US890718A - Circuit-breaker. - Google Patents

Description

' PATH-MED JUNE 16,1908.-

Kai-90,710.

1. SMITH. CIRCUIT BREAKER, grrmcnlon run an. 24,1906.

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n r v I u A v U r w% witnesses:

UNITED STATES PATENT OFEIQEA ARTHUR SMITH, onscHENEoTADY, NEW roan, ASSIGNOR TO GENERAL ELEc'rBIc coir- PANY,'A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

CIRCUIT-BREAKER.

T aZLwhom it may concern:

Beit known that I, ARTHUR SMITH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Schenectady, county of Schenectady, State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Circuit-Breakers, of which the following is a specification. v

This invention relates to automatic electr1c switches or circuit-breakers, particularly to such as' are operated by solenoids or sinnlar devices and are controlled at a woint remote Ifrom the .main switch. ince in switches of this type current is usually supplied to the actuating solenoid. only long i is open he cannot tell whether it was opened enoughto close the mainjswitch, and is then cut oil, the main switch may open automatically and remain open, although the position of the controlling switch indicates to the attendant it Iwas-last moved so as to close the main switch. In large central stations, particularly in power-houses for 'railways,'1t.1s customary to control the main circuits by mam switches or circuit-breakers of the type above described. I The control-- ling switches are usually mounted on a benchboard or .switchboard'some distance from the main switches, and since, as a rule, it is impossible to see the main switches from the benchboard; indicators must be provided to show the attendant whether or not the main switchresponds to the controlling switch. It'iscustomaryto provide visual signals to indicate whetherthe main switch is open or closed, but when the attendant sees a signal that the main .switch intentionally or whether it has opened automatically. In railway service, where the automaticcircuit-breakers are a t to open as the result of temporary over oads, it is especiall desirable that means he provided to call t e attention of the benchboard at- ;tendant to the fact that acircuitbreaker has opened automatically, so that he mayclose it with as little delay and interruption to traffic as ossible. 'The ob ect of this invention is to provide .an indicating device for. switches which is i; actuated onl when the switch is open, although the ast movement of theoperating mechanism was for the purpose of closing the switch, or, in other words, when the relation between the switch and its control mechanis normal; to connect.:a number. of

switches to a common ala'rmzor indicator so I Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed April 2t, 1906. semi No. 13,424.

Patented were; 195a that when any one of theswitc an abnormal relation to its, cont ljmec ism the indicator will be pactua mar specifically, to provide afmeans, I to automatic circuit breakers lconti oll'ed from a distance by a control switch',, for,actu ating an indicator whenthecontrol s'witchiis in position toindicate that it was last moved to cause the circuit-breaker to ,clofs'e iand in spite of thisthe circuit-breaker is 'en;' and in general to improve the construction [and operation of devices of this class f i" f;

My invention will best be understoodin connection with the accompanying in which Figure 1 is a diagram showing the invention a plied to two circuitbreakeis,{ and Fig. 2 isaetail view of the control switch which is used to operate the circuit-breakers.

Each circuit-breaker consists. of fixed contacts 1 engaged by a bridging ontact 2. The bridging contact is carried'up n an actuating leverv 3 controlled by means fof an actuating solenoid 4 energized from; the conpplicable trol circuit. .A latch 5 is pivoted near the actuating lever 3 and engag the end th6 Teof ing lever 3, thereby permitting the circuitbreaker to open. An auxiliary bridging contact 8 is carried on the actuating lever3rand engages auxiliary contacts 9 connected to the control circuit.

The circuit-breakers are controlled a control circuit havingleads 10. and 11. The connection between-the ;control circuit and the coils'of the circuit-breakers is controlled by means of control levers 12 which are connected to the lead 11 and may be swungv into engagement with contacts 13 and 14. The actuating solenoids 4 are connected with the contacts 13 by leads 15, and

with the lead 10 by means of leads 16.. The

trip-coils 7 are connected withthecontacts 14 by means of leads 17 and with the lead 10 by means of the leads 16. On each circuit-breaker one of the auxiliary contacts 9 is connected with the alarm contact 19 by -"means of alead 18 the other one of the auxiliary'contacts being connected with an of the lead 22.

alarm 21 by me. as of the lead- 20. The alarm 21 is connected to the lead 10 by means As shown in Fig. 2 the control lever 12, mounted upon a pivot 23, has a triangular end engaged by a s ring-pressed plunger 24. Projections 25 on t e control lever 12 engage with the contacts 13 and 14 mounted in 'recesses in the face of the switchboard for the purpose of'protecting these contacts from and to avoid accidental contact-therewah y the operator. The alarm" contact 19 is mounted on the switchboard in such position that it engages the'c'ontroi lever .12

when the control lever is in the position shown in Fig. 2 assumed by it under theinfluence of. the, spring-pressed plunger 24,

when released after having been pushed into enga' ement with the contact 13. It will be note that when the control lever 12 is pushed down into engagement with the contact 13 the alarm contact is not in engagement with the control lever and hence at this time the alarm circuit is broken.

