GB2268832A - A circuit breaker - Google Patents
A circuit breaker Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- GB2268832A GB2268832A GB9314593A GB9314593A GB2268832A GB 2268832 A GB2268832 A GB 2268832A GB 9314593 A GB9314593 A GB 9314593A GB 9314593 A GB9314593 A GB 9314593A GB 2268832 A GB2268832 A GB 2268832A
- Authority
- GB
- United Kingdom
- Prior art keywords
- circuit breaker
- guideway
- mounting
- clip
- housing
- 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.)
- Granted
Links
Classifications
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01H—ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES
- H01H71/00—Details of the protective switches or relays covered by groups H01H73/00 - H01H83/00
- H01H71/02—Housings; Casings; Bases; Mountings
- H01H71/025—Constructional details of housings or casings not concerning the mounting or assembly of the different internal parts
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01H—ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES
- H01H71/00—Details of the protective switches or relays covered by groups H01H73/00 - H01H83/00
- H01H71/02—Housings; Casings; Bases; Mountings
- H01H71/0207—Mounting or assembling the different parts of the circuit breaker
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H02—GENERATION; CONVERSION OR DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRIC POWER
- H02B—BOARDS, SUBSTATIONS OR SWITCHING ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE SUPPLY OR DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRIC POWER
- H02B1/00—Frameworks, boards, panels, desks, casings; Details of substations or switching arrangements
- H02B1/015—Boards, panels, desks; Parts thereof or accessories therefor
- H02B1/04—Mounting thereon of switches or of other devices in general, the switch or device having, or being without, casing
- H02B1/056—Mounting on plugboards
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01H—ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES
- H01H71/00—Details of the protective switches or relays covered by groups H01H73/00 - H01H83/00
- H01H71/02—Housings; Casings; Bases; Mountings
- H01H71/0207—Mounting or assembling the different parts of the circuit breaker
- H01H2071/0242—Assembling parts of a circuit breaker by using snap mounting techniques
Landscapes
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Power Engineering (AREA)
- Breakers (AREA)
Abstract
In a plug-on residual current circuit breaker comprising a base 2 and cover 3 which are snap fitted together, undercuts 10 in opposed side walls of the base 2 adjacent load terminal jaws 5 provide finger grips for ease of mounting and demounting of the circuit breaker to and from a rail. Mounting clips 7 for mounting the circuit breaker to the rail are received in guideways (20, Fig 8) in the base 2. The guideways (20) include a lug (22) which engages with a groove (21) in the clip 7 to correctly guide and locate the clip 7. A retaining clip (25) retains the mounting clip 7 in the guideway (20). <IMAGE>
Description
"A circuit breaker"
The invention relates to circuit breakers and in particular to circuit breakers of the type having earth leakage protection, commonly referred to as residual current circuit breakers (RCCB's).
It is an object of the invention to provide a residual current circuit breaker particularly a two pole device which is reliable in operation and relatively simple to manufacture.
According to one aspect, the invention provides a circuit breaker comprising:
a housing;
line terminal means for coupling to a source of
electricity;
load terminal means for coupling to a load;
a contact assembly between the line and load terminal
means;
a switch mechanism connected to the contact assembly, the
switch mechanism including an operating handle; and
trip means for tripping the switch mechanism in the event
of a fault,
the circuit breaker housing having finger grip means for
gripping the circuit breaker housing when mounting or de
mounting the breaker on a rail or the like.
In a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention, the finger grip means comprises undercuts on opposed walls of the housing. Preferably, the undercuts are provided in the housing adjacent to the load terminal means.
In another aspect, the invention provides a circuit breaker comprising:
a housing,
line terminal means for coupling to a source of
electricity,
load terminal means for coupling to a load,
a contact assembly between the line and load terminal
means,
a switch mechanism connected to the contact assembly, the
switch mechanism including an operating handle; and
trip means for tripping the switch mechanism in the event
of a fault, the load terminal means comprising mounting
jaw means for engagement with bus bar means and the
circuit breaker includes mounting clip means for mounting
the circuit breaker to a rail, the housing having a
guideway for receiving the mounting clip means.
