Motion initiator

• US 5,471,888 A
• Filed: 04/12/1994
• Issued: 12/05/1995
• Est. Priority Date: 04/12/1994
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Cooper Interconnect, Inc. (Eaton Corporation PLC.)
• Original Assignee: G-Tech Technology Corporation
• Inventors: McCormick, Larry L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Herrmann, Allan D.
• Application Number:
  US08/226,704
• Time in Patent Office: 602 Days
• Field of Search: 74/2, 137/76, 337/1, 337/4, 403/2, 403/28
• US Class Current: 74/2
• CPC Class Codes: A62C 37/10 Releasing means, e.g. electrically released
• CPC Class Codes: F16B 2200/63 Frangible connections
• CPC Class Codes: F16D 9/00 Couplings with safety member for disconnecting, e.g. breaking or melting member
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 137/1827 With heater for destructible or fusible element
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 403/21 Utilizing thermal characteristic, e.g. , expansion or contraction, etc.
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 74/11 Tripping mechanism

Abstract

An electrical initiator (10) includes spool halves (12,14) releasably held together by a coiled retaining wire (42). A link wire (42) also holds a spool (46) fixed to spool half (12) against connector body 16 and the other spool half (16). A cavity on the interior of the two spools physically retain a tensilely loaded shaft (18). An electric current passing through the link wire (42) causes it to become brittle and break releasing the spool halves and contained shaft (18).

Claims

1. A motion initiator, comprising:

a plurality of separable spool means engageable to form an enclosed cavity with an interconnecting bore extending to the exterior of the spool means;

shaftlike means having a first portion held within the spool means cavity and a second portion within the bore when the spool means are engaged, said shaftlike means being subjected to a tensile load tending to move said shaftlike means along the bore to the exterior of the spool means;

a helically wound spring-tempered retaining wire received about the spool means having a relaxed internal turn diameter such as to enable the spool halves to separate and release the shaftlike means and a second lesser tension diameter that causes the radially inwardly facing surface of the spring-tempered wire to contact and retain the spool halves in unitary assembled relation;

a first end portion of the spring-tempered wire being secured within an opening in one of the spool means and the other end portion being received within an insulative hollow spool;

an electrical connector body positioned between adjacent spool means;

a destructible wire carried by the connector having a terminal at each end and an intermediate loop, said loop being received about the insulative spool to tighten the retaining wire helix to the second diameter, said loop having its tensile strength reduced on passage of a predetermined amount of electrical current therethrough sufficiently that the loop is broken from the combination of the tensile load and spring force of the retaining wire.

2. A motion initiator as in claim 1, in which the insulative spool is a ceramic cylinder having a groove on its peripheral surface within which the destructible wire loop is received.

3. A motion initiator as in claim 1, in which there is further provided a post having an end affixed to the outer surface of one of the spool means and extending outwardly between the last turn and the next to the last turn of the retaining wire.

4. A motion initiator as in claim 1, in which the destructible wire is constructed of stainless steel.

5. Apparatus for initiating movement of an object which is preloaded by tensile force along the desired direction of movement, comprising:

a pair of spool means releasably joinable together with facing surfaces defining a cavity for entrapping part of the object therein when said spool means are joined together;

an insulative connector body located between facing surfaces of the spool means;

a high-strength stainless steel wire embedded within the connector body with an intermediate portion extending outwardly of the connector body in a loop;

a length of spring wire encompassing the spool means and connector body, one end portion of the wire being affixed to one of said spool means; and

a ceramic spool with a central bore within which the opposite end portion of the spring is securingly received;

the relative dimensions being such that with the loop received about the ceramic spool the spring wire holds the spool means and connector body together sufficiently to prevent the object from being pulled loose from the cavity by the tensile force preload alone;

whereby on passing electric current through the loop of sufficient value the tensile strength of the wire loop is exceeded by the tensile force preload and the loop wire breaks releasing the spring wire which unravels to aid in release of the entrapped object.

6. Apparatus as in claim 5, in which the spring wire end portion extends through the ceramic spool bore and is bent to prevent pulling removal from the ceramic spool.

7. Apparatus as in claim 5, in which the ceramic spool includes a peripheral groove extending generally circularly about said spool.