Fuse protector with a plurality of fuses
10224168 ยท 2019-03-05
Assignee
Inventors
Cpc classification
H01H85/30
ELECTRICITY
H01H9/102
ELECTRICITY
H01H85/32
ELECTRICITY
H01H85/08
ELECTRICITY
International classification
H01H85/54
ELECTRICITY
H01H85/08
ELECTRICITY
H01H85/32
ELECTRICITY
Abstract
A fuse protector with a plurality of fuses comprises a fuse protector base, a fuse carrier, and fuse elements. The fuse elements are disposed on the fuse carrier, and the fuse carrier is inserted in the fuse protector base. One side of the fuse protector base is provided with at least two wiring assemblies, and the other side of the fuse protector base is provided with at least two wiring assemblies. The fuse protector base is further provided with base contacts corresponding to the wiring assemblies. The fuse carrier is inserted into the fuse protector base. When the fuse carrier is pulled out of the fuse protector base, at least four breaking points are formed at the same time, and the voltage of an arc is distributed to the four contact points. Therefore, the voltage of the arc is effectively reduced, space is saved.
Claims
1. A fuse protector, comprising a fuse protector base, a fuse carrier configured to be inserted into and pulled out of the fuse protector base linearly, and fuse elements provided on the fuse carrier, wherein: the fuse protector base comprises at least two incoming line terminals on one side of the fuse protector base and at least two outgoing line terminals on an opposite side of the fuse protector base, each outgoing line terminal corresponding to one of the incoming line terminals in position, the fuse protector base further comprises a plurality of base contacts, and each of the incoming and outgoing line terminals is connected with one base contact corresponding thereto in position, the terminals are insulated one from another, and groups of the incoming line terminal on the one side and the corresponding outgoing line terminal on the opposite side are aligned vertically, and the base contacts corresponding to their respective groups are aligned vertically; the fuse carrier comprises at least two groups of cavities in which the fuse elements can be placed, the groups of the cavities are aligned vertically and correspond to the fuse protector base contacts in position, and when the fuse carrier is pulled out of the fuse protector base, at least four breaking points are formed at the same time; and the fuse carrier comprises at least two fuse elements, and the fuse elements are provided in the cavities of the fuse carrier, and after the fuse carrier is inserted in the fuse protector base, end surfaces of the fuse elements are electrically connected with the base contacts; and wherein the side surfaces of the fuse protector base are formed in a stepped shape, and each side surface of the fuse protector base comprises a number of stepped portions, the number of which corresponds to that of the fuse elements, and the incoming line terminals and the outgoing line terminals are disposed within the respective stepped portions.
2. The fuse protector according to claim 1, wherein the at least two fuse elements are chosen from a group consisting of pure fuse, a combination of the fuse and a current carrying component, or a combination of the fuse and a current carrying fuse component.
3. The fuse protector according to claim 2, wherein the fuse is formed as in a shape of cylinder, wherein two ends of the fuse are formed as electric conductors, a middle portion of the fuse is formed as an insulator, and a fusible core capable of carrying current and providing over current fusing protection is provided inside the fuse; and the current carrying component is formed as in a shape of cylinder, wherein two ends of the current carrying component are formed as electric conductors, a middle portion of the current carrying component is formed as an insulator, and a conductor capable of carrying current yet without fusing function is provided inside the current carrying component.
4. The fuse protector according to claim 1, wherein side surfaces of the fuse protector base are formed in a planar shape, two adjacent incoming line terminals are arranged diagonally, and two adjacent outgoing line terminals also are arranged diagonally, and a plastic rib, a notch, or the combination of plastic rib and notch are provided around the incoming line terminals and the outgoing line terminals.
5. The fuse protector according to claim 1, wherein each of the base contacts of the fuse protector comprises an elastic member and a contact body made of metal materials.
6. The fuse protector according to claim 1, wherein the fuse carrier is provided with a handle on one end.
7. The fuse protector according to claim 1, wherein the fuse carrier is provided with at least one device for indicating fusing in the fuse protector.
8. The fuse protector according to claim 1, wherein the fuse carrier has exactly two fuse elements, the fuse protector base has exactly two incoming line terminals on the one side, and the fuse protector base further has exactly two outgoing line terminals on the opposite side.
