# US 12,003,086 B2 · Systems and methods for detecting and identifying arcing based on numerical analysis

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- Number: US 12,003,086 B2
- Document ID: US12003086B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 17/831,977
- Filed: 2022-06-03
- Published: 2022-12-01
- Granted: 2024-06-04
- Earliest claimed: 2014-03-31
- Assignees: Hubbell Incorporated
- Applicants: Hubbell Incorporated
- Inventors: William Vernon Miller, III; Gary Michael Miller
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12003086B2

## CPC

- H02H 1/0015: {Using arc detectors}
- A47B 21/03: with substantially horizontally extensible or adjustable parts other than drawers, e.g. leaves
- A47B 21/0314: {Platforms for supporting office equipment}
- A61G 12/004: {mounted on the ceiling}
- A61G 12/005: {mounted on the wall}
- A61G 13/107: {Supply appliances (supply appliances for dental machines A61C1/0007)}
- F16G 11/12: Connections or attachments, e.g. turnbuckles, adapted for straining of cables, ropes, or wire (straining wire in general B21F9/00)
- F16M 11/046: {adapted to upward-downward translation movement}
- F16M 11/048: {adapted to forward-backward translation movement}
- F16M 11/10: around a horizontal axis {(F16M11/12 takes precedence)}
- F16M 11/2014: {around a vertical axis (F16M11/2035 takes precedence)}
- F16M 11/2021: {around a horizontal axis (F16M11/2035 takes precedence)}
- F16M 11/2064: {for tilting and panning (F16M11/2078 takes precedence)}
- F16M 11/2092: {comprising means allowing depth adjustment, i.e. forward-backward translation of the head relatively to the undercarriage}
- F16M 11/24: changeable in height or length of legs, also for transport only, {e.g. by means of tubes screwed into each other}(F16M11/42 takes precedence)
- F16M 13/02: for supporting on, or attaching to, an object, e.g. tree, gate, window-frame, cycle
- F16M 13/022: {repositionable}
- G01R 31/1227: {of components, parts or materials (G01R31/1209, G01R31/1218, G01R31/18 take precedence; circuits therefor G01R31/14; testing vessels of electrodes G01R31/16)}
- H02H 1/0092: {concerning the data processing means, e.g. expert systems, neural networks}
- A47B 2021/0321: {Keyboard supports}
- A61B 2090/506: {using a parallelogram linkage, e.g. panthograph}
- F16M 2200/021: for rotational movement
- F16M 2200/041: for balancing rotational movement of the head
- F16M 2200/048: for balancing translational movement of the undercarriage
- F16M 2200/06: Arms
- F16M 2200/063: Parallelogram arms
- F16M 2200/065: with a special structure, e.g. reinforced or adapted for space reduction
- G01R 31/1272: {of cable, line or wire insulation, e.g. using partial discharge measurements (locating faults in cables G01R31/083)}
- H01H 9/50: Means for detecting the presence of an arc or discharge
- H01H 2083/201: {the other abnormal electrical condition being an arc fault}
- H02H: EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS (indicating or signalling undesired working conditions G01R, e.g. G01R31/00, G08B; locating faults along lines G01R31/08; emergency protective devices H01H)
- A47B: TABLES; DESKS; OFFICE FURNITURE; CABINETS; DRAWERS; GENERAL DETAILS OF FURNITURE (furniture jointing F16B)
- A61G: TRANSPORT, PERSONAL CONVEYANCES OR ACCOMMODATION SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR PATIENTS OR DISABLED PERSONS (appliances for aiding patients or disabled persons to walk A61H3/00); OPERATING TABLES OR CHAIRS; CHAIRS FOR DENTISTRY; FUNERAL DEVICES (embalming corpses A01N1/00)
- F16G: BELTS, CABLES, OR ROPES, PREDOMINANTLY USED FOR DRIVING PURPOSES; CHAINS; FITTINGS PREDOMINANTLY USED THEREFOR
- F16M: FRAMES, CASINGS OR BEDS OF ENGINES, MACHINES OR APPARATUS, NOT SPECIFIC TO ENGINES, MACHINES OR APPARATUS PROVIDED FOR ELSEWHERE; STANDS; SUPPORTS
- G01R: MEASURING ELECTRIC VARIABLES; MEASURING MAGNETIC VARIABLES (indicating correct tuning of resonant circuits H03J3/12)
- A61B: DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION (usefulness limited to only animals A61D)
- H01H: ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES (contact cables H01B7/10; electrolytic self-interrupters H01G9/18; emergency protective circuit arrangements H02H; switching by electronic means without contact-making H03K17/00)

