DESC:FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure generally relates to motor starters. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a tripper element for a motor starter.

BACKGROUND

Generally, a motor starter is defined as an electrical device used to start and stop a motor safely. The motor starter works like a switch. However, the motor is susceptible to circuit overloads, short circuit, low resistance etc., which impacts the working of the motor. In this regard, the motor starter has a tripping element to protect the motor from potential harm that may be caused due to circuit overloads, short circuit, etc.

However, the tripper element of the motor starter has a limitation that the tripper element is susceptible to misalignment in the motor starter, which may impact the tripping mechanism of the motor starter. Further, the tripper element has increased number of components, which results in a complex design of the tripper element and increases cost of the motor starter.

Therefore, it is essential to design the motor starter having a simple configuration of the tripper element while ensuring minimum number of components.

SUMMARY

This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts, in a simplified format, that are further described in the detailed description of the invention. This summary is neither intended to identify key or essential inventive concepts of the invention and nor is it intended for determining the scope of the invention.

The present disclosure aims to provide a tripper element for a motor starter while ensuring minimum number of components.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, a tripper element for a motor starter having a rocker arm is disclosed. The tripper element includes a hollow body comprising an inner cavity and an outer surface. The inner cavity is adapted to receive a spring. The outer surface includes a plurality of ribs. The plurality of ribs is locked by a slider element of the motor starter such that the spring is adapted to be in the compressed state. The plurality of ribs is unlocked from the slider element such that the spring is expanded to actuate the tripper element in an axial direction to change an actuation status of the rocker arm to trip the motor starter.

In another embodiment of the present disclosure, a motor starter is disclosed. The motor starter includes a rocker arm, a tripper element, and a slider element. The tripper element forms a contact with the rocker arm. The tripper element includes a hollow body. The hollow body includes an inner cavity and an outer surface. The inner cavity is adapted to receive a spring. The outer surface includes a plurality of ribs. The slider element is adapted to receive the tripper element and locks the plurality of ribs such that the spring is adapted to be in the compressed state. The plurality of ribs is unlocked from the slider element such that the spring is expanded to actuate the tripper element in an axial direction to change an actuation status of rocker arm to trip the motor starter, when the slider element is adapted to slide laterally towards the tripper element, based on the heat generated within the motor starter, exceeding a threshold heat level within the motor starter.

The present disclosure ensures a simple configuration of the tripper element having reduced number of components. The tripper element reduces the possibility of the misalignment in the motor starter. The configuration as disclosed in the present disclosure ensures a simple structure with a reduced number of components, thus being a cost-effective solution.

To further clarify the advantages and features of the present invention, a more particular description of the invention will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments thereof, which is illustrated in the appended drawings. It is appreciated that these drawings depict only typical embodiments of the invention and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope. The invention will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood when the following detailed description is read with reference to the accompanying drawings in which like characters represent like parts throughout the drawings, wherein:

Figure 1A illustrates an assembled view of a motor starter with a housing, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

Figure 1B illustrates an assembled view of the motor starter, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

Figure 2A illustrates a perspective view of a tripper element, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

Figure 2B illustrates an isometric view of the tripper element, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

Figure 3 illustrates a top view of the motor starter, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

Figure 4 illustrates an isometric view of the motor starter, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

Figure 5 illustrates a sectional view of the motor starter in a tripped state, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; and

Figure 6 illustrates an assembled view of the motor starter in the tripped state, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Further, skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the drawings are illustrated for simplicity and may not have necessarily been drawn to scale. Furthermore, in terms of the construction of the device, a plurality of components of the device may have been represented in the drawings by conventional symbols, and the drawings may show only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments of the present invention so as not to obscure the drawings with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having benefit of the description herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES

For the purpose of promoting an understanding of the principles of the invention, reference will now be made to the embodiment illustrated in the drawings and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended, such alterations and further modifications in the illustrated system, and such further applications of the principles of the invention as illustrated therein being contemplated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the invention relates. Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skilled in the art to which invention belongs. The system and examples provided herein are illustrative only and not intended to be limiting.

For example, the term “some” as used herein may be understood as “none” or “one” or “more than one” or “all.” Therefore, the terms “none,” “one,” “more than one,” “more than one, but not all” or “all” would fall under the definition of “some.” It should be appreciated by a person skilled in the art that the terminology and structure employed herein is for describing, teaching, and illuminating some embodiments and their specific features and elements and therefore, should not be construed to limit, restrict, or reduce the spirit and scope of the present disclosure in any way.

