FR2814586A1 - Locking device for circuit breaker comprises clamp fitting around lever to secure lever in off position during maintenance - Google Patents

Abstract

The accessory for a modular electrical circuit breaker is intended to be fitted to the operating lever of the circuit breaker to lock it in a the off position. It comprises a U-shaped jaw which is able to fit around the operating lever of the circuit breaker preventing another person turning the circuit breaker on. u The accessory for a modular electrical circuit breaker is intended to be fitted to the operating lever of the circuit breaker to lock it in a the off position. It comprises a two arms (14,16) defining a U-shaped jaw which is able to fit around the operating lever of the circuit breaker. A screw (50) and a nut (52) are mounted in one of the two arms so that the screw may be moved in towards the operating lever, clamping the jaw on to the lever. One of the arms (14) has an extension making it longer than the other arm, so that once installed on the circuit breaker lever, the lever cannot be switched back to the on position. A further section of the accessory (12) extends from the jaw in order to provide a handle by which the unit may be picked up.

Description

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 The invention relates to an accessory for a modular electrical appliance for interrupting current supply, of the type comprising a control lever which can occupy two positions, one of which is said to be active, in which the appliance interrupts the supply of current and the another known as rest in which the device does not interrupt the power supply.

 Low voltage electrical panels are known which include several modular electrical devices arranged side by side so as to form a row.

 These modular devices are non-limiting circuit breakers, earth leakage circuit breakers, switches, circuit breakers ...

 Each modular device is assigned to a predetermined area (room, room, etc.) of a building (apartment, individual house, factory, etc.).

 The modular devices concerned are equipped on their front face with a control lever which can occupy two positions: a high position, called the rest position, in which the device does not interrupt the supply of electric current to the zone which it is assigned and a low position, called active, in which the device interrupts this supply of electric current.

 When it is necessary to work on the electrical installation of a building area or on electrical equipment in this area, it is of course advisable to place the control lever of the corresponding modular device in the low (active) position. in order to cut off the electric current for the duration of the intervention operations.

 However, while the operator who has lowered the control lever carries out his intervention task in the area in question, it is possible that another person, perceiving the lever lowered from the device, believes that he is doing well. raising this lever to restore electricity in this area.

 It is easy to understand that this kind of situation can cause accidents; security procedures also provide for a so-called "condemnation" operation.

 There are also cases where the modular device must remain in the rest position, therefore the lever in the high position, to prevent interruption of the supply.

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 in electric current from the affected area when it serves sensitive devices, such as medical devices for example.

 To prevent this kind of situation, it was envisaged to place on the modular device whose control lever is lowered, visual indications such as annotations on a paper stuck to the device: indications of red color, mention "OFF "in large print ...

 We also tried to place different elements on the modular device concerned: pennant, sticker, plasticine, suction cup, magnets, ...

 However, none of these solutions has been found to be entirely satisfactory.

 The present invention aims to remedy the problem mentioned above in a satisfactory manner by proposing an accessory for a modular electrical appliance for interrupting current supply, of the type comprising a control lever which can occupy two positions, one known as active in which the device interrupts the power supply and the other called rest in which the device does not interrupt the power supply, characterized in that said accessory comprises means for locking the control lever in the either of these positions.

 By locking the control lever in its active position, there is no risk that someone who sees the control lever down will raise it and cause an accident.

 According to one characteristic, the locking means comprise two arms defining between them a free space that can receive a control lever.

 According to another characteristic, the locking means comprise means for reducing the dimensions of the free space between the arms, which makes it possible to adapt to control levers of variable dimensions.

 According to a characteristic linked to the previous one, the reduction means are mounted on one of the arms known as the first arm.

 According to another characteristic, the first arm has an axial extension greater than that of the other arm called the second arm.

 This asymmetry makes it possible to adapt to the asymmetrical position of the control lever when it is lowered and thus to take support on the device.

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 modular via the arms on either side of the control lever, thus preventing the lever from tilting in the other position.

 More particularly, each arm has at one of its so-called free ends a so-called bearing surface intended to come into contact with the modular device.

 According to another characteristic, the reduction means comprise a locking member which can open at one end into the free space so as to provide between the second arm and the through end of the locking member a free space of reduced dimensions can receive a control lever.

 According to a preferred embodiment, the locking member is a screw.

 According to one characteristic, the screw cooperates with a nut arranged in a housing provided in the arm and of dimensions adapted to that of the nut.

