CA1037122A - Current measuring device - Google Patents

Current measuring device

Info

Publication number
CA1037122A
CA1037122A CA236,365A CA236365A CA1037122A CA 1037122 A CA1037122 A CA 1037122A CA 236365 A CA236365 A CA 236365A CA 1037122 A CA1037122 A CA 1037122A
Authority
CA
Canada
Prior art keywords
windings
conductor
transistors
leg
measuring device
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired
Application number
CA236,365A
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
David I. Spalding
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Applied Power Australia Ltd
Original Assignee
Applied Power Australia Ltd
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Applied Power Australia Ltd filed Critical Applied Power Australia Ltd
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of CA1037122A publication Critical patent/CA1037122A/en
Expired legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • GPHYSICS
    • G01MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01RMEASURING ELECTRIC VARIABLES; MEASURING MAGNETIC VARIABLES
    • G01R19/00Arrangements for measuring currents or voltages or for indicating presence or sign thereof
    • G01R19/18Arrangements for measuring currents or voltages or for indicating presence or sign thereof using conversion of DC into AC, e.g. with choppers
    • G01R19/20Arrangements for measuring currents or voltages or for indicating presence or sign thereof using conversion of DC into AC, e.g. with choppers using transductors, i.e. a magnetic core transducer the saturation of which is cyclically reversed by an AC source on the secondary side

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Power Engineering (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Measuring Instrument Details And Bridges, And Automatic Balancing Devices (AREA)
  • Measurement Of Current Or Voltage (AREA)

Abstract

ABSTRACT

A current measuring device for measuring a current flowing in a conductor by inductive coupling to the conductor, the device having an E-shaped core of magnetic material and a slidable bar normally spaced by an air gap from one outer leg and being slidably movable away from this outer leg to permit the insertion of the conductor being measured. Two pairs of windings are placed on the other outer leg. One winding in each pair is alternately energized under the control of a transistor oscillator network, the other winding in each pair being used to supply feedback voltages to cause deenergization of the transistor then conducting. Each transistor has in series therewith a second transistor to minimize clipping of the voltage peaks. The output of the windings is applied to the input of a further transistor, the output of which is in turn applied to a current measuring device.

Description

~037~ZZ
This invention relates to apparatus for measuring a current flowing in a conductor and more particularly to apparatus which responds when inductively coupled to the conductor.
There is frequently a requirement, particularly in the testing of electrical systems of motor vehicles, to measure heavy duty currents without disrupting electrical cables, such as occurs in the insertion of an ammeter shunt.
Such a practice is inconvenient and sometimes can influence the resulting analysis. Inductively coupled sensors have been developed in the past which employ a two-piece ferro-magnetic core member which can be attached to enclose the conductor under test. This core carries windings which are excited by an oscillator with the core sometimes forming part of the oscillator resonant circuit. Asymmetry is introduced into the oscillator circuit by induction from the conductor which is detected and indicated on a meter.
Several electrical circuits are known which function as the oscillator and it is conventional that an indication of the current flow in the conductor is provided on the scale of an ammeter which responds to current imbalance in the excitation coils on the core.
One known type of ferromagnetic core is U-shaped with a sliding or hinged I-bar pole piece to bridge the two poles of the core. Such a core must be physically large to avoid saturation at the high currents to be expected, while the transmission of an output signal to a remote indicator or data acquisition system may be difficult.
Such a prior device has been employed with a circuit with reasonably low power consumption suitable for currents to ``~

