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EP-3514819-B1 - ROTARY MOTION SWITCHING APPARATUS USABLE WITH CIRCUIT INTERRUPTER

EP3514819B1EP 3514819 B1EP3514819 B1EP 3514819B1EP-3514819-B1

Inventors

  • Clark, John Thomas
  • POWAR, RAMESH SHIVAJI
  • PATWARDHAN, SUJIT SUBHASH

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20190115

Claims (12)

  1. A rotary motion switching apparatus (4) that is usable with a circuit interrupter (6), the circuit interrupter (6) having a housing (16), a switch (18) situated on the housing (16), and at least a first opening (20) formed in the housing (16), the rotary motion switching apparatus (4) comprising: a base (22); an attachment system (26) situated on the base (22), the attachment system (26) comprising at least a first connector (28); a crank apparatus (24) situated on the base (22), the crank apparatus (24) comprising a first portion (42) and a second portion (68, 70), the first portion (42) being pivotable about an axis of rotation (94) between a first orientation and a second orientation, the first portion (42) and the second portion (68, 70) being engaged with one another at a location spaced from the axis of rotation (94), at least a part of the second portion (68) being translatable along a movement axis (100) between a first position and a second position, the first portion (42) being in the first orientation when the at least part of the second portion (68) is in the first position, the first portion (42) being in the second orientation when the at least part of the second portion (68) is in the second position; and the second portion (68, 70) having a number of lugs (76) that are structured to engage the switch (18) and to move the switch (18) between a first state and a second state, the at least part of the second portion (68) being structured to be in the first position when the switch (18) is in the first state, the at least part of the second portion (68) being structured to be in the second position when the switch (18) is in the second state; the rotary motion switching apparatus (4) characterized in that : the first connector (28) is elongated and is structured to be at least partially received in the first opening (20) and is further structured to engage the housing (16) within the first opening (20) to resist removal of the first connector (28) from the first opening (20) and to affix the base (22) to the housing (16); and the first connector (28) comprises a body (102) and a latch (111) that are structured to be received in the first opening (20), the body (102) being elongated along a direction of elongation (105), the latch (111) protruding from the body (102) and comprising an engagement surface (115) that is oriented substantially perpendicular to the direction of elongation (105), the engagement surface (115) being structured to engage a portion of the housing (16) within the first opening (20) to resist removal of the body (102) from the first opening (20).
  2. The rotary motion switching apparatus (4) of Claim 1 wherein the body (102) has formed therein a notch (107) that is elongated and that extends along the direction of elongation (105), the latch (111) extending from the body (102) in a direction away from the notch (107).
  3. The rotary motion switching apparatus (4) of Claim 2 wherein the first connector (28) comprises another latch (111) that is structured to be received in the first opening (20), the another latch (111) protruding from the body (102) and comprising another engagement surface (115) that is oriented substantially perpendicular to the direction of elongation (105), the another engagement surface (115) being structured to engage the housing (16) within the first opening (20) to resist removal of the body (102) from the first opening (20), the another latch (111) extending from the body (102) in another direction away from the notch (107).
  4. The rotary motion switching apparatus (4) of Claim 3 wherein the direction and the another direction are generally away from one another.
  5. The rotary motion switching apparatus (4) of Claim 1 wherein the direction of elongation (105) is oriented substantially parallel with the axis of rotation (94).
  6. The rotary motion switching apparatus (4) of Claim 1 wherein the first portion (42) and the second portion (68, 70) are pivotably connected together at the location spaced from the axis of rotation (94).
  7. The rotary motion switching apparatus (4) of Claim 1 wherein the first portion (42) has a receptacle (60) formed therein, the receptacle (60) being structured to receive therein an end of a shaft (14) that has a handle (12) situated on another end thereof.
  8. The rotary motion switching apparatus (4) of Claim 1 wherein the at least part of the second portion (68) comprises a slider (68) that is at least partially situated in a slot (32) formed in the base (22).
  9. The rotary motion switching apparatus (4) of Claim 8 wherein the second portion (68, 70) further comprises a link (70) that is pivotably connected between the slider (68) and the first portion (42).
  10. The rotary motion switching apparatus (4) of Claim 1 wherein the circuit interrupter (6) has a second opening (20) formed in the housing (16), and wherein the attachment system (26) further comprises a second connector (28) that is elongated, the second connector (28) being structured to be at least partially received in the second opening (20) and being further structured to engage the housing (16) within the second opening (20) to resist removal of the second connector (28) from the second opening (20) and to further affix the base (22) to the housing (16).
  11. The rotary motion switching apparatus (4) of Claim 10 wherein the first connector (28) has a first head (109), wherein the second connector (28) has a second head (109) and a second body (102), and wherein the base (22) has a first hole (40) and a second hole (40) formed therein, the first head (109) being received against the base (22) and the first body (102) being at least partially received in the first hole (40) when the first body (102) is received in the first opening (20), the second body (102) being elongated and being structured to be received in the second opening (40), the second head (109) being received against the base (22) and the second body (102) being at least partially received in the second hole (40) when the second body (102) is received in the second opening (20).
  12. An assembly (8) comprising the rotary motion switching apparatus (4) of Claim 1, the assembly (8) further comprising: a circuit interrupter (6), the circuit interrupter (6) having a housing (16), a switch (18) situated on the housing (16), and at least a first opening (20) formed in the housing (16); the at least first connector (28) being at least partially received in the first opening (20) and being engaged with the housing (16) within the first opening (20) to resist removal of the first connector (28) from the first opening (20) and to affix the base (22) to the housing (16); and the number of lugs (76) being engaged with the switch (18) to move the switch (18) between the first state and the second state, the at least part of the second portion (68) being in the first position when the switch (18) is in the first state, the at least part of the second portion (68) being in the second position when the switch (18) is in the second state.

