EP0295155B1 - Modular breaker with an auxiliary tripping block associated with a multipole breaker block - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a modular circuit breaker with auxiliary trip block, in particular differential or emission, capable of being coupled and coupled to a multipole circuit breaker block having a plurality of juxtaposed poles, each pole of said circuit breaker block comprising separable contacts and a first mechanism for actuating said contacts, controlled either manually by a first control handle with two stable opening and closing positions of the circuit breaker, or automatically by a main trip device cooperating with a trip bar in the event of overload or short-circuit circuit, said auxiliary trip unit containing an electromagnetic relay associated with a second control mechanism comprising a second reset lever for the trip unit and a first mechanical trip link capable of transmitting the trip order of the relay to the trip bar by engagement nt of a finger of the second mechanism in a hole in the insulating housing of the neighboring pole.

A differential circuit breaker with automatic reset of the trip unit is described in document FR-A- 2 437 692 of the applicant. The differential block is coupled to the circuit breaker block by the installer, who must ensure that the release finger of the release block is correctly engaged in the first mechanism of the neighboring pole, and that the handles allow the resetting to be reset. of the trigger block by actuation of the first mechanism. If these instructions are not followed, the differential trip unit is inoperative. The risk of a faulty coupling is possible in the event of mismatching of the handles, in particular when the installer attempts to couple a disarmed trip unit to an armed and closed circuit breaker unit.

There are also residual current circuit breakers with reset manual of the trip unit, for which a faulty coupling of the two units can render the assembly inoperative.

The object of the invention consists in making a perfect coupling of the circuit breaker block and the auxiliary trip block of a modular circuit breaker, independently of the armed or tripped state of the blocks.

The circuit breaker according to the invention is characterized in that a means of controlling the position of the first and second levers comprises a ramp arranged on the trip bar of the main trip device, and that the finger of the first mechanical link triggering the second mechanism is likely to come into engagement with said ramp to cause the forced tripping of the circuit breaker block in the event of a discrepancy between the levers, in particular during the association of a disarmed tripping block with a closed circuit breaker block, the movement of approaching the blocks being transformed into a pivoting movement of the trigger bar towards the triggered position.

In the event of a coupling error, the forced tripping of the circuit breaker block automatically returns the latter to a state allowing the association of the two blocks.

According to a development of the invention, the forced tripping of the circuit breaker block by the action of the finger on the ramp occurs before the handles of the first and second mechanisms are coupled thanks to a predetermined clearance which remains between said handles when the finger comes into contact. contact with the ramp.

The second mechanism is equipped with a second mechanical link for resetting the trip unit comprising a transmission lug capable of driving the reset handle to the armed position during manual actuation of the handle of the first mechanism to the closed position. of the circuit breaker block. This second mechanical link can be unidirectional or bidirectional.

The centering of the two blocks is ensured by positioning pins of the trigger block which can engage in guide holes of the adjacent pole. The length of the finger of the first mechanical trigger link is less than that of the positioning pins.

• la figure 1 montre une vue schématique en élévation du disjoncteur, lors de l'assemblage d'un bloc déclencheur déclenché à un bloc disjoncteur ouvert, la partie agrandie supérieure représentant la première liaison mécanique de déclenchement, et la partie agrandie inférieure montrant la deuxième liaison mécanique de réarmement;
• la figure 2 est une vue identique à celle de la figure 1, le bloc déclencheur étant armé, et le bloc disjoncteur ouvert;
• la figure 3 est une vue identique à celle de la figure 1, le bloc déclencheur étant armé, et le bloc disjoncteur fermé;
• la figure 4 est une vue identique à celle de la figure 1, le bloc déclencheur étant déclenché, et le bloc disjoncteur fermé;
• la figure 5 représente une vue partielle du premier mécanisme d'actionnement des contacts d'un pôle du bloc disjoncteur, le mécanisme se trouvant en position de fermeture;
• la figure 6 est une vue identique à celle de la figure 5, en position d'ouverture du pôle;
• la figure 7 est une vue partielle en coupe, à échelle agrandie de la zone d'accouplement des deux blocs;
• la figure 8 est une vue partielle de profil de la figure 7, au niveau de la première liaison mécanique de déclenchement;
• la figure 9 montre une vue schématique de la barre de déclenchement en position accolée et accouplée des blocs;
• la figure 10 représente une vue partielle schématique d'une variante de réalisation;

