Contact for a high-voltage vacuum arc extinguishing chamber

Abstract

The invention provides a contact for a high-voltage vacuum arc extinguishing chamber. The contact of the invention includes a conductive connecting piece, an annular outer contact and an inner contact which is located within the ring of the outer contact and does not contact with the outer contact. The conductive connecting piece, inner contact and outer contact are coaxial and the contact surface of the inner contact is on the same plane as that of the outer contact. The outer contact is fixed on the conductive connecting piece. An axial magnetic field means is covered outside of the conductive connecting piece for generating an axial magnetic field. The axial magnetic field means is fixedly connected with the conductive connecting piece. The inner contact is fixed on the conductive connecting piece. A circumferential magnetic field means is covered outside of the conductive connecting piece for generating a circumferential magnetic field.

Claims

1. A contact for a high-voltage vacuum arc extinguishing chamber, comprising: a conductive connecting piece (1); an annular conductive outer contact (2) fixed on the conductive connecting piece (1); a conductive inner contact (3) fixed on the conductive connecting piece (1) is located within the annular outer contact (2) and does not contact with the outer contact (2), the conductive connecting piece (1), inner contact (3), and outer contact (2) are coaxial and an outside contact surface of the inner contact (3) is on a same plane as that of the outer contact (2); an axial magnetic field means (4) having a coil structure capable of generating an axial magnetic field is covered outside of the conductive connecting piece (1), the axial magnetic field means (4) is fixedly connected with the conductive connecting piece (1); a circumferential magnetic field means (5) located in the axial magnetic field means (4), the circumferential magnetic field means (5) having a plurality of magnetic cores capable of generating and reinforcing a circumferential magnetic field, the circumferential magnetic field means (5) is covered outside of the conductive connecting piece (1); a support frame (51) of the circumferential magnetic field means (5), the support frame (51) having an outer round tube (511) and an inner round tube (512) made of aluminum; a cavity is formed between the outer round tube (511) and the inner round tube (512) for stacking horseshoe cores (52); and a plurality of magnetic conductive sheets (54) provided within the cavity of the support frame (51), the magnetic conductive sheets (54) are bent into horseshoe shapes to form the horseshoe cores (52), the horseshoe cores (52) are stacked in a radial direction of the conductive connecting piece (1), sizes of the horseshoe cores (52) are gradually reduced in the radial direction of the conductive connecting piece (1).

2. The contact as claimed in claim 1 wherein the axial magnetic field means (4) includes a first half ring (41) and a second half ring (42) which is on a same axis as the first half ring (41), in which the first half ring (41) has a first end (411) and a second end (412), the second half ring (42) has a third end (421) and a fourth end (422), the first end (411) is connected with the conductive connecting piece, the second end (412) is connected to the third end (421) through a connecting block (43), and the first half ring (41) and the second half ring (42) are located on a back side of a contact surface of the outer contact (2).

3. The contact as claimed in claim 2 wherein the first end (411) has a connecting tube (44), the second half ring (42) has a support section (45), a support cover (46) is placed on the support section (45), the outer contact (2) is fixed on the support cover (46), a conductive sleeve (47) is located between the connecting tube (44) and the support cover (46), the conductive connecting piece (1) is inserted and fixed into the connecting tube (44), and the connecting tube (44), the support cover (46) and the conductive sleeve (47) are coaxial.

4. The contact as claimed in claim 2 wherein the horseshoe magnetic conductive sheets (54) are covered outside of the conductive connecting piece (1) and have a spacing from the conductive connecting piece (1).

5. The contact as claimed in claim 3 wherein a reinforcing plate (14) is fixed on the conductive connecting piece (1), the reinforcing plate (14) has an outer circumference supported on the first half ring (41) and a flange (141) engaged with the first half ring (41), and an inner circumference of the reinforcing plate (14) is supported on the connecting tube (44).

6. The contact as claimed in claim 3 wherein the horseshoe magnetic conductive sheets (54) are covered outside of the conductive connecting piece (1) and have a spacing from the conductive connecting piece (1).

7. The contact as claimed in claim 5 wherein the horseshoe magnetic conductive sheets (54) are covered outside of the conductive connecting piece (1) and have a spacing from the conductive connecting piece (1).

8. The contact as claimed in claim 1 wherein the horseshoe magnetic conductive sheets (54) are covered outside of the conductive connecting piece (1) and have a spacing from the conductive connecting piece (1).

9. The contact as claimed in claim 8 wherein a bottom plate (513) is located at a bottom of the outer round tube (511), the bottom plate (513) is fixed on the conductive connecting piece (1), and a lower end of the inner round tube (512) is fixed on the bottom plate (513) and an upper end thereof is fixed on the conductive connecting piece (1).

