US 6,867,670 B2 · Circuit breaker with auxiliary switches and mechanisms for operating same

Abstract

A subminiature circuit breaker is equipped with an arc fault auxiliary switch actuated by the arc fault trip motor through an indicator actuator that also deploys a pop-up arc fault indicator. An additional auxiliary switch actuated by the drive link on the toggle mechanism provides an indication of the open/closed state of the circuit breaker separable contacts. Both the arc fault auxiliary switch and the contact state auxiliary switch are mounted on the outside of the subminiature circuit breaker housing and are operated by an operating member and a pivoted member, respectively, extending through openings in the housing.

Claims18

Dependent claims

A circuit breaker comprising:

a housing;
separable contacts mounted in the housing and having an open state and a closed state;
an operating mechanism mounted in the housing operating the separable contacts to the open state when tripped;
an electronic trip circuit generating an electronic trip signal in response to certain conditions of current through the separable contacts;
a trip motor energized by the trip signal to trip the operating mechanism;
and
an indicator assembly comprising:
an electronic trip auxiliary switch;
and
an indicator actuator actuating the electronic trip auxiliary switch in response to energization of the trip motor and comprising an indicator armature magnetically actuated by the trip motor.

7 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application

10/288,176Filed 5 Nov 2002

Published

US 2004/0085167 A16 May 2004

Granted

15 Mar 2005

Term ends

Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification5 codes

H01H 71/46
Automatic release mechanisms with or without manual release: having means for operating auxiliary contacts additional to the main contacts
H01H 73/56
Having both electrothermal and electromagnetic automatic release: reset by push-button, pull-knob or slide
H01H 2071/467
Having means for operating auxiliary contacts additional to the main contacts: with history indication, e.g. of trip and/or kind of trip, number…
H01H 2083/201
Operated by excess current as well as by some other abnormal electrical condition: the other abnormal electrical condition being an arc fault

Circuit breaker with auxiliary switches and mechanisms for operating same

Life of this patent

Circuit breaker with auxiliary switches and mechanisms for operating same

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims18