GB2431775A

GB2431775A - Electrical switching device

Info

Publication number: GB2431775A
Application number: GB0620737A
Authority: GB
Inventors: P L Berg Andreassen; Jan Kyrre Semb; Gunnar Snarteland
Original assignee: ABB Patent GmbH
Current assignee: ABB Patent GmbH
Priority date: 2005-10-26
Filing date: 2006-10-18
Publication date: 2007-05-02
Anticipated expiration: 2026-10-18
Also published as: DE102006011982B4; GB0620737D0; DE102006011982A1; CN1967763A; HK1106868A1; GB2431775B; CN1967763B

Abstract

The invention relates to an electrical switching device having a drive (10) and a contact carrier (11), which is coupled thereto, for at least one movable contact piece (12), which contact carrier (11) is coupled to the manually operated or motor-driven drive (10), the drive being provided with a spring device (40), which can be changed over from a first stable position to a second stable position, a drive plate (18) for the contact carrier (11) being coupled to said spring device. In addition, a spring arrangement (20) is provided which is fixed in a ready-to-trip position and drives the spring device out of the switch-on position into the switch-off position, the spring arrangement (20) interacting with a latching point (31, 32), which can be unlatched by means of an electromagnetic release (38) such that, after the unlatching, the spring arrangement (20) is released and actuates the drive (10) with the spring device (40) in the direction of the switch-off position.

Description

Electrical switching device

Description

The invention relates to an electrical switching device in accordance with the precharacterizing clause of Claim 1. -Such a switching device has a contact carrier, to which movable -contact pieces in the form of contact links are fitted, which interact with stationary contact pieces.

The contact carrier is in this case driven manually or motor-driven by means of a drive, which drive has a spring device, which can be changed over from a first stable, switched-on position to a second stable, switched-off position manually or driven by a motor.

The object of the invention is to equip an electrical switching device of the type described at the outset such that it can be tripped by remote control.

This object is achieved according to the invention by the-features of Claim 1.

According to the invention, in addition, a spring arrangement is provided which i_s fixed in a ready-to-trip position and drives the spring device out of the switch-on position into the switch-off position, the spring arrangement interacting with a latching point, which can be unlatched by means of an electromagnetic release such that, after the unlatch ng, the spring arrangement is released and actuates the drive with the spring device in the direction of the sw tch-ff position.

Further advantageous refinements and improvements can be gleaned frthn the dependent claims.

The invention, further advantageous refinements and improvementS and further advantages of the invention will be explained and described in more detail with reference to the drawing, which shows an exemplary embodiment of the invention and in which: Figure i shows a drive for an electrical switching device, in the ready-to-triP switch-on position, Figures 2 and 3 show the drive shown in Figure 1 in different positions, and Figure 4 shows a cross-sectional view of the tripping bolt.

A switching device 100, of which only the region is illustrated in: which a drive 10 is located, has a contact carrier 11, to which contact links 12 are fitted which interact with stationary contact pieces (not illustrated) Of the contact links 12, only that is shown which is positioned close to the drive.

The drive 10 drives the contact carrier 11 to which the number of contact links 12 is fitted which corresponds to the number of phases. The figure merely shows one contact link; the other contact links are omitted, as are the associated stationary contact pieces. The elongate contact carrier 11 is guided linearly in a fixed guide 13 such that the contact carrier 11 can move only in the direction of the double arrow P. The movement direction P of the contact carrier: also referred to as the contact link carrier 11, extends at right angles to the movement of a drive rod 37 (see further below).

The drive is located between two carrier plates 14 (referred to as plates 14 for short), which are held fixedly in position in the switching device 100 and of *which only one plate is shown, whereas the other, upper plate is omitted. A first drive or guide plate 16, a second drive or guide,plate 17 and a third drive or guide plate 18 are mounted such that they can rotate on a common rotation spindle 15 between these plates 14 (the plates 16, 17, 18 will also be referred to below as first, second and third plates 16, 17, 18 for short) In this case, too, in each case two plates are again provided: -. two first plates 16, two second plates 17 and two third plates 18, which are connected to one another in a manner not illustrated, the first plates being located outside the second plates 17 and therefore receiving the second plates between them; the third plates 18 are located between the two second plates 17.

In each case only one plate will be referred to below; however in this case it is intended to mean the respectively mutually associated double plates, in each case.

One end 19 of a spring arrangement 20 is articulated on the first plate 16 and has two spring housing elements 21 and 22 which engage telescopically one in the other and can be displaced with respect to one another; a tripping spring 23 in the form of a helical compression spring is located within the housing elements 21 and 22. In the position illustrated, the tripping spring 23 is compressed.

