Selective circuit breaker
AssigneeEaton Intelligent Power Limited
InventorRonaldus Niehoff
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A selective circuit breaker, in operation connectable between a main supply line and a downstream circuit breaker, has a bypass switch in a supply line, and a controlled semiconductor switch connected in parallel to the bypass switch. A bypass switch off detection circuitry and a short circuit detection circuitry are provided for controlling the bypass switch and the semiconductor switch in accordance with a switching characteristic. The switching characteristic of the selective circuit breaker is programmable, and a short circuit current rating of the selective circuit breaker is substantially equal to a short circuit current rating of the downstream circuit breaker.
Claims17
A selective circuit breaker, in operation connectable between a main supply line and a downstream circuit breaker, the selective circuit breaker comprising:
- a bypass switch in a supply line;
- a controlled semiconductor switch connected in parallel to the bypass switch;
- a bypass switch off detection circuitry;
- and
- a short circuit detection circuitry configured to control the bypass switch and the controlled semiconductor switch in accordance with a switching characteristic,
- wherein the switching characteristic is programmable,
- wherein a short circuit current rating of the selective circuit breaker is substantially equal to a short circuit current rating of a downstream circuit breaker,
- wherein the selective circuit breaker is operable in a normal operating mode or in a system limit selectivity mode,
- wherein in the normal operating mode the selective circuit breaker is programmed to disconnect later than the downstream circuit breaker, and
- wherein in the system limit selectivity mode the selective circuit breaker is programmed to apply a reconnect attempt.
A method for controlling a circuit breaker system, the method comprising:
- connecting, between a downstream circuit breaker and a main supply line, a selective circuit breaker comprising a bypass switch in a supply line, and a controlled semiconductor switch connected in parallel to the bypass switch;
- providing a bypass switch off detection circuitry for detecting the status of the bypass switch and a short circuit detection circuitry for detecting a short circuit situation or an overcurrent situation;
- providing a processing unit for controlling the bypass switch and the semiconductor switch in accordance with a switching characteristic,
- selecting, with a processing unit:
- a normal operating mode, in which the selective circuit breaker is programmed to disconnect later than the downstream circuit breaker;
- or
- a system limit selectivity mode, in which the selective circuit breaker is programmed to apply a reconnect attempt, and
- based on a dI/dt measurement in the main supply line.
A selective circuit breaker, in operation connectable between a main supply line and a downstream circuit breaker, the selective circuit breaker comprising:
- a bypass switch in a supply line;
- a controlled semiconductor switch connected in parallel to the bypass switch;
- a bypass switch off detection circuitry;
- and
- a short circuit detection circuitry configured to control the bypass switch and the controlled semiconductor switch in accordance with a switching characteristic,
- wherein the switching characteristic is programmable,
- wherein a short circuit current rating of the selective circuit breaker is substantially equal to a short circuit current rating of a downstream circuit breaker, and
- wherein the selective circuit breaker has a ground fault sensitivity substantially similar to a ground fault rating of the downstream circuit breaker, and a current threshold higher than a current threshold of the downstream circuit breaker.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.