US3808507A

US3808507A - Circuit breaker panel with provision for connecting supply lines alternatively to main input terminals on said panel or to main circuit breaker means connected to said input terminals

Info

Publication number: US3808507A
Application number: US00316282A
Authority: US
Inventors: A Norden
Original assignee: GEN SWITCH CO
Current assignee: GEN SWITCH CO; GENERAL SWITCH CO US
Priority date: 1971-12-02
Filing date: 1972-12-18
Publication date: 1974-04-30
Anticipated expiration: 1991-04-30

Abstract

There is provided a panel adapted to have mounted thereon a plurality of automatic electric circuit breakers, preferably of the plug-in type, for branch circuits and provision is made to allow the coupling of electric supply lines, controlled externally of the panel box, to the input terminals on the panel, if so desired, or to prevent such coupling, if desired, and instead to couple circuit breaker means in the panel box to main breaker input terminals for the controlled supply of electricity to said panel box without decreasing the number of controlled branch circuits. The arrangement is such that the provision for alternatively coupling the said supply lines to the main circuit breaker input terminals or directly to said input terminals input terminals is mutually exclusive, i.e., the main circuit breaker cannot be plugged in if the said input are connected to supply line terminals and the supply lines cannot be connected to said input terminals if the main breaker is plugged into said input terminals.

Description

United States Patent 1191' Norden I 1451 Apr. 30, 1974 [75] Inventor: Alexander R. Norden, New York,

[73] Assignee: General Switch Company, Great Neck, NY.

22 Filed: Dec. 18, 1972 21 App]. No.: 316,282

Related US. Application Data [63] Continuation of Ser. No. 212,200, Dec. 2, 1971,

Gyctko 317/119 Stokes 317/119 Jacobs 317/119 Primary Examiner-James R. Scott Assistant Examiner-Gerald P. Tolin Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Harry Cohen [57] ABSTRACT There is provided a panel adapted to have mounted thereon a plurality of automatic electric circuit breakers, preferably of the plug-in type, for branch circuits and provision is made to allow the coupling of electric supply lines, controlled externally of the panel box, to the input terminals on the panel, if so desired, or to prevent such coupling, if desired, and instead to couple circuit breaker means in the panel box to main breaker input terminals for the controlled supply of electricity to said panel box without decreasing the number of controlled branch circuits. The arrangement is such that the provision for alternatively coupling the said supply lines to the main circuit breaker input terminals or directly to said input terminals input terminals is mutually exclusive, i.e., the main circuit breaker cannot be plugged in if the said input are connected to supply line terminals and the supply lines cannot be connected to said input terminals if the main breaker is plugged into said input terminals.

3 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures Pmmsnmam 3808507 SHEET 3 BF 3.

FIG?) CIRCUIT BREAKER PANEL WITH PROVISION FOR CONNECTING SUPPLY LINES ALTERNATIVELY TO MAIN INPUT TERMINALS ON SAID PANEL OR TO MAIN CIRCUIT BREAKER MEANS CONNECTED TO SAID INPUT TERMINALS This application is a continuation of my Application Ser. No. 212,200 filed Dec. 27, 1971, now abandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to a panel for mounting a plurality of automatic electric circuit-breakers in an enclosure.

2. Description of the Prior Art Circuit-breaker panels disposed within enclosures are well known as are circuit-breakers of the plug-in type. In this connection, reference may be made, for example, to US. Pat. Nos. 2,440,824, 2,599,695, and 2,647,186. It is also well known to provide a circuitbreaker panel within an enclosure, the panel having branch circuit-breaker mountings and main input terminals to which electric supply lines fused and/or therwise controlled externally of the panel enclosure are connected. I

There are many known circuit-breaker panels which have main lugs or input terminals and which can be used as main breaker panels by mounting a breaker in one of the branccircuit positions and connecting the supply lines to the input terminals of said main breaker. Such arrangements are undesirable because (1) by plugging a main breaker into a branch-circuit position, the number of branch-circuit mountings is decreased, and (2) the main lugs are thus converted to subfeed lugs, which is a condition not permitted by many utilities.

In order to overcome this problem, some panels on the market have neither main connectorsnor a main breaker, but in such cases, it is necessary to provide a lug kit or a main breaker kit for field installation in the panels. This requirement for field installation thus creates another problem involving possibilities of error, poor or incorrect connections, added installation time and costs, etc.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with the present invention, the panel is so constructed that it may be energized directly at its input terminals by supply lines fused and/or otherwise controlled externally of the enclosure, if that is desired by the supervisory authority, or by circuit-breaker means coupled to said input terminals and arranged to prevent coupling of the externally controlled supply lines to the input terminals of the panel. The arrangement is such that the provision for alternatively coupling the circuit-breaker means to the input terminals or said supply lines to said input terminals is mutually exclusive, i.e., the main breaker cannot be plugged into the input terminals if the supply lines are connected thereto and the supply lines cannot be connected to said terminals if the main breaker is plugged into said terminals. A single panel of this construction can thus be employed in accordance with the wishes of the supervisory authority and thereby obviates the need for the provision of two panel box units to satisfy the wishes of the authority.

The provision of such simple panel and the elimination of the abovementioned objections to and difficulties with known panels'are the primary objectsof the present invention.

