DE102024105877A1 - Device unit and connection user system - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a connection user installation and a device unit with a selective main circuit breaker, an overvoltage protection device electrically connected to the main circuit breaker and a housing which comprises the main circuit breaker and the overvoltage protection device, wherein the device unit has a power supply set arranged on a rear side of the housing for connecting the main circuit breaker to an electrical busbar system, wherein the device unit has a single power supply set for connecting the main circuit breaker and the overvoltage protection device to the electrical busbar system.

Description

The invention relates to a device unit and a connection user system.

In general, every electrical connection system, also known as a connection user system, electrical system, or meter cabinet, must be equipped with a selective main line circuit breaker (also known as a SH switch, SLS, or HSS), which can be operated by non-professionals, locked, and sealed. Selective main line circuit breakers are primarily used to protect measuring devices and the system from overcurrent. Furthermore, selective main line circuit breakers also serve as a disconnecting device for the entire electrical system and as a disconnecting device in the event of a meter change. Selective main line circuit breakers are known in the art and can be integrated into electrical connection systems as electronic functional units.

To protect electrical systems from transient overvoltages, surge protection devices (SPDs) are known. These electronic functional units can be integrated into the main power supply of electrical systems. Surge protection devices are often retrofitted in electrical connection systems.

The aforementioned electronic functional units, also called individual devices, are typically located in the mains-side connection compartment of electrical connection systems. Thus, the state of the art includes electrical systems, particularly those in residential buildings, that feature selective main line circuit breakers and surge protection devices.

The installation of both a selective main line circuit breaker and a surge protection device involves significant material consumption and time expenditure, as the respective electronic functional units must be electrically connected to the main line terminals. For a four-pole connection, this results in an installation effort of four electrical line elements per electronic functional unit.

In addition, installing a selective main line circuit breaker and a surge protection device requires a significant amount of space in the grid-side connection compartment. If this space is not available, installing a new electrical connection system is necessary, which is associated with high costs and high resource consumption, as well as additional installation effort.

The WO 2021/1648905 A1 discloses a surge protection device for protecting a low-voltage supply system of a building against voltages. The surge protection device comprises a base body, on which an interface for coupling to a busbar system is provided, and a receiving area arranged on the base body for an electronic attachment. Furthermore, a surge protection assembly is disclosed, which has a surge protection device and an electronic attachment that is at least partially received in the receiving area of the base body and is electrically coupled and mechanically secured to the surge protection device via a contact tongue.

The DE 20 2018 006 111 U1 discloses a surge arrester assembly with pre-assembled and electrically interconnected surge arresters located in a common housing. The housing of the surge arrester assembly has a wide recess along a longitudinal extension section, forming a free space that can accommodate at least one electronic component functionally separate from the surge arrester assembly. The electronic components can be designed, for example, as a circuit breaker, a miniature circuit breaker, or an overcurrent protection device for control and communications technology.

At the WO 2021/1648905 A1 and the DE 20 2018 006 111 U1 The overcurrent protection device exclusively provides overload and short-circuit protection for the equipment supplied by the overvoltage protection device, including the connecting cables. Due to their design, such devices cannot be used as a disconnecting device or as overcurrent protection for a measuring device, consumer equipment, and/or connected user equipment.

The DE 20 2009 004 055 U1 discloses a surge arrester and an overcurrent protection device using fuses. The arrangement of the overcurrent protection device of the DE 20 2009 004 055 U1 does not meet the normative requirements regarding the ability to lock and seal and the usability by lay persons.

The known state of the art does not offer both the full functionality of a selective overcurrent protection device and an overvoltage protection device in one device.

The object of the invention is to improve the state of the art.

The object is achieved by a device unit with a selective main circuit breaker, a surge protection device electrically connected to the main circuit breaker and a housing which comprises the main circuit breaker and the surge protection device, wherein the device unit has a power supply set arranged on a rear side of the housing for connecting the main circuit breaker to an electrical busbar system, wherein the device unit has a single power supply set for connecting the main circuit breaker and the surge protection device to the electrical busbar system.

