DEVICE FOR INTERRUPTING NON-SHORT CIRCUIT CURRENTS ONLY, IN PARTICULAR DISCONNECTOR OR EARTHING SWITCH

Abstract

The present invention relates to a device for interrupting non-short circuit currents only, and in particular relates to a disconnector, more particularly high voltage disconnector, or to an earthing switch, more particularly make-proof earthing switch, and further relates to a low voltage circuit breaker. The device comprises at least two contacts movable in relation to each other between a closed state and an open state and defining an arcing region, in which an arc is generated during a current interrupting operation and in which an arc-quenching medium comprising an organofluorine compound is present. According to the application, a counter-arcing component is allocated to the arcing region, the counter-arcing component being designed for counteracting the generation of an arc and/or being designed for supporting the extinction of an arc.

Claims

1. A device for interrupting non-short-circuit currents only, the device comprising: at least two contacts movable in relation to each other between a closed state and an open state and defining an arcing region, in which an arc is generated during a current interrupting operation and in which an arc-quenching medium comprising an organofluorine compound is present, wherein a counter-arcing component is allocated to the arcing region and is designed for counteracting the generation of the arc and/or is designed for supporting extinction of the arc.

2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the device is a disconnector.

3. The device according to claim 1, wherein the counter-arcing component comprises an arc-cooling element for cooling the arc.

4. The device according to claim 1, wherein the counter-arcing component is configured to be activated during a relative movement of the contacts from a closed state to an open state.

5. The device according to claim 1, wherein the counter-arcing component comprising a flow-generating chamber, which is fluidically connected to the arcing region by a flow channel and which is operational such that during a relative movement of the contacts from a closed state to an open state a differential pressure is generated in the flow-generating chamber in relation to the arcing region, said differential pressure causing a flow of the arc-quenching medium between the arcing region and the flow-generating chamber.

6. The device according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the contacts forms a piston, which is slideably contained in a guiding tube forming a cylinder for the piston, the piston together with the cylinder defining a compression chamber as the flow-generating chamber, said compression chamber being compressed during a relative movement of the contacts from a closed state to an open state.

7. The device according to claim 6, wherein the connection between the arcing region and the compression chamber being such that during compression, arc-quenching medium contained in the compression chamber is ejected into the arcing region.

8. The device according to claim 6, wherein the flow channel is formed axially within the piston.

9. The device according to claim 5, which further comprises a valve allocated to the flow channel, which opens when a threshold differential pressure is exceeded.

10. The device according to claim 1, wherein the contact forming the piston is a tulip contact designed to engage around a plug contact.

11. The device according to claim 10, wherein the flow channel is in the form of a flow gap arranged between the inner wall of the tulip contact and the outer wall of a cylindrical flow guide which is radially enclosed by the tulip contact in a spaced-apart manner.

12. The device according to claim 10, wherein the tulip contact is radially enclosed by a nozzle in a spaced-apart manner, thus forming a nozzle gap which opens out into the arcing region.

13. The device according to claim 6, wherein the contact forming the piston comprises a proximal contacting region and a distal compressing region arranged axially opposite to the contacting region, the cross-sectional area of the compressing region being larger than the cross-sectional area of the contacting region.

14. The device according to claim 1, wherein one of the contacts is in the form of a piston contained by the other contact forming a cylinder and being slideably moveable in the cylinder in a gas-tight manner, the piston and the cylinder together forming a suction chamber as the flow-generating chamber, said suction chamber being designed to increase in volume during a relative movement of the contacts from a closed state to an open state.

15. The device according to claim 14, wherein the contact forming the cylinder is a tulip contact.

16. The device according to claim 14, wherein the piston comprises an electrically insulating nose in the region of its front end facing the other contact.

17. The device according to claim 14, which further comprises a control volume to be expanded during a relative movement of the contacts from a closed state to an open state, said control volume being in the open state fluidically connected with the arcing region by at least one vent running through the wall of the cylinder.

18. The device according to claim 17, wherein the control volume is arranged radially outside of the cylinder.

19. The device according to claim 1, wherein an ablating material is arranged adjacent to the contacts, the ablating material being adapted to form ablation when exposed to the arc.

20. The device according to claim 1, wherein said counter-arcing component comprises a magnet generating a permanent magnetic field in the arcing region.

21. The device according to claim 1, wherein a spring element is allocated to at least one moveable contact.

22. The device according to claim 21, wherein the contacts are held off from a transition from a closed state to an open state by a holding force and the spring element is adapted to build up a pulling force exceeding the holding force.

23. The device according to claim 1, wherein one of the contacts is in the form of a piston contained by the other contact forming a cylinder and being slideably moveable in the cylinder the piston comprising in the region of its front end facing the other contact a resistive element which in axial direction of the piston is sandwiched between two regions of a material of lower resistance.

24. The device according to claim 1, wherein the arc-quenching medium further comprises air or at least one air component.

