GB1561807A - Automatic circuit breaker - Google Patents

Automatic circuit breaker Download PDF

Info

Publication number
GB1561807A
GB1561807A GB39395/76A GB3939576A GB1561807A GB 1561807 A GB1561807 A GB 1561807A GB 39395/76 A GB39395/76 A GB 39395/76A GB 3939576 A GB3939576 A GB 3939576A GB 1561807 A GB1561807 A GB 1561807A
Authority
GB
United Kingdom
Prior art keywords
contact
contact arm
circuit breaker
latch
actuator
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired
Application number
GB39395/76A
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Siemens AG
Original Assignee
Siemens AG
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Priority claimed from DE19752542861 external-priority patent/DE2542861C2/en
Application filed by Siemens AG filed Critical Siemens AG
Publication of GB1561807A publication Critical patent/GB1561807A/en
Expired legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • HELECTRICITY
    • H01ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01HELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES
    • H01H71/00Details of the protective switches or relays covered by groups H01H73/00 - H01H83/00
    • H01H71/10Operating or release mechanisms
    • H01H71/50Manual reset mechanisms which may be also used for manual release
    • H01H71/52Manual reset mechanisms which may be also used for manual release actuated by lever
    • H01H71/527Manual reset mechanisms which may be also used for manual release actuated by lever making use of a walking beam with one extremity latchable, the other extremity actuating or supporting the movable contact and an intermediate part co-operating with the actuator

Landscapes

  • Breakers (AREA)
  • Driving Mechanisms And Operating Circuits Of Arc-Extinguishing High-Tension Switches (AREA)

