JP2015173026A - Circuit breaker with leakage alarm - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a circuit breaker with a leakage alarm, in which power consumption can be reduced and heating element can be made compact.SOLUTION: A circuit breaker with a leakage alarm has a zero-phase current transformer 2 interposed in a cable way 1 so as to detect leakage, in addition to a function for breaking an electric circuit 1 when an over current flows therethrough, a leakage detection circuit 4 connected with the secondary side of the zero-phase current transformer 2, and outputting a leakage detection signal upon occurrence of leakage in the electric circuit 1, and an LED 6 which operates to display by receiving the leakage detection signal. The circuit breaker with a leakage alarm is further provided with a diode element 16 constituted of a leakage test button 14 for testing the leakage detection circuit 4, and a leakage test circuit 5 for feeding a pseudo leakage current to the zero-phase current transformer 2 by receiving operation of the leakage test button 14, and stopping conduction of the pseudo leakage current by receiving the output of the leakage detection signal.

Description

  The present invention relates to a circuit breaker, and more particularly to a circuit breaker with a leakage alarm having a function of issuing an alarm when a leakage occurs.

Conventionally, there is a circuit breaker equipped with a leakage alarm function that detects an occurrence of a leakage and issues an alarm (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
On the other hand, the earth leakage circuit breaker that cuts off the electric circuit when an earth leakage occurs is equipped with an earth leakage test switch that tests the earth leakage breaking function. It can be confirmed.
In the case of an earth leakage circuit breaker, the pseudo leakage current does not continuously flow because the circuit breaker operates even if the pseudo leakage current flows as described above. However, when the circuit breaker is reversely connected or the private power generation equipment is connected to the circuit to be interrupted, it is possible that the current will continue to flow even if the circuit is interrupted, and the circuit may burn out. Some burnout prevention switches are provided so as to operate normally, and the pseudo-leakage current is surely cut off after the cut-off operation (for example, see Patent Document 2).

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-82008 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-180792

However, in the case of a circuit breaker with a leakage alarm, the alarm function is activated and the circuit is not interrupted. For this reason, when a leakage test circuit is provided, a large resistor having excellent heat generation, for example, is interposed in the electric circuit so that the circuit is not damaged even if the pseudo leakage current continuously flows. In addition, when a pseudo leakage current is generated as a pseudo leakage current in the test circuit, the power supply circuit also requires power for alarm operation, so it is necessary to have the capacity to supply both power for the test circuit and alarm output simultaneously. there were.
For this reason, since the circuit breaker with a leakage alarm requires a large resistor and a large-capacity power supply circuit, it is difficult to reduce the size.

  Therefore, in view of such problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a circuit breaker with a leakage alarm capable of reducing power consumption and reducing the size of a resistive element that generates heat.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention of claim 1 is a zero-phase current transformer interposed in the electric circuit in order to detect a leakage in addition to the function of interrupting the electric circuit when an overcurrent flows in the electric circuit to be monitored. And a leakage detection circuit that is connected to the secondary side of the zero-phase current transformer and outputs a leakage detection signal when a leakage occurs in the circuit, and a leakage indicator that receives and displays the leakage detection signal A circuit breaker having a leakage test button for testing a leakage detection circuit, having a leakage test circuit for receiving a pseudo leakage current through a zero-phase current transformer in response to an operation of the leakage test button, It is characterized by having a test current stopping means for receiving the output and stopping energization of the pseudo leakage current.
According to this configuration, even if the leakage test button is operated to generate a pseudo leakage current, the pseudo leakage current stops if the leakage detection circuit performs a detection operation. Therefore, a resistance element or the like for limiting the current may be a small one having a small heat capacity, and since the pseudo leakage current is stopped at the stage where the leakage display section performs the display operation, the power consumption is small, and the leakage detection circuit and the leakage Since the burden on the power supply circuit that drives the test circuit is small, it is effective in reducing the size of the circuit breaker with a leakage alarm.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the configuration of the first aspect, the drive circuit of the leakage current display unit has a thyristor that is turned on in response to the leakage detection signal, and the leakage test button is a semiconductor that generates a pseudo leakage current. Arranged to turn on / off the bias circuit of the amplifying element, the test current stop means is a diode element that connects the bias circuit to the anode of the thyristor, and the bias to the semiconductor amplifying element is stopped by turning on the thyristor, The leakage current is stopped.
According to this configuration, the test current stopping means may be a single diode element, and the pseudo leakage current can be stopped with an inexpensive circuit without using a relay or a switching contact to stop the pseudo leakage current.

  According to the present invention, even if the leakage test button is operated to generate a pseudo leakage current, the pseudo leakage current is stopped if the leakage detection circuit performs a detection operation. Therefore, a resistance element or the like for limiting the current may be a small one having a small heat capacity, and since the pseudo leakage current is stopped at the stage where the leakage display section performs the display operation, the power consumption is small, and the leakage detection circuit and the leakage The burden on the power supply circuit that drives the test circuit is small and effective for miniaturization.

It is a circuit diagram showing an example of a circuit breaker with a leakage alarm according to the present invention.

  DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments embodying the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram showing an example of a circuit breaker with a leakage alarm according to the present invention, wherein 1 is a circuit, 2 is a zero-phase current transformer, 3 is a power supply circuit, 4 is a leakage detection circuit, 5 is a leakage test circuit, Reference numeral 6 denotes an LED as a leakage indicator. In addition, the overcurrent detection apparatus which detects the overcurrent of the electric circuit 1, and the interruption | blocking mechanism part which interrupts | blocks the electric circuit 1 in response to an overcurrent detection are abbreviate | omitted.

  The zero-phase current transformer 2 has the electric circuit 1 as a primary winding so as to detect the zero-phase current, that is, the electric leakage current of the electric circuit 1, and the secondary winding is connected to the electric leakage detection circuit 4.

The power supply circuit 3 includes a rectifier circuit therein, and supplies power to the leakage detection circuit 4, the leakage test circuit 5, the LED 6, and the like.
The LED 6 is connected in series with the thyristor 7 that is turned on by the output signal of the leakage detection circuit 4, and emits light when the thyristor 7 is turned on.

  The leakage detection circuit 4 is constituted by an IC circuit. When a threshold is set and the output voltage of the zero-phase current transformer 2 exceeds the threshold, it is determined that leakage has occurred and outputs a leakage detection signal.

The earth leakage test circuit 5 includes a test current generation circuit 12 using a transistor 11 as a semiconductor amplifying element as a switching element, an oscillation circuit 13 for driving the transistor 11, and an earth leakage test button 14 for turning on the oscillation circuit 13. The test current generating circuit 12 is provided with a resistor 15 that limits the current and prevents the circuit from being burned out.
The leakage test button 14 is provided on the bias circuit of the transistor 11 and turns on / off the bias circuit.
This bias circuit is provided with a diode element 16 for bypassing current to the anode of the thyristor 7. When the thyristor 7 is turned on by the diode element 16, the bias current of the transistor 11 flows into the thyristor 7, and the oscillation circuit 13 stops operating.

In the circuit breaker with a leakage alarm configured as described above, the operation when the leakage test button 14 is operated is as follows. When the leakage test button 14 is turned on, the oscillation circuit 13 is activated to generate a bias current for the transistor 11, and the oscillation circuit 13 is activated to turn on the transistor 11. Strictly speaking, an operation of repeating ON / OFF according to the oscillation frequency of the oscillation circuit 13 is performed.
By this operation, a pseudo leakage current consisting of a current regulated by the resistor 15 flows in the test current generating circuit 12, and the zero-phase current transformer 2 detects it as a zero-phase current. Then, the leakage detection circuit 4 recognizes that leakage has occurred and outputs a leakage detection signal.
The thyristor 7 is turned on by this leakage detection signal, and the LED 6 is lit. On the other hand, when the thyristor 7 is turned on, a bias current flows into the thyristor 7 through the diode element 16 and the oscillation circuit 13 is stopped. Therefore, the transistor 11 is turned off and the pseudo leakage current is stopped.

As described above, even if the leakage test button 14 is operated to generate a pseudo leakage current, the pseudo leakage current stops if the leakage detection circuit 4 performs a detection operation. Therefore, the resistor 15 for limiting the current has a heat capacity. Since the pseudo-leakage current stops at the stage where the LED 6 performs a display operation, the power consumption is very small and the burden on the power supply circuit 3 that drives the leakage detection circuit 4 and the leakage test circuit 5 is small. Therefore, it is effective for miniaturization of a circuit breaker with a leakage alarm.
Further, the test current stopping means is only one diode element 16, and the pseudo leakage current can be stopped with an inexpensive circuit without using a relay or a switching contact to stop the pseudo leakage current.

  In addition, in the said embodiment, although it is the structure which notifies the alert | report of electric leakage generation | occurrence | production by light emission of LED6, you may sound a buzzer or you may provide an alarm output part and notify to the exterior.

  1 .... Electric circuit 2 .... Zero phase current transformer 3 .... Power supply circuit 4 .... Leak detection circuit 5 .... Leak test circuit 6 .... LED (leakage indicator), 7 .... Thyristor 11 .. Transistor (semiconductor amplifier), 13. Oscillator circuit, 14. Earth leakage test button, 15. Resistor, 16. Diode element (test current stop means)

Claims (2)

In addition to the function of cutting off the electric circuit when an overcurrent flows in the monitored electric circuit, a zero-phase current transformer interposed in the electric circuit to detect leakage, and a secondary side of the zero-phase current transformer A circuit breaker with a leakage alarm having a leakage detection circuit that outputs a leakage detection signal when a leakage occurs in the electrical circuit, and a leakage display unit that receives and displays the leakage detection signal,
An electric leakage test button for testing the electric leakage detection circuit, having an electric leakage test circuit for receiving a pseudo-leakage current in the zero-phase current transformer in response to an operation of the electric leakage test button,
A circuit breaker with a leakage alarm, comprising test current stopping means for stopping the energization of the pseudo leakage current in response to the output of the leakage detection signal. The drive circuit of the earth leakage display unit has a thyristor that is turned on in response to the earth leakage detection signal, and the earth leakage test button is arranged to turn on / off a bias circuit of the semiconductor amplifying element that generates the pseudo leakage current. And
The test current stopping means is a diode element that connects the bias circuit to an anode of the thyristor;
2. The circuit breaker with a leakage alarm according to claim 1, wherein the bias to the semiconductor amplifying element is stopped by the ON operation of the thyristor, and the pseudo leakage current is stopped.

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