DESC:TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of protection devices, particularly circuit breakers. More particularly, the present invention provides an adjustable toggle mechanism for controlled resetting of poles in circuit breakers.

BACKGROUND AND THE PRIOR ART

Circuit breaker operating mechanism permits breaker to store the energy by compressing springs that are linked to the contact assembly of breaker by latching different links. Stored energy of springs and latching between the linkages allows breaker to make the contacts, hence completing the electrical circuit (Closing of breaker) and also break the contacts, thereby interrupting the electrical circuit (Tripping of breaker). Switchgear mechanisms use methods of latching for storing the spring energy and achieving its intended motion.

Most switchgear manufacturers provide tension springs for resetting poles/ pole shaft. Most switchgear manufacturers use tension spring which allows one-directional motion output but it is restricted to be used in specific mechanism, with fixed pole loads only, with no scope of interchangeability.

Therefore, the present invention defines a way to enhance a pole resetting at both ON and OFF condition of breaker along with a provision for self adjustment of spring load to meet any value of pole load as required by application.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

A basic object of the present invention is to overcome the disadvantages/drawbacks of the known art.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an adjustable toggle mechanism for controlled resetting of poles in circuit breakers.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a self-actuating toggle spring mechanism with minimum elements.

These and other advantages of the present invention will become readily apparent from the following detailed description read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect of the present invention, an adjustable toggle mechanism for controlled resetting of pole(s) in a circuit breaker is disclosed. The adjustable toggle mechanism comprises of a spring holder assembly comprising an adjustable link, a main bracket, and a locking pin; a toggle spring assembly comprising a guiding pin, and a toggle spring member; and a pole shaft assembly; wherein said spring holder assembly is mounted on a housing of said circuit breaker using said main bracket and said locking pin at one end, and said adjustable link at the other end; and said toggle spring assembly is coupled on said pole shaft assembly using a guiding pin, and a toggle spring member at one end, and other end at said spring holder assembly.

In another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an adjustable toggle mechanism for controlled resetting of pole(s) in a circuit breaker, said mechanism comprising:
a spring holder bracket comprises an adjustable link; a main bracket; a locking pin;
a toggle spring assembly comprises a spring holder; a guiding pin; a toggle spring member; and
a pole shaft assembly;
thereby said mechanism reset said pole (s) in ON and OFF condition to facilitate closing and tripping of said circuit breaker.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS

The following drawings are illustrative of particular examples for enabling methods of the present invention, are descriptive of some of the methods, and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. The drawings are not to scale (unless so stated) and are intended for use in conjunction with the explanations in the following detailed description.

Figure1 illustrates the pole assembly at off condition;

Figure 2 illustrates the pole assembly at toggle positions;

Figure 3 illustrates the pole assembly at ON position;

Figure 4 illustrates the exploded view of spring assembly;

Figure 5 illustrates the exploded view of spring holder assembly;

Persons skilled in the art will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and may have not been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figure may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.

Throughout the drawings, it should be noted that like reference numbers are used to depict the same or similar elements, features, and structures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

The following description with reference to the accompanying drawings is provided to assist in a comprehensive understanding of exemplary embodiments of the invention as defined by the claims and their equivalents. It includes various specific details to assist in that understanding but these are to be regarded as merely exemplary. Accordingly, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that various changes and modifications of the embodiments described herein can be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. In addition, descriptions of well-known functions and constructions are omitted for clarity and conciseness.

The terms and words used in the following description and claims are not limited to the bibliographical meanings, but, are merely used by the inventor to enable a clear and consistent understanding of the invention. Accordingly, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the following description of exemplary embodiments of the present invention are provided for illustration purpose only and not for the purpose of limiting the invention as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

It is to be understood that the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

By the term “substantially” it is meant that the recited characteristic, parameter, or value need not be achieved exactly, but that deviations or variations, including for example, tolerances, measurement error, measurement accuracy limitations and other factors known to those of skill in the art, may occur in amounts that do not preclude the effect the characteristic was intended to provide.

