US629664A - High-tension-circuit breaker. - Google Patents

Description

No. 629,664. Patented July 25, I899. n. P. DAVIS &. a. WRIGHT.

HIGH TENSION CIRCUIT BREAKER.

(Application filed Mar. 23, 1899.)

2 Sheets-Sheet I.

(No Model.)

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No. 629,664. Patented July 25, I899. H. P. DAVIS & G. WRIGHT.

HIGH TENSION CIRCUIT BREAKER.

(Appl'cat'on Med Mar. 23, 1899) (No Model.) X l 2 Sheets-Sheet 2,

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HARRY P. DAVIS, OF PITTSBURG, AND GILBERT WRIGHT, OF \VILKINSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNORS .TO THE WVESTINGI-IOUSE ELECTRIC AND MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF PENNSYLVANIA.

HlGH-TENSlON-CIRCUIT BREAKER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 629,664, dated July 25, 18996 Application filed March 23, 1899. Serial No. 710,216. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern: in order that the movable terminals may be Be it known that we, HARRY P. DAVIS, reseparated a maximum distance from the sta siding at Pittsburg, and GILBERT WRIGHT, tionary terminals to break the arcs that form residing at Wilkinsburg, in the county of Alwhen the separation takes place. A flexible legheny and State of Pennsylvania, citizens cable 9 projects through the base-board or 55 of the United States,have invented a new and panel for circuit connection and upward useful Improvement in High-Tension-Circuit through the arm 8, which is hollow and is Breakers, (Case No. 811,) of which the folconnected to a metal head 8, which is prolowing is a specification. vided with the main movable terminal plate 10 Our invention relates to automatic devices 6 and the carbon block 7, which constitutes 6o employed for interrupting electric circuits the movable shunt-terminal. It willthus be upon the passage therethrough of currents seen that the main circuit and the shunt-cirthat are in excess of the predetermined quancuit are each interrupted at a single point, tity for which the device is adjusted. thus permitting of such a wide separation of The object of our invention is to provide a the circuit-terminals as willinsure the breakcircuit-breaker which shall be simple in coning of the are no matter what the electronicstruction and effective in operation and tive force may be. which shall be especially adapted for high- For supporting the movable members of voltage circuitssuch, for example, as those the circuit-breaker we provide two brackets 20 employed for transmitting energy over long 10, between the outer ends of which is a rod distances for power or lighting purposes. or pivot 11, on which is loosely mounted a In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is frame 12, having triangular-shaped ends 12, a side elevation of a circuit breaker conprojecting outwardly, and a middle piece 12 structed in accordance with our invention, projecting inwardly. The lower end of the 25 parts being broken away and others shown arm 8 is clamped in a socket 13, and the latin section. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the cirter is loosely mounted upon a rod 14, which cuitbreaker, looking upward, parts being connects the outer corners of the triangular brokenawayin order to more clearlyiliustrate ends 12" of frame 12. Another rod 15 conthe operation and relative relation of certain nects the lowercorners of the triangular pieces 0 other parts. 12 and to this are loosely connected the outer The circuit-breaker constituting the subends of two lever-arms 16.. The inner ends ject-matter of our present invention is inof the lever-arms 16 are jointed to the outer tended for high-tension circuits, and the baseends of two lever-arms 17 by means of a rod plate 1 will usually be a switchboard-panelof 18. The inner ends of lever-arms 17 are rig- 35 marble, slate, or other suitable non-conductidly joined together by a sleeve 17, which ing material. One of the stationary termisurrounds a rod 1.), the ends of the latter benals of the .main circuit is a block 2, clamped ing supported by the brackets 10. The sleeve or otherwise fastened to one end of a support- 17 is provided with an inwardly-projecting ing-arm 3 and provided with a contact-piece locking-arm 20, the free end of which is pro- 0 41, that is built up of laminae. This terminal vided with a roller20 to engage with a latch- 0 is also provided, above the laminated coning device 21 for the purpose of locking the tact-piece at, with a block 5, of carbon or other circuit-breakerin closed position. The latchsubstantially infusible conducting material. ing device 21 is provided with an arm 22 in The contact-terminals 6 and 7, respectively position to be engaged by a tripping projec- 5 cooperating with those above described, are Lion 23 on a rod 2 1. which depends from the mounted upon the upper end of a non-concore 25 of a solenoid 26, the lower end of this ducting arm 8, which may be of any desired rod being provided with weights 27, the n u mlength, depending upon the electromotive ber of which may be varied to suit desired force to be interrupted. A very high elecconditions. I

so tromot-ive force obviously requires a long arm The portion 12 of the frame 12 is provided [00 with three arms, one of which is connected to a lug on the socket 13 by a coiled spring 98. The second is provided with a nose or projection 12 to be engaged by a lug 13 on the socket l3, and thus limit the longitudinal movement of the arm 8, and the third is connected by a coiled spring 2a to the solenoid- S1l1)1')0ll1l1]g bracket 30 or other suitable stationary portion of the frame.

