WO1996028836A1

WO1996028836A1 - Auxiliary switch

Info

Publication number: WO1996028836A1
Application number: PCT/AT1996/000046
Authority: WO
Inventors: Johannes Grillmayer
Original assignee: Felten & Guilleaume Austria Ag
Priority date: 1995-03-15
Filing date: 1996-03-13
Publication date: 1996-09-19
Also published as: DE59600632D1; ES2123340T3; EP0815576A1; ATA45895A; DK0815576T3; AU4779196A; ATE171811T1; EP0815576B1; AU697688B2; AT402582B

Abstract

Proposed is an auxiliary switch for fitting to protective circuit breakers, the switch having two moving electric contacts (35, 36) each of which works in conjunction with two fixed electric contacts (31, 32, 33, 34). The moving contacts (35, 36) are actuated by a signal lever (5) and a contact lever (4), an actuator knob (3) being connected to the contact lever (4), an actuator knob (3) being connected to the contact lever (4) via an elbow lever (7, 11). The actuator knob (3) can be connected to that of the circuit breaker. A catch holder (6), which can be connected to the switch mechanism of the circuit breaker, acts to trigger the signal lever (5) and/or the contact lever (4). One arm of the elbow lever (7, 11) is formed by a catch (7) which engages with the catch holder (6) when the switch is 'on'. A locking device (8), which is designed to prevent the signal lever (5) from moving when the switch is triggered by the actuator knob (3) [the signal lever (5) has a click-in projection (50) with which a matching click-in projection (51) on the locking device (8) engages], is mounted (49) on the housing (1) and moved by the elbow lever (7, 11) out of the position in which it prevents the signal lever (5) from being released when the switch is triggered by the circuit breaker via the catch holder (6). The locking device (8) has a control lever (62) working in conjunction with a control device (eccentric shaft) (10) which is mounted in the housing (1, 2) and which fixes the locking device (8) in a position in which it cannot engage with the signal lever (5).

Description

Additional switch

The invention relates to an additional switch for mounting on electric circuit breakers with two movable, electrical contacts, each of which is assigned two fixed, electrical contacts, with a signal lever and a contact lever which move the movable contacts, with an actuating button which is connected to the actuating button of the circuit breaker can be connected and which actuates the signal lever and the contact lever, with a pawl support which can be connected to the switching mechanism of the circuit breaker, for triggering the signal lever and / or the contact lever, with a lock which prevents the movement of the signal lever can if the additional switch is triggered via the actuating button, the actuating button being connected to the contact lever via a toggle lever, and wherein one arm of the toggle lever is formed by a pawl which hooks into the pawl rest when the additional switch is switched on.

Such an additional switch is known from EP-A 394 144. A disadvantage of this additional switch is that the signal function, i.e. the signal lever cannot be deactivated if this is desired.

The present invention is therefore based on the object of providing a generic additional switch in which the signal function can optionally be switched on and off.

This object is achieved in that the lock is mounted on the housing and that the lock can be moved by the toggle lever from the position preventing the triggering of the signal lever when the additional switch is actuated by the circuit breaker via the clinch rest.

In contrast to the additional switch according to EP-A 394 144, in which the lock is firmly connected to the signal lever and is therefore always in operation, according to the invention, a lock is provided which is mounted separately in the housing and cooperates functionally with and from the toggle lever the locked position is moved for the signal lever when the circuit breaker responds due to an error condition and triggers the additional switch via the jack support.

Since a part mounted separately on the housing is provided as a lock, in one embodiment of the invention a possibility can be provided to disable the lock so that the signal lever is always moved simultaneously with the contact lever in every operating state.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, this can be done in that the lock has an actuating lever to which an actuating device fixed to the housing is assigned, by means of which the lock can be fixed in a position in which it cannot lock with the signal lever.

Further features and advantages of the invention emerge from the remaining subclaims and the following description of embodiments of the invention with reference to the drawings.

1 shows an additional switch according to the invention with the top shell removed in the "electrical" OFF position caused by a fault condition in the circuit breaker,

2, the additional switch of FIG. 1, in plan view,

3 shows the additional switch of FIGS. 1 and 2 in the "manual" OFF switch position,

4 shows the switch of FIG. 3 in the ON position,

Fig. 5 shows the switch in the ON position with the signal lever shown in the removed position and the

6 to 14 individual parts of the additional switch according to the invention on an enlarged scale, FIG. 6 showing a jack support,

7 shows a contact lever, 8 a signal lever,

9 shows a contact angle with a leaf spring and a movable contact,

10 a locking lever,

11 an operating button,

Fig. 12 shows an eccentric shaft, Fig. 13 a pawl and

Fig. 14 shows a test button.

