Switching arrangement and method for mounting a switching arrangement

Abstract

A switching arrangement includes an interrupter unit with a first and a second switching contact piece. A switching path can be formed between the two switching contact pieces under a relative movement of the same. At least one of the switching contact pieces is arranged within a hollow body. The switching contact piece is supported by a transversal crosspiece that crosses the hollow body. The transversal crosspiece is braced at opposite sections of the hollow body.

Claims

1. A switching arrangement, comprising: an interrupter unit having first and second switching contact pieces movably disposed relative to one another for completing a switching path; at least one of said first and second switching contact pieces being positioned within a hollow body; a cross member supporting said at least one switching contact piece in said hollow body, said cross member crossing said hollow body and being braced against opposite sections of said hollow body; and said hollow body having a recess formed in a lateral surface thereof enabling said cross member to be inserted into an interior of said hollow body through said recess, whereupon a tenon of said cross member is pivoted into a slot formed in said hollow body.

2. The switching arrangement according to claim 1, wherein said hollow body is a rotationally symmetrical hollow body.

3. The switching arrangement according to claim 1, wherein said hollow body is a hollow cylinder.

4. The switching arrangement according to claim 3, wherein said cross member extends on a diameter of said hollow body.

5. The switching arrangement according to claim 3, wherein said first switching contact piece is rod-shaped and extends coaxially with a cylinder axis of said hollow cylinder.

6. The switching arrangement according to claim 1, wherein said first switching contact piece has an end seated on said cross member.

7. The switching arrangement according to claim 1, wherein said cross member and said first switching contact piece are screw-connected to one another.

8. The switching arrangement according to claim 1, wherein said cross member is screw-connected to said hollow body from a radial direction.

9. The switching arrangement according to claim 1, wherein said cross member is connected to said hollow body by a tenon and mortise joint.

10. The switching arrangement according to claim 1, which comprises a bolt clamped with said cross member to be supported against cheeks of the slot.

11. The switching arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the slot opens out into said recess.

12. A method of mounting a cross member in an interior of a hollow body of an interrupter unit, the cross member being configured for supporting a switching contact piece of an interrupter unit of a switching arrangement in the interior of the hollow body, the method comprising: providing the cross member with a tenon; inserting the cross member into the interior of the hollow body through an opening formed in a lateral surface of the hollow body, the opening extending in a direction that is inclined relative to a final installation position of the cross member in the hollow body; and pivoting the cross member inside the hollow body and inserting a tenon of the cross member into a slot in the hollow body.

13. The method according to claim 12, which comprises rotating the cross member about a rotation axis of the hollow body.

14. The method according to claim 12, which comprises clamping the cross member to the slot.

15. A switching arrangement, comprising: an interrupter unit having first and second switching contact pieces movably disposed relative to one another for completing a switching path; at least one of said first and second switching contact pieces being positioned within a hollow body; a cross member supporting said at least one switching contact piece in said hollow body, said cross member having a main body with a cylindrical cross section reaching across said hollow body from one side to an opposite side thereof and said cross member having at least one end formed with a reduced cross section engaging in a slot formed in a sidewall of said cylindrical main body.

16. The switching arrangement according to claim 15, wherein said said hollow body has a recess formed in a lateral surface thereof enabling said cross member to be inserted in a direction that is inclined relative to a rotation axis of said switching contact pieces and, after insertion into said hollow body, to be pivoted into an installed position perpendicular to the rotation axis.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

(1) An exemplary embodiment of the invention is schematically shown below in a drawing and described in more detail in the text which follows. In the drawing:

(2) FIG. 1 shows an external view of an interrupter unit in an encapsulation housing,

(3) FIG. 2 shows a section through a hollow body together with a cross member of the interrupter unit,

(4) FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of a cross member, and

(5) FIG. 4 shows a detail of a possible way of connecting the cross member and the hollow body.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

(6) FIG. 1 shows an external view of an interrupter unit 1, as can be arranged within an encapsulation housing 2. In the present case, the encapsulation housing 2 is formed from an electrically conductive material, for example cast aluminum, and carries ground potential. The encapsulation housing 2 is of fluid-tight design, so that an insulating medium can be encapsulated in the interior of the encapsulation housing 2. Fluids are suitable as insulating media. In particular, electrically insulating gases which are placed under excess pressure in the interior of the encapsulation housing 2 have stable electrical insulation properties. Sulfur hexafluoride, nitrogen, carbon dioxide in gaseous form can be used for example. However, substances of this kind can also be present at least partially or entirely in liquid form in the interior of the encapsulation housing 2. The electrically insulating fluid washes around and washes through the interrupter unit 1 which is arranged in the interior of the encapsulation housing 2.

