IP Library Granted Patent US 10,176,940
Granted Patent B2
US 10,176,940 · App. 15/030,628 · Granted Jan 8, 2019

Electrical cable section detection circuit breaker and method of controlling such a circuit breaker

Inventors: Daniel Pignier (Bourg la Reine, FR); David Menga (Verrieres le Buisson, FR)
Assignee: Electricite de France
H01H9/54H01H33/59H01H47/002H01H71/74H02H1/0007H02H3/08H01H2300/03Y02B90/224Y04S20/14
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 10,176,940
App. No.
15/030,628
Granted
Jan 8, 2019
Kind
B2
Abstract

A cable section detection circuit breaker and a method of control making it possible notably to automatically calibrate the circuit breaker according to the section detected. For this purpose, the circuit breaker, provided for the protection of at least one electrical line comprising at least one electrical cable, comprises: an electrical cable diameter sensor; and a data processing unit connected to the diameter sensor for receiving a value of said diameter. The processing unit is capable of verifying that the value of said diameter is greater than or equal to a limit value determined from an assigned current of said circuit breaker.

Claims (38)

1. A circuit breaker for the protection of at least one power line comprising at least one electrical cable, the circuit breaker comprising at least:

an electrical cable diameter sensor; and

a data processing unit connected to the diameter sensor for receiving a value of said diameter,

said processing unit being capable of verifying that the value of said diameter is greater than or equal to a limit value determined from an assigned current of said circuit breaker.

2. The circuit breaker as claimed in claim 1 , wherein said processing unit is further capable of determining, according to the value of said diameter, a first threshold for tripping an electrical cut-out of the line to be protected.

3. The circuit breaker as claimed in claim 2 , further comprising a current sensor suitable for measuring a current and a potential difference on said electrical line, the processing unit being further capable of collecting data from said current sensor and determining a second threshold for tripping an electrical cut-out according to said collected data and the diameter value of the cable.

4. The circuit breaker as claimed in claim 3 , further comprising at least one memory suitable for archiving data collected from each of said sensors.

5. The circuit breaker as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising at least one communication interface, the processing unit being suitable for transmitting, on request, via the communication interface, the value of said diameter or said data collected by the sensor or sensors.

6. The circuit breaker as claimed in claim 5 , wherein said processing unit is capable of determining said at least one threshold for tripping an electrical cut-out of the line to be protected according to a calibration instruction received via the communication interface.

7. The circuit breaker as claimed in claim 5 , wherein the circuit breaker is engaged or tripped on receiving a control instruction received via said communication interface.

8. The circuit breaker as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising an electrical power supply unit controlled by the processing unit, said electrical power supply unit being suitable for:

regulating an electrical power received, and

supplying said electrical line to be protected according to the regulated electrical power.

9. The circuit breaker as claimed in claim 1 , wherein, when said processing unit is out of service, an electronic module for monitoring the operation of said processing unit trips the circuit breaker.

10. The circuit breaker as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the processing unit is further suitable for:

detecting operating anomalies from the diameter value or the collected data; and

emitting a warning.

11. The circuit breaker as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the cable diameter sensor is a laser device.

12. An electrical installation including at least one circuit breaker as claimed in claim 1 .

13. A method of controlling a circuit breaker for the protection of at least one electrical line comprising at least one electrical cable, the method comprising at least the steps of:

collecting data from an electrical cable diameter sensor;

verifying that the value of said diameter is greater than or equal to a limit value determined from an assigned current of said circuit breaker; and

based on the verifying step, tripping an electrical cut-out of the at least one electrical line.

14. The control method as claimed in claim 13 , further comprising a step of determining, according to the value of said diameter, a first threshold for tripping an electrical cut-out of said line to be protected.

15. The control method as claimed in claim 14 , further comprising the steps of:

receiving a calibration instruction via a communication interface of the circuit breaker; and

determining said threshold for tripping an electrical cut-out according to said calibration instruction.

16. The control method as claimed in claim 13 , further comprising the steps of:

collecting data from a current sensor measuring a current and a potential difference on said electrical line; and

determining a second threshold for tripping an electrical cut-out according to said collected data and the diameter value of the cable.

17. The control method as claimed in claim 13 , further comprising a step of determining an operating range of the circuit breaker, said operating range being included between:

said first threshold; and

said second threshold;

an effective tripping threshold being determined in said operating range.

18. The control method as claimed in claim 13 , further comprising the steps of:

monitoring the diameter value and data collected for detecting operating anomalies; and

emitting a warning in the event of a detected anomaly.

19. A non-transitory computer program product stored in a memory of a circuit breaker, comprising instructions readable by a processor of said circuit breaker, said processor implementing the method according to claim 13 when said instructions are executed by said processor.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Apr 20, 2016
From: PIGNIER, DANIEL; MENGA, DAVID
To: ELECTRICITE DE FRANCE
Reel/Frame 038329/0218 →
Priority Claims (1)
FR 13 60253 · Oct 21, 2013 · national
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20160276116A1 · Sep 22, 2016