Electricity: circuit makers and breakers – Electric switch details – Contact
Patent
1991-12-16
1993-07-20
Recla, Henry J.
Electricity: circuit makers and breakers
Electric switch details
Contact
200537, 200538, 200540, 439842, 439851, H01H 106, H01H 1500
Patent
active
052285600
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates to an electrical contact unit, particularily an electrical switch or circuit breaker, comprising a first and a second connector which are provided to be brought towards and from each other in order to close or to break a circuit, one of said first and second connectors comprising a base portion and a plurality of contact members which are in electrical contact with the base portion, said contact members being provided to be brought to electrical and mechanical contact with the other connector when closing the circuit. The unit is useful as a closing as well as a disconnecting unit, as a contact unit in tube conductors, and for connecting various electrical units, just to mention a few of many conceivable applications of the invention.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Generally, movements which generate small abraded metal particles occur between the surfaces of contact in electrical contact units. These movements may have various causes. For example, in closed units very slow movements may occur because of thermal conditions, but also fast vibration movements may occur. Further, a sliding movement normally takes place between the surfaces of contact during the closing and breaking of conventionally designed contact units. Undependent of the cause and nature of the movements, the movements always will lead to wear of the contact units in the points of contact. This is a problem, and this particularily concerns such switches or corresponding devices where the surfaces of contact have been specially prepared in order to give good contact. Thus it is common practice to silver-plate the contact surfaces of the contact units in heavy power breakers. However, because of the relative movements between the connectors of the breaker, the silver-plating is damaged, and there is also a risk for spark formation because of the said generation of particles, so that the operation of the switch or breaker successively is impared, at the same time as the said generation of particles may give rise to disastrous sparkovers.
BRIEF DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a contact unit in which relative movements between the contact surfaces do not occur when the unit is closed. It is another object to provide the smallest possible relative movement between the contact surfaces during the closing and breaking of the contact. In other words, it is an object to provide a static point of contact where the current shall be transferred. The invention has been designed in the first place for heavy power breakers, but the principles of the invention are not restricted to this field but can be applied also for smaller currents and voltages as well as within the field of micro-electronics.
These and other objects can be achieved wherein one of said first and second connectors comprises a base portion and at least one contact member in electrical contact with the base portion, that said contact members consist of rocker-arms which at least partly consist of electrically conducting material and exhibit a first contact surface, that the rocker-arms also exhibit a trigger portion with a push surface which is not said first contact surface, that said other connector is provided to be pressed against the trigger portion of the rocker-arms through a relative movement between the connectors so that the rocker-arms will turn over from a rest position, where there is no contact between said first and second contact surfaces, to an operation position in which said first and second contact surfaces fixedly contact each other without any possibility to move relative to each other, while that system which consists of the other connector and said rocker-arms in contact with said other connector on the other hand may move in all directions relative to the base portion of the first connector which is in contact with the rocker-arms via flexible, electrically conducting connections between the rocker-arms and the base portion.
Preferably, the first connector is a female conn
REFERENCES:
patent: 4655526 (1987-04-01), Shaffer
patent: 4662706 (1987-05-01), Foley
patent: 4714441 (1987-12-01), Colman
patent: 5135417 (1992-08-01), Stanevich
Recla Henry J.
Walczak David J.
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