US2156761A

US2156761A - Circuit breaker

Info

Publication number: US2156761A
Application number: US47525A
Authority: US
Inventors: John G Jackson; Wallace T Allen
Original assignee: Square D Co
Current assignee: Schneider Electric USA Inc
Priority date: 1935-10-31
Filing date: 1935-10-31
Publication date: 1939-05-02
Anticipated expiration: 1956-05-02

Description

May 2, 1939.

J. G. JACKSON 5 AL CIRCUIT BREAKER Filed Oct. 31,- 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 III INVENTOR5.

BYWWV ATTORNEY.

May 2, 1939.

CIRCUIT BREAKER 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 51, 1935 1 OM \IA m a i A A9 Z m w 615 O Z 7 5, L 3 V (w l 5 v H mmmwm 5 w m; A MT y 1939- J. 3. JACKSON ET AL 2,156,761

C IRCUIT BREAKER Filed on. 51, 1955 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 l 4/ 5/ d 4a l v 0 O 26 "Z E4 I 35 9 I 9 l v 6 rig INVENTORS.

ATTORNEY Patented May 2,1939 2 15 7 1;

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CIRCUIT BREAKER John G.-Jackson and Wallace '1'. Allen, Detroit,

Mich.,-assignors to Square- D Company, Detroit, Mlch., a corporation of Michigan Application October 31, 1935, Serial No. 47,525

19 Claims. (Cl. 200-116) This invention relates to automatic electric In the embodiment specifically illustrated and decircuit breaker apparatus-and automatic circuit scribed there is showna unit comprised of two breaker mechanisms. groups of four electrically common mechanisms One object of this invention is to provide an on a common base. It is,'of course, readily unimproved grouping of automatic electric circuit derstood that any number of individual mecha- 5 breakers having common electrical and mechannisms may be included in any group and that any ical features. number of separate groups may be mounted in a Another object of this invention is to provide a single enclosing box or cabinet. As the separate group of automatic electric circuit breakers sealgroups in the unit are entirely distinct electrically l0 ably supported over a common bus. and also mechanically except for the common 10 Another object of this invention is to provide a mounting on the base in the box, only one of group of electric circuit breakers sealable against. these groups will be hereinafter described. outside tampering but provided with communi- The group comprises an insulating base 8 secating passageways allowing common venting of cured to the back of the box by the studs 4.

iii are gases. The front face of this base is provided with a f Another object of this invention is to provide plurality of aligned supports 5 upon which is an improved. and economical formof circuit rigidly secured a bus bar 8 by means of studs I. breaker mechanism. These studs may extend from the back of the base Another object of this invention is to provide and be waxed in place to mount the bus bars on circuit breaker apparatus including an outer box the base in a relatively permanent fashion. A 20 enclosing a scalable group of circuit breakers havconnection stud 'I' is provided on the exposed ing improved features of simplicity and economy end of the bar. Over the bus 6 are disposed a and common mounting features. plurality of individual cup-shaped insulating Another object of this inventionris to provide members 8 inwhich are supported the individual an improved form of automatically and manually circuit breaker mechanisms. The opposite walls 25 openable circuit breaker mechanism, the autoof these members are cut out to flt over the bus matic circuit opening being trip-free of the opso that their outer walls extend into close fittin crating handle. engagement with the base 3. The members 8 are Other objects and features of this invention will secured in position by studs 9 which are threaded '30 be readily apparent to those skilled in the art into the bus 6 and serve to rigidly secure the from the following specification and the appendmembers in position. The head of this stud is ed drawings illustrating certain preferred embodwaxed in place to form sealed enclosures for the iments of the invention in which: circuit breaker mechanisms.

