CA1036648A - Movable-contact-stem operator for a vacuum-type circuit-interrupter - Google Patents
Movable-contact-stem operator for a vacuum-type circuit-interrupterInfo
- Publication number
- CA1036648A CA1036648A CA228,892A CA228892A CA1036648A CA 1036648 A CA1036648 A CA 1036648A CA 228892 A CA228892 A CA 228892A CA 1036648 A CA1036648 A CA 1036648A
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- contact
- movable
- operator
- bolt
- stem
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired
Links
Classifications
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01H—ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES
- H01H33/00—High-tension or heavy-current switches with arc-extinguishing or arc-preventing means
- H01H33/60—Switches wherein the means for extinguishing or preventing the arc do not include separate means for obtaining or increasing flow of arc-extinguishing fluid
- H01H33/66—Vacuum switches
- H01H33/666—Operating arrangements
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01H—ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES
- H01H33/00—High-tension or heavy-current switches with arc-extinguishing or arc-preventing means
- H01H33/02—Details
- H01H33/022—Details particular to three-phase circuit breakers
Landscapes
- Manufacture Of Switches (AREA)
- High-Tension Arc-Extinguishing Switches Without Spraying Means (AREA)
Abstract
ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
An improved movable-contact-stem operator is provided for a vacuum-type circuit-interrupter comprising a loosely-fitting clamp-type contact-stem operator, which is retained in place by a suitable means, such as by a shoulder-bolt, for example. me movable-contact-stem operator has at least one pivot-aperture provided there-through, which accommodates the contact-operator pivot pin, and upon suitable alignment with a pivotally-mounted con-tact-operating lever, may, as a subsequent procedural operation, have the clamping bolt tightened upon the contact-stem operator, so that thereafter the operating motion is transmitted directly between the contact-operator and the movable contact stem without any torque, or rotational motion being transmitted to the usually-provided metallic sylphon bellows which maintains the evacuated condition within the vacuum circuit-interrupter envelope.
The shoulder-bolt, together with a suitable number of washers, accommodates the longitudinal toler-ances, which inevitably accompany the manufacture of vacuum "bottles" or vacuum-type circuit-interrupter units.
In addition, should the clamping bolt for any reason be-come loosened, nevertheless the vacuum interrupter unit will be properly operated by the presence of the shoulder-bolt, which maintains through the head portion thereof, a suitable affixment of the operator, which though in this particular instance being loose, nevertheless provides proper operation of the vacuum-type interrupter unit, even though the contact operator has lost its clamping engage-ment with the lower external end of the movable-contact stem.
Another important feature of the invention is the utilization of an accurately-machined lower support-flange plate member, in this particular instance compris-ing a generally U-shaped accurately-machined support-plate, with the two leg portions thereof providing aligned pivot-apertures, which accommodate the pivotally-mounted support pin, which serves as a fixed pivotal support for the rot-atable movable contact arm of the circuit-interrupter mechanism. As a result, even though tolerances vary in the manufacture of the length of the vacuum bottle, nevertheless for multi-pole contactor assemblages, such manufacturing tolerances may readily be accommodated by the use of such a lower accurately-machined support-flange plate member, which accurately positions and locates the fixed mounting location of the pivot point for the movable-contact lever, the latter, as is cus-tomary, being mechanically linked to the operating mech-anism for the contactor assemblage.
An improved movable-contact-stem operator is provided for a vacuum-type circuit-interrupter comprising a loosely-fitting clamp-type contact-stem operator, which is retained in place by a suitable means, such as by a shoulder-bolt, for example. me movable-contact-stem operator has at least one pivot-aperture provided there-through, which accommodates the contact-operator pivot pin, and upon suitable alignment with a pivotally-mounted con-tact-operating lever, may, as a subsequent procedural operation, have the clamping bolt tightened upon the contact-stem operator, so that thereafter the operating motion is transmitted directly between the contact-operator and the movable contact stem without any torque, or rotational motion being transmitted to the usually-provided metallic sylphon bellows which maintains the evacuated condition within the vacuum circuit-interrupter envelope.
The shoulder-bolt, together with a suitable number of washers, accommodates the longitudinal toler-ances, which inevitably accompany the manufacture of vacuum "bottles" or vacuum-type circuit-interrupter units.
In addition, should the clamping bolt for any reason be-come loosened, nevertheless the vacuum interrupter unit will be properly operated by the presence of the shoulder-bolt, which maintains through the head portion thereof, a suitable affixment of the operator, which though in this particular instance being loose, nevertheless provides proper operation of the vacuum-type interrupter unit, even though the contact operator has lost its clamping engage-ment with the lower external end of the movable-contact stem.
Another important feature of the invention is the utilization of an accurately-machined lower support-flange plate member, in this particular instance compris-ing a generally U-shaped accurately-machined support-plate, with the two leg portions thereof providing aligned pivot-apertures, which accommodate the pivotally-mounted support pin, which serves as a fixed pivotal support for the rot-atable movable contact arm of the circuit-interrupter mechanism. As a result, even though tolerances vary in the manufacture of the length of the vacuum bottle, nevertheless for multi-pole contactor assemblages, such manufacturing tolerances may readily be accommodated by the use of such a lower accurately-machined support-flange plate member, which accurately positions and locates the fixed mounting location of the pivot point for the movable-contact lever, the latter, as is cus-tomary, being mechanically linked to the operating mech-anism for the contactor assemblage.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
A related Canadian patent application by A. W. Hodgson Serial No. 229,201 filed June 12, 1975 and assigned to the - assignee of the instant application~ discloses an improved operating mechanism for the circuit-interrupter assemblage of the instant patent application.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION.
Vacuum-type circuit-interrupters have been
A related Canadian patent application by A. W. Hodgson Serial No. 229,201 filed June 12, 1975 and assigned to the - assignee of the instant application~ discloses an improved operating mechanism for the circuit-interrupter assemblage of the instant patent application.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION.
Vacuum-type circuit-interrupters have been
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366~3 extensively utilized in industrial switchgear for con-trolling feeder circuits, and for controlling, for example, electrical motors of various ratings. In the case where the air-brake interrupter units control electrical motors, reference may be made to the following patents for back-ground information: U.S. Patent 3,602r680, issued August ~1, 1971 to Alfred W. Hodgson; U.S. Patent ~,6~9.87~, issued February 1, 1972 to Alfred W. Hodgson; U,S. Patent
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366~3 extensively utilized in industrial switchgear for con-trolling feeder circuits, and for controlling, for example, electrical motors of various ratings. In the case where the air-brake interrupter units control electrical motors, reference may be made to the following patents for back-ground information: U.S. Patent 3,602r680, issued August ~1, 1971 to Alfred W. Hodgson; U.S. Patent ~,6~9.87~, issued February 1, 1972 to Alfred W. Hodgson; U,S. Patent
3,621,3~9, issued Novem~er 16, 1971, to Alfred W. Hodgson;
U.S. Patent ~,264,431, issued August 2, 1966 to A, W.
Hodgson; U,S. Patent ~,264,432, issued August 2, 1966 to A. W. Hodgson et al; U,S. Patent ~,264.43~ issued August 2, 1966 to R. D. Clark, Jr. et al, and U.S, Patent 3,290,468 issued December 6, 1966 to R. D. Clark Jr. et al.
When vacuum-type circuit-interrupter units are utilized in place of air-break interrupting units, invariably a metallic sylphon*~ellows is utilized to hermetically maintain the evacuated condition withln 20 the vacuum-type circuit-interrupter envelope. It ~s desirable not to impose any torsional, or rotational stress upon this sylphon~bellows, which is manufactured ;~ for strictly linear straight-line motion. Also, the operational life of such a vacuum-type circuit-inter-rupter unit may approach one million operations, for ; example, so that it is necessary to prevent the lmposi-tion of torsional, or rotational stress upon the metallic bellows associated with the movable-contact stem of the vacuum circuit-interrupter unit. Also, as will be well ~0 known by those skilled in the art, in the manufaeture * trademark -~- ;
''' ' . -' . .
;
:
1~3664~3 of vacuum circuit-interrupters, or vacuum "bottles", man-ufacturing tolerances are somewhat wide, and vary over a considerable range o~ dimensional values. It is, there-fore, desirable to accommodate these widely different manufacturing tolerances, particularly in the case where a number of vacuum "bottles" are utilized in multi-pole circuit-interrupting, or contactor apparatus, so that a single operating mechanism may be employed, with facility, to actuate a number of individual pole-units without im- : ;
posing any torsional stress upon an individual vacuum unit other than a longitudinal linear motion, and also . .
to accommodate considerable variance in the tolerances of the individual vacuum "bottles'~ themselves.
SUMMARY OF THE I~VENTION
In the improved actuating means for actuating ~:
; the movable-contact stem of the movable contact o~ a vacuum-type circuit-interrupter, according to the present invention, a loosely-fitting movable-stem operator is provided, being associated with a suitable affixment means, such as a shoulder-bolt, for example, As a re-sult, the rotatable contact-actuating levers may be . placed into the proper operatlng position, with the contact-operator loosely fitting upon the contact stem, and, consequently, not imposing any torsional stres3 upon ~he stem, or ultimately upon the metallic sylphon (a trademark) bellows of the vacuum circuit-interrupter unit, Only as a ~inal operation is a clamping bolt tightened, to thereby fixably secure the movable-contact operator upon the lower external end of the contact stem~
- 30 clamping the two members ~ixed y together to thereby - ' .
.
~03664 .' ': .
subsequently actuate the movable-contact stem, and, con- -sequently, the movable contact of the vacuum circuit-interrupter, thus causing direct actuation between the operator and the movable-contact stem, as initiated by the ~ovable-contact-operating lever.
