Matsushita Electric Works, Ltd.

Kunimitsu Nakano

Takaaki Chuzawa

Kunio Takemura

Masaru Ohmuro

Hiroyuki Onishi

Mitsuaki Sakakibara

Takeyasu Katou

A circuit breaker utilizes an elongated contact spring member which extends along the length of a breaker housing in an inclined relation with respect to the longitudinal axis of the housing. The contact spring member is fixed at its one end and carries on the other end a movable contact engageable with a stationary contact. The contact spring member is self-biased in the direction of opening the contacts and is operatively connected to an actuator which is slidably received in the housing for movement between an outward and inward positions. The inward sliding movement of the actuator is translated into the contact closing movement of the contact spring member with the attendant deflection of the contact spring member against its bias. The energy accumulated in the deflected contact spring member in the closed position is liberated in response to a fault current condition to drive the actuator in such a manner as to pivot the actuator about a pivot axis adjacent its fixed end under the bias of the contact spring member. In this manner, the tripping of the contacts can be effected by making the most of the contact spring member.

Circuit breaker

A power supply switch wherein a contact operating member pivotably supported at its middle is coupled at one end to an end of a spring link and at the other end to an end of a tension spring, the spring link is coupled at the other end substantially to the center of a movable contactor which carrying on one end a movable contact for engaging with and disengaging from a fixed contact as well as the other end of the tension spring, and the movable contactor is formed to have on the other end a latch part to which a latch member is engageable as operatively associated with a bimetal plate for tripping the latch member to disengage it from the latch part, whereby the switch is made to break the contacts specifically upon detection of any excessive current, while sufficiently minimizing the size of the entire switch and improving the operability with an effectively reduced spring load applied during rocking operation of the operating member.

Power supply switch

Arc suppressing means for current limiting circuit breakers wherein an arc generated between both movable and fixed contacts by an excess current at the time of short-circuiting is magnetically driven by a member extending from the contact part of fixed contactor to an arc running plate in the right angle relation to the plate with a shortened time of arc's staying at the contact part and a shortened time of arc's traveling from the member to a deion grid along the running plate to quickly obtain an elevated arc voltage and to thereby effectively elevate current limiting effect.

Arc suppressing means for current limiting circuit breakers

A multipolar type circuit breaker has a plurality of breaker element assemblies corresponding to AC source pole number. Each assembly comprises a contact operating mechanism for ON and OFF operations of a movable contactor connected to a load side terminal with respect to a fixed contactor connected to a current source side terminal. A trip mechanism forms an electric current path between the movable contactor and the load side terminal an interlinks with the contact operating mechanism for releasing its normal ON position latch with respect to the movable contactor upon incoming of a excessive curent to arbitrarity trip ON state. The assemblies are housed in a single housing in a mutually parallel and aligning relation. The contact operating mechanisms in all assemblies are operated by a single handle extending transversely to them within the housing. The tripping operation of the trip mechanism in any of the assemblies is synchronously transmitted at a high speed to other assemblies through a single interlinking rod also extending transverse to all the assemblies and holds the handle at a neutral position between its ON and OFF positions.

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Kadoma, Japan

Kunimitsu Nakano