CA1056882A - Pushbutton electric switch - Google Patents
Pushbutton electric switchInfo
- Publication number
- CA1056882A CA1056882A CA236,411A CA236411A CA1056882A CA 1056882 A CA1056882 A CA 1056882A CA 236411 A CA236411 A CA 236411A CA 1056882 A CA1056882 A CA 1056882A
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- lever
- contacts
- switch
- opening
- releasable
- 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
- H01H13/00—Switches having rectilinearly-movable operating part or parts adapted for pushing or pulling in one direction only, e.g. push-button switch
- H01H13/68—Switches having rectilinearly-movable operating part or parts adapted for pushing or pulling in one direction only, e.g. push-button switch having two operating members, one for opening and one for closing the same set of contacts
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01H—ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES
- H01H73/00—Protective overload circuit-breaking switches in which excess current opens the contacts by automatic release of mechanical energy stored by previous operation of a hand reset mechanism
- H01H73/22—Protective overload circuit-breaking switches in which excess current opens the contacts by automatic release of mechanical energy stored by previous operation of a hand reset mechanism having electrothermal release and no other automatic release
- H01H73/30—Protective overload circuit-breaking switches in which excess current opens the contacts by automatic release of mechanical energy stored by previous operation of a hand reset mechanism having electrothermal release and no other automatic release reset by push-button, pull-knob or slide
Landscapes
- Breakers (AREA)
Abstract
ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
A circuit interrupter characterized by a manually operated fast acting switch and an overload relay for trip-ping of switch in response to current overload. The switch comprises means for moving electric contacts between open and closed and tripped positions which means includes a releas-able arm which is movable between latched and unlatched po-sitions. The switch also comprises a pair of pushbuttons for manually opening and closing the switch which pushbuttons are effective to move a lever which in turn actuates an over-center toggle mechanism for opening and closing the switch.
A circuit interrupter characterized by a manually operated fast acting switch and an overload relay for trip-ping of switch in response to current overload. The switch comprises means for moving electric contacts between open and closed and tripped positions which means includes a releas-able arm which is movable between latched and unlatched po-sitions. The switch also comprises a pair of pushbuttons for manually opening and closing the switch which pushbuttons are effective to move a lever which in turn actuates an over-center toggle mechanism for opening and closing the switch.
Description
HL~'L~ LA'.L'.L 1) A~L L(:/\'1'1()N;, This inven-tion is related -to -the inver. ion (lisclosed in -the patents of Edward L. Richards e-t al, U.S. ?aten-t Nos.
3,930,214 and 3,930,213 issued on December 30, 1,7S.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVEMTION
Field of the Invention:
This invention relates to a circuit in errupter having switch tripping mechanisms responsive to current over-loads and pushbutton manually operative means.
Descriptioh of thé Prior Art:
Some circuit interrupters of prior construction have been provided with current overload protective devices that function satisfactorily in response to abnormal current such as overcurrents, ground fault currents, and shor-t cir- :
cuits, that occur in an electrical distribution systern. A
- 1 - ~. ' ~ , -: ~ ~
. .
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.
.
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circuit breaker of -that type is disclosed for example in -Pa-tent No. 3,530,314.. ~ome circuit breakers of that type are provided with toggle handles by which manual operation is accomplished. A disadvantage of -the toggle handle is that it may be accidently operated. Moreover, for some pur-poses there is a preference for a pushbutton type of manual operation rather than the toggle handle.
SUMMARY 0~ THE INVENTION
In accordance with this invention it has been found that the foregoing problem may be overcome by providing a circuit interrupting device which comprises a switch mechanism -and an electrically insulating housing therefore, the switch mechanism comprising relatively movable contact means and operating means for moving the contacts between open and closed positlons, the operating means comprising an overcen-ter toggle and releasable arm movable to effect movement of the movable contac-t structure, lever means opera-tively `~;~
connected to the releasable arm for moving the operating ~-mean~s between closed and open positions, said housi.ng having ~ 20 ~an opening, and a pair of pushbuttons extending through the ~ -opening which are separately operable to move the lever means between open and closed positions respectively.
