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:
Dec. 21, 2004
Filed:
Jan. 31, 2003
Thomas J. Schoepf, Rochester Hills, MI (US);
Malakondaiah Naidu, Troy, MI (US);
Suresh Gopalakrishan, Sterling Heights, MI (US);
Delphi Technologies, Inc., Troy, MI (US);
Abstract
A direct current electrical circuit having a smart wire harness that has integrated electronics which measure both voltage and current through wires of the harness to detect and protect the electrical current from parallel and serial arc faults occurring within a protection zone. The protection zone is disposed directly between two smart connectors of the wire harness which are in communication with one another via a series of signal wires of the harness to detect serial or parallel arc faults within the protection zone. To measure serial arc faults, a voltage drop of the positive wire is measured at each smart connector and a difference taken which equals the serial arc voltage. If this voltage differential increases to a preset value, a switching device which provides power to the smart wire harness is opened. To detect parallel arc faults, that is those arcs which jump between the positive wire and the ground wire of the wire harness, a current is measured at both ends of the positive wire of the wire harness via the same smart connectors. If the ending current is less than the beginning current, signaling a parallel arc fault due to the arc resistance of the arc itself, the same switching device is opened.