Patent Publication Number: US-9837234-B2

Title: Instant trip mechanism for molded case circuit breaker

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims the benefit of Korean Application No. 10-2016-0020786, filed on Feb. 22, 2016, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. 
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     This disclosure relates to a molded case circuit breaker, and more particularly, an instant trip mechanism for a molded case circuit breaker, capable of reducing a fault current breaking time. 
     BACKGROUND 
     An instant trip mechanism for a molded case circuit breaker is an apparatus for detecting a fault current instantaneously, such as a short-circuit current several tens to hundreds times larger than a rated current, on an electric power circuit, and triggering a switching mechanism to perform a trip operation. 
     The following documents that have been applied by the present applicant may be taken into account as related art of the instant trip mechanism. 
     [Patent Document 1] KR10-0928936 B1 
     [Patent Document 2] KR10-1026306 B1 
     However, in the related art instant trip mechanisms when embodied as an electromagnet, in response to a fault current, perform a magnetic attraction at a position with the farthest distance from an armature, as a basic operation position, an operation time excessively extends, as compared with the operation performed a minimum set position with the shortest distance between the electromagnet and the armature, which causes increases in damages of the electric power circuit, an electric load and the molded case circuit breaker. 
     SUMMARY 
     Therefore, an aspect of some embodiments of the disclosure is to provide an instant trip mechanism for a molded case circuit breaker, capable of improving performance and reliability of the molded case circuit breaker, by reducing a fault current breaking time in a manner of shortening an operating distance of an armature which is attracted by an electromagnet upon a generation of a fault current. 
     To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of this disclosure, as embodied and broadly described herein, there is provided an instant trip mechanism for a molded case circuit breaker according to some embodiments, the mechanism comprising: 
     an adjustment dial to set a current for executing an instant trip operation; 
     an instant bar rotatable according to a contact position with the adjustment dial, and provided with an upper portion contactable with the adjustment dial, a shaft portion serving as a rotation shaft, and a lower extending portion downwardly extending from the shaft portion; 
     an electromagnet unit connected to a circuit to generate a magnetic attraction force that is proportional to an amount of current flowing on the circuit; 
     an armature rotatable with a lower end portion supported by a shaft, and attracted toward the electromagnet unit by the magnetic attraction force; and 
     a spring including one end supported by the upper portion of the armature and another end supported by the lower extending portion of the instant bar, the spring applying to the armature a load varying in a direction of the armature getting away from the electromagnet unit. 
     According to one aspect of some embodiments of the present disclosure, the lower extending portion of the instant bar comprises a plurality of spring supporting recess portions with different heights from a lower end thereof to allow for varying the load of the spring. 
     According to another aspect of some embodiments of the present disclosure, the spring is configured so that the load of the spring is more reduced as a distance between the spring supporting recess portion and the upper portion of the armature is more shortened when a height of the spring supporting recess portion from the lower end of the lower extending portion is higher, under assumption that a height of the upper portion of the armature supporting one end of the spring is constant. 
     According to still another aspect of some embodiments of the present disclosure, a surface of the adjustment dial brought into contact with the upper portion of the instant bar is formed as a spiral surface, such that the adjustment dial adjusts the load of the spring by varying a rotation angle of the contacted instant bar. 
     According to still another aspect of some embodiments of the present disclosure, the spring is configured with a tensile spring charged with elastic energy in a tensile state. 
     According to still another aspect of some embodiments of the present disclosure, the adjustment dial comprises: an upper manipulation portion with a manipulation recess for manipulating the adjustment dial; a neck portion disposed beneath the upper manipulation portion and including a diameter smaller than that of the upper manipulation portion; and a spiral surface portion disposed beneath the neck portion and including a diameter greater than those of the upper manipulation portion and the neck portion, and brought into contact with the upper portion of the instant bar. 
     Further scope of applicability of the present application will become more apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating embodiments of the disclosure, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the detailed description. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the disclosure and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this disclosure, illustrate embodiments and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the disclosure. 
