Bbc Brown, Boveri & Company, Limited

Blaise Perrenoud

Riccardo Berta

Lutz Niemeyer

Klaus Ragaller

Ekkehard Schade

Rolf Schaumann

An electric high-voltage circuit breaker is provided with two coaxially arranged contact members, which are movable relative to each other, with one rated-current contact (5, 7) and one burning contact (5, 7) each. The rated-current contact (7) and burning contact (7) of one movable one of the two contact members are frictionally joined to each other via a support part. The end, turned away from a stationary one of the two contact members, of the rated-current contact of the movable contact member is in contact, in a sliding manner, with a current supply of this contact member. This breaker is to be further developed in such a manner that the use of an additional sliding contact between the burning contact and the current supply can be omitted even when switching extremely large currents. This is achieved by the fact that the rated-current contact of the movable contact member is formed by contact fingers which are elastically supported on the support part (18) and that the support part is constructed to be electrically conductive and has a contact surface which acts in conjunction with the contact surfaces of the contact fingers after separation of the rated-current contacts. Such a breaker is preferably used as a generator switch.

High-voltage circuit breaker

A contact arrangement for an isolating switch used as a ground connection of a switch system includes two switch pieces which are movable relative to one another, one of which is a knife and the other is a gripper. The gripper includes two contact pieces which are located opposite and parallel to one another and which engage the knife in the cutting-in state. Each contact piece is in turn formed by a plurality of adjacent contact elements. Such a contact arrangement is simple and economical to produce, while providing reliable contact-making for both high and low currents in spite of only slight static contact pressure. This result is achieved because the contact elements are U-shaped contact lamellae. Each lamella includes first and second legs connected via a curved part, the first leg being supported on the knife in the cutting-in state and the second leg being supported on current terminals formed on the contact pieces.

Knife blade and clip contact arrangement

A high-voltage switch having a housing supported on a pin insulator and two movable switching pieces mounted in the housing. The movable switch pieces of the switch are coupled via actuating parts to a drive transmission element, a crankshaft, for example, which is guided through the pin insulator to a drive mechanism. The drive mechanism includes the crankshaft which is rotated by one crank whose movement is controlled by another crank. The movable switch pieces are very heavy and must be moved back and forth between ON and OFF switch positions. The drive mechanism provides two precisely located stable positions corresponding to the ON and OFF switch conditions and the heavy switch components are moved such that their motion is damped as they approach one or the other stable position whereby the need for additional damping means for arresting the movement of the switch is avoided. The switch is suitable as a multi-phase generator switch having several switch poles.

High-voltage switch

In a high-voltage power switch having a movable contact and at least one other contact, wherein the contacts define a quenching path in which an arc burns, a piston/cylinder compression device in which fresh quenching gas is condensed, and a heating volume in which quenching gas is stored and compressed by the arc as a result of heating, quenching gas compressed during a switching process is blown into the quenching path and removed through a nozzle into an expansion space. So that the blowing of the arc is nearly independent of the intensity of the current to be interrupted and, in addition, an increase in the quenching capacity can be attained by means of a supply of fresh quenching gas, the movable contact is rigidly connected to the piston, which changes the volume of a compression space. The compression space and the heating volume open into a common annular duct. This annular duct is a part of a mixing device for hot and cold quenching gas and connects the compression space and the heating volume to the quenching path.

High-voltage power switch

An electric power circuit breaker includes two switching elements which can move, relative to each other, in an extinguishing gas and which contain, in each case, at least one main current contact and at least one arcing contact. A cylindrical coil is connected between the arcing contact and the main current contact of one of the two switching elements. This coil is provided with a ferromagnetic core, as a result of which the magnetic field of the coil exhibits a high field strength at the position occupied by an arc-commutating ring which is connected to the coil. In this circuit breaker, the commutation of heavy currents from the main current path to the coil path is accomplished in a reliable manner at all times and by simple means. This is achieved when the core is installed in a manner permitting its displacement along the axis of the coil. When the circuit breaker is in the circuit making position the core passes through no more than a portion of the interior of the coil. It closes off the interior of the coil and is flush with the arc-commutating ring when the circuit breaker is in the current breaking position.

Growing community of inventors

La Neuveville, Switzerland

Blaise Perrenoud