Patent application number | Description | Published |
20100149711 | Circuit Breaker With Bistable Display - A circuit breaker is disclosed that has a bi-stable display that maintains an indication of a fault condition after power is interrupted to the circuit breaker. The circuit breaker has a microcontroller that receives power derived from a line current that passes through the circuit breaker or the line voltage when the circuit breaker is in an on state. The bi-stable display is electrically coupled to and controlled by the microcontroller. A tripping mechanism trips the circuit breaker in response to detection of a fault condition. The tripping mechanism trips the circuit breaker in response to receiving a trip signal from the microcontroller. The microcontroller is programmed to modify the bi-stable display when sending the trip signal to the electronic switching device. The bi-stable display shows an indication of one of the several fault types that would have caused the circuit breaker to trip. The bi-stable display continues to display the fault-type indication after the circuit breaker has tripped and power is interrupted to the microcontroller. | 06-17-2010 |
20100220507 | Microcontroller operated current limited switching power supply for circuit protective devices - An AC to DC power supply for small heat sensitive electronic device. The power supply being dynamically controlled to operate symmetrically about the lowest point of the AC source voltage waveform for minimum excess heat production. | 09-02-2010 |
20100321836 | MULTI-POLE ARC-FAULT CIRCUIT INTERRUPTER - A multi-pole circuit breaker having the same number of sensors and controllers as poles. One pole is monitored by a first sensor and a first controller, which are disposed on a first circuit board. Another pole is monitored by a second sensor and a second controller, which are disposed on a second circuit board that is cable-connected to the first circuit board. A ground-fault sensor monitors the sum of current flowing through the line conductors and a neutral conductor, and the output of the ground-fault sensor is provided to one or both of the controllers. Each controller is operable to detect arc faults on the respective line that it is monitoring, and at least one is operable to detect ground faults. A push-to-test algorithm is executed in relay fashion, with one controller executing the test before passing the result of the test onto the next controller, which in turns executes the test. | 12-23-2010 |
20110115585 | LOW COST MULTI-POLE CIRCUIT BREAKERS WITH SHARED COMPONENTS - A multi-pole circuit breaker comprising a single main housing containing multiple circuit breakers for protecting multiple branch circuits. Each of the circuit breakers comprises a single line terminal for receiving electrical current from a utility line, a plurality of load terminals for supplying electrical current from the single line terminal to a plurality of branch circuits via load lines, and a plurality of neutral terminals for receiving electrical current returned from the branch circuits via neutral lines Line conductors inside the main housing connect the line terminal to the plurality of load terminals. Sensors inside the main housing generate signals representing characteristics of the electrical current flow in the branch circuits, and a signal processor uses the signals generated by the sensors for detecting abnormal conditions in the branch circuits and generating trip signals in response to the detection of an abnormal condition. A single tripping mechanism between the line terminal and the load terminals receives the trip signals and interrupts the flow of current to the branch circuits in response to a trip signal. | 05-19-2011 |
20110147178 | Electronic Miniature Circuit Breaker With Trip Indication Using The Breaker Tripping Function As The Feedback Mechanism - A method for identifying a type of fault condition in a circuit breaker includes monitoring a branch circuit for a fault condition. In response to detecting the fault condition, interrupting current flow through the branch circuit. The type of fault condition is stored in a memory device from which it is retrieved in response to receiving a control signal. The type of fault condition is indicated based on the mechanical position of a circuit breaker handle as a function of time. | 06-23-2011 |
20130329331 | Wireless Branch Circuit Energy Monitoring System - A circuit breaker (such as a miniature circuit breaker) that wirelessly communicates state and fault information to a main energy monitoring module. The wireless circuit breaker includes a transceiver and a power supply that harvests energy inductively from the line current conductor without the need for a connection to a neutral conductor. The wireless circuit breaker can be implemented in the same package as existing circuit breakers, eliminating the need to replace the panel when upgrading to a system that employs a main energy monitoring module. The wireless circuit breaker can also include an energy storage device for supplying power to the circuit breaker after it has tripped, allowing the circuit breaker to transmit information after a trip. The main energy monitoring module includes a processor and a gateway for evaluating and transmitting information received from the circuit breaker to other applications, such as webpages and smartphones. | 12-12-2013 |
Patent application number | Description | Published |
20100123981 | Multiple Pole Arc-Fault Circuit Breaker Using Single Test Button - A multiple pole arc-fault circuit breaker includes a first pole assembly, a second pole assembly, a microprocessor, and a single test button. At least one of the first pole assembly and the second pole assembly has a trip mechanism. The microprocessor is electrically coupled to the first pole assembly and to the second pole assembly, and, in response to receiving a single test signal, is operative to perform electrical tests for both the first pole assembly and the second pole assembly. In response to successful completion of the electrical tests, the microprocessor is further operative to actuate the trip mechanism. The single test button is mounted to the housing and includes a single test position which causes the sending of the single test signal for initiating the electrical tests. | 05-20-2010 |
20120174961 | ARC FAULT MITIGATION FOR PHOTOVOLTAIC SYSTEMS - Systems, methods, and devices are presented for mitigating arc fault events in a photovoltaic system. An aspect of this disclosure is directed to a photovoltaic system for generating electrical power. The photovoltaic system includes one or more solar panels, and one or more shuttering assemblies, each of which is configured to selectively limit the quantity of light received by one or more of the solar panels. One or more sensing devices detect characteristics of an arc fault event in the photovoltaic system, and output signals indicative thereof. A control module is operatively connected to the shuttering assemblies and the sensing devices. The control module is configured to direct the one or more shuttering assemblies to reduce the quantity of light received by at least one of the one or more solar panels in response to the output signals indicating there is an arc fault event in the photovoltaic system. | 07-12-2012 |