JP4933208B2 - Circuit breaker - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a circuit breaker, and more particularly to a circuit breaker having a shape in which a power supply side terminal and a load side terminal are arranged vertically to suppress a lateral width.

In order to suppress the thickness in the width direction of the circuit breaker in which the load-side terminal and the power-side terminal are arranged on the front and rear surfaces, the power-side terminal is configured as a plug-in type in which a conductive bar is inserted and connected. There exists a circuit breaker (for example, refer patent document 1). Further, the present applicant has proposed a circuit breaker in which a load side terminal is also arranged vertically in addition to a power source side terminal so as to be thin in the width direction (see Patent Document 2).
JP 2001-35341 A JP 2002-216610 A

However, even if both the power supply side terminal and the load side terminal are arranged vertically in order to form a thin shape, the separator can be moved up and down by the operation handle, and the contact can be opened and closed. Since the opening / closing mechanism for making it have a complicated mechanism and shape as in the prior art, it has been a hindrance to downsizing.
Therefore, in view of such a problem, an object of the present invention is to provide a circuit breaker capable of reducing the size of the switching mechanism and further reducing the thickness.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention of claim 1 is characterized in that an open / close contact portion including a fixed contact and a movable contact provided in an electric circuit between a power supply side terminal and a load side terminal, and an electric circuit abnormality such as leakage or overcurrent. An abnormality detecting means for detecting the switching contact portion, a separator for opening the switching contact portion, and a latch mechanism. When an electric circuit abnormality occurs, the latch is released and the separator is urged and moved in a predetermined direction. A circuit breaker having an opening / closing mechanism for opening the portion, wherein the opening / closing mechanism has the latch mechanism composed of two rotating pieces arranged in a frame continuously formed from the separator. The opening / closing mechanism and the separator move together .
According to this configuration, since the opening / closing mechanism moves together with the separator, it is not necessary to provide dedicated guide means. Therefore, the opening / closing mechanism can be simplified, and the opening / closing mechanism can be reduced in size.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, an operation handle for opening and closing the switching contact portion is disposed on the upper surface of the circuit breaker case, a plurality of power supply side terminals on the back surface, and a plurality of load side terminals on the front surface. The separators are arranged in parallel in the vertical direction, and the separator is arranged in parallel with the row of the load side terminals so that the upper end is positioned in the vicinity of the operation handle, and the latch that locks each movable contact at an appropriate position. The opening / closing mechanism is arranged above the separator.
According to this configuration, since the upper end of the separator is disposed near the operation handle, the rotation operation of the operation handle can be easily transmitted to the separator and the opening / closing mechanism, and the opening / closing mechanism can be manufactured in a small space.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect of the present invention, between the operation handle and the separator, one end is pivotally supported by the operation handle and the other end is brought into contact with a predetermined portion of the separator upper portion and the opening / closing mechanism portion. A cooperating member is arranged, the cooperating member presses and moves the separator in response to the rotation of the operation handle, and the switching contact portion is closed.
According to this configuration, the cooperation member that operates the separator and the opening / closing mechanism by operating the operation handle may be, for example, a U-shaped bracket having one end pivotally supported by the operation handle, and the operation handle, the separator, and the opening / closing mechanism with a simple configuration. The parts can be connected.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the third aspect of the present invention, the operation handle has a restriction protrusion for restricting movement of the cooperation member.
According to this configuration, the cooperation member does not rotate more than a predetermined angle, and even if it is simply pivotally supported by the operation handle, the engagement with the separator and the opening / closing mechanism is not released or the pivotal support is not removed.

  According to the present invention, since the opening / closing mechanism portion moves together with the separator, it is not necessary to provide a dedicated guide means, and the installation space for the opening / closing mechanism portion can be minimized. In addition, since the upper end of the separator is arranged near the operation handle, the rotation operation of the operation handle can be easily transmitted to the separator and the opening / closing mechanism, and the opening / closing mechanism can be manufactured in a small space.

  DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of the invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. 1 to 6 show an example of a circuit breaker according to the present invention. FIG. 1 (a) is a front view seen from the load side terminal direction, FIG. 1 (b) is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA, FIG. Is a left side view with the left case removed, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the state of FIG. 2, both showing the output off state. 4 to 6 show a case where the output is on, FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA, FIG. 5 is a left side view with the left case removed, and FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the state of FIG. It is.

