Electric circuit-breaker apparatus
AssigneeLucas Aerospace Limited
InventorsJohn Menmuir, Kenneth Milford Faulkes
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A remote-controlled circuit breaker apparatus has a pulse generator operable to provide a single output pulse. A change over switch is operable to select the polarity of the pulse applied to a conductor. A circuit breaker device has two electro-magnets arranged to be responsive to conductor pulses of respective opposite polarities to open and close the circuit breaker device. It is arranged that in the absence of a pulse, and with the circuit breaker device open a constant voltage signal appears on the conductor. A visual indicator is responsive to this signal to provide an open-circuit warning. The circuit breaker device also becomes open circuit in response to thermal overload, thereby causing the visual indicator to be energized.
Claims15
A remotely-controllable circuit breaker apparatus comprising means responsive to an input signal for generating a single electrical control pulse of known duration and current, a conductor along which said control pulse can pass, switch means for selecting the polarity of said pulse applied to said conductor, said switch means including means, responsive to each operation of said switch means, for applying said input signal to said pulse-generating means, a circuit breaker device including a first contact element movable to an open circuit position in response to the heating effect of a current therethrough, a second contact element movable in unison with said first element and being respectively open and closed in closed and openn positions of said first element, and an electro-magnetic actuator means responsive to pulses of respective opposite polarities in said conductor for setting said first contact element in respective open and closed positions, said second contact element being operable, when in one of its operating positions and in the absence of a control pulse, to apply a voltage signal to said conductor, said circuit breaker apparatus further including an indicator device connected to said conductor and responsive to said voltage signal.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.