Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
. CA 02279430 1999-07-30
ABB Patent GmbH
Mannheim 31st July 1998
Mp.-No. 98/610 PAT 4-Ft/Ki
Articulated force-transmitting connection arrangement
Description
The invention relates to an articulated
force-transmitting connection arrangement according to
the pre-characterizing clause of Claim 1.
In circuit-breakers, electrical switchgear and other
installation equipment, switch latches are provided,
or, in general terms, Bearings, in which the rotational
or sliding movement of one lever is to be transmitted
to another lever via an articulated connection
arrangement.
In a particular version, one lever is a wire shackle,
one end of which is bent in a L-shaped manner, so that
it can be inserted into a prepared hole perpendicularly
to the longitudinal extent of the shackle. Such a
shackle is usually produced from rigid wire and has the
great advantage that assembly is very simple on account
of movement perpendicular to the longitudinal extent.
If the one lever consists of a flat strap, the
connection arrangement is simple; if the one lever is
U-shaped and the U-legs possess, at one end of the
lever, two holes, into which the bent end of the
shackle is inserted, in order to achieve greater force
distribution and force transmission, there is then the
problem that, due to unfavourable tolerances, the force
is transmitted from the shackle to only one leg, with
the result that a torque is exerted on the U-shaped
lever.
CA 02279430 1999-07-30
98/610 - 2 - 31 July 1998
The object of the invention is to provide a connection
arrangement of the type mentioned in the introduction,
in which optimum force transmission to the U-shaped
rotatable lever is achieved, whilst at the same time
the same production and the same assembly are ensured.
This object is achieved, according to the invention, by
means of the features of Claim 1.
Accordingly, the U-shaped lever possesses, in the
region of its end, a recess on one of its legs and a
hole on the other leg; the other lever is produced from
flat material and is T-shaped, one end of the crossbar
of the T-shape being inserted into the hole and the
other end being guided in the recess.
The recess is, here, in the form of a circular arc, the
diameter of the circular-arcuate shape corresponding to
the diameter of the hole.
As a result, when force is transmitted from one lever
to the other, the two ends of the crossbar are pressed
against the inner edge of the recess and of the hole
respectively, so that both legs of the U-shape of the
lever are subjected to load.
The lever made of flat material is assembled in the
same way as a wire shackle is assembled: one leg,
oriented in a particular way, is inserted through the
recess into the hole; assembly is then ended, the other
end of the crossbar being guided in the recess.
Other advantageous embodiments and improvements of the
invention may be gathered from the further subclaims.
The invention is described in more detail by means of
the drawing which illustrates an exemplary embodiment
of the invention and in which:
CA 02279430 1999-07-30
98/610 - 3 - 31 July 1998
Figure 1 shows a perspective view of the connection
arrangement of the two levers, and
Figure 2 shows a top view of the end portion of the
first lever in the direction of the arrow II.
The connection arrangement comprises a first lever 10
and a second lever 11 connected to the latter in an
articulated manner. The first lever 10 is U-shaped and
possesses a web 12, on which legs 13 and 14 are
integrally formed on either side. The legs 13, 14 are
removed at that end of the first lever 10 which is
located on the right in the drawing, so that only the
web 12 is present. Projections 15 and 16 are provided
at the end of this web 12 perpendicularly to the
latter, the first lever 10 being connected to part of a
switch latch (not illustrated) by means of the said
projections.
At the other end of the lever 10, the legs 13, 14
project beyond the web 12, so as to form rounded leg
lugs 17 and 18 which lie in the extension of the legs
13 and 14. The leg 14 possesses a hole 19 in the region
of its leg lug, whereas the leg 13 has, in the region
of its leg lug 17, a recess 20 which starts from the
leg edge 13 and which possesses a circular-arcuate
portion 21 aligned with a corresponding portion of the
hole 19. That edge of the circular-arcuate portion 21
which faces away from the end of the leg lug 17 is
prolonged as far as the end edge of the leg 13 and
there forms a rectilinear portion 22 which forms an
angle greater than 90° with the end edge.
The recess 20 forms, in the leg lug 17, a hook 23, the
end of which projects beyond the line 30 running
through the mid-point of the circular-arcuate portion
21 and parallel to the free edge of the leg 13 or 14
' CA 02279430 1999-07-30
98/610 - 4 - 31 July 1998
and forms an angle a of less than 90° with the line 30
(see Figure 2).
The second lever 11 is formed from flat material and,
at its end which is located on the left in the drawing
and which is denoted by the reference numeral 24,
possess a region 25 of small width, the free end of
which is T-shaped with a crossbar 26 and two ends of
the crossbar 27 and 28.
One end 28 engages into the hole 19 in the leg 14,
whereas the other crossbar or the other end 27 engages
into the recess 20.
The figure illustrates the assembly position, in which
the two levers 10 and 11 form between them an angle
which is smaller than 90°. In this position, the second
lever 11 is pushed in its longitudinal direction into
the recess 20, the end 28 still being at a distance
from the inner face of the leg 14. This direction of
displacement is designated by the arrow P1. When the
crossbar 26 is aligned with the hole 19, the second
lever 11 is then displaced downwards, perpendicularly
to its longitudinal extent and perpendicularly to the
direction of displacement P1, in the direction of the
arrow P2, that is to say in the direction of the plane
formed by the inner face of the leg 14, so that the end
28 engages into the hole 19. For the final assembly of
the arrangement inside a switch, the two levers 10 and
11 are stretched out, that is to say they are brought
into a position in which they are approximately in
alignment with one another. In this arrangement, the
nose 23 engages round that edge 29 of the end 27 which
points towards the lever, with the result that the
second lever 11 is also retained in the first lever 10.
In the arrangement according to Figure 1, assembly is
just as simple as assembly of a shackle; however, the
CA 02279430 1999-07-30
98/610 - S - 31 July 1998
transmission of force from the first lever to the
second, or vice versa, takes place by means of the two
ends 27 and 28 of the crossbar 26, with the result that
a uniform load on the two legs 13 and 14 is achieved,
without a torque being exerted on the first lever 20.
