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EP-4542586-B1 - OVERVOLTAGE PROTECTION DEVICE AND ELECTRICAL INSTALLATION COMPRISING SUCH A PROTECTION DEVICE

EP4542586B1EP 4542586 B1EP4542586 B1EP 4542586B1EP-4542586-B1

Inventors

  • BADIN, DIDIER
  • TIAN, SIMON
  • VILA, Stéphane

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20241018

Claims (13)

  1. An overvoltage protection device (100; 200) comprising: - a housing (110; 210), which defines a depth axis (X110; X210), a width axis (Y110; Y210) and a length axis (Z110; Z210), which are perpendicular to each other, and which includes: - a front (111; 211) and a back (112; 212), which are opposite each other along the depth axis, the back being adapted to cooperate with a rail (15) of an electrical panel (10) so that the housing is supported by the rail, - two lateral sides (113, 114; 213, 214), which are opposite each other along the width axis and which are connected to each other along the width axis by the front and back of the housing, and - first and second ends (115, 116 ; 215, 216), opposite each other along the length axis and joined by the front, the back, and the two lateral sides of the housing, and - an electrical module (120; 120') or a plurality of electrical modules (220, 260, 280), which is arranged within an internal volume (V110; V210) of the housing, jointly delimited by the front, the back, the two lateral sides and the first and second ends of the housing, wherein the electrical module (120) or each of the electrical modules (220, 260, 280) of said plurality comprises: - a phase terminal (121; 221, 264, 281), which adjoins the first end (115; 215) of the housing (110; 210) so that a phase conductor (12.1; 12.1, 13.1, 14.1) of the electrical panel (10) can be connected to the phase terminal at the first end of the housing, - a location (E120; E220, E260, E280), which adjoins the second end (116; 216) of the housing, and - a fuse (122; 222, 262, 282) and a varistor (123; 223, 263, 283), which are connected in series to the phase terminal within the internal volume (V110; V210) of the housing and which, along the length axis (Z110; Z210), are distributed in such a way that the fuse is arranged between the phase terminal and the varistor and so that the varistor is arranged between the fuse and the location, and wherein the electrical module (120; 120') or one of the electrical modules (220, 260, 280) of said plurality further comprises a gas discharge tube (124; 224) and an earth terminal (125; 225), which are: - connected in series to the varistor of the electrical module or to the respective varistors of the electrical modules of said plurality within the internal volume (V110; V210) of the housing (110; 210), and - arranged in the location (E120; E220, E260, E280) of the relevant electrical module (120; 220) so that a protective conductor (22; 23) of the electrical panel (10) can be connected to the earth terminal at the second end (116; 216) of the housing.
  2. The protection device according to claim 1, wherein the electrical module (120; 120') or one of the electrical modules (220, 260, 280) of said plurality further comprises a neutral terminal (126; 126'; 226) which is: - connected to the earth terminal (125; 225) via the gas discharge tube (124; 224) within the internal volume (V110; V210) of the housing (110; 210), and - adjoining the second end (116; 216) of the housing so that a neutral conductor (17.1; 18.2) of the electrical panel (10) can be connected to the neutral terminal at the second end of the housing.
  3. The protection device according to one of claims 1 or 2, wherein the gas discharge tube (124; 224) is connected to the varistor (123) of the electrical module (120; 120') or to the respective varistors (223, 263, 283) of the electrical modules (220, 260, 280) of said plurality by a conductive plate (129; 229): - which is arranged within the internal volume (V110; V210) of the housing (110; 210), adjoining the back (112; 212) of the housing, and - against which a terminal of the gas discharge tube is placed along the depth axis (X110; X210).
  4. The protection device according to claims 2 and 3 taken together, wherein the neutral terminal (126; 126'; 226) is connected to the gas discharge tube (124; 224) by the conductive plate (129; 229).
  5. The protection device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein a single electrical module (120; 120') is provided, the protection device (100) being single-phase, and wherein the two lateral sides (113, 114) of the housing (110) are flat and parallel, being 18 mm apart along the width axis (Y110).
  6. The protection device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein three electrical modules (220, 260, 280) are provided, the protection device (200) being three-phase, and wherein the two lateral sides (213, 214) of the housing (210) are flat and parallel, being 54 mm apart along the width axis (Y210).