Figure 1 is a top plan view of the circuit breaker Within each of the members 8 the bus bar is apparatus according to the present invention with provided with a stationary contact I I rigidly sup- 5 the outer cover broken away. I ported thereby. A conductor i2 is supported on Figure vii is a fragmentarysectional view taken the member 8 by stud l8, which is waxed in place, on line 11-11 of Figure 1. and supports a secondary stationary contact ll Figure 3 is a sectional view taken on the line thereon. A bridging conductor I5 is provided in III-III of Figure 1. with contact surfaces adjacent its opp site ends Figure 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken for cooperation with the contacts II and M on on the line IV-IV of Figure 3. the bus 6 and the conductor l2. The conductor Figure 5 is a fragmentary sectional'view of the I5 is supported on the end of a rod l6 which is breaker shown at the right in Figure 3 but showslideably received within a generally cup-shaped ing the parts in manual foif position. member H. A compression spring I8 is disposed Figure 8 is a view similar to Figure 5 with the between the head of the rod I 8 and the member I! parts in the resetting position. normally tending to move the headed end of the The circuit breaker apparatus illustrated in the rod away from the member. The member I1 is drawings comprises an outer sheet metal enprovided with aslot 19 at the bottom and at closing box I having an openable cover 2 hingedone .side thereof within which slot is pivotally ly or otherwise mounted thereon in a convenmounteda latch 2| having. a latching surface 22 tional manner. This box may be equipped with adapted to engage in a latchin'g notch 28 on the the usual knockouts, cover latch or similar fearod IS. The rod I8 is also provided with a longiands conventional in the art. Within this tudinal slot 28 on its periphe providing clearouter box is mounted a group of circuit breakers. ance for the latch 2| in the movement of the rod l8. The latch 2| is normally maintained in latching position by a member 24 pivoted on the cup-shaped supporting member 8 as at 25.

A bimetallic strip 26 is rigidly mounted at one end upon the conductor l2 and extends upwardly therefrom with its free end provided with a latching element 21 for the latch retaining member 24. A flexible lead 28 connects the free end of the bimetallic strip 26 with the outside circuit connector 29.

An operating push button 8| in the form of an inverted cup-shaped member is mounted over 'themember l1 and is movable with relation thereto both longitudinally and rotatably. This movement may be secured by the enlarged peripheral groove 32 in the member i1 within which are disposed the pins 88 on the push button 8|.

The push button is inserted in position by theures and 6 in which is shown the latching surface .81 which engages with the latching element 21' on the free end of the bimetallic element 26. The under part of one arm of the member 24 is provided with a notch 38 adapted to receive a pin 38 mounted on the member l1 for a purpose to be hereinafter described.

The push button 3| is provided with exterior locking lugs 4| slideable within the grooves 42 in the top of the cup-shaped member 8 and rotatable beneath the top of said member to hold the push button in the on position.

. The operation of the individual mechanism-will now be described.

The mechanism as shown in Figure 2 and at the right in Figure 3 is in the normal on position. The push button 3| has been pressed in and rotated whereupon the lugs 4| having passed through the grooves 42 are now disposed beneath the top of member 8 and secure the push button 3| in an interior position. The compression spring has been stressed by the pressing of the push button and stresses the member toward the base. The member l1 and rod l6 are securely latched together by the latch 2| and the bridging conductor i5 is held in its circuit closing position with the contact pressure maintained by the spring 85.

To manually separate the contacts the push button 3| is rotated back in position where lugs 4| are beneath the grooves 42 whereupon the push button is pulled outwardly moving the parts to their normal "o'fi" position with the bridging conductor i5 raised to its upper position remote from the contacts II and H as shown in Figure 5. The operation to closed circuit position is then as previously described.

Upon the occurrence of an overload the bimetallic strip 26 becomes heated and warps away from the member 24 which then rotates about its pivot 25 to release the latch 2|. This movement of the latch 2| and the member 24 occurs under the bias of the spring l8. As the latch is released the rod I8 is free to move upwardly to the. Dosition shown at the left in Figure 3 carrying with it the bridging conductor l5 and breaking the circuit through the breaker.

