Patent ID: 8964339
Filing Date: 2015-02-24
Classification: B60L,G01R,H02H,Y02T

Abstract:
1. A system for detecting the presence of a voltage on a ground conductor which is coupled to a protective Earth (PE) terminal associated with a power source, where the power source is being used to apply a source voltage via first and second terminals to a device, the system including: a high impedance device coupled across a switch, with the switch being in communication with a portion of the device and with the PE terminal associated with the power source; a control system for opening and closing the switch, the control system being adapted to open the switch before applying the source voltage across the first and second terminals, and to monitor a voltage across the high impedance device and determine if the voltage across the high impedance device exceeds a predetermined threshold, thereby indicating that an unsafe voltage from the power source is present on the ground conductor before the source voltage has been applied to the device; and where a natural high impedance path between the Earth and the device is used to provide an Earth connection through the device during operation of the system.