Claims
- 1. A circuit breaker comprising:
a housing; separable contacts mounted in said housing; an operating mechanism for opening and closing said separable contacts; an overcurrent assembly responsive to selected conditions of current flowing through said separable contacts for actuating said operating mechanism to trip open said separable contacts; and a bonnet having first and second pieces, the first piece forming a first leg of said bonnet, the second piece forming a second leg and a base of said bonnet, in order to form a U-shape which surrounds said separable contacts and which cools and splits an arc when said operating mechanism trips open said separable contacts.
- 2. The circuit breaker of claim 1 wherein said first and second pieces have an L-shape.
- 3. The circuit breaker of claim 2 wherein said housing has a plurality of slots therein; and wherein said first and second L-shaped pieces have at least one tab, which engages a corresponding at least one of the slots of said housing.
- 4. The circuit breaker of claim 2 wherein said U-shape has a base, a first leg and a second leg; wherein said first L-shaped piece forms one of the legs of said U-shape; and wherein said second L-shaped piece forms the other of the legs and the base of said U-shape.
- 5. The circuit breaker of claim 4 wherein said housing has a plurality of slots therein; and wherein said first and second L-shaped pieces have at least one tab, which engages a corresponding at least one of the slots of said housing.
- 6. The circuit breaker of claim 3 wherein the second L-shaped piece has two tabs and a notch therebetween; and wherein the first L-shaped piece has an end which rests in the notch between the two tabs of the second L-shaped piece.
- 7. The circuit breaker of claim 6 wherein the first L-shaped piece has a first end with one tab which engages a corresponding one of the slots of said housing and has a second end which rests in the notch between the two tabs of the second L-shaped piece.
- 8. The circuit breaker of claim 6 wherein the tabs of said first and second L-shaped pieces mount said bonnet to said housing and permit z-axis assembly of said bonnet.
- 9. A circuit breaker comprising:
a housing; a pair of separable contacts mounted in said housing; an operating mechanism for opening and closing said separable contacts; a first terminal electrically interconnected with a first one of said separable contacts; a second terminal electrically connected to a second one of said separable contacts; an electrically conductive support mechanism mounted in said housing; and a bimetal overcurrent assembly responsive to selected conditions of current flowing through said separable contacts for actuating said operating mechanism to trip open said separable contacts, said bimetal overcurrent assembly having first and second legs and a free intermediate section which deflects in response to said selected conditions of current to actuate said operating mechanism, with the first leg engaging and being electrically connected to said support mechanism, with the second leg electrically connected to said first terminal, and with said support mechanism electrically interconnected with said first one of said separable contacts.
- 10. The circuit breaker of claim 9 wherein said free intermediate section is a U-shaped section electrically connected in series between said first leg and said second leg.
- 11. The circuit breaker of claim 9 wherein said operating mechanism includes a movable contact arm carrying and electrically connected to the first one of said separable contacts; and wherein said support mechanism includes a flexible conductor having two ends, with the first end of said flexible conductor electrically connected to said support mechanism, and with the second end of said flexible conductor electrically connected to the movable contact arm.
- 12. The circuit breaker of claim 9 wherein said support mechanism includes a mechanism plate mounting in said housing; and wherein said operating mechanism is assembled to and supported by said mechanism plate.
- 13. A circuit breaker comprising:
a housing having an opening therein; separable contacts mounted in said housing; a latchable operating mechanism comprising:
a toggle mechanism having first and second pivotally connected toggle links coupled to said separable contacts for opening and closing said separable contacts, an operating handle assembly coupled to said toggle mechanism, said handle assembly including first and second pieces, with the first piece secured to said second piece, said first piece providing a first visual impression and said second piece providing a different second visual impression, and a latch assembly latching said toggle mechanism in a latched condition in which said toggle mechanism is manually operable by said handle assembly between a toggle open position and a toggle closed position to open and close said separable contacts, said latch assembly including a latch member which when released unlatches said toggle mechanism to open said separable contacts; and an overcurrent assembly responsive to selected conditions of current flowing through said separable contacts for releasing said latch member to trip said separable contacts open, wherein said first piece of said handle assembly is internal to said housing when said separable contacts are closed, wherein said second piece of said handle assembly is external to said housing, and wherein a portion of said first piece of said handle assembly is external to said housing when said separable contacts are open.
- 14. The circuit breaker of claim 13 wherein said first piece has a stem with two ears, with said second piece having an open end and an annular wall with two openings therein, with the annular wall having two channels being offset from the two openings, with the stem of said first piece being inserted into the open end of said second piece, with the ears of said stem being in the channels of the annular wall, and with said stem being rotated to engage the ears thereof in the openings of said second piece, thereby locking said two pieces together.
- 15. The circuit breaker of claim 13 wherein said first piece has a first texture; and wherein said second piece has a different second texture.
- 16. The circuit breaker of claim 13 wherein said first piece has a first pattern or color; and wherein said second piece has a different second pattern or color.
- 17. The circuit breaker of claim 16 wherein said first piece has a first color; and wherein said second piece has a different second color.
- 18. The circuit breaker of claim 16 wherein said first piece has a first pattern; and wherein said second piece has a different second pattern.
- 19. The circuit breaker of claim 16 wherein one of said first and second pieces has a color; and wherein the other of said first and second pieces has a pattern.
- 20. A circuit breaker comprising:
a housing including a molded case, a molded cover and an external clip plate securing said molded cover to said molded case; separable contacts mounted in said housing; an operating mechanism for opening and closing said separable contacts; and an overcurrent assembly responsive to selected conditions of current flowing through said separable contacts for actuating said operating mechanism to trip open said separable contacts.
- 21. The circuit breaker of claim 20 wherein said clip plate includes a top and two sides disposed therefrom, one of the sides capturing the molded case and the other of the sides capturing the molded cover.
- 22. The circuit breaker of claim 21 wherein each of the sides includes a bottom and an opening proximate the bottom; and wherein the molded case and the molded cover each have an opening therethrough, with a fastener being disposed through the openings of the sides and through the openings of the molded case and the molded cover, and drawing the one side toward the other side to secure the molded case to the molded cover.
- 23. The circuit breaker of claim 21 wherein each of the sides includes a bottom and an opening proximate the bottom, with a fastener being disposed through the openings beneath the molded case and the molded cover, and drawing the one side toward the other side to secure the molded case to the molded cover.
- 24. The circuit breaker of claim 21 wherein each of the sides includes a bottom and an opening proximate the bottom; and wherein the molded case and the molded cover each have a channel therein, with a fastener being disposed through the openings of the sides and within the channels of the molded case and the molded cover, and drawing the one side toward the other side to secure the molded case to the molded cover.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is related to commonly assigned, concurrently filed U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______, filed ______, 2001, entitled “Circuit Breaker Having A Movable And Illuminable Arc Fault Indicator” (Attorney Docket No. 00-mAE2-283); and U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______, filed ______, 2001, entitled “Circuit Breaker Including An Arc Fault Trip Actuator Having An Indicator Latch And A Trip Latch” (Attorney Docket No. 00-mAE2-284).
[0002] This application is also related to commonly assigned, co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/506,871, filed Feb. 15, 2000, entitled “Circuit Breaker With Instantaneous Trip Provided By Main Conductor Routed Through Magnetic Circuit Of Electronic Trip Motor”.