Circuit Breaker Base Structure for Rail-Mounted Upgrades
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Solution Overview
Problem
The upgrade of circuit breakers in power distribution equipment is difficult and costly due to the need to replace both the circuit breakers and connected cables and terminals, and the use of multiple bases for each circuit breaker increases costs significantly.
Innovation Solution
A base design with an insulating housing that allows for detachable connection of circuit breakers, featuring a sliding mechanism and conductive connection members, enabling easy assembly and disassembly, and reducing material costs by allowing insulation isolation between adjacent bases without enclosing the entire housing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If an enclosed insulating housing is designed for each base to ensure insulation isolation between adjacent bases, then the insulation reliability is improved, but the material costs and manufacturing complexity increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The insulating housing of one base is merged with the insulating housing of the adjacent base through the shared wall structure. The common wall between two adjacent bases serves dual purposes: it forms part of the housing for both bases and provides the insulation isolation between them, eliminating the need for separate enclosed housings for each base.
Solution Approach 2:
The common wall structure between adjacent bases performs multiple functions simultaneously: it acts as the housing wall for both adjacent bases, provides insulation isolation between the conductive connection members of different bases, and serves as the mounting surface for the circuit breaker. This multi-functionality reduces material usage and manufacturing complexity.
2Ease of operation
If a base is designed for each circuit breaker to enable easy upgrades, then the ease of operation is improved, but the quantity of bases required increases, leading to increased costs
Solution Approach 1:
A single base design with a standardized mounting slot can accommodate circuit breakers of different current specifications. The base serves multiple circuit breaker types through the universal mounting interface, reducing the need for multiple specialized base designs while maintaining ease of upgrade operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The base is segmented into functional modules: the insulating housing, the mounting slot for the circuit breaker, and the conductive connection member. This segmentation allows the base to be designed once with standardized interfaces that can work with various circuit breaker specifications, reducing the total number of unique base units needed.
3Ease of manufacture
If the insulating housing is made non-enclosed to reduce material costs, then the manufacturing cost is improved, but the insulation isolation between adjacent bases may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The insulating housing is merged between adjacent bases through the shared common wall. Each base's housing is open at the ends, but the common wall provides the necessary insulation isolation. This merging approach reduces material costs by eliminating redundant housing sections while maintaining insulation reliability through the shared structural element.
Data Source
AI summary
Example bases are described. One example base includes an insulating housing, where the insulating housing has a first surface and a second surface that are away from each other. The first surface is configured for a detachable connection of a circuit breaker. The second surface is provided with a first mounting slot. The insulation housing can be slidably snapped into a mounting rail in power distribution equipment by using the first mounting slot. An accommodating cavity is provided in the insulation housing. The accommodating cavity is configured to accommodate a conductive connection member. One end of the accommodating cavity is open along a sliding direction of the insulating housing relative to the mounting rail, and the other end thereof is closed. The base is used to install the circuit breaker.