Frictionless switching device for opening and closing an electrical line, with improved operating accuracy

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10176954-B2
Application number	US-201715723244-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 3, 2017
Priority date	Sep 24, 2015
Publication date	Jan 8, 2019
Grant date	Jan 8, 2019

Abstract

A switching device for opening and closing an electrical line, including:
two fixed contact terminals separated from one another, an operating member, comprising a contact piece, at least one flexible strip comprising at least one end part attached to a fixed support, the flexible strip or strips being adapted to exert a return force on the contact piece to return it from its closed position to its open position in the absence of a motive force on the operating member, the operating member comprising two electrically insulating pusher arms, spaced apart from one another and each attached to an end part of the contact piece; each flexible strip comprising two other end parts, each attached to one of the two push arms or to a part of the operating member that is itself attached to, or forms an integral part of, one of the pusher arms.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A switching device for opening and closing an electrical line, comprising:
two fixed contact terminals separated from one another,
an operating member, comprising a contact piece adapted to be moved axially between a closed position in which the contact piece is applied simultaneously to the two contact terminals, connecting them electrically, and an open position in which the contact piece is separated from the two contact terminals,
at least one flexible strip comprising at least one end part attached to a fixed support, the flexible strip or strips being adapted to exert a return force on the contact piece to return it from its closed position to its open position in the absence of a motive force on the operating member,
wherein the operating member comprises two electrically insulating pusher arms, spaced apart from one another and each attached to an end part of the contact piece, and
wherein each flexible strip comprises two other end parts, each attached to one of the two push arms or to a part of the operating member that is itself attached to, or forms an integral part of, one of the pusher arms;
wherein the device comprises an electrically conductive closure plate, the contact piece of the operating member and the two contact terminals being arranged on one side of said closure plate, while a greater part of the two pusher arms, together with the flexible strip or strips and the fixed supports, are arranged on the other side of the closure plate;
wherein the closure plate comprises two openings, each allowing the passage and frictionless axial movement of one of the two pusher arms.

2. The switching device according to claim 1 , wherein it comprises two flexible strips kept spaced parallel to one another on each fixed support as well as on each of the two pusher arms or each part of the operating member, which is itself attached to, or forms an integral part of, one of the pusher arms.

3. The switching device according to claim 1 , wherein the contact piece is a rigid flat strip, and in that each of the two pusher arms is of straight elongate shape and is attached to the rigid flat strip and orthogonal thereto.

4. The switching device according to claim 1 , wherein the operating member is a single piece consisting of a rod connected to a connecting beam connecting the two pusher arms.

5. Switching device according to claim 1 , wherein the operating member comprises only the two pusher arms.

6. The switching device according to claim 5 , wherein the contact piece comprises two openings, each formed in one of its end parts, and
wherein the two pusher arms comprise hooks that can each engage in one of the two openings of the contact piece so as to form a removable joint.

7. Switching device according to claim 1 , wherein the contact piece is attached to the two pusher arms by a removable joint, preferably a clip-fitting joint, or by a permanent joint.

8. The switching device according to claim 1 , wherein each other end part of the at least one flexible strip is attached to each of the two pusher arms, or to each part of the operating member that is itself attached to or forms an integral part of one of the pusher arms, by a removable joint, preferably a bearing and centring joint or a clip-fitting joint.

9. The switching device according to claim 1 , wherein each fixed support comprises a shaft arranged parallel to the axis of movement of the operating member.

10. The switching device according to claim 9 , wherein the shaft of the support is arranged substantially orthogonally to the rigid flat contact strip.

11. The switching device according to claim 1 , wherein it comprises an axially moving actuator adapted to move at least one flexible strip, called the drive strip, arranged substantially orthogonally to the axis of movement of the operating member and adapted to transmit the movements of the actuator to the two pusher arms.

12. The switching device according to claim 11 , wherein it comprises a single flexible drive strip having a free end bearing against the rod of the operating member, to transmit the movements of the actuator to the two pusher arms.

13. The switching device according to claim 11 , wherein it comprises two flexible drive strips, each having a free end bearing against one of the two pusher arms to transmit the movements of the actuator to them.

14. The switching device according to claim 1 , wherein in the open position of the operating member, the contact piece bears on the closure plate.

15. The switching device according to claim 1 , wherein each flexible strip has an external shape substantially in the form of an isosceles triangle or a parallelogram, comprising a single end part attached to a fixed support arranged on one side of the plane formed by the two pusher arms and extending orthogonally to the contact piece, each other end part of each flexible strip being attached to one of the two pusher arms.

16. The switching device according to claim 1 , wherein each flexible strip has an external shape substantially in the form of a lozenge, comprising two end parts attached to a fixed support arranged in a plane perpendicular to the plane formed by the two pusher arms and extending orthogonally to the contact piece, each other end part of each flexible strip being attached to one of the two pusher arms or to a part of the operating member attached to the two pusher arms, forming a cross.

17. The switching device according to claim 1 , wherein each flexible strip is in the general shape of a lozenge, comprising two end parts, each attached to a fixed support arranged in the plane formed by the two pusher arms and extending orthogonally to the contact piece, each other end of each flexible strip being attached to one of the two pusher arms.

18. The switching device according to claim 1 , wherein each flexible strip has an external shape substantially in the form of a lozenge, comprising two end parts, each attached to a fixed support arranged in the plane formed by the two pusher arms and extending orthogonally to the contact piece, each other end part of each flexible strip being attached to a part of the operating member attached to the two pusher arms, forming a cross.

Assignees

• Radiall Sa

Inventors

• Aubry Guillaume
• Gonin Pascal

Classifications

• H01H13/20

  Driving mechanisms · CPC title

• H01H1/20

  Bridging contacts {(for circuit breakers H01H73/045)} · CPC title

• H01H50/646 Primary

  intermediate part being a blade spring · CPC title

• H01H3/38

  using spring or other flexible shaft coupling · CPC title

• H01H50/548

  for miniaturised relays · CPC title