Push Rod Displacement Sensing for Vacuum Breaker Contact Wear
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional vacuum circuit breakers lack effective monitoring for contact wear, leading to deteriorated performance and maintenance challenges when wear exceeds a certain threshold, potentially causing short-time and short-circuit issues.
Innovation Solution
A contact monitoring module is integrated into the vacuum circuit breaker, comprising a linear sensor and sensor holder coupled to the push rod assembly, allowing real-time measurement of contact displacement and wear detection, enabling timely maintenance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If contact wear monitoring is not implemented, then the vacuum circuit breaker structure remains simple, but contact wear leads to deteriorated performance and maintenance issues
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces complex mechanical wear measurement methods with a linear sensor that directly measures the position of the movable contact. This substitution of mechanical measurement systems with a sensing system resolves the contradiction by providing reliable wear monitoring through a relatively simple electronic measurement approach, improving contact performance monitoring while avoiding overly complex mechanical measurement mechanisms.
2Loss of time
If contact wear is not monitored, then the device structure remains simple, but timely maintenance cannot be determined
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where the linear sensor continuously monitors the position of the movable contact and provides wear information that can trigger maintenance alerts. This feedback system resolves the contradiction by enabling timely maintenance determination through automatic monitoring, preventing performance degradation while using a relatively simple sensor-based approach rather than complex monitoring systems.
3Measurement precision
If a linear sensor is added to monitor contact wear, then wear detection precision is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses the linear sensor as an intermediary element that indirectly measures contact wear by detecting the position of the movable contact rather than directly measuring contact thickness. This intermediary measurement approach resolves the contradiction by providing precise wear measurement through position detection, avoiding the need for complex direct contact measurement systems while maintaining high measurement precision.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The contact monitoring module allows for real-time monitoring of contact wear, determining appropriate maintenance times and enhancing the reliability and performance of the vacuum circuit breaker by preventing wear-related performance degradation.
Implementation Method 1
a linear sensor coupled to a bottom of the push rod assembly to detect a displacement according to a moving direction of a push rod
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure relates to a contact point monitoring module for a vacuum circuit breaker and a vacuum circuit breaker comprising the same. The present disclosure provides a vacuum circuit breaker comprising a push rod assembly which is coupled to a movable electrode of a vacuum interrupter and moves the movable electrode up or down to make a movable contact in a contact closed state or a contact open state, wherein the vacuum circuit breaker comprises a linear sensor which is coupled to a lower side of the push rod assembly and senses displacement according to a moving direction of the push rod; and a sensor holder which is installed adjacent to the lower side of the push rod assembly and is coupled to the linear sensor to process a signal transferred from the linear sensor.