EP1745496B1 - Circuit-breaker and corresponding method for adjusting the same - Google Patents

Abstract

The aim of the invention is to adjust the distance between the plunger (5) and the tripping section (34) of a tripping arm in an improved manner in a residual-current circuit-breaker. To achieve this, the angular position of a tripping lever (32) of the tripping arm (3) can be modified about a common axis in relation to a half-shaft (7), which meshes with a force accumulator (1). Said angle is preferably modified by means of a ratchet mechanism (33, 37). This permits a precise adjustment without the need for special tools.

Description

The present invention relates to a protective switching device with a trigger device having a rotatably mounted release arm, for triggering a switching device and an actuating device for actuating the release arm from a holding position to a release position with an actuating element. Moreover, the present invention relates to a corresponding method for adjusting this protection switching device.

For residual current protective circuits or residual current circuit breakers, a so-called holding magnet (relay) is used for tripping with a fault current. When the holding magnet is triggered, a downstream energy store, which can be realized by a spring mechanism, causes the contacts of the device to be opened. For a safe release of the energy storage of the plunger stroke and the ram force of the holding magnet is crucial. It should be noted that the ram force does not depend linearly on the ram travel.

The energy storage is necessary because more force is needed to open the contacts of the residual current circuit breaker, as the holding magnet or a corresponding holding magnet release can provide. Therefore, the necessary force is stored by biasing the spring mechanism in the mechanism. In order to use a cost-effective and small holding magnet release, the tripping forces and tripping paths must be reduced to a minimum.

However, the components used in each residual current circuit breaker have fault tolerances. As a result, the ram path can not be determined arbitrarily from the outset.

Rather, the tolerances of the resulting different positions of the coupling elements, i. the plunger to the trigger arm, compensate accordingly to optimally tune the trip path to the holding magnet.

An adjustment of the distance between the holding magnet and energy storage is often done by adjusting the holding magnet position by means of adjusting screws or with sheets that can be deformed. For example, from the publication DE 199 10 220 A1 a device for fixing a magnetic release in a residual current circuit breaker, in which the housing of the magnetic release ears are mounted, which project in opposite directions which are perpendicular to the plunger. For fixing a carrier is provided, which has two parallel spaced walls at a fixed distance, which have recesses into which the trigger with its ears in the direction of the plunger can be inserted and latched. The fixing device has a web, which can be deformed, so that thereby a fine adjustment of the magnetic release is possible. Moreover, in the cited prior art there is described a fixing device in which a trigger can be adjusted to set a certain lead time between the plunger and the lever by twisting a screw, whereby the distance between an ear and a fixed wall is reduced.

Furthermore, in the document DE 295 20 288 a residual current circuit breaker with mounting part described, which has a contact portion for attachment to a side wall of the housing, an upper, angled towards the housing interior portion for supporting the pawl shaft and a central portion with the inside of the housing angled tabs to the associated receptacle of a FI / DI overcurrent release holder. With this arrangement, the respective parts can be mounted together with a force accumulator, wherein the same parts can be used for both types of switching devices. Special Advantages also result for a mass production, because no readjustment is required by the intended construction of the mounting part. This is achieved by the design of the individual sections of the mounting part, so that the FI / DI release can be attached to the pawl shaft with minimal tolerance.

In the document " US-A-3 777 293 "A circuit breaker according to the preamble of claim 1 is disclosed.

The object of the present invention is to provide a circuit breaker in which the adjustment between the holding magnet and the trigger can be achieved in a simple manner.

According to the invention this is achieved by a protective switching device, with a trigger device having a rotatably mounted release arm, for triggering a switching device and an actuator for actuating the trigger arm from a holding position to a release position with an actuating element, wherein the trigger arm in its angular position in the holding position its axis of rotation relative to the actuating element is adjustable.

In addition, the invention provides a method for adjusting a circuit breaker with a trigger device having a rotatably mounted release arm, for triggering a switching device and an actuator for actuating the trigger arm from a holding position to a release position with an actuator, by adjusting the trigger arm in its angular position in the holding position about its axis of rotation relative to the actuating element.

The advantage of the type of adjustment according to the invention is that all component and assembly tolerances can be taken into account during the adjustment.

Preferably, the triggering device in the protective switching device according to the invention has a about the axis of rotation the triggering arm rotatable, formed with this two-part half-wave whose angular position is predetermined by the switching device, and the release arm is adjustable with respect to the half-wave in its angle. Due to this bipartite, the angle adjustment of the release arm can basically be decoupled from the energy storage.

