Gas insulated switching apparatus

Abstract: In a gas insulated switching apparatus, a pair of buses (6, 8) are made up of coaxial conductors or the like and disconnectors (lla, llb) are connected to one of the buses. The buses and the disconnectors are integrally configured in one gas section (3l) of a gas tube path and the size of the apparatus is further reduced.

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a gas insulated switching apparatus, or more in particular to a gas insulated switching apparatus with a metering outfit (combined voltage-current transformer) (hereinafter referred to as an "MOF") used for a power receiving system. A gas insulated switching apparatus for a power receiving system has an MOF for measuring the electric energy consumed. A gas insulated switching apparatus of this type is well-known as disclosed, for example, in Japanese Laid-Open Utility Model Publication No. 51-7615. Fig. 6 is a circuit diagram showing a gas insulated switching apparatus comprising a gas tube path having a plurality of gas sections filled with a high-insulation gas. This circuit is called a "two-line two-bank system" and is supplied with power from two systems of transmission lines 1a and 1b. The power transmission lines 1a and 1b are led into a gas insulated switching apparatus through bushings 2a and 2b, and are connected by a bus 6 through disconnectors 3a and 3b, circuit breakers 4a and 4b, and disconnectors 5a and 5b. The same gas section where the bus 6 is arranged, has also a bus 8, and the MOF 7 is connected between the buses 6 and 8. Further, the bus 8 is led out by bushings 13a and 13b through an insulating spacer 10, and disconnectors 11a and 11b and is connected to transformers 12a and 12b. Since the MOF 7 is a low impedance device, the potential difference between the buses 6 and 8 is approximately several volts. It is, therefore, possible to arrange the buses 6 and 8 in the same gas section. As a result, the switching apparatus has been reduced in size by using conductors of coaxial cylinders or semicircular cross-sectioned split conductors. Fig. 7 is an enlarged view showing the essential parts of the switching apparatus of Fig. 6. This diagram shows parts near the buses 6 and 8 and the disconnector 11a. A bus casing 15 sealed with an insulating gas has fixed on it a conductor 21 connected to the disconnector 5a of Fig. 6. This conductor 21 is connected electrically to an inner conductor 22 of coaxially cylindrical double conductors. The inner conductor 22 is electrically insulated from an outer conductor 23 with an insulating member 29 between the conductors 22 and 23, and is connected to an end of the disconnector 5b in Fig. 6. The ends of the outer conductor 23, on the other hand, are connected to the disconnectors 11a and 11b in Fig. 6. The MOF 7 is inserted between the conductors 22 and 23. The inner conductor 22 makes up the bus 6, and the outer conductor 23 the bus 8. The outer conductor 23 is electrically connected to a central conductor of an insulating spacer 16 through a collector 30 branching downward. This insulating spacer 16 defines a gas section 31 on the double conductors side and a gas section 27 on the disconnector side. A collector 24 on the needle (moving element) side of the disconnector 11a is fixed on the insulating spacer 16, and a stator 25 is fixed on an insulating spacer 17. The collector 24 and the stator 25 are connected by way of a needle 26. In the configuration of Fig. 7, as compared with that developed before, the double-conductor construction allows the buses 6 and 8 to be arranged in the same gas section 31, thereby reducing the size of the switching apparatus. The conventional apparatus, however, with the double conductors arranged between exclusive buses for a low impedance device, has its own limitation in size reduction. US-A-4 354 220 discloses a gas insulated switching apparatus comprising a disconnector for disconnecting only one bus. The object of the present invention is to provise a gas insulated switching apparatus having a switching construction further reduced in size. This object is met by the characterizing features of claim 1. Preferred embodiments of the invention are described in the dependent claims. The main advantage of the invention resides in the fact that any interference of the needle of the switching apparatus with the bus not being switched is avoided and the structure has a reduced size. The above and other objects, features and advantages will be made apparent by the detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a circuit diagram showing a gas-insulated switching apparatus having a plurality of gas sections according to a first embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 2 is a sectional view showing a configuration of the essential parts in a gas section in Fig. 1; Figs. 3, 4 and 5 are sectional views showing the essential parts in a gas section according to second, third and fourth embodiments of the present invention; Fig. 6 is a circuit diagram of a conventional gas insulated switching apparatus having a plurality of gas sections; and Fig. 7 is a sectional view showing a configuration of the essential parts in two gas sections in Fig. 6. DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Fig. 1 is a circuit diagram of a