Patent application number | Description | Published |
20080204949 | ARC FAULT CIRCUIT INTERRUPTER AND METHOD OF PARALLEL AND SERIES ARC FAULT DETECTION - An arc fault circuit interrupter includes separable contacts, a neutral conductor, an operating mechanism structured to open and close the separable contacts, at least one current sensor structured to sense current flowing through the separable contacts and output a sensed current value; and a processor. The processor includes a first routine structured to provide parallel arc fault detection, a second routine structured to provide series arc fault detection, and a third routine structured to enable the first routine and disable the second routine for a predetermined time when the sensed current value is greater than a predetermined value and to enable the second routine and disable the first routine for the predetermined time when the sensed current value is less than the predetermined value. | 08-28-2008 |
20080204950 | ARC FAULT CIRCUIT INTERRUPTER AND SERIES ARC FAULT DETECTION METHOD USING PLURAL HIGH FREQUENCY BANDS - A circuit interrupter includes band pass filters cooperating with a current sensor to output bands having different, non-overlapping ranges of frequencies, peak detectors cooperating with the filters to detect corresponding peak current values, envelope detectors cooperating with the filters to detect corresponding occurrences from the bands being within corresponding predetermined magnitude ranges, a counter counting the occurrences, and a processor providing and disabling series arc detection when sensed current is greater than a first predetermined value. The processor determines tallies responsive to peak current values exceeding corresponding thresholds, determines series arcing from sensed current being less than the first predetermined value for a predetermined time, the tally for a current half-cycle being nonzero, and a count for the current half-cycle being different than the count for an immediately previous half-cycle of like polarity by at least a second predetermined value. A series chaos accumulator is increased responsive to series arcing. | 08-28-2008 |
20090161270 | INDUSTRIAL ARC FAULT CIRCUIT INTERRUPTER AND METHOD OF DETECTING ARCING CONDITIONS - A method of detecting arcing conditions includes sensing current and HF signals therefrom; bandpass filtering the HF signals and providing filtered signals; detecting peak signals and envelopes from the filtered signals; counting occurrences of the envelopes exceeding a first value; maintaining temporary values corresponding to the peak signals; determining a trip time as a function of the current; determining if any peak signal is greater than a second value, and responsively increasing a temporary value and, otherwise, decreasing the temporary value; determining if a predetermined function of the temporary values is greater than a fifth value, and adding the temporary values to an accumulator, and otherwise, decreasing the accumulator; and tripping open the power circuit if: a difference between the occurrences of current and immediately previous half cycle having the same polarity is at least two, the accumulator is greater than a seventh value, and the trip time is reached. | 06-25-2009 |
20090200270 | ENCAPSULATED POLE UNIT CONDUCTOR ASSEMBLY FOR AN ENCAPSULATED POLE UNIT AND MEDIUM VOLTAGE CIRCUIT INTERRUPTER INCLUDING THE SAME - A medium voltage circuit interrupter includes a circuit interrupter housing and a plurality of poles. Each of the poles includes an encapsulated pole unit. The encapsulated pole unit includes a first unit having a first conductor, a second conductor, a vacuum interrupter electrically connected between the first conductor and the second conductor, and a first housing housing the vacuum interrupter. A removable second unit includes a third conductor, a fourth conductor having a first portion electrically connected to the third conductor and a second portion removably electrically connected to one of the first conductor and the second conductor, an electronic device structured to sense a characteristic of the pole, and a second insulative housing encapsulating the third conductor, the first portion of the fourth conductor and the electronic device. An operating mechanism is structured to open and close the vacuum interrupter of each of the poles. | 08-13-2009 |
