Classifications

• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H02—GENERATION; CONVERSION OR DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRIC POWER
  • H02H—EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS
  • H02H3/00—Emergency protective circuit arrangements for automatic disconnection directly responsive to an undesired change from normal electric working condition with or without subsequent reconnection ; integrated protection
  • H02H3/08—Emergency protective circuit arrangements for automatic disconnection directly responsive to an undesired change from normal electric working condition with or without subsequent reconnection ; integrated protection responsive to excess current
  • H02H3/10—Emergency protective circuit arrangements for automatic disconnection directly responsive to an undesired change from normal electric working condition with or without subsequent reconnection ; integrated protection responsive to excess current additionally responsive to some other abnormal electrical conditions
  • H02H3/105—Emergency protective circuit arrangements for automatic disconnection directly responsive to an undesired change from normal electric working condition with or without subsequent reconnection ; integrated protection responsive to excess current additionally responsive to some other abnormal electrical conditions responsive to excess current and fault current to earth
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H02—GENERATION; CONVERSION OR DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRIC POWER
  • H02H—EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS
  • H02H3/00—Emergency protective circuit arrangements for automatic disconnection directly responsive to an undesired change from normal electric working condition with or without subsequent reconnection ; integrated protection
  • H02H3/08—Emergency protective circuit arrangements for automatic disconnection directly responsive to an undesired change from normal electric working condition with or without subsequent reconnection ; integrated protection responsive to excess current
  • H02H3/10—Emergency protective circuit arrangements for automatic disconnection directly responsive to an undesired change from normal electric working condition with or without subsequent reconnection ; integrated protection responsive to excess current additionally responsive to some other abnormal electrical conditions
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
  • G01R—MEASURING ELECTRIC VARIABLES; MEASURING MAGNETIC VARIABLES
  • G01R19/00—Arrangements for measuring currents or voltages or for indicating presence or sign thereof
  • G01R19/165—Indicating that current or voltage is either above or below a predetermined value or within or outside a predetermined range of values
  • G01R19/16528—Indicating that current or voltage is either above or below a predetermined value or within or outside a predetermined range of values using digital techniques or performing arithmetic operations
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
  • G01R—MEASURING ELECTRIC VARIABLES; MEASURING MAGNETIC VARIABLES
  • G01R19/00—Arrangements for measuring currents or voltages or for indicating presence or sign thereof
  • G01R19/165—Indicating that current or voltage is either above or below a predetermined value or within or outside a predetermined range of values
  • G01R19/16533—Indicating that current or voltage is either above or below a predetermined value or within or outside a predetermined range of values characterised by the application
  • G01R19/16538—Indicating that current or voltage is either above or below a predetermined value or within or outside a predetermined range of values characterised by the application in AC or DC supplies
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H02—GENERATION; CONVERSION OR DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRIC POWER
  • H02H—EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS
  • H02H3/00—Emergency protective circuit arrangements for automatic disconnection directly responsive to an undesired change from normal electric working condition with or without subsequent reconnection ; integrated protection
  • H02H3/26—Emergency protective circuit arrangements for automatic disconnection directly responsive to an undesired change from normal electric working condition with or without subsequent reconnection ; integrated protection responsive to difference between voltages or between currents; responsive to phase angle between voltages or between currents
  • H02H3/32—Emergency protective circuit arrangements for automatic disconnection directly responsive to an undesired change from normal electric working condition with or without subsequent reconnection ; integrated protection responsive to difference between voltages or between currents; responsive to phase angle between voltages or between currents involving comparison of the voltage or current values at corresponding points in different conductors of a single system, e.g. of currents in go and return conductors
  • H02H3/33—Emergency protective circuit arrangements for automatic disconnection directly responsive to an undesired change from normal electric working condition with or without subsequent reconnection ; integrated protection responsive to difference between voltages or between currents; responsive to phase angle between voltages or between currents involving comparison of the voltage or current values at corresponding points in different conductors of a single system, e.g. of currents in go and return conductors using summation current transformers

