Device for controlling a breaker

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6316739
  • Patent Number
    6,316,739
  • Date Filed
    Monday, February 14, 2000
    26 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, November 13, 2001
    24 years ago
Abstract
A device for controlling a breaker comprising a weight (48) provided in the vicinity of a releasing trigger (19) and an auxiliary spring (50 )for urging the weight (48) so that the weight (48)is in contact with the releasing trigger (19). An equivalent mass of the weight (48)is about one-third of an equivalent mass of the releasing trigger. When the releasing trigger (19)is in contact with a pin (45) of a releasing latch (18), the weight (48)rebounds but the releasing trigger (19)is settled without rebounding. By such a structure, the rebound of releasing latch and the releasing trigger is prevented when these are engaged, whereby a time for closing a circuit is shortened.
Description




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




1. Field of the Invention




The present invention relates to a device for controlling a breaker, which is used in, for example, a transforming station and a switchyard.




DISCUSSION OF BACKGROUND




A device for controlling a breaker is practically activated by a spring. A conventional technique is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Examined Patent Publication JP-B-63-304542.

FIG. 10

illustrates a perspective view of a structure of the conventional device for controlling a breaker.

FIGS. 11 through 13

are plan views illustrating the structure of the device for controlling the breaker viewed from a front side of FIG.


10


. In

FIGS. 10 through 13

, numerical reference


1


designates a casing; numerical reference


24


designates a cylinder fixed to the casing; numerical references


26


,


27


designate rotatable levers, which are engaged with pins (not shown) provided on an end surface of the cylinder; numerical references


28


,


29


designates torsion bars, one ends of which are respectively fixed to the casing


1


and the other ends are respectively fixed to the levers


26


,


27


; and numerical references


34


,


35


designates torsion bars, one ends of which are respectively fixed to rotation shafts


32


,


33


and the other ends of which are respectively fixed to the levers


26


,


27


.




Numerical reference


37


designates a making lever fixed to the rotation shaft


33


. The making lever


37


is applied with a turning force in an anticlockwise direction in

FIG. 11

by the torsion bars


29


,


35


. Numerical reference


2


designates a cam shaft supported by the casing


1


. Numerical reference


3


designates a cam provided in the cam shaft


2


. Numerical reference


13




10


designates a pin B provided in the cam. Numerical reference


14


designates a making latch engaged with the pin B


13


. Numerical reference


15


designates a making trigger, which is engaged with the making latch


14


. Numerical reference


16


designates an electromagnetic coil having a plunger


17


.




Numerical reference


38


designates a rotation shaft supported by the casing


1


, which is driven in an anticlockwise direction in FIG.


11


. Numerical reference


39


designates a pinion fixed to the rotation shaft


38


. Numerical reference


40


designates a gear fixed to the cam shaft


2


and engaged with the pinion


39


, in which a part of teeth is omitted to disconnect an engagement with the pinion


39


when the torsion bars


29


,


35


are prestressed. Numerical reference


41


designates a link for connecting the making lever


37


to the gear


40


.




Numerical reference


36


designates a breaking lever fixed to the rotation shaft


32


, which is applied with an anticlockwise turning force by the torsion bars


28


,


34


. Numerical reference


8


designates a pin A provided in the breaking lever


36


, and numerical reference


9


designates a rotator provided in the breaking lever


36


. Numerical reference


18


designates a releasing latch, which is engaged with the pin A


8


and applied with a clockwise turning force by the spring


43


. Numerical reference


19


designates a releasing trigger engaged with the releasing latch


18


. Numerical reference


20


designates a releasing electromagnetic coil having a plunger


21


. Numerical reference


22


designates a movable contact of the breaker, which movable contact is connected with the breaking lever


36


through a linkage mechanism


23


. Numerical reference


42


designates a buffer connected to the breaking lever


36


, which relaxes an impact at a time of opening and closing the movable contact


22


.




In the next, an operation of opening a circuit will be described. In

FIG. 11

, the breaking lever


36


is constantly applied with anticlockwise turning force by the torsion bars


28


,


34


. The turning force is retained by the releasing latch


18


and the releasing trigger


19


.




When the releasing electromagnet


20


is excited under this state, the plunger


21


is rightward operated; the releasing trigger


19


clockwise rotates; and the releasing latch


18


is counterclockwise rotated by counterforce from the pin A


8


. When the releasing latch


18


is released from the pin A


8


, the breaking lever


36


counterclockwise rotates; and the movable contact


22


moves in a direction of opening a circuit.

