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US-20260126475-A1 - CIRCUIT ENERGIZATION STATUS TEST DEVICE AND METHOD

US20260126475A1US 20260126475 A1US20260126475 A1US 20260126475A1US-20260126475-A1

Abstract

A circuit test device includes a housing. The circuit test device includes a circuit disposed in the housing and including an electromagnetic field (EMF) sensor and a signal detector coupled to the EMF sensor. The circuit test devices includes a conductor disposed on the housing and an interface extending through the housing and coupling the conductor to a circuit under test (CUT). The EMF sensor is configured to generate a signal in the presence of a time varying flow of current from the CUT in the conductor, and provide the signal to the signal detector.

Inventors

  • Bruce R. Kuhn
  • Christian Castro

Assignees

  • KLEIN TOOLS, INC.

Dates

Publication Date
20260507
Application Date
20251229

Claims (20)

  1. 1 . A circuit test device, comprising: a housing; a circuit disposed in the housing and including an electromagnetic field (EMF) sensor; a conductor disposed in the housing; and an interface extending through the housing and directly coupling the conductor to a circuit under test (CUT); wherein the EMF sensor is configured to generate a signal in the presence of a time varying flow of current from the CUT in the conductor.
  2. 2 . The circuit test device of claim 1 , further comprising an indicator configured to provide an indication in response to the signal.
  3. 3 . The circuit test device of claim 2 , wherein the indicator includes an illuminator visible externally from the housing, and illuminator is activated when the signal is present.
  4. 4 . The circuit test device of claim 3 , wherein the signal includes information indicative of a magnitude of the time varying flow of current, wherein the illuminator is configured to provide variable illumination selectively in at least one of a brightness, a color, and a blinking frequency, and wherein the variable illumination depends on the magnitude.
  5. 5 . The circuit test device of claim 2 , wherein the indicator includes at least one speaker coupled to the operable to generate one or more audible sounds in response to the signal.
  6. 6 . The circuit test device of claim 1 , wherein the interface is adapted for coupling the circuit to the CUT.
  7. 7 . The circuit test device of claim 1 , wherein the EMF sensor is further configured to generate the signal in the presence of the time varying flow of current from the CUT in the circuit.
  8. 8 . The circuit test device of claim 1 , wherein the EMF sensor is positioned proximal the interface.
  9. 9 . The circuit test device of claim 8 , wherein the EMF sensor is further positioned in the absence of contact between the interface and the EMF sensor.
  10. 10 . The circuit test device of claim 1 , wherein the conductor is positioned proximal the EMF sensor.
  11. 11 . The circuit test device of claim 10 , wherein the conductor is further positioned in the absence of contact between the conductor and the EMF sensor.
  12. 12 . The circuit test device of claim 10 , wherein the conductor is further positioned in contact with at least a portion of the EMF sensor.
  13. 13 . A circuit test device, comprising: a housing; a conductor disposed in the housing; a circuit disposed in the housing and including a sensor positioned in contact with at least a portion of the conductor; and an interface extending through the housing and directly coupling the conductor to a circuit under test (CUT); wherein the sensor is configured to generate a signal in the presence of a time varying flow of current from the CUT in the conductor.
  14. 14 . The circuit test device of claim 13 , wherein the sensor is further configured to generate the signal in the presence of the time varying flow of current from the CUT in the circuit.
  15. 15 . The circuit test device of claim 14 , further comprising an indicator configured to provide an indication based on the sensor generating the signal in the presence of the time varying flow of current from the CUT in the circuit.
  16. 16 . The circuit test device of claim 14 , wherein the sensor is further configured to provide the signal to a signal detector.
  17. 17 . A circuit test device, comprising: a housing; a conductor disposed in the housing; an interface extending through the housing and directly coupling the conductor to a circuit under test (CUT); and a circuit disposed in the housing and including a sensor positioned proximal the interface; wherein the sensor is configured to generate a signal in the presence of a time varying flow of current from the CUT in the conductor.
  18. 18 . The circuit test device of claim 16 , wherein the sensor is further configured to generate the signal in the presence of the time varying flow of current from the CUT in the circuit.
  19. 19 . The circuit test device of claim 16 , wherein the sensor is further configured to provide the signal to a signal detector.
