Source: http://www.google.com/patents/US6268989?ie=ISO-8859-1&dq=6,411,947
Timestamp: 2014-09-22 13:06:02
Document Index: 238677761

Matched Legal Cases: ['application No. 6', 'application No. 6', 'application No. 6', 'application No. 5', 'application No. 09', 'application No. 6', 'application No. 6']

Patent US6268989 - Residential load center with arcing fault protection - Google PatentsSearch Images Maps Play YouTube News Gmail Drive More »Sign in<nobr>Advanced Patent Search</nobr>PatentsA residential load center includes an electronic trip unit as the main circuit breaker for overcurrent and arcing fault protection while connecting with thermal magnetic circuit breakers in each of the branch circuits for overcurrent protection within the individual branch circuits....http://www.google.com/patents/US6268989?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US6268989 - Residential load center with arcing fault protectionAdvanced Patent SearchPublication numberUS6268989 B1Publication typeGrantApplication numberUS 09/210,307Publication dateJul 31, 2001Filing dateDec 11, 1998Priority dateDec 11, 1998Fee statusPaidAlso published asCA2291461A1, CA2291461C, DE19959397A1Publication number09210307, 210307, US 6268989 B1, US 6268989B1, US-B1-6268989, US6268989 B1, US6268989B1InventorsJohn J. Dougherty, Donald McDonald, Ronald D. Ciarcia, Edward E. Kim, Roger J. Morgan, James I. Smith, Paul A. RaymontOriginal AssigneeGeneral Electric CompanyExport CitationBiBTeX, EndNote, RefManPatent Citations (79), Referenced by (8), Classifications (9), Legal Events (5) External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, EspacenetResidential load center with arcing fault protectionUS 6268989 B1Abstract A residential load center includes an electronic trip unit as the main circuit breaker for overcurrent and arcing fault protection while connecting with thermal magnetic circuit breakers in each of the branch circuits for overcurrent protection within the individual branch circuits.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Thermal magnetic circuit breakers having added means for providing arcing fault protection in residential load centers are currently available. Because of the low current conditions associated with arcing faults, most manufacturers recommend installing circuit breakers with arcing fault detection in each of the branch circuits associated within the residential to load centers. The use of such thermal magnetic circuit breakers equipped with arcing fault protection is further suggested to limit any so-called �nuisance tripping�, which may occur upon implementation of power tools and the like, to the specific branch circuit in which the power tools are connected.
The use of circuit breakers having electronic trip units such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,672,501 entitled �Circuit Breaker and Protective Relay Unit� within residential load centers and lighting panelboards as described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,463,967 entitled �Panelboard Load Center�, has heretofore been discouraged because of the required use of current transformers to sense the circuit current and provide the trip units with signals representative of circuit current. The large size and significant cost requirements of the current transformers results in a corresponding added cost and increased size in the circuit breakers which contain the transformers.
Thermal magnetic residential type circuit breakers, such as described in the U.S. Pat. No. 5,519,561 entitled �Circuit Breaker Using Bimetal of Thermal-magnetic Trip to Sense Current�, are currently available for sensing and detection arcing faults within the branch circuits of residential load centers.
U.S. patent application No. 6,094,330 entitled �Circuit Interrupter Having Improved Current Sensing Apparatus� describes a miniature semiconductor in the form of a giant magnet resistor, GMR, used in place of current transformers for sensing arcing current as well as long time, short time and instantaneous overcurrent conditions.
U.S. patent application No. 6,002,561 entitled �Arcing Fault Detection Module� describes a simple electronic circuit that includes an autocorrelation transceiver adapted for determining the presence of an arcing fault condition and for interrupting a protected circuit upon such an occurrence.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A residential load center includes a main breaker utilizing an electronic trip unit for overcurrent and arcing fault protection connecting with thermal magnetic circuit breakers in each of the branch circuits for overcurrent protection within the individual branch circuits. GMR semiconductor sensors as well as Hall effect devices are employed within the main circuit breaker for arc fault current sensing and an arc fault detection module is used with the electronic trip unit for arcing fault determination.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of a main residential circuit breaker employing both overcurrent and arcing fault protection according to the invention;
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT An electronic circuit breaker 10, similar to that described in U.S. patent application No. 6,094,330, is shown in FIG. 1 to consist of a molded plastic case 11 to which a cover 12 of similar material is attached. A pair of separable contacts 13 are turned to ON and OFF positions by means of an external operating handle 14 that extends through an aperture 15 in the circuit breaker cover. A digital trip unit 17 containing a microprocessor within an electronic logic circuit as described in the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 4,672,501 can be employed to determine the occurrence of an overcurrent condition within the protected. The operation of an ASIC electronic logic circuit within the trip unit 17 to interrupt circuit current upon occasion of an overcurrent condition within the protected circuit is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,589,052 entitled �Digital I2T Pickup, Time Bands and Timing Control Circuits for Static Trip Circuit Breakers� In accordance with the invention, a semiconductor 19 is positioned on the load straps 18 for sensing the current transfer