~037~ZZ
be measured of up to lOO amperes. Such a circuit may have an oscillator composed of two transistors feeding a constant-voltage square-wave to two exciter coils~ with an ammeter indicating the current imbalance in these coils. The coil inductance in combination with the base resistance forms the circuit time-constant. It can, therefore, be seen how the above mentioned difficulty in transmission of the output signal results from the low signal level available and the fact that it is floating and not referenced to the zero-volt ; 10 supply line. The latter problems might be overcome by using an oscillator circuit which saturates the core, and obtaining the output as a high-level square-wave with modulated pulse ;width, but a very large core is still required and the power consumption would be considerably higher.
It is the principal object of this invention to provide current measuring apparatus which functions on rela-tively low power consumption and which operates efficiently.
The invention in one general form, therefore, provides apparatus for measuring current flow in a conductor, comprising a magnetic core attachable about the conductor for induction of a magnetic flux therein when current flows in the conductor, said core being constructed with plural , sections to provide a multiple path for the magnetic flux, an electrical oscillating circuit functioning to saturate ;~ at least part of one of said sections, and means for deriving from the waveform of oscillations of said oscillator a signal indicative of the value of current flowing in the conductor.
In accordance with the invention, a current measuring device for measuring a current flowing in the conductor by inductive coupling to the conductor comprises: an E-shaped core of magnetic material having first and second outer legs and a center leg spaced from said second outer leg sufficiently to provide a space therebetween for the reception of a conduc-tor carrying the current to be measured, a bar movably asso-ciated with said E-shaped core and movable between a first position in which the bar is displaced from the end of said second outer leg sufficiently to provide for the insertion of a conductor therein to a normal position in which it is in engagement with said first outer leg and said center leg but is displaced from said second outer leg by an air gap, a pair of windings disposed on said first outer leg, means for alternately energizing said windings to cause flux flow in opposite directions, and means for measuring any difference in voltage across said windings resulting from the effect of flux flowing in said center leg because of current flow in said conductor.
Also in accordance with the invention, a current measuring device for measuring a current flowing in a conductor by inductive coupling to the conductor comprises:
a core of magnetic material having first and second legs, a bar movably associated with said core and movable between a first position in which the bar is displaced from the end of one of said legs sufficiently to provide for the insertion of a conductor into said core to a normal position in which it forms a substantial part of the magnetic path of said core, a pair of windings disposed on said first outer leg, including a pair of transistors, each controlling the energization of one of said windings to cause said windings to be alternately energized to cause flux flow in opposite directions, a pair of further transistors, one in series with each of the transistors, to prevent clipping of the voltage peaks resulting from the alternate energization of said windings, and means for measuring any difference in voltage across said windings resulting from ` ~037~12Z
the effect of flux flowing in said center leg because of cur-rent flow in said conductor, said last named means comprising a further transistor having a control electrode thereof con-nected to one of said transistors of the first named pair of transistors.
Eor a better understanding of the invention, reference will be made to the following description together with the accompanying drawings in which:
Figure 1 illustrates one specific embodiment of a ferromagnetic core constructed in accordance with this nventlon;
Figure 2 is a schematic representation of a pre-ferred form of electrical circuit to be utilized with the ferromagnetic core of Figure l; and Figure 3 shows a waveform to be derived at the collector of certain transistors of Figure 2, under the condition where no current flows in the conductor under test.