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given herein below for illustration only, and thus are not limitative of the present invention, and wherein:

(2) FIG. 1 is a section view of the contact for the high-voltage vacuum arc extinguishing chamber according to the first embodiment of the invention;

(3) FIG. 2 is a top view of the outer contact and inner contact of FIG. 1;

(4) FIG. 3 is a structural diagram of the axial magnetic field means;

(5) FIG. 4 is a structural diagram of the horseshoe cores in stack according to the first embodiment of the invention;

(6) FIG. 5 is a structural diagram of the horseshoe cores in stack according to the second embodiment of the invention; and

(7) FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 are structural diagrams of magnetic conductive pieces in stack according to the fourth embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

(8) The technical solutions of the invention are further described in the embodiments of the invention with reference to the accompanying figures. However, the invention is not limited to these embodiments.

First Embodiment

(9) As shown in FIG. 1, the contact for the high-voltage vacuum arc extinguishing chamber of the invention could be used as a moving contact or a fixed contact, including a conductive connecting piece 1, an annular outer contact 2 and an inner contact 3 which is located within the ring of the outer contact 2 and does not contact with the outer contact 2. The electric arc could rapidly extinguish in high-voltage environment and the heat in the vacuum chamber is reduced by using the contact of the invention.

(10) In particular, referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the outer contact 2 is annual and the intermediate portion 21 is made of copper-chromium alloy materials. Four sector pieces 22 are provided on the edge of the intermediate portion 21 and a spacing (a) exits between the adjacent sector pieces 22. Each sector piece 22 is tilted relative to the intermediate portion 21. As such, when the contacts are in contact with each other, only the intermediate portions 21 will be in contact and the edge portions will not be in contact. Such a configuration would concentrate the electric arc among the section pieces 22 and reduce the electric arc at the intermediate portion 21, thereby reducing the impact of the electric arc on the intermediate portion 21. The inner contact 3 is located within the intermediate portion 21 of the outer contact 2 and is of a cake-like shape. The center of the inner contact 3 is concave inward to reduce the electric arc. An insulating spacing (b) of 5-8 mm is provided between the inner contact 3 and the outer contact 2. The insulating spacing (b) is set to prevent the electric arc of the outer contact 2 from being transferred to the inner contact 3.

(11) As shown in FIG. 1, the conductive connecting piece 1 includes a conductive post 11, a column-like conductive body 12 and a column-like conductive block 13. An inner hole is provided at one end of the conductive body 12, into which the conductive post 11 is inserted. The conductive body 12 is connected with the conductive block 13. The conductive post 11, conductive body 12 and conductive block 13 are coaxial after being connected.

(12) The conductive connecting price 1, inner contact 3 and outer contact 2 are coaxial and the contact surface of the inner contact 3 is on the same plane as that of the outer contact 2. The outer contact 2 is fixed on the conductive block 13 of the conductive connecting piece 1. An axial magnetic field means 4 is covered outside of the conductive connecting piece 1 for generating an axial magnetic field. The axial magnetic field means 4 is fixedly connected with the conductive connecting piece 1. The inner contact 3 is fixed on the conductive connecting piece 1. A circumferential magnetic field means 5 is covered outside of the conductive connecting piece 1 for generating a circumferential magnetic field.

(13) In FIGS. 1 and 3, the axial magnetic field means 4 includes a first half ring 41 and a second half ring 42 which is on the same axis as first half ring 41. The first half ring 41 and second half ring 42 are located on the side back to the contact surface of the outer contact 2. The first half ring 41 has a first end 411 and a second end 412. The second half ring 42 has a third end 421 and a fourth end 422. The first end 411 has a connecting tube 44 extending to the axis. The second end 412 is connected to the third end 421 through a connecting block 43. The fourth end 422 of the second half ring 42 has a support section 45 extending to the axis. A support cover 46 is placed on the support section 45. The outer contact 2 is fixed on the support cover 46 through a contact pallet 23 which could increase the structural stability of the outer contact 2 and the conductive capacity. A conductive sleeve 47 is located between the connecting tube 44 and the support cover 46. The conductive body 12 of the conductive connecting piece 1 is inserted and fixed into the connecting tube 44. The connecting tube 44, support cover 46 and conductive sleeve 47 are coaxial with the conductive connecting piece 1. As the first half ring 41 is coaxial with the second half ring 42, these two annular rings form a coil via the connecting block 43. An axial magnetic field will be produced after the current flows through the coil. The first half ring 41 and second half ring 42 are located on the side back to the contact surface of the outer contact 2, so that the axial magnetic line could concentrate on the contact surface of the outer contact 2, further increasing the arc extinguishing capacity of the outer contact 2. The outer contact 2 is connected to the conductive connecting piece 1 via the support cover 46, conductive sleeve 47 and connecting tube 44, so that the outer contact could sustain a large collision force when two contacts are in contact and the axial magnetic field means 4 would not be affected by collision.

(14) A reinforcing plate 14 is fixed on the upper end of the conductive body 12 of the conductive connecting piece 1. The reinforcing plate 14 has an outer circumference supported on the first half ring 41 and a flange 141 engaged with the first half ring 41. The inner circumference of the reinforcing plate 14 is supported on the connecting tube 44. A shield case 15 is fixed on the lower end of the conductive body 12 of the conductive connecting piece 1. A fixing plate 16 is fixed to the conductive post 11 by welding to support the shield case 15. The shield case 15 could screen the electric arc of the contact from transferring to the conductive post 11.

