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US 4,930,039 AGranted
Fail-safe surge arrester
AssigneeCooper Industries, Inc.
InventorsJonathan J. Woodworth, Stephen P. Johnson, David R. Miller, Jeffrey J. Kester, Stanley S. Kershaw, Jr.
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A fail-safe, non-fragmenting surge arrester includes a liner having outlets formed in the walls thereof for venting ionized gases generated within the liner by internal arcing. The vented ionized gas forms a lower impedance path for the current which is thereby shunted around the failed internal components, preventing the generation of internal pressure which could otherwise cause a fragmenting failure mode of the arrester. The internal components include stacked varistor elements and may include an internal fuse link electrically in series with the varistors.
Claims52
An electrical assembly comprising:
- at least one electrical component for electrical connection between a voltage and ground, said electrical component including a current path therethrough;
- an insulative module having side walls for containing said electrical component;
- and
- means in said side walls of said module for diverting current outside a length of said module and around a portion of said electrical component.
1 more element
An electrical assembly comprising:
- at least one electrical component for electrical connection between a voltage and ground, said electrical component including a current path therethrough;
- an insulative module for containing said electrical component;
- and
- means in said module for diverting current outside a length of said module and around a portion of said electrical component, said diverting means comprising means for venting ionized gas through said module, the gas forming a lower impedance current path in parallel with the current path through said component wherein said venting means comprises a plurality of apertures spaced around the circumference of said module.
1 more element
An electrical assembly comprising:
- at least one electrical component for electrical connection between a voltage and ground, said electrical component including a current path therethrough;
- an insulative module for containing said electrical component, said module including a fiberglass liner;
- and
- means in said module for diverting current outside a length of said module and around a portion of said electrical component, said diverting means comprising means for venting ionized gas through said module, the gas forming a lower impedance current path in parallel with the current path through said component.
1 more element
An electrical assembly comprising:
- at least one electrical component for electrical connection between a voltage and ground, said electrical component including a current path therethrough;
- an insulative module made of a polymeric material for containing said electrical components;
- and
- means in said module for diverting current outside a length of said module and around a portion of said electrical components, said diverting means comprising means for venting ionized gas through said module, the gas forming a lower impedance current path in parallel with the current path through said components, wherein said module includes a channel formed longitudinally along a portion of the wall of said module, said channel defining a thin-walled section of said module and forming said venting means.
1 more element
An electrical subassembly comprising:
- a plurality of electrical components connected in series and forming an electrical path for conducting current through the subassembly;
- an enclosure having side walls made of insulative material for retaining said components in stacked relationship within the subassembly;
- and
- means in said side walls for transferring an arc generated within said enclosure outside said enclosure for shunting the current around a portion of said stack of electrical components.
1 more element
An electrical subassembly comprising:
- a plurality of electrical components connected in series and forming an electrical path for conducting current through the subassembly;
- an enclosure of insulative material for retaining said components in stacked relationship within the subassembly;
- and
- means for transferring an arc generated within said enclosure outside said enclosure for shunting the current around a portion of said stack of electrical components, said arc transferring means comprising at least one thin-walled section formed in the wall of said enclosure wherein said thin-walled section has a length which approximates the height of said components.
1 more element
A surge arrester comprising:
- a housing made of a nonfragmenting insulative material;
- an enclosure, hermetically sealed from the ambient environment by said housing;
- a plurality of varistor elements stacked and retained in series relationship within said enclosure;
- means formed in the side wall of said enclosure for relieving pressure within said enclosure upon the generation of ionized gas within said enclosure;
- and
- terminals for electrically connecting said enclosure between a line voltage and ground.
3 more elements
A surge arrester comprising:
- an insulative module for retaining electrical components therein;
- a plurality of outlets formed in said module for venting gas from within said module;
- a plurality of nonlinear resistive elements retained within said module;
- and
- a fuse link module retained within said module, said resistive elements and said fuse link module being in electrical contact and forming a series path for current through said module.
2 more elements
A surge arrester comprising:
- a plurality of nonlinear resistive elements;
- an insulative module having side walls for retaining said resistive elements in a stacked relationship;
- and
- means spaced along the periphery of said module for radially venting gas through said side walls of said module.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.