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The housing element 22 is connected with its other end 19a (see Figure 3) to the second plate 17 in an articulated manner via a rotation spindle 24. The housing element 22 has a stepped section 25 in the region of the other end 19a, the tab 26 of a latching lever 27 being pressed against said stepped section 25 in the position illustrated in the drawing, which latching lever 27 is in the form of a U and has two limbs 27a, of which only the upper limb 27a can be seen. The two limbs 27a are connected to one another by means of a link 28, which extends at right angles to the plane of the drawing. The latching lever 27 is mounted such that it can rotate on a spindle 29, which is fixed in the first plate 16. A tripping lever 30, which likewise has a U shape and of which only one limb can be seen, interacts with this latching lever 27. The tripping lever 30 has a tripping tab 31, which is opposite the tab 26 and bears against a stop 32 of a supporting bolt 33 (see figure 4), which supporting bolt 33 is mounted such that it can rotate with its spindle 34 on the first plate 16, at right angles to said plate. A spring arrangement (not shown) is provided between the two levers 27 and 30 and presses the link 28 permanentlY against the adjacent edge 35 of the tripping lever 30. A radial projectiOn 36 is located on the tripping bolt 33 and is coupled to a drive rod 37, which can be displaced in *the arrow direction P1, it being displaced in the arrow direction P2 by an 1ectromagfletiC release 38, which will be explained in more detail further below. The stop 32 is formed by an approximately radially extending stepped section (see Figure 4) as a supporting stepped section for the tripping lever 30. In the ready-to-trip (switch-on) position shown in Figure 1, the centre axis of the spring arrangement 20 extends at an obtuse angle with respect to the longitudinal extent of the contact carrier 11, which is open towards the latching and tripping lever 27, 30. The connection line between the supporting point 25/26 and the supporting point 31/32 extends between the articulation spindle 24 of the housing element 22 and the spindle 15 close to the articulation spindle 24, past said articulation spindle 24.

A spring device 40 is articulated on the second plate 17 on the side lying opposite the spring arrangement 20 in relation to the spindle 15, which spring device 40 compriseS two parallel compression springs 41 and 42, which are fitted in an articulated manner on the second plate 17 via journalS 43 and 44 arid fixed. The other end of the two springs 41 and 42 is fitted or supported on the two arms 44a and 45 of a twin-armed lever arrangement 46, which twin-armed lever is mounted on a spindle 47, which is connected in an articulated manner to the third plate 18; in order that the spindle 47, which passes through the plate 17, can move, the plate 17 has an arcuate slot 48, whose circle centre point is the centre point of the rotation spindle 15 and which is passed through by the spindle 47. The spindle 47 lies adjacent to the spindle 15, and the journals 43 and 44 are located on the side lying opposite the spindle 47 in relation to the spindle 15. The spindle 47 is located between the compression springs 41 and 42.

On that side which lies opposite the spring device 40 in relation to the spindle 15, the two plates 17 have a tab-like exteflsiOfl 53, also referred to as a projection 53, whose function is described further below.

The third plate 18 has a cam cutout 49, in which a journal 50 is guided which is fixedly connected to the contact link carrier 11.

A reverse-motion locking mechaniSm 51 is articulated on the carrier plate 14 via a spindle 52, which reverSe * -6-motion locking mechanism has two limbs, which receive the two third plates 18 between them and lie in the planes of the second plates 17. The two limbs are * connected by means of a web 56. The spindle 54 is located outside the third plates 18 and in the region of the movement of the contact carrier 11 on the side of the longitudinal extent of the contact carrier 11 which is opposite the supporting points 25/26; 31/32.

The reverse-motion locking mechanism 51 extends * io approximately at right angles with respect to the longitudinal extent of the contact carrier 11. A cam edge 57 is integrally formed on the limbs of the reverse-motiOn locking mechanism 51, which face the spring device 20, and interacts with the tab-like extension 53 on the plate 17. The journal 50 is connected to one limb of the reverse-motion locking mechanism 51 and passes through the cutout 49.

In the untripped state, the arrangement can easily be pivoted out of the position illustrated in figure 1 manually by means of a handle or by means of a motor (the handle and the motor are not illustrated), with the result that the spring device 40 -can be brought out of the first stable position shown in Figure 1 into a second stable position via a dead centre point; this is of little significance for the judgemerit of the present invention and is also known per Se.