To accommodate variant manufacturing tolerances, .
say, for example, the length of the vacuum interrupter units, an accurately-machined lower support-flange plate is provided, the latter having accurately-located pivot apertures for the pivot pin to support, in a pivotal . ~ .
manner, the contact-actuating lever. As well known by those skilled in the art, the contact-actuating lever is ` mechanically linked to a suitable operating mechanism, BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Fig. 1 is a perspective view of motor-starter -" . . ... , : -.
equipment including two motor starters disposed in super- -`- imposed relati~n together with their disconnecting-switch '. structures;
Fig. 2 is a side-elevational view of the right side of the truck-mounted contactor, or interrupter assem-bly of the lnstant invention; `-~
Fig, ~ iB a front elevational view looking at the front of the truck-mounted vacuum-type circuit-inter-rupter asæembly of the present invention;
Flg. 4 is a vertical sectional view taken sub-stantially along the llne IV-IV of Fig. ~ ~ th the sep-~ arable-contact structure closed;
; Fig. 5 is an enlarged detailed view of the oper-ating linkage and mechanism structure of Fig. 4, again the separable contacts of the vacuum-type circuit-interrupter ':
: - \
~ (~366~3 assembly being illustrated in the closed-circuit position with the operating magnet energized;
Fig. 6 is a fragmentary vertical section view taken substantially along line VI-VI of Fig. 3, again the contact structure being shown in the opened-circuit posi-tion;
Fig. 7 is an exploded perspective view of the . `r several parts employed in conjunction with the improved . ~
` operating mechanism of the instant invention;
~; 10 Fig. 8 illustrates, in side elevation, the accurately-machined lower interrupter support-plate util-ized in the present invention;
Fig. 9 is a front-elevational ~iew of the improved accurately-machined interrupter support of Fig. 8;
Fig. 10 is an inverted plan view of the accurately-machined interrupter support structure of Fig. 8; -Fig. 11 illustrates a sectional view t~ken through the improved shoulder-bolt and movable-contact operator con-nection for actuating the movable-contact stem of the vacuum-type circuit-interrupter of the present invention;
Fig. 12 is an enlarged side-elevational view of the improved movable-contact operator utilized;
Fig. 13 is a top-plan vlew of the improved ` movable-contact operator of Fig. 12;
Fig. 14 is a front-elevational view of the im-proved movable-contact operator of Fig. 12;
;~ Fig. 15 is an inverse plan view of the improved movable-contact operator of Fig. 12; and Fig. 16 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view taken along the lines XVI-XVI of Fig. 5.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The present invention has particular applicability '. ~
~ -6-.. ~ , 1(~366~ ~
to high-voltage motor starters 1 designed for starting and controlling alternating-current motors. Generally, these starters 1 are supplied in a steel floor-mounted enclosure 2, such as set ~orth in Fig. 1. me steel floor-mounted enclosure 2 may, for example, accommodate two motor starters 1, as actually shown in Fig. 1 disposed in superimposed relation.
e contactor assembly 7 comprises electrically -isolated contactor poles 39, 41 and 4~ which represents commercially-available componentsJ such as the Westinghouse Electric Corporation contactor Type ~F-50V4~0 contactor, Contactor electricaI terminal 45, as illustrated in Fig. 4, engages an electrical terminal assembly to sup~ly voltage through calbes to a remote load, which may be a motor , i installation.
me isolation switch assembly ~ is slidably positioned within the cabinet housing 2 by outwardly-; protruding flanges which engage horizontal guide tracks.
Due to the w~ight of the contactor assembly, 7 it i8 generally located in the bottom section o~ the .
cabinet housing 2, The positioning of the contactor assembly 7 within the cabinet housing 2 is accompliRhed -~
by inserting the wheels 49, which are affixed at the four corners of the base 51 of the assembly 7, into guide tracks and rolling the assembly 7 into the cabinet housing 2 until electrical engagement with the electrical : , ; terminal assembly occurs.
The ~acuum-type contactor 7 is designed for - starting and controlling three phase, 50-60 cycle alter-nating-current motors. The voltage may, for example, ~7-, ~ , . . .. . . . .
~ 103664~3 j be 6,600 and the contactor-closed continuous rating in ; amperes 360.
- Fig. 2 illustrates, in side elevation, the right-hand side 55 o~ the truck-mounted vacuum-type contactor assembly 7. As illustrated in Fig. 2, it will be observed . . .
that there is provided a direct-current operating magnet 57 having a direct-current magnet coil, or operating coil ; 59. Associated with the ~agnet structure 57 is a rotatable magnet armature 61 whlch makes abutting engagement when the operating magnet 57 is energized with the magnetic pole-race 63. me lower end 61a of the rotatable magnet arma-ture 61 ls a~ixed by a clamp casting 65 and a key 67 to the external end o~ an operating shaft 69, as shown. Also a~fixed to the operating sha~t 69 is an electrlcal inter-lock pushrod 71 which operates an electrical interlock 73.
- In addition, Fig. 2 shows a protective resistor 74 wh~ch is ; inserted into the series magnet coil circuit 57 when the armature 61 has reached lts fully-closed position against the pole face 63, as illustrated by the full lines in Fig.
2. Additionally, there i8 illustrated in Fig. 2 another .
interlock 77. Also Fig, 2 illustrates an isolating-switch ; mechanical interloc~ arm 78, which i8 operable by a down-wardly-extending interlock rod (not shown) extending down-wardly and operable by the lsolating-switch as~embly 3.
Flg. 3 shows that, in general, the truck-mounted ~ contactor assembly 7 comprises two side metallic support ; plates 80 and 81 interconnected by a rront U-shaped met-allic support channel member 83, which is more clearly illustrated ill Fig. 3 of the drawings. Also Fig, 4 shows the lower stab assembly 45 which interconnects the co~tactor .: , .. . .
- .
103664t3 - assembly 7 with stationary load te~minals for operating an external piece of equipment, such as an electrical motor, for example. ~ ~
Fig. 3 illustrates a view looking into the front --of the truck-mounted vacuum-type circuit-interrupter assem-- bly, or contactor assembly 7. It will be observed that ~
the armature 61 of the operating magnet 57 is affixed to ~ ;
the external end of the operating shaft 69 and effects the rotatable operating motion thereof. The operating shaft 69 is, of course, journaled in suitable bearings 99, 101 provided on the inner sides ~Oa, ~la of the two metallic i side support plates ~0 and ~
It is, of course, desirable to provide contact-closing spring pressure for each of the individual pole-units 39, 41 and 43 in the closed circuit position of the contactor assembly 7, as illustrated in Fig. 4 of the drawings. Each pole-unit 39, 41 or 43 is provided with its own individual vacuum-interrupter unit 103 and a pivotally-mounted rotatable contact-operating arm 105, which is pivoted upon a stationary pivot pin 107 extend-ing between the two downwardly-extending flange portions 10~, 109 of a U-shaped lower interrupter support 110, the configuration of which is more readily apparent from a study of Figs~ 4 and 5 of the drawings.
The rotation of the rotatable contact arm 105 is effected by a laterally-extending cross-bar 112 which is moved in generally a vertical direction by two spaced crank-arms 114, 116 the latter being affixed to and rotatable with the operating shaft 69. Fig. 3, taken in conjunction with Fig. 4, more clearly shows the _9_ '' .
~ 66~
structure of the laterally-extending cross-bar 112. As illustrated in Fig. 4, it will be observed that the cross-bar 112 is preferably of metal, and in this particular instance has a square cross-section, as shown, having end pivot-plns 118, the latter being apparent from a study of Fig. 3 of the drawings, The cross-bar 112 is fixedly secured to an insu-~; lator support 120 individual to each of the three pole-units, 39, 41 and 43 as more clearly illustrated in Fig.
3. The insulator s~pport 120, in turn, supports an abut-ment member or in this particular instance a plate 122, -for example, having a configuration more clearly apparent from a study of Fig. 7 of the drawings. Fig. 7 lllustrates an exploded view of the contact-pressure spring assembly 124 and the relatlonship between the abutment member or plate 122 and a rotatable reverse-current loop-arm assem-bly 126, again the configuration of which is more clearly -, apparent ~rom a study of Fig. 5 of the drawings.
AB well known by those skilled ln the art, it iB
desirable to supply contact-spring pressure between the separable contacts in the closed-circuit p~sitlon of the interrupter 103. This spring pressure, which is provlded in the instant invention, is afforded by a compression spring 128 illustrated in Figs. 3 and 5, and interposed between the abutment plate 122 and an upper movable spring seat 130, which straddles the two contact-actuating arms ;.
105a, 105b, which collectively constitute the movable contact-actuating arm 105 o~ the interrupter assembly 7.
It will be observed, in connection with Figs.
U.S. Patent ~,264,431, issued August 2, 1966 to A, W.
Hodgson; U,S. Patent ~,264,432, issued August 2, 1966 to A. W. Hodgson et al; U,S. Patent ~,264.43~ issued August 2, 1966 to R. D. Clark, Jr. et al, and U.S, Patent 3,290,468 issued December 6, 1966 to R. D. Clark Jr. et al.
When vacuum-type circuit-interrupter units are utilized in place of air-break interrupting units, invariably a metallic sylphon*~ellows is utilized to hermetically maintain the evacuated condition withln 20 the vacuum-type circuit-interrupter envelope. It ~s desirable not to impose any torsional, or rotational stress upon this sylphon~bellows, which is manufactured ;~ for strictly linear straight-line motion. Also, the operational life of such a vacuum-type circuit-inter-rupter unit may approach one million operations, for ; example, so that it is necessary to prevent the lmposi-tion of torsional, or rotational stress upon the metallic bellows associated with the movable-contact stem of the vacuum circuit-interrupter unit. Also, as will be well ~0 known by those skilled in the art, in the manufaeture * trademark -~- ;
''' ' . -' . .
