Abstract: A shield is provided for a circuit breaker including a printed circuit board (PCB). The PCB is a generally planar member with a plurality of electrical components each having a corresponding shape. The shield includes at least one resilient sheet member at least partially covering the generally planar member and at least one of the electrical components coupled thereto. The resilient sheet member generally conforms to the corresponding shape of the at least one of the electrical components in order to shield and protect it from debris and to resist accumulation of gas-carried carbon. The resilient sheet member is made from a material, such as silicon rubber, which is flexible and elastic within a temperature range of about ?70 to about 450 degrees Fahrenheit, and it is flame-resistant, tear and abrasion-resistant, impervious to moisture and chemicals, fungus-resistant, and resistant to outgassing.

Abstract: An electrical switching apparatus includes a housing, separable contacts within said housing, an operating mechanism structured to open and close said separable contacts, and a trip assembly cooperating with said operating mechanism to trip open said separable contacts in response to a trip signal. The trip assembly includes a sensor structured to sense current flowing through said separable contacts, a number of breakpoint trip mechanisms providing a number of breakpoint trips in response to a number of time-current functions of said sensed current over a number of ranges of predetermined values of said sensed current, and a mechanism structured to provide said trip signal responsive to said number of breakpoint trips. A method of operating the electrical switching apparatus and a power distribution system incorporating the electrical switching apparatus are also provided.

Abstract: A system for monitoring a circuit breaker that includes a monitoring device in electronic communication with the circuit breaker and a receiving device located separately from the monitoring device. The monitoring device receives data from the circuit breaker and wirelessly transmits at least a portion of the data such as one or more phase currents measured from a network which the circuit breaker protects, an ambient temperature within the circuit breaker, and/or data relating to a trip condition of the circuit breaker. The receiving device receives the transmitted data and displays all or a portion thereof. The monitoring device also includes a display that displays all or a portion of the data.

Abstract: A rotating display device displays a value in a variable viewing orientation. The value is received from an electrical apparatus, such as a circuit breaker, having a first port. The rotating display device includes a housing having a first side and a second side, a display disposed on the first side of the housing, a rotating assembly disposed on the second side, and a second port for receiving the value from the first port of the electrical apparatus. The second port communicates with the display and is coupled to the rotating assembly in order to permit the display to rotate. The rotating assembly permits the rotating display device to rotate in the plane of the surface of the circuit breaker on which it is mounted, thereby permitting the display to be quickly and accurately viewed and interpreted regardless of the orientation of the surface to which it is coupled.

Abstract: A trip unit for a circuit breaker for an electrical circuit includes a current transformer adapted to sense a current flowing in the electrical circuit and to provide a signal representative of the current. A microprocessor includes a memory, a rotary selector switch, and a routine evaluating the sensed current with respect to a plurality of predetermined current/time conditions, such as long delay protection, override protection, short delay protection and/or ground fault protection, and responsively generating a trip signal. The rotary selector switch has a plurality of positions. Each of the positions selects a first time value, such as a short delay time for a first one of the predetermined current/time conditions, and selects a second time value, such as a ground fault time, for a different second one of the predetermined current/time conditions.

Abstract: A trip unit includes a housing, a rotary plunger mounted in the housing and a pivotal trip bar also mounted therein. The trip bar latches the plunger in an on position, releases the plunger to a tripped position and re-latches the plunger. A set of springs biases the plunger to the tripped position. A rotary trip lever is pivotally mounted in the housing. A trip solenoid includes a linear plunger, which resets the solenoid when retracted, and which engages and rotates the trip lever when extended, in order to rotate the trip bar and release the rotary plunger. The rotary plunger engages the rotary trip lever when reset and rotates the same in an opposite direction, in order to retract the linear plunger and reset the solenoid. During that reset operation, the rotary plunger also cams the trip bar, in order to re-latch the rotary plunger in the on position.