FIG. 12

illustrates a state that the operation of opening the circuit is completed.




An operation of closing the circuit will be described. In

FIG. 12

, the cam


3


is connected to the making lever


37


through the cam shaft


2


, the gear


40


, and the link


41


, wherein the cam


3


is applied with clockwise turning force by the torsion bars


29


,


35


. The turning force is retained by the making latch


14


and the making trigger


15


. When the making electromagnet


16


is excited under this state, the plunger


17


is rightward moved; the making trigger


15


clockwise rotates; and the making latch


14


counterclockwise rotates by counter force from the pin B


13


. Because the making latch


14


is released from the pin B


13


, and therefore the cam


3


clockwise rotates to push up the rotator


9


provided in the breaking lever


36


, the breaking lever


36


is driven while clockwise twisting the torsion bars


28


,


34


.




When the operation of closing the circuit is almost completed, the pin A


8


of the breaking lever


36


is in contact with a lower portion a of the releasing latch


18


to thereby counterclockwise rotate the releasing latch


18


a little. When the pin A


8


exceeds an edge b, the releasing latch


18


is again clockwise rotated by the spring


43


; the pin A


8


is in contact with a step c of the releasing latch


18


, whereby the releasing latch


18


is engaged with the pin A


8


.




Just thereafter, the releasing trigger


19


is counter clockwise rotated to engage with the releasing latch


18


. The rotating cam


3


holds the breaking lever


36


via the rotator


9


from a beginning of engagements between the releasing latch


18


and the pin A


8


and between the releasing trigger


19


and the releasing latch


18


to an ending of the engagements. Thereafter, the contact between the cam


3


and the rotator


9


is canceled.





FIG. 13

illustrates a state that the pin A


8


is retained by the releasing latch


18


after completing to close the circuit. As an inherent movement of a device for controlling a breaker, it is necessary to reopen a circuit just after closing the circuit.




Further, because the torsion bars


29


,


35


are released while prestressing the torsion bars


28


,


34


, a prestressing energy of the torsion bars


29


,


35


is larger than that of the torsion bars


28


,


34


.




A prestressing operation of the torsion bars


29


,


35


will be described. As illustrated in

FIG. 13

, just after completing to close the circuit, the torsion bars


29


,


35


are released. When a motor (not shown) counterclockwise rotates the pinion


39


, the gear


40


is clockwise rotated to prestress the torsion bars


29


,


35


through the link


41


, the making lever


37


, and the rotation shaft


33


. At a position where the link


41


exceeds a dead point, in which a direction of a tensile load of the link


41


is in agreement with a center of the cam shaft


2


, the cam shaft


2


is applied with clockwise turning force through the link


41


by torque of the torsion bars


29


,


35


. Simultaneously, since the part of the teeth of the gear


40


is omitted, the pinion


39


and the gear


40


are disengaged. Thereafter, the pin B


13


is engaged with the making latch


14


to retain the clockwise turning force of the gear


40


by the torsion bars


29


,


35


, whereby the prestressing operation is completed. Thus, the state illustrated in

FIG. 11

is regained.




However, in the conventional device for controlling the breaker, when the pin A


8


of the breaking lever


36


is engaged with the releasing latch


18


after completing to close the circuit, the releasing latch


18


clockwise rotates to cause a collision between the step c and the pin A


8


, the releasing latch


18


rebounds and returns to an engaged position by the spring


43


to be in contact with the pin A


8


. Further, when the trigger


19


is engaged with the releasing latch


18


, the releasing trigger collides with the releasing latch


18


, and the releasing trigger


19


rebounds and counterclockwise returns to an engaged position so as to be in contact with the releasing latch


18


. These rebounds may be repeated by attenuating.




Thus, there are problems that a time is required to complete the engagement by the rebound of the releasing latch and of the releasing trigger, and a succeeding operation of opening the circuit delays.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




It is an object of the present invention to solve the above-mentioned problems inherent in the conventional technique and to provide a device for controlling a breaker, in which a time for completing to close a circuit is short by suppressing rebound caused by a collision of a releasing latch and a rebound caused by a collision of a trigger.