through the line straps and transferring signals representations thereof to the trip unit 17 over a pair of conductors 20. The semiconductor 19 can comprise a GMR device, such as type NVE AAxxx obtained from Nonvolatile Electronics Inc. similar to that described in U.S. patent application No. 5,933,306 entitled �Circuit Breaker with Ground Fault Detection Module�, or a Hall effect device, such as type GH 600 obtained from F. W. Bell Co., Orlando, Fla. similar to that described in U.S. patent application No. 09/006,795 entitled �Circuit Breaker Having Hall Effect Sensors�. An iron core miniature current transformer 21 is connected with the line conductors 18 within the transformer case 11 to provide operating power to the trip unit 17 over a pair separate conductors 22. Also included within the circuit breaker 10 is an arcing fault detection circuit 16 similar to that described within the aforementioned U.S. patent application No. 6,002,561 entitled �Arcing Fault Detection Module� for purposes of determining the presence of an arcing fault and separating contacts 13 upon such occurrence. The sophisticated circuits employed therein deter the occurrence of nuisance tripping and allows the use of the circuit breaker as a main breaker within a residential load center as well as in lighting panel board applications. The electrical connections between the power conductors 23, 24 in a residential load center, such as that described in aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 3,463,967 and the circuit breaker trip unit 17 are now shown in FIG. 2. The circuit breaker contacts 13A, 13B, are connected in series within the residential distribution system represented by conductors 23,24. The semiconductors 19A, 19B, are positioned next to the conductors and the current transformers 21A, 21B, are connected such that the conductors provide the primary windings to the respective current transformers. In some circuits, only one current transformer is sufficient for providing the trip unit with operating power. The output of the current transformers connect through conductors 22A, 22B, with the power input ports of the trip unit 17 via conductors 37, 38 through a shunt regulator circuit 36 consisting of the bridge rectifiers 34,35, diode rectifier D1, FET switch Q1, and filter capacitor C1 to provide operational power to the trip unit. The output of the semiconductors 19A, 19B, connect through conductors 20A, 20B, with the logic input ports of the trip unit 17 via conductors 31, 32 through the conditioner circuit 43 consisting of current limiting resistors R1-R4, reference resistors R5,R6, inverted operational amplifiers 28, 29, feedback resistors R7, R8 and burden resistors R9, R10 respectively. Operating power to each of the semiconductors 19A, 19C, is provided by means of conductors 26A, 26B respectively. In place of the current transformers 21A, 21B, direct power connection between the trip unit 17 and the power conductors 23, 24 can be made via conductors 47, 48 as indicated in phantom, if desired. In place of the current transformers that provide electrical isolation between the trip unit and the power conductors in accordance with the relevant Electric Codes, other means of isolation circuitry within the trip unit may be employed. The output ports of the trip unit 17 connect with ground over conductor 42 and with the gate of the switching transistor Q2, which comprises a thyristor or SCR, over conductor 41 to energize the trip solenoid unit 39 and separate the circuit breaker contacts 13A, 13B over the control line 40 upon occurrence of an overcurrent condition within the protected circuit in the manner described within the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 4,589,052. With overcurrent protection provided by means of the trip unit 17, the detection module 16 which connects with the conditioner circuit 43 by means of the same conductors 31, 32 and with the shunt regulator circuit 36 by means of the same conductors 37, 38 provides arcing fault protection. Upon determination of the occurrence of tile arcing fault, in the manner described within the aforementioned U.S. patent application No. 6,002,561 the detection module outputs a control signal to the gate of the switching transistor Q2 to energize the solenoid 39 over conductor 45 for separating the contacts 13A, 13B, and connects with ground over a separate ground conductor 46, as indicated. Connection is made with the conductors 47, 48 in the manner described earlier when the current transformers 21A, 21B are not employed.
A simple algorithm is suggested as a means to determine which of the branches is experiencing the arcing fault upon response of the main circuit breaker to interrupt the circuit current in all branches. The algorithm can be performed manually or automatically by means of a mechanical interconnection between the main circuit breaker and the branch circuit breakers as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,373,411 entitled �Remote Control Circuit Breaker System�. The operation of the algorithm flow chart (49) is best seen by now referring to FIG. 6 wherein the main circuit breaker trips (58) and a command is outputted to turn off all circuit breakers (54) and turn on a first branch circuit breaker (55). The main circuit breaker is turned on (57) and a determination is made as to whether the main circuit breaker has tripped (57) and if so, the first branch circuit breaker is again turned off(58), all other circuit breakers are turned on (59) and the program is ended (60). If the main circuit breaker doesn't trip, the main circuit breaker is again turned off(54), the second branch circuit breaker is turned on (61), and the main circuit breaker is again turned on (62). A determination is made as to whether the main circuit breaker has tripped (63) and if so, the second branch circuit breaker is again turned off (64), all other circuit breakers are turned on (65) and the program is ended (66). If the main circuit breaker doesn't trip, the main circuit breaker is again turned off (54), and the remaining branch circuit breakers are sequentially tested until the branch circuit experiencing the arcing fault is determined.
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