Eaton Corporation

Mine Safety Appliances Company

Michael B Schulman

John Joseph Shea

Paul Richard Rakus

Yun-Ko N Chien

Paul Graham Slade

Thomas Clements Pendrick

Glen C Sisson

Jeffrey A Miller

Daniel E Bruce

Mark Fiori Zanella, Sr

Stephen David Mayo

James B Miller

Jon K Haverstick

James A Cahall

James G Cahall

A photoionization detector includes a housing, electrical contacts within the housing and an easily removable and replaceable photoionization chamber within the housing. The photoionization chamber includes a cathodic electrode and an anodic electrode which may be coated with a thin layer of material. The photoionization chamber and the associated cathodic electrode and anodic electrode are removable from within the housing as a unit. The photoionization chamber makes electrical connection with the contacts when seated within the housing regardless of the orientation of the photoionization chamber about an axis.

Photoionization detectors, ionization chambers for use in photoionization detectors, and methods of use of photoionization detectors

A current limiting power switch has a monolithic stationary conductor with a conductor section that mounts fixed contacts that engage moving contacts on moving contact fingers to form a reverse current loop with the contacts closed. A terminal section projects transversely from one end of the conductor section and an arc runner section extends from the other end. The tapered arc runner has a generally laterally centered tapered area that gathers the arcs and urges them along a raised rib on the arc runner to an arc chute. A reinforcing rib running from the back of the conductor and arc runner sections to the terminal section resists distortion of the monolithic stationary conductor by the high temperatures and closing and electromagnetic forces during interruption.

Monolithic stationary conductor and current limiting power switch incorporating same

A moving contact assembly for a high-current interruption electric power switching apparatus has an inner carrier for the contact fingers that is rigidly held in a withstand position in an outer carrier by a spring biased cam follower pin engaging a cam profile on the inner carrier and configured to positively seat an inner carrier stop against an outer carrier stop on the outer carrier and to rapidly drive the inner carrier to a blow open position in response to a fault. The cam profile has an extended width divided between spaced apart cam profile sections to absorb the high closing and withstand forces. An abutment on the outer carrier resists bowing of the cam follower pin between the cam profile sections. Complementary convex and concave partial cylindrical surfaces on the inner carrier and a gas shield on the moving assembly carrier body maintain an arc gas seal during blow open.

Blow open moving contact assembly for electric power switching apparatus with a very high current interruption rating

A vacuum interrupter (VI) is provided having two arcing contacts, at least one of which is axially moveable, and a metal-vapor condensing shield which is shaped to allow the VI to withstand a high peak value of pulsed or sinusoidal high voltage applied to the cold contacts in their open position. In the region surrounding the open contacts, the vapor shield is shaped to deflect the trajectories of electrons which are emitted from the regions of high electric field stress along the facing edges of the negatively biased contact. The vapor shield causes electrons to be substantially deflected away from the intercontact edge region and onto a defocused area of lower electric field stress on the shield.

Vapor shield for vacuum interrupters

A vacuum circuit interrupter has a coil for generating an axially oriented magnetic field to maintain an electric arc in a diffuse rather than columnar mode upon opening of the interrupter. At least one of two electrodes having abuttable disc shaped contacts is movable along an axis relative to the other and can be forced by an external mechanism to open. The electrodes are carried in a housing with an electrical insulator between opposite end mountings that support the electrodes with the contacts in an evacuated enclosure. One of the electrodes is an assembly including a rigid supporting member attached to one of the contacts and extending a length along the axis. A coil is wrapped circumferentially around the supporting member along this length, providing a conductive path to generate the axial magnetic field. The supporting member comprises a less-conductive path (e.g., a stainless steel sleeve) and the coil is more conductive (e.g., copper), providing a durable and inexpensive structure.

Vacuum interrupter with arc diffusing contact design

An axial magnetic field vacuum interrupter includes a field producing structure associated with only one of two opposing electrode assemblies. The field producing structure is characterized in that when the instantaneous peak arc current is I.sub.m, measured in kiloamperes, and the electrode assemblies are in the open circuit position, the instantaneous component of the axial magnetic filed (AMF) B in the axial direction B.sub.a, measured in milliteslas, imposed on the majority of each electrode contact surface is given by the analytical expression. ##EQU1##

Vacuum interrupter with a single internal assembly for generating an

An axial magnetic field vacuum interrupter includes electrode stems each having a member made of a highly conductive material, such as high conductivity copper. The conducting member has a plurality of angularly spaced, longitudinally extending slots that can be left open or filled with a material of lower conductivity. The member can by surrounded by an annulus of a lower conductivity material for added structural support. An axial core fabricated of a lower conductivity material can also be used. The slots and the lower conductivity materials reduce the production of eddy currents in the stems by the axial magnetic field, and thereby serve to reduce the phase delay between the field and the current and improve the quality of the field in the intercontact region.

Electrode stem for axial magnetic field vacuum interrupters

A multiple electrode structure for a vacuum interrupter that encourages formation of a diffuse arc includes a pair of disk-shaped, confronting electrical contacts that are relatively movable between a closed circuit position and an open circuit position and that are enclosed by a vacuum envelope. Each contact has generally spiral-shaped arms defining slots therebetween. The slots gradually widen towards the periphery of the contacts. In addition, the contacts are rotated relative to each other such that the tip of each spiral arm of one contact faces a generally radially extending portion of a spiral arm of the other contact. A generally tubular metal vapor shield surrounds the contacts within the envelope and is electrically isolated from at least one of the contacts in the open circuit position. The design and orientation of the contacts increases the radial component of the self-induced magnetic fields generated by the current in the interrupter. The Lorentz force on a high-current columnar arc between the contacts motivates the arc to attach to the vapor shield and become diffuse.

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Pittsburgh, PA, United States of America

Michael B Schulman