Gas insulating switchgear

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6362444
  • Patent Number
    6,362,444
  • Date Filed
    Friday, October 6, 2000
    24 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, March 26, 2002
    22 years ago
Abstract
A gas insulating switchgear comprising: a first switching unit for connecting or breaking an electric circuit between a power source and a load; a second switching unit being mechanically and electrically connected with the first switching unit and being selectively movable to an electrically conducting position, an electrically breaking position or an electrically grounding position; and an actuator being connected to supply a driving force to the second switching unit so that the second switching unit can be moved. In case that the gas insulating switch gear is applied to a switchgear having a rated insulating breakage voltage level of 125 KV, the switch gear can have a rated breakage insulating voltage of more than 125 KV (150 KV) by using the vacuum interrupter and the second switching unit each having the rated insulating voltage level of about 75 KV. In addition, by adding the earthing function using the ground terminal, a worker can do a job such as a power source or load cable installation, cable maintenance and repairing in a more safe circumstance.
Description




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




1. Field of the Invention




The present invention relates to a gas insulating switchgear, and more particularly, to a gas insulating switchgear which does not require a high insulating strength of a vacuum interrupter within a switchgear while satisfying a whole insulating strength required for the switchgear. More specifically, the present invention relates to a gas insulating switchgear which is capable of reducing a production cost compared to that of a conventional art and of performing installation of a cable towards a power supply or a cable towards a load to be connected with an apparatus of the present invention and its maintenance work under the safe circumstance.




2. Description of the Background Art




Generally, the electricity is generated at about 20,000V in an electric power station, boosted to an ultra-high voltage to be suitable for power transmission and then transmitted to a first substation. Upon receipt of the ultra-high voltage, the first substation drops it to 22.9 KV and supplies it to a second substation or to each customer.




The power supplied from the first substation to the second substation or to each customer is supplied to a power receiving facility of each customer through a distributing system having a terrestrial distribution line or a subterranean distribution line, and supplied to an ultra-high voltage consumer and a high voltage consumer and also supplied even to a low voltage consumer through various outdoor installed transformer.




In order to identify and branch the subterranean distribution lines and protect a first coil of the transformer, a gas insulating switchgear, so called a ring main unit, is used.




For the gas insulating switchgear, a SF6 gas insulating switchgear using SF6 gas as an insulating material is widely used, which includes a manually operated switchgear and a remotely operated switchgear in terms of its operating methods.




For example, a conventional gas insulating switchgear uses a vacuum interrupter which extinguishes arc generated when a switch is on or off by using vacuum having a comparatively good insulating strength.




In case that the arc extinguishing of the switchgear using the vacuum interrupter is applied to a switchgear having a rated insulation breakage voltage of 125 KV, since the arc extinguishing and insulation between contact points are fulfilled within the vacuum interrupter, the rated voltage level of the vacuum interrupter should be more than 125 KV, accordingly.




However, the vacuum interrupter becomes expensive as its rated insulation breakage voltage is higher. Thus, in case of employing a vacuum interrupter of a higher rated insulation breakage voltage, the overall production cost of the switchgear us dependently increased.




In addition, a switching means of the convention switchgear is the only vacuum interrupter having only two switching positions including switch on or switch off, so that, when the cable is installed, maintained and repaired, the switchgear itself is not able to perform ground function of a cable.




Moreover, when the switch is off (the circuit is opened), the distance between a movable contact and a fixed contact is about 10˜20 mm. In this respect, in case that a high voltage is generated between the movable contact and the fixed contact (that is, in case that arc is generated), the security of a worker is degraded.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a gas insulating switchgear which is capable of satisfying a required high rated insulation breakage while not raising the rated insulation breakage level of a vacuum interupter, to thereby reduce a production cost.




Another object of the present invention is to provide a gas insulating switchgear which is capable of grounding a high-voltage current in the case where a cable towards a power-source or a load is installed, maintained and repaired, to thereby ensure a safe working.




