Circuit breaker rotary contact arm arrangement

Details Circuit breaker rotary contact arm arrangement Circuit breaker rotary contact arm arrangement

1999-12-17

2001-10-30

Friedhofer, Michael (Department: 2832)

Electricity: circuit makers and breakers

Electric switch details

Contact

C200S01700A, C200S400000, C218S032000, C335S016000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06310307

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to circuit breakers, and, more particularly, to a circuit breaker rotary contact arm arrangement.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,616,198 entitled CONTACT ARRANGEMENT FOR A CURRENT LIMITING CIRCUIT BREAKER describes the early use of a first and second pair of circuit breaker contacts arranged in series to substantially reduce the amount of current let-through upon the occurrence of an overcurrent condition.
When the contact pairs are arranged upon one movable rotary contact arm such as described within U.S. Pat. No. 4,910,485 entitled MULTIPLE CIRCUIT BREAKER WITH DOUBLE BREAK ROTARY CONTACT, some means must be provided to insure that the opposing contact pairs exhibit the same contact pressure to reduce contact wear and erosion.
One arrangement for providing uniform contact wear is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,310,971 entitled ROTARY CONTACT SYSTEM FOR CIRCUIT BREAKERS. This arrangement includes a rotary contact arm that employs rollers between the movable contact arm and spring pins to reduce contact arm friction. A rotor assembly with four contact springs, two on each side of the rotor, offset from the center of the rotor to impart contact force between the fixed and movable contacts is also disclosed. However, the roller system used in this arrangement can cause friction between the rollers and contact arm, which will result in uneven contact forces and, therefore, uneven contact wear. In addition, a rotor with springs offset from the rotor's axis of rotation can cause a non-uniform force distribution between the fixed and movable contact pairs if one pair of contacts erodes more than the other pair. The erosion of the contact pair with lower force results in a further reduction in force that continues to accelerate the erosion process.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, a circuit breaker rotary contact arrangement includes a rotor having first and second opposing sides with pin retainer slots formed on the first side and a movable contact arm disposed intermediate the first and second sides. The movable contact arm has movable contacts at opposite ends of the contact arm, with each movable contact arranged opposite a fixed contact. A pivot pin is arranged on a central portion of the movable contact arm, with the pivot pin extending within an aperture formed on a central portion of the rotor. The pivot pin allows rotation of the movable contact arm with respect to the rotor. First and second links are pivotally secured to a first side of the movable contact arm. A first spring pin extends from the first link through the first pin retainer slot, and a second spring pin extends from the second link through the second pin retainer slot. A spring is arranged proximate the first side of the rotor and extends from the first spring pin to the second spring pin. The spring exerts a spring force directed to intersect the axis of rotation of the pivot pin. The spring force urges the movable contacts towards the fixed contacts.


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