US 11,749,477 B2
Vacuum circuit interrupter with dual plate actuation
Asish Das, Odisha (IN); Santhosh Kumar Chamarajanagar Govinda Nayaka, Moon Township, PA (US); Andrew L. Gottschalk, Monaca, PA (US); R. Michael Slepian, Murrysville, PA (US); and Jayaraman Muniyappan, Tamil Nadu (IN)
Assigned to EATON INTELLIGENT POWER LIMITED, Dublin (IE)
Filed by Eaton Intelligent Power Limited, Dublin (IE)
Filed on Apr. 21, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/236,262.
Prior Publication US 2022/0344115 A1, Oct. 27, 2022
Int. Cl. H01H 33/666 (2006.01); H01H 33/662 (2006.01); H01H 1/66 (2006.01); H01H 50/20 (2006.01)
CPC H01H 33/6661 (2013.01) [H01H 1/66 (2013.01); H01H 33/66207 (2013.01); H01H 50/20 (2013.01); H01H 2033/6665 (2013.01)] 16 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A circuit breaker comprising:
a vacuum interrupter comprising:
a first movable electrode to which a first contact is connected, and
a second movable electrode to which a second contact is connected,
wherein:
the vacuum interrupter is operable between an open state and a closed state,
in the open state, the first contact and the second contact are separated by a contact gap, and
in the closed state, the first contact and the second contact touch each other; and
an ultrafast actuator that is operatively connected to each of the first and second movable electrodes and configured to change the vacuum interrupter from the closed state to the open state by simultaneously moving:
the first contact in a first direction along a first distance portion of the contact gap, and
the second contact in a second direction along a second distance portion of the contact gap,
wherein the ultrafast actuator comprises a Thomson coil or a piezo-electric actuator.