Terminal cover and circuit breaker having same

Abstract

The utility model relates to a terminal cover and a circuit breaker having the same. The terminal cover comprises: a bottom wall (10); a top wall (20); two or more flow channel walls, each flow channel wall extending from one of the bottom wall (10) and the top wall (20) towards the other and being at a distance from the other to form a serpentine air flow channel through the bottom wall (10), the top wall (20) and the flow channel walls.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a terminal cover and a circuit breaker having the same. BACKGROUND

[0002] As a kind of protection switch, circuit breaker can generate arc when breaking short-circuit current, and the arc and high-energy charged particles can be ejected from the exhaust hole of the arc extinguishing chamber of the circuit breaker section unit, which can cause short-circuit fault or affect adjacent devices.

[0003] To prevent arc flying, the traditional solution is to increase long terminal cover and require terminal cover installation spacing. The current single long terminal cover can increase the length of the product by more than 80mm, in addition, the long terminal cover is assembled by multiple parts, and punching is also required during installation. Therefore, the traditional solution has the defects of complex structure, large size and troublesome use.

[0004] To solve the above problems, the present disclosure aims to provide a small-size arc blocking terminal cover for circuit breaker, which is simple in structure, space-saving and easy to install. CONTENT OF THE INVENTION

[0005] To solve the above problems and needs, the present disclosure provides a terminal cover and a circuit breaker having the same.

[0006] The terminal cover provided by the present disclosure comprises a bottom wall, a top wall, and two or more flow channel walls, each of which extends from one of the bottom wall and the top wall towards the other and is a certain distance away from the other, so as to form a meandering air flow channel through the bottom wall, the top wall and the flow channel walls.

[0007] According to a preferred scheme, the flow channel walls extending from the bottom wall and the flow channel walls extending from the top wall are arranged alternately.

[0008] According to a preferred scheme, the flow channel walls comprise a first flow channel wall extending from the bottom wall, a second flow channel wall, a third flow channel wall extending from the top wall and a fourth flow channel wall.

[0009] According to a preferred scheme, the first flow channel wall is connected to the third flow channel wall by a connecting portion.

[0010] According to a preferred scheme, the flow channel wall closest to the inlet of the air flow channel among the two or more flow channel walls is provided with a plurality of through holes.

[0011] According to a preferred scheme, both sides of the bottom wall are provided with clamping protrusions for snap-fitting with the corresponding structure of the circuit breaker housing.

[0012] According to a preferred scheme, the top wall is provided with one or more screw through holes.

[0013] According to a preferred embodiment, the terminal cover is a one-piece structure, wherein the top wall and the bottom wall are elastically deformable relative to each other.

[0014] According to a preferred embodiment, the inlet and outlet of the airflow channel open in different directions.

[0015] This disclosure also proposes a circuit breaker comprising a circuit breaker housing and a terminal cover as described in any of the preceding statements.

[0016] According to a preferred embodiment, the circuit breaker housing includes an engagement groove and a stop surface located at one end of the engagement groove, the stop surface being configured to engage with an engagement protrusion of a terminal cover to define the position of the terminal cover relative to the circuit breaker housing.

[0017] According to a preferred embodiment, the circuit breaker housing includes a sliding groove communicating with the engaging groove, the stop surface is located between the sliding groove and the engaging groove, and the bottom of the engaging groove is lower than the bottom of the sliding groove; wherein when the terminal cover is installed onto the circuit breaker housing, the engaging protrusion of the terminal cover can slide along the sliding groove into the engaging groove.

[0018] According to a preferred embodiment, the circuit breaker housing includes a mating wall that contacts or has a slit with the side surface of the flow channel wall of the terminal cover.

[0019] The preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings so that the features and advantages of the present disclosure can be readily understood. Attached Figure Description

[0020] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of this disclosure, the accompanying drawings of the embodiments of this disclosure will be briefly described below. The drawings are merely illustrative of some embodiments of this disclosure and are not intended to limit all embodiments of this disclosure to them.