To reset the parts after an automatic separation of the contacts the push button is rotated to the position where the lugs 4| are beneath the grooves 42 and the push button is pulled upwardly as in the manual separation of the contacts. Inthis operation the pin 39 engages in ;the notch 88 in the member 24 and pulls it into the position where the latching surface 31 engages the latching element 2'|-on the free end of the bimetallic strip 2| which in the meantime has moved back to its normal position. This upward movement of member 24 rotatesthe latch 2| back into its normal latching position. It is seen that this final rotation will take place only in the extreme position of the push button at which time the member will have been moved upwardly to place the latch in its proper relation to the rod l8 and thus stress the spring I8. After the latching of the member 24, the parts will then be in their normal manual off" position and the circuit may be closed by pressing the push button and rotating the lugs 4| into engagement with the under surface of the top of the cup-shaped member 8.

The adjacent walls between the circuit breakers in the group are cut away so as to provide communication'between their interiors to permit the gases generated by the opening of the circuit through any circuit breaker mechanism to be expelled throughout the interiors of all the circuit breakers in the group, thus rendering less necessary any vent to the outer air.

The connector I at the end of bus 8 may be utilized as a bus tap or as a main terminal for the breakers. When used as a main terminal the individual circuit breaker mechanisms will each lead to a separate circuit; when used as a bus tap one of the circuit breakers will function as a main breaker leading to the bus 6 which in turn will feed through other individual mechanisms to the individual circuits. In this arrangement the circuits fed through the load breakers will thus be provided with main and branch protection having at all times two circuit breakers in series with any short which may occur. However, when the extension 8 is used as a bus tap, feeding therefrom will be only through the main breaker. In some instances it I may be desirable to cut oil the bus 8 within the last circuit breaker interior of each group and to close the opening in the end wall of the group whereupon the feeding to the branch circuit will always be through two circuit breaker mechanisms whereof one provides main protection to all the branch circuits and the other individual mechanisms provide branch protection for their individual circuits.

In the appended claims the terms "box and cover are to be construed to include cabinet and door respectively.

While certain preferred embodiments of the invention have been specifically disclosed, it is understood that the invention is not limited thereto as many variations will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art and the invention is to be given its broadest possible interpretation within the terms of the following claims:

What is claimed is:

1. Electric circuit breaker apparatus comprising an insulating base, a, conductor mounted on said base, a plurality of cup-shaped insulating members mounted over said conductor and cooperating with said base to form sealable enclosures, a circuit breaker mechanism within each enclosure and an operating member for each mechanism projecting through the enclosures.

2. Electric circuit breaker apparatus comprising an insulating base, a conductor mounted on said base, a plurality of cup-shaped insulating members mounted over said conductor and cocoperating with said base to form scalable enclosures, a circuit breaker mechanism within each enclosure and an operating member for each mechanism projecting through the enclosures, a stationary contact, for each circuit breaker being directly supported by the conductor within the enclosures.

3. Electric circuit breaker apparatus comprising an insulating base, a conductor mounted on said base in spaced relation thereto, a plurality .of cup-shaped insulating members mounted over said conductor, the end walls of said members being cut away to receive said conductor, the walls of said members cooperating with each other and said base to form scalable enclosures, a circuit breaker mechanism within eachenclosure and an operating member for each mechanism projecting through the enclosures.

4. Electric circuit breaker apparatus compris ing an insulating base, a plurality of individual enclosures mounted over said base in scalable relation, individual circuit breaker mechanisms within the enclosures, the interiors'of said'enclosures being in direct communication whereby the gases formed by an are drawn upon the operation of any one mechanism may be vented to the other enclosure interiors.

5. Electric circuit breaker apparatus comprising an enclosing box, a plurality of scalable circuit breaker enclosures within said box, said enclosures having direct communication without opening to the box and sealed from exterior access whereby the gases formed by an are within any enclosure may be vented throughout the enclosure interiors.

