Patent ID: 7787113
Filing Date: 2010-08-31
Classification: G01J,G01R

Abstract:
1. A method for optically detecting an electrical arc in a power supply having a plurality of cells, the method comprising: capturing light at a first cell with at least one light pipe, wherein the light pipe is positioned such that a first portion of the light pipe is external to the first cell to capture light that may occur from an external electrical arc and a second portion of the light pipe is inside the cell to capture light that may occur from an internal electrical arc within the first cell; transmitting the captured light along at least a portion of a length of the light pipe; optically detecting the transmitted light with a photodetector which is optically coupled to the light pipe; generating a signal indicative of an intensity of the detected light; converting the generated signal to a digital signal; and determining whether the detected light is associated with an electrical arc.