;
:
1~3664~3 of vacuum circuit-interrupters, or vacuum "bottles", man-ufacturing tolerances are somewhat wide, and vary over a considerable range o~ dimensional values. It is, there-fore, desirable to accommodate these widely different manufacturing tolerances, particularly in the case where a number of vacuum "bottles" are utilized in multi-pole circuit-interrupting, or contactor apparatus, so that a single operating mechanism may be employed, with facility, to actuate a number of individual pole-units without im- : ;
posing any torsional stress upon an individual vacuum unit other than a longitudinal linear motion, and also . .
to accommodate considerable variance in the tolerances of the individual vacuum "bottles'~ themselves.
SUMMARY OF THE I~VENTION
In the improved actuating means for actuating ~:
; the movable-contact stem of the movable contact o~ a vacuum-type circuit-interrupter, according to the present invention, a loosely-fitting movable-stem operator is provided, being associated with a suitable affixment means, such as a shoulder-bolt, for example, As a re-sult, the rotatable contact-actuating levers may be . placed into the proper operatlng position, with the contact-operator loosely fitting upon the contact stem, and, consequently, not imposing any torsional stres3 upon ~he stem, or ultimately upon the metallic sylphon (a trademark) bellows of the vacuum circuit-interrupter unit, Only as a ~inal operation is a clamping bolt tightened, to thereby fixably secure the movable-contact operator upon the lower external end of the contact stem~
- 30 clamping the two members ~ixed y together to thereby - ' .
.
~03664 .' ': .
subsequently actuate the movable-contact stem, and, con- -sequently, the movable contact of the vacuum circuit-interrupter, thus causing direct actuation between the operator and the movable-contact stem, as initiated by the ~ovable-contact-operating lever.
To accommodate variant manufacturing tolerances, .
say, for example, the length of the vacuum interrupter units, an accurately-machined lower support-flange plate is provided, the latter having accurately-located pivot apertures for the pivot pin to support, in a pivotal . ~ .
manner, the contact-actuating lever. As well known by those skilled in the art, the contact-actuating lever is ` mechanically linked to a suitable operating mechanism, BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Fig. 1 is a perspective view of motor-starter -" . . ... , : -.
equipment including two motor starters disposed in super- -`- imposed relati~n together with their disconnecting-switch '. structures;
Fig. 2 is a side-elevational view of the right side of the truck-mounted contactor, or interrupter assem-bly of the lnstant invention; `-~
Fig, ~ iB a front elevational view looking at the front of the truck-mounted vacuum-type circuit-inter-rupter asæembly of the present invention;
Flg. 4 is a vertical sectional view taken sub-stantially along the llne IV-IV of Fig. ~ ~ th the sep-~ arable-contact structure closed;
; Fig. 5 is an enlarged detailed view of the oper-ating linkage and mechanism structure of Fig. 4, again the separable contacts of the vacuum-type circuit-interrupter ':
: - \
~ (~366~3 assembly being illustrated in the closed-circuit position with the operating magnet energized;
Fig. 6 is a fragmentary vertical section view taken substantially along line VI-VI of Fig. 3, again the contact structure being shown in the opened-circuit posi-tion;
Fig. 7 is an exploded perspective view of the . `r several parts employed in conjunction with the improved . ~
` operating mechanism of the instant invention;
~; 10 Fig. 8 illustrates, in side elevation, the accurately-machined lower interrupter support-plate util-ized in the present invention;
Fig. 9 is a front-elevational ~iew of the improved accurately-machined interrupter support of Fig. 8;
Fig. 10 is an inverted plan view of the accurately-machined interrupter support structure of Fig. 8; -Fig. 11 illustrates a sectional view t~ken through the improved shoulder-bolt and movable-contact operator con-nection for actuating the movable-contact stem of the vacuum-type circuit-interrupter of the present invention;
Fig. 12 is an enlarged side-elevational view of the improved movable-contact operator utilized;
Fig. 13 is a top-plan vlew of the improved ` movable-contact operator of Fig. 12;
Fig. 14 is a front-elevational view of the im-proved movable-contact operator of Fig. 12;
;~ Fig. 15 is an inverse plan view of the improved movable-contact operator of Fig. 12; and Fig. 16 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view taken along the lines XVI-XVI of Fig. 5.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The present invention has particular applicability '. ~
~ -6-.. ~ , 1(~366~ ~
to high-voltage motor starters 1 designed for starting and controlling alternating-current motors. Generally, these starters 1 are supplied in a steel floor-mounted enclosure 2, such as set ~orth in Fig. 1. me steel floor-mounted enclosure 2 may, for example, accommodate two motor starters 1, as actually shown in Fig. 1 disposed in superimposed relation.
e contactor assembly 7 comprises electrically -isolated contactor poles 39, 41 and 4~ which represents commercially-available componentsJ such as the Westinghouse Electric Corporation contactor Type ~F-50V4~0 contactor, Contactor electricaI terminal 45, as illustrated in Fig. 4, engages an electrical terminal assembly to sup~ly voltage through calbes to a remote load, which may be a motor , i installation.
me isolation switch assembly ~ is slidably positioned within the cabinet housing 2 by outwardly-; protruding flanges which engage horizontal guide tracks.
Due to the w~ight of the contactor assembly, 7 it i8 generally located in the bottom section o~ the .
cabinet housing 2, The positioning of the contactor assembly 7 within the cabinet housing 2 is accompliRhed -~
by inserting the wheels 49, which are affixed at the four corners of the base 51 of the assembly 7, into guide tracks and rolling the assembly 7 into the cabinet housing 2 until electrical engagement with the electrical : , ; terminal assembly occurs.
The ~acuum-type contactor 7 is designed for - starting and controlling three phase, 50-60 cycle alter-nating-current motors. The voltage may, for example, ~7-, ~ , . . .. . . . .
~ 103664~3 j be 6,600 and the contactor-closed continuous rating in ; amperes 360.
- Fig. 2 illustrates, in side elevation, the right-hand side 55 o~ the truck-mounted vacuum-type contactor assembly 7. As illustrated in Fig. 2, it will be observed . . .
that there is provided a direct-current operating magnet 57 having a direct-current magnet coil, or operating coil ; 59. Associated with the ~agnet structure 57 is a rotatable magnet armature 61 whlch makes abutting engagement when the operating magnet 57 is energized with the magnetic pole-race 63. me lower end 61a of the rotatable magnet arma-ture 61 ls a~ixed by a clamp casting 65 and a key 67 to the external end o~ an operating shaft 69, as shown. Also a~fixed to the operating sha~t 69 is an electrlcal inter-lock pushrod 71 which operates an electrical interlock 73.
- In addition, Fig. 2 shows a protective resistor 74 wh~ch is ; inserted into the series magnet coil circuit 57 when the armature 61 has reached lts fully-closed position against the pole face 63, as illustrated by the full lines in Fig.
2. Additionally, there i8 illustrated in Fig. 2 another .
interlock 77. Also Fig, 2 illustrates an isolating-switch ; mechanical interloc~ arm 78, which i8 operable by a down-wardly-extending interlock rod (not shown) extending down-wardly and operable by the lsolating-switch as~embly 3.
Flg. 3 shows that, in general, the truck-mounted ~ contactor assembly 7 comprises two side metallic support ; plates 80 and 81 interconnected by a rront U-shaped met-allic support channel member 83, which is more clearly illustrated ill Fig. 3 of the drawings. Also Fig, 4 shows the lower stab assembly 45 which interconnects the co~tactor .: , .. . .
- .
103664t3 - assembly 7 with stationary load te~minals for operating an external piece of equipment, such as an electrical motor, for example. ~ ~
Fig. 3 illustrates a view looking into the front --of the truck-mounted vacuum-type circuit-interrupter assem-- bly, or contactor assembly 7. It will be observed that ~
the armature 61 of the operating magnet 57 is affixed to ~ ;
the external end of the operating shaft 69 and effects the rotatable operating motion thereof. The operating shaft 69 is, of course, journaled in suitable bearings 99, 101 provided on the inner sides ~Oa, ~la of the two metallic i side support plates ~0 and ~
It is, of course, desirable to provide contact-closing spring pressure for each of the individual pole-units 39, 41 and 43 in the closed circuit position of the contactor assembly 7, as illustrated in Fig. 4 of the drawings. Each pole-unit 39, 41 or 43 is provided with its own individual vacuum-interrupter unit 103 and a pivotally-mounted rotatable contact-operating arm 105, which is pivoted upon a stationary pivot pin 107 extend-ing between the two downwardly-extending flange portions 10~, 109 of a U-shaped lower interrupter support 110, the configuration of which is more readily apparent from a study of Figs~ 4 and 5 of the drawings.
The rotation of the rotatable contact arm 105 is effected by a laterally-extending cross-bar 112 which is moved in generally a vertical direction by two spaced crank-arms 114, 116 the latter being affixed to and rotatable with the operating shaft 69. Fig. 3, taken in conjunction with Fig. 4, more clearly shows the _9_ '' .
~ 66~
structure of the laterally-extending cross-bar 112. As illustrated in Fig. 4, it will be observed that the cross-bar 112 is preferably of metal, and in this particular instance has a square cross-section, as shown, having end pivot-plns 118, the latter being apparent from a study of Fig. 3 of the drawings, The cross-bar 112 is fixedly secured to an insu-~; lator support 120 individual to each of the three pole-units, 39, 41 and 43 as more clearly illustrated in Fig.
3. The insulator s~pport 120, in turn, supports an abut-ment member or in this particular instance a plate 122, -for example, having a configuration more clearly apparent from a study of Fig. 7 of the drawings. Fig. 7 lllustrates an exploded view of the contact-pressure spring assembly 124 and the relatlonship between the abutment member or plate 122 and a rotatable reverse-current loop-arm assem-bly 126, again the configuration of which is more clearly -, apparent ~rom a study of Fig. 5 of the drawings.
