Method for operating an electronic circuit breaker, and electronic circuit breaker

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10777997-B2
Application number	US-201815892984-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 9, 2018
Priority date	Feb 9, 2017
Publication date	Sep 15, 2020
Grant date	Sep 15, 2020

Abstract

A method for operating an electronic circuit breaker having a semiconductor switch that is connected between a voltage input and a load output and that is driven as a function of the output voltage sensed at the load output during the switching on and/or cutting in of a capacitive load, wherein the output voltage is compared with a stored voltage threshold value, wherein when the voltage threshold value is reached or negatively exceeded, a current limit, to which a load current carried by the semiconductor switch is limited, is increased from a nominal value to a first step value increased therefrom, wherein the current limit is reduced stepwise from the first step value to the original nominal value, and wherein the semiconductor switch is opened if the output voltage does not reach the voltage threshold during a triggering time after the stepwise reduction of the current limit.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for operating an electronic circuit breaker having a semiconductor switch that is connected between a voltage input and a load output and that is driven during the switching on and/or cutting in of a capacitive load as a function of the output voltage sensed at the load output, the method comprising:
comparing the output voltage with a stored voltage threshold value;
increasing, when the threshold value is reached or negatively exceeded, a current limit to which a load current carried by the semiconductor switch is limited from a nominal value to a first step value increased therefrom;
reducing stepwise the current limit from the first step value to the original nominal value; and
opening the semiconductor switch if the output voltage does not reach the voltage threshold during a triggering time after the stepwise reduction of the current limit.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein at least one second step value, to which the current limit is set in the stepwise reduction, is provided between the first step value and the nominal value.

3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the current limit is reduced to the next value after an applicable step time.

4. The method according to claim 3 , further comprising equal-length step times of the individual step values.

5. The method according to claim 3 , further comprising a triggering time that is equal to the sum of the individual step times.

6. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the current limit is increased to a first step value that is equal to a multiple or a multiple of three of the nominal value.

7. An electronic circuit breaker comprising a semiconductor switch that is connected between a voltage input and a load output and is routed on the control side to a controller that is provided and equipped for carrying out the method according to claim 1 .

Assignees

• Ellenberger & Poensgen

Inventors

• Fischer Erich
• Von Der Lieck Guido

Classifications

• H02H1/043 Primary

  to inrush currents (H02H1/046 takes precedence; differential protection of transformers H02H7/045) · CPC title

• H03K17/082

  by feedback from the output to the control circuit · CPC title

• H02H9/025

  Current limitation using field effect transistors · CPC title

• H02H3/24

  responsive to undervoltage or no-voltage {(H02H3/207 takes precedence)} · CPC title

• H03K17/0822

  in field-effect transistor switches · CPC title