Gas-blast circuit-interrupter with multiple insulating arc-shield construction
AssigneeWestinghouse Electric Corp.
InventorStanislaw A. Milianowicz
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A gas-blast circuit-interrupter of the "puffer" -type has a pair of separable contacts, at least one of which is movable, and a movable multiple insulating arc-shield assembly, or multiple hollow nozzle assembly, is movable during the opening operation with said movable contact, and initially delays the radial inward ejection of compressed gas from the piston chamber into the arcing region, until an adequate time has elapsed for sufficient arc lengthening to take place for circuit interruption.
Claims22
A gas-type puffer circuit-interrupting structure including, in combination, means defining casing means, a relatively stationary contact-rod disposed within said casing means, means defining a fixed piston structure disposed within the casing means, a movable operating cylinder assembly carrying a movable contact and operatively slidable over said fixed piston structure to compress gas therebetween within a piston chamber for arc-extinction purposes, a multiple hollow insulating nozzle assembly also affixed to said movable operating cylinder assembly and surrounding said relatively stationary contact-rod in the closed circuit position of the circuit-interrupting structure, said movable nozzle assembly including at least a pair of axially-spaced insulating nozzles defining a gas-inlet passage therebetween, said gas-inlet passage being in communication with said piston chamber, one nozzle being situated close to the tip of the movable contact so that said stationary contact-rod blocks said gas-inlet passage in the closed-circuit position of the circuit-interrupting structure when the two aforesaid separable contacts are in closed contacting engagement, means effecting opening movement of said operating cylinder assembly during the opening operation of the circuit interrupting structure so that said movable operating cylinder assembly slides over said fixed piston structure to thereby simultaneously effect contact separation and also compression of gas within said piston chamber, and the blocking action of said rod-shaped stationary contact within said one insulating nozzle delaying flow of compressed gas out of the piston chamber and through said gas inlet passage for a predetermined time after said contact separation, thereby enabling a substantial predetermined arc-length to be achieved between said stationary contact rod and said movable contact prior to unplugging said one nozzle, whereby compressed gas will then flow at this time through said one gas-inlet passage into the established arc for arc-extinction purposes.
A puffer-type compressed-gas circuit-interrupter including a pair of separable contacts, one of which is a hollow venting tubular contact, separable to establish an arc, means defining a relatively-stationary piston structure, a movable operating cylinder assembly slidable over said relatively-fixed piston structure to compress gas therebetween, the movable operating cylinder-assembly including additionally a plurality of apertured axially-spaced nozzles, said nozzles encompassing the relatively-stationary contact in the closed-circuit position of the device, and the sliding movement of said insulating nozzles over the relatively-stationary contact during the opening operation providing a desirable valve-blocking action to prevent said compressed gas from flowing into the arc until the arc has attained a substantial predetermined length adequate for circuit interruption.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.