Air gap driving mechanism of a solid-state circuit breaker includes permanent magnet(s) for contact separation

A method of controlling contact separation in an air gap driving mechanism of a solid-state circuit breaker, the method comprising:

• providing a breaker housing;
• and
• providing an air gap driving mechanism including:
• a pair of opposing contacts,
• a first permanent magnet to generate a static magnetic field,
• a coil actuator to generate a dynamic magnetic field, and
• wherein the first permanent magnet and the coil actuator are positioned relative to each other such that the dynamic magnetic field generated by the coil actuator can either enhance or cancel the static magnetic field of the first permanent magnet, and hence a combination of the static magnetic field from the first permanent magnet and the dynamic magnetic field from the coil actuator can either drive the pair of opposing contacts open or drive the pair of opposing contacts close.