Subsea replaceable fuse assembly
AssigneeSubsea 7 Limited
InventorsAlister William Ernest Scott, James Peter McDonald
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A subsea-replaceable fuse assembly has at least one fuse and a wet-mateable fuse connector element. The connector element is arranged to connect the fuse assembly to a subsea electrical load requiring protection of the fuse. The fuse connector element has conductor elements that are electrically connected to the fuse. A corresponding method of protecting a subsea electrical load includes connecting a fuse to the load underwater in a wet-mating operation effected between connector elements that are electrically connected, respectively, to the fuse and to the load.
Claims16
A subsea-replaceable fuse assembly comprising:
- a plurality of fuses;
- and
- a wet-mateable fuse connector element arranged to connect the fuse assembly to a subsea electrical load requiring protection of the fuse,
- wherein the fuse connector element comprises conductor elements that are electrically connected to the plurality of fuses, the conductor elements defining a plug for engagement with a socket provided on the subsea electrical load to connect the plurality of fuses electrically to the subsea load;
- and
- wherein the fuse connector element comprises a body having a recess surrounded by a skirt, the recess housing the plug, such that when the plug is engaged with a socket on the subsea electrical load, the skirt is received in a recess on the socket to seal the recess in the body of the fuse connector element.
A method of protecting a subsea electrical load, the method comprising connecting a plurality of fuses to the load underwater in a wet-mating operation effected between connector elements that are electrically connected, respectively, to the fuses and to the load, wherein the connector element comprises a plug arranged in a recess on a body of the connector element, the recess being surrounded by a skirt, and wherein the method further comprises inserting the plug into a socket on the load such that the skirt engages with the socket to seal the recess.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.