JPS6050016B2 - Separable electrical connector assembly - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally to power switches, and in particular to separable cables for shielded power distribution cables containing ablative materials for load shedding.
Regarding connector switch modules.

Separable connector assemblies for underground power distribution cables or shielded cables are watertight when assembled and can be easily separated into two or more parts to disconnect the cable.

Since these parts are available separately on the market and each has a special design, they are usually called nomodules. To this end, connector assemblies are constructed by assembling two or more mating modules. One type of commonly used separable connector assembly is
There is a type consisting of a rod and a hole.

A switch module having a receiving bore tube or arc-extinguishing material disposed within a passageway in a shielded insulating housing and a capture contact member at the inner end of the bore tube has a mating rod shape with rod contacts. Accepts connector module. A rod contact is inserted into the hole and captured by the contact member of the hole. An example of this type of connector assembly is, for example, U.S. Pat.
No. 3437, No. 3542786, No. 355158
No. 7 and No. 3587035. It is desirable to be able to operate such a connector to shut off the power (while the cable is energized).

Cables typically carry electrical power at voltages of thousands of volts, so when the conductor contacts of a energized cable are separated, an arc is created between the contacts. If this arc is not extinguished immediately, it will fly against a ground plane, such as the module's ground shield, and cause a direct line-to-ground fault. In current connectors, the holes in the arc-extinguishing material tube are lined with an ablative material, ie, a material that generates arc-extinguishing gas when exposed to an arc.

The arc follower, ie the rod-like extension at the end of the metal contact rod, is also made of ablative material. When the contact rod is pulled away from the contact of the trapping hole module, the resulting arc is blown between the follower and the arc-extinguishing material lining.
When the fugitive material is exposed to an arc, it generates an arc-extinguishing gas that quickly extinguishes the arc. Therefore, this connector can be used as a switch that can be detected in a live line state without causing a ground line failure. There is a problem in finding a suitable ablative material for the follower.

This material must be sufficiently effective in generating arc-extinguishing gas, and must also be used to avoid inadvertently applying a relatively large bending moment when worker J connects or disconnects a pair of modules. , it must be mechanically strong enough to withstand such moments. Generally, the fusible materials that are most effective at emitting arc-quenching gas, such as melamine, do not have the required mechanical strength;
If the cable of the connector module is improperly kinked, there is a risk of damage during operation.

Various materials that have high mechanical strength and can be loaded with ablative materials such as melamine are not as effective in producing gases with adequate dielectric strength and have poor electrical properties or manufacturing properties. It may have other disadvantages in terms of process.

Nylon absorbs moisture and under high pressure conditions tends to mark along the surface until a conductive path is created.

This induces electrical failure. This also requires a relatively high loading of ablative material. Acrylic resins have less desirable mechanical properties than nylon and are more difficult to mold during manufacturing. Epoxy resin does not have sufficient mechanical strength when loaded with melamine and is expensive to manufacture.

The switchgear of the present invention has an elutable material composition consisting essentially of an acetal resin loaded with finely divided melamine, with the melamine being about 114 to 10% of the composition by weight.
12.

This fusible material is mechanically strong, relatively unaffected by moisture, highly effective in producing an arc-extinguishing gas with adequate dielectric strength, and is manufactured by injection molding. The apparatus of the present invention is particularly suitable in that it is easily adapted to perform the following operations.

A preferred embodiment of this invention is a hole-shaped separable ●connector ●switch module 10 as shown in FIG.
, and a mating rod connector module 12 is also shown to illustrate their interconnection.

A rod-shaped module 12 has an elastic housing 14,
A grounded conductive shield layer 16 is provided on its outer surface.

A metal contact rod 18 extends from the interior of the housing 12 into a bowl-shaped gas shield 20 of the housing 14. Second
As shown in detail in the figure, from the end of the metal contact rod 18 extends a rod-shaped follower 22 of elutable material made of acetal copolymer resin loaded with finely divided melamine up to 114 of the weight of the material. ing. The fugitive material is injection molded onto the glass fiber reinforcing pins 23 with epoxy as a binder. One end of the pin 23 is fixed in a hole in the contact rod 18. The metal contact rod 18 itself is connected to the conductor of the power cable within the housing 14 by threading onto a metal rod support member within the housing 14 . switch module 1
0 is designed at one end to fit into the rod-shaped module 12 and at the other end to be rigidly mounted in a bushing-shaped recess, such as that provided in the wall of a transformer housing or a switch housing. .