6. Electric circuit breaker apparatus comprising an insulating base, a bus bar mounted on said base, a plurality of individual circuit breaker mechanisms mounted in individual enclosures attached to said bus bar and cooperating with said base to sealably enclose said mechanisms and bus' bar, one contact of each of said mechanisms being supportedby said bus bar.

7. Electric circuit breaker apparatus compris ing a plurality of cup-shaped insulating bases, individual circuit breaker mechanisms mounted in said bases, an insulating plate, a bus bar sup- ,ported by said plate, one contact for each mechanism being supported by said bus bar, and means for sealably mounting said bases on said plate to enclose said mechanisms and bus. bar with said one contact in position to cooperate with their respective mechanisms.

8. Electric circuit breaker apparatus comprising a plurality of cup-shaped insulating bases,

individual circuit breaker mechanisms mounted 9. An electric circuit breaker including spacedstationary contacts, a reciprocable conductor having contact faces adjacent to its end and adapted to bridge said contacts, an element connected to said conductor, a second element movadapted to bridge said contacts, an element connected to said conductor, a second element movable relative to said first mentioned element, a latch connecting said elements for common movement, a latch retaining member pivotally mounted on a stationary part, a current responsive latch for said member, a spring biasing said elements for relative movement, a push button movably connected to said second element, a.

spring biasing said push button relative to said second element, a stationary latching surface for said push button, said push button engaging said surface by manual rotation, the last mentioned spring maintaining pressure between said contact faces and contacts.

11. In an automatic electric circuit breaker, stationary and movable contacts, a reciprocable element connectedto said movable contact, a

second reciprocable element slidably receiving said first element, a spring biasing said elements for relative movement, a latch pivoted on said second element and engaging a surface on said first element, release of said latch permitting said first element to move said movable contact to open position under the actionof said spring, a latch retaining member pivoted on a stationary part and normallysiidably engaging said latch and a current responsive holding means for said member.

12. In an' automatic electric circuit breaker, stationary and movable contacts, a reciprocable element connected to said movable contact, a second reciprocable element slidably receiving said first element, a spring biasing said elements for relative movement, a latch pivoted on said second element and engaging a surface on said first element, release of said latch permitting said first element to move said movable contact to open position under the action of said spring, a latch retaining member pivoted on a stationary part and normally slideably engaging said latch,

a current responsive holding means for said member, a push button slideably receiving said second element, a spring forming the operative connection between said push button and second element in one direction and means for latching said push button with said spring compressed to exert pressure between the cooperating contacts.

13. In an automatic'electric circuit breaker, stationary and movable contacts, a reciprocable element connected to said movable contact, a

second reciprocable element slideably receiving said first element, a spring biasing said elements for relative movement, a latch pivoted on said second element and engaging a surface onsaid first element, release of said latch permitting said first element to move said movable contact to open position under the action of said spring, a latch retaining member pivoted on a stationstationary and movable contacts, a reciprocable element connected to said movable contact, a second reciprocable element slideably receiving said first element, a spring biasing said elements for relative movement, a latch pivoted on said second element and engaging a surface on said first element, release of said latch permitting said first element to move said movable contact to open position under the action of said spring, a latch retaining member pivoted on a stationary part and normally slideably engaging said latch, I

a current responsive holding means for said member, a push button 'slideably receiving said second element, a spring forming the operative connection between said push button and second element in one direction, means for latching said push button with said spring .compressed to exert pressure between the cooperating contacts, and a pin on said second element adapted to cooperate with said member to reset said parts upon outward movement of said push button after an automatic operation.

15. Electric circuit breaker apparatus comprising a commonconductor carrying a plurality of contact faces thereon, a plurality of insulating bases mounted over said conductor, said bases having compartments therein receiving individual automatic electric circuit breaker mechanisms having movable contact surfaces adapted to cooperate with the contact faces on the conductor to perform the switching operation, said mechanisms being sealed within their compartments from exterior access and at least certain of said compartments being in communication to provide a common venting chamber for the mechanisms in said certain compartments for the gases generated by an are formed between said contact faces and surfaces.

