Patents Examined by Elvin Enad
  • Patent number: 7247808
    Abstract: The invention proposes an electrical service device, in particular line circuit breaker or motor circuit breaker, having a housing having connecting areas and connection means (2, 3) for the purpose of connecting busbars and/or connection lines on both end sides and, having at least one switching contact having a fixed and a movable contact piece (4, 6), an arc (13) being produced in an arc prechamber area (7) between said fixed and movable contact pieces (4, 6) in the event of a disconnection. The arc enters a current-limiting arc-quenching device (12), in particular an arc splitter stack, via arc guide rails (14, 16), at least one insulating plate (20, 25+26) being arranged at the edge of the arc-quenching device (12). The insulating plate (20, 25+26) is fixed to the end section of an arc guide rail (14) by means of a fixing clip (22).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 9, 2006
    Date of Patent: July 24, 2007
    Assignee: ABB Patent GmbH
    Inventors: Alexander Rab, Wolfgang Dorfeld, Ralf Weber
  • Patent number: 7248137
    Abstract: A magnet structure produces a field within a magnet gap. The field is provided at least in part by a pair of permanent magnets that are fixed in place by a frame. The frame fixes a magnet assembly that is adapted to hold the magnetic material composing the permanent magnets, such that the quantity of the magnetic material can be adjusted to suit the particular application. The magnetic material can be provided in the form of discrete magnetic elements, such as magnetic “bricks”. The frame also functions as the flux collector and return. Accordingly, the general geometry of the magnet structure is fixed, and the amount of magnetic material, and therefore the magnetic field strength, is adjustable.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 2005
    Date of Patent: July 24, 2007
    Assignee: Fonar Corporation
    Inventors: Gordon Danby, John Jackson, Raymond Damadian, William H. Wahl, Anthony Tenore
  • Patent number: 7244903
    Abstract: A main circuit switching unit and an isolator are accommodated in a vacuum container. A first conductor and a main circuit conductor are arranged to extend in and out of the vacuum container. A movable electrode of the main circuit switching unit is connected to the first conductor through a first flexible conductor, and a movable electrode of the isolator is connected to the main circuit conductor through a second flexible conductor. A shield is arranged around the first conductor and the main circuit conductor. Another shield is arranged around a connecting portion between the first flexible conductor and the movable electrode of the main circuit switching unit. A still another shield is arranged around the isolator. A further another shield is arranged around the second flexible conductor. These shields are secured to the vacuum container through insulating spacers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 15, 2005
    Date of Patent: July 17, 2007
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Tomoaki Utsumi, Kazuhiro Satou, Takashi Shirone, Kenji Tsuchiya, Masato Kobayashi
  • Patent number: 7241959
    Abstract: A mechanical power breaker for a vehicle has a casing, a power input, a master power output, and a breaker positioned in the casing and electrically connected between the power input and master power output. The breaker has a seat, a conductive connector, a moving element, and a first and second resilient supports. The conductive connector is held in seat by the first resilient support and formed by multiple conductive blocks stacked together. The conductive connector and first resilient support are electrically connected between the power input and the master power output. The hollow moving element is held in the seat by the second resilient supports to surround the conductive connector. If the casing is shaken, the moving element is moved to hit the conductive connector. The conductive connector is separated into the multiple conductive blocks to disconnect the electronic connection between the power input and master power output.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 31, 2006
    Date of Patent: July 10, 2007
    Inventor: Ling-Hsin Lin
  • Patent number: 7238898
    Abstract: A switch assembly for an electrical panel configured to receive electrical power from either a first power supply or a second power supply. The switch assembly includes a transfer switch operable to electrically connect the panel to receive electrical power from the second power supply when power is interrupted from first power supply. An indicator light at the panel illuminates so as indicate that electrical power from the first electrical power supply is restored while the transfer switch is positioned to receive electrical power from the second electrical power supply. A light switch is connected to selectively interrupt illumination of the indicator light. An interlock member interconnects the light switch and the transfer switch so that movement of the interlock member to connect the electrical panel to receive electrical power from the first power supply simultaneously moves the light switch so as to interrupt illumination of the indicator light.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 23, 2006
    Date of Patent: July 3, 2007
    Assignee: Reliance Controls Corporation
    Inventor: Neil A. Czarnecki
  • Patent number: 7238909
    Abstract: A circuit breaker includes line and load ends and separable contacts electrically disposed between the line and load ends. A movable arm carries a movable contact and includes an elongated body having a first general longitudinal axis and an offset disposed at one end. The offset displaces the movable contact relative to the first general longitudinal axis. A line conductor carries a fixed contact and is electrically connected between the line end and the movable contact. The line conductor includes a bend portion structured to increase a gap between the separable contacts in the open position. The bend portion forms an angle which is substantially greater than 90 degrees and less than 180 degrees between the fixed contact and the second general longitudinal axis, which is generally parallel to the first longitudinal axis in the closed position. An arc chute is disposed proximate the separable contacts.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 19, 2005
    Date of Patent: July 3, 2007
    Assignee: Eaton Corporation
    Inventor: William E. Beatty, Jr.
