Arc-detecting circuit breaker
US5223682A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Oct 22, 1991 |
| Grant date | Jun 29, 1993 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Oct 22, 2011 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01R31/3275
- WIPO fieldElectrical machinery, apparatus, energy
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A circuit-breaker including at least one insulating interrupting chamber inside which there are contacts and a blast nozzle. The insulating interrupting chamber is placed on an insulating support containing a drive rod. The circuit-breaker further includes a first terminal and a second terminal. The circuit-breaker has at lest one fluorescent or scintillating optical fiber disposed inside the support and constituting a symmetrical loop around the drive rod. Each end of the fiber is connected to a photodiode equipped with an amplifier. Light propagated in the interrupting chamber, as a result of arcing, reaches the optical fiber loop via a light passage within a terminal of the interrupting chamber remote from the arcing zone within the interrupting chamber.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.