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:
Feb. 12, 2002
Filed:
Jun. 21, 1999
Donald F. Hausman, Jr., Emmaus, PA (US);
Walter Steven Zaharchuk, Macungie, PA (US);
Robert William Lenig, Bethlehem, PA (US);
Stuart DeJonge, Riegelsville, PA (US);
Lutron Electronics Co., Inc., Coopersburg, PA (US);
Abstract
A load control circuit having an overload circuit capable of protecting a switching element from overload conditions over a wide range of operating conditions. The overload circuit limits the maximum average power dissipation of the switching element in accordance with a comparison of an average voltage across the switching element over a half-cycle and a variable threshold. The variable threshold is determined based on an ON-state resistance of the switching element and the environment in which the switching elements are operating. The variable threshold accounts for the squared term (V or I ) in determining power dissipation and allows power to be determined based on average voltage.