Loosely mounted upon the rod 19, so as to turn independently of the other mechanism under certain conditions, are two lever-arms 31, which are joined together below the other operating portions of the apparatus and provided with a handle for closing the circuitbreaker. Each of these arms 31 projects up ward] y and inwardly beyond the rod 10 and is provided with a laterally-projecting lug 33, so located and of such length as to engage with the upper side of the adjacent lever-arm 17 to close the circuitbreaker. A rod 3% extends between the supporting-brackets 10 in position to serve as a stop for both the togglelevers 16 17 and the operatingarms 31 and handle 32, the lever-arms 16 being provided with projections 16 to engage with this rod and the arms 31 being provided with similar projections 31. The free end of one of the operating-arms 31 is connected to some stationary portion of the apparatus, such as a projection from the base-plate or switch board-panel, by a coiled spring The operation of the circuit-ln'eaker is as follows: Assuming that the circuit-breaker is closed, as indicated in the drawings, when the current passing through the flexible cable U to the movable and stationary contact-terminals exceeds the amount for which the circuit-breaker is adjusted by the weights 417 the solenoid will overcome the pull of the said weights and will raise its core until the block or projection 23 engages the arm 22 of the latch and tilts the latter so as to release the arm 20. The spring 29 will immediately rock the frame 12 on the rod 11, and the spring 28 will pull the arm 8 downwardly, so that the movable carbon terminal 7 will slide on the stationary terminal 5 without breaking contact, but will move the metal contact 6 away from the end of the laminated contact 1-, thus breaking the main circuit. A further action of the spring 20, in conjunction with gravity, will turn the frame 12 on the rod 11 and will throw the arm outwardly to the limit of its movement, thus not only breaking the circuit, but separating the terminals a distance depending upon the length of thearm S.

In closing the circuit-ln'eaker the handle 32 will be moved inward to the position shown in broken lines, the lugs on the arms 31 bearing upon the toggle-lever arms 17, and thus forcing the parts toward the position in which they are shown in the drawings. When the carbon terminals 7 and 5 are first brought into engagement, the position of the movable block 7 will be lower than the final position, as indicated in broken lines, and the lug 13 will be the same distance below the stop 12 on the frame 12. In this position the metal contact-pieces U and 4: of the breaker will obviously be out of engagement. A further movement of the handle 32 will serve, by reason of the engagement of the two carbon blocks, to rock the arm 8 on its pivot 1% against the action of the spring 28 and will thus move it longitudinally, so as to bring the movable main terminal 6 into engagement with the end of the laminated contact 4 and at the same time slide the movable carbon block 7 along the face of the stationary block 5, thereby insuring the keeping of the engaging faces clean and the making of a good contact between them.

\Vhile we have shown and described specific mechanism for carrying out ourinvention, it is obvious that the details of construction may be varied by one skilled in the art, and we therefore do not desire to limit ourselves to the structural details shown and described.

\Ve claim as our invention 1. In an automatic electric-circuit breaker, the combination with a single stationary laminated contact-terminal and a single stationary carbon terminal, of asingle movable terminal corresponding to each of said stationary terminals, :1 supporting-arm for said terminals having a flexible electrical circuit connection and pivoted to a hinged support, and

means for actuating said support to swing the carbon contact terminals into engagement and thereafter move the supporting-arm longitudinally to bring the main terminals into engagement.

2. In an automatic electric-circuit breaker, the combination with a main and a shunt stationary contact-terminal and two corresponding movable contactterminals, of a supportingarm for said movable terminals, a flexible conductor for connecting said movable terminals with a circuit, a hinged or pivoted frame to which said arm is pivoted, means for moving said arm and frame on the hinge of the latter to bring the shunt contact-terminals into engagement and for thereafter moving said arm longitudinally to bring the main contact-terminals into engagement.

3, In an automatic electric-circuit breaker, the combination with a single main contact and a single shunt-contact in vertical alincment and connected to one circuit-terminal, of a hinged arm having a main and a shunt contact at one end, a flexible connector extending through the arm to the other circuitt-erminal and means for moving the arm in the arc of a circle to make and break the sh nut-circuit and longitudinally to make and break the main circuit.

4-. In an automatic circuit-breaker, the combination with a carbon block and a laminated contact joined to one terminal of a circuit in vertical alinement, of an arm provided with a carbon block and a metal plate and having a double hinge con n ection with a supporting base and toggle-lever and spring mechanism IIO For actuating said arm to move said block and plate respectively into and out of engagement with the stationary block and laminated contacts.

5. In an automatic electric-circuit breaker, the combination With a main and a shunt contact-terminal, of a hinged frame, a contactbearing arm hinged to one side of said frame and having a spring connection with the other side, a toggle-lever for actuating said frame and a device moving independently of the

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