To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the present invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, there is provided a glass insulating switchgear including: a first switching means for connecting or breaking an electric circuit between a power source and a load; a second switching means being mechanically and electrically connected with the first switching means and being selectively movable to an electrically conducting position, an electrically breaking position or an electrically grounding position; and an actuator being connected for supplying a driving force to the second switching means so that the second switching means can be moved.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS




The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention.




In the drawings:





FIG. 1

is a front view of a gas insulating switch gear in accordance with the present invention;





FIG. 2

is a plan view illustrating major parts of

FIG. 1

in accordance with the present invention;





FIG. 3

is an. enlarged sectional view taken along line V—V of

FIG. 2

in accordance with the present invention;





FIG. 4

is an enlarged sectional view taken along line VI—VI of

FIG. 3

in accordance with the present invention;





FIG. 5

is a perspective view of a second movable contactor of

FIG. 3

in accordance with the present invention;





FIG. 6

is a front view illustrating a state that a second switching means of a gas insulating switchgear is ON in accordance with the present invention; and





FIG. 7

is a front view illustrating a state that a second switching means of a gas insulating switchgear is OFF in accordance with the present invention.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS




Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings.





FIG. 1

is a front view of a gas insulating switchgear in accordance with the present invention.




A housing


1


is a container for holding a switchgear according to the invention, which is sealed after being filled with SF6 gas having a high electric insulation.




Reference numeral


2


is a vacuum interrupter, that is, a first switching means, which includes a movable contactor and a fixed contactor in the vacuum having high electric insulation.




An insulating housing


3


is an electric insulating container for holding a vacuum interrupter


2


.




A bushing


4


is a power source terminal or a load terminal which has one end exposed outwardly to connect with a power source or a load outside the housing


1


and the other end extended into the housing


1


to connect the switchgear of the present invention. The bushing


4


is fixedly installed on one side wall of the housing


1


.




A bus bar


5


includes one end electrically and mechanically connected with the bushing


4


and the other end extended to the other side wall facing the one side wall of the housing


1


. The bus bar


5


is supported by a support member


5




a


fixed at the upper wall of the housing


1


made of an insulating material.




There are three bus bars


5


for transmitting three-phase AC currents, but two of which are not illustrated in FIG.


1


.




As a second switching means, a pair of fixed contactors


6


are fixed at positions adjacent to the support member


5




a


and the bushing


4


at the lower surface of the bus bar


5


by a fixing member such as a bolt.




A pair of plate springs


7


are fixed by a means such as a rivet or welding at positions adjacent to the central portion of each bus bar


5


. The plate springs are the contact force reinforcing means to pressurize the movable contactor toward the direction so as to contact the fixed contactors


6


. Unlike the embodiment as shown in

FIG. 1

, the plate spring


7


made of a conductive material itself can serve as a fixed contactor, without the fixed contactors


6


.




The respective movable contactor


9


, as the second switching means, is rotatable clockwise or counterclockwise around a pressure pin


11


and has a guide member


13


including a guide aperture


12


for guiding the pressure pin


11


and a blade member


14


coupled with the guide member


13


to be rotatable clockwise or counterclockwise.




The movable contactor


9


includes a switching pin


15


which penetrates the blade member


14


and is rotated by the blade member


14


, so that the switching pin


15


may contact the fixed contactor


6


and the plate spring


7


, being switched ON, or may be separated from the fixed contactor


6


and the plate spring


7


, being switched OFF, or may be positioned to the ground position contacting a ground terminal


16


.




Assuming that the angle of the position at which the switching pin


15


contact the fixed contactor


6


is ‘0’ degree, with reference to

FIG. 1

, the ground terminal


16


is installed to contact the operating pin


15


at a position that the operating pin


15


being right on the

FIG. 1

has been rotated by 90° counterclockwise (at a position that the operating pin


15


being left on the

FIG. 1

has been rotated by 90° clockwise). The ground terminal


16


is formed in upside-down ‘U’ shape of conductive member. Electricity passes through a bolt shaped conductive member (no reference numeral is given) penetrating the ground terminal


16


to be extended, a rectangular column


16




a


also made of a conductive material and an external conductor (no shown) coupled with the rectangular column


16




a


, thereby being grounded.