20100149700 | POWER DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM AND ELECTRICAL SWITCHING APPARATUS EMPLOYING A FILTER TRAP CIRCUIT TO PROVIDE ARC FAULT TRIP COORDINATION - An electrical switching apparatus comprises: a first terminal; a second terminal; separable contacts electrically connected between the first terminal and the second terminal; an operating mechanism structured to open and close the separable contacts; and an arc fault trip circuit cooperating with the operating mechanism and structured to trip open the separable contacts responsive to an arc fault condition. An inductor is electrically connected in series between the first terminal and the second terminal. A capacitor includes a first lead electrically connected between the inductor and the second terminal, and a second lead electrically connected to a ground or neutral conductor. The inductor and the capacitor are structured to cooperate with a power circuit impedance downstream of the second terminal to form a filter trap circuit. | 06-17-2010 |
20100240265 | ELECTRICAL INTERFACES INCLUDING A NANO-PARTICLE LAYER - An electrical interface includes a nano-particle layer. The electrical interface also includes a first conductor and a second conductor. The nano-particle layer and the first and second conductors are electrically coupled together. | 09-23-2010 |
20100240829 | COMPOSITIONS FOR COATING ELECTRICAL INTERFACES INCLUDING A NANO-PARTICLE MATERIAL AND PROCESS FOR PREPARING - A composition for coating a surface of an electrical contact includes a polymer matrix comprising elastomer, at least one nano-particle material, and crosslinker. | 09-23-2010 |
20110174781 | ARC CHAMBER EMPLOYING A NUMBER OF GASSING INSERTS TO FORM A NUMBER OF GAS FLOW CIRCULATION PATHS AND ELECTRICAL SWITCHING APPARATUS INCLUDING THE SAME - An electrical switching apparatus includes separable contacts, an operating mechanism structured to open and close the separable contacts, and an arc chamber. The arc chamber includes a slot motor having a core and a housing with an opening therein, an arc chute, and a number of gassing inserts disposed in the opening of the housing. The number of gassing inserts and the housing are structured to form a number of gas flow circulation paths. The number of gas flow circulation paths are structured to drive an arc into the arc chute. | 07-21-2011 |
20120090396 | ACOUSTIC SENSOR SYSTEM, ACOUSTIC SIGNATURE SIMULATOR, AND ELECTRICAL DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM - An acoustic sensor system includes a first plurality of acoustic sensors, and an acoustic transmitter structured to generate acoustic noise to mimic acoustic noise induced by an electrical conductivity fault. A smaller second number of acoustic sensors of the first plurality of acoustic sensors are structured to identify a plurality of locations in an electrical distribution system having a plurality of electrical joints, in order that the smaller second number of acoustic sensors can monitor the plurality of electrical joints of the electrical distribution system. | 04-19-2012 |
20120092020 | ACOUSTIC APPARATUS AND ACOUSTIC SENSOR APPARATUS INCLUDING A CLAMP - An acoustic sensor apparatus includes a housing; a clamp structured to clamp together the housing and an electrical power conductor; an acoustic sensor structured to detect acoustic noise from the electrical power conductor and output a signal; and a circuit structured to detect an electrical conductivity fault from the signal. | 04-19-2012 |
20120092965 | ACOUSTIC SENSOR SYSTEM FOR DETECTING ELECTRICAL CONDUCTIVITY FAULTS IN AN ELECTRICAL DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM - An acoustic sensor system is for an electrical distribution system having a number of phases. The acoustic sensor system comprises: a plurality of sets of acoustic sensors structured to detect an electrical conductivity fault of the electrical distribution system. Each of the plurality of sets includes a number of acoustic sensors. Each of the number of acoustic sensors is for a corresponding one of the number of phases of the electrical distribution system. | 04-19-2012 |
20120095706 | ACOUSTIC APPARATUS AND ACOUSTIC SENSOR APPARATUS INCLUDING A FASTENER - An acoustic sensor apparatus includes a housing, a fastener structured to fasten together the housing and an electrical power conductor, an acoustic sensor structured to detect acoustic noise from the electrical power conductor and output a signal, and a circuit structured to detect an electrical conductivity fault from the signal. | 04-19-2012 |
20120138442 | CONFIGURABLE ELECTRICAL SWITCHING APPARATUS INCLUDING A PLURALITY OF SEPARABLE CONTACTS AND A PLURALITY OF FIELD-CONFIGURABLE JUMPERS TO PROVIDE A NUMBER OF POLES - An electrical switching apparatus includes at least one pole; a plurality of first terminals; a plurality of second terminals; a plurality of pairs of separable contacts; and a plurality of field-configurable jumpers. Each of the plurality of field-configurable jumpers electrically connects two of the pairs of separable contacts in series. Each of the plurality of field-configurable jumpers are electrically connected to: (a) two of the first terminals, (b) two of the first terminals or (c) two of the second terminals; or one of the first terminals and one of the second terminals. | 06-07-2012 |
