Eaton Corporation

Eaton Intelligent Power Limited

Thomas Kenneth Fogle

Anthony Thomas Ricciuti

George A Smith

Mark L Lotzmann

Daniel Evan Palmieri

James Jeffery Benke

Walter Oliver Jenkins

Robert N Krevokuch

Mark Allan Juds

Francois Jean Marchand

Joseph Philip Fello

John Joseph Hoegle

Edward J Klimek

John J Henwood

Anthony John Fishovitz

James Jeffrey Benke

Larry S Lakes

Russel William Long

Joe Philip Fello

Truc Tran Nguyen

A testing apparatus that is usable with a circuit interruption apparatus includes an enclosure that is similar to a switchgear enclosure and within which the circuit interruption apparatus for testing is received. The testing apparatus includes instrumentation that is automatically electrically connected with the circuit interruption apparatus when the circuit interruption apparatus is received within the interior region of the enclosure, and the instrumentation is operable to perform various tests on the circuit interruption apparatus. The testing apparatus further includes output devices and a switching apparatus at the exterior of the enclosure that enable a technician to control testing operations that are performed on the circuit interruption apparatus and to view the results of the testing operations. All of the electrical connections with the circuit interruption apparatus are made within the interior region of the enclosure, and the enclosure itself is configured to resist the transmission of X-rays.

Testing apparatus usable with circuit interruption apparatus

An improved electrical interruption apparatus provides an improved wear indicator that is configured to depict an amount of wear that has been experienced by a set of separable contacts of a vacuum interrupter. At an easily visible location on a drive rod of the circuit interruption apparatus, the wear indicator indicates the extent to which the set of contacts have degraded. The wear indicator is attached to a spring-loaded over-travel mechanism that engages together the set of electrical contacts.

Electrical interruption apparatus with wear indicator

A circuit breaker panel board includes a housing including a door structured to open, a circuit breaker receiving area disposed in an interior area of the housing, and at least one illumination unit disposed outside the circuit breaker receiving area and including at least one light oriented to provide light in a direction of the circuit breaker receiving area.

Circuit breaker panel board including illumination unit

A wiretap connection assembly is for a circuit protection system. The circuit protection system includes at least one wire conductor and at least one circuit interrupter. The circuit interrupter includes a line conductor and a load conductor. The wire conductor has an electrically conductive inner core and an electrically insulating outer covering. The wiretap connection assembly includes a wire severing assembly structured to sever the wire conductor, and a number of wiretap assemblies. Each wiretap assembly includes a tapping portion and a connecting portion. The tapping portion is structured to pierce through the electrically insulating outer covering of a corresponding portion of the wire conductor and into the electrically conductive inner core. The connecting portion is structured to electrically connect the electrically conductive inner core of the corresponding portion of the wire conductor to a corresponding one of the line conductor and the load conductor.

Circuit protection system, and wiretap connection assembly and method therefor

A solenoid assembly for a circuit breaker having a clapper with an increased mass is provided. The mass, preferably at least one non-ferrous slug, increases the mass of the clapper so that the solenoid response time is slowed. That is, the added mass creates an inertial delay that slows the solenoid clapper as the clapper moves between the first position and the second position. Preferably, the delay is between 48 ms and 60 ms, and more preferably 50 ms. The clapper having a non-ferrous slug may also be incorporated into existing circuit breakers by, for example, coupling the non-ferrous slug to the preexisting clapper, or replacing the clapper with a clapper assembly having at least one non-ferrous slug thereon.

Inertial solenoid delay for the opening of medium voltage circuit breakers

The present invention provides a motor control cam having a relief channel adjacent to the switch lever notch. The relief channel extends generally circumferentially from said switch lever notch under the second, wide diameter portion of the cam surface. In this configuration, when the switch lever is in the switch lever notch and a counter rotation of the cam occurs, the switch lever enters the relief channel and does not impact against the cam. As such, the switch lever is not damaged or moved out of adjustment by a counter rotation of the cam.

