Module for the interconnection of a circuit breaker and a contactor for an electrical assembly

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10368451-B2
Application number	US-201715491102-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 19, 2017
Priority date	Jul 8, 2016
Publication date	Jul 30, 2019
Grant date	Jul 30, 2019

Abstract

A module for the interconnection between an electrical circuit breaker and an electrical contactor includes a housing and multiple high-power electrical conductors that are housed inside the housing, each of the high-power electrical conductors being suitable for electrically connecting an electrical output of a circuit breaker to an electrical input of a contactor, in order to allow a supply electric current to flow from the circuit breaker to the contactor. The interconnection module additionally includes a device for measuring the current, which device is suitable for measuring the values of the current that flows through the high-power electrical conductors, and an electronic processing unit, which unit is equipped with an interface for connection to a data bus and which unit is programmed to transmit the values measured by the measurement device to the data bus.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A module for interconnection between an electrical circuit breaker and an electrical contactor comprising:
a housing;
multiple power electrical conductors housed inside the housing, each of the power electrical conductors being configured to electrically connect an electrical output of a circuit breaker to an electrical input of a contactor, in order to supply electrical current to flow from the circuit breaker to the contactor;
a device configured to measure the electrical current that flows through the power electrical conductors;
an electrical voltage sensor configured to detect a voltage between at least two of the power electrical conductors; and
an electronic processor equipped with an interface configured to connect to a data bus and to transmit values of the electrical current measured by the measurement device to the data bus.

2. The interconnection module according to claim 1 , wherein the electronic processor is electrically connected to the voltage sensor and is configured to transmit a signal to the data bus if an electrical voltage is detected by the voltage sensor.

3. The interconnection module according to claim 1 , wherein the current measuring device includes Rogowski current sensors, each mounted around one of the power electrical conductors to measure the electrical current that flows in that power electrical conductor.

4. The interconnection module according to claim 1 , wherein the voltage sensor includes at least one electrically conductive plate disposed at a distance from and facing one of the power electrical conductors, the electrical voltage being detected as a function of a value of electrical capacitance between the electrically conductive plate and the corresponding power electrical conductor.

5. The interconnection module according to claim 1 , further comprising a data link configured to be connected to a control circuit of the contactor, the electronic processor being configured to deliver a control signal to the contactor via said interface.

6. The interconnection module according to claim 1 , further comprising a separation plate housed inside the housing and including an area at least partly moulded over the power electrical conductors.

7. The interconnection module according to claim 6 , wherein the electronic processor is on an electronic circuit card fixed to the separation plate.

8. An electrical device comprising:
an electrical contactor including separable electrical contacts configured to connect selectively or to insulate electrically current inputs and current outputs of the contactor from one another in response to a control signal; and
an interconnection module including power electrical conductors electrically connected to the current inputs of the electrical contactor and configured to electrically connect said electrical contactor to an electrical circuit breaker,
wherein the interconnection module is as claimed in claim 1 , the power electrical conductors of the interconnection module being electrically connected to the current inputs of the contactor.

9. The electrical device as claimed in claim 8 , wherein the interconnection module is connected to a corresponding interface of the electrical contactor to switch the movement of the separable contacts of the contactor between open and closed states.

10. An electrical assembly comprising:
an electrical circuit breaker; and
an electrical device including an electrical contactor and an interconnection module connected to the contactor,
wherein the interconnection module is between the circuit breaker and the contactor and electrically connects the circuit breaker to the contactor, and
the electrical device is as claimed in claim 8 .

Assignees

• Schneider Electric Ind Sas

Inventors

• Comtois Patrick
• Baurand Gilles

Classifications

• H01H89/06 Primary

  Combination of a manual reset circuit with a contactor, i.e. the same circuit controlled by both a protective and a remote control device · CPC title

• G05B15/02

  electric · CPC title

• H01H2089/065

  Coordination between protection and remote control, e.g. protection job repartition, mutual assistance or monitoring · CPC title

• G01R15/16

  using capacitive devices · CPC title

• H05K5/0017 Primary

  with operator interface units · CPC title