Overreach indicating structure for miniature circuit breaker

Abstract

The application discloses a kind of overtravel indicating structure of miniature circuit breaker, and miniature circuit breaker includes shell and setting in shell combination drive component, it is characterized by: the overtravel indicating structure includes overtravel indicating piece and overtravel transmission component, and positioning disc is arranged on the lateral wall of shell;The overtravel indicating piece is slidably fitted on the positioning disc, with three-color indicating area, respectively green area indicating a small amount of burning loss, yellow area indicating medium burning loss and red area indicating a large amount of burning loss;The overtravel transmission component is located in the shell and cooperates with the combination drive component, and drives the overtravel indicating piece to slide unidirectionally when closing, so that green area is gradually switched to yellow area, and yellow area is gradually switched to red area.The application can provide three-level indication of a small amount of burning loss, medium burning loss and a large amount of burning loss according to the contact silver point burning loss degree.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of miniature circuit breakers, and more particularly to an overtravel indication structure for a miniature circuit breaker. Background Technology

[0002] Miniature circuit breakers (MCBs) are important protective electrical devices in terminal power distribution systems, used to distribute electrical energy and protect lines and equipment from faults such as overload and short circuit. The main structure of existing MCBs on the market includes a housing and a closing / opening drive assembly, a moving contact, a stationary contact, a magnetic drive assembly for short-circuit protection, and a bimetallic strip assembly for overload protection. The closing / opening drive assembly includes a drive handle on the housing, a support member rotatably connected to a positioning shaft inside the housing, a moving contact mounting member coaxial with the support member and located on the first side of the support member, a locking assembly rotatably connected to the second side of the support member, and a moving contact mounted on the moving contact mounting member. The drive handle is connected to the locking assembly via a connecting rod, causing the support member, the moving contact mounting member, and the moving contact to swing, thus closing and opening the moving contact with the stationary contact.

[0003] During operation, the silver contacts on the moving and stationary contacts gradually burn out with each opening and closing operation. When the burnout reaches a certain level, it leads to insufficient overtravel, affecting contact reliability and ultimately causing circuit breaker failure. Existing miniature circuit breakers typically lack overtravel indication functionality, leaving users unable to ascertain the remaining lifespan of the silver contacts and forcing them to passively replace the circuit breaker only after it has completely failed. A few products have overtravel indication devices, but these only indicate two extreme states: "normal" and "exhausted," failing to provide early warning when the overtravel is more than half depleted. Users cannot schedule maintenance or replacement in advance, posing a risk of passive failure. Furthermore, for multi-pole miniature circuit breakers, when the silver contacts on one pole are severely burned, users cannot intuitively and accurately determine which pole requires maintenance, creating difficulties for equipment management. Summary of the Invention

[0004] To address the shortcomings of existing technologies, this invention provides an overtravel indication structure for a miniature circuit breaker, which can provide three levels of indication—minor burn-out, moderate burn-out, and major burn-out—based on the degree of burn-out of the silver contacts.

[0005] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention provides the following technical solution: An overtravel indication structure for a miniature circuit breaker, the miniature circuit breaker including a housing and a make / break drive assembly disposed in the housing, characterized in that: the overtravel indication structure includes an overtravel indicator, an overtravel transmission assembly and a positioning disk disposed on the side wall of the housing; The overtravel indicator is slidably fitted on the positioning disk and has three color indicator areas: a green area indicating a small amount of burn-off, a yellow area indicating a medium amount of burn-off, and a red area indicating a large amount of burn-off. The overtravel transmission component is located inside the housing and works in conjunction with the closing and opening drive component. When the circuit is closed, it drives the overtravel indicator to slide in one direction, so that the green area gradually switches to the yellow area, and the yellow area gradually switches to the red area.

[0006] Preferably, the positioning disk has a positioning groove for the overtravel indicator to slide in; The positioning groove includes a positioning section and a display section, and the inner wall of the positioning section has positioning grooves arranged along the extension direction of the positioning section. The overtravel indicator includes an elastic positioning arm that fits in the positioning section and an indicator plate that fits in the display section. The elastic positioning arm has a positioning protrusion that fits in the positioning groove, and the three-color indicator area is located on the indicator plate.

[0007] Preferably, the overtravel transmission assembly includes an overtravel transmission lever, a travel amplification component, and a second transmission boss; The overtravel transmission lever is formed on the lower surface of the overtravel indicator; The stroke amplification component is rotatably connected to the lower surface of the positioning disk, and the upper end of the stroke amplification component can contact the overtravel transmission lever. The second transmission boss is fixed on the moving contact mounting part of the connecting and disconnecting drive assembly and can contact the lower end of the stroke amplification part.

