Patent ID: 8861144

Claim:
A triggered arc flash arrester comprising: an envelope structured to operate at: a pressure less than about 1.33 Pa; or a pressure greater than 0.10857 MPa; a plurality of conductors partially disposed within said envelope; a number of gaps disposed between said plurality of conductors within said envelope; and a shorting structure selected from the group consisting of a triggered gap and a fuse, wherein said shorting structure is operatively associated with said number of gaps, and wherein said shorting structure is structured to electrically short said plurality of conductors either together or to ground, in order to create an arc within said envelope which is electrically in parallel to an arc fault causing the arc fault internal to switchgear to be extinguished, wherein said shorting structure comprises one of said plurality of conductors and an electrode disposed within and insulated from said one of said plurality of conductors, wherein said electrode is an elongated electrode having a first end and an opposite second end, wherein said one of said plurality of conductors has a first opening proximate the first end of said elongated electrode and proximate another one of said plurality of conductors, and a second opening, larger that than the first opening, proximate an insulator disposed between said elongated electrode and said one of said plurality of conductors, and wherein said insulator has a third opening, larger than and proximate the second opening, in order to prevent metal deposition on a surface of said insulator within said envelope between said elongated electrode and said one of said plurality of conductors.