Circuit interrupting device with automatic test
First Claim
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1. A circuit interrupting device comprising:
- at least two conductive paths each having a line side and a load side;
a fault sensor disposed to monitor the at least two conductive paths for a predefined fault condition and disposed to output a condition signal in the event the predefined fault condition is detected;
a relay;
a relay controller coupled to said relay and disposed to receive the outputted condition signal, such that when the relay controller receives the condition signal, said relay is disposed to cause electrical discontinuity in the at least two conductive paths between the line side and load side;
a load voltage sensor disposed to measure the voltage between the at least two conductive paths at the load side and disposed to output a voltage signal in response to the measured voltage; and
a power interrupting system having a power interrupting controller coupled to the fault sensor and the load voltage sensor and capable of outputting a disconnect signal in response to the detection of a predefined operational condition based upon the condition signal and the voltage signal, and a power interrupter disposed to cause permanent electrical discontinuity in the at least two conductive paths between the line side and load side in response to the disconnect signal.
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Abstract
Resettable circuit interrupting devices having self-test and non-resettable or limited resettable power interrupting systems are provided. The permanent power interrupting system activates when a circuit interrupting device is no longer capable of operating in accordance with applicable standards governing such devices or the device is no longer capable of operating in accordance with its design characteristics.
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Citations
28 Claims
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1. A circuit interrupting device comprising:
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at least two conductive paths each having a line side and a load side; a fault sensor disposed to monitor the at least two conductive paths for a predefined fault condition and disposed to output a condition signal in the event the predefined fault condition is detected; a relay; a relay controller coupled to said relay and disposed to receive the outputted condition signal, such that when the relay controller receives the condition signal, said relay is disposed to cause electrical discontinuity in the at least two conductive paths between the line side and load side; a load voltage sensor disposed to measure the voltage between the at least two conductive paths at the load side and disposed to output a voltage signal in response to the measured voltage; and a power interrupting system having a power interrupting controller coupled to the fault sensor and the load voltage sensor and capable of outputting a disconnect signal in response to the detection of a predefined operational condition based upon the condition signal and the voltage signal, and a power interrupter disposed to cause permanent electrical discontinuity in the at least two conductive paths between the line side and load side in response to the disconnect signal. - View Dependent Claims (2)
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3. A fault circuit interrupting device having a line side and a load side, the device comprising:
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a) a fault sensor disposed to monitor a power line for a fault; b) at least one first interrupter configured to selectively disconnect electrical continuity between the line side and the load side, the at least one first interrupter comprising; i) a relay; ii) a relay controller coupled to an output of said fault sensor, said relay controller being disposed to selectively open said relay; and c) at least one second interrupter coupled in series with said first interrupter and configured to selectively permanently disconnect electrical continuity between said line side and said load side. - View Dependent Claims (4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A method for performing a self test on a fault circuit interrupter comprising:
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a) performing a self test; b) determining if there is a hardware failure; c) detecting a load voltage; d) determining if there is a reset request; and e) permanently disconnecting power to a load side after determining that there was a hardware failure. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28)
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Specification