Title of Invention

SWITCHING DEVICE COMBINATION FOR CAPACITIVE LOADS CONNECTED TO DIRECT VOLTAGE

Abstract A switching device combination for capacitive loads (3) connected to a direct voltage is disclosed. The switching device combination comprises: an actual switch component (1) for connecting the voltage to the capacitive load (3), a charging switch component (2) for connecting the voltage to the capacitive load (3) in the initial state of the connection which charging switch component is dimensioned for a lower current than the actual switch component (1), a control component (4) by means of which the switch component (1) is controlled from an open state to a closed state and vice versa with the aid of a mechanical lever (5) which is connected to a first shaft (6), delay elements (10) for delaying the connection of the actual switch component (1) so that the closed charging switch component (2) will have time to charge the capacitive load (3) before the actual switch (1) is connected, and a second shaft (7) which is connected to the first shaft (6), characterized in that the second shaft (7) is connected to the first shaft (6) with the aid of a tolerance (15) in order to control the charging switch component (2).
Full Text

Switching Device Combination for Capacitive Loads Connected to Direct Voltage
The present invention relates to a switching device combination, according to the
preamble of Claim 1, for capacitive loads connected to direct voltage.

Devices of this kind are used, for example, in connection with the inverter control
devices of electric motors.
Similar devices according to the prior art are implemented in such a way that the
mechanical lever that acts as a control has only two positions, open and closed. Such a
solution is implemented in, for instance, FI patent 109 558. When the switch is closed,
one of the two contacts (-) of the main circuit and the contact of the charging circuit
close, but the other of the main circuit's contacts (+) remains held in the open position,
set ready to be released to the closed position by a coil, when the voltage of the capacitor
rises sufficiently.
Associated with the three-contact basic solution is the problem mat the fuse of the
second (-) terminal is dimensioned according to the rated current of the drive (e.g.,
1000A), but, at the moment of charging, there is a small fuse (at the most some tens of
amperes) only for the (+) terminal. In addition, at large rated nominal currents, for
example, 630 A, the charging-circuit contact is unnecessarily sturdily dimensioned, thus
increasing costs and taking up unnecessary space in the switchgear.
In the solution in question, four contacts could be used, which would give both terminals
of the charging circuit small fuses, but would further increase the unnecessary costs and
space requirement, as the charging circuit will have two contact elements dimensioned
for a large rated current.
The invention is intended to eliminate the defects of the state of the art described above
and for this purpose create an entirely new type of switching device combination for
capacitive loads connected to a direct voltage.
The invention is based on controlling the main switch component and the charging

switch component using separate shafts for them, the operational connection of which to
each other includes a gap.
According to one preferred embodiment of the invention, the charging-circuit shaft and
the switch shaft are aligned at essentially right angles to each other.
More specifically, the switching device combination according to the invention is
characterized by what is stated in the characterizing portion of Claim 1.
Considerable advantages are gained with the aid of the invention.
. With the aid of the invention, the main switch component and the charging switch
component can be separated mechanically from each other and thus use solutions that
are more economical in both dimensions and cost. Particularly, the charging switch
component can be implemented considerably more economically than when using the
prior art. The fuses of both terminals of the charging circuit, which have a smaller rated
current, give the device greater protection than the prior art in fault situations, for
example, in the case of earth leakage from the negative terminal. Because a switch-fuse
is used in the charging circuit, the fuse can be changed in a de-energized state. If the
power of the main switch component needs to be increased, according to the invention
no changes will be needed in the charging switch component. When using one preferred
shaft arrangement of the switching device arrangement, up to three parallel loads can be
connected to the same device casing, without having to increase the size of the casing.
In the following, the invention is examined with the aid of examples and with reference
to the accompanying drawings.
Figure la shows a perspective view of one switching device combination according to
the invention, in a O-switching state.
Figure lb shows a perspective view of the switching device combination according to
Figure 1a, in a 1-switching state.

Figure 2 shows a block diagram of the electrical circuit of the apparatus according to the
invention.
Figure 3 shows the spring element applied to the invention.
Figure 4 shows the delay element applied to the invention.


