JP3933419B2 - Breaker device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a breaker device that opens and closes a main circuit by inserting and removing a short-circuit plug.
[0002]
[Prior art]
As a breaker device that opens and closes the main circuit by inserting / removing the short-circuit plug, conventionally, the main circuit is configured by short-circuiting the electrode pair by inserting the short-circuit plug into a pair of electrodes provided in series with the main circuit. There is a structure in which the main circuit is opened by disabling the energization between the electrode pairs by removing the shorting plug from the electrode pairs.
[0003]
When this type of breaker device is used to open and close the power circuit of an electric vehicle, if the shorting plug is removed from the electrode pair while the power circuit is energized, an arc may occur between the electrode and the shorting plug. Therefore, the following measures are taken. In other words, a lever is provided on the shorting plug, and the case is provided with a micro switch for operating a relay for opening and closing the power circuit. Normally, by inserting the shorting plug and tilting the lever to the storage position, Keep the power circuit closed. When opening the power circuit from this state, first, when the lever is raised, the micro switch that detects the movement of the lever opens the relay and the power circuit is opened and the power supply is stopped. By picking up the raised lever and removing the short-circuit plug, the electrodes cannot be energized.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In the above-described breaker device, there is a time lag after the opening operation of the relay is started until the main circuit (power circuit) is opened after the opening operation is completed. Therefore, in order to avoid the occurrence of an arc, a time longer than the above time lag is required between the start of the relay opening operation and the operation of removing the short-circuit plug for bringing the electrodes into an energized state. It is necessary to take.
However, the first operation for raising the lever (that is, the operation for starting the relay opening operation) and the second operation for subsequently removing the short-circuit plug (that is, the operation for disabling the current between the electrodes). ) Can be performed as a series of one-action operations with the finger held on the lever, and the movement direction of the fingers in these two operations is substantially the same direction (upward). It has become. Therefore, these two operations are performed at once in a very short time, and as a result, the shorting plug is extracted from between the electrodes even though the main circuit is closed before the relay opening operation is completed. There is a risk of it.
[0005]
The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to prevent a short-circuit plug from being pulled out between electrode pairs while the main circuit is closed.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
According to the first aspect of the present invention, a pair of electrodes are provided in series in a main circuit that is opened and closed by an opening and closing operation of the switching means, and a shorting plug is inserted into and removed from the electrode pair, thereby independently of the opening and closing operation of the switching means. An extraction position that allows or prevents energization between the pair of electrodes, and allows the lever provided on the shorting plug to be pulled out in the direction of pulling out the shorting plug, thereby enabling the extraction operation of the shorting plug. And rotating means for rotating between a tilting position that falls laterally with respect to the extraction direction, and the lever between the tilting position and a retracted position that disables the extraction operation of the short-circuit plug, Slide means for linearly moving in a direction intersecting with the direction in which the shorting plug is pulled out, and the switching by detecting that the lever is displaced to the retracted position Displacement operation detecting means for closing the stage and detecting the displacement of the lever in the process of displacement from the retracted position to the tilted position side to start the opening operation of the switching means; and the shorting plug includes the electrode In the state where the lever is in the retracted position after being inserted into the lever, the lever in the retracted position is allowed to linearly move to the tilted position, but is restricted from rotating in the direction of pulling out the shorting plug. The lever is formed in a substantially “U” shape in which a pair of arm portions are extended from both ends of an elongated finger-hanging portion, and the shaft portion formed on the arm portion and the short-circuit plug The rotating means and the sliding means are configured by a guide groove formed in the above .
[0007]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, in the state where the lever is in the retracted position, the lever is accommodated in a case provided with the electrode pair, and the lever is in the tilted position. In the state, the finger hooking portion of the lever protrudes to the outside of the case.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, the displacement operation detecting means includes a pair of terminal fittings provided in the case in which the electrode pair is provided, and the lever is moved to the retracted position. The switching means is closed by short-circuiting the pair of terminal fittings when displaced, and the switching means is opened by releasing the short-circuiting of the pair of terminal fittings while being displaced toward the tilted position. It becomes the structure which provided the short circuit terminal which starts an action | operation.
[0008]
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the third aspect of the present invention, the shorting terminal is integrated into the lever by insert molding.
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the shorting plug is displaced in a direction of being extracted from the electrode pair by engaging the lever displaced to the retracted position. It was set as the structure which provided the sampling control means which controls this.
