Patent ID: 11887795
Assignee: ABB SCHWEIZ AG
Field: Electrical machinery, apparatus, energy (Electrical engineering)
Classification: CPC H  G | IPC H

Claim 0:
1. A method of controlling a mechanical contactor having:
at least one pair of contacts for conducting a mains current when the contactor is in a closed position; and
an electromagnet arranged to close the contactor, and maintain the contactor in the closed position, by forcing the pair of contacts towards each other when a control current (Ic) runs through a coil of the electromagnet;
wherein, when no control current (Ic) is flowing through the coil the contactor is in its open position;
wherein, when the control current (Ic) is turned on and thus flowing through the coil, the contactor is brought from its open position to its closed position; and
while the control current (Ic) is flowing through the coil, the contactor remains in the closed position;
the method comprising:
while the control is flowing through the coil (Ic), obtaining an indication of unintentional separation of the contacts of the pair; and
in response to the obtained indication, turning off the control current (Ic), thereby avoiding reclosing of the pair of contacts after the unintentional separation.