Abstract:
A breaker assembly is disclosed comprising a breaker board having a bus bar including a first engagement feature and a breaker module having a line side connector including a second engagement feature engaging the first engagement feature to inhibit separation of the breaker module from the breaker board. The breaker board can further include a board mount having a first alignment feature, and the breaker module can further include a module mount engaging the board mount and having a second alignment feature engaging the first alignment feature. In another aspect of the invention, the breaker board includes board connections, the breaker module includes breaker connections (e.g., blind mate connections), and the board connections are engaged with the breaker connections. In another aspect of the invention, the breaker module includes a ledge that defines an undercut to facilitate prying of the breaker module from the breaker board.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a national stage filing under 35 U.S.C. § 371 of International Application No. PCT/US2014/072660, filed Dec. 30, 2014, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/923,416, filed Jan. 3, 2014, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference herein. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     The present invention relates to electrical circuit breakers and methods for using circuit breakers. 
     Circuit breakers are electrical switches that are commonly used to protect an electrical circuit from damage caused by too much current, such as can result from an overload or short circuit condition. Circuit breakers are typically designed to automatically trip open when an undesired condition is encountered, and they can also be reset to the closed position when the undesired condition is removed. 
     Some circuit breakers can be controlled (e.g., manually tripped or reset) remotely, while others must be controlled locally (e.g., physically at the breaker). For remotely-controllable breakers, solenoids are often used to facilitate remotely tripping or resetting the breaker. 
     SUMMARY 
     The present invention provides a breaker assembly comprising a breaker board having a bus bar including a first engagement feature (e.g., a recess) and a breaker module having a line side connector including a second engagement feature (e.g., a protrusion) engaging the first engagement feature to provide inhibit separation of the breaker module from the breaker board. The first and second engagement features can also provide a tactile and auditory indication (e.g., a snap) that the breaker module has fully seated into the breaker board. Preferably, the line side connector includes two resilient conductors spaced apart a distance less than a thickness of the bus bar. In one embodiment, the breaker board further includes a board mount (e.g., a mounting rail) spaced from the bus bar, and the breaker module further includes a module mount (e.g., a pivot mount) engaging (e.g., pivotally engaging) the mounting rail. The module mount can include a first alignment feature (e.g., an alignment recess), and the board mount can include a second alignment feature (e.g., an alignment web) engaging the first alignment feature. 
     In another aspect of the invention, the breaker board further includes board connections positioned between the board mount and the bus bar, the breaker module further includes breaker connections positioned between the module mount and the line side connector, and the board connections are engaged with the breaker connections. Preferably, the breaker connections are blind mate connections positioned along a back side of the breaker module. 
     In another aspect of the invention, the line side connector is adjacent a first end of the breaker module, the module mount is adjacent a second opposing end of the breaker module, and the breaker module further comprises a ledge positioned adjacent the first end (e.g., adjacent a front side of the breaker module). The ledge preferably defines an undercut that facilitates prying of the breaker module from the breaker board. 
     Other aspects of the invention will become apparent by consideration of the detailed description and accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a circuit breaker assembly embodying the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is an enlarged perspective view of the assembly of  FIG. 1  showing a single breaker module mounted to the breaker board. 
         FIG. 3  is an enlarged view of  FIG. 2 . 
         FIG. 4  shows the breaker module of  FIG. 2  exploded from the breaker board. 
         FIG. 5  shows the breaker module of  FIG. 4  partially inserted into the breaker board. 
         FIG. 6  shows a different view of the assembly of  FIG. 5 . 
         FIG. 7  shows the assembly of  FIG. 6  with the breaker module fully seated into the breaker board. 
         FIG. 8  is a perspective view of a mounting rail on the breaker board. 
         FIG. 9  is another view of the mounting rail of  FIG. 8 . 
         FIG. 10  is a top view of the mounting rail of  FIG. 8 . 
         FIG. 11  is a side view of the mounting rail of  FIG. 8 . 
         FIG. 12  is a perspective view of the breaker module with half of the housing removed. 
         FIG. 13  is another perspective view of the breaker module of  FIG. 12 . 
         FIG. 14  is another perspective view of the breaker module of  FIG. 12 . 