switching apparatus according to the present invention shown with a gas section. The same component parts as those of the conventional apparatus in Fig. 6 are designated in Fig. 1 by the same reference numerals respectively as in Fig. 6. The difference of this circuit from the conventional configuration lies in that, in the embodiment under consideration, disconnectors 11a and 11b are arranged in the same gas section of the buses 6 and 8 that are connected to a low impedance device like the MOF 7. The configuration of the MOF 7 in Fig. 1 is symmetric, and therefore the disconnector 11a and the buses 6 and 8 on the left side alone will be described with reference to Fig. 2. A casing 15 sealing an insulating gas is substantially cruciform. The part of the casing 15 that extends leftward contains a conductor 21 connected to the disconnector 5a in Fig. 1 and supported on the insulating spacer 9. The right part of the casing 15, on the other hand, has contained buses 6 and 8 connected to the disconnector 5b, while the lower part of the casing 15 is connected to a transformer 12a. The buses 6 and 8 are configured in coaxial cylinders of outer and inner conductors which are insulated electrically to each other by an insulating member 29 between the conductors. The outer conductor makes up the bus 8, and the inner conductor the bus 6. The bus 8 carries at its lower part a collector 24 for the disconnector 11a. A stator 25, which is arranged in opposed relations with the collector 24, is mounted on the insulating spacer 16 or a bushing. The collector 24 and the stator 25 are interconnected by a needle 26. The needle 26 is coupled to a link unit 27 through an insulating member 28. This link unit 27 is driven by a drive unit (not shown) to shift the needle 26 vertically to a closed or open position. As explained above, the needle 26 is normally connected electrically to the bus 8 through the collector 24 but not to the bus 6. In other words, the bus 6 making up the inner conductor has formed a through hole, a notch, a bent portion or the like through which the needle is passed, in a direction along the diameter perpendicular to the axis of the conductor, thus forming a gas space between the needle 26 and the inner conductor. The disconnector 11a is configured in this way in the same gas section as the buses 6 and 8. As a result, the collector 24 or the stator 25 is supported on the buses. Unlike in the prior art, it is not necessary to support the collector 24 and the stator 25 on the insulating spacers 16 and 17 respectively, thereby saving one gas sections and one insulating spacer. According to the present invention, the buses 6 and 8 and the disconnector 11a are constructed in the gas section 31 in Fig. 7, and therefore the casing making up a gas section required to accomodate the disconnector 11a in the prior art is eliminated, thereby further reducing the size of the whole apparatus. Second and third embodimets of the present invention are shown in Figs. 3 and 4, respectively. These embodiments are different from the first embodiment in a construction whereby the disconnector needle 26 is insulated from one bus and connected to the other bus. In the second embodiment shown in Fig. 3, a hollow or solid cylinder is divided into two upper and lower parts electrically insulated from each other with an insulating member 29 between the parts. The upper conductor makes up a bus 6, and the lower conductor constitutes the bus 8. A collector 24 of the disconnector 11a, which is mounted on the lower bus 8, is normally electrically connected with the needle 26. A through hole or the like through which the needle is passed is formed along the radius of the semicircular cross-sectioned conductors and in the direction perpendicular to the dividing plane. In the third embodiment shown in Fig. 4, in contrast, a conductor is divided into two parts, right and left, with an insulating member 29 interposed between the dividing planes for electrical insulation of the two divided conductor parts. The left conductor shown in Fig. 4 makes up the bus 6, and the right conductor in the same drawing the bus 8. A collector connected to the right bus 8 is supported on the bus 8 at the lower parts of the buses 6 and 8 in the manner shown. A through hole is formed between the buses faced to each other, and has a needle 26 adapted for vertical motion and insulated from the bus 6. This through hole is formed along the diameter of the semicircular cross-sectioned conductors and in a direction parallel to a dividing plane. As apparent from the aforementioned embodiments, the buses 6 and 8 may be constructed variously. They are configured by six conductors in one case, or by one phase in another. Further, as seen from the fourth embodiment shown in Fig. 5, the stator 25 of the disconnector 11a may be mounted on the buses 6 and 8. The needle 26 is adapted to perform the switching operation by a link unit 27 of a linear disconnector generally known. It will thus be understood from the forgoing description that according to the present invention, the collector or stator of a disconnector is mounted on one of a couple of buses connected with a low impedance device accomodated in a gas section, thereby making it possible to reduce the size of a gas insulated switching apparatus further.

