Switch condition monitoring

Abstract

The invention relates to switch condition monitoring. This disclosure relates to monitoring the condition of electrical / electronic switches over time by monitoring the impedance of the switch. The condition of switches can degrade as they age, which can reduce their performance and may ultimately lead to failure. In many applications, particularly high-voltage applications, the reliable operationof switches may be very important and failures can present a safety risk and cause costly unscheduled system downtime for repairs. It has been realised that as the condition of switches change, theirimpedance changes, so monitoring the impedance can give a good indication of the condition of the switch, enabling potential faults / failures to be identified early and acted upon pre-emptively.

Description

technical field [0001] The present disclosure relates to the monitoring of the status of electrical / electronic switches. Background technique [0002] There are many different types of electrical / electronic switches used for different applications. These include, for example, electromechanical switches, such as circuit breakers and relays, and solid state switches, such as transistors (eg, bipolar transistors, IGBTs, FETs, etc.), solid state relays, and thyristors. Reliable operation of these switches may be important to the continued safe and reliable operation of the circuits in which they are used. For example, circuit breakers may be used in electrical protection circuits, and their continued reliable operation over time may be important to the safe operation of the protection circuits. Likewise, solid-state switches such as IGBTs or FETs can be used in power circuits such as power conversion circuits or inverters and can be important in the continued reliable and safe...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

This can be caused by overcurrent / voltage conditions during operation due to mishandling or load kickback (for example, in the case of driving an AC motor using a commutation circuit)

Another reason for the deterioration of switching conditions over time is that the switch operates under harsh environmental conditions

Over time, deteriorating conditions can degrade the accuracy of the electrical conversion circuit (for example, may limit the accuracy of the AC signal generated by the inverter, which can cause problems with downstream equipment / circuitry), and eventually lead to switch failure, resulting in Unplanned system shutdown

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