Classifications

• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01H—ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES
  • H01H71/00—Details of the protective switches or relays covered by groups H01H73/00 - H01H83/00
  • H01H71/10—Operating or release mechanisms
  • H01H71/50—Manual reset mechanisms which may be also used for manual release
  • H01H71/52—Manual reset mechanisms which may be also used for manual release actuated by lever
  • H01H71/526—Manual reset mechanisms which may be also used for manual release actuated by lever the lever forming a toggle linkage with a second lever, the free end of which is directly and releasably engageable with a contact structure

Definitions

• the invention relates to the field of safety of electrical installations. It relates more particularly to automatic safety circuit breakers for automatically opening an electrical circuit when they are triggered by the detection of an electrical fault.
• Such circuit breakers can be for example circuit breakers adapted to open an electrical circuit in case of a short circuit or else differential switches adapted to open a circuit in case of earthing of one of the phases.
• These circuit breakers generally comprise a set of metal contacts intended to open or close the electrical circuit, as well as a mechanism for controlling the set of contacts called a lock mechanism.
• the lock mechanism ensures the closing and the manual opening of the circuit, by the provision of a handle outside the circuit breaker, in addition to the automatic opening of the circuit following the detection of a fault. electric.
• the document FR 2 628 262 describes such a lock mechanism in which the maintenance of the contacts in the closed position of the circuit is ensured by the attachment of a part by a pawl. In case of electrical fault, this attachment is broken and the mechanism is triggered, causing the opening of the circuit.
• this lock mechanism the piece intended to be hooked by the pawl is rotatably mounted on another piece controlling the contact game.
• This lock mechanism called “rotating latching mechanism"
• the invention nevertheless aims to improve such a lock mechanism, and more generally the cooperation of the various parts involved in triggering the mechanism.
• a latching lock mechanism rotating for automatic safety circuit breaker comprising: - a frame; - An articulated lever pivotally mounted on a fixed axis relative to the frame and having a latching end, said lever admitting an engaged position and a triggered position and being biased by a spring to its tripped position; - An intermediate lever pivotally mounted about a fixed axis relative to the frame and adapted to cooperate with the attachment end of the hinge lever; - An attachment lever pivotally mounted about an axis carried by the intermediate lever and having a hooking surface adapted to cooperate with the hooking end of the hinge lever; a mechanism spring urging said latching lever to pivot about its axis in a predetermined direction; a contact device comprising at least one fixed contact and at least one corresponding movable contact, this device admitting a first position in which the fixed contact and the movable contact are spaced from each other, and a second position in which the fixed contact and the movable contact are held against each other, the passage from the first
• the hooking lever When the lock mechanism is in its contact disposition, the hooking lever is, on the one hand, maintained in a stable position by the holding means and, on the other hand, biased by the hooking end of the articulated joystick.
• the direction of the force with which the attachment end biases said lever passes through the axis of rotation of the same lever and eliminates any torque that would have exerted the joystick articulated on the lever attachment. No force tending to rotate said lever about its axis is therefore added to the bias of the mechanism spring. Therefore, it is for example possible to increase the biasing force of the handle on the stop, and therefore to increase the pressure of the contacts against each other to increase the performance in cutoff or heating.
• the mechanism spring is provided to overcome these friction forces and thus allow rotation of the latch lever when triggering the mechanism. It is thus possible to use the same means of maintenance whatever the pressure that one wishes to apply to the contact.
• the same lock mechanism can thus be used for a wide variety of circuit breakers, regardless of the number of contacts to be controlled and regardless of the type of circuit breaker conditioning the available energy for the actuator.
• Four-pole circuit breakers for example, require greater force to be applied to the stop than in the case of unipolar or bipolar circuit breakers.
• the very sensitive differential switches provide, in the event of an electrical fault, only a few milliamperes to the actuator, while the circuit breakers can supply several amperes.
• the use of a common mechanism for a wide variety of products makes it possible, from the manufacturer's point of view, to lower manufacturing costs and reduce the risk of assembly errors by simplifying the manufacturing process.
• auxiliaries are commonly employed in association with such circuit breakers. These auxiliaries fit on the circuit breakers so as to connect mechanically to detect the triggering of the circuit breaker. These auxiliaries must of course be adapted to the lock mechanism of the circuit breaker to which they are attached.
• the attachment surface of the engaging lever is formed of a cylinder portion centered on the pivot axis of the engaging lever.
• the resultant of the contact forces on such a surface passes, mathematically speaking, by the axis of rotation and is a way of implementing the principles described above.
• the hooking end of the articulated lever may be formed of a cylinder portion centered on an axis parallel to the pivot axis of the engaging lever. The linear contact of the attachment end on the hooking surface, thus procured, helps to overcome parasitic friction phenomena.
