US-12626872-B2 - Circuit breaker linear lever and tripping fork mechanism

US12626872B2US 12626872 B2US12626872 B2US 12626872B2US-12626872-B2

Abstract

Various embodiments of the present technology generally relate to industrial circuit breakers. More specifically, a linear lever and tripping fork mechanism for thermal-magnetic circuit breakers is disclosed that provides information in the event of a trip about what caused the trip (i.e., overload or short circuit). In an embodiment, a circuit breaker includes a tripping fork that pivots in response to a thermal trip occurring in the device. In response to the tripping fork pivoting, a linear lever slides into a trip indication position. In response to the linear lever sliding into the trip indication position, trip indication componentry provides an indication that the thermal trip occurred to an output on the circuit breaker. The circuit breaker further includes a second tripping fork and linear lever that behave similarly in response to a magnetic trip occurring in the device.

Inventors

Rahel J. von Arx
David J. Urech
Ulrich Weber
Sadashiv Pimple

Assignees

ROCKWELL AUTOMATION SWITZERLAND GMBH

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20231109

Claims (20)

1 . A circuit breaker comprising: a tripping fork comprising a contact surface, wherein: the tripping fork shifts between a no-trip position and a tripped position, the no-trip position is in a first plane, the tripped position is in a second plane different than the first plane, the contact surface physically contacts a first end of a linear lever in the no-trip position, and the contact surface does not physically contact the first end of the linear lever in the tripped position; the linear lever comprising the first end of the linear lever, wherein: the linear lever is held in a disengaged position by the contact surface of the tripping fork physically contacting the first end of the linear lever when the tripping fork is in the no-trip position, and the linear lever slides in a third plane in a first direction into a trip indication position in response to the tripping fork shifting from the no-trip position to the tripped position; trip indication componentry triggered by the linear lever sliding into the trip indication position, wherein the trip indication componentry provides an indication of a tripped state of the circuit breaker to an output; and the output comprising an auxiliary port.
2 . The circuit breaker of claim 1 , wherein: the linear lever further comprises a second end of the linear lever coupled to a spring; and the spring exerts a force on the linear lever that pushes the linear lever into the trip indication position in response to the tripping fork shifting from the no-trip position to the tripped position.
3 . The circuit breaker of claim 2 , further comprising a rotary toggle comprising a pushing element on a circumferential edge of the rotary toggle, wherein: the pushing element pushes the linear lever from the trip indication position to the disengaged position in response to the rotary toggle rotating in a first direction; and pushing the linear lever to the disengaged position comprises compressing the spring.
4 . The circuit breaker of claim 1 , further comprising a latch lever triggered by a latch, wherein: the latch lever pushes the tripping fork from the no-trip position to the tripped position in response to the latch triggering the latch lever; and the latch triggers the latch lever in response to a thermal overload in the circuit breaker.
5 . The circuit breaker of claim 1 , further comprising a faceplate, wherein the faceplate comprises the auxiliary port.
6 . The circuit breaker of claim 1 , further comprising: a second tripping fork comprising a second contact surface, wherein: the second tripping fork shifts between a no-short position and a short position, the no-short position is in the first plane, the short position is in the second plane, the second contact surface physically contacts a first end of a second linear lever in the no-short position, and the second contact surface does not physically contact the first end of the second linear lever in the short position; the second linear lever comprising the first end of the second linear lever, wherein: the second linear lever is held in a second disengaged position by the second contact surface of the second tripping fork physically contacting the first end of the second linear lever when the second tripping fork is in the no-short position, the second linear lever slides in the third plane in the first direction into a short indication position in response to the second tripping fork shifting from the no-short position to the short position; short indication componentry triggered by the second linear lever sliding into the short indication position, wherein the short indication componentry provides an indication of a magnetic trip to a second output; and the second output comprising a second auxiliary port.
7 . The circuit breaker of claim 6 , further comprising a latch lever triggered by a latch, wherein: the latch lever pushes the tripping fork from the no-trip position to the tripped position in response to the latch triggering the latch lever; and the latch triggers the latch lever in response to a magnetic trip in the circuit breaker.
8 . The circuit breaker of claim 6 , wherein the linear lever slides in the third plane in the first direction into the trip indication position in response to the tripping fork shifting from the no-trip position to the tripped position.
9 . The circuit breaker of claim 6 , wherein: the second linear lever further comprises a second end of the second linear lever coupled to a second spring; and the second spring exerts a force on the second linear lever that pushes the second linear lever into the short indication position in response to the second tripping fork shifting from the no-trip position to the tripped position.
