초록 ▼

A circuit breaker monitoring system may monitor both at least one gas characteristic of a gas surrounding the circuit breaker and at least one fault arc energy characteristic. The monitored characteristics may be used to forecast maintenance events. The monitored characteristics may be used to contr

A circuit breaker monitoring system may monitor both at least one gas characteristic of a gas surrounding the circuit breaker and at least one fault arc energy characteristic. The monitored characteristics may be used to forecast maintenance events. The monitored characteristics may be used to control the operation of the circuit breaker.

대표청구항 ▼

1. A method of monitoring a circuit breaker provided in a gas filled enclosure, comprising: determining at least one gas characteristic of a gas in the enclosure;determining at least one fault arc energy characteristic of the circuit breaker; andforecasting with an electronic controller a maintenanc

1. A method of monitoring a circuit breaker provided in a gas filled enclosure, comprising: determining at least one gas characteristic of a gas in the enclosure;determining at least one fault arc energy characteristic of the circuit breaker; andforecasting with an electronic controller a maintenance event for the circuit breaker based on both the determined at least one gas characteristic and the determined at least one fault arc energy characteristic. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one gas characteristic includes a gas density. 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the at least one fault arc energy characteristic includes an INT duty wherein I is a current passing through the circuit breaker, T is a time period, and N is in the range of about 1 to about 2. 4. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of providing an indication of the forecasted maintenance event to a remote computing device. 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of forecasting the maintenance event includes determining an expected value of the at least one fault arc energy characteristic at a corresponding expected value of the at least one gas characteristic, the corresponding expected value of the at least one gas characteristic being less than the determined at least one gas characteristic. 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of forecasting the maintenance event includes the steps of determining an expected value of the at least one fault arc characteristic at a future time value, the expected value of the at least one fault arc characteristic being determined based on an expected value of the at least one gas characteristic at the future time value;determining if the expected value of the at least one fault arc characteristic causes a limit value for the at least one fault arc characteristic to be reached; andif the limit value is caused to be reached based on the expected value of the at least one fault arc characteristic then forecasting the maintenance event to occur at the future time value. 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of forecasting the maintenance event includes the steps of selecting a future time (Ti) to evaluate for a potential maintenance event;determining an expected fault arc energy (∑1j=N⁢⁢(I2⁢T)j) at the future time (Ti) based on an expected value of the at least one gas characteristic, wherein N is a number of future arc events and (I2T)j is an expected fault arc energy for the jth arc event; determining a cumulative fault arc energy based on a historical fault arc energy and the expected fault arc energy; andcomparing the cumulative fault arc energy with a limit to determine if the future time (Ti) corresponds to the maintenance event. 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of forecasting the maintenance event includes the steps of determining a future time whereat the at least one fault arc characteristic of a first arc event corresponds to the maintenance event. 9. The method of claim 8, wherein the at least one gas characteristic at the future time being determined based on a trend of the at least one gas characteristic and the at least one fault arc characteristic of the first arc event is based on the at least one gas characteristic at the future time. 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of forecasting the maintenance event includes the steps of determining a future time whereat the at least one fault arc characteristic of a plurality of arc events correspond to a maintenance event. 11. The method of claim 8, wherein the at least one gas characteristic at the future time being determined based on a trend of the at least one gas characteristic and the at least one fault arc characteristic of the plurality of arc events is based on the at least one gas characteristic at the future time. 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the plurality of arc events are clustered at the future time. 13. The method of claim 11, wherein the plurality of arc events are spaced apart between a current time and the future time. 14. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of forecasting the maintenance event includes the steps of determining a number of future arc events within a time period prior to the maintenance event. 15. The method of claim 14, wherein the number of future arc events being based on a decreasing trend of the at least one gas characteristic. 16. The method of claim 14, wherein the number of future arc events being based on the at least one gas characteristic being set to a first value. 