Push-Button Thermal Breaker for In-Circuit Connectivity Testing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing thermal circuit breakers require time-consuming and impractical unwiring and isolation to verify electrical connectivity between the breaker and the device it protects, especially when multiple breakers are used in a single electrical system.
Innovation Solution
A push-button testable thermal circuit breaker design with a push rod and spacer mechanism that allows for easy verification of electrical conductivity between terminals by manually positioning a spacer to interrupt or restore contact, utilizing a spring to facilitate this process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If multiple thermal breakers are used in a single electrical system with wires bound together, then the electrical system can provide comprehensive overload protection, but it becomes time-consuming and impractical to verify electrical connectivity between a thermal breaker and the device it protects
Solution Approach 1:
A test button is introduced as an intermediary component that provides indirect access to the electrical contact mechanism. When pressed, the test button activates the same mechanical pathway as normal operation, allowing connectivity verification without direct wire manipulation. This mediator enables testing through the existing electrical pathway rather than requiring physical isolation of wires.
Solution Approach 2:
The thermal breaker performs self-testing through the test button mechanism that utilizes its own internal components (push rod, spacer, electrical contacts) to verify connectivity. The device tests itself by temporarily recreating the contact condition through manual activation, eliminating the need for external testing equipment or wire disassembly.
2Ease of operation
If wires are bound together in bundles for multiple thermal breakers, then the installation is compact and organized, but isolating individual wires for connectivity testing becomes impractical
Solution Approach 1:
The testing function extracts the connectivity verification process from the wire bundle context. Instead of requiring physical extraction and isolation of individual wires from the bundle, the test button extracts the essential testing action and performs it through the breaker's internal mechanism, leaving the wire bundle intact and organized.
Solution Approach 2:
Rather than accessing the electrical contact point directly by unwiring and isolating conductors, the approach is inverted: the test button is pressed from the external accessible side, and the mechanical action travels inward through the push rod to the electrical contacts, achieving the same result through the opposite directional approach.
3Ease of operation
If a spacer is inserted between the electrical conducting element and the load terminal to create space, then the thermal breaker can be reset after overload, but the electrical conductivity is interrupted
Solution Approach 1:
The spacer's position is made dynamic rather than static. During normal operation, the spacer is retracted to allow electrical contact. During resetting after overload, the spacer is inserted to maintain separation. The test button temporarily overrides this dynamic positioning to verify connectivity. This dynamic adjustment of spacer position enables multiple operational states.
Solution Approach 2:
The test button mechanism creates a periodic or temporary insertion of the spacer for testing purposes only. The spacer is briefly positioned to interrupt conductivity during the test, then automatically or manually returned to its retracted position to restore normal conductivity. This periodic action allows verification without permanent disruption of electrical service.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables quick and simple testing of electrical connectivity between the thermal breaker and the device it protects without the need to unbundle wires, through a straightforward modification of existing thermal breaker designs.
Implementation Method 1
The spacer is removed from in between the second end and the second terminal when the push rod is pushed by a spring towards the front end of the base
Implementation Method 2
The electrically conducting element is a bi-metal that bends away from the load terminal when it gets hot, for example from an overload
Data Source
AI summary
A thermal breaker having a push rod positioned in a base of the thermal breaker between a first terminal and a second terminal and beneath an electrical conducting element. A first end of the electrical conducting element is fixed to and makes electrical contact with the first terminal and a second opposite end extends to the second terminal and is constructed to make reversible electrical contact with the second terminal. A spacer extends from the push rod and is positioned in between the second end and the second terminal when the push rod is pushed manually towards a rear end of the base, preventing electrical conductivity between the first terminal and the second terminal. Releasing the push rod restores electrical conductivity between the first terminal and the second terminal as a spring pushes the push rod towards a front end of the base.