CN1147895C - Auxiliary indication or tripping device with error-proof mechanism - Google Patents

Abstract

The auxiliary indicating or tripping device 10 includes a rotary actuator 20 with an actuation lug 26 extending through a first opening in the first side panel of the housing 16 for breaking the electrical circuit through a second opening 28 in the panel 12 Work together with the first female coupling of the device 14. According to the invention, the actuator 20 is provided with an access key 30 and the second opening 28 is provided as a catch allowing the entry of the key 30 only in the open state of the auxiliary device 10 . The drive lug 26 fits into the first female coupling 36 when the mechanism of the circuit breaker 14 is also in the ON state.

Description

Auxiliary indication or tripping device with poka-yoke mechanism

The present invention relates to an auxiliary indicating or tripping device housed within a housing having a first side panel and an opposite second side panel, said device being designed to be incorporated into a conjugate of a circuit breaker or other auxiliary device shape housing, and includes:

A rotary actuator with drive lugs passing through a first opening in the first side panel of the housing and designed to communicate with a second opening provided in the panel of the circuit breaker or said second side panel, respectively. work together with the first female coupling of the circuit breaker or the second female coupling of other auxiliary devices;

a trip pin protruding from the first side panel;

The mechanism used to hold the shells together when the states of the various structures coincide.

Auxiliary devices used in the prior art have visible protruding handles and their position relative to the circuit breaker can be easily observed visually. A different problem exists for assistive devices that do not have a distinct handle. In this case, the actuating member of this construction is integral with the housing and must be able to be connected to a circuit breaker or other auxiliary device. If the states of the various structures are not consistent, there is a risk of incorrect assembly when joints are performed blindly.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an auxiliary indicating or tripping device which can be reliably and state-consistently coupled to a circuit breaker or other auxiliary device.

The auxiliary device of the present invention is characterized in that the actuating member has an access key, and the second opening is configured as a lock, allowing the key to enter only in the open position of the actuating member, when the structure of the circuit breaker or adjacent auxiliary The drive lug engages in the first or second female coupling part when the structure of the device itself is in the same open state.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the catch is formed by a slot made at the end of the second curved opening. The key includes a stop designed to abut against an adjacent housing when the corresponding structure is not in the open state, to prevent engagement of the auxiliary device.

According to a characteristic of the invention, the first side panel of the housing has at least two clamping members formed by flexible locking plates for clamping into recesses of adjacent housings.

It has the advantage of including a poka-yoke mechanism to prevent insertion of the auxiliary indicating device between the auxiliary tripping device and the circuit breaker. The error-proof mechanism includes a first male centering part associated with the first male guide on the first side plate, and a first female centering part associated with the first female guide on the second side plate , the assembly is configured to connect at least two auxiliary indicating devices.

The error proof mechanism includes a second male centering piece associated with the second male guide on the first side plate, and a second female centering piece associated with the second female guide on the second side plate , the assembly is configured to enable the auxiliary indicating device to be coupled to the second side plate and prevented from being coupled to the opposite side of the first side plate of the auxiliary tripping device.

Other advantages and characteristics of the invention will become clearer from the following description of an embodiment of the invention shown as a non-limiting example and in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a circuit breaker and auxiliary device in a disconnected position prior to coupling;

Figure 2 is a detailed enlarged view of Figure 1;

3 is a schematic perspective view of the coupling state of the actuator of the auxiliary device and the pivotal support of the circuit breaker;

Figure 4 is a detailed enlarged view of Figure 3, showing the coupling when the states are consistent;

Fig. 5 is the same view as Fig. 4, showing the situation when the states are inconsistent;

Figure 6 shows a perspective view of the connection of two auxiliary indicating devices;

Fig. 7 is a vertical sectional view of Fig. 6;

Figure 8 and Figure 9 are detailed enlarged views of Figure 7;

Figure 10 shows a perspective view of the coupling of the auxiliary indicating device and the auxiliary tripping device;

Figure 11 is a vertical sectional view of Figure 10;

Figures 12 and 13 are detailed enlarged views of Figure 11;

Figure 14 shows a vertical sectional view of the auxiliary indicating device coupled with the circuit breaker;

15 and 16 are detailed enlarged views of FIG. 14 .

In FIGS. 1-5 , the auxiliary indicating or tripping device 10 is coupled to the side plate 12 of the circuit breaker 14 through the coupling of a mechanical trip lever and a handle drive lever. The auxiliary device 10 is housed in a housing 16 made of molded plastic, the housing 16 having a shape corresponding to the housing 18 of the circuit breaker 14 .

The auxiliary device 10 has no visible handle and comprises two switching circuits each having a movable contact working with two fixed contacts connecting a pair of connection terminals. The movable contact is driven by an operating mechanism of which only the actuator 20 in manual operation is shown in FIGS. 3 to 5 .