Associated with the foregoing, means may be added ., - .
to releasably effect automatic opening of the contact means in response to an overload condition which may occur in the line The advantage of the device of this invention is that a manually operated toggle mechanism which provides :,.' ` switching control to alternately close and open electrical ~
. ~ , , :
contacts is combined with a pushbutton type of manual oper-:
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1~56~Z `
ation which avolds -the problems of accidental operating o~
the conventional toggle handle; and where the device is combined with an overload relay -to provide for au-tomatic trip-ping of the manually operated pushbuttons.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view through a three pole overload relay and a circuit interrupter, the latter o~ which is provided with pushbuttons in accordance with this invention;
; 10 Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line II-II of Fig. 1;
Fig. 3 is a perspective view of one o:~ the push- -buttons; and - -Fig. 4 is a plan view taken on the line IV-IV of Fig. 1.
:' ' ' DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
In Figure 1 a circuit interrupter is generally , ~
indicated at 7 and it comprises a manually operated switch 9 and an overload relay 11, both of which are mounted on a 20 ~ supporting base 13. ;
Inasmuch as a detailed description o~ the switch 9 is set ~orth in Canadian Patent 979,961 issued December 16~, 1975 to Edward L. Richards, the descrlption here ~lS
imited to the~part that are essential to the operation o~ the invention disclosed herein. Suffice lt to say, the~switch 9~is~a multi-pole, such as a three-pole, switch ;~ `
which includes a palr o~ stationary contacts 17, a pair of ; - i movable contacts l9, as~well as movable con-tact carrier means~
21. The switch 9 also comprises a manually operated overcen~
: : -: : .:
ter toggle mechanism generally indicated at 23 which in turn ; ~ 3 ~
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:
comprises a releasable arm 25 that is pivotally mounted on a pivot pin 27 that extends between a pair of upright frames 29 and 31 (Fig. 2). The overload toggle mechanism -23 is enclosed within a housing 33 of elec-trically insulat-ing material and includes a pair of manually operated push-buttons 35 and 36 which extend upwardly through an opening 34 on the top surface of the housing.
The right end of the releasable arm 25 is retained in a latched position in a manner disclosed in the afore-mentioned U.S. Patent No. 3,930,213 for which reason the de-scription herein is limited to the parts that are essential to the operating of the invention disclosed herein. Suffice it to say, the trip mechanism comprises a latch lever 37 and a retainer lever 39. The latch lever 37 is an L-shaped or bell . . :..::. -crank type lever which is pivoted on a pair of simllar trunnions 41 extending from opposite sides thereof into corresponding apertures in the spaced upright frames 29, 31.
The latch lever 37 also includes an opening 43 in which the le~ft~ end of the arm 25~is seated when in the latched posi-20~ ~tion~as shown ln Fig. l. The lower end of the latch lever 37 extends to and is engaged by the retainer lever 39 which is a sub~stantially verticaIIy extending member having similar ~ -trunnlons 45 extending from opposite sides thereof and seated n~corresponding apertures ln the spaced upright frame 29, 31. ~A hole~47 is disposed ln the retainer lever 39 below the trunnion 45 and the lower~end of the latch lever 37 is seated in the~hole when in the latched condition. The lower end por-tion of the retainer lever 39 is disposed in an aperture 53 of :, - ~ ~ :
~ a~trip plate 55, which as shown in Fig. 1, extends from the : : :
-.
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~: :
, ~10 5688Z
overload relay 11. When the trip plate 55 is moved by -the relay to the left as viewed in Fig. 1, the retainer lever 39 rotates clockwise until the lower extremity of the latch lever 37 moves out of the hole 47, whereupon the latch lever rotates counterclockwise~ The releasable arm 25 rotates clockwise until it s-trikes a stop pin 57 which extends be-tween the upright frame 29, 31. Movement of the retainer lever 39 and the latch lever 37 in the manner described constitutes "tripping" of the circuit interrupter 7~and causes the mov-able contact 19 to separate from the stationary contacts 17. ~ -Inasmuch as the overload relay is disclosed speci-fically in U.S. Patent 3,903,~93 issued September 2, 1975 to E. L. Richards, the description of the relay is limited to the parts which are essential to operation of the invention ~-disclosed herein. The relay includes bimetals 71, bimetal heaters 73, a crossbar 75, a pivoted trip lever 77, and the trip plate 55. When a current in excess of that for which ';
the heater elements are rated to handle occurs, the heaters -.~ ~ , . .
