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
  • H01H71/04—Means for indicating condition of the switching device

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a low voltage circuit breaker provided with a contact status indicator device.
• a circuit breaker is known, in particular a low voltage circuit breaker, positionable between a closed position, in which it creates an electrical and mechanical contact between movable contact elements and fixed contact elements, and an open position, wherein the electrical and mechanical contact between the movable and fixed contacts is inhibited.
• a circuit breaker of this kind normally comprises a positioning mechanism settable from the open position to the closed position through manual actuation means, such as a button or lever controllable by the user, and is settable from the closed position to the open position through the aforesaid manual actuation means or through safety means.
• manual actuation means such as a button or lever controllable by the user
• safety means are capable of detecting any faults that occur, such as short circuit, overload or ground fault, which have potentially catastrophic consequences for the system and the appliances connected thereto.
• the safety means thus act on the positioning mechanism, determining opening of the circuit breaker through release of the positioning mechanism, which in open conditions controlled by the safety means is normally disengaged from the manual actuation means.
• the manual actuation means can be positioned by the user in an open position and in a closed position also a possible trace of the circuit breaker status (open or closed).
• the safety means as illustrated above, normally act on the positioning mechanism of the contacts but not on the manual actuation means, the situation can occur in which, following detection of a fault by the safety means and consequent opening of the circuit breaker, the manual actuation means are still positioned in their closed position, i.e. in a position that does not correspond to the actual status of the contacts.
• a circuit breaker of the aforesaid type is known, also provided with a contact position indicator device, which indicates whether the contacts are effectively connected, regardless of the status of the manual actuation means.
• An indicator device of this kind is normally operatively associated with the positioning mechanism through mechanisms such as coupling systems, reducers and springs, which make the structure of the circuit breaker heavier and more complicated.
• the present invention proposes simplification of the structure of a contact position indicator device for a circuit breaker, in particular a low voltage circuit breaker.
• a circuit breaker in particular a low voltage circuit breaker, comprising a case containing at least one first fixed contact and at least one corresponding second movable contact, reciprocally engageable in a closed position and disengageable in an open position, said circuit breaker also comprising a mechanism for positioning of said electrical contacts between said closed position and said open position.
• the circuit breaker according to the present invention is characterized in that it comprises a contact status indicator device comprising: a first viewing portion, positionable in a manner visible from the outside of said case of said circuit breaker between a first position corresponding to said closed position and a second position corresponding to said second position, a second end portion, operatively associated with said positioning mechanism, and a third intermediate portion, comprising an elastically extensible and retractable shaped element which generates an elastic force and forces positioning of said viewing portion corresponding to a movement of said end portion.
• a movement of the positioning mechanism implies a movement of the end portion of the contact status indicator device, consequent deformation of said intermediate portion of the contact status indicator device and, finally, movement of the viewing portion visible from the outside of the circuit breaker case.
• Elastic deformation of the intermediate portion of the contact status indicator device thus makes it unnecessary to employ complicated mechanisms and consequently allows a simpler configuration of the circuit breaker, as well as facilitating production and assembly operations.
• the shaped element preferably assumes an essentially spring-like structure, capable of generating an elastic force.
• an elastically deformable shaped element is employed so that it is extensible and retractable between a rest position and a stretched position, each of said two positions corresponding to one of the positions assumed by the positioning mechanism, and thus to the effective status of the contacts, and to corresponding positions of the viewing portion of the contact status indicator device. Therefore, when the positioning mechanism performs a movement that forces the shaped element to move from the rest position to the stretched position, said shaped element is deformed and, like a spring, loaded, the viewing portion of the contact status indicator device being forced to move to the position corresponding to the stretched position of the serpentine. Instead, when the positioning mechanism performs a movement from the stretched position to the rest position the shaped element generates its elastic force which returns it to the rest position through a thrust that returns the viewing portion to the position corresponding to the rest position of the shaped element.
• the contact status indicator device is produced in one piece.
• the shaped element is contracted in rest position, and is open in stretched position, but it would also be possible for the shaped element to be open in rest position and contracted in stretched position.
