Patent ID: 11948757
Assignee: EATON INTELLIGENT POWER LIMITED
Field: Electrical machinery, apparatus, energy (Electrical engineering)
Classification: CPC H  G | IPC G  H

Claim 0:
1. A contactor, comprising:
at least one moveable contact mounted on a contact carrier;
at least one stationary contact mounted on a housing;
an electromagnet configured to cause the contact carrier to move relative to the housing between a first position and a second position, and thus to cause the at least one moveable contact to travel from a contacts open position to a contacts closed position with respect to the at least one stationary contact;
a sensor coupled to one of the contact carrier and the housing and configured to detect an intermediate position, in between the first position and the second position, at which the housing and the contact carrier are located at a given moment in time as the contact carrier moves relative to the housing between the first position and the second position; and
a controller connected to receive signals from the sensor and configured to use the signals to detect various intermediate positions of the contact carrier between the first position and the second position to monitor transition of the contact carrier between the first position and the second position,
wherein the controller is configured to use the signals from the sensor to determine an over-travel time comprising a time during which the contact carrier continues movement in one direction after engagement between the at least one moveable contact and the at least one stationary contact, and
wherein a magnet is mounted to an armature of the contact carrier, the armature being configured to move with the contact carrier, and wherein the sensor is configured to sense the magnet and the signals from the sensor are configured to correspond to a distance between the sensor and the magnet for detecting the intermediate position.