CA1089521A - Circuit breaker with operating mechanism having outboard cam and ratchet - Google Patents

Abstract

CIRCUIT BREAKER WITH OPERATING MECHANISM
HAVING OUTBOARD CAM AND RATCHET

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
A circuit breaker is taught having an operating mechanism with two parallel, spaced apart support members.
A circular shaft having keyed ends is supported in the parallel support members such that the keyed ends extend outboard of the two support members. On one keyed end is disposed a correspondingly keyed cam. On the other keyed end is disposed a ratchet wheel which is spaced from the keyed portion so that it may turn independent of the shaft in one direction. Also disposed on the same end as the ratchet is a correspondingly keyed lever which rotates synchronously with the cam. The lever may interlock with the ratchet to be rotated thereby. Both the lever and cam have parallel connecting rods extending therefrom which are perpendicular to the shaft and generally parallel to the support plates. The rods are attached at one end thereof to a closing spring yoke. A closing spring is provided between the yoke and a fixed member which is perpendicular to and supported by the previously described support members.
Rotation of the ratchet in the proper direction causes movement of the connecting rods for compressing or charging the contact closing spring. Correspondingly, discharge of the spring moves the connecting rod to rotate the cam. The cam is interlinked by way of a cam follower to a jack shaft which in turn is interconnected with separable main contacts for opening and closing the contacts. A separate opening spring is interconnected with the jack shaft for the opening operation.

Description

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CROSS-REFE,RENCE TO ~ELATED APPLICATIONS
The subject matter disclosed and claimed in this application is related to subject matter disclosed and claimed in Canadian ~pplication Serial No. 275,018 filed March 29, 1977 by F. Bould; and Canadian ~pplication Serial No. 275,017 filed March 29, 1977 by F. Bould and P. M. Kowalik.
Both of the above-mentioned Canadian applications are assigned to the assignee of the present application.
BACKGROUND OF T~E INVENTION
Field of the Invention:
The subject matter of this invention relates gen-erally to operating mechanisms for circuit breakers and relates more specifically to supports for stored energy operating mechanisms for circuit breakers utilizing cams and ratchets.
Description of the Prior Art:
Single or polyphase electrical circuit breaker apparatus using mechanical stored energy devices for opening and closing the contacts of the circuit breaker are known in the prior art. Generally, a cam and ratchet arrangement is utilized in conjunction with a stored energy device such as a coiled spring. A cam rider which is interconnected with linkages which open and close the circuit breaker contacts is moved in relationship to the rotation of the cam. The cam is rotated when a charged spring is released. The spring is usually charged by way of a charging motor acting in conjunction with the ratchetO An opening spring is usually provided which is charged by the discharge action of the closing stored energy mechanism or springO It is advan-tageous if the cam and ratchet are disposed upon the same .~."
, ~8~ 6,555 shaft and supported by the same operating mechanism houslng.It is also advantageous if the ~ack shaft upon which the shaft rider i5 connected is also disposed at least in part by the previously mentioned housing. In the prior art, complicated, extensive and elaborate machining and fabri-cating operations were required to integrate the cam and the ratchet with the connecting shaft. In one prior art arrange-ment, the shaft had a hexagonal cross-sectlon and the cam had a corresponding hexagonal broached hole for intercon-nection with the shaft. However this provided a problem atthe cam shaft support points since the hexagonal surface obviously had to be converted to a round surface for rota~
tion. This was achieved in the past by means of a sintered iron piece having a cylindrlcal outside surface and a hexa-gonal center hole disposed at points along the shaft where !, . , ~
support was to be achieved.~ This in turn required the ~' bearing diameter of the support member to be uneconomically '~- -large. On the other hand, if the cam shaft is made round and the cam is attached thereto by means of round pins then 20 the cam must have a round hub which effectively limits the `~
construction of the cam to a casting and also causes the cam diameter to be made unnecessarily large. Another problem associated with the prior art was the fact that the cam, crank and ratchet were disposed upon the shaft within the boundaries of the support members, the bearings therefor were provided at the ends of the shaft. Examples of prior art United States patents which show the above-mentioned -constructions are cited hereinafter: U.S. Patent 3,898,409 issued August 5, 1975 to Liebig et al; U.S. Patent 3,549,843 issued December 22, 1970 to G. A. Wilson; U.S. Patent ,~

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1~9~Z~ ~16,555 3,585,330 issued June 15, 1971 to F. Bould; U.S. Patent 3,183,332 issued May 11, 1965 to R. F. Frink et al; U.S.
Patent 3,600,540 issued August :L7, 1971 to F. Bould; and U.S. Patent 3,590,192 issued June 29, 1971 to F. Bould et al. The latter four patents are assigned to the same assignee as the present invention. It would be advantageous in view of the prior art to provide a circuit breaker oper-ating mechanism comprising a cam shaft comprising a piece of round bar stock with flats milled at each end for keying a ratchet and cam thereto for transmitting required torque.
It would be advantageous if the surfaces adjacent to the support bearings were of a diameter no greater than that required by maximum bearing load considerations. It would be advantageous if such a shaft could be fabrlcated with high accuracy by means of a low cost operation called centerless grinding. It would also be advantageous if the ratchet, crank and cam could be arranged on the cam shaft outboard of the support members for ease of installation.
It would also be advantageous if the cam could be utilized as part of the crank for charging the closing spring.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the invention, a circuit inter- -rupter closing mechanism is taught. The closing mechanism comprises a support means and coordinating means such as a ~;
shaft rotatably disposed upon the support means. There is also provided a contact closing means or cam disposed out-board of the support means in mechanical relationship with the coordinating means or shaft for being rotated by the coordinating means or shaft to a predetermined first angular 30 position relative to the support means at which position a -~

.

~ 952~ 46,555 contact closing operation in a circuit interrupter is begun.
There is also provided limiting means or a ratchet for limiting rotational motion to one direction. The limlting means is disposed outboard of the support means in mechanl-cal relationship wlth the coordinating means or shaft.
There is also provided an energy storage means or spring which is disposed in mechanical relationship with the limit-ing means or ratchet. The energy storage means may be charged to a disposition of stored potential energy by rotation of the limlting means or ratchet in a predetermined direction until the limiting means obtains a second prede- -termined angular position relative to the support means. ;~
v er~ en ~ ~
There is also provided m~vcmcnt pr~4~ing means or a spring charging motor with a ratchet driving pawl which is disposed ~ -in mechanical relationship with the limiting means or ratchet for rotatably moving the limiting means or ratchet in the appropriate direction to the second angular position to thereby charge the energy storage means. Finally, there is taught a trigger means disposed in mechanical relationship with the limiting means or ratchet. The trigger means when actuated causes the energy storage means or spring to rotate the coordinating means or shaft from a disposition where the limiting means is in the second angular position to a dispo-sition where the contact closing means is in the first angular position to thus begin the previously mentioned closing operation. ;, :