25. The device according to claim 24, wherein the arc-quenching medium comprises a mixture of carbon dioxide and oxygen.

26. The device according to claim 25, wherein the ratio of the amount of carbon dioxide to the amount of oxygen ranges from 50:50 to 100:1.

27. The device according to claim 1, wherein the organofluorine compound is selected from the group consisting of: fluoroethers, fluoroolefins, and fluoronitriles, and mixtures thereof.

28. The device according to claim 1, wherein the arc-quenching medium comprises a fluoroketone containing from four to twelve carbon atoms.

29. The device according to claim 1, wherein the arc-quenching medium comprises a hydrofluoromonoether containing at least three carbon atoms.

30. The device according to claim 1, wherein the device is a high voltage disconnector designed for bus charging, in particular rated for a current in the range from 0.1 A to 0.8 A and a voltage in the range from 72.5 kV to 800 kV.

31. The device according to claim 1, wherein the device is an earthing switch of a high voltage disconnector designed for induced current switching.

32. The device according to claim 1, wherein the device is a high voltage disconnector designed for bus transfer switching.

33. The device according to claim 1, wherein the device is different from a circuit breaker, which circuit breaker is capable of interrupting short-circuit currents; and/or the device is unable to interrupt short-circuit currents.

34. The device according to claim 1, wherein the device comprising means for interrupting the non-short-circuit currents; and/or the device does not have means for interrupting short-circuit currents.

35. The device according to claim 1, wherein the non-short-circuit currents are currents that flow from an electrical network to ground via unintended or intended paths and last longer than 3 seconds.

36. A medium voltage or high voltage gas-insulated switchgear comprising a device according to claim 1.

37. A low voltage circuit breaker, comprising at least two contacts movable in relation to each other between a closed state and an open state and defining an arcing region, in which an arc is generated during a current interrupting operation and in which an arc-quenching medium comprising an organofluorine compound is present, wherein to the arcing region a counter-arcing component is allocated, designed for counteracting the generation of an arc and/or for supporting the extinction of an arc.

Description

[0059] The present invention is further illustrated by way of the attached figures, of which:

[0060] FIG. 1a, 1b show schematically a counter-arcing component of a first embodiment of the device, the counter-arcing component being activated during a relative movement of the contacts from a closed state shown in FIG. 1a to an open state shown in FIG. 1b;

[0061] FIG. 2a, 2b show schematically a counter-arcing component of a second embodiment of the device, the counter-arcing component being activated during a relative movement of the contacts from a closed state shown in FIG. 2a to an open state shown in FIG. 2b;

[0062] FIG. 3a, 3b show schematically a counter-arcing component of a third embodiment of the device, the counter-arcing component being activated during a relative movement of the contacts from a closed state shown in FIG. 3a to an open state shown in FIG. 3b; and

[0063] FIG. 4 shows schematically two contacts of an exemplary device with a spring element being allocated to one of the contacts.

[0064] As shown exemplarily in FIG. 1, the device of the present invention comprises two contacts 10, 12 movable in relation to each other, specifically a first contact 10 in the form of a tulip contact 101, which in the closed position engages around second contact 12 in the form of a plug contact 121.

[0065] The tulip contact 101 is slideably contained in a guiding tube 14 forming a cylinder 16 having a continuous inner wall 18. Thus, the tulip contact 101 forms a piston 20, which together with the cylinder 16 defines a compression chamber 22 containing arc-quenching medium 17. Within the piston 20, a flow channel 24 is formed running in axially through the center of the piston 20.

[0066] During the movement of the tulip contact 101 from the closed state shown in FIG. 1a to the open state shown in FIG. 1b, the compression chamber 22 is compressed by the piston 20, which moves in direction shown by the arrow in FIG. 1b, and the arc-quenching medium 17 contained in the compression chamber 22 is forced through the flow channel 24 fluidically connecting the compression chamber 22 with the arcing region 26. Thus, arc-extinction medium is ejected into the arcing region 26 at a relatively high blowing speed, which supports extinction of the arc 27.

[0067] In other words, a differential pressure between the compression chamber 22 and the arcing region 26 is generated by slideably moving the piston 20 within the guiding tube 14 and hence compressing the compression chamber 22. This causes a flow of the arc-quenching medium 17 from the compression chamber 22 functioning as a flow-generating chamber 21 to the arcing region 26.

[0068] The embodiment according to FIG. 1a, 1b thus comprises a counter-arcing component 19, which comprises a flow-generating chamber 21, in which the flow is generated by compression. Since by increasing the blowing speed, the arc is efficiently cooled, the counter-arcing component functions in this embodiment as an arc-cooling element.

[0069] According to the embodiment shown in FIG. 2a, 2b, a first contact 10 is in the form of a tulip contact 101 in which the second contact 12 in the form of a plug contact 121 is contained. The tulip contact 101 forms a cylinder 16 in which the plug contact 121 forming a piston 20 is slideably moveable in a gas-tight manner. Thus, the piston 20 and the cylinder 16 together form a suction chamber 28 functioning as a flow-generating chamber 21.