The release arm may also be adjustable in its angular position by a latching device with a plurality of latching positions. It proves to be particularly advantageous if the locking device is arranged on the trigger arm. By means of the latching device, an accurate adjustment of the triggering arm can be achieved very comfortably.

In a likewise preferred embodiment, the half-wave on a curved lever, and the trigger arm is pressed with a spring element against the lever. Due to the curvature of the lever, the adjustment function can be predetermined by an adjustment is moved along the curved lever. Thus, the maximum adjustment range of the release arm can be defined via the curved lever.

The bipartite nature of the tripping arm and the half-shaft also has the advantage that the tripping arm, which has an adjustment possibility, can be produced as a plastic part even if the half-shaft is made of metal. Thus, the release arm can be easily produced despite elaborate geometry.

FIG 1

einen Auslösemechanismus einer erfindungsgemäßen Schutzschaltvorrichtung;

FIG 2

eine Prinzipskizze zum Justieren eines Auslösearms;

FIG 3

eine erfindungsgemäße Halbwelle;

FIG 4

einen erfindungsgemäßen Auslösearm;

FIG 5

eine Blattfeder;

FIG 6

den Auslösemechanismus in einer ersten Justierposition;

FIG 7

den Auslösemechanismus in einer zweiten Justierposition;

FIG 8

den Auslösemechanismus in einer dritten Justierposition; und

FIG 9

den erfindungsgemäßen Auslösemechanismus in einer Detaildarstellung.

The present invention will now be explained in more detail with reference to the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1

a triggering mechanism of a circuit breaker according to the invention;

FIG. 2

a schematic diagram for adjusting a triggering arm;

FIG. 3

a half-wave according to the invention;

FIG. 4

a trigger arm according to the invention;

FIG. 5

a leaf spring;

FIG. 6

the trigger mechanism in a first adjustment position;

FIG. 7

the trigger mechanism in a second adjustment position;

FIG. 8

the trigger mechanism in a third adjustment position; and

FIG. 9

the trigger mechanism according to the invention in a detailed view.

The embodiment described in more detail below represents a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

An assembled from several components power storage 1, which is shown in Figure 1, applies the force to open the switching contacts of a residual current circuit breaker. The triggering or unlatching of the energy accumulator 1 takes place with the aid of a triggering device 2, the trigger arm 3 is rotatably mounted about an axis 4. By a plunger 5 of a holding magnet 6, the release arm 3 of the triggering device 2 is actuated.

By mounted in the housing of the residual current circuit breaker and biased force accumulator 1, the angular position of a half-wave 7, which can also be referred to as Verklinkungsteil, predetermined. The rotatable about the axis 4 half-wave 7 is used for locking and unlatching the force accumulator. 1

In Figure 2, the energy storage device 1 of FIG 1 is shown with a triggering device 2 ', wherein the trigger arm 3' is shown only schematically as a rectangle and symbolizes the prior art. The trigger arm 3 'is fixedly connected to a half-wave 7'. In this one-piece construction of the tripping arm 3 'and the half-shaft 7', the tolerances of the housing and power storage components cause an undefined position of the tripping arm 3 'to the position of the holding magnet. 6 Accordingly, results between the trigger arm 3 'and the plunger 5 of the holding magnet 6 an indefinite distance X. Too small a distance could cause the holding magnet 6 due to the reduced trip path does not apply the necessary force for the unlatching can. In contrast, too large a distance X may under certain circumstances lead to the rotation of the triggering arm being too small due to the plunger 5 and the energy accumulator 1 not being unlatched. For the functioning of the residual current circuit breaker, it is therefore crucial whether the distance X is set correctly.

According to the invention, therefore, the trigger arm 3 in its angular position about the axis 4 is adjustable. For this purpose, the half-wave 7 is separated from the trigger arm 3 according to the present example. By this division into two components and common storage on an axle 4, it is possible to adjust the distance X.

