US2081826A - Fuse cut-out - Google Patents

Description

G. F. LINCKS Q I 2,081,826

I FUSE CUT-OUT May 25, 1937.

Filed May 15, 1935 S mwuw P mu um n 0 Cl i r .5 im G b Patented May 25, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FUSE CUT-OUT New York Application May 15, 1935, Serial No. 21,518

13 Claims.

My invention relates to an electric cutout of the type having a fuse which is moved from between the terminals upon operation of the fuse.

The object of my invention is to provide an 5 improved construction in a cutout of this type, and for a consideration of what I believe to be novel and my invention, attention is directed to the accompanying description and the claims appended thereto.

10 In the accompanying drawing Fig. 1 is a side sectional view of my improved fuse cutout with the fuse link intact and the cutout in the closed position; Fig. 2 is a side sectional view after the operation of the fuse and its initial movement 15 from engagement with the contacts; Fig. 3 is a fragmentary side view with the cutout in the open position after operation of the fuse, Fig. 4

is a side View of an open type cutout embodying my invention, and Fig. 5 illustrates a modification applicable either to the closed cutout of Figs. 1 to 3 inclusive or to the open type cutout of Fig. 4.

Referring to the drawing, indicates a housing of porcelain or similar insulating material in which are carried two stationary contacts II and I2 which are adapted to be connected to line conductors. A cover 13 is provided for housing I0 which carries a fuse M of the expulsion type in upstanding portions l and I6 of insu- 30 lating material integral with the cover I3. A

metal hinge lever I! supports cover l3 and has spaced arms H! which extend on either side of the upstanding portion l6 and are pivotally connected thereto by means of pins l9 which fit into 35 elongated slots 20. Lever i1 is provided with a hook 2| which passes over a hinge pin 22 secured in housing 10.

Fuse I4 consists of a fuse tube 23 of insulating material with a contactcap 24 secured to its 40 upper end. As better indicated in Fig. 1, when the cover I3 is closed, contact cap 24 engages contact finger 25 which is connected to contact H. Contact finger 25 is backed by a spring member 26 which provides the desired contact 45 pressure and is provided with a bent portion 2'! which serves as a latch to prevent outward movement of the upper end of the fuse from between the contacts. A fuse link located in fuse tube 23 is connected to the contact cap 24 at 5 one end and has a conductor 28 which extends from the bottom of the fuse tube and is connected to lever H at 29. 1

As best indicated in Fig. l, lever I? is held in close engagement with fuse tube 23 of fuse i4 55 by the fuse link against the tension of the spring actuated contact arm 3! Lever I1 is held in this position in fixed relation to the fuse so long as the fuse link remains intact. Lever H and the lower end of the fuse link are electrically connected to the lower contact l2 by means of contact arm 30 which is pivotally connected to lever I! at 3|. As indicated in Figs. 1 and 2, a spiral spring 32 is interposed between lever I1 and contact arm 30 to provide the desired contact pressure and also to urge cover l3 and its connected parts to the open position. To insure good electrical connection between the contact arm 30 and lever I! and to prevent current flow through the spiral spring 32, a copper strip 33 is connected at its opposite ends to the contact arm 30 and the lever H Extending from either side of the upstanding portion l5 on the cover of the design shown in Figs. 1, '2, and 3, are pins 34 which extend within slots 35 conveniently formed on the inner side of the side walls of the housing It], when the fuse is moved to the position shown in Fig. 1. As can be seen in Fig. 2, the pins 34 provide a trunnion which permits the fuse M to pivot on the contact as the spring actuated contact arm swings the lower end of the fuse l4 and its connected parts outward. Simultaneously pins l9 slide in the elongated slots 20 in the spaced arms l8 of the lever ll permitting free outward swinging of the fuse M and its connected parts about the pivotal point on the contact 25. When the pins 34 swing outward past the edge 40 of the slots 35, that is, a slight distance past the position illustrated in Fig. 2, the fuse l4, cover i3, and other connected parts are free to drop out from between the contacts and to rotate about the hinge pin 22 to swing to the open position as shown in Fig. 3. The flaring portion 36 of slots freely permits the drop out movement of the fuse. 40

Fig. 4 illustrates an open fuse cutout embodying the features of my invention. In this device the contact finger 25 with its connected parts is supported by insulator M. The support with the slots 35 in the outer end is also fas- 45 tenecl to the insulator M. The contact I2 and the hinge pin 22 are supported by the insulator 22 which is held in spaced relationship with the insulator ll by the hanger 33. The fuse M is supported by lever it through the spaced arms it of lever l1 and the pins it which are fastened to the fuse tube 23 by the clamped strap M. The operation is identical to that previously described for the enclosed fuse cutout.

