Electronic actuation for mechanically held contactors

US6816353B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• General Electric Company · US

Inventors

• Natarajan Mani · Bengaluru, IN
• Ramadevi Agali · Bengaluru, IN
• Anilkumar Pandit · Bengaluru, IN
• Kadaba Venkatarangan Sridhar · Bengaluru, IN
• Joseph P. Smith · Cincinnati, US
• Thuong Phung · Bristol, US
• David J. Lesslie · Plainville, US
• Sujit Kumar Piri · Bengaluru, IN
• Chakrapani Shankar Ganesh · Gudivada, IN
• Dennis Zuffelato · Kensington, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Jun 6, 2001
• Grant date: Nov 9, 2004
• Expiry date: Jan 29, 2023

Classification

• Technology area (CPC H): Electricity
• CPC primary: H01H50/546
• WIPO field: Electrical machinery, apparatus, energy
• WIPO sector: Electrical engineering

Abstract

An electronic circuit for use on a contactor is disclosed. The electronic circuit may be encased in a housing and mounted to a coil cover on the front of a contactor for applying control power to the coil for a selected time period to enable the contactor to change its state and be held in the changed state. Thereafter, the electronic circuit disconnects the supply to the coil thereby preventing coil burn out. The control power is only applied after initiation of an input signal from a switch and after a controller in the electronic circuit has slept for a first predetermined period of time so as not to register any bounce from the input signal. The electronic circuit may include an auxiliary contact status check for providing error free activation of the mechanically held contactor when changing state of the contactor. A contactor employing the electronic circuit of the present invention and a method of using the electronic circuit on a contactor are further disclosed.