Claims
- 1. A vacuum arc interrupter comprising:
a vacuum chamber assembly having a first conductor structured to be coupled to a power line, a non-conductive housing and a seal cup; a pressure chamber assembly having a second conductor structured to be coupled to a ground, a pressure chamber and a bullet assembly; said pressure chamber assembly disposed adjacent to said vacuum chamber assembly; said bullet assembly disposed in said pressure chamber and structured to move between a first position and a second position; and said bullet assembly having a metal lance with a blade portion structured to puncture a portion of the vacuum chamber assembly.
- 2. The vacuum arc interrupter of claim 1 wherein:
said bullet assembly further includes a piston assembly; said lance coupled to said piston assembly; said lance made from a conductive material having an elongated body with a first end and a second end; and said lance first end being tapered.
- 3. The vacuum arc interrupter of claim 2 wherein:
said lance body includes a tip, a medial portion, and a base; said tip disposed at said lance first end, said base disposed at said lance second end, and said medial portion disposed therebetween; said tip having a taper angle between about 90 and 150 degrees; and said blade portion disposed at the distal end of said tip.
- 4. The vacuum arc interrupter of claim 3, wherein said tip has a taper angle of about 120 degrees.
- 5. The vacuum arc interrupter of claim 1, wherein said blade portion is conical.
- 6. The vacuum arc interrupter of claim 1, wherein said blade portion is a knife edge.
- 7. The vacuum arc interrupter of claim 1, wherein said blade portion is pyramidal.
- 8. The vacuum arc interrupter of claim 1, wherein said seal cup is made from a non-brittle material.
- 9. The vacuum arc interrupter of claim 1, wherein said seal cup is made from a cupro-nickel alloy.
- 10. The vacuum arc interrupter of claim 9, wherein said seal cup is made from between about 50 to 95% copper and between about 5 to 50% nickel.
- 11. The vacuum arc interrupter of claim 10, wherein said seal cup is made from about 70% copper and about 30% nickel.
- 12. The vacuum arc interrupter of claim 1, wherein:
said first conductor is disk shaped; said non-conductive housing is a hollow cylinder; said first conductor sealingly coupled to said non-conductive housing; said seal cup including a sidewall and a planar base member; said sidewall sealingly coupled to said non-conductive housing, thereby forming a vacuum chamber; and said first conductor disposed within said vacuum chamber.
- 13. The vacuum arc interrupter of Claim 12, wherein said blade portion is structured to puncture said seal cup as said bullet assembly moves from said first position to said second position.
- 14. The vacuum arc interrupter of Claim 13, wherein said seal cup is structured to tear without a substantial amount of fragmentation as said bullet assembly moves from said first position to said second position.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is related to commonly assigned, concurrently filed:
[0002] U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______, filed ______, 2002, entitled “Shorting Switch And System To Eliminate Arcing Faults In Power Distribution Equipment” (Attorney Docket No. 01-EDP-213);
[0003] U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______, filed ______, 2002, entitled “Shorting Switch And System To Eliminate Arcing Faults In Power Distribution Equipment” (Attorney Docket No. 01-EDP-326);
[0004] U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______, filed ______, 2002, entitled “Shorting Switch And System To Eliminate Arcing Faults In Low Voltage Power Distribution Equipment” (Attorney Docket No. 01-EDP-385);
[0005] U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______, filed ______, 2002, entitled “Shorting Switch And System To Eliminate Arcing Faults In Power Distribution Equipment” (Attorney Docket No. 01-EDP-386);
[0006] U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______, filed ______, 2002, entitled “Bullet Assembly For A Vacuum Arc Interrupter” (Attorney Docket No. 01-EDP-425);
[0007] U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______, filed ______, 2002, entitled “Vacuum Arc Interrupter Having A Tapered Conducting Bullet Assembly” (Attorney Docket No. 01-EDP-428);
[0008] U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______, filed ______, 2002, entitled “Vacuum Arc Interrupter Actuated By A Gas Generated Driving Force” (Attorney Docket No. 01-EDP-429); and
[0009] U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______, filed ______, 2002, entitled “Vacuum Arc Eliminator Having A Bullet Assembly Actuated By A Gas Generating Device” (Attorney Docket No. 01-EDP-472).