US3790911A - Electrical circuit-breaker - Google Patents

Electrical circuit-breaker Download PDF

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Publication number
US3790911A
US3790911A US00293453A US29345372A US3790911A US 3790911 A US3790911 A US 3790911A US 00293453 A US00293453 A US 00293453A US 29345372 A US29345372 A US 29345372A US 3790911 A US3790911 A US 3790911A
Authority
US
United States
Prior art keywords
movable contact
circuit
breaker
contact member
chambers
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 - Lifetime
Application number
US00293453A
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English (en)
Inventor
H Kick
W Schwyn
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Maier C & Cie ch
ABB CMC Carl Meier AG
Original Assignee
CMC Carl Maier and Cie AG
Priority date (The priority date 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 date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by CMC Carl Maier and Cie AG filed Critical CMC Carl Maier and Cie AG
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of US3790911A publication Critical patent/US3790911A/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01H—ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES
    • H01H1/00—Contacts
    • H01H1/12—Contacts characterised by the manner in which co-operating contacts engage
    • H01H1/14—Contacts characterised by the manner in which co-operating contacts engage by abutting
    • H01H1/20—Bridging contacts
    • H01H1/2066—Fork-shaped bridge; Two transversally connected contact arms bridging two fixed 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
    • H01H73/02—Details
    • H01H73/18—Means for extinguishing or suppressing arc
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01H—ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES
    • H01H9/00—Details of switching devices, not covered by groups H01H1/00 - H01H7/00
    • H01H9/30—Means for extinguishing or preventing arc between current-carrying parts
    • H01H9/34—Stationary parts for restricting or subdividing the arc, e.g. barrier plate
    • H01H9/342—Venting arrangements for arc chutes

