Patent ID: 7071658

Claim:
A method for providing protection to a generator, comprising: determining a reference out of rated capability of the generator; determining, based on the reference, and generator field current and output conditions of the generator, a drop in generator performance without measuring a temperature of the generator; modifying operation of the generator to a generator output limit mode, accounting for the determined drop in generator performance, wherein the step of determining a drop in generator performance comprises a comparison based on the reference, the generator field current, and the output conditions of the generator, and wherein the drop in generator performance is determined based on the comparison; measuring a generator output current of the generator to monitor the output condition of the generator; and determining a generator speed of the generator, wherein the determining a reference out of rated capability of the generator includes determining a magnitude of the generator output current as a function of the generator speed and the generator field current and setting the reference to the determined magnitude of the generator output current; and wherein the determining a generator speed of the generator includes monitoring an engine speed of an engine drivingly coupled to the generator and multiplying the monitored engine speed by a speed ratio between the engine and the generator.