US1549734A

US1549734A - Relay

Info

Publication number: US1549734A
Application number: US371920A
Authority: US
Inventors: Macgahan Paul
Original assignee: Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Co
Current assignee: CBS Corp
Priority date: 1920-04-07
Filing date: 1920-04-07
Publication date: 1925-08-11
Anticipated expiration: 1942-08-11

Description

Aug. 11, 1925. 1,549,734

P. M GAHAN RELAY Filed April '7, 1,920

WITNESSES: INVENTOR Y B I/ I a ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 11, 1925.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.'

PAUL MACGAHAN, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO WESTINGHOUSE ELECTRIC 8: MANUFACTURING COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

RELAY.

Application filed April 7,

TouZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PAUL MAGGAHAN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Pittsburgh, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Relays, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to electrical protective "devices and particularly to relay mechanisms that are employed for tripping circuit interrupters or for operating other devices, upon the occurrence of predetermined conditions.

The object of my invention is to provide a simple and economical relay mechanism, of the character indicated, that may be operated by the current derived from the circuit in connection with which the interrupter or other device is employed, thereby obviating the necessity ofv employing a separate source of power to operate the same and also obviating the use of contact members which are subjected to injurious arcing and to the possibility of welding or sticking together.

Considerable difficulty has heretofore been experienced with relay mechanisms of circuit interrupters, or similar devices, that are employed in connection with alternatingcurrent circuits when it has been attempted to derive energy from the said circuits for tripping 'or operating the interrupt-ers. This difficulty has been caused by reason of the fact that the energy for operating the relay mechanism and for tripping the circuit interrupter has usually been derived from the main circuit by means of a series transformer, the secondary circuit of which included the operating coil of the relay, the tripping coil of the circuit interrupter, and relay contact members which normally sh-ort-circuited the latter 'coil but were separated to permitits energization upon the occurrence-of an overload or other predetermined circuit condition. -There is usually a sufficient amount of current in the second: ary circuit to cause arcing at the relay contact members, and, at times, it may be suflicient to cause them to ,weldtogether, the difiiculty being most serious when there is a slow separation of the contact members 1920. Serial No. $7 1,920.

by reason of the employment of a dash pot or other retarding device for introducing a time interval between the occurrence of the overload and the opening of the circuit interrupter. Furthermore, arcing between the contact members may so burn and injure them as to prevent them from making good electrical contact when brought into engagement.

I provide a tripping device that is supplied with energy from the main circuit but does not require the interruption of a circuit, thereby overcoming the hereinbefore-mentioned difficulties.

The single figure of the accompanying drawing is a diagrammatic view of a part of an electrical system embodying my invention.

A typicalsystem, in connection with which my invention maybe employed, comprises an alternating-current circuit 1 that is adapted to be interrupted by means of a circuit interrupter 2 and in series relation with one conductor of which is connected a current transformer 3. The circuit of the secondary winding 4 of the current transformer includes 'a winding -5 of a relay 6 and a winding 7 of a relay 8. The relay 6 may be of any suitable construction, such as either an instantaneous, inverse or definite time-limit relay, having two contact members 9 and '10, engagement of which may be effected upon the occurrence of certain predetermined conditions in the circuit 1. The relay 8 comprises a magnctizable core member 11 of E-sha-pe, that has the main winding 7 disposed on the middle lateral portion 12 thereof, .and that has two auxiliary windings 13 and M disposed on the end lateral portions 15 and i 16, respectively, of the core member 1]. The relay 8 further comprises a movable armature member 17 so pivoted at a point 18 adjacent the end of the middle lateral portion 12 that it may complete the magnetic circuits comprising the middle lateral portion 12 and either of the end portions 15 and 16. An adjustable stop 19 is disposed atthe end of the armature member adjacent the end portion 16 and serves to prevent actual engagement between the armature member 17 and the lateral end portion 15. The terminals of the winding 13 that is disposed on the lateral end portion 15 are respectively connected to the contact members 9 and 10 of the relay 6. The winding 14: that is disposed on the lateral end portion 16 is connected across a winding 20 that energizes the tripping magnet 21 which actuates the circuit interrupter-2.