73 cause the bimetal to move the crossbar 75 against the lower end of the trip lever 77 causing the upper end thereof to ~i rotate counterclockwise and pull the trip plate 55 to the left, ~
whereupon retainer lever 39 is rotated clockwise as set forth - --above. In that manner the switch 9 is tripped automatically when the current overload occurs in the current supply.
In accordance with this invention, the switch 9 is provided with the pushbuttons 35, 36 as well as two rocker arms or operating levers 79 by which -the overcenter toggle 23 is actuated to open and close the con-tacts 17, 19. The operating levers 79 (Fig. 1) are provided in pairs which as : ~: ....
,...... ~ , ~ , .. :: . . .: . .
~LOS6~1~Z
shown in Fig. 2 are separately mounted on the outer surfaces of the upright frames 29 and 31. Both levers 79 are similar in construction, and as shown in Fig. 1 the lever 79 is pivota]ly mounted at 81 and provided with a pair o~ outurned `
flanges or projections 83, 85 which are disposed in planes perpendicular to the plane of the lever 79. The flanges 83 are disposed at the lower end of and is ac-tuated by the push-button 35, and the flanges 83 are disposed at the lower end of and are actuated by the pushbutton 36. In addition, the lO operating levers 79 are secured to similar switch levers 87 ~ ~
by similar pins 89, which lever 87 are pivotally mounted a-t ~ -the pivot point 81. As shown more particularly in Fig. 2 the levers 87 are integral parts by virtue of an intermediate -member 89.
Both pushbuttons 35 and 36 are similar construction ~; and as shown in Fig. 3 the pushbu-tton 35 includes a head portion 93 and a pair of spaced downwardly extending;portions 9s and 97, whereby each pushbutton 35, 36 is a generally U-shaped member. In addition, a shoulder extends around 20~ ~three sldes of the head portion 93 which shoulder (Figa 2) is~normally seated against a surface 101 of the houslng when : the~ pushbutton 35 is fully extended as shown in Fig. 1. Thus ~; ~ ; the~ shoulder 99 and the surface 101 coopera-te to prevent the pushbuttons~from escaplng from the housing 33. In additlon, ~ ;
the pushbutton 35 comprises opposite side surfaces 103, one -of which is shown in Fig. 3, which ~are in surface-to-surface contact with inner surfaces of the housing and thereby faci-litate guiding of the pushbuttons 35 and 36 when they are depressed. ~ -.
. .
In addition to the foregoing, each pushbutton 35.
- 6 - ~ ~
: ' ' ':
~L~5i68~2 36 includes a vertical projection or tongue-like portion extending from -the shoulder 99 to the lower end of the portion 95. A similar projection 107 is provided on the portion 97 of the pushbu-tton 35, 36. The projection 105 and 107 are disposed in projection receiving grooves 109 ~
and 111 respectively which grooves are disposed in the inner -wall of the housing 33. Moreover, each pushbutton 35, 36 is ~ ;
likewise preferably provided with a pair of projections 113, ~;
115 which are seated in similar grooves 117 and 119 respec-10 tively. The combination of the projections 105, 107, 113, llS and the surfaces 103 cooperate with the inner surfaces of the housing including the grooves 109, 111, 117, 119 to . ~ .
guide the movement of the pushbuttons 35, 36 when they are ~; actuated. A minimum of binding between the pushbutton and ;
the housing exists.
The lower ends of the depending portions 95, 97 are bifurcated to provide spaced mernbers 121, 123, 125, and ;
lZ7. ~As shown ln Flg. 2, the depending por-tion 95 and 97 ;~
extend downwardly~within the housing 33 with the bifurcated ;20 ~ portions~121 and l23 seated over and around one projection ~ :
85 of the operating lever 97. The other bifurcated portions ~
~, ~ . , ~ - . .
