IT9048409A1 - MOBILE KEY DRIVE CREW FOR A SAFETY SWITCH. - Google Patents

Description

DESCRIPTION

accompanying an application for an Invention Patent, entitled:

"Mobile key-operated equipment for a safety switch"

The present invention relates to a mobile key-operated unit for operating a safety switch which has a corridor suitable for receiving said key. It, of elongated shape, has configurations suitable to act, in general indirectly, on the contacts of the switch to close and open them when the key is introduced into the corridor and when the key itself is extracted.

The safety switches and mobile key-operated devices that allow their operation are frequently used to ensure the protection of maintenance personnel when, for example for the maintenance of a plant, these personnel are called upon to open a cabinet door or electrical enclosure in which there are devices under voltage.

The switch is fixed to the frame of the guard system, while the mobile assembly is fixed to the cabinet door. When the door is opened, the key comes out of the switch and thus opens contacts which energize the system contained in the cabinet. When the door is closed, the key is reinserted into the switch and the aforementioned contacts are then closed again.

A mobile actuation assembly is known which comprises a base in the form of a support box in two parts which define openings one of which is lateral and the other is frontal, relative to a fixing face of the support box. The box is fixed to an internal face of the cabinet door, this door being able to pivot around an axis connected to the cabinet body in order to free or close an opening made in it. A joining plane corresponds to the opening of the cabinet body on the door, which is applied to the profile of the cabinet body opening. The fixing of the support box on the door is made in such a way that the free extraneousness of the key is raised relative to the junction plane of the door and in such a way that the axis of this key is perpendicular to this junction plane. The key is capable of a small angular oscillation since it is articulated to a cap element around two perpendicular axes, with an elastic return towards a central angular position of the key By means of a helical compression spring interposed between a central internal face of the key. hood element and a rear face of the key. The hood element is fitted into the support box in two positions of your choice, in each of which the key exits the support box through a respective of its two openings. When the key comes out through the front opening, the support box can be fixed against the main internal face of the door, face which is parallel to the junction plane. The support box can then be fixed in particular in two separate orientations by means of a rotation of 90 ° around the axis of the key, allowing two orientations at 90 ° from each other for the switch, the orientation maintained and being a function of the space available to house it in the cabinet. When the key exits through the lateral opening of the support box, it can be fixed for example on the inner face of a peripheral flap of the door, along an edge opposite the articulated edge of the door or along an edge adjacent to the articulated edge. of the door, according to the installation possibilities of the box and switch.

At the time of closing the door, when the key reaches the plane of the opening of the frame and it begins to penetrate the switch, it is not yet perpendicular to the plane of the opening as it will be at the end of the operation. Its double articulation with respect to the box allows it, whatever the assembly of the box between the different assemblies previously reported, to tilt slightly, by a few degrees, with respect to the box around an axis parallel to the fulcrum axis. of the door to align with the corridor provided for the key in the switch. When the closing movement of the door continues, the key slides in the corridor, while the angle of inclination of the key with respect to its central position decreases to cancel itself when the door is closed.

The known switch has two drawbacks. On the one hand, despite its apparent flexibility of use, some assemblies are impossible. For example, when the key exits through the lateral opening, it imposes a well-determined orientation of the circuit-breaker and the mounting of the circuit-breaker in this orientation may prove impossible taking into account the space available in the cabinet to be equipped. On the other hand, the known device requires that the mobile unit be fixed to the door at least at a certain minimum distance from the axis of rotation or fulcrum of the door. This derives from the fact that, when the end of the key begins to penetrate the corridor, the axis of the key forms a certain angle with the axis of the corridor and this angle must not exceed the maximum angular excursion of a few degrees that is allowed. to the key by its articulation relative to its support box.

Finally, with the known device, the minimum distance from the key to the fulcrum axis of the door, that is to say the minimum value of the key rotation radius, is almost 400 mm. For shorter distances, the inclination that the key must assume with respect to its central position when it begins to penetrate the circuit-breaker corridor becomes too high, it can no longer be reliably grasped without the risk of jamming and misalignment. between the switch corridor and the orientation axis of the key with respect to the support box becomes prohibitive at certain stages of the penetration movement.

The object of the invention consists in proposing a movable actuation unit which gives greater flexibility to the assembly and allows, at least in certain assembly cases, to reduce the minimum permissible distance between the movable assembly and the pivot axis of the door. on which it is mounted.

The present invention proposes for the purpose a mobile key-operated device for safety switches of the type comprising a corridor in which the extraneousness of a key can be made to enter or exit in order to open or close the switch. movable unit comprising a base which has a face for fastening to a support, such as an electrical cabinet door, and with respect to which the key can be mounted in two different orientations in one of which the key extends laterally with respect to the fastening face , the key being connected to the base by means of elastic return means which allow an angular excursion around an average position, characterized in that, in its other orientation, the key extends equally lateral to the fixing face, but is rotated 90 ° around its longitudinal axis with respect to this fastening face.

When the base is to be fixed on a door flap perpendicular to the fulcrum axis of the door, two lateral orientations of the key can be made on the same flap of the door, instead of a single orientation in the front technique. These two orientations are arranged at 90 ° from each other around the axis of the key. The circuit-breaker can therefore itself assume one of two orientations, which will on the other hand often be imposed by the degree of encumbrance of the inside of the cabinet and in each of them it can make sure that the fixing face of the base is perpendicular to the pivot axis of the support (such as the door) to which the base is fixed. Furthermore, it has been found according to the invention that this is particularly advantageous for reasons which will now be explained.

This allows in fact to proceed easily, with the assembly, to a precise preliminary orientation of the base around an axis parallel to the fulcrum axis, therefore perpendicular to the face of fixing it of the base, in such a way that the key has it same a preliminary orientation that will reduce the angular difference between the key and the corridor when the key starts to penetrate the corridor. Therefore, the distance between the key and the fulcrum axis of the door can be reduced in either of the two lateral orientations of the key permitted by the invention.

When the door is closed, there is correlated an inclination of the key with respect to its central orientation; this inclination is due to the elastic return means of the key.

The preliminary orientation is mainly of interest to allow the minimum distance between the mobile unit and the pivot axis of the door to be reduced to medium high proportions, for example from 400 mm to less than 200 mm, which provides the possibility to use the mobile unit according to the invention in a series of installations in which the limitation of the available space would not allow to adapt a mobile unit of the prior art, or even on small doors.

Other particularities and advantages of the invention will appear from the following description based on a non-limiting essnpio

In the attached drawings:

Figures 1, 3 and 4 represent top view back views showing the operating principle of an electrical cabinet equipped with a safety switch and with a movable operating device in accordance with the invention, respectively in the starting position of the penetration of the key and, on a larger scale but with parts cme_s se, in the position of partial penetration and in the position of total penetration of the key;

Figure 2 is a schematic view of the face of the safety switch of Figure 1 shown with parts emitted;

5 is an exploded perspective view of a movable drive assembly in accordance with the invention;

figure 6 represents a sectional view of the movable unit according to the junction plane of the half-boxes;

Figure 7 is a sectional view along the line VII-VII of Figure 6; And

Figures 8 and 9 correspond to Figures 1 and 4, respectively, but when the key is in its other lateral orientation.

As shown in Figures 1 and 2, a safety switch 1 provided with an actuation corridor 2 of width A is fixed to a frame 3, for example the body of an electrical cabinet which can be closed by a door 5 which rotates pivoting around an axis 7 which can be vertical The door 5 has a flat flap 6 which is perpendicular to the axis 7. A base 9 of a mobile operating equipment 8 is fixed on the inner face of the flap 6 through a face fixing plane which is applied against the internal face of the flap 6. The base 9 carries an operating key 11 which extends out of the base with an elongated flattened shape part na which can rotate making a fulcrum around a parallel axis 4 to the axis 7 of rotation of the door, being in any case drawn towards a central orientation by an elastic return means 41 which will be described below. The key emerges from the base 9 through one of the lateral faces of the latter. The base 9 and the switch 1 are fixed to the door 5 and respectively to the cabinet body 3, in such a way that the free end iib of the key is sensibly facing the corridor 2 when the door is partially or partially opened. open of the angel t (figure ι) and in such a way that the key can penetrate to a position of total return in the corridor 2 when the door 5 is closed (figure 4). During this movement, a ramp element (see Figure 7) carried by the extension 11b of the key 11 causes the retraction of a vertical cursor 10 (Figure 1), which in turn drags (see Figure 2) the retraction of a contact carrier 13 against a return spring 13a, then the closing of the safety circuit under consideration, by placing a contact bridge 13b on two fixed contacts 13c.

The part 11a of the key extends to a large extent in relief with respect to a junction plane 14 of the door 5. The part 11a of the key 11 presents, in the plane of Figure 1 which is assumed to be horizontal, and perpendicular to the axis 7, a width a, slightly less than the width A of the drive corridor 2. When the door is closed (figure 4), the key 11 presses an orientation which coincides with that of the corridor 2, i.e. perpendicular to the floor 12 of the cabinet opening and to the junction surface 14 of the door 5.

During the closing movement of the door 5f when the free end 11b of the key 11 reaches the entrance to the corridor located in this example on the floor 12, the speech key at an angle s different from zero with the direction of the actuation corridor 2. angle is less than angle 1: which then exists between the junction plane 14 and the plane 12, due to a preliminary orientation u imparted to the mobile unit in accordance with the invention.

Preliminary orientation is the angle u formed between the central orientation of the key 11 (open cabinet, Figure 1) with respect to the door 5 and the longitudinal direction of the corridor 2 with respect to the door 5, when it is closed. In the example, the longitudinal direction of the corridor 2 is perpen dicular to the floor 14 when the door is closed. Consequently, the preliminary orientation u is the angle formed between the orientation of the key 11 at rest with respect to the door and the nominal to the junction plane 14 of the door 5.

Hence: t = s u.

Therefore, following the penetration movement of the key 11 into the corridor 2, the key 11 rotates by pivoting around the axis 4 as long as its longitudinal direction coincides with the longitudinal direction of the corridor 2. For this purpose, the entrance to the corridor 2 is flared and the extraneousness of the key 11 comprises grooves. It is understood that such a reorientation of the key 11 is not possible if the value js of the necessary reorientation does not exceed a limit value which is a function of several parameters, in particular the play (A-a) of the key in the corridor 11, the lateral play of the articulation of the key 11 around the axis 4, the length of the key 11 starting from the axis 4, the clearance in the articulation 7 between the cabinet 3 and the door 5, etc.

It is also understood that, thanks to the pre-orientation u of the key 11 relative to the door 5, the reorientation angle s can be relatively small even if the angle t is relatively large, therefore the radius R of rotation of the key is relatively low.

In practice, we generally take s ≤ t / 2 and u ≥ t / 2 and preferably s ≈ t / 2 and u ≈ t / 2. In the hexanpius shown, t ≈ 12 °, u ≈ 7.5 ° and s ≈ 4.5 °.

When the key 11 begins to enter the corridor 2, it undergoes a deflection sensibly equal to s with respect to the cover. Subsequently, as the cover closes, the key n returns to its central orientation and reaches it when the angle between planes 12 and 14 becomes equal to u (figure 3). closing, the key 11 moves away from its central orientation in the opposite direction to the axis 7, that is to say in the direction opposite to that of the deflection of the beginning of the penetration in order to reach, when the door 5 is closed, a deflection equal to the angle u (Figure 4) with respect to the central orientation. In other words, with reference to Figure 1 and considering the deflections directed towards axis 7 as negative, the key initially underwent a deflection equal to s 3⁄4? - t / 2, a deflection which then varied progressively until it reached the value u ≈ t / 2. Iti. consequently, for a maximum admissible track tmax between the cabinet 3 and the door 5 at the time of the start of the penetration, it is sufficient that the key n has an angular excursion ≈ tmax / 2 on both sides of its central orientation around axis 4 and this capacity for angular excursion will be fully exploited if t = tmax.

In the precise example that has been represented, in which the axis 7 is withdrawn with respect to the plane 14, the value of u has been chosen a little larger than the value of s because the distance d1 between the axis 7 and the end 11b of the key in central orientation is slightly different from the distance d2 between the axis 7 and the region of the key which is located in the plane 14. Thus, to ensure that the key is correctly positioned in the corridor 2 in position closing of the cover 5, it is sufficient to ensure that the end n b is exactly in front of the corridor 2 in the situation shown in Figure 1, which is equally convenient for the good penetration of the key into the corridor. The choice of u significantly larger than s still favors the initiation of penetration.

The base 9 of the mobile operating unit 8 (Figures 5-7) comprises two half-boxes 17, 18, each containing two diagonally opposite threaded holes 51 and two opposite smooth holes 53 along another diagonal. Four screws 50 (Figure 5) each of which passes into a hole 53 of one of the half-boxes and is screwed into a hole 51 of the other breast-box allow to fix the breast-boxes one against the other. Each half-box is provided with a fixing wall 25, which defines a flat fixing face 25a. The base can be fixed to the flap 6 of the door by applying one or the other of the faces 25a against the internal face of the flap 6 and can be fixed there by means of two screws 52 (figures 3 and 4) which pass through each two aligned holes 23 each belonging to one of the half-boxes. The openings are elongated in a curved line about the axis 4 for setting the pre-orientation angle adjustment u after the screw 52 is in place but before their locking.

