EP0410235B1 - Electric switch gear - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to an electrical switching device with two contact points for a phase conductor and a neutral conductor, with a switching mechanism which can be actuated by means of a switching handle for opening and closing the contact points, and with a fuse element which can be screwed into a receiving space of the switching device and which, when screwed in and out, onto at least one contact point acts to actuate them.

A switching device of the type mentioned is known from the Dutch patent application 87 00 770 from April 1, 1987. Switching devices of this type are combined fuses and load switches, the fuses of which respond to a short circuit and which serve to interrupt the phase conductor and the neutral conductor by means of their own switching device. The fuse element is a commercially available fuse, which is housed in a cartridge housing that can be screwed into the switchgear. When screwing in, the securing element acts on a switching mechanism, whereby the contact points are closed; the contact points are opened when the fuse link is removed.

The object of the invention is to provide a switching device of the type mentioned, which is simplified compared to the known switching device.

This object is achieved in that the switching mechanism has a rotatably mounted double arm lever, the first arm of which is coupled to the switching handle and the second arm of which is connected to the contact points, the switching mechanism having a first stable position in which the contact points are closed and a second stable position in which the contact points are open, and that in the axis of rotation of the double arm lever a first and a second fork arm having a fork lever is mounted, the first fork arm is coupled to the securing element and the second fork arm is coupled to the switching mechanism, such that when unscrewing the securing element, the switching mechanism can be brought into or held in the second stable position.

A particularly advantageous embodiment of the invention can be that the switching handle is coupled to the first arm by means of a bracket and that the second fork arm projects with an extension into the movement path of the bracket, so that the bracket and thus the switching mechanism in the off position when the securing element is unscrewed is captured.

Preferably, the fork lever in the region of the connection point of the two fork arms has a bolt-like extension on which the double-arm lever is rotatably mounted.

In order to transmit the screwing-in or unscrewing movement of the securing element to the switching mechanism, in a preferred embodiment there is a control arm running transversely thereto in the area of the foot of the securing element, which acts on the first fork arm in such a way that when the securing element is screwed out, it acts in the second stable position of the switching mechanism holds and releases when the securing element is screwed in. The control arm is rotatably supported on one side at its end opposite the first fork arm, and moreover it has a bend at the end adjacent the fork arm, against which the fork arm comes to rest.

This embodiment of the switching mechanism ensures that the contact points cannot be switched on with certainty by the movable switching lever when the securing element is unscrewed.

The contact points preferably have movable contact pieces which can be moved transversely to the screwing-in direction of the securing element for opening and closing.

The contact bridges are accommodated in a contact housing which can be displaced transversely to the direction of insertion of the securing element, the second arm of the double-arm lever being coupled to this contact housing. This creates a mechanical connection between the switching mechanism and the contact points. The housing is coupled to the second arm of the double-arm lever by engaging in a recess in the contact housing.

For electrical insulation reasons, two associated contact points (double contact points) are arranged at different distances from the bottom of the switchgear housing according to claim 10. So that the contact housing is designed stepped in itself.

With the characterizing features of claim 11 it is achieved that securing elements, d. H. Fuse cartridges cannot be inserted into the switchgear in an impermissible manner. It is known that the base of a fuse cartridge is dimensioned according to the maximum permissible amperages; the opening is then adapted to this foot.

So that the areas that receive the securing element or the switching mechanism are separated from one another, the adapter is preferably equipped with a wall that effects the separation.

If, according to the characterizing features of claim 13, a post is attached to the fitting, which reaches through to the front front wall of the housing, then characteristics of the securing element can be applied to its end wall, so that the correct securing element is used and no attempt is made to make an inadmissible securing element introduce. The adapter can therefore be prefabricated in an advantageous manner and labeled and characterized for a permissible current, so that confusion can be avoided.

To improve the actuation of the securing element, a cap is preferably provided which, according to the characterizing features of claim 14, sets the securing element in a linear movement when it is rotated. This simplifies screwing and unscrewing the securing element.

Further preferred configurations and improvements of the invention can be found in the subclaims.

The invention and further advantageous refinements and improvements and further advantages of the invention are to be explained and described in more detail with reference to the drawing, in which an exemplary embodiment of the invention is shown.

Figur 1

eine Querschnittsansicht durch einen erfindungsgemäßen Schalter,

Figur 2

eine Aufsicht auf das Schaltgerät gemäß Figur 1,

Figur 3

eine Querschnittsansicht gemäß Schnittlinie III-III der Figur 1,

Figur 4

eine Schnittansicht gemäß der Schnittlinie IV-IV der Figur 1 und

Figur 5

eine Schnittansicht gemäß Schnittlinie V-V der Figur 3.

Show it:

Figure 1

2 shows a cross-sectional view through a switch according to the invention,

Figure 2

2 shows a top view of the switching device according to FIG. 1,

Figure 3

2 shows a cross-sectional view along section line III-III of FIG. 1,

Figure 4

a sectional view along the section line IV-IV of Figure 1 and

Figure 5

3 shows a sectional view according to section line VV of FIG. 3.

Reference is made to FIG. 1. A switching device 10 is accommodated in a housing 11, which is composed of a lower housing part 12 and an upper housing part 13. Both housing parts 12 and 13 together form the housing 11 with a T-shape, of which the crossbar 14 of the T-shape contains the parting line 15 between the two housing parts 12 and 13. The longitudinal web 16 of the T-shape, which can be found in the upper housing part 13, has an upwardly open recess 17 into which a fuse cartridge 18 can be inserted is. The fuse cartridge 18 is a commercially available fuse cartridge with a cartridge base 19, which consists of electrically conductive material and has a specific diameter that is standardized in accordance with the amperages to be protected. The recess 17 is adapted to the fuse cartridge 18 and therefore has a circular cross section.

The recess 17 has on its free edge an inwardly projecting inner rim 20, the inner diameter of which is smaller than the inner diameter of the recess 17 in the remaining area in the longitudinal web 16, so that a radial, annular stop surface 21 is formed, against which the flanged outward Area 22 of a cylindrical guide element 23 for the fuse cartridge 18 comes to rest; on the flanged area 22 a connecting lug 24 is attached, which is bent back in the direction of the cylindrical guide element 23 parallel thereto and is connected to a connecting line 25 which is guided through the parting plane 15 to a connecting terminal 26 located in the crosspiece 14.

The edge 27 of the guide element 23 lying opposite the region 22 (also called flanging 22) is provided with a recess 28 which has a bevel 29 drawn in broken lines in FIG. 1, on which a pin 30 also shown in broken lines on the outer surface of a cylindrical, cup-shaped one Housing element 31 can slide, which housing element 31 is surrounded in the region of its cup base by a guide pot 32 with ears 33, 34, which serve as handles for rotating the guide pot 32 with the housing element 31 connected to it. The cup-shaped housing part 31 is in other words, inserted into the inside of the guide pot 32 with its cup bottom. The pin 30 sliding on the bevel 29 or pressed against it also serves for power transmission or contacting. The contact pressure is generated by means of a spring 66 (see below).

The guide element 23 (see also FIG. 3) is adjoined in the interior of the longitudinal web 16 by a fitting piece 35 which has a plate 36 with a fitting opening 37; the diameter of the fitting opening 37 corresponds to the diameter of the cartridge foot 19, with different fitting opening diameters being available for different cartridge foot diameters in order to achieve a distinctive character, so that it is prevented that fuse cartridges 18 for impermissible current strengths can be used in an impermissible manner in the switching device. The fitting piece 35 has, at four opposite corners, perpendicular posts 38 and 39, only these two posts being visible in FIG. 3; of the other posts only the post 40 can be seen in FIG. Between the posts formed thereon perpendicular to the plate 36 there are transverse walls 41, which also correspond to perpendicular transverse walls 42 which are also formed perpendicularly thereto on the opposite side of the plate 36. On the upper housing part 13, aligned in the direction of the longitudinal web 16, there is a lateral extension 43 which has an opening 44 in which a shift lever 45 is rotatably mounted. The axis of rotation is designated 46. One of the posts can be designed to reach through to the front wall; the end face of this post is then suitable for carrying a label (max. permissible current, etc.) that is adapted to the corresponding adapter.

The shift lever 45 has two lever arms, of which a lever arm 47 protrudes as a shift handle from the top of the side extension 43. The opening 44 has the movement of the control handle 47 stop surfaces 48 and 49, the angle of which is adapted to the vertical to the end positions of the control handle 47. The other lever arm 50, the shift lever 45, which is located on the side of the axis of rotation 46 opposite the lever arm 47 and projects from it, has at its free end a bore 51 into which the one leg 52 of a U-shaped bow 53 engages from wire. The longitudinal axis of the lever arm 47, which runs through the center of the axis of rotation 46, forms an acute angle of α = approximately 10 ° with the connecting line of the center of the axis of rotation 46 and the bore 51. The angle is counted starting from the center line of the longitudinal extension of the lever arm 47 in the position shown in FIG. 4 in a clockwise direction, as a result of which an over-center position is formed in the switch-on position (see further below).

The other leg 54 of the bracket 53 is connected to the free end of an arm 55 of a double arm lever 56, the two arms forming an obtuse angle with one another.

The double arm lever 56 is rotatably mounted on a shaft which is guided in a bore 59 in the housing and on which two fork arms 60 and 61 are formed, which are arranged in a fork-like manner and lie parallel to one another and perpendicular to the axis of rotation, with the transverse wall between the fork arms 60 and 61 42 engages so that there is a fork arm where the foot 19 of the fuse cartridge 18 passes through the plate, whereas the another fork arm 61 is arranged outside the transverse wall 42. The fork arm 60 has at its free end a cylindrical extension 62 which extends transversely to the longitudinal extension of the fork arm, so that an L-shape is thereby formed; This extension 62 is located in the range of movement of the bracket 53, so that when the switching lever 45 is rotated about the axis 46, the bracket 53 comes to rest against the outer surface of the extension 62 and the two fork arms 60 and 61 are thus rotated with their shaft 58.

The fork arm 61 has a nose 63 which cooperates with a bend 64 of a contact plate 65 which covers the opening 37, as will be explained in more detail below. The contact plate 65 rests under the pressure of a spring 66 against a projection 67 on the plate 36, so that the inclined position shown in FIG. 3 is taken up by the plate 65.

The arm 57 engages in a recess, not shown, in a contact housing 68. The bottom surface of the lower housing part 12 is stepped transversely to the connecting line of the terminals 26, 69, so that two double contact points 70 and 71 are formed, which are arranged at different heights in relation to the fastening level of the switching device. Within the double contact points and 71 there are two fixed contact pieces 72a and 72b as well as 73a and 73b; the fixed contact pieces 72a and 72b are each fastened to a rail 74a and 74b, which are connected to the associated connecting terminals 69 and 26, respectively. Also connected to the fixed contact piece 73a is a rail 75a, which is connected to a connecting terminal 69a lying next to the connecting terminal 69. The fixed contact piece 73b is fastened to a rail 75b to which a strand 75c is connected, the other end of which connects to the plate 65.

The fixed contact pieces 72a, 72b; 73a, 73b can be bridged by means of a contact bridge 76 and 77 running parallel to the contact rails 74 and 75 and having movable contact pieces 78a, 78b and 79a, 79b. The contact pressure is produced by means of contact pressure springs 80 and 81, which are only shown in broken lines. The contact housing 68 is adapted to the contact areas 70 and 71, so that the contact housing 68 is also stepped. The contact pressure springs 80 and 81 are guided in the contact housing 68, and the contact housing 68 together with the contact bridges 76 and 77 can be moved transversely to the connecting plane of the two terminals 26 and 69 or connecting terminals 26 and 69. The height of the contact areas 70 and 71 depends on the width of the contact rails 72 and 73.