Other advantages and characteristics will emerge more clearly from the description which follows of two embodiments given by way of nonlimiting examples and represented in the appended drawings in which:

• FIG. 1 shows a schematic elevation view of the circuit breaker, when assembling a tripped trip unit with an open circuit breaker unit, the upper enlarged part representing the first mechanical tripping connection, and the lower enlarged part showing the second connection reset mechanism;
• Figure 2 is a view identical to that of Figure 1, the trip unit being armed, and the circuit breaker unit open;
• Figure 3 is a view identical to that of Figure 1, the trip unit being armed, and the circuit breaker unit closed;
• Figure 4 is a view identical to that of Figure 1, the trip unit being tripped, and the circuit breaker unit closed;
• FIG. 5 represents a partial view of the first mechanism for actuating the contacts of a pole of the circuit breaker block, the mechanism being in the closed position;
• Figure 6 is a view identical to that of Figure 5, in the pole open position;
• Figure 7 is a partial sectional view, on an enlarged scale the coupling area of the two blocks;
• Figure 8 is a partial profile view of Figure 7, at the first mechanical trigger connection;
• FIG. 9 shows a schematic view of the trigger bar in the coupled and coupled position of the blocks;
• Figure 10 shows a schematic partial view of an alternative embodiment;

In the figures, an auxiliary trip unit 12 of the differential or emission type is attached and coupled to a two-pole circuit breaker unit 10 to constitute a differential circuit breaker or a remote-controlled circuit breaker.

The circuit breaker block 10 is formed by the juxtaposition of two standard 14.16 poles each comprising a pair of connection terminals, a pair of separable 18.20 contacts (FIGS. 5 and 6) and a first actuation mechanism 22 controlled either manually by a control lever 24 with two stable positions for opening and closing the circuit breaker, or automatically by a main thermomagnetic trip device (not shown) actuating a common trip bar 26 in the event of an overload or short-circuit. The levers 24 of the two poles 14, 16 are mechanically linked together by a common bar 28. The mechanism 22 (Figures 5 and 6) of each pole 14,16 is of the type described in European patent application No. 86 402 267, and comprises a trigger lever 30 pivotally mounted on an axis 32 carried by a plate 34 capable of rotating around a pivot 36 when the circuit breaker opens and closes. A transmission link 38 is interposed between the lever 24 and an attachment (not shown) of the plate 34, said attachment being unlocked by the trigger lever 30 during a fault detected by the magnetothermal trigger. This tripping order can be transmitted to the pole next to the block circuit breaker 10 by a finger 44 (Figures 5 and 9), formed by an auxiliary needle connecting the extensions of the trigger levers 30 of the two poles. The opposite faces of the insulating housing 40 of each pole include a pair of aligned holes 42, intended to ensure the emission and reception of trip orders between the poles of the circuit breaker block 10 and the trip block 12. The emission at the level a pole is always exerted towards the left, while the reception comes from the right (figure 9).

The circuit breaker block 10 could of course include a juxtaposition of three protected poles, or of a phase pole with a neutral pole.

The auxiliary trip unit 12 contains an electromagnetic relay 45 associated with a second control mechanism 46 (see FIGS. 1 to 4). Relay 45 is supplied by a differential transformer or by a remote control, so as to issue a trip order to the neighboring circuit breaker block 10. The mechanism 46 of the trip unit 12 is connected to the circuit breaker unit 10 by a first mechanical trip link 48, shown in detail in the upper part of FIGS. 1 to 4 and by a second mechanical link 50 (see lower part) for resetting the relay 45 of the trigger block 12.

The first mechanical link 48 transmits the triggering order of the relay 45 to the trigger bar 26 by engagement of a finger 52 of the mechanism 46 in the orifice 42 located in the right face of the pole 16. The second mechanical link 50 of the mechanism 46 comprises a reset handle 54 fitted with a drive lug 56 cooperating with the handle 24 for controlling the pole 16. The drive of the handle 54 for resetting the trip unit 12 by the handle 24 of the circuit breaker unit 10 is unidirectional in the direction of closing the actuating mechanism 22. There is no positive connection between the levers 54,24 in the opposite direction of opening of the circuit breaker.