[0009]
Operation and effect of the invention
[Invention of Claim 1]
When the short-circuit plug is inserted into the electrode pair and the lever is displaced to the retracted position, the main circuit is closed. From this state, when the lever is linearly moved from the retracted position to the tilted position, the switching means starts the opening operation in the middle of the displacement, and when the opening operation is completed, the main circuit is opened. Thereafter, when the lever that has been moved to the tilted position is rotated to the extraction position, the short-circuit plug can be extracted from the electrode pair, and energization between the electrode pair is prevented by the extraction of the short-circuit plug. At this time, since the main circuit has already been opened by the opening operation of the switching means, no arc is generated between the electrode and the short-circuit plug.
[0010]
In the process of pulling out the short-circuit plug after opening the switching means, two levers having different displacement forms, that is, an operation of linearly moving the lever in a direction crossing the extraction direction and an operation of rotating the lever to rise in the extraction direction Since there is a time lag between the start of the opening of the switching means and the completion of the opening until the main circuit is closed, the opening operation of the short-circuit plug is completed. Thus, it is performed after the main circuit is opened. Therefore, the shorting plug is not pulled out between the electrodes even though the main circuit remains closed.
[0011]
[Invention of claim 2]
The breaker device of the present invention is always used with the lever in the retracted position, but in this state the lever is housed inside the case, so that the entire breaker device can be compactly integrated, Other members do not accidentally hit the lever. Moreover, when the lever is rotated from the tilted position to the extraction position, the finger hooking portion of the lever protrudes to the outside of the case, so that it is easy to perform the rotation operation.
[0012]
[Invention of claim 3]
Since the terminal fitting and the short-circuiting terminal, which are simple forms, are used as the displacement operation detecting means for opening and closing the switching means, the cost can be reduced compared to using a complicated device such as a microswitch.
[Invention of claim 4]
Since the shorting terminal is integrated into the lever by insert molding, the number of parts and the number of assembling steps can be reduced as compared with the case where the lever and the shorting terminal are separately manufactured and assembled.
[Invention of claim 5]
Since the extraction restricting means is provided, it is possible to reliably prevent the short-circuit plug from being extracted from the electrode even when the lever is in the retracted position and the main circuit is closed.
[0013]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[Embodiment 1]
A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.
The breaker device of this embodiment is provided with a pair of electrodes 15 in series in a main circuit (not shown) that is opened and closed by an opening and closing operation of a relay (switching means that is a constituent element of the present invention) (not shown). On the other hand, by inserting / removing the short-circuit plug 30 in the vertical direction, the energization between the electrodes 15 can be allowed or blocked independently of the opening / closing operation of the relay. In the following description, in the front-rear direction, the right side in the figure is the front.
[0014]
The case 10 whose upper surface is open has a fuse housing space 11 in which a fuse 12 is housed and a top surface 13 is covered with a lid 13, and an electrode housing space 14 positioned in front of the fuse housing space 11. . In the electrode housing space 14, a pair of electrodes 15 having a plate shape elongated in the vertical direction are fixed along the front and rear side surfaces of the support column 16. A pair of left and right fitting portions projecting forward toward the inside of the electrode housing space 14 are formed on the left and right rear wall 17 projecting laterally outward from the front end of the fuse housing space 11 among the wall portions constituting the electrode housing space 14. 18 is formed. The fitting portion 18 constitutes a rotation restricting means 19 and a sampling restricting means 20 that are constituents of the present invention. Each fitting portion 18 accommodates a female terminal fitting 22 connected to a relay via an electric wire 21. The pair of left and right terminal fittings 22 constitutes a displacement operation detecting means 23 which is a constituent element of the present invention. In addition, a notch 25 for avoiding interference with the finger hooking portion 36 of the lever 35 is formed on the front wall 24 of the wall portion constituting the electrode housing space 14 in a form opened upward.
[0015]
The short-circuit plug 30 includes a plug body 31 made of an insulating resin material and a short-circuit member 32 formed by bending a metal plate material. The plug main body 31 has a box shape with an open bottom surface, and a pair of guide grooves 33 extending linearly in the front-rear direction are formed on the left and right outer surfaces. The short-circuit member 32 has a configuration in which a pair of elastic contact pieces 32 </ b> B having a substantially S shape is extended from both front and rear ends of the arc-shaped connecting portion 32 </ b> A, and is fixed inside the plug body 31.
