Eaton Intelligent Power Limited

Eaton Corporation

Ganesh Kumar Balasubramanian

Louis Grant Campbell

Xin Zhou

Robert Michael Slepian

John Joseph Shea

Eric D Smith

Paul Jason Rollmann

Santhosh Kumar Chamarajanagar Govinda Nayaka

Wangpei Li

Benjamin Alex Rosenkrans

Jayaraman Muniyappan

Robert Kirkland Smith

Andrew Lawrence Gottschalk

Darron Robert Mohr

Mrinalini Pathak

Andrew Deutsch

A vacuum circuit interrupter integrates a solenoid core within the vacuum chamber for opening the separable contacts under non-fault conditions, using less space than if the solenoid were disposed in series with a high speed actuator. The interrupter includes an iron core, a steel seat with a trough, and a solenoid coil seated in the trough. The steel seat has a central opening through which the movable conductor passes. The iron core is fixed to a portion of the movable conductor so as to laterally surround the movable conductor within the vacuum chamber. The steel seat is structured such that, when the separable contacts are closed and a user provides an activating current to the solenoid coil, the magnetic field generated around the coil magnetizes the steel seat. When the steel seat is magnetized, it attracts the iron core, causing the movable conductor to separate from the stationary conductor.

Vacuum interrupter with slow opening solenoid core inside to shorten the length of the conductor assembly

An actuator for opening the separable contacts of a circuit interrupter integrates a Thomson coil arrangement into the movable and stationary conductor assemblies. A movable separable contact is coupled to one end of the movable conductor, and a stationary separable contact is coupled to one end of the stationary conductor. The movable and stationary conductors are each formed with a collar positioned near the respective movable and stationary separable contacts. The actuator further includes a coil seated within a coil housing, and the coil housing is coupled to the stationary conductor collar. A conductive member shaped as a cup and structured to be actuated by the coil is coupled to the movable conductor collar, such that the rim of the cup faces the coil. A housing is positioned around the conductive member cup body with bellows and coupled to the coil housing, forming a vacuum chamber around the separable contacts.

Vacuum interrupter conductor assembly with integrated Thomson coil

A vacuum interrupter has a toroidal portion at one or both ends that achieves higher dielectric levels and hence higher interruption levels.

Toroidal encapsulation for high voltage vacuum interrupters

An ultra-fast moving conductor for use with a circuit breaker is provided. The moving conductor includes a hollow outer stem and a removable core. Multiple removable cores are produced for use with the moving conductor for different purposes. The outer stem is produced from annealed copper that must be brazed before the circuit breaker is placed into operation, and a first removable core produced from copper is inserted into the outer stem to provide structural reinforcement to the outer stem during brazing. After brazing is complete, the copper core is removed from the outer stem, and a significantly lighter work hardened aluminum core is inserted into the outer stem. The lightweight aluminum core enables the moving conductor to open the circuit breaker much faster than the copper core would, and the copper core prevents contamination of the brazing furnace that would result from using the aluminum core during brazing.

Ultra-fast moving conductor with removable core pin

A mold for encapsulating an electrical component. The mold includes an encapsulation chamber and an air inlet. The encapsulation chamber is defined by a housing, an open top, and a solid bottom. The housing includes a solid outer wall, a permeable inner wall, and an air chamber between the solid outer wall and the inner wall. The air inlet is configured to introduce a gas into the air chamber. The encapsulation chamber is sized and shaped to receive the electrical component while leaving a gap for the introduction of encapsulant around the electrical component. The encapsulant may be silicone rubber. To remove an encapsulated electrical component, pressurized air may be introduced through the air inlet into the air chamber, passing through the permeable inner wall, separating the outer surface of the encapsulant from the housing, and allowing the combination casting to be removed from the mold.

Casting method for encapsulating an electrical component

Permeable wall encapsulation mold

An improved electrical contact alloy, useful for example, in vacuum interrupters used in vacuum contactors is provided. The contact alloy according to the disclosed concept comprises copper particles and chromium particles present in a ratio of copper to chromium particles of 2:3 to 20:1 by weight. The electrical contact alloy also comprises particles of a carbide, which reduces the weld break strength of the electrical contact alloy without reducing its interruption performance.

Electrical contact alloy for vacuum contactors

An electrode assembly for a vacuum interrupter includes a contact plate, an electrode coil, an inner support, a lower support, and at least one support member. The electrode coil includes a base for attachment to a terminal post of the vacuum interrupter. The electrode coil also includes at least one arcuate arm between the base and the contact plate extending along a curved path in a plane substantially perpendicular to a direction of travel of the electrode assembly. Each arcuate arm includes an aperture that is positioned to align with a corresponding aperture of an adjacent arcuate arm or the base of the electrode coil. Each support member is partially positioned within aligned apertures to maintain a gap between the arcuate arms and the base. The support members and the lower support may be slotted to decrease the current flowing through the supports.

Coil-type axial magnetic field contact assembly for vacuum interrupter

An improved electrical contact alloy, useful for example, in vacuum interrupters used in vacuum contactors is provided. The contact alloy according to the disclosed concept comprises copper particles and chromium particles present in a ratio of copper to chromium of 2:3 to 20:1. The electrical contact alloy also comprises particles of a carbide, which reduces the weld break strength of the electrical contact alloy without reducing its interruption performance.

An improved triggered arc flash arrester includes a shield apparatus disposed within an interior of an evacuated envelope and includes a first shield element and a second shield element. A plurality of conductors are partially disposed within the interior and are separated from one another by a gap. A first element of the shield apparatus is situated adjacent the envelope and is structured to protect the envelope from damage due to the high temperature plasma that results from an arc across the gap. A second element of the shield apparatus is interposed between the gap and at least a portion of the first element and is structured to protect the at least portion of the first element from damage due to an arc across the gap.

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Horseheads, NY, United States of America

Ganesh Kumar Balasubramanian