Ion pump monitored vacuum interrupter

Abstract

A ion pump vacuum monitored vacuum interrupter uses the voltage already applied to the interrupter to power the vacuum ion pump. A porcelain tube in fluid communication with the interrupter vacuum bottle provides high voltage isolation between the vacuum interrupter bottle and the vacuum ion pump to protect the pump. When connected to the porcelain tube, the ion pump maintains the purity of the vacuum medium inside the vacuum interrupter bottle, while failure of the ion pump indicates a vacuum failure. Failure of the ion pump triggers response actions, such as activating a visual indicator, activating other alarms, disabling the switch until the vacuum interrupter is repaired, and entering a maintenance order. This allows the life of the vacuum interrupter to be significantly increased while simultaneously improving the reliability and safety of operating vacuum interrupters.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.