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DE-102015104623-B4 - Protective order

DE102015104623B4DE 102015104623 B4DE102015104623 B4DE 102015104623B4DE-102015104623-B4

Abstract

Protective arrangement (1) for the protection of electrical equipment (2) against overcurrent, wherein - the protective arrangement (1) has an input (E, E1,.., E8) at which a current (I) is supplied to the protective arrangement (1) from a power supply, - the protective arrangement (1) has an output (A, A1,...,A8) through which the current (I) is passed as output current to the electrical device (2), - the protective arrangement (1) in the power line between the input (E, E1,.., E8) and the output (A, A1,..., A8) includes a protective switch (4) which interrupts the power line when a measured current exceeds a set tripping current, characterized by the fact that the protective arrangement (1) includes a current sensor (5) which measures the current in the power line with the device (2) connected, the tripping current depending on the currently measured current is adjustable to a value that is adjusted by a predetermined difference is greater than the currently measured current wherein the protective arrangement (1) includes an evaluation and control unit (9) which receives the currently measured current is supplied, whereby the evaluation and control unit (9) uses the currently measured current to automatically resets the value for the current trip current.

Inventors

  • Daniel Knoop
  • Lars Alsdorf

Assignees

  • PHOENIX CONTACT GMBH & CO. KG

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20150326

Claims (14)

  1. Protective arrangement (1) for protecting electrical devices (2) against overcurrent, wherein: - the protective arrangement (1) has an input (E, E1,..., E8) to which a current (I) is supplied from a power supply to the protective arrangement (1); - the protective arrangement (1) has an output (A, A1,..., A8) through which the current (I) is passed as output current to the electrical device (2); - the protective arrangement (1) has a circuit breaker (4) in the current line between the input (E, E1,..., E8) and the output (A, A1,..., A8), which interrupts the current line when a measured current exceeds a set tripping current; characterized in that the protective arrangement (1) has a current sensor (5) which measures the current in the power line with the device (2) connected, the tripping current depending on the currently measured current is adjustable to a value that is adjusted by a predetermined difference is greater than the currently measured current wherein the protective arrangement (1) includes an evaluation and control unit (9) which receives the currently measured current is supplied, whereby the evaluation and control unit (9) uses the currently measured current to automatically resets the value for the current trip current.
  2. Protection order according to Claim 1 , characterized in that the protective arrangement (1) has a manual adjustment means (6) to decrease or increase the tripping current stepwise or continuously between an upper and a lower value, and the protective arrangement (1) has an optical and/or acoustic feedback signal means (7) which gives the user feedback with a first signal form as to whether a threshold value determined on the basis of the respective set value for the tripping current is greater than the measured current while it gives the user feedback with a second signal shape, different from the first, as to whether the threshold value determined based on the respective set value for the trigger current is smaller than the measured current.
  3. Protection order according to Claim 2 , characterized in that the protective arrangement (1) has an actuating means (8) to activate an adjustment mode for the trip current.
  4. Protection order according to Claim 2 or 3 , characterized in that the protective arrangement (1) includes a confirmation means (8) by which a selected value for the tripping current for use in operating mode can be confirmed by the user.
  5. Protection order according to Claim 2 until 4 , wherein the same has an optical feedback signaling means (7), characterized in that the first and/or the second signal form is characterized by a) a flashing or a continuous light, and/or b) a color, and/or c) a brightness, wherein the first or the second signal form differs in at least one of the aforementioned characteristics.
  6. Protection order according to Claim 2 until 4 , wherein the same has an acoustic feedback signaling means (7), characterized in that the first and/or the second signal form is characterized by a) a recurring sequence of tone pulses or a continuous tone, and/or b) a pitch, and/or c) a volume, where the first or the second signal form differs in at least one of the aforementioned characteristics.
  7. Protection order according to one of the Claims 2 until 6 , characterized in that the feedback signaling means (7) provides feedback with a third signal form as to whether the protective arrangement (1) is in setting mode or in operating mode.
  8. Protective order according to one of the above Claims 2 until 7 , characterized in that it has an evaluation and control unit (9) to which the measured current and a signal is supplied to the adjusting device (6), whereby the evaluation and control unit (9) is used based on the measured current and the signal of the adjusting device (6) controls the feedback signal device (7).
  9. Protection order according to Claim 8 , characterized in that a signal from the confirmation means (8) is supplied to the evaluation and control unit (9), wherein, upon receipt of the confirmation signal, the selected value for the trigger current is stored in the evaluation and control unit (9) for use in the operating mode.
  10. Protective arrangement according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the protective switch (4) has a transistor (4B) which is controlled by a comparator (4A), wherein the measured current is received as an input signal to the comparator (4A). as actual value and on the other hand the set trip current is supplied as target value, whereby the output of the comparator (4A) controls the switch (4B) in such a way that it interrupts the current line when the actual value is greater than the target value.
  11. Protective order according to one of the above Claims 2 until 10 , characterized in that the adjusting means (6) is a potentiometer.
  12. Protective order according to one of the above Claims 2 until 11 , characterized in that the feedback signaling means (7) is an LED.
  13. Protective order according to one of the above Claims 3 until 12 , characterized in that the confirmation means (8) is a push button.
  14. Protection order according to Claim 12 and 13 , characterized in that the LED (7) and the button (8) are integrated in one unit.

