Schneider Electric Usa, Inc.

Square D Company

Other

Gregory O Motley

Eldridge R Byron

Jeffrey T Jordan

Matthew A Williford

Sergio Flores

Bhushan Kumbalwar

Edgar Avalos Ortiz

David Price

Abraham De La Cruz

Amol Shrirang Bagaitkar

Mary B Groff

Robert Heath Martin

Dale Waynick

Pe Jeffrey T Jordan

Matthew Alan Williford

Sergio Flores VÁZQUEZ

Alberto Guerrero Vega

A boot for preventing unintended contact with live electrical components of a medium voltage control device. The boot having cover for accessing mechanical fasteners used to connect electrical conductors to control equipment when periodic maintenance is required.

Electrically insulated boots preventing unintended contact with live electrical conductors

A connector assembly is provided for facilitating live connection of equipment in a switchgear. The assembly includes two circular plates, and conductive fingers which are arranged and spaced apart around the two plates to form a finger cluster with first open-end on a first cluster end and second open-end on an opposite second cluster end. Each open-end can receive a conductor therein. Each finger can include a first finger end and an opposite second finger end which form respective first and second cluster ends; two first interior grooves which are spaced-apart on an interior surface to receive a portion of respective plates; and first and second exterior grooves on an exterior surface around the first and second finger ends respectively. The assembly also includes first and second garter springs which are arranged around the fingers in respective first and second exterior grooves to apply a force against the fingers.

Enclosure and optimizations

A compact auxiliary connector can include two bushings each with an electrical connector(s), and a tubing connected between the two bushings to insulate an electrical cable, which is connected between electrical connectors of the two bushings. The electrical connector of each of the two bushings can be connected to an electrical device, a line or load bus or a combination thereof, according to the desired connection configuration. Each bushing may also include a flexible joint cover, such as a boot, to cover the connection of the bushing connectors to a bus, such as a primary bus. The compact auxiliary connector can manage live connections between auxiliary or other device(s) and line/load buses in a switchgear cabinet of a switchgear assembly. The bushings, tubing and flexible joint cover can be formed of insulating materials having desired dielectric strength according to the voltage applications.

Compact auxiliary connector

Method and apparatus for sealing an air vent in a switchgear cabinet provide a vent seal assembly having a vent seal cover and a set of linear guides on which the vent seal cover may be mounted. The vent seal cover and linear guides are housed within a casing attachable to an interior surface of the switchgear cabinet and directly over an air vent. Within the casing, the vent seal cover may slide freely along the linear guides toward the air vent, with no spring or other mechanical biasing mechanism to oppose the sliding of the cover. A catch on the casing releasably holds the vent seal cover to keep the air vent open during normal operating conditions. When an arc event occurs, pressure from the arc event knocks the vent seal cover free of the catch and propels it toward the air vent, quickly slamming the air vent shut.

Magnetic arc vent seal

Method and apparatus for mounting fuses in switchgear and similar electrical isolation equipment provide a nonconductive fuse support that allows the fuses to be mounted separately from the transformers. Two such fuse supports may be used to support a fuse, one fuse support for each fuse terminal. Each fuse support may support two fuse terminals so dual fuses may be supported by the same pair of fuse supports. The fuse supports substantially surround the fuse terminals to provide an insulating barrier that helps prevent electrical discharge and also ensure sufficient spacing between the fuse terminals and ground or other conductors in the switchgear. Such an arrangement allows the fuses and transformers to fit within a reduced space in the switchgear and similar electrical isolation equipment while complying with industry-standard performance requirements. The fuse supports are preferably noncontiguous, thereby leaving the nonconductive portion of the fuse physically unsurrounded.

Compact fuse support

A compact electrical bushing has a separate insulating end cap removably attached to the shaft of the bushing at an end used for mounting a current transformer. The removably attached insulating end cap has a large outer diameter that increases the linear surface distance of the bushing. The outer diameter may be determined in a predefined manner based on the desired length of the shaft, and vice versa, with a larger outer diameter corresponding to a shorter shaft. The increased linear surface distance allows the bushing to meet minimum tracking distance with a shorter shaft relative to existing bushings. The shorter shaft reduces the footprint of switchgear and other electrical isolation equipment to which the bushing may be connected. The insulating end cap may be removed from the bushing as needed to allow the current transformer to be slid onto the bushing without having to pass over the end cap.

Compact transformer bushing

Electrical cabinet with light belt

An arc-resistant enclosure for electrical switchgear which includes solid front and back walls, a pair of solid side walls joined to the front and back walls, a ventilated roof joined to the side walls and the front and back walls, and a ventilated base joined to the side walls and the front and back walls. Internal partitions divide the space enclosed by the front, back, side, top and bottom walls into multiple compartments for housing different types of components. The ventilated base forms air-intake ports for admitting ambient air into a plurality of the compartments, and the ventilated roof forms air-exhaust ports for allowing air to be exhausted from the compartments. As air inside the enclosure is heated by the switchgear, the hot air rises through the switchgear compartments and is exhausted through the top air-exhaust ports, and replacement ambient air is drawn into the bottoms of the compartments through the air-intake ports.

Arc-resistant switchgear enclosure with ambient air ventilation system

A medium voltage controller for electrical equipment, such as motors, transformers, reactors, and capacitors, having an arc resistant cabinet, swaged internal electrical connections, a one-piece self-aligning withdrawable finger cluster, a pull-out instrument compartment, a load discharge device, cast fuse holders, disconnect switch, a switch illuminator, low power current transformers, and an optical temperature measuring system. The arc resistant cabinet relies on the pressure generated by an arc fault to provide the sealing action to contain the fault forces. The cabinet's rear panels are inside the cabinet and the panel lips mate to edges of the cabinet opening. The front doors each have a series of latching tabs along one side and a hinge along the opposing side. A dimple-in-a-dimple joint provides shear strength for panel joints. At the top of the cabinet is an exhaust vent.

Medium voltage motor control center arc resistant enclosure

The present invention provides an enclosure for housing a circuit breaker therein which utilizes a flange system to prevent enclosure components from separating from each other when an electrical fault occurs therein. The flange system includes flanges, on enclosure walls and doors, which slide into corresponding channels and interlock therein to prevent the components from separating and hot gases from escaping the enclosure when an electrical fault occurs.

Growing community of inventors

Murfreesboro, TN, United States of America

Gregory O Motley