Eaton Intelligent Power Limited

Jayaraman Muniyappan

Robert Michael Slepian

Santhosh Kumar Chamarajanagar Govinda Nayaka

Andrew Lawrence Gottschalk

Ganesh Kumar Balasubramanian

Xin Zhou

R Michael Slepian

Asish Das

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

Multi-part assemblies for driving a movable conductor away from a stationary conductor of a circuit interrupter decrease separable contact opening time by reducing the number of components that must travel during an initial stage of an opening stroke to achieve an initial gap between the separable contacts. The components that must travel in order to open the separable contacts are included in only some portions of the movable assembly, rather than all portions. In one embodiment, a split switch shaft coupled to a movable conductor includes a head shaft coupled to a tail shaft using a sliding pin, enabling the head shaft to travel an initial distance while the tail shaft remains stationary, thus achieving an initial gap between the contacts. In another embodiment, the movable conductor assembly is coupled to hydraulics, enabling the assembly to travel an initial distance at high speeds before damping by the hydraulic fluid.

Multi-part moving shaft assembly for ultra high speed actuator used in a hybrid circuit breaker

A hydraulic multi-pole actuation system opens all poles of a circuit interrupter simultaneously. The system utilizes Thomson coil arrangements with a wide piston attached to the conductive member of each arrangement. A narrow piston is attached to the movable conductor of each pole assembly in the circuit interrupter. The wide and narrow pistons are contained within a hydraulic tank. Activating the Thomson coils causes the wide pistons to displace the hydraulic fluid, and the displaced fluid pushes against the narrow pistons to cause the movable conductors to open the line connections in their respective pole assemblies. The wide pistons have a greater collective surface area that interfaces with the hydraulic fluid than the narrow pistons do, enabling fewer Thomson coils arrangements to be used than there are poles in the circuit interrupter, and enabling movement of the wide pistons to be amplified during translation into movement of the narrow pistons.

Hydraulic simultaneous multi-pole contact opening mechanism for circuit interrupters

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

An actuator, which is a part of a combination that includes a pair of circuit interrupters, advantageously employs a plurality of Thomson coils that are electrically connected in parallel and that interact with a corresponding set of Thomson plates of a rotatable armature in order to perform useful work in a rapid fashion. In one embodiment, the useful work is to commutate current from one circuit interrupter to the other.

Actuator with Thomson coils

A circuit breaker includes a vacuum interrupter. The interrupter includes a first movable electrode to which a first contact is connected and a second movable electrode to which a second contact is connected. The interrupter is operable between an open state and a closed state. In the open state, the first contact and the second contact are separated by a contact gap distance. In the closed state, the first contact and the second contact touch each other. The circuit breaker includes an ultrafast actuator operatively connected to each of the first and second movable electrodes. The ultrafast actuator is configured to change the vacuum interrupter from the closed state to the open state by simultaneously moving the first contact in a first direction along a first distance portion of the contact gap, and the second contact in a second direction along a second distance portion of the contact gap.

Vacuum circuit interrupter with dual plate actuation

An electrical switching device, such as a high-speed switching device, has a damper and latching assembly. The assembly is configured to dampen the movement of a moving contact of the switching device as the moving contact translates from its closed position to its open position. The assembly also is configured to restrain the moving contact in its open position. The assembly stores at least some of the energy associated with the damping process, and uses the stored energy to assist in the release of the moving contact during the subsequent re-closing of the switching device.

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Tamil Nadu, India

Jayaraman Muniyappan