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EP-4738409-A1 - SWITCHGEAR, METHOD AND USE

EP4738409A1EP 4738409 A1EP4738409 A1EP 4738409A1EP-4738409-A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a switchgear (1) for breaking an electrical connection, comprising a first contact structure (10) with a first base (12) and a first contact member (14); a second contact structure (20) with a second base (22) and a second contact member (24) and corresponding to the first contact structure (10); a spring accumulator (30) configured for resiliently mounting the first (14) or the second (24) contact member on the respective first (12) or second (22) base; a drive system (40) configured for at least partially moving the first (14) and the second (24) contact members relative to one another along a switching axis (2) in order to break the electrical connection to ground (GND); and a locking means (50) configured for locking the first (14) and the second (24) contact members along the switching axis (2) in a releasable manner.

Inventors

  • RICHTER, MARKUS
  • Riechert, Uwe
  • SCHLEMPER, Hans-Dieter

Assignees

  • Hitachi Energy Ltd

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20241031

Claims (15)

  1. Switchgear (1) for breaking an electrical connection, comprising a first contact structure (10) with a first base (12) and a first contact member (14); a second contact structure (20) with a second base (22) and a second contact member (24) and corresponding to the first contact structure (10); a spring accumulator (30) configured for resiliently mounting the first (14) or the second (24) contact member on the respective first (12) or second (22) base; a drive system (40) configured for at least partially moving the first (14) and the second (24) contact members relative to one another along a switching axis (2) in order to break the electrical connection to ground (GND); and a locking means (50) configured for locking the first (14) and the second (24) contact members along the switching axis (2) in a releasable manner.
  2. Switchgear (1) according to the preceding claim, wherein the first contact member (14) is movably held in the first base (12) and coupled to the drive system (40), and the second contact member (24) is movably held in the second base (22) and resiliently mounted via the spring accumulator (30) on the second base (22).
  3. Switchgear (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the first contact member (14) is configured for mating on an inside or outside of the first contact member (14) with the second contact member (24) on an outside inside of the second contact member (24), and particularly the first contact member (14) comprises a tube shape and the second contact member (24) comprises an axially elongated shape for mating on the inside or outside thereof with the outside or inside of the tube shape.
  4. Switchgear (1) according to the preceding claim, wherein the second base (22) comprises a receptacle (28) for mating on an inside or outside thereof with the outside or inside the first contact member (14) in order to conduct a switching current of at least 160 A.
  5. Switchgear (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the second contact structure (20) comprises a guide (26) for guiding the second contact member (24) between a first and a second position along the switching axis (2), and the spring accumulator (30) has a spiral spring and acts along the switching axis (2) and between the second contact member (24) and the guide (26).
  6. Switchgear (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the locking means (50) includes a metallic tulip (52) and a metallic ring (54), the ring (54) arranged on a front of the first contact member (14) facing the second contact structure (20) and configured for interacting with the tulip (52), the tulip (52) arranged on a circumference of the second contact member (24), the tulip (52) including spring elements to be compressed by the ring (54) in order to realize a releasable form fit and/or force fit acting along the switching axis (2).
  7. Switchgear (1) according to the preceding claim, wherein the metallic ring (54) includes tungsten and copper, and the second contact member (24) is provided on the side facing the first contact structure (10) with an arcing element (29) that includes tungsten and copper.
  8. Switchgear (1) according to one of the preceding three claims, wherein the second contact member (24) and the guide (26) each comprise a stop element (25), the stop elements (25) configured for stopping against each other in the second position in order to prevent further movement of the second contact member (24).
  9. Switchgear (1) according to one of the preceding claims, comprising a damping element interacting with the second contact member (24) and particularly with at least one of the stop elements (25).
  10. Switchgear (1) according to one of the preceding claims, comprising an enclosure (3) configured to be filed with insulating gas, the insulating gas including at least one of SF6 gas, N2 gas and CO2 gas.
  11. Switchgear (1) according to one of the preceding claims, comprising a device (60) configured for disconnecting the switchgear from ground (GND) in order to conduct measurements on electrical properties of the switchgear (1).
  12. Switchgear (1) according to one of the preceding claims which is configured for grounding a voltage of at least 245 kV, is rated with a/the switching current of at least 160 A, is rated with a recovery voltage of at least 10 kV, and is rated with a number of operations of at least ten.
  13. Switchgear (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the second base (22) comprises a cast aluminum part.
  14. Method to operate a switchgear (1) according to one of the preceding claims, comprising connecting the second contact structure (20) to ground (GND); moving the first contact member (14) along the switching axis (2) away from the second base (22) for the spring accumulator (30) to get charged while the first (14) and the second (24) contact members are locked along the switching axis (2) in a releasable manner, wherein the locking means (50) releases so that the spring accumulator (30) resiliently moves the first (14) and the second (24) contact member away from one another; and/or moving the first contact member (14) along the switching axis (2) towards the second base (22) for the first (10) and second (20) contact structures to form an electrical connection and thereby the first contact structure (10) to be connected to ground (GND) and the first (14) and the second (24) contact members to be locked along the switching axis (2) in a releasable manner.
  15. Use of a switchgear (1) according to one of claims 1 to 13 to break an electrical connection of an electrical system (100) to ground (GND).

