Actuator movement detector for medium and high voltage switches having a primary actuator in series with a secondary actuator

A hybrid circuit interrupter, the circuit interrupter comprising:

• a housing;
• a line conductor structured to connect a load to a power source;
• a hybrid switch assembly disposed along the line conductor between the power source and the load, the hybrid switch assembly comprising:
• mechanical separable contacts structured to move between a closed state and an open state, the mechanical separable contacts comprising a stationary contact and a moving contact;
• and
• an electronic interrupter structured to commutate current when a fault is detected on the line conductor;
• a drive shaft operably coupled to the moving contact;
• a primary actuator coupled to the drive shaft and structured to open the mechanical separable contacts at ultra-fast speeds;
• an actuator performance monitoring system structured to monitor performance of the primary actuator, the actuator performance monitoring system comprising:
• a light source facing the drive shaft and fixedly positioned relative to the housing;
• a position sensitive device comprising a sensing surface structured to sense incident light, the sensing surface being positioned to face the drive shaft and the position sensitive device being fixedly positioned relative to the housing;
• a shade enclosure fixedly positioned relative to the housing and positioned to shield the sensing surface from ambient light;
• and
• a processor in electrical communication with the position sensitive device,
• wherein the drive shaft comprises a thru-hole,
• wherein the light source faces a first end of the thru-hole,
• wherein the sensing surface faces a second end of the thru-hole disposed opposite the first end such that any light emitted from the light source and passing through the thru-hole will be incident to the sensing surface, and
• wherein the processor is configured to determine the displacement of the thru-hole resulting from movement of the drive shaft, based on the light passing through the thru-hole and incident to the sensing surface.

A circuit interrupter, the circuit interrupter comprising:

• a housing;
• a line conductor structured to connect a load to a power source;
• mechanical separable contacts disposed along the line conductor and structured to move between a closed state and an open state;
• a Thomson coil primary actuator structured to open the mechanical separable contacts at ultra-fast speeds, the primary actuator comprising:
• a Thomson coil;
• a conductive plate structured to be actuated by the Thomson coil;
• an actuator shaft fixedly coupled to the conductor plate;
• and
• a sliding pin fixedly coupled to the actuator shaft;
• a solenoid secondary actuator disposed in series with the primary actuator and structured to open the mechanical separable contacts at normal speeds, the secondary actuator comprising a solenoid plunger;
• an electronic trip unit structured to monitor the line conductor for fault conditions and selectively actuate the primary actuator and the secondary actuator;
• and
• an actuator performance monitoring system structured to monitor performance of the primary actuator, the actuator performance monitoring system comprising:
• an optical sensor fixedly positioned relative to the housing;
• a distance detection means disposed within the interior of the solenoid plunger;
• and
• a processor in electrical communication with the optical sensor,
• wherein the distance detection means is structured to enable the optical sensor to determine the distance that a reference surface on the primary actuator travels during movement of the primary actuator.