US2723321A

US2723321A - Automatic circuit breaker

Info

Publication number: US2723321A
Application number: US356569A
Authority: US
Inventors: Palmer J Aaseby
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1953-05-21
Filing date: 1953-05-21
Publication date: 1955-11-08
Anticipated expiration: 1972-11-08

Description

Nov. 8, 1955 P. J. AASEBY AUTOMATIC CIRCUIT BREAKER Filed May 21, 1953 INVENTOR. Palmer J. Aaseby %Mfl Z7 ATTORNEY United States l atent AUTOMATIC CIRCUIT BREAKER Palmer 3. Aaseby, Spokane, Wash.

Application May 21, 1953, Serial No. Claims. (Cl. 290-6147) The present invention relates to a circuit breaker and, more particularly, to an automatic circuit breaker.

One object of the invention is to provide a circuit breaker which may be interposed in the ignition circuit of a vehicle such as crawler or wheel type tractors and the like so as to break the electric circuit when the vehicle is tilted beyond a safe operating position.

Another object of the invention lies in the provision of a circuit breaker of this kind which will break the electric circuit in which it is interposed and which will maintain the circuit in broken or open condition until the circuit breaker is manually reset to again close the circuit.

Another object of the invention lies in the provision of a circuit breaker which is easily adaptable to either battery or magneto ignition system circuits so as to break the circuit and stop operation of an internal combustion engine.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent during the course of the following description.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and in which like numerals are employed to designate like parts:

Figure 1 is a view in side elevation showing the preferred embodiment of my invention supported on a longitudinal beam of a vehicle;

Figure 2 is a longitudinal vertical cross section taken through the circuit breaker;

Figure 3 is a transverse cross section taken through the front chamber of the circuit breaker; and

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the securing and adjusting bolt forming a part of the present invention.

Referring now more particularly to the drawing, the

numeral 1-0 .designates a cylindrical tubular casing which is formed preferably .of a non-conductive material and has its open ends closed by means of disks or closures l1 and 12 which are hermetically sealed in the ends thereof.

Within the casing Ill I have provided a divider 13 which is irregular in shape and has a duo-plane face 14 disposed at the forward side and an angled face 15' at its rearward side. The forward face 14- comprises two contiguous planes, the lower one 16 of which is shown to be substantially 45 degrees from horizontal and angled upwardly at a rearward incline and the upper face 17 is disposed upwardly at a rearward incline substantially 30 degrees from horizontal. For convenience of manufacture, the divider 13 has been shown to be an individual piece separate from the casing 10 and is adheringly secured therein to form a fluid tight connection between the divider and the lower portion of the casing. The divider 13 is provided with an apex or ridge 18 which extends transversely of the casing lltl substantially at its diameter, defining the front chamber 19 and the rear chamber 2% within the casing at its front and rear ends.

A block 21 is secured within the casing at the upper side and is provided with an angled convex face 22 forming an upper wall which extends upwardly at a forward ice angle from the rear chamber toward the front chamber. As indicated in Figures 2 and 3, the face or wall is shaped to cause fluid to flow from the rear chamber to the forward chamber when the circuit breaker is axially rotated degrees from the position shown, thus permitting manual transfer of a fluid from the rear chamber to the front chamber.

Each chamber is provided with a pair of

electrodes

23, 24, andZfii. The electrode 23 is common to both chambers and has a head 26 disposed in the front chamber and an elongated rod 27 which extends through the divider 13, rear chamber 20 and rear closure 12 Where it has its rear outer end threaded to receive a complementary nut 28 for electrically connecting and physically securing a fuse clip 29 on one end of the circuit breaker.

The electrode 24 is threadedly engaged through a sleeve 34) which extends through the closure at its lower side and is provided with a lip 31 to which a wire 32 may be electrically secured. The electrode 24 is manually rotatable by means of thumb knob 33 and may be selectively positioned in physical contact with electrode 23 or spaced therefrom in selective varying degrees.

The other electrode 25 extends through the wall of casing 10 into the rear compartment 20 on the lower side of the casing and is permanently fixed spaced from the rod 2'7 of electrode 23. A ground wire 34 is electrically connected to the electrode 25 and thence secured to the ground or frame member 35 of the vehicle.

A second fuse clip 29' is secured to the closurre 12 in spaced relation to the clip 29 and a conventional fuse 36 is releasably held therein. Wire 37 is electrically connected by any suitable means to the clip 29.

A liquid conductor 38, such as mercury, is normally contained within the front chamber 19 in quantity to cover the pair of

electrodes

23 and 24 therein, electrically connecting said electrodes when in their spaced relative positions.

A supporting bracket 39 is secured by means of bolts 40 to the frame member 35 and the bracket is provided with a vertically disposed ring 41 which encircles the casing 10 of the circuit breaker and permits axial rotation thereof. v

To secure the circuit breaker, l have provided a central aperture indicated by the numeral 42, in the closure 11. A securing bolt, indicated in general by the numeral 43 and disclosed in Figure 4, has an end cap plate 4A disposed within the circuit breaker and against the inside face of the closure 11 and has an eccentric annular cam 45 of a size adapting it to fit snugly into the aperture A reduced forwardly disposed arm d6, concentric with the disk 44, extends from the cam .45 and is provided with serrations 47 annulariy disposed about its forwarder-1d portion and terminates in a reduced threaded portion 48. The threaded portion 48 is provided with a transverse kerf 49 on its end face and a thumb or wing nut Sll is threaded upon the reduced portion 48.