Description

BACKGROUND Field The disclosed and claimed concept relates generally to electrical switching equipment and, more particularly, to a rotary motion switching apparatus that is usable with a circuit interrupter. Related Art Numerous types of switching equipment is known in the relevant art. Among such switching equipment are any of a wide variety of circuit interrupters that are known to interrupt electrical power to a protected portion of a circuit in certain overcurrent and undervoltage conditions, as well as in numerous other predefined conditions. While such circuit interruption devices have been generally effective for their intended purposes, they have not been without limitation. In certain applications, it is necessary for a circuit interrupter to be situated within an interior region of a National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) box for any of a wide variety of reasons. As is known in the relevant art, circuit interrupters typically have a handle that is movable among ON, OFF, and TRIPPED positions, and it is thus also known that the switching of the circuit interrupter between those positions can be made more difficult if the circuit interrupter is situated within the interior of a NEMA box. While some solutions have been known to exist in which a control mechanism extends between a circuit interrupter situated within the interior of a NEMA box and a handle or other implement situated at the exterior of the NEMA box, such solutions have typically involved a number of modifications to the to the housing of the circuit interrupter or to the molding that is used to mold the housing of the circuit interrupters, thus resulting in undesirable expense. As employed herein, the expression "a number of" and variations thereof shall refer broadly to any non-zero quantity, including a quantity of one. Improvements thus would be desirable. Attention is drawn to 44 US 5 493 084 A, which relates to a door release for a circuit interrupter rotary handle mechanism. The operating mechanism for an enclosure-mounted circuit breaker includes a slider for engaging the circuit breaker handle; a shaft-driven pivot for moving the slider between the handle on, off and reset positions; a holder for holding the slider in its reset position; a base plate for supporting the pivot and the slider; and a door-mounted rotary handle for rotating the shaft and operating the pivot. The rotary handle may engage the shaft in the on and off positions, and may be detached from the shaft in the reset position. The pivot may include a first pivot arm having a first cam surface for holding the slider in its reset position. A second cam surface on a second pivot arm may engage a first slider surface from off to on; a second slider surface from on to off, from off toward reset, and to resist reset to off; and an oblique slider surface when adjacent reset. The second cam surface may disengage the oblique surface at reset. Alternatively, the slider may include a notch and the base plate may include a latch for engaging the notch. The pivot may include a single pivot arm having a cam surface which engages a slider surface from off to on; an oblique slider surface from on to off, and from off to reset in order to engage the notch and the latch; and another oblique surface to disengage the notch and the latch from reset to off. The slider may include an oblique shoulder for moving the handle from on to off and from off to reset, for resisting the handle force from reset to off, and for using the handle force to engage the notch and the latch in the reset position in order to substantially decouple the handle force from the rotary handle. Patent documents US 3324259A and US 5397869A disclose examples of devices in which plates are mounted on circuit interrupters using screws (that is, elongated connectors) as fixing means. SUMMARY In accordance with the present invention, a rotary motion switching apparatus as set forth in claim 1 is provided. Further embodiments are inter alia disclosed in the dependent claims. An improved rotary motion switching apparatus is usable with a circuit interrupter and employs an attachment system having a pair of connectors that are received in a pair of openings that are already formed in a housing of a circuit interrupter and that are affixed to the housing within the openings in order to resist removal of the rotary motion switching apparatus from the circuit interrupter. The openings are pre-existing in the housing of the circuit interrupter and are provided to enable access by tools such as screwdrivers and the like with terminals of the circuit interrupter to which load wires and the like are connectable. The connectors thus secure the rotary motion switching apparatus to the circuit interrupter by using openings that are already formed in the circuit interrupter and thus the rotary motion switching apparatus is usable without requiring a modification to the housing or to the molds that are employed to f