Method for optically detecting an electrical arc in a power supply
First Claim
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1. A method for optically detecting an electrical arc in a power supply having a plurality of cells, the method comprising:
- capturing light at a first cell with at least one light pipe, wherein the light pipe is positioned such that a first portion of the light pipe is external to the first cell to capture light that may occur from an external electrical arc and a second portion of the light pipe is inside the cell to capture light that may occur from an internal electrical arc within the first cell;
transmitting the captured light along at least a portion of a length of the light pipe;
optically detecting the transmitted light with a photodetector which is optically coupled to the light pipe;
generating a signal indicative of an intensity of the detected light;
converting the generated signal to a digital signal; and
determining whether the detected light is associated with an electrical arc.
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Abstract
A method for optically detecting an electrical arc in a power supply. The method includes capturing light with a light pipe, transmitting the captured light along at least a portion of a length of the light pipe, optically detecting the transmitted light with a photodetector which is optically coupled to the light pipe, generating a signal indicative of an intensity of the detected light, and determining whether the detected light is associated with an electrical arc.
22 Citations
18 Claims
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1. A method for optically detecting an electrical arc in a power supply having a plurality of cells, the method comprising:
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capturing light at a first cell with at least one light pipe, wherein the light pipe is positioned such that a first portion of the light pipe is external to the first cell to capture light that may occur from an external electrical arc and a second portion of the light pipe is inside the cell to capture light that may occur from an internal electrical arc within the first cell; transmitting the captured light along at least a portion of a length of the light pipe; optically detecting the transmitted light with a photodetector which is optically coupled to the light pipe; generating a signal indicative of an intensity of the detected light; converting the generated signal to a digital signal; and determining whether the detected light is associated with an electrical arc. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method for optically detecting an electrical arc in a power supply having a plurality of cells, the method comprising:
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capturing light at a first cell with at least one light pipe, wherein the light pipe is positioned such that a first portion of the light pipe is external to the first cell to capture light that may occur from an external electrical arc and a second portion of the light pipe is inside the cell to capture light that may occur from an internal electrical arc within the first cell; transmitting the captured light along at least a portion of a length of the light pipe; optically detecting the transmitted light with a photodetector which is optically coupled to the light pipe; generating a signal indicative of an intensity of the detected light; determining whether the detected light is associated with an electrical arc; and determining whether the detected light is associated with a particular type of electrical arc. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17)
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18. A method for optically detecting an electrical arc in a power supply having a plurality of cells, the method comprising:
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capturing light at a first cell with at least one light pipe, wherein the light pipe is positioned such that a first portion of the light pipe is external to the first cell to capture light that may occur from an external electrical arc and a second portion of the light pipe is inside the cell to capture light that may occur from an internal electrical arc within the first cell; transmitting the captured light along at least a portion of a length of the light pipe; optically detecting the transmitted light with a photodetector which is optically coupled to the light pipe; generating a signal indicative of an intensity of the detected light; determining whether the detected light is associated with an electrical arc; and determining whether the detected light is associated with a particular type of electrical arc by analyzing either an amplitude or a frequency of at least a portion of the generated signal.
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Specification