• durant la première phase de transmission de l'ordre de déclenchement du relais 45 par le doigt 52 à la barre 26, le disjoncteur s'ouvre et un levier d'armement (non représenté) du mécanisme 46 repousse automatiquement le relais 45 vers la position réarmée. La manette 54 se trouve par contre en position déclenchée, la deuxième liaison mécanique 50 étant inactive.
• durant la deuxième phase, la fermeture manuelle de la manette 24 du bloc disjoncteur 10 fait intervenir la deuxième liaison 50 qui entraîne positivement la manette 54 vers la position réarmée, et libère le relais 45 de la force de rappel du levier d'armement du mécanisme 46. Le bloc déclencheur 12 auxiliaire est alors prêt à envoyer un nouveau ordre de déclenchement au bloc disjoncteur 10.

The reset movement of the mechanism 46 after triggering by the auxiliary trigger block 12 takes place in two distinct phases:

• during the first phase of transmission of the triggering order of the relay 45 by the finger 52 to the bar 26, the circuit breaker opens and an arming lever (not shown) of the mechanism 46 automatically pushes the relay 45 towards the position rearmed. The lever 54 is on the other hand in the triggered position, the second mechanical connection 50 being inactive.
• during the second phase, manual closing of the handle 24 of the circuit breaker block 10 involves the second link 50 which positively drives the handle 54 to the reset position, and releases the relay 45 from the return force of the mechanism's arming lever 46. The auxiliary trip unit 12 is then ready to send a new trip order to the circuit breaker unit 10.

The lateral coupling of the two mechanical connections 48.50 of the auxiliary trip unit 12 on the circuit breaker unit 10 must be carried out without error. The housing 59 of the trip unit 12 for this purpose comprises positioning pins 60 capable of engaging in guide holes 61 formed in the housing 40 of the pole 16 (Figure 7). the pins 60 and the trigger finger 52 of the trigger block 12 protrude from the internal lateral face of the housing 59 extending parallel to each other, the finger 52 having a length less than that of the pins 60. During of the joining of the two blocks 10,12, the finger 52 of the first mechanical connection 48 crosses the orifice 42 on the right of the pole 16, and cooperates either with a shoulder 62, or with a ramp 64 of the trigger lever 30 according to the armed or triggered state of the mechanisms 22,46 for controlling the blocks 10,12. The shoulder 62 extends parallel to the trigger finger 52 and is located between the ramp 64 and a housing 66 blind lever 30.

• lorsque le bloc disjoncteur 10 est ouvert (manette 24 sur 0 aux figures 1 et 2), le levier de déclenchement 30 de chaque pôle 14,16 se trouve en position relevée (figure 6) correspondant à la position déclenchée de la barre de déclenchement 26. La pénétration du doigt 52 de déclenchement dans le pôle 16, et l'accouplement des manettes 54,24 par l'ergot 56 de la deuxième liaison mécanique 50 s'effectuent sans problèmes, indépendamment de la position déclenchée (0 sur figure 1) ou armée (I sur figure 2) de la manette 54 du bloc déclencheur 12 auxiliaire.
• lorsque le bloc disjoncteur 10 est fermé (manette 24 sur I aux figures 3 et 4), le levier de déclenchement 30 de chaque pôle 14,16 est en position abaissée (figure 5) correspondant à la position armée de la barre de déclenchement 26. Si la manette 54 du bloc déclencheur 12 se trouve elle-même en position armée (I sur figure 3), l'accolement des blocs 10,12 est rendu possible grâce à la pénétration du doigt 52 de déclenchement, et de l'accouplement des manettes 54,24. On remarque que la barrette 28 commune des manettes 24 du bloc disjoncteur 10 est placé en dessous de la manette 56 du bloc déclencheur 12 auxiliaire. Cette disposition est indispensable pour constituer la deuxième liaison mécanique 50 de réarmement. Si la manette 54 est positionnée dans la position déclenchée (0 sur figure 4), les manettes 54,24 se trouvent initialement en discordance. Le doigt 52 de déclenchement du bloc déclencheur 12 vient buter contre la rampe 64 (figures 7 et 8), et fait pivoter le levier 30 et la barre de déclenchement 26 vers la position déclenchée entraînant l'ouverture du bloc disjoncteur 10. Ce mouvement pivotant de déclenchement forcé résulte de la transformation du mouvement d'accolement par l'action du doigt 52 sur la rampe 64. Le déclenchement forcé intervient avant l'accouplement des manettes 24,54 grâce à un jeu J (figure 7) prédéterminé qui subsiste entre ces dernières lorsque le bout du doigt 52 vient en contact avec la rampe 64. Après déclenchement forcé, on se retrouve dans le cas du montage de la figure 1, et l'association des blocs 10,12 est possible. La manette 24 du bloc disjoncteur 10 est placée en dessous de la manette 54 du bloc déclencheur 12 pour établir la deuxième liaison mécanique 50. la fermeture des contacts du bloc disjoncteur 10 par déplacement manuel de la manette 24 vers la position I (figure 5) entraîne alors la manette 54 vers la position armée du bloc déclencheur 12 auxiliaire.