In a particular embodiment of this aspect of the invention, the guideway comprises a side entry slot through which the mounting clip means is inserted.
In a preferred arrangement, the mounting clip and guideway include co-operating means for locating and guiding the mounting clip into position. Typically the co-operating means comprises an undercut groove on the mounting clip or guideway and a co-operating lug on the other of the mounting clip or guideway.
In a particularly preferred arrangement a retaining clip is provided for retaining the mounting clip in the guideway.
Preferably, the retaining clip is engageable in a top entry slot of the guideway. Typically, the retaining clip includes a projection which is engageable, on assembly, in a hole in the housing.
The circuit breaker is typically a twin pole device having two load and two line terminals, however, the circuit breaker may also be a single pole device in which case there would be only one load and line terminal.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the housing comprises a base and a cover for the base, the cover being a snap fit on the base.
Preferably, the circuit breaker includes sensing means for sensing an imbalance in the load, the sensing means providing a signal to operate the trip means.
In one arrangement the sensing means comprises a sensing coil which provides a signal to operate the trip means. In an alternative arrangement, the circuit breaker includes an electronic module which on receiving a signal from the sensing coil provides an output signal to a relay to operate the trip means.
In one embodiment of the invention the base is provided with load terminal guideways in which the load terminals are dropped, the guideways including a stop for locating the load terminals, and the cover having retaining means which engage the load terminals on assembly of the cover to the base to retain the load terminals in a desired position in the housing. Preferably, the retaining means comprises retaining posts on the cover for engagement with the load terminals on assembly of the base and cover.
The invention will be more clearly understood from the following description of some preferred embodiments thereof given by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a circuit breaker
according to the invention,
Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the circuit breaker,
Fig. 3 is an underneath plan view of the circuit breaker,
Fig. 4 is a rear view of the circuit breaker,
Fig. 5 is a side view of the circuit breaker,
Fig. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the circuit
breaker,
Fig. 7 is a cross sectional view of the circuit breaker,
Fig. 8 is an exploded perspective view of a detail of the
circuit breaker,
Fig. 9 is a rear plan view of part of the detail of Fig.
8,
Fig. 10 is a top plan view of a base part of the circuit
breaker,
Figs. 11 and 12 are cross sectional views on the lines A
A and B-B respectively in Fig. 10,
Fig. 13 is an underneath plan view of the base,
Fig. 14 is a plan view of a cover part of the circuit
breaker,
Fig. 15 is a cross sectional view of the cover, and
Fig. 16 is a cross sectional view of another circuit
breaker according to the invention.
Referring to the drawings, and initially to Figs. 1 to 15 there is illustrated a circuit breaker, in this case a residual current circuit breaker (RCCB) according to the invention and indicated generally by the reference numeral 1.
The circuit breaker 1 comprises a housing having a base 2 and a cover 3 which are snap fitted together. In this case, the circuit breaker 1 is a twin pole device having load terminal means comprising two load terminals provided by metal jaws 5 for both mechanical and electrical connection with a supply conductor and line terminal means, in this case provided by two line terminals 6 of the screw-in type in side-by-side relationship in the base 2 of the housing. The circuit breaker 1 is of the plug-on type and includes two mounting clips 7 of plastics material which are mounted to the base 2 in a manner which will be described below.
For ease of mounting and demounting of the circuit breaker 1, the housing, in this case the base 2 of the circuit breaker 1, is provided with finger gripping means provided by shaped undercuts 10 on opposed side walls of the base 2 adjacent the load terminal jaws 5. In operation, a user grips the circuit breaker in the region of the finger gripping undercuts 10 for ease of mounting and demounting the circuit breaker to and from a rail.
