Patent ID: 7666012

Claim:
A separable loadbreak connector for making or breaking an energized connection in a power distribution network, comprising: a conductive contact tube disposed within said separable loadbreak connector, said contact tube having an axial passage therethrough, said contact tube comprising a first inside diameter extending over a first portion of an axial length of said contact tube, said contact tube comprising a second inside diameter extending over a second portion of the axial length of said contact tube, said second diameter being different than said first diameter; and a conductive piston disposed within the passage and displaceable therein with the assistance of an expanding gas, said piston comprising a first axial portion in slidable engagement with the first portion of said contact tube and a second axial portion in slidable engagement with the second portion of said contact tube when the connector is assembled, wherein said conductive piston is configured to move relative to said conductive contact tube when said separable loadbreak connector is in a fault closure condition, and wherein said piston comprises a first knurled surface having an outside diameter approximately equal to the second inside diameter, said first knurled surface configured to deform to engage said first inside diameter and to deform such that an outside diameter of said first knurled surface is approximately equal to said first inside diameter, and wherein said piston comprises a second knurled surface having an outside diameter approximately equal to the second inside diameter, said second knurled surface configured to engage said second inside diameter and to maintain an outside diameter approximately equal to the second inside diameter.