       In the drawings: 
         FIG. 1  is a partially-cut perspective view illustrating appearance and an internal structure of a molded case circuit breaker with an instant trip mechanism in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 2  is a partially enlarged view illustrating an operating state of a main part of the instant trip mechanism in a state that the instant trip mechanism is set to operate with a maximum instant current in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 3  a partially enlarged view illustrating an operating state of a main part of the instant trip mechanism in a state that the instant trip mechanism is set to operate with a minimum instant current in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 4  is a partially-cut lateral view illustrating the molded case circuit breaker in an ON state and the instant trip mechanism according to some embodiments of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 5  is a partially-enlarged lateral view illustrating components of the instant trip mechanism in a state that the instant trip mechanism is set to operate with a maximum instant current in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 6  is a partially-enlarged lateral view illustrating components of the instant trip mechanism in a state that the instant trip mechanism is set to operate with a minimum instant current in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 7  is a lateral view illustrating operating states of the instant trip mechanism and a switching mechanism in a trip state, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 8  is a partially-enlarged view illustrating an operating state of the instant trip mechanism illustrated in  FIG. 7 , according to some embodiments of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 9  is a top perspective view illustrating only an adjustment dial of the instant trip mechanism, viewed in an inclined direction in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 10  is a bottom perspective view illustrating only the adjustment dial of the instant trip mechanism, viewed in an inclined direction in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 11  is a perspective view illustrating a configuration of only an instant bar of the instant trip mechanism, wherein a drawing within a two-dot circle of  FIG. 11  is a partially-enlarged perspective view illustrating a configuration of a lower extending portion of the instant bar, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The aforementioned aspects of the present disclosure, a configuration of the present disclosure and operation effects of such configuration will be more obviously understood by the following description of the embodiments of the present disclosure with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
       FIG. 1  is a partially-cut perspective view illustrating appearance and an internal configuration of a molded case circuit breaker  100  in an ON state. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 1 , the molded case circuit breaker  100  comprises an upper cover  10  and a lower case which construct an enclosure part. 
     In a partially-cut portion of  FIG. 1  are viewed an adjustment dial  31 , an instant bar  32  and a trip bar  40  which can be included in an instant trip mechanism. In a central portion of  FIG. 1  are shown a manipulation handle (reference numeral not shown) set to an ON state and included in a switching mechanism  50  (see FIG.  4 ), the handle provides a means for manually turning on/off the molded case circuit breaker  100 . 
     Hereinafter, description will be given of a configuration of an instant trip mechanism  30  of a molded case circuit breaker  100  in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure, with reference to  FIGS. 2 to 6 . 
     As illustrated, the instant trip mechanism  30  of the molded case circuit breaker in accordance with some embodiments comprises an adjustment dial  31 , an instant bar  32 , an electromagnet unit  37  (see  FIGS. 5 and 6 ), an armature  33  (see  FIGS. 5 and 6 ), and a spring  34 . 
     The adjustment dial  31  provides a means for setting a current for executing an instant trip operation. 
     As illustrated in  FIGS. 2 to 6  or  FIGS. 9 and 10 , the adjustment dial  31  is provided with a spiral surface  31   c   1  which is brought into contact with an upper portion  32   a  of the instant bar  32 . The adjustment dial  31  may thus adjust a load of the spring  34  by varying a rotation angle of the instant bar  32 . 
     Specifically, as illustrated in  FIGS. 9 and 10 , the adjustment dial  31  comprises an upper manipulation portion  31   a,  a neck portion  31   b  and a spiral surface portion  31   c.    
     The upper manipulation portion  31   a  is a portion which is exposed to outside of an upper cover  10  of the molded case circuit breaker  100  to allow for a user&#39;s access, and provided with a manipulation recess (cross recess according to some embodiments) for manipulating the adjustment dial  31 . 
     The neck portion  31   b  is disposed beneath the upper manipulation portion  31   a  and smaller than the upper manipulation portion  31   a  in diameter. 
     The spiral surface portion  31   c  is disposed beneath the neck portion  31   b,  and includes a diameter greater than those of the upper manipulation portion  31   a  and the neck portion  31   b.  The spiral surface portion  31   c  is provided with a spiral surface  31   c   1  brought into contact with the upper portion  32   a  of the instant bar  31 . 
     The instant bar  32 , as illustrated in  FIGS. 2 to 5 , is rotatable in accordance with a position brought into contact with the adjustment dial  31 . 
     As well illustrated in  FIG. 11 , the instant bar  32  comprises a shaft portion  32   c,  an upper portion  32   a,  and lower extending portions  32   b.    
     The shaft portion  32   c  is a portion serving as a rotation shaft, and formed long in a horizontal direction. 
     The upper portion  32   a  is a portion which upwardly extends from one position of the shaft portion  32   c  in a lengthwise direction of the shaft portion  32   c  to be contactable with the adjustment dial  31 . 
     Since the upper portion  32   a  can be brought into contact with the adjustment dial  31 , the one position of the shaft portion  32   c  in the lengthwise direction, on which a lower end portion of the upper portion  32   a  is located, can be determined to correspond to a position where the adjustment dial  31  is located in the horizontal direction on the upper cover  10  of  FIG. 1 . 