According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a device for controlling a breaker comprising: a breaking lever for closing and opening a circuit along with prestressing force and releasing force of an operating spring, a releasing latch which engages the breaking lever for retaining the prestressing force of the operation spring, and a releasing trigger which engages the releasing latch to retain a state of the releasing latch, further comprising a weight arranged in the vicinity of the releasing trigger and an auxiliary spring for bringing the weight so as to be in contact with the releasing trigger.




According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the device for controlling the breaker according to the first aspect of the invention, wherein the auxiliary spring is a connection spring for connecting the weight to the releasing trigger.




According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the device for controlling the breaker according to the first or second aspect of the invention, wherein a ratio between an equivalent mass of the weight and an equivalent mass of the releasing trigger at a contact point between the weight and the releasing trigger is 1:2 through 1:4.




According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a device for controlling a breaker comprising: a breaking lever for opening and closing a circuit along with prestressing force and releasing force of an operation spring, a releasing latch which engages the breaking lever to retain the prestressing force of the operation spring, and a releasing trigger which engages the releasing latch to retain a state of the releasing latch, further comprising a weight arranged in the vicinity of the releasing latch, and an auxiliary spring for prestressing the weight so as to be in contact with the releasing latch.




According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the device for controlling the breaker according to the fourth aspect of the invention, wherein the auxiliary spring is a connection spring for connecting the weight to the releasing latch.




According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the device for controlling the breaker according to the fourth or fifth aspect of the invention, wherein a ratio between an equivalent mass of the weight and an equivalent mass of the releasing latch at a contact point between the weight and the releasing latch is 1:2 through 1:4.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS




A more complete appreciation of the invention and many of the attendant advantages thereof will be readily obtained as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detail description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:





FIG. 1

is a plan view illustrating an important portion of a device for controlling a breaker under a closed circuit state according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention;





FIG. 2

is a plan view illustrating the important portion of the device for controlling the breaker under an opened circuit state according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention;





FIG. 3

is a plan view illustrating the important portion of the device for controlling the breaker under a state just before completing to close a circuit according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention;





FIG. 4

is a plan view illustrating an important portion of a device for controlling a breaker under a closed circuit state according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention;





FIG. 5

is a plan view illustrating the important portion of the device for controlling the breaker under an opened circuit state according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention;





FIG. 6

is a plan view illustrating the important portion of the device for controlling the breaker under a state just before completing to close a circuit according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention;





FIG. 7

is a plan view illustrating an important portion of a device for controlling a breaker under a closed circuit state according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention;





FIG. 8

is a plan view illustrating the important portion of the device for controlling the breaker under an opened circuit state according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention;





FIG. 9

is a plan view illustrating the important portion of the device for controlling the breaker under a state just before completing to close a circuit according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention;





FIG. 10

is a perspective view illustrating a conventional device for controlling a breaker;





FIG. 11

is a plan view illustrating an important portion of the conventional device for controlling the breaker under a closed circuit state;





FIG. 12

is a plan view illustrating the important portion of the conventional device for controlling the breaker under an opened circuit state; and





FIG. 13

is a plan view illustrating the important portion of the conventional device for controlling the breaker under a state that a torsion bar for closing a circuit is released.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT




A detailed explanation will be given of preferred embodiments of the present invention in reference to

FIGS. 1 through 9

as follows, wherein the same numerical references are used for the same or similar portions and description of these portions is omitted.




EMBODIMENT 1





FIGS. 1 through 3

are plan views illustrating an important portion of a device for controlling a breaker according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, wherein states of an operation are sequentially illustrated. In

FIGS. 1 through 3

, numerical reference


34


designates a torsion bar fixed to a rotation shaft


32


. In a similar manner to that in the conventional technique illustrated in

FIGS. 10 through 13

, torsion bars


28


,


35


,


29


are provided. Operation springs are constituted by the torsion bars


34


,


28


,


35


, and


29


.




Numerical reference


36


designates a breaking lever fixed to the rotation shaft


32


applied with counterclockwise turning force in

FIG. 1

by the torsion bars


34


,


28


. Numerical reference


8


designates a pin A provided in the braking lever


36


. Numerical reference


9


designates a rotator provided in the breaking lever


36


. Numerical reference


22


designates a movable contact of the breaker, the movable contact is connected with the breaking lever


36


through a linkage mechanism


23


.




