Lug assemblies and related electrical apparatus and methods
AssigneeEaton Intelligent Power Limited
InventorsMichael Jerome Whipple, David Wayne Stiffler
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Lug assemblies include a housing with at least one internal printed circuit board with electronics and lugs. The lugs attach to cables providing power/current. The printed circuit board includes at least one electrical ground connector and at least one electrical contact connector. The lug assemblies include terminals that indirectly electrically couple the cables to terminals of switching devices such as circuit breakers.
Claims9
A method of monitoring current from a power source to an electrical switching device, comprising:
- electronically monitoring current from the power source to the electrical switching device using a circuit on a printed circuit board in a housing of a lug assembly, wherein the housing is inside an enclosure of an electrical distribution apparatus, wherein the lug assembly is attached to at least one power cable, and wherein the housing of the lug assembly positions the printed circuit board adjacent the electrical switching device,
- wherein the electrical switching device comprises a main circuit breaker, and wherein the electrical distribution apparatus is a load center or meter stack and further comprises a plurality of additional main circuit breakers, each main circuit breaker coupled to a respective lug assembly having a respective printed circuit board with a corresponding circuit that electronically monitors current from the power source to a corresponding main circuit breaker, the method further comprising:
- obtaining current measurements from each circuit based on the monitored current;
- and
- electronically sending the current measurements to local and/or remote devices.
A method of monitoring current from a power source to an electrical switching device, comprising:
- electronically monitoring current from the power source to the electrical switching device using a circuit on a printed circuit board in a housing of a lug assembly, wherein the lug assembly is coupled to at least one power cable, and wherein the printed circuit board resides adjacent the electrical switching device in an electrical distribution apparatus,
- wherein the printed circuit board has a perimeter having a width dimension and a height dimension, wherein the perimeter comprises opposing sides across the width dimension with one side being shorter and the other side being longer than the other in the height dimension, wherein the lug assembly comprises a curvilinear ground connector that extends laterally outward from the printed circuit board, and wherein the lug assembly further comprises a first contact connector and a second contact connector that are curvilinear and are spaced apart from the ground connector.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.