(7) The interrupter unit 1 is supported on the encapsulation housing 2 in a manner electrically insulated by means of post-type insulators 3. Electrical insulation from the encapsulation housing 2 is realized as a result, and therefore ground potential, for example, can be applied to said encapsulation housing. An arrangement of this kind is also called a dead tank arrangement since electrically active parts are accommodated entirely within an encapsulation housing 2 which is at a neutral electrical potential (ground potential). As an alternative, the encapsulation housing can also be of live tank design, wherein in this case the encapsulation housing is of substantially electrically insulating design and, for its part, performs a supporting and holding function for the interrupter unit 1 which is arranged within the encapsulation housing. An encapsulation housing of live tank design is to be kept electrically insulated for its part.

(8) The interrupter unit 1 is of substantially rotationally symmetrical construction and is oriented along a rotation axis 4. The rotation axis 4, for example also in the case of a substantially rotationally symmetrical configuration of the encapsulation housing 2, is suitable for orienting the encapsulation housing 2 coaxially in relation to said rotation axis 4.

(9) The interrupter unit 1 has a first hollow body 5 and a second hollow body 6. In the present case, the two hollow bodies 5, 6 are in the form of hollow cylinders which delimit the outer contour of the interrupter unit 1. A switching path (gap 7) of the switching arrangement extends between the two hollow bodies 5, 6. Accordingly, the two hollow bodies 5, 6 are electrically insulated from one another in the OFF position. An insulating material nozzle 8 passes through a gap 7 which is situated at the end between the two hollow bodies 5, 6. As an alternative, the gap 7 can also be bridged by further electrically insulating holding elements, such as insulating material tubes, insulating material rods or the like, which connect, for example, the two hollow bodies 5, 6 to one another at a fixed angle and orient said two hollow bodies such that they are in alignment. A drive rod 9 is inserted into the interior of the second hollow body 6 at that end of the second hollow body 6 which is averted from the gap 7. The drive rod 9 passes through a wall of the encapsulation housing 2 in a fluid-tight manner. It is therefore possible to generate a movement outside the encapsulation housing 1 and to introduce said movement into the interior of the interrupter unit 3 by means of the drive rod 9, so as to pass the encapsulation housing 2 in a fluid-tight manner.

(10) Electrically conductive contact is made with the two hollow bodies 5, 6 by respective connection lines 10a, 10b. A current path can be disconnected and connected using the interrupter unit 1 by means of the connection lines 10a, 10b. The connection lines 10a, 10b are routed through the encapsulation housing 2 in an electrically insulated manner, so that integration of the interrupter unit 1 or the switching arrangement in an electrical power transmission system can be performed by means of the connection lines 10a, 10b outside the encapsulation housing 2. Integration of this kind can be implemented in a variety of ways, for example the connection lines 10a, 10b can be connected to overhead lines. However, provision can also be made for further encapsulation housings to be connected to the encapsulation housing 2 in order to route the connection lines 10a, 10b to further assemblies, possibly likewise in a pressure-insulated manner.

(11) Furthermore, the design in the interior of the two hollow bodies 5, 6 of the interrupter unit 1 will now be described in greater detail with reference to FIG. 2. To this end, a sectional illustration is shown in FIG. 2. The sectional illustration shows a detail of the first hollow body 5 which is of substantially hollow-cylindrical form and is oriented coaxially in relation to the rotation axis 4. FIG. 2 further shows a detail of the second hollow body 6, wherein the second hollow body 6 is likewise designed in the form of a hollow cylinder which is likewise oriented coaxially in relation to the rotation axis 4. The two hollow bodies 5, 6 are arranged at a distance from one another at the mutually facing end sides, wherein a gap 7 through which electrically insulating fluid flows is shown between the end sides of the two hollow bodies 5, 6. Both the second hollow body 6 and the first hollow body 5 are fixed in position. A first switching contact piece 11 and a first rated current contact piece 12 are arranged on the first hollow body 5. In this case, the first switching contact piece 11 is formed in the manner of a bolt and oriented coaxially in relation to the rotation axis 4. In this case, the cross section of the first switching contact piece 11 is smaller than the hollow recess in the first hollow body 5, so that the first hollow body 5 engages around the first switching contact piece 11 at a distance from the outer lateral surface. The first hollow body 5 is in the form of a first rated current contact piece 12 on that end side which faces the second hollow body 6. To this end, the first hollow body 5 is of multipartite design, wherein a plurality of flexible contact fingers 13 form a contact bushing at the end in order to form a contact region of the first rated current contact piece 12. The end side of the first switching contact piece 11 projects past the first rated current contact piece 12 in the direction of the second hollow body 6, so that the first switching contact piece 11 projects beyond the contact region of the flexible contact fingers 13 in the axial direction.

