Processor controlled circuit breaker trip system having an intelligent rating plug

For use in a fault-powered, processor-based circuit breaker tripping system having a current sensor for sensing current in a current path, a rating plug circuit comprising:

• a printed circuit board;
• resistor means, connected to the printed circuit board, for establishing a voltage in a predetermined ratio to the amount of sensed current;
• a connector, having a plurality of conductive contact points, for interconnecting the printed circuit board with the tripping system;
• and
• a plurality of printed circuit paths disposed on the printed circuit board and connected to various ones of the conductive contact points of the connector for establishing a binary code representing said predetermined ratio of said voltage to the sensed current;
• wherein the binary code is capable of being read by a processor via the connector to analyze the current path.

For use in a processor-based circuit breaker tripping system having a current sensor for sensing current from a current path, a method for establishing a current rating for the tripping system comprising the steps of:

• defining a plurality of printed circuit paths to various conductive contact points on a printed circuit board;
• connecting a resistor to the printed circuit board to establish a voltage in a predetermined ratio to the amount of sensed current;
• opening selected ones of the plurality of printed circuit paths to establish a binary code representing said predetermined ratio of said voltage to the sensed current;
• interconnecting the printed circuit board with the tripping system using a connector having a plurality of conductors connected to the conductive contact points;
• using logic means, coupled to the plurality of printed circuit paths, to establish logic high and logic low levels on the conductive contact points indicating said binary code;
• using the resistor to scale the sensed current;
• and
• using a processor to read said logic high and low level to obtain said binary code and analyze the sensed current having been scaled by the resistor.

For use in a processor-based circuit breaker tripping system having a current sensor for sensing current from a current path, a method for manufacturing a rating plug circuit, comprising the steps of:

• defining a plurality of printed circuit paths to various conductive contact points on a printed circuit board;
• connecting an electrical connector to the contact points on the printed circuit board;
• connecting a resistor having a selected value to the printed circuit board;
• and
• opening selected ones of the plurality of printed circuit paths to provide a code indicating the selected value of the resistor.

For use in a processor-based circuit breaker tripping system having a current sensor for sensing current in a current path, a rating plug circuit comprising:

• resistor means for establishing a voltage in a predetermined ratio to the amount of sensed current;
• a connector for interconnecting the rating plug circuit with the tripping system;
• and
• coding means, coupled to said connector, for establishing a code representing said predetermined ratio of said voltage to the sensed current, the code capable of being read by the tripping system via said connector.

For use in a processor-based circuit breaker tripping system having a current sensor for sensing current in a current path, a rating plug circuit for setting a current rating for the tripping system, comprising:

• a circuit board;
• resistor means, connected to the circuit board, for establishing a voltage in a predetermined ratio to the amount of sensed current so as to establish a maximum allowable continuous current passing through the current path;
• a connector, having a plurality of conductive contact points, for interconnecting the circuit board with the tripping system so as to establish a maximum current rating for the tripping system, such that an absence of the rating plug circuit from the tripping system causes the tripping system to revert to a minimum current rating;
• and
• coding means, coupled to the conductive contact points, for establishing a code representing said predetermined ratio of said voltage to the sensed current;
• wherein the code is capable of being read by the processor via the connector to analyze the current path.