Rotational backlash compensating cam for stored energy circuit breaker charging motor control

A mechanism assembly is for a vacuum circuit interrupter including a vacuum housing including a stationary contact and a moveable contact, and an operating mechanism including a drive rod. The mechanism assembly cooperates with the drive rod to open and close the contacts. The mechanism assembly includes a housing having a pair of first longitudinal openings and a pair of second longitudinal openings, the first longitudinal openings defining a first plane, the second longitudinal openings defining a different second plane. A first trunnion member is pivotally and translationally mounted with respect to the first longitudinal openings. The first trunnion member is coupled to the moveable contact. A second trunnion member is pivotally and translationally mounted with respect to the second longitudinal openings. The drive rod is pivotally connected to the second trunnion member. A pair of compression springs are biased between the first and second trunnion members.

Spring-charged mechanism assembly employing two trunnion members moveable in different planes and circuit interrupter employing the same

The present invention provides improved and more efficient methods and apparatus for maintaining and/or adjusting over-travel gaps and contact wipe portions in operating rod assemblies of circuit interrupters. According to one embodiment of the invention, a circuit interrupter comprises a fixed electrical contact; a moveable electrical contact; an operating rod assembly comprising at least one contact spring for imparting a corresponding opening or closing force to the contacts; a moveable contact stem operatively coupled between the moveable electrical contact and the operating rod assembly for positioning the moveable electrical contact into or out of engagement with the fixed electrical contact; and an adjustment member adjustably disposed on an opposite end of the circuit interrupter relative to the moveable electrical contact from the at least one contact spring; wherein motion of the operating rod assembly causes the moveable electrical contact to move into or out of engagement with the fixed electrical contact via motion of the moveable contact stem and wherein the moveable electrical contact moves into or out of engagement with the fixed electrical contact with application of force imparted by the contact spring, and wherein the adjustment member is capable of adjusting the force imparted by the contact spring when moving the moveable electrical contact into or out of engagement with the fixed electrical contact.

Apparatus and method for use in circuit interrupters

An erosion gauge tool for measuring the erosion of a movable contact in a circuit breaker having a stationary contact and movable contact, both of which are sealed in a housing. The movable contact is coupled to a drive insulator. An erosion mark is etched on the housing adjacent to the drive insulator. The erosion gauge tool has a handle, a tab, and a pointer. The tab is adapted to rest on the drive insulator. The pointer is disposed adjacent to erosion mark when said tab is resting on said drive insulator. As the moveable contact erodes, the pointer moves closer to the erosion mark. The erosion gauge is sized to indicate when the moveable contact needs to be replaced, e.g. when the pointer is immediately adjacent to or above the erosion mark.

Vacuum circuit breaker with contact wear indicator tool

A slide bar interlock for interlocking adjacent first and second circuit breakers having dissimilar actuating means and preventing the first and second circuit breakers from simultaneously being in a closed operating position. The slide bar interlock includes a housing and a slide bar received in the housing. The slide bar includes a first end which extends from the housing adjacent to the first circuit breaker and a second end which extends from the housing adjacent to the second circuit breaker. The slide bar is slidable between a first position where the first end of the slide bar blocks operation of a pivoting actuating handle of the first circuit breaker and a second position where the second end of the slide bar maintains a push-to-open button of the push button actuating means of the second circuit breaker in an actuated position. The second end of the slide bar includes a pin member which is received in a transverse aperture formed in the push-to-open button for maintaining the push-to-open button in the actuated position.

Slide bar interlock

A bell alarm system is provided for a circuit breaker in which the actuation of a flux shift trip device causes an electrical switch to be energized thus providing a bell alarm indication that the circuit breaker has been tripped. The flux trip device impinges against a pivotally rotated lower lever mechanism which has a knee which causes rotation of an upper lever against the influence of a spring attached between the two levers. As the knee moves along a surface of the upper lever mechanism, the relative rotation of the two lever members about their support pins is such as to cause the tension on the spring to increase. Because of this vibration in the circuit breaker itself or minute low level movements of the plunger mechanism will not cause the bell alarm to be actuated. The bell alarm will not be actuated until the aforementioned lower knee has rotated sufficiently far along the previously described surface to clear an upper knee in the upper lever mechanism thus allowing the force of the spring to cause the upper lever to actuate the bell alarm.

