The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Aug. 25, 1992
Filed:
Jun. 04, 1990
Kenneth A Baumgartner, Peoria, IL (US);
William Pickering, University Heights, OH (US);
Arthur Wild, Thompson, OH (US);
Caterpillar Industrial Inc., Mentor, OH (US);
Abstract
An apparatus is provided for precharging a filter capacitor to prevent damage to a set of contacts resulting from arcing across the contacts. Included is a coil, a set of contacts, and a battery, such that the contacts and filter capacitor are connected in series and the series connected combination is connected in parallel across the battery. Also included is a switch, and a microprocessor for producing a triggering signal responsive to the closure of the switch. A driving circuit receives the triggering signal and responsively produces a charging signal. A charging circuit receives the charging signal and responsively charges the filter capacitor. Thereafter, the microprocessor produces an energizing signal causing the coil to become energized and the contacts to responsively close. By precharging the filter capacitor before the closure of the contacts, the voltage potential across the contacts is reduced. Therefore, no damage occurs due to arcing across the contacts.