  • Patent number: 7238910
    Abstract: A crossbar assist mechanism is for a circuit breaker including a housing, a movable contact, a stationary contact, and an operating mechanism. The operating mechanism includes a crossbar, a carrier coupled to the crossbar, and a movable contact arm which is pivotably cooperable with the carrier. The movable contact is disposed on the movable contact arm. The crossbar moves the carrier and the movable contact arm, thereby moving the movable contact into and out of electrical contact with the stationary contact. The crossbar assist mechanism includes an electrically conductive member electrically interconnecting the carrier and the movable contact arm to a load terminal. A spring disposed between the crossbar and the electrically conductive member biases the crossbar from a first position corresponding to the movable contact and the stationary contact being separated, toward a second position corresponding to the movable contact being in electrical contact with the stationary contact.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 15, 2006
    Date of Patent: July 3, 2007
    Assignee: Eaton Corporation
    Inventors: Michael P. Puskar, Robert W. Mueller, William E. Beatty, Kenneth D. Kolberg
  • Patent number: 7238901
    Abstract: Disclosed is a tamper resistant PIN entry apparatus for input of a key and for encryption of a password in a cash transaction machine. The PIN entry apparatus supplies the electric power to a memory of an electric circuit section, in such a manner that a first rod and a second rod of a rear case connect contacts of a key scan board, wherein the first rod is protruded on the rear of a key module including a button provided substantially on the front of the key module and the second rod of the rear case is coupled with the rear of the key module. At this time, in case that the rear case is removed from the key module or damaged, thereby changing the location of any one of the first and the second rods at the contact, the electric circuit section detects the event and destroys the memory itself physically. Otherwise, the electric circuit section makes information stored in the memory physically or softwarely unreadable, thereby preventing the leakage of the information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 6, 2005
    Date of Patent: July 3, 2007
    Assignee: Nautilus Hyosung Inc.