5 2~ ll6,554; ll6,555; 46,557 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
For a better understanding of the invention, reference may be had to the preferred embodiments exemplary of the invention, shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:
Figure l shows an orthogonal pro~ection of a circuit breaker apparatus operating mechanism, partially cut away;
Fig. 2 shows an elevation in section of the cam shaft of Figure l with its associated attached members (not to scale with respect to Figure l);
Fig. 3 shows an orthogonal view of the apparatus of Figure l from another point of view;
Fig. 4 shows a front elevation of the apparatus of Figures 1 and 2, partially in section; ;
Fig. 5 shows a section of the apparatus of Figures l, 2 and 4 at the section line V-V of Figure 4 for the apparatus in a first operating position;
Fig. 6 shows a sectional view of the apparatus of -~ 20 Figures 1, 2 and 4 along the section line VI-VI/for the first operating position described with respect to Figure 5;
Fig. 7 shows a view similar to that of Figure 5 but in a second operating position;
Fig. 8 shows a view similar to that of Figure 6 but in a second operating position;
Fig. 9 shows a view similar to that of Figures 5 and 7 but in a third operating position; ~ ~
Fig. lO shows a view similar to that of Figures 6 and 8 but in a third operating position;
Fig. ll shows a side elevation partially broken . -- - - - - ~ ~, - ' :, ~ 5Z~ 46,554; 46,555; l~6,557 away of a vacuum circuit breaker apparatus and operating ;~
mechanism; and Fig. 12 shows a sectlonal vlew of the apparatus of ~_ 0 ~ ~,,~. ,/ ~.-Figure 11 along the sectional lines XII-XI~ ~ -DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring now to the drawings and Flgures 1 through 4 in particular, clrcult breaker apparatus with an operatlng mechanism 10 ls shown. Operatlng mechanlsm 10 comprises two parallel, spaced apart support members 12.
Support members 12 are generally the same size and shape and may be thus made by the same manufacturlng process.
Support members 12 comprlse fastening tabs or flanges 12a at the upper rear portion thereof, 12b at the lower front portion thereof, and 12c at the upper front portlon thereof. ;
Disposed perpendicular to the parallel spaced support members 12 and generally protruding therethrough is a rotatable ~ack shaft member 14. Jack shaft member 14 has sets of generally equally spaced, securely fastened oper- ;
ating levers 16a, 16b, and 16c disposed thereupon for being rotatably moved when the ~ack shaft 14 is rotatably moved.
Jack shaft 14 also has disposed thereon near the ends thereof, ~ack shaft rotational limiters 18 which may abut against stopping members (to be described hereinafter) for preventing rotational movement of the shaft beyond a certaln ~
angular position. The ends of the generally circular ~ack - :
shaft 14 comprise bearing surfaces 20, the use of which will be described hereinafter. There is provided in each of the support members 12 a generally semicircular notch 22. In the semicircular notch 22 of the left-most member 12 as viewed in Figures 1, 3, and 4 is disposed a ~ack shaft half ".. , . , - ., , . .. - , .~ . . - - . , : : :

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46~554; 46,555; 46,557 bearing 24. It ls to be noted that the force which is supplied from the operating lever 16b against the ~ack shaft 14 ls borne against the bearing 24 of the left-most member 12. This provides a deflection force or supporting reglon for the operating lever 16b whlch is relatively close to the operating member 16b. The latter arrangement tends to prevent substantial deflection of the shaft 14 at the longi-tudinal center thereof during opening and closing operations of the circuit breaker apparatus. It will be noted that the rotational limits of travel of the shaft 14 are such that the bite portion of the half bearing 24 is sufficient to provide an adequate bearing surface for the force offered by the rotational movement of the operating lever 16b during a contact opening or closing operation. It will be noted that this allows for the provision of a bearing surface ~Jhich need not completely enclose the jack shaft 14 and thus whlch significantly reduces the complication of installing the ~ack shaft 14 in the operating mechanism 10. It will be noted that no bearing is disposed or needed in the semi-circular slot 22 of the right-most support member 12 as viewed in Figures 1, 3, and 4. There is also provided a cam shaft 26 which extends through both members 12 in a trans- ~ ~ ' verse orientation thereto. The cam shaft 26 may rotate for providing appropriate circuit breaker operations. ;
By referring to Figure 2 specifically and Figures 1, 3, and 4 more generally, the geometric characteristics of the cam shaft 26 may be more clearly shown. In particular, cam shaft 26 comprises a circular center portion 26a. Shaft 26 may be fed through both members 12. Circular portion 26a is borne or supported by circular bearings 27 ln both of the -8- `
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:

lJ6,551~; 46,555; 46,557 support members 12. Consequently, cam shaft 26 may rotate in the bearlngs 27. At either end of the circular portion 26a Or the shaft 26 is a square or rectangularly shaped portlon 26b on the left and 26b' on the right as viewed ln Figure 2. The characteristic square or rectangular shape may be provided by milling the circular stock of the shaft 26 in the appropriate regions. Alternatively the milling operation may be provided only along two parallel planes to provide parallel flats rather than four-sided square or rectangular geometric shapes for keying purposes. Further-more, the ends of the key portions 26b and 26b' are machined and threaded at 26c to accept an appropriate nut or similar fastening device 38. On the left side as viewed in Figure

2, a cam 28 having an opening similar in cross-section to the geometric shape of region 26b is keyed onto the shaft 26 and bolted against the left-most shoulder of the circular region 26a of the shaft 26 by turning the nut 38 on the ~
threaded region 26c. In a similar fashion, in sequence, a ~ ~ -closing latch 30, a ratchet 32, and a spring closing crank 34 are disposed upon the keyed region 26b' from the right-most shoulder of the circular region 26a of the shaft 26 to the nut 38 which is disposed on the right threaded portion 26 as viewed in Figure 2. It is to be noted that the closing latch 30 and the spring closing crank 34 are keyed to the shaft region 26b'. However, the ratchet 32 is free to turn around the keyed region 26b'. The ratchet 32 is separated from the keyed region 26b' by an appropriate spacer 26d. The ratchet 32 is prevented from moving in a `~

left-right direction with respect to the shaft 26 of Figure 2 by the disposition of the closing latch 30 and the closing _g_ "~1 46,554; 46,555; 46,557 spring crank 34. A hollow cyllndrical shell 31 ls provlded between the members 12 ~or enclosing the circular shaft portlon 26a and providing a lubricating region therefor.
As can be best seen by reference to Flgure 1, a key 39 which protrudes from either slde of the ratchet 32 picks up appropriate portions of the closing latch 30 and the closing spring crank 34 to move these latter two ele-ments and the entire shaft 26 which is keyed thereto, once the free wheeling ratchet 32 has been rotated to the posi-tion shown in Figure 1. It is also to be noted that therelative angular disposition of the protruding pin 39 with respect to the closing latch 30 and the closing spring crank 34 allows those latter two elements to rotate counterclock-wise when necessary through a significant angluar disposi-tion without necessitating corresponding movement of the ratchet 3 2.
Referring to Figures l, 3, and 4 once again, spring charging motor 40 and a shaft 42 for the spring charging motor 40 is shown. Shaft 42 is disposed in and ~
20 supported by the support members 12. Attached to the end of ~ -the shaft 42 which protrudes through the right-most support ~ I
member 12 is an eccentric 44 to which is attached a driving pawl 46 by way of a pin 47. The driving pawl 46 is forced against the teeth of the ratchet 32 by the driving pawl ~ :
spring 48. There is provided a stopping pawl 50 for pre-venting the ratchet wheel 32 from rotating in the clockwise :
direction as viewed in Figure 1. The stopping pawl 50 is pivotally mounted upon a pin 52 and is forced against the `~

teeth of the ratchet 32 by a stopping pawl sprlng 54.
Pivotally disposed between the support members 12 and -10- , ~ ~ , - . . : .

