Richard D Prohaska, Age 68Castle Rock, CO

6373009, Apr 16, 2002

Feb 14, 2000

09/503795

Richard D. Prohaska - Cleveland TN
Warren Clift Sipe - Cleveland TN

Eaton Corporation - Cleveland OH

H01H 2300

200401, 200468

A safety switch with a spring toggle linkage which causes the switch shaft to rapidly rotate for opening and closing the switch has a lost motion coupling between the switch handle and the switch shaft which engages at about the point of toggling to assure positive operation of the switch.

6943999, Sep 13, 2005

Mar 6, 2003

10/383176

Buell E. Gray - Cleveland TN, US
Richard D. Prohaska - Cleveland TN, US

Eaton Corporation - Cleveland OH

H02B001/00

361 1, 361609, 361617

An apparatus for defeating an interlock for an electrical cabinet permits a technician qualified to service the equipment within the cabinet to defeat the interlock and open the cabinet while current is flowing through the equipment therein, while permitting the interlock to continue to resist unauthorized access to the interior of the cabinet.

7348510, Mar 25, 2008

Feb 12, 2007

11/673753

Brendan A. Foley - Cleveland TN, US
Eddie D. Carson - Cleveland TN, US
Douglas R. Bender - Cleveland TN, US
William E. Wilkie - Pinehurst NC, US
Richard D. Prohaska - Cleveland TN, US

Eaton Corporation - Cleveland OH

H02B 13/02

200293, 200 51 R, 200304

An electrical connector assembly is provided for an electrical switching apparatus including an enclosure, separable contacts housed by the enclosure, and an operating mechanism structured to open and close the separable contacts. The enclosure has a back panel, sidewalls extending outwardly from the back panel, an exterior and an interior having a plurality of compartments. A first compartment houses the separable contacts and includes a first cover. A second compartment is disposed adjacent the first compartment and includes a second cover. The electrical connector assembly includes a plate member disposed between the first and second compartments, and a plurality of electrical connectors coupled to the plate member and being substantially disposed within the second compartment. The electrical connectors are structured to be electrically connected to the separable contacts, and are substantially inaccessible when the second compartment is covered by the second cover.

7450369, Nov 11, 2008

Aug 30, 2005

11/215266

Richard D. Prohaska - Cleveland TN, US
Warren C. Sipe - Cleveland TN, US
Mark W. Schmidt - Aliquippa PA, US
Brendan A. Foley - Cleveland TN, US
Douglas R. Bender - Cleveland TN, US
Eddie D. Carson - Cleveland TN, US

Eaton Corporation - Cleveland OH

G08B 21/00

361642, 361622, 361623, 361667, 307 37, 307 38, 307 91, 307154, 337215, 200 51 R, 200 5028, 200 5104

An enclosed switching apparatus includes an enclosure and a primary power supply disconnect mounted in the enclosure. The primary power supply disconnect has first and second terminals, the first terminals are electrically connectable to a primary power source and the second terminals are electrically connectable to a load. An auxiliary power supply unit includes an auxiliary power supply disconnect having third and fourth terminals. The third terminals are electrically connectable to the primary power source. A transformer has fifth and sixth terminals, the fifth terminals are electrically connected to the fourth terminals of the auxiliary power supply disconnect. An auxiliary fusible element has seventh and eighth terminals, the seventh terminal is electrically connected to one of the sixth terminals of the transformer. A receptacle has ninth terminals thereon. One of the ninth terminals is electrically connected to the eighth terminal of the auxiliary fusible element.

7531761, May 12, 2009

Feb 12, 2007

11/673772

Eddie D. Carson - Cleveland TN, US
Douglas R. Bender - Cleveland TN, US
Brendan A. Foley - Cleveland TN, US
Mitchell L. Murray - Cleveland TN, US
Douglas S. Self - Cleveland TN, US
Richard D. Prohaska - Cleveland TN, US

Eaton Corporation - Cleveland OH

H01H 9/20

200 5012, 200 5002

An interlock assembly for a safety switch includes a linkage. A first end of the linkage is coupled to the operating handle of the safety switch in order that moving the operating handle results in a corresponding movement of the second end of the linkage into and out of an aperture in a bracket member. The bracket member is movably coupled to the safety switch enclosure by a fastening mechanism. When the cover of the safety switch is disposed in its open position, the bracket member is disposed in a first position preventing the second end of the linkage from entering the aperture and resisting undesired movement of the operating handle. When the cover is closed position, the bracket member is moved to a second position corresponding to the second end of the linkage being receivable by the aperture in order that the operating handle is movable.

8247726, Aug 21, 2012

Jul 22, 2009

12/507117

Richard D. Prohaska - Cleveland TN, US
Jeffrey B. Ensley - Cleveland TN, US

Eaton Corporation - Cleveland OH

H01H 33/02

218149, 218157, 218 34

An arc chute assembly is provided for an electrical switching apparatus. The electrical switching apparatus includes a housing and separable contacts enclosed by the housing. An arc is generated in response to the separable contacts being separated. The housing includes a number of arc chambers each having a first side and a second side disposed opposite and spaced apart from the first side. The arc chute assembly includes a plurality of first arc plates extending outwardly from the first side of a corresponding one of the arc chambers toward the second side of the corresponding one of the arc chambers, and a plurality of second arc plates extending outwardly from the second side of the corresponding one of the arc chambers toward the first side of the arc chamber. None of the arc plates engages the opposing side of the arc chamber.

8629744, Jan 14, 2014

Feb 22, 2012

13/402152

Richard D. Prohaska - Cleveland TN, US
Jeffrey B. Ensley - Cleveland TN, US

Eaton Corporation - Cleveland OH

H01H 9/00

335172, 335 16

An enclosed switch includes a switch assembly having separable contacts; an operating mechanism structured to open and close the separable contacts; and a shunt trip mechanism cooperating with the operating mechanism to trip open the separable contacts, wherein the operating mechanism includes a manual operating mechanism.

2013010, May 2, 2013

Nov 1, 2011

13/286464

Richard Donald Prohaska - Cleveland TN, US
Randal Derek Gazdecki - Cleveland TN, US
Warren Clift Sipe - Cleveland TN, US

H01H 33/18

218 26

An improved arc extinction apparatus that can be used in an improved DC switch apparatus includes a pair of magnetic field elements in the exemplary form of permanent magnets to apply Lorentz forces to the arcs. The magnetic fields are arranged in the vicinity of the air gaps that form between the ends of a pivoting conductor and a pair of contacts such that the system is optimized to extinguish an arc at one air gap when current is flowing through the conductor in a first direction and is further optimized to extinguish an arc at the other air gap when current is flowing in an opposite direction through the conductor. This is accomplished by providing a magnet at each air gap of the circuit, with the magnetic fields being oriented parallel with the pivot axis and having their north poles pointed in the same direction.