JP6044927B2 - DC switch and DC circuit breaker - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a DC switch and a DC circuit breaker.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a DC switch configured to be able to interrupt a DC electric circuit is known (for example, see Patent Document 1). A DC switch has a fixed contact provided with a fixed contact, a movable contact provided with a movable contact, a plurality of permanent magnets for extending an arc, and a fixed contact by operating a handle in a housing formed of an insulating material. And an open / close mechanism that opens and closes the movable contact.

  In order to cut off the DC electric circuit, the movable contact is separated from the fixed contact through the operation of the handle. At this time, each permanent magnet draws and divides the arc generated between both contacts. As a result, the arc can be extended, and consequently the arc voltage can be increased. When this arc voltage rises above the power supply voltage, the terminals are electrically disconnected.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-154458

  For example, when the direct current switch is used to cut off two direct current poles (positive and negative poles), it is conceivable to arrange two such direct current switches. In this case, the arc extinguishing part may be unable to sufficiently extend the arc due to the influence of the magnetic flux accompanying the switching operation of the adjacent DC switch. Therefore, electrical disconnection between the contacts may be delayed.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a DC switch and a DC circuit breaker that electrically disconnects terminals more quickly when the contacts are separated from each other. is there.

Hereinafter, means for achieving the above object will be described.
In order to solve the above-described problems, a plurality of blocking mechanism parts including a fixed contact having a fixed contact, a movable contact having a movable contact contacting and separating from the fixed contact, and each of the blocking mechanisms as a handle is operated. In a DC switch comprising: an opening / closing mechanism that opens and closes the fixed contact and the movable contact in a section; and an arc extinguishing section provided corresponding to at least one of the plurality of breaking mechanism sections. The arc portion includes a magnet for extending an arc generated between the movable contact and the fixed contact through an arc driving force when the movable contact is opened apart from the fixed contact, and an arc of the arc with respect to the magnet. An insulating part formed of an insulating material that suppresses bridging, and the arc extinguishing part has a magnetic influence from other interrupting mechanism parts that are not the interrupting mechanism part that is the target of arc extinguishing. Provided spaced apart a distance enough only not from the other blocking mechanism, one and extinguishing unit wherein a the extinguishing unit, the other and extinguishing unit corresponding to the other blocking mechanism portion And the separation distance does not decrease the arc driving force when the movable contact and the fixed contact corresponding to the one arc extinguishing part are opened by the magnet of the other arc extinguishing part. And the magnetic flux between the two open contacts collected by the magnet of the one arc-extinguishing part is a distance that is not reduced by the other arc-extinguishing part .

  In the above configuration, it is preferable that the plurality of shut-off mechanism portions are formed as one DC switch covered with a common housing and arranged at different heights along the width direction.

A plurality of shut-off mechanism parts comprising a fixed contact having a fixed contact and a movable contact having a movable contact contacting and separating from the fixed contact; and the fixed contact in each of the shut-off mechanism parts as a handle is operated. A DC switch comprising an opening / closing mechanism that opens and closes the movable contact and an arc extinguishing unit provided corresponding to at least one of the plurality of breaking mechanism units, wherein the arc extinguishing unit is the movable arcing unit A magnet that extends an arc generated between the movable contact and the fixed contact through an arc driving force when the contact is opened apart from the fixed contact, and suppresses the bridging of the arc with respect to the magnet; An arc-extinguishing part formed of an insulating material, and the arc-extinguishing part is separated by a distance that is not magnetically affected by another interrupting mechanism part other than the interrupting mechanism part that is the object of arc extinguishing. The plurality of shut-off mechanism portions are formed as one DC switch covered with a common housing and have different heights along the width direction. In the DC switch covered with the common casing, a space covered with the blocking mechanism portion is formed from the height direction and the width direction, and is covered with the common casing. A plurality of DC switches are arranged along the width direction, and the breaking mechanism part in one DC switch and the breaking mechanism part in another DC switch adjacent to the one DC switch sandwich the space. It is characterized by separating over a separation distance .

In the above configuration, it is preferable that each of the blocking mechanism portions is arranged so that at least a part of each of the blocking mechanism portions overlaps when viewed from a direction orthogonal to the width direction.
In the above configuration, the fixed contact and the movable contact are electrically connected to terminals exposed on the opposite side from the DC switch, respectively, and the fixed contact and the movable contact between the two terminals are connected to each other. In addition, it is preferable that a plurality of electric circuits are formed along the direction connecting the two terminals, and the electric circuits are arranged at different heights along the width direction.

  Moreover, in the said structure, when an abnormal current flows, it is preferable to provide the abnormal current interruption | blocking means which spaces apart the said movable contact from the said fixed contact.

