Surge arrester having protection against heating

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10148085-B2
Application number	US-201515123169-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 19, 2015
Priority date	Mar 13, 2014
Publication date	Dec 4, 2018
Grant date	Dec 4, 2018

Abstract

A surge arrester is disclosed. In an embodiment the surge arrester includes a first electrode for applying a first voltage potential to the surge arrester, a second electrode for applying a second voltage potential to the surge arrester, and a short-circuiting link for short-circuiting the first and second electrodes. The surge arrester further includes a retaining element for retaining the short-circuiting link, wherein the retaining element is embodied in such a way that it keeps the short-circuiting link at a distance from the first and second electrodes when a temperature is below a threshold value, and it shifts the short-circuiting link such that the short-circuiting link is pressed against the first and second electrodes and a short-circuit is produced between the first and second electrodes when the temperature exceeds the threshold value.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A surge arrester comprising:
a first electrode for applying a first voltage potential to the surge arrester,
a second electrode for applying a second voltage potential to the surge arrester,
a short-circuiting link for short-circuiting the first and second electrodes,
a retaining element having a supporting region for retaining the short-circuiting link,
wherein the retaining element is embodied in such a way that the short-circuiting link is supported by the supporting region and the short-circuiting link is kept at a distance from the first and second electrodes when a temperature is below a threshold value, and materials of the retaining element expand in such a way that the short-circuiting link slips off the supporting region of the retaining element and the short-circuiting link is pressed against the first and second electrodes and a short-circuit is produced between the first and second electrodes when the temperature exceeds the threshold value.

2. The surge arrester according to claim 1 , wherein the short-circuiting link and the retaining element are permanently connected to one another at at least one section of the short-circuiting link and the retaining element.

3. The surge arrester according to claim 1 , further comprising a hollow body having a cavity between a first and a second opening of the hollow body, wherein the first opening is covered by the first electrode and the second opening is covered by the second electrode in such a way that the cavity is hermetically tight sealed.

4. The surge arrester according to claim 3 , wherein the retaining element is attached to the hollow body.

5. The surge arrester according to claim 1 , wherein the retaining element contains a thermal bimetal material.

6. The surge arrester according to claim 1 , wherein the short-circuiting link has a bridging region for electrically bridging a distance between the first and second electrodes, and wherein the short-circuiting link is embodied in such a way that the bridging region is held under mechanical stress by the retaining element at the distance from the first and second electrodes when the temperature is below the threshold value.

7. The surge arrester according to claim 6 , wherein the bridging region has a first and second end parts and a center part arranged between the first and second end parts, and wherein the first and second end parts of the bridging region are bent away from a plane, in which the center part of the bridging region is arranged, and are bent in a direction of the first and second electrodes.

8. The surge arrester according to claim 1 , further comprising a hollow body,
wherein the retaining element has a region which bears against the hollow body,
wherein the retaining element has a bent region which adjoins the bearing region, is bent away from a surface of the hollow body and is bent toward a bridging region of the short-circuiting link,
wherein the retaining element has a supporting region which adjoins the bent region and against which the bridging region of the short-circuiting link rests on the retaining element when the temperature is below the threshold value.

9. The surge arrester according to claim 8 , wherein the retaining element is embodied in such that when the threshold value of the temperature is exceeded at least one of the bent region and/or the supporting region of the retaining element bends with respect to the bridging region of the short-circuiting link such that the bridging region of the short-circuiting link steps off from the supporting region of the retaining element and is pressed against the first and second electrodes as a result of which the short-circuit is produced between the first and second electrodes.

10. The surge arrester according to claim 8 , wherein the short-circuiting link has a retaining region against which the bridging region of the short-circuiting link is held, wherein the retaining region of the short-circuiting link has a supporting section which rests on the surface of the hollow body, an attachment section which is attached to the region of the retaining element which bears on the surface of the hollow body, and an end section on which the bridging region of the short-circuiting link is arranged, and wherein the short-circuiting link is bent between the supporting section and the end section of the retaining region in such a way that the bridging region of the short-circuiting link is pressed under mechanical stress against the supporting region of the retaining element when the temperature is below the threshold value.

11. The surge arrester according to claim 1 , further comprising a hollow body,
wherein the hollow body has a first and a second partial body made of a ceramic material and a metallic ring,
wherein the first partial body has the first opening of the hollow body and a further opening,
wherein the second partial body has the second opening of the hollow body and a further opening,
wherein the metallic ring is arranged between the further opening in the first partial body and the further opening in the second partial body, and
wherein a region of the retaining element which bears against the hollow body bears against the metallic ring of the hollow body.

12. The surge arrester according to claim 11 , wherein the retaining element is permanently connected to the metallic ring of the hollow body.

13. The surge arrester according to claim 11 , wherein the metallic ring has a larger external diameter than the first and second partial bodies, and wherein an edge of the metallic ring projects from a surface of the first and second partial bodies.

14. The surge arrester according to claim 11 , wherein a retaining region of the short-circuiting link has a first web and a second web spaced apart from the first web by a gap width, and wherein the short-circuiting link is arranged on the hollow body in such a way that the metallic ring of the hollow body and the retaining element are arranged between the first and second webs of the retaining region of the retaining element.

15. The surge arrester according to claim 11 , wherein the metallic ring is embodied as a third electrode of the surge arrester, and wherein the surge arrester is embodied as a 3-electrode arrester.

Assignees

• Epcos Ag

Inventors

• Bobert Peter
• Heide Peter

Classifications

• H02H9/043 Primary

  Protection of over-voltage protection device by short-circuiting · CPC title

• H01T1/14 Primary

  Means structurally associated with spark gap for protecting it against overload or for disconnecting it in case of failure (H01T1/15, H01T1/16, H01T1/18 take precedence; emergency protective circuit arrangements for spark gap arrestors H02H7/24) · CPC title

• H01T4/12

  hermetically sealed · CPC title