Switchboard drawout apparatus incorporating joint clamping mechanism
AssigneeGeneral Electric Company
InventorsEric Axel Ericson, Frederick Daniel Kaufhold
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Drawout apparatus includes a carriage mounting a circuit breaker and supported on telescoping rails to facilitate racking movement of the circuit breaker between extreme positions of electrical engagement and disengagement with respect to switchboard primary terminals. Racking movement into the engaged position is mechanically assisted by a racking screw. While in the engaged position, a separate clamping screw of a joint clamping mechanism is operated to exert equal and oppositely directed forces on interleaved contact fingers of plural associated breaker-switchboard terminal connectors.
Claims24
An electrical switchboard comprising, in combination:
- A. an electrical device having plural current carrying terminals;
- B. a first electrical connector affixed in electrical connection to each said device terminal, each said first connector comprising plural contact elements disposed in parallel spaced relation;
- C. a second electrical connector associated with each said first electrical connector, said second electrical connectors mounted by and electrically connected to the switchboard, and each said second electrical connector having at least one contact element;
- D. a carriage mounting said device with said first connector contact elements extending rearwardly of said carriage;
- E. means mounted by the switchboard and supporting said carriage for movement into and away from an engaged position wherein said contact elements of associated first and second electrical connectors are in lapped relation;
- F. a racking mechanism having manual operating means accessible at the front of said carriage for mechanically assisting movement of said device into and away from said engaged position;
- and
- G. a joint clamping mechanism having a manually operable lead screw extending forwardly from said first connectors to a headed termination located at the front of said carriage, said clamping mechanism operable by rotation of said lead screw, while said device is in said engaged position, to exert predetermined clamping pressures on said plural first electrical connectors along a force line normal to the axis of said lead screw, thereby to achieve intimate electrical contacting engagement between said lapped contact elements of associated ones of said first and second connectors.
Drawout apparatus for racking an electrical device having plural line terminals into and out of a compartment of an electrical enclosure, said apparatus comprising, in combination:
- A. a carriage mounting the electrical device;
- B. opposed rails mounted by the enclosure and supporting said carriage for racking movement into and away from an innermost position within the compartment;
- C. a racking mechanism mechanically assisting racking movement of said carriage into and away from said innermost position;
- D. a line connector stack assembly mounted to a rearward portion of said carriage, said assembly including:
- 1. plural stab electrical connectors, one for each line terminal of the device, each stab connector including plural contact elements disposed in parallel spaced relation, and
- 2. with said carriage in its innermost position, said contact elements of said stab connectors assuming lapped relationships with contact elements of associated receiver connectors mounted by the enclosure;
- E. a joint clamping mechanism having actuating means mounted by said carriage extending forwardly from said line terminal stack assembly to a manually operable termination located at the front of said carriage, said actuating means operatively connected to said line connector stack assembly for selectively exerting clamping forces thereon such that, while said carriage is in its innermost position, said lapped contact elements of associated stab and receiver connectors are clamped in secure interconnection and relaxing said clamping forces such that said stab connector contact elements may readily move into and out of lapped relation with associated receiver connector contact elements as said carriage is racked into and away from its innermost position.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.