US3655930A

US3655930A - Multiple vacuum switch apparatus having longitudinal actuator

Info

Publication number: US3655930A
Application number: US35483A
Authority: US
Inventors: Albert M Frey
Original assignee: Powerdyne Inc
Current assignee: Powerdyne Inc
Priority date: 1970-05-07
Filing date: 1970-05-07
Publication date: 1972-04-11
Anticipated expiration: 1989-04-11
Also published as: CA924363A

Abstract

A high voltage switch apparatus is described employing a plurality of vacuum switches mounted in radially spaced positions about a common actuator rod whose movable contacts are operated by longitudinal movement of the actuator rod. Each of the switches has a toggle operating mechanism for quick opening and closing of the switch contacts substantially parallel to the movement of the actuator rod. The operating levers of such toggle mechanisms are each connected through a lost motion coupling to a common actuator plate for rotation of such levers by longitudinal movement of such plate by the actuator rod. A closing spring provided on the lost motion coupling is preloaded by movement of such coupling relative to the operating lever until the opposing force applied to such lever by a toggle latching spring is overcome, and then such closing spring causes rapid closure of the switch contacts.

Description

United States Patent [15] 3,655,930 Frey 51 Apr. 11, 1972 [54] MULTIPLE VACUUM SWITCH 3,527,910 9/1970 Mitchell, Jr. et al. ..200/144 B APPARATUS HAVING LONGITUDINAL P E R b s M T AT nmary .xammero ert acon AC U 0R Attomey-Buckhom, Blore, Klarquist and Sparkman [72] Inventor: Albert M. Frey, Portland, Oreg. [73] Assignee: Powerdyne lnc., Tualatin, Oreg. [57] ABSTRACT A high voltage switch apparatus is described employing a plu- [22] May 1970 rality of vacuum switches mounted in radially spaced positions [2|] Appl. No.: 35,483 about a common actuator rod whose movable contacts are operated by longitudinal movement of the actuator rod. Each 7 of the switches has a toggle operating mechanism for quick 2%} 'g 135 opening and closing of the switch contacts substantially parals i ll 44 B 145 lel to the movement of the actuator rod. The operating levers l of such toggle mechanisms are each connected through a lost motion coupling to a common actuator plate for rotation of [56] References Cited such levers by longitudinal movement of such plate by the ac- UNITED STATES PATENTS tuator rod. A closing spring provided on the lost motion v coupling is preloaded by movement of such coupling relative 2838636 6/1958 7 schwfigel' "200/144 Bx to the operating lever until the opposing force applied to such 2,915,611 l2/1959 q s 200/144 B x lever by a toggle latching spring is overcome, and then such 3,163,735 12/1964 Mme! "200/144 5 closing spring causes rapid closure of the switch contacts. 3,226,499 12/1965 ..200/144 B X 3,400,353 9/1968 Schockelt ..200/ 144 B X 14 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures 3 Sheets-Sheet l Patented April 11, 1972 ALBERT M. FREY lNl/f/VTOI? 3 $h89ts-$h69t 2 FIG. 2

"Tiiiir Patented April 11, 1972 ALBERT M FRE Y M/VHWOI? 5r BUG/(HORN, BL 0/76, KL mau/sr a .SmR/(MA/v AT TOR/V6 KS Patented April 11, 1972 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 ALBERT M. FREY INVENTOR BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The subject matter of the present invention relates generally to switch apparatus for making and breaking high voltage electrical circuits, and in particular to such a switch apparatus having a plurality of vacuum switches radially spaced about a common actuator which is moved longitudinally to rotate the operating levers of toggle mechanisms that quickly open and close the movable contacts of such switches. The switch apparatus of the present invention is an extremely compact apparatus which may be mounted in any position and is actuated by a short longitudinal movement, on the order of about 3 inches, of a common longitudinalactuator rod. As such, the present switch apparatus is an improvement over the rotary actuator and switch apparatus of U.S. Pat. No. 3,399,286 of C. E. Kerr which is also assigned to theassignee of the present application. I

The high voltage switch apparatus of the present invention is especially useful as an interrupter for interrupting high currents flowing in a high voltage electrical circuit. For example, one embodiment of the switch apparatus of the present invention 23 inches in diameter and 27 inches high, is capable of operating as an interrupter for voltages up to 25 kilovolts, instantaneous currents up to 20,000 amperes, and continuous currents up to 600 amperes.

