Voltage Crowbar
AssigneeEaton Intelligent Power Limited
InventorFrederic Vladimir Esposito
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Abstract
The present invention provides for an electronic barrier device, which can form part of a further device such as an isolating barrier or a zener barrier, and comprising a voltage limiter such as at least one zener device for voltage limitation in a circuit during a fault condition, the barrier device including a crowbar device arranged to latch across the at least one zener device to reduce power dissipation in the at least one zener device in the circuit fault condition, wherein the crowbar device is arranged to latch responsive to a change in a current sensed in the barrier device.
Claims25
An electronic barrier device comprising:
- a voltage limiter device for voltage limitation in a circuit during a fault condition, and
- a crowbar device arranged to latch across the voltage limiter device to reduce power dissipation in the voltage limiter device in the circuit fault condition,
- wherein the crowbar device is arranged to latch responsive to a change in a current sensed in the barrier device.
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An electronic barrier device comprising:
- a crowbar device arranged to latch across a voltage limiter device of the barrier device, to reduce power dissipation in the voltage limiter device,
- wherein the crowbar device is arranged to latch responsive to a change in a current sensed in the barrier device.
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A method of reducing power dissipation in a voltage-limiter of a barrier device during a circuit fault condition, including the step of:
- sensing a change in current in the barrier device, and
- latching a crowbar device across the voltage limiter to reduce the power dissipation in response to the sensing of the change in current.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.