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

Claim 18:
19. A mechanical contactor comprising:
a controller;
a pair of contacts for conducting a mains current (Im) 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 the controller includes processing circuitry and storage storing instructions executable by said processing circuity whereby said controller is operative to perform a method of controlling the mechanical contractor;
wherein when no control current (Ic) is flowing through the coil, the contractor is in its open position;
wherein when the control current (Ic) is turned on and thus flowing through the coil, the contractor is brought from its open position to its closed position; and
while the control current (Ic) is flowing through the coil, the contractor remains in the closed position;
the method comprising:
while the control current (Ic) is flowing through the coil, 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.