MXPA00001291A - Protective relay with modular control panel - Google Patents

Abstract

A modular control panel (10) for a protective relay. The panel (10) is removably attached to the housing and has a frame to accomodate independently replaceable control panel modules (12a-d).

Description

PROTECTIVE RELAY WITH MODULAR CONTROL PANEL Field of the Invention The present invention relates generally to protective relay devices for providing control in electric distribution systems. More particularly, the present invention relates to a protective relay device having a modular display and control panel. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Protective relay devices are necessary elements of a power distribution system, since they provide a variety of control and protection functions. Protective relays monitor the conditions in the power distribution system and operate circuit breakers in response to the detection of adverse conditions, thus protecting various segments and components of the power distribution system from damage. The previous protective relays were analog devices, which have been largely replaced by digital protective relays. The digital protective relays include digital processing circuits that can be programmed to provide a wider variety of control and protection functions than those available with analog relay devices. The digital protective relays commonly include a front panel to provide display and control functions.

^^^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ Such panels are commonly called, in a safe and relatively permanent way, the protective relay circuits. Since they are fixed to relay circuits, conventional control and deployment panels have limited utility. For example, space considerations in a power distribution substation sometimes make it desirable that protective relays have an orientation either vertical or horizontal; Conventional protective relays are restricted to one orientation, since the control panel is fixed to the protective relay device during assembly. In addition, since the control panel is fixed to a conventional protective relay, the monitoring and control of the relay must be carried out by a technician in the protective relay device, rather than at some distance from the protective relay device. The Patent of the United States of North America Number of Conrad Series 4,742,428 discloses a protective relay that includes an operating unit that can be removed from an insulating housing through an opening in the front of the housing. The possibility of removing circuits from the protective relay allows routine tests, maintenance and replacement of internal relay circuits with minimal discomfort of the power distribution system. However, the control panel of the Conrad protective relay is fixed to the relay's processing circuits, and is not shown or described as removable, capable of multiple orientations or that can be remotely mounted. ^ í & j ^^^ S! Therefore, it would be desirable for a protective relay to have a more functional control panel which could solve the limitations of conventional fixed control panels, and improve the functionality of the protective relay device. Brief Description of the Invention The present invention solves the aforementioned problems, and achieves additional advantages, by providing a protective relay device having a modular control panel comprising a structure with removable support struts, a deployment board and a back cover. The control panel can be securely mounted in a protective relay housing, and the support struts define a plurality of module spaces in which a plurality of control panel modules can be removably mounted. The control panel modules can be removed and replaced independently by substitute modules to allow the control panel to be modified or enlarged easily. The control panel modules can be mounted in multiple orientations, changing the orientation of the support struts and therefore the module spaces that allow the control panel to be reconfigured for protective relay devices oriented horizontally and vertically. Additionally, the control panel is articulated, to facilitate access to digital relay processing circuits, and can be remotely removed and mounted to allow the relay ^ g ^^ H ||| The protector is controlled and supervised remotely. The control panel modules may include any of one or more indicators, meters, a display, a keyboard, as well as external connections to receive data or electrical power. As will be described in more detail below, a modular control panel in accordance with the present invention greatly improves a protective relay device. Brief Description of the Drawings To promote a more detailed understanding of the invention, The following Detailed Description discusses illustrative implementations of the invention, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which similar reference numerals designate similar elements, and in which: Figures 1a-b are examples of a protective relay oriented horizontally and a vertically oriented protective relay, respectively, each including a modular protective relay control panel in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention; Figures 2a-b show a relay control panel exemplary modular protector which is attached to a protective relay by a joint, in a partially open state, and an exemplary control panel that has been separated from the protective relay, respectively; Figure 3 is a diagram of a control panel according to an aspect of the present invention; Figure 4 is blocks of the display board component of the fst panel, control of Figure 3; and Figures 5a-c are dia ü ^^ of exemplary conformity control panel modules. Detailed Description Figure 1 a is a front view of a hopper-oriented protective relay device including a modular protective relay control panel in accordance with the present invention. The control panel 10 includes a plurality of modules, including an indicator module 12a, a deployment module 12b, a keyboard module 12c, and empty modules 12d. Preferably, the control panel is removably connected to the housing of the protective relay by means of at least one hinge 14 at one end of the control panel, and by a proper bolt 16 at the other end of the control panel. By providing a removable connection to the protective relay, the control panel can be opened to facilitate access to the protective relay processing circuits contained within the protective relay housing. It will be appreciated that the joint 14 can be discarded and replaced with another bolt or other correction means that allows opening the control panel. As will be shown and described in more detail below, each module is removable and replaceable independently by a substitute module, which can perform the same or different functions.