For manual opening of the enclosed cutout shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3 before operation of the fuse link, cover I3 is provided with a handle 38. The handle 38 is clamped around the fuse H in the open fuse cutout Fig. 4. During manual operation, the fuse l4 and its connected parts pivot about pin 22.

When the fuse is in position shown in Fig. l, the spring 25 forces the contact finger 25 downward against the contact cap 24, and the bent portion 21 of contact finger 25 holds the fuse in the position shown. The downward force exerted by spring 26 may be transmitted directly to the housing ID of the cutout shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, or to the support 45 of the cutout shown in Fig. 4 through pins 34, or if the pins 34 do not rest against the lower sides of slots 35, the force of spring 26 may be transmitted through pins l9 and lever IT to the hinge pin 22.

By reference to Fig. 2, it may be seen that upon operation of the fuse link, conductor 28 is blown from the open end of tube 23 and thus releases the tension which secures lever IT in engagement with fuse tube 23 and permits the swinging of the fuse 14 under the bias of spring 32. The initial swinging of the fuse I4 is limited to a pivotal movement about the point of contact of the contact cap 24 with the contact finger 25 by the pins 34 and slots 35, which arrangement forms the latch to hold the fuse between the contacts until the fuse link melts. At the end of this pivotal movement, as shown in Fig. 2, the pins 34 are adjacent the edge of slots 35, and the pin I9 is at the upper end of the elongated slots 20. At this time the circuit has been broken within the fuse tube 23 and since the contact cap 24 and the contact finger 25 and the contact finger 3|] and contact 12 are engaged during this pivotal movement, there is no arcing between these contacts. The fuse l4 and its connected parts are then free to drop out rotating about the hinge pin 22 under the action of gravity to the full open position, as indicated in Fig. 3. The time required for the pins 34 to swing outward from the position Fig. 1 to that adjacent the edge 40 of the slots 35, Fig. 2, affords the necessary delay to permit the interruption within the fuse tube 23 of the are formed when the fuse link melts, before the fuse drops out from between the contacts. A stop 37 is secured adjacent hinge pin 22 to engage lever I! in the open position to prevent hook 2| of lever i1 jumping from pin 22 and permitting fuse l4 dropping to the ground. Fuse l4 and its connected parts may then be removed by disengagement of the hook 2| from the hinge pin 22.

The cutouts of Figs. 1 to 23 inclusive and of Fig. 4.- may be modified in accordance with the teachings of the copending application, Serial No. 729,427, of B. R. Hermann, filed June 7, 1934 and assigned to the same assignee as the present invention, so that upon operation of the fuse, the fuse will not drop out from between the contacts but will swing only to an intermediate position to give an indication that the fuse has blown.

' This may be accomplished by providing a yoke 46 such as illustrated in Fig. 5 as applied to the cutout of Fig. l. The yoke 46 surrounds the fuse tube 23. and theends of the yoke are snapped in place in holes 41 in each of the arms l8. The

yoke may be easily installed and removed. Upon operation of the fuse, the yoke Mi stops outward swinging of the lower end of the fuse id at a point just before the pins 34 reach the edge M of slots 35, thereby preventing further movement of the fuse. The position of the fuse at this point, which substantially corresponds to the position of the fuse as illustrated in Fig. 2, serves as an indication that the fuse has blown.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. An electric cutout comprising spaced contacts, a fuse, means to connect the fuse between the contacts, a latch released by pivotal movement of the fuse about one end of the fuse for holding the fuse between the contacts, means released by operation of the fuse for pivoting the fuse about said end to release the latch and subsequently permitting the fuse to be moved from between the contacts, and means for limiting the initial movement of the fuse to pivoting about said end.

2. An electric cutout comprising a housing, spaced contacts carried by the housing, acover for the housing, a fuse carried by the cover, means to connect the fuse between the contacts, a latch released by pivotal movement of the fuse about one end of the fuse for holding the fuse between the contacts, means released by operation of the fuse for pivoting the fuse about said end to release the latch and subsequently permitting the fuse to be moved from between the contacts, and guiding means on said housing for limiting the initial movement of the fuse to pivoting about said end.

3. An electric cutout comprising spaced contacts, a fuse, means to connect the fuse between the contacts, a latch at the upper end of the fuse for holding the fuse from swinging out of the contacts, said latch being released by pivotal movement of the fuse about its upper end, a trunnion on the fuse, guides engaging the trunnion for guiding the initial movement of the fuse, and

means at the other end of the fuse released by operation of the fuse for pivoting the fuse about its upper end to release the latch and subse- I quently permitting the fuse to be moved from between the contacts.