     The lower extending portion  32   b  is a portion downwardly extending from the shaft portion  32   c.  According to some embodiments, for a three-phases AC molded case circuit breaker, the lower extending portion  32   b  may be provided by three to correspond to three phases. 
     Each of the lower extending portions  32   b  comprises a plurality of spring supporting recess portions  32   b   1 ,  32   b   2  and  32   b   3  with different heights from a lower end thereof to change a load of the spring  34 . 
     That is, the lower extending portion  32   b  comprises a first spring supporting recess portion  32   b   1  with a first height h 1  which is the lowest height from the lower end, a second spring supporting recess portion  32   b   2  with a second height h 2  as an intermediate height from the lower end, and a third spring supporting recess portion  32   b   3  with a third height h 3  which is the highest height from the lower end. 
     Under assumption that an upper height of the armature  33 , by which one end of the spring  34  is supported, is constant, when any one of the spring supporting recess portions  32   b   1 ,  32   b   2 ,  32   b   3  is higher from the lower end of the lower extending portion  32   b,  a distance from an upper portion of the armature  33  becomes shorter and thus the load of the spring  34  is reduced more. 
     According to the some embodiments, each of the lower extending portions  32   b  includes the three spring supporting recess portions  32   b   1 ,  32   b   2  and  32   b   3 . However, according to varied embodiments, more or less spring supporting recess portions can be provided depending on a length of the lower extending portion  32   b.    
     As illustrated in  FIGS. 5 and 6 , the electromagnet unit  37  is connected to three terminals of an electric power source side or an electric load side of the molded case circuit breaker  100 , which can be connected to a three-phases AC circuit, respectively. Accordingly, the electromagnet unit  37  applies a magnetic attraction force, which is proportional to an amount of current flowing on the circuit, to the armature  33  installed to face the electromagnet unit  37 . 
     Still referring to  FIGS. 5 and 6 , the armature  33  may be configured as an iron plate with a lower end portion rotatably supported by a rotation shaft  33   a.    
     To support one end of the spring  34 , the armature  33  comprises a spring supporting protrusion which upwardly protrudes into a narrow long shape such that one end of the spring is disposed and supported thereby. The spring supporting protrusion is also provided with a recess portion which is formed on a middle position thereof such that one end of the spring  34  is seated thereon. 
     The armature  33  can be attracted toward the electromagnet unit  37  by the magnetic attraction force. 
     A distance by which the armature  33  is spaced apart from the electromagnet unit  37  is irrespective of the manipulation of the adjustment dial  31 . 
     In other words, even though a set value of an instant current (for example, instant trip current) is changed by rotating the adjustment dial  31 , the spaced distance between the armature  33  and the electromagnet unit  37  is not changed. 
     As one end of the spring  34  is supported by the upper portion of the armature  33  and another end thereof is supported by the lower extending portion  32   b  of the instant bar  32 , the spring  34  applies to the armature  33  a load that changes in a direction of the armature  33  getting away from the electromagnet unit  37  according to a position of the rotated lower extending portion  32   b.    
     The spring  34  may be configured with a tension spring that is charged with elastic energy in a tensile state(that is “an extended state) according to some embodiments. 
     In  FIGS. 5 and 6 , a reference numeral  35  denotes a bimetal assembly as an assembly of a heater and a bimetal. 
     The instant trip mechanism for the molded case circuit breaker according to some embodiments can further comprise a cross bar  38 , a trip shooter  39 , and a trip bar  40 . 
     The cross bar  38 , as illustrated in  FIGS. 2 to 6 , comprises a rotation shaft portion, a hook portion  38   a  upwardly extending from the rotation shaft portion in an inclined manner by a predetermined angle to hook and stop the trip shooter  39 , and a driving force receiving portion downwardly extending from the rotation shaft portion, and located on a moving track(locus) of the upper portion of the armature  33  to be pressed by the upper portion of the armature  33  and thus receive a driving force for rotation. 
     The rotation shaft portion of the cross bar  38  is a member in a bar(rod) shape which is long in a horizontal direction, and may receive an elastic force from a torsion spring (not illustrated) so as to be rotated in one direction (counterclockwise direction in  FIGS. 5 and 6 ). 
     The hook portion  38   a  of the cross bar  38  is a portion by which a trip shooter  39  is hooked and stopped. 
     The driving force receiving portion of the cross bar  38  is rotated in a clockwise direction, in  FIGS. 5 and 6 , by receiving a pushing force applied by the upper portion of the armature  33 , thereby causing a clockwise rotation of the cross bar  38 . 