AB well known by those skilled ln the art, it iB
desirable to supply contact-spring pressure between the separable contacts in the closed-circuit p~sitlon of the interrupter 103. This spring pressure, which is provlded in the instant invention, is afforded by a compression spring 128 illustrated in Figs. 3 and 5, and interposed between the abutment plate 122 and an upper movable spring seat 130, which straddles the two contact-actuating arms ;.
105a, 105b, which collectively constitute the movable contact-actuating arm 105 o~ the interrupter assembly 7.
It will be observed, in connection with Figs.
4, 5 and 7 of the drawings, that a contact drive pln 132 .
.
~366~'~
passes through the two leg portions 105a, 105b of the movable contact-actuating arm 105 and, additionally, passes through a pair of apertures 134 provided in the rotàtable - reverse-current actuating arm 136. In other words, the same pivot pin 1~2 passes through the two leg portions 105a, 105b of the contact-actuating arm 105 and also through the leg portions 136a, 136b constituting the ~--reverse-current arm-assembly 136, thereby enabling a fulcrum point to be exerted at the pivot pin 107 in the contact-welded condition of the separable contacts 138, 1~9 under certain conditions, as more fully described hereina~ter, With reference to Figs. 4, 5 an~ 6 of the drawings, it will be observed that there is provided an overtravel ad~usting nut 140~ which is threaded upon the upper end 142a of the contact-pressure stud 142, the lower end of which is secured into the upper end of the insulator .
support 120. mus, in the closed-circuit position of the vacuum-interrupter assembly 7, as illustrated in Fig. 4, the contact compression sprlng 128 i8 compre~sed, thereby applying contact-closing pressure between the separable contacts 138 and 139, the overtravel ad~usting nut 140 aecommodating the "wipe" travel distance by continued closing travel of the contact-actuating arm 114. mus9 Fig. 4 illustrates the closed-circuit position of the interrupter device 7 with the operating magnet 57 ener-gized and the compression spring 128 providing the de-sired contact pressure in the closed-circuit position of the device.
- 30 It will be obvious that during the opening '' ,', , L ' . -. ' . ' ' : ' .. . ' ' .
' ' ' ' . ' ~ ' " ' . ' ' ' ' ., , . . '. . . ' ~ . ~ '., ' . ' ,, ' , ' ~ ~~
1~3664~3 operation, the operating shaft 69 will rotate in a counter-clockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 4, carrying down- -wardly with it the two operating arms 114 and 116 together with the cross-bar 112 and the three insulator 6upports 120. Also carried downwardly will be the abutment plates 122 and the contact pressure studæ 142 until the overtravel ad~usting nuts 140 engage the yoke portions 130 of the contact actuating arms 105, as illustrated in Fig. 6 o~
the drawings. Assuming that there does not exist a welded condition at the separable contacts 1~8, 139, the operating mechanism 144 will continue its counterclockwise opening movement carrying the separable contacts 1~8, 139 to their fully-open circuit position, as illustrated in Fig. 6 of the drawlngs.
~ The interrupter unit 103 may be of any suitable ; type manu~actured commercially by a number o~ companies, and, in general, comprises an evacuated envelope 145 having end metallic plates 146, 147 hermetically sealed to the ends of the insulating envelope 145, such as a ceramic sleeve, ~or example, The vacuum "bottle" 103 is provided havlng supporting stud portlons 149, say three ; in numberJ ~or example, extending upwardly and downwardly ; as illustrated in Figs, 5 and 6, and also having the movable contact stem 150 extending externally, as illus-; trated in Figs. 6 and 7, In its manufactured component ; assembly form, it isJ there~ore, provlded in a form . .
enabling its ready mounting by the six mounting studs ;` 149 and the movable contact 139 may be opened and closed - by an actuating cla~ping portion 152 secured to the ex-tending end 150a of the movable co~tact stem 150. The . , , . . i ~ : - -l .
11~3664!!3 present equipment utilizes preferably, one of these manu-factured "bottles" 103 for each pole-unit 39, 41, 43. As illustrated in Fig. 5, there is provided an upper inter- -rupter support casting 154, cast, in this particular in-stance, of aluminum, which has a horizontally-extending apertured support-flange portion 154a having mounting holes 154b therein to accommodate the three upwardly-extending mounting studs 149, the latter, as mentioned, constituting a part of the man~factured bottle 103.
Mounting nuts, not shown, threadedly secure the æupport-flange portion 154a of the casting 154 ta the vacuum , . : :
i "bottle" 103 and maintain it fixedly in a proper position, me casting 154, in addition, has a pair of downwardly-slanting support arms 154c, which are interconnected by a second supporting flange portion, or yoke portion 154d, ~; the latter being affixed to an upper insulator æupport 158 (Fig. 5) and to a metallic conduc~or support strap 160, the latter being securely mounted to an upper fuse-.
finger terminal assembly, generally designated by the reference numeral 162, and illustrated more clearly in Fig. 4 of the drawings. A fuse-finger contact-pressure .~ ..
- spring 166 is utilized, as illustrated in Fig. 4, sup-I ported between the pivotal fuse-finger portlon 168 of ~. ~,; .
the terminal assembly 162 and a spring seat 170 asso-ciated with a mountlng bolt 172, the latter extending through a vertically-disposed insulating spacer block 174, ;1 the latter being secured by mounting bolts 172, 176 to .. ..
` a laterally-exte~ding insulating support plate 178 of : the frame 180. In addition, a metallic angle 181 ls '- i :~ 30 provided to rigidly interconnect the horizontally-.. . . .
'-:' . ,,~ . .
` l 1(~3664~3 extending line-connection strap 160 with the hori~ontally-extending conductor strap 182, Fig, 4 again showlng this construction more clearly. A mounting bolt, not shown, extends vertically through the several component parts, as also shown in Fig. 4.
Fixedly secured to the upper extremity o~ a line-connection strap 160 is a terminal clamp 186 having a clamping portion 186a which encircles the upper eætending end 188 of the stationary contact stem 189, as more clearly shown in Fig, 6. Due to the inherent flexibility provided by the line-connection strap 160 (Fig. 4), there is not exerted any stress nor torqueing action upon the stationary contact stem 188. However, with reference to ~ig. 4J it will be observed that the bottle structure 103 itself is rigidly supported by the rclatively massive and heavy upper ` , interru~ting casting support 154.
~ To counteract the inward closing force exerted - because of the evacuated environment 190 within the evac-uated enclosure 145, a kickout spring 192 ls provided to compensate for the atmospheric pressure, the latter, of course, tending to force the separable contacts 138, 139 into the closed-circult position, as illustrated in Fig. 5.
. ~ ., .
The kickout spring 192 is interposed between a lower metallic washer 193 and the upper end of contact operator 152, - With reference to Figs. 4J 5 and 6 of the drawings, ` it will be observed that there is provided at ~he lower . end of the contactor-assembly 7 a reverse-current connec-tor-assembly 126 comprising a generally loop-shaped flex-30 ible connector 195 having an upper terminal 196 fixedly . ~ , ; . :
.
~ 36648 secured by a connector bolt 197 to the lower end of the movable contact operator 152. me flexible connector 195 extends rightwardly, as viewed in Flg. 5, into a loop portion "L", and then extends toward the le~t, as viewed in Fig. 5, to be secured by a connector bolt 199 to the --~
mid-portion 200 of a stationary U-shaped current-feeding member, generally designated by the reference numeral 201 and having a configuration more readily apparent from a ætudy of Fig. 6 of the drawings.
Aæ indicated in Fig. 6 of the drawings, the current-feed structure 201 comprises a pair of statiDnary L-shaped leg members 210, 211 bolted, as at 212, to the side walls 214, 215 of the lower interrupter casting support 216, and having a bight portion at the front thereof, designated by the reference numeral 200, me -~ bight portion 200 is electrically eonneeted to the lower '~ terminal 198 of the loop-shaped reverse-current loop assembly 126, as indicated more clearly in Fig, 5, which has the desirable advantage, namely an augmentation of the upper movable flexible strap portion 221 by the mag-netic fleld around the leg portions 210, 211 of the L-shaped reverse-current feed structure 126.
To obtain the higher meehanlcal ~orces only ` during an occasional system fault, without increasing the mechanlcal forces in effect in normal operation, the ; novel reverse current loop is provided as shown in Fig. 5.
mis reverse-current loop 126 provides an in-crease ln contact force and also weld-breaking force which is in proportion to the square of the current "I"
flowing through the reverse current loop.
.' ' ' . '. .
. ~ ~ . . .. . . . .
- . -~03664~3 ~ y properly proportioning the reverse-current loop 126, it is possible to provide a substantial increase in the contact and weld breaking forces under high-current conditions wh~le only slightly increasing these forces under normal operating conditions.
The reverse-current loop 126 consists o~ upper and lower shunt legs, not shown, plus parallel load connection bus bars 210, 211 as shown in ~igs. 4 and 5.
When current flows through the reverse current loop conductors 221, 222, the magnetic fields surrounding - these conductors 221, 222 react with each other to develop mechanical forces on the various conductors, The lower horizontal leg 222 of the shunt and the parallel load connection bus bars 210, 211 are restrained by non-movable parts of the support structure 180, while the upper shunt leg 221 is free to move upward until it strikes the right-hand end of the reverse-current loop-~ arm 136.
: ~ When the contactor 7 is sub~ected to a power i 20 system fault, of high current magnitude, the reverse cur-" rent loop 126 will apply a force upward on the right-hand end of the reverse-current loop-arm 136 which will in :
.r . turn pry the interrupter contacts 138, 139 closed assum-ing the contactor magnet 57 remains closed.
