An intelligent surge protector with amplitude segment counting

Abstract

This utility model relates to the field of electrical protection device technology, and in particular to an intelligent surge protector with amplitude segmented counting, comprising a main circuit, a Rogowski coil L1, an integrating circuit, an active filter circuit, a light-controlled counting circuit, a microcontroller, and an LCD display screen; the integrating circuit and the light-controlled counting circuit share the Rogowski coil L1. When a surge occurs, the Rogowski coil L1 senses a signal, which is then reconstructed by the integrating circuit and filtered out by the active filter circuit. The microcontroller calculates the surge amplitude and counts it in segments according to energy levels: 100A~500A (low energy), 500A~3kA (medium energy), and 3kA~1kA (high energy). The cumulative number of surge occurrences for each segment is displayed as "L", "M", and "H". This intelligent surge protector with amplitude segmented counting is suitable for building electrical systems, communication base stations, and other scenarios, solving the problems of large detection errors for low-energy surges and lack of energy grading in existing intelligent SPDs.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the field of electrical protection device technology, and in particular to an intelligent surge protector with amplitude segment counting. Background Technology

[0002] A surge protection device (SPD), also known as a lightning arrester, is a key device in the field of electrical protection technology that ensures the safety of electronic equipment, instruments, and communication lines. Its core function is to conduct and divert current within a very short time when a surge current or voltage is suddenly generated in an electrical circuit or communication line due to external interference. This limits the instantaneous overvoltage to within the range that the equipment or system can withstand, or diverts the powerful lightning current to the ground, thereby preventing the surge from damaging other equipment in the circuit. It is an indispensable component of the lightning protection system for electronic equipment.

[0003] In practical applications of surge protection devices (SPDs), the surge impacts they experience throughout their lifespan are not all high-energy levels; rather, they are mostly small-energy surges ranging from tens to hundreds of amperes. Accurately detecting and statistically analyzing the impact of surges of different energy levels is crucial for optimizing the design of lightning protection systems, assessing the operational status of SPDs, and predicting their lifespan. However, current intelligent SPDs have significant shortcomings in surge detection and counting functions, making it difficult to meet practical application needs. On the one hand, existing intelligent SPDs with surge peak detection capabilities are generally limited to detecting surge sizes of 1kA and above. For small-energy surges of only a few hundred amperes, the detection error is not only extremely large, but they may even fail to detect them at all, leading to the cumulative impact of small-energy surges on the SPD being ignored. On the other hand, while some existing surge counters can be designed with high sensitivity, even counting surge currents of tens of amperes, these counters only have a simple counting function and cannot detect surge peak sizes, nor can they achieve precise segmented counting based on surge energy levels, making it impossible for users to obtain the specific impact distribution of surges of different energy levels.

[0004] Furthermore, existing technologies often require two separate sets of sensors and processing circuits to simultaneously detect surges and other related parameters. This not only increases the production cost of the product but also occupies more PCB board area, resulting in a larger SPD product size, which is not conducive to application in scenarios with limited installation space.

[0005] In summary, there is an urgent need for an intelligent surge protector that can break through the lower limit of low-energy surge detection, realize segmented counting of surge peaks, and has a simplified structure and controllable cost, in order to solve the problems of insufficient surge detection range and single counting function in existing technologies. Utility Model Content

[0006] To address the technical challenge of breaking through the lower limit of low-energy surge detection and achieving segmented counting of surge peak values, this invention provides an intelligent surge protector with segmented amplitude counting, comprising: a main circuit, a surge detection coil, an integrating circuit, an active filter circuit, a light-controlled counting circuit, and a microcontroller. The main circuit includes a varistor and a gas discharge tube, and the surge detection coil is sleeved on the grounding wire of the main circuit; The integrator circuit is connected in series with the surge detection coil, the optically controlled counting circuit is connected in series with the surge detection coil, and the active filter circuit is connected in series with the integrator circuit. The integrator circuit and the optically controlled counting circuit share the surge detection coil; The active filter circuit and the light-controlled counting circuit are connected to the microcontroller.