     The trip shooter  39  is a member which is rotatable centering on a rotation shaft (reference numeral not given). The trip shooter  39  comprises an upper extending portion extending upwardly from the rotation shaft and pushing the trip bar  40  to rotate, and a latch portion  39   a  extending in a lateral direction (to right in the drawing) from the upper extending portion toward the hook portion  38   a  of the cross bar  38 . 
     The rotation shaft of the trip shooter  39  can receive an elastic force from a torsion spring (not illustrated) to be rotated in one direction (counterclockwise direction in  FIGS. 5 and 6 ). 
     The trip bar  40  is a member rotatable centering on a rotation shaft  40   a.  The trip bar  40  is rotated in a clockwise direction, in  FIGS. 5 and 6 , when being pressed by the upper extending portion of the trip shooter  39 . 
     Also, the trip bar  40  can be provided as a member which locks or releases a latch holder  41  which is comprised in a switching mechanism  50 . 
     The latch holder  41  can be provided as a means which locks or releases a latch  42  comprised in the switching mechanism  50 . 
     When the trip bar  40  rotates in the clockwise direction in  FIGS. 5 and 6 , the latch holder  41  which was elastically pressed by a spring (not illustrated) rotates in the clockwise direction. 
     When the latch holder  41  rotates in the clockwise direction, the latch  42  is released. Accordingly, a trip operation (for example, an automatic circuit breaking operation) that a movable contact is separated from a corresponding fixed contact by the switching mechanism  50  is achieved. 
     Hereinafter, an operation of the instant trip mechanism for the molded case circuit breaker according to some embodiments including such configuration will be described with reference to  FIGS. 2 to 8 . 
     First, an instant current setting operation of the instant trip mechanism for the molded case circuit breaker according to some embodiments will be described. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 2 or 5 , a screw driver is connected to the upper manipulation portion  31   a  (see  FIG. 9 ) of the adjustment dial  31  to rotate the adjustment dial  31  in a clockwise direction (direction indicating with a curved arrow) up to a maximum limit (for example, an instant current is set to a maximum value). 
     The upper portion  32   a  of the instant bar  32  is then pressed down by a lower surface of the adjustment dial  31 , and, as illustrated in  FIG. 5 , rotated in a counterclockwise direction accordingly. 
     Also, one end of the spring  34  is fixed by the upper end portion of the armature  33  but another end (right end in  FIG. 5 ) of the spring  34  is moved to right in the drawing, in response to the counterclockwise rotation of the instant bar  32 . Therefore, the spring  34  extends and a load applied to the armature  33  is increased up to the maximum. 
     Accordingly, the armature  33  is attracted toward the electromagnet unit  37  only when the electromagnet unit  37  supplies (generates) a magnetic attraction force, which is great enough to bear the maximum load, in response to a great instant current flowing on a circuit. 
     In this instance, the molded case circuit breaker is in a state as illustrated in  FIG. 4 . That is, a manipulation handle included in the switching mechanism  50  indicates an ON position and is in a state rotated to left in  FIG. 4 . Also, the state of the instant trip mechanism  30  is as shown in  FIG. 4 . 
     As illustrated in  FIGS. 3 to 6 , a screw driver is inserted into the upper manipulation portion  31   a  (see  FIG. 9 ) of the adjustment dial  31  to rotate the adjustment dial  31  in a counterclockwise direction (direction indicating with a curved arrow) up to a maximum limit (for example, an instant current is set to a minimum value). 
     The upper portion  32   a  of the instant bar  32  is raised up along the spiral surface  31   c   1  of the adjustment dial  31 , and, as illustrated in  FIG. 6 , rotated in a clockwise direction accordingly. 
     Also, one end of the spring  34  is fixed by the upper end portion of the armature  33  but another end (right end in  FIG. 5 ) of the spring  34  is moved to left in the drawing, in response to the clockwise rotation of the instant bar  32 . Therefore, the spring  34  is shrunk and a load applied to the armature  33  is decreased down to the minimum. 
     Accordingly, the armature  33  can be attracted toward the electromagnet unit  37  when the electromagnet unit  37  supplies a magnetic attraction force, which is great enough to bear the minimum load, in response to a current flowing on a circuit. 
     Hereinafter, an operation of the instant trip mechanism for the molded case circuit breaker according to some embodiments of the present disclosure upon a trip operation will be described with reference to  FIGS. 7 and 8 . 
     When a great fault current, such as a short-circuit current as large as several times to several ten times of a rated current, flows on an electric power circuit, to which the molded case circuit breaker is connected, the fault current magnetizes the electromagnet unit  37  to generate a great magnetic attraction force. 