[0016]
The shorting plug 30 is provided with a lever 35. The lever 35 is made of synthetic resin, and includes a finger hooking portion 36 that is elongated in the left-right direction, and a pair of left and right arm portions 37 that extend in parallel from both ends of the finger hooking portion 36. Inside the lever 35, the finger hooking portion 36 and the short-circuiting terminal 38 along both the arm portions 37 are integrated by insert molding. A hood portion 39 is formed at an end extending from the finger-hanging portion 36 of both arm portions 37, and both end portions of the short-circuit terminal 38 are disposed in the pair of left and right hood portions 39. The pair of hood portions 39, together with the fitting portion 18 of the case 10, constitutes a rotation restricting means 19 and a sampling restricting means 20 that are constituents of the present invention. Moreover, the short circuit terminal 38 comprises the displacement operation | movement detection means 23 which is the structural requirements of this invention with the above-described pair of left and right terminal fittings 22. In addition, a pair of shaft portions 34 projecting inward from a position closer to the finger hook portion 36 than the hood portion 39 is formed on both arm portions 37.
[0017]
The lever 35 is assembled to the shorting plug 30 by fitting both shaft portions 34 into the guide groove 33 of the shorting plug 30. The shaft portion 34 and the guide groove 33 constitute a rotation means 40 and a slide means 41, which are constituent features of the present invention. The lever 35 rises in the direction in which the short-circuit plug 30 is extracted from the electrode pair 15 (upward in FIGS. 1 to 4) by the shaft portion 34 and the guide groove 33 as the rotation means 40, thereby performing the operation for extracting the short-circuit plug 30. The shaft 34 is used as a fulcrum between a possible extraction position (see FIGS. 3 and 7) and a tilt position (see FIGS. 2 and 6) that tilts 90 ° forward (laterally) with respect to the extraction direction. It can be rotated. The shaft portion 34 is located at the front end of the guide groove 33 at the extraction position and the tilted position. Further, the lever 35 slides the shaft portion 34 as the slide means 41 along the guide groove 33, so that the lever 35 is retracted and the retracted position where the pull-out operation of the short-circuit plug 30 is disabled (as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 5) can be linearly moved in the front-rear direction (the direction intersecting the extraction direction of the short-circuit plug 30). This linear movement direction is a direction perpendicular to the removal direction of the short-circuit plug 30 and is the same direction as the length direction of the arm portion 37 of the lever 35 that is in the tilted position.
[0018]
Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.
When the shorting plug 30 is inserted into the electrode pair 15, first, as shown in FIG. 4, the shorting plug 30 is set at the extraction position above the case 10, and in this state, the plug body 31 of the shorting plug 30 is connected to the electrode pair 15. On the other hand, it is inserted so as to cover from above (see FIG. 3). Then, the elastic contact piece 32 </ b> B of the short-circuit member 32 comes into contact with the electrode pair 15 so that the electrode pair 15 can be conducted. However, at this time, the main circuit is not yet in a closed state (a state in which energization is possible).
[0019]
Thereafter, the lever 35 is tilted forward 90 ° to be in the tilted position (see FIGS. 2 and 6). At this time, the lever 35 abuts the stoppers 42 protruding from the left and right side surfaces of the plug body 31 from above, so that the arm portion 37 is held at the tilted position. In this state, the hood portion 39 of the lever 35 faces the fitting portion 18 of the case 10.
When the lever 35 in the tilted position is slid rearward toward the retracted position along the guide groove 33 from this state, the hood portion 39 is externally fitted to the fitting portion 18 and the hood portion 39 is short-circuited. The tip end of the member 32 enters the fitting portion 18 and is connected to the terminal fitting 22, and both the terminal fittings 22 are short-circuited via the short-circuit terminals 38 (see FIGS. 1 and 5). Thereby, it is detected that the lever 35 has been displaced to the retracted position, the relay is closed, and the main circuit is closed.
[0020]
Thus, the assembly of the breaker device is completed. In this state, the finger hooking portion 36 of the lever 35 is housed in the electrode housing space 14 of the case 10. Further, the fitting portion 18 as the extraction restricting means 20 and the hood portion 39 are fitted, so that the lever 35 is restricted from parallel translation with respect to the case 10. It is restricted that 30 is displaced upward and extracted from the electrode pair 15.
[0021]
Next, a procedure for opening the main circuit from the state in which the short circuit plug 30 is inserted into the electrode pair 15 and the lever 35 is in the retracted position and the main circuit is closed will be described. First, a finger is hooked on the finger hooking portion 36 of the lever 35 in the retracted position, and the lever 35 is moved forward along the guide groove 33. When the lever 35 reaches the tilted position, the shaft portion 34 abuts against the front end of the guide groove 33, so that further movement of the lever 35 is prevented.
