US3781606A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Circuit breaker and method
Assignee: Raytheon Co
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Filing: 1972-12-11
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Granted: 1973-12-25
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Expires: 1992-12-11
Abstract
Abstract Direct current is interrupted against a high voltage by opening an in-line switch and switching the current into an impedanceincreasing section of the circuit breaker. The impedanceincreasing section comprises an electronic switching device such as a crossed-field tube serially connected with at least two impedance-increasing resistors. There is a gap in parallel to each of these resistors, except one. As voltage builds up across an impedance-increasing resistor so that the total voltage drop will exceed the desired maximum, the gap breaks down to reduce voltage drop.
Inventors
- 👤 W Long
- 👤 K Lian
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-25 18:27
CPC Classifications
H; H01; H01H; H01H33/00; H01H33/02; H01H33/59; H01H33/596
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 12
Claim 1
Independent Claim
174 words
A circuit breaker for a circuit comprising: an interrupter section, said interrupter section being capable of continuously carrying tHe normal circuit current, and interrupting circuit current; an impedance-increasing section connected in parallel to said interrupter section so that, when said interrupter section interrupts current therethrough, the current is transferred to said impedance-increasing section; said impedance-increasing section comprising a switch capable of offswitching current passing therethrough, first, second and third resistors serially connected with said electronic switch, a first spark gap connected in parallel to said second resistor and a second spark gap connected in parallel to said third resistor, said first and second spark gaps having different breakdown voltage so that, when current flow through said second resistor produces a voltage drop in excess of the first spark gap breakdown voltage, said first spark gap breaks down and bypasses said second resistor and when current flow through said third resistor produces a voltage drop in excess of the second spark gap breakdown voltage, said second spark gap breaks down and bypasses said third resistor.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
174 words
A circuit breaker for a circuit comprising: an interrupter section, said interrupter section being capable of continuously carrying tHe normal circuit current, and interrupting circuit current; an impedance-increasing section connected in parallel to said interrupter section so that, when said interrupter section interrupts current therethrough, the current is transferred to said impedance-increasing section; said impedance-increasing section comprising a switch capable of offswitching current passing therethrough, first, second and third resistors serially connected with said electronic switch, a first spark gap connected in parallel to said second resistor and a second spark gap connected in parallel to said third resistor, said first and second spark gaps having different breakdown voltage so that, when current flow through said second resistor produces a voltage drop in excess of the first spark gap breakdown voltage, said first spark gap breaks down and bypasses said second resistor and when current flow through said third resistor produces a voltage drop in excess of the second spark gap breakdown voltage, said second spark gap breaks down and bypasses said third resistor.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
36 words
The circuit breaker according to claim 1 wherein said interruptor section comprises an in-line switch and a crossed-field switch in parallel to said in-line switch, and said switch in said impedance-increasing section comprises a crossed-field switch.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
59 words
The circuit breaker of claim 1 wherein said impedance-increasing section further includes a first capacitor in parallel to said first resistor a second capacitor in parallel to said second resistor and a third capacitor in parallel to said third resistor, said first, second and third capacitors respectively limiting rate of voltage rise across said first, second and third resistors.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
36 words
The circuit breaker according to claim 3 wherein said interruptor section comprises an in-line switch and a crossed-field switch in parallel to said in-line switch, and said switch in said impedance-increasing section comprises a crossed-field switch.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
28 words
The circuit breaker of claim 1 wherein said second and third resistors have different values so that said first and second spark gaps break down at different current.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
12 words
The circuit breaker of claim 5 wherein said resistors are nonlinear resistors.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
61 words
The circuit breaker of claim 5 wherein said circuit breaker further comprises first and second buses, each of said buses being connected to both said interruptor section and said impedance-increasing sections, one of said buses being connected to a load and the other of said buses being connected to a power supply, said power supply also being connected to said load.
Claim 9
Independent Claim
203 words
The method of off-switching a DC circuit including a power supply and a load, with a circuit breaker connected to interrupt current flow from said power supply, said circuit breaker comprising an interruptor section and impedance-increasing section, said impedance-increasing section comprising an electronic switch and first and second serially connected resistors with a spark gap connected in parallel to said second resistor, comprising the steps of: opening the interruptor section to transfer current from the power supply to the impedance-increasing section with the current through the impedance-increasing section increasing so that the voltage drop across the second resistor exceeds the breakdown voltage of the spark gap so that the spark gap breaks down and short circuits the second resistor; reducing the current flow through the impedance-increasing section by developing a larger voltage drop across the first resistor than the power supply voltage to a current value less than the value of current through the second resistor which breaks down the spark gap; offswitching the electronic switch to permit the spark gap to cease arcing; and turning on the electronic switch to connect both the first and second resistors in series with the power supply to result in increased impedance and reduced current flow.
