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US 10,209,309 B2Granted
Relay protection system
AssigneeLittelfuse, Inc.
InventorJames Riley
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Provided herein are improved relay protection systems that can detect a short to ground condition on an output of a relay. A relay protection system can bias an output of the relay. The output of the relay can be monitored to determine if a bias level reduces below a predetermined threshold, indicating a short to ground condition. If a short to ground condition is detected, the relay protection system can prevent the relay from transitioning from an open position to a closed position. As a result, a power source can remain decoupled from a load, thereby preventing damage to the relay and the load.
Claims13
An apparatus, comprising:
- a power source;
- a relay coupled to the power source;
- a load coupled to the relay, wherein the relay couples the load to the power source when the relay is in a closed position;
- a biasing and monitoring module coupled to the relay;
- and
- a controller coupled to the biasing and monitoring module, wherein the biasing and monitoring module determines when an output of the relay is shorted to ground by detecting a voltage on the output of the relay;
- wherein the biasing and monitoring module provides a bias voltage to the output of the relay;
- wherein the biasing and monitoring module determines the output of the relay is not shorted to ground when the detected voltage on the output of the relay is equal to the bias voltage, and wherein the biasing and monitoring module generates a signal indicating the output of the relay is not shorted to ground and provides the signal to the controller when the detected voltage on the output of the relay is equal to the bias voltage.
5 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.