A MULTI-POLE SWITCH COMPRISING A TRIPPING MODULE

Abstract: A multi-pole switch comprising a bottom portion (10) and a top portion (20) divided into a plurality of switch sections, i.e. one switch section per pole, whereby each switch section comprises a set of fixed and a set of movable contacts, and a section for mechanical actuation which causes a displacement of a bar member extending through all the sections and to which the movable contacts are secured. A tripping module (50) can be included in an opening (12) at the top of the section for mechanical actuation, said tripping module comprising a spring for storing of mechanical energy and means actuating an actuating means fixedly connected to the bar member. As a result, the energy stored in the spring can be substantially converted into a displacement of the bar member when the tripping module (50) is released by a signal from an excess current relay (60). The mechanical actuation is preferably included in a corresponding module (40) which is mounted in the switch through a corresponding opening (12) in the bottom of the section.

Description: Title: A multi-pole switch comprising a trip-ping module Technical Field The invention relates to a multi-pole power switch compris¬ ing a plurality of switch sections, i.e. one switch section per pole, whereby each switch section comprises a set of fixed and a set of movable contacts, said multi-pole power switch further comprising a section for mechanical actu¬ ation which causes a displacement of a bar member extending through all the sections and to which the movable contacts are secured, and whereby the section for mechanical actu¬ ation comprises a toggle mechanism with a toggle spring ensuring both a fast making and a fast breaking of the circuit irrespective of the manual operation when the dead point has been passed. Background Art Switches of the above type are inter alia known from the applicant's TJS-PS No. 4,695,691. Furthermore it is known to combine electric switches with tripping mechanisms, cf. for instance the US-PS Nos. 4,631,507, 3,145,281, 4,213,109, DE-PS No. 2,717,444, Swedish printed accepted application No. 448,412, EP-A Nos. 2,156,184 and 1,185,107, and the applicant's US-PS No. 4,808,777. Disclosure of Invention According to the invention a switch of the above type is provided, said switch being characterised in that a trip¬ ping module is included in the section for mechanical actuation, said tripping module comprising a spring for storing of mechanical energy and means actuating an actuat¬ ing means fixedly connected to the bar member, whereby the energy stored in the spring is substantially converted into a displacement of the bar member when the tripping module is activated, said tripping module further compris¬ ing spring releasing means and means activating said spring releasing means, where the activating means are activatable through a gate provided for this purpose in the tripping module. As a result, a particularly compact switch is ob¬ tained, where the switch includes the tripping function. The modular structure allows a delivery of switches with or without the tripping module according to the need of the customers. In addition, the modular structure presents great advantages with respect to storage and production because the same switch type can be used irrespective of whether the switch is to be delivered with or without the tripping module. The switch is preferably of the type where the mechanical actuation section comprises a toggle mechanism on a shaft tube which is rotatable by means of a square shaft with a handle, and which is characterised in that the shaft tube extends through the tripping module and is adapted to engage said tripping module. In this manner the tripping module can be actuated during the connecting of the switch in such a manner that the energy storing spring of the tripping module is compressed and consequently ensures a storing of energy which is sufficient for forcibly discon¬ necting the switch, if necessary. The switch is preferably of the type where the mechanic¬ al actuation section comprises a toggle mechanism with a movable toggle joint, said toggle joint being displaced along a circular arc during the switching-over movement of the switch, and where a toggle joint pivot is extended into engagement with the bar member. According to the invention means are provided for disengaging the toggle joint pivot and the bar member during a disconnection of the switch caused by the tripping module. As a result, the energy stored in the energy storing spring of the tripping module is only used for displacing the bar member and the contacts mounted on said bar member, whereas the toggle joint pivot, the toggle mechanism, the shaft tube, and the handle are not actuated or only actuated to a minor degree. According to a preferred embodiment according to the invention, the tripping module is included in a switch housing composed of two substantially identical halves, which presents great advantages with respect to production and storage. The switch is