System and method for monitoring current consumption from current share components
US6385024B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 7, 2000 |
| Grant date | May 7, 2002 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 7, 2020 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH02J1/00
- WIPO fieldElectrical machinery, apparatus, energy
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A method for monitoring current in a power supply system including multiple parallel power supplies and current load sharing devices for each power supply. The error voltage generated by the current load sharing devices, in the process of balancing the power supply outputs, is proportional to current provided by a single power supply. The total number of power supplies may be determined by including a small current source with each power supply, and using the current sources to drive a “present” line, the current on this line indicating the number of power supplies present. The error voltage and the present line signal are used by a control circuit that includes analog-to-digital conversion and a CPU to calculate the total current drawn by the supply, and to trigger a circuit breaker if the total current exceeds a predetermined limit.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.