The contact rails 72 and 73 run, as can be seen from FIG. 1, parallel to the connecting line of the two connecting terminals 26 and 69.

The switching device works as follows:

Figures 1, 3 and 4 show the switching device in the switched-off state, that is to say in the state when the fuse cartridge 18 has been removed. The contact areas or contact points 70 and 71 are switched off and the contact plate 65 is in the position shown in solid lines in FIG. 3, in which it rotates around the projection 67 or rests there rotatably against the underside of the plate 65. The bevel 64 bears against the nose 63 of the lever 61, and if the switch toggle is to be pivoted from the position shown in FIG. 4, that is to say the switch-off position, to the switch-on position, then this should occur due to the movement of the contact point 53 and the movement of the projection 62 caused thereby, the nose in FIG. 3 continues to turn clockwise, but this is prevented by the bend 64, so that the switch-on position cannot be reached. When the fuse cartridge 18 is inserted by means of the two ears 33 and 34 and the housing 31, 32, the pin 30 rotates and slides on the inclined surface 29, whereby the cartridge 18 is moved downward in the direction of arrow P. As a result, the contact plate 65 pivots around the projection 67 (see FIG. 3) also clockwise (in the view according to FIG. 3), as a result of which the lug 63 is released from the bend (see the position of the contact plate 65 in the lug shown in dashed lines in FIG. 3) ; this allows the bracket 53 to pivot the arm 61 further clockwise (see FIG. 3), arrow direction U, as a result of which the switch-on position of the contact regions 70 and 71 can be achieved. When the cartridge is removed, the contact plate moves from the position shown in broken lines in FIG. 3 to the position shown in solid lines, with the bevel 64 pivoting the nose and thus the lever 61 counterclockwise, as a result of the pressure force of the spring 66 over the Projection 62 of the bracket 53 is taken and so the switch toggle 45 is pivoted into the switch-off position shown in FIG. 4, the contact housing being pivoted to the switch-off position, ie into the position shown in FIG.

The switch-on position, in which the switching handle 47 is pivoted clockwise, the switching mechanism assumes a first stable position, which is influenced by the angle α; from this first stable position, the switching mechanism reaches the switch-off position, a dead center position being overcome, after which the position shown in FIG. 4 is reached in a snap.

The current path of phase P runs from the connecting terminal 79a via the rail 75a, the contact bridge 76 to the rail 75b and the strand 75c, to the plate 65 and this to the fuse 18. The current flows from there via the cup 31 and the element 30 to the bend 24 and to the connecting line 25 to the terminal 26.

The current flow in the neutral conductor runs through the terminal 69 via the rail 74a and the contact bridge 75 to the rail 74b, which is connected to the connecting terminal 26.

Claims (18)