The base 2 of the housing includes two adjacent guideways 20 each for receiving and mounting a mounting clip 7. Referring particularly to Fig. 8, each guideway 20 comprises a side entry slot through which the mounting clip 7 is inserted. To correctly guide and locate the mounting clip 7 in it's guideway 20, the mounting clip 7 and guideway 20 include cooperating means, in this case in the form of an undercut groove 21 in the mounting clip 7 which is engageable with a lug 22 in the guideway 20. The groove 21 and lug 22 are interengageable only when the mounting clip 7 is inserted in the correct orientation as illustrated, for example, particularly in Fig. 7.
A retaining clip 25 is provided for retaining the mounting clip 7 in the guideway 20. The retaining clip 25 includes projections 26 which extend sidewardly to engage in complementary shaped downwardly extending grooves 27 in side walls defining the guideway 20. The clip 25 also includes a projection 29 which is engageable, on assembly, in a hole 30 in the base of the guideway 20 to locate and retain the clip 25 in position. The side walls defining the guideways 20 for the mounting clips 7 are reinforced by reinforcing walls 31.
The base 2 is provided with load terminal guideways 40 into which the terminals 5 are dropped. Each of the guideways 40 includes a stop 41 for locating the terminals 5 and the cover 3 includes retaining means in the form of a projecting wall 42 which engages the load terminals on assembly of the cover 3 to the base 2.
The base 2 is also provided with line terminal guideways 45 and stop means including a stop wall 46 are provided to locate the line terminals 6 in position in the guideways 45. The cover 3 includes retaining means, in this case provided by downwardly projecting retaining posts 48 which extend from the cover 3, on assembly, to engage the line terminals 6 and retain them in position in the housing.
Referring particularly to Figs. 6 and 7, the circuit breaker 1 includes a contact assembly 50 of conventional construction between the line and load terminals and a swi.tch mechanism 51 also of conventional construction, the switch mechanism including an operating handle 52. A conventional push-to-test button 53 is also provided. Sensing means for detecting a current imbalance between the line and neutral leads is provided by a sensing coil 60 which, on sensing a current imbalance provides a signal to an electronic module 61 which in turn signals a relay 62 to activate the switch mechanism 61 to trip the circuit breaker. In an alternative arrangement which is illustrated in Fig. 16, a larger sensing coil 60' is provided and this provides a signal which directly activates the trip mechanism 51.
The invention provides a circuit breaker which is easily manufactured and is reliable in operation.
Many variations on the specific embodiments of the invention described will be readily apparent and accordingly the invention is not limited to the embodiments hereinbefore described which may be varied in both construction and detail.
Claims (26)
1. A circuit breaker comprising:
a housing;
line terminal means for coupling to a source of
electricity;
load terminal means for coupling to a load;
a contact assembly between the line and load
terminal means;
a switch mechanism connected to the contact
assembly, the switch mechanism including an
operating handle; and
trip means for tripping the switch mechanism in the
event of a fault,
the circuit breaker housing having finger grip means
for gripping the circuit breaker housing when
mounting or de-mounting the breaker on a rail or the
like.
2. A circuit breaker as claimed in claim 1 wherein the
finger grip means comprises undercuts on opposed walls of
the housing.
3. A circuit breaker as claimed in claim 2 wherein the
undercuts are provided in the housing adjacent to the
load terminal means.
4. A circuit breaker as claimed in any of claims 1 to 3
wherein the load terminal means comprises mounting jaw
means for engagement with bus bar means and the circuit
breaker includes mounting clip means for mounting the
circuit breaker to a rail, the housing having a guideway
for receiving the mounting clip means.
5. A circuit breaker as claimed in claim 4 wherein the
guideway comprises a side entry slot through which the
mounting clip means is inserted.
6. A circuit breaker as claimed in claim 5 wherein the
mounting clip and guideway include co-operating means for
locating and guiding the mounting clip into position.
7. A circuit breaker as claimed in claim 6 wherein the co
operating means comprises an undercut groove on the
mounting clip or guideway and a co-operating lug on the
other of the mounting clip or guideway.
8. A circuit breaker as claimed in any of claims 4 to 7
wherein a retaining clip is provided for retaining the
mounting clip in the guideway.
9. A circuit breaker as claimed in claim 8 wherein the
retaining clip is engageable in a top entry slot of the
guideway.