The construction of the movable contactor


8


(referring to

FIG. 3

) of the vacuum interrupter


2


and the actuator means for providing a driving force to the movable contactor


9


will now be described.




The actuator means includes a single rotatable driving shaft


19


; a link means for transmitting a rotational torque of the driving shaft


19


to the movable contactor


9


; and a converting means for converting the rotation of the second movable contactor to a linear driving force and providing it to the first movable contactor.




The driving shaft


19


may be manually rotated by being coupled to a handle (not shown) or automatically rotated by being coupled with a driving source, such as a motor.




The converting means includes a movable contactor


9


having the guide aperture


12


; a supporter member


10


(referring to FIG.


3


), of which one end portion is coupled with the movable contactor


9


and the other end portion is extended towards the guide aperture


12


, being linearly moved along with the first movable contactor; and the pressure pin


11


being installed to penetrate the other end portion of the supporter member


10


and the guide aperture


12


and converting the rotational force of the movable contactor


9


to a linear movement force by being pressurized by the guide member


13


having the guide aperture


12


in a vertical direction to thereby support the linear movement force to the supporter member


10


.




The link means includes a driving arm


32


being coaxially coupled with the driving shaft


19


so as to be rotatable in the same direction with the rotating direction of the driving shaft


19


; and a link


20


of which one end portion is coupled with a free end portion of the driving arm


32


so as to be relatively movable and the other end portion is coupled with the movable contactor


9


so as to be relatively movable.




In order to limit the angle of rotation of the driving arm


32


(preferably, it is limited to 180°), a pair of limit pins


33


are installed at adjacent predetermined portions of the upper or the lower portions of the driving shaft


19


.




The downwardly extended end portion of the fixed contactor (not shown) of the vacuum interrupter


2


or the extended member made of conductor coupled with the fixed contactor is coupled with 3-phase terminals


40


towards the power source or the load through a conductive member


50


.




Reference number


60


denotes a support plate for supporting the second movable contactor


9


and the ground terminals


16


.




The operation of the gas insulating switchgear constructed as described above will now be explained with reference to FIG.


1


.




As shown in the drawing, the position the driving arm


32


is rotated by 23° counterclockwise from the line drawn passing the center of the driving shaft


19


and vertical to the bottom of the housing


1


indicates a switch-ON position. Further rotation of the driving arm


32


clockwise from this position is stopped by the lower limit pin


33


.




In this switch-ON state, the link


20


is pulled downwardly and the guide member


13


coupled with the link


20


is rotated clockwise so that the pressure pin


11


is positioned at the end of the left leg portion of the guide aperture


12


. At this time, the switching pin


15


is upwardly pressurized by the plate spring


7


so as to contact the fixed contactor


6


.




Also, at this time, though not shown in

FIG. 1

, the movable contactor


8


and the fixed contactor within the vacuum interrupter


2


contact each other. Then, assuming that the terminal


40


is a power source terminal and the terminal


40


is a load terminal, current flows from the power source terminal


4


through the bus bar


5


, the fixed contactor


6


, the switching pin


15


, the blade


14


, the vacuum interrupter


2


, and the conductive member


50


to the load terminal


40


.




Meanwhile, in case that the driving shaft


19


is rotated by 90° counterclockwise manually or automatically, the driving arm


32


coaxially coupled with the driving shaft


19


is also rotated by 90° counterclockwise. At this time, the link


20


of which the lower portion is coupled with the driving arm


32


move upwardly, and the guide member


13


is rotated by 45° counterclockwise owing to the pressing force by the link


20


. Also, the blade


14


is rotated by 45° counterclockwise.




Accordingly, the switching pin


15


is released from the fixed contactor


6


and the plate spring


7


and the current flow is cut off. At this time, the pressure pin


11


is positioned at the central portion in the lengthy direction of the guide aperture


12


that has roughly a channel form. Accordingly, the pressure pin


11


is raised as high as the length of the leg of the guide hone


12


.




Subsequently, the movable contactor (reference numeral


8


of

FIG. 3

) of the vacuum interrupter


2


that has been downwardly pressed by the pressure pin


11


is raised to be separated from the fixed contactor (reference numeral


8




a


of

FIG. 3

) of the vacuum interrupter


2


. And thus, the current flow is doubly cut off as the second switching means is also switched off.




