Lead screw operated rack-in mechanism

1. A lead screw operated drawout mechanism for an electrical system, said lead screw operated drawout mechanism comprising:

a lead screw supported on a support frame in a way such that said lead screw adapted to rotate with respect to said support frame;

a nut disposed on said lead screw, wherein rotary motion of said lead screw facilitates linear motion of said nut on said lead screw along a longitudinal axis of the lead screw;

a drive shaft rigidly coupled to said nut, wherein the drive shaft, which extends transverse to the longitudinal axis, is adapted to move linearly along with said nut;

and

at least one lever having a first end pivotably coupled to the drive shaft at a pivot point and a second end coupled to an electrical switch having a plurality of contacts, wherein the at least one lever is configured to rotate at the first end about the pivot point in response to linear motion of the drive shaft along with the nut, wherein the pivot point moves linearly along with the drive shaft as the drive shaft moves linearly in response to the linear motion of the nut, and wherein rotation of the at least one lever causes the electrical switch to move linearly so as to cause the plurality of contacts of the electrical switch to engage with or disengage from a respective plurality of contacts of an electrical bus.

2. The lead screw operating mechanism as claimed in claim 1 , wherein said lead screw does not configure linear motion with respect to said support frame.

3. The lead screw operated mechanism as claimed in claim 1 , wherein said lead screw is supported on said support frame by at least one bearing.

4. The lead screw operated mechanism as claimed in claim 1 , wherein said nut has threads configured thereon, wherein said threads of said nut are complimentary to threads of said lead screw.

5. The lead screw operated mechanism as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising a handle connected to said lead screw for facilitating rotational motion to said lead screw.

6. The lead screw operated mechanism as claimed in claim 1 , wherein a wheel is coupled to the electrical switch, wherein the wheel is configured to rotate and move linearly in a slot disposed in a guiding frame, and wherein the second end of the at least one lever is connected to the wheel.

7. The lead screw operating mechanism as claimed in claim 6 , the at least one lever contacts the wheel by way of a claw pivotably connected to the second end of said lever.

8. The lead screw operating mechanism as claimed in claim 7 , wherein the second end of the lever contacts the claw and the claw contacts the wheel.

9. The lead screw operating mechanism as claimed in claim 6 , wherein rotation of the at least one lever causes the wheel to rotate and move linearly within the slot causing the electrical switch to move linearly along with the wheel.

10. The lead screw operating mechanism as claimed in claim 9 , wherein the second end of the at least one lever contacts a bearing attached to the wheel.

11. The lead screw operating mechanism as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the plurality of contacts of the electrical switch engaging with or disengaging from the respective plurality of contacts of the electrical bus facilitates a Connect configuration and a Test configuration of said electrical system.

12. The lead screw operating mechanism as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the pivot point is axially aligned with a longitudinal axis of the drive shaft as the drive shaft moves linearly.

13. The lead screw operating mechanism as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the at least one lever contacts the drive shaft at the pivot point.

14. The lead screw operating mechanism as claimed in claim 1 , wherein an axis of the drive shaft is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the lead screw.

15. The lead screw operating mechanism as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the lead screw is supported at opposing ends by the support frame.

16. The lead screw operating mechanism as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the drive shaft is separate from the nut.

17. The lead screw operating mechanism as claimed in claim 16 , wherein the nut includes a notch and the drive shaft is disposed in the notch.

18. The lead screw operating mechanism as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the pivot point is aligned with a longitudinal axis of the drive shaft such that the at least one lever rotates about the longitudinal axis of the drive shaft.

19. A lead screw operated drawout mechanism for an electrical system, said lead screw operated drawout mechanism comprising:

a lead screw supported on a support frame in a way such that said lead screw adapted to rotate with respect to said support frame;

a nut disposed on said lead screw, wherein rotary motion of said lead screw facilitates linear motion of said nut on said lead screw;

a drive shaft rigidly coupled to said nut adapted to move linearly along with said nut; and

at least one lever having a first end pivotably coupled to the drive shaft and a second end coupled to an electrical switch having a plurality of contacts, wherein the at least one lever is configured to rotate at the first end about a pivot point in response to linear motion of the drive shaft along with the nut, wherein the pivot point moves linearly along with the drive shaft as the drive shaft moves linearly in response to the linear motion of the nut, and wherein rotation of the at least one lever causes the electrical switch to move linearly so as to cause the plurality of contacts of the electrical switch to engage with or disengage from a respective plurality of contacts of an electrical bus,

wherein the at least one lever comprises a first lever coupled to a first end of the drive shaft and a second lever coupled to a second end of the drive shaft.

20. The lead screw operating mechanism as claimed in claim 19 , wherein the first lever is coupled to a first wheel via a first claw and the second lever is coupled to a second wheel via a second claw,

wherein the first wheel and the second wheel are coupled to the electrical switch,

wherein the first wheel and the second wheel are configured to rotate and move linearly in a first slot and a second slot, respectively, disposed in the guide frame, and

wherein the first wheel and the second wheel are on opposing sides of the electrical switch.

21. The lead screw operating mechanism as claimed in claim 19 , wherein, between the first end and the second end, the drive shaft extends transversely across a longitudinal axis of the lead screw,

wherein the pivot point comprises a first pivot point and a second pivot point,

wherein the first lever is coupled to the first end at the first pivot point, the second lever is coupled to the second end at the second pivot point, and the nut is coupled to a portion of the drive shaft between the first pivot point and the second pivot point.

22. An automatic transfer switch comprising:

an electrical switch having a plurality of contacts, including a first contact configured to receive power from a first power source and a second contact configured to receive power from a second power source, wherein the electrical switch is configured to switch between (i) coupling the first contact to an electrical bus and (ii) coupling the second contact to the electrical bus; and

a lead screw operated drawout mechanism for drawing out the automatic transfer switch from the electrical bus, the lead screw operated drawout mechanism comprising:

a lead screw supported on a support frame in a way such that said lead screw adapted to rotate with respect to said support frame;

a nut disposed on said lead screw, wherein rotary motion of said lead screw facilitates linear motion of said nut on said lead screw;

a drive shaft rigidly coupled to said nut and adapted to move linearly along with said nut; and

at least one lever having a first end pivotably coupled to the drive shaft at a pivot point and a second end coupled to the electrical switch,

wherein the at least one lever is configured to rotate at the first end about a pivot point in response to linear motion of the drive shaft along with the nut,

wherein the pivot point moves linearly along with the drive shaft as the drive shaft moves linearly in response to the linear motion of the nut, and

wherein rotation of the at least one lever causes the electrical switch to move linearly so as to cause the plurality of contacts of the electrical switch to engage with or disengage from a respective plurality of contacts of the electrical bus.

23. The automatic transfer switch as claimed in claim 22 , wherein the pivot point is aligned with a longitudinal axis of the drive shaft such that the at least one lever rotates about the longitudinal axis of the drive shaft.