  According to the present invention, when the contacts are separated from each other in the DC switch and the DC circuit breaker, the terminals can be electrically disconnected more quickly.

The side view of the DC switch in one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line 2-2 in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a front view of line 3-3 in FIG. 1. 4 is a rear view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. The disassembled perspective view of the arc-extinguishing part of the 1st opening / closing part in one Embodiment of this invention. Sectional drawing of the arc-extinguishing part of the 1st opening / closing part in one Embodiment of this invention.

Hereinafter, an embodiment in which a DC circuit breaker, which is a type of DC switch according to the present invention, is applied to a solar power generation system will be described with reference to FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 1, the DC circuit breaker 1 is formed in a substantially rectangular shape, and has electric paths 10 a and 10 b corresponding to a plus pole and a minus pole. Both ends of each electric circuit 10a, 10b are formed as terminals 11a, 11b, 12a, 12b protruding from the housing 6 covering the outer periphery of the DC circuit breaker 1.

  A plus terminal + P1 and a minus terminal −P1 from a solar panel (not shown) are connected to the connection terminals 11a and 11b, respectively. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, the plus terminal + P <b> 1 and the minus terminal −P <b> 1 are in pressure contact with the connection terminals 11 a and 11 b by screws 7. The connection terminals 11a and 11b are provided at different positions in both the height direction and the width direction. That is, the connection terminal 11a is located at the upper right in the drawing of the connection terminal 11b.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 3, a positive terminal + P2 and a negative terminal −P2 from a power converter (not shown) are connected to the connection terminals 12a and 12b, respectively. Specifically, the plus terminal + P2 and the minus terminal −P2 are pressed into contact with the connection terminals 12a and 12b by the screw 7. The connection terminals 12a and 12b are provided at different positions in both the height direction and the width direction. That is, the connection terminal 12a is located in the upper left of the connection terminal 12b in the drawing. The DC circuit breaker 1 is located between the solar panel and the power converter, and switches between the solar panel and the power converter between the conductive state and the interrupted state.

Next, the internal configuration of the DC circuit breaker 1 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 1, the DC circuit breaker 1 includes interruption mechanism portions 30 a and 30 b that constitute the electric circuits 10 a and 10 b, a handle 15, a link mechanism 16, and a solenoid 13. FIG. 1 is a side view of the DC circuit breaker 1 with the side cover removed.

  As shown in FIG. 2, two breaking mechanisms 30 a and 30 b are provided at different heights along the width direction of the DC breaker 1. The first blocking mechanism 30a is positioned on the upper side, and the second blocking mechanism 30b is positioned on the lower side. That is, the positional relationship is the same as that of the terminals 11a, 11b, 12a, and 12b. The both blocking mechanism portions 30a and 30b are positioned so as to partially overlap each other when viewed from the height direction. The first blocking mechanism 30a is provided so as to be separated from the second blocking mechanism 30b so as not to be affected by the change in magnetic flux generated during the opening / closing operation of the second blocking mechanism 30b.

  Here, the separation that is not affected by the change in magnetic flux generated during the opening / closing operation is generated by the magnet 32 of the self-extinguishing portion 19a without reducing the arc driving force at the time of opening by another magnet 35. In addition, it means a distance at which the magnetic flux orthogonal between the opened contacts 21a and 22a is not reduced by the other arc extinguishing portion 19b.

In the DC circuit breaker 1, a space 14 is formed on the right side of the first breaking mechanism 30a, that is, on the upper side of the second breaking mechanism 30b.
As indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 2, the same DC breakers 1 are arranged in the same direction along the width direction. Each DC circuit breaker 1 is provided corresponding to a solar panel. In this case, the first breaking mechanism 30a in the central DC breaker 1 and the first breaking mechanism 30a in the DC breaker 1 adjacent to the right sandwich the space 14 in the middle DC breaker 1. Is separated by a distance L1.

  In addition, a first breaking mechanism 30a (shown by a solid line in FIG. 2) in the central DC breaker 1 and a first breaking mechanism 30a (shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 2) in the adjacent DC breaker 1 on the left side. Is separated by a distance L1 across the space 14 in the DC breaker 1 adjacent to the left. This distance L1 is set to such an extent that the influence of the magnetic flux change generated during the opening / closing operation of the blocking mechanism can be ignored.

  As shown in FIG. 1, each interruption | blocking mechanism part 30a, 30b is provided with the fixed contacts 17a and 17b and the movable contacts 18a and 18b. Arc extinguishing portions 19a, 19b are provided corresponding to the respective shut-off mechanism portions 30a, 30b.