1. Switching device (10) having two contact points (79a, 69) for a phase conductor and an N-conductor, having an indexing mechanism which can be actuated for opening and closing the contact points (74, 75, 78, 79) by means of an operating handle (45), and having a fuse element (18) which can be inserted into a holding space of the switching device (10) and when inserted and taken out acts on at least one contact point (74, 75, 78, 79) for the actuation thereof, characterized in that the indexing mechanism has a pivotably mounted two-armed lever (56) whose first arm (55) is coupled to the operating handle (45) and whose second arm (57) is coupled to the contact points (74, 75; 79, 78), the indexing mechanism assuming a first stable position in which the contact points are closed and a second stable position in which the contact points are open, and in that there is pivotably mounted on the axis of rotation of the two-armed lever (56) a fork lever which has a first and a second fork arm (60, 61) and whose first fork arm (61) is coupled to the fuse element (18) and whose second fork arm (60) is coupled to the indexing mechanism in such a manner that when the fuse element is taken out the indexing mechanism may be brought into the second stable position or can be held therein.
2. Switching device according to Claim 1, characterized in that the operating handle is coupled to a first arm (55) of the two-armed lever (56) by means of a bow (53), and in that the second fork arm (60) projects into the movement path of the bow (53) with an extension (62) such that when the fuse element (18) is taken out, the bow and thus the indexing mechanism is held in the open position.
3. Switching device according to Claim 2, characterized in that in the region of their connecting point the fork arms have a bolt-like extension (58) on which the two-armed lever is mounted so that it can be pivoted to a limited extent.
4. Switching device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that in the region of the base (19) of the fuse element (18) and running transversely with respect to it, there is movably arranged a control arm (contact plate 65) which acts on the first fork arm (61) in such a manner that it holds the latter, when a fuse element (18) is taken out, in the second stable position of the indexing mechanism and releases it when the fuse element is inserted.
5. Switching device according to Claim 4, characterized in that the control arm (65) is pivotably mounted at its end opposite the first fork arm.
6. Switching device according to Claim 5, characterized in that the control arm has a chamfer (64) on the region adjacent to the first fork arm (61), against which the fork arm comes to rest.
7. Switching device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the contact points have movable contact pieces (79, 78) which for opening and closing can be moved transversely to the direction of insertion of the fuse element (18) and transversely to the connecting plane of mutually associated terminals.
8. Switching device according to Claim 7, characterized in that the contact points are double contact points whose fixed contact pieces are bridged by means of a respective contact bridge (76, 77) carrying the movable contact pieces (79, 78).
9. Switching device according to Claim 8, characterized in that the contact bridges (76, 77) are accommodated in a contact housing (68) which can be displaced transversely to the direction of insertion of the fuse element, and in that the second arm of the double-arm lever (56) is coupled to the contact housing.
10. Switching device according to Claim 9, characterized in that two respective associated contact points have different distances from the bottom of the housing.
11. Switching device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a fitting part (35) is inserted inside the housing (11) accommodating the switching device and has an opening (37) whose dimensions correspond to the dimensions of the base of the fuse element (18).
12. Switching device according to Claim 11, characterized in that a wall (42) is arranged on, and extending at right angles to, the surface, facing the bow, of the fitting part (35), which wall serves to separate the indexing mechanism from the region of the fuse element (18) and engages between the fork arms (60, 61).
13. Switching device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least one post (38) is provided on the surface, facing the fuse element, of the fitting part (35), which post reaches through up to the leading front wall of the housing (11) and to whose end wall characteristics of the fuse element are applied.
14. Switching device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the region of the fuse element (18) projecting from the housing is enclosed by a cap (31, 32) which has on its outer surface at least one pin (30) which interacts with an inclined plane (29) on the housing in such a manner that when the cap is turned the pin runs up against the inclined surface and the cap thus displaces the fuse element in the direction of its longitudinal axis.
15. Switching device according to Claim 14, characterized in that in the housing (11) a guide element (23) is provided on which the inclined plane (29) is arranged, in that the guide element (23) is connected to one of the terminals (26) of the switching device, and in that the guide element (23) the one part of a housing element consisting of conductive material engages around and guides.
16. Switching device according to Claim 15, characterized in that the housing element of electrically conductive material (31) is surrounded on its outside by a cap (32) of an electrically insulating material, on whose outer surface radially projecting lugs (33, 34) are integrally formed which serve to turn the cap and thus to displace the fuse element (18).
17. Switching device according to one of the preceding claims. characterized in that for holding the fuse element (18) an attachment (43) is provided to the side of the opening (17), in which attachment the operating lever (45) is pivotably mounted.
18. Switching device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the outer contour of the housing (11) has a T-shaped structure, and in that a junction plane (15) is provided in that lateral web of the T-shape, in which plane the housing (11) is subdivided into a lower housing part (12) and into an upper housing part (13).

Images