Patent ID: 8063328

Claim:
A charging assembly for an electrical switching apparatus, said electrical switching apparatus including a housing, separable contacts enclosed by the housing, and an operating mechanism structured to move said separable contacts between an open position corresponding to said separable contacts being separated and a closed position corresponding to said separable contacts being electrically connected, said operating mechanism including a linking assembly and a closing assembly, said closing assembly including a biasing element and an impact member coupled to said biasing element, said biasing element being movable between a charged position and a discharged position, when said biasing element moves from said charged position to said discharged position, said impact member engages and moves said linking assembly thereby moving said separable contacts to said closed position, said charging assembly comprising: a compression arm including a pivot structured to pivotally couple said compression arm to the housing of said electrical switching apparatus, a first leg, and a second leg, each of said first leg and said second leg comprising a first end and a second end disposed opposite and distal from the first end, the first end of said first leg being disposed at or about said pivot, the second end of said first leg extending outwardly from said pivot in a first direction, the first end of said second leg being disposed at or about said pivot, the second end of said second leg extending outwardly from said pivot in a second direction; an engagement portion disposed at or about the second end of said first leg; a shaped contact surface disposed at or about the second end of said second leg, said shaped contact surface comprising a first edge and second edge disposed at an angle with respect to the first edge; and a charging cam structured to be pivotally coupled to the housing of said electrical switching apparatus, said charging cam including an outer cam surface structured to cooperate with said engagement portion of said first leg of said compression arm, wherein, when said charging cam pivots, the outer cam surface engages said engagement portion of said first leg, thereby pivoting said compression arm about said pivot, wherein, responsive to said compression arm pivoting about said pivot, the first edge of said shaped contact surface of said second leg is structured to engage and move said impact member of said closing assembly, thereby moving said biasing element from said discharged position toward said charged position, and wherein, when said biasing element is disposed in said charged position, the second edge of said shaped contact surface of said second leg is structured to engage said impact member.