Accordingly, the vacuum interrupter


2


, that is, the first switching means, and the fixed contactor


6


and the movable contactor


9


, that is, the second switching means, share the high voltage electricity generated when the circuit is broken, so that the rated insulation breakage voltage level of the vacuum interrupter becomes lower than that of the conventional art in which the current flow is cut off and the arc is extinguished only by means of the vacuum interrupter. Thus, there is no need to employ such an expensive vacuum interrupter having a high rated insulation breakage voltage level, and thus, the expense incurred to fabricate the gas insulating switchgear can be reduced.




Meanwhile, in case that the driving shaft


19


is further rotated by 90° counterclockwise from the switch-OFF position manually or automatically (that is, in case that the driving shaft


19


is rotated by total 180° from the switch-ON position counterclockwise), the link


20


is further raised from the switch-OFF position.




Then, the guide member


13


is additionally rotated by 45° counterclockwise from the switch-OFF position (that is, it is rotated by total 90° counterclockwise from the switch-ON position).




At this time, the pressure pin


11


is positioned at the right end portion of the guide aperture


12


on the figure, and thus, the pressure pin


11


is pressurized by the guide member


13


as long as the leg of the guide aperture


12


and then lowered down.




As the pressure pin


11


is lowered down, the movable contactor (reference numeral


8


of

FIG. 3

) of the vacuum interrupter


2


is pressed down to contact the fixed contactor (reference numeral


8




a


of

FIG. 3

) within the vacuum interrupter


2


.




Also, at this time, as the switching pin


15


contacts the ground terminal


16


, the movable contactor


9


and the movable contactor


8


and the fixed contactor


8




a


within the vacuum interrupter


2


are grounded.




Accordingly, the current remaining at the movable contactor


9


, the movable contactor


8


and the fixed contactor


8




a


within the vacuum interrupter


2


flows to the ground.




Therefore, in case of cable branching of the load and/or the power source, cable repairing or cable checking, as described above, by grounding the second switching means of the switchgear, the worker can be protected from any possible accident of electric shock and safe work can be guaranteed.





FIG. 2

is a plan view illustrating major parts of

FIG. 1

in accordance with the present invention.




As shown in the drawing, in case where the switchgear of the present invention is connected with the three-phase AC power source and load for use, the actuator means including the second movable contactor


9


and the link


20


may be installed by two sets with three ones.




The two driving shafts


19


are respectively installed at each set of the second movable contactor


9


and the actuator means. The end portion of driving shaft


19


that is protruded from the housing


1


has a plurality of angled plane portions so that it can be firmly coupled with a means, such as a handle, to deliver a driving force.




Three ground terminals


16


are prepared to correspond to the two facing movable contactors


9


.




One rectangular column


16




a


is installed for the second movable contactor


9


and the two sets of actuator means.




Reference numeral


60


is a support plate to support the second movable contactor


9


and the ground terminals


16


.




With the construction as shown in

FIG. 2

as stated above, when the driving shaft


19


is rotated clockwise or counterclockwise, a set of second movable contactor


9


and the actuator means is concurrently operated.





FIG. 3

is an enlarged sectional view taken along line V—V of

FIG. 2

in accordance with the present invention.




The mutual connections between actuator unit, the second movable contactor and the vacuum interrupter and their operations will now be described.




A supporter member


10


has one end portion coupled with the movable contactor


8


and the other end portion extended to the guide aperture


12


. The supporter member


10


can be linearly moved together with the movable contactor


8


.




The pressure pin


11


is installed to penetrate the other end portion of the supporter member


10


and the guide aperture


12


. When the guide member


13


of the movable contactor


9


is rotated, the pressure pin


11


is pressurized in the vertical direction by the guide member


13


having the guide aperture, so that the rotational force of the guide member


13


is converted to a linear movement force and provided to the supporter member


10


.




A first spring


18


is a coil spring which surrounds the outer circumferential surface of the supporter member


10


to pressurize the pressure pin


11


upwardly.




