Surge arrester for DC mains and method of operating such a surge arrester

Abstract

A surge arrester for DC mains comprises a spark gap for extinguishing mains follow currents in the DC mains, the current intensity of which is equal to or greater than a specified current threshold, and a triggerable extinguishing aid assigned to the spark gap, which is set up to extinguish mains follow currents below the specified current threshold. The surge arrester further comprises an evaluation module for triggering the extinguishing aid, the evaluation module being set up to trigger the extinguishing aid as soon as at least two tripping conditions are fulfilled which are characteristic of the fact that the spark gap alone 10 cannot extinguish the mains follow current within a specified time duration. Furthermore, a method of operating such a surge arrester is described.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.