 Therefore, the nut is immobilized in rotation when the screw cooperates therewith.

 According to one characteristic, the second arm has, opposite the opening end of the locking member, an internal face having at least in one area a rough surface condition.

 In this way, the slip between the second arm and the control lever is limited.

 According to another characteristic, the accessory according to the invention comprises a gripping member which facilitates its mounting on the modular electrical appliance.

 Preferably, the two arms are arranged at one end of the gripping member.

 Other characteristics and advantages will appear on reading the description which follows, given solely by way of nonlimiting example and made with reference to the appended drawings, in which: - Figure 1 is a general perspective view of the accessory according to the invention;

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- la figure 2 est une vue schématique partielle d'une variante de réalisation de l'organe de verrouillage représenté sur la figure 1 ; - la figure 3 est une vue générale en perspective d'un accessoire selon l'invention équipant un appareil électrique modulaire partiellement représenté ; - la figure 4 est une vue de dessus partielle de l'accessoire selon l'invention monté sur l'appareil de la figure 3.

- Figure 2 is a partial schematic view of an alternative embodiment of the locking member shown in Figure 1; - Figure 3 is a general perspective view of an accessory according to the invention fitted to a modular electrical appliance partially shown; FIG. 4 is a partial top view of the accessory according to the invention mounted on the device of FIG. 3.

 FIG. 1 illustrates a device which constitutes an accessory for a modular electrical appliance for interrupting the supply of electric current to a predetermined area of a building.

 This device designated by the general reference noted 10 has the shape of a body of generally elongated shape, comprising a gripping member 12 in the form of a flattened handle and two arms 14 and 16 arranged at one end of this handle .

 The handle 12 is in the form of two large opposite faces 18 and 20 slightly spaced from each other.

 These large faces 18 and 20 extend parallel from one end 12a of the handle to the opposite end 12b from which the faces move away from one another to form the arms 14 and 16.

 From this end, each of the faces divides into two faces as one moves away from the end 12b in order to form the lateral faces 14a, 14b and 16a, 16b of the respective arms 14 and 16 .

 These lateral faces are parallel to each other.

 One of the arms 14, called the first arm, has an axial extension, taken along the longitudinal dimension of the accessory, which is greater than that of the other arm 16, called the second arm.

 The second arm 16 is placed in alignment with the handle, while the first arm 14 is offset relative to the axis of this handle when looking at the accessory in a plane parallel to one of the large faces of the handle.

 The two arms of the accessory are arranged in alignment with the handle when looking at said accessory in a plane perpendicular to the large faces 18 and 20 and containing the longitudinal axis along which said accessory is disposed.

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 The two arms are parallel to each other and are arranged so that their respective internal faces 22, 24, parallel to each other, are arranged one opposite the other.

 The respective internal faces of the two arms 14 and 16 define between them a free space 26 intended to receive a control lever of a modular electrical appliance for interrupting current supply, as will be seen later with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5.

 It should be noted that this device has the general shape of an adjustable wrench, one of the arms and the handle of which has been shortened.

 As shown in FIG. 1, the two arms 14 and 16 have a substantially identical width which is very much greater than the distance separating the large faces 18 and 20 from the handle.

 The first arm 14 has an external face 28 opposite the internal face 22 and which extends towards the end 14c of said arm opposite the handle by an external face called the end 30 of narrower width than the face 28.

 The internal face 22 is extended in the direction of the end 14c of the arm by a so-called end face 32, inclined with respect to said face 22 outwards so as to join the opposite external end face 30.

 The face 30 has a certain curvature which tends to bring it closer to the face 32.

 These two faces joining the end 14c of the first arm form a nose 33 of reduced width compared to that of the arm in its central part, thus providing on both sides of said nose, two shoulders 34 and 36.

 The second arm 16 has a so-called external face 38, as opposed to the internal face 24, which extends from the end of the handle to which said arm is disposed with an inclination relative to said internal face 24, in order to join the latter at the free end 16c of the second arm which forms an edge.

 It should be noted that this external face 38 has substantially the same inclination as the internal end face 32 of the first arm 14, and that the two faces are substantially arranged in the same plane.

 This will be discussed later with reference to Figure 3.

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 The second arm 16 has a width substantially equal to that of the first arm and which is reduced at the level of the end 16c so as to provide on both sides of the latter two shoulders 40 and 42.

 The first arm 14 has in its central part a hole 44 passing through it throughout its thickness so that the orifices located at the two opposite ends of the hole open respectively on the internal 22 and external 28 faces of said arm.