1 and 2 show an embodiment of an additional switch according to the invention, which has two housing shells, namely a lower shell 1 and an upper shell 2, the upper shell 2 being removed in FIG. 1. The housing of the additional switch has half a module width, i.e. half the width of the housing e.g. a circuit breaker to which it can be attached. For connection to this protective switch, the additional switch has two centering sleeves 23 and bores for three self-tapping screws 24.

For connection to electrical display devices, the additional switch has a pair with three connection terminals 25, 26, 27 and 28, 29, 30, the connection terminals 25, 26 and 28, 29 being electrically connected to contacts 31, 32 and 33, 34 fixed to the housing . The terminals 27 and 30 are electrically connected to movable contacts 35 and 36.

The switching mechanism of the additional switch has a signal lever 5 and a contact lever 4, which are mounted on a common axis 36 in the housing. On the same axis 36 and between the signal lever 5 and the contact lever 4, a pawl support 6 is mounted, which can be connected via a bolt 21 or 21 'to the switching mechanism of the electrical circuit breaker. Depending on whether the additional switch is to be arranged on the left or right side of the circuit breaker, the bolt 21 or 21 'which is not required is removed on the opposite side. The contact lever 4 is connected via a knee joint consisting of a pawl 7 and a bracket 11 to an actuating button 3, which in turn can be connected to the actuating button of the circuit breaker via a button bolt 22. The pawl 7 is connected on the one hand to the bracket 11 and on the other hand to the contact lever 4 via a joint 12 (FIG. 5). A button spring 17 is also assigned to the actuating button 3, which is supported with one leg by means of a test button 9 on the lower shell 1 and with the other leg on the actuating button 3 and loads it in the counterclockwise direction, that is to say into the exhibition is shown in Fig. 1. 5 shows an embodiment of the additional switch which corresponds essentially to FIG. 1, in which the signal lever 5 is shown in the removed position and which shows the additional switch in the ON position.

In this position, the pawl support 6, which is loaded by a support spring 18 in the counterclockwise direction, hooks with the pawl 7 and prevents the knee joint consisting of pawl 7 and bracket 11 under the load of a tension spring 16 with one end 37 on one Housing projection 38 and engages with its other end 39 on a shoulder 40 on the contact lever 4, bends outwards or upwards.

A projection 41 with two bores 42 and 43 is provided on the pawl support 6, the suitable bolt 21, 21 'for connection to the respective circuit breaker being inserted into one of these bores 42, 43. The bolt 21 or 21 'then protrudes through circular segment-like slots 44 in the carrier 4 or 45 in the signal lever 5 and through corresponding slots in the upper shell 2 or the lower shell 1 to the outside and through corresponding recesses in the circuit breaker and is connected there to its switching mechanism.

If the circuit breaker is triggered by an electrical fault condition, the movement of its switching mechanism is transmitted to the pawl support 6 by means of the bolts 21 or 21 ', as a result of which it is pivoted counterclockwise and the latching connection with the pawl 7 is released, as a result of which the toggle lever 7 , 11 buckles and the contact lever 4 under the effect the tension spring 16 is pivoted clockwise.

So that when the additional switch is switched on, i.e. When the actuating button 3 is moved from the position shown in FIG. 1 to the position shown in FIG. 4 or 5, the signal lever is pivoted counterclockwise as the contact lever 4, the contact lever 4 has an extension 46 and the signal lever 5 has a nose 47 which come into abutment against one another when the contact lever 4 is pivoted counterclockwise, as a result of which the signal lever 5 is carried along by the contact lever 4 and a tension spring 16 'is pretensioned between the signal lever 5 and the lower shell 1 .

Arranged on the signal lever 5 is a latching projection 50 which interacts with the latching projection 51 of a lock 8, i.e. hooked with it when the signal lever 5 has reached its ON position (see FIG. 4). The lock 8 is pivotally mounted on a bearing 49 which is fixed to the housing and is biased counterclockwise by a compression spring 19 between an actuating lever 62 of the lock 8 and a receptacle 53 fixed to the housing.

The lock 8 finally has a release lever arm 54, which has an angled portion 55 at its end, which interacts with the toggle lever consisting of the pawl 7 and bracket 11, such as 4 and 5 can be seen.

