Circuit breaker

Claim 2

In an electrical circuit breaker, the improvement comprising: a plurality of resistors of generally washer shape disposed in aligned stacked relationship to define a throughbore extending therethrough, each of said resistors having a non-linear voltageresistance characteristic; electrically conductive washer-shaped contacts sandwiched between and in electrical contact with said resistors, said contacts being generally concentrically disposed relative to said resistors and having contact portions exposed inwardly of the throughbore; and, an electrically conductive contactor movable with respect to said contacts in a path within the throughbore to selectively engage the contact portions of said contacts, said contactor comprising a portion of a high voltage electrical circuit and functioning to introduce the resistors into the circuit as it moves in one direction within the path and to remove the resistors from the circuit as it moves in the opposite direction within the path and wherein at the end of movement of said contactor in said one direction the contactor assumes a condition out of engagement with said contacts and resistors and deionization occurs to interrupt the high voltage circuit.

Claim 3

The electrical circuit breaker improvement, according to claim 1 wherein said movable contactor includes an enlarged extension constructed of electrically conducting material and disposed in said high voltage circuit, said extension being adapted to slidingly engage said contact portions only when said circuit breaker has not assumed a fully opened condition.

Claim 4

The electrical circuit breaker improvement, according to claim 2, wherein said extension is of a length greater than the length of one said resistors whereby two contact portions may be engaged at one time, at least temporarily, by said extension during movement along said path of movement.

Claim 5

An electrical circuit breaker for use in high voltage circuits and adapted to selectively assume a fully closed condition wherein said high voltage circuit is completed through said breaker and a fully opened condition wherein current flow through said circuit is terminated, said circuit breaker comprising, in combination: a plurality of resistor elements of generally washer shape disposed in aligned stacked relationship to define a throughbore extending therethrough, each of said resistor elements having a preselected non-linear voltage-resistance characteristic whereby resistance of the element increases as the voltage drop thereacross decreases, and wherein the non-linear voltage-resistance characteristics of at least some of said elements differ from one another; electrical contact portions for the respective resistor elements, said portions being exposed inwardly of the throughbore; and, a contactor movable within the throughbore of said resistor elements to selectively engage said contact portions to cumulatively and sequentially introduce said resistor elements into said high voltage circuit as said circuit breaker assumes said fully opened condition from said fully closed condition whereby the resistance of each of the respective resistor elements introduced into the circuit increases as successive elements are introduced into the circuit, said breaker assuming the fully open condition as the result of movement of the contactor to a position out of engagement with the contact portions and resistor elements wherein deionization occurs to interrupt the circuit after the resistor elements have been introduced into the circuit.

Claim 6

An electrical circuit breaker for use in high voltage circuits and adapted to selectively assume a fully closed condition wherein said high voltage circuit is completed through said breaker and a fully opened condition wherein current flow through said circuit is terminated, said circuit breaker comprising, in combination: a plurality of resistor elements of generally washer shape disposed in aligned stacked relationship to define a throughbore extending therethrough, each of said resistor elements having a preselected non-linear voltage-resistance characteristic whereby resistance of the element increases as the voltage drop thereacross decreases, and wherein the non-linear voltage-resistance characteristics of at least some of said elements differ from one another; electrical contact portions for the respective resistor elements, said portions being exposed inwardly of the throughbore; and, a contactor movable within the throughbore of said resistor elements to selectively engage said contact portions to cumulatively and sequentially introduce said resistor elements into said high voltage circuit as said circuit breaker assumes said fully opened condition from said fully closed condition whereby the resistance of each of the respective resistor elements introduced into the circuit increases as successive elements are introduced into the circuit, said breaker assuming the fully open condition as the result of movement of the contactor to a position out of engagement with the contact portions and resistor elements wherein deionization occurs to interrupt the circuit after the resistor elements have been introduced into the circuit.

