General Electric Company

Louis A Rosen

Eric J Graham

Clarence W Walker

Timothy W Webber

Louis M Frutuoso

Ira B Goldman

Steven English Richard

Edward J Marshall

Thomas D Collins

Jeffrey Scott Berliner

Charles L Young

Allan P Luers

James E Fredrickson

An electric power busway system comprises a bus bar support housing with the opposite side plates of the housing shaped with troughs to hold the bus bars in their relative positions, preventing the bus bars from moving towards or away from one another and providing the necessary short-circuit protection and bending resistance. The metal side plates are preferably fastened together without the use of fasteners or the need for welding, through the use of a punch and die tool set. A protective insulating sheet is sandwiched between the insulated bus bars and the housing to protect the bus bar insulation coating from ruptures or tears. Clamping blocks are provided outside the protective busway housing to apply friction on the bus bars within, keeping them from sliding out of the housing assembly. The integral busway housing and clamping serve as a ground conduction facility, with the clamping blocks providing a mechanism to connect the busway section to an adjoining section.

Thermally efficient power busway system with integral clamping mechanism

An electric power busway system has multi-phase power bus bar conductors that are each housed within an individual duct. Individually housing the bus bar conductors provides short-circuit bending resistance as well as superior thermal heat dissipation characteristics because of the improved conductive heat transfer between the bus bar conductors to the individual housing, as well as convective heat transfer from the individual housing assemblies into the ambient air. Wedge-type support braces retain each housed bus bar in position and provide short circuit support.

Busway system with wedge brace supports

A power busway distribution section length which may be adjusted before, during, or after installation to better facilitate proper busway location and reduce installation and modification costs. The section length comprises two busway stubs which slide independently between a center busway splice-plate joint. Overlapping sheet metal enclosures are used to provide protection from inadvertent contact with live bus bars and allow the busway section length to be adjusted to a discrete length.

Adjustable section length for power busway distribution system

An improved busway end box construction of the present invention terminates a busway run and provides insulation between the phase bars and the ground bar. The assembly includes an adjustable-height enclosure and an insulation sub-assembly. Adjustment slot in the top cover of the enclosure allows the top cover of the end box enclosure to slidably move up or down, varying the height of the busway end box. The insulator sub-assembly includes insulating walls nesting in between U-shaped comb-like brackets. Notches in the insulating walls provide vertical height to the insulator walls, allowing the insulator sub-assembly height to be self-adjusted as the height of the busway end box varies.

Adjustable busway end box

A busway construction with a standard elbow section that can be adjusted to a wide range of positions to eliminate the need for specialized elbow sections. This adjustable elbow standard busway section with a full-range rotation is designed to connect to other sections of busway which are at non-standard angles to each other.

Adjustable busway elbow section

Electric bus bar insulating coatings are calibrated to withstand long term outdoor exposure without failure. Manufacturing samples of the coating material are evaluated at the coating manufacturing site prior to shipment to the bus bar manufacturer. Bus bar samples coated with the material are suspended within a heated water bath and subjected to several hundred volt-amperes. The thickness of the coating is predetermined to provide accurate qualifying data for each coating sample within a reasonable time frame. Coating compositions that qualify are then applied to electric bus bar conductors by the bus bar manufacturer.

Apparatus and method for calibrating electric bus bar insulating coatings

An industrial rate multi-phase molded case circuit breaker is fitted with an exhaust gas barrier and line lug cover at the line end thereof to redirect the arc exhaust gases exiting from the line end. An electric circuit is prevented between the different phases of a multi-phase electric power distribution system connected with the line end of the circuit breaker. Furthermore, an electric circuit is further prevented between the exiting arc exhaust gases and the electrical distribution bus bars to which the multi-phase electric circuit breaker is connected.

Arc-proof molded case circuit breaker

A power take-off assembly utilized in electric power distribution systems includes stabs, multi-surface conductor connectors, conductive straps, and a circuit breaker. The multi-surface connection conductors and straps each consist of a single copper or aluminum piece that facilitates electrical connection between the circuit breaker disposed within the power take-off assembly and the receiver stabs. The receiver stabs protrude from the power take-off assembly and engage with the power source thereby providing electric power to the circuit breaker.

Electric busway power take-off assembly

An industrial rated molded case circuit breaker is fitted with a phase barrier and a phase insulation cap at the line end thereof to redirect the arc exhaust gases exiting from the line end and to prevent an electric circuit between the different phases of a multiphase electric power distribution system. The Y-shaped phase barrier eliminates the need to provide additional insulation to the line end conductors. The phase insulation cap provides inexpensive and reusable means for isolating mounting screws from the line end conductors.

Growing community of inventors

Wallingford, CT, United States of America

Louis A Rosen