Abstract: A high voltage section switch of the type includes a female current terminal situated at one end of a first vertical insulating column, a control blade which is hinged at one end of a second vertical insulating column and which carries at its first end a male contact intended to co-operate with the female contact, movement of the blade being provided by a mechanism connected to a rocking insulating column. The hinge between the blade and the second column is provided by means of two levers of different lengths.

Abstract: A perpendicularly-opening grounding section switch comprising a female contact and a male contact disposed at the end of the drive rod includes two parallel metal horns disposed in such a manner as to clamp against the end of the arm in the vicinity of the male contact when the section switch is in the closed position, and a flexible metal rod or whip which is constrained to slide along a fixed point of a guide piece while the arm is performing an opening operation, the respective lengths of the horns and of the whip being selected so that current is switched first to the horns and then to the whip during an opening operation.

Abstract: A whip usable in a high tension section switch, in particular a vertically-opening switch, the whip comprising a flexible metal rod whose section is a truncated circle whose area diminishes progressively from the base of the whip to its tip.

Abstract: An outdoor grounding section switch has a female contact and a male contact at the end of a grounding blade that can be driven. The female contact is constituted by at least one hollow tubular thimble (11, 15), housed inside a vertical tubular insulator (3) that is closed at its top end and open at a bottom end. The male contact (25) is a vertical cylinder penetrating into the insulator (3) and the thimble during closing. The open end of the insulator (3) is equipped with a metal part (14), the inside of which is provided with a plurality of radially-directed lugs (14A), facing the periphery of the male contact vertical cylinder and stopping short of the vertical cylinder to break ice accumulating off the end of the male contact during section switch closure.

Abstract: A section switch of the type has a blade connected at a first end to a first connector. The blade is enabled during an opening stage, firstly to rotate about its own axis and secondly to pivot about a transverse axis. The blade includes at a second end, a contact hammer for co-operating with jaws connected to a second connector. The section switch also includes a mechanism such that during an opening operation, once the blade has rotated about its own axis with disconnection of the hammer electrically from the jaws, electricity is initially diverted through and is subsequently switched by an interrupter switch. The interrupter switch opens under the control of a sudden break drive mechanism controlled by the displacement of the blade. The section switch includes two horns between which a sacrificial hammer moves with friction.

Abstract: A section switch has a pivoting blade connected to a first connector. The blade is provided with a contact hammer for engaging contact jaws connected to a second connector. The section switch includes a first contact finger fixed to a first spring and electrically connected to the second connector. A second contact finger is fixed to a second spring. The fingers come successively into contact during an opening operation of the section switch with an arcing horn that extends the hammer. The second finger and second spring are disposed so that the opening movement of the section switch causes ever-increasing amounts of energy to be stored in the second spring to cause the finger to rapidly escape from the arcing horn after a given opening stroke. The hammer is rotated about its axis to reduce contact force between the hammer and the jaws during opening of the section switch.

Abstract: A high-voltage circuit-breaker comprises a first insulative support column carrying a first current terminal and a pivoting cut-off arm provided with a first contact. An insulative column rotates to maneuver the cut-off arm. A second insulative support column carries a second current terminal and a jaw-type second contact cooperating with the first contact when the circuit-breaker is closed. The pivoting arm rotates about its axis through 90.degree. at the start of an opening maneuver or at the end of a closing maneuver to close the jaw on opening the circuit-breaker and to open the jaw on closing the circuit-breaker. The cut-off arm is extended by a cylindrical assembly containing a resistance and comprising a metal exterior tubular portion connected electrically to the resistance.

Abstract: The present invention provides a mechanism for converting rotary motion into translation motion, the mechanism comprising a first member which is rotated and which is constituted by a cylinder having a helical spring threaded thereover and fixed thereto at at least one point, and a second member for being driven in translation by the first member and including slots for co-operating with the thread constituted by the spring. This transmission system is intended, in particular, for use in relatively rudimentary mechanisms of the type used in agricultural machinery.