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:
Apr. 14, 1998
Filed:
Jun. 28, 1996
Stuart R Akers, Raleigh, NC (US);
Erskine Barbour, Benson, NC (US);
Siemens Energy & Automation, Inc., Alpharetta, GA (US);
Abstract
An under voltage trip device for low and medium voltage breakers, a first power supply receives unregulated power from a control voltage supply, which is rectified and regulated with portions of the power supply monitored by a processor. The output of the first power supply is supplied to a second power supply which allows pulsing modulating power to be supplied to a solenoid connected thereto. The current supplied to the solenoid is measured so as to represent the solenoid armature position which is measured and calculated by a processor and stored therein as well as being compared to stored values, thereby determining solenoid armature position and predicting or warning of solenoid failure. Connected to the second power supply is a third power supply which operates in a voltage regulator supply mode and a switcher mode during start-up and continuous running operation respectively, such mode being controlled by the processor. Switches are connected to the processor with the result that multiple control voltage sources may be selected while the position and condition of the solenoid armature and coil are determined. Further, the solenoid is pulsed with higher than rated voltages in order to firmly lock in the solenoid and to delay its decay during an under-voltage condition from the control power. Further, the power supply circuit in cooperation with the DIP switches and the processor allows for adjustment for the delay time and pick-up or drop-out points with respect to the control voltage in order to determine operation of the solenoid.