Puffer-type gas circuit breaker

Abstract: A puffer-type gas circuit breaker includes arc extinguishing gas filled in the interior of the gas circuit breaker; a fixed contact (1); a movable contact (2) disposed in opposed relation to the fixed contact (1) so as to come into contact therewith; a fixed piston (12); a drive shaft (11) slidably extending through the fixed piston (12), and driving the movable contact (2) toward and away from the fixed contact (1); a puffer cylinder (13) slidably fitted on the fixed piston (12), the puffer cylinder (13) cooperating with the fixed piston (12) to define a puffer chamber (7) within the puffer cylinder (13); an outer cylinder (15) mounted on an outer periphery of the puffer cylinder (13) to form a thermal puffer chamber (8) outside the puffer cylinder (13); a cover (19) covering an outer surface of the movable contact (2); a first insulating nozzle (5) surrounding the cover (19) to form a first gas flow passage (18a) for guiding the arc extinguishing gas from the puffer chamber (7) to an arc generating portion; and a second insulating nozzle (6) surrounding the first insulating nozzle (5) to form a second gas flow passage (18b) for guiding the arc extinguishing gas from the thermal puffer chamber (8) to the arc generating portion.

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates generally to a gas circuit breaker, and more particularly to a puffer-type gas circuit breaker having a puffer chamber and a thermal puffer chamber. There has been proposed a puffer-type gas circuit breaker which includes a puffer chamber for compressing an arc extinguishing gas for blow-out in connection with the interrupting operation, and a thermal puffer chamber for increasing the pressure of the arc extinguishing gas for blow-out by the energy of an arc produced when contacts are apart from each other. Such a puffer-type gas circuit breaker is disclosed, for example, in JP-A-2-12982 in view of which the first part of claim 1 is worded. This known circuit breaker is shown in Fig. 14. The puffer-type gas circuit breaker of Fig. 14 comprises a fixed contact 1, a movable contact 2 disposed in opposed relation to this fixed contact 1 so as to come into contact therewith, a drive shaft 11 for driving the movable contact 2 toward and away from the fixed contact 1, a fixed piston 12, a puffer cylinder 13 slidably fitted on the fixed piston 12, and first and second insulating nozzles 5 and 6 connected to the puffer cylinder 13 and surrounding the movable contact 2. The fixed piston 12, the drive shaft 11 and the puffer cylinder 13 cooperate with one another to define a puffer chamber 7 within the puffer cylinder 13. A second gas flow passage 18b is formed between the first and second insulating nozzles 5 and 6, and is in communication with a thermal puffer chamber 8. The thermal puffer chamber 8 is separated from the puffer chamber 7 by a partition member 25 provided inside the puffer cylinder 13. A first gas flow passage 18a is formed between the movable contact 2 and the first insulating nozzle 5 and also between the movable contact 2 and the partition member 25. The first gas flow passage 18a is in communication with the puffer chamber 7. When the drive shaft 11 is driven right in Fig. 14, the movable contact 2 is brought out of contact with the fixed contact 1, so that an arc 16 is produced between these two contacts. In connection with this rightward movement of the drive shaft 11, the arc extinguishing gas within the puffer chamber 7 is compressed into a high pressure. Also, the arc extinguishing gas within the thermal puffer chamber 8 is heated by the thermal energy of the arc 16, and therefore is brought into a high pressure. Then, the highly-pressurized arc extinguishing gas within the puffer chamber 7 is blown onto the arc 16 through the first gas flow passage 18a, and also the highly-pressurized arc extinguishing gas within the thermal puffer chamber 8 is blown onto the arc 16 through the second gas flow passage 18b, thereby effecting the arc extinguishing operation. If the above puffer-type gas circuit breaker is so designed that medium and small electric current can be mainly interrupted by the blowing of the arc extinguishing gas from the puffer chamber 7 and that large electric current can be mainly interrupted by the blowing of the arc extinguishing gas from the thermal puffer chamber 8, the circuit breaker can be of a compact construction. However, if the volume of the thermal puffer chamber 8 is increased in order to enhance the interrupting performance and particularly the large current-interrupting performance, the space of the puffer chamber 7 that can be utilized for the compression is naturally reduced as is clear from Fig. 14, and this lowers the pressure rising characteristics of the puffer chamber 7. The pressure rising characteristics can be maintained by increasing the volume of the puffer chamber 7. Namely, this can be achieved by increasing the diameter of the puffer cylinder 13. With such a construction, however, the pressure receiving area of the puffer cylinder 13 increases, which results in a drawback that the operating force for driving the drive shaft 11 is increased. EP-A-0 067 460 discloses a gas circuit breaker which exhibits a chamber with a number of the features included in the first part of claim 1 and wherein a thermal puffer chamber has an outer cylindrical wall outside the outer periphery of a puffer chamber. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a puffer-type gas circuit breaker which can enhance an electric current interrupting performance without lowering pressure rising characteristics of a puffer chamber. The object of the invention also includes providing a puffer-type gas circuit breaker in which a puffer chamber and a thermal puffer chamber can be set to respective desired volumes independently of each other, so that an electric current interrupting performance can be set arbitrarily. The object of the invention further includes providing a puffer-type gas circuit breaker in which an electric current interrupting performance can be enhanced without increasing an interruption operating force. This object is met by the puffer-type gas circuit breaker defined in claim 1. Preferably, the distance of the first gas flow passage in the direction of the axis of the fixed contact is smaller than the distance of the second gas flow passage in the direction of the axis of the fixed contact. The first and second insulating nozzles have their respective throat portions surrounding the fixed contact, and preferably the diameter of the throat portion of the first insulating nozzle is larger than the diameter of the throat portion of the second insulating nozzle. A small hole or holes communicating the puffer chamber with the thermal puffer chamber may be formed through a peripheral wall of the puffer cylinder. A cooling fin or fins may be provided within the thermal puffer chamber in the vicinity of the small holes. There may be provided a plurality of gas discharge passages which communicate the interior of the movable contact with the exterior of the outer cylinder, and a discharge guide may be provided at outlets of the gas discharge passages. The discharge guide closes the outlets until the throat portion of the second insulating nozzle comes out of the fixed contact. Preferably, the cover, the first insulating nozzle and the second insulating nozzle are integrally molded into a unitary construction. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a first embodiment of a puffer-type gas circuit breaker according to the present invention, showing a closed condition of the gas circuit breaker; Fig. 2 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the first embodiment, showing an intermediate stage of the interrupting operation; Fig. 3 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the first embodiment, showing a final stage of the interrupting operation; Fig. 4 is a graph showing pressure rising characteristics of the first embodiment and a conventional puffer-type gas circuit breaker; Figs. 5 and 6 are enlarged cross-sectional views of a main portion of the puffer-type gas circuit breaker of the invention, showing first and second insulating nozzles; Fig. 7 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a second embodiment of a puffer-type gas circuit breaker according to the invention, showing a closed condition of the gas circuit breaker; Fig.8 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a modification of the second embodiment; Fig. 9 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a third embodiment of a gas circuit breaker according to the invention, showing a closed condition of the gas circuit breaker; Fig. 10 is a cross-sectional view of first and second insulating nozzles; Fig. 11 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line XI-XI of Fig. 10; Fig. 12 is a view similar to Fig. 10, but showing modified first and second insulating nozzles; Fig. 13 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line XIII-XIII of Fig. 12; and Fig. 14 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a conventional puffer-type gas circuit breaker. DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A first embodiment of a puffer-type gas circuit breaker according to the present invention will now be described with reference to Figs. 1 to 4. An arc extinguishing gas is filled in the interior of the puffer-type gas circuit breaker. A movable contact 2 is disposed in opposed relation to a