~ 125, 127 are seated around the~projection 85 of the ~ . ~ . . .
oper~ating lever 79~on the other side of the housing.
Accordingly, when the pushbutton 35, 36 is depressed, a force s~applled against the projections 83 or~85 in order to tilt the operatlng lever 97 in~one direction or the other thereby ~ ;
actuat;ing the switch between the open and close positions.
In concl;usion, the combination of the overload re-lay and the pushbutton switch pFovide protection agalnst~
_ : . '' , ' ~5683~Z
inadverten-t operation of the switch as well as against over-loads in the current. By providing the pushbuttons with molded projections which extend into grooves in opposite sides of the switch housing, each pushbutton is more easily depressed against the corresponding rocker arms whereby a vector force is applied to opera-te the rocker arms in a facilitated manner.
:i ~: ..
~ :
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' ' :~ - 8 -: -:
'~ :
3,930,214 and 3,930,213 issued on December 30, 1,7S.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVEMTION
Field of the Invention:
This invention relates to a circuit in errupter having switch tripping mechanisms responsive to current over-loads and pushbutton manually operative means.
Descriptioh of thé Prior Art:
Some circuit interrupters of prior construction have been provided with current overload protective devices that function satisfactorily in response to abnormal current such as overcurrents, ground fault currents, and shor-t cir- :
cuits, that occur in an electrical distribution systern. A
- 1 - ~. ' ~ , -: ~ ~
. .
":~
.
.
1~5~8~
circuit breaker of -that type is disclosed for example in -Pa-tent No. 3,530,314.. ~ome circuit breakers of that type are provided with toggle handles by which manual operation is accomplished. A disadvantage of -the toggle handle is that it may be accidently operated. Moreover, for some pur-poses there is a preference for a pushbutton type of manual operation rather than the toggle handle.
SUMMARY 0~ THE INVENTION
In accordance with this invention it has been found that the foregoing problem may be overcome by providing a circuit interrupting device which comprises a switch mechanism -and an electrically insulating housing therefore, the switch mechanism comprising relatively movable contact means and operating means for moving the contacts between open and closed positlons, the operating means comprising an overcen-ter toggle and releasable arm movable to effect movement of the movable contac-t structure, lever means opera-tively `~;~
connected to the releasable arm for moving the operating ~-mean~s between closed and open positions, said housi.ng having ~ 20 ~an opening, and a pair of pushbuttons extending through the ~ -opening which are separately operable to move the lever means between open and closed positions respectively.
Associated with the foregoing, means may be added ., - .
to releasably effect automatic opening of the contact means in response to an overload condition which may occur in the line The advantage of the device of this invention is that a manually operated toggle mechanism which provides :,.' ` switching control to alternately close and open electrical ~
. ~ , , :
contacts is combined with a pushbutton type of manual oper-:
, ~' "
1~56~Z `
ation which avolds -the problems of accidental operating o~
the conventional toggle handle; and where the device is combined with an overload relay -to provide for au-tomatic trip-ping of the manually operated pushbuttons.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view through a three pole overload relay and a circuit interrupter, the latter o~ which is provided with pushbuttons in accordance with this invention;
; 10 Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line II-II of Fig. 1;
Fig. 3 is a perspective view of one o:~ the push- -buttons; and - -Fig. 4 is a plan view taken on the line IV-IV of Fig. 1.
:' ' ' DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
In Figure 1 a circuit interrupter is generally , ~
indicated at 7 and it comprises a manually operated switch 9 and an overload relay 11, both of which are mounted on a 20 ~ supporting base 13. ;
Inasmuch as a detailed description o~ the switch 9 is set ~orth in Canadian Patent 979,961 issued December 16~, 1975 to Edward L. Richards, the descrlption here ~lS
imited to the~part that are essential to the operation o~ the invention disclosed herein. Suffice lt to say, the~switch 9~is~a multi-pole, such as a three-pole, switch ;~ `
which includes a palr o~ stationary contacts 17, a pair of ; - i movable contacts l9, as~well as movable con-tact carrier means~
21. The switch 9 also comprises a manually operated overcen~
: : -: : .:
ter toggle mechanism generally indicated at 23 which in turn ; ~ 3 ~
~: . : ' .