~ Zl 1l6~554; 46,555; Ll6,557 extending through the right support member 12 as viewed in Figure 1, is a closing release shaft 56. The protruding or extending right-most end o~ the closing release shaft 56 has been milled to remove a semicircular portion of the cylin-drical volume thereof. As will be described hereinafter, closin~ release shaft 56 operates in con~unction with a closing solenoid and manual pushbutton 58 to be rotated through a certain angular range when a circuit breaker opening operation is desired. When not actuated to begin a circuit breaker closing operation, the angular disposition of the closing release shaft 56 is such that the closing latch 30 becomes locked against the right side of the clos-ing release shaft 56 as viewed in Figure 1 due- to the applied force of the closing spring as will be described hereinafter. To prevent counterclockwise motion of the shaft 26, the aforementioned cooperating characteristic of the closing release shaft 56 and the closing latch 30 will be described in more detail hereinafter with respect to other figures. Outboard of the support members 12 are 20 complementary connecting rods 60. The connecting rods are -re ~/orr~ f/.
oriented generally parallel to the prcdominant flat surfaces :~
of the members 12. The connecting rods 60 are attached at one end thereof to a closing spring yoke 62. Disposed against the inner surface of the yoke 62 as viewed in Figure 1, are the ends of an outer coil closing spring 64 and an inner coil closing spring 66. Disposed against the other ends of the two previously mentioned coiled springs 64 and 66 is a closing spring support plate 68 which is conven-iently anchored in grooves or notches 70 in the support members 12. A closing spring guide rod 72 extends axially --11-- ` -~ 21 ~-,f)~,54; 46,555; 46,557 through the coi.].ed splings 64 .ind 66. The guide rod 72 is threaded at both en~ls thereof. Orle threaded end extends through an open;ng 13 in the yo]ce 62. The latter threaded end of the guide rod 72 has a complementary nut 74 threaded thereon (this arrangement may be best viewed by reference to Figure 6). I.,ikewise the other end of the rod 72 extends through a complernentary opening in the spring support plate 68. The latter mentioned end has a complementary nut 75 threaded thereupon. The guide rod 72 as disposed in the operating mechanism 10 allows the yoke to move thereupon when the spri.ngs 64 and 66 are compressed or discharged while maintaining the latter mentioned spring in a generally ~
workable disposition. The connecting rods 60 have enlarged .
openings at one end thereof for capturing a flanged pin 76 on the yoke 62. The opening in the end of the rod 60 allows for slight angular displacement of the rod 60 rela-tive to the yoke 62 during a charging or discharging opera- .:
tion of the springs 64 and 66. Disposed at the end of the right closing spring crank 34 as viewed in Figure 1, is a , 20 driving pin 77 (shown in section) which is captured by a -~
notched opening in the other end of the rod 60, for thus -disposing the rod 60 between the closing spring crank 34 and the yoke 62. (The latter arrangement is not shown in Figure 1 because of the necessity of simplicity of illustration but is similar to the arrangement shown in Figure 3 for fasten-ing the rod 60 on the left to the cam 28. ) As can best be seen by reference to Figures 1 and ~.

3, the left-most connecting rod 60 as shown in Figure 1 and Figure 3, is connected to the cam 28 by way of an appro-priate driving pin 77.

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The driving pins 77, on cam 28 on the left and spring -crank 34 on the right, are angularly aligned equally with respect to the shaft 26. This can be done because of the orientation of the shaft keys 26b and 26b' for the cam 28 and the spring crank 34 respectively. Because of this, when the shaft 26 rotates to provide a compression of the closing springs 64 and 66, the connecting rods 60 on both sides will uniformly draw the yoke 62 towards the spring sup-port plate 68 maintaining both the yoke 62 and the support plate 68 in a generally parallel disposition. There is al-so provided for operating mechanism 10 a main link 7a which is pivotally hinged to the operating lever 16b by the pin `~
80, and which is pivotally linked with a cam shaft rider 82 by a pin 84.
.

By referring to Figures 3, 5 and 7, it can be seen that a banana link 86 is interconnected at one end thereof with the pin 84 and consequently the cam rider 82.
The other end of the banana link 86 is interconnected with a triangular shaped trip latch 88 by way of a pin 90. A
trip latch spring 92 is connected at one end thereof to the trip latch 88 and at the other end thereof to an appropriate `
anchoring point on the left-most support member 12. The latter spring 92 attempts to provide sufficient spring force to maintain the trip latch 88 hard against a stop 94 on the left-most support member 12. Likewise, an opening release `
shaft 96 which is similar to and operates in a similar manner to the closing release shaft 56 described previously, is disposed between the support members 12 and protrudes ~;~
from the left-most support member 12. The opening release shaft 96 when disposed in the angular position show in Figures 3 and 7 for example, prevents the trip latch 88 from ' : .: ` .

~ Zl ~,5511; 46,555; 46,557 pivoting upon the shaft 98 in a clockwise direction as shown in Figure 3 to thus allow the pin 90 to move significantly ;
to the left as viewed in Figure 3 and 7. The complete operation of the trip latch 88 and its interaction with the shaft rider 82 and operating lever 16b will be descrlbed in more detail hereinafter with respect to other figures.
Referring now to Fi~ures 3, 6, and 8, it can be ~-seen that the angular disposition of the opening release shaft 96 is controlled by a shaft mounted lever 96a which in turn is controlled by a second lever 100 which when caused to move in a counterclockwise rotational direction about pivot lOOa as shown in Figure 6, will in turn cause the shaft mounted lever 96a to move in a clockwise direction thus rotating the shaft 96 in a clockwise direction. Suffi~
cient rotational movement of the shaft 96 in the clockwise direction will free the left-most corner of the trip latch 88 thus allowing the pin 90 and banana link 86 to move to the left for purposes which will be described hereinafter with respect to other figures. Counterclockwise movement of 20 the lever 100 is caused by right-to-left movement of the "`
shaft 103a (as viewed in Figure 6) of the trip solenoid and manual pushbutton 102. I;
Referring now to Figure 4, the disposition of the ~-``~-operating mechanism 10 within a circuit breaker apparatus 104 is shown. The disposition of the operating mechanism 10 , ~ ;, . .
relative to the remainder of the circuit breaker apparatus 104 may easily be determined by reference to previously ,, .
described operating mechanism components. For example, the cam 28 is shown on the left and the ratchet wheel 32 is O ;

shown on the right. The spring charging motor 40 with its ;

~ S21 4~,554; 46,555; ~6,557 shaft 42 (part~ally broken away) is also shown. The dis-position of the shaft 26 relative to the connecting rods 60, the cam 28 and ratchet wheel 32 is also shown. The outline of the large closing spring 64 is shown as well as the threaded end of the guide rod 72 with its complementary nut 75. The jack shaft 14 is shown extending from left to right in Figure 4. The support structure or casing 106 of the circuit breaker apparatus 104 is shown broken away in Figure

4. It will be noted that the outer bearing surfaces 20 of the jack shaft 14 are shown supported by bearings 108 dis-posed in the support cabinet or frame 106 of the circuit breaker apparatus 104. Likewise, the jack shaft half bear-ing 24 supported by and disposed in the left-most member 12 ~ .
is also shown. The flanges 12c are shown in a supporting disposition with respect to the frame 106, the front part of which is not shown for convenience of illustration. There are also shown fixedly attached to the frame 106, limit of ;
travel or stop pins 109 for the Jack shaft rotation limiters 18 (reference to Figure 6 will show the aforementioned elements in an e~eY~6~ view). Electrically insulating connecting levers or rods llOa, llOb, and llOc are shown pivotally connected to the operating levers 16a, 16b, and 16c, respectively, with appropriate pins 112. Also shown are opening springs 114, which are connected to the oper-ating levers 16a and 16b by links 116 and pins 118.
By referring again to Figures 1 and 3 in addition to Figure 4, it can be seen that the pins 118 reside in ~ -holes or openings 119 in the operating levers 16a and 16c, `~

for example. The opposite ends of the opening springs 114 ~;
are connected to brackets 120 which are generally rigidly .

