Fusible Material Combined With Gap Patents (Class 337/17)
  • Patent number: 7742269
    Abstract: The circuit breaker according to the present invention has first and second terminals having favorable electric conductivity and joined to each other with solder; and a heater whose circumference is insulated installed for melting the solder and supplied with electric power from the current path separate from current paths passing through the first and second terminals; wherein the first and second terminals are separated by a spring force and insulated when the solder is melted.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 6, 2007
    Date of Patent: June 22, 2010
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventor: Toshiaki Shinohara
  • Patent number: 6204746
    Abstract: A thermal overload mechanism for providing protection to tip and ring conductors in a telecommunications system in the event of a power cross occurrence of telephone lines with power lines. The thermal overload mechanism includes a clip having front and rear spring members dimensioned for seating about a spacer element. The spacer element includes one or more recesses defined therein for accommodating securement of solid state devices. The recesses formed in the spacer elements contain a breachable membrane or wall which is breakable in the event the membrane temperature exceeds a predetermined temperature such as a temperature occurring in the event of a power cross situation. A contact configured for seating within the recess between the membrane and solid state device is provided for maintaining electrical contact with the tip and ring wires.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 13, 1999
    Date of Patent: March 20, 2001
    Assignee: Avaya Inc.
    Inventors: Adam Stuart Kane, Walter Pelosi
  • Patent number: 6031722
    Abstract: An earth cooled distribution transformer system and a method of cooling same and distributing electrical power to a plurality of consumer loads (31) is described. A distribution transformer (10 is provided with the primary (16) and secondary (17) windings encapsulated in a solid insulating material. The steel magnetic core (13) remains exposed and the transformer is buried in ground at a predetermined depth with the core (13) exposed whereby heat generated by the windings is dissipated into the earth through the exposed magnetic core. The high voltage supply cable (20) may be a buried cable or is at least partly buried as well as the power distribution cable (21), which feeds power to one or more consumer loads. The power distribution transformer (10) may be buried adjacent a manhole enclosure (12) with the primary and secondary winding power cables being connected to terminals (22-25) accessible in the manhole.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 20, 1998
    Date of Patent: February 29, 2000
    Assignee: Centre d'innovation sur le transport d'energie du Quebec
    Inventors: Claude Paradis, Andre Dupont
  • Patent number: 5907270
    Abstract: A current-limiting switch, with current connections and contacts, at least one of which is movable, having an associated drive, for opening the moving contact when a predefined electric current intensity is exceeded, are provided. The drive is a thermoelectric drive where a disk-shaped resistor body is present, in a closed housing made of insulating material, for high-intensity discharges, plurality of resistor bodies and associated electrode disks, acting as contacts, are connected electrically in parallel and mechanically in series in the housing made of an insulating material (1). This results in increased switching capacity with compact design.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 20, 1997
    Date of Patent: May 25, 1999
    Assignee: Siemens Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: David Walter Branston, Wilfried Jaehner, Fritz Pohl
  • Patent number: 5706161
    Abstract: A protection device which includes an insulating tube closed at each end by a fuse cap. Electrically connected to one cap is a contact plug, and to the other cap a spring and a contact plunger. Sandwiched between the plug and the plunger is a combustible separator configured to disintegrate when the potential difference between the plug and the plunger exceeds a predetermined amount. This disintegration permits the spring to bias the plug and the plunger into electrical connection thus eliminating the potential difference. The protection member contains an accelerant to increase its rate of disintegration. The device is used to protect neon lighting systems from open circuits.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 31, 1996
    Date of Patent: January 6, 1998
    Inventor: Russell William Adam
  • Patent number: 4873604
    Abstract: A shunt device and a method are described for protecting electrical equipment when a fuse blows. The shunt device establishes a by-pass across the fuse for permitting a limited amount of current to begin to flow at a lower voltage than the fuse blowing voltage and before the fuse blows, thereby serving as a transitory relief valve for a portion of the current while minimizing or even substantially eliminating the inductive spike when the fuse blows. The shunt device is made of at least one pyrolyzed polyacrylonitrile (PPP) fiber having a selected switching voltage so that the PPP fiber switches to a low resistance state while the fuse is blowing. When the fuse and PPP characteristics are properly matched, the rate of change of the current with time is lowered, thus selectively decreasing the size of the voltage transients which occur after the fuse blows.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 1, 1985
    Date of Patent: October 10, 1989
    Assignee: Hoechst Celanese Corp.
    Inventors: Harris A. Goldberg, Clyde C. Williams
  • Patent number: 4587588
    Abstract: A power line transient surge suppressor circuit features a nonlinear surge-bypassing network connected to bypass line surges around electrical loads connected to circuit output terminals. A fuse is inserted in series with the network, and blows in the event of short-circuit failure of a regulator device in the network. A thermal cut-out preferably of the irreversibly actuated type is inserted in series with the suppressor circuit input. A current-limiting heater resistor connected in parallel with the fuse supplies heat to trip the cut-out after the fuse blows, thereby permanently terminating power output to the loads. A similar suppression network is provided for the earth lead in three-wire systems.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 2, 1984
    Date of Patent: May 6, 1986
    Assignee: Perma Power Electronics, Inc.
    Inventor: Richard Goldstein
  • Patent number: 4538202
    Abstract: A device for protecting the secondary winding of a current transformer against destructive or dangerous overvoltages when connected across the secondary, has a transparent tubular casing with a stud support and conductive stud within one end. The stud is threadably mounted in the stud support so it can be adjusted longitudinally and it has an arcing surface on its inner end. Within the other end a support member carries a longitudinally sliding conductive plunger. The plunger is biased inwardly towards the arcing surface of the stud but it is restrained from inward movement by a fusible element which engages it and restrains it. The fusible element forms another arcing surface spaced a predetermined distance from the arcing surface on the stud. One terminal is provided on the outer end of the conductive stud and another on the outer end of the support member connected to the plunger by a flexible braid. A small overvoltage of short duration causes an arc current to flow to limit the voltage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 23, 1984
    Date of Patent: August 27, 1985
    Assignee: Canadian General Electric Company Limited
    Inventor: Donald K. Ferguson
  • Patent number: 4451813
    Abstract: A vacuum fuse includes a pair of metallic spiral elements of different wrapping directions mounted on inner end portions of axially aligned conductor rods. The radial inner ends of spiral elements are electrically connected to respective conductor rods and the radial outer ends are electrically connected to outer metallic rings, respectively. Arcing electrode disks are mounted to opposite axial ends of the outer rings to define confronting spaced apart and parallel arcing surfaces. A fusible element is connected between the conductor rods. When the fusible element is broken by an excess current, an arc is produced between the arcing surfaces and a magnetic flux is induced by the current flowing through the spiral elements. The magnetic flux causes the arc to move so that each arcing electrode is prevented from being locally heated, thereby improving the current interrupting property of the fuse.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 22, 1983
    Date of Patent: May 29, 1984
    Assignee: Japan Radio Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Kengo Hirose, Norio Kudo