Disclosed are various protection devices and associated methods. In some embodiments, a protection device may include a fuse assembly having a fusible link extending between a first lead end and a second lead end, and a first lead extending from the first lead end and a second lead extending from the second lead end. The protection device may further include a body including a first section coupleable with a second section, wherein the first and second sections define a central cavity housing the fusible link. The first section may include an interior face operable to engage an opposite interior face of the second section, an engagement member extending away from the interior face towards the second section, and an engagement channel adjacent the engagement member, the engagement channel operable to receive a corresponding engagement member of the second section.

The invention relates to a disconnection and switch-over device for overvoltage protection, particularly for DC systems, comprising at least one arresting element, and a thermal cut-off point incorporated into the electrical interconnect path of the arresting element, the thermal cut-off point comprising a movable mechanically prestressed conductor element that moves from a first position to a second position in the event of a cut-off, and when the second position is reached, an electrical switch-over to a safety device is generated, and the thermal cut-off point is formed by the movable conductor element and a stationary contact element, the movable conductor element being attached to the stationary contact element by a thermally releasable means. According to the invention, a completely electrical cut-off of the arresting element regarding the interconnect path only occurs when the movable conductor element has gone beyond the second position and has reached a third position, the safety device being arranged in series with the arresting element and the movable conductor element being designed as a wiper or sliding contact in relation to the second position, the second position being created by a bypass end point.

An externally-controllable thermal tripping device comprising a voltage dependent resistor including a voltage dependent resistor chip; a thermal tripper including a tripping electrode; and a controllable heating element. The tripping electrode is connected to an electrode of the voltage dependent resistor chip through a meltable welding material, and the controllable heating element is controlled by an external control device to generate heat and transmit generated heat to a commissure of said welding material to melt said welding material and electrically disconnect the tripping electrode from the voltage dependent resistor chip.

The invention relates to a short-circuiting device for use in low-voltage and medium-voltage systems for the protection of property and persons, comprising: a switching element, which can be operated by the tripping signal of a fault detection device; two mutually opposite contact electrodes having power supply means, which contact electrodes can be brought into contact with an electrical circuit having connection points at different potential; furthermore, in at least one of the contact electrodes, a movable contact part, which is under mechanical preload and executes a movement to the further contact electrode with the assistance of spring force in the event of a short circuit; and a sacrificial element as a spacer between the contact electrodes, with an electrical connection between the sacrificial element and the switching element on the one hand and one of the contact electrodes on the other hand, in order to deliberately cause current-flow-induced thermal deformation or destruction of the sacrificial element. According to the invention, the movable contact part is in the form of a hollow cylinder which is closed on one side, and a spring for generating preload is inserted in the hollow cylinder. The hollow cylinder is movably guided in a complementary cutout in the first contact electrode, a sliding contact thus being formed. In the region of the base of the closed hollow cylinder, the cylinder wall of said hollow cylinder transitions into a cone at the outer circumference. Furthermore, a first pin-like extension, opposite to which a second pin-like extension insulated from the contact electrodes is situated, extends within the hollow cylinder, proceeding from the base. The sacrificial element, in the form of a bolt or screw, is arranged between the first and the second pin-like extension. A cutout, which has an internal cone and is matched to the external cone of the movable contact, is provided in the second contact electrode. The external cone and the internal cone form a bounce-free short-circuit contact region having frictional locking and interlocking connection on account of plastic deformation which occurs. Furthermore, according to the invention the switching element is designed as an auxiliary short-circuiter on the basis of an electric match.

An electrical protection component having a short-circuit device is disclosed. In an embodiment an electrical protection component includes a short-circuiting device including a surge arrester including electrodes and a thermal short-circuiting device including a clip, a first section of which is snapped onto the surge arrester and a second section of which comprises a short-circuiting link, wherein the short-circuiting link of the clip is spaced apart from at least one of the electrodes by a fusible element, wherein the short-circuiting link electrically conductively connects two of the electrodes to one another when the fusible element melts, and wherein the fusible element has a melting point of at least 300 degrees Celsius.

A novel temperature-triggered fuse device is configured to be activated at a designer-specified ambient temperature by utilizing wetting force among a pair of wetting material bays and a solder bridge or a solder ball. The solder bridge or the solder ball is typically positioned on top of the pair of wetting material bays separated by an electrically-insulated gap. Preferably, the wetting material bays are at least partly made of gold, nickel, or other elements suitable for generating an increased wetting force to the solder bridge or the solder ball upon increases in ambient temperature. The novel temperature-triggered fuse device can be integrated into various types of integrated circuits (IC's), or can function as a discrete fuse connected to one or more electronic components for robust protection from power surges and/or thermal runaway-related device malfunctions, meltdowns, or explosions. Various methods of producing the temperature-triggered fuse device are also disclosed herein.

Embodiments described herein relate generally to a current interrupt device (CID) including a frangible bulb that is configured to be thermally triggered. In some embodiments, the CID includes a breaking contact electrically coupled to a fixed contact and held in electrical contact by the frangible bulb. In some embodiments, the frangible bulb is configured to break at a temperature threshold. In some embodiments, the breaking contact is configured to bend, rotate and/or otherwise deform about a hinge point in order to become electrically disconnected from the fixed contact when the frangible bulb breaks. In some embodiments, opening the electrical circuit between the breaking contact and the fixed contact may prevent overcharging, overvoltage conditions, overcurrent conditions, thermal runaway, and/or other catastrophic failure events.

An apparatus for modifying an electrical circuit includes a first electrical contact, a second electrical contact, an electrical coupler formed of an electrically conductive material, a first assembly including a cavity, a driving portion, an inhibiting portion, and a second assembly electrically coupled to the second electrical contact. The electrical coupler is moveable within the cavity along a movement axis, a wall of the cavity is electrically coupled to the first electrical contact and to the electrical coupler, and when the electrical coupler is disposed at an initial position within the cavity, the electrical coupler is not electrically coupled to the second electrical contact. The driving portion applies a first force on the electrical coupler in a movement direction along the movement axis. The inhibiting portion inhibits the movement of the electrical coupler along the movement axis.

A high-voltage direct-current thermal fuse including: a fusible component having two fusible alloy support arms parallel to each other; a fluxing agent; a fusing cavity; and two pins. The fusible component and the fluxing agent are sealed within the fusing cavity. The two pins are respectively connected to the two support arms. Technically, the fluxing agent only needs to have contact with the fusible alloy. Practically, the fluxing agent is usually coated over the fusible alloy. The fusible component in the high-voltage direct-current thermal fuse of the present application is a U-shaped structure having two parallel support arms. A high electric field intensity is generated when an arc is being cut off, as a result, the electrons repel each other, and the arc is lengthened, thereby increasing the speed of cutting off the arc.

Disclosed are a fuse pad, a printed circuit board having the fuse pad, and a method of manufacturing the printed circuit board. The fuse pad includes a first pad provided at one side of a fuse, a second pad provided at an opposite side of the fuse, and a measurement pad electrically connected to the second pad to measure whether the fuse is detached.