# US 10,320,162 B2 · Motor control center units with retractable stabs and interlocks

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- Number: US 10,320,162 B2
- Document ID: US10320162B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 16/006,949
- Filed: 2018-06-13
- Published: 2018-10-11
- Granted: 2019-06-11
- Earliest claimed: 2014-06-30
- Assignees: Eaton Intelligent Power Limited
- Applicants: Eaton Intelligent Power Limited
- Inventors: Stephen William Oneufer; Robert Allan Morris; Daniel Boyd Kroushl
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10320162B2

## CPC

- H02B 11/133: with interlock
- H01H 71/128: {Manual release or trip mechanisms, e.g. for test purposes (two similar push buttons for closing or resetting and opening or tripping H01H71/58; test switches for earth fault circuit breakers H01H83/04)}
- H02B 1/14: Shutters or guards for preventing access to contacts (shielding of isolating-contacts in withdrawable switchgear H02B11/24)
- H02B 1/36: with withdrawable units
- H02B 1/46: Boxes; Parts thereof or accessories therefor
- H02B 11/173: drawer type (H02B11/127 takes precedence)
- H02B 11/24: Shutters or guards
- H02B: BOARDS, SUBSTATIONS OR SWITCHING ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE SUPPLY OR DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRIC POWER
- H01H: ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES (contact cables H01B7/10; electrolytic self-interrupters H01G9/18; emergency protective circuit arrangements H02H; switching by electronic means without contact-making H03K17/00)

## Abstract

Motor control centers have units or buckets with one or more sliding shutters that controllably block access to a stab isolation port based on position of the operator disconnect handle using attached cams that slide the shutter right and left. A front panel of the unit or bucket may also be configured to pivot out about a long axis associated with a bottom long side thereof.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A bucket assembly, comprising:
a unit housing having a stab isolation access portal and laterally spaced apart right and left sidewalls;
an operator handle coupled to the unit housing;
an inwardly extending shaft in the unit housing coupled to the operator handle;
an interlock member held in the unit housing, wherein the interlock member is configured to laterally extend and retract, wherein, when extended, the interlock member extends out an aperture in at least one of the right or left sidewall of the unit housing, and when retracted, the interlock member does not extend out the aperture in the at least one of the right or left sidewall of the unit housing;
retractable power stabs held by the unit housing, wherein the retractable power stabs are configured to be able to extend out of a rear of the unit housing when in an extended position, and the retractable power stabs are configured to be able to retract into the rear of the unit housing when in a retracted position; and
a laterally slidable shutter residing in the unit housing and comprising a shutter portal that laterally slides between first and second positions, wherein, in the first position, the shutter portal is aligned with and behind the stab isolation access portal, and wherein, in the second position, the shutter portal is laterally offset from the stab isolation access portal and blocks access to the stab isolation access portal;
wherein the interlock member is retracted into the unit housing when the shutter portal is in the first position and the retracted power stabs are in the retracted position, and
wherein the interlock member extends out the aperture in the at least one of the right or left sidewall of the unit housing when the shutter portal is in the second position and the retracted power stabs are in the extended position.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The assembly of claim 1, wherein the operator handle is a first operator handle and the inwardly extending shaft is a first inwardly extending shaft, the assembly further comprising:
a second operator handle spaced apart from the first operator handle and coupled to the unit housing; and
a second inwardly extending shaft in the unit housing coupled to the second operator handle.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The assembly of claim 2, further comprising a first circuit breaker in the unit housing coupled to the first operator handle and a second circuit breaker in the unit housing coupled to the second operator handle.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The assembly of claim 1, wherein the unit housing comprises a front panel extending between the right and left sidewalls, and wherein the assembly further comprises a unit interlock held by the unit housing that latches the front panel closed.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The assembly of claim 1, wherein the laterally slidable shutter, resides above the operator handle.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The assembly of claim 1, further comprising at least one shutter cam attached to the inwardly extending shaft behind the operator handle, wherein the at least one shutter cam is cooperably engaged with the shutter.

### Claim 7 (depends on 6)

The assembly of claim 6, wherein the shutter comprises a primary body that is planar and extends in a vertical orientation, wherein the primary body comprises the shutter portal, and wherein the shutter further comprises a side portion that extends laterally outward from the primary body of the shutter, behind and above the operator handle.

### Claim 8 (depends on 7)

The assembly of claim 7, wherein the primary body of the shutter comprises at least one horizontally oriented slot spaced apart from the shutter portal.