17. A monitoring system for a circuit breaker being monitored by at least one current sensor operatively coupled to the circuit breaker and being provided in an interior of a gas filled enclosure being monitored by at least one gas sensor in fluid communication with the interior of the gas filled enclosure, the system comprising: a monitoring unit operatively coupled to the at least one current sensor and the at least one gas sensor, the monitoring unit including an electronic controller configured to forecast a maintenance event for the circuit breaker based on both a determined at least one gas characteristic and a determined at least one fault arc energy characteristic. 18. The monitoring system of claim 17, further comprising a visual indicator which provides a visual indication of a plurality of conditions associated with the circuit breaker. 19. The monitoring system of claim 18, wherein the visual indicator toggles between an indication of a remaining contact life of the circuit breaker and an indication of a gas density surrounding the circuit breaker. 20. A monitoring system for a circuit breaker being monitored by at least one current sensor operatively coupled to the circuit breaker and being provided in an interior of a gas filled enclosure being monitored by at least one gas sensor in fluid communication with the interior of the gas filled enclosure, the system comprising: a monitoring unit operatively coupled to the at least one current sensor and the at least one gas sensor, the monitoring unit including an electronic controller configured to forecast a maintenance event for the circuit breaker based on readings from the at least one current sensor and the at least one gas sensor; anda visual indicator which provides a visual indication of a plurality of conditions associated with the circuit breaker, wherein the visual indicator toggles between an indication of a remaining contact life of the circuit breaker and an indication of a gas density surrounding the circuit breaker. 21. A method of controlling a circuit breaker provided in a gas filled enclosure, comprising: determining at least one gas characteristic of a gas in the enclosure;determining at least one fault arc energy characteristic of the circuit breaker; andpreventing an operation of the circuit breaker if a subsequent arc event corresponds to a potential future failure of the circuit breaker, the subsequent arc event being determined based on both the determined at least one gas characteristic and the determined at least one fault arc energy characteristic. 22. The method of claim 21, wherein the at least one gas characteristic includes a gas density. 23. The method of claim 22, wherein the at least one fault energy characteristic includes an INT duty wherein I is a current passing through the circuit breaker, T is a time period, and N is in the range of about 1 to about 2. 24. A monitoring system for a circuit breaker being monitored by at least one current sensor operatively coupled to the circuit breaker and being provided in an interior of a gas filled enclosure being monitored by at least one gas sensor in fluid communication with the interior of the gas filled enclosure, the system comprising: a monitoring unit operatively coupled to the at least one current sensor and the at least one gas sensor, the monitoring unit including an electronic controller configured to prevent an operation of the circuit breaker if a subsequent arc event corresponds to a potential future failure of the circuit breaker, the subsequent arc event being determined based on both a determined at least one gas characteristic and a determined at least one fault arc energy characteristic. 25. A monitoring system for a circuit breaker being monitored by at least one current sensor operatively coupled to the circuit breaker and being provided in an interior of a gas filled enclosure being monitored by at least one gas sensor in fluid communication with the interior of the gas filled enclosure, the system comprising: a monitoring unit operatively coupled to the at least one current sensor and the at least one gas sensor, the monitoring unit including an electronic controller configured to at least one of forecast a maintenance event for the circuit breaker and prevent an operation of the circuit breaker if a subsequent arc event corresponds to a potential future failure of the circuit breaker; anda port to receive a portable memory device, the portable memory device including at least one script to at least one of upload information to a memory associated with the electronic controller and download information from the memory associated with the electronic controller. 26. The monitoring system of claim 25, wherein the portable memory device includes the at least one script to be executed when the portable memory device is coupled to the port. 27. The monitoring system of claim 26, wherein a first script is an Alarm Reset script configured to cause the electronic controller of the monitoring unit to reset at least one active alarms. 28. The monitoring system of claim 25, wherein the portable memory device includes a script selection input which is actuatable from an exterior of the portable memory device, the script selection input having a plurality of settings each corresponding to a unique script. 29. The monitoring system of claim 25, wherein the electronic controller forecasts the maintenance event based on both a determined at least one gas characteristic and a determined at least one fault arc energy characteristic. 30. The monitoring system of claim 25, wherein the subsequent arc event is determined based on both a determined at least one gas characteristic and a determined at least one fault arc energy characteristic. 