If, after the circuit breaker and the additional switch have been brought into the ON position shown in FIG. 4, the circuit breaker is "electrically" as described above, ie triggered by a fault condition in the circuit to be protected by the circuit breaker, its switching mechanism actuates the circuit breaker Pawl support 6 counterclockwise, whereby the knee lever 7, 11 bends upwards and the lock 8 rotates clockwise via the attachment 55 on the lever 54, so that the latching connection 50, 51 between the lock 8 and the signal lever 5 is released even before the signal lever 5 can rotate together with the contact lever 4 by a significant amount. After the latching connection 50, 51 has been released, both the contact lever 4 and the signal lever 5 can pivot freely clockwise to the right. If, on the other hand, the circuit breaker and the additional switch are switched off manually via the actuating button 3, the lock 8 is not deflected by the toggle lever 7, 11, so that the latching connection 50, 51 between the signal lever 5 and the lock 8 is not released and the signal lever 5 is not released can pivot, whereas the contact lever 4 can pivot clockwise to the right.

In order to convert the two trigger options just described into corresponding electrical signals, the fixed ones are

Contacts 31, 32 and the associated movable contact

35 and the fixed contacts 33, 34 and the associated movable contact 36 are provided. The movable contacts 35,

36 are provided at the ends of two leaf springs 56 and 57, the other ends of which are fixed to the contact angle 58, 59

Housing 1, 2 are connected.

The contact lever 4 acts on the leaf spring 56 and the signal lever 5 acts on the leaf spring 57 in such a way that the leaf spring 56 is pressed by the contact lever 4 against the fixed contact 33 in the OFF position and against the fixed contact 34 in the ON position and that the movable contact 35 is pressed by the signal lever 5 in the ON position against the fixed contact 32 and in the OFF position against the fixed contact 31.

For this purpose, the leaf spring 56 is received on the contact lever 4 between two lugs 58 and 59 and the leaf spring 57 on the signal lever 5 between lugs 60 and 61.

As can be seen in Fig. 1, the movable contacts 35, 36 are in the electrical OFF position, ie if they were actuated by an electrical fault condition by the circuit breaker, on the two left contacts 31 and 33 fixed to the housing, whereas in the 3, the movable contact 35 (of the signal lever 5) bears against the right contact 32 fixed to the housing and the movable contact 36 (of the contact lever 4) bears against the left contact 33 fixed to the housing. In the ON position (FIG. 3), both movable contacts 35, 36 are located on their assigned, right-hand fixed contacts 32, 34. In this way it is possible in a simple manner to determine the respective circuit state of the circuit breaker or the cause for its switching off by a corresponding switching of the contacts 31 to 36, that is to say via the connecting terminals 25 to 30 assigned to them.

In some cases, however, it is desirable that the lock 8 be completely deactivated, i.e. that the signal lever 5 always, i.e. regardless of the type of triggering, is moved according to the contact lever 4.

This can be accomplished according to the invention in that the lock 8 is fixed in its clockwise position, in which it cannot lock with the signal lever 5. For this purpose, the control lever 62 of the lock 8 in the housing is assigned an eccentric shaft 10 which, in the position shown in the figures, does not hinder the movement of the lock 8 counterclockwise. However, if the eccentric shaft 63 is rotated by at least 90 °, as shown in dashed lines in FIG. 5, it rotates the lock 8 via its adjusting lever 62 to such an extent that it can no longer latch with the signal lever 5, as a result of which the lock 8 is put out of function in a simple manner. To adjust the eccentric shaft 10, this has a slot 66 for e.g. a screwdriver.

A signal arm 64 is also arranged on the signal lever 5, which reaches the area of an opening 65 at the top of the lower shell 1 when the signal lever is in the OFF position, so that a simple visual check is made directly on the additional switch as to whether there is an electrical or manual release.

In the lower shell 1, a test button 9 is arranged in the area next to the actuating button 3, which is loaded by the button spring 17 to the outside and which actuates the latch support 6 via its extension 52, that is to say pivoted clockwise and thus releases the toggle lever 7, 11 when it is pushed in or down. As shown in the individual drawings, the leaf springs 56, 57 with the movable contacts 35 and 36 can have different shapes.

A problem with circuit breakers or the additional switches assigned to them is that the switches are in the ON or OFF position for the majority of their operating time, so that the open contacts oxidize and thus have an increased resistance when closing. In one embodiment of the invention, therefore, it is provided that after the movable contacts 35, 36 on the leaf springs 56, 57 have been moved by the contact lever 4 and the signal lever 5 so far that they rest on the fixed contacts 31, 33 , the signal lever 5 and the contact lever 4 are pivoted a little further, about 1 ° to 5 °, preferably about 2 ° to 3 °, whereby the leaf spring 56 is somewhat stretched and the leaf spring 57 is bent a little further. This leads to a relative movement, i.e. Frictional movement, between the movable contacts 35, 36 and the contacts 32, 34 fixed to the housing. The same can also be done with the opposite contacts 31, 33, i.e. the contacts of the respective OFF position. This relative movement prevents reduced contacting by oxidizing.

