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. 05, 2005
Filed:
Apr. 29, 2002
Joseph C. Engel, Monroeville, PA (US);
Kevin L. Parker, Pittsburgh, PA (US);
Joseph C. Engel, Monroeville, PA (US);
Kevin L. Parker, Pittsburgh, PA (US);
Eaton Corporation, Cleveland, OH (US);
Abstract
A trip unit for a circuit interrupter includes a power supply, a plurality of input terminals and a plurality of output terminals. A heater conductor is electrically connected between each pair of the input and output terminals. The heater conductor is adapted to generate heat responsive to current flowing through the conductor. A diode is disposed proximate each of the conductors for heating thereby. The diodes are electrically interconnected with the power supply and are adapted to provide a forward voltage representative of the temperature of the corresponding conductor. Another diode is electrically interconnected with the power supply and is adapted to provide a forward voltage representative of ambient temperature. A thermal trip circuit generates a trip signal for the circuit interrupter responsive to the forward voltage of the diodes.