Patent · US Active

Monitoring methods, systems and apparatus for validating the operation of a current interrupter used in cathodic protection

US7901546B2 · kind B2 · utility

2Cited by
48References
27Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateMar 14, 2008
Grant dateMar 8, 2011
Priority date
Expiry dateJul 3, 2029

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC C)Chemistry; Metallurgy
  • CPC primaryC23F2213/32
  • WIPO fieldSurface technology, coating
  • WIPO sectorChemistry

Abstract

The present invention includes systems, methods and apparatus for continuously, independently and in some cases remotely monitoring the operation of a current interrupter used to test a cathodic protection system, or the cathodic protection system itself, for verification of proper operation. Embodiments of the invention include electronic devices that may be temporarily attached to a current interrupter that is being used to test a cathodic protection system, or directly to the cathodic protection system itself. Embodiments of the invention monitor the activity of an interrupter by sampling the output (voltage and time) to identify the cycle(s) of the interrupter. The invention provides truly independent verification since it does not need to know in advance the sequence or cycle times of the current interrupter being monitored. The information obtained by the invention is output so that it may be provided to a user, displayed, downloaded or stored for future reference.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.