A pair of spring seats


18




a


and


18




b


are provided to support the both end portion of the first spring


18


in the lengthy direction.




A second spring


17


is a plate spring which is elastically supported by the lower spring seat


18




a.


The upper end of the second spring


17


is coupled or integrally connected with the blade


14


, and the lower end thereof is supported by the lower spring seat


18




a


upwardly.




The rectangular column


16




a


is a hollow pipe with its section in a rectangular shape. The rectangular column


16




a,


made of a conductor, connects and supports a conductor in a bolt shape that penetrates the ground terminal


16


and is downwardly extended, as well as supporting the insulating housing


3


by means of the bolt that penetrates the rectangular column


16




a


and inserted into the insulating housing


3


.




Descriptions for the same elements of

FIG. 3

as in

FIGS. 1 and 2

are omitted.




The second switching means, the first switching means within the vacuum interrupter


2


and the actuator means for driving the first and the second switching means will not be described.




First, as shown in

FIG. 1

, the position that the right driving arm


32


is rotated by 23° counterclockwise on the basis of the line which is vertical to the bottom of the housing


1


and passes the center of the driving shaft


19


is the switch-ON position. Further rotation of the driving arm


32


clockwise from this position is stopped by the lower limit pin


33


.




In this switch-ON state, the link


20


of which lower portion is coupled with the driving arm


32


by a pin is pulled downwardly and the guide member


13


coupled with the upper end portion of the link


20


is rotated clockwise, so that the pressure pin


11


is positioned at the end of the left leg portion of the guide aperture


12


.




Then, the pressure pin


11


is pressed downwardly by the guide member


13


, according to which the upper spring sheet


18




b


supporting the bottom surface of the pressure pin


11


is pressed downwardly, and thus, the first spring


18


and the supporter member


10


are pressed downwardly by the upper spring sheet


18




b.


Therefore, the movable contactor


8


within the vacuum interrupter


2


coupled with the lower end portion of the supporter member


10


is pressed downwardly, so that the movable contactor


8


contacts the fixed contactor


8




a.






Meanwhile, when the driving shaft


19


is rotated by 90° counterclockwise manually or automatically, the driving arm


32


coaxially coupled with the driving shaft


19


is also rotated by 90° counterclockwise. At this time, the link


20


of which lower end portion is coupled with the driving arm


32


is moved upwardly, and the guide member


13


is rotated by 45° counterclockwise owing to the pressing force by the link


20


. Also, the blade


14


and the switching pin


15


are rotated by 45° counterclockwise. At this time, the pressure pin


11


is positioned at the central portion in the lengthy direction of the guide aperture


12


that has roughly a channel form. Accordingly, the pressure pin


11


is raised as high as the length of the leg of the guide hole


12


.




At this time, the supporter member


10


is also raised due to the upwardly pressing lower spring sheet


18




a.


Thus, the movable contactor


8


coupled with the lower end portion of the supporter member


10


is separated from the fixed contactor


8




a


and raised up, so that the circuit is opened.




Meanwhile, in the case that the driving shaft


19


is further rotated by 90° counterclockwise from the switch-Off position manually or automatically (that is, in case that the driving shaft


19


is rotated by total 180° from the switch-ON position counterclockwise), the driving arm


32


coaxially coupled with the driving shaft


19


is also further rotated by 90°. Then, the link


20


of which lower end portion is coupled with the driving arm


32


is further raised up from the switch-OFF position.




Then, the guide member


13


is additionally rotated by 45° counterclockwise from the switch-OFF position (that is, it is rotated by total 90° counterclockwise from the switch-ON position).




At this time, the pressure pin


11


is positioned at the right end portion of the guide aperture


12


on the figure, and thus, the pressure pin


11


is pressurized by the guide member


13


as long as the leg of the guide aperture


12


and then lowered down.




Subsequently, as the pressure pin


11


is lowered down, it presses downwardly the upper spring sheet


18




b


that supports the bottom surface of the pressure pin


11


, and the upper spring sheet


18




b


presses downwardly the first spring


18


and the supporter member


10


.