Description

(54) AUTOMATIC CIRCUIT BREAKER (71) We, SIEMBNS AKTIEN BSELL- SCHAFT, a German company of Berlin and Munich, Federal Republic of Germany, do hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement:- This invention relates to an automatic circuit breaker including a manually operable actuator, a latch, and a contact arm connected to the latch and carrying a contact and being movable between "on" and "off" positions of the circuit breaker in which said contact respectively engages with and disengages from a further contact.
According to the invention, there is provided an automatic circuit breaker including a manually operable actuator, a latch, and a contact arm connected to the latch and carrying a contact and being movable between "on" and "off" positions of the circuit breaker in which said contact respectively engages with and disengages from a further contact, in which: the actuator is pivotally mounted and has a handle portion by which the actuator may be manually manipulated and a forked portion which embraces said latch and said contact arm; guide surfaces are provided on said actuator and latching pins are provided on said latch to engage said guide surfaces so as to control the movement of the latch in dependence upon the movement of the actuator so that opening movement of the actuator is accompanied by disengaging movement of the contact arm and its contact from said further contact, and closing movement of the actuator is accompanied by engaging movement of the contact arm and its contact towards said further contact; and in which each latching pin engages a part of the corresponding guide surface, when the contact arm is in the "on" position of the circuit breaker, at which the normal to said part of the guide surface extends adjacent to but to one side of the pivotal axis of the actuator so that a torque is applied to the latch and to the contact arm effective to maintain the contact arm in the "on" positions of the circuit breaker.
An embodiment of automatic circuit breaker according to the invention will now be described in more detail, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 shows the circuit breaker in a switched-on position; Figure 2 shows the circuit breaker in a manually switched-off position; Figure 3 shows the circuit breaker in a switched-off position occasioned by an automatically operating control mechanism; and Figure 4 shows, in perspective, a manually operable actuator lever of the circuit breaker.
The automatic circuit breaker has a manually operable actuator lever provided by a handle 1 integral with a lever 2. The lever 2 is forked and has two side elements extending parallel to the plane of the drawing (the prongs of the fork). A latch 3 cooperates with the lever 2 and also with a keeper 4.
The latch 3 acts on a contact arm 5 bearing a contact member 6 and in the contacts closed or "on" position the contact 6 bears against a cooperating fixed contact 7. The contact arm 5 is pivoted in a forked end of the latch 3 remote from the keeper 4 on a pivot 10.
The forked limbs of the lever 2 receive therebetween the latch 3 and the contact arm 5, and at the end remote from the handle 1, the lever 2 is pivotally mounted on a pivot 8. As seen particularly in Figure 4, one edge of eachside of the fork of the lever 2 is formed with a guide surface 9 to be engaged by pins 11 which are provided one on each side of the latch 3. The pins 11 are separately guided for up and down movement in fixed slots 16 provided in side plates or housing walls of the automatic circuit breaker.
Each guide surface 9 includes an arcuate recess into which a corresponding pin 11 can be guided when the handle 1 ispivoted about pivot 8 from the position of Figure 1 to the position of Figure 2. A normal 12 to the part of the profile of the guide surface 9 adjacent to the position of the pin 11 shown in Figure 1 (the switchedon position of the circuit breaker) extends close to but to one side of the pivot 8 of the lever 2 whereby a torque 13, generated by lever arm 15, is applied to the latching lever 3 via pins 11 to urge the lever 3 and the contact arm 5 in the direction 14 so as to maintain engagement between the contacts 6 and 7. Thereby, effective and simple self-locking in the "on" position of the circuit breaker is achieved.
A torsion spring 17 is provided to urge the lever 2 into the "off" position and in a direction opposite to the direction 14. Instead of a torsion spring 17, it is also possible to attach a tension spring 18 at a suitable location to the lever 2. The tension spring 18 engages with the contact arm 5 on the side of the pivot 10 remote from the contact 6, to enable rapid opening of the latter.
A stop 19 limits the path of movement of the contact arm 5 in an opening direction.
The path of travel of the handle 1 or of the lever 2 towards the "on" position of the circuit breaker can be limited by a stop 20 formed on the housing of the automatic circuit breaker.
The "off" position of the contact arm 5 is defined not only by the stop 19 by also by a stop 21 arranged to co-operate with the end of the contact arm 5 remote from the contact 6. By virtue of the positioning of the two stops 19 and 20, the pivoting position takenup by the contact arm 5 relative to the pivot 10 is determined.
The keeper 4 is mounted to be pivotal about a pivot 23 by means of a lever 22.
Automatic opening of the contact breaker recurs when there engages, at the lever 22 in the direction of the arrow 24 according to Figure 3, a bimetallic element or the armature of a magnetic tripping device.
Thereafter, the latch "nose" 25 of the latch 3 slides over a half-shaft 26, and the latch 3 and the contact arm 5 move from the Figure 1 position to the Figure 3 position to open the circuit breaker.
For manual opening of the contact breaker, the handle 1 is displaced oppositely to the direction 14 into the position according to Figure 2. The pins 11 of the latch 3 meanwhile slide in the slots 16 and along the guide surfaces 9 until they enter the arcuate recesses of the guide surfaces 9 (as shown in Figure 2).
Furter opening movement of lever 2 is accompanied by downward movement of latch 3 (through the intermediary of the pins 11 held in the arcuate recesses of surfaces 9), and also the contact arm 5, so that the contact 6 moves away from contact 7 in the direction 28. The separating force created by movement of the handle 1 and applied to the displaceable contact 6 may even be effective to seperate welded-together contacts 6 and 7. The seperation of the contacts 6 and 7 may be promoted, in cases of difficulty, by the engagement of hooked part 27 of the contact arm 5 with the pins 11 so as to apply a clockwise turning moment to the contact arm 5 about pivot 10 which additionally urges the contact 6 away from contact 7.
Especially uniform force transmission and guiding with regard to the contact 6 is achieved if the latch 3 is forked, receiving between it the hooked part 27 and holding the pivot 10 for the contact arm 5.
The automatic opening of the contact breaker as shown in Figure 3, due to deflection of the keeper 4 is initiated in direction 24 when a current surge through the armature of the magnetic trip acts on the lever 22, or in the event of thermal overloading so that the bimetallic element responds.
When the latch 3 is freed with its latch "nose" 25 from the half-shaft 26, the spring 18 pulls the contact arm 5 (with the pivot 10 and therewith the latch 3 with its pins 11) downwardly in the opening direction 28 until the stop 19 under the pivot 10 is engaged and the stop 21 under the hooked part 27 is engaged. The torsion spring 17, which applies a clockwise turning moment to the lever 2, has the effect that the guide surfaces 9 press against the pins 11 so as to lift the latch 3 over the keeper 4. Thereupon, the circuit breaker is ready to be once again manually switched-on as soon as the keeper 4 has been pivoted-back into its normal position according to Figures 1 and 2.
Figure 4 shows a perspective view of the manually operated actuator lever (1,2). At the edges of the sides 30 of the fork of the lever 2, there is provided the guide surfaces 9 having the arcuate recesses in which the pins 11 can be received.
In an alternative arrangement, when the hooked part 27 is engaged by the pins 11 of the latch 3, a plunger-type or impact-type armature (not shown) acting on the hooked part 27 is able to open the contacts 6,7 prior to unlatching the circuit breaker. With this arrangement, it is advantageous if the tension spring 18 so engages at the contact arm 5 with regard to the pivot 10 that, on rotation of the contact arm 5 in the opening direction, the lever arm relative to the pivot 10 is shortened and the spring remains substantially unlengthened. Thereby, the open ing travel is promoted whilst the countertorque is reduced.
WHAT WE CLAIM IS: 1. An automatic circuit breaker including a manually operable actuator, a latch, and a contact arm connected to the latch and carrying a contact and being movable between "on" and "off" positions of the circuit breaker in which said contact respectively engages with and disengages from a further contact, in which: the actuator is pivotally mounted and has a handle portion by which the actuator may be manually manipulated and a forked portion which embraces said latch and said contact arm; guide surfaces are provided on said actuator and latching pins are provided on said latch to engage said guide surfaces so as to control the movement of the latch in dependence upon the movement of the actuator so that opening movement of the actuator is accompanied by disengaging movement of the contact arm and its contact from said further contact, and closing movement of the actuator is accompanied by engaging movement of the contact arm and its contact towards said further contact: and in which each latching pin engages a part of the corresponding guide surface, when the contact arm is in the "on" position of the circuit breaker, at which the normal to said part of the guide surface extends adjacent to but to one side of the pivotal axis of the actuator so that a torque is applied to the latch and to the contact arm effective to maintain the contact arm in the "on" position of the circuit breaker.
2. An automatic circuit breaker according to claim 1, in which the latch has a forked end to embrace the contact ann, and holds a pivot for the contact arm.
3. An automatic circuit breaker according to claim 1 or 2, in which the guide surfaces have arcuate recesses in which the latching pins are receivable to enable the disengaging movement of the latch and the contact arm when the actuator carries out its opening movement.
4, An automatic circuit breaker according to claim 2 or claim 3, when appendant to claim 2, in which the contact arm has a hooked part which is located on one side of the pivot for the contact arm and said contact is located on the other side of said pivot, the hooked part being engageable by the latching pins so as to apply a turning moment to the contact arm about said pivot in order to increase the separating force applied to said contact to disengage the latter from said further contact when the actuator carries out its opening movement.
5. An automatic circuit breaker according to claim 4, in which a spring engages said contact arm at a position between said latching pins and said pivot and acts to apply a force to the contact arm which (a) applies a torque to the contact arm about its pivot so as to maintain the contact in engagement with said further contact in the "on" position of the circuit breaker and (b) which urges the contact arm and the latch to carry out disengaging movement when the actuator carries out its opening movement.
6. An automatic circuit breaker according to claim 1 and substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to, and as shown in the accompanying drawings.
**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims (6)