Numerical reference


18


designates a releasing latch which engages the pin A


8


for retaining prestressing force of the torsion bars


34


,


28


. Numerical reference


44


designates a rotation shaft of the releasing latch


18


. Numerical reference


43


designates a spring for applying clockwise turning force to the releasing latch


18


. Numerical reference


45


designates a pin attached to the releasing latch


18


. Numerical reference


19


designates a releasing trigger which engages the pin


45


of the releasing latch


18


for retaining a state of the releasing latch


18


. Numerical reference


47


designates a rotation shaft of the releasing trigger


19


. Numerical reference


46


designates a spring for applying counterclockwise turning force to the releasing trigger


19


.




Numerical reference


48


designates a weight provided in the vicinity of the releasing trigger


19


. Numerical reference


49


designates a rotation shaft of the weight


48


. Numerical reference


50


designates an auxiliary spring for applying counterclockwise turning force to the weight


48


and urging the weight


48


to be in contact with a point p, being a contact point between the weight


48


and the releasing trigger


19


. An equivalent mass obtained by dividing a moment of inertia around the rotation shaft


49


of the weight


48


by the square of the distance between the point p and the rotation shaft


49


is about one-third of an equivalent mass obtained by dividing a moment of inertia around the rotation shaft


47


of the releasing trigger


19


by the square of the distance between a point q and the rotation shaft


47


. The point q is a contact point on the releasing trigger


19


opposite to the point p. Numerical reference


20


designates a releasing electromagnet having a plunger


21


. Numerical reference


1


designates a casing for accommodating and attaching various portions of the device for controlling the breaker.




The other portions are similar to those described in the conventional technique illustrated in

FIGS. 10 through 13

. Although not illustrated in

FIG. 1

, a making latch


14


, a making trigger lever


37


, a gear


40


, a pinion


39


, a cam


3


, and so on are further provided.




In the next, an operation of opening a circuit will be described.




In

FIG. 1

, the breaking lever


36


is constantly applied with counterclockwise turning force in

FIG. 1

by the torsion bars


34


,


28


, wherein the torsion bar


28


is illustrated in FIG.


10


. The turning force is retained by the releasing latch


18


and the releasing trigger


19


. When the releasing electromagnet


20


is excited under this state, the plunger


21


rightward moves, and a releasing trigger


19


clockwise rotates, whereby an engagement between the releasing trigger


19


and the pin


45


of the releasing latch


18


is canceled. When the engagement between the releasing trigger


19


and the pin


45


is canceled, the releasing latch


18


is counterclockwise rotated by counter force from the pin A


8


, whereby the releasing latch


18


is disengaged from the pin A


8


. When the releasing latch


18


is disengaged from the pin A


8


, the breaking lever


36


is counterclockwise rotated, and the movable contact


22


is driven in a direction of opening the circuit. While opening the circuit, the weight


48


is pushed by the releasing trigger


19


to thereby clockwise rotate against the auxiliary spring


50


.





FIG. 2

illustrates a state that the operation of opening the circuit is completed.




An operation of closing the circuit will be described.




In a similar manner to that in the conventional device described in

FIGS. 12 and 13

, the cam


3


is rotated by the turning force of the torsion bars


29


,


35


as illustrated in

FIGS. 10 and 12

. The roller


9


is pushed up by the cam


3


, whereby the breaking lever


36


is clockwise rotated around the rotation shaft


32


.




In

FIG. 2

, when the breaking lever


36


is rotated, the pin A


8


is in contact with a lower portion a of the releasing latch


18


to upward push up the releasing latch


18


. Furthers when the breaking lever


36


is rotated, the pin A


8


exceeds an edge b of the releasing latch


18


and succeedingly is in contact with a step c of the releasing latch


18


. Although there is probability that the releasing latch


18


rebounds by a collision between the step c and the pin A


8


to thereby counterclockwise rotate, the pin A


8


is settled by force of the spring


43


so as to be in contact with the step c of the releasing latch


18


. Although the releasing trigger


19


keeps to be in contact with the pin


45


by force of the spring, when the pin


45


exceeds an edge d of the releasing trigger


19


, the releasing trigger


19


is temporarily released from the pin


45


. Thereafter, the releasing trigger


19


counterclockwise rotates until a step e of the releasing trigger


19


is in contact with the pin


45


by the force of the spring


46


.




The weight


48


counterclockwise rotates while maintaining a contact with the releasing trigger


19


by force of an auxiliary spring


50


until the step e of the releasing trigger


19


is in contact with the pin


45


. When the step e of the releasing trigger


19


is in contact with the pin


45


, the releasing trigger


19


stops without rebounding. Simultaneously, the weight


48


clockwise rotates by removing from the releasing trigger


19


against the force of the auxiliary spring


50


in a process of damping of the weight by the auxiliary spring as illustrated in

FIG. 3

, wherein this operation will be described in detail in a latter part of this specification.