## Abstract

Method and system allowing more accurate detection and identification of unwanted arcing include novel processing of signal voltage representing recovered power-line current. In one implementation, arc-faults are detected based on numerical analysis where individual cycles of line voltage and current are observed and data collected during each cycle is processed to estimate likelihood of presence of arc-event within each individual cycle based on pre-defined number of arc-events occurring within pre-defined number of contiguous cycles. In another implementation, fast transient current spikes detection can be done by: computing difference values between consecutive line-current samples collected over a cycle, average of differences, and peak-to-peak value of line-current; comparing each difference value to average of difference; comparing each difference value to peak-to-peak value; and, based on calculation of composite of two comparisons, using thresholds to determine if arcing is present within processed cycle.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A system for detecting and identifying arcing in an arc fault circuit interrupter having a power-line monitoring and processing circuit comprising:
power-line monitoring and processing circuit obtaining data indicative of line voltage and line current; and
a logic circuitry including non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer readable instructions and one or more processors coupled to said non-transitory computer readable medium, and when executing said computer readable instructions said logic circuitry:
controls said power-line monitoring and processing circuit to obtain a first data indicative of the line voltage and the line current for a first cycle of the voltage waveform;
controls said power-line monitoring and processing circuit to obtain a second data indicative of the line voltage and the line current for a second cycle of the voltage waveform subsequent to the first cycle;
correlates the second data with the data representative of at least one known arc reference cycle; and
correlates the first data stored with the second data,
wherein an arc-event is detected during the second cycle when the second data correlates with the at least one known arc reference cycle within an arc-event correlation threshold, and the first data does not correlate with the second data within a previous-cycle correlation threshold.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1, wherein the range classifications for arc test clearing times based on the current level being tested meet UL1699 for the class of the circuit interrupter.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1, wherein when executing said computer readable instructions said logic circuitry:
sets the arc-event correlation thresholds for gauging a degree of the correlation required for the detecting of the arc-event based upon a determination of monotonic behavior in a root-mean-square (RMS) amplitude of the line current waveform over a pre-determined number of cycles.

### Claim 4 (depends on 3)

The system of claim 3, wherein when executing said computer readable instructions said logic circuitry:
determines when a pre-defined number of arc-events occur within a pre-defined number of contiguous cycles.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

The system of claim 4, wherein the required number of the detected arc-events and the pre-defined number of cycles in an observation window are determined based on a range classification of the RMS amplitude of each observed cycle of the line-current.

### Claim 6

A method of detecting and identifying arcing in an arc fault circuit interrupter having a power-line monitoring and processing circuit comprising:
obtaining by the power-line monitoring and processing circuit first data indicative of a line current for a first cycle of a voltage waveform;
obtaining by the power-line monitoring and processing circuit second data indicative of the line current for a second cycle of the voltage waveform subsequent to the first cycle;
correlating by a second correlation estimator the second data with data representative of at least one known arc reference cycle;
comparing by a first threshold comparator circuit an output of the second correlation estimator with an arc-event correlation threshold;
correlating by a first correlation estimator the first data with the second data; and
comparing by a second threshold comparator circuit an output of the first correlation estimator with a previous-cycle correlation threshold,
wherein an arc-event is present during the second cycle of the voltage waveform when
an output of the first threshold comparator circuit is indicative of the second data correlating with the at least one known arc reference cycle within the arc-event correlation threshold, and
an output of the second threshold comparator circuit is indicative of the first data not correlating with the second data within the previous-cycle correlation threshold.

### Claim 7 (depends on 6)

The method of detecting and identifying arcing of claim 6, wherein the first and second cycles of the line voltage and the line current are determined with reference to a zero-crossings on a rising edge of the voltage waveform indicative of a beginning of each cycle for the line current.

### Claim 8 (depends on 6)

The method of detecting and identifying arcing of claim 6, further comprising collecting the obtained data indicative of the line current during each cycle of a plurality of cycles to estimate the presence of an arc-event within each individual cycle of the plurality of cycles,
wherein an arc-fault is determined to be present when a pre-defined number of the arc-events are detected within a pre-defined number of contiguous cycles.

### Claim 9 (depends on 6)

The method of detecting and identifying arcing of claim 6, wherein the at least one known arc reference cycle is based on measured current during arc events generated in a controlled fashion, the known arc reference cycle comprising the normalized average expected wave-shape of a single cycle of current in which an arc is present.

### Claim 10 (depends on 6)

The method of detecting and identifying arcing of claim 6, wherein the arc-event correlation thresholds for gauging a degree of the correlation required for the detecting of the arc-event are based upon a determination of monotonic behavior in a root-means-square (RMS) amplitude of the line-current waveform over a pre-determined number of cycles.

### Claim 11 (depends on 6)

The method of detecting and identifying arcing of claim 6, wherein determining of an arc-fault comprises determining when a pre-defined number of arc-events occur within a pre-defined number of contiguous cycles.

### Claim 12 (depends on 11)

The method of detecting and identifying arcing of claim 11, wherein the required number of the detected arc-events and the pre-defined number of cycles in an observation window are determined based on a range classification of a root-means-square (RMS) amplitude of each observed cycle of the line-current.

### Claim 13 (depends on 12)

The method of detecting and identifying arcing of claim 12, wherein the range classifications for arc test clearing times based on the current level being tested meet UL1699 for the class of the circuit interrupter.

### Claim 14 (depends on 6)

The method of detecting and identifying arcing of claim 6, wherein:
the first data is indicative of the line voltage and the line current for at least a portion of the first cycle of the voltage waveform;
the second data is indicative of the line voltage and the line current for at least a portion of the second cycle of the voltage waveform subsequent to the first cycle and corresponding to the portion of the first cycle; and
the data representative of the at least one known arc reference cycle is a portion of the at least one known arc reference cycle corresponding to the portion of the second cycle.