The actuator 20 of the auxiliary device 10 is formed by a rotating base 22 integrally formed inside the housing 16 and with limited angular movement between an open position and a closed position corresponding to the travel of the handle 24 of the circuit breaker 14 . The base 22 carries a drive lug 26 that protrudes from the housing 16 and faces a curved opening 28 in the side plate 12 of the circuit breaker 14 . The end of the drive lug 26 forms a key 30 and to the right of the opening 28 there is a slot 32 conjugate to the shape of the key 30 to form a latch (FIG. 2). The pivot bracket 34 of the handle 24 of the circuit breaker 14 includes a first female link 36 that moves along the opening 28 in the housing 18 . The male drive lug 26 of the actuator 20 engages into the first female coupling 36 to form a drive coupling between the auxiliary device 10 and the circuit breaker 14 .

The position of the slot 32 corresponds to the open position of the circuit breaker 14 and the key 30 fully enters the opening 28 only at the level of the slot 32 .

The first coupling state is achieved when the actuator 20 is placed in the open position of the auxiliary device 10 such that the key 30 faces the slot 32 . If the auxiliary device 10 is in another position (eg in the closed position), it is no longer possible to couple the auxiliary device 10 to the circuit breaker 14 after the end 33 of the key 30 has engaged the housing of the circuit breaker 14 .

Aligning the first female coupling 36 with the slot 32 of the opening 28 (this is only possible in the open position of the circuit breaker 14) achieves the second coupling state. When the circuit breaker 14 and the auxiliary device 10 are joined by the corresponding plates, the drive lug 26 then enters the first coupling piece 36 in the direction of arrow F1 to form a drive coupling. If the mechanism of the circuit breaker 14 is in the closed or tripped state, the key 30 enters the slot 32 of the catch but abuts against a stop formed by the edge 38 of the bracket 34 of the handle 24 preventing engagement with the first link 36 (Figure 5). This results in a lateral separation of the two housings 16, 18 of the circuit breaker 14 and the auxiliary indicating device 10, indicating to the assembler an operating error or a state inconsistency between the two components.

Coupling of two or more auxiliary indicating or tripping mechanisms 10 is accomplished using a mechanism similar to that used for circuit breaker 14 with the addition of a poka-yoke mechanism that prevents certain combinations. Opposite the drive lug 26 , the rotational base 22 of the actuator 20 of each auxiliary device 10 includes a second female coupling 40 ( FIGS. 3 to 5 ) similar in shape to the first coupling 36 of the circuit breaker 14 . The second coupling part 40 moves along the curved opening 42 ( FIG. 1 ) on the left side plate 44 of the housing 10 . The opening 42 has a slot 32 of the same shape as the opening 28 of the side plate 12 of the circuit breaker 40, and the slots are aligned in the direction of engagement of the two components. To realize the coupling of the two auxiliary devices 10, the same coupling elements are suitable for forming the drive coupling of the corresponding mechanisms of the two devices. Both mechanisms must be open at the same time for the key 30 of one assembly to engage the slot 32 of the adjacent catch and the second link of the other assembly.

Figures 6 to 9 show the coupling of two auxiliary devices 10A for on-off (OC) or fault signaling (FS), each housing having a width of 9 mm.

It can be seen that the drive lug 26, the trip pin 48, the pair of clamping members 50, 52, the first male centering member 54 and the first male guide member 56 project from the right side plate 46 of each auxiliary device 10A. . The drive lug 26 passes through an opening 58 that is identical in shape to and aligned with the opening 42 of the other side plate 44 , and the opening 58 is not provided with a latch. The trip pin 48 fits into the trip bar of an adjacent assembly to form a mechanical trip bar. Clamping members 50, 52 are formed by flexible locking tabs for clamping into recesses of adjacent housings. The first male central portion 54 comprises a tubular stem at the top of the housing 16, while the first male guide 56 with a semi-circular post is located at the bottom of the housing 16 near the mounting rail.

The opposite left side panel 44 of each auxiliary device 10A has, in addition to the opening 42 , a first female centering member 60 and a first female guide member 62 . The first female centering part 60 engages the tubular stem of the first male centering part 54 to obtain a multi-directional lock in the joining plane of the two housings. The first female guide 62 is provided with a U-shaped cutout at the bottom of the plate 44 , while allowing the male guide 56 a small tolerance in the direction of the cutout.

Figures 10 to 13 show the connection of the auxiliary tripping device 10B and the auxiliary indicating device 10A, the latter having a width of 18 mm. The auxiliary indicating device 10A must be located on the left side of the auxiliary tripping device 10B, and the latter can be constituted by an undervoltage releaser or a shunt releaser, which is used to transmit the tripping command to the circuit breaker 14 . The auxiliary indicating device 10A is the same as that described with reference to FIGS.

The right side plate 66 of the auxiliary trip device 10B includes the clamping members 50 , 52 , the trip pin 48 , the drive lug 26 passing through the opening 58 , the second male centering member 68 , and the second male guide member 70 . The second male guide 68 and the second female guide 70 are formed by cylinders protruding from the side plate 66 .

