US2541792A - Circuit breaker - Google Patents

Circuit breaker Download PDF

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Publication number
US2541792A
US2541792A US642478A US64247846A US2541792A US 2541792 A US2541792 A US 2541792A US 642478 A US642478 A US 642478A US 64247846 A US64247846 A US 64247846A US 2541792 A US2541792 A US 2541792A
Authority
US
United States
Prior art keywords
circuit breaker
spark gap
contact
gas
chamber
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Lifetime
Application number
US642478A
Other languages
English (en)
Inventor
Thommen Hans
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
BBC Brown Boveri AG Germany
BBC Brown Boveri France SA
Original Assignee
BBC Brown Boveri France SA
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by BBC Brown Boveri France SA filed Critical BBC Brown Boveri France SA
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of US2541792A publication Critical patent/US2541792A/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01H—ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES
    • H01H33/00—High-tension or heavy-current switches with arc-extinguishing or arc-preventing means
    • H01H33/02—Details
    • H01H33/04—Means for extinguishing or preventing arc between current-carrying parts
    • H01H33/16—Impedances connected with contacts
    • H01H33/164—Impedances connected with contacts the impedance being inserted in the circuit by blowing the arc onto an auxiliary electrode

Definitions

  • Circuit breakers constructed in this manner possess a most desirable arc extinction characteristic and may have very high power ratings in comparison to their size.
  • resistance has been connected in parallel with the switch contacts. The method has been disclosed of connecting the resistance in circuit with a spark gap, the electrodes of the gap being located one behind the other in the blowing chamber which adjoins the switch contacts.
  • Such an arrangement makes it possible to combine one electrode of the gap with the hollow switch contact with the result that a spark gap can be placed so near to the switch contacts that it is located in the range of a most favorable blowing action by the gas as it emerges from the mouth of the hollow contact. Furthermore, the distance between the electrodes of the arc gap is small and consequently the ignition and extinction characteristics for the spark gap are satisfactory.
  • the spark gap in the compressed gas circuit breaker acts at the same time as an excess voltage leak, when for instance an inductive circuit is to be broken, where excess voltages can make their appearance.
  • the spark gap In order to be able to effect an extinction of the arc in the spark gap even during phase opposition, the spark gap must have a good insulation characteristic, this affecting its protective effect in ordinary circuit-breaking.
  • This invention relates to a compressed gas circuit breaker with at least one hollow switch contact and with spaced electrodes forming a spark gap located in the blowing chamber adjoining the contact.
  • This spark gap when bridged by an arc connects a protective resistance in parallel with the switch contacts, means being provided according to the invention by which the actuating or striking voltage of the spark gap is changed automatically during an opening op- 2 eration of the circuit breaker so that at the beginning of a circuit-breaking operation, the voltage required to bridge the arc gap is small but increases during the operation and is finally brought back to its original value upon completion of the operation.
  • Figs. 1 and 2 are vertical sections of two dilierent constructional examples of circuit breakers embodying the invention.
  • the circuit breaker shown includes a pair of tubular insulating casings I and 2 which are separated by, and joined to, a hollow contact element 3.
  • the hollow contact element of the circuit breaker consists of an assembly which includes a member 4, a pair of telescoped conductive sleeves 5 and 6, an annular plate 8 secured to the bottom of sleeve 6 and a spring Ii] positioned between the underside of fixed member 4 and the upper side of plate 8. Telescoped sleeves 5 and 6 fit snugly for good electrical contact, and these sleeves are integral with or secured to the contact member 6 and contact plate 8. respectively.
  • the fixed contact member 4 contains a central opening II therethrough which is tapered outwardly from the bottom to the top in nozzle form.
  • the openings through sleeves 5 and E, the opening II through contact member 4 and the opening I2 through plate 8 are all aligned so as to permit gas flow therethrough when the contacts of the circuit breaker separate.
  • casing I constitutes a blowing chamber Ia for the circuit breaker, part of this chamber also serving as a spark gap X defined by a pair of electrodes I3 and I4.
  • Electrode I3 is annular in form and is constituted by the mouth piece of an electrically conductive sleeve I5 which includes an upper cylindrical portion I6 and a lower tapered portion H.
  • a muiller I8 is disposed within the top of the cylindrical portion I6.
  • the outer diameter of the cylindrical portion I6 of sleeve I5 is substantially the same as the interior diameter of easing I and the sleeve I5 is joined to casing I at the junction line between the upper and lower sleeve portions I6, II.
  • Gas pressure in the space between the inside wall surface of casing I and the outside wall of the tapered portion ll of the sleeve I5 increases under the action of the gas blast and serves a function which will be explained in detail hereinafter.
  • Electrode I4 is a pin that is mounted for movement along the vertical axis of the circuit breaker.
  • Pin I4 is slidable within a guide I9 of conductive material, the outside surface of pin [4 being in good electrical contact with the inside surface of guide l9.
  • Pin I4 moves downwardly against the action of a spring 20, which is carried within guide l9, as gas pressure in the blowing chamber la increases.
  • the lower portion of guide [9 terminates in an L-shaped tube 2
  • a resistance 22 is connected to a terminal 23 on sleeve l and hence is in good electrical contact with electrode is since sleeve I5 is made of electrically conductive material.
  • the other end of resistance 22 is connected via terminal 25, a conductive casing 25 and conductive bracket 26 to a fixed contact 21 of the circuit breaker which normally is engaged with the spring loaded contact plate 8.
  • the spark gap X acts as a leak inside of the circuit breaker.
  • the circuit breaker contacts 8 and 2'! will close, and electrode pin it will be moved back to its original position by the restoring force of compressed spring 20 as the gas pressure in chamber la decreases.
  • the actuating or striking voltage of the spark gap X is accordingly adjusted by changing the distance between the two electrodes i3 and i l as a function of the accumulated gas pressure in the blowing chamber ia so that such voltage will be comparatively small at the beginning of an opening operation of the circuit breaker, the voltage increasing however, during circuit breaker operation and finally at the end of the operation of the circuit breaker being brought back to its original value. In this way, a certain protective action of the spark gap is assured for circuit-breaking and as an excess voltage leak.
  • containing a small opening 32 is placed transversely within the sleeve IS.
  • a throttle valve head 33 is normally held away from opening 32 by a spring 34 but during an opening operation of the circuit breaker, the initial increase of gas pressure in chamber Ia causes valve head 33 to move upwardly and increase the resistance to fiow of pressure gas through the opening 32, thus further increasing the gas pressure in chamber la and likewise simultaneously increasing the striking voltage of the spark gap X.
  • the invention can be used in compressed gas circuit breakers provided with multiple or compound circuit-breaking, in which a plurality of sets of switch contacts are aligned one above the other to form a series of separate arcs as the circuit is broken.
  • the resistance element paralleled with the contacts of the circuit breaker could be placed concentric with the blowing chamber instead of as a separate structural part beside the blowing chamber.
  • a semi-conducting coating could moveover be employed as a resistance, or the blowing chamber wall itself could consist of semi-conducting resistance material.
  • a pair of switch contact elements one of which is hollow, an arc blowingchamber adjoining said hollow contact, means supporting said contact elements for movement relative to each other under action of pressure gas to break connecticn therebetween, first, and second spaced elec trodes disposed in said chamber to define a spark gap, said first electrode being carried by said hollow contact and located in the path of the stream of pressure gas flowing therethrough, said second electrode being an annulus formed by the smaller end of a tapered sleeve set into and in contact with the wall of said chamber to form a pressure accumulating space between the exterior wall surface of tapered sleeve and the interior wall surface of said chamber, a resistance connected in parallel with said switch contact elements through said are gap, and means acting in response to a change in pressure of the gas in said chamber producing a corresponding change in the striking voltage of :said spark gap.
  • the following references are of record in the eration and decreasing to said value upon comfile of this patent, pletion of the opening operation.

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  • Circuit Breakers (AREA)
US642478A 1945-01-27 1946-01-21 Circuit breaker Expired - Lifetime US2541792A (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
CH607037X 1945-01-27

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
US2541792A true US2541792A (en) 1951-02-13

Family

ID=4523143

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
US642478A Expired - Lifetime US2541792A (en) 1945-01-27 1946-01-21 Circuit breaker

Country Status (6)

Country Link
US (1) US2541792A (de)
BE (1) BE462653A (de)
CH (1) CH243918A (de)
DE (1) DE834710C (de)
FR (1) FR920611A (de)
GB (1) GB607037A (de)

Families Citing this family (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE955618C (de) * 1952-03-14 1957-01-03 Licentia Gmbh Druckgaschalter, insbesondere zum Abschalten hoher Spannungen
DE1118899B (de) * 1960-09-12

Citations (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE597533C (de) * 1931-07-12 1934-05-26 Aeg Einrichtung zur Umformung hoher Spannungen mittels einer druckgasbeblasenen Funkenstrecke
DE633945C (de) * 1933-07-28 1936-08-13 Voigt & Haeffner Akt Ges Druckgasschalter
GB538672A (en) * 1939-03-30 1941-08-12 Asea Ab Compressed air circuit breaker having a resistance bridging the contacts
US2290004A (en) * 1936-07-30 1942-07-14 Bbc Brown Boveri & Cie Electric circuit breaker
US2367934A (en) * 1942-07-30 1945-01-23 Vickers Electrical Co Ltd Fluid blast circuit breaker
US2391826A (en) * 1942-07-30 1945-12-25 Vickers Electrical Co Ltd Fluid blast circuit breaker

Patent Citations (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE597533C (de) * 1931-07-12 1934-05-26 Aeg Einrichtung zur Umformung hoher Spannungen mittels einer druckgasbeblasenen Funkenstrecke
DE633945C (de) * 1933-07-28 1936-08-13 Voigt & Haeffner Akt Ges Druckgasschalter
US2290004A (en) * 1936-07-30 1942-07-14 Bbc Brown Boveri & Cie Electric circuit breaker
GB538672A (en) * 1939-03-30 1941-08-12 Asea Ab Compressed air circuit breaker having a resistance bridging the contacts
US2367934A (en) * 1942-07-30 1945-01-23 Vickers Electrical Co Ltd Fluid blast circuit breaker
US2391826A (en) * 1942-07-30 1945-12-25 Vickers Electrical Co Ltd Fluid blast circuit breaker

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
GB607037A (en) 1948-08-25
BE462653A (de)
CH243918A (de) 1946-08-15
DE834710C (de) 1952-03-24
FR920611A (fr) 1947-04-14

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