Multi-pole circuit breaker
AssigneeCarlingswitch, Inc.
InventorsCharles Mune, Bohdan Krasij
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An arrangement is provided for interconnecting a set of two or more circuit breakers such that tripping of one will cause concurrent tripping of the others. A coupler adapted to be placed in a recess defined by the abutting side walls of two adjacent breakers is engageable with trip members in both of the associated breakers and provides operative interconnection between the two breakers. Only one of the breakers of the set need be provided with an operating handle which can be used to turn all of the breakers "on" and "off" in unison.
Claims11
The combination of a plurality of circuit breaker units, each unit having its own case containing;
- a pair of relatively movable contacts, an automatically resettable mechanism including a pivotable contact arm movable between open and closed positions, a tripping device including an armature pivotally movable toward and away from an electromagnetic coil or the like, said mechanism including a crank arm movable between "on" and "off" positions and a collapsible link with one end pivotally connected to said crank arm and its other end to said contact arm, latch means for preventing said link from collapsing, and means for disabling said latch means when said crank arm is moved "on" and said armature has been moved toward said coil, a common trip member of U-shape, with one leg of the "U" located adjacent one inside wall of the case and having a portion engageable with the associated resettable mechanism, the other leg of the U-shaped common trip member having a portion engageable with said means for disabling said latch means;
- at least two mating cases having abutting side walls assembled adjacent one another and having aligned openings defining a cavity, a common trip coupler located in said cavity and having opposing portions cooperating with portions of the U-shaped common trip members inside adjacent switch cases to cause pivotal movement of one of said members to move said coupler and in turn to effect pivotal movement of the trip member in the adjacent case.
A multi-pole circuit breaker comprising in combination a plurality of similar units each of which units includes;
- a case, at least one movable contact, a fixed frame for supporting an electromagnetic coil, an armature pivotally supported in said frame for movement toward and away from said electromaganetic coil, resettable linkage mechanism including a pivotal contact arm movable between open and closed positions and a pivotable crank arm mounted in said frame for movement between "on" and "off" positions, said mechanism including a collapsible link with one end pivotally connected to said crank arm and the other end to said contact arm, latch means for preventing said link from collapsing, and means for disabling said latch means when said crank arm is moved "on" and said armature has moved toward said coil;
- an automatically resettable common trip member pivotally mounted inside each case for limited movement on the same axis as that provided for said armature, said common trip member having a U-shape with the legs defining said pivot and with one leg having a portion engageable with said means for disabling said latch means and the other leg having a portion engageable by said contact arm, and a common trip coupler between adjacent units with portions cooperating with said U-shaped common trip members inside the associated cases to cause pivotal movement of one such common trip member to move said coupler and in turn to effect movement of the trip member in another breaker unit, said cases being assembled in side-by-side relationship such that their side walls abut one another and so that crank arm pivot axes are defined by said frames in aligned relationship to support said crank arms, one only of said crank arms having a handle portion projecting outwardly through an opening in its associated switch case, all of said crank arms having inner portions located inside their associated cases, all said inner crank arm portions defining openings equally spaced from their associated crank arm pivot axes, and an elongated bar extending through said crank arm openings and through arcuate slots defined in the abutting case side walls.
In a multipole circuit breaker of the type having single pole units stacked side-by-side, each unit having its own case with a pair of cooperating contacts one of which is movable relative to the other by a resettable mechanism, a tripping device responsive to fault current conditions to trip the resettable mechanism, and means for preventing said resettable mechanism from functioning;
- the improvement comprising a common trip member of U-shape with one leg of the "U" located adjacent one inside wall of the case and with a portion of said one leg engageable with the resettable mechanism and with the other leg having a portion engageable with said preventing means, at least two mating cases having abutting side walls assembled adjacent one another and having aligned openings defining a cavity, a common trip coupler located in said cavity and having opposing portions cooperating with portions of the U-shaped common trip members inside adjacent switch cases to cause pivotal movement of one of said members to move said coupler and in turn to effect pivotal movement of the trip member in the adjacent case.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.