         FIG. 15  is a perspective view showing removal of a breaker module from the breaker board. 
         FIG. 16  is a partial perspective view of a breaker board corresponding with a second embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 17  is a different partial perspective view of the breaker board of  FIG. 15 . 
         FIG. 18  is a perspective view of a breaker module designed to fit into the breaker board of  FIGS. 15-16 . 
         FIG. 19  is a different perspective view of the breaker module of  FIG. 17 . 
     
    
    
     Before any embodiments of the invention are explained in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangement of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the following drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or of being carried out in various ways. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a circuit breaker assembly  20  embodying the present invention. The assembly  20  includes a housing  22 , a breaker board  26 , breaker modules  28 , a controller  30  having a control panel  32 , and control circuitry  34 . The illustrated housing  22  is shown with several panels removed. Many of these parts can be provided with off-the-shelf parts, but the breaker board  26  and breaker modules  28  in this embodiment are specifically designed to achieve the benefits of the present invention. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the illustrated breaker board  26  includes forty-eight stations  38 , including twenty-four stations along one side of the assembly and another twenty-four stations along the other side of the assembly. As such, it can be seen that each station  38  has a station  38  horizontally aligned with it to thereby create a pair of aligned stations. The stations  38  are divided into three different groups: left phase, center phase, and right phase, and each pair of horizontally aligned stations (i.e., directly across from each other, back-to-back) has the same phase. The groups of stations are arranged in an alternating pattern with the lowest pair of stations being right phase, the next pair of stations being center phase, the next pair of stations being left phase, and so on. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 3-7 , each station  38  includes a back surface  40 , a board mount in the form of a mounting rail  42 , a bus bar  46 , and an insulating wall  48 . Each back surface  40  includes board connections  50  for providing electrical communication between the controller  30  and the breaker module  28 . Referring to  FIGS. 8 and 9 , each mounting rail  42  includes a rail member  52  having a cylindrically curved convex surface  54  that facilitates pivoting of the breaker module  28  as it is being mounted on the breaker board  26 , as described below in more detail. The back surface  40  includes a recess  56  behind each mounting rail  42 . Each mounting rail further includes an alignment web  58  extending between the rail member  52  and the recess  56  to facilitate alignment of the breaker module  28  in the station  38 , as described below in more detail. The outer surface of each mounting rail  42  includes reinforcement flanges  60 , and the sides  62  of each mounting rail  42  are tapered to facilitate insertion of the breaker module  28  into the station  38 . 
     The bus bar  46  of each station  38  is integrally connected to the bus bar  46  of the horizontally aligned station  38  such that the pairs of stations are in a back-to-back orientation and share a common bus bar  46 . Each bus bar  46  includes an engagement feature in the form of a hole  64  (see  FIGS. 3 and 7 ) that facilitates positive engagement of the corresponding breaker module  28 , as described below in more detail. 
     Each breaker module  28  includes a breaker housing  66 , a reset lever  67  on a front side of the housing  66 , an array of breaker connections  68  on a back side of the housing  66 , a module mount in the form of a pivot mount  70  positioned adjacent the front side and a second end of the breaker housing  66 , and a line side connector  72  positioned adjacent the back side and a first end of the breaker housing  66 . In  FIGS. 2-7 , part of the breaker housing  66  has been truncated in order to more clearly show the line side connector  72 . In  FIGS. 12-14 , half of the breaker housing  66  has been omitted. The breaker housing  66  contains the electrical components  74  of the breaker module  28 . The breaker connections  68  are low-voltage connections that facilitate electrical communication between the controller  30  and the breaker module  28  when the breaker module  28  is mounted in the corresponding station  38 . As shown in  FIGS. 12-14 , the breaker connections  68  are positioned between the pivot mount  70  and the line side connector  72  along the back side of the breaker module  28 . In this regard, the board connections  50  and breaker connections  68  are blind mate connections that are not accessible when the breaker module  28  is mounted to the breaker board  26 . 
     The pivot mount  70  includes two pivot members  76 , each having a cylindrically curved concave surface  78  ( FIG. 12 ) adapted to engage the convex surface  54  of the corresponding rail member  52 . The pivot members  76  are separated by an alignment recess  80  dimensioned to receive the alignment web  58  when the breaker module  28  is mounted to the breaker board  26  in order to insure proper alignment of the breaker module  28  relative to the station  38 . 