### Claim 9 (depends on 7)

The assembly of claim 7, wherein the unit housing holds the shutter to reside closer to a front of the unit housing than a rear of the unit housing.

### Claim 10 (depends on 7)

The assembly of claim 7, wherein the side portion of the shutter has a height that is less than that of the primary body and comprises a ledge that cooperably engages the at least one shutter cam to move the shutter between the first and second positions.

### Claim 11 (depends on 10)

The assembly of claim 10, wherein the ledge is at a height that is aligned with an upper portion of the at least one shutter cam.

### Claim 12 (depends on 7)

The assembly of claim 7, wherein the primary body of the shutter further comprises right and left side horizontally oriented and laterally spaced apart slots that reside a spaced apart distance from the shutter portal and are separated from the shutter portal by a closed wall segment of the shutter.

### Claim 13 (depends on 7)

The assembly of claim 7, wherein each of the at least one shutter cam has a cam body that is parallel to the primary body of the shutter, and wherein each of the at least one shutter cam has an upper portion that resides above a lower edge of the side portion of the shutter.

### Claim 14 (depends on 6)

The assembly of claim 6, wherein the operator handle is a right operator handle and the inwardly extending shaft is a right inwardly extending shaft and is attached to a right shutter cam of the at least one shutter cam in the unit housing, wherein the assembly further comprises:
a left rotary operator handle coupled to the unit housing attached to a left inwardly extending shaft in the unit housing;
a left shutter cam of the at least one shutter cam in the unit housing that is attached to the left inwardly extending shaft; and
wherein the left and right shutter cams independently move the shutter right and left.

### Claim 15 (depends on 1)

The assembly of claim 1, wherein the operator handle is a rotary operator handle.

### Claim 16

A motor control center (MCC), comprising:
a cabinet with first and second sidewalls defining an enclosure with a plurality of compartments, the compartments configured to removably receive a plurality of bucket assemblies, wherein at least one of the bucket assemblies comprises:
a unit housing having a stab isolation access portal and laterally spaced apart right and left sidewalls;
an operator handle coupled to the unit housing;
an inwardly extending shaft in the unit housing coupled to the operator handle;
an interlock member configured to laterally extend and retract, wherein, when extended the interlock member extends out an aperture in at least one of the right or left sidewall of the unit housing, and when retracted, the interlock member does not extend out the aperture in the at least one of the right or left sidewall of the unit housing;
retractable power stabs held by the unit housing, wherein the retractable power stabs are configured to be able to extend out of a rear of the unit housing to engage one or more bus bars when in an extended position, and the retractable power stabs are configured to be able to retract into the rear of the unit housing when in a retracted position; and
at least one shutter with a shutter portal in the unit housing, wherein the at least one shutter laterally slides right and left between aligned and misaligned positions relative to the stab isolation access portal,
wherein, when in the misaligned position, the shutter portal is misaligned with the stab isolation access portal to block access to the stab isolation access portal when the retractable power stabs are in the extended position and the operator handle is in an ON position associated with electric current being conducted through at least one stab of the retractable power stabs, and
wherein, when in the aligned position, the shutter portal aligns with the stab isolation access portal to allow access to the stab isolation access portal when the retractable power stabs are in the retracted position and the operator handle is in an OFF position associated with non-electric conduction through the retractable power stabs.

### Claim 17 (depends on 16)

The MCC of claim 16,
wherein the at least one shutter comprises at least one side portion that laterally extends from a primary body of each of the at least one shutter, wherein the primary body of each of the at least one shutter comprises at least a portion of the shutter portal.

### Claim 18 (depends on 17)

The MCC of claim 17, wherein the at least one shutter is a single shutter having the primary body, wherein the primary body is planar and is parallel to a cam body of at least one shutter cam that is coupled to the inwardly extending shaft, and wherein the at least one side portion of the single shutter has a height that is less than a height of the primary body of the at least one shutter.

### Claim 19 (depends on 17)

The MCC of claim 17, wherein the primary body of each of the at least one shutter is planar and vertically oriented to provide the shutter portal at a height associated with the stab isolation access portal at a front of the unit housing, wherein the at least one side portion of the at least one shutter has an outwardly projecting ledge residing below the stab isolation access portal that slidably engages the at least one shutter cam to move each of the at least one shutter right and left between the aligned and misaligned positions.

### Claim 20 (depends on 16)

The MCC of claim 16, wherein the bucket assembly comprises at least one horizontally oriented circuit breaker, and wherein the operator handle is a rotary operator handle.