I The operation of this device is as follows: If it be assumed that the circuit-breaker is open, the control lever 12- is pressed down thereupon the latch. 5 engages the end. of the actuating lever 3 and locks the circuitbreaker closed. The control lever 12 is now released and springs back to the position shown in Fig. 2 under the influence of the spring-pressed plunger 24 and the triangular surfaces with which this plunger engages. This movement breaks the circuit through the actuating solenoid 4 but the circuitbreaker remains closed-as the latch 5 has engaged the actuating lever 3. The alarm con-- tact 19, however, is in'engagement with the control lever 12 and the only break in the alarm circuit is at the contacts 9; t he con-- trol circuit is therefore in a POtGl1l5.al condrtion to ring the alarm the moment the circuit-breaker, by opening, bridges the break point 9 of the alarm circuit. If with the arts in the position above described an over road should come. upon the main circuit, the

overload coil 6 would be energized and pull the latch '55 out of engagement with the actuating lever 3, which would permit the circ reaker to open. When the circuit pens the auxiliary bridging contacts '0 engagement with the auxiliary and thereby closes the alarm circuit.- Current then-flows from the lead 11, through the controllever 12, alarm contact 19, lead 18, auxiliary bridging contact 8, contacts 9, and lead 20, to the alarm device 21, and thence to the other lead .10 of the control circuit by means of the lead 22. As a result the alarm 21 is sounded and the attendant'knows that the circuit-breaker has opened automatically. On the other hand, when the circuit-breaker is opened by the attendant, the control lever 12 is thrown into engagement with the contact 14, thereby energizing the trip-coil 7. This moves the latch 5 and causes the circuit-breaker to open and the auxiliary bridging contact 8' engages the auxiliary'contacts 9. Since the control lever, however, has been thrown into engagement with the contact 14 and then released, it remains in the position shown at the right-hand side of Fig. 1 and, as the alarm contact 19 is out of engagement with the control lever 12 and the alarm circuit is broken atthis point, the alarm is not sounded although the auxiliary bridging contact 8 has closed the alarm circuit at. the auxiliary con tacts 9 when the switch is opened by means of the control lever 12.

It is evident that with the arrangement disclosed in Fig. 1 a series. of circuit-breakers may be controlled from a common control circuit and that these circuit-breakers may have the alarm circuits all connected to a common alarm, as'shown'at 21, so that if any one of the circuitb'reakers'opens automatically the alarm will be sounded. This feature is of particular value in a large central station for railway work'where n breakers are used and where one of the 'reakers might open automatically and not be noticed by the attendant unless some kind of an alarm was sounded. It is furthermore evi dent that, with thearrangemcnt disclosed in Fig. 1, should all of the circuit-breakers open automatically at the same time, as often occurs in railway service, the alarm will con tinue to. sound until all of the breakers have either been closed by the attendant or until the control levers 12 of those breakers which are ope" have'been moved out of engagement 1 by Letters Patent of the United States, is,--

1. In an electric switch, the combination with operating means for opening and closing the switch, of a manually operated controller for the operating means movable to effect the opening and the closing of the switch,

.means for normally holding said controller in either of two positions to indicate its last eirective movement, an alarm, and means i for actuating the alarm when the position of means for normally holding said controller in either oftwo positions to indicate its last efl ectiv'e movement, an alarm circuit having a break; closed when the controller is in one of said positions, and means 'for closing another break in series with the first when the position of the switch fails to correspond to the position ofthe controller 3. In an electric switch, the combination with electrical operating means for opening and closing the switch, of a manually operated controlling device for the circuit of said operating means comprising fixed contacts, a

movable controller cooperating therewith and eldingly held out of engagement with the 7 ed contacts in a position adjacent the contact last engaged by it, an alarm'contact engaged by the controller only in one of said positions, an alarm circuit connected to said controller and to said alarm contact, and a break in said alarm circuit closed when the position of the switch fails to correspond to the position of the controller.

4. The combination with a plurality of electric switches and operating means for ooening and closing each switch, of a manua ly operated controller for each operating means movable to effect the opening and closing of the switch, means for normally holding each controller in either of two positions to indicate its last effective movement, an electric circuit having a plurality of sets of breaks in parallel, each set consisting of breaks in series, means for closing one set of breaks when the osition of any switch fails to correspond to t e last effective movement of its controller, and an indicator actuated by the closing of said circuit,

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my I hand this 19th day of April, 1906 a ARTHUR SMITH. Witnesses:

BENJAMIN B. HULL,

HELEN ORFORD.

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