fixed contact 1 so as to come into contact therewith, and the movable contact 2 is carried by a drive shaft 11. A fixed piston 12 is provided on that side of the movable contact 2 facing away from the fixed contact 2. The drive shaft 11 slidably extends through the fixed piston 12. The drive shaft 11 is moved axially by an actuator (not shown) so as to drive the movable contact 2 toward and away from the fixed contact 1. A puffer cylinder 13 is slidably fitted on the fixed piston 12, and is connected to the drive shaft 11. The puffer cylinder 13 cooperate with the fixed piston 12 to form a puffer chamber 7 within the puffer cylinder 13. An outer cylinder 15 is mounted on the outer periphery of the puffer cylinder 13 to form a thermal puffer cylinder 8 around the outer periphery of the puffer cylinder 13. A cover 19 is provided on the outer surface of the movable contact 2 to cover the same, and a first insulating nozzle 5 is connected to the puffer cylinder 13 in surrounding relation to the cover 19. The first insulating nozzle forms a first gas flow passage 18a for guiding the arc extinguishing gas from the puffer chamber 7 to an arc generating portion. A second insulating nozzle 6 is connected to the outer cylinder 15 in surrounding relation to the first insulating nozzle 5. The second insulating nozzle 6 forms a second gas flow passage 18b for guiding the arc extinguishing gas from the thermal puffer chamber 8 to the arc generating portion. If necessary, a main fixed contact 3 may be provided around the fixed contact 1, in which case the outer cylinder 15 serves as a main movable contact which is brought into contact with the main fixed contact 3, thereby supplying main electricity. In the closed condition shown in Fig. 1, the puffer chamber 7 and the thermal puffer chamber 8 are in a non-compressed condition, and the arc extinguishing gas of a rated pressure is filled in these chambers 7 and 8. When the drive shaft 11 is driven right in the drawings by the actuator (not shown), the movable contact 2 is moved apart from the fixed contact 1, so that an arc 16 is produced between these two contacts (Fig. 2). When the drive shaft 11 thus moves, the puffer cylinder 13 also moves right together with the drive shaft 11, so that the arc extinguishing gas within the puffer chamber 7 is compressed into a high pressure. At the same time, the arc extinguishing gas around the arc 16 is heated by the thermal energy of the arc 16 produced between the fixed contact 1 and the movable contact 2, so that a stream toward the thermal puffer chamber 8 is produced, and as a result the pressure within the thermal puffer chamber 8 is risen to a high level. At this time, part of the heated arc extinguishing gas flows also into the puffer chamber 7; however, since the volume of the puffer chamber 7 is set to such a relatively small value as to effect the interruption of medium and small electric current, a reaction force acting on the actuator via the puffer cylinder 13 is small, and therefore any adverse influence will not occur. When the interrupting operation further proceeds to reach its final stage shown in Fig. 3, the fixed contact 1 is out of a throat portion of the second insulating nozzle 6. At this time, the arc extinguishing gas, risen to the high pressure in connection with the movement of the drive shaft 11 for parting the contacts from each other, is fed from the puffer chamber 7, and is blown onto the arc 16 through the first gas flow passage 18a. Also, the arc extinguishing gas, heated and risen to the high pressure by the thermal energy of the arc 16, is fed from the thermal puffer chamber 8, and is blown onto the arc 16. As a result, the arc extinguishing operation is carried out. The pressure rising characteristics of the arc extinguishing gas in the puffer chamber 7 and the thermal puffer chamber 8 at this time are shown in Fig. 4. The second gas flow passage 18b communicated with the thermal puffer chamber 8 is disposed closer to the fixed contact 1 than the first gas flow passage 18a communicated with the puffer chamber 7. Therefore, the timing at which the arc extinguishing gas within the second gas flow passage 18b is brought into contact with the arc 16 is later than the timing at which the arc extinguishing gas within the first gas flow passage 18a is brought into contact with the arc 16. As a result, the pressure 8P within the thermal puffer chamber 8 increases later than the pressure 7P within the puffer chamber 7 increases. However, with the lapse of time, the pressure within the thermal puffer chamber 8 becomes higher than the pressure within the puffer chamber 7, and reaches a level required for the electric current interruption at an electric current interrupting (breakage) point B. On the other