Patent ID: 8222982

Claim:
An overload relay trip mechanism for selectively opening and closing a control circuit, comprising: a housing having an aperture; a reset button, wherein a part of the reset button is positioned through the aperture, the reset button including a button portion and a shaft portion, the shaft portion having a first end coupled with the button portion and a second opposing end having an actuator-engaging element, the reset button having a normal position and a reset position; a spring having a first end and a second opposing end, the first end of the spring being supported by the housing, the second end of the spring being coupled with the shaft portion or the button portion of the reset button, the spring having a first position that corresponds with the normal position of the reset button and a second position that corresponds with the reset position of the reset button; and an actuator coupled with a moveable contact, the actuator having a closed position in which the moveable contact is electrically connectable with a corresponding fixed contact and an open position in which the moveable contact is electrically disconnected from the corresponding fixed contact, wherein the reset button can be moved from the normal position to the reset position to cause the spring to transition from the first position to the second position, which causes the actuator-engaging element to move the actuator from the open position to the closed position, thereby resetting the control circuit.