After starting to close the circuit until the releasing latch


18


and the releasing trigger


19


are settled at a predetermined engaged position, the breaking lever


36


is retained by the cam


3


against the turning force of the torsion bars


34


,


28


. Thereafter, the cam


3


is released from the retention, and the breaking lever


36


is retained by the releasing latch


18


and the releasing trigger


19


. If the releasing trigger


19


does not stop and rebounds when the step e of the releasing trigger


19


is in contact with the pin


45


, it is necessary to prolong a retention time of the breaking lever


36


. Consequently, a completion of closing the circuit is delayed, and a succeeding operation of opening the circuit is also delayed.




The weight


48


finally stops in a state of being in contact with the releasing trigger


19


by the force of the auxiliary spring


50


, as illustrated in FIG.


1


.




A prestressing operation follows the same process as that from the released state of the torsion bars for closing the circuit illustrated in

FIG. 13

to the prestressed state illustrated in

FIG. 11

, as in the conventional technique.




A principle that the releasing trigger


19


stops without rebounding at a time that the releasing trigger


19


and the pin


45


are engaged, and simultaneously the weight


48


clockwise rotates by being released from the releasing trigger


19


against the force of the auxiliary spring


50


will be described. Hereinbelow, an equivalent mass obtained by dividing a moment of inertia around the rotation shaft


49


of the weight


48


by the square of the distance between the point p and the rotation shaft


49


is expressed by m, and an equivalent value obtained by dividing a moment of inertia around the rotation shaft


47


of the releasing trigger


19


by the square of the distance between the point q and the rotation shaft


47


is expressed by M, where the equivalent mass means a mass equal to that applied to what to be in contact.




Further, a velocity of the point q of the releasing trigger


19


and a velocity of the point p of the weight


48


at a time just before the step e of the releasing trigger


19


is in contact with the pin


45


are expressed by v. The strength of the auxiliary spring


50


is selected so that the weight


48


can follow a movement of the releasing trigger


19


. Although in the following calculation, it is assumed that a small gap exists between the releasing trigger


19


and the weight


48


, a similar result is obtainable even though the releasing trigger


19


and the weight


48


are in contact.




Provided that the velocity of the point q of the releasing trigger


19


just after the step e of the releasing trigger


19


is in contact with the pin


45


is expressed by V, the following equation is established:






V=−e1·v,  (Equation 1)






where e1 represents a coefficient rebound between the step e of the releasing trigger


19


and the pin


45


.




Succeedingly, when the releasing trigger


19


colloids with the weight


48


, the following equation is established by a law of a conservation of momentum:






m·v+M·V=m·v′+M·V′,  (Equation 2)






where v′ and V′ respectively represent velocities of the releasing trigger


19


and the weight


48


just after the releasing trigger


19


collides with the weight


48


.




Further, the following equation is established from a formula of rebound:






(v′−V′)/(v−V)=−e2,  (Equation 3)






where e2 is a coefficient of rebound between the releasing trigger


19


and the weight


48


.




By combining Equations 1, 2, and 3, the following equation is established:






(m+M)·V′=m·v−M·e1·v+m·e2·(v+e1v )  (Equation 4)






A condition that the releasing trigger


19


is stopped is as follows:






v′=0  (Equation 5)






By substituting Equation 5 into Equation 4, the following equation is established:






m=M·e1/(1+e2+e1·e2)  (Equation 6)






Provided that the pin


45


, the releasing trigger


19


, the weight


48


, and so on are made of a general structural material such as steel, because the coefficients of rebound e1 and e2 are 0.6 through 0.9 depending on a shape, a velocity, and so on. By substituting these values into Equation 6, a ratio between the equivalent mass m of the weight


48


and the equivalent mass M of the releasing trigger


19


is 1:2 through 1:4, wherein an effect of suppressing a rebound of the releasing trigger


19


by the weight


48


becomes large.




