Patent ID: 8766130

Claim:
An arc extinction apparatus structured for use in a DC switch apparatus that is structured to be connected with a number of circuits, the DC switch apparatus having a shaft and further having, for each circuit to which the DC switch apparatus is structured to be connected, an elongated conductor mounted to the shaft and connectable at its opposite ends with a pair of contacts in the circuit, the shaft being pivotable about a pivot axis between a first position in which the ends of the conductor are electrically connected with a corresponding pair of contacts and a second position in which a pair of air gaps exists between the conductor and the corresponding pair of contacts, the arc extinction apparatus comprising for each circuit to which the DC switch apparatus is structured to be connected: a pair of magnetic field elements structured to be situated adjacent the pair of contacts and at the same side of the conductor and to generate a pair of magnetic fields oriented parallel with the pivot axis and having their north poles pointed in the same direction.