Patent ID: 8659865

Claim:
An electrical circuit for protecting different types of electrical loads from overload current, the electrical circuit comprising: a voltage transformer configured to receive AC mains voltage from an electric mains supply and apply a reduced voltage value of the AC mains voltage to an electrical load for a pre-specified duration of time, wherein the pre-specified duration of time is determined based on a type of the electrical load connected to the electrical circuit, the pre-specified duration of time being stored at a microcontroller within the electrical circuit, and further wherein the reduced voltage is obtained using a pre-determined value of transformation ratio of the voltage transformer; a control switch comprising metal contacts, the control switch being connected to the voltage transformer, wherein the control switch is configured to facilitate application of the reduced voltage to the electrical load, wherein the reduced voltage is applied to the electrical load for the pre-specified duration of time; a current transformer connected in series with the electrical load and configured to measure a reduced value of current flowing through the electrical load during the pre-specified duration of time, wherein the reduced value of current flowing through the electrical load corresponds to the reduced voltage; and the microcontroller operationally connected to the current transformer and the control switch, wherein the microcontroller is configured to employ the measured reduced value of current for estimating, during the pre-specified duration of time, a current consumption value, the current consumption value being a value of current consumed by the electrical load in an event of AC mains voltage being directly applied to the electrical load, further wherein the microcontroller is configured to send an activating signal to a load switch for switching OFF the electrical load from the electrical circuit if the estimated current consumption value is greater than threshold overload current value corresponding to the electrical load type.