Patent ID: 7811109
Filing Date: 2010-10-12
Classification: H01R

Abstract:
1. A separable loadbreak connector to make or break a medium voltage connection with a male contact of a mating connector in a power distribution network, the separable loadbreak connector comprising: a conductive contact tube having an axial passage therethrough and a radially outwardly extending snap recess; a nonconductive nosepiece coupled to the contact tube and including a snap feature extending radially outwardly into said snap recess, said snap recess and said snap feature each comprising a substantially mutually complementary annular mating surface, said nosepiece includes a first surface; and a conductive piston disposed within the passage and displaceable therein with the assistance of an expanding gas, said piston includes a second surface complementary to the first surface, said first and second surfaces configured to engage during a fault closure condition such that a radially outward force is imparted to said nosepiece, the radially outward force tending to drive said snap feature into said snap recess.