[0022]
In the state where the short-circuit plug 30 is inserted into the electrode pair 15 and the lever 35 is in the retracted position, the fitting portion 18 of the case 10 as the rotation restricting means 19 and the hood portion 39 of the lever 35 are fitted. Therefore, the lever 35 in the retracted position does not rotate upward (the direction in which the shorting plug 30 is removed).
In the process in which the lever 35 moves to the tilted position, immediately after the start of the movement (before the lever 35 reaches the tilted position), the short-circuit terminal 38 is separated from the pair of terminal fittings 22 and the short-circuit between both the terminal fittings 22 is released. It is detected that the lever 35 has started moving to the tilt position side. By this detection, the relay is excited to start an opening operation for opening the main circuit. When the opening operation is completed, the main circuit is opened. There is a time lag from the start of the relay opening operation to the completion of the operation, but when the lever 35 reaches the tilted position, the opening operation is completed and the main circuit is open. During this time, the electrode pair 15 is kept in a conductive state by the short-circuit member 32.
[0023]
Thereafter, the lever 35 in the tilted position is rotated to the extraction position (see FIGS. 2 and 3). At this time, the finger hooking portion 36 of the lever 35 in the tilted position protrudes to the outside (forward) of the case 10 through the notch 25 of the front wall 24 of the case 10 (see FIGS. 2 and 6). Therefore, it is possible to easily hook the finger on the finger hook 36. When the lever 35 is rotated to the extraction position, the finger hooking portion 36 comes to be positioned at the upper end of the lever 35, and then the lever 35 is lifted with the finger hooked on the finger hooking portion 36. Then, the short-circuit plug 30 is extracted from the electrode pair 15 (see FIG. 4), and the conductive state between the electrode pair 15 is disabled. When the short-circuit plug 30 is removed from the electrode pair 15, the main circuit is already opened by the relay opening operation as described above, so that an arc is generated between the electrode pair 15 and the short-circuit member 32. Never do.
[0024]
As described above, in the present embodiment, in the process of removing the short-circuit plug 30 after opening the relay, the lever 35 is linearly moved from the retracted position to the tilted position in the direction intersecting the extraction direction, and the lever 35 is moved. Since it is necessary to perform two lever operations with different displacement modes, such as an operation to rotate from the tilt position to the extraction position so that it rises in the extraction direction, the opening operation is completed after the relay opening operation starts and the main circuit Even if there is a time lag before the closing, the removal operation of the short-circuit plug 30 is performed after the opening operation is completed and the main circuit is opened. Therefore, the short-circuit plug 30 is not pulled out from the electrode pair 15 even though the main circuit remains closed.
[0025]
In addition, the breaker device according to the present embodiment is always used with the lever 35 in the retracted position. In this state, the lever 35 is housed inside the case 10, so that the entire breaker device is compact. In addition to being able to combine, other members do not hit the lever 35 inadvertently. Moreover, when the lever 35 is rotated from the tilted position to the extraction position, the finger hooking portion 36 of the lever 35 protrudes outside the case 10, so that it is easy to perform the rotation operation.
[0026]
In addition, since the pair of terminal fittings 22 and the short-circuiting terminal 38, which are simple forms, are used as the displacement operation detecting means 23 for opening and closing the relay, the cost is lower than when using a complicated device such as a microswitch. It is suppressed.
Further, since the short-circuit terminal 38 is integrated by insert molding inside the lever 35, the number of parts and the number of assembly steps can be reduced as compared with the case where the lever and the short-circuit terminal are separately manufactured and assembled. It is out.
In addition, since the lever 35 that has been displaced to the delivery position is locked, the removal restriction means 20 that restricts the displacement of the short-circuit plug 30 in the direction in which the short-circuit plug 30 is removed from the electrode pair 15 is provided. Thus, it is possible to reliably prevent the short-circuit plug 30 from being extracted from the electrode even when the main circuit is in a closed state.
[0027]
[Other Embodiments]
The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described with reference to the above description and drawings. For example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention, and further, within the scope not departing from the gist of the invention other than the following. Various modifications can be made.