The present invention provides a pulse width modulated output and has the advantages of reasonably low power consumption with small core size. One additional ad-vantage is that mating surfaces of the ferromagnetic core are never separated and exposed to dirt, or other e~traneous matter, when the core is opened to introduce the conductor : under test.
With reference to Figure 1, it will be observed that a small, easily saturated, "E" core 10 of ferrite material is used, with a sliding I-bar 11 which is held by spring pressure permanently in close contact with two limbs 12 and 13 of the E-core 10. A large, preset air-gap 14 is left in series with the third limb 15. The conductor 16 carrying the unknown current induces a unidirectional flux 17 in the third limb 15, which is limited by the size ~ - 4 -~` 103712Z
of the air~gap 14 so that it never saturates the core 10.
This flux 17 is further divided between the large center leg 13 and the narrow leg 12 carrying the oscillator coils 18 and 19. The last leg 12 is alternately saturated in opposite directions by the oscillator (Figure 2), but the large area of the center leg 13, and the air-gap 14 in the third leg 15, prevent these from also being saturated. The imbalance flux in the oscillator leg 12 causes an unequal mark-space ratio at the output of the circuit, and this is not 10 dependent on applied voltage or other circuit parameters to any great degree, the overall calibration being controlled by the air-gap 14.
The exciter circuit shown in Figure 2, in some respects, resembles a conventional saturating core oscillator of the type normally used for power supply inverters. This portion of the circuit comprises the coils 18a, 18b, l9a and l9b, resistors 21 through 27 and transistors 31 and 33. The emitters of the latter would, in such a conventional satura-ting core oscillator, be grounded directly. However, in the 20 present construction, complementary transistor switches 32 and 34 are added which avoid clipping of the voltage transient peaks (Figure 3) as this would cause a loss of sensitivity.
Such clipping would be the direct result from normal break-down of the transistors 31 and 33 under reverse voltage condition. By the addition of transistors 32 and 34 a sym-metrical switch is obtained.
The oscillator drives a simple transistor switch 35, which provides a 5V peak-to-peak square-wave output between its collector and emitter terminals, capable of being trans-30 mitted over a great distance, without loss of accuracy. Aresistor 38 is connected between positive terminal Vcc and the collector of transistor 35. A d.c. signal can easily be 103ql2Z
received from such a transmitted signal using any one of a wide choice of circuits, depending upon the particular application.
Zener diode 36, resistor 39, and capacitor 41 provide protection against any transients which may be induced in the cable linking the probe to its associated instrument. Resistors 23 and 26 are necessary to provide bias current for transistors 32 and 34.
Figure 3 shows a typical waveform at the collectors of either transistor 31 or 33. In the circuit shown, the collector of transistor 33 is connected to the input of the transistor switch 35 although switch 35 could be connected to transistor 31. Where, as indicated by Figure 3, the ratio of the integrated values of the peaks is substantially unity, no current is flowing in the conductor 16. The waveform peaks as shown and decays in a manner well-known in the functioning of D.C. - A.C. converters.
When current flows in the conductor under analysis, depending in sense upon the point of measurement connection in the oscillator circuit, or the direction of current flow in the conductor, the ratio of the integrated values of the peaks of the waveform is other than unity. The value of the current flow will be revealed by this ratio. Therefore, the pulse on-off ratio at the output of the switch 35 provides an accurate indication of the value of the current flow in the conductor under analysis.
One simple manner in which this output may be indicated upon a linear scale of an ammeter would be to con-nect a potentiometer across the voltage supply and connect the output lead from the switch 35 through an ammeter to a center tap of the potentiometer. The meter would have zero calibration when the peak ratio is unity.

