Mitsubishi Electric’s Low-voltage Air Circuit Breaker Wins R&D 100 Award

Contributes to Improved maintainability in buildings and factories

TOKYO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (TOKYO: 6503) announced today that it has received a 2021 R&D 100 Award from the U.S. publication R&D World for its low-voltage air circuit breaker(World Super AE V Series C-class), a switching device that protects low-voltage power-distribution systems in factories and buildings. Including this year's award, Mitsubishi Electric has now won 27 R&D 100 Awards.

Key Features

Industry's first electromagnetic operating mechanism cuts maintenance costs and energy consumption
- A new high-power electromagnet uses both tapered^* and magnetic latch^** structures in its movable iron core, realizing the industry's first^*** electromagnetic operating mechanism, which requires only the same amount of power as a motorized control.
- Using electromagnetism instead of a spring for the operating mechanism reduces the number of components by 46% and maintenance requirements by 30% compared to conventional operating mechanisms that use a motor and spring, thereby improving maintainability.
- Not having to charge a spring conserves energy by reducing the use of electric power to open/close the circuit breaker by 88%.

* Movable and fixed iron cores, which face each other, are inclined to improve the initial force
** Movable core is held in place until current in the coil is increased sufficiently, which improves the overall force
*** Among low-voltage air circuit breakers (as of December 2, 2021, according to internal research)

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