Additionally, the relay can be configured with a - * ^ ** * ***** ^? ^^ já ^^^ Kjj ^ vertical orientation as shown in Figure 1b, where the modules are oriented vertically. Figure 2a shows a protective relay with a partially open control panel that facilitates access to the relay processing circuits of the protective relay device. The control panel of the present invention is particularly useful with a modular protective relay device in which the relay processing circuits are inserted into a plurality of replaceable modules 20, while the articulation or other removable connection means allow the modules to be replaced. relay processing are easily removed and replaced.

Figure 2b shows a control panel 10 in accordance with the present invention which has been separated from the protective relay device, for example, by lifting the control panel of the joint or joints 14, or by removing the bolt panel or bolts 16 The separate control panel is operatively connected to the protective relay device, in this example by means of a cable 22 suitable for exchanging communication and power signals between the control panel and the protective relay processing circuits. In one embodiment of the present invention, the cable 22 is an 8 wire shielded twisted pair cable terminated by RJ45 connectors that connect to RJ45 receptacles located on the rear cover of the control panel and at a suitable location on the protective relay. The separate panel can be mounted, either vertically or horizontally, on a remote panel (not shown) with other separate panels to allow a user to monitor and control the protective relay device remotely. Figure 3 shows an exploded view of an exemplary control panel in accordance with the present invention. The control panel of Figure 3 includes a main plastic structure 30, support struts 32, a rear cover 34, and a deployment board 36. The deployment board 36 is clamped between the main plastic structure 30 and the back cover 34. The The main plastic structure 30 in this example has a substantially rectangular shape. The support struts 32 have the width of the main plastic structure 30, and notches 38 are provided in the support struts 32 and at the edges of the main plastic structure 30. The notches 38 are capable of receive removable supports that define spaces for control panel modules. As the notches are provided in the support struts 32 and at the edges of the main plastic structure 30, the removable supports can be inserted in different orientations. By changing the orientation of the removable supports, the orientation of the defined spaces can be changed. Each defined space can receive a control panel module; therefore, by changing the orientation of the defined spaces, the orientation of the control panel modules and the protective relay device can be changed. For example, if supports are inserted removable in the notches 34 so that the supports ^^^^^^^^^^^^^ & «^ ¡^^^^^^^? s ^^^^^^^^ | removable ones are parallel to the supporting struts 32, the control panel is configured for a vertical orientation of (in this example) eight vertically configured module spaces, as shown in Figure 1b. If removable supports are inserted in the notches 34 so that the removable supports are perpendicular to the support struts 32, the control panel will be configured for a horizontal orientation of (in this example) two rows of four module spaces arranged horizontally, as shown in Figure 1a. Figure 4 is a block diagram of the display board of the control panel 36. The display board 36 includes a connection 40 to the relay processing circuits, a controller 42 to control the various display and display functions in the panel of control, a serial port connection 44 for exchanging data and energy signals with an external device to the protective relay, a keypad 45 for inserting control information to the protective relay processing circuits via the controller 42, a configuration of indicators modular 46 comprising, for example, light emitting diodes that selectively illuminate under the control of controller 42, and display circuits 48 that can display a variety of information to a user. Figures 5a-c show several exemplary modules that can be inserted and removed individually from the module spaces defined in structure 30. Each module can perform g ^ ^ Hg ^^ a specific function or functions. Figure 5a shows a light emitting diode indicating module 12a which is operatively connected to the modular indicator configuration 46 and which includes, for example, emitting diode indicators 5 of status and event light. The status indicators may include a "IN SERVICE" indicator to indicate whether the protective relay is operating properly; a "PROBLEM" indicator to indicate whether the self-test operation of the protective relay has detected a problem; a "MODE" indicator TEST "to indicate if the relay is currently in a test mode, a" DISCONNECTED "indicator to indicate that the protective relay has issued a disconnect command, an" ALARM "indicator to indicate that an alarm condition is present; and a "RECEIVE" indicator to indicate that the relay protector has detected a condition to receive. Event indicators can be provided to indicate the cause or source of a detected condition of the power distribution system. Event indicators may include a "CURRENT" indicator to indicate that the event was caused for a current condition; a "VOLTAGE" indicator to indicate that the event was caused by a voltage condition; a "FREQUENCY" or "ANOTHER" indicator to indicate a condition related to the frequency or another, the phase indicators "PHASE A", "PHASE B", "PHASE C" and "NEUTRAL / EARTH" to indicate which phases were involved in a detected fault. Of course, it will be appreciated that ^ ^ ^ ^ Sg ^ alU ^^^ i, other conditions of state and events can be indicated by the indicators. In one embodiment of the present invention, the indicators receive light, from light sources contained in the relay processing circuits, via light tubes (not shown) that extend from the rear of the control panel module between the indicators and the modular indicator configuration 46. The light tubes can be formed as transparent tubes of plastic, glass, or other suitable material. Indicator module 12a of Figure 5a is shown including a serial port 44. It should be appreciated that serial port 44 may alternatively be provided in a separate module. The serial port 44 is preferably capable of receiving data and energy signals and can be implemented as an RS-232 serial port. The serial port 44 allows a user to connect an external device, such as a personal computer, to download values, monitor data, generate sequences of event reports, provide oscillograms, or perform other functions relating to the monitoring, programming and control of the relay. protective. Indicator module 12a of Figure 5a is also shown including a reset button and several function buttons. These buttons are operatively connected to the processing circuits of the protective relay device (for example, via the controller 42 shown in Figure 4) and can be used to reset the device and clear the contents of the indicators of * - ~ ¿- ** e ****** »> ~ H-state and event. * Figure 5b shows a deployment module 12b including a deployment 48 operatively connected to the processing circuits of the protective relay. Preferably, the deployment 42 is a vacuum fluorescent display or other suitable display that can be seen in relatively dim illumination from a wide variety of viewing angles. The display 42 can provide more detailed information, including text messages or digital meter information, to a user who is monitoring the protective relay, and can be used to provide feedback to a user who is programming the protective relay device. To extend the life of the fluorescent display under vacuum and prevent the screen from being "scorched", the relay processing circuits are preferably provided with a screen protector, which can search for messages through the display screen or make the display screen Display is blank after a predetermined period of time. Figure 5c shows a keyboard module 12c including a keyboard 45, which is operatively mounted with the processing circuits of the protective relay (for example, via the controller 42). The keyboard may include numeric keys and / or command keys that allow a user to program the protective relay. The user can receive feedback from a deployment module as shown in Figure 5b. j ^^^^^^ The control panel modules of Figures 5a-c are examples only, and it will be appreciated that those skilled in the art can contemplate other suitable modules. For example, one or more modules may include an liquid crystal display meter. Additionally, empty modules can be provided in module spaces where modules are not required. Although the above description includes many details and specifications, it should be understood that these are for illustrative purposes only and are not limitations of the invention. The modalities described above can be modified in various ways without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, as defined in the following claims and their legal equivalents. i ^^ fSÉS sSsaí.

