EP0295158B1
Expired / Lapsed
EP
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Control mechanism for a miniature electric switch
Assignee: Merlin Gerin SA
•
Filing: 1988-05-11
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Granted: 1992-07-22
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Expires: 2008-05-11
Abstract
No abstract record available.
Inventors
- 👤 William Bartolo
- 👤 Michel Lazareth
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-07 20:59
CPC Classifications
H; H01; H01H; H01H71/00; H01H71/10; H01H71/50; H01H71/52; H01H71/526; H01H71/04
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 8
Claim 1
Independent Claim
238 words
An operating mechanism of a miniature electrical circuit breaker with a molded case (12) housing a pair of stationary (18) and movable (16) contacts, said movable contact (16) being supported by a contact arm (14) actuated by the mechanism (10, 100), which comprises: - a manual operating handle (24) coupled to a transmission rod (28) to form a toggle (30), - a support lever (36) of the contact arm (14) articulated on a pivot (38) of a rotating plate (40), a relative pivoting movement of small amplitude being allowed between the plate (40) and the support lever (36) due to the presence of a contact pressure spring, - a breakable mechanical link (48) arranged between the plate (40) and the transmission rod (28), - and a trip lever (42) articulated on the plate (40) and being controled by the trip device to cause breaking of said mechanical link (48) in the event of a fault occurring, resulting in automatic tripping of the mechanism (10, 100), independently from the handle (24), characterized in that the breakable mechanical link (48) is constituted by a retaining catch (54) of the trip lever (42) cooperating with a latch (50) pivotally mounted on a spindle (52) of the plate (40), and in that the transmission rod (28) is coupled to the latch (50) at an intermediate articulation point (56) located between the spindle (52) of the plate and the nose of said latch.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
77 words
The operating mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that the trip lever (42) is pivotally mounted on a spindle (46) supported by the plate (40) with a preset stagger with respect to the pivot (38), characterized in that the intermediate articulation point (56) moves in an aperture (58) of the plate (40) when tripping occurs, the blind or open aperture (58) being shaped as a circular sector centered on the axis (52) of the latch (50).
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
123 words
The operating mechanism according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the trip device comprises a thermal overload trip device with a bimetal strip (44) and/or an electromagnetic trip device with a striker (34), characterized in that the bimetal strip (44) is connected to the trip lever (42) by a rotating tie-rod (60) with unidirectional transmission arranged to constitute a rigid frictionless transmission link with the trip lever (42) when the bimetal strip (44) drives the tie-rod (60) in the event of overload tripping, said transmission link being automatically interrupted when the plate (40) is moved to the open position of the contacts (16, 18), or when the striker (34) acts on the trip lever (42) in the event of magnetic tripping.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
54 words
The operating mechanism according to claim 3, characterized in that the rotating tie rod (60) is formed by an elbow lever having one end freely articulated on the trip lever (42), and a curved intermediate part bearing on a boss (64) of the trip lever (42) in the active position of said transmission link.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
67 words
The operating mechanism according to claim 4, characterized in that the articulation point (62) of the rotating tie-rod (60) is located between the boss (64) and the pivoting axis (46) of the trip lever (42), and that the opposite end (66) of the tie-rod (60) is capable of coming up against a protuberance of the case (12) to break said transmission link with the trip lever (42).
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
49 words
The operating mechanism according to one of the claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the latch (50) of the mechanism (100) cooperates after tripping with a ratcheting hangup point (102) arranged on the trip lever (42) so as to block the latch (50) in a fault indication position.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
31 words
The operating mechanism according to claim 6, characterized in that the latch (50) comprises a mark (104) coming opposite an indicator (106) of the case (12) in said fault indication position.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
102 words
The operating mechanism according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that the handle (24) is blocked positively by the rod (28) in a stable intermediate position located between the closed and open positions, when the latch (50) is locked by the hangup point (102) after tripping , non-automatic resetting of the mechanism (100) being achieved by manual movement of the handle (24) from the intermediate position to the open position leading on the one hand to the mechanical link (48) between the handle (24) and the plate (40) being reestablished, and on the other hand to the fault indication being cleared.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
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