US 11,953,553 B2
Contact point monitoring device for vacuum circuit breaker, and correction method performed through same
Hyun-Wook Lee, Anyang-si (KR); and Ju-Hyun Kim, Anyang-si (KR)
Assigned to LS ELECTRIC CO., LTD., Anyang-si (KR)
Appl. No. 17/601,535
Filed by LS ELECTRIC CO., LTD., Anyang-si (KR)
PCT Filed Mar. 13, 2020, PCT No. PCT/KR2020/003554
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Oct. 5, 2021,
PCT Pub. No. WO2020/204397, PCT Pub. Date Oct. 8, 2020.
Claims priority of application No. 10-2019-0040207 (KR), filed on Apr. 5, 2019; and application No. 10-2019-0040220 (KR), filed on Apr. 5, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2022/0206070 A1, Jun. 30, 2022
Int. Cl. G01R 31/327 (2006.01); G01N 21/55 (2014.01); H01H 33/664 (2006.01)
CPC G01R 31/3275 (2013.01) [G01N 21/55 (2013.01); H01H 33/664 (2013.01)] 14 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A contact monitoring device for a vacuum circuit breaker, wherein the vacuum circuit breaker includes a push rod assembly coupled to a movable electrode of a vacuum interrupter to raise or lower the movable electrode,
wherein the contact monitoring device comprises:
a discriminative sticker attached to an outer circumferential surface of the push rod assembly, extending along a moving direction of the push rod assembly, and composed of a plurality of areas whose reflectance vary step by step;
a photosensor module including:
a light-emitter facing toward the discriminative sticker and emitting light toward the discriminative sticker;
a light-receiver facing toward the discriminative sticker and receiving light reflected from the discriminative sticker; and
a circuit coupled to the light-emitter and the light-receiver, wherein the circuit processes a signal from the light-receiver and obtains an amount of current according to intensity of the reflected light, based on the processing result; and
a data processing device communicating with the photosensor module, wherein the data processing device is configured to
determine a movement amount of the push rod assembly from a withdrawn state to an inserted state of the movable electrode based on the amount of the current obtained by the photosensor module and to calculate a contact wear amount based on the movement amount; and
in response to a state of the movable electrode remaining in the inserted state or the withdrawn state for a predefined period of time, applying a correction to the contact wear amount determined based on the movement amount, the correction based on:
an open position of the push rod assembly of the vacuum circuit breaker based on the voltage output value output from the photosensor module, when the vacuum circuit breaker has remained in the withdrawn state for the predefined period of time; or
a closed position of the push rod assembly of the vacuum circuit breaker based on the voltage output value output from the photosensor module, when the vacuum circuit breaker has remained in the inserted state for the predefined period of time.