  The operating portion 15a of the handle 15 is exposed to the outside. The link mechanism 16 supports a part of the movable contacts 18a and 18b and moves the movable contacts 18a and 18b in the height direction as the handle 15 rotates. The link mechanism 16 corresponds to an opening / closing mechanism.

  The movable contacts 18a and 18b are formed in a thin plate shape extending in the longitudinal direction (left and right direction in the figure) and are electrically connected to the connection terminals 12a and 12b, respectively. Further, movable contacts 22a and 22b are formed on the lower surfaces of the right end portions of the movable contacts 18a and 18b.

  The fixed contacts 17a, 17b are formed in a thin plate shape extending in the longitudinal direction (left-right direction in the figure), and the right end portions thereof constitute the connection terminals 11a, 11b, similarly to the movable contacts 18a, 18b. To do.

  Fixed contacts 21a and 21b are formed on the upper surfaces of the left end portions of the fixed contacts 17a and 17b. The movable contacts 22a and 22b are provided so as to be able to contact and separate from the fixed contacts 21a and 21b as the movable contacts 18a and 18b move up and down.

  When an overcurrent (abnormal current) flows through the electric path 10a, the solenoid 13 operates the link mechanism 16 through the output shaft 13a. Thereby, the movable contact 22a is separated from the fixed contact 21a, and the overcurrent is interrupted. That is, the solenoid 13 corresponds to an abnormal current interruption means.

The arc-extinguishing portions 19a and 19b corresponding to the blocking mechanism portions 30a and 30b have different configurations. First, the structure of the arc-extinguishing part 19a corresponding to the 1st interruption | blocking mechanism part 30a is demonstrated.
As shown in FIG. 5, the arc extinguishing portion 19 a corresponding to the first blocking mechanism portion 30 a includes a magnetic yoke 31, a pair of permanent magnets 32, and an insulating holder 33.

Each permanent magnet 32 is formed in a square flat plate shape, and an S pole and an N pole are magnetized in the thickness direction.
The insulating holder 33 is formed in a substantially U-shape that opens to the lower side in the drawing. Specifically, the insulating holder 33 includes a pair of side walls 33a and 33b and an upper wall 33c that connects the side walls 33a and 33b. A storage hole 33d in which the permanent magnet 32 can be mounted is formed on the outer surfaces of the side walls 33a and 33b.

  The magnetic yoke 31 is formed of a magnetic material such as ferrite and is formed in a U shape so as to cover the outer surface of the insulating holder 33. The magnetic yoke 31 forms a magnetic path between the two permanent magnets 32.

  The permanent magnet 32 is fitted in each storage hole 33 d of the insulating holder 33. Then, the magnetic yoke 31 is fitted into the insulating holder 33 from the outside. Thereby, the arc extinguishing part 19a is assembled. The movable contact 22a and the fixed contact 21a are located inside the arc extinguishing part 19a.

Next, the structure of the arc-extinguishing part 19b corresponding to the 2nd interruption | blocking mechanism part 30b is demonstrated.
As shown in FIG. 2, the arc extinguishing portion 19 b corresponding to the second blocking mechanism portion 30 b includes a pair of permanent magnets 35 having the same shape as the permanent magnet 32. Both permanent magnets 35 face each other in the width direction with the movable contact 18b and the fixed contact 17b interposed therebetween.

Next, the operation of the DC circuit breaker 1 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 1, the movable contacts 18 a and 18 b are separated from the fixed contacts 17 a and 17 b through the handle 15 in a state where current flows through both the electric paths 10 a and 10 b. At this time, as shown in FIG. 6, an arc is generated between the fixed contacts 21a and 21b and the movable contacts 22a and 22b.

  The permanent magnet 32 in the first breaking mechanism part 30a causes the arc generated between the contacts 21a and 22a to act on the arc generated by the electromagnetic mechanics to extend the arc. This Lorentz force becomes an arc driving force for driving the arc. At this time, the insulating holder 33 protects the permanent magnet 32 and the magnetic yoke 31 so that the arc does not bridge the permanent magnet 32 and the magnetic yoke 31. The arc voltage can be increased by extending the arc. When this arc voltage exceeds the applied voltage between the fixed contacts 21a, 21b and the movable contacts 22a, 22b, the arc is extinguished. Therefore, the contact points 21a and 22a are electrically disconnected.

Similarly, the permanent magnet 35 in the second breaking mechanism 30b extinguishes the arc by extending the arc. Therefore, the contacts 21b and 22b are also electrically disconnected.
As described above, according to the embodiment described above, the following effects can be obtained.

