Circuit breakers with shaped neutral busbars and/or load terminals and related methods
AssigneeEaton Intelligent Power Limited
InventorsSomashekharayya Hiremath, Sandy Omar Jimenez
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Arc Fault Circuit Interrupter (AFCI), Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter (GFCI) or AF/GF circuit breakers which may optionally have relatively small or compact bodies that have shaped neutral busbars and/or load terminals with an arm that extends through a window of a current transformer in a circuit breaker housing. The neutral busbar and/or load terminal can have a rigid or semi-rigid shaped body with a first segment that extends through the window of the current transformer and a second segment that extends behind the first segment about a printed circuit board. A plug-on, pigtail or bolt-on neutral can engage an electrical pad of the neutral busbar.
Claims7
A circuit breaker, comprising:
- a circuit breaker housing;
- a current transformer in the housing, the current transformer comprising a window;
- a printed circuit board (PCB) in the housing;
- a neutral busbar in the housing, wherein the neutral busbar has a rigid or semi-rigid shaped body with a first segment that extends through the window of the current transformer and a second segment that extends behind the first segment and is directly attached to the PCB, and wherein the neutral busbar comprises male connector features that engage female connectors held on the PCB;
- and
- a load terminal having a rigid or semi-rigid shaped body with a first segment that extends through the window of the current transformer spaced apart from and parallel to the first segment of the neutral busbar and a second segment that extends internal to the housing,
- wherein the neutral busbar comprises a planar pad that resides inside the circuit breaker housing that slidably engages an end portion of a pigtail neutral, and
- wherein the PCB is disposed between the second segment of the neutral busbar and the second segment of the load terminal such that the PCB separates the second segment of the neutral busbar and the second segment of the load terminal.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.