RU2475881C2 - Modular electric device with fixable control lever - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: electrical engineering.

SUBSTANCE: modular electric device (10) contains an essentially box-shaped main housing (11) limiting the inner space to accommodate electromechanical elements. The said housing contains two side surfaces (12, 13), essentially parallel to each other, and a front surface (16). Additionally, the modular electric device (10) contains a control lever (25') projecting from the housing front surface and capable of movement between the two operational positions and fixation in at least one of them. According to the invention, there is a groove (35) made on at least one of the housing side surfaces (12, 13) that passes between two through holes (36, 37) positioned at opposite ends thereof, ensuring access into the groove and open on the front surface. The groove is made so that the fixing element (70) can pass through it that is locked into a slide knot or loop for the control lever (25') fixation.

EFFECT: simplification of design and operation of the modular electric device or several modular electric devices, interconnected or installed in a row.

11 cl, 13 dwg

Description

The invention relates to the field of electrical equipment, namely to modular electrical appliances with a fixed control lever.

Known electrical appliances of a modular type, in particular, for civil and domestic purposes, for example, mounted on a DIN rail and equipped with a control lever that can be moved between two operating positions and which can be fixed in at least one of the aforementioned operating positions. The need for fixing the control lever in one of its operating positions can be caused by various reasons. For example, if the appliance is a circuit breaker, then for the protection of electrical equipment it may be advisable for safety purposes when repairing electrical equipment to lock the lever in the OFF position, i.e. in the position when the contacts of the circuit breaker are open. This avoids automatic or manual resetting of the circuit breaker, which can create a potential threat to people carrying out repairs on the equipment.

An example of a known modular electrical appliance of the aforementioned type having a lockable control lever is described in EP 1288978.

Another example of a modular electric appliance with a fixed control lever is disclosed in EP 1241692.

Both of the aforementioned documents describe modular electrical appliances with a control lever that can be locked, since such a lever contains an element that can slide relative to another part of this lever.

Although in these electrical appliances the presence of a sliding part of the control lever allows the lever to be fixed, it should be noted that achieving this goal in such electrical devices leads to some complication of the design of the control lever. It should also be noted that the known solutions mentioned above seem impractical if you have to use many adjacent in series adjacent modular electrical appliances that are functionally connected via a single distribution rail connected to each of the corresponding control levers, as, for example, described in DE 1973477 U.

Due to the above disadvantages of known modular electrical appliances, the object of the invention is to provide a modular electrical appliance with a fixed control lever, which does not require serious structural complications and is extremely easy to use when several modular electrical appliances are connected or mounted in a row.

This problem is solved in a modular electrical appliance with a fixed control lever according to paragraph 1 of the claims. Preferred embodiments of a modular electrical appliance are disclosed in the dependent claims.

The object of the invention is also a group of devices disclosed in paragraphs 7 and 8 of the claims, as well as to a multi-pole circuit breaker according to paragraph 9 of the claims.

Additional features and advantages of the invention will become more apparent from the following description of preferred and non-limiting embodiments.

Figure 1 shows a modular electrical appliance with a fixed control lever in accordance with one of the options for its implementation, perspective view;

figure 2 is the same side view;

figure 3 is the same, an additional side view;

figure 4 is the same front view;

figure 5 is a covering element that can be connected to the modular electrical appliance shown in figure 1, a perspective view;

in Fig.6 is a group of devices consisting of two modular electrical appliances corresponding to that shown in Fig.1, a perspective view;

Fig.7 is the same front view;

Fig.8 is the same, bottom view;

Fig.9 is a covering element that can be connected to a group of devices shown in Fig.6, a perspective view;

figure 10 is a group of devices consisting of four modular electrical appliances corresponding to that shown in figure 1, a perspective view;

figure 11 is the same front view;

Fig.12 is the same, bottom view;

in Fig.13 - covering element, which can be connected to a group of devices shown in Fig.10, a perspective view.

In the figures, the same or similar components are denoted by like numbers.