Hole type switch ◆Module 10 is made of EPDM (ethylene●
propylene diene monomer) rubber insulation housing 24
It has a metal sleeve 26 embedded therein.
The metal sleeve has threads at one end for a mounting bolt to hold the module 10 in place within the bushing-shaped recess, and the other end defines an elongated rod receiving passage. Within the switch module housing 24,
The part surrounding the sleeve 26 has a frusto-conical shape that closely matches the shape of the inside of the gas shield 20 of the housing 14 of the rod-shaped module, and when the two modules 10, 12 are connected, it is electrically insulating. Forms a watertight seal. Switch ◆ Inside the housing 24 of the module, press the sleeve 2
At the inner end of 6 is a gas operated piston 28. piston 2
An arc-extinguishing material assembly 30 is firmly attached to 8 by screw engagement. The arc-extinguishing material assembly 30 is shown in detail in FIG. 2 with the driven body 22 just entering the hole.
It has an insulating thermoplastic arc extinguishing tube 32 with a set of resilient finger-shaped metal bar receiving contacts 34 attached to its inner end. The inner wall of the arc extinguishing tube 32 has a material weight of 1
A lining 36 of acetal copolymer resin fugitive arc-quenching material loaded with up to 12 finely divided melamine is provided. The inner surface of the lining 36 defines the hole 38. Driven body 2
2 has a small loading amount of melamine to maximize mechanical strength.

Since strength is not so important for the arc-extinguishing material lining 36, the melamine loading amount of the acetal resin for the lining 36 is 11.
It has been increased by 2. This loading amount is not so decisive, but for the coupling used in the driven body 22, halving the loading amount will make it too weak, and in the inner bulge 36, a loading amount of 114 will not generate enough arc extinguishing gas. The driven body 22 has a relatively high degree of surface lubrication when the acetal resin comes into sliding contact with the inner bulge 36 and the contact 34, so that the module 10,1
This has the advantage of making it easier to operate. The acetal resin of modules 10 and 12 in this example is American
Acetal copolymers such as the product manufactured by Celanese Corporation under the trade name Cercono M9O-04, and the product manufactured by Dupont Tow Nemearth & Company under the trade name Terlino. Acetal monomers, such as products called , are suitable for use as well.

The present invention also includes switchgear devices other than the separable connector module shown in the preferred embodiment.

Switches with fusible materials can be used, for example, in circuit breakers and disconnection devices. In general, the invention includes any switchgear having a thermoplastic material specifically adapted to generate arc extinguishing gas when its surface is exposed to an arc.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figure 1 is a cross-sectional side view of a partially assembled separable connector assembly. The assembly includes a rod-shaped connector module and a hole-shaped connector module according to a preferred embodiment. FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of the arc-extinguishing material assembly of the hole-shaped module of FIG. 1, with the rod of the rod-shaped module of FIG. 1 inserted halfway into the hole. Explanation of main symbols: 18: Rod contact, 22: Arc follower, 34: Contact, 36: Inner bulge.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A separable electrical connector assembly including a mating switch module and a connector module, each having a mating hole member and a contact bar member, each module having a shape that fits closely together. including an insulating housing having sections to form an electrically insulative enclosure when the modules are coupled, said contact rod member having a rod-shaped arc follower of thermoplastic fusible composition material at the contact-engaging end. , means for fixing the bar-shaped arc follower to the contact rod member including a reinforcing pin formed around the arc follower,
The reinforcing pin extends from the contact bar member to a point near the free end of the arc follower, the arc follower being able to withstand relatively high bending moments when both modules are coupled or disconnected from each other. the arc follower is mechanically strong enough to withstand the bending moment, and the thermoplastic ablative composition material consists essentially of a finely divided melamine-loaded acetal resin. and the melamine accounts for about 1/4 of the composition by weight.
The switch module includes an arc extinguishing tube adjacent to the hole contact member, the arc extinguishing tube being made of the same material as the arc follower but having a relatively lower melamine loading. Separable, including lining of high fugitive arc-extinguishing material.
Electrical connector assembly. 2. The separable electrical connector assembly of claim 1, wherein the fusible material has a relatively high degree of surface lubricity. 3. The separable electrical connector assembly according to claim 1, wherein the lining of the fugitive arc-extinguishing material is loaded with about 1/4 melamine.