[0008] Preferably, the stroke amplification component is divided into an upper transmission part located on the upper side and a lower transmission part located on the lower side, with the hinge shaft as the boundary, and the length of the upper transmission part is greater than the length of the lower transmission part.

[0009] Preferably, the positioning groove in the positioning slot corresponding to the overtravel indicator has three grooves arranged in a front-to-back pattern.

[0010] The advantages of this invention are: 1. The overtravel indication structure is integrated into the miniature circuit breaker. Through the overtravel indication structure, three levels of indication (green, yellow, and red) can be provided according to the degree of silver point burn-out. Users can be notified in advance when more than half of the silver point is burned out, so as to arrange preventive maintenance and avoid passive failure.

[0011] 2. By using a stroke amplification component, the minute angular changes of the moving contact mounting component are magnified into a significant displacement of the overtravel indicator, thereby achieving precise graded indication.

[0012] 3. When multiple miniature circuit breakers of this invention are integrated into a multi-pole circuit breaker, each pole is equipped with an independent overtravel indication structure. When the silver point of a certain pole is severely burned, the user can immediately and accurately locate the specific pole, facilitating targeted maintenance. Attached Figure Description

[0013] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the miniature circuit breaker with multi-functional fault indication provided in this embodiment; Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram showing the hidden window display panel provided in this embodiment; Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the housing after it has been hidden in the closed state, as provided in this embodiment. Figure 4 This is an assembly diagram of the second side of the support member provided in this embodiment; Figure 5 This is an assembly diagram of the first side of the support member provided in this embodiment; Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the overtravel indication structure provided in this embodiment; Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram showing the alignment of the indicator provided in this embodiment on the positioning disk; Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the overtravel transmission lever provided in this embodiment. Detailed Implementation

[0014] Combination Figures 1 to 8 The overtravel indication structure of the miniature circuit breaker of the present invention will be further described.

[0015] A miniature circuit breaker with multi-functional fault indication includes a housing 10 formed by two half-shells covering each other, and a closing / opening drive assembly 6, a moving contact 32, a stationary contact 31, a magnetic drive assembly 4 for short-circuit protection, and a bimetallic strip assembly 2 for overload protection disposed in the housing 10.

[0016] The opening / closing drive assembly 6 includes a drive handle 61 rotatably disposed within the housing, a support member 63 rotatably connected to a positioning shaft 102 within the housing, a movable contact mounting member 64 coaxial with the support member 63 and located on the first side of the support member 63, rotating with the support member 63, a locking assembly 62 rotatably connected to the second side of the support member 63, and a movable contact 32 disposed on the lower end 642 of the movable contact mounting member 64. The lower side of the drive handle 61 is located inside the housing 10, and the handle portion 612 is located outside the housing 10 through an opening in the housing 10 for the operator to hold. The drive handle 61 is connected to the locking assembly 62 via a connecting rod 66, causing the support member 63, the movable contact mounting member 64, and the movable contact 32 to swing, causing the movable contact 32 to open and close with the stationary contact 31. A torsion spring 67 is provided on the moving contact mounting member 64. The torsion spring 67 is coaxial with the positioning shaft 102. At the same time, the two ends of the torsion spring 67 are fixed on the support member 63 and the moving contact mounting member 64 respectively. Therefore, the moving contact mounting member 64 can rotate around the positioning shaft 102 with the support member 63 without any faulty external force.

[0017] The locking assembly 62 includes an upper latch 621 and a lower latch 622. An upper connecting shaft 631 and a lower connecting shaft 632 are located on the second side of the support member 63, corresponding to the front side of the positioning shaft 102. The first end of the upper latch 621 is connected to the upper connecting shaft 631, and the second end is connected to the connecting rod 66, with an upper engagement step 6211 on the second end. The lower latch 622 is connected to the lower connecting shaft 632, and has a locking arm 6222 on its upper side, with a lower engagement step 6221 on the locking arm. The lower latch 622 also has an elastic arm 6223, which is supported within the housing 10 and provides a rotational elastic force to the lower latch 622, ensuring that the locking arm 6222 always rests against the second end of the upper latch 621, causing the upper engagement step 6211 and the lower engagement step 6221 to engage with each other, thus achieving the locking function. The lower end of the buckle 622 is located on the push-out stroke of the push rod 41 of the magnetic component 4, and it works in conjunction with the magnetic component 4 to achieve automatic unhooking.

[0018] Based on the above structure, when the drive handle 61 is pushed forward, the upper end of the support member 63 and the moving contact mounting member 64 will swing forward around the positioning shaft 102 through the locking assembly 62, and the moving contact 32 mounted on the lower end of the moving contact mounting member 64 will swing backward and close with the stationary contact 31; conversely, when the drive handle 61 is pushed backward, the moving contact 32 will swing forward and separate from the stationary contact 31.

