A disc member is for a Thomson coil actuator of an electrical switching apparatus. The Thomson coil actuator has at least one generally planar coil. The disc member includes at least one annular-shaped conductive member structured to be driven by the coil, and a structural support member directly coupled to the conductive member.

A high speed switch comprises an interrupter unit connected to a main circuit and including a movable electrode and a driving electrode for opening or closing the main circuit; a driving unit including a repulsion coil for providing a driving force for moving the movable electrode of the interrupter unit, and a repulsion plate disposed opposite to the repulsion coil; a guide rod part connecting the movable electrode of the interrupter unit to the repulsion plate, having a latch groove formed therein, and reciprocating vertically according to movements of the repulsion plate; and a state-holding unit for regulating the movement of the guide rod part, wherein the state-holding unit comprises: a latch; a latch elastic member; and a latch coil.

A circuit interrupter system includes a vacuum circuit interrupter having a vacuum chamber that contains a fixed contact and a moveable contact. A non-conductive rod extends from the moveable contact. One or more Thomson coils are wound around the rod, and one or more armatures are connected to the rod. When a driver energizes one of the Thomson coils, a corresponding armature will be repelled from that Thomson coil and move the rod to open or close the contacts of the vacuum circuit interrupter. The system also may include a damper that provides an active damping force rod when the rod is moved to open and/or close the vacuum circuit interrupter.

A circuit interrupter system includes a vacuum circuit interrupter having a vacuum chamber that contains a fixed contact and a moveable contact. A non-conductive rod extends from the moveable contact. One or more Thomson coils are wound around the rod, and one or more armatures are connected to the rod. When a driver energizes one of the Thomson coils, a corresponding armature will be repelled from that Thomson coil and move the rod to open or close the contacts of the vacuum circuit interrupter. The system also may include a damper that provides an active damping force rod when the rod is moved to open and/or close the vacuum circuit interrupter.

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.

A contactor for medium voltage electric systems including: one or more electric poles; for each electric pole, a fixed contact and a corresponding movable contact reversibly movable between a first position, at which the movable contact is decoupled from the fixed contact, and a second position, at which the movable contact is coupled with the fixed contact; an electromagnetic actuator including a magnetic yoke having a fixed yoke member and a movable yoke member, the movable yoke member reversibly movable between a third position corresponding to the first position of the movable contacts, at which the movable yoke member is decoupled from the fixed yoke member, and a fourth position, corresponding to the second position of the movable contacts, at which the movable yoke member is coupled with the fixed yoke member, the electromagnetic actuator including an excitation circuit assembly including an excitation coil wound around the magnetic yoke and electrically connected with an auxiliary electric power supply to be fed with an excitation current to generate an excitation magnetic flux to move the movable yoke member from the third position to the fourth position or to maintain the movable yoke member in the fourth position; an opening springs operatively coupled with the movable yoke member to move the movable yoke member from the fourth position to the third position; a kinematic chain to operatively connect said movable yoke member with said movable contacts. The electromagnetic actuator including camping circuit assembly comprising a damping coil arranged to form a conductive loop adapted to be at least partially enchained with the excitation magnetic flux generated by the excitation current flowing along the excitation coil, when the auxiliary electric power supply provides the excitation current to the excitation coil, so that a secondary current circulates along the damping coil when the excitation magnetic flux is subject to a transient.

Disclosed is a fast switch device including: a reactor that moves to an open position where the switch is opened and a close position where the switch is closed; an open coil portion that drives the reactor to the open position by virtue of an eddy current component; a close coil portion that drives the reactor the close position by virtue of an eddy current component; and a controller that performs control such that an electric current is applied to the close coil portion oppositely to a direction of an electric current flowing through the open coil portion in order to brake the reactor during an open operation for driving the reactor to the open position, and an electric current is applied to the open coil portion oppositely to a direction of an electric current flowing through the close coil portion.

The present invention relates to a vacuum interrupter for a circuit breaker capable of forming and releasing a short circuit by moving two movable electrodes in forward/backward directions, and a driving method therefor. The vacuum interrupter according to the present invention includes: a housing with a vacuum state therein; and first and second movable electrodes partially accommodated within the housing, and attached to first and second movable contacts at respective ends thereof, wherein the first and second movable electrodes are capable of moving in forward/backward directions, and the first and second movable contacts contact each other and separate from each other by the movement in forward/backward directions of the first and second electrodes.