A switching device for breaking an electric current including a main contact carrier, movable and stationary main contacts, the movable contact attached to the main contact carrier, an arcing contact carrier, a movable and stationary arcing contacts, the movable arcing contact attached to the arcing contact carrier and the stationary arcing contact arranged in parallel with the stationary main contact, and an actuating unit for the main and arcing contact carriers between open and close position at an actuating distance, wherein there are separation distances between the stationary and movable contacts of the main and arcing contact units respectively when the current is interrupted. The switching device further includes a first rack and a first gear for actuating the arcing contact carrier so that, when interrupting the current, a separation distance between the arcing contacts is longer than a separation distance between the main contacts.

Disclosed are a circuit breaking unit and an air circuit breaker including the same. The present disclosure provides a circuit breaking unit, including: a fixed contact; a movable contact that is in contact with or spaced apart from the fixed contact; a fixed contact terminal having the fixed contact disposed at a lower end thereof and extending upward; a movable contact terminal on which the movable contact is disposed and configured such that the movable contact moves in a direction toward the fixed contact or in a direction away from the fixed contact; and a low runner disposed extending upward from the fixed contact, one end thereof coupled to the fixed contact terminal, and the other end thereof spaced apart from the fixed contact terminal, wherein a magnet unit or a U assembly is disposed between the low runner and the fixed contact terminal.

A device for extinguishing arcs in an electrical circuit includes a first arc chamber configured to divide a first part of an arc into a plurality of subsidiary arcs, a second arc chamber configured to divide a second part of the arc into a plurality of subsidiary arcs; wherein the first arc chamber and the second arc chamber are connected by a connection element configured to guide the second part of the arc from the first arc chamber to the second arc chamber.

A low-voltage multipolar circuit breaker includes a moulded housing including a main body that is divided into interior compartments, each associated with one pole of the circuit breaker, and a cover that is mounted on the main body covering a main face of the body. The circuit breaker includes, for each pole, electrical contacts that can be separated by a device of a switching mechanism and an arc-extinguishing chamber. For at least two of the poles, the main face includes an additional aperture, each placed directly above the spark guard of the corresponding pole and placing the arc-extinguishing chamber of this pole in communication with the interior volume delimited by the cover and the main face, and the cover is attached to the main body while leaving a peripheral opening between the cover and the main body, placing the interior volume in communication with the exterior of the housing.

The present invention relates to a switching device comprising at least one contact point, an arc extinguishing chamber assigned to the contact point, and an arc blow device assigned to the contact point. The arc extinguishing chamber comprises an exit opening through which plasma, which is generated inside the switching device by a switch arc developing when the contact point opens, can exit out of the switching device, the exit opening having a clearance dimension and defining an exit plane. The arc blow device is provided for generating a magnetic blow field by which the switch arc developing when the contact point opens is blown away from the contact point towards the exit opening. Furthermore, the switching device comprises at least one first arc guide plate which extends from the contact point to the exit opening and by which the switch arc is guided and stretched on the way from the contact point to the exit opening, wherein the first arc guide plate comprises a first portion and a second portion within the arc extinguishing chamber between the contact point and the exit plane, the first portion of the first arc guide plate being arranged proximal to the contact point, and the second portion of the first arc guide plate being arranged distal to the contact point. According to the invention it is provided that the second portion of the first arc guide plate extends beyond the exit opening in a direction parallel to the exit plane so that the switch arc is stretched by the second portion of the first arc guide plate at least at one end of the switch arc beyond the clearance dimension of the exit opening, wherein an arc guide pin projecting from the second portion of the first arc guide plate is arranged in front of the exit opening, by which arc guide pin the switch arc is again shortened in front of the exit opening.

An electric arc extinction chamber comprises a stack of electric arc splitter plates. The splitter plates define an inlet of the extinction chamber that is to be present facing electric contacts, and a back of the extinction chamber. At least one permanent magnet is present inside the extinction chamber in a central zone in the width direction of the extinction chamber and beside the back thereof. The magnet presents magnetization having a non-zero component along an axis extending between the inlet and the back of the extinction chamber.

An electrical breaking module includes a non-magnetic, electrically insulating casing housing, a fixed contact and a movable contact defining between them a breaking zone in which an electric arc extends at its origin when the electrical circuit is opened. A magnetic blow-out device is provided with at least one magnetic field source arranged in a breaking chamber, opposite the breaking zone to move and stretch the electric arc in a direction substantially perpendicular to the breaking plane towards the housing. The magnetic blow-out device also includes a non-magnetic, electrically insulating deflector, arranged in the breaking chamber to occupy most of the space between the breaking zone and the casing, so as to create at least one arc confinement zone, in which the electric arc when magnetically blown is deflected and constrained to promote its cooling and extinction.

Circuit interrupters such as breakers with a metal arc chute having a base and sidewalls extending outward from the base forming an open cavity, a movable arm holding a movable contact adjacent to the arc chute, a line conductor electrically connected to a stationary contact residing adjacent to the arc chute facing the movable contact and a three-dimensional molded arc quenching insert attached to the metal arc chute, and residing in the cavity of the metal arc chute between the stationary and movable contacts. The insert has an arc quenching material that optionally releases a gas such as hydrogen during an arcing event.

A switching device for breaking an electric current including a main contact carrier, movable and stationary main contacts, the movable contact attached to the main contact carrier, an arcing contact carrier, a movable and stationary arcing contacts, the movable arcing contact attached to the arcing contact carrier and the stationary arcing contact arranged in parallel with the stationary main contact, and an actuating unit for the main and arcing contact carriers between open and close position at an actuating distance, wherein there are separation distances between the stationary and movable contacts of the main and arcing contact units respectively when the current is interrupted. The switching device further includes a first rack and a first gear for actuating the arcing contact carrier so that, when interrupting the current, a separation distance between the arcing contacts is longer than a separation distance between the main contacts.

An air circuit breaker includes two separable electrical contacts connected to electric current input and output terminals; and a chamber for quenching an electric arc, including a stack of splitter plates that are spaced apart from one another, and lateral walls placed on either side of the stack and including a thermosetting-resin impregnated polyamide woven and being devoid of glass fibres. The quenching chamber furthermore includes protective elements made of crosslinked polyamide, the elements being placed in junction zones between the lateral walls and holding plates, the protective elements covering corners of the splitter plates, which corners are adjacent to the lateral walls, so as to separate these corners of the splitter plates from the electrical contacts.