US 2019/0162787 A1 · CIRCUIT BREAKER LOCATOR AND TESTER

Abstract

A circuit breaker locator/tester is made more effective and efficient by appropriately dealing with inherent temperature variations. During operation of the circuit breaker locator/tester, large amounts of current are pulsed through various components, resulting in significant heating effects. These pulses of large amounts of current are generated in relatively brief time periods. While components are designed to manage and deal with various heating effects, excessive heating can degrade performance and efficiency. Various monitoring devices and heat anticipation systems are included within the locator/tester to deal with these conditions. In certain embodiments, temperature monitoring components are included, which provides a clear indication of sensed temperatures at specific locations within the device. In addition, systems are also provided to concurrently monitor operation of the device and provide operational control so that undesirable operating conditions are not encountered. Using these operational monitoring systems, appropriate delays can be incorporated which will naturally allow for heat dissipation.

Claims37

Dependent claims

A circuit breaker locator/tester for performing evaluation of an existing electrical system, comprising:

a triggering circuit comprising a switch and a load coupleable to the existing electrical system, wherein the triggering circuit is configured to cause a testing surge to be generated in the existing electrical system when the switch is activated, wherein the switch and the load are also subject to the testing surge;
a temperature sensor for monitoring the temperature within the locator/tester at a location and providing an output indicative of the monitored temperature;
a monitoring circuit for monitoring operation of the triggering circuit to determine if excess heat conditions exist based upon a predetermined set of operating conditions;
and
a disable circuit in communication with the monitoring circuit and the temperature sensor to disable the trigger circuit for a predetermined period of time if the excess heat conditions exists or the temperature sensor indicates that the heat at the predetermined location is above a predetermined level.

2 more elements

A portable handheld circuit breaker locator/tester easily attachable to an installed electrical system, comprising:

a housing sized and configured to be portable;
a microcontroller contained within the housing;
a load circuit contained within the housing, the load circuit coupled to and controlled by the microcontroller, wherein the load circuit comprises a power switch and a load resistor and wherein activation of the power switch generates a testing cycle which causes a testing surge of current to be generated within the installed electrical system when attached thereto;
a temperature sensor contained within the housing for monitoring the temperature at a location within the housing, the temperature sensor providing a temperature signal to the microcontroller indicative of the temperature at the location;
and
a power supply contained within the housing and configured to receive a line signal from the installed electrical system, the power supply further providing a low voltage signal to the microcontroller indicative of the frequency of the line signal, wherein the microcontroller can operate as a counter to monitor the time the testing surge is present;
wherein the microcontroller will monitor the operation of the load circuit and the temperature sensor and will delay activation of the power switch if the temperature sensor indicates that the temperature at the location is above a predetermined temperature level, or the load circuit has operated outside a predetermined set of preferred operating parameters.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Circuit breaker locator and tester

Life of this patent

Circuit breaker locator and tester

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims37