Gas insulated circuit breaker

In a three-phase gas insulated circuit breaker having at least one interrupter per phase and each within a gas tight enclosure, said interrupters each having at least one movable contact, each of the enclosures having a low pressure area and a high pressure area;

• an external pull rod box connected to each enclosure;
• interrupter operating linkage within each of the pull rod boxes and operably connected to the movable contact of the interrupter within the enclosure;
• a pull rod operably disposed to extend within each external pull rod box and connected to the interrupter linkage therein to effect the opening and closing operation of the associated interrupter, all of said pull rods being connected together in series relationship so as to move as a unit;
• a single operator connected to effect operation of said series connected pull rods;
• a first spring means operatively connected to the pull rod associated with said second phase circuit breaker;
• a second spring means operably connected to the pull rod associated with said third phase circuit breaker;
• the connection between said first and second spring means with their associated pull rods being such that the movement of said pull rods in a contact closing movement operates to compress said first and second spring means;
• means operably associated with each pull rod for effecting an adjustment thereof with relation to its associated interrupter contact wherein each pull rod moves a distance in a contact closing movement to effect the closing of its associated interrupter contact and the stored energy of said second spring means of said third phase is substantially totally utilized in the contact opening movement while the stored energy in said first spring means is only partially utilized;
• whereby the initial movement of all of said pull rods in a contact closing movement is initiated by said first and second spring means but the entire energy stored in said first spring means is not expended so that excess velocity is not imparted to the pull rods to thereby avoid excessive shock loads to the system and said energy stored in said second spring means is substantially totally expended to effectively dampen contact bounce after the interrupter contacts have opened;
• a control cabinet carried by said circuit breaker adjacent to the enclosure of one of the interrupters;
• a two-pressure gas system for said circuit breaker including;
• a manifold block disposed within said control cabinet, said manifold block having a plurality of passages defining a high pressure section and a low pressure section;
• a plurality of valving, all of said valving being disposed in operative relationship in said manifold block;
• external gas flow lines operatively connecting said manifold passages of said high pressure section to the high pressure areas of each of the interrupter enclosures of the circuit breaker;
• and,
• external gas flow lines operatively connecting said manifold passages of said low pressure section to the low pressure areas of each of the interrupter enclosures of the circuit breaker.

In a three-phase gas insulated circuit breaker having three gas tight enclosures, one per phase, in which there is provided at least one pair of separable contacts per enclosure movable to a full open position and a full closed position;

• actuating means associated with each enclosure and operably connected to effect the movement of the movable contact to a closed position or to an open position;
• operable means connecting the actuating means associated with each enclosure together in a manner that all of said actuating means operate in unison;
• accelerator means associated with two of said actuating means for biasing said actuating means to move said movable contacts to open positions;
• and,
• restricting means operably carried by one of said actuating means in position to restrict the full expansion of the accelerator means associated with the particular actuating means after all of said actuating means have operated to effect a separation between the contacts but before the separable contacts are moved to full open position;
• whereby all of said accelerators operate on said actuating means to impart an initial acceleration to the contacts to effect a rapid separation of the contacts, but when contact separation has been accomplished, the energy of one of the accelerators is removed to reduce the velocity of the moving contacts.

In a three-phase gas insulated circuit breaker having at least one interrupter per phase and each within a gas tight enclosure;

• an internal pull rod box connected to each enclosure;
• interrupter operating linkage within each of the pull rod boxes and operably connected to the interrupter within the enclosure;
• a pull rod operably disposed to extend within each external pull rod box and connected to the interrupter linkage therein to effect the opening and closing operation of the associated interrupter, all of said pull rods being connected together in series relationship so as to move as a unit;
• a single operator connected to effect operation of said series connected pull rods;
• a first spring means operatively connected to the pull rod associated with said second phase circuit breaker;
• a second spring means operably connected to the pull rod associated with said third phase circuit breaker;
• the connection between said first and second spring means with their associated pull rods being such that the movement of said pull rods in a contact closing movement operates to compress said first and second spring means;
• and,
• means operably associated with each pull rod for effecting an adjustment thereof with relation to its associated interrupter contact wherein each pull rod moves a distance in a contact closing movement to effect the closing of its associated interrupter contact and the stored energy of said second spring means of said third phase is substantially totally utilized in the contact opening movement while the stored energy in said first spring means is only partially utilized;
• whereby the initial movement of all of said pull rods in a contact closing movement is initiated by said first and second spring means but the entire energy stored in said first spring means is not expended so that excess velocity is not imparted to the pull rods to thereby avoid excessive shock loads to the system and said energy stored in said second spring means is substantially totally expended to effectively dampen contact bounce after the interrupter contacts have opened;
• a contact velocity measuring means carried by an external pull rod box, said velocity measuring means including a resistance coil;
• a slider movable over said resistance coil and operable to indicate the change of resistance of said coil with movement, a movement of said slider relative to said coil;
• and,
• operable means connecting said slider to said pull rods for movement with said pull rods.