Patent Application
20140117759
The present invention relates to power distribution architectures where a semiconductor controlled power distributor having a number of output channels is providing power via one of its dedicated outputs to a load which is itself made of several separate loads which each are provided with their own melting fuse. More specifically the present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for disconnection of a faulty load in such a single output multi load configuration. cl BACKGROUND
The invention background relates to power distribution architectures where a semiconductor controlled power distributor having a number of output channels, is providing power via one of its dedicated outputs to a load which is itself made of several separate loads and where for protection and safety, all of the said loads are fitted with their own integral electrical fusing device such as a common encased melting metal fuse filament as is commonly supplied and used for electrical products.
The desired operational characteristics of the controlled power distributor are a voltage and a current and these can be selected and monitored for their operational levels. According to the prior art, in case the voltage and current exceeds predefined and set limits, that are considered applicable for continued safe operation of the end load, the controlled power distributor is arranged to shut down the output associated with the load. The speed at which the controlled power distributor can turn off power to a load far exceeds the clearing speed of a typical melting metal fuse filament. Any one of the loads that are connected in parallel may present a fault condition whereby its normal operational load current is increased to a level that would clear the melting fuse connected to the load. However, the high load current that occurs when a load has failed may lead to the controlled power distributor exceeding its preset limits and itself responding by removing power to the common power feed and thus turning off all loads that are connected to it before the fused connected to the faulty load has cleared.
In a situation where the operation of at least some of the loads are crucial to the operation of a larger system it is desirable that only the faulty load is isolated by disconnecting it from the controlled power distributor allowing for the continued operation of the loads connected in parallel with it.
An aspect of the present invention is to provide a method and an apparatus which disconnect a faulty load from a controlled power distributor while the loads connected in parallel to the faulty load are still provided with electrical power.
Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a method and an apparatus for clearing the melting fuse of a faulty load connected in parallel with a number of other loads to a controlled power distributor.
At least one of these aspects is provided with a method and an apparatus according to the independent claims.
Further advantages of the invention are provided with the features of the dependent claims will be apparent from the following detailed description.
According to a first aspect of the present invention a method is provided for controlling a control circuit comprising a controlled power distributor connected to at least two electrical loads connected in parallel. The controlled power distributor is arranged to provide the electrical loads with electrical power, wherein an electric melting metal fuse is connected in series with each electrical load. The method comprises the steps of monitoring the total current provided to the electrical loads, and in case the total current from the control circuit during normal operation exceeds a nominal preset current limit, providing one of a first electric pulse to the loads during a preset first time period at a clearing current limit which is higher than the nominal preset current limit with the purpose of clearing a fuse connected to a faulty load, and a second electric pulse to the loads during a preset second time period with the purpose of clearing the fuse connected in series with the faulty load, wherein the current in the second electric pulse is higher than the clearing current limit in the first electric pulse and wherein the second time period is shorter than the first time period.
With the method according to the invention the fuse of a faulty load may be cleared. By clearing the fuse the faulty load is disconnected. In order to clear a fuse a sufficient amount of energy has to be provided to melt the melting fuse filament. Fuses are normally rated with respect to their melting characteristics. This is the point at which the fuse wire will start to melt under predefined operational conditions. This is expressed in Ampere squared seconds or A2t. This is the nominal energy required in the fuse to cause melting and is the precursor to the final fuse clearing (opening) stage which is also expressed in terms of an A2t value. At least one of the first and second electric pulses may provide enough energy to the fault to clear the fuse of the faulty load.
Fuse characteristics may be defined as fuse clearing energy (I2t)=fuse melting (I2t)+fuse arcing (I2t) and defines the energy required to clear or open a fuse under nominal operational conditions and is considered a constant value and as such is not effected by operational temperature or voltage seen by the fuse. For the purpose of this patent it is sufficient to know that the fuse clearing energy requirement is expressed in Joules and presented as A2t. It is this parameter that is used to calculate the minimum energy required to clear the fuse connected to the faulty load.
Apart from ensuring that the energy in at least one of the pulses is sufficiently high to ensure clearing of the fuse having the highest nominal clearing energy it is also important to ensure that the energy developed within the control circuit does not exceed the maximum safe A2t energy rating of the respective components in the control circuit.
