US4553116A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Molded case circuit breaker with resettable combined undervoltage and manual trip mechanism
Assignee: Westinghouse Electric Corp
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Filing: 1984-01-09
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Granted: 1985-11-12
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Expires: 2004-01-09
Abstract
Abstract A molded case circuit breaker includes a manually resettable undervoltage trip mechanism for initiating a trip operation of the circuit breaker upon an undervoltage condition. The undervoltage trip mechanism includes a solenoid having a fixed electrical coil surrounding a pair of separable movable ferromagnetic plungers. Disposed between and captured by the two plungers is a compression spring for physically separating the two plungers upon the occurrence of an undervoltage condition. Upon such an undervoltage condition, one of the plungers is positioned to engage and rotate a trip lever for initiating a trip operation of the circuit breaker. The other plunger is secured to an elongated manually depressible reset button that extends through the molded case of the circuit breaker. After a trip operation, the reset button can be depressed to reestablish physical engagement between the first and second plungers, enabling the circuit breaker to be reset.
Inventors
- 👤 Dante Bagalini
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-31 09:55
CPC Classifications
H; H01; H01H; H01H83/00; H01H83/12; H01H71/00; H01H71/10; H01H71/12; H01H71/128
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 16
Claim 1
Independent Claim
181 words
An undervoltage trip mechanism comprising an electrical coil having an elongated centrally disposed aperture, an elongated compression spring, a first elongated ferromagnetic plunger, a second elongated ferromagnetic plunger, and manually engagable reset means, said first and second plungers being serially disposed in said aperture and being movable relative to each other into and out of physical engagement along the longitudinal axis of said aperture, said compression spring being disposed between and in engagement with said plungers for biasing said first plunger out of physical engagement with said second plunger, said coil when energized by a voltage greater than a predetermined voltage being capable of supplying an electromagnetic force across abutting portions of said plungers of a magnitude greater than the magnitude of the spring force applied by said compression spring to maintain said first plunger in physical engagement with said second plunger, said reset means achieving the reengagement of said first plunger with said second plunger subsequently to the disengagement thereof and comprising an elongated manually engagable and depressible reset button in engagement with one longitudinal end of said first plunger.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
181 words
An undervoltage trip mechanism comprising an electrical coil having an elongated centrally disposed aperture, an elongated compression spring, a first elongated ferromagnetic plunger, a second elongated ferromagnetic plunger, and manually engagable reset means, said first and second plungers being serially disposed in said aperture and being movable relative to each other into and out of physical engagement along the longitudinal axis of said aperture, said compression spring being disposed between and in engagement with said plungers for biasing said first plunger out of physical engagement with said second plunger, said coil when energized by a voltage greater than a predetermined voltage being capable of supplying an electromagnetic force across abutting portions of said plungers of a magnitude greater than the magnitude of the spring force applied by said compression spring to maintain said first plunger in physical engagement with said second plunger, said reset means achieving the reengagement of said first plunger with said second plunger subsequently to the disengagement thereof and comprising an elongated manually engagable and depressible reset button in engagement with one longitudinal end of said first plunger.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
38 words
An undervoltage trip mechanism as recited in claim 1 further comprising an elongated rotatable trip lever, said trip lever being rotatable upon the disengagement of said first plunger from said second plunger to provide an output trip signal.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
24 words
An undervoltage trip mechanism as recited in claim 2 further comprising means secured to said trip lever for biasing said trip lever against rotation.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
162 words
A trip mechanism comprising an electrical coil having an elongated centrally disposed aperture, a first elongated ferromagnetic plunger, a second elongated ferromagnetic plunger, said first and second plungers being serially disposed in said aperture and being movable relative to each other into and out of physical engagement along the longitudinal axis of said aperture, means for biasing said first plunger out of physical engagement with said second plunger, and reset means for achieving the reengagement of said first plunger with said second plunger subsequently to the disengagement thereof, said coil when energized by a voltage greater than a predetermined voltage being capable of supplying an electromagnetic force across abutting portions of said plungers of a magnitude greater than the magnitude of the force applied by said biasing means to maintain said first plunger in physical engagement with said second plunger, said reset means comprising an elongated externally engagable and depressible reset button in engagement with one longitudinal end of said first plunger.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
