Circuit interrupter providing grounded neutral protection and method of controlling the same
First Claim
1. A circuit interrupter comprising:
- a first electrical conductor configured to electrically connect to a first output of a power source;
a second electrical conductor configured to electrically connect to a second output of said power source or a neutral;
separable contacts;
an operating mechanism configured to open and close said separable contacts;
a trip circuit electrically connected between the first electrical conductor and the second electrical conductor, said trip circuit including a trip actuator configured to cooperate with said operating mechanism to trip open said separable contacts;
a ground fault detection circuit configured to sense a difference between a current through the first electrical conductor and a current through the second electrical conductor and to output an output signal based on said sensed difference;
a power supply electrically connected between the first and second electrical conductors, said power supply being configured to convert alternating current power from the first and second electrical conductors to a direct current power; and
a processor configured to receive said direct current power and said output signal,wherein the processor is configured to determine whether a characteristic of the power supply is present in said output signal and to control the trip circuit based on said determination.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A circuit interrupter includes a first electrical conductor, a second electrical conductor, separable contacts, an operating mechanism configured to open and close the separable contacts, and a trip circuit including a trip actuator configured to cooperate with the operating mechanism to trip open the separable contacts. The circuit interrupter also includes a ground fault detection circuit configured to sense a difference between currents through the first and second electrical conductors and to output an output signal based on the sensed difference, a power supply configured to convert alternating current power from the first and second electrical conductors to a direct current power, and a processor configured to receive the direct current power and the output signal. The processor is also configured to determine whether a characteristic of the power supply is present in the output signal and to control the trip circuit based on the determination.
-
Citations
24 Claims
-
1. A circuit interrupter comprising:
-
a first electrical conductor configured to electrically connect to a first output of a power source; a second electrical conductor configured to electrically connect to a second output of said power source or a neutral; separable contacts; an operating mechanism configured to open and close said separable contacts; a trip circuit electrically connected between the first electrical conductor and the second electrical conductor, said trip circuit including a trip actuator configured to cooperate with said operating mechanism to trip open said separable contacts; a ground fault detection circuit configured to sense a difference between a current through the first electrical conductor and a current through the second electrical conductor and to output an output signal based on said sensed difference; a power supply electrically connected between the first and second electrical conductors, said power supply being configured to convert alternating current power from the first and second electrical conductors to a direct current power; and a processor configured to receive said direct current power and said output signal, wherein the processor is configured to determine whether a characteristic of the power supply is present in said output signal and to control the trip circuit based on said determination. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
-
-
13. A method of controlling a circuit interrupter comprising separable contacts, a trip circuit configured to control tripping of said separable contacts, a power supply configured to convert alternating current power received by the circuit interrupter to a direct current power, and a ground fault detection circuit configured to sense a ground fault current in the circuit interrupter and to output an output signal based on said sensed ground fault current, the method comprising:
-
determining, by a processor, whether a characteristic of the power supply is present in the output signal; and controlling the trip circuit based on the determined characteristic. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
-
-
19. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing one or more programs, including instructions, which when executed by a computer, causes the computer to perform a method of controlling a circuit interrupter comprising separable contacts, a trip circuit configured to control tripping of said separable contacts, a power supply configured to convert alternating current power received by the circuit interrupter to a direct current power, and a ground fault detection circuit configured to sense a ground fault current in the circuit interrupter and to output an output signal based on said sensed ground fault current, the method comprising:
-
determining whether a characteristic of the power supply is present in the output signal; and controlling the trip circuit based on the determined characteristic. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
-
Specification