[0021] Figure 1 A perspective view of a terminal cover according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0022] Figure 2 It shows the airflow passing through Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the terminal cover shown;

[0023] Figure 3 It shows Figure 1 The top view of the terminal cover shown;

[0024] Figure 4 It shows Figure 1 The front view of the terminal cover shown;

[0025] Figure 5 A partial view of a circuit breaker housing according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0026] Figure 6 A state view showing that the terminal cover is installed in the circuit breaker housing is shown;

[0027] Figure 7 A partial view of the circuit breaker housing according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0028] Figure 8 A schematic view showing the process of installing the terminal cover to the circuit breaker is shown.

[0029] List of Reference Signs

[0030] 10 bottom wall

[0031] 11 first flow passage wall

[0032] 111 through hole

[0033] 12 second flow passage wall

[0034] 13 engagement protrusion

[0035] 14 connecting portion

[0036] 20 top wall

[0037] 21 third flow passage wall

[0038] 22 fourth flow passage wall

[0039] 23 screw via hole

[0040] 30 circuit breaker housing

[0041] 31 sliding groove

[0042] 32 engagement groove

[0043] 33 stop surface

[0044] 34 mating wall

[0045] 35 fastener

[0046] 36 outer wall DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0047] In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of the technical solutions of the present disclosure clearer, the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present disclosure will be described clearly and completely below in combination with the drawings of the embodiments of the present disclosure. The same reference signs in the drawings represent the same components. It should be noted that the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of the present disclosure, rather than all the embodiments. Based on the described embodiments of the present disclosure, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without any creative effort fall within the scope of protection of the present disclosure.

[0048] Compared with the embodiments shown in the drawings, the feasible implementation within the protection scope of the present disclosure can have fewer components, other components not shown in the drawings, different components, differently arranged components, or differently connected components, etc. In addition, two or more components in the drawings can be implemented in a single component, or a single component shown in the drawings can be implemented as a plurality of separate components.

[0049] Unless otherwise defined, technical terms or scientific terms used herein should be understood as having the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which the present disclosure belongs. The terms "first", "second", and similar terms used in the description and claims of the present disclosure do not necessarily mean any order, number, or importance, but are only used to distinguish different components. Similarly, the terms "one" or "a" or similar terms do not necessarily mean a quantity limitation. The terms "comprise", "comprise", and similar terms mean that the elements or objects before the terms encompass the elements or objects listed after the terms and their equivalents, without excluding other elements or objects. The terms "connected" or "connected" and similar terms are not limited to physical or mechanical connections, but can include electrical connections, whether direct or indirect. The terms "up", "down", "left", "right", and the like are only used to represent relative positional relationships, which can change accordingly when the absolute position of the described object changes.

[0050] The present disclosure relates to a terminal cover and a circuit breaker having the same.

[0051] The circuit breaker includes a stationary contact as a main component and a movable contact cooperating with the stationary contact. The movable and stationary contacts work together to control the on-off of an electric circuit. During the separation of the movable contact and the stationary contact, an arc is easily generated between them.

[0052] The circuit breaker can further include an arc extinguishing chamber. The arc extinguishing chamber can have a plurality of arc extinguishing pieces, each of which is preferably spaced apart from each other at a uniform distance in the height direction of the arc extinguishing structure. The arc extinguishing chamber has a front end close to an arc generation area and a rear end away from the arc generation area, and the arc and high-temperature gas can enter the inside of the arc extinguishing chamber from the front end of the arc extinguishing chamber and flow out from the rear end. The rear end of the arc extinguishing chamber is an arc spout. The terminal cover of the present disclosure is preferably provided at or behind the arc spout.

[0053] The preferred features of the terminal cover of the present disclosure will be introduced below in combination with the exemplary embodiments shown in the drawings. Among them Figures 1 to 4 The perspective view of the terminal cover according to the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure is shown, Figure 1 The schematic view of the terminal cover is shown, Figure 2 The airflow through Figure 1 the terminal cover is shown, Figure 3 and Figure 4respectively. Figure 1 a top view and a front view of the terminal cover are shown.

[0054] The terminal cover proposed by the present disclosure mainly comprises a bottom wall 10, a top wall 20 and two or more flow channel walls.

[0055] The bottom wall 10 is preferably a substantially flat wall structure, which can have a uniform wall thickness.

[0056] The top wall 20 is preferably arranged parallel or substantially parallel to the bottom wall 10. The top wall 20 is preferably a substantially flat wall structure, and preferably has a uniform wall thickness.