162 words
A trip mechanism comprising an electrical coil having an elongated centrally disposed aperture, a first elongated ferromagnetic plunger, a second elongated ferromagnetic plunger, said first and second plungers being serially disposed in said aperture and being movable relative to each other into and out of physical engagement along the longitudinal axis of said aperture, means for biasing said first plunger out of physical engagement with said second plunger, and reset means for achieving the reengagement of said first plunger with said second plunger subsequently to the disengagement thereof, said coil when energized by a voltage greater than a predetermined voltage being capable of supplying an electromagnetic force across abutting portions of said plungers of a magnitude greater than the magnitude of the force applied by said biasing means to maintain said first plunger in physical engagement with said second plunger, said reset means comprising an elongated externally engagable and depressible reset button in engagement with one longitudinal end of said first plunger.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
37 words
A trip mechanism as recited in claim 4 further comprising an elongated rotatable trip lever, said trip lever being rotatable upon the disengagement of said first plunger from said second plunger to provide an output trip signal.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
23 words
A trip mechanism as recited in claim 5 further comprising means secured to said trip lever for biasing said trip lever against rotation.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
16 words
A trip mechanism as recited in claim 4 wherein said biasing means comprises a compression spring.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
17 words
A trip mechanism as recited in claim 7 wherein said compression spring is disposed between said plungers.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
199 words
A trip mechanism comprising an electrical coil having an elongated centrally disposed aperture, a first elongated plunger, a second elongated plunger, said first and second plungers being serially disposed in said aperture and being movable relative to each other into and out of physical engagement along the longitudinal axis of said aperture, means for biasing said first plunger out of physical engagement with said second plunger, and reset means for achieving the reengagement of said first plunger with said second plunger subsequently to the disengagement thereof, said coil in the absence of a predetermined condition being capable of supplying an electromagnetic force across abutting portions of said plungers of a magnitude greater than the magnitude of the force applied by said biasing means to maintain said first plunger in physical engagement with said second plunger, the magnitude of said electromagnetic force supplied by said coil upon the occurrence of said predetermined condition being less than the magnitude of said force applied by said biasing means enabling the physical disengagement of said first plunger from said second plunger, said reset means comprising an elongated externally engagable and depressible reset button in engagement with one longitudinal end of said first plunger.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
199 words
A trip mechanism comprising an electrical coil having an elongated centrally disposed aperture, a first elongated plunger, a second elongated plunger, said first and second plungers being serially disposed in said aperture and being movable relative to each other into and out of physical engagement along the longitudinal axis of said aperture, means for biasing said first plunger out of physical engagement with said second plunger, and reset means for achieving the reengagement of said first plunger with said second plunger subsequently to the disengagement thereof, said coil in the absence of a predetermined condition being capable of supplying an electromagnetic force across abutting portions of said plungers of a magnitude greater than the magnitude of the force applied by said biasing means to maintain said first plunger in physical engagement with said second plunger, the magnitude of said electromagnetic force supplied by said coil upon the occurrence of said predetermined condition being less than the magnitude of said force applied by said biasing means enabling the physical disengagement of said first plunger from said second plunger, said reset means comprising an elongated externally engagable and depressible reset button in engagement with one longitudinal end of said first plunger.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
37 words
A trip mechanism as recited in claim 9 further comprising an elongated rotatable trip lever, said trip lever being rotatable upon the disengagement of said first plunger from said second plunger to provide an output trip signal.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
23 words
A trip mechanism as recited in claim 10 further comprising means secured to said trip lever for biasing said trip lever against rotation.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
16 words
A trip mechanism as recited in claim 9 wherein said biasing means comprises a compression spring.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
17 words
A trip mechanism as recited in claim 12 wherein said compression spring is disposed between said plungers.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
US2757321A
Cited
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1988-11-11 | 1989-05-13 | 1989-11-12 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1992-11-11 | 1993-05-13 | 1993-11-12 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1996-11-11 | 1997-05-13 | 1997-11-12 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |