Adjustable electrical probes for circuit breaker tester

An electrical probe assembly, comprising:

• a first probe housing pivotally connected to a base structure and receiving a first probe therein, the first probe being configured to interface with a first contact of an electrical component;
• a second probe housing pivotally connected to the base structure and receiving a second probe therein, the second probe being configured to interface with a second contact of the electrical component wherein the first and second contacts have a spatial relationship therebetween;
• an adjustment mechanism connected to the first and second housing and configured to independently adjust an amount of rotation of the each of the housings to accommodate the spatial relationship wherein the adjustment mechanism includes an adjustment screw;
• and
• a biasing device disposed on an opposing side from the adjustment screw of at least one of the first and second housings for providing a restoring force to permit bidirectional adjustment.

An electrical probe assembly, comprising:

• a first probe housing pivotally connected to a base structure and receiving a first probe therein, the first probe being configured to interface with a first contact of an electrical component;
• a second probe housing pivotally connected to the base structure and receiving a second probe therein, the second probe being configured to interface with a second contact of the electrical component wherein the first and second contacts have a spatial relationship therebetween;
• a third probe housing pivotally connected to the base structure and receiving a third probe therein, the third probe being configured to interface with a third contact of the electrical component;
• and
• an adjustment mechanism connected to the first and second housing and configured to independently adjust an amount of rotation of the each of the housings to accommodate the spatial relationship.

An electrical probe assembly for interfacing with a plurality of different circuit breaker designs, comprising:

• a plurality of probe housings each having a corresponding test probe extending therefrom;
• a pivot pin configured to pass through the plurality of housings to pivotally connect the housings to a base structure such that the plurality of housings independently rotate about a same axis;
• and
• an adjustment mechanism connected to each of the plurality of housings and the base structure and configured to independently adjust an amount of rotation of the each of the housings to accommodate different spatial relationships for contacts of different circuit breaker designs wherein the pivot pin permits independent pivotal motion of each of the housings relative to the base structure.

A method for testing a circuit breaker, comprising:

• providing an electrical probe assembly having a first probe housing pivotally connected to a base structure and receiving a first probe therein, the first probe being configured to interface with a first contact of a circuit breaker, a second probe housing pivotally connected to the base structure and receiving a second probe therein, the second probe being configured to interface with a second contact of the circuit breaker wherein the first and second contacts have a spatial relationship therebetween, and an adjustment mechanism connected to each of the first and second housing and the base structure, and wherein a pivoting mechanism permits independent pivotal motion of the first probe housing and the second probe housing relative to the base structure;
• adjusting the adjustment mechanism to independently adjust an amount of rotation of each of the housings to accommodate the spatial relationship of contacts for a circuit breaker design;
• and
• testing the circuit breaker by contacting the first and second probes with the first and second contacts.