According to Figure la, the system according to the invention is examined in a situation
in which both the main contacts 40 of the actual switch component 1 and the charging
contacts 41 of the charging switch component 2 are open. In this situation, the controller
lever 5 of the controller component 4 is in the horizontal position and indicates the 0-
state. With the aid of the rhythm springs 23, the first shaft 6 is held firmly in the 0-state
while the rhythm springs 23 prevent the first shaft 6 from remaining in the positions
between the 0-state and the 1-state. At the end of the shaft 6, there is a permanently
attached transverse lever 8, which extends transversely on bom sides of the longitudinal
axis of the shaft 6 and which is mounted in bearings to the transverse bars 13 and 14.
The transverse bars 13 and 14 are, in turn, set in sliding bearings in the second transverse
lever 9, which is, in turn, permanently attached transversely to the second shaft 7,
relative to it in the same manner as the transverse lever 8. The connection of the
transverse bars 13 and 14 to the second shaft 7 is implemented with the aid of a slot-like
bearing 15.
The slot 15 permits the bearing pins of the transverse lever 9 to slide along the slots 15.
In the 0-state of the lever 5, there is a margin, determined by their length, in the slots 15
when the shaft 6 begins to turn to the 1-state. This margin acts to create a mechanical
tolerance in the control of the charging contacts 41. In other words, the slot arrangement
15 can be used to take into account the mechanical difference between the actual switch
component 1 and the charging switch component 2. Additional shafts are connected to
both the first shaft 6 and the second shaft 7 through an angle gear 12. The switch shaft
21 is connected to the first shaft 6 and the charging switch shaft 20 is connected to the
second shaft 7. Rhythm springs 23 are also used in the charging switch shaft 20, or
alternatively in the second shaft 7, in order to retain its position clearly in either the 0-
state or the 1-state. Instead or in addition of the rhythm springs 23, a spring element 11
can be attached to the shaft 20, in order to differentiate clearly the 0-state and the 1-state
from each other and thus to control the charging switch component 2 as precisely as
possible.
A spring arrangement 11 is also fitted to the switch shaft 21, in order to separate the 0-

state and the 1-state from each other. In addition, a mechanical delay element 10, which
will be described later in greater detail, which has a delay regulated by a relay 38 in a
manner to be described later, is also connected to the shaft 21. The element 10 is
intended to delay the final rotation of the switch shaft 21 from the 0-position to the 1-
position, in other words, to delay the closing of the contacts 40 of the switch component
1 relative to the closing of the charging contacts 41.
Figure lb shows the intermediate stage, in which the lever 5 is turned to the 1-state,
when the transverse bars 13 and 15 have moved the transverse lever 9 to its extreme
position due to the influence of the rhythm springs 23 and/or the spring element 11. The
pin of the transverse lever 9 is then at the right-hand edge of the slot 15 of the transverse
bar 13 while corresppndingly the lower guide pin of the transverse lever 9 is at the left-
hand edge of the slot 15 of the transverse bar 14.
This position has been preceded by a state, in which the charging switch shaft 20 has not
turned to its final position, and thus has not rotated past the dead centre determined by
the rhythm springs 23 and/or the spring element 11. In this intermediate position, the pin
of the transverse lever 9 is still at the left-hand edge of the slot 15 of the transverse bar
14. After passing the dead centre, the rhythm springs 23 and/or the spring element 11
turn the shaft 20 to its final position, according to Figure lb.
According to the figure, the charging contacts 41 are now in the closed state and charge
the capacitive load (Figure 2). Thanks to the mechanical delay element 10, the main
contacts of the actual switching component 1 are still open, until a control command
arrives at the control relay 38 from the inverter and the shaft 21 rotates, closing the main
contacts 40.
When the lever 5 turns back to the position 0, the situation returns to that in Figure 1a.
The block diagram of the system according to Figure 2 consists of the actual switch
component 1 and the charging switch component 2, in which the actual switch
component 1 is controlled with the aid of a mechanical delay element 10 under the

control of an electromechanical control relay 38. The control relay 38 receives its control
signal from the charging state determining/specification circuit, which is typically
located in an inverter 3. The inverter 3 in turn controls the motor M, when the charging
state of the inverter 3, which is fed through the charging circuit 2, has reached a
predefined value. Fuses 37 are arranged between the contacts of both the actual switch
component 1 and the charging switch component 2. There are series resistances 36 in the
charging circuit, in order to limit the charging current.
Figure 3 shows in greater detail one spring element 11 that is suitable for the apparatus
according to the invention. The element 11 consists of an eccentric piece 25 fitted
around either shaft 20 or shaft 21, in which a spring 26 is connected to the pivot point
27. The other end of the spring 26 is, in turn, connected to a pivot point 28, which is
connected to a fixed frame piece. Thus, in the intermediate state shown by the figure
between the 0-state and the 1-state, the spring 26 has stored the maximum amount of
energy while when the shaft 20 or 21 turns away from the vertical position shown in
Figure 3, the spring 26 releases the energy, thus assisting the shaft 20 or 21 to move
from the 0-state to the 1-state, or vice versa.
Figure 4 shows one possible way to implement the mechanical delay element 10. The
elements operates as follows: the delay lever 30 is connected to the shaft 21 in such a
way that, when rotated clockwise, the hole in the delay lever 30 reserved for the shaft 21
permits the shaft 21 to rotate enough that the spring element 11 passes its dead centre
and remains in a tensioned state, but the main contacts 40 do not yet close. This can be
implemented, for example, by using an octagonal hole in the lever 30. A first auxiliary
lever 31, which is in turn jointed to a second auxiliary lever 32 at a second pivot point
34, is attached to the upper end of the lever 30, by means of a first pivot point 33. The
second auxiliary lever 32 is, in turn, jointed to a fixed frame point 35.
The auxiliary levers together form a so-called knee joint, which prevents the delay lever
30 from turning clockwise. When the control relay 38 receives a control impulse from
the charging state definition circuit show in Figure 2, the control relay 38 pushes the
pivot point 34 over the dead centre from by the auxiliary levers, so that the delay lever

