Four-pole molded case circuit breaker having staggered contact depression
OwnerRandall Lee Greenberg, Roger Neil Castonguayinventors
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A four-pole molded case circuit breaker is provided with connecting rods for simultaneously driving the contact arms in all four poles while at the same time allowing for a staggered contact depression in the fourth pole relative to the other three poles. A stabilizer clamp locks the connecting rods together to eliminate relative motion between the rods without interfering with the staggered contact depression. By staggering the contact depression in the fourth pole, a three-pole operating mechanism can effectively toggle a four-pole device since the load of the contact depression springs in all four poles is not seen by the operating mechanism at the same time.
Claims11
A connecting rod arrangement for a multi-pole circuit protective device, comprising:
- a first and second rod having first and second ends;
- a clamp having a plurality of openings for accepting said rods;
- a tightening means for securing said clamp to said rods;
- and
- a means for coupling said rods to a multi-pole circuit protective device wherein said second ends are loosely coupled with one pole of the multi-pole circuit protective device.
A multi-pole circuit breaker comprising:
- a base;
- a cover mounted on said base and defining an interior space
- a plurality of cassettes mounted within said interior space;
- an operating mechanism operably coupled to at least one of said cassettes for opening and closing said cassettes;
- a connecting rod arrangement operably connecting said cassettes to one another;
- and
- wherein said connecting rod arrangement is loosely coupled to at least one of said cassettes
An electrical distribution panel, comprising:
- a panel base;
- a panel cover coupled to said panel base and defining a panel interior therein;
- a multi-pole circuit breaker within said panel interior;
- a plurality of branch circuit connections within said panel interior;
- at least one busbar for electrically connecting said circuit breaker to said plurality of branch circuit connections;
- wherein said circuit breaker comprises:
- a base;
- a cover mounted on said base and defining an interior space;
- a plurality of cassettes mounted within said interior space;
- an operating mechanism operably coupled to at least one of said cassettes for opening and closing said cassettes;
- a connecting rod arrangement operably connecting said cassettes to one another;
- and
- wherein said connecting rod arrangement is loosely coupled to at least one of said cassettes.
A method of assembling a connecting rod arrangement, comprising the steps of;
- selecting a first rod having a first end dimension that is larger than the opposite end dimension;
- selecting a second rod having a first end dimension that is larger than the opposite end dimension;
- selecting a clamp having a plurality of openings for accepting said rods;
- inserting said rods into said plurality of openings of said clamp;
- and securing said clamp to said rods.
A multi-pole circuit breaker comprising;
- a plurality of cassettes;
- a means for coupling said plurality of cassettes;
- wherein
- said coupling means further comprises a means for loosely coupling one of said cassettes.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.