Arc chute assembly for circuit breaker
AssigneeWestinghouse Electric Corp.
InventorsAlfred E. Maier, James R. Farley, Nicholas A. Tomasic
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An arc chute assembly for a circuit breaker or similar device comprising a series of metallic arc chute plates that are locked in stacked spaced-apart relationship between a pair of insulative side panels by elongated key members of non-conductive material that are wedged between the flat surfaces of the side panels and notched portions of pairs of T-shaped tabs which extend from each side edge of the respective plates. The tabs interlockingly engage a series of laterally-extending slot openings in the side panels in such a manner that the key members are in press-fitted engagement with only one of the tabs in each pair of tabs.
Claims12
In combination with a circuit breaker having a pair of separable contacts and operating means adapted to open the contacts in response to line overload conditions, an arc chute assembly located adjacent the separable contacts and comprising;
- a pair of side members and a back member disposed to define an arc-extinguishing chamber,
- a plurality of arc chute plates supported in stacked spaced-apart relationship between said side members, each of said plates having a pair of tabs that extend from each side of the respective plates through and beyond slot openings in the side members, said tabs being notched to permit shifting of the plates into interlocking engagement with the side members after the tabs have been inserted into the respective slot openings and said tabs also being configured to provide gaps between the tabs and adjacent surfaces of the side members, and
- means locking the arc chute plates to the respective side members comprising a pair of elongated key members disposed in said gaps in tightly-wedged relationship between the face of the respective side members and the notched portions of the associated tabs of the arc chute plates.
An arc chute assembly that is adapted for use in a circuit breaker and similar apparatus and comprises;
- a pair of side members disposed in upstanding spaced-apart relationship and providing opposed side walls each having a series of laterally extending slot openings therein arranged in pairs,
- a plurality of arc chute plates disposed between said side members and arranged in stacked laterally-extending spaced-apart relationship, each of said plates having side edges from which a pair of T-shaped tabs protrude and the pairs of slot openings in said side members being so located and dimensioned that the paired T-shaped tabs extend through and beyond selected pairs of slot openings, said plates being shifted in alternating opposite directions so that the pairs of T-shaped tabs interlockingly engage the associated pair of slot openings at only one end of said openings and are thus interlocked with the side members, and
- means locking the stack of arc chute plates in interlocked stacked relationship with said side members comprising a pair of key members of elongated configuration that extend along the respective side members between the paired tabs of the individual arc chute plates and are in tightly-wedged relationship with notched portions of only one tab in each pair of tabs and also with the proximate wall surfaces of the side members.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.