, ' . ' ~CI5613~Z ~
:
comprises a releasable arm 25 that is pivotally mounted on a pivot pin 27 that extends between a pair of upright frames 29 and 31 (Fig. 2). The overload toggle mechanism -23 is enclosed within a housing 33 of elec-trically insulat-ing material and includes a pair of manually operated push-buttons 35 and 36 which extend upwardly through an opening 34 on the top surface of the housing.
The right end of the releasable arm 25 is retained in a latched position in a manner disclosed in the afore-mentioned U.S. Patent No. 3,930,213 for which reason the de-scription herein is limited to the parts that are essential to the operating of the invention disclosed herein. Suffice it to say, the trip mechanism comprises a latch lever 37 and a retainer lever 39. The latch lever 37 is an L-shaped or bell . . :..::. -crank type lever which is pivoted on a pair of simllar trunnions 41 extending from opposite sides thereof into corresponding apertures in the spaced upright frames 29, 31.
The latch lever 37 also includes an opening 43 in which the le~ft~ end of the arm 25~is seated when in the latched posi-20~ ~tion~as shown ln Fig. l. The lower end of the latch lever 37 extends to and is engaged by the retainer lever 39 which is a sub~stantially verticaIIy extending member having similar ~ -trunnlons 45 extending from opposite sides thereof and seated n~corresponding apertures ln the spaced upright frame 29, 31. ~A hole~47 is disposed ln the retainer lever 39 below the trunnion 45 and the lower~end of the latch lever 37 is seated in the~hole when in the latched condition. The lower end por-tion of the retainer lever 39 is disposed in an aperture 53 of :, - ~ ~ :
~ a~trip plate 55, which as shown in Fig. 1, extends from the : : :
-.
.-, :'~ ~ . -. .
~: :
, ~10 5688Z
overload relay 11. When the trip plate 55 is moved by -the relay to the left as viewed in Fig. 1, the retainer lever 39 rotates clockwise until the lower extremity of the latch lever 37 moves out of the hole 47, whereupon the latch lever rotates counterclockwise~ The releasable arm 25 rotates clockwise until it s-trikes a stop pin 57 which extends be-tween the upright frame 29, 31. Movement of the retainer lever 39 and the latch lever 37 in the manner described constitutes "tripping" of the circuit interrupter 7~and causes the mov-able contact 19 to separate from the stationary contacts 17. ~ -Inasmuch as the overload relay is disclosed speci-fically in U.S. Patent 3,903,~93 issued September 2, 1975 to E. L. Richards, the description of the relay is limited to the parts which are essential to operation of the invention ~-disclosed herein. The relay includes bimetals 71, bimetal heaters 73, a crossbar 75, a pivoted trip lever 77, and the trip plate 55. When a current in excess of that for which ';
the heater elements are rated to handle occurs, the heaters -.~ ~ , . .
73 cause the bimetal to move the crossbar 75 against the lower end of the trip lever 77 causing the upper end thereof to ~i rotate counterclockwise and pull the trip plate 55 to the left, ~
whereupon retainer lever 39 is rotated clockwise as set forth - --above. In that manner the switch 9 is tripped automatically when the current overload occurs in the current supply.
In accordance with this invention, the switch 9 is provided with the pushbuttons 35, 36 as well as two rocker arms or operating levers 79 by which -the overcenter toggle 23 is actuated to open and close the con-tacts 17, 19. The operating levers 79 (Fig. 1) are provided in pairs which as : ~: ....
,...... ~ , ~ , .. :: . . .: . .
~LOS6~1~Z
shown in Fig. 2 are separately mounted on the outer surfaces of the upright frames 29 and 31. Both levers 79 are similar in construction, and as shown in Fig. 1 the lever 79 is pivota]ly mounted at 81 and provided with a pair o~ outurned `
flanges or projections 83, 85 which are disposed in planes perpendicular to the plane of the lever 79. The flanges 83 are disposed at the lower end of and is ac-tuated by the push-button 35, and the flanges 83 are disposed at the lower end of and are actuated by the pushbutton 36. In addition, the lO operating levers 79 are secured to similar switch levers 87 ~ ~
by similar pins 89, which lever 87 are pivotally mounted a-t ~ -the pivot point 81. As shown more particularly in Fig. 2 the levers 87 are integral parts by virtue of an intermediate -member 89.