16. Electric circuit breaker apparatus comprising a common conductor carrying a plurality of contact faces thereon, a plurality of insulating bases mounted over said conductor, said bases having compartments therein receiving individual automatic electric circuit breaker mechanisms having movable contact surfaces adapted to cooperate with the contact faces on the conductor to perform the switching operation, said mechanisms being sealed within their compartments from exterior access and at least certain of said compartments being in communication to provide a common venting chamber for the mechanisms in said certain compartments for the gases generated by an are formed between said contact faces and surfaces, and insulating formationsin back of said common conductor and connected to said bases'to substantially enclose the main body of said conductor.

17. Electric circuit breaker apparatus comprising a common conductor carrying a plurality of contact faces thereon, a plurality of insulating bases mounted over said conductor, said bases having compartments therein receiving individual automatic electric circuit breaker mechanisms having movable contact surfaces adapted to cooperate with the contact faces on the conductor to perform the switching operation, said mechanisms being sealed within their compartments from exterior access and at least certain of said compartments being in communication to provide a common venting chamber for the mechanisms in said certain compartments for the gases generated by an arc formed between said contact faces and surfaces, insulating formations in back of said common conductor and connected to said bases to substantially enclose the main body of said conductor, and a portion on said conductor extending beyond said bases and serving as a terminal for the attachment of circuit wires leading current to said individual mechanisms.

18. Electric circuit breaker apparatus comprising a common conductor carrying aplurality of contact faces thereon, a plurality of insulating having compartments. therein receiving individual automatic electric circuit breaker mechanism having movable contact surfaces adapted to cooperate with the contact faces on the conductor to perform the switching operation, said mechanisms being sealed within their compartments from exterior access, and insulating formations in back of said common conductor and connected to said bases to substantially enclose the main body of said conductor.

19. Electric circuit breaker apparatus comprising a common conductor carrying a plurality of contact faces thereon, a plurality of insulating bases mounted over said conductor, said bases having compartments therein receiving individual automatic electric circuit breaker mechanisms having movable contact surfaces adapted to cooperate with the contact faces on the conductor to perform the switching operation, said mechanisms being sealed within their. compartments from exterior access, and mating openings in certain adjacent walls of said bases cooperating to provide communication between certain of said compartments and a common space for the dissipation of gases generated by arcs formed between the contact faces and surfaces of the mechanisms in said certain com partments. t

- JOHN G. JACKSON.

WALLACE T-. ALLEN.

,bases mounted over said conductor, said bases column, line 3, claim 15, strike outvthe words hissing said elements" and insert instead member,

element; and that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correc-' tion therein that the same may conform to the record of the case in the Pat- CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION. Patent No. 2,156,761. May 2, 1959.

' JOHN G. JACKSON, ET AL. It is hereby certifiedthat error appears in the printed specification of the above numbered. patent requiring correction as follows: Page first "first element, a spring ent Office v Signed and sealed this 20th day of June, A. D. 1939.

Henry Van Arsdale Acting Commissioner of, Patents.

and a pinon said second. Y

column; line 3, claim 15, strike outthe words hiesing said elements" and insert instead member, element; and that the said Letters Patent should be read with this cor'rec-' tion therein that the same may conform to the record or the case in the Pat- CERTIFIGA'I'E OF CORRECTION. Patent No. 2,156,761. May 2, 19 9. c i

JOHN G. .mcxson, ET AL. It is hereby certifiedthat error appears in the printed specification of the above numbered. patent requiring correction as follows: Page first "first element, e spring ent' Office 4 signed and sealed this 26th day of June, A. D. 19 9.

Henry Van Arsdale Acting Commieeioner of! Patents.

and a pin on said eecond