US965549A - Circuit-breaker. - Google Patents

Description

J. YOUNG.

CIRCUIT BREAKER.

APPLICATION FILED NOV.11, 190s.

Patented July 26, 1910.

\NVENTOR.

WITNESSES: A; c. fl/Mzi M J H1? YOUNG, (3F TOLElDG, 0:510.

CIRCUIT-BREAKER.

$pecification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 26, 1910,

Application filed November 11, 1908. Serial No. 461,99"(.

To all whomit may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN Youno, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Toledo, in the county of Lucas and State of Ohio, have invented a certain new and useful Circuit-Breaker; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and

' exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to circuit-breakers for use in electric power houses and other places where currents of high voltage or high amperage are employed, and has particular reference to Oll circuit-breakers in which a column of mercury is employed to make and break the circuit.

The object of my invention is to provide a mercury column oil circuit-breaker of simple and inexpensive construction that can be quickly installed and cheaply maintained, that can be installed in any place and with inexpensive construction, that makes perfect electrical connection and can be used for all voltages and all current capacities by merely increasing or diminishing the size of the mercury column.

The operation, construction and arrangement of the parts of my invention are fully described in the following specification, and a preferred embodiment thereof illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in Wh1Cl1,-

Figure 1 is a side elevation oi? the apparatus partly in central vertical section, with the mercury raised to close the circuit, and Fig. 2 is a similar View of a portion of the apparatus with the operative parts in released or open' position.

Referring to the drawing, 1 represents the switchboard of slate, marble or other suitable material, and 2 and 3 the upper and lower studs or arms, respectively, which for convenience are made in two parts secured together by bolts ei. The inner ends of the studs 2 and 3 pass through insulating bushings 5, secured in openings in the switchboard in the usual manner, and extend beyond said bushings 5 a sufiicient distance to allord proper connection with the terminals (not shown).

Near the outer end of the stud 3 in an enlarged portion thereof is a mercury chamber 6, 1n winch operates the piston 7 through piston-rod 8 and connected operating 1nechanism hereinafter described. 6 are vent holes through the top of the chamber.

Adjacent'the mercury chamber 6 and connected therewith through the aperture 6* in the lower end of the outer wall of said chamber is the vertical passage 9, which communicates with the lower endof the mercury tube 10, of glass or other suitable insulating material. 10 represents the mercury column.

The upper. end of the tube 10 communicates with an oil-chamber 11, formed in the enlarged outer end of the stud 2, and shown partially filled with oil 11' in Fig. 1. 11 are vent holes for the chamber 11; The jomts between the ends of said tube and associated parts are made tight with any suitable packing and union, as at 12.

Suspended centrally within the oil-cup 11 from the top thereof is the arc-finger or contact-point 13, which is preferably provided wlth a removable point 13 for purposes of renewal, the two portions of the arc-finger being in threaded connection, as at 13", or otherwise suitably secured together. It will be noted that the arc-finger extends down within the tube 10 for a short distance, so that the arc will not be broken until after,

the mercury has fallen away from the walls of the oil-chamber 11, thus protecting said walls from burning or pitting.

The mechanism for operating the piston 7 is as follows: the bell-crank lever 14 is fulcrumed on the stud 3 at 14, its long arm having pivotal connection with the upper end of the piston-rod 8, and its short arm being similarly connected to an end of one of a pair of toggle- links 15, 15. The other link 15 is pivoted to the arm 3 at 15. A pull-rod 16 is pivotally connected to the long arm of the bell-crank lever 14 a short distance from its fulcrum 14 and may be either manually or electrically operated. When the parts are in the position shown in Fig. 1, with the piston 7 at its lowest position and the mercury column in contact with the arc-linger 13 and the walls of chamber 11, one of the tog le-links 15 rests upon the plunger 17, which is mounted within an aperture in the lug 18 on the stud 3. When it is desired to break the circuit a pull on the trip-rod 19 causes the weighted end of lever 20, which is fulcrumed at 20 to a projection on the stud 3, to strike the plunger 17, thus forcing the toggle-links upward and is fulcrumed to a stud projection from one side of the arm 3 and has an end connected to the long arm of the lever 14 by the link 23, as shown.

The piston 7 piston-rod 8 and connected operating mechanism may be made of iron or other suitable material, while the studs 2 and 3, including the chambers formed therein, are made from copper or other suitable conducting material. The pull-rod 16 and trip-rod 19 may be made of wood or some suitable insulating material.

By lengthening or shortening the mercury tube 10 my circuit-breaker can be adapted for high or low voltage, respectively, without other alteration of the parts, and by increasing or diminishing the diameter of. the mercury tube the current-capacity can.

i be increased or diminished, the other parts of the circuit-breaker remaining unchanged.

