Assembly of modular conductive bus-bars coupled in a polyphase system for supplying modular breakers and electrical apparatus

Abstract

 There is disclosed an assembly of modular conductive bus-bars coupled in a polyphase system for supplying modular breakers and electrical apparatus, which assembly comprises a plurality of modular con­ductive bus-bar sets removably mutually associated with one another, each set including a section member, a base bar member (1), a plurality of electrical branch­ing elements (3, 4, 5, 6, 7), removably selectively associated with the base bar (1), and a thickness levelling bar (13) removably associated with the base bar and electrical branching elements, resilient means (17) being moreover provided for removably coupling the several modular bus-bar sets in order to make the polyphase system.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates to an assembly of modular conductive bus-bars coupled in a polyphase system for supplying modular breakers and electrical apparatus, and represents an improvement of the Italian coopending patent application No. 21,000 B/87, filed on March 3,1987 in the name of the same Applicant and having for title "A structure comprising a plurality of conductive bus-bars coupled in a polyphase system for supplying breakers and modular apparatus".

[0002] In this patent application there is dis­closed a conductive bus-bar structure for supplying modular breakers and electrical apparatus, which com­prises two or more adjoining bus-bars,housed in an open section member, having corresponding longitudinal guide members and closed by a removable cover member, having a plurality of slots formed at its longitudinal axis, the bus-bars being in turn provided with a plurality of lugs cantilever-wise extending in a parallel plane with respect to their laying plane and adapted to be easily removed.

[0003] Even if the bus-bar structure disclosed in the above mentioned Italian Patent Application has been found to be completely satisfactory, further im­provements have been discovered in further studies for industrially making the bus-bar structure of said co­pending application.

[0004] More specifically,problems have been found relating both to a rather complex shape of the PVC section member and to the removal of the mentioned lugs according to the preset breaking lines.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0005] Accordingly, the task of the present inven­tion is to provide such an assembly of modular conduc­tive bus-bars coupled in a polyphase system for supply­ing modular breakers and electrical apparatus, which is able to solve, in a simple and unexpensive way, the mentioned problems related to the complex shape of the PVC section member and the removal of the coupling lugs disclosed in the above mentioned Italian copending patent application.

[0006] Within the scope of the above mentioned task, a main object of the present invention is to provide such a conductive bus-bar assembly, the bus-­bars of which can be used for quickly and easily making either bipolar, tripolar or quadripolar elec­tric systems,depending on requirements.

[0007] Another object of the present invention is to provide such a bus-bar assembly the bus-bars of which can be power supplied both at one end of the respective bus-bars and at the electrical branching arrangements of said bus-bars.

[0008] Yet another object of the present invention is to provide such an assembly of modular bus-bars, in which the individual bus-bar sets can be removably assembled in very quick and simple way.

[0009] According to one aspect of the present in­vention, the above mentioned task and objects, as well as yet other objects, which will become more apparent hereinafter, are achieved by an assembly of modular conductive bus-bars coupled in a polyphase system for supplying modular breakers and electrical apparatus, having the features of the main claim.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] Further characteristics and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent here­inafter from the following detailed description of an embodiment of the invention, which is illustrated, by way of an indicative but not limitative example, in the accompanying drawings, where:

Figure 1 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the main component parts of the bus-bar assembly according to the invention;

Figure 2 shows a plurality of possible electrical branching elements which can be associated with the subject modular bus-bar assembly; and

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view illustra­ting a possible configuration of a conductive bus-bar assembly according to the invention in its assembled condition.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] With reference to the Figures of the accompa­nying drawings, and, more specifically, to Figure 1, the assembly of modular conductive bus-bars, coupled in a polyphase system for supplying modular breakers and electrical apparatus according to the invention, comprises a rectangular rod or bar 1 having, along the longitudinal middle central line thereof, a plura­lity of lugs 2 of substantially semispherical con­figuration, said bar 1 being made of a suitable elec­trically conductive material such as copper.

[0012] With the single lugs of the bar 1 can be removably associated, preferably in a snap way, a plurality of electrical branching elements respective­ly indicated at the reference numbers 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 in Figure 2.

[0013] For performing this removable coupling, the mentioned electrical electrical branching elements, which are also made of an electrically conductive material, are provided, at the centres thereof, with suitable coupling holes9, 9, 10, 11, 12 having mating shapes and size with respect to those of the mentioned lugs 2 of the bar 1.

[0014] These electrical branching elements, on the other hand, are of a known type and, accordingly, they will be not disclosed herein in further details.