  In each figure, 1 (1a, 1b, 2c) is a power supply side terminal, 2 (2a, 2b, 2c) is a load side terminal, and the power supply side terminal 1 and the load side terminal 2 are arranged in a straight line vertically. 3 shows a circuit breaker that has three terminals and is installed in a single-phase three-wire circuit. In addition, 3 is an operation handle for turning on / off an electric path from the power supply side terminal 1 to the load side terminal 2, 5 is a fixed contact constituting one of the switching contact parts 4, 6 is a movable contact constituting the other, and 7 is Zero-phase current transformer for detecting electric leakage, 8 is a separator for opening the switching contact 4, and 9 is provided with a latch mechanism to open the separator 8 when an electric circuit abnormality such as electric leakage or overcurrent occurs. Opening / closing mechanism section to be operated, 11 is a tripping plate for operating the opening / closing mechanism section 9 to cut off, 13 is a printed circuit board with a circuit for operating the trip coil 14 when a leakage occurs, and 15 is for detecting an overcurrent. A bimetal piece 16 is a movable electromagnetic piece for detecting a short circuit.

  The circuit breaker case 18 includes a left case 18a and a right case 18b formed substantially symmetrically with the left case 18a. In FIG. 1, the load side terminal 2b at the center is closed by the closing member 19, but the unused terminals are covered in this way.

The separator 8 is formed in a cylindrical shape in parallel with the front surface provided with the load side terminals 2 and is disposed so as to accommodate the fixed contacts 5 extending from the individual load side terminals 2a to 2c. Then, three movable contacts 6 are assembled inside according to the fixed contact 5. Thus, the switching contact portion 4 is disposed on the separator 8, and the fixed contact 5 and the movable contact 6 are brought into contact / dissociation operation by sliding the separator 8 in the longitudinal direction (substantially up and down direction). That is, the switching contact portion 4 is opened and closed.
The separator 8 is always urged upward by a coil spring 21 disposed between the circuit breaker case 18.

The opening / closing mechanism 9 is continuously formed on the upper portion of the separator 8 formed in this way. A frame body 23 of the opening / closing mechanism unit 9 is continuously formed on the upper portion of the separator 8, and a latch mechanism 22 including a first rotating piece 22a and a second rotating piece 22b is formed therein. The first rotating piece 22a is provided with an engaging protrusion 25 that engages with the upper end of the tripping plate 11, and an engaging protrusion 26 that engages with the second engaging piece 22b. , A locking step portion 27 for locking the first rotating piece 22a, and a locking projection 28 for locking to a link 30 described later are provided.

  And the operation handle 3 and the separator 8 are connected via the link (cooperation member) 30 which consists of a U-shaped metal fitting. One end of the link 30 is pivotally supported by the operation handle 3, and the other end engages with the upper end of the separator 8 and is disposed so as to be engaged with the engagement protrusion 28 of the second rotating piece 22 b. In addition, a restricting projection 31 is formed in the vicinity of the link 30 shaft support portion of the operation handle 3 to prevent the pivoted link 30 from rotating more than a predetermined angle and prevent it from coming off.

The circuit breaker thus formed operates as follows. First, in the OFF state shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the separator 8 is urged by the coil spring 21 and slid upward, and the switching contact portion 4 is in an open state. That is, the load side terminal 2 is in a state of being opened from the power source side terminal 1. The opening / closing mechanism 9 is in a latched state (a state in which the first rotating piece 22a is locked to the second rotating piece 22b and the second rotating piece is prevented from rotating in a predetermined direction).
When the operation handle 3 is rotated rearward from this state, the separator 8 is slid downward along its longitudinal axis by being pressed by the link 30 connected to the operation handle 3 as shown in FIGS. . The opening / closing mechanism 9 integrated with the separator 8 also moves while maintaining the latched state.

  If the rotation of the operation handle 3 is continued to the final position (position where the lever is horizontal) in this way, the movable contact 6 comes into contact with the fixed contact 5 and the switching contact portion 4 is closed (ON state), and the load side terminal 2 And the electric circuit between the power supply side terminals 1 are connected. At this time, the link 30 is pressed upward by the pressing force of the separator 8 biased upward by the coil spring 21 and the opening / closing mechanism 9 in the latched state, but the tip of the operation handle 3 is placed on the upper surface of the circuit breaker case 18. Since it is locked and does not rotate any further, the ON state is maintained unless an OFF operation or a trip operation is performed.

  In this state, when an overcurrent flows through the electric circuit and the bimetal piece 15 is thermally deformed, for example, the tip of the bimetal piece 15 comes into contact with the engagement piece 11a provided in the vicinity of the bimetal piece 15 of the tripping plate 11, and the tripping plate 11 Slide upward. By this slide, the upper end of the tripping plate 11 engages with the first rotating piece 22a of the opening / closing mechanism section 9, and the first rotating piece 22a rotates. As a result, the first rotating piece 22a and the second rotating piece 22b are unlocked, and the latched state is released. By releasing the latch, the link 30 receiving the pressing action of the separator 8 rotates and the separator 8 slides upward. In this way, the switching contact portion 4 performs an opening operation, that is, a blocking operation.