Definitions

• This invention relates to an a. c. power cut-off device.
• a power cut-off device for an a.c. mains having live and neutral conductors, the device comprising comparison means for comparing the voltage drop across an impedence in the live or neutral conductor with a threshold value, and disconnection means responsive to the comparison means for disconnecting the live conductor from the neutral conductor if the threshold value is exceeded, wherein the comparison means includes first and second comparators each having a positive input and a negative input and an output providing a signal which assumes a predetermined level when the voltage at the positive input exceeds that at the negative input, wherein one side of the impedence is connected to the positive input of the first comparator and to the negative input of the second comparator, and wherein the other side of the impedence is connected via a respective voltage divider to the negative input of the first comparator and to the positive input of the second comparator, the disconnection means being responsive to a signal of the predetermined level at the output of either of the first and second comparators.
• Figure 1 is a circuit diagram of an a.c. power cut-off device
• Figures 2 and 3 are a circuit diagram for detecting an alternative current path to earth which provides an input to the circuit of figure 1
• Figure 4 illustrates an alternative disconnection circuit to the triac shown in Fig. 1.
• an a.c. mains has live L and neutral N conductors carrying 240 volts a.c. supplying power to a load Zl , and an earth conductor E.
• a current sensor SI is inserted in series in the live conductor L. The sensor is designed to develop 50 millivolts across it when the current in the live conductor L reaches a predetermined overload current, in this case 10 amps, at which is is desired that the power be cut off from the load Zl .
• the current sensor may be made from 6 turns of 12 S.W.G. wire or from a length of metal such as aluminium.
• the a.c. power cut-off device includes two comparators 10 and 12 respectively which may be implemented by a TLC 272 dual comparator.
• One side of the current sensor SI is connected to the junction of the resistors R2 and R3 and the other side of the sensor S 1 is connected both to the negative input of the comparator 10 and to ihc - im c input of the comparator 12, in each case via a respective de m;:- - capacitor C l and current limiting resistor R5.
• a 555 timer 14 This in turn triggers the output O/P of a 555 timer 14 to go low for a predetermined period which removes the 12v d.c. supply from a photo relay 15 which, as shown in Fig. 1 , comprises a photodiode located close to a phototransistor.
• a triac 16 is inserted in series in the live conductor L, and in the absence of overload the phototransistor is conductive (due to light falling on it from the photodiode) and connects the voltage on the live conductor L. taken off just before the triac 16, to the control input CTL of
• the triac 16 may be type TIC 246M and is selected in order to be able to handle overloads and be capable of switching inductive as well as reactive loads.
• a 100 milli-henry inductor LI is connected in series in the live conductor L at the output of the triac 16 to reduce interference.
• the device In addition to cutting off the power in the case of an overload current, caused for example by faulty equipment or a short circuit, the device also includes circuitry (figures 2 and 3) for cutting off power when an alternative current return path exists, that is to say, when there is a current path to ground other than through the earth conductor E. This can occur when a person comes into contact with a live point on equipment.
• a toroidal ferromagnetic core 20 has three windings Wl, W2 and W3.
• the winding Wl is inserted in series with the live conductor L
• the winding W2 is inserted in series with the neutral conductor N
• the winding W3 is inserted in series with the earth conductor E.
• Current flowing in any one of the windings Wl to W3 alone would induce an eddy current in the core 20.
• the windings are configured such that when the current in the live conductor L precisely equals the sum of the currents in the neutral and earth conductors N and E the eddie currents induced in the core 20 by the three windings cancel out, so that the net result is that no eddy currents flow in the core 20.
• the sum of the currents in the neutral and earth conductors N and E will be less than the current in the live conductor L, so that there will be a net flow of eddy current in the core 20.
• This net flow is detected by a hall effect device 22 located within the toroidal core 20.
• the hall effect device 20 provides an a.c. voltage at an output 24 whose amplitude is approximately proportional to the amplitude of the eddy current flowing in the core 20.
• the output 24 of the hall effect device is connected to the circuit shown in figure 3 including two comparators 28 and 30 which, like the comparators 10 and 12, may be implemented by a TLC 272 dual comparator.
• Four resistors R6 to R9 are connected between 12v d.c. and ground and set the threshold voltages at the positive input of the comparator 28 and at the negative input of the comparator 30.
• the output 24 from the hall effect device 20 is connected both to the negative input of the comparator 28 and to the positive input of the comparator 30, and also to the junction of the resistors R7 and R8.
• the output of the comparators is connected to the p* .int P, figure 1. Therefore, when the threshold of one of the comparators is exceeded (again depending upon whether it is a positive or negative half cycle) the point P goes high and cuts off the power to the load Zl as described in connection with figure 1.
• the thresholds set at the comparators 28 and 30 may be selected to be very small, so that a current of only a few micro-amps in the alternative path is sufficient to trigger the comparators and cut off the power.
• Fig. 4 illustrates an alternative disconnection circuit which uses a wheatstone brid *»ge* instead of the triac 16.
• Fig. 4 the live L and neutral N conductors are connected across a first pair of opposite corners of a wheatstone bridge, i.e. the junctions of the diodes D1/D4 and D2/D3 respectively, and the source-drain path of an n-type field effect transistor FET is connected across the other pair of opposite corners of the wheatstone bridge, i.e. at the junctions of the diodes
• D1/D3 and D2/D4 respectively.
• the gate of the FET is controlled by the
• the FET In normal operation the FET is normally held on by a control voltage from the photo relay 15. In the positive half cycles of the mains the FET provides a path through the diode Dl, the FET and the diode D2, and in the negative half cycles of the mains the FET provides a path through the diode D3, the FET and the diode D4. In each case the FET is in series with the load Zl and completes a path for current from the live conductor to the neutral conductor through the load. During normal operation as described, only 0.9v is dropped across each pair of diodes and the FET.
• the photo relay 15 When there is a fault, as determined by the point P going high, the photo relay 15 turns off as before, removing the control voltage from the FET. This prevents current flowing from the live conductor to the neutral conductor via the load Zl.
• the n-type FET can be fabricated integrally with the wheatstone bridge circuit or as a discrete component. In the latter case the FET can be a Philips FET with a 600v blocking voltage, 0.1 ohm on resistance and a switch speed of 200ns.
• the current sensor SI is inserted in series in the live conductor L, it could alternatively be inserted in the neutral conductor N

Landscapes

• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Emergency Protection Circuit Devices (AREA)
• Electronic Switches (AREA)
• Road Repair (AREA)
• Electrical Discharge Machining, Electrochemical Machining, And Combined Machining (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=11040713

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (6)

Family Cites Families (4)

• 1996
  • 1996-04-04 AU AU56459/96A patent/AU5645996A/en not_active Abandoned
  • 1996-04-04 CA CA002217604A patent/CA2217604A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 1996-04-04 EP EP96913494A patent/EP0819328A1/de not_active Withdrawn
  • 1996-04-04 JP JP8530005A patent/JPH11503298A/ja active Pending
  • 1996-04-04 KR KR1019970707059A patent/KR19980703660A/ko not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 1996-04-04 WO PCT/EP1996/001519 patent/WO1996031931A1/en not_active Application Discontinuation

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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