[0019] A spring 65 is provided between the support member 63 and the housing 10. This spring 65 provides a backward swinging force to the upper end of the support member 63, allowing the drive handle 61 to be stably held in the open or closed position. Specifically, when the drive handle 61 is in the open position, the spring 65, through the support member 63, the locking assembly 62, and the connecting rod 66, drives the handle portion 612 to swing backward, causing the handle portion 612 to rest against the rear edge of the opening for balance. Figure 4 As shown; when the drive handle 61 is in the closed position, the spring force provided by the spring 65 drives the handle part 612 to swing forward, so that the handle part 612 abuts against the front edge of the opening to maintain balance. Figure 3 As shown.

[0020] The present invention also includes an overtravel indication structure 8.

[0021] like Figure 2 , 7 As shown, the overtravel indication structure 8 includes an overtravel indicator 81, an overtravel transmission assembly, and a positioning disk 101 disposed on the front side wall of the housing 10. The overtravel indicator 81 is slidably fitted onto the positioning disk 101, and the overtravel transmission assembly is located inside the housing 10 and cooperates with the closing / opening drive assembly 6, driving the overtravel indicator 81 to slide unidirectionally when the circuit is closed.

[0022] like Figure 7As shown, in the structure of the positioning disk 101, the positioning disk 101 has a positioning groove 1011 extending in the front-rear direction for sliding engagement of the overtravel indicator 81. The positioning groove 1011 includes a positioning section 10112 located on the front side and a display section 10111 located on the rear side, and at least two positioning grooves 10113 arranged in the front-rear direction are provided on the inner wall of the positioning section 10112.

[0023] A window display panel 1 is covered on the upper surface of the positioning disk 101. Figure 1 As shown. The window display panel 1 has a display window 11, which corresponds to the display segment 10111. The size of the display window 11 is smaller than the size of the display segment 10111, so that the overtravel indicator 81 can only display a part of the part, so that the overtravel indicator 81 only displays the color area that needs to be observed.

[0024] The overtravel indicator 81 includes an elastic positioning arm 811 that fits in the positioning section 10112 and an indicator plate 812 that fits in the display section 10111. The elastic positioning arm 811 has a positioning protrusion 8111 that fits in the positioning groove 10113.

[0025] The overtravel indicator 81 has a three-color indicator area on its indicator plate 812, namely, three indicator areas distributed front and back: a green area for minor burn-off, a yellow area for moderate burn-off, and a red area for significant burn-off. The display window 11 can only display one area at a time, that is, only the red, yellow, or green area, to provide the user with an alarm or normal notification.

[0026] Since the overtravel indicator 81 has three indicator areas, the corresponding positioning grooves 10113 in the positioning slot 1011 also have three arranged in a front-to-back pattern, so that the overtravel indicator 81 is positioned in the front, middle and rear positions, and the green, yellow and red areas on the overtravel indicator 81 are displayed sequentially and individually through the display window 11.

[0027] To facilitate user identification of the information displayed in the display window 11, a text mark is provided on the window display panel 1, which is “silver point margin” corresponding to the overtravel indicator 81.

[0028] like Figure 6 , 8As shown, the overtravel transmission assembly structure includes an overtravel transmission lever 85, a stroke amplification component 82, and a second transmission boss 83. The overtravel transmission lever 85 is formed on the lower surface of the overtravel indicator 81 and passes through the top wall of the housing 10, located within the housing 10. The stroke amplification component 82 is rotatably connected to a hinge seat on the lower surface of the positioning disk 101. The stroke amplification component 82 is divided into an upper transmission part 821 on the upper side and a lower transmission part 822 on the lower side, with the hinge axis as the boundary. The length of the upper transmission part 821 is greater than the length of the lower transmission part 822, amplifying the minute angular changes of the moving contact mounting component into a significant displacement of the overtravel indicator, achieving precise graded indication. The upper end of the upper transmission part 821 can contact the front sidewall of the overtravel transmission lever 85. The second transmission boss 83 is formed on the upper part of the moving contact mounting component 64 and can contact the rear sidewall of the lower transmission part 822. When the drive handle 61 closes the moving and stationary contacts, the upper end of the second transmission boss 83 contacts the rear side wall of the lower transmission part 822, while the upper end of the upper transmission part 821 contacts the front side wall of the overtravel transmission lever 85. As the amount of burnt silver dots 33 on the moving and stationary contacts gradually increases, the angle at which the upper end of the second transmission boss 83 swings forward with the moving contact mounting part 64 gradually increases, thereby gradually driving the overtravel indicator 81 to move backward. This causes the green, yellow, and red areas on the overtravel indicator 81 to be displayed sequentially through the display window 11, thus alerting the user to the burnt condition of the silver dots 33.