• the attachment lever comprises a first contact surface and a second contact surface, the latter being biased by the mechanism spring for the rotation of the engaging lever about its axis; and optionally - the first contact surface and the second contact surface are each disposed on either side of the pivot axis of the attachment lever, and the holding means comprise a support located at one end of the support leg and which, when the mechanism is in its contact position, is disposed against said first contact surface. Triggering occurs when the actuator acts on the holding means to move said support away from the first contact surface. In this context, the force required for this maneuver depends directly and almost exclusively on the force exerted by the mechanism spring. The load applied by the spring defines the unlocking force seen by the actuator.
• the mechanism of the spring may have a reduced design tolerance, resulting in a greater margin of safety.
• the mechanism further comprises a biasing spring cooperating with the attachment lever and with the stand so that said stand is biased towards the engaging lever. This biasing spring allows a safe operation of the mechanism insofar as said stand will permanently tend to reach the first surface for maintaining the attachment lever.
• the holding means comprise an auxiliary lever mounted pivoting about an axis carried by the intermediate lever, the auxiliary lever having, at one of its ends, said stand; and a trigger lever pivotally mounted about a fixed axis relative to the frame and adapted to cooperate with the actuator and with the auxiliary lever, so as to move the stand off the first contact surface when the actuator passes from its retracted position to its extended position;
• the mechanism spring is a torsion spring comprising a cylindrical winding of turns and two projecting branches, the cylindrical winding of turns being centered on the axis of pivoting of the intermediate lever, whereas, when the mechanism is in its position, contact, one of the branches bears on said second contact surface and the other branch is supported on a fixed stop rod relative to the frame;
• the auxiliary lever comprises, distributed on either side of its pivot axis, said stand and a leg having an arcuate end portion adapted to cooperate with the trigger lever;
• the triggering lever comprises
• FIG. 1 is a kinematic diagram showing the various parts of a lock mechanism according to the invention, and the modes of cooperation between these parts, the mechanism being in its contact position;
• - Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure 1, the mechanism being in a triggered position, immediately after the intervention of the actuator;
• - Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 1, the mechanism being in a position where, chronologically after the position of Figure 2, the mechanism has reset the actuator and is ready to move to its contact position if the user acts on the controller;
• FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the inset marked XIII in FIG.
• FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a lock mechanism according to the embodiment of Figures 1 to 4, the mechanism being in a position corresponding to that of Figure 1;
• FIG. 6 is a view of the mechanism of FIG. 5, the mechanism having just been triggered;
• - Figure 7 is a view of the mechanism of Figure 5, the mechanism being in a position where, chronologically after the position of Figure 6, the contacts are spaced, this position also corresponding to the position of Figure 2;
• FIG. 8 is a view of the mechanism of FIG. 5, the mechanism being in a position where, chronologically after the position of FIG. 7, the articulated joystick has returned to its triggered position, this position also corresponding to the position of the Figure 3;
• FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a lock mechanism according to the embodiment of Figures 1 to 4, the mechanism being in a position corresponding to that of Figure 1;
• FIG. 6 is a view of the mechanism of FIG. 5, the mechanism having just been triggered;
• - Figure 7 is a view of the mechanism of Figure
• FIGS. 9 is a perspective view of a lock mechanism according to an alternative embodiment of the invention in which the mechanism comprises a specific spring for rearming the actuator, FIG. 9 being taken on the side where this spring rearmed is visible;
• FIGS. 10 to 13 correspond to FIGS. 5 to 8 in the case of the variant embodiment of FIG. 9.
• FIGS. 1 to 4 are schematic views intended to explain the operating principles of the lock mechanism.
• Figures 5 to 8 are views of a real lock mechanism, in section, corresponding to a practical embodiment according to the diagrams of Figures 1 to 4.
• Figures 9 to 13 show a real lock mechanism corresponding to the variant aforementioned embodiment.
• the mechanism visible in these figures is intended to be mounted in a housing not shown. It comprises a pair of contacts 1, 2 of which one is fixed and the other 2 is movable. Each of these contacts 1, 2 is intended to be connected to the electrical circuit (not shown) that is to be protected, their contacting closing the circuit and their mutual spacing opening, on the contrary, the circuit. Only two contacts 1, 2 are here shown in profile, it being understood that additional pairs of contacts would be aligned with the pair described in the case where it would be desired to simultaneously control the cut of different circuits or different phases of the same circuit.
• the contacts 1, 2 are also biased to move away from each other by an opening spring 34 (shown schematically in Figures 1 to 3 by a torque arrow).
• It is the lock mechanism that will ensure the control of the contacts 1, 2.
• It comprises an articulated joystick 3 formed of a manual lever 4 rotatably mounted on a fixed axis 5 relative to the housing, the latter here playing the role of a frame supporting the various elements of the mechanism.
• the articulated lever 3 also comprises a connecting rod 6 connected by a pivot connection to the manual lever 4 so that the rotation of the latter causes the rod 6 to move.
• the latter comprises a hooking end 7 represented by a circle on the diagrams 1 to 4 and made by a cylinder extending perpendicularly to the plane of the drawing in FIGS. 5 to 8.
• the mobility of the articulated lever 3 allows it to take two extreme positions: an engaged position (FIGS. 1 and 5) and a triggered position (FIGS. 3 and 8), these two positions defining an angular amplitude of approximately 90 ° for the manual lever 4.