  (1) The arc-extinguishing part 19a corresponding to the first interrupting mechanism part 30a is not affected by the magnetic force from the second interrupting mechanism part 30b that is not subject to arc extinguishing. It is provided apart from the part 30b. Therefore, the effect of extending the arc through the permanent magnet 32 can be increased, that is, the arc voltage can be increased. When this arc voltage exceeds the applied voltage between the fixed contact 21a and the movable contact 22a, the arc is extinguished. Therefore, by increasing the arc voltage, the movable contact 22a and the stationary contact 21a can be interrupted more quickly.

  (2) As shown in FIG. 1, the shut-off mechanism portions 30 a and 30 b are arranged at different positions as viewed from the width direction, that is, at different levels. Therefore, the arc extinguishing part 19a corresponding to the first breaking mechanism part 30a can be separated from the second breaking mechanism part 30b without increasing the size of the DC breaker 1 in the width direction.

  (3) Each blocking mechanism 30a, 30b is arranged so that a part of each blocking mechanism 30a, 30b overlaps when viewed from the height direction. Therefore, the width direction of the DC circuit breaker 1 can be formed thin.

  In particular, in the above embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of DC circuit breakers 1 having the same configuration are arranged in the width direction. The overall size when the DC breakers 1 are arranged can be made compact. Further, the breaking mechanism portions 30 a of the adjacent DC breakers 1 are separated by a distance L <b> 1 through the space 14. Therefore, even when the DC circuit breakers 1 are arranged adjacent to each other, the effect (1) can be obtained.

  (4) The electric circuits 10a and 10b including the terminals 11a, 11b, 12a, and 12b are arranged so as not to overlap each other when viewed from the width direction, that is, in a step difference. Therefore, the width direction of the DC circuit breaker 1 can be formed thin.

  Even if the terminals 11a, 11b, 12a, and 12b are formed large in the width direction, the terminals 11a, 11b, 12a, and 12b are not adjacent to each other, so that the terminals do not interfere with each other. Therefore, the terminals 11a, 11b, 12a, 12b can be formed larger. Accordingly, by using the screw 7 having a larger size, the terminals + P1, −P1, + P2, and −P2 from the outside are pressed against the connection terminals 11a, 11b, 12a, and 12b of the DC circuit breaker 1 with a larger force. be able to.

  (5) When an overcurrent (abnormal current) flows through the electric circuit 10a, the movable contact 22a is separated from the fixed contact 21a through the solenoid 13, and the overcurrent is interrupted. Therefore, the safety as a solar power generation system is increased.

In addition, the said embodiment can be implemented with the following forms which changed this suitably.
In the above embodiment, a plurality of DC circuit breakers 1 are arranged in the width direction, but the arrangement is not limited to this, and may be used alone.

In the above embodiment, two arc extinguishing parts 19a and 19b are provided in one DC circuit breaker 1, but the arc extinguishing part 19b corresponding to the second interruption mechanism part 30b may be omitted, for example. .
Moreover, the structure of the arc extinguishing parts 19a and 19b can be changed as appropriate. For example, the magnetic yoke 31 may be omitted from the arc extinguishing portion 19a.

  In the above embodiment, the positive terminals + P1 and the negative terminal −P1 of the solar panel (not shown) are connected to the connection terminals 11a and 11b, respectively. However, only the plus terminal from each solar panel (not shown) or only the minus terminal may be connected to the connection terminals 11a and 11b of the electric paths 10a and 10b. The same applies to the connection terminals 12a and 12b. Further, the connection terminals 11a and 11b and the connection terminals 12a and 12b may be used in reverse.

  In the above embodiment, the DC circuit breaker 1 has the two electric circuits 10a and 10b, but may have three or more electric circuits. Even in this case, the same effects as (1) to (4) of the above-described embodiment can be obtained by arranging each electric circuit in a different stage (that is, arranging each electric circuit so as not to overlap when viewed from the width direction).

  -In above-mentioned embodiment, it has arrange | positioned so that a part of interruption | blocking mechanism part 30a, 30b may overlap, seeing from a height direction, However, All the interruption | blocking mechanism parts 30a, 30b may overlap. Further, when viewed from the width direction, both blocking mechanism portions 30a and 30b may be located at the same position. In this case, in the DC circuit breaker 1, a space of a distance L1 is formed between the both breaking mechanism portions 30a and 30b. Further, the electric paths 10a and 10b including the blocking mechanism portions 30a and 30b may be located at positions that coincide with each other when viewed in the width direction.

In the above embodiment, the DC circuit breaker 1 is connected to the solar panel, but the DC circuit breaker 1 may be connected to another DC voltage source.
-By omitting the solenoid 13 in the above embodiment, it may be configured as a DC switch instead of a DC circuit breaker.