~ g ~ ~ ,554; 46,555; 46,557 attached to the frame 106 of the circuit breaker apparatus 104.
Referring once again to Figure 4, it can be seen that the electrically insulating contact connecting rods 110a, 110b, and 110c are physically attached to schemati-cally shown circuit breaker contacts 122a, 122b, and 122c, respectively. The previously described contacts 122a through 122c may represent the three phase contacts of a three phase electrical system.
Referring again to Figures 1, 3, and 4, it can be seen that when it is desired to open contacts 122a through 122c, that an appropriate action may be taken such as actu-ating the trip solenoid or main pushbutton 102 to begin a ~;
sequence of events (to be described hereinafter with respect `
to other figures) which will eventually allow the jack shaft .;
14 to rotate under the for¢e of the springs 114 to open the main contacts 122a through 122c. Similarly, a contact closing operation may be begun by actuating the closing -solenoid or manual pushbutton 58 to begin a sequence of events (which will be described hereinafter with respect to other figures) which allows the closing springs 64 and 66 to -rotate the jack shaft 14 against the force of the opening springs 114 to close the contacts 122a through 122c of the ;~
circuit breaker apparatus 104. ~ ~
OPERATION OF THE CIRCUIT BREAKER APPARATUS .

Position 1: Closing Spring Discharged, Opening Spring Discharged, Contacts Opened Referring now to Figures 5 and 6 and previously ~

described Figures 1, 3, and 4, a first operating position ~ -for the circuit breaker apparatus 104 will be described. In ~:

~ S ~146,55ll; 46,555; 46,557 the first operating position, the contact closing sprlngs 64 and 66 are discharged. The contact opening springs 114 are also discharged and the contacts 122a through 122c are opened. By referring specifically to Figure 5, lt can be seen that the cam 28 is in a position in which recess 28a therein generally faces downward. The opening release shaft 96 has been actuated to allow the trip latch 88 to be ro-tated about its pivot 98 in the clockwise direction. This action allows the cam roller 82 to move to the left as shown in Figure 5. This forces the main link 78 and the operating lever 16b to pivotally collapse around the pin 80 thus allowing the insulating rod llOb to fall generally downward because of the interconnection therewith at pin 112 thus opening the contacts 122b. Concurrently the jack shaft 14 is rotated counterclockwise in the bearing 24. At this position, the trip latch spring 92 is charged to the extent that it has a tendency to attempt to rotate the trip latch 88 counterclockwise to a position against the stop 94 should the position of the banana link 86 change. In the disposi-tion shown in Figure 5, the crank pin 77 has been moved by the action of the discharging springs 64 and 66 operating against the yoke 62 with the connecting rod 60 to move the pin 77 to its furthest rotational position to the left as viewed in Figure 5. This consequently sets the angular disposition of the cam shaft 26 which is keyed to the cam 28. The relative disposition of the flanges 12a, 12b, and 12c with respect to the frame 106 and the left-most support member 12 (as shown in Figure 2 for example) is also de-picted in Figure 5.
Referring now to Figure 6, the disposition of the 10~}~ l6,554; 4~,555; 46,557 closing latch 30, the closing spr~ng crank 34, the ratchet 32, and the lnterlinkage betwee~l the trip solenold and manual pushbutton 102, and the opening release shaft 96 (as was described previously) is shown. The discharged opening spring 114 is shown disposed between the bPaclce-ts-120 and the pin 118 of the link 116. As is to be expected, the arrangement of the contacts 122c, the insulating connecting rod llOc, the operating lever 16c3 the pin 118, and the jack shaft 14 is the same as that shown with respect to Figure 5 (for another pole). Further rotational travel of the jack shaft 14 in the counterclockwise direction is limited by the abutment of the jack shaft rotation limiter 18 against the stop pin 109. The disposition of the closing release shaft 56 is shown in its normal angular displacement. The ratchet driving pin 39 is shown abutted against the driving surfaces 30a and 34a of the closing latch 30 and the closing spring crank 34 respectively. This means that rotational movement of the ratchet 32 in the direction of the arrow shown in Figure 6 will force the closing latch 30 and the closing spring crank 34 to rotate similarly. The disposition of the spring crank pin 77 on the spring crank 34 is shown to be similar to the disposition of the pin 77 shown in Figure 5, ~;
thus allowing the right connecting rod 60 to allow the yoke 62 to move as far to the left as possible with the arrange-ment shown in Figure 6 thus discharging the springs 64 and 66. As was described previously with respect to Figure 5, the disposition of the flanges 12a, 12b, and 12c on the support frame member 106 is shown.

In order to charge the closing springs 64 and 66 for a subsequent contact closing operation, it is necessary : -9SZ~

to rotate the charging motor shaft 42 to rotate the eccen-tric 44 to thus cause the driving pawl 46 as shown in Fig. 1 to move the teeth of the ratchet 32. This causes the pin ~Se 39 to cause~closing latch 30 and the closing spring crank 34 to move in the direction of the arrow shown in Fig. 6.
Naturally it can be seen that if the closing spring crank 34 is moved in the direction of the arrow, the pin 77 must follow therealong consequently drawing the connecting rod 60 to the right and upward. Since both the closing latch 30 ~-and the closing spring crank 34 are keyed to the shaft 26, the shaft 26 will therefore be rotated clockwise.
Referring once again to Figure 5, it can be seen that rotation of the cam shaft 26 in the clockwise direction will cause the cam 28 to rotate in a clockwise direction -thus allowing the pin 77 to moye to the right and upward ~-similarly to the movement of the pin 77 shown and described with respect to Figure 6. The corresponding, simultaneous movement of both pins 77 on the left-most and right-most connecting rods 60 will pull the yoke 62 evenly along the 20 guide rods 70, thus compressing the springs 64 and 66 ~-between the yoke 62 and the spring support plate 6~. The shaft rotation depicted in Figures 5 and 6 will continue until the face 30b on the closing latch 30 as shown in Fig.
6 abuts against the closing release shaft 56.
Position 2: Closing Spring Charged, Opening Spring Discharged, Contacts Opened Referring now to Figures 7 and 8, the disposition of the operating mechanism 10 when the closing springs 64 and 66 have been charged, but where the contacts 122a, 122b, 30 and 122c remain opened and the opening spring 114 remains - : ,. - ~ -lt~89~-~'~1 46,55L~j 46,555; 46,557 discharged is shown. By referring specifically to Figure 8, it can be seen that the ratchet 32 has been moved in the direction of the arrow by the rotation of the motor shaft 42 to push the closing latch 30 and the closing spring crank 34 by way of the pin 39 operating against the surfaces 30a and 34a, respectively, until an angular disposition is reached where the surface 30b of the closing latch 30 abuts agalnst the closing release shaft 56. It will be noted that in this posltion, the cranking pin 77 on the spring crank 34 is almost at its extreme right position thus causlng the right-most connecting rod 60 to cause the yoke 62 to compress the closing springs 64 and 66. It will be noted that the crank pin 77 is not at top dead center, or said in another way is not at its furthest right-most position. In fact, the pln 77 has been rotated in the clockwise direction (as viewed in Figure 8) by the ratchet 32 acting upon the spring crank 34 to place the pin 77 in an angular disposition which is slightly past top dead center. This allows the springs 64 and 66 to discharge slightly against the yoke 62 thus pull-ing against the connecting rod 60 thus biasing the crank 34to continue to rotate in a clockwise direction when the closing release shaft 56 is operated in such a way as to allow the closing latch 30 to rotate beyond it. If the pin 77 were at top dead center, then the likelihood for unde-sirable counterclockwise rotation of the spring crank 34 would be as great as the likelihood of desirable clockwise rotation. Since the spring crank 34 is keyed to the shaft 26, it is necessary for the spring crank 34 to rotate in the clockwise direction because it is necessary for the shaft 26 to rotate only in the clockwise direction (as viewed in .