Claim 7

The elEctrical circuit breaker, according to claim 4, wherein said resistor elements are introduced into said circuit by said contactor in a predetermined sequential order wherein each resistor element introduced into said circuit has a higher non-linear voltage-resistance characteristic than the non-linear voltage-resistance characteristic of the immediately preceding resistor element introduced into said circuit.

Claim 8

In an extra high voltage circuit, a circuit breaker comprising: a plurality of resistors of generally washer shape disposed in aligned stacked relationship to define a throughbore extending therethrough, each of said resistors having a non-linear voltage-resistance characteristic, whereby resistance of the resistor increases as the voltage drop thereacross decreases, and wherein the non-linear voltage-resistance characteristics of at least some of said resistors differ from one another; electrical contact portions for the respective resistors, said portions being exposed inwardly of the throughbore; and, a contactor movable within the throughbore for engagement with the contact portions to sequentially insert said resistors into the extra high voltage circuit whereby the resistance of each of the respective resistors inserted into the circuit increases as successive resistors are inserted into the circuit and so that each resistor inserted has a resistance higher than the previous resistor inserted in said circuit until the total resistance of said resistors reduces the current in the circuit to a substantially zero value at a time of circuit interruption to avoid switching surges, said contactor being movable out of engagement with the contact portions and resistors after introduction of the resistors into the circuit whereby the circuit is interrupted as the result of deionization within a gap in the breaker.

Claim 9

In an extra high voltage circuit, a circuit breaker comprising: a plurality of resistors of generally washer shape disposed in aligned stacked relationship to define a throughbore extending therethrough, each of said resistors having a non-linear voltage-resistance characteristic, whereby resistance of the resistor increases as the voltage drop thereacross decreases, and wherein the non-linear voltage-resistance characteristics of at least some of said resistors differ from one another; electrical contact portions for the respective resistors, said portions being exposed inwardly of the throughbore; and, a contactor movable within the throughbore for engagement with the contact portions to sequentially insert said resistors into the extra high voltage circuit whereby the resistance of each of the respective resistors inserted into the circuit increases as successive resistors are inserted into the circuit and so that each resistor inserted has a resistance higher than the previous resistor inserted in said circuit until the total resistance of said resistors reduces the current in the circuit to a substantially zero value at a time of circuit interruption to avoid switching surges, said contactor being movable out of engagement with the contact portions and resistors after introduction of the resistors into the circuit whereby the circuit is interrupted as the result of deionization within a gap in the breaker.

Claim 10

In an extra high voltage circuit, a circuit breaker comprising: a plurality of resistors of generally washer shape disposed in aligned stacked relationship to define a throughbore extending therethrough, each of said resistors having non-linear voltage-resistance characteristics whereby resistance of the resistor decreases as the voltage drop thereacross increases; electrical contact portions for the respective resistors, said portions being exposed inwardly of the throughbore; and, a contactor movable from a position out of engagement with the contact portions and resistors wherein the circuit is interrupted through means of a deionization gap within the breaker to a position for movement within the throughbore for initial engagement with the contact portions to insert all of said resistors into the extra high voltage circuit to avoid high in-rush currents upon initial closing of said circuit breaker and continued movememt within the throughbore to sequentially eliminate the resistors from the circuit whereby the resistance of each remaining resistor in the circuit decreases as the voltage drop thereacross increases as successive resistors are sequentially removed from the circuit as said circuit breaker progresses toward a fully closed condition until all resistors are eliminated from the circuit.

Claim 11

In an extra high voltage circuit, a circuit breaker comprising: a plurality of resistors of generally washer shape disposed in aligned stacked relationship to define a throughbore extending therethrough, each of said resistors having non-linear voltage-resistance characteristics whereby resistance of the resistor decreases as the voltage drop thereacross increases; electrical contact portions for the respective resistors, said portions being exposed inwardly of the throughbore; and, a contactor movable from a position out of engagement with the contact portions and resistors wherein the circuit is interrupted through means of a deionization gap within the breaker to a position for movement within the throughbore for initial engagement with the contact portions to insert all of said resistors into the extra high voltage circuit to avoid high in-rush currents upon initial closing of said circuit breaker and continued movememt within the throughbore to sequentially eliminate the resistors from the circuit whereby the resistance of each remaining resistor in the circuit decreases as the voltage drop thereacross increases as successive resistors are sequentially removed from the circuit as said circuit breaker progresses toward a fully closed condition until all resistors are eliminated from the circuit.

