Gateway interface for an enhanced circuit breaker disconnect

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11462898-B2
Application number	US-202017035631-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 28, 2020
Priority date	Feb 21, 2020
Publication date	Oct 4, 2022
Grant date	Oct 4, 2022

Abstract

A system includes a solid-state circuit breaker coupling between a power supply and an electrical load. The system also includes a gateway interface device communicatively coupled to the solid-state circuit breaker and includes a plurality of communication interfaces. In an embodiment, the gateway interface device includes a controller configured to perform operations including determining a connection status of at least one communication interface of the plurality of communication interfaces and determining a number of devices connected to the at least one communication interface, receive a signal from at least one device of the number of devices. In the embodiment, the operations may also include in response to receiving the signal, instructing the solid-state circuit breaker to disconnect the electrical load from the power supply.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A system, comprising:
a solid-state circuit breaker configured to couple between a power supply and an electrical load; and
a gateway interface device communicatively coupled to a controller of the solid-state circuit breaker and comprising a plurality of communication interfaces, wherein each of the plurality of communication interfaces is configured to communicate using a different communication protocol, and wherein the controller is configured to perform operations comprising:
determining a connection status of at least one communication interface of the plurality of communication interfaces based on a set of data signals received via the at least one communication interface;
determining a set of devices connected to the at least one communication interface based on the set of data signals received via the at least one communication interface;
generating a node list associated with each device of the set of devices, wherein the node list is representative of one or more devices communicatively coupled to the controller via the at least one communication interface;
creating a data table configured to map data received from each device of the set of devices into a shared memory based on the node list; and
storing a set of data from the set of devices in the shared memory based on the data table.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one communication interface comprises an Ethernet internet protocol (IP) communication interface, an Ethernet subnet communication interface, an expansion bus communication interface, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) communication interface, a Controller Area Network Flexible Data Rate (CAN FD) communication interface, or any combination thereof.

3. The system of claim 2 , wherein the Ethernet IP comprises a Device Level Ring (DLR) IP.

4. The system of claim 2 , wherein the CAN FD communication interface is configured to communicatively couple the gateway interface device to the solid-state circuit breaker.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to perform the operations comprising causing the solid-state circuit breaker to adjust an operational state in response to receiving the set of data.

6. The system of claim 5 , wherein the operational state comprises an open circuit or a closed circuit.

7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to perform the operations comprising:
transmitting a set of read requests to the set of devices; and
in response to transmitting the set of read requests, receiving a second set of data from the set of devices.

8. The system of claim 7 , wherein the controller is configured to perform the operations comprising authenticating the connection status based on the second set of data.

9. A method, comprising:
determining, by a processor, an operational status of a solid-state circuit breaker disposed in an enclosure;
in response to the operational status indicating that the solid-state circuit breaker is coupling a voltage source to an electrical load:
determining, by the processor, a door position status for a door of the enclosure, wherein the door is associated with the solid-state circuit breaker;
determining, by the processor, a lock position status for a lock associated with the door; and

adjusting, by the processor, the operational status of the solid-state circuit breaker based on the door position status, the lock position status, or a combination thereof.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the lock position status is indicative of the lock being disengaged.

11. The method of claim 9 , wherein adjusting the operational status of the solid-state circuit breaker comprises decoupling the voltage source to the electrical load via the solid-state circuit breaker.

12. The method of claim 9 , wherein the door position status is indicative of the door being open.

13. The method of claim 9 , comprising generating a log associated with adjusting the operational status of the solid-state circuit breaker.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the log includes a timestamp, the door position status, the lock position status, a user associated with the solid-state circuit breaker, or any combination thereof.

15. A system, comprising:
a plurality of solid-state circuit breakers, each solid-state circuit breaker configured to couple between a corresponding power supply and a corresponding electrical load; and
a gateway interface device communicatively coupled to the plurality of solid-state circuit breakers and comprising a plurality of communication interfaces and a controller configured to perform operations comprising:
identifying a portion of the plurality of solid-state circuit breakers for one or more load shedding operations based on a set of operational statuses for the portion of the plurality of solid-state circuit breakers;
determining a total electrical load associated with the plurality of solid-state circuit breakers exceeds a threshold; and
causing the portion of the plurality of solid-state circuit breakers to open in response to the total electrical load exceeding the threshold.

16. The system of claim 15 , wherein the controller is configured to perform the operations comprising receiving the set of operational statuses for the portion of the plurality of solid-state circuit breakers via the plurality of communication interfaces and a plurality of communication protocols.

17. The system of claim 15 , wherein the controller is configured to perform the operations comprising:
determining a priority order for each of the portion of the plurality of solid-state circuit breakers based on the set of operational statuses; and
causing a first solid-state circuit of the portion of the plurality of solid-state circuit breakers to open based on the priority order.

18. The system of claim 15 , wherein the set of operational statuses comprise a device type associated with the corresponding electrical load, a first value indicative of the corresponding electrical load, a second value indicative of the corresponding power supply, or any combination thereof.

19. The system of claim 17 , wherein determining the priority order comprises assigning a subset of the portion of the plurality of solid-state circuit breakers to a priority group.

20. The system of claim 19 , wherein determining the priority order comprises ranking each solid-state circuit breaker of the third subset of the plurality of solid-state circuit breakers in a numerical order.

Assignees

• Rockwell Automation Tech Inc

Inventors

• Mazur David C
• Peterson Corey A
• Dilgard Robert
• Sauve Todd R
• Halpin Peter J
• Steinweg Calvin C

Classifications

• H02H7/085 Primary

  against excessive load {(H02H6/00 takes precedence)} · CPC title

• H02H1/0092 Primary

  concerning the data processing means, e.g. expert systems, neural networks · CPC title

• G05B19/04 Primary

  Program control other than numerical control, i.e. in sequence controllers or logic controllers (G05B19/418 takes precedence) · CPC title

• H02H3/10

  additionally responsive to some other abnormal electrical conditions · CPC title

• G05B9/02

  electric · CPC title