Patent ID: 7091631

Claim:
A device for intrinsically safe, redundant current-voltage supply for at least one electric load in an explosion-proof area with at least two supply circuits for providing the current/voltage supply, and with a protective device for intrinsically safe power limitation of the current supplied by the supply circuits to the loads in the explosion-proof area, the supply circuits having as part of the protective device in each case current control and limiting devices, said supply circuits being connectable individually or in parallel to the at least one load in the explosion-proof area by means of a common connecting lead, a resistive current limiting device connected in series to the supply circuits being outside the explosion-proof area as a further part of the protective device, and a voltage drop across the resistive current limiting device being detectable by the current control and limiting devices and evaluated for the intrinsically safe supply of the at least one load in the case of parallel-active supply circuits.