30 is able to turn clockwise and at the same time the shaft 21 rotates due to the force of
the spring element 11 and closes the main contacts 40.
Both the spring element 11 and the delay element 10 can naturally be implemented using
many different kinds of mechanism, or in an electromechanical manner.
The shafts 6, 7,20, and 21 preferably have a square cross-section. According to the
invention, other rectangular or polygonal or circular or oval cross-sections are also
possible. With a circular cross-section, care must naturally be taken to ensure that the
attachment to the other elements is mechanically sufficiently reliable, for example, with
the aid of roughening, pinching, or protrusions.

WE CLAIM:
1. A switching device combination for capacitive loads (3) connected to a direct
voltage, which switching device combination comprises:
- an actual switch component (1) for connecting the voltage to the capacitive load
(3),
- a charging switch component (2) for connecting the voltage to the capacitive load
(3) in the initial state of the connection, which charging switch component is dimensioned
for a lower current than the actual switch component (1),
- a control component (4), by means of which the switch component (1) is controlled
from an open state to a closed state and vice versa, with the aid of a mechanical lever (5),
which is connected to a first shaft (6).
- delay elements (10), for delaying the connection of the actual switch component
(1), so that the closed charging switch component (2) will have time to charge the
capacitive load (3), before the actual switch (1) is connected, and
- a second shaft (7), which is connected to the first shaft (6),
characterized in that
- the second shaft (7) is connected to the first shaft (6) with the aid of a tolerance
(15), in order to control the charging switch component (2).

2. A switching device combination as claimed in claim 1, wherein shafts (20, 21),
which are at essentially right angles to each other, controlling second contacts (40, 41), are
connected to each shaft (6, 7) through an angle gear.
3. A switching device combination as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein at the end of
each shaft (6, 7) are attached, at right angle to the longitudinal axis of the shafts, transverse
levers (8, 9), which extend on each side of the ends of the shafts (6, 7) and the ends of the
transverse levers (8, 9) are connected by transverse bars (13, 14) equipped with slots (15).
in order to synchronize the shafts (6, 7) with each other while allowing a margin.

4. A switching device combination as claimed in any of the above claims, wherein the
first shaft (6) and the second shaft (7) are essentially parallel to each other.
5. A switching device combination as claimed in any of the above claims, wherein the
actual switch components (1) are connected to the first shaft (6) with the aid of an angle
gear (12) and a switch shaft (21).
6. A switching device combination s claimed in any of the above claims, wherein the
transverse bars (13, 14) are connected to the second shaft (6) by a slot arrangement (15, 16),
in such a way that the slot arrangement (15, 16) is located at the ends of the transverse bars
(13, 14) next to the second shaft (7), in order to adapt the synchronization of the shafts (6,
7) to various mechanical elements, when rotating the first shaft (6) from the open position
to the closed position and vice versa.
7. A switching device combination as claimed in any of the above claims, wherein the
shafts (6, 7) are operationally connected to each other electrically.
8. A switching device combination as claimed in any of the above claims, wherein the
charging switch components (2) are connected to the second shaft (7) with the aid of an
angle gear (12) and the charging switch shaft (20).


A switching device combination for capacitive loads (3) connected to a direct
voltage is disclosed. The switching device combination comprises: an actual switch
component (1) for connecting the voltage to the capacitive load (3), a charging switch
component (2) for connecting the voltage to the capacitive load (3) in the initial state of the
connection which charging switch component is dimensioned for a lower current than the
actual switch component (1), a control component (4) by means of which the switch
component (1) is controlled from an open state to a closed state and vice versa with the aid
of a mechanical lever (5) which is connected to a first shaft (6), delay elements (10) for
delaying the connection of the actual switch component (1) so that the closed charging
switch component (2) will have time to charge the capacitive load (3) before the actual
switch (1) is connected, and a second shaft (7) which is connected to the first shaft (6),
characterized in that the second shaft (7) is connected to the first shaft (6) with the aid of a
tolerance (15) in order to control the charging switch component (2).