Unlike the previous apparatus of U.S. Pat. No. I 3,399,286, the present switch apparatus employs a common actuator plate attached to the actuator rod and the toggle operating mechanisms of all the vacuum switches are connected through lost motion couplings to the actuator plate at positions spaced about the actuator rod. This eliminates the plurality. of sliding contact members, brackets and associated guide rods forming a series coupling between the operating mechanisms of the switches of such patent.

It is, therefore, one object of the present invention to provide a high voltage switch apparatus of simple construction and reliable operation in which a plurality of vacuum switches are actuated by a common longitudinal actuator.

Another object of the present invention is to provide such a switch apparatus of an extremely compact structure in which the operating mechanisms of the switches are each connected to a common actuator plate attached to an actuator rod which operates such switches by a short longitudinal movement of such rod and plate. I

A further object of the invention is to provide such a switch apparatus with a lever operated toggle mechanism for fast opening and closing of the contacts of each switch.

A still further object of the invention is to provide such a switch apparatus in which the pivoted operating lever of the toggle mechanism is connected to the actuator plate through a lost motion coupling having a closing spring which is preloaded by partial rotation of the lever andcauses rapid movement of such lever into the closed position.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide such a switch apparatus in which the longitudinal actuator is provided with substantially the same opening and closing resistance forces.

An additional object of the invention is to provide such a switch apparatus with a sealed housing containing an insulating fluid in which a bellows seal is employed between the longitudinal actuator rod and the cover of the housing to provide a dynamic seal of long useful lifetime.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof and from the attached drawings of which:

FIG. 1 is an elevation view of one end of the switch apparatus of the present invention with parts broken away for purposes of clarity;

FIG. 2 is a section view taken along the line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an elevation view of a portion of the apparatus of FIG. 2 shown on an enlarged scale; and

FIG. 4 is a section view taken along the line 4-4 of FIG. 3.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, one embodiment of the high voltage switch apparatus of the present invention includes a cylindrical metal drum 10 and a cover plate 12 welded to the edge of the open end of such drum to provide a fluid-tight housing containing a plurality of vacuum switches 14 in a pressurized insulating gas. A common actuator rod 16 for each of the switches extends through an opening in the cover plate 12 and is sealed to such cover plate by a bellows seal 18 which enables longitudinal movement of such actuator rod in the direction of the double headed arrow 20. Each of the vacuum switches 14 has a toggle operating mechanism 22 which is connected to the movable contact of such switch. The switches 14 and operating mechanisms 22 are attached by bolts 24 to a common support plate 26 of insulating material, such as resin impregnated fiber glass which supports the switches in radially spaced positions around the actuator rod 16. The support plate 26 is attached by tie rods 28 to the cover plate 12 to enable the switch apparatus to be mounted in any position. Each of the tie rods has one end threaded into openings in an attachment plate 30 welded to the under side of the cover plate and has its other end extending through a hole in the support plate so that it is clamped between two nuts 32 threaded onto such other end. Each of the operating mechanisms 22 is provided with an operator lever 34 which pivots about a fixed pivot point 36 in the direction of the double headed arrow 38 when the actuator rod 16 is moved longitudinally. As shown in FIG. 2, the lever arms 34 are connected at one end to a lost motion coupling link 40 which is pivoted at pivot member 41 secured to a common actuator plate 42 fixedly attached to the actuator rod 16 for movement therewith.

