GB2288293A - Circuit interrupter - Google Patents

Circuit interrupter Download PDF

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Publication number
GB2288293A
GB2288293A GB9505988A GB9505988A GB2288293A GB 2288293 A GB2288293 A GB 2288293A GB 9505988 A GB9505988 A GB 9505988A GB 9505988 A GB9505988 A GB 9505988A GB 2288293 A GB2288293 A GB 2288293A
Authority
GB
United Kingdom
Prior art keywords
trip unit
display
circuit
trip
circuit interrupter
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.)
Granted
Application number
GB9505988A
Other versions
GB9505988D0 (en
GB2288293B (en
Inventor
Ping Zhen Hu
Hanns P Sailer
Esteban Santos
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.)
General Electric Co
Original Assignee
General Electric Co
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
Priority claimed from GB9406943A external-priority patent/GB9406943D0/en
Application filed by General Electric Co filed Critical General Electric Co
Priority to GB9505988A priority Critical patent/GB2288293B/en
Publication of GB9505988D0 publication Critical patent/GB9505988D0/en
Publication of GB2288293A publication Critical patent/GB2288293A/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of GB2288293B publication Critical patent/GB2288293B/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Fee Related legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H02—GENERATION; CONVERSION OR DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRIC POWER
    • H02H—EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS
    • H02H1/00—Details of emergency protective circuit arrangements
    • H02H1/06—Arrangements for supplying operative power
    • 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
    • H02H3/006—Calibration or setting of parameters
    • 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
    • H02H3/02—Details
    • H02H3/04—Details with warning or supervision in addition to disconnection, e.g. for indicating that protective apparatus has functioned

Abstract

A circuit interrupter employs an electronic trip unit 1 having a keypad 4 and display 2 to enter and display stored trip parameters and trip data. The trip unit is powered by means of current transformer 7 before circuit interruption. Should overcurrent occur, the protected power circuit is interrupted and the battery 6 is immediately connected to the trip unit. The battery then provides energy to the trip unit's microprocessor and the display to provide visual indication as to the type and magnitude of the circuit interruption. <IMAGE>

Description

CIRCUIT INTERRUPTER The present invention relates to circuit interrupters.
Circuit interrupters employ a number of methods to store basic fault information for display to the operator. Some use mechanical targets while others use electrical targets such as LEDs or LCD segments. A mechanical target is actuated the same moment the interrupter is opened and stays in its actuated position until the customer resets it. The basic electronic target works in a similar manner. In one embodiment the LED is lit when the interrupter is tripped and then an auxiliary power source keeps the LED lit until the customer resets it. In a second method the target information (a single value) is stored in a non-volatile location for later viewing and resetting when power is reapplied to the programmer. In all known designs, one overriding factor was involved, the target information must be stored or presented before the primary power source shuts down.
In most interrupter designs; the primary power source is derived from current transformers. These provide the programmer with operating power as long as current flows through the interrupter. When a trip occurs, the current flow is stopped almost immediately, the power source decays rapidly and the programmer has very little time to store anything but the most basic fault information. This information is usually a single item such as type of trip (short circuit or overload).
The present invention seeks to provide an improved circuit interrupter of this type, and accordingly provides a circuit breaker interrupter comprising an electronic trip unit for determining occurrence of an overcurrent condition through a protected circuit; a keypad and a display on a surface of a circuit interrupter for entering overcurrent parameters to said trip unit and displaying such parameters upon request as well as displaying trip indication data; a pair of contacts controlled by an actuator connecting with said trip unit, said actuator driving said contact to an open condition upon receipt or a signal from said trip unit; a current transformer connecting with said protected circuit for supplying sample current to said trip unit and for providing operational power to said trip unit and display while said circuit is operational; and an auxiliary power source connecting with said trip unit for providing operating power to said trip unit and said display when said circuit is disconnected.
Such a circuit interrupter allows the programmer to store far more detailed trip information. For example, using a microprocessor controlled auxiliary power source such as a battery, when the microprocessor decides to trip the interrupter, it can, if desired, be arranged to switch over to the auxiliary power source. The programmer can then store far more detailed trip information including type of trip, the fault current at trip, time of trip, the phase the fault current appeared, etc. The programmer can also increment a counter to keep a historic record of how many trips the interrupter has experienced.
Once the needed trip information is stored away the microprocessor can shut the auxiliary power source down, thereby conserving its life for future use. Then at some later time the operator can query the programmer for the stored information.
The circuit interrupter may be arranged so the auxiliary power source is connected to the trip unit and display when the current transformer is not providing operational power to the trip unit and display and/or the auxiliary power source is disconnected from the trip unit and display when the current transformer is providing operational power to the trip unit and display.
An embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying Figure 1 which is a schematic diagram of the embodiment.
Figure 1 shows an exemplary circuit interrupter according to the present invention which, as typical, contains at least one primary phase 9 that is being protected. A current transformer 7 provides the ability to both sense the magnitude of current flowing through the interrupter and provide a source of power for a programmer 1. The programmer 1 executes algorithms to determine whether to trip the interrupter. Should a decision be made to trip the interrupter, the programmer signals an actuator 5 to open the interrupter contacts.
The programmer then switches over to using the auxiliary power source, such as a battery 6 to store the needed trip information a memory 3 that does not lose information during power loss. The programmer itself shuts down. At some later point the operator can restore power to the programmer (by closing the breaker for example) and view the contents of memory on the display 2 using the keypad 4 to access the trip information.

