Schneider Electric USA, Inc.

Other

Square D Company

Paul Andrew Reid

Gary W Scott

Randall James Gass

Robert Erger

Chad Raymond Mittelstadt

Brett E Larson

Andi Jakupi

Joseph R Beierschmitt

Steve M Meehleder

Hynek Raisigel

Costin Vasile

Michel Layour

Dennis William Fleege

Jeffrey Owen Sharp

William J Broghammer

Jason D Potratz

Ryan James Moffitt

Kevin John Malo

William Davison

Steven M Meehleder

David D Mundschenk

William Broghammer

An arc fault detection system samples a high frequency signal on a power line sequentially at different frequency regions according to a frequency hopping sequence, which is repeated a number of times over a predefined period. The different frequency regions include at least one region with a carrier for power line communication on the power line and at least one region without a carrier for power line communication on the power line. The system obtains energy measurements for each frequency region based on the sampled signals, computes an energy level for each frequency region based on the measurements for each region, and assigns a binary value to each region according to the corresponding energy level. The binary value represents a presence or absence of signal content in the frequency region. The system determines a presence or absence of an arc fault based on the binary values for the frequency regions.

Arc fault detection using frequency hopping techniques

A modular monitoring and control system for NEMA-style load center smart electrical distribution panels is built up from interconnectable modules, starting with a Base Unit for monitoring and reporting on select branch circuits, then adding a Control Module for Remotely Operated breakers or additional current monitoring or both; and/or adding a separate Expansion Module with Current Transformer expansion capabilities for adding a larger number of power monitors within the load center. The modules plug into breaker pole slots within the panel for ease of installation and are independent of the breakers. The system keeps initial smart panel costs low by placing monitoring and control functionality and required parts into add-on modules.

Single pole low-cost expandable smart panel monitoring and control system

A method of establishing, and recording, the cause of a power interruption to the load in solenoid-operated electronic miniature circuit breakers of various types without extensive digital resources is presented. In some designs of electronic miniature circuit breakers a circuit breaker trip event will change the inductance of the trip solenoid. This change will take place for an electronic trip or a mechanical trip. A record of the electronic trip signal issued to the solenoid will be present to check against and differentiate the occurrence of an electronic trip from a mechanical trip. The mechanical trip occurs without the electronics and is also indicated by the change in inductance. Thereby, the cause of the power interruption can be determined, recorded and reported.

Method of identifying a mechanical trip in an electronic miniature circuit breaker

Systems and methods for auto-monitoring a trip solenoid and a switching semiconductor in a circuit breaker comprises determining whether the trip solenoid or the switching semiconductor is open-circuited or otherwise non-operational. The trip solenoid has multiple windings therein and the switching semiconductor has multiple semiconductor switches therein. The circuit breaker automatically performs a designated action if one of the multiple windings or one of the semiconductor switches is determined to be open-circuited or otherwise non-operational. In some embodiments, the circuit breaker is a miniature circuit breaker.

Auto-monitoring redundancy for enhanced miniature circuit breaker reliability

A system for detecting faults in an electric vehicle charging system includes an electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) coupled to an electric vehicle via a cable. The EVSE includes a first charging circuit interrupting device (CCID) configured to detect faults at let-go levels between an ungrounded conductor in the cable and an external (or unintended) ground. The first CCID is also configured to detect faults above leakage current levels between a chassis of the vehicle and a power storage device of the vehicle. A second CCID is included in the cable or the vehicle to detect faults at let-go levels between an ungrounded conductor in the cable and the chassis. The system maintains grounding continuity between the electric vehicle and ground. The system thus provides protection at let-go levels while allowing a leakage current in the vehicle to be detected at a higher level for nuisance trip avoidance.

Zone fault detection method and system for electric vehicle charging systems

An indicator system for an electronic miniature circuit breaker that has tripped and therefore has no power to provide its own trip indication comprises a breaker in a tripping state and an adjacent breaker in a nontripping state, both with aligned indicator light tubes and data transmission lines or light pipes. The tripped, or tripping, breaker sends a Notice of Trip Data signal before its contacts open and its power goes out, or does so on reserve power. A neighboring breaker's transceiver receives the Notice of Trip Data signal, encodes it, and then repeats it back via an LED and indicator light tube to the tripped breaker. The trip occurrence has opened a shutter on the tripped breaker which allows it to display the repeated Notice of Trip Data signal as a visible light indication through an indicator window in its top wall.