     Accordingly, the armature  33  is attracted toward the electromagnet unit  37  by the great attractive force of the electromagnet unit  37 , and rotated from a state illustrated in  FIG. 5 or 6  in a counterclockwise direction centering on the rotation shaft  33   a  into a state illustrated in  FIG. 8 . 
     The cross bar  38  is pressed by the upper portion of the armature  33  rotated in the counterclockwise direction and thus rotated in a clockwise direction in the drawing. 
     Therefore, the hook portion  38   a  of the cross bar  38  releases the latch portion  39   a  and the trip shooter  39  is accordingly rotated in the counterclockwise direction in the drawing. 
     The trip bar  40  is then pressed by the upper extending portion of the trip shooter  39 , thereby being rotated in the counterclockwise direction centering on the rotation shaft  40   a.    
     Accordingly, the latch holder  41  which was locked by the trip bar  40  is released and elastically pressed by a spring (not illustrated), thereby being rotated in the clockwise direction. 
     When the latch holder  41  is rotated in the clockwise direction, the latch  42  is released. Accordingly, a trip operation (for example, an automatic circuit breaking operation) that a movable contact is separated from a corresponding fixed contact by the switching mechanism  50  is achieved. 
     That is, when the latch  42  is released, the movable contact, which is supported by a shaft according to an interlocking between a link and the shaft, is separated from the corresponding fixed contactor by elastic energy of a trip spring (not illustrated) included in the switching mechanism  50 , thereby enabling the trip operation (automatic circuit breaking operation). 
     Here, the configuration and detailed operations of the switching mechanism are well known, so detailed description thereof will be omitted. 
     An instant trip mechanism for a molded case circuit breaker according to some embodiments of the present disclosure comprises an armature with a spaced distance from an electromagnet unit, which does not affect a manipulation of an adjustment dial, and a spring including one end supported by an upper portion of the armature and another end supported by a lower extending portion of an instant bar, and applying to the armature a load, which is changed in a direction of the armature getting away from the electromagnet unit according to a position of the rotated lower extending portion. Therefore, when a fault current is generated on an electric power circuit in an initial state that the electromagnet and the armature are not excessively spaced apart from each other, the molded circuit breaker can fast execute a trip operation owing to a short moving distance of the armature. This may result in improving an instant trip performance and reliability of the molded case circuit breaker. 
     In the instant trip mechanism for the molded case circuit breaker according to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the lower extending portion of the instant bar comprises a plurality of spring supporting recesses with different heights from a lower end thereof. Accordingly, setting of an instant current can be adjusted by varying a load of the spring in response to a selection of one of the spring supporting recesses. 
     In the instant trip mechanism for the molded case circuit breaker according to some embodiments of the present disclosure, under assumption that an upper height of the armature, by which one end of the spring is supported, is constant, when the spring supporting recess is higher from the lower end of the lower extending portion, a distance from the upper portion of the armature can be shorter, thereby more reducing the load of the spring. 
     In the instant trip mechanism for the molded case circuit breaker according to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the adjustment dial may be provided with a spiral surface which is brought into contact with the upper portion of the instant bar. Therefore, a rotation angle of the instant bar varies according to a contact position with the spiral surface, thereby adjusting the load of the spring. 
     In the instant trip mechanism for the molded case circuit breaker according to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the spring can be configured with a tension spring which is charged with elastic energy in a tensile state. Therefore, the elastic energy charged in the spring can vary by varying an extended length of the spring according to the position of the lower extending portion of the instant bar, thereby varying an elastic load applied by the spring to the armature. 
     In the instant trip mechanism for the molded case circuit breaker according to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the adjustment dial may comprise an upper manipulation portion with a manipulation recess for manipulating the adjustment dial, a neck portion disposed beneath the upper manipulation portion and including a diameter smaller than that of the upper manipulation portion, and a spiral surface portion disposed beneath the neck portion, including a diameter greater than those of the upper manipulation portion and the neck portion, and brought into contact with the upper portion of the instant bar. Therefore, a screw driver can be connected to the manipulation recess to enable setting of an instant current. Also, the rotation angle of the instant bar can change according to a position where the spiral surface portion is brought into contact with the upper portion of the instant bar, thereby adjusting the load of the spring. The features and attributes of the specific embodiments disclosed above may be combined in different ways to form additional embodiments, all of which fall within the scope of the present disclosure. Although the present disclosure provides certain preferred embodiments and applications, other embodiments that are apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, including embodiments which do not provide all of the features and advantages set forth herein, are also within the scope of this disclosure. Accordingly, the scope of the present disclosure is intended to be defined only by reference to the appended claims.