Electricity: circuit makers and breakers – Liquid contact – Time delay
Patent
1983-07-29
1985-04-30
Macon, Robert S.
Electricity: circuit makers and breakers
Liquid contact
Time delay
200148R, H01H 3388
Patent
active
045146055
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a circuit breaker in which the arc formed between the arc contacts at the moment of interruption is extinguished by the combined action of a thermal blast of gas internal to the circuit breaker which is raised to high temperature and pressure by the arc itself, and by a mechanical blast of gas which is compressed while the circuit breaker contacts are opening and is suddenly released.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Such circuit breakers are known which enable currents of various magnitudes to be interrupted: the action of a mechanical blast is sufficient for small amplitude currents; the action of the thermal blast has progressively more effect with increasing amplitude of the current to be interrupted.
One aim of the present invention is to provide a gas blast circuit breaker using the mechanical and the thermal effects in which the energy required for the mechanical blast is minimal for as an effective a result as possible.
Another aim of the invention is to provide a circuit breaker in which the heat generated by the arc is diffused very quickly in the gas in order to avoid hot spots, while retaining a small gas volume in order to enable high pressure to be created.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a compressed gas circuit breaker provided both with a blast device comprising a piston, a cylinder and a blast orifice for sending a jet of compressed gas to the zone where an electric arc forms when the arc contacts separate, and a volume containing a gas suitable for being heated by the action of the arc, said volume including an opening to enable the hot gas to escape, said blast orifice and said opening being annular and disposed side by side, characterized in that said blast orifice is disposed at one end of an annular volume delimited by a circularly symmetrical blast nozzle and a circularly symmetrical deflector, said volume being delimited by said deflector and a first arc contact, the opening of said volume being situated next to said blast orifice, the opening of said volume and the said blast orifice being closed by a second arc contact when the circuit breaker is closed, said opening and said orifice being opened in succession by relative displacement of the arc contacts.
Advantageously the first arc contact is a ring of fingers disposed around a ring in incomplete numbers in such a manner as to leave passages between certain fingers or groups of fingers, the second arc contact being tubular.
In a variant, the first arc contact is a ring of fingers mounted on a contact support provided with orifices, the second arc contact being tubular.
In another embodiment, said blast orifice is disposed at one end of an annular volume delimited by a circularly symmetrical first arc contact and a circularly symmetrical deflector, said volume being delimited by said deflector and a circularly symmetrical insulating nozzle, said opening of said volume and said orifice being situated side by side and being closed by a second circularly symmetrical arc contact when the circuit breaker is closed, and said opening and said orifice being opened in succession by relative displacement of the arc contacts.
The invention will be well understood from the following description of several embodiments of the invention, with reference to the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a partial half-section through a circuit breaker in accordance with a first embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 1A is a diagram showing the disposition of the moving arc contacts;
FIG. 2 is a partial half-section through a circuit breaker in accordance with a first variant embodiment;
FIG. 3 is a partial half-section through a circuit breaker in accordance with a second variant embodiment;
FIG. 4 is a partial half-section through a circuit breaker in accordance with a third variant embodiment; and
FIG. 5 is a partial half-section through a circuit breaker in accordance with a fourth variant embodiment.
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
REFERENCES:
patent: 4393291 (1983-07-01), Stewart et al.
Alsthom-Atlantique
Macon Robert S.
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