(12) The second hollow body 6 is likewise of hollow-cylindrical design and formed coaxially in relation to the rotation axis 4. The second hollow body 6 is mounted in a fixed position, wherein a second switching contact piece 14 and a second rated current contact piece 15 are mounted in an axially displaceable manner with respect to the rotation axis 4 in the inner lateral surface region of said second hollow body. The second rated current contact piece 15 is supported against the inner lateral surface of the second hollow body 6 in a telescopic manner. In a region not illustrated in FIG. 2, both the second rated current contact piece 15 and the second switching contact piece 14 are connected to the drive rod 9, so that a common movement of the second switching contact piece 14 and of the second rated current contact piece 15 can be initiated by movement of the drive rod 9. The second hollow body 6 engages around the outer lateral surface of the second rated current contact piece 15. The second rated current contact piece 15 and the second hollow body 6 in turn engage around the second switching contact piece 14 for its part. Therefore, the second hollow body 6, the second switching contact piece 14 and the second rated current contact piece 15 are oriented coaxially in relation to the rotation axis 4, wherein the second rated current contact piece 15 and the second switching contact piece 14 are mounted in an axially displaceable manner with respect to the rotation axis 4. An insulating material nozzle 16 which is connected to the second rated current contact piece 15 at a fixed angle and spans the gap 7 in the disconnected state of the switching arrangement (see FIG. 1, see FIG. 2) can be moved together with the second rated current contact piece 15 and the second switching contact piece 14. The insulating material nozzle 16 is of rotationally symmetrical design and is oriented coaxially in relation to the rotation axis 4. By way of its end which projects in the direction of the first hollow body 5, the insulating material nozzle 16 is mounted in a sliding manner such that it bears against the first hollow body 5 by way of the inner casing surface, so that, in the event of a switching movement of the second rated current contact piece 15 and the second switching contact piece 14, the insulating material nozzle 16 can move together with said second rated current contact piece and second switching contact piece, wherein the insulating material nozzle 16 is guided against the inner wall of the first hollow body 5. In the present case, the second switching contact piece 14 is of substantially tubular design and has, at its end which faces the first switching contact piece 11, a bushing-like opening which the first switching contact piece 11 can enter in a dimensionally complementary manner. The second rated current contact piece 15 has a circular-cylindrical outer lateral surface onto which the flexible contact fingers 13 of the first rated current contact piece 12 can move. Analogously to the geometric arrangement of the first switching contact piece 11 and the first rated current contact piece 12, the contact region of the second switching contact piece 14 projects past the contact region of the second rated current contact piece 15 in the direction of the first hollow body 5. In the event of a connection process, this ensures that initially the two switching contact pieces 11, 14 make contact with one another and, thereafter, the two rated current contact pieces 12, 15 make contact with one another. In the event of disconnection, the two rated current contact pieces 12, 15 are initially disconnected and thereafter the two switching contact pieces 11, 14 are disconnected. This ensures that pre-arcing in the case of connection or disconnection arcs in the event of disconnection are preferably routed to the switching contact pieces 11, 14, so that the rated current contact pieces 12, 15 are protected against contact erosion.

(13) A cross member 17 is provided in order to position the first switching contact piece 11 relative to the first hollow body 5. In the present case, the first switching contact piece 11 and the first rated current contact piece 12 are arranged fixed in position relative to one another. To this end, the first rated current contact piece 11 is screw-connected to the cross member 17. The cross member 17 is connected to the first hollow body 5 at a fixed angle such that it lies substantially on a diameter of said first hollow body. Therefore, the cross member 17 is oriented substantially perpendicular in relation to the rotation axis 4, wherein the longitudinal axis 19 of the cross member 17 preferably intersects the rotation axis 4.

(14) The cross member 17 is supported against the wall of the first hollow body 5. To this end, the cross member 17 has tenons 20, 21 at each of its end sides, said tenons being mounted in dimensionally complementary slots 24, 25 in the first hollow body 5. In this case, the tenons 20, 21 engage in the slots 24, 25. The cross member 17 is clamped to the first hollow body 5 by means of bolts 18. The first hollow body 5 and the first switching contact piece 11 are electrically conductively contact-connected to one another by means of the cross member 17.

