Search

EP-4736210-A1 - ACTUATING MECHANISM FOR A POWER CIRCUIT-BREAKER AND POWER CIRCUIT-BREAKER

EP4736210A1EP 4736210 A1EP4736210 A1EP 4736210A1EP-4736210-A1

Abstract

An actuating mechanism (10) for a power circuit-breaker (1) for opening and closing main contacts (2, 2') of the power circuit-breaker (1) comprises an operating gate (11) comprising a lever element (110) and an operating link (120) fastened to each other, and an auxiliary restoring element (130) that is a part of the operating gate (11) and that is configured for directly mechanically interacting with a restoring interaction element (313) of a tripping mechanism (30) of the power circuit-breaker (1). Furthermore, a power circuit-breaker (1) comprises the actuating mechanism (10).

Inventors

  • EISEMANN, Maxim
  • HEINS, VOLKER
  • KRIECHEL, RALPH
  • Ten Voorde, Richard
  • ZABROCKI, BOGDAN

Assignees

  • Eaton Intelligent Power Limited

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20240723

Claims (20)

  1. 1. Actuating mechanism (10) for a power circuit-breaker (1) for opening and closing main contacts (2, 2' ) of the power circuit-breaker (1) , the actuating mechanism (10) comprising : - an operating gate (11) comprising a lever element (110) and an operating link (120) fastened to each other, - an auxiliary restoring element (130) that is a part of the operating gate (11) and that is configured for directly mechanically interacting with a restoring interaction element (313) of a tripping mechanism (30) of the power circuit-breaker (1) .
  2. 2. Actuating mechanism (10) according to claim 1, wherein the auxiliary restoring element (130) comprises an elongated part that extends away from operating link (120) .
  3. 3. Actuating mechanism (10) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the auxiliary restoring element (130) is an integral part of the lever element (110) .
  4. 4. Actuating mechanism (10) according to claim 3, wherein the auxiliary restoring element (130) is a nose-shaped extension of the lever element (110) .
  5. 5. Actuating mechanism (10) according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the lever element (110) comprises a handle (111) configured for interaction with an operator and a plate element (112) in direct mechanical contact to the operating link (120) , wherein the auxiliary restoring element (130) is an integral part of the plate element (112) .
  6. 6. Actuating mechanism (10) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the auxiliary restoring element (130) is a flat spring fixedly connected to the operating link (120) .
  7. 7. Actuating mechanism (10) according to claim 6, wherein the flat spring has a mounting section (131) fastened to the operating link (120) and a cantilever section (132) that extends from the mounting section (131) .
  8. 8. Actuating mechanism (10) according to claim 7, wherein the cantilever section (132) has a contact section (133) and a connection section (134) between the contact section (133) and the mounting section (131) , wherein the contact section (133) has at least a first bent section (135) adjacent the connection section (134) .
  9. 9. Actuating mechanism (10) according to claim 8, wherein the contact section (133) has a width that at least partly decreases with increasing distance to the connection section (134) .
  10. 10. Actuating mechanism (10) according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the contact section (133) has a second bent section (136) remote from the first bent section (135) , the second bent section (136) forming an end region of the cantilever section (132) .
  11. 11. Actuating mechanism (10) according to one of the claims 6 to 10, wherein the lever element (110) and the auxiliary restoring element (130) are fixedly connected to the operating link (120) by means of a screw fastening or rivet fastening.
  12. 12. Power circuit-breaker (1) , comprising - main contacts (2, 2' ) , - an actuating mechanism (10) according to one of the claims 1 to 11 for opening and closing the main contacts (2, 2' ) , wherein the actuating mechanism (10) has a first switching position in which the main contacts (2, 2' ) are opened, a second switching position in which the main contacts (2, 2' ) are closed and a third switching position which is a tripped position after a tripping event has occurred, - a locking mechanism (20) for reversibly locking the actuating mechanism (10) in the second switching position, - a tripping mechanism (30) comprising a tripping bridge (31) with a tripping rod (311) and a restoring interaction element ( 313 ) , - at least one actuating element (401) that is part of a tripping unit and is configured for interacting with the tripping rod (311) , wherein the at least one actuating element (401) is configured to change from a home position to a tripping position in case of a tripping event, wherein the at least one actuating element (401) is configured, when a tripping event occurs, to exert a force on the tripping mechanism (30) that causes the tripping mechanism (30) to unlock the locking mechanism (20) , so that the actuating mechanism (10) can change from the second switching position to the tripped position, wherein the auxiliary restoring element (130) is configured for directly mechanically interacting with the restoring interaction element (313) when, after a tripping event, the actuating mechanism (10) is changed, by an operator, from the tripped position to the first switching position .
  13. 13. Power circuit-breaker (1) according to claim 12, wherein the at least one actuating element (401) is a pivoting gate .
  14. 14. Power circuit-breaker (1) according to claim 12 or 13, wherein the tripping unit is a pressure tripping unit and/or an electromagnetic tripping unit.
  15. 15. Power circuit-breaker (1) according to one of the claims 12 to 14, wherein the auxiliary restoring element (130) and the restoring interaction element (313) are configured to have no mechanical contact or a weak mechanical contact when, in the absence of a tripping event, the actuating mechanism (10) is in the first switching position.
  16. 16. Power circuit-breaker (1) according to one of the claims 12 to 15, wherein the auxiliary restoring element (130) and the restoring interaction element (313) are configured to be in mechanical contact in case of a fault event in which the actuating element (401) is blocked in the tripping state when the actuating mechanism (10) is in the first switching position.
  17. 17. Power circuit-breaker (1) according to one of the claims 12 to 16, wherein the auxiliary restoring element (130) has a contact surface (139) that is configured for a direct mechanical interaction with an interaction surface (314) of the restoring interaction element (313) .
  18. 18. Power circuit-breaker (1) according to one of the claims 12 to 17, wherein the auxiliary restoring element (130) is configured such that, after a tripping event during at least a part of the change of the actuating mechanism (10) from the second switching position to the first switching position, the auxiliary restoring element (130) pushes against the restoring interaction element (313) .
  19. 19. Power circuit-breaker (1) according to one of the claims 12 to 18, wherein the auxiliary restoring element is configured such that, after a tripping event during at least a part of the change of the actuating mechanism (10) from the tripped position to the first switching position, the contact surface (139) slides over the interaction surface (314) .
  20. 20. Power circuit-breaker (1) according to one of the claims 12 to 19, wherein the tripping mechanism (30) is configured for exerting a force on the at least one actuating element (401) to push the at least one actuating element (401) towards the home position of the at least one actuating element (401) .

