Two terminal arc suppressor

摘要

A two terminal arc suppressor for protecting switch, relay or contactor contacts and the like comprises a two terminal module adapted to be attached in parallel with the contacts to be protected and including a circuit for deriving an operating voltage upon the transitioning of the switch, relay or contactor contacts from a closed to an open disposition, the power being rectified and the resulting DC signal used to trigger a power triac switch via an optoisolator circuit whereby arc suppression pulses are generated for short predetermined intervals only at a transition of the mechanical switch, relay or contactor contacts from an closed to an open transition and, again, at an open to a close transition during contact bounce conditions.

主权项

1. An AC arc suppressor, comprising:
(a) a pair of terminals adapted to be connected across a set of switchable contacts, the set of switchable contacts configured to couple an AC voltage source to a load; (b) a solid state triggerable switch connected between the pair of terminals; (c) a triggering circuit operatively coupled to the solid state triggerable switch operative upon the switchable contacts moving from a closed state to an open state for driving the solid state triggerable switch into a conductive state to short out the switchable contacts; and (d) a pinch-off circuit coupled to the triggering circuit for controlling the length of time that the solid state triggerable switch remains in said conductive state following movement of the switchable contacts from the closed state to the open state.