Circuit breaker with improved arc interruption function
US6128168A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jan 14, 1998 |
| Grant date | Oct 3, 2000 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jan 14, 2018 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH01H2033/163
- WIPO fieldElectrical machinery, apparatus, energy
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A fault current interrupter is provided by the parallel combination of a polymer current limiter and a voltage dependent resistor connected across a pair of separable contacts to permit the interruption of current without the occurrence of arcing between the contacts when the contacts first become separated. The polymer current limiter is selected to have a relatively low resistance at quiescent operating currents and a substantially higher resistance at short circuit overcurrents. This allows the current to transfer away from the contacts through the polymer current limiter until the voltage across the voltage dependent resistor causes the voltage dependent resistor to become conductive and thereby transfer the current away from the polymer current limiter.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.