Circuit breaker with thermal sensing unit
AssigneeSquare D Company
InventorBrett E. Larson
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A circuit protection apparatus includes a circuit breaker coupled in series with a circuit to be protected. The circuit breaker has a trip input and is responsive to a trip signal at the trip input for changing from a closed circuit condition to an open circuit condition to thereby remove electrical current from the circuit to be protected. A thermal trip element is coupled in series with the circuit to be protected and is responsive to a predetermined current/time characteristic of current flow in the circuit for delivering the trip signal through the thermal trip element to the trip input.
Claims20
A thermally activated circuit protection apparatus for a circuit having a given line voltage, said circuit protection apparatus comprising:
- a circuit breaker coupled in series with a circuit to be protected, said circuit breaker having a trip input and being responsive to a predetermined electrical signal at said trip input for changing from a closed circuit condition to an open circuit condition to thereby remove electrical current from said circuit to be protected;
- and
- a thermal trip element coupled in series with said circuit to be protected and responsive to a predetermined current/time characteristic of current flow in said circuit for delivering said predetermined electrical signal through said thermal trip element to said trip input.
A circuit protection apparatus for a circuit having a given line voltage, said circuit protection apparatus comprising:
- a circuit breaker coupled in series with a circuit to be protected, said circuit breaker having a trip input and being responsive to said given line voltage at said trip input for changing from a closed circuit condition to an open circuit condition to thereby remove electrical current from said circuit to be protected;
- and
- a thermal trip element coupled in series with said circuit to be protected and responsive to a predetermined current/time characteristic of current flow in said circuit for delivering said line voltage through said thermal trip element to said trip input.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.