Tripping indication structure of circuit breaker and circuit breaker

Abstract

The invention provides a tripping indication structure of a circuit breaker, which comprises a tripping indication piece and an elastic piece, the elastic piece is connected between a shell and the tripping indication piece, the tripping indication piece is arranged on the shell and can move back and forth between a switching-on and switching-off position and a tripping position, the tripping indication piece is provided with a limiting part which is in limiting fit with a resisting part of the shell, and the limiting part is arranged on the shell. The operating mechanism of the circuit breaker is provided with a driving part. When the circuit breaker is switched off or switched on, the limiting part is matched with the resisting part; when the circuit breaker is tripped, the driving part drives the limiting part to be separated from the resisting part, and the tripping indicating piece moves from the opening and closing position to the tripping position under the elastic force of the elastic piece. The invention further provides a circuit breaker which comprises an operating mechanism and the tripping indication structure. According to the tripping indication structure of the circuit breaker and the circuit breaker, when the circuit breaker trips due to a fault, the driving part drives the tripping indication piece to release the limitation between the tripping indication piece and the resisting part, and the tripping indication piece realizes position switching under the action of the elastic piece, so that the tripping state is displayed.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the field of low-voltage electrical appliances, and in particular to a trip indication structure of a circuit breaker and a circuit breaker. Background Art

[0002] Miniature circuit breakers and residual current operated circuit breakers generally have overload protection and short circuit protection functions. When an overload or short circuit fault occurs in the line, the product will trip and disconnect. However, most existing miniature circuit breakers have closing and opening indication functions, but no tripping and disconnection indication function, and it is impossible to distinguish whether it is a fault disconnection or a manual disconnection. Summary of the invention

[0003] The purpose of the invention is to overcome at least one defect of the prior art and to provide a trip indication structure of a circuit breaker and a circuit breaker.

[0004] To achieve the above purpose, the present invention adopts the following technical solutions:

[0005] The tripping indication structure of the circuit breaker comprises a tripping indication member and an elastic member in a housing of the circuit breaker, wherein the elastic member is connected between the housing and the tripping indication member, the tripping indication member is mounted on the housing and can reciprocate between an opening and closing position and a tripping position, the tripping indication member is provided with a limiting portion which is limitedly matched with a stopper of the housing, and the operating mechanism of the circuit breaker has a driving portion; when the circuit breaker is opened or closed, the limiting portion of the tripping indication member is matched with the stopper of the housing, and the tripping indication member is kept in the opening and closing position; when the circuit breaker is tripped, the driving portion of the operating mechanism drives the limiting portion of the tripping indication member to disengage from the stopper of the housing, and the tripping indication member moves from the opening and closing position to the tripping position under the elastic force of the elastic member.

[0006] Preferably, the reciprocating motion of the trip indicator is a linear movement, and the limiting portion of the trip indicator cooperates with the limiting portion of the housing to block the trip indicator from moving from the opening and closing position to the tripping position; the direction in which the driving portion of the operating mechanism drives the trip indicator is the vertical direction of the linear movement of the trip indicator.

[0007] Preferably, a support plate for supporting a trip indicator is provided in the shell, the trip indicator is placed on the support plate and is located above the driving part, the limiting part of the trip indicator is a convex structure protruding downward, the support plate is provided with a movable hole for the movement of the limiting part, and the blocking part is a side wall of the movable hole.

[0008] Preferably, the other side wall of the movable hole is provided with an escape notch for evading the driving part.

[0009] Preferably, the trip indicator has an elastic rib, a fixed end of one end of the elastic rib is connected to the trip indicator, and a movable end of the other end of the elastic rib is tilted to abut against the upper top wall of the shell.

[0010] Preferably, the elastic rib and the limiting portion are respectively located on two opposite surfaces of the trip indicator.

[0011] Preferably, the elastic member is a spring, the elastic force direction of which is the linear movement direction of the trip indicator, one end of the elastic member is connected to the inner wall of the shell, and the other end is connected to one end of the trip indicator.