The left side 72 of the auxiliary trip device 10B is provided with a second female centering piece 74 and a second female guide 76 in addition to the opening 42 . If the auxiliary indicating device 10A is juxtaposed on the left side of the auxiliary tripping device 10B, the second female centering part 74 is placed in the same position as the first female centering part 60 and can accommodate the first male centering part 54 ( Figure 12).

Since the second male centering part 68 cannot fit into the first female centering part 60, the opposite situation, ie juxtaposition of the auxiliary indicating device 10A to the right, is not possible. The size of the second male guide 70 also prevents it from engaging into the first female guide 62 .

14 and 16 show the auxiliary indicating device 10A and the circuit breaker 14 coupled. The auxiliary indicating device 10A is the same as above, including first male and female centering members 54 , 60 and first male and female guide members 56 , 62 . The side plate 12 of the circuit breaker 14 has a third female centering member 78 and a third female guide member 80 .

The third female centering piece 78 can accommodate not only the first male centering piece 54 but also the second male centering piece 68 . The third female guide 80 is likewise capable of engaging either the first male guide 56 or the second male guide 70, and the coupling structure in FIG. 10 can be coupled to the plate 12 of the circuit breaker.

On the other hand, the auxiliary indicating device 10A must not be installed between the auxiliary tripping device 10B and the circuit breaker 14 .

Claims (10)

1. Auxiliary indication or trip gear (10,10A, 10B), cover in the housing (16) with first side plate (46,66) and relative second side plate (44,72), be used for housing (18, the 16) combination with circuit-breaker (14) or other servicing unit conjugation shape, comprise:

   Rotary-actuated (20), have and pass housing (16) first side plates (46,66) the driving lug (26) of last first opening (58), be used for plate (12) or described second side plate (44 that design passes through respectively circuit-breaker (14), 72) second opening (28 on, 42) work with first recessed connector (36) of circuit-breaker (14) or the second recessed connector (40) of another servicing unit

   Release pin (48) stretches out from first side plate (46,66),

   The mechanism that when the state consistency of each structure, housing is combined,

   It is characterized in that, actuated piece (20) has turnover key (30), described second opening (28,42) be arranged to snap close and turnover key (30) is only entered in the position that actuated piece (20) is opened, when circuit-breaker (14) or adjacent servicing unit (10,10A just can make driving lug (26) engage in the first or second recessed connector (36,40) when mechanism 10B) itself is in open mode.
2. 2. auxiliary indication as claimed in claim 1 or trip gear is characterized in that, snap close is formed by the groove of making in the end of second opening (28,42) (32).
3. 3. auxiliary indication as claimed in claim 1 or 2 or trip gear is characterized in that, turnover key (30) comprises end (33), when design is not in open mode against adjacent housings and in the mechanism of correspondence, and combination between the anti-locking apparatus.
4. 4. auxiliary indication as claimed in claim 1 or trip gear is characterized in that, first side plate of housing (16) comprises at least two clamping elements (50,52), is formed by elastic collet, is used to sandwich the recess of adjacent housings.
5. 5. auxiliary indication as claimed in claim 4 or trip gear is characterized in that, comprise error prevention device, are used to prevent that auxiliary indication unit from inserting between auxiliary tripping device (10A) and the circuit-breaker (14).
6. 6. auxiliary indication as claimed in claim 5 or trip gear, it is characterized in that, error prevention device comprises the first protruding centering piece (54) that connects with the first protruding guide member (56) on first side plate (46), the first recessed centering piece (60) that connects with the first recessed guide member (62) on second side plate (44), this assembly is arranged to make at least two auxiliary indication units to connect mutually.
7. 7. auxiliary indication as claimed in claim 5 or trip gear, it is characterized in that, error prevention device comprises the second protruding centering piece (68) that connects with the second protruding guide member (70) on first side plate (66), the second recessed centering piece (74) that connects with the second recessed guide member (76), this assembly are arranged to make auxiliary indication unit (10A) to be attached to second side plate (72) and are gone up and prevent to be connected on the opposition side of auxiliary tripping device (10B) first side plate (66).
8. 8. as claim 6 or 7 described auxiliary indication or trip gears, it is characterized in that, if auxiliary indication unit (10A) places auxiliary tripping device (10B) left side, the second recessed centering piece (74) can be contained in the first protruding centering piece (54), if auxiliary tripping device (10B) places auxiliary indication unit (10A) left side, then the second protruding centering piece (68) can not fit into the first recessed centering piece (60) on the contrary.
9. 9. auxiliary indication as claimed in claim 8 or trip gear is characterized in that, the second protruding guide member (70) is formed by the post of size greater than the first protruding guide member (56), and the second recessed guide member is by forming than the big recess of the first recessed guide member (62).
10. 10. as claim 6 or 7 described auxiliary indication or trip gears, it is characterized in that, the side plate (12) of circuit-breaker (14) has and is used for holding the first or second protruding centering piece (54,68) the 3rd recessed centering piece (78), and can cooperate the 3rd recessed guide member (80) of the first or second protruding guide member (70).

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