.` :. ~, ., 1~ 8~5 Z~ 46,554; 46,555; 46,557 Figure 8). It wlll be noted with respect to Fi~ure 8 that even though the closing sprlngs 64 and 66 have been charged, the relati~e disposition of the contacts 122c, the insulat-ing connecting rod llOc, the operating lever 16c, the sprlng 114, and the ~ack shaft 14 remain unchanged with respect to Figures 5 and 6.
Referring now to Figure 7, the corresponding dis-positlon of the cam 28 is shown. In this case, the cam has rotated clockwise with respect to its position in Figure 5, thus placing the cranking pin 77 in the same angular dispo-sition as the cranking pin 77 of Figure 8. This is to be expected as it is required that the left connecting rod 60 . ~e~s upon the yoke 62 to compress the springs 64 and 66 the same as was shown with respect to Figure 8 to prevent the yoke 62 from cocking. The rotation of the cam 28 by the keyed cam shaft 26 allows the shaft rider 82 to fall into the recess 28a of the cam 28, thus allowing the main link 78 to adapt a different disposition from that shown in Figure

5. However, it will be noted as was mentioned previously with respect to Figure 8, that the overall dispositlon of the contacts 122b, the insulating connecting rod llOb, and the operating lever 16b, remains unchanged from the dispo-sition shown with respect to Figures 5 and 6. Since the shaft rider 82 was allowed to fall into the recess 28a, the pin 84 which is attached to the shaft rider 82 forces the banana link 86 to the right. Since the pin 90 on the trip ~ r7 o f ~ o r~
latch 88 is moved by the-movcmcnt of the banana link 86, the trip latch 88 must rotate to the right and counterclockwise about its pivot 98 under the influence of its spring 92 ~Q until it abuts against the stop 94. At this position, the .

~ 2 146,554; 463555; 46~557 4~ y /Jrl r,~
flat~96c of the opening release shaft 96 is allowed to rotate to its normal position consequently locking the trip latch 88 against the portion 96b of the open release shaft 96.
Referring once again to Figure 8, the disposition of the linkages between the shaft 96 and the trip solenoid and main pushbutton 102 is shown. In this case, the rota-tion of the shaft 96 places the shaft 96 in an angular position which is controlled by the stop screw 124. This in turn forces the lever 96a to force the point lOOa to rotate the lever 100 in the clockwise direction to consequently place the lever 100 in a disposition to be moved counter-clockwise once again by the action of the plunger 103a of ~ ?
the trip solenoid and main pushbutton 102. In the pre-viously described second position, the closing springs 64 and 66 are in a disposition to close the main contacts when -desired. It can be seen that if the closing release shaft 56 is rotated about its axis in a clockwise direction by appropriate apparatus (i.e. the closing solenoid and main pushbutton shown in Figure 10) the force of the compressed springs 64 and 66 will tend to move the spring crank pin 77 thus causing the spring crank 34 to rotate clockwise until the springs 64 and 66 have been discharged. Since the spring crank 34 is keyed to the shaft 26, the shaft 26 must also turn counterclockwise.
Referring once again to Figure 7, it can be seen that rotation of the cam shaft 26 in the clockwise direction would cause two things to happen. The first is that the discharging springs 64 and 66 will cause the connecting rod 60 to add to the torque applied to rotate the shaft 26 by 7..................................................................... ~ :

Zl ~6,55l~; 46,555; 46,557 moving the cranking pin 77 in a clockwise direction from right to left. In addition, the face of the cam 28 will cause the shaft rider 82 to move upwardly as the cam 28 rotates. It will be noted that the pin 84 which is connected to the banana link 86 which in turn is fixed at the pin 90, rJ~ (because of the locked disposition of the trip latch~) will only allow the pin 84 to move radially with respect to the pin 90. This causes the main link 78 to rotate the oper-ating lever 16b clockwise thus elevating the lnsulating connecting rod llOb to thus interconnect the contacts 122b.
Since the common jack shaft 14 rotates all three of the operating levers 16a, 16b, and 16c, all contacts 122a, 122b, and 122c are closed generally simultaneously. If during this latter contact closing operation a fault were somehow sensed on the lines interconnected with the contacts 122a through 122c, an appropriate signal would be provided to the trip solenoid 102 to quickly pivot the opening release shaft 96 clockwise thus allowing the relatively stationary pivot point 90 of the trip latch to move rapidly to the left as viewed ln ~igure 7 to prevent the cam rider 82 from forcing the main link 78 upwardly even though the cam rider 82 itself begins to rise because of the changing contour of the cam 28. In this case it can be seen that the main link 78 would ~Y~r ~ pivot in a clockwise direction about the pin 0~ mo~o"
80 because of the newly provided freedom/of the banana link 86. This of course will prevent force from being supplied to the pin 80 for moving the operating lever 16b and con-sequently the electrically insulating rod llOb. Thus, the contacts 122b will remain open. This is known as the trip free mode of operation. Presuming however, that no trip

6, 55~ 6, 555; 116, 557 free operation occurs,the final disposition of the various linkages, etc. after a contact closing operation has been completed is as shown in Figures 9 and 10.

Position 3: Opening Spring Discharged, Closed Spring Charged, Contacts Closed Referring now to Figures 9 and 10, a third oper-ating position for the circuit breaker operating mechanism 10 is shown. In this case, the closing springs 64 and 66 are discharged as they were in the first operating position shown in Figures 5 and 6. Consequently, the angular dispo-sition of the shaft 26 is the same as the angular disposi~
tion shown in Figures 5 and 6. This means that the keyed cam 28, the keyed closing latch 30, and the keyed closing spring crank 34 all have the same disposition as that shown -.
in Figures 5 and 6. It will be noted however that the ~ .
difference between the first operating position as shown in .~
Figures 5 and 6, and the third operating position as shown ~; `
in Figures 9 and 10, lies in the angular disposition of the jack shaft 14 and the apparatus which is connected thereto.
To be more specific by referring to Figure 10 and comparing Figure 10 with Figure 5 it can be shown that the angular disposition of the ~ack shaft for the third position (that -~
shown in Figure 10) is such that the operating lever 16c has :
been rotated further clockwise from the disposition of that ~-~
shown in Figure 6, thus causing the electrically insulating connecting rod llOc to move upward to close the contacts ~ .
122c. Likewise, since the jack shaft rotation limiter 18 is fixedly attached to the jack shaft 14, its angular position is now displaced away from the stop 109. Since the link 116 is affixed to the operating lever 16c by way of the pln 80, `- lU~g~iZl 4G,5~ s 4f~555i 46~557 it can be seen that the opening spring 114 has been charged by raising the upper end of the spring 114 relative to the bracket 120.
Referring now to ~igure 9, the disposition of the cam 28 is shown. It will be noted as was mentloned pre-viously that it occupies the same angular disposition as it occupied in the first disposition shown in Figure 5. In this case however, as was described with respect to Figures

7 and 8, the trip latch 88 has been pivoted about its axis 98 by the discharging action of the spring 92 to place the trip latch 88 against the stop 94 thus allowing the opening release shaft 96 to assume its normal relaxed position.
This tends to hold the trip latch 88 in the position shown in Figure 9. Such being the case, the pivot 90 for the banana link 86 is fixed, and the disposition of the cam follower 82 on the surface of the cam 28 is forced by the banana link 86 through the common pin 84 to hold the main link 78 in an upright position relative to its disposition ~s shown in Figure 5. This in turn holds the main operating lever 16b in an upward position. This causes the common pin 112 to hold the insulating connecting link llOb in such a disposition as to close the contacts 122b. Of course, as was mentioned previously, all of the contacts are controlled by the common jack shaft 14. Consequently, it can be said that all of the contacts 122a through 122c are closed at this time.
Referring once again to Figure 10, the arrange-ments of the closing solenoid and manual pushbutton 58 is shown. The latter solenoid has an extended plunger 58a which when actuated to move to the left causes the tab or ?5Zl lever s6a on the closing release shaft 56 to rotate clock-wise. This changes the angular disposition of the milled away portion of the closing release shaft 56 for clearing the surface 30b of the closing latch (shown in Figure 8).
This allows the springs 64 and 66 to discharge to rotate the shaft 26 to the position shown in Figures 10 and 6 for example.
By referring to Figures 8 and 10, it is to be noted that in a circuit breaker closing operation the dis-position of the closing latch 30 and the closing springcrank 34 relative to the pin 39 on the ratchet 32 allows the springs 64 and 66 to discharge from the position shown in Figure 8 to the position shown in Figure 10. This causes the contacts 122c to move from the opened position shown in Figure 8 to the closed position shown in Figure 10 without requiring rotational movement of the ratchet wheel 32.