10 . The circuit breaker of claim 9 , further comprising a rotary toggle comprising a pushing element on a circumferential edge of the rotary toggle, wherein: the pushing element pushes the linear lever from the trip indication position to the disengaged position in response to the rotary toggle rotating in a first direction; pushing the linear lever to the disengaged position comprises compressing the spring; and the linear lever comprises a pushing element that pushes the second linear lever from the short indication position to the second disengaged position in response to the rotary toggle rotating in the first direction, wherein pushing the second linear lever to the second disengaged position comprises compressing the second spring.
11 . The circuit breaker of claim 6 , further comprising one or more magnetic plungers coupled to the second tripping fork, wherein: the second tripping fork shifts from the no-short position to the short position in response to the one or more magnetic plungers moving; and the one or more magnetic plungers move in response to a magnetic field generated in response to a short circuit.
12 . The circuit breaker of claim 6 , further comprising a faceplate comprising a second opening, wherein the second auxiliary port is accessible via the second opening on the faceplate of the circuit breaker.
13 . A method of operating a circuit breaker, the method comprising: holding, via a contact surface of a tripping fork that physically contacts a first end of a linear lever when the tripping fork is in a no-trip position, the linear lever in a disengaged position when the circuit breaker is closed; in response to a trip occurring in the circuit breaker, shifting the tripping fork from the no-trip position to a tripped position, wherein: the no-trip position is in a first plane and shifting the tripping fork from the no-trip position to the tripped position comprises shifting the tripping fork relative to the first plane; and the contact surface of the tripping fork does not contact the first end of the linear lever when the tripping fork is in the tripped position; in response to shifting the tripping fork from the no-trip position to the tripped position, pushing, via a spring coupled to a second end of the linear lever, the linear lever in a second plane in a first direction into a trip indication position, wherein the spring is compressed when the linear lever is in the disengaged position and the spring is extended when the linear lever is in the trip indication position; and in response to the spring pushing the linear lever into the trip indication position, providing an indication of the trip to an output of the circuit breaker via trip indication componentry.
14 . The method of claim 13 , wherein: the trip is a thermal trip; shifting the tripping fork from the no-trip position to the tripped position occurs in response to the thermal trip; pushing the linear lever into the trip indication position occurs in response to the thermal trip; and providing the indication of the trip to the output of the circuit breaker comprises providing an indication that the trip is the thermal trip.
15 . The method of claim 13 , wherein: shifting the tripping fork from the no-trip position to the tripped position comprises pushing, by a latch lever, the tripping fork from the no-trip position to the tripped position in response to the trip occurring in the circuit breaker; and pushing the tripping fork from the no-trip position to the tripped position comprises moving the latch lever in response to an overload.
16 . The method of claim 13 , further comprising resetting the circuit breaker after the trip, wherein: resetting the circuit breaker after the trip comprises rotating a rotary toggle in a first direction about a first axis via a rotary switch, the rotary toggle comprises a pushing element on a circumferential edge of the rotary toggle that pushes the linear lever from the trip indication position to the disengaged position as the rotary toggle rotates in the first direction, and pushing the linear lever to the disengaged position comprises compressing the spring.
17 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the output comprises an auxiliary port on a faceplate of the circuit breaker.
18 . The method of claim 13 , further comprising: holding, via a second contact surface of a second tripping fork that physically contacts a first end of a second linear lever when the second tripping fork is in a no-short position, the second linear lever in a second disengaged position when the circuit breaker is closed and in response to the trip occurring in the circuit breaker, wherein the trip is a thermal trip; in response to a magnetic trip occurring in the circuit breaker, shifting the second tripping fork from the no-short position to a short position, wherein: the no-short position is in the first plane and shifting the second tripping fork from the no-short position to the short position comprises shifting the second tripping fork relative to the first plane; and the second contact surface of the second tripping fork does not contact the first end of the second linear lever when the second tripping fork is in the short position; in response to shifting the second tripping fork from the no-short position to the short position, pushing, via a second spring coupled to a second end of the second linear lever, the second linear lever in the second plane in the first direction into a short indication position, wherein the second spring is compressed when the second linear lever is in the second disengaged position and the second spring is extended when the second linear lever is in the short indication position; and in response to the second spring pushing the second linear lever into the short indication position, providing a second indication of the magnetic trip to a second output of the circuit breaker via short indication componentry.
19 . The method of claim 18 , further comprising, in response to the magnetic trip occurring in the circuit breaker, shifting the tripping fork from the no-trip position to the trip position.
20 . The method of claim 18 , further comprising, in response to the magnetic trip occurring in the circuit breaker, pushing the linear lever into the trip indication position.