• the second end portion of the contact status indicator device is hooked to the positioning mechanism, which, during passage from the closed position to the open position or vice versa, correspondingly moves said end portion between a distal position and a proximal position in relation to the viewing portion, or vice versa.
• the first viewing portion is preferably rotatingly pivoted to a fixed axis and is movable on the basis of the position assumed by the second end portion. Therefore, movement of the second end portion from the proximal position to the distal position causes extension of the third intermediate portion and rotation of the first viewing portion to a position corresponding to the distal position of the second end portion; vice versa, movement of the second end portion from the distal position to the proximal position causes a rotation of the first viewing portion to a position corresponding to proximal position of the second end portion.
• the second end portion describes an arc of circumference between the proximal position and the distal position, so as to stretch and extend the shaped element and rotate the first viewing portion.
• said shaped element of said third intermediate portion comprises a plurality of rectilinear sections connected by curved sections.
• the second end portion presents a cylindrical protrusion operatively associated with a cavity of a lever of the positioning mechanism;
• the shaped element of said third intermediate portion can advantageously comprise a first, a second, a third, a fourth and a fifth rectilinear section connected in succession by a first, second, third and fourth curved section, the first rectilinear section being rigidly constrained to said cylindrical protrusion, the fifth rectilinear section being rigidly constrained to said first viewing portion.
• the shaped element of said third intermediate portion has a substantially serpentine-shaped trend.
• the viewing portion comprises a first and a second sector of different colors, for example green and red, the position of which in relation to the case of the circuit breaker is associated with a respective position of the contacts (open/closed), with a respective position of the second end portion (proximal/distal), with a respective position of the third intermediate portion (rest/stretched).
• the first viewing portion faces an opening of the case of the circuit breaker which allows viewing of said first or second viewing sectors from the outside of said case.
• the contact status indicator device is obtained in plastic material, produced by molding with considerable simplification of the production process of the device and of the circuit breaker according to the invention.
• Figure 1 shows an interior and partial view of a circuit breaker according to the present invention in a first position thereof
• Figure 2 shows a view analogous to the view of Figure 1 but in a second position of the circuit breaker
• Figure 3 shows an embodiment of the contact status indicator device of Figure 1.
• the numeral 1 indicates as a whole a low voltage circuit breaker according to the present invention, for connection between electric contacts, not shows as they are of conventional type.
• the circuit breaker 1 comprising a case 12 made of plastic material, containing at least one first fixed contact and at least one corresponding second movable contact, reciprocally engageable in a closed position and disengageable in an open position.
• a positioning mechanism 2 for positioning of said electric contacts between said closed position, shown in Figure 2, and said open position, shown in Figure 1.
• the position of the positioning mechanism 2 is controlled by manual actuating means (not shown in the figures) set by a user, or, limited to the open position only, by safety means which act in the event of detection of a fault, opening the contacts.
• the positioning mechanism comprises, for example, a lever 21 pivoted in a fulcrum 22.
• manual actuation means is intended as means to control the circuit breaker settable by a user, thus including not only the manual means, such as levers, knobs and the like, but also mechanical or electromechanical means such as motorized control means controllable by users.
• the manual actuating means, the positioning means and the electric contacts can be of conventional type and therefore are not illustrated in detail.
• the circuit breaker 1 also comprises a contact status indicator device 3 capable of indicating to the user the position assumed by the electric contacts, independently from the positioning of the manual actuation means.
• Said contact status indicator device 3 is preferably formed by a single piece of plastic material structured so as to present a first viewing portion 4 and a second end portion 6 with a third intermediate portion 5 between them.
• the first viewing portion 4 is formed by a sleeve 41 presenting, internally, a coaxial cylindrical cavity 42.
• the first viewing portion 4 is preferably divided into two viewing sectors: a closed viewing sector 43, for example red in color, and an open viewing sector 44, for example green in color.
• the first viewing portion 4 is rotatingly pivoted to a fixed axis 8, housed in a cavity 42 of the case 12, and is facing a viewing opening 121 produced in said case 12. In this manner, rotation of the viewing portion 4 about the axis 8 causes a variation of the color, green or red, visible from the outside of the case 12 through the viewing opening 121.
• the second end portion 6 of the contact status indicator device 3 is preferably coupled to the positioning mechanism 2 in a point 9 suitable to describe, in movement, an arc of circumference, so that the second end portion 6 follows the movement thereof between a proximal position and a distal position in relation to the first viewing portion 4.