The two sounders 17, 18 are connected through the flat surfaces 19. The movable crew 8 also buys a crew formed by the key 11 and by a member having the main hole of the cylinder 27 of axis XX '. A region 11c of the key 11 is engaged in a diametrical through duct 28 of the cylinder 27, defined in particular by two parallel flat faces 28a. A split pin 33 is engaged in a diametrical hole 32 of the cylinder 22, of axis YY *, perpendicular to the faces 28a, as well as in a hole 34 of the region 11c, to connect the key 11 to the cylinder 27 and to allow the rotation of the key 11 relatively to cdlin drc 27 pivoting around the axis ΥΎ '. The thicknesses of the duct 28 and of the rod 11c are appreciably the same, however, with some clearance which allows the rod 11c to slide between the flat faces of the duct 28.

The duct 28 has, at each end, a flare indicated respectively with the reference numbers 29 and 30, which allows the angular movement of the key 11 into the duct 28,

A pair of bearings 26 is formed in two opposite side walls 24 of each half-box adjacent to the surfaces 19. The axis forms two bearings with a common axis ΗΗ '.

Furthermore, the internal face of the fixing wall 25 of the half-box 17 has a bearing 38 constituted by a blind cylinder housing having as its axis the axis 4 perpendicular to the wall 25 (see figure 3). another bearing 38 similar to the preceding one is placed on an inner wall, equally according to axis 4. The bearings 26 and 28 have the same diameter slightly greater than the diameter of the cylinder 27 and their axes HH 'and 4 are secant and perpen dicular to one another. Upon assembly, the cylinder 27 can be mounted either in the bearings 26 or in the bearings 38, so as to rotate by pivoting around the axis HH · or respectively

around axis 4. When it pivots

around the axis HH ', the axis XX' of rotation of the

key with respect to cylinder 27 coincides with the axis

4 when the cylinder 27 is in the middle angular position in the bearings 26. When the cylinder 27

rotates pivoting around axis 4 "axis YY '

coincides with the axis HH 'when the cylinder 27 si

located in an average angular position around the axis

4.

In this way, in one and the other it orients

ment of the cylinder 27 "the key 11 is movable around the axes HH 'and 4, therefore around any a_s

if located in the plane containing the axes HH 'and 4.

In the two possible positions of the cylinder 27 in

base 9, key 11 extends outward of

base 9 according to a lateral orientation, ie di © r and parallel to the face 25a, through it

lateral opening 37, which define between

them the two sound boxes 17, 18 through one seems

lateral te 36 parallel to the plane containing the as

si HH 'and 4 (see Figure 6).

In this way, the two possible orientations of the crew 11, 27, 33 in the base 9 stand out

essentially, when the mobile unit is mounted, by the fact that the key 11 has two orientations, one at 90 ° with respect to the other around its longitudinal axis ZZ ', perpendicular to the axes XX' and YY '. These two possible orientations of the key 11 around its longitudinal axis, orientations which are both lateral relative to the fixing faces 25a of the base 9, allow for a given malting of the base 9 with the faces 25a perpendicular to the axis 7 two different orientations of the key 11 and consequently two different orientations of the switch 1, i.e. the orientation shown in Figures 1 to 4 or an orientation shown in Figures 8 and 9 Switch 1 can still be rotated by 18Ο0 with respect to the one or the other of the aforementioned positions, provided that the base 9 is fixed through its other face 25a on the inner face of the flap 6.

The opening 37 has a sufficient dimension to allow the passage of the key 11 and its angular excursion about the axes XX 'and YY' for the two possible orientations of the cylinder 27.

When the cylinder 27 is mounted in the bearings 38, it is precisely the rotation of the cylinder 27 in its bearings 38 which ensures the main rotation of the key about the axis 4 of Figure 1. The rotation of the key 11 in the duct 28 thanks to the cotter pin 33 serves only to compensate for any mounting inaccuracies.

When the cylinder 27 is mounted in the bearings 26, the reverse applies, the main rotation being carried out between the key 11 and the cylinder 27 thanks to the cotter pin 33 and the cylinder 27 does not rotate in the bearings 26 except to absorb any inaccuracies. by Assembly.