Description

Technical Field The invention relates to a switchgear, the switchgear comprising contact members and a locking means configured for locking the contact members in a releasable manner. The invention further relates to a method and to a use. Background Art Switchgears remain an area of interest. Some existing switchgears have various shortcomings, drawbacks, and disadvantages relative to certain applications. For example, in some switchgears, improvements in their construction and/or electrical properties for a better reliability may be made. In addition, costs need to be optimized. Accordingly, there remains a need for further contributions in this area of technology. Summary of invention It is therefore an object of the invention to provide solutions with respect to switchgears that provide an enhanced maintenance, reduced cost, and increased lifetime. It is another object to widen the field of application of switchgears. Particularly it is an object to avoid or reduce disadvantages of known solutions. The object of the invention is solved by the features of the independent claims. Preferred implementations are detailed in the dependent claims, the description, and the figures. The object is particularly solved by a switchgear for breaking and optionally making an electrical connection, the switchgear comprising a first contact structure with a first base and a first contact member;a second contact structure with a second base and a second contact member and corresponding to the first contact structure;a spring accumulator configured for resiliently mounting the first or the second contact member on the respective first or second base;a drive system configured for at least partially moving the first contact member and the second contact member relative to one another along a switching axis in order to break and optionally make the electrical connection to ground; anda locking means configured for locking the first and the second contact members along the switching axis in a releasable manner. In other words, particularly, a contact system with a snapping mechanism is used to disconnect an electrical system substantially automatically and rapidly from a connection to ground. Thus, a crucial advance is seen in that a disconnector or disconnector contact system is used in order to break an electrical connection to ground. The invention realizes that induced switching ratings can be cleared efficiently. The spring accumulator realizes that the time of presence of an arc may be minimized, particularly thereby wear of the switchgear may be reduced as well. The effects and advantages named herein may be improved further by adoption of preferred features or a combination thereof. The switchgear is preferably configured for medium and/or high voltage switching applications. The switchgear may be capable of switching currents of 100 A or 160 A or more particularly at high voltages of 72.5 kV, particularly up to 1200 kV. The term medium voltage may refer to a voltage from 1 kV to 72.5 kV, and the term high voltage to a voltage greater than 72.5 kV. The term high voltage means preferably a voltage above 12 kV or 36 kV or 72 kV or 1100 kV. A high voltage preferably relates to nominal voltages in the range from above 12 kV, 36 kV or 72 kV to 550 kV or 1100 kV, like 145 kV, 245 kV or 420 kV, or more. The term medium voltage means preferably a voltage above 1 kV or 12 kV or 36 kV. A medium voltage preferably relates to nominal voltages in the range from above 1 kV, 12 kV or 36 kV to 72 kV, like 5 kV, 10 kV, 25 kV or 70 kV. The switchgear may have two contacts or more than two contacts, i.e. at least two contacts. The switchgear is particularly configured for breaking an electrical connection. The switchgear is particularly configured for making the electrical connection. Typically, the electrical connection is at least between the two contact members, wherein one of the contact members can be connected to ground. As such, breaking the electrical connection typically relates to disconnecting one of the contacts from ground, which contact to be disconnected from ground may be further connected to an electrical system of which induced current ratings can be cleared by said disconnecting/breaking. Optionally the switchgear can withstand fast acting earthing switch making requirements. The switchgear may be a gas-insulated high-voltage switchgear (GIS) and, in particular, an on-load earthing switch having a movable first contact structure and a stationary or movable second contact structure. The first contact structure has a first base and a first contact member. The second contact structure has a second base and a second contact member. The second contact structure corresponds to the first contact structure. For example, the contact structures or members correspond in shape to one another in order to provide an efficient electrical connection by being in contact to one another in terms of area. The bases may be arranged at a f