4. An electric cutout comprising spaced contacts, a fuse, means to connect the fuse between the contacts, a latch at the upper end of the fuse for holding the fuse from swinging out of the contacts, said latch being released by pivotal movement of the fuse about its upper end, a trunnion on the upper part of the fuse, a support having open ended slots in which the trunnion fits for guiding the initial movement of the fuse, and means released by operation of the fuse for pivoting the fuse about its upper end to release the latch and subsequently permitting the fuse to be moved from between the contacts.

5. An electric cutout comprising spaced contacts, a fuse, a hinged support at one end of the fuse for moving the fuse to a position between the contacts, a latch released by pivotal movement of the fuse about the other end of the fuse for holding the fuse between the contacts, means released by operation of the fuse for pivoting the fuse about said other end to release the latch, means including said hinged support for subsequently moving the fuse from between the contacts, and means for limiting the initial movement of the fuse to pivoting about other end.

6. An electric cutout comprising spaced contacts, a fuse, a hinged support at one end of the fuse for moving the fuse to a position between the contacts, a latch released by pivotal movement of the fuse about the other end of the fuse for holding the fuse between the contacts, means released by operation of the fuse for pivoting the fuse about said other end to release the latch,

contacts, said hinged support having a lost motion connection to said fuse for permitting the initial pivoting movement of the fuse.

7. An electric cutout comprising spaced contacts, a fuse adapted to be connected between said contacts and including a contact cap at one end engaging one of said contacts, a hinge lever at the other end of said fuse, means released by pivotal movement of said fuse about said contact cap for holding said fuse between said contacts, and means including said hinge lever. for pivoting said fuse about said contact cap uponoperation of said fuse while maintaining the contact cap in firm engagement with its co-operating contact and for subsequently permitting said fuse to be moved from between said contacts.

8. An electric cutout comprising spaced contacts, a fuse adapted to be connected between said contacts and including a contact cap at one end engaging one of said contacts, a hinge lever at the other end of said fuse having a lost motion connection with said fuse, means for holding said lever in fixed relation to the fuse, said holding means being released by operation'of the fuse, means effective upon releasing of said holding means for pivoting said fuse about said contact while maintaining contact between the contact cap and the co-operating contact and for subsequently permitting said fuse to be moved from between said, contacts.

9. An electric cutout including in combination, spaced contacts, a fuse, means for connecting the fuse between the contacts, latching means for holding the fuse in its connected position, means released by operation of the fuse for effecting movement of one end of the fuse, and means initially cooperative with said released means upon operation of the fuse for constraining said one end of the fuse to pivot substantially about the other end of the fuse.

10. An electric cutout including in. combination spaced contacts, a fuse, means for connecting the fuse between the contacts including an element of one of the contacts adapted to engage one end of the fuse, means for maintaining the fuse normally connected between the contacts with said one end thereof in engagement with said element, means operative upon operation of the fuse for effecting an initial pivoting of the fuse about said one end, and means for maintaining said one end in firm engagement with said element during such initial pivoting of the fuse.

11. An electric cutout including in combination, spaced contacts, a fuse, means for supporting the fuse removably connected between the contacts, means releasable by operation of the fuse for exerting a force to move the fuse from its connected position, means for latching one end of the fuse in its connected position, and means providing guide ways operatively connected to the fuse for effecting a substantially pure pivoting of the other end of the fuse substantially about said one end thereof upon fuse operation.

12. An electric cutout including in combination, spaced contacts, a fuse, means for connecting the fuse between the contacts, means for removably supporting the fuse in its connected position, means releasable by operation of the fuse for exerting force to move the fuse from its connected position, means for latching one end of the fuse in its connected position, and means including guide slots carried by said supporting means and operative upon release of said releasable means for constraining the other end of the fuse to move pivotally substantially about said one end.

13. An electric cutout including in combination, spaced contacts, a fuse, means for connecting the fuse between the contacts, means for removably supporting the fuse in its connected position, means operatively engaging one end of the fuse to latch said one end against movement transversely of the longitudinal axis of the fuse, means releasable by operation of the fuse for exerting a force on the fuse tending to move the same toward a disconnecting position, and means operative upon. release of said releasable means for effecting an initial pivoting movement of the other end of the fuse substantially about said one end thereof and operative also to prevent bodily longitudinal movement of the fuse during said initial pivoting movement of said other end thereof.

' GEORGE F. LINCKS.

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