the conductor which allows the arc to go to the subset deion. Without bow jump, it is always the extension of the horn that extends under the breech. This causes a loss of volume in the interrupting chamber and therefore a lower arc voltage and a lower heat dissipation. The object of the application is to propose a cut-off device and a modular differential circuit breaker comprising at least one such cut-off device having a sufficiently high breaking performance while keeping a sufficiently compact breaking chamber. For this purpose, the application proposes a cut-off device having a mechanism for opening and closing at least one electrical contact between an upstream electrical line and a downstream electrical line. The opening and closing mechanism comprises an interrupting chamber 10 comprising a yoke, an arc horn and a subset called a deion. Preferably, the yoke has a longitudinal opening. Preferably, the bow horn is housed in the same plane as that of the breech. The longitudinal opening allows the bow horn to be housed in the same plane as that of the breech. Preferably, the bow horn is integrated directly into the breech in one piece without arcing. Preferably, the bow horn is arranged on the same plane as the breech. Preferably, the longitudinal opening in the cylinder head is open, which makes it possible to house the arc horn integrally in its thickness in the opening of the cylinder head, since generally this type of component has a constant thickness. Preferably, the opening may also consist of a cavity housing the non-emergent arc horn made by stamping in the cylinder head for example. In this case: either the arc horn is not totally integrated in the thickness of the yoke (case of component of constant thickness); either it is totally integrated in the thickness of the cylinder head if for example the component is not of constant thickness (breech thicker than the arc horn) or the protrusion generated by stamping in the cylinder head does not collide with any component of the magnetic subassembly. These characteristics have the effect of causing a volume gain in the interrupting chamber in order to maximize the performance of the deion (gain of a wafer on the deion). They also better dissipate the energy of the electric arc. According to one possibility, the yoke may comprise a flat portion, preferably extended at one of its ends by a first curved portion comprising a contact zone constituting a fixed contact of the cut-off device. According to one possibility, the first portion curved is itself extended by a second portion constituting an arc horn. Preferably, the arc horn may consist of two portions, a prolonged curved portion of a terminal planar portion. According to one possibility, the breech may have an opening.

According to one possibility, the arcuate horn terminates in a flat portion and is preferably bent so that the planar portion is housed in the opening of the yoke so as to be parallel and aligned therewith. These features have the advantage that an arc jump can be avoided and the volume of the interrupting chamber can be maintained (hence the number of deion platelets in the deion subset). The characteristics and advantages of a switching device and a modular differential circuit breaker comprising at least one such cut-off device proposed by the application will become apparent from the following description, by way of example, with reference to FIG. annexed schematic drawings in which: FIG. 24 is a diagrammatic representation of a cut-off device known from the prior art with an arc jump; Figure 25 is a schematic representation of a cutoff device known from the prior art; Figure 26 is a schematic representation of a prior art cut-off device with arc jump; Figure 27 is a schematic representation of a cutoff device known from the prior art without arcing; Figure 28 is a diagrammatic representation of a cut-off device known from the prior art; Fig. 29 is a schematic representation of a breech of a cutoff device proposed by the application; Fig. 30 is a schematic representation of a demand cutoff device comprising a yoke shown in Fig. 29. Fig. 29 is a schematic representation of a yoke 410 of a proposed cutoff device 400. by the request. Figure 30 is a schematic representation of the cut-off device 400 including the cylinder head 402.

The cut-off device 400 has a mechanism for opening and closing at least one electrical contact between an upstream electrical line and a downstream electrical line. The opening and closing mechanism comprises a breaking chamber 420 comprising a yoke 402, an arc horn 401 and a subset called the deion 440.

Preferably, the yoke 402 has a longitudinal opening 411. Preferably, the arc horn 401 is housed in the same plane as that of the cylinder head 402. The longitudinal opening 411 allows the arc horn 401 to be housed in the same plane as that of the bolt 402. Preferably, the arc horn 401 is integrated directly into the bolt 402 in one piece without arcing. Preferably, the arc horn 401 is arranged on the same plane as the cylinder head 402. These characteristics have the effect of causing a volume gain in the breaking chamber 403 in order to maximize the performance of the deion 440 (FIG. a wafer on the deion). They also better dissipate the energy of the electric arc. According to one possibility, the yoke 402 may comprise a flat portion, preferably extended at one of its ends by a first curved portion comprising a contact zone constituting a fixed contact 25 of the cut-off device. According to one possibility, the first curved portion is itself extended by a second portion constituting an arc horn 401. Preferably, the arc horn 401 may be made up of two portions, a prolonged curved portion of a terminal flat portion.