Claims: A gas insulated switching apparatus for a power receiving system including a plurality of gas sections, which comprises: a gas tube path for containing a high insulation gas, a pair of buses (6, 8) arranged in a gas section of said gas tube path, one of said buses receiving power from a transmission line (1a, 1b) provided on said switching apparatus (4a, 4b), a metering outfit (7) connected in parallel to said pair of buses (6, 8) for metering the power consumed characterized in that a pair of disconnectors (11a, 11b) is arranged in the same gas section (31) as the gas section of said gas tube path, said disconnectors (11a, 11b) having a collector (24) electrically connected to and mounted directly on one of the two buses (6, 8), a stator (25) fixedly secured to a spacer (16) of said gas section or mounted directly on the buses (6) and (8) and electrically connected to a transformer line, and a needle (26) slidably provided within said collector (24) for interconnecting the collector (24) with the stator (25). A gas insulated switching apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said buses are made of coaxial conductors, and either one of the collector and stator is mounted on the outer coaxial conductor. A gas insulated switching apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the buses are arranged in proximity to each other separated by an insulating member (29). The switching apparatus of any of claims 1 to 3 wherein said pair of buses are made of coaxial conductors, and the collector is electrically connected to the outer side of the coaxial conductors, the stator is fixed on a spacer (16) of said gas section, and a hole through which the needle passes is formed along the diameter of the coaxial conductors in a direction perpendicular to the axis thereof. The switching apparatus of any of claims 1 to 3, wherein said pair of buses are made of two semicircular conductors (6, 8) obtained by dividing a solid cylindrical conductor into two parts and an insulating member (29) held between dividing planes of the semicircular conductors, said collector (24) is electrically connected to one of said semicircular conductors, said stator is fixedly secured to the spacer of said gas section, and a hole through which the needle passes is formed in a radius direction of the semicircular conductors and in a direction perpendicular to the dividing planes of said semicircular conductors. The switching apparatus of any of claims 1 to 3, wherein said pair of buses are made of two semicircular conductors (6, 8) obtained by dividing a solid cylindrical conductor into two parts and an insulating member (29) held between dividing planes of said semicircular conductors, said collector is electrically connected to one of the semicircular conductors, said stator is securely fixed to a spacer of said gas section, and a hole through which said needle is passed is formed in a diameter direction of said semicircular conductors and in a direction parallel to the dividing planes of said semicircular conductors. The switching apparatus of any of claims 1 to 3, wherein said pair of buses are configured of coaxial conductors, said stator is electrically connected to the outer side of said coaxial conductors, and said collector is securely fixed on a spacer (16) of said gas section.

Inventors: OISHI KAZUAKI, OKUMURA KIYOSHI, SAKURAI MASAHIRA, OISHI, KAZUAKI, OKUMURA, KIYOSHI, SAKURAI, MASAHIRA
Applicants: HITACHI LTD, HITACHI, LTD.
Application year: 1987
Main classification: H02B13
IPC codes: H02B13, H02B11, H02B5