Trip indication using adjacent circuit breakers

A communicating circuit breaker architecture with automatic load center position identification links circuit breakers having electronics for reporting a self-status signal including operating data and a position identifier. Each breaker has light pipes with optical ports at its sides for communicating with its neighbors and preferably a mechanically operated optical shunt providing an optical path through the breaker in the event of a trip. Each breaker has optical data transceivers for the light pipes which transmit self-status information through the light pipes and receive and repeat neighboring breaker status signals to its neighbors. The breakers form a network via their aligned optical ports reporting to an aggregator device in a known position of the Load Center which transmits breaker status reports outside the load center. Each breaker has a logic unit for determining its position in the load center based on the received position of a neighboring device.

Communicating circuit breaker architecture with automatic load center position identification

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.

Wireless branch circuit energy monitoring system

A fault detection system is provided for a power distribution system having at least first and second line conductors carrying AC currents that are out of phase with each other from a source to a load, and a common neutral conductor. The system includes an arcing fault current sensor comprising a coil wound on a hollow core and coupled to both of the line conductors in a manner that the electrical currents in the line conductors flow in opposite directions inside the hollow core, thus inducing in the coil an output signal that is a function of the difference of the electrical currents in the line conductors. A neutral current sensor produces an output signal representing the magnitude and phase direction of current in the neutral conductor. An arcing fault detection circuit includes a processor programmed to (1) respond to a change in the first output signal to analyze the second output signal to determine whether the change in the first output signal is attributable at least in part to current in a line-to-line circuit, (2) if the answer is affirmative, determine a scaling factor to be used to adjust the value of the first output signal, and (3) analyze the adjusted first output signal to determine whether an arcing fault has occurred and produce a trip signal in response to the detection of an arcing fault.

Multi-pole arcing fault circuit breaker including a neutral current sensor

A circuit breaker capable of microcontroller-based fault detection having a backup circuit for causing the circuit to trip in response to a microcontroller fault or a failure of a regulated power supply powering the microcontroller. The circuit breaker includes an RC circuit connected to an SCR. The resistor of the RC circuit is connected between the anode and gate of the SCR, and the capacitor is connected between the gate and cathode of the SCR. The microcontroller has a first pin coupled to the RC circuit, which is initially in a high input impedance state. In the event of a microcontroller fault or power supply failure, the capacitor will charge to a voltage sufficient to activate the SCR and trip the breaker. If the microcontroller startup routine is successful, the pin is configured as an output and is pulled low, shorting out the capacitor.

Backup tripping function for a circuit breaker with microcontroller-based fault detection

A circuit that includes a single grounded fault sensing transformer coupled to a resonant circuit that produces an output signal used by a microcontroller to determine a load current flowing through at least two conductors passing through the center of the sensing transformer. The microcontroller pings the resonant circuit, causing an impulse disturbance at the output signal, and the microcontroller calculates the inductance component of the resonant circuit based on the frequency of the decaying output signal. The microcontroller calculates the resistive core loss as a function of a known resistance of the resonant circuit, a known capacitance of the resonant circuit, the calculated inductance, and the determined rate of decay of the output signal. The calculated resistive core loss is compared to a table or to a polynomial function that characterizes known resistive core losses with known load currents to determine the load current corresponding to the calculated resistive core loss.

Apparatus and method for measuring load current using a ground fault sensing transformer

An automatic temperature compensation method that automatically adjusts trip point thresholds of a motor circuit protector in response to changes in temperature. The relationship between two curves is exploited to match temperature sensor readings from a temperature sensor circuit with burden resistor percentage values derived from a burden resistor circuit. A temperature inflection point is determined from the intersection of (1) the temperature sensor curve plotting the voltage output of the temperature sensor versus temperature and (2) the burden resistance curve plotting burden resistance versus temperature. A temperature value along the temperature sensor curve is transformed into the corresponding burden resistance on the burden resistance curve. The burden resistance is expressed as a percentage variance from a burden resistance at an ambient temperature. An adjusted trip point threshold is calculated from the computed burden resistor percentage, and the adjusted trip point threshold is stored in a memory.

Burden resistor temperature compensation algorithm

A microcontroller-based temperature compensated circuit for ground-fault circuit interrupter to meet the requirements of UL 943 using a single sensor to detect both ground-fault and grounded-neutral fault conditions in both full-wave and half-wave AC power supplies as part of a ground-fault circuit breaker or a receptacle device.

Single-sensor microcontroller-based approach for ground fault circuit interrupters

A wide input range switching power supply for a circuit protection device includes a rectifier circuit for rectifying an AC line voltage at a supply input, and a switch-mode DC-to-DC converter coupled to the rectifier circuit for providing a low voltage DC power to a load at a supply output. The converter includes a switch having an open state and a closed state and a control circuit for controlling the state of the switch. The control circuit is operatively coupled to receive operating power from the supply output.

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Cedar Rapids, IA, United States of America

Paul Andrew Reid