Patent ID: 8830647

Claim:
A fault current limiter (FCL) for limiting a fault current in a power line during a fault condition, said FCL comprising: a magnetic coupling circuit for monitoring current in the power line through magnetic coupling; a sensing circuit for sensing the current in the power line and providing a signal indicative of the sensed current; a control circuit receiving the signal indicative of the sensed current in the power line and determining whether the sensed current indicates that the fault condition exists; a high impedance path including: a discharging impedance circuit for limiting the fault current, said discharging impedance circuit injecting a discharging impedance into the main power line through magnetic coupling during the fault condition; and a low impedance path connected in parallel with the high impedance path, said low impedance path including: a reactor circuit; and a switching unit having an ON state and an OFF state, wherein the state of the switching unit determines whether current conducts through the low impedance path or the high impedance path, said control circuit determining the state of the switching unit.