Adaptive Circuit Breaker with Current Sensor for Overcurrent Protection
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing protective arrangements for electrical devices struggle to set the tripping current optimally, leading to insufficient protection against overloading or unnecessary shutdowns due to manual settings that are not adaptable to varying operational currents.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating a current sensor and an evaluation and control unit to automatically set the tripping current based on measured device current, with manual adjustment options and feedback signals to iteratively select an optimal tripping current that is 25% greater than the measured current, ensuring reliable protection without false shutdowns.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the tripping current is set to a high value to avoid false shutdowns, then the protective arrangement avoids unnecessary tripping, but the device cannot be reliably protected against overloading
Solution Approach 1:
The tripping current is made dynamically adjustable based on the measured operational current of the connected device. The system automatically adapts the tripping threshold to match the actual operating conditions, allowing it to be high enough to avoid false shutdowns during normal operation while remaining low enough to provide protection against overloading. This is achieved through the control unit that continuously monitors the operational current and adjusts the tripping current accordingly.
Solution Approach 2:
The tripping current parameter is changed from a fixed manual setting to a dynamically adjustable value based on the measured operational current. The system modifies the tripping current parameter as a function of the operational current, ensuring it remains above the operational current to avoid false shutdowns while staying below the dangerous threshold for overprotection. This parameter adaptation resolves the contradiction between reliability and adaptability.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the tripping current is set to a low value to ensure sensitive protection, then the device is reliably protected against overloading, but false shutdowns occur during normal operation
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses feedback from the measured operational current to continuously adjust the tripping current threshold. The control unit monitors the operational current and uses this information to set an appropriate tripping current that is sufficiently high to prevent false shutdowns during normal operation but sufficiently low to provide sensitive protection against overloading. This feedback mechanism eliminates the need to choose between sensitivity and operational continuity.
3Ease of operation
If manual setting options are provided for tripping current, then users can adjust the setting, but the setting cannot be optimally adapted to varying operational currents
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs automatic adaptation of the tripping current without requiring manual intervention. The control unit automatically measures the operational current and adjusts the tripping current threshold accordingly, eliminating the need for users to manually calculate or set the appropriate tripping value. The system serves itself by autonomously optimizing the protection parameters based on actual operating conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The protective arrangement is designed to work universally with different devices by automatically adapting to their specific operational currents. Rather than requiring device-specific manual configuration, the system universally applies the principle of setting the tripping current as a function of the measured operational current, making it adaptable to any connected device regardless of its specific current requirements.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
The invention relates to a protective arrangement (1) for protecting electrical devices from an overcurrent, wherein - the protective arrangement has an input (E), where the protective arrangement (1) is supplied with a current (ℶ) by a current supply, - the protective arrangement (1) has an output (A), via which the current (ℶ) is transmitted to the electric device as an output current, and - the protective arrangement (1) has a circuit breaker (4) in the current line between the input and the output, said circuit breaker interrupting the current line from the input to the output when a set trigger current is exceeded. The protective arrangement has a current sensor (5) which measures the current in the current line when a device is connected. Depending on the measured current, the trigger current can be set to a value which is greater than the measured current by a specified difference.