As described, in the present invention, the weight


48


is provided such that the weight


48


is urged by the auxiliary spring


50


so as to be movable along the operation of engaging with the releasing trigger


19


while maintaining the contact with the releasing trigger


19


, and the weight


48


can escape in a direction adverse to the operation direction of the releasing trigger


19


at time of engaging against the force of the auxiliary spring


50


, and the equivalent mass of the weight


48


is about one-third of the equivalent mass of the releasing trigger


19


, the device for controlling the breaker, which completes to close the circuit within a short time by suppressing the rebound of the releasing trigger


19


at the time that the releasing latch


18


is in contact with the releasing trigger


19


, is obtainable.




Embodiment 2





FIGS. 4 through 6

are plan views illustrating an important portion of a device for controlling a breaker according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention, in which states of an operation are sequentially illustrated. In

FIGS. 4 through 6

, numerical reference


51


designates a weight provided in the vicinity of a releasing latch


18


. Numerical reference


52


designates an auxiliary spring for applying downward force in

FIGS. 4 through 6

so that the weight


51


is urged to be in contact with the drawing latch


18


at a point p. The mass of the weight


51


is about one-third of an equivalent mass obtained by a moment of inertia around a rotation shaft


44


of the releasing latch


18


by the square of a distance between a point q on the releasing latch


18


opposite to the point p and the rotation shaft


44


. In Embodiment 2, the equivalent mass of the weight


51


is equal to the mass of the weight


51


. The other portions of a structure is the same as those described in Embodiment 1 and description of these portions is omitted.




In the next, an operation of opening a circuit will be described. In

FIG. 4

, a breaking lever


36


is constantly applied with counterclockwise turning force by torsion bars


34


,


28


, which are illustrated in FIG.


10


. The turning force is retained by the releasing latch


18


and a releasing trigger


19


. When a releasing electromagnet


20


is excited in this state, a plunger


21


is rightward moved, the releasing trigger


19


is clockwise rotated, and an engagement between the releasing trigger


19


and a pin


45


is canceled, whereby the releasing latch


18


is counterclockwise rotated by counter force from a pin A


8


. When the releasing latch


18


is disengaged from the pin A


8


, the breaking lever


36


is counterclockwise rotated, and a movable contact


22


is driven to open the circuit. In the operation of opening the circuit, the weight


51


is pushed by the releasing latch


18


and upward moves against the auxiliary spring


52


.

FIG. 5

illustrates a state that the operation of opening the circuit is completed.




An operation of closing the circuit is similar to that described in Embodiment 1. When the circuit is closed, in reference of

FIGS. 10 and 12

, a cam


3


is rotated by turning force of torsion bars


29


,


35


, a roller


9


is pushed up by the cam


3


, the breaking lever


36


is clockwise rotated around a rotation shaft


32


. In

FIG. 5

, when the breaking lever


36


is rotated, the pin A


8


is in contact with a lower portion a of the releasing latch


18


to upward push up the releasing latch


18


. When the breaking lever


36


is further rotated, the pin A


8


exceeds an edge b to thereby being in contact with a step c. At this time, the releasing latch


18


stops without rebounding, and the weight


51


is upward moved by escaping from the releasing latch


18


against force of the auxiliary spring


52


in a process of damping of the weight by the auxiliary spring as illustrated in FIG.


6


. Succeedingly, the releasing trigger


19


is counterclockwise rotated by force of a spring


46


, whereby a step e of the releasing trigger


19


is in contact with the pin


45


. Thus, an engagement of the releasing trigger


19


is completed.




Because the breaking lever


36


is retained by the cam


3


against the turning force of the torsion bars


34


,


28


after the operation of closing the circuit is started until the releasing latch


18


and the releasing trigger


19


are settled at predetermined engaged positions, if the releasing latch


18


rebounds without stopping at a time that the step of the releasing latch


18


is in contact with the pin A


8


, it is necessary to prolong a retention time of the breaking lever as much. As a result, a completion of the operation of closing the circuit is delayed, and a succeeding operation of opening the circuit is also delayed.




The weight


51


is finally in contact with the releasing latch


18


by the auxiliary spring


52


, whereby a state illustrated in

FIG. 4

is regained.




A prestressing operation follows process similar to that described in Embodiment 1. The releasing latch


18


stops without rebounding at a time that the releasing latch


18


is engaged with the pin A


8


, and simultaneously the weight


51


escapes from the releasing trigger


19


against the auxiliary spring


52


and upward moves. A principle of such a behavior of the weight


51


is similar to that in Embodiment 1 when the releasing latch


18


is substituted for the releasing trigger


19


.