10. A circuit breaker as claimed in claims 8 or 9 wherein the
retaining clip includes a projection which is engageable,
on assembly, in a hole in the housing.
11. A circuit breaker comprising:
a housing,
line terminal means for coupling to a source of
electricity,
load terminal means for coupling to a load,
a contact assembly between the line and load
terminal means,
a switch mechanism connected to the contact
assembly, the switch mechanism including an
operating handle; and
trip means for tripping the switch mechanism in the
event of a fault, the load terminal means comprising
mounting jaw means for engagement with bus bar means
and the circuit breaker includes mounting clip means
for mounting the circuit breaker to a rail, the
housing having a guideway for receiving the mounting
clip means.
12. A circuit breaker as claimed in claim 11 wherein the
guideway comprises a side entry slot through which
the mounting clip means is inserted.
13. A circuit breaker as claimed in claim 12 wherein the
mounting clip and guideway include co-operating
means for locating and guiding the mounting clip
into position.
14. A circuit breaker as claimed in claim 13 wherein the
co-operating means comprises an undercut groove on
the mounting clip or guideway and a co-operating lug
on the other of the mounting clip or guideway.
15. A circuit breaker as claimed in any of claims 11 to
14 wherein a retaining clip is provided for
retaining the mounting clip in the guideway.
16. A circuit breaker as claimed in claim 15 wherein the
retaining clip is engageable in a top entry slot of
the guideway.
17. A circuit breaker as claimed in claim 15 or 16
wherein the retaining clip includes a projection
which is engageable, on assembly, in a hole in the
housing.
18. A circuit breaker as claimed in any preceding claim
wherein the circuit breaker is a single pole device.
19. A circuit breaker as claimed in any of claims 1 to
17 wherein the circuit breaker is a twin pole
device, having two load and line terminals.
20. A circuit breaker as claimed in claim 19 wherein the
housing comprises a base and a cover for the base,
the cover being a snap fit on the base.
21. A circuit breaker as claimed in claim 19 or 20
wherein the circuit breaker includes sensing means
for sensing an imbalance in the load, the sensing
means providing a signal to operate the trip means.
22. A circuit breaker as claimed in claim 21 wherein the
sensing means comprises a sensing coil which
provides a signal to operate the trip means.
23. A circuit breaker as claimed in claim 22 wherein the
circuit breaker includes an electronic module which
on receiving a signal from the sensing coil provides
an output signal to a relay to operate the trip
means.
24. A circuit breaker as claimed in claim 20 wherein the
base is provided with load terminal guideways in
which the load terminals are dropped, the guideways
including a stop for locating the load terminals,
and the cover having retaining means which engage
the load terminals on assembly of the cover to the
base to retain the load terminals in a desired
position in the housing.
25. A circuit breaker as claimed in claim 24 wherein the
retaining means comprises retaining posts on the
cover for engagement with the load terminals on
assembly of the base and cover.
26. A circuit breaker substantially as hereinbefore
described with reference to the accompanying
drawings.