(15) As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the circumferential magnetic field means 5 includes a support frame 51 fixed on the conductive block 13 of the conductive connecting piece 1 and several horseshoe cores 52 placed in the support frame 51. The horseshoe cores 52 are stacked in the axial direction and the openings thereof are aligned with each other in stack. The horseshoe cores 52 are covered outside of the conductive block 13 of the conductive connecting piece 1 and have a spacing from the conductive block 13 of the conductive connecting piece 1. After a large amount of current flows through the conductive connecting piece 1, a circumferential magnetic field centered on the axis of the conductive connecting piece 1 will be generated. The circumferential magnetic forces, after being reinforced by the horseshoe cores 52, will form an oriented circumferential magnetic field which acts on the high-voltage electric arc around the inner contact 3. The stack of the cores could prevent a vortex magnetic field being produced within the magnetic conductive piece.

(16) The support frame 51 includes an outer round tube 511 and an inner round tube 512. A bottom plate 513 is located at the bottom of the outer round tube 511. A cavity is formed between the outer round tube 511 and the inner round tube 512 to stack the horseshoe cores 52. The bottom plate 513 is fixed on the conductive connecting piece 1. The lower end of the inner round tube 512 is fixed on the bottom plate 513 and the upper end thereof is fixed on the conductive connecting piece 1.

(17) The principle of operation of the contact for the high-voltage vacuum arc extinguishing chamber is mentioned as follows. The contact surface between the contacts could be increased by using the outer contact 2 and inner contact 3, which shares a part of the current and reduces the heat generated by the contacts. Secondly, an axial magnetic field is generated by the axial magnetic field means 4 when the vacuum arc extinguishing chamber is closed or opened. A circumferential magnetic field having the axis of the conductive connecting piece 1 as the center, is generated by the circumferential magnetic field means 5. The axial magnetic field covers the outer contact 2 and the inner contact 3 in the meantime. Thanks to the axial magnetic field, the electric arc generated between the moving contact and the fixed contact in the vacuum arc extinguishing chamber will rapidly extinguish in the direction of the magnetic field by means of the magnetic field. Particularly, the electric arc on the contact surface of the outer contact 2 will quickly extinguish. The electric arc produced close to the inner contact 3 will move along the circumferential direction and rapidly extinguish by means of the circumferential magnetic field. As such, the electric arc between the contacts will rapidly extinguish under the intersectional action of the axial and circumferential magnetic fields. The rapid extinction of the high-voltage electric arc further reduces burning of the contacts by the electric arc, thereby reducing the heat of the vacuum chamber.

Second Embodiment

(18) The second embodiment is substantially identical to the first embodiment except that the openings of adjacent horseshoe cores 52 are stacked in the same angle and in the same direction, as shown in FIG. 5. Such an arrangement could speed up extinction of the electric arc. The other aspects are omitted herein for brevity.

Third Embodiment

(19) The third embodiment is substantially identical to the first embodiment except that the openings of a half of the horseshoe cores 52 are aligned on the upper layer and those of the other half are aligned on the lower layer, in which the openings of the upper layer of the horseshoe cores 52 are arranged normal to those of the lower layer of the cores. Four poles, i.e., the ends of the cores, will be formed in the said configuration, which could form an intersectional magnetic field and has a better arc extinguishing effect. The other aspects are omitted herein for brevity.

Fourth Embodiment

(20) The fourth embodiment is substantially identical to the first embodiment except that the circumferential magnetic field means 5 includes a support frame 51 fixed on the conductive connecting piece 1 and several magnetic conductive sheets 54 provided within the support frame 51. The magnetic conductive sheets 54 are bent into horseshoe shapes the sizes of which are gradually reduced, and are stacked in the radial direction of the conductive connecting piece 1. The horseshoe magnetic conductive sheets 54 thus formed are covered outside of the conductive connecting piece 1 and have a spacing from the conductive connecting piece 1. The circumferential magnetic field means 5 thus configured has a stronger magnetic field in the opening direction and has a quicker arc extinguishing effect. The other aspects are omitted herein for brevity.

(21) The embodiments described herein are merely illustrative of the spirit of the invention. It is obvious to those skilled in the art that various variations, supplements or alternatives could be made to these embodiments without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope defined by the appended claims.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

(22) 1 conductive connecting piece 11 conductive post 12 conductive body 13 conductive block 14 reinforcing plate 141 flange 15 shield case 16 fixing plate 2 outer contact 21 intermediate portion 22 sector piece 23 contact pallet a spacing 3 inner contact b insulating spacing 4 axial magnetic field means 41 first half ring 411 first end 412 second end 42 second half ring 421 third end 422 fourth end 43 connecting block 44 connecting tube 45 support section 46 support cover 47 conductive sleeve 5 circumferential magnetic field means 51 support frame 511 outer round tube 512 inner round tube 513 bottom plate 52 horseshoe core 54 magnetic conductive sheet