[0057] Each of the two or more flow channel walls extends from one of the bottom wall 10 and the top wall 20 towards the other and at a distance from the other. In other words, the flow channel wall extending from the bottom wall 10 extends towards the top wall 20 and there is a gap between the flow channel wall and the top wall 20 to allow air flow from the gap between the end of the flow channel wall and the top wall 20. Meanwhile, the flow channel wall extending from the top wall 20 extends towards the bottom wall 10 and there is a gap between the flow channel wall and the bottom wall 10 to allow air flow from the gap between the end of the flow channel wall and the bottom wall 10. In this way, a meandering air flow channel can be formed by the bottom wall 10, the top wall 20 and the two or more flow channel walls.

[0058] By such an arrangement, the broken arc can pass a longer distance in a limited space, improving the cooling effect, so that a better arc extinguishing effect can be achieved with a very small terminal cover size. Wherein the terminal cover can not exceed the size of the circuit breaker product itself.

[0059] Preferably, the two or more flow channel walls are parallel to each other. Alternatively, some of the flow channel walls can be arranged non-parallel to each other.

[0060] Preferably, the flow channel walls extending from the bottom wall 10 and the flow channel walls extending from the top wall 20 are arranged alternately, for example Figure 2 A case of an alternate arrangement is shown. Such an alternate arrangement can also be referred to as a labyrinth arrangement, each flow channel wall being used to define a part of a meandering air flow channel, so as to achieve a good arc extinguishing effect while reducing the size of the terminal cover.

[0061] In the preferred embodiment shown in the drawings, the terminal cover comprises four flow channel walls, namely a first flow channel wall 11 extending from the bottom wall 10, a second flow channel wall 12, a third flow channel wall 21 extending from the top wall 20 and a fourth flow channel wall 22, wherein these flow channel walls are arranged in the order of the first flow channel wall 11, the third flow channel wall 21, the second flow channel wall 12 and the fourth flow channel wall 22 and are staggered. In an embodiment not shown, the terminal cover can comprise other number of flow channel walls. For example, there can be only one flow channel wall extending from the bottom wall 10, or only one flow channel wall extending from the top wall 20, or more than two flow channel walls extending from the bottom wall 10 or the top wall 20. In addition, the flow channel walls can also have other arrangements, for example, there can be additional flow channel walls not extending from the bottom wall 10 and the top wall 20, or the flow channel walls extending from the bottom wall 10 and the top wall 20 are not strictly staggered, etc.

[0062] Preferably, the terminal cover is designed as a one-piece structure. The one-piece structure herein is a structure opposite to a split structure. Without violent disassembly, the one-piece terminal cover cannot be easily divided into multiple parts. The one-piece structure can provide better overall strength and stability, reduce assembly time and cost.

[0063] Still referring to Figure 1 and Figure 2 Preferably, the first flow channel wall 11 extends from the upper surface of the bottom wall 10 towards the top wall 20, and the second flow channel wall 12 forms an L-shaped bending structure with the bottom wall 10. Similarly, the third flow channel wall 21 extends from the lower surface of the top wall 20 towards the bottom wall 10, and the fourth flow channel wall 22 forms an L-shaped bending structure with the top wall 20. The terminal cover generally comprises two parts: a first part composed of the bottom wall 10, the first flow channel wall 11 and the second flow channel wall 12, and a second part composed of the top wall 20, the third flow channel wall 21 and the fourth flow channel wall 22. The first part and the second part are fixed together, so that the entire terminal cover is formed as a one-piece. Preferably, a connecting portion 14 is provided between the first flow channel wall 11 and the third flow channel wall 21, and the first flow channel wall 11 is connected to the third flow channel wall 21 through the connecting portion 14, so that the first part and the second part of the terminal cover are fixed together. By forming the terminal cover as a one-piece structure, its installation and storage can be facilitated.

[0064] Preferably, for the one-piece terminal cover, the top wall 20 and the bottom wall 10 can be elastically deformed relative to each other. By allowing the top wall 20 and the bottom wall 10 to be elastically deformed relative to each other, the assembly and disassembly steps of the terminal cover can be simplified. The specific assembly method will be described below.