Definitions

  • the two are quehehihg 200/147 B chambers are arranged along the two opposite sides of a separating wall of insulating material in a manner 5 References Cited that the gas outlet opening of the chambers as well as UNITED STATES PATENTS the fixed contact members are separated mechanically and electrically by the wall, and the wall serves as a 2: 200/147 B support for other structural parts of the breaker.
  • the present invention concerns an electrical circuitbreaker of very reduced dimensions and of considerably improved performance.
  • the main object of this invention is to provide an electrical circuit breaker in which the short circuit current is limited by creating an arc voltage higher than the supply voltage.
  • the breaker should work very quickly, i.e. when a short circuit occurs, the contacts should open as quickly as possible,
  • the arc voltage between the open contacts should be as high as possible, in any case higher than the supply voltage.
  • the electrical circuit-breaker according to the present invention having contacts with double rupturing, comprises two fixed contact members, at least one movable contact member, a mechanism for actuating the movable contact member and including an armature which knocks away the movable contact member in case of a short-circuit, and two arc quenching chambers having each at least one gas outlet opening and being each equipped with a U-shaped iron plate, the opening of the U facing towards the mechanism of the breaker.
  • This circuit-breaker is characterized by the fact that the two are quenching chambers are arranged at the two opposite sides of a separating wall of isolating material, in a manner that this wall separates mechanically and electrically the gas outlet openings of the chambers as well as the fixed contact members, and that the separating wall serves also as a support for other structural parts of the breaker.
  • the movable contact member may have the form of a fork extending on both sides of the separating wall into the two quenching chambers.
  • two movable contact members can be used, one on each side of the wall, and both of them being connected to each other by a flexible connection.
  • the two quenching chambers can, on the side of the movable contact, be equipped with a common are horn, which is lodged in a curved slit in the separating wall.
  • Each of the two quenching chambers may be equipped with at least seven arc quenching plates of copper which are put substantially at right angles to the direction of the arc.
  • Copper has the advantage to have a high thermal conductivity and also a good heat capacity per unit of volume, which is important for cooling the arc. Also copper is non magnetic and does not disturb the action of the U-shaped iron plates around the quenching chambers, which sucks the arc into the chamber.
  • quenching plates not only cool the arc, in addition there is another effect:
  • the arc When the arc is driven between the plates', it sets foot on the plates and at each point where the arc enters or leaves the metal there is a voltage drop. The sum of all these drops helps also to quenche the arc.
  • Gas outlet openings of the chambers may be provided with meshed screens or grids made of meshed metal wires in order to prevent that the arc may come out of the breaker housing.
  • At the separating wall may be mounted the breaker mechanism, an axle for carrying the movable contact member as well as an overload and/or a short-circuit release.
  • the breaker mechanism together with the movable contact member and a handle for manual operation of the breaker can be mounted and pivoted between preferably two plates which are, together with the short circuit release, fastened to the separating wall.
  • FIG. 1 is a side elevation view into the circuitbreaker, one halve of the housing taken away;
  • FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the breaker.
  • Two are quenching chambers 2 are arranged at the two opposite sides of a separating wall 1 of insulating material.
  • the chambers 2 are electrically connected in series: the incoming connexions going to a pair of fixed contact members 4, the connection between the chambers going over a movable contact member 5 or through a common arc horn 6, which is placed in a curved slit 7 in wall 1.
  • the wall 1 extends to the edge of the breaker and separates mechanically and electrically the two fixed contact members 4 as well as two gas outlet openings 3 of the chambers 2.
  • the movable contact member 5 in form of a fork reaches from upside into the two chambers 2.
  • On the outside the chambers 2 are each covered with a U- shaped iron plate 9, the opening of the U facing towards a mechanism for actuating the circuit-breaker.
  • the magnetic field, created by the arc current in case of a short-circuit, is partially concentrated on one side, through plate 9 and forces on the other side the are against and between arc quenching plates 8 made of copper and arranged within the chambers 2 substantially at right angles to the direction of the arc.
  • Tests have shown that seven plates 8 in each chamber give good results for interrupting 220 V with a single pole breaker, or 380 V with a two or three pole breaker (for 3 phase supply). A higher number of quenching plates (for example nine) does not bring much improvement.
  • Lattices, screens or grids 13 and 18 made of meshed metal wires and having a mesh width of eg 0.5 to 0.8 mm are arranged at the gas outlet openings 3 and 12 for the purpose of preventing the are or fire from coming out of the breaker.
  • the lattices, screens or grids 13 in the opening 3 of the two chambers 2 on the left (of FIG. 1) are separated by the wall 1.
  • two lattices, screens or grids 18 are common for both halves of the breaker.
  • the mentioned mechanism for actuating the circuit breaker is arranged as follows:
  • the movable contact member 5 is carried by an axle l0 turnably supported in a pair of plates 17.
  • the axle further carries a lever 33 which is firmly connected to the movable contact member 5.
  • a pair of levers 11 is pivotably arranged on axle and carry a pivotable pawl 28 capable to be engaged with the free end of lever 33.
  • a handle 15 for manual operation of the circuit-breaker is pivotably mounted between the plates 17 and operatively connected to levers 11.
  • a spring 29 urges the movable contact member 5 into its open or off" position.
  • the plates 17 carrying the described mechanism are fastened to an electro-magnetical short-circuit release 16 which in turn is fixed on the separating wall 1.
  • the fixed contact members 4 and a bimetallic thermal overload release 24, 25 as well as connexion terminals (not shown) are also fastened to the wall I. In this way, the whole mechanism of the breaker can be put together and tested, the two quenching chambers 2 added and, to complete the assembly, two halves of a housing 14 fastened.
  • the thermal overload release 24, 25 comprises a bimetal strip or blade 24 through which the current flows, and a slider 25 coupling the free end of the strip 24 with the pawl 28.
  • the short-circuit release 16 includes an eIectro magnetic coil 23 through which the current flows, a movable armature 20 slidably arranged in the coil 23, a longitudinally displaceable pin 21 arranged between one end of the armature 20 and the movable contact member 5, as well as a pivotably mounted finger 22 which operatively connects the other end of the armature 20 with the slider 25.
  • the coil 23 and the bimetal strip 24 are connected in series with the contacts 4, 5.
  • handle 15 is manually tilted to the right in FIG. 1.
  • the levers 11 are pulled upwards, which in turn by means of the pawl 28 also pivote the lever 33 in clockwise direction. Consequently, the,
  • thermal overlod release 24, 25 operates as follows:
  • the current also flows through the coil of the shortcircuit release 16.
  • the magnetic excitation of the short-circuit release 16 is sufficient to attract the movable armature 20 and to move it to the right in FIG. 1.
  • the pivotably arranged finger 22 is turned and pushes, by means of the slider 25, the pawl 28 to the left, which frees the lever' 33 as before.
  • the axially movable pin 21 at the other end of the armature 20 knocks on the movable contact member 5 and accelerates it much more than the spring 29 could do it alone. Therefore the contact members are separated very quickly from each other and an arc is drawn between each pair of contact members 4, 11.
  • the U-shaped iron plates 9 of the quenching chambers 2 create an unsymmetry of the magnetic field around the path of the arc .current, which causes the arc to move downwards into the quenching chambers 2 and between the quenching plates 8, where the arc is extinguished as described above.
  • a weak spring (not shown in the drawing) pulls the handle 15 into the open or off position shown in FIG. 1. By this movement the levers 11 are turned downwards and the pawl 28 engages again with lever 33. The circuit-breaker is now ready to be closed or switched on again by manual operation of the handle 15.
  • An electrical circuit-breaker including at least one pole having contacts with double rupturing, comprising two fixed contact members associated with said at least one pole, at least one movable contact member, a mechanism for actuating the movable contact member and including an armature which knocks away the movable contact member in case of short circuit, and two are quenching chambers having each at least one gas outlet opening, each quenching chamber being equipped with a U-shaped iron plate, the opening of the U facing towards said mechanism, this breaker being characterized by the fact, that the two are quenching chambers (2) are arranged along the two opposite sides of a separating wall (1) of insulating material, in a manner that the gas outlet opening ('3) of the chambers (2) as well as the two fixed contact members (4) associated with said at least one pole are separated mechanically and electrically by said wall; the wall (1) serving as a support for other structural parts of the breaker including the mechanism (11) for actuating the movable contact member, an axle carrying the movable contact member, and a short-circuit
  • a circuit-breaker according to claim 1 comprising two movable contact members, one on each side of the wall (1 the two movable contact members being electrically connected together.
  • a circuit-breaker according to claim 1 wherein on the side of the movable contact member (5), the two chambers (2) are equipped with one common are horn 5.

