Patent ID: 11967470
Assignee: ROCKWELL AUTOMATION TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
Field: Electrical machinery, apparatus, energy (Electrical engineering)
Classification: CPC H | IPC H

Claim 0:
1. A method for determining contact thickness change in a contactor, said method comprising:
sensing, using a position sensor, a first displacement distance moved by an armature of the contactor from a reference location to a first transition point during a switch-off operation of the contactor at a first contactor life reference time when movable contacts and fixed contacts of said contactor define a first contact thickness;
sensing, using the position sensor, a second displacement distance moved by the armature from the reference location to a second transition point during a switch-off operation of the contactor at a second contactor life reference time after said first contactor life reference time when said movable contacts and said fixed contacts define a second contact thickness that is less than said first contact thickness; and
using said first displacement distance and said second displacement distance to determine a contact thickness change between said first contact thickness and said second contact thickness.