With Disabling Means (for Contact-actuator) Patents (Class 335/25)
  • Patent number: 8004376
    Abstract: A shunt separator is provided for an electrical switching apparatus including a housing, separable contacts enclosed within the housing, an operating assembly including a trip bar, and a trip assembly. The trip assembly cooperates with the trip bar to trip open the separable contacts in response to a fault condition. The trip assembly includes a number of shunts. The shunt separator includes a molded projection, which extends outwardly from the housing of the electrical switching apparatus. The molded projection at least partially surrounds a portion of the trip bar, thereby separating the number of shunts from the trip bar.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 12, 2008
    Date of Patent: August 23, 2011
    Assignee: Eaton Corporation
    Inventors: James Gerard Maloney, Luis Enrique Betances Sansur
  • Patent number: 7683745
    Abstract: A ground fault circuit interrupter device is described.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 28, 2006
    Date of Patent: March 23, 2010
    Assignee: Cooper Technologies Company
    Inventors: Erik J. Gouhl, Gregory G. Moreinis, Gunter A. Gallas
  • Patent number: 7400479
    Abstract: Resettable circuit interrupting devices, such as GFCI devices, that include a reset lock-out mechanism are provided. The reset lock-out mechanism prevents the resetting of electrical connections between input and output conductors if the circuit interrupting mechanism used to break the connection is non-operational or if an open neutral condition exists.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 8, 2007
    Date of Patent: July 15, 2008
    Assignee: Leviton Manufacturing Co., Inc.
    Inventor: Nicholas L. DiSalvo
  • Patent number: 7391289
    Abstract: Certain exemplary embodiments comprise a device comprising: a trip mechanism adapted to engage an operating mechanism of an alternating current circuit breaker, said trip mechanism comprising: a bi-metal element arranged lengthwise into a first end zone, a central zone, and a second end zone, a load bus coupled to said first zone, said second end zone adapted to engage an armature latch that is adapted to trip on operating mechanism of the circuit breaker; and an electromagnetic element coupled to the load bus.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 1, 2005
    Date of Patent: June 24, 2008
    Assignee: Siemens Energy & Automation, Inc.
    Inventors: Brian Timothy McCoy, Thomas William Holland
  • Patent number: 7113062
    Abstract: An on-board circuit breaker that includes a push-button that enables the circuit breaker to be reset by depressing it, a power supply terminal and distribution terminal, two breaking contacts, and a main bimetal strip. Thermal deformation of the main bimetal strip trips the circuit breaker. The circuit breaker further includes an actuator able to trip the circuit breaker and an electronic circuit monitoring the electric signal. The electric signal is monitored to trip the actuator when predefined particular situations are identified. The circuit breaker also includes a movable reset enable part equipped with a pin. When the circuit breaker is tripped, the reset enable part moves in such a way that resetting the circuit breaker is possible only by depressing the reset enable part before or when the push-button is depressed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 8, 2004
    Date of Patent: September 26, 2006
    Assignee: Crouzet Automatismes
    Inventors: Dominique Girot, Thierry Vinard, Dominique Meux, Herve Carton, Thomas Stemmelen
  • Patent number: 6670870
    Abstract: An electrical protective device that includes a reset mechanism uses a resistor body to act as a hold-off to a spring driven lockout for the reset mechanism. Upon the failure of an internal component of the protective device, the spring driven lockout mechanism is released by I2R thermal action which causes a resistor to burn in half, or in the alternative, to melt solder mounting the resistor, thereby eliminating the hold-off and locking out the reset mechanism.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 3, 2002
    Date of Patent: December 30, 2003
    Assignee: Pass & Seymour
    Inventor: Bruce F. Macbeth
  • Patent number: 4603313
    Abstract: A circuit breaker characterized by a pair of separable contacts, trip means operable automatically in response to overload current conditions to open the contacts which means include a rotatable trip bar biased in an untripped position, and interlock means including a manually operable button for rotating the trip bar to a tripped position when the button is pushed and for rotating a cam into tripped and untripped positions when the button is rotated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 30, 1985
    Date of Patent: July 29, 1986
    Assignee: Westinghouse Electric Corp.
    Inventors: Alan B. Shimp, William E. Beatty, Jr.
  • Patent number: 4090158
    Abstract: A circuit breaker comprising stationary contact means connected to power source terminal means, load terminal means, a movable lever swingably supported at a portion thereof and having, at one free end thereof, movable contact means connected to the load terminal means and normally brought into contact with the stationary contact means, current sensing means for producing a first signal when detecting an overload current and a second signal when detecting a short-circuit current, overload current responsive means for separating the movable contact means of the movable lever from the stationary contact means in response to the first signal, short-circuit current responsive means for actuating the overload current responsive means in response to the second signal, means for effecting a short-circuit indication in response to actuation of the short-circuit current responsive means, and means for holding the actuation of the short-circuit current responsive means in response to actuation of the short-circuit curr
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 3, 1976
    Date of Patent: May 16, 1978
    Inventor: Komao Oeda
  • Patent number: 3973230
    Abstract: An auxiliary switch is incorporated in an accessorial molded circuit breaker case juxtaposed with one or more molded case circuit breakers and operatively interconnected therewith by an internal common trip bar and an external handle tie. The auxiliary switch arm is variously positioned by the common trip bar in relation to a contact variously positioned by the accessorial case handle so as to selectively control an external operating or indicating circuit depending on the relative positions of the trip bar and accessorial case handle. The auxiliary switch may be utilized in a shunt trip solenoid energizing circuit or in a trip alarm circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 25, 1974
    Date of Patent: August 3, 1976
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Ronald David Ciarcia, James Edward McGann, Jr.