Field of the invention

The present invention relates to a sliding device for carrying a breaker, particularly to a sliding device with locking function for carrying a breaker.

Background of the invention

In prior art, a sliding device is used to carry a breaker, such as a Air Circuit Breaker(ACB), in the chassis to draw the breaker into or out of the chassis. The said sliding device is an important part to carry the breaker. Currently, in low voltage industry, the sliding device is usually made of two sheets of sliding plates slidably provided on the chassis, with one of the sliding plates being used to carry the breaker. The said two sheets of sliding plates can move backwards and forwards relative to each other through a spindle. A lock mechanism is also provided on the said sliding plate, assembled from a plurality of parts, such as a front ratchet, an extract ratchet, a rear ratchet, a spring member, a buckle, a lock, a stopping slot and like. Such sliding device has a complicate structure and includes many parts, thus leads to many unstable factors due to accumulative tolerances and assembling of many parts, thereby increasing the manufacturing cost and machining difficulty of the sliding device.

Summary of the invention

The object of the invention intends to provide a sliding device for carrying a breaker, with a sliding plate and a self-lock mechanism with a simple structure provided thereon, to solve the above-mentioned problem.

In order to accomplish this, the invention provides a sliding device for carrying the breaker, comprising: a sliding plate having a first face and a second face opposite to the first face, with a sliding mechanism provided on the sliding plate to be slidably connected to a chassis; and a carrier for carrying a breaker on the second face of the sliding plate; and a lock mechanism provided on the first face of the sliding plate , to lock the sliding plate to chassis.

In specific embodiments, according to the above description, the sliding mechanism and the carrier of the present invention are both integrally with the sliding plate.

According to the above description, two opposite ends of the sliding plate are flexed in a respective direction towards the first face , then flexed in a reverse direction respectively, to form the first end, the second end , the first flexure , the second flexure , and the middle portion, wherein the first end and the second end form the sliding plates of the sliding mechanism , and the middle portion is used to accommodate the lock mechanism.

According to the previous description, the surface of the first end and the surface of the second end of the present invention are not positioned in a same plane as the surface of the middle portion, and the surfaces of the first end and the second end may or may not be located in a same plane.

According to the previous description, the said carrier is a first aperture provided on the first flexure, with the breaker being positioned on the said first aperture.

According to the previous description, an edge of the first aperture of the present invention is a lateral edge of the middle portion , the breaker is provided with a first slot that engages with the lateral edge.

According to the previous description, the sliding device of the present invention further comprises: a locator fixed to the second face of the sliding plate, with one end of the locator being positioned at the first aperture, to assist in carrying and fixing the carrier.

According to the previous description, the breaker of the present invention also includes a second slot, to snap it on the said end of the locator.

According to the previous description, the sliding mechanism of the present invention comprises: a locking plate pivotably provided on the sliding plate; a front ratchet pivotably provided on the sliding plate; and a spring member connected between the locking plate and the front ratchet.

According to the previous description, the locking plate of the present invention comprises: a first arm to contact the front ratchet; a second arm in connection with the first arm; and a third arm in connection with the second arm, to contact a locating portion of the chassis in order to lock the sliding plate.

According to the previous description, the first arm, the second arm and the third arm of the present invention together form a substantial Z shape.

According to the previous description, the front ratchet has a protruding tooth which is able to be contacted by the first arm and a pushing portion to be pushed by a user to force the front ratchet to pivot.

According to the previous description, the second flexure of the present invention is also provided with a second aperture to allow the third arm to extend from the first face of the sliding plate to the second face.

According to the previous description, the sliding device of the present invention further comprises a guiding slot provided on the second face of the sliding plate, to accommodate the third arm and to enable movements of the third arm along the guiding slot.

According to the previous description, the guiding slot of the present invention is defined between the second face of the sliding plate and a flexed piece flexed at the upper side or lower side of a third aperture , with the third aperture cut on the second flexure of the sliding plate.

According to the previous description, the sliding plate of the present invention is also provided with a handle to push/pull the sliding plate.

According to the previous description, the handle of the present invention is formed by flexing a third end of the sliding plate, and the handle is located where it is able to contact the front ratchet pivoted to a angle.