[0007] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects: This utility model provides an intelligent surge protector with amplitude segmented counting. It utilizes a Rogowski coil L1 to overcome the lower detection limit, enabling stable sensing of surges of 100A and above. This coil is shared by the integrating and optical counting circuits, reducing PCB area and cost. Furthermore, the integrating circuit, combined with ceramic capacitors, restores the surge waveform, while an active filter circuit filters out high-frequency interference, preventing distortion of low-energy signals and ensuring accurate amplitude calculation by the microcontroller. The optical control circuit employs a full-wave bridge rectification to prevent surge polarity omissions. Combined with preset thresholds of 100A ~ 500A, 500A ~ 3kA, and 3kA ~ Imax, it achieves accurate segmented counting. Finally, the cumulative number of small, medium, and high-energy surges is displayed on the screen in segments according to "L," "M," and "H," facilitating data acquisition for maintenance. This comprehensively solves the technical problems of insufficient surge detection range and limited counting function in existing intelligent SPDs, achieving high precision, simple structure, and easy maintenance. Attached Figure Description

[0008] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of this utility model or the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are some embodiments of this utility model. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0009] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of an intelligent surge protector circuit with amplitude segment counting provided in an embodiment of this utility model; Figure 2This is a schematic diagram of the LCD display screen of an intelligent surge protector with amplitude segment counting provided in an embodiment of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0010] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the embodiments of this utility model clearer, the technical solutions of the embodiments of this utility model will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of this utility model, not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of this utility model, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the protection scope of this utility model.

[0011] This invention provides an intelligent surge protector with amplitude segmented counting, primarily applied in the field of electrical protection devices. It can detect and segment the peak value of small energy surges (100A~500A), medium energy surges (500A~3kA), and high energy surges (3kA~1max), providing data support for lightning protection system design optimization and surge protection device (SPD) lifecycle status assessment. The device consists of a main circuit, surge detection coil, integrator circuit, active filter circuit, optical counting circuit, microprocessor, and LCD display. These modules work together to achieve surge signal acquisition, processing, calculation, counting, and display. Furthermore, the shared surge detection coil simplifies the structure, improving integration and reliability.

[0012] See Figure 1 As shown, the intelligent surge protector with amplitude segment counting uses a surge detection coil as the core of signal acquisition. The integrating circuit and the optical counting circuit share the same coil, avoiding redundant sensor settings. An active filter circuit is connected in series between the integrating circuit and the microcontroller to reduce noise and purify the signal before inputting the current signal into the microcontroller. The optical counting circuit is directly connected to the microcontroller to provide a surge trigger signal. The microcontroller acts as the control center, completing surge amplitude calculation and segment counting, and outputting the results to LCD, OLED, Mini / Micro LED and other displays for intuitive display.

[0013] Specifically, when a surge occurs in a power line or communication line, the surge detection coil installed on the grounding wire of the power line first induces an electromotive force and outputs a voltage signal: one signal is restored by an integrator circuit and filtered out by an active filter circuit before being sent to a microcontroller for analog-to-digital conversion to calculate the surge amplitude. According to the set level classification, the surge signal is stored in the corresponding low, medium, and high energy levels; the other signal triggers a light-controlled counting circuit to generate counting pulses. The microcontroller, combined with the preset amplitude segmentation threshold, classifies the surge into the corresponding energy level and completes the counting. Finally, the cumulative number of impacts of each level of surge is displayed on an LCD screen.

[0014] In this embodiment, the surge detection coil adopts a Rogowski coil L1, which has the characteristics of wide frequency response, good linearity and no magnetic saturation. It is especially suitable for the accurate detection of surge currents of 100A and above, and solves the problem of large detection error or inability to detect small energy surges in the existing technology.

