Patent ID: 8247726

Claim:
An arc chute assembly for an electrical switching apparatus including a housing and separable contacts enclosed by said housing, an arc being generated in response to said separable contacts being separated, said housing comprising a number of arc chambers each including a first side and a second side disposed opposite and spaced apart from the first side, said arc chute assembly comprising: a plurality of first arc plates structured to extend outwardly from the first side of a corresponding one of said arc chambers toward the second side of said corresponding one of said arc chambers; and a plurality of second arc plates structured to extend outwardly from the second side of said corresponding one of said arc chambers toward the first side of said corresponding one of said arc chambers, wherein none of said first arc plates engage the opposing second side of said corresponding one of said arc chambers, and wherein none of said second arc plates engage the opposing first side of said corresponding one of said arc chambers, wherein each of said first arc plates and said second arc plates comprises a first edge and a second edge disposed opposite the first edge; wherein the first edge of each of said first arc plates is structured to be coupled to the first side of said corresponding one of said arc chambers; wherein the first edge of each of said second arc plates is structured to be coupled to the second side of said corresponding one of said arc chambers; and wherein the second edge of each of said first arc plates is spaced apart from the second edge of a corresponding one of said second arc plates in the horizontal direction, thereby forming an air gap between said first arc plates and said second arc plates in the horizontal direction, wherein said housing further comprises a barrier element; and wherein said arc chute assembly is structured to receive at least a portion of said barrier element in the air gap between said first arc plates and said second arc plates.