Safety discharge circuit for high voltage electrical system and method

A method of sensing the removal of a cover, releasably connected to a grounded box, and disabling a high voltage electrical system inside said box, comprising the steps of:

• electronically sensing the removal of the cover of said grounded box using an electronic means electrically connected to the cover from the grounded box at an input and to the high voltage electrical system at an output, wherein said step of electronically sensing the removal of the cover comprises using a controlled rectifier, wherein said controlled rectifier is in a reverse blocking state when the cover is connected to the box and in a forward conducting state when the cover is removed from the box;
• when the removal of the cover is detected, sending a low voltage control signal from the electronic means to the high voltage electrical system, thus turning the high voltage electrical system off and eliminating shock hazards during maintenance of the high voltage electrical system;
• and
• latching the low voltage control signal until an associated power supply of the high voltage electrical system is switched off.