[0029] When the window displays green, it indicates that the silver point 33 is slightly burned, meaning the circuit breaker can still be used normally. When the window displays yellow, it indicates that half or more of the silver point 33 is burned, meaning the circuit breaker's actual service life has reached more than half and needs to be replaced. When the window displays red, it indicates that a large portion of the silver point 33 is burned, meaning the circuit breaker's actual service life has reached its end and the circuit breaker must be scrapped and replaced; continued use will have serious consequences.

[0030] In actual use, the drive handle 61 is moved back and forth, and the moving and stationary contacts can be closed or opened through the locking assembly 62, the support 63 and the moving contact mounting part 64.

[0031] In the overtravel indicator structure 8, the second transmission boss 83 rotates with the follow contact mounting part 64, causing the overtravel indicator 81 to move backward step by step, and displaying a green area, a yellow area or a red area through the display window 11.

[0032] The aforementioned indicator structure enables independent fault indication. When a fault occurs in a certain pole, the user can immediately and accurately locate the specific pole, solving the problem that existing multi-pole products cannot distinguish the faulty pole.

[0033] Unless otherwise specified, in this invention, terms such as "width," "upper," "lower," "front," "rear," "left," "right," "vertical," "horizontal," "top," "bottom," "inner," "outer," "clockwise," "counterclockwise," "axial," "radial," and "circumferential" indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings. They are used only for the convenience of describing this invention and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, the terms used to describe orientation or positional relationships in this invention are for illustrative purposes only and should not be construed as limiting this patent. For those skilled in the art, the specific meaning of the above terms can be understood in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and according to the specific circumstances.

[0034] Unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "set up," "connected," and "linked" in this invention should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; they can refer to a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium; and they can refer to the internal connection of two components. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this invention based on the specific circumstances.

[0035] The above description is merely a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The scope of protection of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. All technical solutions falling within the scope of the present invention's concept are within the scope of protection of the present invention. It should be noted that for those skilled in the art, any improvements and modifications made without departing from the principles of the present invention should also be considered within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. An overtravel indication structure for a miniature circuit breaker, the miniature circuit breaker comprising a housing (10) and a closing / opening drive assembly (6) disposed within the housing (10), characterized in that: The overtravel indication structure (8) includes an overtravel indicator (81), an overtravel transmission assembly, and a positioning disk (101) disposed on the side wall of the housing (10). The overtravel indicator (81) is slidably fitted on the positioning disk (101) and has a three-color indicator area, namely a green area indicating a small amount of burn-off, a yellow area indicating a medium amount of burn-off, and a red area indicating a large amount of burn-off; The overtravel transmission component is located inside the housing (10) and works in conjunction with the closing and opening drive component (6). When the circuit is closed, it drives the overtravel indicator (81) to slide in one direction, so that the green area gradually switches to the yellow area, and the yellow area gradually switches to the red area.

2. The overtravel indication structure of the miniature circuit breaker according to claim 1, characterized in that: The positioning disk (101) has a positioning groove (1011) for sliding engagement of the overtravel indicator (81); The positioning groove (1011) includes a positioning section (10112) and a display section (10111). The inner wall of the positioning section (10112) has positioning grooves (10113) arranged along the extension direction of the positioning section (10112). The overtravel indicator (81) includes an elastic positioning arm (811) that fits in the positioning section (10112) and an indicator plate (812) that fits in the display section (10111). The elastic positioning arm (811) has a positioning protrusion (8111) that fits in the positioning groove (10113), and the three-color indicator area is located on the indicator plate (812).

3. The overtravel indication structure of the miniature circuit breaker according to claim 1, characterized in that: The overtravel transmission assembly includes an overtravel transmission lever (85), a stroke amplification component (82), and a second transmission boss (83). The overtravel transmission lever (85) is formed on the lower surface of the overtravel indicator (81); The stroke amplification component (82) is rotatably connected to the lower surface of the positioning disk (101), and the upper end of the stroke amplification component (82) can contact the overtravel transmission lever (85). The second transmission boss (83) is fixed on the moving contact mounting part (64) of the connecting and separating drive assembly (6) and can contact the lower end of the stroke amplification part (82).

4. The overtravel indication structure of the miniature circuit breaker according to claim 3, characterized in that: The stroke amplification component (82) is divided into an upper transmission part (821) located on the upper side and a lower transmission part (822) located on the lower side, with the hinge shaft as the boundary. The length of the upper transmission part (821) is greater than the length of the lower transmission part (822).

5. The overtravel indication structure of the miniature circuit breaker according to claim 2, characterized in that: The positioning groove (10113) in the positioning groove (1011) corresponding to the overtravel indicator (81) has three arranged in a front-to-back pattern.

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