Accordingly, the movable contactor


8


within the vacuum interrupter


2


coupled with the lower end portion of the supporter member


10


is pressed downwardly, so as to contact the fixed contactor


8




a.






At this time, the switching pin


15


contacts the grounding terminal


16


, and the movable contactor


9


and the movable contactor


8


and the fixed contactor


8




a


within the vacuum interrupter


2


are grounded. Accordingly, the current remaining at the movable contactor


9


and the movable contactor


8


and the fixed contactor


8




a


within the vacuum interrupter


2


flows to the ground.





FIG. 4

is an enlarged sectional view taken along line VI—VI of

FIG. 3

in accordance with the present invention, which illustrates the constructions of the movable contactor


9


of the second switching means and the vacuum interrupter


2


and their mutual connections for easy understanding.




A pair of guide members


13


are installed spaced apart at a predetermined distance.




A pair of blade members


14


are installed spaced apart at a predetermined distance, facing to each other, of which lower portions are attached onto the inner wall of the guide members


13


.




A pressure pin


11


is disposed to penetrate the pair of guide members


13


and the pair of blades member


14


.




The switching pin


15


is installed to penetrate the upper portion of the blade members


14


. A pair of coil springs


31


is disposed at both end portions of the switching pin


15


and at the upper portions of both blade members


14


.




A pair of coil springs


31


serves to maintain the distance between the blade members


14


, that is, the length of the exposed switching pin


15


. Both end portions of the switching pin


15


have a larger diameter than other portions so that it serves as a spring sheet supporting the coil spring


31


along with the both outer walls of the blade members


14


.




Reference numeral


2


denotes the vacuum interrupter and


9


denotes the movable contactor as described above.





FIG. 5

is a perspective view of a second movable contactor of

FIG. 3

in accordance with the present invention.




As shown in the drawing, the movable contactor


9


includes a pair of plate-shaped guide members


13


which are installed spaced apart, facing each other. Each guide member


13


has a channel-type guide aperture. The pair of guide members


13


are coupled with the pair of blades


14


. In detail, a spacer


50


is installed between the pair of blades


14


, and a coupling member such as a bolt penetrates the both guide members


13


and the both blades


14


and is inserted into the space


50


, thereby coupling the guide members


13


and the blades


14


.




A bracket


100


, which is shown by one for illustration's convenience, is installed at both adjacent portions of outer sides of the guide members


13


. A central shaft


100




a,


which becomes a rotational center of the guide member


13


, extendedly penetrates the central portion of one bracket, the central portions of the both guide members


13


and the central portion of the other bracket.




In order to support the both end portions of the pressure pin


11


and allow a limitative vertical movement for the press pin


11


, a vertical aperture


11




a


is provided at the upper portion of each bracket


100


.





FIG. 6

is a front view illustrating a state that a second switching means of a gas insulating switchgear is ON in accordance with the present invention; and

FIG. 7

is a front view illustrating a state that a second switching means of a gas insulating switchgear is OFF in accordance with the present invention.




The operation of the gas insulating switchgear will now be described by status variations with reference to FIG.


7


.




First, the operation of ON→OFF is as follows.




When the driving shaft


19


of which one end portion is outwardly exposed is rotated counterclockwise, that is, an opening direction, the driving arm


32


coaxially coupled with the driving shaft


19


is rotated in the same direction.




As the driving arm


32


is rotated in the opening direction, the link


20


of which one end portion is coupled with the free end portion of the driving arm


32


in a manner that it can be moved relatively, and the guide member


13


of the movable contactor


9


coupled with the other end portion of the link


20


is rotated counterclockwise, that is, the opening direction, thereby performing the opening operation.




With reference to

FIG. 6

, when the driving arm


32


is rotated by as much as the point of 30° with the whole rotation angle of 90° for its ON→OFF operation, the guide member


13


is rotated by 15°, one third of the whole rotation angle of 45° for its ON→OFF operation. At this time, the blade


14


and the switching pin


15


are rotated by 15°, one third of the whole rotation angle of 45° for its ON→OFF operation.




