Resettable circuit breaker

1 . A current monitoring and interrupting circuit, comprising:

an electrically conductive line carrying a current;

a sensor that outputs a voltage level indicative of a magnitude of the current;

a comparator that compares the voltage level to a reference potential and generates a circuit indicator signal; and

a logic-based current interrupter that controls the current in the line in response to the circuit indicator signal.

2 . The circuit of claim 1 , further including a current switch disposed in the electrically conductive line and connected to the logic-based interrupter.

3 . The circuit of claim 2 , wherein the current switch includes a MOSFET.

4 . The circuit of claim 1 , further including a fuse disposed in the electrically conductive line.

5 . The circuit of claim 1 , wherein the electrically conductive line is part of an electrical bus energized to at least 60 VDC.

6 . The circuit of claim 1 , wherein the electrically conductive line is part of an electrical bus energized to at least 200 VDC.

7 . The circuit of claim 1 , wherein the electrically conductive line is part of an electrical bus energized to at least 300 VDC.

8 . The circuit of claim 1 , wherein the electrically conductive line is part of a vehicular electrical bus.

9 . The circuit of claim 1 , wherein the sensor includes a Hall effect device.

10 . The circuit of claim 1 , wherein the logic-based current interrupter includes a boolean logic device.

11 . The circuit of claim 10 , wherein the boolean logic device includes a flip flop.

12 . The circuit of claim 1 , further including a reset circuit.

13 . The circuit of claim 1 , further including an indicator that signals whether the current is flowing in the electrically conductive line.

14 . A method of monitoring and interrupting current flowing in an electrically conductive line, comprising:

sensing the current flowing in the electrically conductive line;

generating a voltage level indicative of a magnitude of the current;

comparing the voltage level to a reference voltage and generating a circuit indicator signal; and

using a logic-based device to cause an interruption of the current flowing in the electrically conductive line if the circuit indicator signal is indicative of a condition where the voltage level is higher than the reference voltage.

15 . The method of claim 14 , wherein the logic-based device includes a flip flop that controls a current switch.

16 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the current switch includes a MOSFET.

17 . The method of claim 14 , further including resetting the logic-based device to restore the current flowing in the electrically conductive line.

18 . The method of claim 17 , wherein the step of resetting is performed automatically.

19 . The method of claim 14 , further including generating an indicator signal that conveys whether the current is flowing in the electrically conductive line.

20 . The method of claim 14 , wherein the current flowing in the electrically conductive line is a direct current (DC).

21 . A circuit breaker for interrupting a flow of current in an electrically conductive line, comprising:

a sensor that outputs a voltage level indicative of a magnitude of the current;

a comparator that compares the voltage level to a reference potential and generates a circuit indicator signal;

a logic device that receives the circuit indicator signal and generates a current interrupt signal when the circuit indicator signal corresponds to a condition where the voltage level is greater than the reference potential; and

a current switch that selectively prevents the flow of current in the electrically conductive line in response to the current interrupt signal.

22 . The circuit breaker of claim 21 , wherein the sensor includes a Hall effect current transducer.

23 . The circuit breaker of claim 21 , wherein the logic device includes a flip flop.

24 . The circuit breaker of claim 21 , wherein the current switch includes a MOSFET.