As already mentioned, the movable actuation assembly 8 comprises elastic means for returning the key 11 towards its central orientation. These means are constituted by a block of elastomeric material of general parallelepiped shape 41, sized to fit into the base 9 in such a way that the bearings 26, 38 are located between the block 41 and the opening 37,

The block 41 has, in its central part, an opening with a cruciform section 44 whose entrance faces the opening 37 of the base 8, In each orientation of the key 11 around its axis ZZ ', it is engaged with its end rear in a respective of the two branches 46 and 47. When an angular excursion is imparted to the external foreignness 11b of the key 11 around the axis HH 'or the axis 4 and whatever the orientation of the key around its axis ZZ ', the internal extraneousness of the key compresses a part of the block 41 and undergoes a moment of recall by the latter towards its central orientation.

Two bosses 41a are provided on either side of the arm or branch 46 which is parallel to the fastening faces 25a. This increases the stiffness of the block 41 with respect to the movements of the key around the axis 4 when it occupies the branch 46. This compensates for the fact that, in this assembly case, the key 11 rests by means of its arm, and then under greater pressure, on the block 41. Two other bosses 41b, the height of which increases from the branch 46 to the two opposite edges of the block, improve the positioning of the block in the base 9.

The rear walls 43 of the sound boxes 17, 18 are curved according to a cylinder sign of axis 4 perpendicular to the fixing face 25a.

Figures 8 and 9 show the case of the assembly of the cylinder 27 in the bearings or supports 38, respectively in the starting position of the key penetration (or extraction end) and in the total penetration position. Its subsequent orientations of the key around axis 4 are significantly the same as those of the example in figures 1 to 4.

Claims (4)

CLAIMS 1. Mobile key-operated equipment (8) for the safety switch (1) of the type comprising a corridor (2) into which the end of a key (11) can be pushed in or out to open or close the switch (1), this furniture comprising a base (9) which has an easy fastening (25a) to a support such as the door of an electrical cabinet (5) and with respect to which the key (11) can be mounted in two different orientations in one of which the key extends laterally with respect to the fixing face (25a), the key (11) being connected to the base (9) by means of elastic return means (41) which allow an angular excursion around to an average position, characterized by the fact that in its other orientation the key (11) extends equally laterally with respect to the fastening face (25a), but is rotated by 90 ° around its longitudinal axis with respect to this face of fixing. 2. Mobile actuation device according to claim 1, characterized in that the elastic return means comprise a block of elastomeric material (41) integral with the base, this block being provided with an opening (44) in which the key is engaged (11). 3. Mobile actuation unit according to claim 1, characterized in that in the base (9) the key is articulated around a first axis (ΥΥ ') to a rotatable member (27) which can be mounted in the base with the possibility of rotation around a second axis (XX ') transversal to the first axis (ΥΎ') and by the fact that the base (9) pressed internally of the support means (26, 38) designed so as to receive the rotating member (27 ) optionally in two different positions, the orientations of the first and second axis in the base being, in one of the positions, inverted with respect to their orientations relative to the other position. 4. Mobile actuation assembly according to claim 3, characterized in that the base (9) comprises two half-boxes (17, 18) and the support means comprise in each box sanitizer a bearing to support the rotatable member (27) in one of the positions and two sound bearings (26) to support the rotating member (27) in the other position 5 · Mobile second drive equipment any one of claims 3 or 4, characterized in that the rotatable member (27) has ta a through duct (28) in which the key (11) is engaged and held by a means locking (33) 6. Mobile second drive equipment claim 5 characterized in that the locking means (33) consists of a cop seizes which puts its movement to the key (11) to around the first axis (ΥΥ '). 7- Mobile second drive equipment claim 6, characterized in that the through duct (28) has a double flare shape. 8 · Mobile second drive equipment any one of claims 3 to 7, characterized in that the rotatable member (27) has a general cylindrical shape. 9. Mobile second drive equipment any one of claims 3 to 8, characterized in that the elastic return means comprise a block of elastomer material solid at the base (41), this block being provided with a cruciform opening (44) which defines two sensibly flat housings ( 46, 47), perpendicular to each other, in each of which a flattened region of the key (11c) located in the base (9) can penetrate. Mobile device according to any one of claims 209, characterized in that the block of elastomeric material (41) receives a rear end (11c) of the key, the means which allow the angular excursion of the key being located between said rear end and a free end (ila) of the key, intended to enter the corridor (2) of the switch (1). Mobile device according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that the base (9) is traversed by two fixing holes (23) of the base to the support (5). at least one of these holes being elongated according to a curved line to allow an adjustment of orientation of the base on the support by rotation about an axis (4) perpendicular to the fixing face (25a).