Advantageously, the device unit according to the invention provides both a selective main line circuit breaker and a surge protection device in a single device. The device unit advantageously realizes a space-saving arrangement of the selective main line circuit breaker and the surge protection device in a connection user system. This makes retrofitting possible.

The following terminology is explained:

A "device unit" is understood in particular to mean a combination device comprising at least two electronic functional units, also called electronic components. In this case, the two electrical functional elements are, in particular, a selective main circuit breaker and a surge protection device.

A "selective main circuit breaker," also known as a SH breaker, SLS, or HSS, is a circuit breaker that meets selectivity requirements for upstream and downstream overcurrent protection devices. A selective main circuit breaker trips with a time delay in the event of a short circuit, causing downstream overcurrent protection devices to trip before the selective main circuit breaker. However, a selective main circuit breaker directly limits the current in the event of a short circuit by interposing a current-limiting resistor.

Selective main circuit breakers are generally designed with at least one toggle switch. The toggle switch can, in particular, have an open and a closed functional position and is particularly designed to close and/or open a circuit assigned to a phase. In other words, the electrical system can be switched manually using the toggle switch without exposing live parts. Accordingly, such toggle switches of a selective main circuit breaker may also be operated by persons who are not qualified electricians. Thus, at least one phase-assigned toggle switch of a selective main circuit breaker enables layperson operation of the selective main circuit breaker. The at least one toggle switch can be sealed in a respective functional position.

In the DIN VDE 0641-21:2018-09; VDE 0641-21 Further requirements for selective main circuit breakers are described.

A “surge protection device”, also called SPD, is understood in particular to be an electronic functional unit for limiting overvoltages in electrical cables, signal lines and/or devices.

Overvoltages can be caused by direct or indirect lightning strikes, magnetic storms, electromagnetic pulses, electrostatic discharges and/or switching operations in the power grid and/or devices.

Type 1, Type 2, and Type 3 surge protection devices are known in particular. Type 1 surge protection devices provide basic protection in the building's power supply to divert lightning energy. Type 2 surge protection devices are typically located in distribution boards in buildings and, as intermediate protection, limit surges to less than 600 to 2,000 V. Type 3 surge protection devices are used primarily to protect sockets and/or connectors.

A "housing" is understood to mean, in particular, a solid casing. The housing comprises, in particular, the selective main circuit breaker and the surge protection device, in particular the electronic components of the aforementioned electronic functional units.

The housing can be made of plastic. A plastic housing advantageously offers personal protection because plastic is not very conductive.

On the rear side of the housing, a power supply unit is arranged, accessible from the outside. A "power supply unit" is defined in particular as an electronic connection unit for electrical connection. the device unit to a busbar system.

In one embodiment, the power supply set comprises five electronic terminals as an electronic terminal set, with three of the five electronic terminals being assigned to a respective power phase, a fourth terminal being assigned to a grounding conductor, and a fifth terminal being assigned to a neutral conductor. This advantageously creates a four-pole terminal set.

The electronic connections are advantageously spaced from one another in such a way that a phase-pure electrical supply to the electronic functional units enclosed by the housing is provided.

In one embodiment, the electronic terminals are spaced apart from each other in a vertical direction by at least 0.5 cm to 5 cm, with a spacing corresponding in particular to the spacing between adjacent rails of a busbar system. Additionally or supplementarily, the electronic terminals are spaced apart from each other horizontally.

A "busbar system" is understood to mean, in particular, a system comprising at least one electrical conductor, in particular four electrical conductors, which is arranged in particular in a connection user system. The respective conductor is in particular designed as a rail. A respective rail is connected in particular to a power phase of a voltage supply of an electrical supply network, to an earth connection, and/or to a neutral conductor. In one embodiment, a busbar system has five rails, with three of the five rails being assigned to a respective power phase, a fourth rail to an earth connection, and a fifth rail to a neutral conductor.