[0065] Preferably, the opening directions of the inlet and the outlet of the air flow passage of the terminal cover are different. For example, the opening direction of the inlet of the air flow passage is upward, and the opening direction of the outlet of the air flow passage is downward. Figure 2In the preferred embodiment shown, the inlet of the airflow channel is open in the horizontal direction, and the outlet is open in the vertical direction. The airflow can change from flowing in horizontally to the right to flowing out vertically downwards. Without a terminal cover, the arc gas is ejected directly from the filter port of the disconnecting unit. By using the terminal cover of this disclosure to change the gas ejection direction, the installation distance requirement of the terminal cover in the circuit breaker can be reduced, and external components can be protected by changing the ejection direction.

[0066] Preferably, the flow channel wall closest to the inlet of the airflow channel among the two or more flow channel walls is provided with multiple through holes. For example... Figure 1 and 4 As shown, the flow channel wall closest to the airflow channel inlet is the first flow channel wall 11, which is provided with multiple through holes 111. These through holes 111 can be arranged in an array. When the circuit breaker interrupts the electric arc, the arc generates high-temperature and high-pressure gas, and a relatively high pressure can be generated on the front side of the first channel wall. The arrangement of the through holes 111 can form multiple pressure relief channels, helping to release the pressure generated by the electric arc and reducing the pressure accumulation in the area with the highest pressure.

[0067] Preferably, the bottom wall 10 has engaging protrusions 13 on both sides for engaging with the corresponding structure of the circuit breaker housing 30. In the embodiment shown in the figures, the engaging protrusions 13 are approximately cuboid structures protruding from the side edges of the bottom wall 10. The specific structure or shape of the engaging protrusions 13 can have various alternative designs; for example, the engaging protrusions 13 can be designed as cylindrical, conical, hook-shaped, cubic, cuboid, or irregular structures, as long as they match the corresponding structure on the housing. The design of the engaging protrusions 13 simplifies the installation process of the terminal cover and improves installation reliability: the engaging protrusions 13 and the corresponding structure on the circuit breaker housing 30 enable quick installation and removal of the terminal cover without additional fasteners, simplifying the connection process between the terminal cover and the circuit breaker housing 30. Simultaneously, the engaging protrusions 13 provide a mechanical locking mechanism to ensure the terminal cover is fixed in position within the circuit breaker housing 30, preventing displacement due to vibration or impact.

[0068] Preferred options Figure 1 and Figure 3 As shown, the top wall 20 is preferably provided with one or more screw through holes 23. After the terminal cover is positioned in the appropriate position on the circuit breaker housing 30, screws can be passed through the screw through holes 23 of the circuit breaker housing 30 and the terminal cover to further enhance their fixation.

[0069] The following is combined with Figures 5 to 7 This section describes the relevant structures of the circuit breaker housing 30 on which the terminal cover described above can be installed. Among them, Figure 5 , 7 Partial views of the circuit breaker housing 30 are shown.Figure 6 A perspective view showing the terminal cover installed in the circuit breaker housing 30 is shown.

[0070] As shown, the circuit breaker housing 30 comprises an engaging groove 32 for engaging with the engaging protrusion 13 of the terminal cover. The engaging groove 32 can be a through groove or a recess provided on a wall of the circuit breaker housing 30. The engaging groove 32 has a stop face 33 at one end thereof for engaging with the engaging protrusion 13 of the terminal cover to define the position of the terminal cover relative to the circuit breaker housing 30. In other words, when the terminal cover is installed, the stop face 33 can stop the engaging protrusion 13 of the terminal cover from disengaging from the circuit breaker housing 30. Figure 7

[0071] Preferably, as shown, there is also a sliding groove 31 in communication with the engaging groove 32, the stop face 33 is located between the sliding groove 31 and the engaging groove 32, and the bottom of the engaging groove 32 is lower than the bottom of the sliding groove 31. During installation of the terminal cover to the circuit breaker housing 30, the engaging protrusion 13 of the terminal cover can slide along the sliding groove 31 into the engaging groove 32. Figure 7

[0072] Further, as shown, the circuit breaker housing 30 preferably has a receiving groove for receiving the top wall 20. The receiving groove can be formed by two plate members, or be a recess formed in the body of the circuit breaker housing 30. The top wall 20 can enter the receiving groove by sliding of the terminal cover. Figure 7