A second reaction of the reverse-current loop-. ,.
arm 136 i8 to apply a downward force on the contact spring :~: support plate 122 which will in turn increase the opening . .: .
velocity of the magnet and cross-b~r assembly 112 once the magnet 57 is de-energized~
. 30 When the magnet 57 is released, the moving ~:
; ~ -16-1~36648 assembly is accelerated by the combined ~orces o~ the con~
tact springs 128 and reverse current loop 126 until there is no gap at the contact overtravel ad~usting nut as shown in Fig. 6.
;At this point, the kinetic energy of the mo~ing system imparts a hammer blow to the contact actuating arm 105 which acts to break any contact welds which might exist.
When the overtravel adjusting nut 140 makes con-10 tact with the upper contact spring seat 130, as shown ln -;
Figure 6, the function o~ the reverse current loop 126 automatically takes a complete re~ersal to apply an addi-tional contact opening force to the interrupter 7 rather than a contact closing, as it previously had done when the magnet 57 uas closed.
In this design the connection from the contactor ., ~,load terminal 45 to the lower leg 222 of the shunt 195 is divided into two parallel legs 210, 211 which straddle and .:.
are mounted at the same elevation as the upper leg 221 of the shunt.
A kickout spring 192 is mounted dlrectly on the contact shaft 150 of the interrupter 103 to take up the play between the contact actuating mechanism 144 and the interrupter contacts 138, l3g~ Without a kickout spring 192 ln this location, the contacts 138, 139 could touch momentarily under low contact force conditions while play is being taken up in the operatlng mechanism 144. Play between the contacts and operating mechanism 144 would aggravate the contact erosion and welding problems both on the opening and closing operations.
~3~64~
The kickout springs 192 also minimize armature bounce on opening and in addition are proportional to apply sufficient load on the magnet 57 at open gap position to prevent the magnet 57 ~rom picking up unless its operating voltage iB sufficient ~or the magnet 57 to seal-in from . the contact-touch position.
: Each pole 39, 41 and 4~ o~ the contactor may be .. ~
installed or removed from the contactor as an individual sub-assembly, so that it may be efficiently assembled or mai~tained at a work-bench rather than in the contactor 7.
The interrupter unit itself may also be i~stalled : or removed from the contactor as a smaller sub-assembly - consisting of the interrupter 1O~J its support 154, moving . contact actuating arm 105, and reverse current loop de- .~ .
, . .
tails 126 as shown in the exploded view of Flg. 7. :
' In order to obtain maximum mechanical life of the interrupter bellows 235 and al80 avoid ~riction between . the interrupter contact shaft 150 and its bushing, it is ... . .
~. important that the relationship between the contact drive . . .
:. 20 ,pln 132 and the pivot pln 107 ~or the contact actuatlng arm 105 be accurately maintained~
.
To accomplish this, the interrupter 103 and the contact actuating arm 105 are both mounted on a single . ~ ' .
~.- rigid mechanical detail 110 which can be accurately manu~
.` factured. m ls detail 110 is the lower interrupter :.
mounting bracket shown in Fig. 7, ; In connection with the above alignment of parts, : it is also deæirable that the contacts 138, 139 touch when the contact drive pin 1~2 is on the sa~e horizonta : 30 centerline, not shown, as the pivot pin 107 for the C01 - -18- :
- - , . . : .
1~36~4~
actuating arm 105.
: When the interrupter sub-assembly is being assembled, the kickout spring 192 is placed over the con-tact shaft 150 and then compressed by the contact operator 152 which in turn is held in place by the shoulder bolt 239, me shoulder b~olt 239 is only tightened finger tight so as not to apply excessive torque to the interrupter ; shaft 150 and bellows 235.
The contact operator 152 and shoulder bolt 23g de~ign is coordinated in a manner that the shoulder bolt 239 cannot elamp the contact operator 152 to the contact shaft 150, but instead permits the contact operator 152 :; to rotate freely on the contact shaft 150 without appl~ing . torque to the contact shaft 150 when the contact operator .
! ~ 152 is being lined up with the contact-actuating arm 105.
~: After the contact drive pln 132 is installed, ,~r the contact actuating arm 105 is depressed to take up the .: play between the contact drive pin 132 and contact shaft 'r. 150 following which the contact operator 152 is clamped '~ 20 to the contact shaft 150 by tlghtening the clamping bolt :
241, .~ In normal service, the contaet shaft 150 will be açtuated through the clamped ~oint between it and the contact operator 152, but shou~ this ~oint fail the con-tacts 138J 139 will then be closed by compression of the ; parts between the drive pin 132 and the end 150a of the contact shaft 150, and opened by the shoulder bolt 239.
One of the ob~ects of the present invention is to prevent excessive torque ~rom being applied to the : 30 shaft 150 of the interrupter 103 during ma.lntenance . . ~
~ ' ` ' - 19-., .
.~ . . . .
~Q36~48 and/or assembly since torque may destroy or shorten the mecha~ical life of the interrupter bellows 235, me shoulder bolt 239 acts as an assembly fix-ture to compress the kickout spring 192 during assembly while still allo~ing the contact operator 152 to be rotated as required to install the con~act drive pin 132.
In operation the shoulder bolt 2~9 in addition acts as a sa~ety device to insure opening of the contacts in the event the contact operator 152 is not securely olamped ;~
10 to the interrupter contact shaft 150.
The inter~upter 10 ~ is rigidly supported at its upper end, which contains the interrupter stationary con-tact 138 so as to avoid transmitting contact forces through the ~alls 145 of the interrupter 103. me moving contact ~-end 150 of the interrupter 10~; in addition is clamped to ;; the stationa~ portion of the pole assembly to provide lateral stability. Clamping of the lower end o~ the interrupter sub-assemblg "SB" is accomplished by mea~s ., - .
of an oversized open slot 243 which compensates for the 20 manufacturing tolerances of the interrupter 107 and also simplifies installetian and removal of the interrupter sub-assembly "SB", Manufacturing tolerances on the interrupter length dimension "X" are rather large, so the vertical locations of the lower ends o~ the interrupter 103 may vary considerably from contactor 7 to contactor 7 and from pole to pole. Since the operating mechanism 144 for each pole is mounted on the moving contact end "E"
of the individual interrupters 103, r~ther than on some 30 fixed portion of the pole assembly, this is of little : . .
:: .
. .
~3~64~ :
consequence.
In the event the interrupter length "X" is found to be other than its nominal value, the final lengths of the contact springs 128 will also vary from their nominal value resulting in either high or low contact forces.
me average contact ~orce in the case of a - multiple-pole contactor, as sho~n in the drawings3 can7 however, be corrected by adjusting the angular position of the magnet armature 61 on the operating shaft 69 so 10 that the correct average contact spring length and force 128 is obtained when the magnet 57 is sealed-in.
.. .
Angular position ad~ustment of the magnet arma-ture 61 is a standard feature of an existing air-break contactor magnet 57 applied to the disclosed vacuum con-~-- tactor 7.
Variations in contact forces between poles existing after the magnet ad~ustment 61 has been made will fall within allowable limits if the contact springs 128 are designed to have a low spring rate.
NON-TORQUE ACTION EXER~ED 13Y SHOULDER-BOLT 2~9 To avoid imposing torque action upon the movable contact stem 150 and thereby exerting corresponding torque actic~n upon the bellows 235, the utilization of a novel shoulder-bolt 2~ is provided. The construction of the shoulder-bolt is set forth in Figs, 11-12 of the drawings.
It will be observed that the bore 245 of the contact-shaft " operator 152 has a relatively loose fit on the contact ....
stem 150 as shown ln Fig. 11, the shank 239a of the shoulder-bolt 239 has a loose fit at "C" with the movable ~0 contact operator 152. The shoulder-bolt 239, for example, '' . ~ ~'-: ::
1~3664~3 may have an Allen head with an enlarged portion 239a and a reduced portion 239b with a shoulder 247 therebetween, so that the shoulder-bolt, when tightened, will force washers 249 (Fig. 11) against the lower extremity 150a ~ ~ -of the moving-contact shaft 150 of the vacuum-type inter- ~ .
rupter 103. mis is shown in Fig. 11. The number of washers 249 is arranged to accommodate the tolerances provided between the different movable contact shafts 150 of the several pole-units 39, 41 and 43. Once the ~ ;
shoulder-bolt 2 59 is tightened, the contact-shaft opera-tor 152 is moved manually upwardly, so that there is no clearance at the point "D" in Fig. 11. Then the elamping ~:
.
bolt 241 of Fig. 7 is tightened, so that the movable con- :
- tact shaft 150 is operated by the contact-shaIt operator . 152, the latter having the apertures 250 provided therein : . .
- to accommodate the center-line of the contact-drive pin 1~2. As a result, there is no torque action exerted either upon the movable contact shaft 150, or the bellows 235 located interiorly of the vacuum envelope 103. ~here may, 20 of course, be relatively wide tolerances provided in the vacuum-bottle manufactureJ and the foregoing arrangement permits a desirable accommodation of these tolerances, VACUUM-BOTTLE TOLERAl~CES
Despite the wide la~itude of the tolerances pro-vided in the manufacture of the vacuum bottles 103, it is desired not to impose any stress upon the ceramic envelope 145, or to effect the breakage o:f any of the he~netic seals 251, To effect this end, an accurately-machined - lower-interrupter support-plate 110 having the pivot . 30 apertures 252 proYided therein is supplied. These pivot ~ .
. -22- ~
:.
~,'', , ''', ' ' . . : - . .. .. . .
. ' ~36648 apertures 252 may be accurately machined, and once the - vacuum bottle 10~ is fixedly secured by the upper interrupter casting 154, as a first operation, subse-quently, as a separate operation, the U-shaped accurately-machined support plate 110 is secured into place by the lower three mountlng bolts 149. me pivot-: pin 1~2 may then be accurately located with respect to the lower interrupter support 110 because of the ~ accurate machining of the pivot apertures 252 therein~
10 This will accurately locate the contact-actuating lever 105 and, additionally, accurately locate the contact-stem ~riving pin 132. As mentioned pre- :
viously, the contact-sha~t clamp bolt 241 is tightened as a final operation after previous assemblage of the contact-pivot pin 132 and tightening of the ~houlder bolt 239.