According to the previous description, the sliding plate of the present invention is provided with a stopping slot on the side edge of the first end of the sliding plate, to limit the position of the sliding plate being drawn out of the chassis. Preferred embodiments of the present invention are described below in details with references to the accompany drawings, to make the above features and advantages of the present invention more apparent. Brief description of the drawings

Fig.1 is a perspective view of the sliding plate with a self-lock mechanism according to the present invention;

Fig.2 is a perspective view of the other face of Fig. l.

Fig.3A is a perspective view of the sliding plate without a self-lock mechanism according to the present invention;

Fig.3B is a front view of the sliding plate of Fig.3A;

Fig.3C is a left side view of the sliding plate of Fig.3B;

Fig.4A is a assembly view of the sliding device according to the present invention carrying a breaker;

Fig.4B is a partially enlarged view of A of Fig.4A;

Fig.5 A is a schematic view of the sliding plate provided on the chassis without carrying a breaker according to the present invention;

Fig.5B is a partially enlarged view of B of Fig.5A;

Fig.5C is a side view of the sliding plate provided on the chassis without carrying a breaker according to the present invention;

Fig.6A is a schematic view of the sliding plate with a self-lock mechanism according to the present invention locked out of the chassis;

Fig.6B is a schematic view of the unlock status of the sliding plate with a self-lock mechanism according to the present invention;

Fig.6C is a schematic view of the sliding plate with a self-lock mechanism according to the present invention carrying a breaker.

Detailed description of the preferred embodiments

Referring to Fig.1, Fig.2, Fig.4A and Fig.5 A, the present invention provides a sliding device l(see Fig. l, Fig.2), to carry breakers 2, such as Air Circuit Breakers (see Fig.4A), such sliding device 1 is slidably mounted on a chassis 3 ( see Fig.5A).

Further referring to Fig. l, Fig.2, and Fig.3A-3C, the sliding device 1 comprises: a single sliding plate 11 and a lock mechanism 12 provided on the sliding plate 11. The sliding plate 11 has a first face 111 and a second face 112 opposite to the first face 111. The said lock mechanism 12 is provided on the first face 111 of the sliding plate 11, and the second face 112 of the sliding plate 11 is used to carry the breaker 2. A sliding mechanism (see below) in sliding connection with a chassis 3 is provided on the sliding plate 11 , to be slidably connected to the chassis 3. A carrier (see below) is further provided on the sliding plate 11, for carrying and fixing the breaker 2. The said sliding mechanism and the carrier are both formed integrally with the sliding plate 11.

In a specific embodiment, see Fig.3A-Fig.3C in conjunction with Fig. l and Fig.2 for details, the sliding plate 11 is a plate article, with an upper end portion 114, a middle portion 115 and a lower end portion 116, wherein the upper end portion 114 and the lower end portion 116 are flexed upwards (i.e., in +Y direction) and downwards (i.e. in -Y direction) along Z direction after being flexed in an identical direction (i.e. Z direction), to form a first flexure 118(see Fig.3C) and a second flexure 119. The flexed upper end portion 114 and the lower end portion 116 form a upper sliding plate and a lower sliding plate of the sliding mechanism, respectively, to be slidably connected to the upper rail 31, lower rail 32 of the chassis 3(see Fig.5A), respectively. It could be seen from the side view in Fig.3C that the upper end portion 114 may not be in the same plane as the lower end portion 116, however, the upper end portion 114 and the lower end portion 116 also may be in the same plane , that is designed according to the necessary of the match with the chassis 3. The middle portion 115 forms a recess to accommodate the lock mechanism 2, and is not positioned in a same plane as the upper end portion 114 and the lower end portion 116.

Referring to Fig.3B, the carrier of the present invention is used to carry breakers, wherein a first aperture 110 is provided at the first flexure 118, with the lower edge 1101 of the first aperture 110 being a lateral edge of the said middle portion 115, and the upper edge 1102 of the first aperture 110 being a lateral edge of the upper end portion 114. Referring to Fig.4B, the lower edge 1101 is used to engage with the first slot 21 of the breaker 2, wherein the width between the left edge 1103 and the right edge 1104 matches the width of the said first slot 21, to make the first aperture 110 snap-fit between the two external ends 22,23 of the housing of the breaker 2, such that the breaker 2 could be mounted on the sliding plate 11 directly and snap-fixed on the sliding plate conveniently.