The method is primarily intended for control circuits using semiconductor technology according to the Telecoms SELV limits, i.e., using voltages <60V DC. However, the method of the patent may be used also for higher operating voltages.
The control circuit may be arranged to measure the total impedance of the loads and compare the measurement with a reference value to determine which one of the first electric pulse and the second electric pulse to apply first. In this way the most appropriate pulse is sent out first.
The choice between sending out the first electric pulse and the second electric pulse may be referred to as a choice between a two different methods for fuse clearing. The first electric pulse corresponds to a high impedance fault assumption method, i.e., a method that is suitable for clearing the fuse when the load still has relatively high impedance. This situation may correspond to, e.g., a bad bearing in an electric fan. The second electric pulse corresponds to a low impedance fault assumption method, i.e., a method which is suitable for clearing the fuse when the load has low impedance. This situation may correspond to, e.g., a short circuit in an electric fan. Only one method at a time is applied in response to a load fault condition.
In order to choose the best method a measurement pulse may be sent out and the rise time of the current may be detected. A slow rise time of the current to the load may be interpreted as a high impedance fault in which case the first electric pulse is sent out. A fast rise time of the current to the load may be interpreted as a low impedance fault and the second electric pulse may be used.
According to the invention it is possible to provide the first electric pulse as a response to the total current during normal operation exceeding the nominal preset current limit.
The method may also comprise the step of measuring the current during normal operation after the end of the first electric pulse and in case the current exceeds the nominal preset current limit, providing the second electric pulse to the loads with the purpose of clearing the fuse connected in series with the faulty load. By adding this step it is controlled after the first electric pulse whether the fuse of the faulty load has been cleared or not. If the fuse has not been cleared the second electric pulse is sent out. If on the other hand the fuse has been cleared it is not necessary to send out the second electric pulse. In this way the unnecessary stress on the control circuit that the second electric pulse would cause is avoided.
The method may also comprise the step of providing the second electric pulse to the loads during a preset second time period after the first electric pulse, wherein the current in the second electric pulse is higher than the current in the first electric pulse and wherein the second time period is shorter than the first time period. Thus, the second electric pulse is sent out irrespective of whether the fuse has been cleared or not. It might be easier to implement such a solution.
The second electric pulse may be provided by a fuse clearing circuit which is a part of the control circuit but separate from the controlled power distributor. By having such a fuse clearing circuit the control circuit may be arranged as a standard control circuit used in the prior art with an addition in the form of the fuse clearing circuit.
The first electric pulse may be provided by the controlled power distributor which provides the electrical loads with electric power. In this way the part of the control circuit providing the first electric pulse may be a standard circuit as used in the prior art which is only controlled in a different way. The first electric pulse may be provided by driving the controlled power distributor essentially at its maximum output current.
The energy in the first pulse is preferably sufficiently high to allow the fuse having the highest fuse clearing energy and being connected to the highest fault impedance, to be cleared. Alternatively or additionally the energy in the second pulse may be sufficiently high to allow the fuse having the highest fuse clearing energy to be cleared. To be able to clear anyone of the fuses the energy in the electric pulses has to be sufficiently high. At least one of the first electric pulse and the second electric pulse has to be able to provide the clearing energy to anyone of the fuses. This means that the energy in at least one of the electric pulses has to be high enough to allow the fuse having the highest fuse clearing energy to be cleared when it is connected to a predetermined high fault impedance. Thus, the highest impedance that is defined as a fault is predetermined.
The length of the first pulse may be 100-3000 ms. This is a suitable time length for most fuses and is based on the maximum power distribution capability of the power distributor and is in line with the highest A2t of the series in line fuse of any one of the loads. In some cases it might be favourable to have a length of the first pulse above or below said interval.
The length of the second pulse may be 30-150 ms. This is a suitable time length for most fuses and is based on the series resistor power rating and the power handling of the series MOSFET. In some cases it might be favourable to have a length of the second pulse above or below said interval.
According to a second aspect of the present invention a control circuit is provided for controlling the operation of electrical loads which are connected in parallel with each other and which are connected in series with an electric melting metal fuse. The control circuit comprises a controlled power distributor for providing electric power to the loads during normal operation of the control circuit. The control circuit is characterised in that the control circuit is arranged to monitor the total current provided to the electrical loads and in case the total current during normal operation of the control circuit exceeds a nominal preset current limit, is arranged to provide one of a first electric pulse to the loads during a preset first time period at a clearing current limit which is higher than the nominal preset current limit, with the purpose of clearing a fuse connected to a faulty load, and a second electric pulse to the loads during a preset second time period with the purpose of clearing the fuse connected in series with the faulty load, wherein the current in the second electric pulse is higher than the current in the first electric pulse and wherein the second time period is shorter than the first time period.