  20. 20 . The circuit test device of claim 17 , wherein the sensor is an electromagnetic field sensor.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This patent application claims priority of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 18/731,927 filed on Jun. 3, 2024, patent application Ser. No. 17/426,865 filed on Jul. 29, 2021, and PCT/US2019/015620 filed on Jan. 29, 2019, the entire contents of which is herein incorporated by reference. TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates to electrical test equipment and methods for electric circuits and, more particularly, to systems and methods for testing the energization status of a circuit. BACKGROUND In at least some known circuit test devices, detecting a time varying current on a line in a single-phase or multi-phase circuit system while contacting the line requires that two or more of the connections must be intact. In known circuit test devices, a ground line and/or a neutral line is required to be present in order to determine if an energized line is present. With known circuit test devices, a hot wire could be present in circuit that does not contain a ground or neutral line. Such known testers may return a “no power” condition to a user, and thus presenting a safety risk to that user when working on that circuit. To provide flexibility in practice to determine energization status oflines in either single phase or multi-phase circuits, it would be beneficial to provide circuit test devices and methods capable of determining presence of time varying current in any line without requiring that ground and/or neutral lines be present. SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE In one aspect, the disclosure describes a circuit test device. The circuit test device includes a housing and a circuit disposed in the housing. The circuit includes an electromagnetic field (EMF) sensor and a signal detector coupled to the EMF sensor. The circuit test device includes an interface connected to the circuit and extending through the housing. The interface is adapted for coupling the circuit to a circuit under test (CUT). The EMF sensor is configured to generate a signal in the presence of a time varying flow of current from the CUT in the circuit, and provide the signal to the signal detector. In another aspect, the disclosure describes a circuit for testing a circuit under test (CUT). The circuit includes an electromagnetic field (EMF) sensor and a signal detector coupled to the EMF sensor. The circuit includes an interface adapted for coupling the circuit to a circuit under test (CUT). The EMF sensor is configured to generate a signal in the presence of a time varying flow of current from the CUT in the circuit, and provide the signal to the signal detector. In yet another aspect, the disclosure describes a method for testing a circuit. The method includes interfacing a conductor with a circuit under test (CUT). The conductor is positioned proximal an electromagnetic field (EMF) sensor. The method includes inducing a signal in the EMF sensor in response to a time varying flow of current from the CUT to the conductor. The method includes transmitting the induced signal from the EMF sensor to a signal detector. The method includes determining, by the signal detector and based on the induced signal, a presence of the time varying flow of current from the CUT to the conductor. In still another aspect, the disclosure describes a method for testing a circuit. The method includes interfacing, by an interface, a circuit under test (CUT) with an electromagnetic field (EMF) sensor. The EMF sensor is positioned proximal the interface. The method includes inducing a signal in the EMF sensor in response to a time varying flow of current from the CUT to the interface. The method includes transmitting the induced signal from the EMF sensor to a signal detector. The method includes determining, by the signal detector and based on the induced signal, a presence of the time varying flow of current from the CUT to the interface. Further and alternative aspects and features of the disclosed principles will be appreciated from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings. As will be appreciated, the principles related to devices, systems, and methods for testing circuits disclosed herein are capable of being carried out in other and different embodiments, and capable of being modified in various respects. Accordingly, it is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and do not restrict the scope of the appended claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a circuit test device according to an embodiment of the disclosure. FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a method for testing a circuit according to an embodiment of the disclosure. FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a method for testing a circuit according to an embodiment of the disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION Reference will now be made in detail to specific embodiments or features, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings,