Abstract: The invention provides a tripping device for a circuit breaker having contacts arranged in a housing, said contacts being separable by actuation of a tripping shaft of a shutoff device. An exhaust duct assigned to said contacts is constructed in said housing. A lever rotatably arranged on said housing is interactively connected to said tripping shaft, and has a barrier surface associated with said exhaust duct which as the result of a pressure surge in said exhaust duct deflects said lever to actuate said tripping shaft.

Abstract: A switch device for switching an electrical connection between two connection parts is disclosed. Conventional switch devices comprise a contact lever having a switch contact, the flow of current taking place by way of the contact lever when the switch device is closed. To achieve a rapid switching process, a low mass inertia of the contact lever is required. However, this generally leads to a lower current capacity. By arranging the lever-side switch contact on a separate electrical connection device, it becomes possible to separate the function of current conduction from the function of contact guidance. Since the contact lever therefore no longer performs any current-conducting function, it may be optimized in mechanical respects exclusively.