[0012] Preferably, the operating mechanism further comprises a reset portion, and the reset portion is freely matched with the limit portion of the opening and closing position tripping indicator, and is driven to be matched with the limit portion of the tripping position tripping indicator.

[0013] Preferably, the reset portion is a raised structure, which is located in front of the trip indicator in the direction from the opening and closing position to the tripping position, and the front end of the trip indicator is provided with a movable notch corresponding to the reset portion, and the movable notch has a pushed side wall on the movement trajectory of the reset portion.

[0014] Preferably, the trip indicator comprises an indicator body, the indicator body is provided with a normal indication area having a color different from that of the indicator body, the shell is provided with a window, the window is opposite to the normal indication area when the trip indicator is in the opening and closing position, and the window is opposite to the indicator body when the trip indicator is in the tripping position.

[0015] A circuit breaker comprises an operating mechanism and a trip indication structure of the circuit breaker of any one of the above technical solutions, wherein the operating mechanism comprises a tripping buckle and a locking buckle for performing tripping, one end of the tripping buckle is locked with the locking buckle, and the other end of the tripping buckle has a protruding driving part, the tripping buckle is locked with the locking buckle when the circuit breaker is opened or closed, and the tripping buckle rotates due to being unlocked from the locking buckle when the circuit breaker is tripped, and the driving part then drives the limiting part of the tripping indicator to disengage from the blocking part of the shell.

[0016] Preferably, the operating mechanism also includes a handle and a lever for realizing the linkage between the handle and the moving contact, the trip latch and the lock latch are respectively rotatably mounted on the lever, and the lever has a reset portion; the trip latch and the lever are linked when the circuit breaker is opened or closed, and the trip latch and the lock latch are unlocked when the circuit breaker is tripped, so that the linkage between the handle and the lever is disconnected, and the trip latch rotates on the lever; the handle is arranged on the top wall of the housing of the circuit breaker, and the trip indicator is arranged between the top wall of the housing and the operating mechanism.

[0017] The trip indication structure and circuit breaker of the circuit breaker created by the present invention increase the trip indication function on the basis of the existing circuit breaker structure. When the circuit breaker trips due to overload or short circuit fault, the operating mechanism driving part drives the trip indication part to release the restriction between the trip indication part and the blocking part of the shell. The trip indication part realizes position switching under the action of the elastic part, thereby displaying the trip state, realizing the distinction between the normal operation of the circuit breaker and the fault disconnection, which can help users to eliminate line faults in time, and can effectively avoid the wrong switching caused by wrong operation or product aging, assembly, etc., improve the stability and reliability of the position switching of the trip indication part, thereby improving the accuracy of the product status indication. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] Figure 1 It is a structural schematic diagram of a circuit breaker in an open state created by the present invention;

[0019] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the inner structure of the circuit breaker housing created by the present invention;

[0020] Figure 3 Schematic diagram of the bottom shell portion of the housing created by the present invention;

[0021] Figure 4 This invention is Figure 3 A magnified view of some structures;

[0022] Figure 5 It is a bottom-up stereoscopic diagram of the trip indicator created by the present invention;

[0023] Figure 6 It is a top perspective view of the trip indicator created by the present invention;

[0024] Figure 7 It is a structural schematic diagram of a circuit breaker in a tripped state created by the present invention;

[0025] Shell 1; blocking portion 101; supporting plate 102; shell top wall 103; movable cavity 104; movable hole 105; window 106; avoidance gap 107; trip indicator 2; limiting portion 201; elastic rib 202; indicator body 203; normal indication area 204; movable gap 205; pushed side wall 2051; avoidance through hole 206; elastic member 3; operating mechanism 4; trip button 41; driving portion 410; lock button 42; lever 43; reset portion 430; handle 44; linkage rod 45; moving contact 5; static contact 6; magnetic tripping system 7; thermal release 8. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] The following embodiments are combined with the accompanying drawings to further illustrate the specific implementation of the circuit breaker trip indication structure and the circuit breaker created by the present invention. The circuit breaker trip indication structure and the circuit breaker created by the present invention are not limited to the description of the following embodiments.