preferably characterised in that the actu¬ ation section of the switch housing is provided with an opening receiving the tripping module in a manner whereby the tripping module is mounted by being inserted over the shaft .tube, said shaft tube protruding through an opening provided for this purpose in the tripping module, whereby it is easy to insert a tripping module into a switch without such a tripping module. The actuation section of the switch housing is according to the invention preferably such that the mechanical actuation mechanism is included in an actuating module, which apart from the protruding shaft tube is of substan¬ tially the same dimensions as the tripping module and is mounted by inserting said actuating module into the bottom portion of the switch housing through the opening. Such a modular structure provides flexibility, i.e. the switch housing can be turned and always mounted in the best possible manner according to the local circumstances. According to the invention the tripping module is prefer¬ ably situated between two switch sections, which implies that the bar displacing force is applied close to the centre of the bar member, said centre being the most rational point of application because the ideal point of application of a translatory force actuation on a body is the centre of gravity of said body. Brief Description of Drawings The invention is described in greater detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings , in which Fig. 1 illustrates a switch mounted with an actuating mechanism, a tripping mechanism, and an excess current relay, Fig. 2 is an exploded view of the switch of Fig. 1, Fig. 3 illustrates the bottom portion of the switch, said portion including the actuating mechanism, Fig. 4 illustrates the portion of Fig. 3 provided with bar member and movable contacts, and Fig. 5 illustrates the top portion of the switch, said portion including the tripping module. Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention The switch of Figs. 1 to 5 comprises a switch housing with a bottom portion 10 and a top portion 20, said por¬ tions preferably being identical. The switch further comprises a bar member 30 which in the embodiment shown is formed as an almost rectangular plate with openings receiving the movable contacts 36, which only appear from Fig. 4, as well as a shaft tube 42, a square shaft 46 displaceable inside the shaft tube 42 into a suitable position in which it is locked, and a handle 48. With respect to its operational function the switch housing is divided into a switch section 21, an actuation section 22, a switch section 23, and the switch section 24 when seen from the left to the right of the drawing. Fig. 3 illustrates the switch chambers 31, 33, and 34 with their respective set of fixed contacts 41, 43, 44 and extinguishing metal plates 51, 53, 54. An actuating mechanism 40 with a shaft tube 42 constitutes the mechanic¬ al actuation 22 allowing by means of the square shaft 46 with the handle 48 a control of the position of the bar plate 30 and consequently of the movable contacts 36 in such a manner that the switch can be connected and discon- nected according to desire. The shaft tube is preferably a hollow, square tube and/or of a U-shaped profile of a cross section forming three of the sides of a square. The actuating mechanism 40 is built in a manner known per se as a toggle mechanism with a spring-loaded toggle joint. Fig. 3 only illustrates the extended toggle joint pivot 52 adapted to engage the bar plate 30 mounted thereabove. Fig. 4 illustrates the same bottom portion 10 with the bar plate 30 and roller contacts 36. An oblong hole 32 is provided for the shaft tube 42 in such a manner that the bar plate 30 with the roller contacts 36 can reci¬ procate therein during the disconnection and the connec¬ tion. A stop 37 projects from the bar plate 30 and into the tripping module 50 so as thereby to be actuated by the disconnecting means of the tripping module. These discon- necting means can be shaped in many ways. Fig. 5 illustrates the tripping module 50 included in the actuation section 22 of the top portion 20. Fig. 5 shows in addition that in principle all the switch chambers 31, 33, 34 can be identical both in the top portion and in the bottom portion. The device 60 shown in Figs. 1 and 2 may be an excess current relay transmitting a signal current to the tripping module 50 in case of an excess current. The switch operates in the following manner. Usual connec¬ tion is established by turning the handle 48 and conse¬ quently the shaft tube 42, whereby the toggle mechanism is compressed. The rotation of the shaft tube is trans- ferred through the toggle joint pivot 52 of the toggle mechanism to a translatory displacement of the bar plate 30 and the roller contacts 36 mounted thereon. During the connecting movement and preferably during the last portion of said movement the rotation of the shaft tube is utilized for compressing the energy storing spring of the tripping module. The latter procedure is possible because the shaft