According to one possibility, the yoke 402 may have an opening 411. According to one possibility, the arcuate horn 401 terminates in a planar portion and is preferably bent so that the flat portion fits into the opening 411 of the yoke 402 so as to be parallel and aligned therewith. Preferably the opening 401 is open - 30 - Optionally the opening 401 can be made by stamping, in this case it is non-emergent and the portion covering the opening 401 extends beyond the thickness of the cylinder head 402 in the opposite direction to that of the breaking chamber by a distance d. Preferably this distance is equal to the thickness of the cylinder head 402. Optionally this distance is less than the thickness of the cylinder head 402. Figures 24 and 26 each disclose a switching device 400 with arc jump. The cutoff device 400 comprises a first position 451 where the arc is located before the jump of arc and a second position 452 where the arc is located after the jump of arc. These features have the advantage that an arc jump can be avoided and the volume of the breaking chamber can be maintained (thus the number of deion platelets in the deion subset). The last object of the application is a differential circuit breaker which combines at least two of the different objects mentioned above. Of course, the invention is not limited to the embodiments described and shown in the accompanying drawings. Modifications are possible, especially from the point of view of the constitution of the various elements or by substitution of technical equivalents, without departing as much from the field of protection of the invention.

Claims (14)

REVENDICATIONS1. Differential protection device comprising a differential fault detector (22) having a first electrical circuit (24) and a second electrical circuit (26), the first electrical circuit (24) comprising a coil (4), said differential fault detector ( 22) further comprising a core (1) which can be traversed at least once by at least one conductor (3), the coil (4) being wound around the core (1) and connected to the first electrical circuit (24) for applying a first voltage (U2) to the first electrical circuit (24) when a magnetic flux is induced in the core (1), said differential fault detector (22) comprising at least one voltage multiplication device (6) connected to the second electric circuit (26) and capable of applying a second voltage (V2) to the second electric circuit (26) as a function of the first voltage (U2), said multiplication device (6) comprising at least one device itif (7) of accumulation of electrical energy, characterized in that the multiplication device (6) is able to apply the second voltage (V2) to the second circuit (24) so that the second voltage (V2) is greater than the first voltage (U2) by a multiplicative factor greater than 2. 2. Differential protection device according to claim 1, characterized in that it has a first width (L1) substantially equal to the width of a base module. 3. Differential protection device according to any one of claims 1 to 2, characterized in that the differential fault detector (22) comprises an intermediate electrical circuit (25) connected to the first electrical circuit (24) via a conditioning module (5) capable of supplying a conditioned voltage (V1) to the intermediate circuit (25) as a function of the first voltage (U2), the intermediate electric circuit (25) being preferably connected to the second electrical circuit ( 26) via the voltage multiplier device (6). 30 4. Differential protection device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the device (7) for storing electrical energy is an electrical capacitor preferably having a capacitance between 470 nF and 2200 nF.- 32 - 5. Differential protection device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the coil (4) comprises a number of turns between 800 turns and 1100 turns. Differential protection device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the voltage multiplication device (6) comprises an AC / DC converter capable of converting an applied alternating voltage to the first electrical circuit (24). and / or, where appropriate, to the intermediate circuit (25), in a DC or quasi-DC voltage applied to the second electric circuit (26). 7. Differential protection device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the second voltage (V2) is greater than the first voltage (U2) by a multiplicative factor less than or equal to 8. 8. Differential circuit breaker comprising at least two devices (60) for breaking, characterized in that it also comprises a device (20) for differential protection according to any one of claims 1 to 7, the devices (60) of cutout each comprising at least one conductor (3) passing through the core (1) of the differential protection device (20) at least once. 9. Differential circuit breaker according to claim 8, characterized in that it comprises four devices (60) of cutoff each comprising a conductor (3) passing through the core (1) of the device (20) differential protection respectively at least once the differential protection device (20) and the switching devices (60) are preferably arranged in such a way that two switching devices (60) are respectively arranged on either side of the differential protection device (20). 10. Differential circuit breaker according to any one of claims 8 or 9, characterized in that the device (s) (s) (60) cutoff have a second width (L2) substantially equal to 0.75 times the width of a basic module. 11. A method of controlling at least one electrical apparatus, preferably at least one switching device (60), with the aid of a differential protection device (20) according to any of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that it comprises the following successive steps: - application of a first voltage (U2) in a first electrical circuit (24) from a magnetic field using a torus ( 1) and a coil (4) 35 - applying a second voltage (V2) in a second electric circuit (26) as a function of the first voltage (U2) using a device (6) of - 33 - voltage multiplication, the second voltage (V2) being greater than the first voltage (U2) by a factor greater than 2 and - energy accumulation by means of a device (7) for accumulating voltage energy connected to the second electric circuit (26). 12. Control method according to claim 11, characterized in that it further comprises the following step: discharge of the electrical energy accumulated in the energy storage device (7) in a third electrical circuit ( 28) when a third voltage (V3) detected in the energy storage device (7) exceeds a predetermined threshold voltage. 13. Control method according to claim 12, characterized in that it further comprises the following step: - sending a command for the electrical device by discharging into the third electrical circuit (28) the electrical energy accumulated in the energy storage device (7). 14. Control method according to claim 13, characterized in that the sending of the command for the electrical appliance is to apply a force on a control member of the cut-off device using an actuator.