(15) In addition to a connection of the cross member 17 and the first switching contact piece 11 at a fixed angle, provision can also be made for the cross member 17 to serve to at least partially mount a gear mechanism in order to allow, for example, movement of the first switching contact piece 11 relative to the first hollow body 5.

(16) The design of the cross member 17 is illustrated in FIG. 3. The cross member 17 is electrically conductive. It is clear from the perspective view that the cross member 17 is produced from a cylindrical main body. In the present case, the cross member 17 has a cylindrical main structure with a circular cross section. The cross member 17 extends along a longitudinal axis 19. In the installed position of the cross member 17, the longitudinal axis 19 is oriented perpendicular to the rotation axis 4 and ideally intersects said rotation axis. A first tenon 20 and a second tenon 21 are formed at the ends by reducing the cross section of the cross member 17. The two tenons 20, 21 have substantially blade-like structures, so that said tenons can be inserted into correspondingly dimensionally complementary slots 24, 25, as a result of which rotation of the cross member 17 about its longitudinal axis 19 is prevented. Threaded bores are made in the cross member 17 at the end of the first tenon 20 and in the end of the second tenon 21, in each case in alignment with the longitudinal axis 19, so that the cross member 17 can be clamped to the first hollow body 5 by means of bolts 18. In the present case, flattened areas are provided centrally on the cross member 17. In the present case, these flattened areas are made by removing material from the circular-cylindrical structure of the main body of the cross member 17. A flat stop face 22 to which the first switching contact piece 11 can be screw-connected is formed in this way. To this end, a passage bore is arranged in the flat stop face 22, it being possible for a bolt which engages into an end-side threaded bore in the first switching contact piece 11 and clamps said first switching contact piece to the flat stop face 22 to pass through said passage bore.

(17) Mounting of a cross member 17 on a first hollow body 5 will be described in greater detail below with reference to FIG. 4. A recess 23 is made in the lateral surface of the hollow-cylinder wall of the first hollow body 5. The recess 23 is oriented in a substantially radial manner and has a cross section which corresponds to the cross section of the cross member 17. In the present case, a circular cross section which is formed in a dimensionally complementary manner in relation to the circular-cylindrical main body of the cross member 17 is selected. It is possible to move the cross member 17 from the radial direction into the interior of the first hollow body 5 via the recess 23. A slot 24 (alternatively an identical recess) which runs in the circumferential direction of the first hollow body 5 is made in the first hollow body 5 diametrically opposite the recess 23. It is therefore possible for the first tenon 20 to project into the first slot 24 after passing the recess 23. A second slot 25 which opens out into the recess 23 is provided diametrically opposite to and in alignment in the circumferential direction with the first slot 24. It is therefore possible, after the first tenon 20 is inserted into the first slot 24, for the second tenon 21 of the cross member 17, which second tenon is now located in the region of the recess 23, to be pivoted over from the recess 23 into the second slot 25 by a pivoting movement which takes place about the rotation axis 4 of the first hollow body 5. This is followed by a corresponding pivoting movement of the first tenon 20 in the first slot 24. As an alternative, provision can also be made for the first slot 24 to serve merely as a counterbearing in order to allow the cross member 17 to pivot and to permit the second tenon 21 to enter the second slot 25. In this case, a pivoting movement preferably takes place about a bearing point in the first slot 24.

(18) Both the first tenon 20 and the second tenon 21 each merge with a shoulder at their base, said shoulders each being in the form of a segment of a circle owing to the shaping of the main body of the cross member 17. Said shoulders bear against the inner wall of the first hollow body 5, which inner wall is delimited by the two slots 24, 25. In the present case, provision is made on the outer lateral surface for the slots 24, 25 to be recessed or widened within a subsection over their profile, so that bolt heads can be positioned within the widened portion such that they are dielectrically shielded. In this case, the bolts 18 are supported against the body edges which delimit the slots 24, 25. As an alternative, provision can also be made for recessing of the bolt heads to be dispensed with, so that the bolt heads of the screw connection of the cross member 17 are screw-connected such that they lie on the outer lateral surface of the first hollow body 5. By screw-connecting the two tenons 20, 21, the cross member 17 is clamped between diametrically opposite flat sections of the first hollow body 5. As an alternative, a cross member 17 can also be secured on one side by, for example, a screw-connection being made only at only one of the tenons 20, 21. In this way, the cross member 17 is fixed on one side, this being advantageous in respect of compensating for thermal expansion phenomena.