The half-wave 7 is provided in accordance with FIG 3 for this purpose with a curved lever 71. The trigger arm 3 cooperates with this curved lever 71, so that the angle between the half-shaft 7 and the trigger arm 3 can be varied. For this purpose, the release arm 3 has a bearing portion 31, to which a release lever 32 is formed. At approximately right angles to the release lever 32, a latching portion 33 is integrally formed on the bearing portion 31. Opposite the bearing section of the trigger lever 32 also has a trigger section 34. In the vicinity of this trigger section 34, an adjusting lever 35 is cast over a narrow connection point 36 to the release lever 32. At the distal end of the adjusting lever 35 is a locking element 37 which is latched to the latching portion 33 in a plurality of angular positions relative to a pivot point at the connection point 36. The release lever 32, the adjusting lever 35 and the latching portion thus form approximately an isosceles triangle. When installed, the locking element 37 of the trigger arm 3 on the curved lever 71st the half-wave 7 is pressed by a leaf spring 8. This leaf spring 8 is shown individually in FIG. The assembled state of the triggering device 2 is shown in detail in FIG.

The adjustment is now done by selecting a suitable locking position of the adjusting lever 35 on the latching portion 33 of the tripping arm 3. This changes the angle α, by the intersection of the straight line from the axis of rotation 4 to the junction 36 and the straight line from the locking element 37 to the junction 36 is defined. As already mentioned, the spring 8 presses the locking element 37 against the curved lever 71 at the contact point 38. A displacement of the adjusting lever 35 on the curved lever 71, which has a very specific contour, causes a reduction or increase in the distance X, which takes place without deformation of the parts involved and can be reset again.

In FIG 6, an adjustment state is shown, in which the adjusting lever 35 is set in its leftmost extreme position. Due to the contour of the curved lever 71 results in this position, a minimum distance X between the plunger 5 and the trigger section 34 of 0.1 units. Corresponding to FIG. 7, with an average setting of the adjusting lever 35, a mean distance X of 0.7 units between the two components is obtained. Finally, in the extreme right detent position of the adjusting lever 35 corresponding to FIG. 8, a maximum distance between the plunger 5 and the triggering section 34 of 1.3 units results. The screening of the locking portion 33 can be chosen arbitrarily fine to achieve the desired accuracy of the adjustment.

The chosen according to the above-described embodiment, the structure of the triggering mechanism of a residual current circuit breaker has the following advantages. For one thing can be the release arm 3 preferably finished as a plastic part, whereby a simple production is guaranteed. For the adjustment, on the other hand, no special tools are required and it can be carried out for example by means of a screwdriver, tweezers or a metal pin.

Furthermore, the latching has the advantage that the distance between the plunger 5 and the triggering section 34 can be changed in defined steps. Thereby an unintentional displacement, e.g. Shocking or heating prevents it from acting always a force against the locking.

Finally, in the chosen structure, the advantages that the components can be used in the repair again and the wear between the pawl and half-wave can be reduced by a muted reapplication.

Claims (9)

1. Circuit breaker having

   - a release mechanism (2); which comprises a rotatably mounted release arm (3), for releasing a switching arrangement and

   - an activation device (6) for activating the release arm (3) from a stop position into a release position using an activation element (5),

   characterized in that

   - the release arm (3) can be adjusted in its angularity in the stop position about its axis of rotation (4) relative to the activation element (5).
2. Circuit breaker according to claim 1, with the release mechanism (2) comprising a half-shaft (7) which be can rotated about the axis of rotation (4) of the release arm (5) and is formed in two parts herewith, the angularity of which half-shaft is predetermined by the switching arrangement, and the release arm (3) can be adjusted in its angularity relative to the half-shaft.
3. Circuit breaker according to claim 1 or 2, with the release arm (3) being adjustable in its angularity by a locking device (33/37) having several locking positions.
4. Circuit breaker according to claim 3, with the locking device (33/37) being arranged on the release arm (3).
5. Circuit breaker according to one of claims 2 to 4, with the half-shaft (7) comprising a curved lever (71) and the release arm (3) being pressed against the lever (71) with a spring element (8).
6. Circuit breaker according to claim 5, with the release arm (3) being pressed onto the curved lever (71) via an element (37) of the locking device (33/37) and the maximum adjustable range of the release arm (3) being predetermined by the curvature of the lever (71).
7. Circuit breaker according to one of the preceding claims, with the release arm (3) being manufactured from plastic.
8. Method for adjusting a circuit breaker having a release mechanism (2), which comprises a rotatably mounted release arm (3), for releasing a switching arrangement and an activation device (6) for activating the release arm (3) from a stop position into a release position using an activation element (5),
   characterized by
   adjusting the release arm (3) in its angularity in the stop position about its axis of rotation (4) relative to the activation element (5).
9. Method according to claim 8, with the release arm (3) being adjusted by means of locking into one of several locking positions.

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