Such a control circuit provides the same advantages as has been described in relation to the first aspect of the invention.
The control circuit may also comprise a fuse clearing circuit which is arranged to provide the second electric pulse to the loads with the purpose of clearing the fuse connected in series with the faulty load. With a separate circuit for the second pulse the rest of the control circuit may be arranged according to the prior art.
The fuse clearing circuit may comprise a controllable semiconductor device a capacitor and a selection of semiconductor devices that provide control of the controllable semiconductor device, wherein the energy in the second electric pulse is provided by the discharge of the capacitor. The capacitor has the function of charge reservoir. It is possible to exchange the capacitor for a different component such as a battery. However, this may require additional circuitry for battery support.
The controllable semiconductor device may be chosen from a MOSFET, a bipolar transistor, and a J-FET. The named devices should only be regarded as examples. A person skilled in the art would be able to find equivalent components.
A resistor may be connected in series with the controllable semiconductor device to limit the top current from the controllable semiconductor device. This is a way of protecting the controllable semiconductor.
The control circuit may be arranged to measure the total impedance of the loads and compare the measurement with a reference value to determine which one of the first electric pulse and the second electric pulse to apply first. In this way the control circuit may provide the most appropriate electric pulse.
The control circuit may be arranged to provide the first electric pulse as a response to the total current during normal operation exceeding a nominal preset current limit. The first electric pulse is the one that puts least stress on the control circuit and it is thus advantageous to start with the first pulse.
The control circuit may be arranged to measure the current during normal operation after the end of the first electric pulse and, in case the current exceeds the nominal preset current limit, to provide the second electric pulse to the loads with the purpose of clearing the fuse connected in series with the faulty load. By arranging the control circuit to always start with the first electric pulse the stress on the controllable semiconductor and the loads is minimized.
The control circuit may be arranged to provide the second electric pulse to the loads during a preset second time period after the first electric pulse, wherein the current in the second electric pulse is higher than the current in the first electric pulse and wherein the second time period is shorter than the first time period. Thus, the second electric pulse is provided irrespective of whether the fuse has been cleared or not. This makes the control circuit less complicated.
The control circuit may be arranged so that the first electric pulse is provided by the controlled power distributor which provides the electrical loads with electric power. The control circuit may be arranged to provide the first electric pulse by driving the controlled power distributor essentially at its maximum output current. By this arrangement the control circuit is easier to implement compared with the case that a specialized circuit has to be provided.
The control circuit may be arranged so that the energy in the first electric pulse is arranged to be sufficiently high to allow the fuse having the highest fuse clearing energy to be cleared. Alternatively or additionally the energy in the second electric pulse may be arranged to be sufficiently high to allow the fuse having the highest fuse clearing energy to be cleared.
The control circuit may be arranged to provide a first and second electric pulse the length of which are 100-3000 ms and 30-150 ms, respectively. These are suitable time lengths for most fuses. In some cases it might be favourable to have lengths of the first and second pulses above or below said interval.
In the following preferred embodiments of the invention will be described with reference to the appended drawings in which:
In the following description of preferred embodiments of the invention similar features will be denoted with the same reference numeral.
The PDU is set with a nominal preset current limit which corresponds to a maximum total current of the loads during normal operation. In case the PDU detects that the current exceeds the nominal preset current limit it will turn the current off and will send out a first electric pulse to the loads during a predetermined first time period. The current in the first electric pulse is set by the PDU to a clearing current limit by resetting its current limit to the PDU maximum rated value. The current to the loads will then ultimately be limited by the fault impedance and the voltage source and cable impedance to the load. However, if the clearing current limit of the PDU is exceeded the current is turned off. The described process is called the high impedance fuse clearing process.