Position 4: Closing Spring Charged, Contacts Closed, Opening Spring Charged By referring to Figure 7, 8, 9, and 10, it can be seen that a fourth position for the apparatus and linkages of the operating mechanism 10 is possible. In this case, immediately after a circuit breaker has been successfully closed, that is immediately after the circuit breaker con-tacts 122c have been closed, it is desirous to once again quickly charge the closing springs 64 and 66 so that upon the opening of the circuit breaker contacts 122c for example they may be quickly reclosed again. It is well known that ~-~
a desired operating sequence for a circuit breaker is as follows: opening of the main contacts, reclosing of the main contacts, opening of the main contacts once again if ~9~21 ~6,554; 46,5~5; 46,557 ~

necessary. By examining Figures 7 through 10, it can be seen that in the desired fourth position the closing springs 64 and 66 are in the disposition shown in Figures 7 and 8 and the main contacts 122c are in the disposition shown ln Figures 9 and 10. In order to accomplish this, the motor 42 shown in Figures 1 and 3 for example, is allowed to rotate the shaft 42 to charge the springs 64 and 66 as was des-; cribed previously without affecting the disposition of the contacts 122c. By examining Figures 7 and 9, it can been seen that the shaft 26 may be rotated clockwise through asufficient angular displacement to move the closing spring crank pin 77 from the extreme left as shown in Figure 9 to the spring charged position shown in Figure 7. This may ~
occur without the cam follower 82 changing its radial dis- ~ -position relative to the shaft 26. In the spring charged position such as shown in Figure 7, with the trip latch in the latched position such as shown in Figures 7 and 9, the cam follower 82 will not fall into the depression 28a as shown in Figure 7. Rather it will remain on the outer large radius of the cam 28 until a tripping operation has been begun by angularly rotating the opening release shaft 96 to allow the trip latch 88 to assume the position shown in Figure 5 for example. It will be noted wlth regard to the latter operation that the trip latch 88 will not reset itself, i.e. assume the position shown in Figure 7 with the left side of the trip latch 88 abutting against the point 96b on the opening release shaft 96 until the roller 82 has been allowed to enter the depressions 28a such as is shown in Figure 7. If the preceding sequence of events has occurred, then the circuit breaker apparatus is in condition .. . . . . .

~ 9SZ1 46,554; ll6,555; 46~557 for a quick reclosure after a prior opening merely by dls-charglng the closing springs 64 and 66 ln the manner des-cribed prevlously. In the event that the tripping operatlon took place on the discharged closlng springs 64 and 66, consequent reclosure Or the contacts 122b cannot occur untll -` the motor or similar means 40 has rotated the shaft 42 to such a position that the springs 6ll and 66 have been charged and the roller 82 has fallen to the recess 28a.
; Although the utilization of an opening release 10 shaft 96 in conJunction with a trip latch 88 ls known, the -utilization of a closing release shaft 56 in con~unctlon with a closing latch 30 for charging the opening sprlngs 64 and 66 is believed to be novel. ;~
Referrlng now to Figures 11 and 12, stlll another ;
embodiment of the invention, a vacuum clrcuit interrupter 300 ls shown. In this ca`se there are provided two elongated, generally parallel, spaced apart unitary support members 212a and 212b. It will be noted that the latter two members support an operating mechanism, such as is shown to the right in Figure 11, and the contact driving llnkages and contact apparatus, such as is shown to the left in Figure 11. In this embodiment of the invention, a shaft 226 tra-verses the space between the parallel plates 212a and 212b.
Keyed to one slde of the shaft 226 is a cam 228. A cam rider 282 is provided which is pivotally pinned to a banana link 284 and a main link 278. The main link is pivotally hinged to a cranking lever 301 which in turn is keyed or ~-otherwise securely fastened to a rotatable ~ack shaft or ~

crank shaft 302. Also securely attached to the ~ack shaft 30 3C2 is a bell crank 304, one end of which is pinned at 311 - - ~ -46,554; 46,555; 46,557 to a connecting rod 310 for an opening sprlng 214. The other end of the bell crank 304 is connected by way of a pin 307 to a driving rod 306. The previously described banana link 284 is connected to a trip latch 295 which is pivotable about a trip latch pivot 298. A sprlng 292 is provided to maintain the trip latch 295 against a stop 294. Likewise, an openin~ release shaft 296 of the type descrlbed with respect to Figures 1, 3, and 4 for example, is provided for allowing the trip latch 295 to rotate counterclockwise about the pivot 298 in appropriate circumstances for causing a trip motion to be applied to the rod 306. Spring crank pins 277 are disposed upon the cam 228 to actuate connecting rods 260 to compress an opening spring 264 between a spring support plate 268 and a yoke 262. As was the case with respect to other embodiments of the invention, a guide rod 272 is provided for the spring 264. A nut 273 is threaded on the upper end of the guide rod 272 and a similar nut 275 is threaded on the lower end thereof for securing the rod 272. There are provided three tandemly mounted vacuum bottle circuit breaker apparatuses or pole pieces 322a, 322b, and 322c. Insulating connecting rods 350a, 350b, and 350c are connected to the contacts tnot shown) of the vacuum bottle circuit interrupters 322a through 322c, respectively.
The bottoms of the insulating connectings rods 350a through ~ ~-350c are connected to hinged ends 334b for example, on bell cranks 330a, 330b, and 330c respectively. The previously mentioned bell cranks are pivotal about pivot pins 332b and 332c for example for be]l cranks 330b and 330c, respective~

ly. A similar hinging arrangement exists for bell crank 30 330a. The pin 332c, for example, is supported in openlngs ,:: :

46,554; 46,555i 46~557 333 ln the prevlously described elongated support members 212a and 212b. The pins 332a and 332d may be llkewlse supported. Consequently ~t can be seen that the tolerance between the centers of the holes 333 for the bell cranks 330a, 330b, and 330c and the holes for the shaft or plvots 298 and 226 for example of the operatlng mechanlsm are maintained within relatively closed tolerances because of the unitary nature of the support members 212a and 212b.
Thls is due to the fact that all the holes or openings are placed in unitary supports. The connecting rod 306 has nut members 340b and 342b disposed thereon for pole piece 322b.
A nut member 340c is also shown for pole plece 322c. For purposes of simplicity of illustration, only the operating mechanism with respect to pole 322b will be further des-cribed, lt being understood that the operating mechanism for poles 322a and 322c operate synchronously therewith and in `
a simllar manner thereto. Disposed between the ad~ustable nut members 340b and 342b ls a spring 344b which is maln-talned in place by spring support members 343b on the left 20 and 345b on the right, as viewed in Figure 11. Spring 344b encircles rod 306. There is provided a linkage block 338b ~ -upon which is dlsposed a hinge pin 336b on which a portlon of the bell crank 330b rotates for openlng and closing the contacts of the vacuum bottle lnterrupter 322b. The reglon between the block 338b and the nut 340b may expand to form a gap during certaln operatlng conditions of the circult breaker apparatus 300.
To close the contacts of the pole pleces 322a through 322c the electrically lnsulatlng rods 350a through 30 350c are ralsed by moving the connecting rod 306 towards : . . ' ... :., ... ,, .,` ,, ' ,, lVlY9~Zl the right as viewed in Figure 11 to pivot in tandem and synchronously the bell cranks 330a through 330c in an up-ward direction. The connecting rod 306 is moved to the right by pivoting the shaft 302 counterclockwise. This occurs when the spring 264 is released to drive the cam 228 counterclockwise thus causing the cam rider 2~2 to force the cranking lever 301 to move in the counterclockwise direction. This also causes the pin 311 to drop, pulling the connecting rod 310 down thus compressing the opening spring 214.
To open the contacts 322a through 322c, the rod 306 must move to the left. This occurs when the opening trip release shaft 296 is rotated counterclockwise allowing the trip latch 295 to move upward in a counterclockwise direction thus freeing the banana link 284. This allows the spring 214 to discharge pulling the connecting rod 310 up thus rotating the bell crank 304 to the right in a clockwise direction.
During the contact closing operation, the nut 342b for example, is moved to the right by the connecting rod 306, transmitting the rightward directed motion through the spring 344b without significantly compressing that spring. - ;
This moves the block 338b to the right which in turn rotates the bell crank 330b counterclockwise, thus elevating the insulating connecting rod 350b to close the contacts of the vacuum circuit interrupter 322b, for example. After the contacts in the vacuum circuit breaker 322b have made con-tact with each other, further travel of the connecting rod 306 to the right tends to compress the spring 344b and to open or enlarge the gap in the region 346b between the block :
338b and the nut 340b.