-Although the arc-extinguishing parts 19a and 19b have different configurations, any one of the configurations may be employed.
Next, the technical idea that can be grasped from the embodiment will be described together with the effects.
(A) The DC switch according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein the shut-off mechanism units are simultaneously opened and closed through the switching mechanism by the common handle.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... DC circuit breaker, 10a, 10b ... Electric circuit, 11a, 11b, 12a, 12b ... Connection terminal, 14 ... Space, 15 ... Handle, 15a ... Operation part, 16 ... Link mechanism, 17a, 17b ... Fixed contact, 18a , 18b ... movable contact, 19a, 19b ... arc extinguishing part, 21a, 21b ... fixed contact, 22a, 22b ... movable contact, 30a ... first interruption mechanism part, 30b ... second interruption mechanism part, 31 ... magnetism Yoke, 32 ... permanent magnet, 33 ... insulating holder, 33a, 33b ... side wall, 33c ... upper wall, 33d ... storage hole, 35 ... permanent magnet.

Claims (6)

A plurality of blocking mechanisms comprising a fixed contact having a fixed contact and a movable contact having a movable contact contacting and separating from the fixed contact;
An open / close mechanism that opens and closes the fixed contact and the movable contact in each of the shut-off mechanism sections in accordance with the operation of the handle;
In a DC switch comprising an arc extinguishing part provided corresponding to at least one of the plurality of shut-off mechanism parts,
The arc extinguishing part is
A magnet for extending an arc generated between the movable contact and the fixed contact through an arc driving force when the movable contact is opened away from the fixed contact;
An insulating part formed of an insulating material that suppresses bridging of the arc with respect to the magnet, and
The arc extinguishing part is provided apart from the other interrupting mechanism part by a distance that is not affected magnetically from the other interrupting mechanism part that is not the interrupting mechanism part that the self is intended to extinguish .
One arc extinguishing part which is the arc extinguishing part, and another arc extinguishing part corresponding to the other blocking mechanism part,
The separation distance does not decrease the arc driving force when the movable contact and the fixed contact corresponding to the one arc extinguishing part are opened by the magnet of the other arc extinguishing part, and the A DC switch, characterized in that the magnetic flux between the opened two contacts collected by a magnet of one arc-extinguishing part is a distance that does not decrease by the other arc-extinguishing part . The DC switch according to claim 1 ,
The plurality of shut-off mechanism sections are covered with a common casing and formed as one DC switch, and are arranged at different heights along the width direction. A plurality of blocking mechanisms comprising a fixed contact having a fixed contact and a movable contact having a movable contact contacting and separating from the fixed contact;
An open / close mechanism that opens and closes the fixed contact and the movable contact in each of the shut-off mechanism sections in accordance with the operation of the handle;
In a DC switch comprising an arc extinguishing part provided corresponding to at least one of the plurality of shut-off mechanism parts,
The arc extinguishing part is
A magnet for extending an arc generated between the movable contact and the fixed contact through an arc driving force when the movable contact is opened away from the fixed contact;
An insulating part formed of an insulating material that suppresses bridging of the arc with respect to the magnet, and
The arc extinguishing part is provided apart from the other interrupting mechanism part by a distance that is not affected magnetically from the other interrupting mechanism part that is not the interrupting mechanism part that the self is intended to extinguish.
The plurality of shut-off mechanism portions are covered with a common housing and formed as one DC switch, and are arranged at different heights along the width direction.
In the DC switch covered by the common casing, a space covered by the blocking mechanism portion is formed from the height direction and the width direction,
A plurality of DC switches covered by the common housing are arranged along the width direction,
A DC mechanism characterized in that a shut-off mechanism section in one DC switch and a shut-off mechanism section in another DC switch adjacent to the one DC switch are separated by the separation distance across the space. Switch. In the direct-current switch as described in any one of Claims 1-3 ,
The DC switch, wherein each of the blocking mechanisms is arranged so that at least a part of each of the blocking mechanisms overlaps when viewed from a direction orthogonal to the width direction. In the DC switch according to any one of claims 1 to 4 ,
The fixed contact and the movable contact are each electrically connected to a terminal exposed to the opposite side from the DC switch, and include both the fixed contact and the movable contact between the two terminals. A plurality of electric circuits are formed along the direction connecting the
Each DC circuit is arrange | positioned at different height along the width direction. DC switch characterized by the above-mentioned. It is a kind of direct-current switch as described in any one of Claims 1-5 , Comprising: The direct current provided with the abnormal current interruption means which separates the said movable contact from the said fixed contact, when abnormal current flows Circuit breaker.