CIRCUIT INTERRUPTER WITH CONTINUOUS SELF-TESTING FEATURE
First Claim
1. A circuit interrupter comprising:
- a circuit interrupting actuation circuit; and
a fault current test circuit disposed and electrically coupled to the circuit interrupting actuation circuit to test at least partially the operability of the circuit interrupting actuation circuit, the test circuit disposed and configured to receive power from a power source,wherein when the fault current test circuit is receiving power from the power source, the test circuit continuously tests at least partially the operability of the circuit interrupting circuit.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A circuit interrupter includes a current transformer, phase conductor and neutral conductor. The phase conductor and the neutral conductor are each configured to pass through the transformer from line side to load side that are defined by the current transformer. The circuit interrupter generates a continuous test current by continuous current imbalance established between the load side of the phase conductor and the line side of the neutral conductor, or between the line side of the phase conductor and the load side of the neutral conductor. A continuous test conductor may be coupled correspondingly to establish the current imbalance. Alternatively, an integrated circuit coupled correspondingly receives power and is energized by a quiescent current thereby. The current imbalance is established by the quiescent current. The current transformer detects the quiescent current as the continuous test current. Corresponding methods are also disclosed.
-
Citations
47 Claims
-
1. A circuit interrupter comprising:
-
a circuit interrupting actuation circuit; and a fault current test circuit disposed and electrically coupled to the circuit interrupting actuation circuit to test at least partially the operability of the circuit interrupting actuation circuit, the test circuit disposed and configured to receive power from a power source, wherein when the fault current test circuit is receiving power from the power source, the test circuit continuously tests at least partially the operability of the circuit interrupting circuit. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
-
-
18. A method of testing a circuit interrupter comprising the steps of:
-
providing a circuit interrupter; coupling electrical power to the circuit interrupter; and continuously at least partially testing operability of the circuit interrupter. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
-
-
36. A method of manufacturing a circuit interrupter comprising the steps of:
-
providing a circuit interrupter; configuring the circuit interrupter to receive electrical power from a power source; and configuring the circuit interrupter with circuitry to enable at least partial continuous testing of the circuit interrupter when electrical power is received by the circuit interrupter. - View Dependent Claims (37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47)
-
Specification