Total Shielding of electrical installations with automatic cutoff and restart

Abstract

A system is provided to eliminate risks of electric damage in buildings from irregular, abnormal currents in electrical networks, devices, and ultimately the entire building, with automatic cutoff and restart of electrical fluid, restoring proper function once electric flow is normalized. It offers protection of building electrical installations against electrical surges through sensors, continuously monitoring input conditions. When harmful voltages or currents are detected, electric flow is cut off temporarily, and then restored when conditions go back to normal. Current design uses transient suppressors, contactors, a timer, and thermomagnetic switches (FIG. 1). This concept is targeted at residential, commercial, and industrial electrical installations. It solves the vulnerability to unexpected, external, devastating electrical surges. It can be used as stand-alone safety equipment, or integrated to conventional thermomagnetic breaker systems. Design can be modified depending on desired electric-security level and availability of current or new technology in electrical components.

Claims

1. A method for preventing the entry of undesired voltages or currents to residential, commercial, and industrial electrical installations, offering total shielding to networks, breaker boxes, electric equipment, devices, and ultimately an entire building, comprising the steps of: monitoring and detecting slight surges and large deviations in voltages or currents likely to cause damage to equipment in any part of the building, or catastrophic effects in any or all of the networks, breaker boxes, electrical equipment, devices, and the entire building installation; cutting off the voltages or currents upon detection of the undesired variations until conditions return to normal; and restoring safely and automatically the voltages or currents to the electrical installation without the need for human interaction.

2. An apparatus for preventing the entry of undesired voltages or currents to residential, commercial, and industrial electrical installations, offering total shielding to networks, breaker boxes, electric equipment, devices, and ultimately an entire building, comprising: a monitoring element to monitor and detect slight surges and large deviations in voltages or currents likely to cause damage to equipment in any part of the building, or catastrophic effects in any or all of the networks, breaker boxes, electrical equipment, devices, and the entire building installation; a suppressing element to cut off the voltages or currents upon detection of the undesired variations until conditions return to normal; and a restoring element to automatically restore the voltages or currents to the electrical installation without the need for human interaction.

3. The apparatus for preventing the entry of undesired voltages or currents as claimed in claim 2, further comprising: a system that fully or partially integrates the total shielding functions to a thermomagnetic switch or a circuit breaker box, using current or future technology.

4. The apparatus for preventing the entry of undesired voltages or currents as claimed in claim 2, further comprising: a stand-alone total shielding box installed in series between an external power supply and the building's circuit breaker box.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

[0014] FIG. 1 shows a Total Shielding design utilizing currently available technology that allows for all of the system performance requirements described above to be met. The following are the main components: a timer; a contactor with an internal coil; transient suppressors; a thermo-magnetic switch as a general breaker; an emergency switch to create a by-pass that allows the system to be maintained; bars for connecting thermomagnetic switches or breakers that supply power to each one of the internal circuits; the neutral bar; and the grounding bar.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0015] The invention of Total Shielding of electrical installations uses a contraption of sensors and controls for the protection of electrical installations at buildings, against overvoltages or undesired current fluctuations. It detects the presence of undesired voltages or currents before they enter the installation and automatically cuts off the electrical fluid, thereby protecting the entire installation and every device connected to it. After a brief period, when voltages have returned to their acceptable levels, electrical flow is restored and all operations continue to function normally, after shielding the entire installation from any harmful impacts, all without human intervention.

[0016] This type of shielding guarantees the flow of reasonable currents to all networks and devices connected to the building's Total Shielding installation. It protects the internal networks from relatively small voltage or current variations, which although relatively safe for most operations, may damage or, at best, result in miscalibration of delicate equipment. On the other hand, it also protects the building and its installation from large overvoltages, which could cause disastrous damage and even destruction of household appliances and other electrical equipment. Such overvoltages could also produce electric arcing and the burning and melting of internal wiring, which could end in the conflagration of the property.

[0017] It is well known that in the event of lightning, currents flow with magnitudes close to those occurring in short circuits, even above 3,000 amps. Only about 50% of these currents are eliminated by grounding and the rest wreaks havoc. This risk is eliminated by the Total Shielding system, since for cases of an extreme eventual load, there is a contactor in the current design that does not allow the passage of this type of catastrophic currents. The contactor acts as a potential fuse of great magnitude that in a similar way to the burning of the filament in old conventional fuses, allows its coil to melt and thus prevents the passage of these devastating currents.

[0018] The main components of the Total Shielding system are: a timer; a contactor with an internal coil; transient suppressors; a thermo-magnetic switch as a general breaker; an emergency switch or breaker; bars for connecting thermomagnetic switches or breakers; the neutral bar; and the grounding bar.