The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Apr. 13, 1999
Filed:
Dec. 19, 1996
Stephen D Cella, Tucker, GA (US);
Andrew J Kralik, Marysville, OH (US);
Siemens Energy & Automation, Inc., Alpharetta, GA (US);
Abstract
An actuator (144) for initiating a trip of a circuit breaker. Load current passes through a conductor (66) that is electrically coupled to a contact arm (56) by a braid (62). A thermally responsive bi-metal (64) has a first end portion which is disposed against a portion of the conductor (66) and through which at least a portion of load current carried by the contact arm, the braid, and the conductor passes. The bi-metal further has a second end portion that is disposed in spaced relation to the conductor and is cantilever-mounted on the portion of the conductor via the bi-metal's first end portion. The bi-metal is nominally flat and straight, but increasingly warps as thermal energy in the bi-metal increases. Upon attaining a certain degree of warping, the bi-metal initiates a trip of the circuit breaker by causing the contact arm to swing from a circuit-making to a circuit-breaking condition.