Accordingly, present invention provides an adjustable toggle mechanism for controlled resetting of poles in circuit breakers.

The present invention comprises of a spring holder bracket assembly (11) which comprises of adjustable link (21), main bracket (22) and locking pin (26).ref figure 5andtoggle spring assembly (12) which comprises of spring holder (23), guiding pin (24) and toggle spring member (25) as shown in figure 3 which is rigidly connected to pole shaft assembly (13).

In present invention “A” represent: Off position, “B” represent: Toggle Position and “C” represent: ON position.

When the ON command is given, pole shaft (13) travels from OFF to ON position shown in figure 1.

During closing of breaker, when pole shaft starts rotating from OFF to ON position, toggle spring assembly (12) which is positively mounted on pole shaft actuates and spring member (25) is compressed till it reaches the toggle position shown in figure 1. After toggle condition, spring energy along with the mechanism forces may take said pole shaft assembly comprising plurality of poles towards the final position (ON position).Similarly, the tripping toggle spring member’s energy facilitates the resting of poles (OFF position).

It provides positive resetting of poles in ON as well as OFF condition. Tension spring used for resetting the poles will act unidirectional from ON to OFF condition and it gives undesired opposition in other direction. In this new arrangement, spring load will be acting in both the directions thus fulfilling the proper resetting condition of poles with proper contact pressure. Most of the unidirectional motion transfer systems are not interchangeable. With adjustment provided in the new arrangement, both interchangeability and modularity can be achieved.

In one implementation, figure 1 shows the OFF position of breaker. When ON command is given, pole assembly (14) moves from position “A” towards position “C”, as spring holder bracket (11) holding one end of spring holder rigidly. Spring (25) gets compressed between spring holder (21) and spring guide. When pole assembly reaches at position “B”, spring (25) gets toggled and imparts the force on pole shaft assembly (13) this will aid quicker closing of breaker.

When tripping command is given to breaker, pole assembly (14) moves from position “C” towards position “A”, compressed spring (25) now tries to discharge the stored energy. Once again at position “B” of pole assembly (14) spring gets toggled and its energy gets discharged due to which pole shaft assembly (13) moves backward with additional spring energy of toggle spring (25), hence pole shaft (13) get resettled to its final position “A” (OFF Condition).

In one aspect of the present invention, an adjustable toggle mechanism for controlled resetting of pole(s) in a circuit breaker is disclosed. The adjustable toggle mechanism comprises of a spring holder assembly comprising an adjustable link, a main bracket, and a locking pin; a toggle spring assembly comprising a guiding pin, and a toggle spring member; and a pole shaft assembly; wherein said spring holder assembly is mounted on a housing of said circuit breaker using said main bracket and said locking pin at one end, and said adjustable link at the other end; and said toggle spring assembly is coupled on said pole shaft assembly using a guiding pin, and a toggle spring member at one end, and other end at said spring holder assembly.

In one implementation, the adjustable toggle mechanism is configured to reset said pole (s) in ON and OFF condition to facilitate closing and tripping of said circuit breaker.

In one implementation, said pole shaft assembly is an integral part of said circuit breaker which connects said poles with a driving mechanism.

In one implementation, said pole shaft assembly rotates from OFF position to ON position, thereby charging said toggle spring member by compressing said toggle spring member between said spring holder assembly and said guiding pin until said pole shaft assembly reached in toggle position during ON condition of said circuit breaker.

In one implementation, wherein said toggle spring assembly member toggles, and thereby imparts the force on said pole shaft assembly when said pole shaft assembly reached at toggle position for closing of said circuit breaker.

In one implementation, wherein said pole shaft assembly rotates from ON position to OFF position, thereby discharging the stored energy in said toggle spring member compressed during ON condition until said pole shaft assembly reached in toggle position during trip condition of said circuit breaker.

