Intrinsic safety (IS) barriers mountable on terminal blocks of input/output (I/O) modules or other devices

A system comprising:

• a module comprising at least one input/output (I/O) channel;
• a terminal block comprising terminals configured to provide electrical connections for the at least one I/O channel;
• and
• a barrier assembly comprising one or more intrinsic safety barriers, each intrinsic safety barrier configured to receive at least one data or power signal, limit an amount of energy in the at least one data or power signal, and output the at least one energy-limited data or power signal;
• wherein each intrinsic safety barrier comprises:
• at least one limiter circuit configured to limit the amount of energy in the at least one data or power signal,
• a circuit board assembly comprising the at least one limiter circuit;
• and
• a sleeve configured to electrically isolate the circuit board assembly from any adjacent circuit board assemblies, the sleeve including a first structure to receive the circuit board;
• and
• a handle including a second structure to facilitate the insertion and removal of the intrinsic safety barrier into and out of the sleeve,
• wherein each intrinsic safety barrier is configured to be mounted on the terminal block.

A method comprising:

• mounting one or more intrinsic safety barriers on a terminal block, the terminal block comprising multiple terminals;
• and
• using each intrinsic safety barrier to receive at least one data or power signal, limit an amount of energy in the at least one data or power signal, and output the at least one energy-limited data or power signal;
• wherein each intrinsic safety barrier comprises at least one limiter circuit configured to limit the amount of energy in the at least one data or power signal, a circuit board assembly comprising the at least one limiter circuit, and the method further comprises using sleeves to electrically isolate adjacent circuit board assemblies of the intrinsic safety barriers, the sleeve including a first structure to receive the circuit board, the method further comprises using a handle including a second structure to facilitate the insertion and removal of the intrinsic safety barriers into and out of the sleeve.