[0073] Preferably, as shown, the circuit breaker housing 30 comprises an engaging wall 34 which is in contact with the side surface of the flow passage wall of the terminal cover or has a slit, so as to avoid a large space between the circuit breaker housing 30 and the side surface of the flow passage wall, and thus avoid air flow overflowing. Preferably, the engaging wall 34 is an additional wall structure different from the outer wall 36 of the circuit breaker housing 30, which is located inside the outer wall 36 and can be arranged substantially parallel to the outer wall 36. Figure 6

[0074] Figure 8 ​​​​The process of installing the terminal cover into the circuit breaker housing 30 is shown. The installation process includes: after the terminal cover is placed near the circuit breaker housing 30, two forces F1, F2 are applied to the top wall 20 and the bottom wall 10 of the terminal cover, so that the terminal cover is elastically deformed. The dashed line indicates the position of the elastically deformed bottom wall 10 and the snap protrusion 13 on the bottom wall 10. After the elastic deformation is to the extent that allows the snap protrusion 13 to enter the sliding groove 31 while the top wall 20 enters the receiving groove, a horizontal force FX is applied to push the terminal cover into the circuit breaker housing 30. After the terminal cover moves a distance, the snap protrusion 13 enters the snap groove 32 and recovers its original shape downward in the snap groove 32, thereby completing the snap fit with the housing. Then, the terminal cover can be further fastened, preferably by fasteners 35, for example, by locking with self-tapping screws through a portion of the circuit breaker housing 30 and the terminal cover through hole, to prevent the terminal cover from loosening.

[0075] The exemplary embodiments of the solutions proposed by the present disclosure are described in detail above with reference to the preferred embodiments, however, those skilled in the art can understand that various modifications and changes can be made to the above specific embodiments, and various technical features and structures proposed by the present disclosure can be combined without departing from the concept of the present disclosure, and the protection scope of the present disclosure is determined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A terminal cover characterized by comprising: include: Bottom wall (10); Top wall (20); Two or more flow channel walls, each extending from one of the bottom wall (10) and the top wall (20) toward the other and at a distance from the other, to form a meandering airflow channel through the bottom wall (10), the top wall (20) and the flow channel walls.

2. The terminal cover as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The flow channel walls extending from the bottom wall (10) and the flow channel walls extending from the top wall (20) are arranged alternately.

3. The terminal cover as described in claim 2, characterized in that, The flow channel walls include a first flow channel wall (11) extending from the bottom wall (10), a second flow channel wall (12), a third flow channel wall (21) extending from the top wall (20), and a fourth flow channel wall (22).

4. The terminal cover as described in claim 3, characterized in that, The first flow channel wall (11) is connected to the third flow channel wall (21) via a connecting part (14).

5. The terminal cover as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The flow channel wall closest to the inlet of the airflow channel among the two or more flow channel walls is provided with multiple through holes (111).

6. The terminal cover as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The bottom wall (10) is provided with engaging protrusions (13) on both sides for engaging with the corresponding structure of the circuit breaker housing (30).

7. The terminal cover as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that, The top wall (20) is provided with one or more screw through holes (23).

8. The terminal cover as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that, The terminal cover is an integral structure, wherein the top wall (20) and the bottom wall (10) are elastically deformable relative to each other.

9. The terminal cover as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that, The airflow channel has different opening directions at its inlet and outlet.

10. A circuit breaker, characterized in that, It includes a circuit breaker housing (30) and a terminal cover as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9.

11. The circuit breaker as claimed in claim 10, characterized in that, The circuit breaker housing (30) includes a locking groove (32) and a stop surface (33) located at one end of the locking groove (32), the stop surface (33) being configured to engage with a locking protrusion (13) of a terminal cover to define the position of the terminal cover relative to the circuit breaker housing (30).

12. The circuit breaker as claimed in claim 11, characterized in that, The circuit breaker housing (30) includes a sliding groove (31) communicating with the engaging groove (32), the stop surface (33) being located between the sliding groove (31) and the engaging groove (32) and the bottom of the engaging groove being lower than the bottom of the sliding groove; wherein when the terminal cover is installed onto the circuit breaker housing (30), the engaging protrusion (13) of the terminal cover can slide along the sliding groove (31) into the engaging groove (32).

13. The circuit breaker as claimed in claim 10, characterized in that, The circuit breaker housing (30) includes a mating wall (34) that contacts or has a slit with the side surface of the flow channel wall of the terminal cover.

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