OPERATOR-INDEPENDENT COMPACT SPRING-ACTION SWITCHING MECHANISM AND ELECTROMECHANICAL PROTECTIVE SWITCHING DEVICE

The invention relates to an operator-independent compact spring-action switching mechanism (10) for an electromechanical protective switching device (1), comprising a switch contact, having a fixed contact (81) and a moving contact (71) that can move relative to same and mounted on a moving contact carrier (70). The compact spring-action switching mechanism (10) has a hand actuation element (41) for manually actuating the compact spring-action switching mechanism (10), which is mechanically coupled to the moving contact carrier (70) in order to manually close or open the switching contact. For this purpose, the compact spring-action switching mechanism (10) has a locking lever (200) which is mechanically coupled to the hand actuation element (41) and can be moved in a first direction (x) pointing in the direction of the switching contact in a first phase of a closing movement of the moving contact (71), in order to block the movement of the moving contact carrier (70), wherein the locking lever (200) abruptly releases the blocking of the moving contact carrier (70) via a movement in a second direction (y) in a second phase of the closing movement, and wherein the compact spring-action switching mechanism (10) has a maximum width of a half horizontal pitch. The operator-independent compact spring-action switching mechanism (10) can also be used for compact protective switching devices (1) due to its space-saving construction and is characterised by significantly improved switch-off behaviour and an extended service life.