[0027] like Figure 1-2 and Figure 7 As shown, the circuit breaker of this embodiment includes a housing 1, an operating mechanism 4, a matching moving contact 5 and a fixed contact 6, a magnetic tripping system 7, a thermal tripper 8 and a tripping indication structure. The operating mechanism 4 includes a tripping catch 41 and a lock catch 42 for performing a tripping, a handle 44 for operation, and a lever 43 for realizing the linkage between the handle 44 and the moving contact 5. The handle 44 is linked with the lever 43 through a linkage rod 45 and the tripping catch 41. The two ends of the linkage rod 45 are respectively hinged with the handle 44 and the tripping catch 41. The tripping catch 41 and the lock catch 42 are locked and matched, and are respectively rotatably mounted on the lever 43. One end of the moving contact 5 is mounted on the contact support and is mounted together on the lever 43, and the other end is used to contact and cooperate with the fixed contact 6 to realize the switching of the circuit breaker. When the circuit breaker is opened or closed, the trip button 41 is locked with the lock button 42 and linked with the lever 43, and the handle 44 can drive the lever 43, and then drive the moving contact 5 and the static contact 6 to open and close normally; when the circuit breaker is tripped, the trip button 41 and the lock button 42 are unlocked so that the linkage between the handle 44 and the lever 43 is disconnected, so that the handle 44 cannot drive the moving contact 5 and the static contact 6 to contact and cooperate, and the trip button 41 rotates on the lever 43. The other structures of the circuit breaker of this embodiment except the trip indication structure and their working process and principle are prior art and will not be repeated here.

[0028] The tripping indication structure of the circuit breaker of this embodiment is used to distinguish the normal working state of the circuit breaker opening / closing from the tripping state of the fault tripping. The tripping indication structure includes a tripping indicator 2 and an elastic member 3, wherein the elastic member 3 is connected between the housing 1 and the tripping indicator 2, the tripping indicator 2 is mounted on the housing 1, and can move back and forth between the opening and closing position and the tripping position, the tripping indicator 2 is provided with a limiting portion 201 which is limitedly matched with the stopper 101 of the housing 1, and is used for the tripping indicator 2 to overcome the elastic force of the elastic member 3 and remain in the opening and closing position, one end of the tripping buckle 41 of the operating mechanism 4 of the circuit breaker is provided with a locking tooth which is meshed with the lock buckle 42, and is used for locking with the lock buckle 42, and the other end of the tripping buckle 41 has a protruding driving portion 410. When the circuit breaker is opened or closed, the lock 42 locks the trip button 41 on the lever 43 at a specific angle, and the driving part 410 of the trip button 41 does not contact the trip indicator 2 during the operation. Therefore, the limit part 201 of the trip indicator 2 is always matched with the stop part 101 of the housing 1, and the trip indicator 2 is kept in the opening and closing position; when the circuit breaker is tripped, the trip button 41 is freed from the restriction of the lock 42 and rotates on the lever 43 and the angle is adjusted (such as Figure 2The driving part 410 of the trip button 41 contacts the trip indicator 2, and the driving part 410 drives the trip indicator 2, thereby driving the limiting part 201 of the trip indicator 2 to disengage from the blocking part 101 of the shell 1, and the trip indicator 2 moves from the opening and closing position to the tripping position under the elastic force of the elastic part 3.