[0015] Specifically, the Rogowski coil L1 is connected in series with both the integrator circuit and the light-controlled counting circuit. It provides the integrator circuit with the surge current rate of change signal for amplitude calculation and the light-controlled counting circuit with a trigger signal for surge counting. This reduces the PCB board area, lowers component costs, avoids signal interference between multiple sensors, and improves the overall stability of the protector.

[0016] The integrating circuit consists of resistors R1, R2, and R3, capacitor C1, and operational amplifier U2-B. Their connections are as follows: one end of resistor R1 is connected to the inverting input of operational amplifier U2-B, and the other end is grounded; one end of resistor R2 is connected in series with the output of Rogowski coil L1, and the other end is connected to the non-inverting input of operational amplifier U2-B; resistor R3 serves as a feedback resistor, connected in parallel with capacitor C1, with one end connected to the output of operational amplifier U2-B and the other end connected to the non-inverting input of operational amplifier U2-B, forming a closed-loop feedback structure; furthermore, the amplification factor of the non-inverting proportional amplifier can be adjusted by adjusting the ratio of R2 / R3.

[0017] In practical operation, the surge signal is detected by the Rogowski coil L1, and the rate of change of the surge current is output. Then, the rate of change signal is restored to a voltage waveform proportional to the amplitude of the surge current by the integrator circuit. More specifically, the linear amplification of the operational amplifier U2-B and the integration of the RC feedback network make the peak value of the output voltage signal linearly correspond to the peak value of the surge current, which is then used by the microcontroller to calculate the amplitude.

[0018] Even better, capacitor C1 is made of ceramic, which has good high-frequency characteristics, high temperature stability and low parasitic inductance. It can effectively avoid signal distortion during integration, especially for weak signals with small energy surges of 100A to 500A, which can reduce waveform restoration error and ensure amplitude calculation accuracy.

[0019] The active filter circuit consists of resistors R4 and R5, capacitors C2 and C3, and operational amplifier U2-A. Their connections are as follows: one end of resistor R4 is connected to the output of the integrator circuit (i.e., the output of operational amplifier U2-B), and the other end is connected in series with resistor R5 and then connected to the non-inverting input of operational amplifier U2-A; one end of capacitor C2 is connected to the series connection point of resistors R4 and R5, and the other end is first connected to the output of operational amplifier U2-A, and then connected to its inverting input, forming feedback; one end of capacitor C3 is connected to the end of resistor R5 furthest from R4, and the other end is grounded.

[0020] In practical operation, the active filter circuit, through the synergistic effect of the RC network and the operational amplifier, can selectively filter out high-frequency interference pulses and fully retain the waveform characteristics of the 100A ~ Imax surge signal, effectively improving the signal-to-noise ratio and ensuring that the signal received by the microcontroller truly reflects the surge amplitude, avoiding misjudgment or missed judgment due to interference.

[0021] Ideally, capacitors C2 and C3 are both ceramic capacitors, which have high insulation resistance and low dielectric loss, and can maintain stable filtering performance over a long period of time, meeting the needs of long-term operation of the protector.

[0022] The light-controlled counting circuit consists of a rectifier DB2, resistors R6 and R7, a capacitor C4, and an optocoupler U3. Their connections are as follows: the input terminal of rectifier DB2 is connected in series with Rogowski coil L1, forming a series circuit; the output terminal of Rogowski coil L1 is connected to rectifier DB2, which rectifies the voltage signal output by Rogowski coil L1 into a positive voltage, driving optocoupler U3 to perform surge counting; one end of resistor R6 is connected to the output terminal of rectifier DB2, and the other end is connected to the input terminal of optocoupler U3; one end of the output terminal of optocoupler U3 is connected in series with resistor R7 and grounded, while the other end serves as the signal output terminal connected to the counting pin of the microcontroller; capacitor C4 is connected in parallel between the output terminal of optocoupler U3 and ground.