Claims (6)

1. A circuit interrupter comprising an electronic trip unit for determining occurrence of an overcurrent condition through a protected circuit; a keypad and a display on a surface of a circuit interrupter for entering overcurrent parameters to said trip unit and displaying such parameters upon request as well as displaying trip indication data; a pair of contacts controlled by an actuator connecting with said trip unit, said actuator driving said contact to an open condition upon receipt of a signal from said trip unit; a current transformer connecting with said protected circuit for supplying sample current to said trip unit and for providing operational power to said trip unit and display while said circuit is operational; and an auxiliary power source connecting with said trip unit for providing operating power to said trip unit and said display when said circuit is disconnected.
2. The circuit interrupter of Claim 1 wherein said trip unit includes a microprocessor.
3. The circuit interrupter of Claim 1 wherein said auxiliary power source comprises a battery.
4. The circuit interrupter of Claim 1 wherein said auxiliary power source is connected to said trip unit and display when said current transformer is not providing operational power to said trip unit and display.
5. The circuit interrupter of Claim 1 wherein said auxiliary power source is disconnected from said trip unit and display when said current transformer is providing operational power to said trip unit and display.
6. A circuit interrupter substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
GB9505988A 1994-04-08 1995-03-24 Circuit interrupter Expired - Fee Related GB2288293B (en)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB9505988A GB2288293B (en) 1994-04-08 1995-03-24 Circuit interrupter

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB9406943A GB9406943D0 (en) 1994-04-08 1994-04-08 Circuit breaker with ability to store detailed fault information
GB9505988A GB2288293B (en) 1994-04-08 1995-03-24 Circuit interrupter

Publications (3)

Publication Number Publication Date
GB9505988D0 GB9505988D0 (en) 1995-05-10
GB2288293A true GB2288293A (en) 1995-10-11
GB2288293B GB2288293B (en) 1998-12-16

Family

ID=26304661

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
GB9505988A Expired - Fee Related GB2288293B (en) 1994-04-08 1995-03-24 Circuit interrupter

Country Status (1)

Country Link
GB (1) GB2288293B (en)

Cited By (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP1098415A2 (en) * 1999-11-05 2001-05-09 Siemens Energy & Automation, Inc. A circuit breaker system with ASM instantaneous overcurrent indication
GB2427699A (en) * 2005-04-09 2007-01-03 Smarta Systems Ltd Overload monitoring system
GB2520959A (en) * 2013-12-04 2015-06-10 Eaton Ind Netherlands Bv Semi voltage dependent circuit breaker
DE102017211900A1 (en) * 2017-07-12 2019-01-17 Siemens Aktiengesellschaft Circuit breakers and procedures

Citations (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP0279692A2 (en) * 1987-02-20 1988-08-24 Eaton Corporation Circuit interrupter apparatus with a battery backup and reset circuit
WO1992009899A1 (en) * 1990-11-30 1992-06-11 Square D Company Display for a circuit breaker trip unit

Patent Citations (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP0279692A2 (en) * 1987-02-20 1988-08-24 Eaton Corporation Circuit interrupter apparatus with a battery backup and reset circuit
WO1992009899A1 (en) * 1990-11-30 1992-06-11 Square D Company Display for a circuit breaker trip unit

Cited By (7)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP1098415A2 (en) * 1999-11-05 2001-05-09 Siemens Energy & Automation, Inc. A circuit breaker system with ASM instantaneous overcurrent indication
EP1098415A3 (en) * 1999-11-05 2002-07-10 Siemens Energy & Automation, Inc. A circuit breaker system with ASM instantaneous overcurrent indication
GB2427699A (en) * 2005-04-09 2007-01-03 Smarta Systems Ltd Overload monitoring system
GB2520959A (en) * 2013-12-04 2015-06-10 Eaton Ind Netherlands Bv Semi voltage dependent circuit breaker
US10355471B2 (en) 2013-12-04 2019-07-16 Eaton Intelligent Power Limited Semi voltage dependent circuit breaker with earth fault and overcurrent protection
DE102017211900A1 (en) * 2017-07-12 2019-01-17 Siemens Aktiengesellschaft Circuit breakers and procedures
DE102017211900B4 (en) * 2017-07-12 2020-02-20 Siemens Aktiengesellschaft Circuit breakers and procedures

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
GB9505988D0 (en) 1995-05-10
GB2288293B (en) 1998-12-16

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Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
PCNP Patent ceased through non-payment of renewal fee

Effective date: 20040324

PCNP Patent ceased through non-payment of renewal fee

Effective date: 20040324