  7. The protection device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein, for the electrical module (120; 120') or each of the electrical modules (220, 260, 280) of said plurality, the fuse (122; 222, 262, 282) has an elongated shape which extends lengthwise from substantially the front (111; 211) to substantially the back (112; 212) of the housing (110; 210).
  8. The protection device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein, for the electrical module (120; 120') or for each of the electrical modules (220, 260, 280) of said plurality, the fuse (122; 222, 262, 282) and the varistor (123; 223, 263, 283) are connected to each other by an electrical link (128) including two contacts (128.1, 128.2) and a solder (128.3) which joins the two contacts when intact and is adapted to break when the varistor (123; 223, 263, 283) heats up, and wherein one of the two contacts (128.1, 128.2) is carried by an arm (128.4), which is held fixed in position by the solder (128.3) when the solder is intact, and which is driven by a spring (128.5) into the internal volume (V110 ; V210) of the housing (110; 210) when the solder is broken so as to separate the two contacts from each other, at least along the width axis (Y110 ; Y210).
  9. The protection device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the protection device (100; 200) further comprises an electronic supervision device (140; 240), which: - includes an assembled circuit board (141; 241) which is configured to provide an end-of-life indication for the electrical module (120; 120') or for the electrical modules (220, 260, 280) of said plurality, and - is arranged within the internal volume (V110 ; V210) of the housing (110 ; 210) so that the assembled printed circuit board adjoins one of the lateral sides (113, 114 ; 213, 214) of the housing.
  10. The protection device according to claim 9, wherein the electronic supervision device (240) is connected to the respective varistors (223, 263, 283) of the electrical modules (220, 260, 280) of said plurality by respective conductive wires (243, 246, 247), and wherein the housing (210) includes internal partitions (217) which position and keep apart the conductive wires within the internal volume (V210) of the housing.
  11. An electrical installation (1) comprising: - an electrical panel (10) which comprises: - phase busbars (12, 13, 14), each intended to be supplied by a phase of the power-supply voltage, which extend lengthwise, parallel to one another, and are arranged side by side so as to form a group in an intermediate region of the electrical panel, - two rails (14, 15), each of which is adapted to support electrical equipment (50, 100, 200) and each of which extends lengthwise parallel to the phase busbars, the two rails being arranged along and on either side of the group, and - an earthing strip (20) which is intended to be connected to earth, and - the protection device (100; 200) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the housing (110; 210) is mounted on one of the two rails (15, 16) so that the first end (115; 215) of the housing faces the group of phase busbars (12, 13, 14) along the length axis (Z110; Z210), wherein the phase terminal (121; 221, 264, 281) of the electrical module (120; 120') or of each of the electrical modules (220, 260, 280) of said plurality is connected to one of the phase busbars (12, 13, 14) by a phase conductor (12.1; 12.1, 13.1, 14.1), which extends from and transversely across the given phase busbar and is connected to the phase terminal (121; 221, 261, 281) of the given electrical module at the first end (115; 215) of the housing (110; 210), and wherein the earth terminal (125 ; 225) is connected to the earthing strip (20) by a protective conductor (22, 23), which is in wire form, and one end of which is connected to the earth terminal (125; 225) at the second end (116; 216) of the housing (110; 210).
  12. The electrical installation according to claim 11, wherein the protection device (100; 200) is according to claim 2, and wherein a neutral conductor (17.1; 18.2) is connected to the neutral terminal (126; 226) at the second end of the housing (110; 210).
  13. The electrical installation according to claim 12, wherein the electrical panel (10) further comprises, for at least one of the two rails (15, 16), a neutral busbar (17, 18), which is intended to be supplied by a neutral of the power supply and which extends lengthwise parallel to and at a distance from the phase busbars (12, 13, 14), said at least one of the two rails being interposed between the neutral busbar and the group of phase busbars, and wherein the neutral terminal (126; 126' ; 226) is connected to the neutral busbar (17, 18) by the neutral conductor (17.1; 18.2) which extends from and transversely across the neutral busbar.