[0029] The trip indication structure and circuit breaker of the circuit breaker of the present embodiment are provided with a trip indication function on the basis of the existing circuit breaker structure. When the circuit breaker trips due to overload or short circuit fault, the driving part 410 of the operating mechanism 4 drives the trip indication member 2 to release the restriction between the trip indication member 2 and the blocking part 101 of the housing 1. The trip indication member 2 is switched in position under the action of the elastic member 3, thereby displaying the trip state, distinguishing whether the circuit breaker is disconnected manually due to normal operation and disconnected due to fault, which can help users to eliminate line faults in time, and can effectively avoid erroneous switching caused by misoperation or product aging, assembly, etc., improve the stability and reliability of the position switching of the trip indication member 2, and thus improve the accuracy of product status indication.

[0030] like Figure 2 As shown, the reciprocating motion of the trip indicator 2 is a linear motion, and the limiting portion 201 of the trip indicator 2 cooperates with the blocking portion 101 of the housing 1 to form a blocking portion to block the trip indicator 2 from moving from the opening and closing position to the tripping position. When the trip indicator 2 moves to the tripping position, the blocking portion 101 is located directly in front of the limiting portion 201; the driving portion 410 of the tripping mechanism 4 drives the trip indicator 2 in a direction perpendicular to the linear motion of the trip indicator 2. The position switching direction of the trip indicator 2 is the same as the restricted direction, and is perpendicular to the driving direction of the driving portion 410, that is, the direction of releasing the restriction of the trip indicator 2, which is conducive to the trip indicator 2 being stably maintained at the opening and closing position. At the same time, when tripping, the driving portion 410 can easily drive the trip indicator 2 to release the restriction and switch to the tripping position. The structure is simple and the accuracy of the trip indication is improved.

[0031] like Figure 3-6 As shown, the housing 1 is provided with a support plate 102 for supporting the trip indicator 2, the support plate 102 and the housing top wall 103 are spaced apart to form an activity cavity 104 for the trip indicator 2 to move, the support plate 102 is provided with an activity hole 105 for the limiter 201 to move, the trip indicator 2 is placed on the support plate 102 and is located above the drive unit 410, the drive unit 410 is as shown Figure 2 The convex structure is shown in FIG. 4 . When the circuit breaker is tripped, the driving part 410 abuts against the bottom surface of the trip indicator 2 and lifts the trip indicator 2 during the rotation of the trip button 41. Figure 5-6As shown, the trip indicator 2 is an integrally formed structure, including an indicator body 203, a limiting portion 201 and an elastic rib 202 integrally arranged on the indicator body 203, the limiting portion 201 is a protruding structure protruding downward on the bottom surface of the indicator body 203, the limiting portion 201 is movably placed in the movable hole 105, the blocking portion 101 is a side wall of the movable hole 105, specifically the side wall away from the elastic member 3, the other side wall of the movable hole 105 is provided with an avoidance notch 107 for avoiding the driving portion 410, the movement of the driving portion 410 is rotation, and the avoidance notch 107 is preferably arc-shaped. The handle 44 is arranged on one end of the housing top wall 103 of the circuit breaker, and the trip indicator 2 is arranged below the other end of the housing top wall 103 and is located between the housing top wall 103 and the operating mechanism 4. It moves linearly between the housing top wall 103 and the operating mechanism 4, and the linear movement direction is basically parallel to the housing top wall 103. It occupies a small space and does not need to change the existing circuit breaker mechanism.

[0032] like Figure 5-6 As shown, the trip indicator 2 is provided with an escape hole 206 corresponding to the elastic rib 202, the fixed end of one end of the elastic rib 202 is connected to the side wall of the escape hole 206 of the trip indicator 2, and the movable end of the other end of the elastic rib 202 is tilted and abuts against the upper shell top wall 103, and the movable end of the elastic rib 202 enters the escape hole 206 during the compression of the elastic rib 202. During the process of the driving part 410 lifting the trip indicator 2, the elastic rib 202 is squeezed and deformed by the shell top wall 103 to store energy, and after the driving part 410 removes the action on the trip indicator 2, the elastic rib 202 releases the energy, and the trip indicator 2 moves downward, completing the reset of the trip indicator 2 in the vertical direction.