• a spring 13 biases the handle 3 to its triggered position.
• the mechanism further comprises an intermediate lever 8 in indirect engagement with the movable contact 2 via a link 9 articulated to a support 10 carrying the movable contact, the support 10 being rotatably mounted about an axis 11 fixed by compared to the case.
• the intermediate lever 8 is rotatably mounted about an axis 12 fixed relative to the housing and arranged so that the pivoting of the lever 8 in one direction causes the movable contact 2 against the fixed contact 1 or, in the other direction, causes the movable contact 2 away from the fixed contact 1.
• the intermediate lever 8 further comprises a ramp 14 disposed at its end opposite the link 9, this ramp 14 for receiving and guiding the attachment end 7 of the rod 6.
• the intermediate lever 8 At the entrance of the ramp 14, the intermediate lever 8 comprises a housing formed of a stop surface 15 and a side wall 16, this housing being able to partially receive the attachment end 7
• the intermediate lever 8 supports an axis 17, close to the ramp 14, on which is rotatably mounted a latching lever 18.
• the latter comprises a first contact surface 19 and a second contact surface 20 disposed of on both sides of the shaft 17, and a tooth 21 having a hooking surface 22.
• the hooking surface 22 is a cylinder portion whose axis coincides with the pivot axis 17 of the hooking lever 18.
• a mechanism spring here a torsion spring 38, is disposed about the axis 12 of the intermediate lever 8 and exerts a torsion force between a stop rod 23 secured to the housing and the second contact surface 20, when the mechanism is in the position of Figures 1 and 5.
• a stop pin 24 attached to the intermediate lever 8 is provided to limit the angular stroke of the latching lever 18 relative to the intermediate lever 8.
• the intermediate lever 8 finally supports an axis 25 on which is rotated an auxiliary lever 26 which comprises a first leg forming a stand 27 and carrying a support pin 28 intended to cooperate with the first contact surface 19 of the engaging lever 18.
• a spring of polarization 35 is also provided for biasing the support tip 28 towards said first contact surface 19.
• the auxiliary lever 26 also comprises a second branch 29 intended to cooperate with a release lever 30.
• the first branch 27 and the second branch 29 are disposed on either side of the axis 25 of the auxiliary lever 26.
• the release lever 30 is rotatably mounted about an axis 31 fixed relative to the housing and comprises a first branch 32 and a second branch 33 forming here an angle of about 90 °, the second branch having a rounded corner for its cooperation with the second branch 29 of the auxiliary lever 26.
• the trigger lever 30 can be set in motion by an electromechanical actuator 36 fixed relative to the housing and which admits a retracted position (FIGS. 1 and 5) and an extended position (FIGS. 2 and 6), the passage from the retracted position to the extended position being effected by electrically energizing Actually, the actuator 36 during the detection of the electrical fault which must cause the triggering of the mechanism.
• the auxiliary lever 26 and the release lever 30 form holding means that can thereby be set in motion by the jack 36.
• the rod of the jack 36 acts on the first leg 32 of the trigger lever 30.
• a resetting finger 37 extending perpendicular to the plane of the drawings and which is intended to cooperate with the mechanism spring 38.
• the spring 38 exerts an angular spacing force between the stop rod 23 and the second contact surface 20 of the engaging lever 18.
• the spring 38 this time exerts a force between the stop rod 23 and the resetting finger 37 to the extent that, in this position, the rearmed finger is within the level where is the second contact surface 20.
• the lock mechanism which has just been described operates as indicated below.
• the mechanism as shown in Figures 1 and 5 is in its contact position. To bring it into this position, generally from a triggered position as shown in Figures 3 and 8, it is necessary to engage the mechanism by operating the manual lever 4 (which is the only element of the mechanism to protrude of the housing) from its triggered position to its engaged position.
• the rotation of the manual lever 4 causes the connecting rod 6 to have its catching end 7 against a stop 39 formed by the convergence of the stop surfaces 15 and hooking 22.
• the hooking end 7 thus slides to and as the manual lever 4 is rotated, in the funnel formed by the stop 39 to assume a position where it is in direct contact with both the stop surface 15 and the gripping surface 22.
• a first component Fi is applied to the attachment surface 22 and a second component F 2 is applied to the surface stop 15. Whatever the equilibrium position reached by the attachment end when it is driven into the abutment 39, it will only be able to transmit a component Fi in a direction passing through the axis 17 of the engagement lever. 18, because of the circular shape centered on this axis 17 of the attachment surface 22. The other force directions will be transmitted by the component F2.
• the attachment end 7 thus exerts no torque tending to rotate the latching lever, only the axis 17 itself undergoes an effort.
• the jack 36 will move into the extended position (see FIG. 6), causing the triggering lever 30 to pivot and thus the auxiliary lever 26 pivoting.
• Figures 9 to 13 show a variant of the lock mechanism described.
• the mechanism according to this variant is in all respects identical to the previous except for the reset of the cylinder 36 which is not done by the mechanism spring 38 acting on a reset finger 37 but by a reset spring 40 specific.
• This visible in FIG. 9, which represents the mechanism seen on the other side, solicits an angular movement of separation between the end of the second branch 33 of the trip lever 30 and the intermediate lever 8.
• a stopper 41 is also provided to limit the stroke of the mechanism spring 38.
• Another variant not shown relates to the triggering which is performed by an auxiliary external to the mechanism and which acts directly in rotation on the auxiliary lever 26. cylinder 36 and the trip lever 30 can thus be removed. More generally, the invention is not limited to the interlocking and tripping mechanisms described herein.

