Eaton Corporation

Rockwell Automation Technologies Incorporated

American Superconductor Corporation

John R Brubaker

Jerome Kenneth Hastings

Bruce W Weiss

Paul Jerome Grosskreuz

Robert B Bridges

Lixiang Wei

Robert Michael Michalski

John W Kroll

Patrick S Flannery

Keith A Alwardt

Wayne O Tobias

Richard Lukaszewski

Douglas C Folts

Lawrence D Radosevich

Peter M Winn

Neil Gollhardt

Jie Yuan

David George Oteman

Peter Hansen

Mark D Putnam

Andrew Specht

David G Oteman

A static synchronous compensator configured to be installed in and provide reactive power to a medium voltage electric distribution system. There is a multi-level cascaded H-bridge (CHB) converter in an enclosure, having a nominal operating voltage in the medium voltage range. There is a first electrical bushing connecting the medium voltage electric distribution system to the input of the CHB converter. There is a second electrical bushing connecting ground or floating ground to the output of the CHB converter. There is a cooling system, which circulates the cooling fluid between in the interior of the enclosure to cool the CHB converter. There is a controller to control the converter to output reactive power at a medium voltage level.

Multi-level cascaded H-bridge STATCOM circulating cooling fluid within enclosure

A power electronics based system using natural, convection cooling, includes an enclosure housing a plurality of discrete components distributed in a vertical direction from a bottom portion to a top portion of the enclosure and having a heat density weighted average center at a first height along the vertical direction. There is a heat exchanger adjacent to the enclosure, including an inlet port and an outlet port in fluid communication with the enclosure. The heat exchanger has a vertical cooling average center at a second height. There is a cooling fluid disposed in the enclosure and in the heat exchanger to cool the discrete components. The discrete components are positioned in the vertical direction in the enclosure such that the first height of the heat density weighted average center along the vertical direction is below the second height of the vertical cooling average center of the heat exchanger.

Natural convection cooling for power electronics systems having discrete power dissipation components

The present invention provides a power converter mounting system including a flange that cooperates with a power converter and an enclosure. The flange includes a through hole that cooperates with an opening in the enclosure to permit the power converter to extend therethrough. A number of fasteners connect to the flange and overhang a portion of the power converter. The fasteners are configured to be manipulated from a front side of the power converter. An outer perimeter of the flange extends beyond the opening in the enclosure. The flange is secured to the enclosure with a number of fasteners that are also operable from the front side of the power converter. The power converter mounting assembly is configured to secure a power converter to an enclosure so as to satisfy a variety of sealing requirements as well as allowing convenient servicing of the power converter system.

Method and apparatus for mounting a power converter

An improved choke assembly for a power electronics device is provided. More specifically, a choke assembly with improved protection from environmental conditions such as dirt and water is provided. An improved choke assembly may include an insulative housing for an inductor coil that seals the inductor coil from the environment.

Method of fabricating a choke assembly

Power electronic module with an improved choke and methods of making same

A technique is disclosed for cooling resistive elements, such as brake resistors used in motor drives, as well as other resistors. A phase change heat spreader is thermally coupled to the resistive element and a continuous phase change cycle takes place in the heat spreader to extract heat from the resistive element. The element and heat spreader may be packaged as a modular unit or may be integrated into a system.

Phase change cooled electrical resistor

A molded case circuit breaker wherein a movable contact arm (8) is operated between open and closed positions with a stationary contact (4b) by an operating mechanism which controls an overcenter toggle drive spring (12) and which is automatically openable upon sensing overload conditions by releasing a latched lever (10) for carrying the line of action of the drive spring (12) across the pivot (8a) of the movable contact arm (8). The current sensing trip means (16) for unlatching the latched lever (10) is formed of a shape memory effect alloy to provide a significant amount of travel of the latching end thereof in response to a narrow band of current thereby to insure release of the latch lever (10) without need for calibrating the breaker. The shape memory effect element (16) is affixed at one end to a heater strap (18) for indirect heating by current flow in the distribution circuit and is provided with a flexible conductor (30) attached at its opposite end and connected with a electric power source through a remote control apparatus (32) and a current limiting resistor (34) for effecting selective direct heating of the SME element to selectively operate the breaker to its tripped position from the remote location.

Circuit breaker and shunt trip apparatus combined within single pole

A heater strip (12) is disposed in spaced relation to a temperature responsive actuator element (20) for indirectly heating that element in response to current flow in the heater (12). An adjustable heat sink (22) is disposed in spaced proximity to the actuator element (20) for removing heat from the actuator element by radiation therefrom through air to the heat sink in a first position and adjustable to be in thermally conductive engagement with the actuator in a second position for increasing the efficiency of heat transfer from the actuator to the heat sink. Increased current flow in the protected branch circuit is required to cause the actuator (20) to attain its predetermined actuation temperature as the heat sink is adjusted to increase the efficiency of heat transfer between the actuator (20) and the heat sink.

Thermally actuated variable-rating circuit breaker having adjustable

A pair of heaters (16,18) are mounted within a breaker housing (2) in spaced relation to a temperature responsive actuator element (30) for indirectly heating that element in response to current flow in the heaters. Each heater is provided with a wiring terminal member (6,8) for selectively individually connecting one or the other heater in circuit with a branch circuit to be protected. One heater (16) is selected to generate greater amounts of heat than the other heater (18) when subjected to the same current levels. The heaters are individually selectively connected in the branch circuit to be protected whereby the heater (16) producing greater amounts of heat may be utilized in a lower ampere rate application and the heater (18) producing lesser amounts of heat may be utilized in a higher ampere rated application, thereby to selectively permit predetermined current flows in the branch circuit for heating the actuator element (30) to its predetermined temperture to effect separation of the circuit breakers contacts (26).

Thermally actuated variable-rating circuit breaker having selectively

A thermally responsive shape memory effect (SME) element (4) is positioned adjacent a fixed heater (40) for moving away from the heater to a switch actuating 'memory' position as current induced temperature increases, thereby establishing changes in heat transfer coefficient between the heater (40) and thermally responsive element (4) for each increment of movement. An intermediate switch actuating lever (22) is carried on a movable range adjustment lever (16) to vary pretravel of an SME driven plunger (12). The SME element is resettable against a fixed stop (2c) for achieving accurate repetitive resetting of the device.

Electrothermally actuated switch

A shape memory effect (SME) spring (20) is thermally responsive to currents sensed in itself or in a heater element (66) to pivot an actuator (16) against a bias spring (22) to operate a switch (32) in response to sensed currents above a given level. The actuator (16), bias spring (22) and SME spring (20) are carried by a pivotally mounted support beam (12) which is driven by an ambient temperature compensation mechanism (40,52) to change the amount of switch actuating travel of the actuator (16) in response to ambient temperature changes. The ambient temperature compensation mechanism comprises a pivotal lever (42,54) translationally coupled (42a,54a, 12b) to the support beam (12). In a first embodiment the lever (42,54) is driven by a temperature sensitive bimetal (46), and in a second embodiment it is driven by a temperature sensitive SME spring (58) biased to a reference position by an adjustable (62) spring (60).

Growing community of inventors

Milwaukee, WI, United States of America

John R Brubaker