[0070] In the region of its front end facing the tulip contact 101, the piston 20 can in particular comprise an electrically insulating nose 30.

[0071] During relative movement of the contacts 10, 12 from a closed state shown in FIG. 2a to an open state shown in FIG. 2b, the volume of the suction chamber 28 is increased. At a certain point in the movement, the contacts 10, 12 become separated and the current is interrupted, but the insulating nose 30 of the piston 20 still remains at least to a certain part inside the suction chamber 28. By further moving the piston 20 in the direction away from the cylinder 16, the differential pressure is further increased, owing to the insulating nose 30 functioning as a plug prohibiting pressure equalization. In this state, the arc 27 burns directly over the insulating nose 30, whereby additional over-pressure is generated by material ablation, which further contributes to an even higher differential pressure between the arcing region 26 and the suction chamber 28. At the moment, when the insulating nose 30 is finally released from the cylinder 16, the arc-quenching medium 17 thus flows into the suction chamber 28 at a very high flowing speed generated by the high differential pressure. Ultimately, a strong blowing effect is achieved by the arc-quenching medium 17 flowing at high speed across the arcing region 26, and extinction of the arc 27 is thereby supported.

[0072] Similarly to the embodiment shown in FIG. 2a, 2b, also the embodiment shown in FIG. 3a, 3b comprises a first contact 10 in the form of a tulip contact 101 forming a cylinder 16, in which a second contact 12 in the form of a plug contact 121 forming a piston 20 is slideably moveable in a gas-tight manner. Also in this embodiment, the piston 20 and the cylinder 16 together form a suction chamber 28, which functions as a flow-generating chamber 21.

[0073] In distinction to the embodiment shown in FIG. 2a, 2b, the piston 20 of FIG. 3a, 3b comprises in the region of its front end facing the tulip contact 101 a resistive element 32 which in axial direction of the piston 20 is sandwiched between two regions 34a, 34b of a lower-resistance material.

[0074] In the closed state, the resistive element 32 is in parallel with the regions 34a, 34b of lower resistance, as schematically shown on the right hand side of FIG. 3a. As the resistance of resistive element 32 is much higher, the current flows through the lower-resistance regions 34a, 34b.

[0075] When moving the contacts 10, 12 from the closed state shown in FIG. 3a to the open state shown in FIG. 3b, the resistances R.sub.M and R.sub.M of the lower-resistance regions 34a, 34b and R.sub.R of the resistive element 32 get to be in series, as schematically shown on the right hand side of FIG. 3b, and are thus dominated by the resistance R.sub.R of the resistive element 32. During formation of the arc 27, the total resistance is thus given (in good approximation) by the sum of the resistances R.sub.R of the resistive element 32 and R.sub.arc of the arc 27. During the opening process, the current in this current path is low because of the resistive element 32, and hence the arc voltage drop may become higher than it would be without resistive element 32, which favourably supports arc extinction.

[0076] The blowing effect achieved by the device of the present invention, in particular of the embodiments shown above, can further be increased by a spring element as shown in FIG. 4. Therein, a first contact 10 is in the form of a tulip contact 101, whereas the second contact 12 is in the form of a plug contact 121, as for the embodiments shown above. However, in the embodiment of FIG. 4, the plug contact 121 has a bulge 38, which holds the plug contact 121 off from axial movement away from the tulip contact 101. To this end, a respective inward protrusion 40 is formed on the inside area 42 of the tulip contact 101.

[0077] When pulling the contacts 10, 12 in a direction away from each other, a point is achieved when the spring force 36 or pulling force 36 exceeds the holding force between the contacts 10 or 101 and 12 or 121, respectively. At this point, the bulge 38 forces the wall 41 of the tulip contact 101 in an outward direction, ultimately allowing the plug contact 121 to rebound axially out of the tulip contact 101. Thus, the plug contact 121 is released at relatively high speed and further counteracts the generation of the arc and/or supports the extinction of the arc during current interruption.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

[0078] 10, 101; 10, 101; 10, 101; 10, 101 first contact, tulip contact [0079] 12, 121; 12, 121; 12, 121; 12, 121 second contact, plug contact [0080] 14 guiding tube [0081] 16, 16, 16 cylinder [0082] 17 arc-quenching medium [0083] 18 inner wall of cylinder [0084] 19 counter-arcing component [0085] 20, 20, 20 piston [0086] 21, 21, 21 flow-generating chamber [0087] 22 compression chamber [0088] 24 flow channel [0089] 26 arcing region [0090] 27 arc [0091] 28, 28 suction chamber [0092] 30 electrically insulating nose [0093] 32 resistive element of resistance value R.sub.R [0094] 34a, 34b regions of piston made of material of lower resistance values R.sub.M [0095] 36 spring element [0096] 38 bulge [0097] 40 inward protrusion [0098] 41 wall of the tulip contact [0099] 42 inside area of tulip contact [0100] R.sub.are arc resistance.