Circuit breaker provided with collapsible telescoping linkage
AssigneeNorth American Philips Controls Corp.
InventorDonald K. Merchant
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A circuit breaker incorporates a collapsible telescoping linkage installed between its control handle and electrical contacts. The collapsible telescoping linkage is normally locked in an extended position to open and close the contacts as the control handle is moved between its off and on positions. The circuit breaker includes an electromagnetically operated armature operable in response to an overload condition to unlock the collapsible telescoping linkage to allow the linkage to collapse and instantaneously break the contacts. Thereafter, when the control handle moves to its off position, the linkage is locked in its extended position so that upon subsequent movement of the control handle to its on position the circuit breaker is automatically reset.
Claims17
A circuit breaker comprising:
- an overcurrent sensor for sensing an electrical overload;
- a stationary contact;
- a movable contact electrically coupled to said overcurrent sensor and movable between open and closed positions out of and into contact with said stationary contact, respectively;
- collapsible coupling means coupled to said movable contact and adapted to be tripped by said overcurrent sensor, said movable contact being movable between its closed and open positions in response to tripping of said collapsible coupling means;
- and actuator means movable in response to an overload condition detected by said overcurrent sensor for tripping said collapsible coupling means;
- wherein said collapsible coupling means comprises:
- a pair of telescoping members relatively slideable one within the other;
- locking means movably supported by the outer one of said pair of telescoping members and movable into and out of locking engagement with the inner one of said pair to telescoping members upon movement of said inner member to a predetermined extended position wherein said outer member, wherein, in the locking position, said locking means substantially prevents said telescoping members from moving relative to each other, and, in the unlocking position, said locking means permits relatively slideable movement of said telescoping members;
- restraining means supported on said outer telescoping member and movable between a first position in which said restraining means prevents movement of said locking means out of said locking position and a second position in which said restraining permits movement of said locking means out of said locking position toward and into said unlocking position;
- and
- bias means biasing said restraining means toward said first position to automatically move said locking means into said locking position upon movement of said inner member to said predetermined extended position within said outer member;
- wherein said actuator means is movable in response to an overload condition detected by said overcurrent sensor for engaging said restraining means and moving said restraining means toward and into said second position against the force of said bias means to thereby permit movement of said locking means into said unlocking position and thereby further permit collapsing of said coupling means and movement of said movable contact into its open position.
A collapsible coupling means for use in a circuit breaker comprising an overcurrent sensor, a stationary and a movable contact electrically coupled to said overcurrent sensor and movable between open and closed positions out of and into contact with said stationary contact, respectively, means coupling said collapsible coupling means to said movable contact, and means for tripping said coupling means in response to an overload condition detected by said sensor, said movable contact being movable between its closed and open position in response to tripping of said collapsible coupling means, said collapsible coupling means comprising:
- a pair of telescoping members relatively slideable one within the other;
- locking means movably supported by the outer one of said pair of telescoping members and movable into and out of locking engagement with the inner one of said pair of telescoping members upon movement of said inner member to a predetermined extended position within said outer member, wherein, in the locking position, said locking means substantially prevents said telescoping members from moving relative to each other, and, in the unlocking position, said locking means permits relatively slideable movement of said telescoping members;
- restraining means supported on said outer telescoping member and movable between a first position in which said restraining means prevents movement of said locking means out of said locking position and a second position in which said restraining permits movement of said locking means of of said locking position toward and into said unlocking position;
- and
- bias means biasing said restraining means toward said first position to automatically move said locking means into said locking position upon movement of said inner member to said predetermined extended position within said outer member;
- wherein movement of said restraining means toward and into said second position against the force of said bias means permits movement of said locking means into said unlocking position to thereby further permit collapsing of said coupling means in response to an applied collapsing force.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.