' , .

i .. . . ..

9$ ~1 46,554; 46,555; 46,557 During a contact tripping or opening operation, when the rod 306 moves to the left, the force of accelera-tion of the discharging opening~ spring 214 will rapldly cause the gap 346b to close. This is assisted by the action of the expanding sprlng 344b which also tends to accelerate the nut 340b. At the instant the nut 340b impacts the block 338b from the right a large force of acceleration is trans-ferred to that block which in turn tends to move the elec-trically insulating rod 350b downward with great force thus tending to break any welds which may have formed between the contacts of the vacùum interrupters 322a through 322c during the closing operation. The force of acceleration provided by the spring 344b and the opening spring 214 tends to jar or shake the entire mechanism 300. The force is required as the previously described contact welds are often a serious problem with vacuum bottle interrupter contacts. If the support members for the operating mechanism of Figure 11 were physically separated from the support members for the vacuum bottle interrupters, the repeated forces of acceler-ation durlng the contact opening operation would eventuallytend to misalign the various critical alignment elements, i.e. the alignment between pin 332c and shaft 226 for example. However, because of the unitary nature of the support members 212a and 212b, it is very difficult to misalign the critical component parts for the apparatus of ,~
the vacuum circuit interrupter 300.
It is to be understood with respect to the embodi-ments of this invention that the concept of the outboard operating mechanism components is not limited to the partic-ular type of stored energy mechanism shown in Figures 1 ,... . . .

lOt~9~i2~

through 10. Furthermore, it is to be understood that thespacing between the support members :L2 in the embodiment of Figures 1 through 10 and the support members 212a and 212b in the embodiment of Figures 11 and 12 is not limiting. It is also to be understood that the concepts associated with the embodiments shown in Figures 1 through 10 is not limited to any particular kind of circuit breaker. The circuit breakers may be vacuum breakers, magnetic circuit breakers, gas circuit breakers, or others. In a like manner, even though the embodiment described with respect to Figures 10 and 11 deals primarily with vacuum type circuit interrupters, the concept taught with respect to the latter embodiment are not limited to vacuum type circuit interrupters~ It is also to be understood that the type of operating mechanism shown in Figures 3 and 11 is not limiting. It is also to be `
understood that the energization and control of motor 40 may be as described in well-known prior art.
The apparatus taught in the various embodiments of this invention have many advantages. One advantage lies in the fact that a circuit breaker operating mechanism may be provided with supports which are inboard of all the critical operating components such as the cam, the ratchet, and the -closing spring connecting rods. ~nother advantage lies in the fact that such an arrangement allows for a simply made and installed cam shaft. Still another advantage lies in the fact that one of the support members for the operating mechanism may be utilized to bear the force of the center pole of a three phase circuit breaker, thus tending to reduce jack shaft deflection. Another advantage lies in the fact that a specially milled or machined closing release shaft may be utilized in conjunction with a closing latch for efficient and effective closing of the circuit breaker ;~

,......... , ~ . , : :
- . . - , . . . . ..

~ S~1 46,554; 46,555; 469557 contacts. Another advantage lies ln the fact that one of the connecting rods for the closing spring may be connected directly to a pin on the cam. Still another advantage lies in the fact that in one embodlment of the lnvention, unitary support members are provided for maintaining close alignment tolerances between portions of the circuit breaker operating mechanism and portions of the circuit breaker contact open-ing and closing linkages.

-34- ~ -", - ' ' '.' ' ' ' . '

Claims (22)

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. A circuit interrupter closing mechanism, comprising:
a) a pair of spaced support means:
b) coordinating means comprising a shaft rotatably disposed upon said support means;
c) contact closing means disposed outboard of said support means in mechanical relationship with said coordina-ting means for being rotated by said coordinating means to an angular position relative to said support means at which a contact closing operation in a circuit interrupter is begun;
d) limiting means for limiting rotational motion to one direction, said limiting means being disposed out-board to said support means in mechanical relationship with said coordinating means;
e) energy storage means disposed in mechanical relationship with said limiting means for being charged to a disposition of stored potential energy by rotation of said limiting means in said one direction;
f) movement providing means disposed in mechanical relationship with said limiting means for rotatably moving said limiting means upon command in said one direction to thereby charge said energy storage means; and g) trigger means disposed in mechanical relation-ship with said limiting means, said trigger means when actuated causing said energy storage means to rotate said coordinating means to thus begin said closing operation.

2. The combination as claimed in claim 1 wherein said energy storage means is disposed outboard of said sup-port means.

3. The combination as claimed in claim 1 wherein said movement providing means is disposed outboard of said support means.

4. The combination as claimed in claim 1 wherein said closing means and said limiting means are disposed on opposite sides of said support means.

5. The combination as claimed in claim 4 wherein said coordinating means extends through said pair of sup-port means.

6. The combination as claimed in claim 1 wherein said coordinating means extends through said pair of support means.

7. A circuit interrupter, comprising:
a) a base member;
b) separable main contacts disposed upon said base member;
c) connecting means interconnecting a movable portion of said separable main contacts with contact closing means for actuating said separable main contacts to close;
d) a pair of spaced support means disposed upon said base member;
e) coordinating means comprising a shaft rotatably disposed upon said support means;
f) contact closing means disposed outboard of said support means in mechanical relationship with said coordinating means for being rotated by said coordinating means to a predetermined first angular position relative to said support means at which a contact closing operation is begun;
g) limiting means for limiting rotational motion to one direction, said limiting means being disposed out-board of said support means in mechanical relationship with said coordinating means;
h) energy storage means disposed in mechanical relationship with said limiting means for being charged to a disposition of stored potential energy by rotation of said limiting means in said one direction until said limiting means attains a second predetermined angular position rela-tive to said support means;
i) movement providing means disposed in mechanical relationship with said limiting means for rotatably moving said limiting means upon command in said one direction to said second angular position to thereby charge said energy storage means; and j) trigger means disposed in mechanical relation-ship with said limiting means, said trigger means when actuated causing said energy storage means to rotate said coordinating means from a disposition where said limiting means is in said second angular position to a disposition where said contact closing means is in said first angular position to thus begin said closing operation.

8. The combination as claimed in claim 7 wherein said energy storage means is disposed outboard of said support means.

9. The combination as claimed in claim 7 wherein said movement providing means is disposed outboard of said support means.

