Abstract:
A movable contact blade of an electric circuit breaker is connected in series with a bimetallic strip forming a part of a tripping device. An arc current shunting blade is stacked on the contact blade, insulated therefrom, and connected to a load terminal strap in shunting relationship to the bimetallic strip. An arc which occurs during interruption of a severe overload current is transferred from the contact blade to the arc current shunting blade, causing the high current to bypass the bimetallic strip.