[0033] like Figure 6 As shown, the indicator body 203 is provided with a normal indication area 204 of a different color from the indicator body 203. Specifically, the normal indication area 204 is arranged on the front end top surface of the indicator body 203 in the direction from the opening and closing position to the tripping position. The housing 1 is provided with a window 106. When the trip indicator 2 is in the opening and closing position, the window 106 is opposite to the normal indication area 204, and when it is in the tripping position, the window 106 is opposite to the indicator body 203. In a specific embodiment, the indicator body 203 is set to red, and the normal indication area 204 is set to white. In the normal working state of the circuit breaker opening / closing, the window 106 displays white, and in the tripping state of the circuit breaker fault tripping, the window 106 displays red. The different colors of the indicator body 203 and the normal indication area 204 include but are not limited to red and white.

[0034] like Figure 2As shown, the elastic member 3 is a spring, and the direction of its elastic force is the linear movement direction of the trip indicator 2. One end of the elastic member 3 is connected to the inner wall of the housing 1, and the other end is connected to one end of the trip indicator 2. During the energy release process of the elastic member 3, the trip indicator 2 moves from the opening and closing position to the tripping position; during the movement of the trip indicator 2 from the tripping position to the opening and closing position, the elastic member 3 is compressed to store energy. The driving direction of the elastic member 3 is the same as the moving direction of the trip indicator 2, the structure is simple, and the driving is stable and reliable.

[0035] like Figure 2 As shown, the lever 43 of the operating mechanism 4 has a reset portion 430, and the reset portion 430 is freely matched with the limit portion 201 of the trip indicator 2 at the opening and closing position, and is driven to match with the limit portion 201 of the trip indicator 2 at the tripping position. The reset portion 430 is a raised structure, which is located in front of the trip indicator 2 in the direction from the opening and closing position to the tripping position, and the front end of the trip indicator 2 is provided with an active notch 205 corresponding to the reset portion 430, and the active notch 205 has a pushed side wall 2051 on the movement trajectory of the reset portion 430. When the circuit breaker is opened or closed, the reset portion 430 can move freely in the movable notch 205 without interfering with the trip indicator 2; after the circuit breaker is tripped, the reset portion 430 abuts against the pushed side wall 2051 of the movable notch 205. After the circuit breaker fault is resolved, the circuit breaker is manually reclosed, the operating mechanism 4 is reset, and the reset portion 430 moves, thereby pushing the pushed side wall 2051 of the movable notch 205, so that the trip indicator 2 is reset in the horizontal direction and moves from the trip position to the opening and closing position. At this time, the elastic rib 202 releases energy to reset the trip indicator 2 in the vertical direction, and the trip indicator 2 moves downward. The limiting portion 201 of the trip indicator 2 is limited and matched with the blocking portion 101 of the shell 1, and the elastic member 3 is in a compressed energy storage state.

[0036] It should be noted that in the description of the invention, the terms "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "inner", "outer", etc. indicate the orientation or position relationship based on the orientation or position relationship shown in the drawings, or the orientation or position relationship usually placed when in use, which is only for the convenience of description, and does not indicate that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as a limitation on the invention. In addition, the terms "first", "second", "third", etc. are only used to distinguish the description, and cannot be understood as indicating relative importance.

[0037] The above content is a further detailed description of the invention in combination with specific preferred implementation methods, and it cannot be determined that the specific implementation of the invention is limited to these descriptions. For ordinary technicians in the technical field to which the invention belongs, several simple deductions or substitutions can be made without departing from the concept of the invention, which should be regarded as falling within the scope of protection of the invention.