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. ing travel is promoted whilst the countertorque is reduced. WHAT WE CLAIM IS:
1. An automatic circuit breaker including a manually operable actuator, a latch, and a contact arm connected to the latch and carrying a contact and being movable between "on" and "off" positions of the circuit breaker in which said contact respectively engages with and disengages from a further contact, in which: the actuator is pivotally mounted and has a handle portion by which the actuator may be manually manipulated and a forked portion which embraces said latch and said contact arm; guide surfaces are provided on said actuator and latching pins are provided on said latch to engage said guide surfaces so as to control the movement of the latch in dependence upon the movement of the actuator so that opening movement of the actuator is accompanied by disengaging movement of the contact arm and its contact from said further contact, and closing movement of the actuator is accompanied by engaging movement of the contact arm and its contact towards said further contact: and in which each latching pin engages a part of the corresponding guide surface, when the contact arm is in the "on" position of the circuit breaker, at which the normal to said part of the guide surface extends adjacent to but to one side of the pivotal axis of the actuator so that a torque is applied to the latch and to the contact arm effective to maintain the contact arm in the "on" position of the circuit breaker.
2. An automatic circuit breaker according to claim 1, in which the latch has a forked end to embrace the contact ann, and holds a pivot for the contact arm.
3. An automatic circuit breaker according to claim 1 or 2, in which the guide surfaces have arcuate recesses in which the latching pins are receivable to enable the disengaging movement of the latch and the contact arm when the actuator carries out its opening movement.
4, An automatic circuit breaker according to claim 2 or claim 3, when appendant to claim 2, in which the contact arm has a hooked part which is located on one side of the pivot for the contact arm and said contact is located on the other side of said pivot, the hooked part being engageable by the latching pins so as to apply a turning moment to the contact arm about said pivot in order to increase the separating force applied to said contact to disengage the latter from said further contact when the actuator carries out its opening movement.
5. An automatic circuit breaker according to claim 4, in which a spring engages said contact arm at a position between said latching pins and said pivot and acts to apply a force to the contact arm which (a) applies a torque to the contact arm about its pivot so as to maintain the contact in engagement with said further contact in the "on" position of the circuit breaker and (b) which urges the contact arm and the latch to carry out disengaging movement when the actuator carries out its opening movement.
6. An automatic circuit breaker according to claim 1 and substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to, and as shown in the accompanying drawings.
GB39395/76A 1975-09-25 1976-09-22 Automatic circuit breaker Expired GB1561807A (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
DE19752542861 DE2542861C2 (en) 1975-09-25 Circuit breaker