hand, the pressure 7P within the puffer chamber 7 is increased in a pulsating manner by the compression operation of the puffer cylinder 13 and the thermal energy of the arc 16 to reach a required level. As can be seen from Fig. 4, this pressure increase is higher than that achieved by the conventional puffer-type gas circuit breaker shown in Fig. 14. The reason for this is that the space of the puffer chamber that can be utilized for the compression is not reduced even though the volume of the thermal puffer chamber is increased. As described above, in the puffer-type gas circuit breaker of the present invention, the puffer chamber 7 and the thermal puffer chamber 8 are provided independently of each other, and therefore the volumes of the puffer chamber 7 and the thermal puffer chamber 8 can be set arbitrarily. Namely, the electric current interrupting performance of the gas circuit breaker can be set arbitrarily. In addition, even if the volume of the thermal puffer chamber 8 is increased so as to deal with the large electric current interruption, the space of the puffer chamber 7 that can be utilized for the compression is not reduced, and therefore the electric current interrupting performance can be enhanced without lowering the pressure increasing characteristics of the puffer chamber 7. Further, since the volume of the puffer chamber 7 and particularly its pressure receiving area are not changed, the operating force for the interruption is not increased. Next, the first gas flow passage 18a for guiding the arc extinguishing gas from the puffer chamber 7 to the arc generating portion, as well as the second gas flow passage 18b for guiding the arc extinguishing gas from the thermal puffer chamber 8 to the arc generating portion, will now be described in detail with reference to Fig. 5. As shown in Fig. 5, preferably, the distance L1 of the first gas flow passage 18a in the direction of the axis of the fixed contact 1 should be smaller than the distance L2 of the second gas flow passage 18b in the direction of the axis of the fixed contact 1. When the arc extinguishing gas around the contacts is heated and pressurized by the arc 16, streams of the arc extinguishing gas directed toward the puffer chamber 7 and the thermal puffer chamber 8 are produced. The stream of the arc extinguishing gas directed toward the puffer chamber 7 can be reduced by making the distance L1 of the first gas flow passage 18a smaller than the distance L2 of the second gas flow passage 18b. Namely, the influence of the arc on the pressure of the puffer chamber 7 can be reduced, and therefore the influence on the operating force of the drive shaft can be reduced. As shown in Fig. 6, the first insulating nozzle 5 and the second insulating nozzle 6 have their respective throat portions 5a and 6a surrounding the fixed contact 1. If the diameter D1 of the throat portion 5a is larger than the diameter D2 of the throat portion 6a, the arc extinguishing gas heated and pressurized by the arc 16 flows also into the thermal puffer chamber 8 through the throat portion 5a of the first insulating nozzle 5 during a transient period from the time when the movable contact 2 moves apart from the fixed contact 2 to the time when the throat portion 5a moves out of the fixed contact 1. Therefore, even in this transient condition, the influence on the puffer chamber 7 can be reduced, and for this reason it is preferred that the diameter D1 of the throat portion 5a be larger than the diameter D2 of the throat portion 6a. A second embodiment of a puffer-type gas circuit breaker according to the present invention will now be described with reference to Fig. 7. In this second embodiment, small holes 17 are formed through a peripheral wall of a puffer cylinder 13, and a puffer chamber 7 and a thermal puffer chamber 8 are communicated with each other by the small holes 17. Except for this structure, the second embodiment is identical in construction to the first embodiment. In the above-mentioned transient condition, arc extinguishing gas around an arc 16 is heated and pressurized, and flows into a puffer chamber 7. On the other hand, a thermal puffer chamber 8 has not yet been heated and pressurized by the arc 16, and therefore is in a relatively low pressure condition. Therefore, the arc extinguishing gas, flowed into the puffer chamber 7, flows into the thermal puffer chamber 8 through the small holes 17. Therefore, in the transient condition, the influence of the arc on the puffer chamber 7 can be reduced, and the influence on the operating force of the drive shaft can be reduced. Fig. 8 shows a modification of the second embodiment. In this modification, cooling fins 21 are provided within the thermal puffer chamber 8, and are disposed adjacent to the