For example, any terms used herein such as, “includes,” “comprises,” “has,” “consists,” and similar grammatical variants do not specify an exact limitation or restriction, and certainly do not exclude the possible addition of a plurality of features or elements, unless otherwise stated. Further, such terms must not be taken to exclude the possible removal of the plurality of the listed features and elements, unless otherwise stated, for example, by using the limiting language including, but not limited to, “must comprise” or “needs to include.”

Whether or not a certain feature or element was limited to being used only once, it may still be referred to as “plurality of features” or “plurality of elements” or “at least one feature” or “at least one element.” Furthermore, the use of the terms “plurality of” or “at least one” feature or element do not preclude there being none of that feature or element, unless otherwise specified by limiting language including, but not limited to, “there needs to be plurality of...” or “plurality of elements is required.”

Unless otherwise defined, all terms and especially any technical and/or scientific terms, used herein may be taken to have the same meaning as commonly understood by a person ordinarily skilled in the art.

Reference is made herein to some “embodiments.” It should be understood that an embodiment is an example of a possible implementation of any features and/or elements of the present disclosure. Some embodiments have been described for the purpose of explaining plurality of the potential ways in which the specific features and/or elements of the proposed disclosure fulfil the requirements of uniqueness, utility, and non-obviousness.

Use of the phrases and/or terms including, but not limited to, “a first embodiment,” “a further embodiment,” “an alternate embodiment,” “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “multiple embodiments,” “some embodiments,” “other embodiments,” “further embodiment”, “furthermore embodiment”, “additional embodiment” or other variants thereof do not necessarily refer to the same embodiments. Unless otherwise specified, plurality of particular features and/or elements described in connection with plurality of embodiments may be found in one embodiment, or may be found in more than one embodiment, or may be found in all embodiments, or may be found in no embodiments. Although plurality of features and/or elements may be described herein in the context of only a single embodiment, or in the context of more than one embodiment, or in the context of all embodiments, the features and/or elements may instead be provided separately or in any appropriate combination or not at all. Conversely, any features and/or elements described in the context of separate embodiments may alternatively be realized as existing together in the context of a single embodiment.

Any particular and all details set forth herein are used in the context of some embodiments and therefore should not necessarily be taken as limiting factors to the proposed disclosure.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

For the sake of clarity, the first digit of a reference numeral of each component of the present disclosure is indicative of the Figure number, in which the corresponding component is shown. For example, reference numerals starting with digit “1” are shown at least in Figure 1. Similarly, reference numerals starting with digit “2” are shown at least in Figure 2.

Figure 1A illustrates an assembled view of a motor starter 100 with a housing 110, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 1B illustrates an assembled view of the motor starter 100, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 2A illustrates a perspective view of a tripper element 116, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 2B illustrates an isometric view of the tripper element 116, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 3 illustrates a top view of the motor starter 100, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 4 illustrates an isometric view of the motor starter 100, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 5 illustrates a sectional view of the motor starter 100 in a tripped state, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 6 illustrates an assembled view of the motor starter 100 in the tripped state, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

The motor starter 100 may be employed in a motor to start and stop the motor safely. The motor starter 100 works similar to a relay, where the motor starter 100 switches ON and OFF the motor. The motor starter 100 also protects the motor from impact of over current.

In an embodiment, the motor starter 100 may include, but is not limited to, a rocker arm 108, a pair of switches 102, 104, a slider element 118, the tripper element 116, details of which have been provided in the subsequent paragraphs.

In an embodiment, the pair of switches 102, 104 may include a first switch 102 and a second switch 104 to actuate to operate the motor in one of an ON state and an OFF state. Further, the rocker arm 108 may be coupled with the pair of switches 102, 104. The rocker arm 108 operates based on the actuation status of the one of the pair of switches 102, 104 to operate the motor. Further, the rocker arm 108 may operate on a contact bridge 114 as per the actuation status of the one of the pair of switches 102, 104. For instance, when either one of the first switch 102 and the second switch 104 is actuated, then the rocker arm 108 operates to either establish a connection to switch ON the motor or break the connection to switch OFF the motor. In an embodiment, the rocker arm 108 may be in contact with the pair of switches 102, 104 separated through a plate 106. The plate 106 protects a user from direct contact with the rocker arm 108, thus ensuring the safety of the user.

In an embodiment, the motor starter 100 may include the housing 110 to receive, but not limited to, the rocker arm 108, the slider element 118, the tripper element 116, and a spark cap 112. The spark cap 112 may be adapted to suppress a spark generated in the course of operation in the motor starter 100. Further, in some scenarios, the continuous operation in the motor may lead to flow/generation of the overcurrent which generates excessive heat in the motor which may damage the motor. Additionally, a short circuit, a power surge in the motor starter 100 also generates heat which may damage the motor and the motor starter 100. So, to eliminate such problems, the motor starter 100 may include the tripper element 116.