  When a short circuit current flows in the electric circuit, the movable electromagnetic piece 16 operates in response to the short circuit current and slides the tripping plate 11 upward. In the subsequent operation, as in the case of the bimetal piece 15, the latch of the opening / closing mechanism portion 9 is released, the separator 8 slides, and the opening / closing contact portion 4 opens.

Further, when a leakage occurs, the zero-phase current transformer 7 detects it and the plunger 14a of the trip coil 14 is pulled. The trip plate 14 slides upward by the operation of the trip coil 14. In the subsequent operation, as in the case of the bimetal piece 15 and the movable electromagnetic piece 16, the switching contact portion 4 opens.
Thus, the opening / closing mechanism section 9 that has tripped returns to the initial state shown in FIG. 1 by a reset operation for returning the operation handle 3 to the OFF position.

Thus, since the opening / closing mechanism moves together with the separator, there is no need to provide dedicated guide means. Therefore, as described above, the opening / closing mechanism portion can be configured by simply combining two rotating members, and the structure can be simplified and the opening / closing mechanism portion can be reduced in size.
In addition, since the upper end of the separator is disposed near the operation handle, the rotation operation of the operation handle can be easily transmitted to the separator and the opening / closing mechanism, and the opening / closing mechanism can be manufactured in a small space.
Further, the cooperation member that operates the separator and the opening / closing mechanism by operating the operation handle may be, for example, a U-shaped bracket having one end pivotally supported by the operation handle, and the operation handle, the separator, and the opening / closing mechanism can be connected with a simple configuration. . Further, the cooperation member does not rotate more than a predetermined angle, and even if it is simply pivotally supported by the operation handle, the engagement with the separator and the opening / closing mechanism is not released or the pivotal support is not removed.

  In the above-described embodiment, the circuit breaker provided with the leakage breaker mechanism has been described. However, the configuration and arrangement of the separator 8 and the opening / closing mechanism unit 9 include only an overcurrent breaker mechanism having no leakage breaker function. It can be easily applied to.

An example of embodiment of a circuit breaker concerning the present invention is shown, (a) is a front view and (b) is an AA line sectional view. FIG. 2 is a left side view of FIG. 1 showing a state where a left case is removed. It is a perspective view of the state of FIG. It is an AA line sectional view in the state where the circuit breaker was turned on. FIG. 5 is a left side view of the state of FIG. 4, showing a state where the left case is removed. It is a perspective view of the state of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

  1 .... Power supply side terminal 2 .... Load side terminal 3 .... Operation handle 4 .... Open / close contact part 5 .... Fixed contact 6 .... Moveable contact 7 .... Zero phase current transformer (abnormality detection) Means), 8 .. Separator, 9 .. Opening / closing mechanism section, 15 .. Bimetal piece (abnormality detection means), 16 .. Movable electromagnetic piece (abnormality detection means, 22... Latch mechanism, 30. ), 31 .. Restriction protrusion.

Claims (4)

Opening / closing contact part consisting of a fixed contact and a movable contact provided in the electric circuit between the power supply side terminal and the load side terminal, an abnormality detecting means for detecting electric circuit abnormality such as leakage or overcurrent, and opening the switching contact part A circuit breaker comprising: a separator for causing the circuit to open; and an opening / closing mechanism for releasing the latch when an electric circuit abnormality occurs and forcibly moving the separator in a predetermined direction to open the switching contact In the vessel
The opening / closing mechanism section includes the latch mechanism including two rotating pieces arranged in a frame continuously formed from the separator, and the opening / closing mechanism section and the separator move integrally. A circuit breaker. An operation handle for opening and closing the switching contact portion is arranged on the top surface of the circuit breaker case, and a plurality of power supply side terminals are arranged on the back surface, and a plurality of load side terminals are arranged in the vertical direction on the front surface, respectively.
The separator is arranged in parallel with the row of the load side terminals and has an upper end positioned in the vicinity of the operation handle, and vertically provided with a locking portion for locking each movable contact at an appropriate position, and the opening / closing mechanism portion is The circuit breaker according to claim 1, wherein the circuit breaker is disposed on an upper portion of the separator. Between the operation handle and the separator, a cooperative member is arranged with one end pivotally supported by the operation handle and the other end abutted against the upper part of the separator and a predetermined part of the opening / closing mechanism, and the cooperation is received by the rotation of the operation handle. The circuit breaker according to claim 2, wherein the member presses and moves the separator, and the switching contact portion closes. The circuit breaker according to claim 3, wherein the operation handle has a restriction protrusion for restricting movement of the cooperation member.

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