When current traverses the circuit 1, the winding 7 of the relay 8 is energized by means of the current transformer 3 and serves to energize the core member. 11. Since the winding 14 of the relay 8 is always short-circuited by the tripping magnet wi nding 20, the armature member 17 tends to complete the magnetic circuit comprising the middle lateral portion 12 and the end lateral portion 15. The :uljustable stop member 19 serves to preclude actual engagement between the movable armature member 17 and the lateral portion 15 of the core member 11. The armature member 17 may, however, efiect actual engagement with the lateral end portion 16. When the relay 8 is energized in accordance with a normal value of current that traverses the circuit 1, the armature member 17 will be attracted toward the lateral end portion 15 because the reluctance of the magnetic path that includes the portion 15 is less than the relueta ance of the magnetic path that includes the portion 16. When the current that traverses the circuit 1 attains a predetermined valueand is maintained at, or above, that value for an interval of time corresponding to the time-setting of the relay 6, the relay 6 becomes so energized as to effect engage: ment between its contact members 9 and 10, thus short-circuiting the winding 13 disposed on the lateral end portion15. The winding 13, being short-circuited, tends to do so suddenly increase the reluctance of the magnetic path that includes the lateral end portion 15 as to permit a greater degree of magnetization in the magnetic circuit that includes the lateral end portion 16.

v cuited winding The armature member 17 is thereupon attracted to the end portion 16 and so com-,

pletes the magnetic circuit including said end portion 16 as to permit the winding 14 to be sufiiciently energized to actuate the tripping magnet 21 of the interrupter 2.

en the circuit interrupter 2 is actuated, the relay 6 becomes so de-energized as to effect disengagment beween its contact members 9 and 10 and to open the circuit of the wmding 13. Upon the reclosing of the circuit interrupter 2 and the subsequent re-energization of the relay 8, the armature member 17 is immediately attracted to the end lateral ortion 15 because of the greater reluctance t at is effected by the closed-cir- 14 in the magnetic circuit that includes the end portion 16. The

mature member 17 thus automatically biases itself in the desired position.

While I have shown a preferred form of relay embodying my invention, I do not limit it to the structure as shown, as various modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A relay device comprising a magnetizable core member having one main winding and a plurality of secondary windings disposed thereon that are independent of the main winding and of each other, and means for varying the inductive relation between the main winding and the secondary windings.

2. A relay device coi'nprising a magnetizable core member having one main winding and a plurality of secondary windings disposed thereon that are independent of the main winding and of each other, and means responsive to the electrical condition of the main winding for controlling the inductive relation between predetermined windings.

3. In an electric circuit, the combination with a core member having two magnetic paths including a common portion and a netic path and is adapted tobe inductively 4 energized by the first winding when the armature member is actuated to the second magnetic path.

' 4. In an electromagnet, the combination with a core member and a movable armature member, of a plurality of close-circuited windings inductively related to each other and means comprising a normally open circuited winding for changing the inductive relations between the other windings.

5. In an electric circuit, the combination with a circuit interrupter and a trip coil therefor, of means for controlling the energization of the trip coil comprising an electromagnet having a core member embodying two magnetic paths, a movable armature member for completing the magnetic circuit of either path and a main winding energized from the circuit for energizing the magnet, an auxiliary winding normally open-circuited and adapted to repulse the armature member from the corresponding magnetic circuit when short circuited, and a second auxiliary winding connected in closed-circuit relation to the trip coil of the interrupter and inductively energized from the main winding upon the completion of its magnetic circuit by the armature member.

6. In an electric circuit, an electromagnet comprising a main winding energized from the circuit and two auxiliary windings one of which is energized under certain conditions in the circuit and the other of which is thereupon inductively energized from the main winding.

7. In an electric circuit, the combination with a circuit-interrupter and a tripping magnet therefor, of an elect-roma'gnet having a main winding energized from the circuit, an auxiliary winding normally opencircuited and inductively related to the main winding, and a second auxiliary winding inductively related to the main winding and energized thereby to energize the tripping magnet when the first auxiliary winding is short-circuited upon the occurrence of predetermined conditions in the circuit.

8. In an electric circuit, the combination with a circuit-interrupter and a tripping magnet therefor, of a relay comprising a magnetizable core member of E-shape having a winding disposed on each lateral portion, and a movable magnetizable armature member pivoted adjacent the middle portion and adapted to complete the magnetic circuiton either side of said portion to change the relative inductive relations between the winding disposed on the middle portion and each of the windings disposed on the end portions of the core member, one of the lastmentioned windings being connected to the tripping magnet to energize the same under predetermined conditions.

9. In an electric circuit, the combination with a circuit-interrupter and a tripping magnet therefor, of a relay comprising a core member of E-shape having a winding disposed on the middle lateral portion .energized from the circuit, a movable; armature member pivoted adjacent said portion, a normally open-circuited winding on one end portion adapted to be short-circuited upon the occurrence of predetermined conditions in the circuit, and a winding disposed on the other end portion and adapted to energize the tripping magnet of the interrupter when the short-circuiting of the winding on the first end portion shifts the magnetic flux from that end portion to the other end portion.

10. In an electric circuit, the combination with a circuit-interrupter and a tripping magnet therefor, of a relay-comprising a core member of E-shape, a movable armature member so pivoted adjacent the middle portion of the core member as to complete the magnetic circuit on either side thereof and normally biased toward one end portion of the core member, a normally open-circuited winding disposed on said end portion adapted be so short-circulted upon the occurrence of predetermined conditions in the circuit as to repulse the armature member from said end portion to complete the magnetic circuit of the other end portion, a winding on said other end portion adapted to be so energized upon the actuation of the armature member thereto as to energize the tripping magnets of the circuit-interrupter.

11. Inan electric circuit, the combination with a circuit-interrupter and a tripping magnet therefor, of a relay comprising a magnetizable core member having a winding energized from the circuit to be pro tected disposed thereon, a time-element relay similarly energized from the circuit, a normally open-circuite-d winding inductively related to the circuit-energized winding and adapt-ed to be short-circuited by the timeelement relay, and a second winding inductively related to the short-circuiting of the normally open-circuited Winding to actuate the tripping magnet of the circuit interrupter.

12. An electromagnet comprising a mag netizable core member having two magnetic circuits of'variable reluctance with a portion of each circuit common to both and a pivoted armature member to complete either magnetic circuit, a winding for energizing the core member, an auxiliary winding normally open-circuited and adapted to be so short-circuited upon the occurrence of predetermined conditions as to increase the reluctance ofthe corresponding magnetic circuit and to simultaneously decrease the reluctance of the second magnetic circuit, and

a second auxiliary winding inductively energized upon the decrease in reluctance of the second magnetic circuit.

13. An electromagnet comprising a magnetizable core member having a movable armature member and two magnetic paths for the flux that traverses the armature, each of which includes a variable air gap, a winding for energizing the core member and two independent secondary windings, one of which is'associated with each of the two magnetic paths.

14. An electromagnet comprising a mag netizable core member having a movable armature member and two magnetic paths for the flux that traverses the armature, each of which includes a variable air gap, a main win-ding for energizing the coremember, two secondary windings independent of the main winding and severally associated with each of the magnetic paths and means for varying the inductive relation between the main windings and the secondary windin s.

l5. An electromagnet comprising a magnetizable core member having one main winding and two independent secondary windings disposed thereon, and means for varying the inductive relations between the main winding and each of the secondary for varying the inductive relation between windings. two of the windings.

16. Arelay device comprising a magnetim In ijestimony whereof, have hereunto 10 able core member having one main Winding su scrlbed my name this 26th day of and a plurality of secondary windings dis- March, 1920- posed thereon that are independent of the main winding and of each other, and means PAUL MAGGAHAN.