US2392483A

US2392483A - Automatic reclosing circuit breaker

Info

Publication number: US2392483A
Application number: US534574A
Authority: US
Inventors: Jr William D Kyle; Schindler Carl
Original assignee: KYLE CORP
Current assignee: KYLE Corp
Priority date: 1941-06-06
Filing date: 1944-05-08
Publication date: 1946-01-08
Anticipated expiration: 1963-01-08
Also published as: US2459327A; US2477067A; US2455067A

Description

Jan. 8, 1946. w. D. KYLE, JR.. ETAL 2,392,433

AUTQMATIC RECLOSING CIRCUIT BREAKER 2 Sheets-sheaf. 1

Original Filed June 6, 1941 INVENTORS Mum! 0 lKY/f 1/9 6 WWW Arrow/[K Jan. 8, 1946.

w. D. KYLE, JR.. ETAL 2,392,483

AUTOMATIC RECLOSING CIRCUIT BREAKER Origin'al Filed June 6, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 /////////////////11/11/11.'I/Ill/I/I/l/Il/lI/I/l/I/A lll/II/I/I/IIII/l/I/I/II/I/II/l/IA '////////////////////A 20 I. 19 g :1 J5

INVEN TORS Mum/n A Kym (/0. By 6 M1 Jaw/101,54

47 ORA/E),

Patenterl Jan. 8, 1946 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE AUTOMATIC RECLOSING CIRCUIT BREAKER William D. Kyle,

Jr., Milwaukee,

and Carl Schindler, Wauwatosa, Wis assignors to Kyle Corporation, South Milwaukee, Win, a corporationo! Wisconsin 3 Claims.

This invention relates to automatic reclosing circuit breakers and is a division of our application for Automatic reclosing circuit breakers, Serial No. 396,850, flied June 6, 1941.

Objects of this invention are to provide a aircuit breaker in which pairs of contacts are adapted to be separated under predetermined conditions, and in which insulating baflle means is provided between the contacts forming a pair and so arranged that accumulating sediment cannot form a conducting path between the contacts.

In greater detail, objects of this invention are to provide a circuit breaker in which a pair of stationary contacts project upwardly from an insulating base and in .which baifle means having upright portions located between the contacts are provided with integral outwardly extending foot portions located below the contacts.

Embodiments of the invention are shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly broken away and partly in section, of the automatic reclosing circuit breaker.

Figure 2 is a. fragmentary sectional view on the line 22 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a sectional view on the line 3-4 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a view corresponding to Figure 2 showing a further form of the invention.

Figure 5 is a view showing a still further form of the invention.

The circuit breaker is oil immersed and is mounted within the oil containing metal can I which is provided with a removable top 2 removably held to the can in any suitable manner.

A convenient way of attaching the top to the can is by means of a plurality of bolts 3 which are pivotally mounted between spaced ears 4 carried by the can and which are provided with wing nuts 5. The wing nuts are adapted to bear against L-shaped clamping plates 6 whose down wardly extending portions are adapted to rest upon the upper faces of the ears 4, a suitable lug I being provided on each of the ears to prevent the clamping plates 6 from slidingloflf theupper surface of the ears 4,. A suitable sealing gasket, not shown, is positioned between the can and the cover.

Any suitable attaching means as indicated at 8 and 9 are provided on the can so that the can may be attached to a pole or other suitable support.

The cap or cover 2 is provided with line and load terminals which are carried by insulating bushings one or which is shown and indicated by the reference character "I.

The automatic reclosing circuit breaker is suspended in its entirety from the metal cover 2. The circuit breaker is provided with the electromagnetic coil or solenoid II which surrounds an insulating tube or sleeve l2.

A non-magnetic operating rod H for the circuit breaker extends upwardly centrally of the insulating tube I2 and on this rod 9. plunger M of magnetic material is freely slidable.