[0023] The DB2 rectifier is a full-wave bridge rectifier.

[0024] When a surge occurs, the induced electromotive force generated by the Rogowski coil L1 drives the current through the rectifier DB2. After full-wave bridge rectification, it becomes a unidirectional DC current. This DC current, after being current-limited by resistor R6, triggers the LED of optocoupler U3 to light up, which in turn turns on the phototransistor, generating a falling edge pulse at the output terminal. This pulse serves as the trigger signal for surge counting and is sent to the microcontroller. Resistor R6 limits the current to prevent excessive current from burning out the LED of the optocoupler, while resistor R7 limits the collector current of the phototransistor, protecting the counting pin of the microcontroller. Capacitor C4 filters out glitches in the pulse signal, preventing false counting due to interference.

[0025] In this embodiment, preferably, the microcontroller uses a chip STC15W408AS with high-speed analog-to-digital conversion (ADC) function. Its input terminals are respectively connected to the output terminals of the active filter circuit and the light control counting circuit, and its output terminal is connected to the display screen.

[0026] The microcontroller's workflow includes surge amplitude calculation and segmented counting. During surge amplitude calculation, the analog voltage signal output from the active filter circuit is converted into a digital signal via a built-in ADC module, and then the peak value of the surge current is calculated using a preset linear conversion formula. During segmented counting, the currently calculated surge peak value is categorized into the corresponding level based on a preset amplitude segmentation threshold, and the optical counting circuit accumulates the count for that level, while simultaneously updating the cumulative count for each level in real time.

[0027] Specifically, 100A to 500A is classified as a small energy surge, 500A to 3kA as a medium energy surge, and 3kA to Imax as a high energy surge.

[0028] See Figure 2 As shown, the LCD screen has three counting display areas: "L", "M", and "H", which respectively display the cumulative number of surges of low energy, medium energy, and high energy. For example, when the first count occurs, the detected surge size is 150A, which is determined to be a low energy surge and counted at "L". When the second count occurs, the detected surge size is 800A, which is determined to be a medium energy surge and counted at "M". When the third count occurs, the detected surge size is 5kA, which is determined to be a high energy surge and counted at "H". After three surge monitoring and detection cycles, the displayed value at "L", "M", and "H" is 1.

[0029] In addition, the "A", "B", and "C" on the LCD display show the phase voltage values ​​of the three-phase voltage, while "D", "E", and "F" show the line voltage values ​​of the three-phase voltage.

[0030] In summary, this utility model, through the collaborative design of its various modules, not only solves the problems of insufficient accuracy in detecting small-energy surges and the inability to count in segments in existing technologies, but also reduces costs and size by simplifying the circuit structure. It can be widely used in scenarios requiring precise lightning protection, such as building electrical systems, communication base stations, and industrial control, and has significant practical value and promotional potential.

[0031] Although this article uses a lot of terms such as surge protector, lightning arrester, electrical circuit, communication line, lightning current, transient overvoltage, surge detection coil, Rogowski coil, varistor, gas discharge tube, main circuit, integrating circuit, active filter circuit, optical counting circuit, microprocessor, LCD display, rectifier, bridge rectifier, full-wave bridge rectifier, optocoupler, operational amplifier, resistor, capacitor, ceramic capacitor, feedback resistor, PCB board, segmented threshold, surge amplitude, surge peak value, induced electromotive force, voltage signal, waveform restoration, interference pulse, high-frequency interference pulse, analog-to-digital conversion, counting pulse, cumulative count, signal-to-noise ratio, DC current, falling edge pulse, series, parallel, grounding, filtering, full-wave bridge rectification, current limiting, opto-isolation, signal noise reduction and purification, trigger counting, linear amplification, RC feedback network, integral action, interference filtering, segmented counting, and displaying cumulative count, the possibility of using other terms cannot be ruled out. The use of these terms is merely for the convenience of describing and explaining the essence of this utility model; interpreting them as any kind of additional limitation would be contrary to the spirit of this utility model.