     The line side connector  72  includes two resilient conductors  82  spaced apart from each other by a distance D (see  FIG. 14 ) that is less than a thickness T (see  FIG. 7 ) of the bus bar  46 . Each resilient conductor  82  includes an engagement feature in the form of a raised boss  84  (see  FIGS. 13-14 ) adapted to fit into the hole  64  of the corresponding bus bar  46  in order to provide a tactile or audible indication that the breaker module  28  is fully seated into the corresponding station  38 . The interaction between the boss  84  and the hole  64  can also hold the breaker module in place and prevent unwanted movement between the breaker module  28  and the bus bar  46 . 
     Immediately above (i.e., away from the line side connector  72 , the breaker housing  66  includes a cut-out  77  that creates a vent channel for the venting of plasma. The cut-out  77  has a depth D 1  that is approximately the same as a Depth D 2  of the conductors  82  ( FIG. 12 ). In addition, the cut-out  77  has a height H 1  that is at least as large, and preferably larger than, the height H 2  of the conductors  82  (see  FIG. 5 ). 
     In operation, a breaker module  28  is inserted into a station  38  by first inserting the pivot members  76  under the rail member  52  with the alignment web  58  being received in the alignment recess  80 . The breaker module  28  is then pivoted downward toward the back surface  40  of the station  38 , thereby bringing the line side connector  72  into engagement with the corresponding bus bar  46 . Further downward pivoting of the breaker module  28  results in the bus bar  46  being received between the two resilient conductors  82  until the raised bosses  84  snap into the hole  64  in the bus bar  46 . Coupling the breaker module  28  to the station  38  in this manner will inherently result in the breaker connections  60  beings electrically coupled to the board connections  50  to facilitate communication between the controller  30  and the breaker module  28 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 15 , the breaker module  28  includes a ledge  75  that facilitates disengaging the beaker module  28  from the breaker board  26 . Specifically, the ledge  75  creates an undercut adapted to receive a pry bar, such as a flat head screwdriver, that can be leveraged off the adjacent breaker module in order to facilitate disengagement of the resilient conductors  82  from the corresponding bus bar  46 . 
     Each breaker module  28  is a fully magnetic breaker with solenoid-actuated load switching and three positions—on, off, and tripped. Each breaker module  28  can be manually moved to the on or off positions at any time. The circuit breaker assembly  20  can also be controlled by the controller  30  that is remote from the breaker modules  28 . The controller  30  receives information from a variety of sources and uses that information to determine the operating characteristics of the breaker assembly  20 . For example, the controller  30  can receive commands (e.g., over a wired network or wirelessly over a wi-fi network) that dictate the operating parameters (e.g., whether to turn on, off, or re-set) of one or more breaker modules  28 . The illustrated controller  30  is programmed to prevent the remote re-setting of a breaker module  28  if the breaker module  28  was tripped. In other words, when one of the illustrated breaker modules  28  is tripped, it can only be reset manually at the breaker module  28 . In addition, the controller  30  allows the breaker to be turned on manually even if the breaker module  28  was turned off or tripped remotely (e.g., even if the controller dies). 
       FIGS. 16-17  illustrate an alternative breaker board  86  having a back surface  88  with board connections  90  that are positioned in a well  92  (i.e., offset from a plane defined by the back surface  88 ). Two raised stanchions  94  are positioned in the well  92 . 
       FIGS. 18-19  illustrate an alternative beaker module  95  having a bottom surface  96  and a protruding platform  97  that contains breaker connections  98  adapted to engage the board connections  90  when the breaker module  95  is mounted to the breaker board  86  of  FIGS. 16-17 . The platform  97  includes recesses  99  dimensioned to receive the stanchions  94  when the breaker module  95  is mounted to the breaker board  86 . 
     Thus, the invention provides, among other things, a breaker assembly  20  having breaker modules  28  that can be easily snapped into place and that provides remote control capabilities while limiting remote reset when the breaker has tripped and allowing full manual control at the breaker module  28 . Various features and advantages of the invention are set forth in the following claims.