(1) In the above embodiment, the displacement angle between the lever extraction position and the tilting position is 90 °. However, in the present invention, the displacement angle may be smaller than 90 ° or larger than 90 °. May be. As the displacement angle increases, the time lag from when the opening operation of the switching means starts until the short-circuit plug is removed increases.
[0028]
(2) In the above embodiment, the terminal fitting and the short-circuited terminal for short-circuiting the terminal fitting are used as the displacement operation detecting means. However, other means such as a microswitch can be used instead.
(3) In the above embodiment, the fuse is fixed to the case. However, according to the present invention, the fuse may be attached to the short-circuit plug.
(4) In the above-described embodiment, the relay that starts the opening operation by excitation is used as the switching means. However, according to the present invention, other means such as a transistor can be used.
[0029]
(5) In the above embodiment, the rotation restricting means for restricting the lever at the retracted position from rotating also serves as the extraction restricting means for restricting the short-circuit plug from being extracted from the electrode pair when the lever is at the retracted position. However, according to the present invention, the rotation restricting means and the sampling restricting means may be provided separately and independently.
(6) In the above embodiment, the lever shaft is fitted into the guide groove formed in the short-circuit plug as means for linearly moving the lever between the tilted position and the retracted position. The guide groove formed in the lever may be fitted to the shaft portion of the short-circuit plug.
[Brief description of the drawings]
1 is a partially cutaway side view showing a state where a lever is in a retracted position in Embodiment 1. FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway side view showing a state where a lever is in a tilted position. FIG. 3 is a lever in a removal position. Partially cutaway side view showing the state [FIG. 4] Partially cutout side view showing the state in which the shorting plug is removed from the electrode pair [FIG. 5] Partially cutout plan view showing the lever in the retracted position [FIG. 6] Partial cutout plan view showing the lever in the tilted position [FIG. 7] Partial cutout plan view showing the lever in the removal position [Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Case 15 ... Electrode 18 ... Terminal metal fitting 19 ... Turning control means 20 ... Extraction control means 23 ... Displacement motion detection means 30 ... Short circuit plug 35 ... Lever 36 ... Finger hook part 39 ... Short circuit terminal 40 ... Turning means 41 ... Slide means

Claims (5)

A pair of electrodes are provided in series in the main circuit that is opened and closed by the opening and closing operation of the switching means, and a power supply between the electrode pairs is conducted independently of the opening and closing operation of the switching means by inserting and removing a short-circuit plug into the electrode pair. Is allowed or blocked, and
The lever provided on the short-circuit plug is rotated between a pull-out position where the short-circuit plug can be pulled out by rising in the pull-out direction of the short-circuit plug and a tilt position where the lever is tilted laterally with respect to the pull-out direction. Rotation means;
Slide means for linearly moving the lever between the tilted position and a retracted position that disables the operation of extracting the shorting plug in a direction that intersects with the direction of extracting the shorting plug;
The switching means is closed by detecting that the lever has moved to the retracted position, and the displacement is detected and opened to the switching means in the process of the lever being displaced from the retracted position to the tilted position. A displacement motion detecting means for starting the operation;
When the short-circuit plug is inserted into the electrode and the lever is in the retracted position, the lever in the retracted position is allowed to move linearly to the tilted position, but in the direction of pulling out the short-circuit plug. A rotation restricting means for restricting the rotation ,
The lever has a substantially “U” shape in which a pair of arm portions are extended from both ends of an elongated finger-hanging portion,
The breaker device characterized in that the rotating means and the sliding means are constituted by a shaft portion formed in the arm portion and a guide groove formed in the short-circuit plug .   When the lever is in the retracted position, the lever is housed in the case where the electrode pair is provided, and when the lever is in the tilted position, the lever's finger hook projects out of the case. The breaker device according to claim 1, wherein the breaker device is configured as described above.   The displacement operation detecting means includes a pair of terminal fittings provided in a case where the electrode pair is provided, and the switching means is configured by short-circuiting the pair of terminal fittings when the lever is displaced to the storage position. A short-circuiting terminal for starting the opening operation of the switching means by releasing the short-circuit of the pair of terminal fittings during the closing operation and releasing the short-circuiting of the pair of terminal fittings in the middle of the displacement toward the tilting position is provided. The breaker apparatus of Claim 1 or Claim 2.   The breaker device according to claim 3, wherein the short-circuit terminal is integrated in the lever by insert molding.   The extraction restriction means for restricting displacement of the shorting plug in the direction of extraction from the electrode pair by locking the lever displaced to the storage position is provided. Breaker device in any one of 4.

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