Both pushbuttons 35 and 36 are similar construction ~; and as shown in Fig. 3 the pushbu-tton 35 includes a head portion 93 and a pair of spaced downwardly extending;portions 9s and 97, whereby each pushbutton 35, 36 is a generally U-shaped member. In addition, a shoulder extends around 20~ ~three sldes of the head portion 93 which shoulder (Figa 2) is~normally seated against a surface 101 of the houslng when : the~ pushbutton 35 is fully extended as shown in Fig. 1. Thus ~; ~ ; the~ shoulder 99 and the surface 101 coopera-te to prevent the pushbuttons~from escaplng from the housing 33. In additlon, ~ ;
the pushbutton 35 comprises opposite side surfaces 103, one -of which is shown in Fig. 3, which ~are in surface-to-surface contact with inner surfaces of the housing and thereby faci-litate guiding of the pushbuttons 35 and 36 when they are depressed. ~ -.
. .
In addition to the foregoing, each pushbutton 35.
- 6 - ~ ~
: ' ' ':
~L~5i68~2 36 includes a vertical projection or tongue-like portion extending from -the shoulder 99 to the lower end of the portion 95. A similar projection 107 is provided on the portion 97 of the pushbu-tton 35, 36. The projection 105 and 107 are disposed in projection receiving grooves 109 ~
and 111 respectively which grooves are disposed in the inner -wall of the housing 33. Moreover, each pushbutton 35, 36 is ~ ;
likewise preferably provided with a pair of projections 113, ~;
115 which are seated in similar grooves 117 and 119 respec-10 tively. The combination of the projections 105, 107, 113, llS and the surfaces 103 cooperate with the inner surfaces of the housing including the grooves 109, 111, 117, 119 to . ~ .
guide the movement of the pushbuttons 35, 36 when they are ~; actuated. A minimum of binding between the pushbutton and ;
the housing exists.
The lower ends of the depending portions 95, 97 are bifurcated to provide spaced mernbers 121, 123, 125, and ;
lZ7. ~As shown ln Flg. 2, the depending por-tion 95 and 97 ;~
extend downwardly~within the housing 33 with the bifurcated ;20 ~ portions~121 and l23 seated over and around one projection ~ :
85 of the operating lever 97. The other bifurcated portions ~
~, ~ . , ~ - . .
~ 125, 127 are seated around the~projection 85 of the ~ . ~ . . .
oper~ating lever 79~on the other side of the housing.
Accordingly, when the pushbutton 35, 36 is depressed, a force s~applled against the projections 83 or~85 in order to tilt the operatlng lever 97 in~one direction or the other thereby ~ ;
actuat;ing the switch between the open and close positions.
In concl;usion, the combination of the overload re-lay and the pushbutton switch pFovide protection agalnst~
_ : . '' , ' ~5683~Z
inadverten-t operation of the switch as well as against over-loads in the current. By providing the pushbuttons with molded projections which extend into grooves in opposite sides of the switch housing, each pushbutton is more easily depressed against the corresponding rocker arms whereby a vector force is applied to opera-te the rocker arms in a facilitated manner.
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' ' :~ - 8 -: -:
'~ :
Claims (8)
1. A circuit interrupting device comprising a switch mechanism, a frame, and an electrically insulating housing therefor, the switch mechanism comprising relatively movable contacts and operating means for moving the contacts between open and closed positions, the operating means comprising an overcenter toggle and a switch lever, the overcenter toggle including a toggle spring, a releasable arm operable to effect tripping of the movable contacts, one end of the switch lever being pivotally mounted on the frame and the toggle spring being secured to the other end, one end of the releasable arm being pivotally mounted on the frame and movable between tripped and latched positions, a latch lever releasably connected to the other end of the releasable arm for retaining said arm in the latched position, means responsive to a current overload condition for actuating the latch lever to the tripped position, an operating lever pivotally mounted on the frame and secured to the switch lever, said housing having an opening, a first pushbutton extending through the opening and engaging the operating lever to move the contacts to the open position, and a second pushbutton extending through the opening and engaging the operating lever to move the contacts to the closed position.