Claim 10
Independent Claim
203 words
The method of off-switching a DC circuit including a power supply and a load, with a circuit breaker connected to interrupt current flow from said power supply, said circuit breaker comprising an interruptor section and impedance-increasing section, said impedance-increasing section comprising an electronic switch and first and second serially connected resistors with a spark gap connected in parallel to said second resistor, comprising the steps of: opening the interruptor section to transfer current from the power supply to the impedance-increasing section with the current through the impedance-increasing section increasing so that the voltage drop across the second resistor exceeds the breakdown voltage of the spark gap so that the spark gap breaks down and short circuits the second resistor; reducing the current flow through the impedance-increasing section by developing a larger voltage drop across the first resistor than the power supply voltage to a current value less than the value of current through the second resistor which breaks down the spark gap; offswitching the electronic switch to permit the spark gap to cease arcing; and turning on the electronic switch to connect both the first and second resistors in series with the power supply to result in increased impedance and reduced current flow.
Claim 11
Independent Claim
407 words
The method of offswitching a circuit including a Power supply and a load, with a circuit breaker connected to interrupt current flow from said power supply, said circuit breaker comprising an interruptor section and impedance-increasing section, said impedance-increasing section comprising an electronic switch and first, second and third serially connected resistors in series with the electronic switch and first and second spark gaps respectively connected in parallel to the second and third resistors, comprising the steps of: opening the interruptor section to transfer current from the power supply to the impedance-increasing section with the current through the impedance-increasing section increasing so that the voltage drop across the second resistor exceeds the breakdown voltage of the first gap so that the first spark gap breaks down and short-circuits the second resistor, and so that the current through the impedance-increasing section increases so that the voltage drop across the third resistor exceeds the breakdown voltage of the second spark gap so that the second spark gap breaks down and short-circuits the second resistor; reducing the current flow through the impedance-increasing section by developing a larger voltage drop across the first resistor than the power supply voltage to a current value less than the value of current through the third resistor which breaks down the second spark gap; offswitching the electronic switch to permit both the first and second spark gaps to cease arcing; turning on the electronic switch to connect the first, second and third resistors in series with the power supply to result in increased impedance and reduced current flow with the current flow being at a value that the voltage drop across the third resistor does not exceed the breakdown voltage of the second spark gap but the voltage drop across the second resistor exceeds the breakdown voltage of the first spark gap so that the first spark gap breaks down and short-circuits the second resistor; reducing the current flow through the impedance-increasing section by developing a larger voltage drop across the serially connected first and third resistors than the power supply voltage to a current value less than the value of current through the second resistor which breaks down the first spark gap; offswitching the electronic switch to permit the first spark gap to cease arcing; and turning on the electronic switch to connect the first, second and third resistors in series with the power supply to result in an increased impedance and reduced current flow.
Claim 12
Independent Claim
407 words
The method of offswitching a circuit including a Power supply and a load, with a circuit breaker connected to interrupt current flow from said power supply, said circuit breaker comprising an interruptor section and impedance-increasing section, said impedance-increasing section comprising an electronic switch and first, second and third serially connected resistors in series with the electronic switch and first and second spark gaps respectively connected in parallel to the second and third resistors, comprising the steps of: opening the interruptor section to transfer current from the power supply to the impedance-increasing section with the current through the impedance-increasing section increasing so that the voltage drop across the second resistor exceeds the breakdown voltage of the first gap so that the first spark gap breaks down and short-circuits the second resistor, and so that the current through the impedance-increasing section increases so that the voltage drop across the third resistor exceeds the breakdown voltage of the second spark gap so that the second spark gap breaks down and short-circuits the second resistor; reducing the current flow through the impedance-increasing section by developing a larger voltage drop across the first resistor than the power supply voltage to a current value less than the value of current through the third resistor which breaks down the second spark gap; offswitching the electronic switch to permit both the first and second spark gaps to cease arcing; turning on the electronic switch to connect the first, second and third resistors in series with the power supply to result in increased impedance and reduced current flow with the current flow being at a value that the voltage drop across the third resistor does not exceed the breakdown voltage of the second spark gap but the voltage drop across the second resistor exceeds the breakdown voltage of the first spark gap so that the first spark gap breaks down and short-circuits the second resistor; reducing the current flow through the impedance-increasing section by developing a larger voltage drop across the serially connected first and third resistors than the power supply voltage to a current value less than the value of current through the second resistor which breaks down the first spark gap; offswitching the electronic switch to permit the first spark gap to cease arcing; and turning on the electronic switch to connect the first, second and third resistors in series with the power supply to result in an increased impedance and reduced current flow.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1976-12-24 | 1977-06-25 | 1977-12-25 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1980-12-24 | 1981-06-25 | 1981-12-25 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1984-12-24 | 1985-06-25 | 1985-12-25 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |