JPH043368Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] <Industrial Application Field> The present invention relates to an operating device for electrical equipment, and more particularly to an operating device for controlling electrical equipment by means of optical signals transmitted through optical paths made of optical fibers.

<Prior art> Conventionally, when explosion-proof electrical equipment, such as explosion-proof lighting fixtures, explosion-proof distribution boards, explosion-proof combination starters, etc., is installed in an explosion-hazardous area, and the operation switch is installed at a location away from the main unit, In general, the cable connecting the main body and the operating switch as well as the operating switch needed to be of explosion-proof construction.

<Problems to be solved by the invention> As mentioned above, making the equipment explosion-proof has the drawback of requiring a large-scale structure, which increases costs.

An object of the present invention is to provide an operating device for electrical equipment that uses optical signals, does not require an explosion-proof structure, and has improved operability in opening and closing the optical path.

<Means for Solving the Problems> The present invention provides an operating device for electrical equipment that controls electrical equipment using an infrared light signal transmitted through an optical path.
A half mirror is fixedly placed between this optical path, and
An operating device is provided that has a blocking member that is movable in response to an operation to block the optical path, and an illumination window that guides the reflected light from the half mirror, and when the blocking member blocks the infrared optical path, the infrared light path is blocked by the blocking member. It is characterized by having a visible light emitting part that transmits visible light.

<Operation> When the infrared light path is blocked by the blocking member,
Visible light is transmitted along this optical path, and
This visible light is guided to the illumination window by a half mirror fixedly arranged between the optical paths, and becomes visible from the outside. Therefore, depending on the brightness of the illuminated window,
It is possible to know whether the optical path is blocked, that is, whether the electrical equipment is running or stopped.

<Embodiment> FIG. 1 shows the conceptual structure of the operating device of this embodiment. 2 is a half mirror, 3 is an operating device, and 4 is an optical fiber. The operating device 3 includes an operating section 5, a body section 6,
It consists of a lighting window 7, a blocking plate 8, and a support rod 9.

The half mirror 2 is fixedly arranged between the optical paths formed by the optical fibers 4 at an angle of about 45 degrees with respect to the direction of the optical paths. This half mirror 2 transmits infrared light and reflects visible light. Therefore, the half mirror 2 reflects visible light from the optical path in a substantially perpendicular direction.

The operating device 3 opens and closes the optical path by reciprocating in a direction perpendicular to the direction of the optical path. This controller 3
An operating portion 5 is formed in the upper part of the tubular body 6 in the figure, and the lower end of the body 6 in the figure forms an opening 6a. An illumination window 7 is formed on the upper surface of the operating section 5 in the figure, approximately in the center. This illumination window 7 communicates with the internal space 6b of the body 6. The internal space 6b has an opening 6a
It is continuous. A support rod 9 facing downward in the drawing is fixed to one end of the operating section 5, and a blocking plate 8 is fixed to the lower end of the support rod 9 in a direction perpendicular to the optical path.

The operating device 3 is capable of reciprocating along the reflection optical axis of the half mirror 2, and when pressed down in the direction of arrow A1 in the figure, the blocking plate 8 blocks the optical path. At this time, when the infrared light (indicated by the broken line a) passing through the optical path is blocked, visible light is sent through the upstream optical fiber 4 in the procedure described later, and this visible light is reflected by the half mirror 2. , the reflected light from this half mirror 2 (indicated by the solid line b) enters the opening 6a of the body 6 and the internal space 6.
It is led to the illumination window 7 via b. And illuminated window 7
shines brightly, making it easy to recognize that the optical path is blocked.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2, when the operating device 3 is pulled up in the direction of arrow A2 in the figure, the optical fiber 4
The optical path of is not blocked, and the infrared light passes through the optical path.
At this time, visible light is not sent, so the illumination window 7
is in a dark state, and it can be recognized that the optical path is not blocked.

FIG. 3 shows the configuration of a system for controlling electrical equipment using this operating device.

The explosion-proof electrical equipment main body 10 and its external operating device 1 are arranged in an area where there is a risk of explosion due to ignition, and the explosion-proof electrical equipment main body 10 and the external operating device 1 are connected by two optical fibers 4a and 4b. has been done. In this system, optical fibers 4a, 4b
Infrared light is used as a control signal transmitted through an optical path consisting of:

The explosion-proof electrical equipment main body 10 includes a first optical fiber 4
a visible light emitting section 11 that outputs visible light to a, and an infrared light emitting section 1 that outputs infrared light to the first optical fiber 4a.
2. It includes a light receiving section 13 that converts the presence or absence of infrared light incident from the second optical fiber 4b into an electrical signal, and a switching element 14 to which the output signal of the light receiving section 13 is given as a control signal. The output signal of the light receiving section 13 is also given to the visible light emitting section 11. The switching element 14 is, for example, a transistor,
SCR, relay, etc. The external operating device 1 is composed of the half mirror 2 and the operating device 3 as described above.

Now, when the operating device 3 of the external operating device 1 is in the illustrated position, the optical path is blocked by the blocking plate 8. Therefore, the infrared light output from the infrared light emitting section 12 does not reach the light receiving section 13, and the light receiving section 13 outputs a signal to turn off the switching element 14. This signal is also given to the visible light emitting section 11, and the visible light emitting section 11 outputs visible light. The visible light passes through the optical fiber 4a, is reflected by the half mirror 2, and is transmitted to the operating device 3.
is guided to the illuminated window 7. At this time, the supervisor can see that the illumination window 7 of the operating device 3 is shining brightly.
It is recognized that the switching element 14 is in the OFF state.

Next, when the operating device 3 of the external operating device 1 is pulled upward in the figure, the blocking plate 8 also moves upward, the optical paths of the optical fibers 4a and 4b are connected, and the infrared light reaches the light receiving section 13. At this time, the light receiving section 13
outputs a signal that turns on the switching element 14. This signal is also given to the visible light emitting section 11, and the visible light emitting section 11 stops outputting visible light. Here, the explosion-proof electrical equipment main body 10 is activated. The supervisor recognizes that the explosion-proof electrical equipment main body 10 has been activated because the illumination window 7 is dark.

<Effects of the invention> As explained above, in the present invention, when the optical path is blocked, the visible light in the optical path is reflected and guided to the illumination window, so the open/closed state of the optical path can be easily recognized, making operation easier. mistakes can be reduced. Furthermore, since the configuration is simple and explosion-proof structures for the signal path and external operating device are not required, cost reduction can be achieved.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing the structure of an embodiment of the invention, Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing the structure of an embodiment of the invention, and Fig. 3 is a diagram showing an embodiment of a system to which the invention is applied. be. 1... Operating device, 2... Half mirror, 3...
Operating device, 4... Optical fiber, 5... Operating unit, 6...
...Body part, 7...Illumination window, 8...Blocking plate, 10...
Explosion-proof electrical equipment body.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] In an operating device for electrical equipment that controls electrical equipment using an infrared light signal that transmits an optical path, the half mirror is fixedly disposed between the optical paths, the blocking member is movable according to the operation and blocks the optical path, and the half mirror is provided. An electrical device comprising: an operating device having an illumination window through which reflected light from the infrared light is guided; and a visible light emitting section that transmits visible light along the infrared light path when the infrared light path is blocked by the blocking member. operating device.