Patent ID: 9734974
Date: 2017-08-15
CPC Classifications: H01H

Claim:
1. A low voltage circuit breaker comprising: a control device for re-closing said low voltage circuit breaker, said control device being operatively associated with a manoeuvring means of said circuit breaker; the manoeuvring means being transitionable between a first operative position, associated with an opening configuration of said circuit breaker, and a second operative position, associated with an closing configuration of said circuit breaker; an actuating element comprising a shape memory material transitionable between a martensite state having a relaxed length and an austenite state having a fully contracted length, and operatively associated with said manoeuvring means; the control device controlling the actuating element; wherein when the manoeuvring means is in the second operative position, the circuit breaker is conducting electricity, the control device maintains the shape memory material in the martensite state, and the shape memory material is at the relaxed length; wherein in response to the circuit breaker tripping the manoeuvring means moves from the second operative position to the first operative position, and the shape memory material in the martensite state stretches to a stretched length longer than the relaxed length; wherein the control device resets the circuit breaker after the trip by changing the shape memory material from the martensite state to the austenite state, which contracts the shape memory material from the stretched length to the fully contracted length to move the manoeuvring means from the first operative position to the second operative position; wherein, in response to the manoeuvring means moving from the first operative position to the second operative position during the reset, the control device transitions the shape memory material from the austenite state to the martensite state.