MXPA98008353A - Ring / hinge for high voltage connector and high voltage connector obten - Google Patents

Abstract

The sheath / ring according to the invention comprises an annular core (47) made of an elastomeric closed-cell foam completely covered with an elastomeric cover (48) which can withstand the cooling and electrically insulating liquid contained in the connector, at the temperature of connector operation. Application: to high voltage connectors for lightning equipment

Description

RING / HUB FOR HIGH VOLTAGE CONNECTOR AND HIGH VOLTAGE CONNECTOR OBTAINED BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates, in general, to a high voltage connector, particularly for providing power to X-ray tubes. High voltage to energize an X-ray tube is conventionally housed in a box filled with a cooling and insulating medium, usually a mineral oil, while the X-ray tube itself is housed in another box filled with a cooling and insulating medium, for example a mineral oil. , - 'Depending on the type of high-voltage current source and the / X-ray tube type, either single-pole or symmetrical, one or more high-voltage wires pass high-voltage current from the high-voltage source and the X-ray tube through hermetically sealed high-voltage connectors. Generally, these high voltage connectors consist of two parts, a female part or receptacle that is permanently attached to the box, and a male part or plug to connect to the receptacle to produce electrical continuity and which constitutes the end of the high voltage wire. . To withstand the high voltages of the source and the X-ray tube, which can be up to 150 kV or more, the receptacle and plug of the high voltage connector are made of an insulating material and have shapes and sizes that are generally established by international standards. To protect users, - the high-voltage source boxes and the X-ray tube are connected to ground and an outer sheath of the high-voltage cable is also grounded by metal parts of the receptacle and the plug. The high-voltage source and the X-ray tube are electrically connected to the high-voltage cable by metal interacting contacts arranged in the receptacle of the connectors. To avoid electric shock between the contacts and the metal parts of the high-voltage source connector or the X-ray tube, the space between the receptacle and the plug is filled with an electrically insulating fluid, for example an oil or grease. / mineral such as oil or silicone grease. To maintain this insulating fluid in the space between the receptacle and the plug, an annular seal is disposed between the open end of the receptacle and a flange of the plug. As the volume of the insulating fluid varies with the temperature, and in fact increases with the increase in temperature, it is necessary to compensate for this increase in the volume of the insulating fluid, in order to avoid excessively high pressures that could cause leakage of insulating fluid and even the destruction of the receptacle with a risk of high voltage electrical discharge. To compensate for such variations in volume of the fluid or insulator, a sheath / ring is used, whose volume varies depending on the pressure of the insulating fluid to accommodate the increase in volume of the insulating fluid. Additionally, this annular seal needs to operate over a wide temperature range and be chemically capable of resisting the hot insulating fluid. A first conventionally used sheath / ring is shown in Figure 2. This ring 41 is a ring made of metal having an accordion-shaped side wall 42. This ring is easy to handle and reliable in the long term, but its manufacture is very expensive Another sheath / ring also used is shown in Figure 3.

