US2181586A - Circuit breaker - Google Patents

Description

Nov. 28, 1939. G. H PERRYMAN ET AL 5 CIRCUIT BREAKER Filed Sept. 10, 1938 INVENTOR v Georde Perm/71241111 Paul J'dw'e'rin Wav- Patented Nov. 28,1939.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE alarm cmcurr sums George H. Perryman, Union City, and Paul I Schwerin, Rutherford, N. 1.

Application September 10, 1938, Serial No. $29,238

3 Claims. This invention relates to circuit breakers, and

I more particularly to those utilized in the timing mechanism of internal combustion engines.

The inefllciency of timing mechanisms utilized in connection with internal combustion engines, and particularly those used in automobiles is well known. Imperfect contact, arcing, pitting of the contacts, wear and other deficiencies often quickly arise and grow more aggravated as the' motor receives use in time. The correction of these deficiencies requires time and eflort on the part of the car owner or the service man; parts wear out and require replacement, and seldom does the average automotive engine operate with maximum eiliciency due to the deficiencies mentioned and. to improper adjustment of the parts, and particularly the contacts or so-called "poin of the circuit interrupter.

The objectof the present invention is to provide a circuit breaker in which the contacts are enclosed in a chamber in which a high vacuum is initially produced and permanently maintained. Another object of the invention is to provide a chamber for enclosing the contacts,

so constructed that a high vacuum may be readily,

produced within it, and also so constructed that one or both of the walls of the chamber will be flexible or resilient'to thereby act as a means by which the contacts canbe either opened orclosed according to the design of operating mechanism employed in conjunction with the circuit breaker. Other objects are attained by the invention, as will be hereinafter pointed out.

In the accompanying drawing, wherein an embodiment of the invention is shown, Fig. 1 is a sectional view through the improved circuit breaker; Fig.2is asectionalvlewon theline 2-! of Pig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows; Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the device; Fig. 4 is a sectional view on the line H of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows, and Hg. 5 is a sectional view of a portion of a modified structure.

The circuit breaker contacts or "points" as they are commonly termed, are indicated at I and I, the ends or faces I and! thereof being in abutment when the circuit is closed and spaced apart a slight distance when the circuit is open, asisclearlyunderstoodin thisart.'1'hecontact 2, which may be the movable contact, is mounted in a dished plate I of concavo-convex formation, the same being preferably composed of metal and beingflexibleorresilient sothatitnormallyholds the contacting face or end 4 of the contact memberffirmlyagsinsttbeccntactingfacelofthe and securely sealed around the contact member contact member I. Contact member 2 is in two parts, one of which is welded on the outside of the plate 9 and the other on the inside so that the plate I is imperforate, and the contact member 2 becomes, for all intents and purposes, an 5 integral part of the plate 9.

The dished plate 9 'is formed with an integral marginal flange 1 in contact with a similar flange 9 formed at the edge of a dished plate 9 similar to that shown at i and in opposed position theren to. The abutting flanges I and 8 of the two plates 5 and 9 are welded together so that the two concave- convex plates 5 and 9 co-operate in the formation of a chamber III within which the normally contacting ends 9 and I of the canu tact members I and 2 are disposed.

Contact member I is secured in the plate 9 by being fused thereto through the medium of a small body of glass II or other suitable insulation which will act not only to electrically insulate the contact member I from plate 9 but also to firmly attach the contact member I fixedly inthe plate 9, and seal the plate around the contact-member so that a high vacuum initially produced within the chamber It will be indefinitely maintained therein for the long life of the circuit breaker. I

The casing-or chamber, composed of the two opposed dished plates 9 and 9 as the walls thereof, fused or otherwise intimately secured together I by means of the fused glass II, is one in which a high vacuum can be readily secured and indefinitely maintained. By a fhigh vacuum is meant a vacuum equivalent to that attained in electronic tubes and particularly those of presentday construction wherein a metal or glass envelope is employed to encase the .tube elements. The securement of a vacuum equivalent to that attained in such tubes may be had within the chamber II by following the evacuating promaybe separated from contact member I by In the structure shownin Fig. 1 the contact 2 amuse any of the conventional breaker mechanism and we have shown a lifter member I, operated by the conventional cam mechanism, not shown, engaging an insulated nut IS on the threaded. end I6 of contact member 2, for breaking the contact of members I and 2 when required by engine operation. If desired, the device may be constructed for reverse operation. That is to say, the contact members may be normally held in circuit-breaking or open position and a means be employed for closing the circuit when desired by the operation of a pushing element acting against the end of contact member 2. In such case it might be found desirable to utilize a coil spring H as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 1, within the casing ID to normally hold the contacts in open position. These and various other modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, while we have stated that the plate may be flexible or resilient, it will be understood that both thatplate and the co-operating plate 9 may be resilient.

In Fig. 5 is shown a modified structure wherein there is disposed between the flanges l and 8 a ring of suitable insulation 20 such as glass, the glass being fused to the flanges and acting as an insulation between the plates 5 and 9. With this arrangement, contact member I can be affixed directly to the plate 9 in the manner of contact 2, the glass indicated at it being in such case unnecessary.

By the enclosure of the contact members within a high vacuum, sparking, oxidation of the points, pitting and the other many deficiencies occurring with present-day structures is avoided and the life of the circuit-breaker greatly increased,'not to mention the consistent uniform operating performance of the device for its entire life. The result is that consistently satisfactory engine performance is attained for long periods of time. In addition also, a closer spacing of the contacts may be used resulting in greater circuit-opening and closing speed.

What we claim is:

1. In a circuit breaker, a sealed metal casing in which a high vacuum is maintained, said cas ing comprising a pair of dished members, juxtaposed marginal flanges at the edges of the dished members in planes substantially parallel to the planes oi said-dishedmembers and secured together, one of said dished members being flexible and constituting a diaphragm, a contact carried centrally of said flexible member and having portions respectively disposed inwardly and outwardly of the casing, a second cooperating contact carried centrally of the other dished member and having an inner end of the contact cooperating with the contact carried by the flexible dished member and an outer end disposed outwardly of the casing and means for insulating the second contact from the flexible dished memher.

2. In a circuit breaker, a. sealed metal casing in which a high vacuum is maintained, said casing comprising a pair of dished members secured together at their marginal edges, one of said dished members being flexible and constituting a diaphragm, a contact carried centrally of said flexible member and having portions respectively disposed inwardly and outwardly of the casing, the other dished member having a central opening therein, a second contact cooperating with the aforesaid contact and extending through said opening and an insulation glass support for the second contact disposed in said opening and fused to the walls of said opening and to said second contact to insulate the second contact from the flexible dished wall.

3. In a circuit breaker, a sealed metal casing in which a high vacuumis maintained, said casing comprising a pair of dished members, juxtaposed marginal flanges at the edges of the dished members in planes substantially parallel to the planes of said dished members and secured together, one of said dished members being flexible and constituting a diaphragm, a contact carried centrally of said flexible dished member and having portions disposed inwardly and outwardly of the casing, a second contact centrally carried by the other dished member of the casing and having an inner end in the casing cooperating with the contact carried by the flexible dished wall and an outer end disposed outwardly of the casing and insulation means interposed between the marginal juxtaposed flanges of the dished members for insulating the second contact from the flexible dished member.

GEORGE H. PERRYMAN. PAUL SCHWERIN.

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