As described, since the weight


51


is urged by the auxiliary spring


52


so that the weight


51


moves while keeping the contact with the releasing latch


18


along the operation of engaging with the releasing latch


18


and escapes in a direction adverse to the direction of engaging with the releasing latch


18


against the force of the auxiliary spring


52


, and the mass of the weight


51


is about one-third of an equivalent mass of the releasing latch


18


, it is possible to obtain the device for controlling the breaker which closes the circuit within a short time by suppressing the rebound of the releasing latch when the releasing latch


18


is in contact with the pin A


8


.




Embodiment 3





FIGS. 7 through 9

illustrate plan views illustrating an important portion of a device for controlling a breaker according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention, in which states of an operation are sequentially illustrated. In

FIGS. 7 through 9

, numerical reference


53


designates a weight provided in the vicinity of a releasing latch


18


, and numerical reference


54


designates a connecting spring as an auxiliary spring, which applies downward force to the weight


53


by connecting this with the releasing latch


18


, whereby the weight


53


is urged to be in contact with the releasing latch


18


.




In order to accommodate the connecting spring


54


, a recess is formed in the weight


53


on a surface opposite to the releasing latch


18


, and a recess is formed also in the releasing latch


18


on a surface opposite to the weight


53


. Accordingly, a point p on a central axis of the weight


53


and a point q on a side of the releasing latch


18


opposite to the point p are equivalent contact points of the weight


53


and the releasing latch


18


.




Further, the mass of the weight


53


is about one-third of an equivalent mass obtained by dividing a moment of inertia around a rotation shaft


44


of the releasing latch


18


by the square of a distance between the point q and the rotation shaft


44


. In Embodiment 3, the equivalent mass of the weight


53


is equal to the mass of the weight


53


. The other portions of a structure of Embodiment 3 is similar to those described in Embodiment 2 and description of these portions is omitted.




In the next, an operation of opening a circuit will be described. In

FIG. 7

, when a releasing electromagnet


20


is excited, a plunger


21


is rightward moved, a releasing trigger


19


is clockwise rotated, and an engagement between the releasing trigger


19


and a pin


45


is canceled, whereby the releasing latch


18


is counterclockwise rotated by counter force from a pin A


8


. When the releasing latch


18


is disengaged from the pin A


8


, a breaking lever


36


is counterclockwise rotated, and a movable contact


22


is driven in a direction of opening the circuit. While opening the circuit, the weight


53


is in contact with the releasing latch


18


by tensile force of the connection spring


54


.

FIG. 8

illustrates a state that the operation of opening the circuit is completed.




The operation of closing the circuit will be described in reference of

FIGS. 10 and 12

in a similar manner to that in Embodiment 2. At a time of closing the circuit, the cam


3


is rotated by turning force of torsion bars


29


,


35


, a roller


9


is pushed up by the cam


3


, and the breaking lever


36


is clockwise rotated around a rotation shaft


32


. In

FIG. 8

, when the breaking lever


36


is rotated, the pin A


8


is in contact with a lower portion a of the releasing latch


18


, exceeds an edge b, and is in contact with a step c. At this time, the releasing latch


18


stops without rebounding, and the weight


53


upward moves by escaping from the releasing latch


18


against force of the connection spring


54


, as illustrated in FIG.


9


. Succeedingly, an engagement between the releasing trigger


19


and the pin


45


is completed. Until the releasing latch


18


and the releasing trigger


19


are settled at predetermined engaged positions, the breaking lever


36


is retained by the cam


3


. Therefore, if the step c of the releasing latch


18


rebounds without stopping when the step c is in contact with the pin A


8


, a retention time of the breaking lever


36


should be prolonged as much. As a result, a completion of closing the circuit and a succeeding operation of opening the circuit are delayed.




The weight


53


is finally in contact with the releasing latch


18


by the force of the connection spring


54


as illustrated in FIG.


7


.




A prestressing operation follows a process similar to that described in Embodiment 2. A principle that the releasing latch


18


stops without rebounding when the releasing latch


18


is in contact with the pin A


8


and the weight


53


escapes from the releasing trigger


19


against the force of the connection spring


54


is similar to that described in Embodiment 2.




As described, since the weight


53


is connected with the releasing latch


18


by the connection spring


54


so that it can move along the engagement of the releasing latch while maintaining a contact with the releasing latch


18


and escapes in a direction opposite to a direction that the releasing latch


18


is engaged against force of the connection spring


54


, and the mass of the weight


53


is about one-third of the equivalent mass of the releasing latch


18


, it is possible to obtain the device for controlling the breaker, which can close the circuit within a short time by suppressing the rebound of the releasing latch


18


when the releasing latch


18


is in contact with the pin A


8


.




