Patent ID: 7804038

Claim:
A vacuum contactor control system for controlling a plurality of vacuum contactors, comprising: a plurality of control units, wherein each control unit is associated with one of the vacuum contactors, and further comprises: a processor, a memory module storing processor executable instructions, at least one input terminal configured to receive a signal from a sensor monitoring operation of the associated vacuum contactor, at least one output terminal for providing a control signal to the associated vacuum contactor; and a first communication port configured to communicate with a dedicated network connecting the plurality of control units; wherein one of the control units operates as a master control unit and further comprises: a second communication port configured to communicate with a control network; wherein the instructions stored in the memory module on the master control unit are executable to coordinate control of the vacuum contactors by sending a command to the other control units and receiving the signals monitoring operation of the vacuum contactors from the other control units via the dedicated network.