The operating rod I3 of the circuit breaker rigidly carries a spider like stop l5 which loosely fits within the sleeve l2 and which serves as an abutment against which the upper end of the magnetic plunger l4 strikes when the coil H is energized by an overload current. When this occurs, the plunger I4 is suddenly drawn upwardly into the coil and strikes the abutmentv I5, carrying the rod l3 upwardly.

The lower end of the rod I3 is rigidly secured to an insulatin cross-head it, see Figure 2. The cross-head l6 carries a pair of contact rods II to which are rigidly attached a pair of contact sleeves ill, see Figures 2 and 3. The contact sleeves l8 normally engage the stationary contact pins l9. JIhese stationary contacts or contact pins I9 are connected to the line and load terminals of the circuit breaker.

It is to be noted particularly with reference to Figures-2 and 3 that the stationary contact pins i9 constitute stops. a ainst which the lower ends of the contact rods l'i abut when the circuit breaker is closed.

It is preferable to make the contact pins or sta tionary contacts 19 split as shown in Figure 3 and to have the movable contacts or sleeves l8 engage the pins it with a wiping motion to insure a clean contact at all times. The arcing upon separation of the movable and stationary contact does not occur between the sieves l8 and the pins 19 but separate arcing'contac ts are provided in the form of conducting rollers 20 which may be of metal and which are carried by-leaf springs 2| clamped in place as shown in Figure 3. These arcing contacts 28 are the last members that engage the movable contacts 18. All the arcing occurs between the arcing contacts 20 and the outer surfaces of the sleeves l8, thus maintaining the inner surfaces of the sleeves and the outer surfaces of the pins in good condition free from pitting although the circuit breaker may have operated a great number of times.

The arcing contacts are readily renewable and it is also easy to renew the sleeves l8, it this becomes necessary, by driving out the locking pin or other suitable securing means 22, see Figure 3, and replacing the old sleeves with new sleeves. This very rarely happens, however, for the arcing occurs, as stated, between the outer surfaces of the sleeves l8 and the arcing contacts 20.

It is to be noted particularly that the upper- If, on the other hand, the active contact had been a butt contact and the arcing had occurred between the butt contact, there would be a gradual wearing away of this contact through continued use of the circuit breaker and consequently the circuit breaker would operate only at an increased current as the time of service increased. However, in the invention herein described, the circuit breaker will always respond at exactly the same predetermined value of overload current.

The contact rods I! are connected by flexible leaders 23 with opposite ends of the coil I I so that the coil H is in series between the line and load terminals and directly across the movable contacts l8.

It is preferable to encase the lower portion of the circuit breaker, that is to say, the stationary and movable contacts, within an insulating cylindrical sleeve 24. The upper end of the sleeve 24 is closed, except for passageways which form no portion of the present invention, by means of th collar or member 25 and the lower end of the sleeve 24 is closed by means of the base member 26. The base member is provided with an oil inlet opening 21, see Figure 1, which is normally closed by a downwardly seating flap 28.

As will be seen from Figure 2, the insulating base member 26 is suspended by means of the insulating rods 29. These rods extend upwardly to the portion 25 and are internally threaded at their upper and lower ends to receive the bolts to thereby lock the rods in place and to the base 26. The insulating sleeve or shell 24 is therefore clamped between the insulating head or collar 25 and the insulating base 26.

It is preferable to provide insulating partitions extending upwardly between the spaced contacts. These partitions may take the form of two members 30 of insulating material which have integrally formed, outwardly bent foot portions 3|, see Figure 2. The foot portions are clamped in place by the stationary contacts. The members 30 may be in contact with each other, as shown in Figure 2, or may be spaced apart, as shown in Figure 4, or may be spaced apart at their lower ends and may approach each other or be in contact at their upper ends, as shown in Figure 5.

By having the base or foot portions 3| of the members or baiiles 30 integral with the vertical portions thereof, it is apparent that any conducting sediment that may settle down between the stationary contacts will not form a bridge path from one contact to the other. Further, in view of the fact that the

members

30 and 3| are integral, it is apparent that no conducting sediment can form and lead up to a short gap across which the arc would strike.