Whereas the foregoing description relates to measure-ment of a D.C. current in the conductor under analysis, it is also applicable to the measurement of an A.C. current pro-viding the frequency thereof is low comparable with the frequency of the saturating oscillator. There are many applications for measuring apparatus of the present type, for example automotive electrical system analysers and D.C. or A.C. power distribution systems.
While I have shown a specific embodiment of my invention, it is to be understood that this is for purposes of illustration only and that the scope of the invention is limited solely by the appended claims.

1 ,h

Claims (8)

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:
1. A current measuring device for measuring a current flowing in a conductor by inductive coupling to the conductor, said device comprising:
an E-shaped core of magnetic material having first and second outer legs and a center leg spaced from said second outer leg sufficiently to provide a space therebetween for the reception of a conductor carrying the current to be measured, a bar movably associated with said E-shaped core and movable between a first position in which the bar is displaced from the end of said second outer leg sufficiently to provide for the insertion of a conductor therein to a normal position in which it is in engagement with said first outer leg and said center leg but is displaced from said second outer leg by an air gap, a pair of windings disposed on said first outer leg, means for alternately energizing said windings to cause flux flow in opposite directions, and means for measuring any difference in voltage across said windings resulting from the effect of flux flowing in said center leg because of current flow in said conductor.
2. The current measuring device of claim 1 in which said bar is slidably associated with said E-shaped core and is in continuous slidable engagement with said first outer leg and said center leg.
3. The current measuring device of claim 2 in which said bar extends across the ends of said first outer leg and said center leg in slidable engagement with the ends of said leg.
4. The current measuring device of claim 1 in which the energization of each of said windings is controlled by a separate transistor connected in series therewith with means for alternately rendering said transistors conductive to cause alternate energization of said windings.
5. The current measuring device of claim 4 in which the means for causing said transistors to be alternately conductive comprises two additional windings inductively associated with said previously named windings and connected to control electrodes of said transistors.
6. The current measuring device of claim 4 in which each of said transistors has a further transistor in series therewith to prevent clipping of the voltage peaks result-ing from the alternate energization of said windings.
7. The current measuring device of claim 4 in which the means for measuring any difference in voltage across said windings comprises a further transistor having a control electrode thereof connected to an output electrode of one of said previously named transistors.
8. A current measuring device for measuring a current flowing in a conductor by inductive coupling to the conductor, said device comprising a core of magnetic material having first and second legs, a bar movably associated with said core and movable between a first position in which the bar is dis-placed from the end of one of said legs sufficiently to provide for the insertion of a conductor into said core to a normal position in which it forms a substantial part of the magnetic path of said core, a pair of windings disposed on said first leg, means including a pair of transistors, each controlling the energization of one of said windings, to cause said wind-ings to be alternately energized to cause flux flow in opposite directions, means responsive to the change in the magnetic field in the core including a pair of further transistors, one in series with each of the previously named transistors, to prevent clipping of the voltage peaks resulting from the alternate energization of said windings, and means for measuring any difference in voltage across said windings resulting from the effect of flux flowing in said first leg because of current flow in said conductor, said last named means comprising a further transistor having a control electrode thereof connected to one of said transistors of the first named pair of transistors.
CA236,365A 1974-09-26 1975-09-25 Current measuring device Expired CA1037122A (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
AUPB903474 1974-09-26

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
CA1037122A true CA1037122A (en) 1978-08-22

Family

ID=3766011

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
CA236,365A Expired CA1037122A (en) 1974-09-26 1975-09-25 Current measuring device

Country Status (3)

Country Link
AU (1) AU8513375A (en)
CA (1) CA1037122A (en)
GB (1) GB1481263A (en)

Families Citing this family (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB8603781D0 (en) * 1986-02-15 1986-03-19 Pilkington Brothers Plc Current probe
DE102012021364A1 (en) 2012-11-02 2014-05-08 SIEVA d.o.o. - poslovna enota Idrija Apparatus for the isolated measurement of electricity and method for the isolated determination of electricity

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
GB1481263A (en) 1977-07-27
AU8513375A (en) 1977-03-31

Similar Documents

Publication Publication Date Title
JPS6122289Y2 (en)
US3768011A (en) Means for measuring magnitude and direction of a direct current or permanent magnet, including clip-on direct current sensing inductor
US4278940A (en) Means for automatically compensating DC magnetization in a transformer
JPH10513549A (en) DC and AC current sensors with sub-loop operated current transformers
US4914383A (en) Non-contact ammeter
US4754218A (en) Current sensing apparatus
US2543843A (en) Magnetic field measuring device
US4525669A (en) Power measurement in an electrical distribution system having three or more wires
So et al. High-current high-precision openable-core AC and AC/DC current transformers
US4956607A (en) Method and apparatus for optically measuring electric current and/or magnetic field
IE852956L (en) Flux gate sensor for use in a flux gate compass
US3007106A (en) Current meter and probe therefor
US4011505A (en) Current measuring device
US3855522A (en) Electromagnetic type measuring apparatus for digitally measuring electric conductivity
US4050013A (en) Magnetic field probe which measures switching current of magnetic element at moment the element switches as measure of external field
CA1037122A (en) Current measuring device
US7148679B2 (en) Transformer probe
GB913780A (en) Method of obtaining an electrical signal proportional to the cross-sectional area of a magnetic tube or rod
US3028539A (en) Current transformer
CN103901368A (en) Magnetic parameter measuring device for magnetic material
KR102039268B1 (en) An Alternating and Direct Current Detection Circuit
US5831424A (en) Isolated current sensor
US3284710A (en) A.c. or pulsating d.c. input signal current measuring transformer system with transformer output ratios corresponding to the input signal
KR102039269B1 (en) A Residual Current Detection Circuit
KR102039271B1 (en) A Earth Leakage Current Detection Circuit