Ground fault minimization
AssigneeKohler Co.
InventorsIsaac S. Frampton, Adam Larson
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A circuit for minimizing energy provided to a ground fault includes a source, a multiple switches, an output filter, and a controller. The switches include a first side pair of switches and a second side pair of switches configured to provide an output signal based on the source. The output filter includes one or more energy storage elements coupled to the first side pair of switches or the second side pair of switches. The controller is configured to receive a ground fault signal that indicates a fault has occurred and configured to generate a switch signal for the switches for a minimum energy state of the output filter and in response to the ground fault signal.
Claims20
An apparatus for the suppression of energy to a fault, the apparatus comprising:
- an inverter including a direct current link;
- a voltage detection device configured to monitor at least one sensing resistor selectively connected to the inverter;
- a direct current link voltage sensor coupled to the direct current link of the inverter;
- and
- a controller configured to receive first measurement data from the direct current link voltage sensor of the inverter and second measurement data from the voltage detection device and determine a conduction voltage based on the first measurement data and the second measurement data.
A method for the suppression of energy to a fault, the method comprising:
- receiving first measurement data from a direct current link voltage sensor of an inverter;
- receiving second measurement data from a voltage detection device configured to measure a parameter at a sensing resistor selectively coupled to the inverter;
- performing an analysis of the first measurement data from the direct current link voltage sensor and the second measurement data for the voltage across the sensing resistor;
- determining a conduction voltage for at least one variable resistance component based on the analysis;
- performing a comparison of the conduction voltage and a threshold;
- and
- detecting a failure in the at least one variable resistance component in response to the comparison.
A method comprising:
- receiving first measurement data from a direct current link voltage sensor of an inverter;
- receiving second measurement data from a voltage detection device configured to measure a parameter at a sensing resistor selectively coupled to the inverter;
- and
- detecting a failure in a variable resistance component based on analysis of the first measurement data from the direct current link voltage sensor and the second measurement data for the voltage across the sensing resistor.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.