Then, the movable contactor


8


, which is rotated according to the rotation of the guide member


13


and moved along the up/down direction, is separated from the fixed contactor


8




a


and moved away by as far as one fourth of the total stroke.




Generally, when the vacuum interrupter


2


is opened, the arc is extinguished at a point of about 30% of the opening stroke, during which the switching pin


15


is positioned at the ‘A’ point of

FIG. 7

in a state of contacting the plate spring


7


of the bus bar


5


and being conductive, so that no arc is generated between the switching pin


15


and the fixed terminal


6


.




And, the switching pin


15


and the plate spring


7


are separated and spaced apart between the points ‘A’ and ‘B’, so that electrical insulating is completed between the blade


14


and the fixed terminal


6


, and between the movable contactor


8


and the fixed contactor


8




a.






Namely, the arc extinguishing is performed within the vacuum interrupter


2


, and as for the insulation between the power and the load, since the insulation between (vacuum insulation) the fixed contactor


8




a


and the movable contactor


8


of the vacuum interrupter


2


and the insulation (SF6 gas insulation) between the switching pin


15


and the fixed terminal


6


are added, so that more than the total 125 KV of rated insulation breakage voltage can be insulated, which is higher than that of only the vacuum interrupter


2


.




The operation of OFF→ON is as follows.




When the driving shaft


19


is rotated clockwise, that is, the switch-ON direction, the driving arm


32


coaxially coupled with the driving shaft


19


is accordingly rotated in the same direction.




As the driving arm


32


is rotated clockwise, the line


20


coupled with the driving arm


32


is lowered down, and the guide member


13


is rotated clockwise, thereby performing the switch-ON operation.




As shown in

FIG. 6

, when the driving arm


32


is initially rotated by 60° clockwise with the total rotation angle 90° for the OFF→ON operation, the guide member


13


is rotated by 30°, two thirds of the total rotation angle 45° for the OFF→ON operation and the movable contactor


8


is moved by as far as two thirds of the total stroke in the direction approaching the fixed contactor


8




a


by virtue of the blade member


13


.




Generally, when the switch is ON, the arc is extinguished in the vacuum interrupter


2


at a point of about 30% of the switch-ON stroke of the movable contactor


8


, during which the switching pin


15


is already positioned at the ‘A’ point of

FIG. 6

which contacts the fixed contactor


6


, thereby being mutually conducted.




Accordingly, arc extinguishing operation is performed only in the vacuum interrupter


2


, and after the switching pin


15


and the fixed contactor


6


are conducted, the movable contactor


8


and the fixed contactor


8




a


are conducted.




The operation of OFF® grounding operation is as follows.




When the driving shaft


19


is rotated counterclockwise, that is, a grounding direction, the driving arm


32


coaxially coupled with the driving shaft


19


is rotated counterclockwise, according to which the line


20


coupled with the driving arm


32


is raised up, and then, the guide member


13


is rotated counterclockwise, thereby performing grounding operation.




In the grounding operation, the operations of the movable contactor


9


and the vacuum interrupter


2


are the same as in the above-described OFF® ON operation.




When the driving shaft


19


is rotated by 60° counterclockwise from the opening position, that is, two-thirds of the total rotation angle 90° for the OFF→searching operation, the guide member


13


is rotated by 30° counterclockwise over the total rotation angle 45° for the OFF→earthing operation.




Simultaneously, the blade


14


and the switching pin


15


are also rotated by 30° counterclockwise over the total rotation angle 45° for the OFF→earthing operation.




Accordingly, the switching pin


15


contacts the ground terminal


16


, so that the blade


14


and the earthing terminal


16


are conducted each other, between which no arc is generated.




At this time, the movable contactor


8


is moved by as far as two thirds of the total stroke to be adjacent to the fixed contactor


8




a


by the guide member


13


. And, as aforementioned, the vacuum interrupter


2


starts arc extinguishing at the point of 30% of the stroke of the movable contactor in grounding operation, and after the blade


14


and the ground terminal


16


are conducted (grounded), the movable contactor


8


and the fixed contactor


8




a


finish arc extinguishing and become grounded.




The operation of earthing→OFF is as follows.