In case the fault presented within the load has very low impedance such that the maximum current set point selected in the high impedance fuse clearing process is exceeded the PDU turns off the current to the loads by controlling the MOSFET Q4 to shut off The control circuit then continues with the low impedance fuse clearing process using the fuse clearing circuit 17. In the low impedance fuse clearing process the peak pulse current can be increased to a higher current peak level using a series low ohmic resistor R6. The pulse width of the electric pulse can be adjusted to offer an energy content that is equal to the maximum Alt rating of any one load integral melting fuses when the loads are connected in parallel configuration such that any faulty load melting fuse will be cleared.
The fuse clearing circuit will now be described in more detail. During normal operation C1 is charged to −48V supply voltage at the junction of D1 and R6 with respect to the ground 12 of the circuit. The bipolar transistors Q1 and Q2 and their associated components form the high sided drive circuitry for the series MOSFET switch Q3. The series −48V line resistor R6 limits the maximum current that can be sourced from the circuit during its operation. Zener diode D2 limits the maximum gate to source voltage of the Q3 MOSFET switch. Diodes D3 and D1 block the discharge of C1 capacitor during the circuit operation. In this implementation of the circuit, the on time and as such the total energy available from the fuse clearing circuit is controlled by the controller 10.
At the start of the low impedance fuse clearing process the controller 10 will turn Q2 on by pulling its base voltage high with respect to the −48V at the rail 11. The collector of Q2 will turn on and take its collector towards the −48V at the rail 11. This in turn will bias on the PNP transistor Q1 which will then provide the gate voltage to Q3 series pass MOSFET switch. The action of Q1 turning on reverses the voltage on C1 and provides a positive voltage at junction of C1/D3 and ensure that there is sufficient gate to source voltage potential on the series pass MOSFET Q3 to maintain its operation when fully on. The diodes D1 and D3 prevent a quick discharge of C1 during the on period of Q1 and the low impedance fuse clearing is in operation. The selection of resistor chain R2 and R5 are crucial to ensure that C1 discharges at a controlled rate maintaining sufficient charge on C1 to allow for the full energy discharge into the highest A2t fuse rating of all the loads that are connected in parallel.
It would be possible to use the low impedance fuse clearing process for all detected faults of the loads. However, this would not clear a fault associated with a high fault impedance. Loads or load faults will take as much current as the load or fault requires. In a good load the load sees no stress. Low impedance fuse clearing can apply stress to the current limiting resistor R6 (
The peak current I3 of the first electric pulse is set to meet the maximum current set point rating of the PDU. The pulse width t1 is resolved by:
Maximum current rating of any one of the parallel loads ‘X’ (minus)
The channel over current set point here termed “Y” (resulting)
The difference between the maximum fuse rating of any one load fitted in the parallel configuration to the respective channel over current set point here termed ‘Z’
And continuing,
The maximum A2t energy rating in joules and herein termed J, of any one the integral fuse fitted to any one load of the parallel or single connected loads resulting in the formula for ‘t’ based on the Z2 of:
X−Y=Z
and
t=J/Z2 which is assimilated to the recognised formula J=A2t for fuse clearing energy which when transposed t=J/A2 where A denotes Amperes.
The fuse clearing can initially be broken down into two sections, the first section detailing the load failure through excess load current demand above a preset limit and the second section detailing the high impedance fuse clearing electric pulse delivered potentially at the maximum current set point of the PDU. The pulse width t1 is dependent on the maximum A2t of the melting fuse ratings for the fuses connected to the loads. The peak current denoted by I3 indicates the possible real load current during high impedance fuse clearing. The peak current I3 depends on the impedance of the loads and in particular on the impedance of the faulty load. In case the impedance of the faulty load is low the peak current may exceed the maximum current set point of the PDU. In that case the current is shut off and the low impedance fuse clearing is started as shown in the last section in
In order to be able to apply a sufficiently high energy in the second electric pulse it is necessary to have the characteristics of the fuses available. This data may be forwarded to the controller 10 when a fault of a load has been identified.
The described embodiments may be amended in many ways without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention which is limited only by the appended claims. Thus, it is possible to combine features from the embodiments described above as long as the combinations are possible.
A man skilled in the art would be able to implement the described components with suitable equivalents.
In the described embodiments the controller has been shown as a separate unit. It is, however, possible to integrate the controller 10 and the PDU in a common circuit.
This application is a continuation of International Application No. PCT/EP2012/058797, filed on May 11, 2012, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | PCT/EP2012/058797 | May 2012 | US |
| Child | 14145060 | US |