The constructional and operational feature of the tripper element 116 is explained in the subsequent paragraphs with reference to Figures 1A to 6.

In an embodiment, referring to Figures 2A and 2B, the tripper element 116 may include a hollow body 210. The hollow body 210 may be of a hollow cylindrical geometrical configuration. The hollow body 210 may include an outer surface 202 and an inner cavity 208. In an embodiment, a plurality of ribs 204 may be defined on the outer surface 202 of the tripper element 116. Each rib 204 may be formed vertically on the outer surface 202. In an embodiment, the inner cavity 208 may be adapted to receive a spring 501 (as shown in Figure 5). Particularly, the tripper element 116 may include a guide member 206 which may be in contact with the inner surface 208 and the spring 501. Further, the guide member 206 may be adapted to guide and receive the spring 501 in a compressed state.

Further, referring to Figures 1A to 6, the tripper element 116 may be in contact with the rocker arm 108. The tripper element 116 may be received in the slider element 118. Further, the slider element 118 may be adapted to lock the plurality of ribs 204 such that the spring 501 may be adapted to be in the compressed state to establish a connection in the motor starter 100.

Typically, the slider element 118 may include a plurality of cut-out profiles 304a, 304b in the opening 304. Further, the plurality of cut-out profiles 304a, 304b may be adapted to lock the plurality of ribs 204, when the tripper element 116 is received in the opening 304. This configuration results in the restriction of the further movement of the tripper element 116. Particularly, the plurality of ribs 204 includes a horizontally protruded portion. Thus, when the opening 304 receives the tripper element 116, the horizontally protruded portion may be adapted to be locked by the plurality of cut-out profiles 304a, 304b of the slider member 118. This results in the locking of the tripper element 116, thus, restricting the further movement of the tripper element 116. Further, the spring 501 inside the tripper element 116 remains in the compressed state.

Further, in an embodiment, the slider element 118 may be attached with a bimetallic strip 306 through various attachment means, for example, a ceramic plate 314. The slider element 118 may include a pair of springs 402, where the pair of springs 402 may be disposed in an expanded state.

In an embodiment, the bimetallic strip 306 is connected to a terminal 312 through various attachment means, for example, a braided wire 310. In an embodiment, the bimetallic strip 306 may be made up of two metals without departing from the scope of the present invention. In an embodiment, the bimetallic strip 306 may be calibrated with a calibrating screw 308 to deform above heat generated within the motor starter 100 exceeding a threshold heat level within the motor starter 100.

Initially, one of the pair of switches 102, 104 actuates to operate the motor in the ON state through the rocker arm 108. Further, the heat exceeding the threshold heat level may be generated inside the motor starter 100 due to several reasons, for example, the generation of overcurrent. Further, the terminal 312 experiences the heat. Further, once the terminal 312 experiences the heat, the terminal 312 transfer the heat to the bimetallic strip 306 through various means, for example, the braided wire 310. The bimetallic strip 306 deforms and shifts towards the slider element 118. Further, as the bimetallic strip 306 shifts towards the slider element 118, the pair of springs 402 of the slider element 118 changes from the expanded state to a compressed state. The pair of springs 402, in the compressed state, generates a biasing force that actuates the slider element 118 to slide laterally toward the tripper element 116. When the slider element 118 slides towards the tripper element 116, the plurality of cut-out profiles 304a, 304b shifts laterally.

The shifting of the plurality of cut-out profiles 304a, 304b, laterally, provides clearance to the tripper element 116 in the opening 304 for the axial movement of the tripper element 116 to change the actuating state of the rocker arm 108, to trip the motor starter 100.

In an embodiment, the clearance as provided results in the unlocking of the plurality of ribs 204 from the slider element 118 and results in the expansion of the spring 501 of the tripper element 116. Further, the tripper element 116 is adapted to be actuated by the spring 501 in the axial direction to change the actuation status of the rocker arm 108, to trip the motor starter 100. The tripper element 116 is actuated by the expanded spring 501, when the slider element 118 slides laterally towards the tripper element 116, based on the heat generated within the motor starter 100 exceeding the threshold heat level within the motor starter 100.

Precisely, the expansion of the spring 501 provides a degree of freedom of the movement of the tripper element 116 in the axial direction. Simultaneously, the slider element 118 maintains a clearance with surrounding components and does not shift in the axial direction along with the tripper element 116.

Further, the tripper element 116 while moving in the axial direction changes the operating status of the rocker arm 108. Thus, this configuration also changes the actuating status of the one of the pair of switches 102, 104 which results in changing the operating status of the motor from the ON state to the OFF state. This configuration results in the tripping of the motor starter 100 with the tripper element 116 working in conjunction with other elements, for example, the bimetallic strip 306, the slider element 118, which protects the motor from damages due to excessive heat generated in the motor.

