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:
Nov. 25, 2003
Filed:
Dec. 29, 2000
Henry J. Zylstra, Alburnett, IA (US);
Charles D. Bettis, Cedar Rapids, IA (US);
David J. Dunne, Cedar Rapids, IA (US);
Square D Company, Palatine, IL (US);
Abstract
An assembly and method is provided for a tripping mechanism of an circuit breaker to limit the damage to a protected circuit breaker and other associated equipment such as enclosures, bus way, etc. from the high forces that result from high currents and prevent unwanted tripping of a circuit breaker due to rapidly decreasing currents. A trip system for a circuit breaker including a sensor to determine a rate of change in the current level. A positive detector is connected to the sensor to determine a positive current direction. A negative detector is connected to the sensor to determine a negative current direction. An electronic switch connected to the positive and negative sensors to activate the tripping mechanism of the circuit breaker. A power supply is connected to the tripping mechanism and electronic switch. Preferably a current delimiter applies a high voltage initially to an inductive device such as a tripping solenoid to effect a quick response but then limit the current to prevent damage to the tripping solenoid.