From the foregoing description, it will be :
apparent that there has been provided an improved movable ~ ;
: contact operator for the separable contacts of a circult-:.
interrupter, particularly applicable to one of the vacuum-: type.
Also, it will be o~served that with the improved operation mechanism, and the reverse-current loop system, the function o~ the reverse-current loop-system changes in dependence upon whether or not the ..
operating magnet 57 i8 energized, or is not energized, In the energiæed ~ate o~ the operating magnet 57, an addltional force is provided to maintain the contacts . 138, 139 closed during the existence of heavy-fault-current conditions. When the magnet 57 is not energized, ;,.
. - , ~ . -1036~48 :;
the fulcrum point changes, or is relocated to thereby provide, insteàd of a closing force, in this instance an opening force, which assists and augments the accel-erating opening springs. .
Although there has been illustrated and - described specific embodiments of the invention, it is - to be clearly understood that the same were merely for .. the purpose of illustration, and that changes and ~; modifications may readily be made therein, by those skilled in the art, without departing from the spirit and scope of the inventionO
~ '' .
-' :, :, ~'.'' ` ' :: :
;
, ...................................................................... .
'.`,~`' , .
"1` :
,.
~ ., .
.... . .
~: :
' : ~
. .. ~
: . !
--24- .
- . . . : .
.
~366~'~
passes through the two leg portions 105a, 105b of the movable contact-actuating arm 105 and, additionally, passes through a pair of apertures 134 provided in the rotàtable - reverse-current actuating arm 136. In other words, the same pivot pin 1~2 passes through the two leg portions 105a, 105b of the contact-actuating arm 105 and also through the leg portions 136a, 136b constituting the ~--reverse-current arm-assembly 136, thereby enabling a fulcrum point to be exerted at the pivot pin 107 in the contact-welded condition of the separable contacts 138, 1~9 under certain conditions, as more fully described hereina~ter, With reference to Figs. 4, 5 an~ 6 of the drawings, it will be observed that there is provided an overtravel ad~usting nut 140~ which is threaded upon the upper end 142a of the contact-pressure stud 142, the lower end of which is secured into the upper end of the insulator .
support 120. mus, in the closed-circuit position of the vacuum-interrupter assembly 7, as illustrated in Fig. 4, the contact compression sprlng 128 i8 compre~sed, thereby applying contact-closing pressure between the separable contacts 138 and 139, the overtravel ad~usting nut 140 aecommodating the "wipe" travel distance by continued closing travel of the contact-actuating arm 114. mus9 Fig. 4 illustrates the closed-circuit position of the interrupter device 7 with the operating magnet 57 ener-gized and the compression spring 128 providing the de-sired contact pressure in the closed-circuit position of the device.
- 30 It will be obvious that during the opening '' ,', , L ' . -. ' . ' ' : ' .. . ' ' .
' ' ' ' . ' ~ ' " ' . ' ' ' ' ., , . . '. . . ' ~ . ~ '., ' . ' ,, ' , ' ~ ~~
1~3664~3 operation, the operating shaft 69 will rotate in a counter-clockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 4, carrying down- -wardly with it the two operating arms 114 and 116 together with the cross-bar 112 and the three insulator 6upports 120. Also carried downwardly will be the abutment plates 122 and the contact pressure studæ 142 until the overtravel ad~usting nuts 140 engage the yoke portions 130 of the contact actuating arms 105, as illustrated in Fig. 6 o~
the drawings. Assuming that there does not exist a welded condition at the separable contacts 1~8, 139, the operating mechanism 144 will continue its counterclockwise opening movement carrying the separable contacts 1~8, 139 to their fully-open circuit position, as illustrated in Fig. 6 of the drawlngs.
~ The interrupter unit 103 may be of any suitable ; type manu~actured commercially by a number o~ companies, and, in general, comprises an evacuated envelope 145 having end metallic plates 146, 147 hermetically sealed to the ends of the insulating envelope 145, such as a ceramic sleeve, ~or example, The vacuum "bottle" 103 is provided havlng supporting stud portlons 149, say three ; in numberJ ~or example, extending upwardly and downwardly ; as illustrated in Figs, 5 and 6, and also having the movable contact stem 150 extending externally, as illus-; trated in Figs. 6 and 7, In its manufactured component ; assembly form, it isJ there~ore, provlded in a form . .
enabling its ready mounting by the six mounting studs ;` 149 and the movable contact 139 may be opened and closed - by an actuating cla~ping portion 152 secured to the ex-tending end 150a of the movable co~tact stem 150. The . , , . . i ~ : - -l .
11~3664!!3 present equipment utilizes preferably, one of these manu-factured "bottles" 103 for each pole-unit 39, 41, 43. As illustrated in Fig. 5, there is provided an upper inter- -rupter support casting 154, cast, in this particular in-stance, of aluminum, which has a horizontally-extending apertured support-flange portion 154a having mounting holes 154b therein to accommodate the three upwardly-extending mounting studs 149, the latter, as mentioned, constituting a part of the man~factured bottle 103.
Mounting nuts, not shown, threadedly secure the æupport-flange portion 154a of the casting 154 ta the vacuum , . : :
i "bottle" 103 and maintain it fixedly in a proper position, me casting 154, in addition, has a pair of downwardly-slanting support arms 154c, which are interconnected by a second supporting flange portion, or yoke portion 154d, ~; the latter being affixed to an upper insulator æupport 158 (Fig. 5) and to a metallic conduc~or support strap 160, the latter being securely mounted to an upper fuse-.
finger terminal assembly, generally designated by the reference numeral 162, and illustrated more clearly in Fig. 4 of the drawings. A fuse-finger contact-pressure .~ ..
- spring 166 is utilized, as illustrated in Fig. 4, sup-I ported between the pivotal fuse-finger portlon 168 of ~. ~,; .
the terminal assembly 162 and a spring seat 170 asso-ciated with a mountlng bolt 172, the latter extending through a vertically-disposed insulating spacer block 174, ;1 the latter being secured by mounting bolts 172, 176 to .. ..
` a laterally-exte~ding insulating support plate 178 of : the frame 180. In addition, a metallic angle 181 ls '- i :~ 30 provided to rigidly interconnect the horizontally-.. . . .
'-:' . ,,~ . .
` l 1(~3664~3 extending line-connection strap 160 with the hori~ontally-extending conductor strap 182, Fig, 4 again showlng this construction more clearly. A mounting bolt, not shown, extends vertically through the several component parts, as also shown in Fig. 4.
Fixedly secured to the upper extremity o~ a line-connection strap 160 is a terminal clamp 186 having a clamping portion 186a which encircles the upper eætending end 188 of the stationary contact stem 189, as more clearly shown in Fig, 6. Due to the inherent flexibility provided by the line-connection strap 160 (Fig. 4), there is not exerted any stress nor torqueing action upon the stationary contact stem 188. However, with reference to ~ig. 4J it will be observed that the bottle structure 103 itself is rigidly supported by the rclatively massive and heavy upper ` , interru~ting casting support 154.
~ To counteract the inward closing force exerted - because of the evacuated environment 190 within the evac-uated enclosure 145, a kickout spring 192 ls provided to compensate for the atmospheric pressure, the latter, of course, tending to force the separable contacts 138, 139 into the closed-circult position, as illustrated in Fig. 5.
. ~ ., .
The kickout spring 192 is interposed between a lower metallic washer 193 and the upper end of contact operator 152, - With reference to Figs. 4J 5 and 6 of the drawings, ` it will be observed that there is provided at ~he lower . end of the contactor-assembly 7 a reverse-current connec-tor-assembly 126 comprising a generally loop-shaped flex-30 ible connector 195 having an upper terminal 196 fixedly . ~ , ; . :
.
~ 36648 secured by a connector bolt 197 to the lower end of the movable contact operator 152. me flexible connector 195 extends rightwardly, as viewed in Flg. 5, into a loop portion "L", and then extends toward the le~t, as viewed in Fig. 5, to be secured by a connector bolt 199 to the --~
mid-portion 200 of a stationary U-shaped current-feeding member, generally designated by the reference numeral 201 and having a configuration more readily apparent from a ætudy of Fig. 6 of the drawings.
Aæ indicated in Fig. 6 of the drawings, the current-feed structure 201 comprises a pair of statiDnary L-shaped leg members 210, 211 bolted, as at 212, to the side walls 214, 215 of the lower interrupter casting support 216, and having a bight portion at the front thereof, designated by the reference numeral 200, me -~ bight portion 200 is electrically eonneeted to the lower '~ terminal 198 of the loop-shaped reverse-current loop assembly 126, as indicated more clearly in Fig, 5, which has the desirable advantage, namely an augmentation of the upper movable flexible strap portion 221 by the mag-netic fleld around the leg portions 210, 211 of the L-shaped reverse-current feed structure 126.
To obtain the higher meehanlcal ~orces only ` during an occasional system fault, without increasing the mechanlcal forces in effect in normal operation, the ; novel reverse current loop is provided as shown in Fig. 5.
mis reverse-current loop 126 provides an in-crease ln contact force and also weld-breaking force which is in proportion to the square of the current "I"
flowing through the reverse current loop.
.' ' ' . '. .
. ~ ~ . . .. . . . .
- . -~03664~3 ~ y properly proportioning the reverse-current loop 126, it is possible to provide a substantial increase in the contact and weld breaking forces under high-current conditions wh~le only slightly increasing these forces under normal operating conditions.
