Handle assembly
AssigneeABB Schweiz AG
InventorChuck Piper
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Handle assemblies for circuit breakers are disclosed. One illustrative handle assembly includes a housing defining a first aperture, a seal extending around a perimeter of the first aperture, a handle extending outwardly through the first aperture and pivotable about a pivot axis located within the housing, a shroud coupled to the handle to move therewith and located at least partially within the housing, and a biasing member connected to the handle and to the shroud. The shroud includes an outer surface that faces the seal, and the biasing member biases the outer surface into continuous engagement with the seal throughout an entire pivotable range of the handle.
Claims20
A handle assembly comprising:
- a housing defining a first aperture;
- a seal extending around a perimeter of the first aperture;
- a handle extending outwardly through the first aperture and pivotable about a pivot axis located within the housing;
- a shroud slidably coupled to the handle to move therewith and located at least partially within the housing, the shroud including an outer surface that faces the seal;
- and
- a biasing member connected to the handle and to the shroud, the biasing member biasing the outer surface into continuous engagement with the seal throughout an entire pivotable range of the handle by exerting a pulling force on both the handle and the shroud such that the shroud is biased towards the seal.
A circuit breaker comprising:
- a circuit breaker case;
- at least two electrical terminals configured to automatically separate when an overload of current occurs at the at least two electrical terminals;
- a handle assembly arranged at least partially within the circuit breaker case and including a handle configured to manually operate the at least two electrical terminals, the handle assembly comprising:
- a housing defining a first aperture, the housing having seal extending around a perimeter of the first aperture, the handle extending outwardly through the first aperture and pivotable about a pivot axis located within the housing, a pivotable range of the handle being delimited by the first aperture;
- a shroud slidably coupled to the handle to move therewith and located partially within the housing, the shroud including an outer surface that faces the seal;
- and
- a biasing member connected to the handle and to the shroud, the biasing member biasing the outer surface into continuous engagement with the seal throughout an entirety of the pivotable range of the handle by exerting a pulling force on both the handle and the shroud such that the shroud is biased towards the seal.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.