Mechanical actuator with permanent magnet

Claim 1

AN ACTUATOR FOR MOVING A DEVICE SUCH AS A MOVABLE CONTACT ELEMENT OF A CIRCUIT INTERRUPTER, COMPRISING, A CLAPPER OF MAGNETIC MATERIAL ADAPTED TO MOVE IN A PREDETERMINED PATH AND HAVING MEANS FOR BEING CONNECTED TO MOVE THE DEVICE IN A CORRESPONDING PATH, A PERMANENT MAGNET, MAGNETIC MEANS CONNECTING SAID PERMANENT MAGNET IN MAGNETIC CIRCUIT WITH SAID CLAPPER TO ATTRACT SAID CLAPPER WITH A PREDETERMINED FORCE AT ONE END OF ITS PREDETERMINED PATH, SAID MAGNETIC MEANS INCLUDING A PORTION THAT HAS SUFFICIENT ELECTRICAL RESISTANCE AND LOW PERMEABILITY TO PROVIDE RAPID CHANGES IN THE FLUX DENSITY WHEN SAID PORTION IS EXCITED BY A CURRENT PULSE, THE REMAINDER OF SAID MAGNETIC MEANS IN SAID MAGNETIC CIRCUIT COMPRISING MATERIAL HAVING A LOWER ELECTRICAL RESISTANCE THAN SAID PORTION, MEANS POSITIONED BETWEEN SAID CLAPPER AND SAID PERMANENT MAGNET PROVIDING A FORCE LESS THAN SAID PREDETERMINED FORCE TENDING TO MOVE SAID CLAPPER TOWARD THE OTHER END OF ITS PATH, A CONDUCTOR POSITIONED ADJACENT SAID RESISTIVE PORTION AND BEING CONNECTED TO PROVIDE A MAGNETIC FORCE IN SAID PORTION TO OPPOSE THE MAGNETIC EFFECT OF SAID PERMANENT MAGNET WITH SUFFICIENT FORCE TO RELEASE SAID CLAPPER WHEN SAID CONDUCTOR IS PULSED WITH A PREDETERMINED MAGNITUDE OF CURRENT, AND SAID PORTION HAVING FIRST AND SECOND PARTS, ONE OF WHICH IS SATURABLE IN RESPONSE TO A CURRENT OF SAID PREDETERMINED MAGNITUDE IN SAID CONDUCTOR.