Breather for operating mechanism housing for high voltage switches and the like

Claim 2

A breather for a mechanism comprising a housing having a bottom wall for mounting on said mechanism and provided with a breather opening for placing the interior of said housing in communication with the interior of said mechanism, a vent in a side wall of said housing placing the interior thereof in communication with the atmosphere, and a labyrinth within said housing interconnecting said breather opening and said vent.

Claim 3

The breather according to claim 1 wherein said labyrinth is formed by flange means extending from said bottom wall to an overlying cover forming a part of said housing.

Claim 4

The breather according to claim 2 wherein said bottom wall on the side opposite said labyrinth has a gasket containing groove, and a gasket is interposed between said labyrinth and said cover.

Claim 5

The breather according to claim 1 wherein said vent comprises a tubular fitting secured at one end to said side wall, provided with a screen across the opening therethrough and having a bulbous rim at the other end whereby rain water flowing over the same tends to flow away from said screen.

Claim 6

The breather according to claim 4 wherein said bulbous rim has an annular surface extending from an internal cylindrical surface adjacent said screen to an annular surface in a plane substantially normal to the longitudinal axis of said fitting with an intermediate convex surface.

Claim 7

A breather for a mechanism comprising a housing having a bottom wall for mounting on said mechanism and provided with a breather opening for placing the interior of said housing in communication with the interior of said mechanism, a vent in a side wall of said housing placing the interior thereof in communication with the atmosphere, and a labyrinth within said housing interconnecting said breather opening and said vent, said labyrinth being formed by a flange extending at one end partially around said breather opening and around itself a plurality of times thereby defining a circuitous passageway opening at the other end into said housing.

Claim 8

A breather for a mechanism comprising a housing having a bottom wall for mounting on said mechanism and provided with a breather opening for placing the interior of said housing in communication with the interior of said mechanism, a vent in a side wall of said housing placing the interior thereof in communication with the atmosphere, and a labyrinth within said housing interconnecting said breather opening and said vent, said labyrinth being formed by a flange extending at one end partially around said breather opening and around itself a plurality of times thereby defining a circuitous passageway opening at the other end into said housing.

Claim 9

The breather according to claim 6 wherein said flange is formed integrally with said bottom wall and extends to an overlying cover forming a part of said housing.

Claim 10

The breather according to claim 6 wherein said side wall of said housing has a generally rectangular configuration and a vEnt is provided in each side.

Claim 11

The breather for a mechanism comprising a housing having a bottom wall for mounting on said mechanism and provided with a breather opening for placing the interior of said housing in communication with the interior of said mechanism, a vent in a side wall of said housing placing the interior thereof in communication with the atmosphere, and a labyrinth within said housing interconnecting said breather opening and said vent, said labyrinth being formed by an inner wall spaced inwardly from said side wall, extending around said breather opening at its upper end and having a discharge opening at its lower end, and a plurality of interleaved flanges extending inwardly and downwardly from the inner opposite sides of said inner wall with a distal ends spaced therefrom thereby defining a zigzag passageway between said breather opening and said discharge opening.

Claim 12

The breather for a mechanism comprising a housing having a bottom wall for mounting on said mechanism and provided with a breather opening for placing the interior of said housing in communication with the interior of said mechanism, a vent in a side wall of said housing placing the interior thereof in communication with the atmosphere, and a labyrinth within said housing interconnecting said breather opening and said vent, said labyrinth being formed by an inner wall spaced inwardly from said side wall, extending around said breather opening at its upper end and having a discharge opening at its lower end, and a plurality of interleaved flanges extending inwardly and downwardly from the inner opposite sides of said inner wall with a distal ends spaced therefrom thereby defining a zigzag passageway between said breather opening and said discharge opening.

Claim 13

The breather according to claim 9 wherein said side wall of said housing has a generally rectangular configuration and said vent is located in the lowermost side.

Claim 14

The breather for a mechanism comprising a housing having a bottom wall for mounting on said mechanism and provided with a breather opening for placing the interior of said housing in communication with the interior of said mechanism, a vent in a side wall of said housing placing the interior thereof in communication with the atmosphere, and a labyrinth within said housing interconnecting said breather opening and said vent, said labyrinth being formed by a series of angularly related spaced pairs of flanges of increasing length from a first pair partially surrounding said breather opening to a final pair spaced from said side wall, alternate pairs of flanges being at least partially spaced apart at their intersections and at their ends from said side wall of said housing thereby defining a pair of zigzag passageways between said breather opening and said vent, said passageways being joined at the openings between the juxtaposed ends of said flanges.

Claim 15

The breather for a mechanism comprising a housing having a bottom wall for mounting on said mechanism and provided with a breather opening for placing the interior of said housing in communication with the interior of said mechanism, a vent in a side wall of said housing placing the interior thereof in communication with the atmosphere, and a labyrinth within said housing interconnecting said breather opening and said vent, said labyrinth being formed by a series of angularly related spaced pairs of flanges of increasing length from a first pair partially surrounding said breather opening to a final pair spaced from said side wall, alternate pairs of flanges being at least partially spaced apart at their intersections and at their ends from said side wall of said housing thereby defining a pair of zigzag passageways between said breather opening and said vent, said passageways being joined at the openings between the juxtaposed ends of said flanges.

Claim 16

The breather according to claim 11 wherein an inner wall spaced inwardly from said side wall extends from one flange of an intermediate pair of flanges and overlies the ends of the succeeding corresponding flanges of said pairs of flanges.

Claim 17

The breather according to claim 11 wherein said side wall of said housing has a generally rectangular configuration and said vent is located in the lowermost side.