Description

Description ACTUATING MECHANISM FOR A POWER CIRCUIT-BREAKER AND POWER CIRCUIT-BREAKER Embodiments of the present invention are related to an actuating mechanism for a power circuit-breaker . Further embodiments are related to a power circuit-breaker, preferably a power circuit-breaker comprising the actuating mechanism . Power circuit-breakers are widely used in electricity distribution networks for the protection of electrical appliances and installations against damage associated with excess current caused by an overload or short-circuit . Usually, a power circuit-breaker comprises electromagnetic, thermal and/or electronic tripping means that cause an actuating mechanism to open the main contacts of the power circuit-breaker in case of a tripping event which can be , for instance , a current flowing through the main contacts that exceeds a certain predetermined current value . The tripping means can comprise several components that mechanically interact with each other, for instance a magnetic tripping element like a strike armature or a pressure tripping element like a pressure release gate as well as a tripping shaft that cause a locking mechanism to unlock the actuating mechanism so that the main contacts can be opened . Prior art document US 2019/206650 Al describes a power circuit-breaker with a pressure-tripping unit . After a tripping event all tripping means components must be reset , i . e . moved back into their respective initial positions , which can also be denoted as home positions , in order to set the circuit-breaker into a reset state from which it can be switched on again . In order to achieve a resetting of the tripping means components , usually individual return springs are associated with one or more of the tripping means components , which counteract the tripping movement of the tripping means components and are configured to move the components back to their respective initial position . Thus , the return springs must not be too strong, so that the tripping functionality is not hindered . However, it can be possible that , for instance , debris builds up on one or more of the tripping means components , which can cause the return springs to have insuf ficient force to return the components to their respective initial positions . The use of more and/or stronger return springs , however, could impair the tripping functionality . At least one obj ect of certain embodiments is to provide an actuating mechanism for a power circuit-breaker . At least one further obj ect of certain embodiments is to provide a power circuit-breaker with the actuating mechanism . These obj ects are achieved by the subj ect-matters according to the independent claims . Advantageous embodiments and developments are characteri zed in the dependent claims and are disclosed by the following description and the drawings . According to at least one embodiment , an actuating mechanism for a power circuit-breaker comprises an operating gate . In particular, the actuating mechanism is configured for opening and closing main contacts of the power circuit-breaker . According to a further embodiment , a power circuit-breaker comprises main contacts and the actuating mechanism . The following description equally relates to the actuating mechanism and to the power circuit-breaker with the actuating mechanism . The power circuit-breaker can be a single-pole power circuitbreaker or a multi-pole power circuit-breaker that comprises , for each pole , main contacts . The actuating mechanism can be configured for opening and closing all of the main contacts during normal operation conditions . In particular, the operating gate of the actuating mechanism can be configured for opening and closing the main contacts . The actuating mechanism and, in particular, the operating gate of the actuating mechanism, has a first switching position in which the main contacts are opened and a second switching position in which the main contacts are closed . In other words , the first switching position is a home position of the actuating mechanism, in which the power circuit-breaker is in an of f- state , whereas the power circuit-breaker is in an on-state when the actuating mechanism is in the second switching position . Furthermore , the actuating mechanism and, in particular, the operating gate has a third switching position into which the actuating mechanism can change from the second switching position when a tripping event occurs . In particular, the third switching position can be a position that is situated between the second switching position and the first switching position . In the following, the third switching position is also denoted as tripped position . Here and in the following, a tripping event can be any predetermined event at which the main contacts of the power circuit-breaker should be opened . For instance , as explained above , a tripping event can be an event where a current flows through the main contacts that e