small holes 17. The cooling fins 21 cool the arc extinguishing gas flowing into the thermal puffer chamber 8 through the small holes 17. When asymmetrical electric current caused by some accident is to be interrupted, the arc to be produced is of a high intensity. Therefore, the arc extinguishing gas around the arc is heated by the arc to a very high temperature, and flows into the thermal puffer chamber 8. The arc extinguishing gas of a very high temperature thus flowed into the thermal puffer chamber 8 are cooled by the cooling fins 21 to an appropriate temperature. This prevents the arc extinguishing gas within the thermal puffer chamber 8 from being decomposed by the high temperature, thereby preventing the arc extinguishing gas from being deprived of the extinguishing property. Fig. 9 shows a third embodiment of a puffer-type gas circuit breaker according to the present invention. In this third embodiment, a drive shaft 11 is almost solid, and there are provided a plurality of gas discharge passages 10 (only one of which is shown in Fig. 9) communicating a hollow portion of a movable contact 2 with the exterior of an outer cylinder 15. A discharge guide 20 is provided at outlets 14 of the gas discharge passages 10. The discharge guide 20 closes the outlets 14 when the circuit breaker in a closed condition, and opens the outlets 14 when a throat portion of a second insulating nozzle 6 comes out of a fixed contact 1. In the conventional puffer-type gas circuit breaker of Fig. 14 and the puffer-type gas circuit breakers of the first and second embodiments of the invention, the arc extinguishing gas, used for extinguishing the arc and passed through the interior of the movable contact 2, is discharged through a gas discharge passage formed in the interior of the drive shaft 11. In the third embodiment, however, the arc extinguishing gas passed through the interior of the movable contact 2 is discharged through the plurality of gas discharge passages 10. As compared with the gas discharge passage in the drive shaft, the gas discharge passages 10 are shorter, and the total flow area of these discharge passages 10 are larger, and therefore the flow resistance offered by the gas discharge passages 10 is reduced, and the gas discharge efficiency is enhanced. In addition, since the drive shaft 11 is solid, the diameter of the drive shaft 11 can be reduced because of its increased strength, and therefore the overall diameter of the circuit breaker can be reduced. Next, the first and second insulating nozzles will be described. Referring to Fig. 10, the cover 19 is provided to cover the outer surface of the movable contact 2, and the first insulating nozzle 5 is provided to form the first gas flow passage 18a outside the cover 19. The second insulating nozzle 6 is provided to form the second gas flow passage 18b outside the first insulating nozzle 5. The cover 19 has a leg portion 19a, and the first insulating nozzle 5 is arranged in such a manner that the lower end of the first insulating nozzle 5 is placed on the leg portion 19a. The first insulating nozzle 5 has a leg portion 5a, and the second insulating nozzle 6 is arranged in such a manner that the lower end of the second insulating nozzle 6 is placed on the leg portion 5a. The second insulating nozzle 6 is fastened to the outer cylinder 15 by a metal holder 22. In this case, as shown in Fig. 11, it is necessary that each communication hole 24 communicating the puffer chamber 7 with the first gas flow passage 18a should be displaced 45° with respect to a communication hole 25 communicating the thermal puffer chamber 8 with the second gas flow passage 18b. With the above construction, the cover 19 and the first and second insulating nozzles 5 and 6 can be fixed only by the metal holder 22, and therefore the assembling is easy. Figs. 12 and 13 show a further embodiment of the invention in which the cover 19, the first insulating nozzle 5 and the second insulating nozzle 6 are integrally molded into a unitary member. With this construction, a variation in the positioning of the nozzles relative to each other is reduced, and the position of generation of the arc can be specified. Therefore, the blowing of the arc extinguishing gas onto the arc can be effected more positively, thereby enhancing the interrupting performance. And besides, the assembling is easy. As described above, in the puffer-type gas circuit breakers according to the present invention, the thermal puffer chamber is independently formed on the outer periphery of the puffer cylinder, and therefore the volume of the thermal puffer chamber can be set arbitrarily in accordance with the value of the interrupting current, without lowering the pressure increasing characteristics of the puffer chamber.