tube extends through the tripping module so as therein to engage means compressing the spring. As a result, the tripping module is always compressed and consequently capable of disconnecting the switch as soon as said switch is connected. A manual disconnection is carried out by turning the handle 48 and consequently the shaft tube 42 in the opposite di¬ rection compared to previously, whereby the toggle mecha- nism is compressed like previously and forces - when a dead point has been passed - the bar plate back into the discon¬ nected position. A disconnection caused by an excess current is actuated by the tripping module according to the following proce- dure. In response to an excess current a relay 60 trans¬ mits a signal to the tripping module 50. The signal actu¬ ates activating means in the tripping module so as to activate release means, which in turn release the energy storing spring. When released the energy storing spring pushes the bar plate 30 away from the connecting position and into the disconnected position. The toggle joint pivot engages the bar plate in such a manner that by means of a spring-loaded ratchet or inclined chamfered surface the bar plate can pass freely back to its disconnecting posi- tion, i.e. not engaging the toggle joint pivot 52

Claims: Claims : 1. A multi-pole power switch comprising a plurality of switch sections, i.e. one switch section per pole, whereby each switch section comprises a set of fixed and a set of movable contacts, said multi-pole power switch further comprising a section for mechanical actuation which causes a displacement of a bar member extending through all the sections and to which the movable contacts are secured, and whereby the section for mechanical actuation comprises a toggle mechanism with a toggle spring ensuring both a fast making and a fast breaking of the circuit irrespective of the manual operation when the dead point has been passed, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that a tripping module (50) is included in the section (22) for mechanical actuation, said tripping module comprising a spring for storing of mechanical energy and means actuating an actuat¬ ing means (37) fixedly connected to the bar member (30), whereby the energy stored in the spring is substantially converted into a displacement of the bar member (30) when the tripping module is activated, said tripping module further comprising spring releasing means and means ac¬ tivating said spring releasing means, where the activating means are activatable through a gate provided for this purpose in the tripping module. 2. A multi-pole switch as claimed in claim 1, where the mechanical actuation section comprises a toggle mechanism on a shaft tube which is rotatable by means of a square shaft with a handle, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that the shaft tube (42) extends through the tripping module (50) and is adapted to engage said tripping module (50) . 3. A multi-pole switch as claimed in claim 1 or 2 , where the mechanical actuation section comprises a toggle mecha¬ nism with a movable toggle joint, said toggle joint being displaced along a circular arc during the switching-over movement of the switch, and where a toggle joint pivot is extended into engagement with the bar member, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that means are provided for disengaging the toggle joint pivot (52) and the bar member (30) during a disconnection of the switch caused by the tripping module. 4. A multi-pole switch as claimed in claim 1, c h r¬ a c t e r i s e d in that the tripping module (50) is included in a switch housing composed of two substantially identical halves (10, 20). 5. A multi-pole switch as claimed in one or more of the claims 1 to 4, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that the actuation section (22) of the switch housing is provided with an opening (12) receiving the tripping module (50) in a manner whereby the tripping module is mounted by being inserted over the shaft tube (42), said shaft tube protrud¬ ing through an opening provided for this purpose in the tripping module. 6. A multi-pole switch as claimed in claim 4 or 5 , c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that the actuation section (22) of the switch housing is such that the mechanical actuation mechanism is included in an actuating module (40), which apart from the protruding shaft tube (42) is of substantially the same dimensions as the tripping module (50) and is mounted by inserting said actuating module (40) into the bottom portion (10) of the switch housing through the opening (12). 7. A multi-pole switch as claimed in one or more of the claims l to 6, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that the tripping module is situated between two switch sections.

Inventors: BOERGESEN EGON ENGELBRECHT, MAROT LAJOS K D, BOERGESEN, EGON, ENGELBRECHT, MAROT, LAJOS, K., D.
Applicants: KNUDSEN NORDISK ELECT, AKTIESELSKABET LAUR. KNUDSEN NORDISK ELEKTRICITETS
Application year: 1989
Main classification: H01H71
IPC codes: H01H71