Circuit Breaker Protrusion Prevents On-State Mounting

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Solution Overview

Problem

Circuit breakers can suffer accidents and mechanical damage when external devices are mistakenly mounted in the 'on' state, leading to potential interference with mechanical parts.

Innovation Solution

A circuit breaker design featuring a protrusion portion on the bracket that rotates and contacts an arm on the external device when mounted, triggering an automatic shutdown by releasing the latch and disconnecting the circuit.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If the circuit breaker is in the 'on' state, then power supply is enabled, but mounting an external device may cause interference with mechanical parts leading to accidents

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvepower supply enablementVSAvoidsafety against interference
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The protrusion portion is pre-configured to contact the arm of the external device during the mounting process. This preliminary action detects the mounting attempt before the external device can interfere with mechanical parts, and automatically triggers the trip mechanism to interrupt power supply, preventing potential accidents

Inventive Principle:
Principle #9Preliminary anti-action

Solution Approach 2:

The circuit breaker performs an automatic shutdown action in advance by detecting the external device mounting through the protrusion-arm contact. This preliminary interruption of power supply occurs before any harmful interference can happen between the external device and mechanical parts

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

2Adaptability or versatility

If the external device is mounted in the 'on' state, then the external device becomes operational, but mechanical damage may occur due to interference

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveexternal device mountingVSAvoidmechanical damage
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The protrusion portion is pre-configured to contact the arm of the external device during the mounting process. This preliminary action detects the mounting attempt before the external device can interfere with mechanical parts, and automatically triggers the trip mechanism to interrupt power supply, preventing potential accidents

Inventive Principle:
Principle #9Preliminary anti-action

Solution Approach 2:

The potential harmful interference between the external device and mechanical parts is converted into a beneficial detection mechanism. The contact between the protrusion portion and the arm serves as a signal to trigger automatic shutdown, transforming what could be a damaging interference into a safety feature

Inventive Principle:
Principle #22Blessing in disguise (Convert harm into benefit)

Data Source

PatentUS8796573B2Circuit breaker
Publication Date: 2014.08.05 LSIS CO LTD
  • US8796573B2 patent drawing
  • US8796573B2 patent drawing
  • US8796573B2 patent drawing

AI summary

A circuit breaker includes a main case; a switching mechanism accommodated in the main case, and having a mechanical part for opening and closing a circuit; a trip mechanism configured to trigger the switching mechanism to a circuit interrupting position upon detection of an abnormal current on a circuit; and an external device detachably mounted to the main case, wherein the circuit breaker includes an interrupting means configured to interrupt the switching mechanism by contacting at least a part of the external device when the external device is mounted to the main case.