Electronic Barrier Device for Intrinsically Safe Systems
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 comprising a voltage limiter device for voltage limitation in a circuit during a fault condition, the barrier device including 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.
A barrier device as claimed in any one or more of the preceding claims wherein the voltage limiter device comprises at least one zener device.
A barrier device as claimed in any one or more of the preceding claims, and arranged to reduce power dissipation in non-voltage limiter devices within the barrier device.
An electronic circuit including a zener barrier device as claimed in any one or more of the preceding claims,
A crowbar device arranged to latch across a voltage limiter device of a 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.
A method of reducing power dissipation in a voltage-limiter of a barrier device during a circuit fault condition, including the step of latching a crowbar device across the voltage limiter to reduce the said power dissipation, and wherein the step of latching the crowbar device occurs responsive to the sensing of a change in current in the barrier device.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.