Circuit interrupters with non-contact sensor systems for evaluating erosion of electrical contacts and related methods

1. A circuit interrupter, comprising:

a housing comprising a base;

a fixed main contact in the housing;

a movable main contact in the housing in cooperating alignment with the fixed main contact;

an elongate stem coupled to the movable main contact and extending away from the fixed main contact;

a drive assembly coupled to the elongate stem and configured to move the movable main contact between open and closed positions relative to the fixed main contact;

a non-contact sensor comprising an emitter source and a cooperating receiver sensor in the housing configured to acquire a light and/or acoustic signal as a sensor signal that provides displacement data; and

a control circuit in communication with the non-contact sensor that is configured to evaluate erosion status of the fixed and movable main contacts based on the displacement data.

2. The circuit interrupter of claim 1 , wherein the non-contact sensor comprises an optical sensor, wherein the emitter source is a light source, and wherein the circuit interrupter comprises at least one internal reflector in optical communication with the emitter source and coupled to the elongate stem.

3. The circuit interrupter of claim 1 , wherein the non-contact sensor is an acoustic sensor, and wherein the emitter source is an ultrasound source.

4. The circuit interrupter of claim 1 , further comprising an attachment member coupled to a lower end portion of the elongate stem, wherein the attachment member moves in concert with the elongate stem, wherein the circuit interrupter comprises a vacuum chamber enclosing the fixed and movable main contacts, and wherein the elongate stem resides outside the vacuum chamber.

5. The circuit interrupter of claim 4 , wherein the attachment member comprises a reflector surface that faces the emitter source.

6. The circuit interrupter of claim 4 , wherein the attachment member comprises a receiving channel that slidably receives the elongate stem, and wherein the attachment member comprises a planar surface that faces the emitter source.

7. The circuit interrupter of claim 1 , further comprising an attachment member coupled to the elongate stem, wherein the attachment member moves in concert with the elongate stem and holds the emitter source.

8. The circuit interrupter of claim 1 , wherein the base comprises a plurality of externally visible wheels, wherein the circuit interrupter is a multiple pole device, wherein the non-contact sensor is provided as a plurality of non-contact sensors, each having a respective emitter source and a corresponding receiver sensor, one for each of the poles, and wherein the control circuit is configured to acquire the sensor signal from each non-contact sensor to evaluate erosion status of a corresponding fixed and movable main contact.

9. The circuit interrupter of claim 1 , wherein the control circuit triggers the non-contact sensor to acquire the sensor signal at successive defined intervals during opening and closing of the movable main contact and generates a respective opening and closing travel curve of distance over time.

10. The circuit interrupter of claim 9 , wherein the control circuit triggers the non-contact sensor to obtain the sensor signal at successive intervals in response to (i) a trigger signal from a start of the movable main contact closing whereby the movable main contact travels to the closed position and (ii) a trigger signal from a start of opening of the movable main contact whereby the movable main contact travels to the open position.

11. The circuit interrupter of claim 10 , wherein at least some of the successive intervals are in a range of 50 μs to 1 millisecond during the opening and the closing.

12. The circuit interrupter of claim 1 , wherein the control circuit is configured to determine when displacement data is at a steady state condition associated with a fully open or fully closed state of the circuit interrupter.

13. The circuit interrupter of claim 1 , wherein the control circuit is coupled to a current transformer and is configured to obtain interrupt current measurements (amperage) at the current transformer concurrently with acquisition of the displacement data.

14. The circuit interrupter of claim 1 , wherein the emitter source is a laser, and wherein the laser and receiver sensor are held by a unitary housing.

