Fault indicator with automatically configured trip settings
First Claim
1. A fault indicator for indicating the occurrence of a fault in an electrical conductor, said fault indicator comprising:
- a housing;
a display for indicating that a fault condition has occurred;
said display disposed on the housing such that the display is perceptible by a human;
a current sensor for sensing the load current in said conductor, and for providing a load current signal that is related to the load current;
a microcontroller that is in communication with said load current signal from said current sensor to determine the load current in said conductor;
to select one of a plurality of trip settings based upon the sensed load current in said conductor, to determine that a fault condition has occurred when the load current exceeds the selected trip setting and to actuate the display to the fault indicating condition upon the load current exceeding the selected trip setting.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A fault indicator for indicating the occurrence of a fault in an electrical conductor has a housing, a high capacity battery, a display for indicating the occurrence of a fault, a current sensor for sensing the load current in a monitored conductor a microcontroller for determining the load current, for selecting one of a plurality of trip settings, such as in several steps between 50 A and 1200 A, based upon the determined load current and for determining that a fault condition occurred when the load current exceeds the trip setting. The selected trip setting is stored in memory. The load current is periodically sampled and the trip setting is changed if the load current falls in a different range. The display may include permanent and temporary fault indicating LEDs and additional internal LEDs that cause the housing to glow or flash at nighttime, or a target style display may be used. Upon the load current exceeding the trip setting, the microcontroller begins flashing the permanent fault LEDs. After a predetermined interval, the microcontroller again senses the load current. If the current is zero, the fault is permanent and the permanent LEDs continue to flash until a timed reset occurs. If load current is present, the fault is temporary and the temporary LED is flashed. If the load current remains above the trip setting, the load had increased and the microcontroller sets a new trip setting. Related methods are also disclosed.
72 Citations
30 Claims
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1. A fault indicator for indicating the occurrence of a fault in an electrical conductor, said fault indicator comprising:
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a housing;
a display for indicating that a fault condition has occurred;
said display disposed on the housing such that the display is perceptible by a human;
a current sensor for sensing the load current in said conductor, and for providing a load current signal that is related to the load current;
a microcontroller that is in communication with said load current signal from said current sensor to determine the load current in said conductor;
to select one of a plurality of trip settings based upon the sensed load current in said conductor, to determine that a fault condition has occurred when the load current exceeds the selected trip setting and to actuate the display to the fault indicating condition upon the load current exceeding the selected trip setting. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A method of automatically configuring a fault indicator that detects faults in a monitored electrical conductor, wherein said fault indicator includes a display for displaying a fault condition, a current sensor and a microcontroller, said method comprising the steps of:
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sensing the load current in said conductor with the current sensor;
providing a load current signal from the current sensor that is related to the load current in the conductor;
providing a plurality of selectable trip settings for said fault indicator with each trip setting corresponding to a different range of load current;
determining the load current in said conductor based upon the load current signal from the sensor; and
selecting one of the plurality of trip settings based upon the determined load current. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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Specification