Dual-action switching mechanism and pole unit for circuit breaker

A circuit breaker comprising:

• a pole unit comprising:
• a vacuum chamber that contains a moveable contact and a fixed contact,
• a first end that is relatively proximate to the fixed contact, and
• a second end that is relatively proximate to the moveable contact;
• a resilient member operably connected to and positioned proximate to the first end of the pole unit;
• a linkage that extends from the second end of the pole unit;
• a linear actuator that is operably connected to the linkage and located away from the pole unit;
• and
• a high-speed Thomson coil actuator that is also operably connected to the linkage, wherein the high-speed actuator is operable to move the linkage at a speed that is faster than a speed by which the linear actuator can move the linkage,
• wherein:
• a gap is provided between the pole unit and the linear actuator or the high-speed actuator when the resilient member is not in an extended position, and the gap is reduced or eliminated when the resilient member is in an extended position.

A method of operating a circuit breaker, the method comprising:

• providing a circuit breaker that comprises:
• a pole unit that includes a moveable contact and a fixed contact, the pole unit having a first end that is relatively proximate to the moveable contact and a second end that is relatively proximate to the fixed contact,
• a linkage that extends from the first end of the pole unit,
• a linear actuator that is operably connected to the linkage and located away from the pole unit so that, and
• a high-speed actuator that is also operably connected to the linkage and that is operable to move the linkage at a speed that is faster than a speed by which the linear actuator can move the linkage,
• wherein a gap is provided between the pole unit and the linear actuator or the high-speed actuator when the moveable contact and the fixed contact are in a closed position;
• energizing the high-speed actuator to draw the linkage and separate the moveable contact and the fixed contact by a distance;
• and
• after energizing the high-speed actuator, energizing the linear actuator to apply a force to the linkage that will pull the pole unit toward the linear actuator, thus increasing the distance between the moveable contact and the fixed contact and reducing or closing the gap.