Claim 12

In a circuit breaker: a plurality of resistors of generally washer shape disposed in aligned stacked relationship to define a throughbore extending therethrough, said resistors having non-linear voltage-resistance characteristics whereby resistance of the resistor increases as the voltage drop thereacross decreases; electrical contact portions for the respective resistors, said portions being exposed inwardly of the throughbore; and, a contactor movable within the throughbore for engagement with the contact portions for inserting said resistors into the circuit with which said circuit breaker cooperates in a step-wise manner whereby the resistance of each of the respective resistors inserted into the circuit increases as successive resistors are inserted into the circuit and with each inserted resistor having a hIgher resistance than the resistance of each of said previously inserted resistors, said contactor being movable out of engagement with the contact portions and resistors after insertion of the resistors into the circuit whereby the circuit in interrupted as the result of deionization within a gap in the breaker when the current is reduced to a low value and unity power factor.

Claim 13

In a circuit breaker: a plurality of resistors of generally washer shape disposed in aligned stacked relationship to define a throughbore extending therethrough, said resistors having non-linear voltage-resistance characteristics whereby resistance of the resistor increases as the voltage drop thereacross decreases; electrical contact portions for the respective resistors, said portions being exposed inwardly of the throughbore; and, a contactor movable within the throughbore for engagement with the contact portions for inserting said resistors into the circuit with which said circuit breaker cooperates in a step-wise manner whereby the resistance of each of the respective resistors inserted into the circuit increases as successive resistors are inserted into the circuit and with each inserted resistor having a hIgher resistance than the resistance of each of said previously inserted resistors, said contactor being movable out of engagement with the contact portions and resistors after insertion of the resistors into the circuit whereby the circuit in interrupted as the result of deionization within a gap in the breaker when the current is reduced to a low value and unity power factor.

Claim 14

In a unidirectional high voltage electrical circuit: a circuit breaker for interruption of the circuit comprising a plurality of resistors of generally washer shape disposed in aligned stacked relationship to define a throughbore extending therethrough, each of said resistors having non-linear voltage-resistance characteristics whereby resistance of the resistor increases as the voltage drop thereacross decreases; electrical contact portions for the respective resistors, said portions being exposed inwardly of the throughbore; and a contactor movable within the throughbore for engagement with the contact portions to sequentially insert said resistors into the circuit in series whereby the resistance of each of the respective resistors inserted into the circuit increases as successive resistors are inserted into the circuit and so that each resistor inserted in series has a resistance higher than the resistance of the previous resistor inserted in series until the total resistance reduces the unidirectional current in the circuit to a substantially zero value, said contactor being movable out of engagement with the contact portions and resistors after insertion of the resistors into the circuit whereby the circuit is interrupted as the result of deionization within a gap in the breaker when the current therein is reduced to substantially zero value.

Claim 15

In a unidirectional high voltage electrical circuit: a circuit breaker for interruption of the circuit comprising a plurality of resistors of generally washer shape disposed in aligned stacked relationship to define a throughbore extending therethrough, each of said resistors having non-linear voltage-resistance characteristics whereby resistance of the resistor increases as the voltage drop thereacross decreases; electrical contact portions for the respective resistors, said portions being exposed inwardly of the throughbore; and a contactor movable within the throughbore for engagement with the contact portions to sequentially insert said resistors into the circuit in series whereby the resistance of each of the respective resistors inserted into the circuit increases as successive resistors are inserted into the circuit and so that each resistor inserted in series has a resistance higher than the resistance of the previous resistor inserted in series until the total resistance reduces the unidirectional current in the circuit to a substantially zero value, said contactor being movable out of engagement with the contact portions and resistors after insertion of the resistors into the circuit whereby the circuit is interrupted as the result of deionization within a gap in the breaker when the current therein is reduced to substantially zero value.