[0015] In this connection it should however be pointed out that, with respect to the conductive bus-­bar structure disclosed in the above mentioned Italian copending Patent Application, the electrical branching elements 7 herein provided give a further possibility of coupling, to the polyphase bus-bar system, an op­tional electrical cable of given cross-section.

[0016] The assembly of modular conductive bus-bars according to the invention further comprises a thick­ness leveling rod or bar 13, having a shape and size substantially corresponding to those of the rod or bar 1; the leveling rod or bar 13, which is advanta­geously made of PVC, is also provided with a plurali­ty of holes 14, which are aligned along the longitu­dinal middle line of the bar 13 and are specifically provided for snap engaging with the lugs 2 of the rod or bar 1.

[0017] Each individual conductive bus-bar of the polyphase structure will be obtained by respectively coupling the conductive rod or bar 1 to the electrical branching elements 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and then to the thick­ness leveling bar 13.

[0018] Then, the thus made assembly or set will be removably engaged in a section member, made of an elec­trically insulating material and indicated in Figure 1 by the reference number 15, which has a U-shaped cross-section and, at one of the base edges of the U-shape,defines a further longitudinal small recess, also of U-shape, indicated at 16, for coupling with a corresponding section member of another conductive bus-bar modular assembly.

[0019] Thus, it should be apparent that the as­sembly according to the invention comprises a plurali­ty of bus-bar modular sets, each formed by coupling, within the section member 15, the conductive bar 1 and one or more of the electrical branching elements 3,4, 5, 6, 7, depending on requirements, and the leveling bar 13.

[0020] Each modular electrical bus-bar set thus formed will be successively snap engaged, by means of the recess 16 of the section member 15, with a like adjoining set, the two sets being electrically in­sulated from one another.

[0021] The assembled condition of the polyphase structure according to the invention is shown by the schematic cross-sectional view of Figure 3.

[0022] From Figure 3 it should be apparent that, in particular, the single phase bus-bar sets have been assembled, in order to obtain the desired polyphase system, by using a longitudinal spring assembly, in­dicated overally at the reference number 17 and having the illustrated configuration, which spring assembly is moreover suitable to provide the necessary contact pressure between the bars 1 and several electrical branching elements 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.

[0023] Also in this case, as in the bus-bar struc­ture of the above mentioned Italian copending Patent Application, the bus-bars can be power supplied both at one end of each single bus-bar and at the single electrical branching elements; in particular, a power supply at the ends of the bus-bars provides very high rating capabilities.

[0024] From the above disclosure it should be apparent that the invention fully achieves the in­tended task and objects.

[0025] While the invention has been disclosed and illustrated with reference to a preferred embodiment thereof, it should be apparent that the disclosed embodiment is susceptible to many modifications and variations all of which will come within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. An assembly of modular conductive bus-­bars, coupled in a polyphase system for supplying modular breakers and electrical apparatus, characterized in that said assembly comprises a plurality of conduc­tive bus-bars modular sets adapted to be removably as­sociated with one another, each set including, in a section member made of an electrically insulating ma­terial, a base conductive bar, a plurality of electric­al branching electrically conductive elements, remova­bly selectively associated with said base-bar and an electrically insulating thickness leveling bar remova­bly associated with said base bar and said electrical branching elements, there being moreover provided re­silient means for removably coupling a preset number of modular bus-bar sets in order to provide a polyphase system.

2. An assembly according to Claim 1, cha­racterized in that each base bar comprises a plurali­ty of clamping means adapted to removably snap engaging in a plurality of corresponding clamping means of mating shape provided on each electrical branching element and on said thickness leveling bar.

3. An assembly according to the preceding Claim, characterized in that the clamping means pro­ vided on each bar consist of a plurality of aligned substantially semispherical lugs.

4. An assembly according to the preceding Claims, characterized in that the clamping means pro­vided on each electrical branching element consist of holes each of which is adapted to removably snap engage with one of the lugs of said bar.

5. An assembly according to one or more of the preceding Claims, characterized in that the clamp­ing means provided on said thickness leveling bar con­sist of a plurality of aligned holes adapted to snap engage with the corresponding lugs of said bar.

6. An assembly according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said elec­trically insulating section member including each said conductive bus-bar modular set has a substantially U-shaped cross-section, near one of the base edges of the U-shape being provided a longitudinal coupling recess also having a substantially U-shaped cross-­section.

7. An assembly according to one or more of the preceding Claims, characterized in that the resi­lient means for removably coupling said bus-modular sets, for making said polyphase system consist of a longitudinal spring set adapted to hold in an adjoin­ ing relationship the bus-bar sets and provide the ne­cessary contact pressure between the bus-bars and elec­tric branching elements.

Drawing