20120145675 | SINGLE DIRECT CURRENT ARC CHAMBER, AND BI-DIRECTIONAL DIRECT CURRENT ELECTRICAL SWITCHING APPARATUS EMPLOYING THE SAME - A single direct current arc chamber includes a ferromagnetic base having first and opposite second ends, a first ferromagnetic side member disposed from the first end, a second ferromagnetic side member disposed from the opposite second end, a third ferromagnetic member disposed from the ferromagnetic base intermediate the ferromagnetic side members, a first permanent magnet having a first magnetic polarity disposed on the first ferromagnetic side member and facing the third ferromagnetic member, and a second permanent magnet having the first magnetic polarity disposed on the second ferromagnetic side member and facing the third ferromagnetic member. | 06-14-2012 |
20120294043 | PARASITIC POWER SUPPLY AND SENSOR APPARATUS INCLUDING A POWER SUPPLY - A parasitic power supply derives power from its proximity to an electrical power conductor. The power supply includes a transformer having a coil disposed on a core structured to be disposed parallel to the power conductor. The coil has a voltage induced by current flowing in the power conductor. A voltage regulating circuit cooperates with the transformer and includes a capacitor having a voltage, a charge switch structured to charge the capacitor from the coil voltage, a bootstrap circuit structured to enable the charge switch to charge the capacitor when the capacitor voltage is below a first predetermined value, a charge controller structured to enable the charge switch to charge the capacitor when the capacitor voltage is below a second predetermined value, and a voltage regulator powered by the capacitor voltage. | 11-22-2012 |
20130112655 | ELECTRICAL SWITCHING APPARATUS INCLUDING MAGNET ASSEMBLY AND FIRST AND SECOND ARC CHAMBERS - An electrical switching apparatus includes two arc runners, two contacts in electrical communication with the respective runners, a movable contact having two portions respectively cooperating with the contacts to provide closed and open contact positions, and two arc chambers each including two ends, a longitudinal axis therebetween, and arc plates between the ends. A magnet assembly cooperates with the arc chambers to establish a generally unidirectional magnetic field normal to the axes, normal to a first direction of a first arc between one contact and the first portion as it moves away from the closed toward the open contact position, and normal to an opposite second direction of a second arc between the other contact and the second portion as it moves away from the closed toward the open contact position. The magnetic field causes one arc to enter one arc chamber depending upon current flow direction between the contacts. | 05-09-2013 |
20130192376 | ACOUSTIC SENSOR SYSTEM, ACOUSTIC SIGNATURE SIMULATOR, AND ELECTRICAL DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM - An acoustic sensor system includes a first plurality of acoustic sensors, and an acoustic transmitter structured to generate acoustic noise to mimic acoustic noise induced by an electrical conductivity fault. A smaller second number of acoustic sensors of the first plurality of acoustic sensors are structured to identify a plurality of locations in an electrical distribution system having a plurality of electrical joints, in order that the smaller second number of acoustic sensors can monitor the plurality of electrical joints of the electrical distribution system. | 08-01-2013 |
20140061160 | SINGLE DIRECT CURRENT ARC CHUTE, AND BI-DIRECTIONAL DIRECT CURRENT ELECTRICAL SWITCHING APPARATUS EMPLOYING THE SAME - A direct current arc chute includes a ferromagnetic base having first and second ends; first and second ferromagnetic side members disposed from the respective first and second ends; a third ferromagnetic member disposed from the base intermediate the side members and having an end portion opposite the base; and first and second magnets on the respective first and second members have a magnetic polarity facing the third member. A first arc chamber is between the first and third members; and a second arc chamber is between the second and third members. The first magnet and first member extend away from the first end and beyond the end portion, and toward the second magnet and second member after the end portion. The second magnet and second member extend away from the second end and beyond the end portion, and toward the first magnet and first member after the end portion. | 03-06-2014 |