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| IE922324 | 1992-07-17 |
Publications (3)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| GB9314593D0 GB9314593D0 (en) | 1993-08-25 |
| GB2268832A true GB2268832A (en) | 1994-01-19 |
| GB2268832B GB2268832B (en) | 1996-08-21 |
Family
ID=11039698
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB9314593A Expired - Fee Related GB2268832B (en) | 1992-07-17 | 1993-07-14 | A circuit breaker |
Country Status (2)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| AU (1) | AU4201493A (en) |
| GB (1) | GB2268832B (en) |
Cited By (3)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EP0974995A2 (en) * | 1998-07-24 | 2000-01-26 | Eaton Corporation | Miniaturized double pole circuit breaker with arc fault and ground fault protection |
| FR2790139A1 (en) * | 1998-12-30 | 2000-08-25 | Power Controls Iberica Sl | Automatic circuit breaker for electricity supply has bimetal inducing thermal trigger when supercharges reach certain level, and magnetic section inducing magnetic trigger when supercharges are higher |
| GB2534615A (en) * | 2015-01-29 | 2016-08-03 | Schneider Electric Ind Sas | A creepage protection assembly and a panel box/cabinet comprising the assembly |
Citations (5)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GB773341A (en) * | 1955-01-01 | 1957-04-24 | Dorman & Smith Ltd | Improvements in or relating to the fixing of miniature electric circuit breakers |
| GB1060939A (en) * | 1964-10-21 | 1967-03-08 | Murray Mfg Corp | Improvements in or relating to circuit breaker arrangements |
| GB1088714A (en) * | 1964-07-30 | 1967-10-25 | Westinghouse Electric Corp | Circuit interrupter |
| GB2203289A (en) * | 1984-12-04 | 1988-10-12 | Mitsubishi Electric Corp | Power distribution board |
| US4821144A (en) * | 1987-11-02 | 1989-04-11 | Eaton Corporation | Circuit breaker with mounting clip |
Family Cites Families (5)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US3133999A (en) * | 1960-10-14 | 1964-05-19 | Square D Co | Electric circuit breaker having two operating mechanisms arranged in tandem relationship and having quickconnect plug-in type load terminals |
| US3842322A (en) * | 1972-10-17 | 1974-10-15 | Square D Co | Plug-on distribution panel with retaining means for both small and large circuit breakers |
| AU502955B2 (en) * | 1974-07-12 | 1979-08-16 | Westinghouse Electric Corporation | Panelboard and circuit breaker combination |
| US4742608A (en) * | 1982-04-19 | 1988-05-10 | General Electric Company | Method of retaining molded case circuit breakers |
| US5179491A (en) * | 1990-07-19 | 1993-01-12 | Square D Company | Plug-in circuit breaker |
-
1993
- 1993-07-14 GB GB9314593A patent/GB2268832B/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
- 1993-07-16 AU AU42014/93A patent/AU4201493A/en not_active Abandoned
Patent Citations (5)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GB773341A (en) * | 1955-01-01 | 1957-04-24 | Dorman & Smith Ltd | Improvements in or relating to the fixing of miniature electric circuit breakers |
| GB1088714A (en) * | 1964-07-30 | 1967-10-25 | Westinghouse Electric Corp | Circuit interrupter |
| GB1060939A (en) * | 1964-10-21 | 1967-03-08 | Murray Mfg Corp | Improvements in or relating to circuit breaker arrangements |
| GB2203289A (en) * | 1984-12-04 | 1988-10-12 | Mitsubishi Electric Corp | Power distribution board |
| US4821144A (en) * | 1987-11-02 | 1989-04-11 | Eaton Corporation | Circuit breaker with mounting clip |
Cited By (6)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EP0974995A2 (en) * | 1998-07-24 | 2000-01-26 | Eaton Corporation | Miniaturized double pole circuit breaker with arc fault and ground fault protection |
| EP0974995A3 (en) * | 1998-07-24 | 2000-10-25 | Eaton Corporation | Miniaturized double pole circuit breaker with arc fault and ground fault protection |
| FR2790139A1 (en) * | 1998-12-30 | 2000-08-25 | Power Controls Iberica Sl | Automatic circuit breaker for electricity supply has bimetal inducing thermal trigger when supercharges reach certain level, and magnetic section inducing magnetic trigger when supercharges are higher |
| BE1013198A5 (en) * | 1998-12-30 | 2001-10-02 | Power Controls Iberica Sl | Automatic switch ground. |
| GB2534615A (en) * | 2015-01-29 | 2016-08-03 | Schneider Electric Ind Sas | A creepage protection assembly and a panel box/cabinet comprising the assembly |
| GB2534615B (en) * | 2015-01-29 | 2019-03-13 | Schneider Electric Ind Sas | A creepage protection assembly and a panel box/cabinet comprising the assembly |
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| AU4201493A (en) | 1994-01-20 |
| GB9314593D0 (en) | 1993-08-25 |
| GB2268832B (en) | 1996-08-21 |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCNP | Patent ceased through non-payment of renewal fee |
Effective date: 20030714 |