9. A fuse protector, comprising a fuse protector base, a fuse carrier configured to be inserted into and pulled out of the fuse protector base linearly, and fuse elements provided on the fuse carrier, wherein: the fuse protector base comprises at least three incoming line terminals on one side of the fuse protector base and at least three outgoing line terminals on an opposite side of the fuse protector base, each outgoing line terminal corresponding to one of the incoming line terminals in position, the fuse protector base further comprises a plurality of base contacts, and each of the incoming and outgoing line terminals is connected with one base contact corresponding thereto in position, the terminals are insulated one from another, and groups of the incoming line terminal on the one side and the corresponding outgoing line terminal on the opposite side are aligned vertically, and the base contacts corresponding to their respective groups are aligned vertically; the fuse carrier comprises at least three groups of cavities in which the fuse elements can be placed, the groups of the cavities are aligned vertically and correspond to the fuse protector base contacts in position, and when the fuse carrier is pulled out of the fuse protector base, at least six breaking points are formed at the same time; and the fuse carrier comprises at least three fuse elements, and the fuse elements are provided in the cavities of the fuse carrier, and after the fuse carrier is inserted in the fuse protector base, end surfaces of the fuse elements are electrically connected with the base contacts; and wherein the side surfaces of the fuse protector base are formed in a stepped shape, and each side surface of the fuse protector base comprises a number of stepped portions, the number of which corresponds to that of the fuse elements, and the incoming line terminals and the outgoing line terminals are disposed within the respective stepped portions.
10. The fuse protector according to claim 9, wherein the at least three fuse elements are chosen from a group consisting of pure fuse, a combination of the fuse and a current carrying component, or a combination of the fuse and a current carrying fuse component.
11. The fuse protector according to claim 10, wherein the fuse is formed as in a shape of cylinder, wherein two ends of the fuse are formed as electric conductors, a middle portion of the fuse is formed as an insulator, and a fusible core capable of carrying current and providing over current fusing protection is provided inside the fuse; and the current carrying component is formed as in a shape of cylinder, wherein two ends of the current carrying component are formed as electric conductors, a middle portion of the current carrying component is formed as an insulator, and a conductor capable of carrying current yet without fusing function is provided inside the current carrying component.
12. The fuse protector according to claim 9, wherein each of the base contacts of the fuse protector comprises an elastic member and a contact body made of metal materials.
13. The fuse protector according to claim 9, wherein the fuse carrier is provided with a handle on one end.
14. The fuse protector according to claim 9, wherein the fuse carrier is provided with at least one device for indicating fusing in the fuse protector.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION
(10) To achieve the above object, specific embodiments of the present disclosure will be further described by referring to the accompany drawings.
Example 1
(11) As shown in
(12) For the fuse protector with two fuses, there should be enough electric clearance between conductive components, that is, a minimal spacing and creepage distance between two conductive components, or a minimal distance between insulating surfaces of the two conductive components. According to requirements of UL489 standards, a creepage distance between terminals of two polarities should be more than 50.8 mm. A minimal distance between two components of opposite polarities without insulator is 9.5 mm. Regarding this aspect, following technical solutions are adopted.
