Electrical contact wear and temperature indicator
OwnerBruce W. Nicholsinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The design of electrical switches that operate under load (with current flowing) requires replacement of the electrical contact after erosion and wear experienced by arcing and raised temperatures reduce functionality below acceptable limits. A quantity of trace element or compound is implanted at a depth representative of the point at which wear or erosion requires contact replacement. When exposed by wear or erosion, the quantity of the trace element is released into the oil or other medium surrounding the contact, providing an indication of excessive wear.
Claims20
A method for determining when replacement is required of an electrical contact assembly operating within an oil environment and having at least one element configured for experiencing wear, said element being mounted to a conductive base, the method comprising:
- defining a cavity within the at least one element configured for experiencing wear;
- providing a trace element within said at least one cavity;
- allowing said at least one element configured for experiencing wear to be eroded until an opening is formed in said at least one element configured for experiencing wear;
- permitting said trace element to disperse from said cavity through said opening into said oil environment;
- and
- monitoring said oil environment to determine when a sufficient quantity of trace element has dispersed into the oil environment to indicate that said electrical contact assembly requires replacement.
An electrical contact assembly operable within an oil environment, comprising:
- a conductive base;
- at least one element configured for experiencing wear, said element being mounted to and operatively connected to the base;
- and
- means for indicating when said at least one element configured for experiencing wear has eroded to a predetermined erosion point.
An assembly operable within an oil environment, comprising:
- a conductive base;
- at least one element configured for experiencing wear, said element being bonded to said base;
- and
- means for indicating when said at least one element configured for experiencing wear has eroded to a predetermined erosion point.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.