Landscapes

  • Arc-Extinguishing Devices That Are Switches (AREA)
  • Breakers (AREA)
  • Circuit Breakers (AREA)
US00293453A 1971-09-30 1972-09-29 Electrical circuit-breaker Expired - Lifetime US3790911A (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
CH1437871A CH543174A (de) 1971-09-30 1971-09-30 Leitungsschutzschalter

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
US3790911A true US3790911A (en) 1974-02-05

Family

ID=4400303

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
US00293453A Expired - Lifetime US3790911A (en) 1971-09-30 1972-09-29 Electrical circuit-breaker

Country Status (14)

Country Link
US (1) US3790911A (de)
JP (1) JPS5614218B2 (de)
AT (1) AT325704B (de)
BE (1) BE789300A (de)
CH (1) CH543174A (de)
DE (1) DE2158749C3 (de)
DK (1) DK131527B (de)
ES (1) ES407278A1 (de)
FR (1) FR2154628B1 (de)
GB (1) GB1391222A (de)
IL (1) IL40438A (de)
IT (1) IT967721B (de)
NL (1) NL172703C (de)
SE (1) SE386304B (de)

Cited By (7)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4001743A (en) * 1974-05-14 1977-01-04 Firma Heinrich Kopp, Inhaber Theodor Simoneit Heavy duty automatic circuit breaker
US4656446A (en) * 1985-12-17 1987-04-07 Westinghouse Electric Corp. Current limiting circuit breaker with series double break contact system per pole
EP1178509A2 (de) * 2000-07-21 2002-02-06 GEWISS S.p.A. Thermomagnetischer Schutzschalter
WO2003001549A1 (en) * 2001-06-22 2003-01-03 Abb Service S.R.L. Miniature circuit breaker pole
US20070046403A1 (en) * 2005-08-31 2007-03-01 Abb Patent Gmbh Electrical switching device
US20070046404A1 (en) * 2005-08-31 2007-03-01 Abb Patent Gmbh Electrical switchgear
EP2618354A1 (de) * 2012-01-23 2013-07-24 General Electric Company Lichtbogenkammeranordnung und Herstellungsverfahren dafür