31. A monitoring system for a circuit breaker being monitored by at least one sensor, the system comprising: a monitoring unit operatively coupled to the at least one sensor, the monitoring unit including an electronic controller based on input from the at least one sensor being configured to at least one of forecast a maintenance event for the circuit breaker and prevent an operation of the circuit breaker if a subsequent arc event corresponds to a potential future failure of the circuit breaker; andat least one sensor connection adapted to couple to the at least one sensor, wherein when the at least one sensor is coupled to the at least one sensor connection the electronic controller configures the at least one sensor as one of an analog sensor and a digital sensor and verifies the presence of the at least one sensor. 32. The monitoring system of claim 31, wherein if the at least one sensor is not providing a signal the electronic controller initiates an alarm. 33. The monitoring system of claim 31, wherein the electronic controller records a plurality of readings from the at least one sensor and if a present readings differs from at least one prior reading by more than a threshold amount the electronic controller initiates an alarm. 34. A monitoring system for a circuit breaker provided in an interior of a gas filled enclosure being monitored by at least one gas sensor in fluid communication with the interior of the gas filled enclosure, the system comprising: a monitoring unit operatively coupled to the at least one sensor, the monitoring unit including an electronic controller based on input from the at least one gas sensor being configured to at least one of forecast a maintenance event for the circuit breaker and prevent an operation of the circuit breaker if a subsequent arc event corresponds to a potential future failure of the circuit breaker, wherein the electronic controller records measurement readings received from the at least one gas sensor over a first calculation period, determines a trend line for the measurement readings, a confidence level for the trend line, and based on a characteristic of the trend line and the confidence level determines if an alarm condition is present. 35. A monitoring system for a circuit breaker provided in an interior of a gas filled enclosure being monitored by at least one gas sensor in fluid communication with the interior of the gas filled enclosure, the system comprising: a monitoring unit operatively coupled to the at least one sensor, the monitoring unit including an electronic controller based on input from the at least one gas sensor being configured to at least one of forecast a maintenance event for the circuit breaker and prevent an operation of the circuit breaker if a subsequent arc event corresponds to a potential future failure of the circuit breaker, wherein the electronic controller records measurement readings received from the at least one gas sensor over a first calculation period and over a second calculation period, the second calculation period including the first calculation period;determines a first trend line for the measurement readings of the first calculation period;determines a second trend line for the measurement readings of the second calculation period;selects one of the first trend line and the second trend line; andforecasts the maintenance event based on a characteristic of the selected trend line. 36. A monitoring system for a circuit breaker provided in an interior of a gas filled enclosure being monitored by at least one gas sensor in fluid communication with the interior of the gas filled enclosure, the system comprising: a monitoring unit operatively coupled to the at least one sensor, the monitoring unit including an electronic controller based on input from the at least one gas sensor being configured to at least one of forecast a maintenance event for the circuit breaker and prevent an operation of the circuit breaker if a subsequent arc event corresponds to a potential future failure of the circuit breaker, wherein the electronic controller determines a fill event wherein additional gas is provided to the interior of the enclosure based on measurement readings from the at least one gas sensor. 37. The monitoring system of claim 36, wherein the electronic controller records measurement readings received from the at least one gas sensor over a first calculation period and over a second calculation period, the second calculation period including a more current measurement reading than the first calculation period;determines a first mean density value for the first calculation period; anddetermines a second mean density value for the second calculation period, wherein the fill event is determined based on the second mean density value exceeding the first mean density value. 38. A monitoring system for a circuit breaker provided in an interior of a gas filled enclosure being monitored by at least one gas sensor in fluid communication with the interior of the gas filled enclosure, the system comprising: a monitoring unit operatively coupled to the at least one sensor, the monitoring unit including an electronic controller based on input from the at least one gas sensor being configured to at least one of forecast a maintenance event for the circuit breaker and prevent an operation of the circuit breaker if a subsequent arc event corresponds to a potential future failure of the circuit breaker;a fill valve being in fluid communication with the interior of the gas filled enclosure; anda volumetric flowmeter operatively coupled to the electronic controller and located to monitor an amount of gas being passed through the fill valve to the interior of the gas filled enclosure. 39. The monitoring system of claim 38, wherein the volumetric flowmeter is supported by a pressurized gas supply coupled to the fill valve. 40. The monitoring system of claim 38, wherein the volumetric flowmeter is supported by the enclosure.