Patent ID: 9465909
Filing Date: 2016-10-11
CPC Classification: G01R,G16Z,H02H,H02S,Y02E

Claim Text:
1. A method of detecting arcing in a DC power system, the DC power system including a current output connected to a load, a current flowing in the DC power system at the current output, the method comprising: providing an arc fault detector including a current sensor, a comparator, and a processor; connecting the current sensor to the current output; determining, by the current sensor, a current signal related to the current flowing in the DC power system; in response to at least one change in the current signal over time (di/dt), generating, by the comparator, one or more pulses, the respective pulses having associated durations; counting, by the processor, a number of pulses in at least one predetermined time interval to provide a pulse count for the predetermined time interval; measuring, by the processor, a fluctuation in the durations of the respective pulses in the predetermined time interval; calculating, by the processor, a first ratio of the fluctuation in the durations of the respective pulses to the pulse count; determining, by the processor, a presence of arcing in the DC power system based at least in part on the first ratio; and having determined the presence of arcing in the DC power system, disconnecting, by a DC disconnect switch, the current output from the load in order to extinguish the arcing in the DC power system.