The reverse-current loop 126 consists o~ upper and lower shunt legs, not shown, plus parallel load connection bus bars 210, 211 as shown in ~igs. 4 and 5.
When current flows through the reverse current loop conductors 221, 222, the magnetic fields surrounding - these conductors 221, 222 react with each other to develop mechanical forces on the various conductors, The lower horizontal leg 222 of the shunt and the parallel load connection bus bars 210, 211 are restrained by non-movable parts of the support structure 180, while the upper shunt leg 221 is free to move upward until it strikes the right-hand end of the reverse-current loop-~ arm 136.
: ~ When the contactor 7 is sub~ected to a power i 20 system fault, of high current magnitude, the reverse cur-" rent loop 126 will apply a force upward on the right-hand end of the reverse-current loop-arm 136 which will in :
.r . turn pry the interrupter contacts 138, 139 closed assum-ing the contactor magnet 57 remains closed.
A second reaction of the reverse-current loop-. ,.
arm 136 i8 to apply a downward force on the contact spring :~: support plate 122 which will in turn increase the opening . .: .
velocity of the magnet and cross-b~r assembly 112 once the magnet 57 is de-energized~
. 30 When the magnet 57 is released, the moving ~:
; ~ -16-1~36648 assembly is accelerated by the combined ~orces o~ the con~
tact springs 128 and reverse current loop 126 until there is no gap at the contact overtravel ad~usting nut as shown in Fig. 6.
;At this point, the kinetic energy of the mo~ing system imparts a hammer blow to the contact actuating arm 105 which acts to break any contact welds which might exist.
When the overtravel adjusting nut 140 makes con-10 tact with the upper contact spring seat 130, as shown ln -;
Figure 6, the function o~ the reverse current loop 126 automatically takes a complete re~ersal to apply an addi-tional contact opening force to the interrupter 7 rather than a contact closing, as it previously had done when the magnet 57 uas closed.
In this design the connection from the contactor ., ~,load terminal 45 to the lower leg 222 of the shunt 195 is divided into two parallel legs 210, 211 which straddle and .:.
are mounted at the same elevation as the upper leg 221 of the shunt.
A kickout spring 192 is mounted dlrectly on the contact shaft 150 of the interrupter 103 to take up the play between the contact actuating mechanism 144 and the interrupter contacts 138, l3g~ Without a kickout spring 192 ln this location, the contacts 138, 139 could touch momentarily under low contact force conditions while play is being taken up in the operatlng mechanism 144. Play between the contacts and operating mechanism 144 would aggravate the contact erosion and welding problems both on the opening and closing operations.
~3~64~
The kickout springs 192 also minimize armature bounce on opening and in addition are proportional to apply sufficient load on the magnet 57 at open gap position to prevent the magnet 57 ~rom picking up unless its operating voltage iB sufficient ~or the magnet 57 to seal-in from . the contact-touch position.
: Each pole 39, 41 and 4~ o~ the contactor may be .. ~
installed or removed from the contactor as an individual sub-assembly, so that it may be efficiently assembled or mai~tained at a work-bench rather than in the contactor 7.
The interrupter unit itself may also be i~stalled : or removed from the contactor as a smaller sub-assembly - consisting of the interrupter 1O~J its support 154, moving . contact actuating arm 105, and reverse current loop de- .~ .
, . .
tails 126 as shown in the exploded view of Flg. 7. :
' In order to obtain maximum mechanical life of the interrupter bellows 235 and al80 avoid ~riction between . the interrupter contact shaft 150 and its bushing, it is ... . .
~. important that the relationship between the contact drive . . .
:. 20 ,pln 132 and the pivot pln 107 ~or the contact actuatlng arm 105 be accurately maintained~
.
To accomplish this, the interrupter 103 and the contact actuating arm 105 are both mounted on a single . ~ ' .
~.- rigid mechanical detail 110 which can be accurately manu~
.` factured. m ls detail 110 is the lower interrupter :.
mounting bracket shown in Fig. 7, ; In connection with the above alignment of parts, : it is also deæirable that the contacts 138, 139 touch when the contact drive pin 1~2 is on the sa~e horizonta : 30 centerline, not shown, as the pivot pin 107 for the C01 - -18- :
- - , . . : .
1~36~4~
actuating arm 105.
: When the interrupter sub-assembly is being assembled, the kickout spring 192 is placed over the con-tact shaft 150 and then compressed by the contact operator 152 which in turn is held in place by the shoulder bolt 239, me shoulder b~olt 239 is only tightened finger tight so as not to apply excessive torque to the interrupter ; shaft 150 and bellows 235.
The contact operator 152 and shoulder bolt 23g de~ign is coordinated in a manner that the shoulder bolt 239 cannot elamp the contact operator 152 to the contact shaft 150, but instead permits the contact operator 152 :; to rotate freely on the contact shaft 150 without appl~ing . torque to the contact shaft 150 when the contact operator .
! ~ 152 is being lined up with the contact-actuating arm 105.
~: After the contact drive pln 132 is installed, ,~r the contact actuating arm 105 is depressed to take up the .: play between the contact drive pin 132 and contact shaft 'r. 150 following which the contact operator 152 is clamped '~ 20 to the contact shaft 150 by tlghtening the clamping bolt :
241, .~ In normal service, the contaet shaft 150 will be açtuated through the clamped ~oint between it and the contact operator 152, but shou~ this ~oint fail the con-tacts 138J 139 will then be closed by compression of the ; parts between the drive pin 132 and the end 150a of the contact shaft 150, and opened by the shoulder bolt 239.
One of the ob~ects of the present invention is to prevent excessive torque ~rom being applied to the : 30 shaft 150 of the interrupter 103 during ma.lntenance . . ~
~ ' ` ' - 19-., .
.~ . . . .
~Q36~48 and/or assembly since torque may destroy or shorten the mecha~ical life of the interrupter bellows 235, me shoulder bolt 239 acts as an assembly fix-ture to compress the kickout spring 192 during assembly while still allo~ing the contact operator 152 to be rotated as required to install the con~act drive pin 132.
In operation the shoulder bolt 2~9 in addition acts as a sa~ety device to insure opening of the contacts in the event the contact operator 152 is not securely olamped ;~
10 to the interrupter contact shaft 150.
The inter~upter 10 ~ is rigidly supported at its upper end, which contains the interrupter stationary con-tact 138 so as to avoid transmitting contact forces through the ~alls 145 of the interrupter 103. me moving contact ~-end 150 of the interrupter 10~; in addition is clamped to ;; the stationa~ portion of the pole assembly to provide lateral stability. Clamping of the lower end o~ the interrupter sub-assemblg "SB" is accomplished by mea~s ., - .
of an oversized open slot 243 which compensates for the 20 manufacturing tolerances of the interrupter 107 and also simplifies installetian and removal of the interrupter sub-assembly "SB", Manufacturing tolerances on the interrupter length dimension "X" are rather large, so the vertical locations of the lower ends o~ the interrupter 103 may vary considerably from contactor 7 to contactor 7 and from pole to pole. Since the operating mechanism 144 for each pole is mounted on the moving contact end "E"
of the individual interrupters 103, r~ther than on some 30 fixed portion of the pole assembly, this is of little : . .
:: .
. .
~3~64~ :
consequence.
In the event the interrupter length "X" is found to be other than its nominal value, the final lengths of the contact springs 128 will also vary from their nominal value resulting in either high or low contact forces.
me average contact ~orce in the case of a - multiple-pole contactor, as sho~n in the drawings3 can7 however, be corrected by adjusting the angular position of the magnet armature 61 on the operating shaft 69 so 10 that the correct average contact spring length and force 128 is obtained when the magnet 57 is sealed-in.
.. .
Angular position ad~ustment of the magnet arma-ture 61 is a standard feature of an existing air-break contactor magnet 57 applied to the disclosed vacuum con-~-- tactor 7.
Variations in contact forces between poles existing after the magnet ad~ustment 61 has been made will fall within allowable limits if the contact springs 128 are designed to have a low spring rate.
NON-TORQUE ACTION EXER~ED 13Y SHOULDER-BOLT 2~9 To avoid imposing torque action upon the movable contact stem 150 and thereby exerting corresponding torque actic~n upon the bellows 235, the utilization of a novel shoulder-bolt 2~ is provided. The construction of the shoulder-bolt is set forth in Figs, 11-12 of the drawings.
It will be observed that the bore 245 of the contact-shaft " operator 152 has a relatively loose fit on the contact ....
stem 150 as shown ln Fig. 11, the shank 239a of the shoulder-bolt 239 has a loose fit at "C" with the movable ~0 contact operator 152. The shoulder-bolt 239, for example, '' . ~ ~'-: ::
1~3664~3 may have an Allen head with an enlarged portion 239a and a reduced portion 239b with a shoulder 247 therebetween, so that the shoulder-bolt, when tightened, will force washers 249 (Fig. 11) against the lower extremity 150a ~ ~ -of the moving-contact shaft 150 of the vacuum-type inter- ~ .
rupter 103. mis is shown in Fig. 11. The number of washers 249 is arranged to accommodate the tolerances provided between the different movable contact shafts 150 of the several pole-units 39, 41 and 43. Once the ~ ;
shoulder-bolt 2 59 is tightened, the contact-shaft opera-tor 152 is moved manually upwardly, so that there is no clearance at the point "D" in Fig. 11. Then the elamping ~:
.
bolt 241 of Fig. 7 is tightened, so that the movable con- :
- tact shaft 150 is operated by the contact-shaIt operator . 152, the latter having the apertures 250 provided therein : . .