The busbar system is made primarily of copper. This advantageously ensures good electrical conductivity of the busbar system.

The busbar system in particular has rails spaced apart from one another, wherein a first rail and a second rail in particular have a distance of 0.5 cm to 10 cm, in particular 4 cm.

An essential idea of the invention is that a selective main circuit breaker and a surge protection device are connected to an electrical supply in an electrical connection system by means of a single power supply set.

In one embodiment, the power supply set comprises a first conductor, a second conductor, a third conductor, a fourth conductor, and/or a protective conductor, also called a PE conductor. The first conductor, the second conductor, the third conductor, the fourth conductor, and/or the protective conductor are designed as connectors with contact tabs. The contact tabs are made, in particular, of copper. This ensures good electrical conductivity of the power supply set.

In a further embodiment, the device unit additionally has a first toggle switch, which closes the first conductor in a first functional position and opens it in a second functional position, a second toggle switch, which closes the second conductor in a first functional position and opens it in a second functional position, and/or a third toggle switch, which closes the third conductor in a first functional position and opens it in a second functional position. The first toggle switch, the second toggle switch, and/or the third toggle switch are in particular assigned to the selective main circuit breaker of the device unit. The first toggle switch, the second toggle switch, and/or the third toggle switch are in particular arranged on a front side of the housing of the device unit. The toggle switches advantageously enable the selective main circuit breaker to be operated by laypersons. Further advantageously, the first toggle switch, the second toggle switch, and/or the toggle switch can be sealed.

In a further embodiment, the housing of the device unit has a height of 10 cm to 30 cm, in particular 19 cm, and a width of 5 cm to 10 cm. The height and width of the housing correspond in particular to the available space in a standardized connection user system. Additionally or alternatively, the height and/or width of the housing of a device unit according to the invention corresponds to the arrangement of a busbar system in a standardized connection user system. This advantageously ensures good installation of the device unit in a connection user system.

Additionally or additionally, the housing may have a recess and/or a recess. The recess may be located at a corner of the housing and provide additionally optimized installation of the device unit in a standardized connection user system. Additionally or additionally, the recess may form a free space, which the housing can functionally accommodate additional separate electrical components.

In a further embodiment, the device unit can have at least one overcurrent-protected power supply connection secured by a fuse. The at least one overcurrent-protected power supply connection can be configured as a standard plug and/or by means of contact tongues for receiving and/or supplying electrical power to an external load. The at least one overcurrent-protected power supply connection advantageously provides a power supply to at least one electrical device in the APZ field of the meter cabinet. APZ is understood, in particular, to mean the meter location. This describes an interface between the line technology termination point and the meter cabinet.

The fuse of the at least one overcurrent-protected power supply connection can be replaceable. This advantageously allows for easy restoration of the functionality of the at least one overcurrent-protected power supply after a trip.

In a further aspect, the object is achieved by a connection user system with a busbar system arranged in a network-side connection space, to which a device unit according to the invention is connected.

The features of the last aspect correspond to the features of the first aspect of the invention, which is why reference is made to the above-mentioned features and advantages.

• 1 eine schematische Darstellung der Rückseite eines erfindungsgemäßen Kombigeräts,
• 2 eine schematische Darstellung eines erfindungsgemäßen Kombigeräts,
• 3 einen Schaltplan eines erfindungsgemäßen Kombigeräts nach 2,
• 4 eines erfindungsgemäßen Kombigeräts mit zwei überstromgeschützten Spannungsversorgungsanschlüssen,
• 5 einen Stromlaufplan eines erfindungsgemäßen Kombigeräts nach 4 und
• 6 eine Anschlussnutzeranlage mit einem erfindungsgemäßen Kombigerät.

The invention will be explained in more detail below using exemplary embodiments.