In operating my apparatus to close a circuit, piston 7 is pulled down into the position shown in Fig. 1 by operating the pullrod 16, thus forcing the mercury from chamber 6, through aperture 6 into passage 9, and up through tube 10 into the oil-chamber 11, where the circuit is made throu h arefinger 13 and the walls of the cham er 11. \Vhen the piston reaches the bottom of its throw it closes the aperture 6 and prevents the return of the mercur into chamber 6. The. piston is held in this position by the toggle-lever 15, and is released by a pull on the trip-rod 19, as above explained, which causes the piston to rise and permits the mercury column to recede from the cup 11 and arc-finger 13,'thus breaking the circuit.

I desire it to be understood that my invention is not limited to any specific form or arrangement of parts, except in so far as such limitations are specified in theclaims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is,

1. A circuit breaker, comprising, in combination, a pair of parallel arms, a current conducting oil chamber carried by one of said arms, a piston chamber carried by the other arm, a conduit connecting said oil chamber and said piston chamber, a piston slidable in said piston chamber, a fluid conductor adapted to move between said. oil chamber and said piston chamber, and means to release said piston to permit the fluid conductor to Withdraw from contact with said oil chamber and enter said piston chamber.

2. A circuit breaker, comprising, in combination, a pair of substantially parallel arms, an oil chamber carr'iedby one of said arms, a depending contact finger provided in said oil chamber, a piston chamber carried by the other arm, a piston slidable in said piston chamber, a non-conductingconduit connecting said oil chamber and said piston chamber, conducting fluid contained .in said conduit and normally connecting said contact point and the second mentioned arm, and means to release said piston to permit said fluid to withdraw from contact with said contact finger and collect behindsaid piston.

3. A circuit breaker, comprising, in comb1nat1on, upper and lower arms disposed in substantially parallel relation, an oil chamber carried by said upper arm, a piston chamber carried by said lower arm, a piston slidable in said piston chamber, a conduit connecting said oil chamber and said piston chamber, a conducting fluid adapted to be contained in said conduit and 1n contact with said oil chamber and said lower arm when said piston is advanced, and means to release said piston to permit said fluid to withdraw from contact with said oil chamber and to enter said piston chamber.

4. A circuit breaker, comprising, in combination, upper and lower arms disposed in substantially parallel relation, an oil chamber carried by said upper arm, a piston chamber carried by said lower arm, a piston slidable in said piston chamber, a contact point provided in said oil chamber, a conduit connectin said oil chamber and said piston cham er, a conducting fluid adapted to surround said contact point and extend into said lower arm when said piston is advanced, and means to release said piston, to permit said conducting fluid to withdraw from said contact point and to collect behind said piston.

5. A circuit breaker, comprising, in combination, a pair of superposed conducting arms, an oil chamber carried bythe upper arm, a piston chamber carried by the lower arm, a piston sliding in said piston chamber, a conduit connecting said 011 chamber-and said piston chamber, a conductin fluid adapted to be forced into contact with said oil chamber and with said lower arm, and means to operate said piston to cause said conducting fluid to withdraw from said oil chamber.

6. In a circuit-breaker, a pair of vertically spaced studs in electrical contact with two terminals, said studs being insulated from each-other and one provided with a chamber, a conduit of insulating material connecting said studs and having connection at its lower end with said chamber, a conductor fluid normally disposed in said chamber and capable of being extended through said conduit to electrically connect said studs, and means operative to move said fluid to elec- 7. In a. circuit-breaker, two vertically spaced studs, said studs being insulated from each other and each provided with a chamber, a tube of insulatin material connecting said chambers an arcnger located within the upper chamber and extending a short distance withinsaid tube, a conductor fluid having its major portion normally disposed within the lower chamber and capable of movement through said tube to submerge the lower end of the arc-finger and electrically connect said finger and thelower stud, and.

mechan cal means operative to cause the fluid to move to electrically connect said finger and the lower stud and to permit it to recede to break such connection.

8. In a circuit-breaker, a switch-board, two vertically spaced studs projecting from said board and forming terminals, said studs being insulated-from each other and the lower one provided with a chamber, a tube of insulatmg material connecting said chamber and the upper stud, an arc-finger projecting from the upper stud and extendlng a short distance within the upper end of said tube, a conductor fluid located in said chamber and capable of movement through the tube to submerge the lower end of the arc-finger and electrically connect the two studs, and means operative to move said fluid to electrically connect the two studs or permit a movement thereof to break said connection.

9. In a circuit-breaker, a pair of vertically spaced studs each having a socket provided therein, said studs being insulated from each other, a tube of insulating material connecting said sockets, a conductor fluid located within the lower socket and capable of movement through the tube to electrically connect said studs, a piston in the lower socket, a

piston rod prO ecting from said piston, a bell crank lever pivoted to the associated stud and having one arm connected to the piston rod, a pair of toggle-links pivoted at one end to the other arm of said lever and at their other end to said lower stud, a rod connected to said lever, a weighted lever attached to said lower stud, a trap member attached to said lever, and means movable to' effect a movement of said toggle-links from -locked position whereby to permit a movement of the piston to allow the fluid to recede to break electrical connection between said studs, said means being actuated by a tripping movement of said weighted lever.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JoHN Youuc.

Witnesses:

C. W. OWEN, HAZEL B. Hmr'r.

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