15. A circuit interrupter, comprising:

a housing comprising a base;

a fixed main contact in the housing;

a movable main contact in the housing in cooperating alignment with the fixed main contact;

an elongate stem coupled to the movable main contact and extending away from the fixed main contact;

a drive assembly coupled to the elongate stem and configured to move the movable main contact between open and closed positions relative to the fixed main contact;

a non-contact sensor comprising an emitter source and a cooperating receiver sensor in the housing configured to acquire a light and/or acoustic signal as a sensor signal that provides displacement data to thereby allow for evaluation of erosion status of the fixed and movable main contacts; and

a control circuit in communication with the non-contact sensor that triggers the non-contact sensor to acquire the sensor signal at successive defined intervals during opening and closing of the movable main contact and generates a respective opening and closing travel curve of distance over time,

wherein the circuit interrupter is a vacuum interrupter (VI), and wherein the control circuit is configured to identify a service needed date, based, at least in part, on:

(i) a predicted number of operations (NOP) of the VI life which is inversely proportional to the heat generated (Q) and NOP is calculated by:

NOP

=

K

⁢

⁢

1

t

×

I

sc

2

where K=a physical constant for a particular VI, and VI is approximately equal to 1/R and can be assumed as constant or physical property, and

(ii) a physics of failure equation for VI contact wear of the fixed and movable main contacts which is calculated in a linear form by:

ln(NOP)=ln( K )−ln( t )−2×ln( I sc )

where t=short current carrying time, and I sc =short circuit current.

16. A circuit interrupter, comprising:

a housing comprising a base;

a fixed main contact in the housing;

a movable main contact in the housing in cooperating alignment with the fixed main contact;

an elongate stem coupled to the movable main contact and extending away from the fixed main contact;

a drive assembly coupled to the elongate stem and configured to move the movable main contact between open and closed positions relative to the fixed main contact; and

a non-contact sensor comprising an emitter source and a cooperating receiver sensor in the housing configured to acquire a light and/or acoustic signal as a sensor signal that provides displacement data to thereby allow for evaluation of erosion status of the fixed and movable main contacts,

wherein the emitter source is configured to project the sensor signal upward toward the elongate stem.

17. A circuit interrupter, comprising:

a housing comprising a base;

a fixed main contact in the housing;

a movable main contact in the housing in cooperating alignment with the fixed main contact;

an elongate stem coupled to the movable main contact and extending away from the fixed main contact;

a drive assembly coupled to the elongate stem and configured to move the movable main contact between open and closed positions relative to the fixed main contact; and

a non-contact sensor comprising an emitter source and a cooperating receiver sensor in the housing configured to acquire a light and/or acoustic signal as a sensor signal that provides displacement data to thereby allow for evaluation of erosion status of the fixed and movable main contacts,

wherein the emitter source is configured to project the sensor signal laterally inward toward the elongate stem.

18. A circuit interrupter, comprising:

a housing comprising a base;

a fixed main contact in the housing;

a movable main contact in the housing in cooperating alignment with the fixed main contact;

an elongate stem coupled to the movable main contact and extending away from the fixed main contact;

a drive assembly coupled to the elongate stem and configured to move the movable main contact between open and closed positions relative to the fixed main contact; and

a non-contact sensor comprising an emitter source and a cooperating receiver sensor in the housing configured to acquire a light and/or acoustic signal that provides displacement data to thereby allow for evaluation of erosion status of the fixed and movable main contacts,

wherein the emitter source is configured to move in concert with the elongate stem.

19. A circuit interrupter, comprising:

a housing comprising a base;

a fixed main contact in the housing;

a movable main contact in the housing in cooperating alignment with the fixed main contact;

an elongate stem coupled to the movable main contact and extending away from the fixed main contact;

a drive assembly coupled to the elongate stem and configured to move the movable main contact between open and closed positions relative to the fixed main contact; and

a non-contact sensor comprising an emitter source and a cooperating receiver sensor in the housing configured to acquire a light and/or acoustic signal that provides displacement data to thereby allow for evaluation of erosion status of the fixed and movable main contacts,

wherein the circuit interrupter is a three pole device, wherein the non-contact sensor is provided as three emitter sources and three receiver sensors, one for each of the three poles, and wherein a laterally extending mounting bracket holds the three emitter sources inside the housing, one emitter source aligned with terminals of a respective one of the three poles.