Families Citing this family (13)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JPS5745007B2 (de) * 1974-03-02 1982-09-25
FR2429488A1 (fr) * 1978-06-23 1980-01-18 Merlin Gerin Disjoncteur electrique multipolaire basse tension a chambre d'extinction d'arc perfectionnee
FR2461349A1 (fr) * 1979-07-12 1981-01-30 Merlin Gerin Chambre de coupure perfectionnee pour disjoncteur basse tension multipolaire a boitier moule
DE3021867A1 (de) * 1980-06-11 1981-12-17 Brown, Boveri & Cie Ag, 6800 Mannheim Selbstschalter
FR2495826A1 (fr) * 1980-12-09 1982-06-11 Merlin Gerin Disjoncteur miniature a haut pouvoir de coupure
FR2517465B1 (fr) * 1981-11-27 1986-05-02 Merlin Gerin Disjoncteur miniature a deux chambres de coupure accolees
DE3339399A1 (de) * 1983-10-29 1985-05-09 Sursum Elektrizitätsgesellschaft Leyhausen GmbH & Co, 8500 Nürnberg Selbstschalter mit lichtbogenblasfeld
DE3421876A1 (de) * 1984-06-13 1985-12-19 Brown, Boveri & Cie Ag, 6800 Mannheim Lichtbogenloescheinrichtung
JPS61124020A (ja) * 1984-11-20 1986-06-11 松下電工株式会社 消弧装置
JPS6149944U (de) * 1985-08-29 1986-04-03
JPH088048B2 (ja) * 1989-09-18 1996-01-29 三菱電機株式会社 限流装置
DE19734676A1 (de) * 1997-08-11 1999-02-18 Maier & Cie C Schaltgerät
EP1220260A1 (de) * 2000-12-27 2002-07-03 ABB Schweiz AG Leistungsschalter mit einer doppeltunterbrechenden Kontaktanordnung

Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US1919438A (en) * 1929-08-20 1933-07-25 Westinghouse Electric & Mfg Co Plate for circuit breakers
US2615109A (en) * 1949-12-10 1952-10-21 Gen Electric Zigzag magnetic labyrinth arc muffler
US2687462A (en) * 1950-02-16 1954-08-24 Westinghouse Electric Corp Circuit interrupter
US2908782A (en) * 1957-04-04 1959-10-13 Gen Electric Circuit breaker

Patent Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US1919438A (en) * 1929-08-20 1933-07-25 Westinghouse Electric & Mfg Co Plate for circuit breakers
US2615109A (en) * 1949-12-10 1952-10-21 Gen Electric Zigzag magnetic labyrinth arc muffler
US2687462A (en) * 1950-02-16 1954-08-24 Westinghouse Electric Corp Circuit interrupter
US2908782A (en) * 1957-04-04 1959-10-13 Gen Electric Circuit breaker

Cited By (12)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4001743A (en) * 1974-05-14 1977-01-04 Firma Heinrich Kopp, Inhaber Theodor Simoneit Heavy duty automatic circuit breaker
US4656446A (en) * 1985-12-17 1987-04-07 Westinghouse Electric Corp. Current limiting circuit breaker with series double break contact system per pole
EP1178509A2 (de) * 2000-07-21 2002-02-06 GEWISS S.p.A. Thermomagnetischer Schutzschalter
EP1178509A3 (de) * 2000-07-21 2002-02-27 GEWISS S.p.A. Thermomagnetischer Schutzschalter
WO2003001549A1 (en) * 2001-06-22 2003-01-03 Abb Service S.R.L. Miniature circuit breaker pole
US20070046403A1 (en) * 2005-08-31 2007-03-01 Abb Patent Gmbh Electrical switching device
US20070046404A1 (en) * 2005-08-31 2007-03-01 Abb Patent Gmbh Electrical switchgear
US7504914B2 (en) * 2005-08-31 2009-03-17 Abb Patent Gmbh Electrical switchgear
US7528690B2 (en) * 2005-08-31 2009-05-05 Abb Patent Gmbh Electrical switching device
EP2618354A1 (de) * 2012-01-23 2013-07-24 General Electric Company Lichtbogenkammeranordnung und Herstellungsverfahren dafür
US20130186863A1 (en) * 2012-01-23 2013-07-25 Mahesh Jaywant Rane Arc chute assembly and method of manufacturing same
US8912461B2 (en) * 2012-01-23 2014-12-16 General Electric Company Arc chute assembly and method of manufacturing same

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
DK131527B (da) 1975-07-28
NL172703C (nl) 1983-10-03
DE2158749B2 (de) 1973-08-02
DE2158749A1 (de) 1973-04-12
DK131527C (de) 1975-12-22
FR2154628A1 (de) 1973-05-11
CH543174A (de) 1973-10-15
IL40438A (en) 1975-08-31
AT325704B (de) 1975-11-10
DE2158749C3 (de) 1975-01-09
JPS5614218B2 (de) 1981-04-02
IT967721B (it) 1974-03-11
NL7213269A (de) 1973-04-03
IL40438A0 (en) 1972-11-28
BE789300A (fr) 1973-01-15
FR2154628B1 (de) 1977-08-26
SE386304B (sv) 1976-08-02
JPS4842368A (de) 1973-06-20
GB1391222A (en) 1975-04-16
NL172703B (nl) 1983-05-02
ES407278A1 (es) 1975-10-16
ATA771372A (de) 1975-01-15

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