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
GB1561807A true GB1561807A (en) 1980-03-05

Family

ID=5957442

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
GB39395/76A Expired GB1561807A (en) 1975-09-25 1976-09-22 Automatic circuit breaker

Country Status (12)

Country Link
AT (1) AT364019B (en)
BE (1) BE846489A (en)
CH (1) CH607309A5 (en)
DK (1) DK375576A (en)
ES (1) ES451813A1 (en)
FR (1) FR2326026A1 (en)
GB (1) GB1561807A (en)
GR (1) GR61199B (en)
HU (1) HU172090B (en)
IT (1) IT1068329B (en)
NL (1) NL7608123A (en)
SE (1) SE407486B (en)

Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB2285177A (en) * 1992-07-10 1995-06-28 Abb Patent Gmbh Electrical switching device

Families Citing this family (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
FR3029009B1 (en) * 2014-11-21 2017-01-06 Socomec Sa TRIP CONTROL SYSTEM FOR BREAK POINT AND CUTTING APPARATUS

Family Cites Families (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE1108795B (en) * 1959-07-23 1961-06-15 Licentia Gmbh Small thermal circuit breaker
FR2037086A1 (en) * 1969-02-14 1970-12-31 Elettromeccanic Off

Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB2285177A (en) * 1992-07-10 1995-06-28 Abb Patent Gmbh Electrical switching device

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
ES451813A1 (en) 1977-11-01
AT364019B (en) 1981-09-25
DE2542861B1 (en) 1976-08-05
DE2542861A1 (en) 1976-08-05
FR2326026B1 (en) 1978-05-05
SE407486B (en) 1979-03-26
IT1068329B (en) 1985-03-21
CH607309A5 (en) 1978-11-30
DK375576A (en) 1977-03-26
HU172090B (en) 1978-05-28
SE7610347L (en) 1977-03-26
FR2326026A1 (en) 1977-04-22
BE846489A (en) 1977-01-17
NL7608123A (en) 1977-03-29
GR61199B (en) 1978-10-06
ATA573476A (en) 1981-02-15

Similar Documents

Publication Publication Date Title
US4376270A (en) Circuit breaker
JP2637081B2 (en) Operating mechanism of electric circuit breaker
US5300907A (en) Operating mechanism of a molded case circuit breaker
US4641001A (en) Circuit interrupter
US4516098A (en) Overcurrent protection switch
US5831499A (en) Selective trip unit for a multipole circuit breaker
GB1393799A (en) Circuit breaker
US3970976A (en) Circuit breaker with center trip position
GB1196797A (en) Improvements in Current-Limiting Electric Circuit Breakers.
GB1461217A (en) Circuit breaker
US5502426A (en) Protection switch device
US4677406A (en) Protective switching apparatus
US4609799A (en) Circuit interrupter
GB1561807A (en) Automatic circuit breaker
US5300906A (en) Current switching device
GB1407067A (en) Circuit breakers
GB2161022A (en) Circuit interrupter
US4700160A (en) Remote control circuit breaker having a retractable switch contact
GB1498454A (en) Circuit breaker with trip-latch means
US4731510A (en) Circuit-breaker with tripping lever cooperating with movable contact support member having a resilient blade which effects contact opening and closure
US4912441A (en) Drive mechanism for circuit breaker
GB819697A (en) Improvements in operating mechanism for an electric circuit breaker
US2112054A (en) Operating mechanism
GB712482A (en) Improvements in and relating to automatic electric circuit breakers
US3061698A (en) Spring operated mechanism for electric circuit breakers

Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
PS Patent sealed [section 19, patents act 1949]
PCNP Patent ceased through non-payment of renewal fee

Effective date: 19920922