Different mounting cases can arise during the association of blocks 10,12 by the customer:

• when the circuit breaker block 10 is open (handle 24 on 0 in Figures 1 and 2), the trip lever 30 of each pole 14,16 is in the raised position (Figure 6) corresponding to the triggered position of the trip bar 26 The penetration of the trigger finger 52 into the pole 16, and the coupling of the levers 54, 24 by the lug 56 of the second mechanical connection 50 takes place without problems, independently of the triggered position (0 in FIG. 1). or armed (I in FIG. 2) of the lever 54 of the auxiliary trip unit 12.
• when the circuit breaker block 10 is closed (handle 24 on I in FIGS. 3 and 4), the tripping lever 30 of each pole 14, 16 is in the lowered position (FIG. 5) corresponding to the armed position of the tripping bar 26. If the handle 54 of the trigger block 12 is itself in the armed position (I in FIG. 3), the joining of the blocks 10, 12 is made possible by the penetration of the trigger finger 52, and the coupling of the shifters 54.24. It will be noted that the common bar 28 of the levers 24 of the circuit breaker block 10 is placed below the lever 56 of the auxiliary trip unit 12. This provision is essential to constitute the second mechanical connection 50 for rearming. If the handle 54 is positioned in the triggered position (0 in FIG. 4), the handles 54, 24 are initially in discrepancy. The trigger 52 trigger finger 12 abuts against the ramp 64 (Figures 7 and 8), and rotates the lever 30 and the trigger bar 26 to the tripped position causing the opening of the circuit breaker block 10. This pivoting movement of forced triggering results from the transformation of the joining movement by the action of finger 52 on the ramp 64. The forced triggering occurs before the coupling of the levers 24.54 thanks to a predetermined clearance J (FIG. 7) which remains between them when the tip of the finger 52 comes into contact with the ramp 64. After forced release, we find ourselves again in the case of the assembly of FIG. 1, and the association of blocks 10,12 is possible. The handle 24 of the circuit breaker unit 10 is placed below the handle 54 of the trip unit 12 to establish the second mechanical connection 50. the closure of the contacts of the circuit breaker unit 10 by manual movement of the handle 24 to position I (FIG. 5) then drives the handle 54 to the armed position of the auxiliary trigger unit 12.

The second mechanical connection 50 could of course be bidirectional by permanent assembly by means of the lug 56 of the two levers 24,54 for controlling the adjoining blocks 10,12. The mechanism 46 of the trip unit 12 would be modified, such that the reset movement of the relay 45 would be derived from the opening movement of the circuit breaker.

The second link 50 could also be completely eliminated, and the separate resetting of the auxiliary trip unit 12 would in this case be done manually by actuation of the lever 54 before the circuit breaker unit 10 closes.

In these two variants, the forced tripping of the circuit breaker block 10 by action of the finger 52 on the ramp 64 remains in the case of the client's association of a disarmed trip block 12 with an armed circuit breaker block 10.

FIG. 9 schematically shows the transmission of the tripping movement between the tripping block 12 and the poles 14, 16 of the circuit breaker block 10. The tripping bar 26 is modular and is constituted by the transverse interlocking of the fingers 52, 44 with the levers tripping 30 of the poles 16,14. The circuit breaker trip bar 26 is used for multipole trip, that is to say between the two poles 12,14, and when triggered by the auxiliary block 12. The splitting of the bar 26 makes it possible to obtain different movements in the two blocks 10,12. In the case of the multipole connection, the connecting finger 44 between the levers 30 of the two poles 14,16 penetrates completely into the blind housing 66 formed in the trigger lever 30 of the pole 14, and remains trapped there. The other end of the finger 44 is fixed in a hole in the lever 30 belonging to the pole 16. This bidirectional connection allows the transmission of the tripping movement in both directions, that is to say from the pole 14 towards the pole 16, and vice -versed. At the coupling with the auxiliary trigger block 12, the connection is unidirectional, because the finger 52 for triggering the mechanism 46 does not enter the housing 66 of the lever 30 belonging to the pole 16, but cooperates with the shoulder 62 in a single direction of rotation of the bar 26. The transmission of the triggering movement takes place only to the left, that is to say from the trigger block 12 to the pole 16, but not in the opposite direction. The tripping of the circuit breaker block 10 following an overload or a short circuit will not cause the tripping of the auxiliary block 12.