- to accommodate the center-line of the contact-drive pin 1~2. As a result, there is no torque action exerted either upon the movable contact shaft 150, or the bellows 235 located interiorly of the vacuum envelope 103. ~here may, 20 of course, be relatively wide tolerances provided in the vacuum-bottle manufactureJ and the foregoing arrangement permits a desirable accommodation of these tolerances, VACUUM-BOTTLE TOLERAl~CES
Despite the wide la~itude of the tolerances pro-vided in the manufacture of the vacuum bottles 103, it is desired not to impose any stress upon the ceramic envelope 145, or to effect the breakage o:f any of the he~netic seals 251, To effect this end, an accurately-machined - lower-interrupter support-plate 110 having the pivot . 30 apertures 252 proYided therein is supplied. These pivot ~ .
. -22- ~
:.
~,'', , ''', ' ' . . : - . .. .. . .
. ' ~36648 apertures 252 may be accurately machined, and once the - vacuum bottle 10~ is fixedly secured by the upper interrupter casting 154, as a first operation, subse-quently, as a separate operation, the U-shaped accurately-machined support plate 110 is secured into place by the lower three mountlng bolts 149. me pivot-: pin 1~2 may then be accurately located with respect to the lower interrupter support 110 because of the ~ accurate machining of the pivot apertures 252 therein~
10 This will accurately locate the contact-actuating lever 105 and, additionally, accurately locate the contact-stem ~riving pin 132. As mentioned pre- :
viously, the contact-sha~t clamp bolt 241 is tightened as a final operation after previous assemblage of the contact-pivot pin 132 and tightening of the ~houlder bolt 239.
From the foregoing description, it will be :
apparent that there has been provided an improved movable ~ ;
: contact operator for the separable contacts of a circult-:.
interrupter, particularly applicable to one of the vacuum-: type.
Also, it will be o~served that with the improved operation mechanism, and the reverse-current loop system, the function o~ the reverse-current loop-system changes in dependence upon whether or not the ..
operating magnet 57 i8 energized, or is not energized, In the energiæed ~ate o~ the operating magnet 57, an addltional force is provided to maintain the contacts . 138, 139 closed during the existence of heavy-fault-current conditions. When the magnet 57 is not energized, ;,.
. - , ~ . -1036~48 :;
the fulcrum point changes, or is relocated to thereby provide, insteàd of a closing force, in this instance an opening force, which assists and augments the accel-erating opening springs. .
Although there has been illustrated and - described specific embodiments of the invention, it is - to be clearly understood that the same were merely for .. the purpose of illustration, and that changes and ~; modifications may readily be made therein, by those skilled in the art, without departing from the spirit and scope of the inventionO
~ '' .
-' :, :, ~'.'' ` ' :: :
;
, ...................................................................... .
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"1` :
,.
~ ., .
.... . .
~: :
' : ~
. .. ~
: . !
--24- .
- . . . : .
Claims (17)
1. A circuit-interrupting structure including a vacuum-type interrupting unit having a relatively-stationary contact and a cooperable movable contact, metallic bellows means for hermetically sealing the movable contact to the envelope of said unit, a movable-contact stem for supporting and for moving the movable contact, a movable-contact operator having a relatively-loose fit upon the exterior end of the movable-contact stem, said movable-contact operator having at least one supporting pivot aperture provided therein, a rotatable contact-operating lever having a fixed pivot adjacent one end thereof and a contact-actuating pin extending therethrough which, additionally, extends through said one pivot aperture provided in the movable-contact operator, a bolt for captively securing said movable-contact operator to the external end of the movable-contact stem, and clamping means for clamping the movable-contact operator to the external end of the movable-contact stem after insertion of the contact-actuating pin through the contact-operating lever and also through the movable-contact operator,
2. The combination according to claim 1, wherein the bolt is a shoulder-bolt having an enlarged diameter portion and an end relatively-small-diameter portion, the relatively-small-diameter portion being threadedly secured into a tapped bore provided in the external extremity of the movable-contact stem.
3. The combination according to claim 1, wherein the movable-contact operator has two-pivot-pin supporting apertures, and the rotatable contact lever comprises a pair of coacting rotatable lever-arms movable together and located externally of the movable-contact operator.
4. The combination according to claim 1, wherein the rotatable-contact lever has at least one contact-compression spring associated with one external end thereof.
5. The combination according to claim 2, wherein one or more washers are provided at the shoulder-portion of the shoulder-bolt for accommodating manu-facturing tolerances associated with the vacuum-inter-rupting unit.
6. The combination according to claim 1, wherein the movable-contact operator generally comprises a cylindrically-shaped metallic member having one end bore loosely surrounding the extremity of the movable-contact stem, an intermediate relatively-reduced portion for accommodating a shank portion of the bolt, and an enlarged end portion for accommodating the head of the bolt.
7. The combination according to claim 6, wherein the movable-contact operator has a pair of pin-supporting apertures disposed adjacent the head-portion of the bolt.
8. The combination according to claim 1, wherein a U-shaped flange-support plate member is affixed to the movable-contact end of the vacuum-type interrupting unit, and has fixed pivot-pin supporting apertures provided through the leg portions thereof.
9. The combination according to claim 8, wherein the legs of the U-shaped flange support member have notches provided therein for accommodating tolerances of the vacuum-type interrupting units.
10. In combination a vacuum-type circuit interrupting unit including a relatively stationary contact and a cooperable movable contact, a movable-contact stem supporting said movable contact and effecting the opening and dosing motions thereof, a metallic bellows having one end hermetically sealed to the movable-contact stem and the other end hermetically sealed adjacent one end of the circuit-interrupting unit, one end of the movable-contact stem protruding externally of the evacuated envelope of the circuit-interrupting unit, a movable-contact operator having a loose removable yet available manual clamping engagement with the external protruding extremity of the movable-contact operator and additionally having a pivot-supporting aperture provided therein, a rotatable contact-operation lever, means pivotally supporting said contact-operating lever adjacent one end thereof on a fixed pivot, said contact-operating lever having a movable pivot-aperture located intermediate the ends thereof, a movable pivot-pin inserted through the movable pivot-aperture of the contact-operating lever and also through the pivot-aperture of the movable contact-operator, and manual clamping means for selectively clamping at times the movable contact-operator to said movable-contact stem.
11. The combination of claim 10, wherein a bolt removably secures the movable-contact operator to the end-protruding extremity of the movable-contact stem.
12. The combination according to claim 11, wherein the bolt is a shoulder-bolt having an enlarged-diameter portion and an end relatively-small-diameter portion, the relatively-small-diameter portion being threadedly secured into a tapped bore provided in the external extremity of the movable-contact stem.
13. The combination according to claim 10, wherein the movable-contact operator has two pivot-pin supporting apertures located therein, and the rotatable contact lever comprises a pair of coacting rotatable ever-arms movable conjointly together and disposed externally of the movable-contact operator.
14. The combination according to claim 10, wherein the rotatable contact-operating lever has a contact-compression spring associated with the other end thereof.
15. The combination according to claim 14, wherein the contact-operating lever means carries said contact-compression spring and has additionally a stud passing through the contact-compression spring and also passing through an aperture provided at the said other end of the rotatable contact-operating lever for providing contact compression in the closed-circuit position of the interrupter.
16. The combination according to claim 11, wherein the movable-contact operator generally com-prises a cylindrically-shaped metallic member having one end bore loosely surrounding the extremity of the movable-contact stem, an intermediate relatively-reduced portion for accommodating a shank portion of the bolt, and an enlarged end portion for accommodating the head of said bolt.
17. The combination according to claim 16, wherein said bolt is a shoulder bolt having an enlarged-diameter portion and an end relatively-small-diameter portion, the relatively-small-diameter portion being threadedly secured into a tapped bore provided in the external extremity of the movable-contact stem.
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| US481423A US3898407A (en) | 1974-06-20 | 1974-06-20 | Movable contact-stem operator for a vacuum-type circuit-interrupter |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA1036648A true CA1036648A (en) | 1978-08-15 |
Family
ID=23911885
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA228,892A Expired CA1036648A (en) | 1974-06-20 | 1975-06-09 | Movable-contact-stem operator for a vacuum-type circuit-interrupter |
Country Status (2)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| US (1) | US3898407A (en) |
| CA (1) | CA1036648A (en) |
Families Citing this family (9)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US3956721A (en) * | 1975-04-16 | 1976-05-11 | Rte Corporation | Fault interrupter |
| US4247745A (en) * | 1978-09-13 | 1981-01-27 | Westinghouse Electric Corp. | Vacuum-type contactor assembly |
| US5436414A (en) * | 1993-07-16 | 1995-07-25 | Eaton Corporation | Drive mechanism for circuit interrupters |
| US5530216A (en) * | 1995-03-07 | 1996-06-25 | Eaton Corporation | Flexible connector for a circuit breaker |
| US5864109A (en) * | 1998-01-30 | 1999-01-26 | Lg Industrial Systems Co., Ltd. | Terminal connection locking apparatus for vacuum circuit breaker |
| EP1772883B1 (en) * | 2005-10-04 | 2008-11-26 | ABB Technology AG | A medium-voltage vacuum circuit breaker and a related medium-voltage switchboard |
| ATE542231T1 (en) * | 2007-09-13 | 2012-02-15 | Eaton Ind Netherlands Bv | OPERATING MECHANISM WITH CONTACT FORCE ADJUSTMENT |
| US9679708B2 (en) | 2014-04-11 | 2017-06-13 | S&C Electric Company | Circuit interrupters with masses in contact spring assemblies |
| US9685280B2 (en) | 2014-04-11 | 2017-06-20 | S&C Electric Company | Switchgear operating mechanism |
Family Cites Families (1)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US3784774A (en) * | 1972-08-21 | 1974-01-08 | Ite Imperial Corp | Vacuum circuit breaker current transfer and actuation |
-
1974
- 1974-06-20 US US481423A patent/US3898407A/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
-
1975
- 1975-06-09 CA CA228,892A patent/CA1036648A/en not_active Expired
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| US3898407A (en) | 1975-08-05 |
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