An assembly for manufacturing the insulation layer of a Thomson coil includes a base plate, a coil housing, and a cover plate. The base plate securely seats the coil housing, and the coil housing securely seats a Thomson coil and the cover plate. The cover plate has several ribs that hold multiple turns of a Thomson coil in place while epoxy is applied to the coil, thus ensuring that the epoxy is evenly distributed on the coil surface and that the coil windings remain level. The cover plate and coil housing are structured to either receive a high-pressure epoxy injection or to be used in an epoxy potting process, during which all exposed areas of the Thomson coil are coated by liquid epoxy. After the epoxy has solidified, the Thomson coil is coupled to the coil housing, and the housed and insulated Thomson coil is removed from the assembly.

An actuator, which is a part of a combination that includes a pair of circuit interrupters, advantageously employs a plurality of Thomson coils that are electrically connected in parallel and that interact with a corresponding set of Thomson plates of a rotatable armature in order to perform useful work in a rapid fashion. In one embodiment, the useful work is to commutate current from one circuit interrupter to the other.

An electrical switch assembly includes a contact element to be moved towards a further contact element for generating an electrical connection; and a drive for moving the contact element; wherein the drive includes a plunger with a connection member interconnected with the contact element; wherein the plunger includes a mechanical structure with a top side to which the connection member is connection, and a bottom side opposite to the top side; wherein the drive includes a Thomas coil for moving the plunger via an electrically conducting top face, which is provided on the top side and an electrically conducting bottom face, which is provided on the bottom side. The mechanical structure includes at least one channel between the top side and the bottom side, the at least one channel extending transverse to a movement direction of the plunger. Furthermore, the mechanical structure fills less than 50% of a volume between the top side and the bottom side.

A dual conductor Thomson coil actuator for use in opening the separable contacts of a circuit interrupter comprises two nested conductors wound to form a single coil, rather than the traditional design comprising one single conductor wound to form a coil of the same size. Each of the two conductors can be excited by half the capacitance that would be used to excite the traditional single conductor coil, using the same voltage as the single conductor coil. When the same total capacitor-stored energy that would be used to excite the single conductor coil is instead used to excite the dual conductor coil, the initial pulse of aggregate current through the dual conductor coil is greater than the initial pulse of current through the single conductor coil, resulting in a faster initial opening distance of the separable contacts during an opening stroke.

An actuator for opening the separable contacts of a circuit interrupter integrates a Thomson coil arrangement into the movable and stationary conductor assemblies. A movable separable contact is coupled to one end of the movable conductor, and a stationary separable contact is coupled to one end of the stationary conductor. The movable and stationary conductors are each formed with a collar positioned near the respective movable and stationary separable contacts. The actuator further includes a coil seated within a coil housing, and the coil housing is coupled to the stationary conductor collar. A conductive member shaped as a cup and structured to be actuated by the coil is coupled to the movable conductor collar, such that the rim of the cup faces the coil. A housing is positioned around the conductive member cup body with bellows and coupled to the coil housing, forming a vacuum chamber around the separable contacts.

A movable contact conductor assembly is provided. The movable contact arm assembly includes an elongated member with a distal tip, a first end, a medial portion, an actuator coupling second component, a primary pivot second component, a secondary pivot second component, a clinch joint second component, a second end, and a proximal tip. During an over-current event the movable contact arm assembly member generates a loop force. A loop force first portion is disposed on a first longitudinal side of the movable contact arm assembly member primary pivot second component, and, a loop force second portion is disposed on a second longitudinal side of the movable contact arm assembly member primary pivot second component.

Systems of automatic transfer switches (ATS) are disclosed herein. One apparatus includes at least two automatic transfer switches coupled together. Each automatic transfer switches has contacts to couple a power source to a load. For each switch, an electromagnetic force biasing the contacts to each other is present if an electrical current flows through the switch. The automatic transfer switches may be on separate cassettes or on a single cassette. The power source of each switch may be the same or different.

An electrical switch, in particular for high voltages and/or high currents, includes a contact unit which includes at least two contact, a switching element and a drive for the switching element. The drive is designed such that it can move the switching element from an initial position into an end position. The switching element is accelerated during an acceleration phase directly or indirectly by the drive and it passes subsequently through a free movement phase until it has reached the end position.

An acoustic sensing system for detecting movement of an ultra-fast actuator in a hybrid circuit interrupter is disclosed. The system comprises a number of acoustic sensors structured to perform active or passive position sensing. For active sensing, the sensors emit sound waves toward a number of targeted portions of the actuator moving assembly and detect the positions of the targets based on acoustic signals reflected back to the sensors by the targets. For passive sensing, the sensors detect acoustic wavelets generated as a result of the moving assembly components moving during opening and closing operations. Acoustic signals can propagate through air or solids and thus the sensors can be mounted in a variety of locations within the circuit interrupter. Acoustic sensors are particularly well-suited for the circuit interrupter environment, as they are resilient to the environmental and external factors, such as dust, that can affect the performance of non-acoustic sensors.

In an electromagnetically controlled actuator of an electrical contactor, switching is done by the actuator with a set of fixed contacts and a set of movable contacts. The movable contacts are carried on a movable contact carrier. The movable contact carrier is coupled to and driven by an armature surrounded by a coil. The armature carries a coupling shaft, and the coupling shaft carries at least part of a bistable coupling mechanism which joins the armature to the movable contact carrier and allows the movable contact carrier and armature to keep the fixed and movable contacts separated when a short circuit current creates a contact welding situation.