In order to fix the said breaker 2 on the sliding plate 11 more reliably, in this embodiment, a locator 13 is provided on the second face 112 of the sliding plate 11, see Fig.2 in conjunction with Fig.4B for details. The locator 13 is fixed on the second face 112 of the sliding plate 11 transversely by rivets or screws, wherein the upper end 13 Of the locator 13 extends beyond the lower edge 1101 of the first aperture 110, and correspondingly, a second slot 24( see Fig.4B) is provided on the housing of the breaker 2 to snap-fit with the upper end 13' of the locator 13 , such that the locator 13 serves to carry and fix the breaker 2 when the breaker 2 is snap-fitted into the first aperture 110.

Further referring to Fig. l, Fig.2 in conjunction with Fig.6A-6B, a second lock mechanism 12 is provided on the said sliding plate 11, comprising: a locking plate 121, a front ratchet 122 and a spring member 123 connected between the locking plate 121 and the front ratchet 122.

The font ratchet 122 is fixed on the middle portion 115 of the sliding plate 11 by a first rivet 124 and positioned on one end of the sliding plate 11, the said front ratchet 122 may pivot about the first rivet by a certain angle, wherein the front ratchet 122 has a protruding tooth 1221 to act against the locking plate 121, and a pushing portion 1222 to be pushed by a user to force the front ratchet 122 to pivot.

The locking plate 121 is a bent plate, being fixed on the middle portion 115 of the sliding plate 11 by a second rivet 125, and may pivot about the second rivet 125, wherein the locking plate 121 has a first arm 1211, a second arm 1212 and a third arm 1213, with the first arm 1211, the second arm 1212 and the third arm 1213 together forming a "Z" shape. The free end 1211 ' of the first arm 1211 serves as a first end to contact the front ratchet 122, a protrusion 1211 ' is provided on the upper of the first arm 1211 at the first aperture 110 of the sliding plate 11, to contact the breaker 2 provided on the sliding plate 11. The other end of the first arm 1211 is flexed to connect to one end of the second arm 1212(i.e. the middle portion of "Z"), the other end of the second arm 1212 is flexed to connect to one end of the third arm 1213, i.e., two ends of the second arm 1212 are connected to the first arm 1211 and the third arm 1213, respectively, and the third arm 1213 extends from the first face 111 of the sliding plate 11 through a second aperture 110' of the sliding plate 11 to the second face 112(see Fig.2). The other end of the third arm 1213 is a free end 1213', used to abut against the locator S of the chassis 3. Preferably, the second aperture 110' is positioned to the second bent 119 of the sliding plate 11, the bent connection between the second arm 1212 and the third arm 1213 is located at the second aperture 110'. The bent connection may slide in the second aperture 110' when the locking plate 121 pivots about the second rivet 125. Preferably, the second rivet 125 is positioned at the bent connection between the first arm 1211 and the second arm 1212. The first arm 1211, the second arm 1212 and the third arm 1213 may be formed integrally, thereby simplifying the assembly and reducing the number of the parts.

One end of the spring member 123 is fixed to the first arm 1211, while the other end of the spring member 123 is fixed to the front ratchet 122, to keep the front ratchet 122 and the locking plate 121 in balance, and when the front ratchet 122 or the locking plate 121 pivots by a certain angle, the spring member 123 is stretched.

Again , referring to Fig.2, a guiding slot 14 is provided on the lower end of the locator 13, the guiding slot 14 may accommodate the third arm 1213 of the locking plate 121, such that the third arm 1213 may slide along the guiding slot 14 without departing. Preferably, a third aperture 110" is cut on the second flexure 119 of the sliding plate 11, and a flexed piece 141 is flexed at the upper edge or lower edge of the third aperture 110"integrally( see Fig.3C), thereby defining the said guiding slot 14 between the flexed piece 141 and the second face 112 of the sliding plate 11.

