Method and apparatus for ground fault protection
First Claim
1. A method for monitoring a power distribution system that includes a plurality of circuit breakers, the method comprising:
- sampling an electrical power condition at each of the plurality of circuit breakers in a synchronous manner;
transmitting said electrical power condition of each of the plurality of circuit breakers to a central control processing unit;
determining a presence and a location of a ground fault in the power distribution system based on said electrical power condition; and
isolating the ground fault by opening one or more of said plurality of circuit breakers supplying power to the location.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method and apparatus for monitoring a centrally controlled power distribution system is provided. The method includes sampling an electrical current flow in the centrally controlled power distribution system, transmitting the sampled current signals to a central control processing unit, determining a ground fault presence and location based on the current signals received from all of the node electronics units, and isolating the determined ground fault by opening circuit breakers supplying power to the fault. The apparatus is configured to sample an electrical current flow in the centrally controlled power distribution system, transmit the sampled current signals associated with each circuit breaker to a central control processing unit, determine a ground fault presence and location based on the current signals received from all of the node electronics units in the power distribution system, and isolate the determined ground fault by opening circuit breakers supplying power to the fault.
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Citations
17 Claims
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1. A method for monitoring a power distribution system that includes a plurality of circuit breakers, the method comprising:
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sampling an electrical power condition at each of the plurality of circuit breakers in a synchronous manner; transmitting said electrical power condition of each of the plurality of circuit breakers to a central control processing unit; determining a presence and a location of a ground fault in the power distribution system based on said electrical power condition; and isolating the ground fault by opening one or more of said plurality of circuit breakers supplying power to the location. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. An apparatus for monitoring and controlling a power distribution system, comprising:
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a plurality of circuit breakers connected to a power source of the power distribution system; a node electronics unit in communication with a respective one of said plurality of circuit breakers, said node electronics unit being located remotely from its respective one of said plurality of circuit breakers; and a central processing unit in electrical communication with each of said node electronics unit, said central processing unit controlling each of said node electronics units to take a substantially synchronous sample of a condition of said power source so that said central processing unit can perform a comparison of said condition of said plurality of circuit breakers to determine a fault in the power distribution system. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method for monitoring a power distribution system that includes a plurality of circuit breakers, the method comprising:
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sampling an electrical power condition at each of the plurality of circuit breakers in a synchronous manner; transmitting said electrical power condition of each of the plurality of circuit breakers to a central control processing unit; determining a presence and a location of a ground fault in the power distribution system based on said electrical power condition, wherein determining the ground fault presence and location comprises determining a ground fault presence and location based on current values received from a first set of current sensors and determining a ground fault presence and location based on current values received from a second set of current sensors wherein the first set of sensors is different than the second set of sensors; isolating the ground fault by opening one or more of said plurality of circuit breakers supplying power to the location; and resolving a conflict between a first determination of the ground fault based on the first set of sensors and a second determination of the ground fault based on the second set of sensors.
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Specification