Further, once the motor starter 100 cools down, then the motor may be operated in the ON state by manually pressing the one of the pair of switches 102, 104. When the one of the pair of switches 102, 104 actuates, the rocker arm 108 operates to press the tripper element 116 downwardly. Further, the tripper element 116 may be received in the opening 304 of the slider element 118. The slider element 118 shifts in the opposite direction and further locks the tripper element 116 again.

As would be gathered, the present disclosure ensures a simple configuration of the tripper element 116. The tripper element 116 ensures the tripping of the motor starter 100 and ensures that the tripper element 116 retains its original position, when the motor starter 100 cools down. The configuration as disclosed in the present disclosure ensures a simple structure with a reduced number of components, thus being a cost-effective solution.

While specific language has been used to describe the present subject matter, any limitations arising on account thereto, are not intended. As would be apparent to a person in the art, various working modifications may be made to the method in order to implement the inventive concept as taught herein. The drawings and the foregoing description give examples of embodiments. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that one or more of the described elements may well be combined into a single functional element. Alternatively, certain elements may be split into multiple functional elements. Elements from one embodiment may be added to another embodiment. ,CLAIMS:1. A tripper element (116) for a motor starter (100) having a rocker arm (108), the tripper element (116) comprising:
a hollow body (210) comprising:
an inner cavity (208) adapted to receive a spring (501); and
an outer surface (202) comprising a plurality of ribs (204), the plurality of ribs (204) locked by a slider element (118) of the motor starter (100) such that the spring (501) is adapted to be in the compressed state, wherein:
the plurality of ribs (204) is unlocked from the slider element (118) such that the spring (501) is expanded to actuate the tripper element (116) in an axial direction to change an actuation status of the rocker arm (108), to trip the motor starter (100).

2. The tripper element (116) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the hollow body (210) of the tripper element (116) is of a hollow cylindrical geometrical configuration.

3. The tripper element (116) as claimed in claim 1, comprises a guide member (206) adapted to be in contact with the inner cavity (208) and the spring (501).

4. The tripper element (116) as claimed in claim 1, wherein each rib (204) is formed vertically on the outer surface (202).

5. The tripper element (116) as claimed in claim 4, wherein each rib includes a horizontally protruded portion adapted to be locked by the slider member (118).

6. The tripper element (116) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the spring (501) is expanded to actuate the tripper element (116) in the axial direction, when the slider element (118) is adapted to slide laterally towards the tripper element (116), based on heat generated within the motor starter (100) exceeding a threshold heat level within the motor starter (100)

7. A motor starter (100), comprising:
a rocker arm (108) adapted to operate the motor;
a tripper element (116) forms a contact with the rocker arm (108), the tripper element (116) comprising:
a hollow body (210) comprising:
an inner cavity (208) adapted to receive a spring (501);
an outer surface (202) comprising a plurality of ribs (204); and
a slider element (118) adapted to receive the tripper element (116) and locks the plurality of ribs (204) of the tripper element (116) such that the spring (501) adapted to be in the compressed state, wherein:
the plurality of ribs (204) is unlocked from the slider element (118) such that:
the spring (501) is expanded to actuate the tripper element (116) in an axial direction to change an actuation status of the rocker arm (108), to trip the motor starter (100),
when the slider element (118) is adapted to slide laterally towards the tripper element (116), based on heat generated within the motor starter (100) exceeding a threshold heat level within the motor starter (100).

8. The motor starter (100) as claimed in claim 7, wherein the hollow body (210) of the tripper element (116) is of a hollow cylindrical geometrical configuration.

9. The motor starter (100) as claimed in claim 7, wherein the tripper element (116) comprises a guide member (206) adapted to be in contact with the inner cavity (208) and the spring (501).

10. The motor starter (100) as claimed in claim 7, wherein each rib (204) is formed vertically on the outer surface (202).

11. The motor starter (100) as claimed in claim 10, wherein each rib includes a horizontally protruded portion adapted to be locked by the slider member (118).

12. The motor starter (100) as claimed in claim 11, wherein the slider element (118) comprises an opening (304) having a plurality of cut-out profiles (304a, 304b) adapted to receive and lock the plurality of ribs (204) of the tripping element (116).

13. The motor starter (100) as claimed in claim 12, wherein the slider element (118) comprises a pair of springs (402), a biasing force of the pair of springs (402), in a compressed state, actuates the slider element (118) to slide laterally towards the tripper element (116) such that the plurality of cut-out profiles (304a, 304b) shifts laterally and provides clearance in the opening (304) for the axial movement of the tripper element (116) to change the actuating state of the rocker arm (108), to trip the motor starter (100).