Description

The present invention relates to a surge protection device. It also relates to an electrical installation comprising such a protection device. An electrical installation in a building typically includes an electrical panel that connects the installation to a collective electricity distribution network and to ground. Generally, the electrical installation also includes various protection, control, and/or monitoring devices. Among these devices are surge protection devices, commonly known as surge arresters or surge protectors, or SPDs (Surge Protection Devices). These protective devices safeguard the electrical installation against transient overvoltages in the electrical current supplying it. These overvoltages typically originate from lightning or incidents in the electricity distribution network. Such transient overvoltages are characterized by a significant, temporary rise in the supply voltage and are often accompanied by high-intensity current pulses. The invention relates more specifically to electrical switchboards on an intermediate section of which phase busbars are arranged parallel and side by side. Typically, there are three busbars, each intended to be supplied by a phase of a polyphase electrical voltage, typically three-phase. These busbars, commonly referred to as "busbars" in the English terminology of the field, thus form a group. Such switchboards are common in many English-speaking countries, particularly the United Kingdom, where the phase busbars generally extend vertically along the center of the switchboard. To support electrical equipment to be connected to the phase busbars, the switchboard is very often equipped with two rails, such as DIN rails, each extending parallel to the phase busbars and positioned along and on either side of the group formed by the phase busbars. Electrical equipment, such as certain protection, control, and/or monitoring devices, can then be mounted on the rails, each arranged perpendicular to the group of phase busbars to which this equipment is directly connected. This arrangement of the electrical panel is why it is often described as a "fishbone" type. The electrical panel is, where applicable, supplemented by two neutral busbars, which are intended to be connected to the neutral of the electric current and which extend lengthwise parallel and at a distance from the phase bus bars, one of the two rails being interposed between the group of phase bus bars and one of the two neutral bus bars while the other rail is interposed between the group of phase bus bars and the other neutral bus bar. The transient overvoltage protection devices currently available for fishbone-type electrical panels are unsatisfactory. These devices are generally bulky due to the electrical components they incorporate, making them difficult to mount on either of the panel's rails, except perhaps by occupying a significant portion of them. This often results in at least some, or even the entire, protection device being located off-rail, away from the phase busbars, sometimes in a separate, dedicated enclosure. In all cases, this necessitates dedicated cabling between at least part of the protection device and the phase and neutral busbars. Beyond the installation and space constraints this entails, the length of this cabling often reduces the effectiveness of the overvoltage protection device. US 2023 / 223 749 A1 And US 10 734 176 B2 disclose prior art protection devices. The aim of the present invention is to remedy the problem detailed above, by proposing a surge protection device which, while being effective and practical, is particularly suited to the aforementioned "fishbone" type electrical panels. To this end, the invention relates to a surge protection device, comprising: a case, which defines a depth axis, a width axis and a length axis, which are perpendicular to each other, and which includes: a front and a back, which are opposite each other along the depth axis, the back being adapted to cooperate with a rail of an electrical panel so that the enclosure is supported by the rail, two lateral sides, which are opposite each other along the width axis and which are connected to each other along the width axis by the front and back of the case, and of the first and second ends, which are opposite each other along the longitudinal axis and which are connected to each other along the longitudinal axis by the front, the back and the two lateral sides of the case, and an electrical module or a plurality of electrical modules, which is arranged within an internal volume of the casing, delimited jointly by the front, the back, the two side panels and the first and second ends of the casing, in which the electrical module or each of the electrical modules of said plurality comprises: a phase terminal, which is attached to the first end of the box so that a phase conductor from the electrical panel can be connected to the phase terminal at the first end of the box, a location,