Arc fault circuit interrupter detector systems including super regenerative high frequency receiver

• Main Authors: Luebke, Charles John, McClanahan, David Lee, Schmalz, Steven Christopher
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 12.03.2019
• Subjects: CONVERSION OR DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRIC POWER; ELECTRICITY; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS; GENERATION; MEASURING; MEASURING ELECTRIC VARIABLES; MEASURING MAGNETIC VARIABLES; PHYSICS; TESTING

An arc fault circuit interrupter detector circuit including a super regenerative high frequency receiver is described herein. In one exemplary, non-limiting embodiment, a current measure component determines that a current noise signal within a circuit breaker is occurring at a particular frequency of interest. The super regenerative high frequency receiver receives the current noise signal and, via an oscillator circuit, causes the signal to ramp to a quench voltage, dissipate, and repeat. A microcontroller in communication with the super regenerative high frequency receiver measures a time period of the oscillator circuit's oscillations, and determines an amplitude of the current noise signal based, at least in part, on the time period. If it is determined that the amplitude of the input current signal at the frequency of interest corresponds to an arc fault event, a trip signal is generated to trip the circuit, quenching the arc fault event.