• 1 a schematic representation of the back of a combination device according to the invention,
• 2 a schematic representation of a combination device according to the invention,
• 3 a circuit diagram of a combination device according to the invention 2 ,
• 4 a combination device according to the invention with two overcurrent-protected power supply connections,
• 5 a circuit diagram of a combination device according to the invention 4 and
• 6 a connection user system with a combination device according to the invention.

A first combination device 101a has a first contact tongue 111 for connection to a neutral conductor (N) on a first rail of a busbar 143, a second contact tongue 113 for tapping the voltage of a first phase (L1) on a second rail of the busbar 143, a third contact tongue 115 for tapping the voltage of a second phase (L2) on a third rail of the busbar 143, a fourth contact tongue 117 for tapping the voltage of a third phase (L3) on a fourth rail of the busbar 143 and a fifth contact tongue 119 for an earth connection (PE) on a fifth rail of the busbar 143 on a rear side of the housing 109 of the first combination device 101a. The contact tongues 111, 113, 115, 117, 119 are vertically spaced 3 cm apart, corresponding to the spacing of the busbars of the busbar system 143, which is arranged in a connection user installation 145. In a second combination device 101b, the rear side of the second combination device 101b is designed in the same way as the rear side of the first combination device 101a.

The first contact blade 111 is electrically connected to the fifth contact blade 119 via a varistor 147 in the first combination device 101a and the second combination device 101b. Alternatively, the varistor 147 is designed as a radio link. During normal operation, the radio link or the varistor blocks current flow. After a predefined voltage is exceeded, the varistor becomes conductive, causing a short circuit between the first contact blade 111 and the fifth contact blade 119, and thus between the ground and the neutral conductor.

A first toggle switch 121, a second toggle switch 123, and a third toggle switch 125 are arranged on the front of the first combination device 101a and on the front of the second combination device 101b. The first toggle switch 121 is configured to open and close a circuit associated with the first phase, the second toggle switch 123 is configured to open and close a circuit associated with the second phase, and the third toggle switch 125 is configured to open and close a circuit associated with the third phase. The first toggle switch 121 associated with the first phase, the second toggle switch 123 associated with the second phase, and the third toggle switch 125 associated with the third phase together form the selective main line switch 103. Furthermore, the first combination device 101a and the second combination device 101b each have a display 149 that indicates a functional status of the combination device.

In both the first combination device 101a and the second combination device 101b, the second contact tongue 113, which is assigned to the first phase, is electrically connected to a first-phase overvoltage protection device 127, to the first toggle switch 121 and to a counter (not shown), the third contact tongue 115 assigned to the second phase is electrically connected to a second-phase overvoltage protection device 129, to the second toggle switch 123 and to the counter, and the fourth contact tongue 117 assigned to the third phase is electrically connected to the third toggle switch 125, to the third-phase overvoltage protection device 131 and to the counter.

The first phase overvoltage protection 127, the second phase overvoltage protection 129 and the third phase overvoltage protection 131 each together form the overvoltage protection device 107.

On the front of the second combination device 101b, in addition to the first toggle switch 121, the second toggle switch 123, and the third toggle switch 125, which together form the selective main line switch 103, an externally accessible first overcurrent-protected power supply (L) 137 and a second externally accessible overcurrent-protected power supply (N) 139 are arranged on the housing 109. Furthermore, an externally replaceable backup fuse 135 and a PE terminal 133 are arranged on the front of the housing 109 of the second combination device 101b. The housing 109 of the second combination device 101b has a recess 141 for optimized arrangement of the second combination device 101b in a connection user system 145.

The first overcurrent-protected power supply (L) 137 is electrically connected to the second contact tongue 113 via the backup fuse 135. The second overcurrent-protected power supply (N) 139 is electrically connected to the first contact tongue 111 and thus to the rail of the busbar system 143, which carries the neutral conductor (N).

A connection user system 145 has five busbars of a busbar system 143, wherein a first busbar is assigned to a neutral conductor (N), a second busbar of the busbar system 143 is assigned to a first phase, a third busbar of the busbar system 143 is assigned to a second phase, a fourth busbar of the busbar system 143 is assigned to a third phase, and a fifth busbar of the busbar system 143 is assigned to an earth connection in an electrically contacting manner.

