Circuit for operating voltage range extension for a relay
US6671142B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jul 26, 2001 |
| Grant date | Dec 30, 2003 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 27, 2022 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH01R2201/20
- WIPO fieldElectrical machinery, apparatus, energy
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A relay is designed to be used in a circuit where the voltage levels are high in comparison to the spacing between the contacts when open. Contact closure arcing is suppressed by actuating a MOSFET that shorts the contacts together while they open. The same MOSFET can momentarily short the contacts together just before they first begin to close, allowing a test current to be passed through the MOSFET and through the terminals connecting to both relay contacts, to insure that arc suppression will be successful; and if this test fails, then the relay can be disabled by a switch in series with the relay coil to prevent arcing and a possible fire hazard. Relay deactuation can be sensed to trigger arc suppression, and relay actuation can be sensed to initiate fail-safe testing by a circuit that responds no matter which way the relay coil is connected into the external circuit that drives it.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.