The bracket 39 is provided with an upwardly extending arm 51 which has an internally toothed *ture 52 adapted to receive and cooperate with the serrations 47 whereby the bolt 43 is selectively secured at predetermined axial positions.

A sleeve 53 encircles the portion S6 of the bolt i and bears against the outside face of closure ii and is clamped between the closure 42 and the arm by means of wing nut 50.

The angle of

faces

16 and 17 will vary according to the weight distribution of the equipment or vehicle upon which the circuit breaker is to be secured, but for purposes of illustration and not for limitation, when the angles are as disclosed above and the vehicle is driven up a hill having a greater angle than 4-5 degrees, the liquid conductor 38 flows from the front chamber to the rear chamber breaking the circuit between

electrodes

23 and 24 and also shorting the circuit between

electrodes

23 and 25, thereby blowing fuse 36. This permanently opens the circuit of the ignition system and requires replacing the liquid conductor in the front chamber and also replacing the fuse to again start the engine.

In applying the device in a magneto system, it is necessary to ground out the magneto to prevent its producing a high voltage spark and the contacting of

electrodes

23 and 25 with electrode 24 adjusted to a position where it contacts electrode 23, in the same manner prevents operation of the engine.

When a vehicle such as a tractor, by reason of its own wheel torque, tends to lift the front wheels from the ground and tip the vehicle over upon its operator, the circuit breaker stops the ignition and thus permits the tractor to settle to its normal position and prevents its overturning.

As shown in Figure 3, the liquid conductor separates from the

electrodes

23 and 24 when the vehicle tilts transversely beyond a normal operating position, thus protecting the equipment and operator against overturning transversely.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A circuit breaker comprising a tubular casing having a divider disposed therein midway its length and defining front and rear chambers; closures for the ends of said casing; a bracket supporting the casing for selective axial rotation; means carried by the circuit breaker for selectively positioning the circuit breaker in vertical angled adjusted positions relative to said bracket; a pair of electrodes in each said chamber; a forwardly extending upper wall disposed at an upward incline from the rear chamber toward the front chamber; a liquid conductor within said forward chamber and normally connecting the electrodes therein; one electrode in said forward chamber being adjustable toward and away from the other elec trode from connected to selectively spaced relative positions; said divider having a duo-plane angled face presented toward said forward chamber and having its lower plane disposed at substantially 45 degrees from horizontal and its contiguous upper face at substantially degrees from horizontal; said conductor, upon tilting of the casing to a predetermined vertical angle, being adapted to fiow from said front chamber to said rear chamber to connect the electrodes of said rear chamber.

2. A circuit breaker comprising a tubular casing having a divider disposed therein midway its length and defining front and rear chambers; closures for the end of said casing; a bracket supporting the casing; means carried by the circuit breaker for selectively positioning the circuit breaker in vertical angled adjusted positions relative to said bracket; a pair of electrodes in each said chamber; a liquid conductor within said forward chamber and normally connecting the electrodes therein; one electrode in said forward chamber being adjustable toward and away from the other electrode from connected to selectively spaced relative positions; said divider having a duo-plane angled face presented toward said forward chamber and having its lower plane disposed at substantially 45 degrees from horizontal and its contiguous upper face at substantially 30 degrees from horizontal; said conductor, upon tilting of the casing to a predetermined vertical angle being adapted to flow from said front chamber to said rear chamber to connect the electrodes of said rear chamber.

3. In a circuit breaker having spaced front and rear chambers separated by a divider over which a liquid conductor initially disposed in the front chamber flows into the rear chamber when the device is tilted to a predetermined angle; a pair of electrodes in each said chamber disposed to be electrically connected by said liquid conductor when disposed therein; and one electrode in one said chamber being supported for manual adjustment toward and away from its companion electrode between a position wherein the said companion electrodes are electrically connected to each other and selective spaced relative positions.

4. In a circuit breaker having front and rear chambers provided with companion pairs of electrodes; a divider separating said chambers for normally confining a liquid conductor in one said chamber; and said divider having a duo-plane angled face presented toward said one chamber and having its lower plane disposed at a greater degree from horizontal than its contiguous upper plane.

5. A circuit breaker comprising a tubular casing having a divider disposed therein midway its length and defining front and rear chambers; enclosures for the end of said casing; a bracket supporting the casing; means carried by the circuit breaker for selectively positioning the circuit breaker in vertical angled adjusted positions relative to said bracket; a pair of electrodes in each said chamber; a liquid conductor within said forward chamber and normally connecting the electrodes therein; one electrode in said forward chamber being adjustable toward and away from the other electrode from connected to selectively spaced relative positions; said divider having a duo-plane angled face presented toward said forward chamber and having its lower plane disposed at a greater degree from horizontal than its contiguous upper plane; said conductor, upon tilting of the casing to a predetermined vertical angle, being adapted to flow from said front chamber to said rear chamber to connect the electrodes of said rear chamber.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,858,191 Hadley et al. May 10, 1932 2,056,052 Mason Sept. 29, 1936 2,192,797 Muter Mar. 5, 1940 2,318,989 Dearbaugh May 11, 1943