2. The circuit interrupter of claim 1 in which the housing comprises first surface means and the pushbutton comprise second surface means to guide the pushbutton when they are actuated.
3. The circuit interrupter of claim 1 in which the first surface means comprises one member of a tongue and groove assembly and the second surface means comprises the other member of a tongue and groove assembly.
4. The circuit interrupter of claim 1 in which the second surface means comprise at least one tongue-like projection and the first surface means comprise at least one projection-receiving groove.
5. A circuit interrupting device comprising a switch mechanism, a frame, and an electrically insulating housing therefor, the switch mechanism comprising relatively movable contacts and means releasable to effect automatic opening of said contacts, operating means for moving the contacts between open and closed positions and comprising overcenter toggle means and a releasable arm operable to effect tripping of the movable contacts, one end of the releasable arm being pivotally mounted on the frame, a latch lever releasably retaining the releasable arm in a latched position, a retaining lever for retaining the latch lever in latched position, a trip plate to effect movement of the retaining lever to an unlatched position of the latch lever, means responsive to a current overload condition and comprising a pivot trip lever for actuating the trip plate to the tripped position, said housing having an opening, a first pushbutton extending through the opening and effective to move the contacts to the open position, and a second pushbutton extending through the opening and effective to move the contacts to the closed position.
6. The circuit interrupting device of claim 1 in which the latch releasable comprises a releasable lever to automatically trip the overcenter toggle.
7. The circuit interrupting device of claim 6 in which the latch lever means is actuated to the tripped position when the releasable means is operated.
8. A circuit interrupting device comprising a switch mechanism, a frame, and an electrically insulating housing therefor, the switch mechanism comprising relatively movable contacts and operating means for moving the contacts between open and closed positions, the operating means comprising an overcenter toggle and a switch lever, a releasable arm operable to effect tripping of the movable contacts, one end of the switch lever being pivotally mounted on the frame, one end of the releasable arm being pivotally mounted on the frame and movable between tripped and latched positions, a latch lever releasably connected to the other end of the releasable arm for retaining said arm in the latched position, means responsive to a current overload condition for actuating the latch lever to the tripped position, said housing having an opening, a first pushbutton extending through the opening to move the contacts to the open position, and a second pushbutton extending through the opening to move the contacts to the closed position.
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| US51337074A | 1974-10-09 | 1974-10-09 |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA1056882A true CA1056882A (en) | 1979-06-19 |
Family
ID=24042979
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA236,411A Expired CA1056882A (en) | 1974-10-09 | 1975-09-25 | Pushbutton electric switch |
Country Status (4)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| BR (1) | BR7506466A (en) |
| CA (1) | CA1056882A (en) |
| GB (1) | GB1517196A (en) |
| ZA (1) | ZA756054B (en) |
Families Citing this family (3)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| USRE31634E (en) * | 1978-09-22 | 1984-07-24 | Eaton Corporation | Alternately-operable two-pushbutton switch |
| US4166935A (en) * | 1978-09-22 | 1979-09-04 | Cutler-Hammer, Inc. | Alternately-operable two-pushbutton switch |
| DE3507367A1 (en) * | 1985-02-28 | 1986-08-28 | Black & Decker Inc., Newark, Del. | SWITCHES, ESPECIALLY FOR STATIONARY ELECTRIC TOOLS |
-
1975
- 1975-09-23 ZA ZA00756054A patent/ZA756054B/en unknown
- 1975-09-25 CA CA236,411A patent/CA1056882A/en not_active Expired
- 1975-09-29 GB GB39742/75A patent/GB1517196A/en not_active Expired
- 1975-10-03 BR BR7506466*A patent/BR7506466A/en unknown
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| BR7506466A (en) | 1976-08-17 |
| GB1517196A (en) | 1978-07-12 |
| ZA756054B (en) | 1976-09-29 |
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