Claim 16

In a unidirectional high voltage electrical circuit, means for controlling unidirectional currents comprising, in combination: a circuit breaker including a plurality of resistors of generally washer shape disposed in aligned stacked relationship to define a throughbore extending therethrough, each of said resistors having non-linear voltage-resistance characteristics whereby resistance of the resistor decreases as the voltage drop thereacross increases; electrical contact portions for the respective resistors, said portions being exposed inwardly of the throughbore; and a contactor movable from a position out of engagement with the contact portions and resistors wherein the circuit is interrupted through means of a deionization gap within the breaker to a position for movement within the throughbore for engagement with the contact portions to insert all of said resistors at the initial closing of said circuit breaker and sequentially remove said resistors after initial closing of said breaker until the breaker becomes completely closed and all resistors are eliminated in the circuit.

Claim 17

In a unidirectional high voltage electrical circuit, means for controlling unidirectional currents comprising, in combination: a circuit breaker including a plurality of resistors of generally washer shape disposed in aligned stacked relationship to define a throughbore extending therethrough, each of said resistors having non-linear voltage-resistance characteristics whereby resistance of the resistor decreases as the voltage drop thereacross increases; electrical contact portions for the respective resistors, said portions being exposed inwardly of the throughbore; and a contactor movable from a position out of engagement with the contact portions and resistors wherein the circuit is interrupted through means of a deionization gap within the breaker to a position for movement within the throughbore for engagement with the contact portions to insert all of said resistors at the initial closing of said circuit breaker and sequentially remove said resistors after initial closing of said breaker until the breaker becomes completely closed and all resistors are eliminated in the circuit.

Claim 18

In an electrical circuit breaker, the improvement comprising: a plurality of resistors disposed in stacked superposed relationship, each of said resistors being of a generally circular shape defining a throughbore and having a non-linear voltage-resistance characterisitic, at least some of which characteristics differ from one another; contacts disposed in electrically conducting engagement with said resistors; electrically conductive contactor means movable with respect to said contacts and in a path of movement within said throughbores to selectively engage said contacts, said contactor means comprising a portion of a high voltage electrical circuit, whereby selected resistors may be introduced or removed from said circuit upon relative movement of said contactor means with respect to said contact; and, an insulator follower having an enlarged head fixedly mounted with respect to said contactor means and movable therewith within said throughbores to extinguish any arc which may be created along said path of movement upon disengagement of said contactor means from a contact.

Claim 19

In an electrical circuit breaker, the improvement comprising: a plurality of resistors disposed in stacked superposed relationship, each of said resistors being of a generally circular shape defining a throughbore and having a non-linear voltage-resistance characterisitic, at least some of which characteristics differ from one another; contacts disposed in electrically conducting engagement with said resistors; electrically conductive contactor means movable with respect to said contacts and in a path of movement within said throughbores to selectively engage said contacts, said contactor means comprising a portion of a high voltage electrical circuit, whereby selected resistors may be introduced or removed from said circuit upon relative movement of said contactor means with respect to said contact; and, an insulator follower having an enlarged head fixedly mounted with respect to said contactor means and movable therewith within said throughbores to extinguish any arc which may be created along said path of movement upon disengagement of said contactor means from a contact.

Claim 20

The electrical circuit breaker improveMent, according to claim 11, wherein said resistors are stacked so that each resistor has a higher non-linear voltage-resistance characteristic than does the resistor lying in superposed position with respect thereto.

Claim 21

An electrical circuit breaker improvement, according to claim 12, further comprising resilient members on the contactor having a length greater than the width of each individual resistor whereby two contacts may be engaged at one time by said resilient member during movement of contactor.