20140078633 | CIRCUIT BREAKER INCLUDING AN ELECTRONIC TRIP CIRCUIT, A NUMBER OF TEMPERATURE SENSORS AND AN OVER-TEMPERATURE TRIP ROUTINE - A circuit breaker includes first and second terminals, separable contacts, conductors electrically connecting the contacts between the terminals, and an operating mechanism to open and close the contacts. A current sensor senses current flowing through the contacts and outputs a current value. A number of temperature sensors output a number of temperature values corresponding to a number of the conductors. An electronic trip circuit cooperates with the operating mechanism to trip open the contacts, and includes a processor having a first input inputting the current value, a first routine inputting the current value from the first input and causing the operating mechanism to trip open the contacts responsive to over-current, a number of second inputs inputting the number of temperature values, and a second routine comparing the number of temperature values to a number of limits and causing the operating mechanism to trip open the contacts responsive to over-temperature. | 03-20-2014 |
20140111294 | ELECTRICAL SWITCHING APPARATUS INCLUDING TRANSDUCTOR CIRCUIT AND ALTERNATING CURRENT ELECTRONIC TRIP CIRCUIT - An electrical switching apparatus includes a transductor circuit that senses a direct current between at least one input terminal and at least one output terminal and outputs an alternating current proportional to the direct current between the input terminal and the output terminal. The electrical switching apparatus also includes an alternating current electronic trip circuit configured to control pairs of separable contacts to separate based on the alternating current output from the transductor circuit. The alternating current electronic trip circuit includes a rectifier circuit, an interface circuit, and a processor structured to output a control signal to control a trip actuator to cause an operating mechanism to separate the plurality of pairs of separable contacts. | 04-24-2014 |
20140112022 | ELECTRICAL SWITCHING APPARATUS INCLUDING TRANSDUCTOR CIRCUIT AND ALTERNATING CURRENT ELECTRONIC TRIP CIRCUIT - An electrical switching apparatus includes a transductor circuit that senses a direct current between at least one input terminal and at least one output terminal and outputs an alternating current proportional to the direct current between the input terminal and the output terminal. The electrical switching apparatus also includes an alternating current electronic trip circuit configured to control pairs of separable contacts to separate based on the alternating current output from the transductor circuit. | 04-24-2014 |
20140172327 | UNDERGROUND TRANSFORMER ELECTRICAL FAULT DETECTION USING ACOUSTIC SENSING TECHNOLOGY - An electrical fault detection system includes an underground transformer unit having an enclosure and an electrical busbar element extending from the enclosure, and an acoustic sensor apparatus operatively coupled to an external structure of the enclosure or the electrical busbar element. The acoustic sensor apparatus is structured to: (i) detect an acoustic signal within the enclosure, (ii) analyze the detected acoustic signal and determine whether the detected acoustic signal is indicative of an electrical fault within the enclosure using an event time correlation (ETC) algorithm, and (iii) responsive to determining that the detected acoustic signal is indicative of an electrical fault, output a message indicating that a fault has been detected. | 06-19-2014 |
20140191767 | DETECTION AND LOCATION OF ELECTRICAL CONNECTIONS HAVING A MICRO-INTERFACE ABNORMALITY IN AN ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - A method of detecting and locating a micro-interface abnormality within an electrical system having a plurality of conductors and a plurality of electrical connections includes identifying a subset of the plurality of electrical connections by detecting an acoustic signal within the electrical system and analyzing the detected acoustic signal and determining that the detected acoustic signal is indicative of an electrical fault, measuring a contact resistance of each of the subset of the plurality of electrical connections, and identifying at least one of the subset of the plurality of electrical connection points as having a micro-interface abnormality based on the measured contact resistances. | 07-10-2014 |
20150014277 | INTERCHANGEABLE SWITCHING MODULE AND ELECTRICAL SWITCHING APPARATUS INCLUDING THE SAME - An interchangeable switching module is for an electrical switching apparatus including a first enclosure, separable contacts and an operating mechanism structured to open and close the separable contacts. The interchangeable switching module includes a second enclosure structured to fit within the first enclosure of the electrical switching apparatus; and an interchangeable electrical circuit and/or mechanical mechanism within the second enclosure and being structured to cooperate with switching of the separable contacts. | 01-15-2015 |