When the driving shaft


19


is rotated clockwise, that is, the operating direction from the grounding, the driving arm


32


coaxially coupled with the driving shaft


19


is rotated clockwise, according to which the link


20


is lowered down and the guide member


13


, the blade


14


and the switching pin


15


are rotated clockwise, thereby performing opening operation.




The general inter-working operation of the movable contactor


9


and the vacuum interrupter


2


is similar to that of the ON→OFF operation.




That is, as the pressure pin


11


is raised up, the movable contactor


8


, which is moved up/down direction as being cooperatively moved by the rotation of the guide member


13


, is separated from the fixed contactor


8




a,


so that opening operation that the circuit is cut off (broken) is accomplished.




As so far described, according to the gas insulating switch gear of the present invention, in case that the gas insulating switch gear is applied to a switch gear having a rated insulating voltage level of 125 KV, the switch gear can have a rated insulating breakage voltage of more than 125 KV (150 KV) by using the vacuum interrupter


2


and the second switching means each having the rated insulating breakage voltage level of about 75 KV.




That is, since the arc extinguishing is performed only in the vacuum interrupter


2


, when the insulation (vacuum insulation) between the movable contactor


8


and the fixed contactor


8




a


of the vacuum interrupter


2


and the insulation history (such as SF6 gas insulation) between the switching pin


15


of the second movable contactor


9


and the second fixed contactor


6


are added, a rated insulating breakage voltage higher than 125 KV can be obtained.




In addition, by adding the ground function using the ground terminal


16


, a worker can do a job such as a power source or load cable installation, cable maintenance and repairing in a more safe circumstance.




As the present invention may be embodied in several forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof, it should also be understood that the above-described embodiments are not limited by any of the details of the foregoing description, unless otherwise specified, but rather should be construed broadly within its spirit and scope as defined in the appended claims, and therefore all changes and modifications that fall within the meets and bounds of the claims, or equivalence of such meets and bounds are therefore intended to be embraced by the appended claims.



Claims
  • 1. A gas insulating switchgear comprising:a housing for holding and sealing an electric insulating gas; a power source terminal for being electrically connected with a power source outside the housing; a load terminal for being electrically connected with a load outside the housing; a ground terminal; a vacuum interrupter installed in the housing and having a first fixed contactor and a first movable contactor, for electrically connecting or disconnecting the power source terminal and the load terminal; a second fixed contactor electrically connected with the power source terminal or with the load terminal; a second movable contactor rotatably movable to one of a connecting position at which the second movable contactor contacts the second fixed contactor or a disconnecting position at which the second movable contactor is separated from the second fixed contactor or a ground position at which the second movable contactor contacts the ground terminal; and an actuator means for providing the first movable contactor and the second movable contactor with a driving force for movement of the first movable contactor and the second movable contactor, said actuator means including: a rotatable driving shaft; a link means for transmitting a rotation torque of the driving shaft to the second movable contactor; and a converting means for converting the rotation of the second movable contactor to a linear driving force and applying it to the first movable contactor; said converting means including: a second movable contactor having a guide aperture; a supporter member of which one end portion is coupled with the first movable contactor and another end portion of which is extended toward the guide aperture, for being linearly moved along with the first movable supporter member; and a pressure pin installed to penetrate the other end portion of the supporter member and the guide aperture, for being pressed in the vertical direction by the second movable contactor having the guide aperture when the second movable contactor is rotated, to convert the rotational force of the second movable contactor into a linear movement force and apply it to the supporter member; said converting means further including: a first spring for pressing the pressure pin upwardly; a pair of spring seats for supporting the both end portions of the first spring; and a second spring for elastically supporting the lower spring seat of the pair of spring seats.
Priority Claims (1)
Number Date Country Kind
99-43295 Oct 1999 KR
US Referenced Citations (5)
Number Name Date Kind
3399286 Kerr, Jr. Aug 1968 A
4538039 Gotoh et al. Aug 1985 A
4814559 Stegmueller Mar 1989 A
4965419 Chyls et al. Oct 1990 A
6121566 Biquez et al. Sep 2000 A