The first combination device 101a and the second combination device 101b can be electrically connected to the busbars of the busbar system 143 of the connection user system 145 using the first contact tongue 111, the second contact tongue 113, the third contact tongue 115, the fourth contact tongue 117, and the fourth contact tongue 119. In addition to the electrical connection, the contact tongues 111, 113, 115, 117, and 119 advantageously provide a fixed positioning of the first combination device 101a or the second combination device 101b in the connection user system 145.

List of reference symbols

101a

first combination device

101b

second combination device

103

selective main line switch

107

Surge protection device

109

Housing

111

first contact tongue

113

second contact tongue

115

third contact tongue

117

fourth contact tongue

119

fifth contact tongue

121

first toggle switch

123

second toggle switch

125

third toggle switch

127

Surge protection first phase

129

Surge protection second phase

131

Surge protection third phase

133

PE terminal

135

Backup fuse

137

first overcurrent protected power supply (L)

139

second overcurrent protected power supply (N)

141

recess

143

Busbar system

145

Connection user system

147

Varistor

149

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QUOTES CONTAINED IN THE DESCRIPTION

This list of documents submitted by the applicant was generated automatically and is included solely for the convenience of the reader. This list is not part of the German patent or utility model application. The DPMA assumes no liability for any errors or omissions.

Cited patent literature

• WO 2021/1648905 A1 [0007, 0009]
• DE 20 2018 006 111 U1 [0008, 0009]
• DE 20 2009 004 055 U1 [0010]

Cited non-patent literature

• DIN VDE 0641-21:2018-09; VDE 0641-21 [0018]

Claims (10)

Device unit (101a, 101b) with a selective main circuit breaker (103), an overvoltage protection device (107) electrically connected to the main circuit breaker and a housing (109) which comprises the main circuit breaker (103) and the overvoltage protection device (107), wherein the device unit (101a, 101b) has a voltage supply set (111, 113, 115, 117, 119) arranged on a rear side of the housing (109) for connecting the main circuit breaker (103) to an electrical busbar system (143), characterized in that the device unit (101a, 101b) has a single voltage supply set (111, 113, 115, 117, 119) for connecting the main circuit breaker (103) and the Overvoltage protection device (107) to the electrical busbar system (143). Device unit (101a, 101b) according to the preceding claim, wherein the power supply set (111, 113, 115, 117, 119) comprises a first conductor (111), a second conductor (113), a third conductor (115), a fourth conductor (117) and/or a protective conductor (119). Device unit (101a, 101b) according to the preceding claim, further comprising a first toggle switch (121) which closes the first conductor (113) in a first functional position and opens it in a second functional position, a second toggle switch (123) which closes the second conductor (115) in a first functional position and opens it in a second functional position and/or a third toggle switch (125) which closes the third conductor (117) in a first functional position and opens it in a second functional position. Device unit (101a, 101b) according to the preceding claim, wherein the respective second functional position of the first toggle switch (121), the second toggle switch (123) and/or the third toggle switch (125) can be locked by means of a seal. Device unit (101a, 101b) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the power supply set (111, 113, 115, 117, 119) comprises copper. Device unit (101a, 101b) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the housing (109) has a height of 10 cm to 30 cm, in particular 19 cm and a width of 5 cm to 10 cm. Device unit (101a, 101b) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the housing (109) has a recess (141) corresponding to a predefined shape of the electrical busbar system. Device unit (101a, 101b) according to one of the preceding claims, further comprising at least one voltage supply connection (137, 139) protected against overcurrent by means of a fuse (135), to which at least one external consumer can be connected. Device unit (101a, 101b) according to the preceding claim, wherein the fuse (135) is replaceable. Connection user installation (145) with an electrical busbar system (143) arranged in a network-side connection compartment, to which a device unit (101a, 101b) according to one of the Claims 1 - 9 is connected.