10. The combination as claimed in claim 7 wherein said closing means and said limiting means are disposed on opposite sides of said support means.

11. The combination as claimed in claim 10 wherein said coordinating means extends through said pair of support means.

12. The combination as claimed in claim 7 wherein said coordinating means extend through said pair of support means.

13. A circuit interrupter closing mechanism comprising:
a) a pair of spaced support members;
b) axle means rotatably disposed through an open-ing in each of said support members;
c) contact closing cam disposed upon said axle means outboard of said support members, said cam being rotatable by said axle means to a predetermined first angular position relative to one of said support members at which position a contact closing operation in a circuit interrupter is begun;
d) ratchet means disposed upon said axle means outboard of said support members and on the opposite side of said support members from said closing cam;
e) spring means disposed to mechanically interact with said ratchet means to be charged to a disposition of stored potential energy when said ratchet has been rotated to a predetermined second angular position relative to the other of said support members;
f) motor means disposed in mechanical relationship with said ratchet means to rotate said ratchet means upon command to said second angular position to thus charge said spring means; and g) trigger means disposed in mechanical relation-ship with said ratchet means, said trigger means when actuated allowing said spring means to discharge to rotate said ratchet means to thus rotate said axle means and said cam means to said first predetermined angular position to thus begin said closing operation.

14. The combination as claimed in claim 13 wherein said support members are disposed generally in a parallel relationship.

15. The combination as claimed in claim 13 wherein said closing operation is completed by the continued rotation of said cam means to a third angular position relative to said one of said support members.

16. A circuit interrupter, comprising:
a) a base member;
b) separable main contacts disposed upon said base member;
c) connecting means interconnecting a movable por-tion of said separable main contacts with a contact closing cam for actuating said separable main contacts to close;
d) a pair of spaced support members;
e) axle means rotatably disposed through an opening in each of said support members;
f) contact closing cam disposed upon said axle means outboard of said support members, said cam being rotatable by said axle means to a predetermined first angular position rela-tive to one of said support members at which position a contact closing operation is begun;

g) ratchet means disposed upon said axle means out-board of said support members and on the opposite side of said support members from said closing cam;
h) spring means disposed to mechanically interact with said ratchet means to be charged to a disposition of stored potential energy when said ratchet has been rotated to a predetermined second angular position relative to the other of said support members;
i) motor means disposed in mechanical relationship with said ratchet means to rotate said ratchet means upon command to said second angular position to thus charge said spring means; and j) trigger means disposed in mechanical relation-ship with said ratchet means, said trigger means when actuated allowing said spring means to discharge to rotate said ratchet means to thus rotate said axle means and said cam means to said first predetermined angular position to thus begin said closing operation.

17. The combination as claimed in claim 16 wherein said support members are disposed generally in a parallel relationship.

18. The combination as claimed in claim 16 wherein said closing operation is completed by the continued rotation of said cam means to a third angular position relative to said one of said support members.

19. A circuit interrupter closing mechanism, comprising:
a) support means;
b) coordinating means comprising a shaft rotatably disposed upon said support means;

c) contact closing means disposed in mechanical relationship with said coordinating means for being rotated by said coordinating means to a predetermined first angular position relative to said support means at which a contact closing operation in a circuit interrupter is begun;
d) limiting means for limiting rotational motion to one direction, said limiting means being disposed in mechanical relationship with said coordinating means;
e) energy storage means disposed in mechanical relationship with said limiting means for being charged to a disposition of stored potential energy by rotation of said limiting means in said one direction until said limiting means attains a second predetermined angular position rela-tive to said support means;
f) movement providing means disposed in mechanical relationship with said limiting means for rotatably moving said limiting means upon command in said one direction to said second angular position to thereby charge said energy storage means; and g) trigger shaft means disposed in mechanical rela-tionship with said limiting means, said trigger shaft means having a cutout therein, said trigger shaft means being rotatable from a first position at which said limiting means is maintained in said second angular position by a non-cutout portion of said trigger shaft means to a second position which orients said cutout relative to said limiting means to allow said limiting means to rotate, said trigger shaft means when actuated allowing said energy storage means to rotate said coordinating means from a disposition where said limiting means is in said second angular position to a disposition where said contact closing means is in said first angular position to thus begin said closing operation.

20. A circuit interrupter closing mechanism, comprising:
a) support means;
b) coordinating means comprising a shaft rotatably disposed upon said support means;
c) contact closing cam means disposed in mechan-ical relationship with said coordinating means for being rotated by said coordinating means to a predetermined first angular position relative to said support means at which a contact closing operation in a circuit interrupter is begun;
d) limiting means for limiting rotational motion to one direction, said limiting means being disposed in mechanical relationship with said coordinating means;
e) energy storage spring means having parallel connecting rods one of which is disposed in mechanical relationship with said limiting means and the other of which is disposed in mechanical relationship with said cam means, said spring being charged to a disposition of stored potential energy by synchronous rotation of said limiting means and said cam means in said one direction until said limiting means attains a second predetermined angular position relative to said support means;
f) movement providing means disposed in mechanical relationship with said limiting means for rotatably moving said limiting means upon command in said one direction to said second angular position to thereby charge said energy storage means; and g) trigger means disposed in mechanical relation-ship with said limiting means, said trigger means when actuated causing said energy storage means to rotate said coordinating means from a disposition where said limiting means is in said second angular position to a disposition where said contact closing means in said first angular position to thus begin said closing operation.

21. A circuit interrupter closing mechanism, comprising:
a) a pair of spaced support means;
b) shaft means having a circular longitudinal central region and keyed longitudinal end regions rotatably disposed upon said support means;
c) contact closing means disposed outboard of said support means in keyed mechanical relationship with one of said keyed ends of said shaft means for being rotated by said shaft means to a predetermined first angular position relative to said support means at which a contact closing operation in a circuit interrupter is begun;
d) limiting means for limiting rotational motion to one direction, said limiting means being disposed outboard of said support means in keyed mechanical relationship with the other said keyed end of said coordinating means;
e) energy storage means disposed in mechanical relationship with said limiting means for being charged to a disposition of stored potential energy by rotation of said limiting means in said one direction until said limiting means attains a second predetermined angular position relative to said support means;
f) movement providing means disposed in mechanical relationship with said limiting means for rotatably moving said limiting means upon command in said one direction to said second angular position to thereby charge said energy storage means; and g) trigger means disposed in mechanical relationship with said limiting means, said trigger means when actuated causing said energy storage means to rotate said coordinating means from a disposition where said limiting means is in said second angular position to a disposition where said contact closing means is in said first angular position to thus begin said closing operation.

22. A circuit interrupter closing mechanism, comprising:
a) a pair of spaced support means;
b) coordinating means comprising a shaft rotatably disposed upon said support means;
c) contact closing means disposed outboard of said support means in mechanical relationship with said coordinat-ing means for being rotated by said coordinating means to a predetermined first angular position relative to said support means at which a contact closing operation in a circuit inter-rupter is begun;
d) limiting means for limiting rotational motion to one direction, said limiting means being disposed outboard of said support means in mechanical relationship with said coordinating means;
e) energy storage means disposed in mechanical relationship with said limiting means for being charged to a disposition of stored potential energy by rotation of said limiting means in said one direction until said limiting means attains a second predetermined angular position relative to said support means;
f) movement providing means disposed in mechanical relationship with said limiting means for rotatably moving said limiting means upon command in said one direction to said second angular position to thereby charge said energy storage means; and g) trigger means disposed in mechanical relationship with said limiting means, said trigger means when actuated causing said energy storage means to rotate said coordinating means from a dispostion where said limiting means is in said second angular position to a disposition where said contact closing means is in said first position, to thus begin said closing operation.