The modular electrical appliance according to the invention, indicated by the general reference number 10, is a modular electrical unipolar circuit breaker that can be installed in electrical distribution and protective panels of electrical equipment. For example, the circuit breaker 10 may be a thermomagnetic circuit breaker. Further, the modular electrical appliance 10 will be called a circuit breaker 10.

The circuit breaker 10 comprises a box-shaped main body 11 defining an interior space for accommodating the electromechanical elements of the circuit breaker 10. The main box-shaped body has two opposed side surfaces 12 and 13 that are flat or approximately flat and substantially parallel to each other, the distance being between them determines the size of the circuit breaker 10, which in this example corresponds to the size of one module.

The box-shaped main body 11 also has an upper surface 14, a lower surface 15 opposite it, a front surface 16 and a rear surface 17. In the embodiment shown in the figures, the circuit breaker 10 comprises a terminal 22 on the upper surface 14 side and a terminal 22 on the lower side surface 15 - terminal 23, which is barely visible in the figures.

On the back surface 17 side in the main box-shaped case 11 there is a recess 18, which ensures that the circuit breaker 10 is interfaced with the installation system when mounting the circuit breaker 10 in an electrical panel or box. For example, on the back surface 17 side, the circuit breaker 10 includes latches 19 and 20 that can be actuated by the gripping element 21 and are located on both opposite sides of the recess 18 to hold the circuit breaker 10 after it is connected to a mounting rail, such as a DIN mounting rail. According to one possible embodiment of the invention, the latches 19 and 20 are the latches described in document EP 2003754.

The circuit breaker 10 also includes a control lever 25 'protruding from the front surface 16 and controlled manually and / or by a modular automatic control device, which can be equipped with a circuit breaker 10 for switching it from the state of closed contacts to the state of open contacts. Each of these conditions corresponds to a certain stable operating position of the control lever 25 '.

According to a typical embodiment of the invention, the control lever 25 'can be rotated between two operating positions. In all the drawings, the control lever 25 'is shown in the operating position corresponding to the off state, i.e. the open state of the contacts of the circuit breaker 10. The control lever 25 ′ comprises a gripping element 25 ″ formed by a C-shaped bar which is fixed to the rest of the control lever 25 ′, preferably with a removable mechanism.

According to an alternative embodiment of the invention, which is not shown in the drawings, the control lever 25 ′ is not made to be rotary, but switched between two operating positions like a slider.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the front surface 16 of the circuit breaker 10 comprises a protruding front portion 26 from which the control lever 25 ′ protrudes. This front protruding portion 26 is preferably located substantially in the center of the front surface 16. In the so-called DIN modular appliance, such a protruding central part is commonly referred to as the “DIN front part”.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the circuit breaker 10 comprises a marking pad 28, which can be removably connected to the front protruding portion 26.

The circuit breaker 10 also includes a cover element 29, which can be removably connected to the front protruding portion 26 and has a common L-shaped profile. This cover element 29 can be removably fixed to one of the corners of the front protruding portion 26. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, where the circuit breaker 10 is shown without the cover element 29, there are two locking recesses 38 and 39 on the front surface of the circuit breaker 10 which can interact with two respective locking protrusions 30 and 31 of the cover member 29 (FIG. 5).

Since the circuit breaker 10 is a modular electrical appliance, it must be installed next to one or more other modular electrical appliances 10 in a row, forming a combination of electrical appliances. For this, as shown in Fig.6 and 10, one or more additional electrical appliances 10 are installed in a row, while their side surfaces 12 and 13 are adjacent to each other. Such electrical appliances 10 when mounted on a rail are held next to each other due to the use of latches between the electrical appliances on the respective sides 12 and 13. This type of connection is mainly detachable.

Another possible option for installing electrical appliances in a row with the formation of a multi-module electrical appliance is to permanently and indivisibly fasten many individual electrical appliances 10 to each other in the form of a bundle, for example, by using transverse rivets on the lateral surfaces 12 and 13. For example, starting with one single-pole circuit breaker 10, shown in FIG. 1, it is possible to create a two-pole circuit breaker 60 (FIG. 6), a three-pole circuit breaker (not shown), a four-pole circuit breaker 100 (FIG. 10), etc.

As shown in the drawings, a plurality of modular electrical appliances 10 arranged in a row can be firmly connected with one single gripping element 25 ″ (FIGS. 6-12), using a gripping connecting profile to hold the individual control levers 25 ′ fixedly fastened to each other even when moving them . The gripping element 25 ″ preferably has a substantially C- or U-shaped profile so that the channel into which the free ends of the control levers 25 ′ are inserted is inside this profile.

As you can see when studying FIGS. 2 and 6 together, from the side of at least one of the side surfaces 12 or 13 of the circuit breaker 10, a groove 35 is made that extends between two passage holes 36, 37 located on opposite ends of the groove facing the front surface 16. In this case, the groove 35 is made in such a way that a locking element 70 can pass through it, which closes into a tightening unit or loop for fixing the control lever 25 '. For example, the locking element 70 may be a cable tie. In an alternative embodiment of the invention, the locking element 70 is formed of a metal wire, for example, with a diameter of about 1.5-2 mm. It should be noted that practically any bendable locking element 70 can be used, which can pass through the groove 35 if it has a linear shape, as well as bend and subsequently close to form a lingering unit or a gear loop on the control lever 25 '(more precisely, on its gripping element 25``).

According to one embodiment of the invention, the groove 35 may be formed by a slot made in the thickness of the side wall of the main body 11, and continuously passing between the two passage holes 36 and 37.

According to one embodiment of the invention, a corresponding groove 35 of the type described above is made on each of the side surfaces 12 and 13 of the circuit breaker 10. Next, a circuit breaker with two grooves 35 will be described.

It should be noted that in the particular embodiment described, the recess 35 and the passage openings 36 and 37 are made in the protruding portion 26. As shown in FIG. 2, according to one embodiment of the invention, the passage openings 36 and 37 are located in the first and second planes p1 and p2, respectively, which are perpendicular to the side surfaces 12 and 13 of the circuit breaker 10. Preferably, the first and second planes p1 and p2 are inclined to each other, forming an angle from 70 ° to 90 ° (in the figure, the angle between the planes p1 and p2 is en turning P2 clockwise plane).

As shown in FIG. 2, according to one embodiment of the invention, when the control lever 25 ′ is in one of two stable operating positions, it is located between the two holes 36 and 37 of the recess 35. For example, in FIG. 2, where the lever 25 ′ the control is shown in the open position (that is, when the contacts of the circuit breaker 10 are open), it is shown that the lever is located between the passage hole 36 and the passage hole 37. Thus, it can be assumed that by passing the locking element 70, for example a cable tie, inside grooves 35 and locking it into a tightening assembly or loop, as well as locking it to the control lever, it is possible to keep the control lever 25 'locked in the open position.

Although it is possible to use a groove 35, the size of which allows the locking element to be inserted into it when the circuit breaker 10 is located next to another circuit breaker 10, in which there is no groove in the side wall, in each preferred embodiment of FIG. 2, each circuit breaker 10 has a corresponding groove 35, therefore, the grooves are next to each other when the circuit breakers 10 are installed next to each other, and their side walls 12, 13 are adjacent to each other. Thus, the grooves 35 adjacent to each other form a through channel, preferably extending in the longitudinal direction and substantially closed in the transverse direction. Through this channel, a locking element 70 can be used to simultaneously lock the control levers 25 'of both circuit breakers 10 in the same operating position. This solution allows for local thinning of each of the walls of the circuit breakers compared to the solution when the groove 35 is completely made in the wall of only one circuit breaker. It should be noted that using circuit breakers 10, in which respective grooves 35 are located on each of the side walls 12 and 13, electrical appliance manufacturers will no longer need to offer redundant models of circuit breakers that differ only in that the groove 35 is located on one or the other side of the side walls.