Landscapes

• Mechanical Control Devices (AREA)
• Lock And Its Accessories (AREA)
• Driving Mechanisms And Operating Circuits Of Arc-Extinguishing High-Tension Switches (AREA)
• Agricultural Machines (AREA)
• Soil Working Implements (AREA)
• Rotary Switch, Piano Key Switch, And Lever Switch (AREA)
• Centrifugal Separators (AREA)
• Jib Cranes (AREA)

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Publications (1)

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Family Applications (1)

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Citations (3)

• 2003
  • 2003-07-24 FR FR0309065A patent/FR2858109B1/fr not_active Expired - Fee Related
• 2004
  • 2004-07-20 CN CNB2004800214236A patent/CN100470705C/zh not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2004-07-20 BR BRPI0412220-8A patent/BRPI0412220A/pt not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 2004-07-20 PL PL04767738T patent/PL1649478T3/pl unknown
  • 2004-07-20 EP EP04767738A patent/EP1649478B1/de active Active
  • 2004-07-20 AT AT04767738T patent/ATE349769T1/de active
  • 2004-07-20 ES ES04767738T patent/ES2279437T3/es active Active
  • 2004-07-20 RU RU2006105650/09A patent/RU2340030C2/ru active
  • 2004-07-20 WO PCT/FR2004/001920 patent/WO2005010909A1/fr active IP Right Grant
  • 2004-07-20 DE DE602004003949T patent/DE602004003949T2/de active Active
• 2006
  • 2006-01-20 CO CO06005327A patent/CO5670332A2/es not_active Application Discontinuation

Patent Citations (3)

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