The longitudinal actuator rod 16 extends through an opening in the support plate 26 and is fixedly attached to a pair of

spaced stop washers

44 and 46 on opposite sides of such support plate. The stop washers 44 and 46 limit the longitudinal movement of the actuator rod to about 3 inches before they engage the support plate 26. The tie rods 28 extend through bearings 48 mounted in apertures in the actuator plate 42 which enable movement of such actuator plate along such tie rods. A hearing support plate 50 is positioned around the upper end of the bearings 48 while the actuator plate 42 is positioned around the lower end of such bearings and spaced from plate 50 by sleeve 51 surrounding the rod 16 in order to hold the bearings in vertical alignment equally spaced from each other. A pair of

equalization springs

52 and 54 are provided around each of the tie rods 28 with the long upper spring 52 positioned between the cover plate 12 and the bearing support plate 50 and the short lower spring 54 positioned between the support plate 26 and the actuator plate 42. These equalization springs have different compression characteristics and serve to equalize the forces resisting the opening and closing movements of the actuator rod 16. In addition, the tie rods 28 also function to guide the longitudinal movement of the actuator plate 42.

The toggle operating mechanisms 22 associated with each of the vacuum switches 14 are shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 and provide fast opening and closing of a movable contact 56 of such switch relative to a fixed contact 58 within the evacuated envelope of the switch. The movable contact 56 is provided with longitudinal substantially parallel to the movement of the actuator rod 16 in direction 20, through the envelope wall by means of a bellows seal 60 connected between the envelope and such electrode in a conventional manner. The toggle operating mechanism 22 includes an opening toggle formed by three links mounted on a housing 61 .with a first pair of links 62 pivotally attached at one end to a fixed pivot shaft 64 extending between the sides of the housing. The other ends of the first links 62 are pivotally connected by a movable pivot shaft 66 to mend of a pair of intermediate links 68. 'The other ends of the intermediate links 68 are connected bya pair of movablepivot shafts 70 to one end of each of a pair of third links 72, the other end of which are pivotally attached to the housing 6l by fixed pivots 74. i i

The movable pivot shafts 70 are fixedly attached to the sides of a movable spring housing 76 containing a contact pressure spring 78, as shown in FIG. 4. The contactpressure spring 78 has its left end in engagement with the housing'76 and its right end in engagement with an adjustable nut 80 threaded onto a connecting shaft 82 having one end attached to the shaft of the movable contact 56. The other end of the connecting shaft 82 extends through an opening 83 in the spring housing and has a stop washer 84 attached thereto by means of a nut 86.

such stop washer being spaced away from the left end. of the housing 76 by about 0.04 inch when the

contacts

56 and 58 are closed. in this. c'losedposition, the spring 78 determines the pressure between the

contacts

56 and 58 so that any erosionfof such contacts due to arcing is automatically compensated forby such spring within the limit provided by the spacactuator rod and actuator plate 42 causes the endmember 90 and pivot shaft v64 to rotate'and, at the same time, causes the link 62 to rotate in a counterclockwise direction about pivot 64 moving the pivot shaft 66 upward into the dashed line position-66'. A pair of opening springs 92 are provided on opposite sides of housing 61, each spring having one end attached to 'a movable pivot shaft 70 and its other end attached to a fixed projection 94 on the housing. As a result, when the position of the movable pivot shaft 66 is raised above the over center toggle position intersecting a line extending between the axis of pivot 64 and pivots 70, such opening springs 92 quickly move the

toggle links

62, 68 and" into the dashed line openposition, thereby opening the

contacts

56 and 58 in an extremely rapid manner.

' Closing of the switch contacts and 58 is accomplished by moving the actuator rod 16 and the actuator plate 42 to the right toward .the ,vacuumswitch'es', thereby causing the lost motion coupling 40 to slide relative toa pivot 96 connecting suchj'coupling to an end member'98 ajttachedto lever arm 94; This compresses a closing spring 100 provided around the end of the lost motion coupling 40 remote from the actuator plate 42,-such'closing spring being held between a pin 102 and the lever end member 98. The lost motion link has an elongated slot 104 within which the pivot96-slides to preload the spring 100 until it reaches the left hand end of such slot shown in FIG. 3. Then, continued movement of the lost motion link to the right starts clockwise rotation of the lever arm 34 causing the first toggle link 62 to pivot clockwise from the dotted line 7 position shown to the solid line position, thereby lowering the ing the toggle links 62, 68 and 72 quickly into the solid line position shown.