A handle 113 may also be provided on one end of the sliding plate 11, preferably, the handle 113 is formed by flexing a third end of the sliding plate 11 , for a user to draw the sliding plate 11 to slide on the chassis 3.

Referring to Fig.5A-Fig.6C for details, when the sliding plate device 1 is pulled out of the chassis 3 (see Fig.5 A), with no breaker 2 carried on the sliding plate 11, the upper edge of the free end 1211 ' of the first arm 1211 of the locking plate 121 contacts the lower edge of the protruding tooth 1211 of the front ratchet 122, the free end of the third arm 1213 of the locking plate sags, to abut against the locator S of the chassis 3. In such case, the spring member 123 is not stretched , and the front ratchet 122 and the locking plate 121 are in balance. In such case, the sliding plate 11 is locked out of the chassis 3 due to the action on two free ends 1211 ', 1213' of the first arm 1211 and the third arm 1213 of the locking plate 121. Furthermore, as shown in Fig.5 A, the sliding plate 11 may not be moved when the breaker 2 is provided on the sliding plate 11 , as the sliding plate 11 protruding out of the chassis 3 is locked by the lock mechanism 12.

In such case, when the sliding plate 11 is pulled out of the chassis 3, the sliding plate 11 may be prevented from sliding out of the chassis 3 by a snap fit between the stopping slot 114'on the sliding plate 11 and the buckle 33 of the chassis 33(see Fig.5B).

When it is desired to move the sliding plate 11 on the chassis 3, a force Fl may be applied (see Fig.6B)to push the pushing portion 1222 of the front ratchet 122, such that the front ratchet 122 stretches the spring member 123 and pivots about the first rivet 124 by a predetermined angle clockwisely. In such case, the protruding tooth 1221 of the front ratchet 122 presses downwards on the free end 1211 ' of the first arm 1211 of the locking plate 121, such that the locking plate 121 pivots about the second rivet 125 counterclockwisely, in such case, the free end 1213 Of the third arm 1213 of the locking plate 121 may rise to a T position as the pivoting of the locking plate 121, thereby disengaged with the locator S, such that the sliding plate 11 may slide on the chassis 3 without carrying the breaker 2. Furthermore, when the front ratchet 122 pivots by the predetermined angle, it may contact the handle 113 on the sliding plate 11, thereby preventing further pivoting of the front ratchet 122 and limiting the pivoting angle of the front ratchet 122.

See Fig.6C in conjunction with Fig.5 A for details, the lock mechanism 12 is as shown in Fig.6A when the sliding plate 11 is drawn out of the chassis 3, in such case, the breaker 2 may be provided on the sliding plate 11, in other words, the breaker 2 is engaged on the first aperture 110 of the sliding plate 11 and the locator 13, such that the sliding plate 11 fixes and carries the breaker 2. In such case, the breaker 2 applies a force F2 to the first arm 1211 of the locking plate 121 by the gravitation of the breaker ( see Fig.6C), i.e., the breaker 2 presses on the protrusion 1211 "of the first arm 1211 downwards, to force the locking plate 121 to pivot about the second rivet 125 counterclockwisely, such that the free end 1213' of the third arm 1213 of the locking plate 121 rises to the T position to be disengaged with the locator S, thereby unlocking the locking plate 11, in such case, the sliding plate 11 carrying the breaker 2 slides into the chassis 3 through the upper end 114 and the lower end 116 of the sliding plate 11, see Fig.5C for details.

Furthermore, as the locking plate 121 pivots, the bent connection between its second arm 1212 and the third arm 1213 may move in the second aperture 110', and the third arm 1213 may move in the guiding slot 14, to define and guide the moving directions of the third arm 1213, see Fig. l in conjunction with Fig.2 for details.

The advantages of the present invention lie on that, through a simple structure design with one single sliding plate and no additional parts, the said single sliding plate may serve as a sliding plate and carry a breaker directly. In addition, a simple lock mechanism is provided on the sliding plate to cooperate with the chassis to realize a simpler structure, less assembly tolerance and more convenient assembling process, thereby reducing the cost substantially.

While the present invention has been disclosed with references to preferred embodiments, it is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention, those skill in the related art could make modifications and variations to the present invention, without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. The scope of the present invention shall be defined by the appended claims.