An electronic fuse for a power supply includes at least two switching elements and a regulation unit, wherein a first switching element is arranged in a main branch, where the regulation unit is switches off the first switching element when a predetermined threshold value is exceeded by a prevailing current value, and a second switching element that is also actuated by the regulation unit, which is arranged in an auxiliary branch parallel to the first switching element and assumes a substantial proportion of a resulting power loss when an overload occurs, and the second switching element, which is arranged in at least one auxiliary branch, is configured or optimized for linear operation, and where the at least two switching elements are configured such that the line resistance of the second switching element is at least twice the line resistance of the first switching element.

A switching apparatus includes first and second electric terminals, and first and second electric branches comprising one or more switching devices. The second electric branch is electrically connected in parallel with said first electric branch between said first and second electric terminals. The switching apparatus comprises a current blocking circuit adapted to block a current along said second branch. The current blocking circuit includes a first switching device of solid-state type and a first electronic circuit electrically connected in parallel to said first switching device of solid-state type. The switching apparatus further comprises a current limiting circuit adapted to limit a current flowing along said second electric branch. Said current limiting circuit is electrically connected in series with said current blocking circuit and it includes a second switching device of solid-state type and a second electronic circuit electrically connected in parallel to said second switching device of solid-state type.

Digital isolator devices, and many other devices, have a maximum device junction temperature, which, if exceeded, may cause device failure and the integrity of the isolation is no longer guaranteed. The use of an electronic fuse, eFuse, arranged in series with the digital isolator, provides a protection scheme for the digital isolator in which current is limited by the eFuse when it is determined that the supply current of the digital isolator exceeds a predetermined threshold that would the cause junction temperature to increase above an absolute maximum rating. As such, the integrity of the digital isolator is preserved in the event of a system fault.

A circuit breaker distribution system is configured to provide selective coordination. The system comprises a solid-state switch disposed as a main or upstream breaker and a switch with an over current protection disposed as a branch or downstream breaker. The solid-state switch comprises a microcontroller including a processor and a memory, and computer-readable logic code stored in the memory which, when executed by the processor, causes the microcontroller to: allow repeated pulses of current through to the branch or downstream breaker in an event of an overload or short circuit, and choose a maximum current limit for the solid-state switch as a “chop level” such that the chop level is chosen higher than a rated current of the solid-state circuit breaker but low enough that the solid-state switch is not damaged from repeated pulses over a period of time needed to switch OFF the branch or downstream breaker.

A hot-swap circuit for providing soft start and overcurrent protection to an electronic circuit may include a controller and a timer. The controller may be configured to sense an electrical current associated with the hot-swap circuit, based on the electrical current sensed, perform current limiting of the electrical current to minimize inrush current to the electronic circuit, and disable the electrical current from flowing to the electronic circuit in response to the electrical current exceeding an overcurrent threshold for longer than a duration of a fault timer. The timer circuit may be configured to, for a period of time after enabling of the hot-swap circuit, cause the duration of the fault timer to be a first duration, and after the period of time, cause the duration of the fault timer to be a second duration significantly shorter than the first duration.

A device for controlling battery operation includes a battery cell, a thermal cutoff, and a battery management system. The thermal cutoff is coupled in series between the battery cell and a system load of the device. The thermal cutoff has at least three terminals. A first terminal of the thermal cutoff is electrically-coupled to the battery cell and a second terminal of the thermal cutoff is electrically-coupled to the system load. The thermal cutoff includes a permanent failure mechanism having an open state and closed state wherein the closed state allows electrical communication between the first terminal and the second terminal. The battery management system is electrically-coupled to a third terminal of the thermal cutoff. The permanent failure mechanism permanently switches to the open state in response to an electrical signal from the battery management system.

A miniature circuit breaker for providing short circuit and overload protection is disclosed herein. The miniature circuit breaker features a field effect transistor (FET), which may be a depletion mode metal oxide semiconductor FET (D MOSFET), a junction field-effect transistor (JFET), or a silicon carbide JFET, the FET being connected to a bi-metallic switch, where the bi-metallic switch acts as a temperature sensing circuit breaker. In combination, the D MOSFET and bi-metallic switch are able to limit current to downstream circuit components, thus protecting the components from damage.

A current interrupting device includes: a current limiting element provided on a power supply path from a predetermined power supply to a load device, the current limiting element being configured to exhibit a current limiting action when current flowing the power supply path exceeds a first current threshold value; a current diversion path switch capable of switching on and off of an electric conduction of a current diversion path, the current diversion path switch being connected in parallel with the power supply path; and a controller configured to control on and off of the current diversion path switch, wherein, the controller is configured to: switch the current diversion path switch on from an off state when it is detected that current flowing the current limiting element is limited to a second current threshold value after the current flowing the current limiting element has exceeded the first current threshold value; and switch the current diversion path switch off again after a predetermined switched-on holding time has elapsed since the current diversion path switch has been switched on.

The present disclosure includes: a power generator; and a power line through which power generated by the power generator is transmitted to a load. The power line between the power generator and the load is provided with: a current limitation device configured to, when detecting occurrence of a fault current, limit the fault current; and a current interruption device configured to interrupt current heading for the load, in conjunction with the limitation of the fault current performed by the current limitation device.

A protection device is disclosed which may comprise a first sensor, a first switch or a controller. The first sensor may be coupled to a first busbar of busbars and may be configured to measure a respective first electrical characteristic of the first busbar. The first switch may be connected between the first busbar and a reference terminal. The first switch may be configured to connect or disconnect the first busbar to and from the reference terminal. The controller may be coupled to the first sensor and to the first switch and may be configured to control the first switch to connect the first busbar to the reference terminal (e.g., based on the measurement of the first electrical characteristic indicating a change in the first electrical characteristic).