6-9 and 10-13, the first and second groups of devices are shown, which are a group of 60 devices forming a bipolar circuit breaker and a group of devices 100 forming a four-pole circuit breaker, respectively. These groups of devices are formed by installing in a row of two and four circuit breakers 10, shown in figure 1, respectively. As you can see, in groups 60 and 100, one common gripping element 25 ″ can be used, connected to all control levers 25 ″ of individual unipolar circuit breakers 10. Thus, by passing the locking element 70, such as a cable tie, between the side walls two adjacent circuit breakers through a pair of adjacent grooves 35, you can lock all the levers 25 'control. It should also be noted that a common covering element 29 can be used by making a through hole 80 in it, facing the passage holes 37 of adjacent grooves so that the locking element 70 can be passed through it.

As follows from the above description, a modular electrical appliance of the above type allows you to completely solve the tasks. Indeed, such a solution is relatively simple in terms of design in comparison with the aforementioned known solutions. In addition, it should be noted that this solution is especially convenient if it is necessary to simultaneously fix a lot of adjacent modular electrical appliances, while fixing is intuitive and relatively simple.

To achieve certain and specific tasks, those skilled in the art can make various modifications and changes to the above-described modular electrical appliances, which, however, should not go beyond the scope of the invention as defined in the claims.

Claims (11)

1. A modular electrical appliance (10), containing essentially a box-shaped main body (11), limiting the internal space for accommodating electromechanical elements and containing two essentially parallel to each other side surfaces (12, 13) and a front surface (16) ; a control lever (25 ') protruding from the front surface and configured to move between two working positions and fixation in at least one of them, characterized in that a groove is made on at least one of the side surfaces (12, 13) ( 35), passing between two holes (36, 37) located at opposite ends of the groove and providing access to the groove, said holes being open on the front surface, the groove being adapted to allow the passage of the fixing ele ment (70), locked in a tightening unit or loop for fixing the control lever (25 '). 2. A modular electrical appliance (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that the groove (35) is made on each of the side surfaces (12, 13). 3. A modular electrical appliance (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that the front surface (16) of the housing contains a part protruding relative to the rest of the housing and having passage openings (36, 37). 4. A modular electrical appliance (10) according to claim 2, characterized in that the front surface (16) of the housing contains a part protruding relative to the rest of it and having passage openings (36, 37). 5. A modular electrical appliance (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the passage holes (36, 37) are located in the first and second planes (p1, p2), respectively, perpendicular to the side surfaces (12, 13) . 6. A modular electrical appliance (10) according to claim 5, characterized in that the first and second planes (p1, p2) are inclined at an angle from 70 ° to 90 ° with respect to each other. 7. Modular electrical appliance (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 4, 6, characterized in that the groove (35) is made in the thickness of one of the side walls of the main body (11). 8. A modular electrical appliance (10) according to claim 5, characterized in that the groove (35) is made in the thickness of one of the side walls of the main body (11). 9. A group of devices (60, 100) containing the first and second modular electrical appliances (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 8, in which each of the electrical appliances (10) has a corresponding groove (35) and a corresponding control lever (25 ') while the grooves are located next to each other when the electrical appliances (10) are installed next to each other and their side surfaces are adjacent to each other; moreover, the adjacent grooves define a through channel that extends mainly in the longitudinal direction, is essentially closed in the transverse direction and allows the passage of the locking element (70) through it, which is designed to simultaneously lock both control levers (25 ') in the same working position. 10. The device group according to claim 9, containing a common covering element (29) for overlapping a portion of the front surface of the first and second electrical appliances, respectively, while the covering element (29) has a through hole (80) facing a pair of passage holes and providing passage through the groove of the locking element (70). 11. A multi-pole modular circuit breaker (60, 100), comprising a plurality of adjacent modules fixedly fastened to each other, characterized in that each of the modules is a modular electrical device (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

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