(13) (1) The incoming line terminals 201 on one side of the fuse protector base 101 or the outgoing line terminals 202 on the other side of the fuse protector base 101 are disposed diagonally, so as to obtain a maximum distance within a limited volume. Taking the outgoing line terminals 202 as an example, as shown in
(14) (2) As shown by
(15) The fuse protector 101 is made of insulating material. Each of the incoming line terminals 201 and the outgoing line terminals 202 is provided with a terminal base 206 and a terminal screw 207. Each of the base contacts 203 is provided with a contact body 213 made of copper with good electrical conductivity and an elastic member 209 made of metal with good elasticity. The elastic member 209 is arranged on a back portion of the contact body 213, and serves to support the contact body 213 and also to increase the pressure on the contacts, ensuring a reliable contact. The contact body 213 is provided with an opening 212 on a front end. The terminal base 206, the terminal screw 207, the contact body 213 and the elastic member 209 form a connector structure. As shown by
(16) When the fuse protector is switched on, the fuse carrier 102 with the fuses 103 mounted within the cavities 301 is inserted in the fuse protector base 101. To avoid wrong operation of the operators, the fuse carrier 102 is provided with a boss 310 on a position close to a center thereof, and correspondingly the fuse protector base 101 is provided with a slot 208 corresponding to the boss on a position close to a center thereof so as to avoid anti-insertion. When the fuse carrier 102 is inserted into the fuse protector base 101, at first, two axial end surfaces 309 of a first fuse 103 come into contact with circular positions 210 of a second group of the base contacts 203 disposed on both sides of the fuse protector base 1. At this moment, the whole circuit is not switched on. Continuing the insertion of the fuse carrier 102, the two axial end surfaces 309 of the first fuse 103 pass over the circular positions 210 of the second group of the base contacts and come into contact with the circular positions 211 of a first group of the base contacts. Meanwhile, two axial end surfaces 308 of a second fuse enter the base and come into contact with the circular positions 210 of the second group of base contacts. At this moment, the whole circuit is switched on. Before the switching on, arc may occur. The size of the arc depends on the actual current and voltage of the whole circuit. The larger the current and voltage, the larger the arc. The positions in which the fuse protector base contacts 203 and the fuses 103 are contacted with each other may be ablated by the arc, thus leading to unreliable contacts. The whole fuse protector may be ruined in some severe cases. In order to solve the technical problem of the ablation of the arc, it is necessary to make improvements on inserting velocity of the fuse carrier and the number of the contact points during insertion of the fuse carrier. Regarding the inserting velocity, the current operation manners of the fuse protectors are similar, and thus it is better to make improvements on the number of the contact points during insertion of the fuse carrier. The fuse protector with two fuses of the present disclosure achieves four breaking points during insertion and pulling of the fuses. The voltage of the arc is equally divided into four contact points to reduce the voltage and energy of the arc effectively and to better protect the contact points of the base contacts 203 and the fuses 103. As compared to the conventional fuse protector with a single fuse, the energy of the arc for each contact point reduces by a half. The advantage of the technical solution is particularly outstanding in the applications with 1000V of direct current. Moreover, the fuse protector with two fuses 103 has a same width as the conventional fuse protectors, and has a half width of two fuse protectors with a single fuse. The fuse protector with two fuses has more advantages than the fuse protector with a single fuse on a manufacturing cost, an operational reliability and a volume. The fuse protector with two fuses has more advantages than the fuse protector with a single fuse on wiring connection and arrangement, when applied to a combiner box of 1000V comprising a leakage module and a Hall sensor. The leakage module is formed by 16 groups of mutual inductors and a circuit board matched with them, and has a width similar to a total width of 16 fuse protectors. It's true of the Hall sensor, as well. A fuse protector with two fuses is used to be cooperated with the leakage module and the Hall sensor, and directly connected with them without too many wires. The common fuse protectors arranged in the combiner box comprise two parts: one part comprises 16 fuse protectors connected with a positive electrode, and other part also comprises 16 fuse protectors connected with a negative electrode. The two parts comprises 32 fuse protectors totally. It is a relative troublesome thing to arrange the above leakage module and Hall sensor in such situation. The fuse protector with two fuses can solve this problem. It will be unnecessary to arrange the fuse protectors with two fuses into one part connected with the positive electrode and other part connected with the negative electrode. 16 fuse protectors can be directly arranged in a row and conveniently connected with the leakage module and the Hall sensor.
Example 2
(17) Regarding the fuse protector with two fuses in Example 1, any one of the two fuses can be replaced by a current carrying component without fusing function. Specific implementations are described as below. The current carrying component is formed in a shape of cylinder, wherein both ends of the current carrying component are formed as electric conductors 501, and a middle portion of the current carrying component is formed as an insulator 502. A conductor 503 capable of carrying current yet without fusing function is provided inside of the current carrying component. The conductors 503 without fusing function is made of copper wire with excellent conductivity, with an effective conductive sectional area much larger than a fusible core of the fuses and a overall internal resistance much smaller than the fuses. The metal wire is arranged inside the insulator 502, and both ends of the metal wire are electrically connected with the conductor metal caps 501. The conductor metal caps 501 are fixed at both ends of the insulator 502, have a same shape and size as the fuses, and can be placed into any one of the two cavities 301 of the fuse carrier 102 like the fuses, for carrying current. In an implementation, the current carrying component 104 can be molded in the fuse carrier in advance. And in this implementation, it is unnecessary to form the current carrying component 104 in a same shape as the fuse carrier 103, and the current carrying component 104 can have a different shape from the fuse carrier 103, as long as it has conductive sections on both ends like the fuses 103. Since the current carrying component 104 has no fusing function, it is unnecessary to maintain and replace it. Thus, the current carrying component 104 can be molded in any position of the two cavities 301 in the fuse carrier 102 in advance, and the operator only needs to maintain one fuse 103. The implementation has the following beneficial effects.
