Patent Application
20220157548
The present disclosure relates generally to the field of circuit protection devices. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to a modular high voltage fuse that is compact, lightweight, and easily modified to suit a range of applications.
Fuses are commonly used as circuit protection devices and are typically installed between a source of electrical power and a load in an electrical circuit. A conventional fuse includes a fusible element disposed within a hollow, electrically insulating fuse body. Upon the occurrence of a fault condition, such as an overcurrent condition, the fusible element melts or otherwise separates to interrupt the flow of electrical current through the fuse. The load is thereby electrically isolated, thus preventing or at least mitigating damage to the load.
In some cases, after the fusible element of a fuse melts, an electrical arc may propagate across an air gap between the separated ends of the fusible element. If not extinguished, the arc may allow significant follow-on currents to flow through the fuse, potentially damaging the load and/or creating hazardous conditions. In order to minimize the detrimental effects of electrical arcing fuses are often filled with so-called “fuse filler” materials that surround a fusible element. A material that is commonly used as a fuse filler is sand. Sand absorbs heat when its phase changes from solid to liquid when exposed to heat generated by an electrical arc. Thus, by drawing heat away from an electrical arc, sand rapidly cools and quenches the arc.
One problem that is associated with the use of sand and other fuse filler materials is that they tend to be heavy. This can be highly undesirable, especially in modern electrical applications (e.g., electrical systems operating at greater than 100V within automobiles) in which minimizing the weight of components is a primary consideration. A further problem with sand and other fuse filler materials is that they are difficult to work with and thus increase the complexity and cost of manufacturing processes. It is with respect to these and other considerations that improvements described in the present disclosure may be useful.
This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is this Summary intended as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.
A fuse in accordance with a non-limiting embodiment of the present disclosure may include a fuse body including a main body portion formed of a dielectric material, a plurality of arc chambers formed in the main body portion, the arc chambers arranged in a matrix configuration, a conductor extending through the main body portion and intersecting the arc chambers, the conductor having bridge portions disposed within the arc chambers, the bridge portions being mechanically weaker than other portions of the conductor and configured to melt and separate upon the occurrence of an overcurrent condition in the fuse.
Another fuse in accordance with a non-limiting embodiment of the present disclosure may include a fuse body including a main body portion formed of a dielectric material, a plurality of arc chambers formed in the main body portion, the arc chambers arranged in a matrix configuration, a conductor extending through the main body portion and intersecting the arc chambers, the conductor having bridge portions disposed within the arc chambers, the bridge portions being mechanically weaker than other portions of the conductor and configured to melt and separate upon the occurrence of an overcurrent condition in the fuse, and arc barriers disposed between adjacent arc chambers and intersecting the conductor.
An exemplary embodiment of a modular high voltage fuse in accordance with the present disclosure will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings. The modular high voltage fuse may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will convey certain exemplary aspects of the modular high voltage fuse to those skilled in the art.
Referring to
Referring to
In various non-limiting, exemplary embodiments, the fuse body 12 may have a length BL in a range of 10 millimeters to 100 millimeters, a width Bw in a range of 10 millimeters to 50 millimeters, and a height BH in a range of 5 millimeters to 25 millimeters. In a particular non-limiting example, the fuse body 12 may have a length BL of 25 millimeters, a width Bw of 18 millimeters, and a height BH of 16 millimeters. In another non-limiting example, the fuse body 12 may have a length BL of 45 millimeters, a width BW of 18 millimeters, and a height BH of 22 millimeters. In another non-limiting example, the fuse body 25 may have a length BL of 25 millimeters, a width Bw of 32 millimeters, and a height BH of 22 millimeters.
Referring to the cross-sectional views of the fuse 10 illustrated in
The main body portion 22 of the fuse body 12 may contain a plurality of cavities, hereinafter referred to as “arc chambers” 26. The arc chambers 26 may be generally rectangular and may be arranged in a matrix configuration with a plurality of rows and columns as shown in the cross-sectional view of
Still referring to
The portions of the conductor 20 that extend through the arc chambers 26, hereinafter referred to as the “bridge portions” 28, may be mechanically weakened relative to other portions of the conductor 20 so that the bridge portions 28 will melt and separate upon the occurrence of an overcurrent condition in the fuse 10. For example, the bridge portions 28 may have holes 29 formed in them as shown in
Generally, the voltage rating of the fuse 10 will be dictated by the total number of arc chambers 26 (and therefore the total number of bridge portions 28) in the main body portion 22, with each arc chamber 26 contributing a certain amount of voltage to the voltage rating, depending on the current rating of the fuse 10. The present disclosure is not limited in this regard. The current rating of the fuse 10 will be dictated by the cross-sectional size of the conductor 20 (i.e., CT×CW). In a non-limiting example, the fuse 10 may include a total of 10 arc chambers 26 (as shown in
It will be appreciated that the specific configurations of the fuses 10 and 100 described above and shown in
Referring to
It will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that the above-described embodiments provide a modular high voltage fuse that is compact and lightweight and that can be manufactured and modified more easily and at a lower cost relative to conventional fuses that employ fuse fillers such as sand and silica. The embodiments of the present disclosure may thus be particularly well suited for automotive applications and the like.
As used herein, an element or step recited in the singular and proceeded with the word “a” or “an” should be understood as not excluding plural elements or steps, unless such exclusion is explicitly recited. Furthermore, references to “one embodiment” of the present disclosure are not intended to be interpreted as excluding the existence of additional embodiments that also incorporate the recited features.
While the present disclosure makes reference to certain embodiments, numerous modifications, alterations and changes to the described embodiments are possible without departing from the sphere and scope of the present disclosure, as defined in the appended claim(s). Accordingly, it is intended that the present disclosure not be limited to the described embodiments, but that it has the full scope defined by the language of the following claims, and equivalents thereof.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/113,342, filed Nov. 13, 2020, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63113342 | Nov 2020 | US |
