APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR DETECTING FAULTY CONCENTRIC NEUTRALS IN A LIVE POWER DISTRIBUTION CABLE
First Claim
1. An apparatus for detecting a faulty concentric neutral wire in a live power distribution cable, the apparatus comprising:
- a housing for sliding along a surface of a power distribution cable, the power distribution cable comprising a center conductor and a plurality of concentric neutral wires surrounding the center conductor;
a magnetic sensor coupled to the housing to detect a magnetic field produced by each of the plurality of concentric neutral wires as the housing moves along the surface; and
a motion device coupled to the housing to detect motion of the housing relative to the power distribution cable.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus for detecting a faulty concentric neutral wire in a live power distribution cable may include, in one embodiment, a housing for sliding along a surface of a power distribution cable, a magnetic sensor, and a motion device. The magnetic sensor may be coupled to the housing and configured to detect a magnetic field produced by each concentric neutral wire as the housing moves along the surface of the cable. The motion device may also be coupled to the housing, and may detect motion of the housing relative to the cable. In some embodiments, a communication device may communicate data describing the magnetic field and motion to a destination device.
8 Citations
20 Claims
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1. An apparatus for detecting a faulty concentric neutral wire in a live power distribution cable, the apparatus comprising:
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a housing for sliding along a surface of a power distribution cable, the power distribution cable comprising a center conductor and a plurality of concentric neutral wires surrounding the center conductor; a magnetic sensor coupled to the housing to detect a magnetic field produced by each of the plurality of concentric neutral wires as the housing moves along the surface; and a motion device coupled to the housing to detect motion of the housing relative to the power distribution cable. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method for detecting a faulty concentric neutral wire in a live power distribution cable, the method comprising:
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locating a live power distribution cable having a plurality of concentric neutral wires associated therewith; sliding a magnetic sensor along a surface of the live power distribution cable to sense a magnetic field produced by each of the plurality of concentric neutral wires; detecting motion of the magnetic sensor relative to the live power distribution cable; and transmitting data describing the magnetic field and motion to a destination device. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A system for detecting a faulty concentric neutral wire in a live power distribution cable, the system comprising:
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a housing coupled to a surface of a power distribution cable; at least one magnetic sensor coupled to the housing to detect a magnetic field produced by each of a plurality of concentric neutral wires of the power distribution cable; a communication device to communicate data describing the magnetic field to an external source; and a destination device to receive and analyze the data to identify abnormalities in the magnetic field characteristic of a faulty concentric neutral wire. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20)
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Specification