(18) (1) An internal resistance of the fuse protector can be decreased. Since fusion of the fuses 103 is caused by a temperature rise of the fuse due to a heating effect of the current. Due to the temperature rise, the fuses melt and break, and thus breaking the current. This technical solution has high requirements on the internal resistance and the melting point of the fuse, so as to achieve accurate break-time of over current protection. Generally, the fuse has a high internal resistance, and it heats even in normal use, resulting in excessive loss of the electric energy. By replacing any one of the fuses 103 in the fuse protector with the above current carrying components 104, the power consumption of the fuse protector can be much lowered, the electric energy consumption of the fuse protector can be decreased effectively, and the heat generation during usage also can be reduced.
(19) (2) The cost of the fuses can be saved. One fuse comprises an insulating tube, the conductive metal caps on the ends, metal fuse wires, and mediums for cooling (silica sand). The current carrying component basically comprises the same parts as the fuse. However, since the current carrying component is not fusible, it does not need to be filled with cooling medium. Moreover, the metal fuse wire is replaced by cheap copper wire in the current carrying component, and thus the manufacturing cost can be reduced. From the use of users, since overload or short-circuit often occur in the system, the fuses need to be replaced frequently. In this Example, which comprises one fuse and one current carrying component, the current carrying component cannot be fused. Thus, only one fuse needs to be replaced once, so that usage cost of the users can be greatly reduced.
Example 3
(20) According to the technical solution containing the current carrying component in Example 2, the current carrying component also can be a current carrying fuse component, which has rated current larger than the rated current of the circuit. The rated current of the current carrying fuse component is higher than the rated current of the circuit or the fuses by more than 4 times. If the current carrying fuse component has a rated current higher than the fuse, then it has a fusing current higher than that of the fuse 103. The current carrying fuse component has an internal resistance lower than that of the fuse 103, and when an overload or short-circuit occurs, the current carrying fuse component will not be fused at first. In the normal current, the current carrying fuse component will not heat and has lower power consumption. The current carrying fuse component has almost the same effect as the above-mentioned current carrying component. In a power distribution system, regarding the stage difference coordinate of the fuses, the rated current of a superior fuse protector should be generally higher than the rated current of a junior fuse protector by 1.6 times, so that a overstep fusing will not occur. However, the stage difference coordinate is closely related to a resistance of the entire loop, a magnitude of short-circuit current, environmental temperature and so on. In practice, for the purpose of safety, the rated current of the superior fuse protector should be generally higher than the rated current of the junior fuse protector by 2-3 times. In order that the current carrying fuse component will not be fused by a high short-circuit current, a larger allowance should be left when designing. Meanwhile, through numerous stage difference coordinate tests, the rated current of the current carrying fuse component shall be larger than that of the fuse by more than 4 times, ensuring that the current carrying component will not heat during normal running and not be fused if a short-circuit occurs.
(21) The above two Examples, both the fuse protector with two fuses and the fuse protector with one fuse cooperated with one current carrying component, have their respective advantages. For example, in the case that it is necessary to break a high limited short-circuit current, the fuse protector with two fuses is better than the fuse protector with one fuse cooperated with one current carrying component, especially in a photovoltaic direct current power generation system, wherein a capacity of the battery is especially large, and the short-circuit current is also very high and is even close to or exceeds the rated short-circuit breaking capacity of fuse protector. In this case, the fuse protector with one fuse cooperated with one current carrying component has only one fusing point, while the fuse protector with two fuses has two fusing points. With two fusing points, the fuse protector has a much higher breaking capacity, even higher than the rated short-circuit breaking capacity of the fuses themselves. As can be seen from the above, in the aspect of cost saving, the fuse protector with one fuse cooperated with one current carrying component is better than the fuse protector comprising two fuses. In the aspect of high breaking capacity, the fuse protector comprising two fuses is better than fuse protector with one fuse cooperated with one current carrying component. According to the above description and analysis of the solutions, the fuse protector with two fuses of the present disclosure can be applied to many applications through various modifications to the above implementations, has advantages of high performance, high reliability, low cost and so on, and also can save space. The fuse protector with two fuses of the present disclosure makes an unprecedented breakthrough in the application of the fuse protection.