The engagement of the trigger finger 52, of the auxiliary block 12 in the neighboring pole 16 takes place directly without any intermediate connecting part, since the finger 52 is part of the first mechanical connection 48 integrated in the mechanism 46.

The variant of FIG. 10 does not provide for forced triggering in the event of discordance of the levers 24.54, but an automatic return of the lever 54 of the trigger block 12 by means of a ratchet 70. The latter is advantageously integrated in the lug 56 of the handle 54. When the circuit breaker block 10 is closed, and the trip block 12 is in the disarmed position, the joining of the two blocks 10,12 causes under the action of the pawl 70 a tilting movement of the lever 54 towards the armed position, that is to say facing lever 24.

Claims (8)

1. A modular circuit breaker with an auxiliary trip unit (12), notably a ground fault or shunt trip device, able to be adjoined and coupled to a multipole circuit breaker unit (10) having a plurality of juxtaposed poles, each pole of said circuit breaker unit (10) comprising separable contacts (18, 20) and a first actuating mechanism (22) of said contacts, controlled either manually by an operating handle (24) with two stable open and closed positions of the circuit breaker, or automatically by a main trip device cooperating with a trip bar (26) in the event of an overload or short-circuit, said auxiliary trip unit (12) housing an electromagnetic relay (45) associated with a second operating mechanism (46) comprising a second handle (54) for resetting the trip unit (12) and a first mechanical tripping link (48) capable of transmitting the tripping order from the relay (45) to the trip bar (26) by engagement of a finger (52) of the second mechanism (46) in an orifice (42) arranged in the insulating case (40) of the adjacent pole (16),
   characterized in that a control means of the first and second handle (24,54) comprises a ramp (64) arranged on the trip bar (26) of the main trip device, and that the finger (52) of the first mechanical tripping link (48) of the second mechanism (46) is capable of coming into engagement with said ramp (64) to bring about forced tripping of the circuit breaker unit (10) in the event of a disagreement between the handles (24,54), notably when a discharged trip unit (12) is associated with a closed circuit breaker unit (10), the movement of bringing the two units (10, 12) together being transformed into a pivoting movement of the trip bar (26) to the tripped position.
2. The modular circuit breaker according to claim 1, characterized in that forced tripping of the circuit breaker unit (10) by action of the finger (52) on the ramp (64) takes place before coupling of the handles (24, 54) of the first and second mechanisms (22, 46) due to a preset clearance J which remains between said handles when the finger (52) comes into contact with the ramp (64).
3. The modular circuit breaker according to claim 2, characterized in that the second mechanism (46) is equipped with a mechanical link (50) for resetting the trip unit (12), comprising a transmission pin (56) capable of driving the second resetting handle (54) to the set position when the first handle (24) of the first mechanism (22) is actuated manually to the closed position of the circuit breaker unit (10).
4. The modular circuit breaker according to claim 3, characterized in that the second mechanical link (50) for resetting the trip unit (12) is unidirectional by fixing of the transmission pin (56) to the second resetting handle (54), driving of the pin (56) by the first handle (24) of the first mechanism (22) taking place in the closing direction only.
5. The modular circuit breaker according to claim 3, characterized in that the second mechanical link (50) for resetting the trip unit (12) is bidirectional by direct coupling of the transmission pin (56) to the two handles (24, 54), the second mechanism (46) being arranged so that the resetting movement of the relay (45) of the trip unit (12) is derived from the opening movement of the first mechanism (22).
6. The modular circuit breaker according to one of the claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the trip unit (12) comprises positioning pins (60) designed to engage in guide holes (61) of the adjacent pole (16) to ensure centering of the two adjoined units (10, 12), the pins (60) and the finger (52) of the second mechanical tripping link (48) protruding out from the internal side face of the trip unit (12) extending parallel to one another.
7. The modular circuit breaker according to claim 6, characterized in that the length of the finger (52) of the first mechanical tripping link (48) is smaller than that of the positioning pins (60).
8. The modular circuit breaker according to one of the claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the ramp (64) actuating the trip bar (26) is located directly on the trip lever (30) of the first mechanism (22) belonging to the pole (16) adjacent to the trip unit (12).

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