Claims

1. The trip indication structure of the circuit breaker is characterized by: The invention comprises a trip indicator (2) and an elastic member (3) in a housing (1) of a circuit breaker, wherein the elastic member (3) is connected between the housing (1) and the trip indicator (2), the trip indicator (2) is mounted on the housing (1) and can move back and forth between an opening and closing position and a tripping position, the trip indicator (2) is provided with a limiting portion (201) that is limitedly matched with a resisting portion (101) of the housing (1), and the operating mechanism (4) of the circuit breaker has a driving portion (41 0); when the circuit breaker is opened or closed, the limiting portion (201) of the trip indicator (2) cooperates with the resisting portion (101) of the housing (1), and the trip indicator (2) remains in the opening and closing position; when the circuit breaker is tripped, the driving portion (410) of the operating mechanism (4) drives the limiting portion (201) of the trip indicator (2) to disengage from the resisting portion (101) of the housing (1), and under the elastic force of the elastic member (3), the trip indicator (2) moves from the opening and closing position to the tripping position.

2. The trip indication structure of a circuit breaker according to claim 1, characterized in that: The reciprocating motion of the trip indicator (2) is linear motion; the limiting portion (201) of the trip indicator (2) and the blocking portion (101) of the housing (1) are in limiting cooperation, thereby blocking the trip indicator (2) from moving from the opening and closing position to the tripping position; and the driving portion (410) of the operating mechanism (4) drives the trip indicator (2) in a direction perpendicular to the linear motion of the trip indicator (2).

3. The trip indication structure of the circuit breaker according to claim 2, characterized in that: A support plate (102) for supporting a trip indicator (2) is provided in the housing (1); the trip indicator (2) is placed on the support plate (102) and is located above the driving portion (410); the limiting portion (201) of the trip indicator (2) is a downwardly protruding convex structure; the support plate (102) is provided with a movable hole (105) for the limiting portion (201) to move; and the blocking portion (101) is a side wall of the movable hole (105).

4. The trip indication structure of a circuit breaker according to claim 3, characterized in that: The other side wall of the movable hole (105) is provided with an avoidance notch (107) for avoiding the driving part (410).

5. The trip indication structure of a circuit breaker according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: The trip indicator (2) has an elastic rib (202), a fixed end of one end of the elastic rib (202) is connected to the trip indicator (2), and a movable end of the other end of the elastic rib (202) is tilted and abuts against the upper shell top wall (103).

6. The trip indication structure of the circuit breaker according to claim 5, characterized in that: The elastic rib (202) and the limiting portion (201) are respectively located on two opposite surfaces of the trip indicator (2).

7. The trip indication structure of a circuit breaker according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: The elastic member (3) is a spring, the elastic force direction of which is the linear movement direction of the trip indicator (2), one end of the elastic member (3) is connected to the inner side wall of the housing (1), and the other end is connected to one end of the trip indicator (2).

8. The trip indication structure of a circuit breaker according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: The operating mechanism (4) further comprises a reset portion (430), wherein the reset portion (430) freely cooperates with the limit portion (201) of the opening and closing position trip indicator (2), and is driven to cooperate with the limit portion (201) of the trip position trip indicator (2).

9. The trip indication structure of a circuit breaker according to claim 8, characterized in that: The reset portion (430) is a raised structure, located in front of the trip indicator (2) in the direction from the opening and closing position to the trip position, and the front end of the trip indicator (2) is provided with a movable notch (205) corresponding to the reset portion (430), and the movable notch (205) has a pushed side wall (2051) on the movement trajectory of the reset portion (430).

10. A circuit breaker, characterized in that: The invention comprises an operating mechanism (4) and a trip indication structure of a circuit breaker according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the operating mechanism (4) comprises a tripping catch (41) and a locking catch (42) for performing tripping, one end of the tripping catch (41) is locked with the locking catch (42), and the other end of the tripping catch (41) has a protruding driving portion (410). When the circuit breaker is opened or closed, the tripping catch (41) is locked with the locking catch (42). When the circuit breaker is tripped, the tripping catch (41) rotates due to being unlocked from the locking catch (42), and the driving portion (410) then drives the limiting portion (201) of the tripping indicator (2) to disengage from the blocking portion (101) of the housing (1).

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