This composite ring 43 is formed of a flat mejíal ring 44, to which an elastomer ring 45 is attached, forming a / half boom inside the metal ring 44. This sleeve / ring is difficult to handle and requires extremely precise adjustment means to prevent leakage and is expensive. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Therefore, the purpose of the present invention is to provide a sleeve / ring for a high voltage connector that overcomes the disadvantages of prior art sleeves / rings., and in particular that is reliable, easy to manufacture and not expensive. Also, the object of the present invention is a high voltage connector comprising sheath / ring of this type. One embodiment of the invention is a sheath / ring for a high voltage connector that is composed of an annular core made of a closed cell elastomeric foam completely covered with a cover made of an elastomer that can withstand the cooling and insulating liquid to the operating temperature of the high voltage connector. For the core of the sheath / ring according to the invention, any closed-cell elastomeric foam may be used, for example, a neoprene or polyurethane foam. Considering that the usual elastomeric foams do not have the desired resistance to the cooling and insulating liquid (for example an oil) present in the high voltage connector, particularly when hot, the elastomeric foam is completely covered with a cover made of elastomer that can withstand the coolant and insulating liquid at the operating temperature of the high voltage connector. Any elastomer that meets the requirement mentioned above can be used for the cover. Among the elastomers that may be used, there may be mentioned olefin elastomers such as neoprene, elastomeric polyesters, silicone elastomers, halogenated olefin elastomers, particularly chlorinated olefin elastomers and polyurethane elastomers. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a sectional view of a high voltage connector including a sleeve / ring; Figure 2 is a sectional view of a sheath / ring of the prior art; Figure 3 is a sectional view of another sheath / ring of the prior art; and Figure 4 is a sectional view of a sleeve / ring embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Figure 1 shows a high voltage connector in which a sleeve / ring can be incorporated. The high-voltage connector in Figure 1 comprises a female part or receptacle 10 and a male part or plug 20. The receptacle 10 is attached to the case 30 of a high-voltage device such as a power supply or power source. a tubing, or X-ray. This receptacle 10 comprises a housing which is generally insulating, frustoconically shaped, with a side wall 11, an end wall 12, and an open end with a coupling flange 13. An electrical contact 14 , for example a female contact, is placed inside the receptacle 10 on the end wall 12. The plug 20 of the connector, electrically connected to a high voltage cable 24, comprises a body 21 made of an electrically insulating material with a frusto-conical shape. that complements that of the receptacle 10 and an annular flange 22, generally made of metal, wherein the insulating body 21 finds the high voltage cable 24. The front face of the insulating body 21, has e an electrical contact 23, for example a male contact, connected to the conductor of the high voltage cable 24 and interacting with the contact 14 of the receptacle 10 to produce electrical continuity between the high voltage power supply or the X-ray tube and the high voltage cable 24 when the plug 20 is connected to the receptacle 10. As shown in Figure 1, the receptacle 10 is held in the metal case 30 via the flange 13 by an intermediate threaded annular nut 31 which interacts with a wall threaded vertical complementary to the case 30. Between the flange 13 of the receptacle 10 and an annular rim of the intermediate ring 31, there is a sheath / ring 40 according to the invention. , - 'The plug 20 of the connector is held in the receptacle 10 / by the compressive force exerted by a threaded annular nut 32, which interacts with the vertical threaded wall of the casing 30, in the annular flange 22 to press the latter against the intermediate nut 31. The housing 30, the intermediate nut 31 and the nut 32 which are made of electrically conductive material, ensure the continuity to ground of the protection of the high voltage cable 24 to the box. Conventional O-ring seals 34, 35, 36 are generally disposed between the box 30 and the flange 13 of the receptacle 10 and between the intermediate nut and the flanges 13 and 22 of the receptacle 10 and of the pin 20. The space between the insulating body 21 of the plug 20 and the internal surface of the receptacle 10 is filled with a cooling and electrically insulating liquid 25, for example an oil. When the high voltage connector is in operation, the increase in temperature of the cooling and insulating liquid increases the pressure exerted by the liquid. The sheath / ring 40, according to the invention, makes it possible to maintain the seal between the receptacle 10 and the plug 20 of the connector accommodating the increase in pressure of the insulating liquid. As shown in Figure 4, the sheath / ring 40 according to the invention comprises an annular core 46, made of a closed cell elastomeric foam that is completely covered with a cover 48, made of an elastomer that can withstand the coolant and insulating liquid at the operating temperature of the connector. Due to the presence of the closed cell elastomeric foam core 46, the sheath / ring has sufficient elasticity to compensate for the volume increases of the insulating liquid. The elastomer cover 47 provides the sheath / ring with the ability to withstand the corrosive action of the hot insulating liquid, since conventional elastomeric foams do not have sufficient strength. Those skilled in the art can make various modifications in structure and / or function and / or steps to the disclosed embodiments without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.

Claims (5)

1. CLAIMS 1. Sheath / ring seal for a high voltage connector comprising an annular core (46) made of closed cell elastomeric foam fully covered with an elastomeric cover (47) which can withstand the cooling and electrically insulating liquid used within the connector, at the operating temperature of the connector. Case / ring according to claim 1, wherein the annular core is made of neoprene or polyurethane foam. Case / ring according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the cover elastomer is selected from olefin elastomers, halogenated olefin, polyester, silicone and urethane. / 4. A high voltage connector comprising a receptacle (10), a plug (20) that complements the receptacle and connects in the receptacle to produce electrical continuity and a sheath / ring (40) according to any of the claims 1 to 3, arranged between the receptacle (10) and the plug (20) to accommodate the increase in volume of the insulating fluid. 5. The high voltage connector according to claim 4, wherein the sheath / ring (40) is disposed between a flange (42) of the plug (20) and a flange (13) of the receptacle (10). ).