Claims (25)

1. CLAIMS 1. A modular control panel for a protective relay in an electrical distribution system, comprising: a structure that can be secured to a housing that contains protective relay processing circuits, the structure defines a plurality of module spaces; and a plurality of modules for providing control and deployment functions; where each module can be secured in, and removed from, the module spaces, and replaced by a substitute module. The control panel of claim 1, wherein the control panel is removably attached to the housing of the protective relay via at least one joint, located at one end
2. 15 of the control panel, and a bolt located at a second end of the control panel.
3. 3. The control panel of claim 1, wherein the control panel can be removed from the protective relay housing, and is connected to the protective relay components via a
4. 20 communications cable. The control panel of claim 3, wherein the communication cable in an 8-wire twisted pair cable terminated with RJ45 connectors.
5. 5. The control panel of claim 1, wherein the 25 modules can be attached to the module spaces in one of

   at least two orientations with respect to accommodation.
6. 6. The control panel of claim 1, wherein at least one module includes a fluorescent vacuum array.
7. The control panel of claim 6, wherein the fluorescent vacuum deployment is provided with a screen protector.
8. The control panel of claim 7, wherein the screen saver cycles between the messages to prevent burning.
9. 9. The control panel of claim 7, wherein the screen protector is turned off after a predetermined time to prevent it from burning.
10. The control panel of claim 1, wherein at least one module includes a keyboard.
11. The control panel of claim 1, wherein at least one module includes one or more status indicators.
12. The control panel of claim 11, wherein the status indicators comprise light tubes that are aligned with light sources contained in the relay housing.
13. The control panel of claim 1, wherein at least one module includes at least one serial port for receiving data and energy signals.
14. The control panel of claim 13, wherein the serial port is an RS-232 port
15. 15. The control panel of claim 13, wherein the

    g ^^ mg '& ^^ aata ^ iiaft ^ data signals communicate between the relay processing circuits and a remote monitoring and control device
16. 16. The control panel of claim 1, wherein at least one module includes a liquid crystal display meter .
17. 17. A protective relay, comprising: a relay housing containing relay processing circuits; and a control panel having a structure that can be configured with a plurality of control panel modules which are removable and replaceable independently.
18. 18. The protective relay of claim 17, wherein the control panel is removably attached to the relay housing. The protective relay of claim 18, wherein the
19. The control panel is removably attached by means of at least one joint.
20. 20. The protective relay of claim 18, wherein the control panel is removably attached by at least one bolt.
21. 21. The protective relay of claim 18, wherein the control panel is operatively connected to the processing circuits via a communications cable
22. 22. The protective relay of claim 17, wherein the structure of the control panel can be set to accept the

    25 control panel modules in more than one orientation with respect

    ^^ -_ »'to the relay housing.
23. 23. The protective relay of claim 1, wherein the control panel modules include at least one of: an indicator configuration, a display, a keyboard, and a meter.
24. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ RESU MEN A modular control panel (10) for a protective relay Panel (10) é $ e removably attached to the housing and has a structure for accommodating independently replaceable control panel modules (12a-d).
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