Patent ID: 7459652

Claim:
An electric switchgear device comprising at least one electric pole-unit comprising: a stationary contact comprising conducting material, a movable contact part movable from a closed position wherein it is in contact with the stationary contact part to an open position wherein the two contact parts are separated, an arc chute comprising: two parallel side flanges, one on each side of and parallel to a longitudinal mid-plane, a rear wall, a bottom arcing horn comprising conducting material electrically connected to the stationary contact part and extending close to the rear wall, said bottom arcing horn surrounded at a periphery by gas-generating material, a stack of separators extending from one side flange to the other, substantially perpendicularly to the longitudinal mid-plane, each separator comprising a rear surface closest to the rear wall and a front surface at an opposite end of the separator from the rear surface, each of at least two of the separators having a notch therein, such that a substantially central portion of a front surface of the notched separators is closer to the rear surface than a portion of the front surface of the separators closest to the side flanges, said stack comprising: at least one regenerating separator between the bottom arcing horn and the stack of separators and substantially parallel to the stack of separators, said at least one regenerating separator comprising at least one metallic surface, wherein a distance in a direction substantially parallel to each separator, respectively, along a longitudinal mid-plane, between a front end of the notch and a rear end of the notch defines a notch depth, and the metallic plate of the regenerating separator extends from at least a point corresponding to the rear end of each of said notches along a longitudinal mid-plane, to at least to a point corresponding to half the depth of each of said notches along the longitudinal mid-plane.