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US 9,865,418 B2Granted
Circuit breakers, arc expansion chambers, and operating methods
AssigneeSiemens Industry, Inc.
InventorGuang Yang
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A circuit breaker having first and second electrical contacts configured to generate an electrical arc upon being separated, an arc chamber surrounding at least a portion of a space between the first and second electric contacts, at least one expansion chamber positioned proximate to the arc chamber, and an arc pressure control valve assembly configured to allow threshold-based flow into and out of the at least one expansion chamber. An arc pressure control valve assembly and method of operating a circuit breaker are described, as are other aspects.
Claims18
A circuit breaker, comprising:
- first and second electrical contacts, the electrical contacts configured to generate an electrical arc upon being separated;
- an arc chamber surrounding at least a portion of a space between the first and second electric contacts;
- at least one expansion chamber positioned proximate to the arc chamber;
- and
- a valve assembly configured to allow threshold-based flow into and out of the at least one expansion chamber,
- wherein the valve assembly comprises an inlet valve configured to allow one-way inflow and an outlet valve configured to allow one-way outflow such that the outlet valve is different than the inlet valve,
- wherein the outlet valve is oriented at an angled orientation to the arc chamber to produce a gas jet that impinges directly onto a moveable electrical contact when the moveable electrical contact is in a tripped position,
- wherein the outlet valve comprises a bearing, a piston moveable relative to the bearing, and a reset spring coupled to the piston, wherein the piston includes a shaft that is closely and slidably received in an aperture of the bearing,
- wherein when a pressure in the arc chamber falls below an outlet threshold pressure, the shaft moves outwardly in the aperture such that one or more outlet ports in the shaft are opened, and
- wherein when a pressure in the at least one expansion chamber nears equalizing with the pressure in the arc chamber a force of the reset spring recloses the outlet valve by moving the one or more outlet ports back into the aperture.
7 more elements
An arc pressure control assembly, comprising:
- an arc chamber containing first and second electrical contacts;
- at least one expansion chamber positioned proximate to the arc chamber;
- and
- a valve assembly configured to allow threshold-based flow into and out of the at least one expansion chamber,
- wherein the valve assembly comprises an inlet valve configured to allow one-way inflow and an outlet valve configured to allow one-way outflow such that the outlet valve is different than the inlet valve,
- wherein the outlet valve is oriented at an angled orientation to the arc chamber to produce a gas jet that impinges directly onto a moveable electrical contact when the moveable electrical contact is in a tripped position,
- wherein the outlet valve comprises a bearing, a piston moveable relative to the bearing, and a reset spring coupled to the piston, wherein the piston includes a shaft that is closely and slidably received in an aperture of the bearing,
- wherein when a pressure in the arc chamber falls below an outlet threshold pressure, the shaft moves outwardly in the aperture such that one or more outlet ports in the shaft are opened, and
- wherein when a pressure in the at least one expansion chamber nears equalizing with the pressure in the arc chamber a force of the reset spring recloses the outlet valve by moving the one or more outlet ports back into the aperture.
6 more elements
A method of operating a circuit breaker, comprising:
- separating a first electrical contact from a second electrical contact and forming an electrical arc in an arc chamber;
- flowing gas from the arc chamber into an expansion chamber disposed adjacent to the arc chamber in response to arc-produced rising pressure in the arc chamber, the gas flowing only upon exceeding an inlet threshold pressure;
- holding gas in the expansion chamber;
- flowing gas from the expansion chamber back into the arc chamber in response to a decrease in the pressure in the arc chamber, the gas flowing only upon the pressure in the arc chamber falling below an outlet threshold pressure;
- and
- providing a valve assembly configured to allow threshold-based flow into and out of the expansion chamber,
- wherein the valve assembly comprises an inlet valve configured to allow one-way inflow and an outlet valve configured to allow one-way outflow such that the outlet valve is different than the inlet valve,
- wherein the outlet valve is oriented at an angled orientation to the arc chamber to produce a gas jet that impinges directly onto a moveable electrical contact when the moveable electrical contact is in a tripped position,
- wherein the outlet valve comprises a bearing, a piston moveable relative to the bearing, and a reset spring coupled to the piston, wherein the piston includes a shaft that is closely and slidably received in an aperture of the bearing,
- wherein when the pressure in the arc chamber falls below the outlet threshold pressure, the shaft moves outwardly in the aperture such that one or more outlet ports in the shaft are opened, and
- wherein when a pressure in the at least one expansion chamber nears equalizing with the pressure in the arc chamber a force of the reset spring recloses the outlet valve by moving the one or more outlet ports back into the aperture.
8 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.