Aircraft applicable circuit imbalance detection and circuit interrupter and packaging thereof
First Claim
1. An aircraft applicable current imbalance detection and circuit interrupter for monitoring the current within an electrical circuit and interrupting the electrical circuit, the electrical circuit having a line side and a load side with an electrical load connected thereto, the aircraft applicable current imbalance detection and circuit interrupter comprising:
- a housing including electrical connector means for connecting to the electrical circuit line side and load side;
a power supply disposed in the housing and electrically connected to the electrical circuit;
a sensor system disposed in the housing for sensing a current imbalance in the electrical circuit and for providing a sensor signal indicating the existence of an undesirable current within the electrical circuit based on said sensing of said current imbalance;
a logic controller disposed in the housing and configured to be powered by the electrical circuit being monitored, to receive the sensor signal from the sensor system and to output a fault signal representing a fault; and
a power controller disposed in the housing configured to receive said fault signal from the logic controller and to remove power to the load side of the electrical circuit responsive to the fault signal from the logic controller, the power controller including a power relay having contacts capable of surviving carry-break and make-carry-break types of ground fault conditions at anticipated current levels.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The aircraft applicable current imbalance detection and circuit interrupter interrupts an electrical circuit when a current imbalance is sensed. The current imbalance detection and circuit interrupter includes a housing, power supplies, a sensor system for sensing a current imbalance at the line side of the electrical circuit, a logic controller and a power controller including a power relay having contacts capable of surviving carry-break and make-carry-break types of ground fault conditions at anticipated current levels. At power up, the device performs a test to confirm that none of the relay contacts have failed in a closed position, and to check whether a switching FET which controls the relay coil has shorted.
55 Citations
34 Claims
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1. An aircraft applicable current imbalance detection and circuit interrupter for monitoring the current within an electrical circuit and interrupting the electrical circuit, the electrical circuit having a line side and a load side with an electrical load connected thereto, the aircraft applicable current imbalance detection and circuit interrupter comprising:
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a housing including electrical connector means for connecting to the electrical circuit line side and load side; a power supply disposed in the housing and electrically connected to the electrical circuit; a sensor system disposed in the housing for sensing a current imbalance in the electrical circuit and for providing a sensor signal indicating the existence of an undesirable current within the electrical circuit based on said sensing of said current imbalance; a logic controller disposed in the housing and configured to be powered by the electrical circuit being monitored, to receive the sensor signal from the sensor system and to output a fault signal representing a fault; and a power controller disposed in the housing configured to receive said fault signal from the logic controller and to remove power to the load side of the electrical circuit responsive to the fault signal from the logic controller, the power controller including a power relay having contacts capable of surviving carry-break and make-carry-break types of ground fault conditions at anticipated current levels. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. An aircraft applicable current imbalance detection and circuit interrupter for interrupting an electrical circuit to an electrical load, the electrical circuit having a line side and a load side, the aircraft applicable current imbalance detection and circuit interrupter comprising:
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a housing having electrical connector means for connecting to the electrical circuit line side and load side; a power supply disposed in the housing and connected to the electrical circuit; a sensor system disposed in the housing for sensing a current imbalance in the electrical circuit and for providing a sensor signal indicating the existence of a current imbalance within the electrical circuit based on said sensing of said current imbalance; a direct current (DC) controlled power controller configured to remove power to the load side of the electrical circuit when de-energized, the power controller including a power relay having contacts capable of surviving carry-break and make-carry-break types of ground fault conditions at anticipated current levels; a logic controller disposed in the housing and configured to be powered by the power supply, to receive an external relay control signal and the sensor signal from the sensor system, to compare the sensor signal with a predetermined range for acceptable operation for the electrical circuit, to output a fault signal representing a current imbalance and de-energized the power controller when the sensor signal exceeds said predetermined range; a fault indicator configured to receive said fault signal from the logic controller, to indicate a current imbalance condition has occurred; and a reset switch to reset the fault indicator and the current imbalance detection and circuit interrupter; wherein the housing has a form factor that packages the current imbalance detection and circuit interrupter circuitry in a space compatible with an existing power controller used in the aircraft. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. An aircraft applicable current imbalance detection and circuit interrupter for interrupting an electrical circuit to an electrical load, the electrical circuit having a line side and a load side, said interrupter comprising:
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a housing having electrical connector means for connecting to the electrical circuit line side and load side; at least one power supply disposed in the housing and connected to the electrical circuit; a sensor system disposed in the housing for sensing a current imbalance in the electrical circuit and for providing a sensor signal indicating the existence of a current imbalance within the electrical circuit based on said sensing of said current imbalance; a logic controller disposed in the housing and configured to be powered by one of the power supplies, to receive an external relay control signal and the sensor signal from the sensor system, and to compare the sensor signal with a predetermined range for acceptable operation for the electrical circuit and to interrupt the relay control signal when the sensor signal exceeds said predetermined range; a power controller configured to be energized by the relay control signal and to remove power to the load side of the electrical circuit when the relay control signal is interrupted, the power controller including a power relay having contacts capable of surviving carry-break and make-carry-break types of ground fault conditions at anticipated current levels; a fault indicator configured to receive said fault signal from the logic controller, to illuminate indicating a current imbalance condition has occurred; and a reset switch to reset the fault indicator and the current imbalance detection and circuit interrupter. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34)
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Specification