PUFFER-TYPE GAS BLAST ELECTRICAL SWITCH

摘要

An electrical switch in which during a switchoff operation the switchoff current is commuted from a continuous current patch through the switch to an extinction current path which includes a pair of separable contact members one of which is located in a region of the switch housing within which a relatively low gas pressure exists, the other contact member being located within a pressure chamber in which a higher gas pressure is generated during the switchoff operation by heating the gas electrically with an auxiliary rotating arc drawn between a pair of arcing members located within the pressure chamber and which disengage during the switchoff movement. The heated and pressurized gas within the pressure chamber is discharged through a small opening in a nozzle which is opened as the contact members separate thus blasting and extinguishing the arc formed therebetween.