Folding Current Sensor for Conductor Installation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional current sensors often require complex threading or severing of conductors, making them difficult to install and use in existing devices, and may not provide efficient magnetic flux concentration for accurate current sensing.
Innovation Solution
A current sensor design featuring a soft ferromagnetic body with folding portions that enclose a conductor, incorporating a magnetic field detector within the folded structure to sense current without severing or threading, and utilizing extensions and recesses to concentrate magnetic flux for improved sensitivity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If conventional current sensors use threading or severing methods to install the sensor on the conductor, then the magnetic flux concentration can be achieved, but the installation complexity and difficulty increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The ferromagnetic body is divided into first and second folding portions that can be independently manipulated. This segmentation allows the sensor to be opened for easy installation around the conductor and then folded closed to enclose the conductor, achieving both easy installation and accurate current sensing without threading or severing the conductor
Solution Approach 2:
The folding portions are designed to be movable relative to each other, transitioning between an open state for installation and a closed state for sensing. This dynamic structure enables the sensor to adapt to the conductor without requiring complex threading operations, resolving the contradiction between installation ease and measurement precision
2Measurement precision
If the conductor is severed to form an electrical connection for sensing, then the current can be sensed directly, but the installation complexity and potential conductor damage increase
Solution Approach 1:
The ferromagnetic body is segmented into foldable portions that create an openable structure. This allows the sensor to be installed around the conductor without severing it, eliminating the complexity and risk associated with conductor cutting and reconnection while maintaining accurate current sensing through the enclosed magnetic path
3Measurement precision
If a toroidal ferromagnetic body is used to concentrate magnetic flux, then the sensing sensitivity improves, but the installation difficulty increases due to the need to thread the conductor through the toroid
Solution Approach 1:
The static toroidal structure is transformed into a dynamic foldable structure. The first and second folding portions can be opened to allow easy placement around the conductor, then closed to form the flux-concentrating toroidal shape. This dynamic transformation eliminates the threading operation while maintaining the magnetic flux concentration and sensing sensitivity of the toroidal design
4Measurement precision
If the magnetic field detector is disposed between folding portions, then the magnetic flux concentration is enhanced, but the structural complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The magnetic field detector is integrated within the folding portions themselves, combining the structural elements with the sensing element. This merging approach enhances magnetic flux concentration at the detector location while avoiding additional separate components, thereby reducing overall structural complexity rather than increasing it
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables easy installation and accurate current sensing in conductors by forming a lumen around the conductor, reducing the need for complex installation methods and enhancing magnetic flux concentration for precise current detection.
Implementation Method 1
a soft ferromagnetic body forming a lumen to receive an electrical conductor, the soft ferromagnetic body having first and second folding portions to enclose the conductor within the lumen
Implementation Method 2
The magnetic field transducer produces an output signal having a magnitude proportional to the magnetic field induced by an electric current in the electrical conductor
Implementation Method 3
conventional current sensors may use a magnetic field transducer (for example, a Hall effect element) in proximity to an electrical conductor
Data Source
AI summary
The invention provides a current sensor that may be folded over a conductor without the need to sever the conductor or thread the conductor through the current sensor. In one embodiment, the current sensor includes an outer body having a first folding portion and a second folding portion coupled to the first folding portion. The current sensor also includes a soft ferromagnetic body disposed within the outer body comprising a first core element and a second core element. The first and second core elements form a lumen when the first and second folding portions are folded. The lumen is configured to receive a conductor. The current sensor also includes a magnetic field detector to sense a current in the conductor. The magnetic field detector is disposed at least partially between the first and second core elements when the first and second folding portions are folded.