Description

The invention relates to a protective arrangement for protecting electrical devices against overcurrent according to the preamble of claim 1. A protective device of this type has an input where current is supplied to the device from a power supply, and an output through which the current is passed as output current to the electrical device to be protected. The protective device includes a fuse in the current line between the input and the output, which interrupts the current line from the input to the output to protect the device from overcurrent when a preset tripping current is exceeded. The DE 10 2007 013 551 A1 This concerns a method for automatically adjusting a protective device with an overcurrent release. The WO 2004 / 109 885 A2 This concerns a self-learning electronic fuse. The AT 506 092 B1 This concerns an electrical installation with a consumer which is protected by a protective device. The DE 10 2004 046 810 A1 This concerns an electronic circuit breaker with adjustable tripping characteristics. The DE 196 20 575 A1 This concerns a circuit arrangement for setting the parameters of electronic devices. The US 2013 / 0 066 478 A1 discloses a method for setting and adjusting tripping settings for a circuit breaker by monitoring the short-circuit current availability. Setting the tripping characteristics, especially the tripping current, to the varying supply currents of the electrical devices to be connected is often problematic. If the set value for the tripping current is too high, a connected device cannot be reliably protected against overload, because even if the actual current significantly exceeds the typical current draw (rated current) of the connected device, the fuse will not trip. The object of the invention is therefore to create a protective arrangement that allows for optimal adjustment of the tripping current, so that the protective arrangement is on the one hand sufficiently sensitive to safely protect the connected device and on the other hand not too sensitive to avoid false shutdowns in non-critical cases. This problem is solved by the features of claim 1. Advantageous further developments can be found in the dependent claims. The protective arrangement includes a current sensor that measures the current in the power line when the device is connected, whereby the tripping current for the circuit breaker can be adjusted to a value that is greater than the measured current by a difference. For this purpose, the protective arrangement preferably has an evaluation and control unit to which the measured current is supplied, wherein the evaluation and control unit automatically sets the value for the tripping current based on the measured current. In this way, the tripping current is optimally adapted to the current consumption of the connected device by setting a value for the tripping current that corresponds to the current device current plus a difference, where, for example, a value of 25% of the current device current is used for the difference. In an advantageous embodiment, a solution is provided for the further development of existing protective arrangements that have a manual adjustment option for the tripping current of the circuit breaker, and in which this manual adjustment option remains a component of the protective arrangement. In this embodiment, the protective arrangement, in addition to the manual adjustment means with which the tripping current can be decreased or increased stepwise or continuously between an upper and a lower value in an adjustment mode, has an optical and/or acoustic feedback signaling device. The feedback signaling device provides the user with a first signal waveform indicating whether a threshold value determined based on the currently set value for the tripping current is greater than the current measured by the current sensor, while a second signal waveform, different from the first, indicates whether the threshold value determined based on the currently set value for the tripping current is less than the measured current. In this way, the user can iteratively select an optimal tripping current using the manual adjustment means and taking the feedback signals into account. The selected trip current can then preferably be controlled by the user via A confirmation device, e.g., a push button, must be used for confirmation in operating mode. The threshold value can correspond to the trip current multiplied by a factor, preferably less than 1. The threshold value can also correspond directly to the currently set trip current. The underlying concept of the invention will be explained in more detail below with reference to the exemplary embodiments shown in the figures. The figures show: 1 a schematic representation of the protective arrangement with upstream power supply and device to be protected, 2 a block diagram of the protective arrangement, 3 a block diagram of the protective arrangement in the embodiment with setting means, feedback signal