Bell alarm for system power breaker

An apparatus selectively connects a normal power line and an emergency power line to a load, and includes two interlocked switching mechanisms, each having individual interlocks, for selectively connecting the power lines to the load, and an interlock mechanism for interlocking the switching mechanisms in order that only one of the power lines at a time is connected to the load. The switching mechanisms may each have two drawout cassettes including associated switching devices for switching the power lines to the load and, also, including an isolated position for isolation of the associated switching device from at least one of the switched power lines and the load. Each switching device may be a circuit breaker having a trip unit for sensing current flowing from a power line to the load and tripping the circuit breaker. The interlock mechanisms may include keylock mechanisms which selectively disable closing of the switching devices. Each keylock mechanism may have individual locks on associated cassettes and a single key for operating only one of the locks. The individual interlocks of the switching mechanisms may cooperate with the keylock mechanisms to selectively disable connection of a power line to the load. Each key may be retained by an unlocked associated lock and may be removed from a locked associated lock.

Combination transfer and bypass isolation switch utilizing drawout

A powered mechanism displaces the toggle, handle or similar operator of a switch such as a circuit breaker, motor contactor or transfer switch. A linear induction motor drives a motor shaft between extended and retracted positions. A pair of S-shaped cam members pivot at one end on an axis, and a sliding pin carried on the end of the motor shaft rides along slots in the cam members. A couple engages over the switch operator and is pivotally attached to links that in turn are pivotally attached to the cam members, The links attach to the cam members at a point closer to the pivot axis of the cam member than the sliding pin in the slots, thus obtaining leverage. The slots have an inclined or curved section joined to a straight section. The straight section provides an idling action in that no force is applied to the operator via the couple as the sliding pin passes through the straight section, allowing the motor to accelerate unopposed. When the sliding pin is in the inclined or curved section, displacement of the motor shaft moves the couple, and therefore the switch operator handle.

Operator of a handle or toggle of a switch

An interlock for a pair of electrical switching devices includes plungers mounted through the switch housing and engaging the operating mechanism which opens and closes the switch. The plunger of each switch is coupled to a pivotally mounted cam plate by a pin which engages a camming slot in the cam plate for mutual movement of the plunger and cam plate. The cam plates associated with the pair of switches are connected by a connecting link for coordinated rotation. When one switch is closed, the operating mechanism extends the associated plunger which through the cam plates and connecting link raises the other plunger to block closing of the other switch. When a plunger is in blocking position, the coupling pin engages an overtoggle section of the camming slot of the associated cam plate such that a force generated by any attempt to close the associated switch is directed through the pivot axis of the cam plate and generates no component tending to rotate the cam plate. Hence, no force is transmitted to the connecting link or to the cam plate and plunger associated with the switch which is already closed. Opposed springs bias the respective cam plates toward the overtoggle position and urge the interlock to an intermediate position when both switches are open so that either may be closed. A single actuator can be used to selectively block operation of a single switch without transmittal of a force generated by an attempt to close the switch back through the actuator to a manual or motor operator.

Interlock for electrical switches

A handle actuator is provided for a circuit interrupter that has a handle or toggle pivotally movable between operative positions. The handle actuator has a pair of pins that fit tightly on the handle, a pair of retainers coupling the pins in a rigidly spaced parallel relationship, and a pair of flanges fixed to the circuit interrupter via a base. The flanges are disposed on opposite sides of the handle and have arcuate slots that guide the pins coaxially with the pivot axis of the handle. The ends of the pins extend through the arcuate openings of the flanges and are received in the retainers. Connecting links pivotally couple the pins with a drive input for selectively driving the pins against the handle to move the handle between the operative positions. The relative position of the pins on both sides of the handle is constant, preventing wear on the handle due to rolling of the pins against the handle, impacts with the handle permitted by lost motion, or bending and twisting forces.

Growing community of inventors

Pittsburgh, PA, United States of America

Thomas Kenneth Fogle