Instrument switch having integrated overcurrent protection
US5491460A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 17, 1994 |
| Grant date | Feb 13, 1996 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 17, 2014 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH01H71/18
- WIPO fieldElectrical machinery, apparatus, energy
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
An electrical instrument switch includes a rocker switch for manual on-and-off switching and that is seated in an insulation housing. Depending on the pivot position, the rocker switch moves, with a working end that dips into the housing interior, a contact bridge between the closed position of its contact and the open position of its contact. The contact bridge is electrically connected in series with a contact spring that can be triggered thermally and hence acts as an overcurrent protection. The contact spring can move between its contact position and its open position. The contact spring is mechanically prestressed in the direction of its open position. When overcurrent occurs, it is transferred out of its contact position into its open position by a thermal triggering element. A pivot of the rocker switch counter to the mechanical prestress, in the tipping direction of the contact spring, guides the contact spring from its open position back into its contact position.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.