The latching spring 106 operates as a closing toggle for the switch contacts and as a latch to hold the lever 34 in either its open or closed position. One end of such latching spring is attached to a mounting member 108 pivotally mounted on a fixed pivot shaft 110 within the housing 61. The other end of the latching spring 106 is attached to a mounting member 112 pivotally attached by pivot shaft 114 fixed to the lever end member 90. A stop bolt 116 is secured between the two first in the-lever end'membe'r 90. to limit the rotation of the lever 34 and thereby determine its open and closed positions. The toggle latching spring 106 holds the lever in either its open or closed position. Thus, the force of the latching spring 106 in the solid line closed position shown, is in a direction clockwise with respect to pivot 64, while the force of such spring in the dashed line open position of the lever arm is counterclockwise with respect to pivot 64. This'change in direction of the latching force of spring 100 occurs at the over center toggle position of such spring where the axis of moving pivot 114 crosses a line between

fixed pivots

64 and 110. The latching spring 106 provides a counterclockwise force on lever 34 which opposes rotation and tends to hold the lever arm in its open position so that the lost motion connection 40 is moved to the right and compresses or preloads the closing spring 100 until the pivot 114 of latching spring 106 crosses its over center position. At this time, the force of the latching spring 106 changes to a clockwise direction which aids rotation of lever'34 and'enables' the closing spring 100 to rapidly move the lever and the switch contacts to aclose'd position.

The vacuum switches 14 operate in a conventional manner to make and break theelectrical circuit for current flowing between one terminal 120 at'tached'to the fixed contact 58 of each switch and another terminal 122 attached to the shaft of the movable contact 56. The terminal 122 is connected by two flexible conductors 123 to the housing 61 of the operating mechanism which, in turn, is electrically connected to an output terminal 124 extending through an insulator bushing 126 sealed to the cover plate 12. The other terminal 120 is con-,

nected through abus bar conductor 128 to an input terminal 130 extending through an insulator bushing 132sealed to the cover plate 12. Of course, other connections can be made to the vacuum switches and morethan one actuator rod and its associated switches and operating I mechanisms can be 'em-. ployed within the same housing 10.

A gas inlet valve 134 is provided through the cover plate 12 for introducing the insulating gas into the housing 10 and for monitoring the pressure of the gas in such housing. in addition, the actuator rod 16 may by provided with a .hot stick" operating ring 136 at its upper end for remote manual operation by means of a pole having a hook on one end thereof. Al-

ternatively, the actuating rod .16 maybe operated automatically with a hydraulic cylinder byreplacing the. operating ring 136 with a suitable'connector,for attachment 'to' the piston shaftofsuch'cylinder. I i

it will be obvious to'thosehaving ordinary skill in the art that 'many changes'm'ay be. make in the above-described detailed embodiment'of the present invention without departing from the spirit of the invention. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should only be determined by the following claims. W E- r. I claim: I

l. A high voltage switch apparatus comprising: a a plurality of vacuum switches each having a movable contact; "1 actuator means including a common actuator member mounted for longitudinal movement foractuating said switches; support means for supporting said vacuum switches in radially spaced positions around said actuator member; a plurality of operating means each including an operator member mounted for rotational movement connectedno .a different one of said switches for moving its movable contact in response to movement of said operator member; and a a plurality of coupling means each connected between the actuator means and a different one of said operating means for coupling said actuator member to each of said operator members so that the operator I members are rotated by longitudinal movement of theactuator member 1 2. Switch apparatus in accordance with claim 1 in which toggle links 62 and engages a circular stop notch'118 provided 75 said operating means includesa toggle means connected to a lever operator member for rapidly moving the movable contact of the switch to an open position and to a closed position after the toggle means passes through an intermediate toggle position- 3. Switch apparatus in accordance with claim 1 in which the actuator member moves substantially parallel to the movement of said movable contacts.

. 4. Switch apparatus in accordance with claim 2 in which the coupling means each include a lost motion link connected to the operator lever.

5. Switch apparatus in accordance with claim 4 in which the coupling means also includes a closing spring which is compressed by movement of the operator lever relative to said link during initial rotation of the lever from its open position, and rapidly rotates the operator lever to its closed position after the lever reaches an intermediate over center toggle position.

6. Switch apparatus in accordance with claim 1 in which the actuator member includes an actuator plate attached to an actuator rod adjacent one end thereof for longitudinal movement therewith and the coupling means are each connected to the actuator plate at radially spaced positions around the actuator rod and extend back toward the other end of said rod.

7. Switch apparatus in accordance with claim 6 in which the vacuum switches are attached to a common support plate of insulating materialat positions spaced around the actuating rod.

8. Switch apparatus in accordance with claim 7 in which the actuator rod extends through a hole in the support plate and is provided with a pair of spaced stops on opposite sides of said support plate with limit the longitudinal movement of said actuator rod. v

9. Switch apparatus in accordance with claim 7 in which the switches, operating means and coupling means are contained within a fluid-tight sealed housing filled with insulating fluid and including a cover plate having an aperture through which the actuator rod extends, and having a bellows seal member attached between said rod and said plate.

10. Switch apparatus in accordance with claim 9 in which a plurality of guide rods are attached between the support plate and the cover plate and extend through guide holes in the actuator plate.

11. Switch apparatus in accordance with claim 10 in which the actuator means includes a pair of equalizing springs of different compression characteristics provided on each guide rod and separated by the actuator plate to provide the actuator rod with substantially the same opening and closing resistance forces.

12. Switch apparatus in accordance with claim 5 in which the toggle means comprises a first toggle for rapidly opening the switch contacts including three links pivotally connected together, including a first link fixedly attached at one end to the operator lever for movement therewith, a second link pivotally attached at one end to a fixed pivot, and an intermediate link pivotally connected between the other ends of said first and second links, and in which the movable contact of the switch is connected to the common pivot connection of the intermediate link and said other end of the second link for longitudinal movement with said common connection.

13. Switch apparatus in accordance with claim 12 in which an opening spring means is connected between said common pivot connection and a point adjacent the pivot of said lever.

14. Switch apparatus in accordance with claim 13 in which the toggle means includes a second toggle means for rapidly closing the switch contacts and for holding the operator lever in its open or closed position, and which includes a latching spring which is moved with the operator lever so that it tends to rotate said operator lever in one direction when the toggle means is open and in the opposite direction when said toggle means is closed.

Claims

1. A high voltage switch apparatus comprising: a plurality of vacuum switches each having a movable contact; actuator means including a common actuator member mounted for longitudinal movement for actuating said switches; support means for supporting said vacuum switches in radially spaced positions around said actuator member; a plurality of operating means each including an operator member mounted for rotational movement connected to a different one of said switches for moving its movable contact in response to movement of said operator member; and a plurality of coupling means each connected between the actuator means and a different one of said operating means for coupling said actuator member to each of said operator members so that the operator members are rotated by longitudinal movement of the actuator member.

2. Switch apparatus in accordance with claim 1 in which said operating means includes a toggle means connected to a lever operator member for rapidly moving the movable contact of the switch to an open position and to a closed position after the toggle means passes through an intermediate toggle position.

3. Switch apparatus in accordance with claim 1 in which the actuator member moves substantially parallel to the movement of said movable contacts.

4. Switch apparatus in accordance with claim 2 in which the coupling means each include a lost motion link connected to the operator lever.

7. Switch apparatus in accordance with claim 6 in which the vacuum switches are attached to a common support plate of insulating material at positions spaced around the actuating rod.

8. Switch apparatus in accordance with claim 7 in which the actuator rod extends through a hole in the support plate and is provided with a pair of spaced stops on opposite sides of said support plate with limit the longitudinal movement of said actuator rod.