In summary, the invention can be represented as follows, for example:

The additional switch for mounting on electrical circuit breakers has two movable electrical contacts 35, 36, each of which is assigned two fixed electrical contacts 31, 32, 33, 34. The movable electrical contacts 35, 36 are actuated by a signal lever 5 and a contact lever 4, an actuating button 3 being connected to the contact lever 4 via a toggle lever 7, 11. The actuation button 3 can be connected to the actuation button of the circuit breaker. A pawl support 6, which can be connected to the switching mechanism of the circuit breaker, is used to trigger the signal lever 5 and / or the contact lever 4. One arm of the toggle lever 7, 11 is formed by a pawl 7 which, when the additional switch is switched on, connects with the Jack support 6 hooked. A lock 8, which can prevent the movement of the signal lever 4 when the additional switch is triggered via the actuation button 3 (on the signal lever 5 there is a latching projection 50, on which a corresponding latching projection 51 can hook on the lock 8) mounted on the housing 1 and movable by the toggle lever 7, 11 from the position preventing the triggering of the signal lever 5 when the additional switch is triggered by the circuit breaker via the jack support 6. The lock 8 has an actuating lever 62, to which an actuating device (eccentric shaft) 10 mounted in the housing 1, 2 is assigned, via which the lock 8 can be fixed in a position in which it cannot latch with the signal lever 5.

Claims

Claims:

1. Additional switch for mounting on electrical circuit breakers with two movable, electrical contacts, each of which is assigned two fixed, electrical contacts, with a signal lever and a contact lever which move the movable contacts, with an actuation button which is connected to the actuation button of the circuit breaker is connectable and which actuates the signal lever and the contact lever, with a pawl support which can be connected to the switching mechanism of the protective circuit for triggering the signal lever and / or the contact lever, with a lock which prevent the movement of the signal lever can if the additional switch is triggered via the actuation button, the actuation button being connected to the contact lever via a toggle lever, and the arm of the toggle lever being formed by a pawl which hooks into the pawl rest when the additional switch is switched on, characterized in that the lock (8) on Ge The housing (49) is mounted and that the lock (8) can be moved by the toggle lever (7, 11) from the position preventing the triggering of the signal lever (5) when the additional switch is actuated by the circuit breaker via the latch support (6).

2. Additional switch according to claim 1, characterized in that the lock (8) on a housing-fixed bearing (49) is rotatably mounted bar and that the toggle lever (7, 11) when the pawl (7) by triggering the additional switch by the Circuit breaker is released from the jack support (6), the lock (8) rotates from the position preventing the triggering of the signal lever (5).

Additional switch according to Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that a latching projection (50) is provided on the signal lever (5), on which a corresponding latching projection (51) can hook onto the lock (8).

Additional switch according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the lock (8) has a lever arm (54) on which the toggle lever (7, 11) acts.

5. Additional switch according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the lock (8) has an actuating lever (62) which is associated with a housing-fixed actuating device (10), via which the lock (8) is fixed in a position can be in which it can not lock with the signal lever (5).

6. Additional switch according to claim 5, characterized in that the adjusting device (10) is an eccentric shaft.

7. Additional switch according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the movable contacts (35, 36) on the signal lever (5) or on the contact lever (4) are arranged.

8. Additional switch according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the movable contacts (35, 36) on leaf springs (56, 57) are arranged, with their, the movable contacts (35, 36) opposite ends on the housing ( 1) are fastened and operated by the signal lever (5) and the contact lever (4).

9. Additional switch according to claim 8, characterized in that the pivot angle of the contact lever (4) and the Si¬ signal lever (5) from their OFF to their ON position about 1 to 5 degrees, preferably 2 to 3 degrees larger than their pivot angle between the OFF position and the position in which the movable contacts (35, 36) touch the respective stationary contact (31, 33) in the ON position.

10. Additional switch according to one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that a signal arm (64) is arranged on the signal lever (4), which is movable in the region of an opening (65) in the housing (1) of the additional switch.

11. Additional switch according to one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that it has a test button (9) which actuates the pawl support (6) to trigger the additional switch.

12. Additional switch according to claim 11, characterized in that the actuating button (3) has a button spring (17), one end of which rests on the actuating button (3) and loads it into the switched-off position and the other end of which is on the test button (9 ) supports.