Description

INCORPORATIONS The following U.S. Patent Applications, each of which are filed concurrently with the present application, are incorporated by reference herein in their entireties for all purposes: U.S. patent application Ser. No. 18/505,948, titled “CIRCUIT BREAKER INTERLOCK MECHANISM”; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 18/505,989, titled “CIRCUIT BREAKER TRIPPING MECHANISM”; and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 18/506,006, titled “CIRCUIT BREAKER COMPENSATION BIMETAL OF A THERMAL TRIPPING MECHANISM.” Each of the applications describe features of a circuit breaker, all of which can be incorporated into a single circuit breaker to obtain the benefit of each of the described features. TECHNICAL FIELD Various embodiments of the present technology generally relate to features of circuit breakers used in industrial automation environments. More specifically, embodiments of the present technology include a tripping fork and linear lever mechanism that provides an indication as to whether a thermal trip or magnetic trip occurred in an industrial automation circuit breaker. BACKGROUND Circuit breakers are electrical switching devices designed to protect electrical circuits from potential damage that can be caused by short circuits or overloads. Circuit breakers may be implemented in industrial environments as components of electrical circuits. The basic purpose of a circuit breaker is to stop the flow of current during fault conditions or overload situations. Different types of circuit breakers may be used depending on the needs of a particular system. Circuit breakers may use various components for detecting trip conditions. One common type of circuit breaker is the thermal-magnetic circuit breaker. A thermal-magnetic circuit breaker combines the functions of a thermal circuit breaker and a magnetic circuit breaker. A thermal circuit breaker protects against overcurrent using a bimetallic strip that deforms as it heats up, causing a mechanical displacement that eventually trips the device. A magnetic circuit breaker protects against short circuits using a magnetic coil, whose large magnetic field produced by large spikes in current breaks the circuit. Thus, a thermal-magnetic circuit breaker is responsive to both small overloads that persist for too long and large spikes in current (short circuits). However, the inner componentry of circuit breakers is typically not exposed and therefore not visible to operators or other personnel who may wish to know what caused the device to trip (i.e., overload or short circuit). Nonetheless, information pertaining to what caused the circuit breaker to trip may be useful to such operators or other personnel. Systems and methods to provide this information exist but lack convenience, reliability, and flexibility. It is with respect to this general technical environment that aspects of the present disclosure have been contemplated. Furthermore, although a general environment is discussed, it should be understood that the described examples should not be limited to the general environment identified in the background. SUMMARY This Overview is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter. Various embodiments of the present technology generally relate to features of thermal-magnetic circuit breakers. More specifically, embodiments of the present technology include a tripping fork and linear lever mechanism that provides an indication as to whether a thermal trip or magnetic trip occurred in a circuit breaker. In an embodiment of the present technology, a circuit breaker includes a tripping fork, a linear lever, trip indication componentry, and an output. The tripping fork has a contact surface and shifts between a no-trip position and a tripped position. The no-trip position is in a first plane and the tripped position is in a second plane different than the first plane. The contact surface physically contacts a first end of the linear lever in the no-trip position and does not physically contact the first end of the linear lever in the tripped position. The contact surface of the tripping fork physically contacts a first end of the linear lever when the tripping fork is in the no-trip position. The linear lever slides in a third plane in a first direction into a trip indication position in response to the tripping fork shifting from the no-trip position to the tripped position. The trip indication componentry is triggered by the linear lever sliding into the trip indication position. The trip indication componentry then provides an indication of a tripped state of the circuit breaker to an output. The output comprises an auxiliary port. In some embodiments, the linear lever is coupled to a spring at a