Claims: A puffer-type gas circuit breaker comprising: arc extinguishing gas filled in the interior of said gas circuit breaker; a fixed contact (1); a movable contact (2) disposed in opposed relation to said fixed contact (1) so as to come into contact therewith; a fixed piston (12); a drive shaft (11) slidably extending through said fixed piston (12), and driving said movable contact (2) toward and away from said fixed contact (1); a puffer cylinder (13) slidably fitted on said fixed piston (12), said puffer cylinder (13) cooperating with said fixed piston (12) to define a puffer chamber (7) within said puffer cylinder (13); a cover (19) covering an outer surface of said movable contact (2); a first insulating nozzle (5) surrounding said cover (19) to form a first gas flow passage (18a) for guiding the arc extinguishing gas from said puffer chamber (7) to an arc generating portion and having a throat portion (5a) surrounding said fixed contact; and a second insulating nozzle (6) surrounding said first insulating nozzle (5) to form a second gas flow passage (18b) for guiding the arc extinguishing gas from a thermal puffer chamber (8) to said arc generating portion and having a throat portion (6a) surrounding said fixed contact; CHARACTERIZED in that an outer cylinder (15) is mounted on an outer periphery of said puffer cylinder (13) to form said thermal puffer chamber (8) outside said puffer cylinder (13) so as to surround the front section of said puffer chamber (7). A puffer-type gas circuit breaker according to claim 1, wherein a distance (L1) of said first gas flow passage (18a) in a direction of an axis of said fixed contact (1) is smaller than a distance (L2) of said second gas flow passage (18b) in the direction of the axis of said fixed contact (1). A puffer-type gas circuit breaker according to claim 1, wherein a diameter (D1) of said throat portion (5a) of said first insulating nozzle (5) is larger than a diameter (D2) of said throat portion (6a) of said second insulating nozzle (6). A puffer-type gas circuit breaker according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a small hole (17) communicating said puffer chamber (7) with said thermal puffer chamber (8) is formed through a peripheral wall of said puffer cylinder (13). A puffer-type gas circuit breaker according to claim 4, wherein a cooling fin (21) is provided within said thermal puffer chamber (8), and is disposed adjacent to said small hole (17). A puffer-type gas circuit breaker according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein there are provided a plurality of gas discharge passages (10) which communicate the interior of said movable contact (2) with the exterior of said outer cylinder (15), a discharge guide (20) being provided at outlets (14) of said gas discharge passages (10), and said discharge guide (20) closing said outlets (14) until said throat portion (6a) of said second insulating nozzle (6) comes out of said fixed contact (1). A puffer-type gas circuit breaker according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein said cover (19), said first insulating nozzle (5) and said second insulating nozzle (6) are integrally molded into a unitary construction.

Inventors: HASHIMOTO AKIRA, KUROSAWA YUKIO, SEKI YASUHARU, TSUKUSHI MASANORI, HASHIMOTO, AKIRA, KUROSAWA, YUKIO, SEKI, YASUHARU, TSUKUSHI, MASANORI
Applicants: HITACHI LTD, HITACHI, LTD.
Application year: 1992
Main classification: H01H33
IPC codes: H01H33