 The orifice of the hole opening onto the internal face 22 is disposed opposite the internal face 24 of the second arm 16 and, more particularly, of a zone 46 situated near the end 16c of this arm, beyond shoulders 40 and 42.

 It should be noted that this zone 46 has a non-smooth surface state so that the control lever shown in FIG. 4 and which is intended to come into contact with this zone does not slide thereon.

 More particularly, this surface condition has a predetermined roughness and, for example, as shown in FIG. 1, takes the form of ribs parallel to each other which are arranged perpendicular to the longitudinal dimension of the accessory 10.

 A cavity 48 is formed in the first arm 14 along the entire width thereof, but only over part of its thickness.

 This cavity is more particularly arranged near the internal face 22 of this arm and has a substantially parallelepiped shape.

 A locking member 50 in the form of a screw, for example plastic, is inserted into the smooth hole 44 through the orifice opening on the external face 28, while a nut 52 is introduced from the side into the cavity 48 which acts as a housing for this nut.

 The dimensions of the cavity are adapted to those of the nut so that it cannot rotate.

 Since the hole 44 passes right through the cavity 48, the screw 50 introduced into this hole cooperates with the nut which is immobilized in rotation.

 When the screw is rotated in the nut, the latter eventually protrudes from the internal face 22, opening into the free space 26. The more the end

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 opening 50a of the screw enters the free space 26, the more the dimensions of the latter are reduced.

 The locking member 50 thus constitutes a means of reducing the dimensions of the free space 26 formed between the arms 14 and 16.

 Alternatively, as shown in Figure 2, the nut may be replaced by a threaded portion 54 of the hole 44 of Figure 1, the thread may even extend over the entire length of the hole itself.

 However, it will be noted that this variant is less simple to manufacture than the embodiment shown in FIG. 1.

 FIG. 3 illustrates the mounting of the accessory 10 on a modular electrical appliance 60a.

 In Figure 3, several modular electrical devices denoted 60a to 60e are arranged side by side so as to form a row of a low voltage electrical panel.

 These modular devices are each assigned to a predetermined area of a building and allow, thanks to a control lever, the interruption of the supply of electric current to the area concerned when necessary.

 The modular device 60a carries on its front face a control member forming a lever 62 which comprises a rod 64 fixed at one end to a rotary support 66 disposed in the device 60a. The rod has at its opposite end a lever head 68 disposed perpendicular to this rod.

 The rod and the lever head thus arranged have a general T shape.

 The front face of the device 60a has two side walls 70 and 72 (Figure 4) parallel to each other and arranged opposite one another.

 These walls define between them a space in which the rod 64 of the lever 62 moves when the control lever is operated.

 The rotary support 66 of the control lever is arranged in the background of this space.

 The control lever is moved between two positions: a high position, called the rest position, in which the device does not interrupt

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 not the electric current supply of the zone which is assigned to it and a low position, called active, in which the device interrupts the electric current supply of this zone.

 The control lever 62 of the modular device 60a is placed in its active position (low position), while the control lever identified by the reference 74 of the adjacent modular device 60b is placed in its rest position (high position ).

 The implementation of the invention is particularly simple since, to block access to the control lever 62, the control lever is locked in its rest position as shown in FIG. 3.

 More particularly, the accessory 10 provided with the screw 50 and the nut 52 cooperating with the latter is placed so that the two arms 14 and 16 enclose the control lever 62, the shorter arm 16 coming from place under the head 68, the longer arm 14 coming to be placed above this head. The inclined faces 32 and 38 of the respective arms 14 and 16 come, in turn, to bear against the substantially planar front face of the modular device 60a, on either side of the lever.

 The inclination of these faces and the arrangement of one face relative to the other are particularly suitable for good support of the accessory 10 on the front face of the modular device.

 It should be noted that this inclination and this arrangement could be different if the contact zones located on the front face of the modular device and which are intended to come into contact with the arms 14 and 16 were not located substantially in a same plan.

 In the position indicated in FIG. 3, the head 68 of the control lever is positioned in the free space 26 formed between the arms 14 and 16.

 The locking member 50 can then be screwed through the slot 76 provided at the end 50b opposite the through end 50a of said member in order to penetrate further into the free space 26 and to come into contact with the head 68 of the control lever.

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 After the screwing operation, the through end 50a of the screw 50 is in contact with the face 68a of the head of the control lever, and the latter is then trapped between this open end 50a and the grooved area 46 of the face internal 24 of arm 16.

 Since the arm 14 bears on the front face of the modular device 60a, it is not possible to raise the control lever.

 The locking member and the arms of the accessory constitute locking means within the meaning of the invention.

 It will be noted that the control lever thus locked in its active position occupies a space of reduced dimensions compared to those of the free space 26. However, the locking member, by its nature, can be adapted to control lever of variable dimensions which fit into the dimensions of the free space 26.

 As shown in Figure 4, the narrower part of the arm 14 which forms the nose 33 disposed at the end 14c of this arm has a width which allows it to be inserted between the side walls 70 and 72 of the modular device , while the shoulders 34 and 36 located on either side of this nose come to bear on these side walls.

 This arrangement allows good positioning of the accessory on the modular device and in particular prevents lateral movement of the accessory, the side walls 70 and 72 in fact opposing the lateral movement of the nose 33.

 It will also be noted that the second arm 16 can be inserted under the control lever further than the representation which is made of it in FIG. 3.

 Thus, the end 16c of the arm 16 and the zone 46 are inserted between the side walls 70, 72 and are placed under the rod 64 of the lever, while the shoulders 40 and 41 of the arm 16 come to bear against the walls. side 70 and 72.

 When the second arm 16 is thus positioned, the through end 50a of the locking member 50 is placed behind the head 68 of the control lever in contact with the rod 64 of the latter.

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 It is understood that this position offers increased security since the screw placed behind the head prevents any withdrawal of the accessory 10, either in the axis of the accessory or laterally, the side walls 70,72 in fact limiting movement side of the screw.

 Furthermore, the mounting of the accessory according to the invention on the front face of the modular device 60a is facilitated by the presence of this nose, since it suffices to place the latter between the side walls 70 and 72 to be assured. that the accessory, in particular the locking member 50, is centered relative to the control lever.

 It will be noted that the accessory, according to the invention, can also be applied simultaneously to several control levers of different modular electrical devices arranged side by side when these levers are integral with one another, for example, by means of a bar. It then suffices to position the accessory on one of these control levers.

 It will also be noted that the lateral space requirement of the accessory is such that several accessories can be applied simultaneously to several levers of modular electrical devices arranged side by side.

 The arrangement of the grooves perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the accessory which corresponds to the direction in which said accessory is installed on the front face of the modular apparatus 60a contributes to an effective blocking of the head of the control lever by preventing slipping and opposes the movement of withdrawal of the accessory.

 We have just described the case where the accessory locks the control lever 62 in its active position; it is easy to understand that it can also lock it in its rest position.

Claims (12)

 1. Accessory (10) for a modular electrical appliance for interrupting current supply (60a), of the type comprising a control lever (62) which can occupy two positions, one called active in which the appliance interrupts the power supply and the other called rest in which the device does not interrupt the power supply, characterized in that said accessory includes locking means (14,16, 50,52) of the control lever ( 62) in either of these positions.  2. Accessory according to claim 1, characterized in that the locking means comprise two arms (14,16) defining between them a free space (26) which can receive a control lever.  3. Accessory according to claim 2, characterized in that the locking means comprise reduction means (50,52) of the dimensions of the free space between the arms.  4. Accessory according to claim 3, characterized in that the reduction means are mounted on one (14) of the arms said first arm.  5. Accessory according to claim 4, characterized in that the first arm (14) has an axial extension greater than that of the other arm (16) said second arm.  6. Accessory according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that each arm has at one of its so-called free ends a so-called bearing surface (32, 38) intended to come into contact with the modular device.  7. Accessory according to one of claims 4 to 6, characterized in that the reduction means comprise a locking member (50) which can open at one end into the free space (26) so as to provide between the second arm (16) and the through end (50a) of the locking member a free space of reduced dimensions which can receive a control lever.  8. Accessory according to claim 7, characterized in that the locking member is a screw (50). <Desc / Clms Page number 12>  9. Accessory according to claim 8, characterized in that the screw cooperates with a nut (52) arranged in a housing (48) provided in the arm (14) and of dimensions adapted to those of the nut.  10. Accessory according to one of claims 7 to 9, characterized in that the second arm (16) has, opposite the opening end of the locking member, an internal face (24) having at least one area ( 46) a rough surface finish.  11. Accessory according to one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that it comprises a gripping member (12).  12. Accessory according to claims 2 and 11, characterized in that the two arms (14,16) are arranged at one end (12b) of the gripping member.