• the second end portion 6 presents, for example, a cylindrical protrusion 61 which is inserted in a cavity 91 which is part of the lever 21 of the positioning mechanism 2.
• the third intermediate portion 5 of the contact status indicator device 3 is connected in one piece both with the second end portion 6 and with the first viewing portion 4.
• the third intermediate portion 5 is capable of rotating the first viewing portion 4 on the basis of the position in which the second end portion 5 is located.
• the third intermediate portion 5 also undergoes elastic deformation, as can be seen by comparing Figures 1 and 2.
• the shaped element of said third intermediate portion 5 is thus preferably structured essentially as a spring, in order to generate an elastic force.
• the shaped element of said third intermediate portion 5 has a substantially serpentine-shaped trend 7, which is capable of acting as a spring.
• the serpentine 7 is formed by alternating rectilinear segments 71, 76 and 77 and curved segments 72a, 72b, 72c and 72d, and by a rectilinear segment 73 connecting the second end portion 6 and a rectilinear segment 74 for peripheral connection with the first viewing portion 4, and essentially extends in a parallelism of planes perpendicular to the rotation axis 8 of the first viewing portion 4 and to the movement of the second end portion 6.
• the shaped element of said third intermediate portion 5 and in particular the serpentine 7, is deformable between: a rest position ( Figures 1 and 3) corresponding to the open position of the contacts ( Figure 1), wherein the rectilinear segments 71, 76 and 77 are essentially reciprocally parallel and the curved segments 72a and 72b are essentially horseshoe-shaped, the curve 72c is an acute angle and the curve 72d is a right angle; a stretched position, corresponding to the closed position of the contacts ( Figure 2), wherein the rectilinear segments 71, 76 and 77 tend to lose the parallelism, the curve 72c tends to open to a right angle, the curve 72b tends to open and the curve 72d tends to close to an acute angle, all this being opposed by the elastic force of the serpentine 7, which exerts force to return to the rest position.
• the elastic action of the third intermediate portion 5 is such that, when it is in rest position, the first viewing portion 4 is positioned so as to view, on the outside of the opening 121 of the case 12, the open viewing section 44 and, vice versa, when the third intermediate portion 5 is in stretched position, the first viewing portion 4 is positioned so as to view, on the outside of the opening 121 of the case 12, the closed viewing sector 43.
• the circuit breaker In conditions with open electric contacts, the circuit breaker is in the situation of Figure 1. In this position, the positioning mechanism 2 allows the third intermediate portion 5 of the contact status indicator device 3 to be in rest position, with consequent viewing, on the outside of the opening 121, of the color green of the open viewing sector 44, associated with the open status of the contacts.
• the positioning mechanism 2 When the positioning mechanism 2 is returned to the open position ( Figure 1), through the user acting on the manual actuation means or through the safety means on the basis of detection of a fault, the second end portion 6 of the contact status indicator device 3 returns towards the first viewing portion 4, allowing a new deformation of the third intermediate portion 5, which exerts a force to return to rest position and to force repositioning of the first view portion 4 so that this latter shows the green contact open viewing sector 44 through the opening 121 of the case 12.
• the arc of circumference which describes the second end portion 6 of the contact status indicator device 3 is a trajectory with two components, which are, with reference to Figures 1 and 2: a vertical component which acts prevalently in extension/contraction of the serpentine 7; a horizontal component which acts prevalently tending to move the serpentine 7 to the left/right so as to tend to rotate the first viewing portion 4 clockwise/counterclockwise and take viewing to the red/green sector.
• the present embodiment is particularly reliable, as the deformations principally involve the third intermediate portion 5 and there are no excessive strains on the connections between the third intermediate portion 5 and the first viewing portion 4 or between the third intermediate portion 5 and the second end portion 6.
• the rectilinear segment 74 tends to rotate the first viewing portion 4 without being deformed, as there are preferential deformation areas produced between the curved sections 72a, 72b, 72c and 72d.
• An important advantage achieved by the present invention is due to the fact that the aforesaid contact status indicator device extends principally in the plane, which makes it easily insertable sandwiched between two different walls of the circuit breaker case. This advantage is strictly correlated to the fact of employing a serpentine spring rather than a helical spring, which would tend to require a larger volume.

Landscapes

• Breakers (AREA)
• Cookers (AREA)
• Keying Circuit Devices (AREA)
• Push-Button Switches (AREA)
• Rotary Switch, Piano Key Switch, And Lever Switch (AREA)
• Switch Cases, Indication, And Locking (AREA)

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Publications (1)

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• 2008
  • 2008-10-15 IT ITMI2008A001828A patent/IT1391250B1/it active
• 2009
  • 2009-09-28 RU RU2011119484/07A patent/RU2505880C2/ru active
  • 2009-09-28 CN CN200980141195.9A patent/CN102187419B/zh active Active
  • 2009-09-28 EP EP09736579A patent/EP2338158B1/en active Active
  • 2009-09-28 WO PCT/EP2009/062561 patent/WO2010043489A1/en active Application Filing
  • 2009-09-28 ES ES09736579T patent/ES2399791T3/es active Active

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