If tripping should now take place, an electrical pulse is given to the electromagnet 38 (also the -tripping relay 38), which acts on the drive rod 37 in the arrow direction P2 and displaces it downwards in the arrow direction P1 at right angles with respect to the movement direction of the contract carrier 11 away from said contact carrier, with the result that the latching bolt or tripping bolt 33 is pivoted in the clockwise direction via the projection 36. As a result, the tab 31 is released such that the tab 31 can slide away from the stepped section 32, a a result of which both the tripping lever 30 and the latching lever 27 can rotate -in the clockwise direction about the rotation spindle 29 and the housing element 22 is released and the triDping spring 23 can be relieved of tension. As a result, the second plate 17 is pivoted about its rotation spindle 15, and the spring device 40 is concomitantlY pivoted via the articulation points 43, 44 such that, during this pivoting, the line of force of the spring device 40 goes beyond a dead centre line extending through the spindle 15, with the result that the spindle 47 is driven by the spring device and, in this manner, the third plate 18 is pivoted counter to the clockwise direction, as a result of which the contact points are opened. The first plate 16 (and therefore the handle and the motor) do not move; the switching device is then in the tripped position; the handle and the motor remain in the switched-On position. The tab-like projectiOn-53 slides on the approximatelY V-shaped cam edge 57 and in the process reaches the base of the V shape, as a result of which the reverse-niOtiofl locking mechaniSm 51 engages with the web 56 behind a hook 54, which is integrally formed on the plate 17, and in this manner locks the contact carrier. In the proceSS, the reverse-motion locking mechanism is held open by the edge 55 of the plate 17 in the switched-on and therefore untripped state. The cam edge 57 in the process lies on that side of the reverse-motion locking mechanism 51 which is opposite the contact carrier 11, in the region of the web 56.

Reconnection, i.e. tensioning of the spring arrangement 20, takes place by, after a switch-off operation, the first plate 16 being pivoted about the spindle 15 in the clockwise direction by means of the motor (not shown in any more detail) or the handle, as a result of which the spring arrangement 20 is again pivoted into the stable position shown in Figure 1. As a result, at the same time the third plate 18 is also pivoted and t1e contact links are brought into the switoh-Dfl position. The reverse-motion locking mechanism 51 locks the third plate 18 and ensures that the spring arrangement 2.0 is tensioned again without the contact carrier 11 moving. If the spring arrangement 20 is tensioned, the second plate 17 is also again in its stable position shown in Figure 1. The reverse-motion locking mechanism 51 is then pushed by the edge 55 of the plate 17 into the open position and held there.

A normal switch-On movement by means of the handle or the motor can take place, in which the third plate is pivoted and the contact links are brought into the switch-On position.

Claims

Patent Claims 1. ElectriCal switching device having a drive and a

contact carrier, which is coupled thereto, for at least one movable contact piece, which contact carrier is coupled to the manually operated or motor-driven drive -, the drive being provided with a spring device, which can be changed over from a first stable, switched-on position to a second stable, switched-off position1 a drive plate for the contact carrier being coupled to said spring device, characterized in that, in addition, a spring arrangement is provided which is fixed in a ready-to-trip position and drives the spring device out of the switch-On position into the tripped switch-off positiofl the spring arrangement jnteractiflg with a latching point, which can be unlatched by means of an electromagnetic release such that, after the n1atch ng, the spring arrangement is released and actuates the drive with the spring device in the direction of the tripped switch-off positiOn-
2. switching device according to Claim 1, characterized in that the spring arrangement is accommodated in two housing elements, which are guided telescopically one inside the other.

3. switching device according to Claim 2, characterized in that a housing element IS mounted such that it can rotate on at leas.t one first guide plate, on which a latching lever is mounted such that it can rotate, which keeps the spring arrangement compressed and itself in turn interacts with a latching element, with which the latching lever forms the latching point.

-10 - 4. switching device according to either of Claims 2 anr 3, characteriZed in that the second housing element is articulated on at least one second guide plate, with which one end of the spring device is connected such that it can rotate.

5. switching device ccordiflg to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the housing elements comprise a helical compression spring and are guided one inside the other.

6. switching device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the other end of the spring device is connected to at least one third guide plate such that it can rotate, said guide plate being coupled to the contact carrier.

7. switching device according to Claim 6, characterized in that the third guide plate contains a cam-shaped cutout, in which a coupling bolt or journal slides which is connected to the contact carrier, and, when pivoted about the rotation spindle, moves the contact carrier out of its switch-on position into its switch-off positions and vice versa.

8. Switching device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the drive is fitted to at least one carrier plate.

9. switching device according to Claim 8, characterized in that the drive is held between two carrier plates, which are held at a distance with respect to one another and are fixedly connected to one another.

io. switching device ccordiflg to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that in each case two first, -11 -second and third guide plates are provided1 between which the respective components are located, and in that the guide plates are mounted such that they can rotate on a rotation spindle f-i-t-ted to the carrier plates.