Documents:

01131-kolnp-2006 abstract.pdf

01131-kolnp-2006 assignment.pdf

01131-kolnp-2006 claims.pdf

01131-kolnp-2006 correspondence others.pdf

01131-kolnp-2006 description(complete).pdf

01131-kolnp-2006 drawings.pdf

01131-kolnp-2006 form-1.pdf

01131-kolnp-2006 form-3.pdf

01131-kolnp-2006 form-5.pdf

01131-kolnp-2006 international publication.pdf

01131-kolnp-2006 international search authority report.pdf

01131-kolnp-2006-assignment-1.1.pdf

01131-kolnp-2006-correspondence others-1.1.pdf

01131-kolnp-2006-form-3-1.1.pdf

01131-kolnp-2006-priority document.pdf

1131-KOLNP-2006-(18-11-2011)-CORRESPONDENCE.pdf

1131-KOLNP-2006-(18-11-2011)-FORM-13.pdf

1131-KOLNP-2006-(18-11-2011)-OTHERS.pdf

1131-KOLNP-2006-(18-11-2011)-PA-CERTIFIED COPIES.pdf

1131-KOLNP-2006-ABSTRACT.pdf

1131-KOLNP-2006-AMANDED CLAIMS.pdf

1131-KOLNP-2006-AMENDED PAGES OF SPECIFICATION.pdf

1131-KOLNP-2006-ASSIGNMENT.pdf

1131-KOLNP-2006-CORRESPONDENCE 1.1.pdf

1131-KOLNP-2006-CORRESPONDENCE-1.2.pdf

1131-KOLNP-2006-CORRESPONDENCE.pdf

1131-KOLNP-2006-CORRESPONDENCE1.3.pdf

1131-KOLNP-2006-DESCRIPTION (COMPLETE).pdf

1131-KOLNP-2006-DRAWINGS.pdf

1131-KOLNP-2006-EXAMINATION REPORT.pdf

1131-KOLNP-2006-FORM 1.pdf

1131-KOLNP-2006-FORM 18.pdf

1131-KOLNP-2006-FORM 2.pdf

1131-KOLNP-2006-FORM 3.1.pdf

1131-KOLNP-2006-FORM 3.pdf

1131-KOLNP-2006-FORM 5.pdf

1131-KOLNP-2006-GPA.pdf

1131-KOLNP-2006-GRANTED-ABSTRACT.pdf

1131-KOLNP-2006-GRANTED-CLAIMS.pdf

1131-KOLNP-2006-GRANTED-DESCRIPTION (COMPLETE).pdf

1131-KOLNP-2006-GRANTED-DRAWINGS.pdf

1131-KOLNP-2006-GRANTED-FORM 1.pdf

1131-KOLNP-2006-GRANTED-FORM 2.pdf

1131-KOLNP-2006-GRANTED-SPECIFICATION.pdf

1131-KOLNP-2006-OTHERS.pdf

1131-KOLNP-2006-OTHERS1.1.pdf

1131-KOLNP-2006-PETITION UNDER RULE 137.pdf

1131-KOLNP-2006-REPLY TO EXAMINATION REPORT.pdf

1131-KOLNP-2006-REPLY TO EXAMINATION REPORT1.1.pdf

abstract-01131-kolnp-2006.jpg


Patent Number 252028
Indian Patent Application Number 1131/KOLNP/2006
PG Journal Number 17/2012
Publication Date 27-Apr-2012
Grant Date 23-Apr-2012
Date of Filing 02-May-2006
Name of Patentee ABB OY
Applicant Address STRÖMBERGINTIE 1, FL-00380 HELSINKI
Inventors:
# Inventor's Name Inventor's Address
1 KAJAN, RISTO LÄNTINEN PITKÄKATU 7 B, FI-65380 VAASA
2 NÅHLS, MIKAEL NYGÅRDSTÅET 2, FI-65800 RAIPPALUOTO
3 PÖYHÖNEN, SIMO ALBERT PETRELIUKSEN KATU 6 D 33, FI-01370 VANTAA
4 VARPELA, MARTTI HAVUKOSKEKATU 1A A, FI-01360 VANTAA
5 TALJA, MARKKU MYRYNKUJA 1 E, FI-04400 JÄRVENPÄÄ
6 RAJALA, ERKKI SORVARINKATU 6, FI-65370 VAASA
PCT International Classification Number H01H 9/26
PCT International Application Number PCT/FI2004/000651
PCT International Filing date 2004-11-03
PCT Conventions:
# PCT Application Number Date of Convention Priority Country
1 20031604 2003-11-05 Finland