Electronic circuit breaker

A device for interrupting delivery of electrical power to a load when said load demands electrical power in excess of a prescribed level thereof and is automatically reset to resume delivery of electrical power when said load is disconnected from said device, comprising:

• terminal means adapted for connecting said load with a source of electrical power;
• actuatable switching means operably coupled with said terminal means for selectively interrupting the delivery of electrical power from said source to said load, said switching means being actuatable between a set state in which electrical power is delivered therethrough to said load and a tripped state in which delivery of electrical power to said load is interrupted;
• and
• circuit means operably coupled with said switching means, said power source and said load for controlling the operation of said switching means, said circuit means including:
• (1) first control circuit means for sensing the level of power demanded by said load and for actuating said switching means from said set state thereof to said tripped state thereof when said demand exceeds said prescribed level thereof, said first control circuit means including a first circuit element for comparing the magnitude of an electrical signal delivered through said switching means and representative of the electrical power demanded by said load with the magnitude of a reference signal, and for producing an output signal in accordance with the compared signals, and first and second interconnected electrical switches, said first switch being connected with said first circuit element for receiving said output signal therefrom, said second switch being connected with said switching means for selectively actuating the latter, and
• (2) second control circuit means operably coupled with said first control circuit means for actuating said switching means from said tripped state to said set state thereof in response to the disconnection of said load from said device, said second control circuit means including a second circuit element operably coupled with said second switch and operable for comparing the magnitude of an electrical signal derived from said load and representative of the electrical power demanded by said load with the magnitude of a reference signal, and for producing a control signal for delivery to said second switch in accordance with the compared signals, said control signal being operative for causing said second switch to actuate said switching means from said tripped state thereof to said set state thereof.