In Figure 4 a different form of insulating battle has been illustrated. These bailles have the same shape as those previously described and consist of the vertical portions 32 and the horizontal foot portions 33, but thesebafiles are spaced apart to allow an oil space between the baflles.

The baifies may also take another form as shown in Figure 5, in which the upright portions of the insulating bafiles are indicated at 34 and the foot portions or horizontal portions at'85. The upstanding portions 36' may engage each other at their upper ends but are spaced at their lower ends to provide an oil space.

The circuit breaker is automatic in its operation'and is adapted to lock out after a certain number of operations and has oil cushioning means and oil pumping'means and automatic and manual trip means, as well as manual reset means, but inasmuch as these features form no portion of this invention, a. description and disclosure thereof has been omitted. These features are, however, as set forth in our companion case hereinbefore identified of which this application is a division.

Suffice it to say that when an overload occurs, the plunger l 4 is drawn upwardly and strikes the spider like stop [5 rigid with the rod l 3 and raises the cross-head l6, which raises the rigidly attached contact rodsll and consequently moves the movable contacts or sleeves 58 from the stationary contacts or pins IS, the last contact being established through the outer surface of the sleeves l8 and the arcing contacts 25, the arcing, therefore, being conflned to the outer surface of the sleeves l8.

It is also apparent that in the event the outer surfaces of the sleeves I8 or the arcing contacts 20 may have become seriously pitted, they can be most easily renewed.

In the form of the invention shown in Figure 4 a metal cross-head l5 has been provided and is rigidly attached to the metal rods ll. With this type of construction the two stationary contacts are connected respectively to a line terminal and to one side of the solenoid II, the other side of the solenoid ll being connected to the load terminal.

It is obvious that as some wear occurs in the operation of the circuit breaker, there is a tendency for conducting sediment or material to accumulate to a slight degree adjacent the spaced stationary contacts. However, by means of the insulating baffle construction there is no chance for a conducting path to form from one stationary contact to the other.

Although this invention has been described in considerable detail, it is to be understood that such description is intended as illustrative rather than limiting, as the invention may be variously embodied and is to be interpreted as claimed.

We claim:

1. A circuit breaker comprising a pair of spaced stationary contacts and a pair of movable contacts, means for moving said movable contacts away from said stationary contacts, insulating bafile means located between said spaced stationary contacts and being in the form of .a pair of outwardly projecting plates each having an integral foot portion bent laterally in a direction away from the other of said plates and extending below the spaced stationary contacts, whereby any conducting sediment that may accumulate adjacent said stationary contacts cannot form a conducting path between said stationary contacts.

2. A circuit breaker comprising a pair of spaced stationary contacts and a pair of movable contacts, means for moving said movable contacts away from said stationary contacts, insulating baille means located between said spaced stationary contacts and being in the form '01 a pair of outwardly projecting plates each having an integral foot portion bent laterally in a direction away from the other of said plates and extending below the spaced stationary contacts, whereby any conducting sediment that may accumulate adjacent said stationary contacts cannot form a conducting path between said stationary con tacts, said baffie means having at least a portion of the outwardly projecting plates in contact with each other. v

3. A circuit breaker comprising a pair of spaced stationary contacts and a pair of movable contacts, means for moving said movable contacts away from said stationary contacts. insulating baflle means located between said spaced stationary contacts and being in the form of a pair of outwardly projecting plates each having an integral foot portion bent laterally in a direction away from the other of said plates and extending below the spaced stationary contacts, whereby any conducting sediment that may accumulate adjacent said stationary contacts cannot form a conducting path between said stationary contacts, said baflie means having at least a portion of the outwardly projecting plates out of contact with each other.

WILLIAM D. KYLE, JR. CARL SCHINDLER.