It is to be noted that in accordance with the present invention and the objects thereof, the panel has the number of branch circuits for which it was intended to have notwithstanding the use of a main circuit-breaker thereon and the use of said breaker does not result in converting the main input lugs or terminals into subfeed terminals or lugs. It is to be noted further that the mere provision of extra stabs on the panel for a main circuit-breaker would not solve the above mentioned problems nor satisfy the objects and advantages of the present invention, since if main lugs are used the extra stabs merely constitute, in effect, another branch position, thereby exceeding the designed number of branch positions; and if a main breaker is used with such extra stabs, the main lugs are in a sub-feed circuit.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a top plan view of the panel; FIG. 2 is a view in elevation of one end of the panel;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view on the line 33 of FIG. 1;

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION The panel 10 of the present invention, in its presently preferred embodiment, comprises supporting means here shown as a metal plate 12 having a layer of insulating sheet material 14 thereon. Plate 12 is provided with

main input terminals

16 and 18 integral with or otherwise secured to

bus parts

20 and 22, respectively, secured to said plates and insulated therefrom by sheet 14.

Referring more particularly to FIG. 4, each of said input terminals comprises a member 24 having an open-end recess 26 to receive an electric supply line (not shown). A screw 28 is in threaded engagement in a threaded opening 30 communicating with recess 26 to clamp a supply line in said recess.

Input terminal 16 has an integral portion 30 provided with a stab 32 which engages the companion terminal parts 34 of a plug-in circuit breaker 36 (FIGS. 5 and 6). Terminal 18 is provided with a stab 38 which engages between the companion contact members 40 of the plug-in circuit-breaker 42. Breakers 40 are secured to each other and provide a double pole circuit breaker means to which the

stabs

32 and 38 of the input terminals l6 and 18 are adapted to be connected when said circuit-breaker means is in plugged-in position as illustrated in FIG. 5.

Terminal 16 has a branch support stab terminal 44 having

end stabs

46 and 48. Said stab terminal 44 is integral with part 50 of the bus bar 20.

Stab terminals

52 and 54 are integral with the

bus bars

20 and 22, respectively.

Stab terminals

44 and 54 form a pair to engage 3 with companion plug-in terminals of plug-in circuitbreakers such as the

breakers

36, 42. Suchbreakers have open end recesses'indicated at 56 in FIGS. 5 and 6, and also as shown by US. Pat. Nos. 2,599,695 and 2,647,186 to receive the hook elements 58. The

breaker support of the panel is provided with hook elements 60 at theopposite sides of the panel so that a plurality of branch circuit-breakers can be arranged laterally of each in two rows on the panel with the breakers in one row in end to end relation with the breakers in the other row, as is well known in panels of the type to which this invention relates.

Stab terminals

52, 54 and 56 as well as part 50 of the bus bar are disposed over a rigid plate 62 of insulation material, which is secured to plate 12 by screws 64 received in projecting recessed members 66 integral with plate 62.

As above indicated, access by the supply lines to the

terminals

16 and 18 or at least to one of said terminals may be prevented when the circuit breaker means 36, 42 is plugged-in to the

stabs

32, 38 since one side of the circuit-breaker 36 and one end of circuit-breaker 38 block the entrance or recesses 30 of said

input terminals

16 and 18, respectively. When circuit-breaker means 36, 42 is positioned in engagement with

stabs

32 and 38 current is supplied to

input terminals

16 and 18 by connecting the supply lines to

breakers

36,42 in a well known way.

Thus it will be understood when it is desired to control the supply of electricity to the

input terminals

16, 18 through control means disposed externally of the panel box, the circuit-breaker means 36, 42 is removed from the panel and supply lines are connected directly to the

input terminals

16 and 18. On the other hand, when it is desired to supply current to the input terminals through control means disposed within the panel box, the circuit-breaker means 36, 12 is plugged-in. Thus it is seen that a panel may be readily converted from a condition in which the supply lines are connected directly to the input terminals or alternatively through control means such as the circuit-breaker means 36, 42 so that the panel may be used either way 4 according to the wishesof authorized supervisory personnel.

The arrangement according to the present invention provides a set of .stabs and a set of connectors so arranged that their use is mutually exclusive. lf the main lugs are used, the stabs become unusable; if a main breaker is used, the lugsare inaccessible. The number of branch circuits does not change, and there is no field installation of auxiliary components.

While I have shown and described the preferred em bodiment of my invention it will be understood that the invention may be embodied otherwise than as herein expressly shown or described and that in said embodiment certain changes in the details or construction and in the arrangement of parts may be made without departing from the invention within the scope of the appended claims.

What 1 claim is:

1. An electric circuit-breaker panel having thereon a plurality of branch-circuit connection means, main input terminal means coupled to said branch circuit connection means and provided with a recess for an input line connection, and main circuit-breaker means mechanically and electrically coupled to said main input terminal means exclusive of said recess and blocking said recess to the input line, thereby providing a mechanical obstruction which prevents electrical coupling of the input line to said main input terminal means.

2. An electric circuit-breaker panel according to claim 1, wherein said main circuit breaker means is removably mounted on said panel whereby the removal of said main circuit-breaker means ipso facto removes said obstruction.

3. An electric circuit-breaker panel according to claim 1, wherein said main circuit breaker means is removably mounted on said panel whereby the removal of said main circuit-breaker means ipso factor removes said obstruction, and electric supply lines connected directly to said main input terminal means only when

Claims

3. An electric circuit-breaker panel according to claim 1, wherein said main circuit breaker means is removably mounted on said panel whereby the removal of said main circuit-breaker means ipso factor removes said obstruction, and electric supply lines connected directly to said main input terminal means only when said main circuit-breaker means is removed.