Example 4
(22) As shown by
(23) Based on the above Examples 1 to 4, the fuse protector with multiple fuses of the present disclosure further comprises an indicating device mainly for indicating whether the fuses 103 are fused or not. As shown by
(24) According to the above Examples 1-4, the number of the indicating device of the present disclosure can be one or more. Example 1 relates to a fuse protector with two fuses. In this case, it is necessary to provide two devices for indicating fusing. In the implementations where two devices for indicating fusing are provided, the pick power spring pieces 313 are provided at both ends of each fuse 103. The pick power spring pieces 313 connect the series combination of the light emitting diode 311 and the electric resistance 315 to the both ends of each fuse 103 in parallel. In practice, the two fuses 103 may be fused not simultaneously due to the factors such as electric resistance of the wirings, and manufacture error of the fuses, during the over-current protection. Since the indicating devices are connected to the both ends of their respective fuses 103, and thus can merely indicate the fuse have been fused. If both the fuses 103 are fused, both the indicating lights will be lightened. According to this technical solution, it can be specifically determined which fuse is fused, and as a result, the operators can be informed of the failure location and the failure can be solved rapidly.
(25) According to Examples 2 and 3, the fuse protector with two fuses comprises one fuse 103 and one current carrying component 104. In this technical solution, only one indicating device for the fuse protector is needed to be connected in parallel with the fuses 103 with fusing function to achieve indicating of the fusing. Since the current carrying component has no fusing function, it is unnecessary for the current carrying component to be provided with a device for indicating fusing.
(26) According to the above Examples 1 to 4, the fuse protector with multiple fuses of the present disclosure comprises a position locking mechanism for the fuse carrier. In the structure, two bumps 241 are provided at one end of the fuse protector base 101, and each of the bumps 241 is provided with a circular hole 242. A panel 305 of the fuse carrier 102 is provided with a feature combination 307 of two holes and a slot passing between the two holes. After the fuse carrier 102 is inserted in the fuse protector base 101, the two bumps 241 on the fuse protector base 101 pass through the two holes in the fuse carrier 102 and are exposed from the panel 305 of the fuse carrier. Then, the position locking mechanism is applied to the two holes 242 on the exposed bumps 241 on the fuse protector base. At this moment, the fuse carrier 102 will be firmly fixed in the fuse protector base 101. The locking mechanism needs specialized keys or tools to be opened, so as to avoid misoperation of the unauthorized person.
(27) The fuse protector with a plurality of fuses of the present disclosure further comprises the following configurations. The panel is provided at one end of the fuse carrier 102. The panel 305 is provided with an ergonomic operating handle 303. The handle 303 and the fuse carrier 102 are integrally formed. A head portion of the handle is in a shape of a transverse ellipse. I-shaped structure on the panel 305 of the fuse carrier is connected with the head portion of the transverse ellipse, with connection positions formed as smooth circular arc. The transverse ellipse has a beautiful appearance, and is adapted for being held by fingers. The I-shaped structure can bear a larger force with a higher stability in the case of limited materials. The smooth circular arcs for connection at both ends of the I-shaped structure make the appearance beautiful, and also can disperse stress to increase the strength.
(28) The fuse protector with multiple fuses of the present disclosure further comprises the following configurations. A slot 306 for inserting a tag is further provided on the panel 305 of the fuse carrier. The slot 306 is a dovetail slot. The tag paper is inserted into the dovetail slot, and fixed, thus not easily falling off. The technical solution can be used to label the serial number of each fuse protector clearly, so that the operator will manage and maintain more conveniently.