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US 2012/0257314 A1Published application
Ground fault circuit interrupter (gfci) monitor
AssigneeFairchild Semiconductor Corporation
InventorBruce Armstrong
Life of this patent
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Abstract
This document discusses, among other things, a self-test (ST) ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) monitor configured to generate a simulated ground fault starting in a first half-cycle of a first cycle of AC power and extending into a second half-cycle of the first cycle of AC power, wherein the first half-cycle of the first cycle of AC power precedes the second half-cycle of the first cycle of AC power. Further, the ST GFCI monitor can detect a response to the simulated ground fault.
Claims34
A system, comprising:
- a self-test (ST) ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) monitor configured to generate a simulated ground fault, starting in a first half-cycle of a first cycle of AC power and extending into a second half-cycle of the first cycle of AC power, and to detect a response to the simulated ground fault,
- wherein the first half-cycle of the first cycle of AC power precedes the second half-cycle of the first cycle of AC power.
A method, comprising:
- generating a simulated ground fault, using a self-test (ST) ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) monitor, starting in a first half-cycle of a first cycle of AC power and extending into a second half-cycle of the first cycle of AC power;
- and
- detecting a response to the simulated ground fault,
- wherein the first half-cycle of the first cycle of AC power precedes the second half-cycle of the first cycle of AC power.
1 more element
A system, comprising:
- load contacts;
- a solenoid configured to open or close the load contacts, wherein closed load contacts are configured to couple AC power and a load and open load contacts are configured to decouple the AC power and the load;
- a silicon-controlled rectifier (SCR) configured to control the solenoid;
- a self-test (ST) ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) monitor configured to automatically generate a simulated ground fault, starting in a first half-cycle of a first cycle of AC power and extending into a second half-cycle of the first cycle of AC power, to test functionality of the SCR at a first period of time following at least one of power-on or reset of the ST GFCI monitor and at a periodic interval following the first simulated fault a periodic interval without interrupting AC power to the load, and to generate an end-of-life (EOL) signal if the SCR is not enabled in response to the simulated ground fault;
- a diode configured to prevent the solenoid from opening the load contacts during the second half-cycle of the first cycle of AC power;
- and
- a GFCI controller configured to detect a ground fault using a sense coil and to provide an enable signal to the SCR in response to the detected ground fault,
- wherein the ST GFCI monitor includes a comparator configured to compare an anode voltage of a silicon-controlled rectifier (SCR) to a threshold voltage to detect an open circuit or high impedance condition during the first half-cycle of AC power,
- wherein the ST GFCI monitor is configured to generate the EOL signal if the anode voltage of the SCR is less than the threshold voltage,
- wherein the threshold voltage includes a voltage in a range of about 60 Volts RMS through about 105 Volts RMS,
- wherein the first half-cycle of the first cycle of AC power precedes the second half-cycle of the first cycle of AC power, and
- wherein the ST GFCI monitor is configured to detect a manual self-test and to reset the ST GFCI monitor if a manual self-test is detected.
9 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.