Floating drive shaft between an actuating assembly and linkage structure of a dead tank breaker

1. A drive structure for connection between an actuating assembly of a circuit breaker and a linkage structure for opening and closing a movable electrical contact disposed in a volume of insulating material in a pole assembly, the drive structure comprising:

a drive lever constructed and arranged to connect with the actuating assembly,

a drive shaft having first and second ends, with the first end being removably coupled to the drive lever so that rotation of the drive shaft rotates the drive lever,

a linkage lever coupled to the second end of the drive shaft,

at least one connection rod, as part of the linkage structure, coupled with the linkage lever so that the connection rod is generally transverse with respect to the drive shaft, and

a seal structure between the drive lever and the actuating assembly such that the drive shaft can be removed from the drive lever without disrupting the volume of insulating material.

2. The drive structure of claim 1 , wherein the linkage lever includes a bore there-through, the drive shaft extending into the bore so that rotation of the drive shaft rotates the linkage lever, retaining structure being removably associated with the bore for retaining the drive shaft in the bore, and once the retaining structure is disassociated from the bore, the drive shaft is constructed and arranged to be removed from the drive lever through the bore.

3. The drive structure of claim 2 , wherein the retaining structure is a snap ring constructed and arranged to engage a groove in a wall defining the bore.

4. A circuit breaker comprising the drive structure of claim 1 , including the actuating assembly and the associated pole assembly, and further comprising bearing structure between the actuating assembly and drive lever, wherein the sealing structure includes a first seal between the actuating assembly and the bearing structure and a second seal between the bearing structure and the drive lever to prevent the insulating material from escaping from the volume.

5. The circuit breaker of claim 4 , wherein the first and second seals are elastomer seals.

6. The circuit breaker of claim 4 , wherein the insulating material is a dielectric medium that includes SF 6 , dry air, dry nitrogen, CO 2 or oil.

7. The circuit breaker of claim 4 , wherein the actuating assembly is a bell crank assembly and the drive lever is coupled to the bell crank assembly via a crank lever.

8. The circuit breaker of claim 7 , in further combination with the linkage structure, the linkage structure including at least one connection rod coupled with the linkage lever so that linear movement of the connection rod rotates the linkage lever and thus the drive shaft and drive lever, with the crank lever causing opening or closing of the movable electrical contact.

9. The circuit breaker of claim 8 , wherein the circuit breaker is a high voltage, dead tank circuit breaker having three pole assemblies and a bell crank assembly coupled with a movable electrical contact of each pole assembly, wherein:

the drive lever is coupled with each bell crank assembly and is coupled to an associated drive shaft, with the drive shaft being coupled to an associated linkage lever,

two connection rods interconnect the linkage levers, and

a rod is coupled between one of the linkage levers and is constructed and arranged to connect with an operating mechanism so that the bell crank assemblies can be operated simultaneously to open or close the movable electrical contact of each pole assembly, with each drive shaft being constructed and arranged to be removed individually from its associated drive lever.

10. A method of removing a drive shaft with respect to an actuating assembly coupled with a movable electrical contact, the contact being disposed in a volume of insulating material in a pole assembly of a circuit breaker, the method including the steps of:

coupling a drive lever with the actuating assembly,

removably coupling a first end of the drive shaft to the drive lever so that rotation of the drive shaft rotates the drive lever,

coupling a linkage lever to a second end of the drive shaft so that rotation of the drive shaft rotates the linkage lever,

coupling at least one connection rod with the linkage lever so that the connection rod is generally transverse with respect to the drive shaft,

providing seal structure between the drive lever and the actuating assembly to seal the volume of insulating material, and

removing the drive shaft from the drive lever without disrupting the volume of insulating material.

11. The method of claim 10 ,

wherein the linkage lever includes a bore there-through, the drive shaft extending into the bore, and wherein the method further comprising the steps:

providing retaining structure associated with the bore to retain the drive shaft in the bore,

wherein the removing step includes disassociating the retaining structure from the bore and removing the drive shaft from the drive lever through the bore.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the retaining structure is a snap ring engage a groove in a wall defining the bore, wherein the removing step includes removing the snap ring from the bore.

13. The method of claim 10 , wherein the actuating assembly is a bell crank assembly and the drive lever is coupled to the bell crank assembly via crank link.

14. The method of claim 10 , wherein the method further provides bearing structure between the actuating assembly and the drive lever, wherein the step of providing the sealing structure provides a first seal between the actuating assembly and the bearing structure and a second seal between the bearing structure and the drive lever.

15. The method of claim 11 , wherein the circuit breaker is a high voltage, dead tank circuit breaker having three pole assemblies and an actuating assembly coupled with the movable electrical contact of each pole assembly, wherein a linkage lever is coupled with each bell crank assembly, the method further comprising:

interconnecting the linkage levers by two connection rods, and

coupling a rod between one of the linkage levers and an operating mechanism so that the actuating assemblies can be operated simultaneously to open or close the movable electrical contact of each pole assembly.