    Inventors: Bo Soon Kim, Hyun Soo Jang, Seung Chan Lee
  • Patent number: 7235753
    Abstract: A light switch and wall plate combination for use within a building or residence. The light switch is a standard light switch, but is connected to a slide bar that is placed in between a wall surface and an extended wall plate. The wall plate has two holes, one of which through the light switch can be accessed. The slide bar can be accessed through the other hole on the wall plate. An individual can change the position of the light switch from “on” to “off,” or vice versa, either by directly accessing the light switch or indirectly by accessing the slide bar.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 25, 2005
    Date of Patent: June 26, 2007
    Inventor: Gerard Forest
  • Patent number: 7235755
    Abstract: An input device includes a casing having a retention groove, a flexible membrane disposed on the casing and having a plurality of keys, a connecting portion an outer flange extending outwardly from an outer surface of the connecting portion, an upper recess formed on an inner surface of the connecting portion, and a lower recess formed on the inner surface below the upper recess, and a fixing ring for disposing below the flexible membrane so as to be received in one of the upper and lower recesses. Disposing the fixing ring below the flexible membrane in the lower recess after insertion of the outer flange of the flexible membrane into the retention groove results in fixing of the outer flange of the flexible membrane within the retention groove.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 4, 2006
    Date of Patent: June 26, 2007
    Assignee: Benq Corporation
    Inventor: Cheng-Lin Wang
  • Patent number: 7236072
    Abstract: A passive magnetic latch is disclosed. The latch includes, according to various embodiments, a magnetically-actuated switch and a hard, non-linear biasing magnet. The switch may include components that, when polarized, cause the switch to transition from a first state to a second state. The biasing magnet is positioned proximate to the switch such that when the magnetization of the biasing magnet is changed by an external effect to thereby induce a modified magnetic field from the biasing magnet, the modified magnetic field polarizes the components of the switch such that the switch transitions from the first state to the second state and remains in the second state after the external effect is removed. A second external effect may be used to again change the magnetization of the biasing magnet such that the components of the switch depolarize and the switch transitions back the first state. As such, the magnetic latch may act like a remote ON/OFF switch.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 1, 2004
    Date of Patent: June 26, 2007
    Assignee: Teledyne Technologies Incorporated
    Inventor: Ilya L. Grigorov
  • Patent number: 7232966
    Abstract: A steering wheel horn contact unit has a metal contact sheet (40). The metal contact sheet (40) is embedded into a carrier part (52) of plastic and mounted therein and has at least one freely projecting horn contact tongue (46). Viewed in switching movement direction (X), the horn contact tongue (46) is surrounded by the carrier part (52).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 15, 2004
    Date of Patent: June 19, 2007
    Assignee: TRW Automotive Safety Systems GmbH
    Inventors: Jürgen Burgard, Jupp Fleckenstein, Michael Fuchs, Bernd Stransfeld
  • Patent number: 7232972
    Abstract: A line switch able to modulate light includes an upper cover, a lower cover and a rotary selector positioned between the upper and the lower cover. When the rotary selector is turned clockwise, the line switch can turn on and modulate light to be half bright, and when the rotary selector is further continuously turned clockwise, light can be modulated to be fully bright, but when the rotary selector is further turned clockwise again to return to the original position, the line switch will be under an OFF condition again. Thus the line switch has two stages of different lighting in addition to the function of turning on and off.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 10, 2006
    Date of Patent: June 19, 2007
    Assignee: Sun-Lite Sockets Industry Inc.
    Inventor: Wen-Ho Yang
  • Patent number: 7230191
    Abstract: In a hinge apparatus for rotatably connecting a first housing and a second housing of an electronic apparatus, the hinge apparatus includes a first rotating portion adapted to be connected to the first housing and a second rotating portion adapted to be connected to the second housing and rotatable with respect to the first rotating portion. The second rotating portion unrotatably holds a switch. A cam member is disposed to face the switch. The cam member is rotatable with respect to the second rotating portion and adapted to be engaged with the second housing in a rotating direction of the hinge apparatus. The switch includes a conductive first contact and a conductive second contact faced to the first contact and adapted to be connected to and disconnected from the first contact. The cam member has a cam portion for pressing the second contact following the rotation of the cam member to connect and disconnect the second contact to and from the first contact.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 10, 2004
    Date of Patent: June 12, 2007
    Assignee: Japan Aviation Electronics Industry, Limited
    Inventors: Kazuaki Ibaraki, Masao Higuchi
  • Patent number: 7227439
    Abstract: An electrical short stroke actuator, comprising an annular filed collar and a composite plunger for travelling therethrough. In its simplest form, the plunger comprises two permanent magnets with like poles facing, and which are housed within a thin walled tube, and separated by a central spacer. By judicious choice of the spacing of the magnets, and the length of the field coil, a substantially constant thrust profile is achieved over a pre-selected stroke of the field coil relative to the plunger. The thrust may be augmented by fabricating the means used for spacing the magnets wholly or in part from ferromagnetic material, and also adding collars, similarly fabricated, onto the outside face of each of the permanent magnets.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 3, 2001
    Date of Patent: June 5, 2007
    Inventor: Hugh Peter Granville Kelly
  • Patent number: 7227091
    Abstract: A control device (10) for an electrical switchgear with three switching positions including a closed position, an open position and an earthing position. The switchgear includes a main shaft (14) and a drive shaft (28). The control device includes a mode selector lever (30) designed to select one operating mode among a motor driven switching mode, a manual switching mode between the open position and the closed position of the electrical switchgear, and a manual switching mode between the open position and the earthing position of the electrical switchgear. The mode selector lever has an opening with a curved contour, and the control device includes a cam disk (50) with a cam (54) capable of moving inside the opening (40). The control device may be applied to an isolating switch.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 4, 2005
    Date of Patent: June 5, 2007
    Assignee: Areva T&D AG
    Inventors: Marius Gacond, Peter Von Allmen
  • Patent number: 7227435
    Abstract: Located within a GFCI is a movable contact bearing arm which cooperates with at least one fixed contact. When the movable arm is moved up to allow the at least one contact on the arm to close with at least one fixed contact, the GFCI is in a conducting state and current flows from a source of electricity through the closed contacts to a load and to the contacts of a receptacle. When the movable arm is moved down to open the contacts, the GFCI is in a non-conducting state and current cannot flow from the source of electricity to either the load or the receptacle contacts. In this invention, the up and down movement of the movable contact bearing arm is harnessed to move a blocking member located within the housing of the GFCI to a first position to block at least one opening of the receptacle as the movable arm is moved down or to a second position to allow the prongs of a plug to enter the openings of the receptacle as the movable arm is moved up.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 26, 2005
    Date of Patent: June 5, 2007
    Assignee: Leviton Manufacturing Co., Inc.
    Inventors: Frantz Germain, Stephen Stewart
  • Patent number: 7227436
    Abstract: A modular reed switch assembly and method for making the same are provided. A switch assembly (101) includes a reed switch (206, 106) that is enclosed between a primary reed switch cover (208) and a reed switch base (104) wherein the reed switch cover and reed switch base are recessed to accommodate the reed switch. A secondary reed switch cover (102) further covers the primary reed switch cover (208) and the secondary reed switch cover (102) connects with the reed switch base (104). A protrusion (106) provides access to the electrical contacts (302) of the reed switch (206, 106) through the primary reed switch cover (208) and secondary reed switch covers (102).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 5, 2004
    Date of Patent: June 5, 2007
    Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
    Inventors: George S. Wieger, Hugo N. Decampos, Edward J. Zielinski
  • Patent number: 7223932
    Abstract: Disclosed is a vacuum switchgear comprising an electro-conductive outer vacuum container, a plurality of inner container disposed in the outer vacuum container. The inner containers and the outer container are electrically isolated from each other. The outer container is made of stainless steel plate, for example. One of the inner vacuum containers accommodates a ground switch for keeping the circuit open while the switchgear is opened, having a movable electrode connected to an operating mechanism, and a fixed electrode connected to fixed electrode rod. Another inner vacuum container accommodates a function switch capable of having at least one of functions of a circuit breaker, a disconnector and a load switch. A plurality of electrode shields each surrounds the electrodes of the ground switch and of the function switch. The ground switch and the function switch are disposed in separate vacuum inner containers, respectively.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 20, 2006
    Date of Patent: May 29, 2007
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Masato Kobayashi, Kenji Tsuchiya, Satoru Kajiwara, Daisuke Sugai, Hironori Tonosaki
  • Patent number: 7221248
    Abstract: A solenoid having a housing and a coil disposed in the housing for generating a magnetic field when an electric current passes through the coil. A center pole is disposed within the coil, and the center pole is made of a ferromagnetic material. A rod assembly is movably disposed in the housing for movement between a rest position and an energized position. The rod assembly has a portion thereof disposed in the center pole, and includes a magnet having a polarity causing the magnet to be repelled from the center pole when an electric current passes through the coil. The magnet is encapsulated by an elastomeric material that contacts a stop surface when in the rest position to reduce noise resulting from shifting of the rod assembly from the energized position to the rest position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 22, 2004
    Date of Patent: May 22, 2007
    Assignee: Grand Haven Stamped Products
    Inventors: David M. Mitteer, Scott W. Piper