[0032] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of this utility model, and are not intended to limit it. Although the utility model has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that modifications can still be made to the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments, or equivalent substitutions can be made to some or all of the technical features therein. Such modifications or substitutions do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of this utility model.

Claims

1. A smart surge protector with amplitude segmented counting, characterized in that, include: Main circuit, surge detection coil, integrating circuit, active filter circuit, light-controlled counting circuit and microprocessor; The main circuit includes a varistor and a gas discharge tube, and the surge detection coil is sleeved on the grounding wire of the main circuit; The integrator circuit is connected in series with the surge detection coil, the optically controlled counting circuit is connected in series with the surge detection coil, and the active filter circuit is connected in series with the integrator circuit. The integrator circuit and the optically controlled counting circuit share the surge detection coil; The active filter circuit and the light-controlled counting circuit are connected to the microcontroller.

2. The intelligent surge protector with amplitude segment counting according to claim 1, characterized in that: The surge detection coil is a Rogowski coil L1.

3. The intelligent surge protector with amplitude segment counting according to claim 2, characterized in that: The integrating circuit includes resistors R1, R2, and R3, capacitor C1, and operational amplifier U2-B; The resistor R1 is connected to the inverting input terminal of the operational amplifier U2-B and grounded; one end of the resistor R2 is connected in series with the Rogowski coil L1, and the other end is connected to the non-inverting input terminal of the operational amplifier U2-B; the resistor R3 serves as a feedback resistor and is connected in parallel with the capacitor C1 between the output terminal and the non-inverting input terminal of the operational amplifier U2-B.

4. The intelligent surge protector with amplitude segmented counting according to claim 2, characterized in that: The active filter circuit includes resistor R4, resistor R5, capacitor C2, capacitor C3, and operational amplifier U2-A; One end of resistor R4 is connected to the output of the integrator circuit, and the other end is connected in series with resistor R5 and connected to the non-inverting input of operational amplifier U2-A; one end of capacitor C2 is connected between resistors R4 and R5, and the other end is connected to the inverting input of operational amplifier U2-A through the output of operational amplifier U2-A; capacitor C3 is connected in series with resistor R5 and grounded.

5. The intelligent surge protector with amplitude segment counting according to claim 2, characterized in that: The optical counting circuit includes resistor R6, resistor R7, capacitor C4, rectifier DB2, and optocoupler U3; The rectifier DB2 is connected in series with the Rogowski coil L1, and the resistor R6 is connected between the output terminal of the rectifier DB2 and the input terminal of the optocoupler U3. The Rogowski coil L1, the rectifier DB2, the resistor R6 and the optocoupler U3 form a rectifier circuit; the output section of the Rogowski coil L1 is connected to the rectifier DB2. The output terminal of the optocoupler U3 is connected in series with the resistor R7 and grounded, and the capacitor C4 is connected in parallel.

6. The intelligent surge protector with amplitude segment counting according to claim 5, characterized in that: The rectifier DB2 is a full-wave bridge rectifier.

7. The intelligent surge protector with amplitude segment counting according to any one of claims 3 to 6, characterized in that: The capacitors C1, C2, C3, and C4 are ceramic capacitors.

8. The intelligent surge protector with amplitude segment counting according to claim 7, characterized in that: After obtaining the surge amplitude, the microcontroller inputs the segmented counting data into the display screen for display.

9. The intelligent surge protector with amplitude segment counting according to claim 8, characterized in that: The segmented counting is for low-energy, medium-energy, and high-energy surge counting; The detection limit for low-energy surge counting is 100A ~ 500A; the detection limit for medium-energy surge counting is 500A ~ 3kA; and the detection limit for high-energy surge counting is 3kA ~ Imax.

10. The intelligent surge protector with amplitude segment counting according to claim 8, characterized in that: The display screen is one of LCD, OLED or Mini / Micro LED.

Images