Although, in Embodiment 1, the weight


48


is rotated around the rotation shaft


49


, it is possible to adopt a structure that the mass of the weight as the equivalent mass effects on the releasing trigger


19


in a similar manner to that in Embodiment 2 and to use an auxiliary spring as a connection spring for connecting the weight with the releasing trigger.




Although, in Embodiments 2 and 3, a structure that the mass of the weight


51


or


53


effects the releasing latch as the equivalent mass, it is possible to use a value obtained by dividing a moment of inertia around the rotation shaft provided in the weight as in Embodiment 1 by the square of a distance between the contact point and the rotation shaft as the equivalent mass.




The first advantage of the device for controlling the breaker according to the present invention is that the repulsion is suppressed when the releasing trigger is engaged, and therefore a time necessary for completing to close the circuit is shortened.




The second advantage of the device for controlling the breaker according to the present invention is that the structure is simplified by using the connection spring as the auxiliary spring for connecting the weight with the releasing trigger.




The third advantage of the device for controlling the breaker according to the present invention is that a function of suppressing the repulsion of the releasing trigger is enhanced.




The fourth advantage of the device for controlling the breaker according to the present invention is that the repulsion of the releasing latch is suppressed when the releasing latch is engaged, and therefore, a time necessary for closing the circuit is shortened.




The fifth advantage of the device for controlling the breaker according to the present invention is that the structure is simplified because the connection spring is used for connecting the weight with the releasing latch as the auxiliary spring.




The sixth advantage of the device for controlling the breaker according to the present invention is that a function of suppressing the rebound of the releasing latch is enhanced.




Obviously, numerous modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in right of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein.



Claims
  • 1. A device for controlling a breaker comprising:a breaking lever for opening and closing a circuit along with prestressing force and releasing force of an operation spring, a releasing latch for retaining the prestressing force of said operation spring, the releasing latch is engaged with the breaking lever, and a releasing trigger for retaining a state of said releasing latch by being engaged with said releasing latch, further comprising: a weight provided in the vicinity of said releasing trigger, and an auxiliary spring for urging said weight so that said weight is in contact with said releasing trigger.
  • 2. The device for controlling the breaker according to claim 1,wherein said auxiliary spring is a connection spring for connecting said weight with said releasing trigger.
  • 3. The device for controlling the breaker according to claim 1,wherein a ratio between an equivalent mass of said weight and an equivalent mass of said releasing trigger is 1:2 through 1:4 at a contact point between said weight and said releasing trigger.
  • 4. The device for controlling the breaker according to claim 1,wherein a ratio between an equivalent mass of said weight and an equivalent mass of said releasing trigger is 1:2 through 1:4 at a contact point between said weight and said releasing trigger.
  • 5. The device for controlling a breaker comprising:a breaking lever for opening and closing a circuit along with prestressing force and releasing force of an operation spring, a releasing latch for retaining the prestressing force of said operation spring, the releasing latch is engaged with said breaking lever, and a releasing trigger for retaining a state of said releasing latch by being engaged with said releasing latch, further comprising: a weight provided in the vicinity of said releasing latch, and an auxiliary spring for urging said weight so that said weight is in contact with said releasing latch.
  • 6. The device for controlling the breaker according to claim 5;wherein said auxiliary spring is a connection spring for connecting said weight with said releasing latch.
  • 7. The device for controlling the breaker according to claim 6,wherein a ratio between an equivalent mass of said weight and an equivalent mass of said releasing latch is 1:2 through 1:4 at a contact point between said weight and said releasing latch.
  • 8. The device for controlling the breaker according to claim 5,wherein a ratio between an equivalent mass of said weight and an equivalent mass of said releasing latch is 1:2 through 1:4 at a contact point between said weight and said releasing latch.
Priority Claims (1)
Number Date Country Kind
11-294739 Oct 1999 JP
US Referenced Citations (6)
Number Name Date Kind
4839476 Okuno Jun 1989
5584383 Matsuo et al. Dec 1996
5901838 Nakatani et al. May 1999
6069544 Seymour et al. May 2000
6080947 Ulerich et al. Jun 2000
6232569 Nakajima et al. May 2001