In one implementation, said toggle spring member toggles, and thereby resets said pole shaft assembly by rotating said pole shaft assembly in OFF condition, during trip condition of said circuit breaker.

In one implementation, tripping of said toggle spring member facilitates the resetting of said pole(s) in OFF position.

In one implementation, said toggle spring member mounted on said pole shaft assembly for actuation, and therefore said toggle spring member compressed.

In one implementation, figure1 illustrates the pole assembly at off condition as an embodiment of the present invention.

In one implementation, figure 2 illustrates the pole assembly at toggle positions as an embodiment of the present invention.
In one implementation, figure 3 illustrates the pole assembly at ON position as an embodiment of the present invention.

In one implementation, figure 4 illustrates the exploded view of spring assembly as an embodiment of the present invention.

In one implementation, figure 5 illustrates the exploded view of spring holder assembly as an embodiment of the present invention.

BENEFITSACHIEVED BY USING THE PRESENT INVENTION

· Rapid tripping and closing of breaker achieved with simple toggle spring mechanism.
· Independent mechanism without disturbing present actuation process.
· Required contact pressure can be achieved by adjustable type of arrangement.
· The invention solves the problem of back thrust in kinematic linkages due to opening of breaker in short circuit current condition.
· It also solves the problem of dependency of tensile spring used for specific pole-frame size of ACB.

NOVEL FEATURE OF THE PRESENT INVENTION:

1. Self Actuating toggle spring mechanism with minimum elements.
2. Said mechanism having spring load acting in both the directions thus fulfilling the proper resetting condition of poles with proper contact pressure.
3. Said mechanism spring load can be adjusted by adjustable bracket.
4. Said arrangement can be used for different for different frame rating having different pole spring load.
,CLAIMS:1. An adjustable toggle mechanism for controlled resetting of pole(s) in a circuit breaker, said adjustable toggle mechanism comprising:
a spring holder assembly comprising an adjustable link, a main bracket, and a locking pin;
a toggle spring assembly comprising a guiding pin, and a toggle spring member; and
a pole shaft assembly; wherein
said spring holder assembly is mounted on a housing of said circuit breaker using said main bracket and said locking pin at one end, and said adjustable link at the other end; and
said toggle spring assembly is coupled on said pole shaft assembly using a guiding pin, and a toggle spring member at one end, and other end at said spring holder assembly.

2. The adjustable toggle mechanism as claimed in claim 1 is configured to reset said pole (s) in ON and OFF condition to facilitate closing and tripping of said circuit breaker.

3. The adjustable toggle mechanism as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein said pole shaft assembly is an integral part of said circuit breaker which connects said poles with a driving mechanism.

4. The adjustable toggle mechanism as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein said pole shaft assembly rotates from OFF position to ON position, thereby charging said toggle spring member by compressing said toggle spring member between said spring holder assembly and said guiding pin until said pole shaft assembly reached in toggle position during ON condition of said circuit breaker.

5. The adjustable toggle mechanism as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein said toggle spring assembly member toggles, and thereby imparts the force on said pole shaft assembly when said pole shaft assembly reached at toggle position for closing of said circuit breaker.

6. The adjustable toggle mechanism as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein said pole shaft assembly rotates from ON position to OFF position, thereby discharging the stored energy in said toggle spring member compressed during ON condition until said pole shaft assembly reached in toggle position during trip condition of said circuit breaker.

7. The adjustable toggle mechanism as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein said toggle spring member toggles, and thereby resets said pole shaft assembly by rotating said pole shaft assembly in OFF condition, during trip condition of said circuit breaker.

8. The adjustable toggle mechanism as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein tripping of said toggle spring member facilitates the resetting of said pole(s) in OFF position.

9. The adjustable toggle mechanism as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein said toggle spring member mounted on said pole shaft assembly for actuation, and therefore said toggle spring member compressed.