ELECTRICAL CURRENT MEASURING DEVICE

Abstract

The invention is based on an electrical current measuring device for measuring at least one alternating current, with at least one inductive coupling unit, which is intended to convert at least one electrical primary signal into at least one electrical secondary signal, and with a computing unit, which is intended to determine the primary signal from the secondary signal. The computing unit is intended to take into account at least one higher harmonic of the secondary signal when determining the primary signal.

Claims

1. Electrical current measuring device for measuring at least one alternating current, with at least one inductive coupling unit, which is intended to convert at least one electrical primary signal into at least one electrical secondary signal, and with a computing unit, which is intended to determine the primary signal from the secondary signal, wherein the computing unit is intended to take into account at least one higher harmonic of the secondary signal when determining the primary signal.

2. Electrical current measuring device according to claim 1, wherein the computing unit is intended to take into account an amplitude of the higher harmonic.

3. Electrical current measuring device according to claim 1, wherein the computing unit is intended to take into account a phase angle of the higher harmonic.

4. Electrical current measuring device according to claim 1, wherein the higher harmonic is an odd higher harmonic of the secondary signal.

5. Electrical current measuring device according to claim 4, wherein the higher harmonic is the third harmonic of the secondary signal.

6. Electrical current measuring device according to claim 1, wherein the computing unit is intended to use the higher harmonic to determine a correction value for determining the primary signal from the fundamental of the secondary signal.

7. Electrical current measuring device according to claim 4, wherein the computing unit is intended to determine the correction value using a ratio of the higher harmonic to the fundamental of the secondary signal.

8. Electrical current measuring device according to claim 1, wherein the primary signal is a sinusoidal alternating current signal.

9. AC voltage installation having at least one electrical current measuring device according to claim 1.

10. A method of using an electrical current measuring device for measuring at least one alternating current, in particular according to claim 1, with at least one inductive coupling unit, which is intended to convert at least one electrical primary signal into at least one electrical secondary signal with a computing unit, which is intended to determine the primary signal from the secondary signal, wherein at least one higher harmonic of the secondary signal is taken into account when determining the primary signal

Description

DRAWINGS

[0016] Further advantages emerge from the following description of the drawings. An exemplary embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the drawings. The drawings, the description and the claims contain numerous features in combination. A person skilled in the art will also expediently consider the features individually and will combine them to form useful further combinations.

[0017] In the drawings:

[0018] FIG. 1 shows an AC voltage installation having an electrical current measuring device which has an inductive coupling unit and a computing unit,

[0019] FIG. 2 shows a temporal profile of a primary signal and a secondary signal,

[0020] FIG. 3 shows a temporal profile of a primary signal and a secondary signal in the event of saturation of the inductive coupling unit,

[0021] FIG. 4 shows the fundamental and the third harmonic of the secondary signal on the basis of relative saturation of the inductive coupling unit, and

[0022] FIG. 5 shows a correction value on the basis of a ratio of the third harmonic to the fundamental of the secondary signal.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENT

[0023] FIG. 1 shows an AC voltage installation 20 having an AC voltage source 22 and an AC voltage sink 24. The AC voltage sink 24 is connected to the AC voltage source 22 via a supply line 26. The supply line 26 contains a switch 28 which is intended to establish and/or disconnect a power supply for the AC voltage sink 24. The AC voltage installation 20 comprises an electrical current measuring device 10 for measuring at least one alternating current. In particular, the electrical current measuring device 10 is intended to measure an alternating current inside the supply line 26. In this case, the electrical current measuring device integrated in a protective device 30 by way of example. The protective device 30 is intended, in particular, to interrupt the power supply for the AC voltage sink 24, if an overcurrent is determined, by opening the switch 28. Alternatively, an electrical current measuring device may also be integrated in a monitoring device and/or a control device, for example.

[0024] The electrical current measuring device 10 has an inductive coupling unit 12. The inductive coupling unit 12 is in the form of an inductive current transformer 32. The inductive coupling unit 12 is intended to convert an electrical primary signal 14 into an electrical secondary signal 16. The primary signal 14 is a sinusoidal alternating current signal and corresponds to an alternating current in the supply line 26. The Electrical current measuring device 10 also has a computing unit 18 which is intended to determine the primary signal 14 from the secondary signal 16. The computing unit 18 is connected to the inductive coupling unit 12 in such a manner that the secondary signal 16 is supplied to the computing unit 18 for further processing.

[0025] FIG. 2 shows an exemplary temporal profile of a primary signal 14 and a secondary signal 16. Both the primary signal 14 and the secondary signal 16 have a sinusoidal profile. On account of a transformation ratio of the inductive coupling unit 12, the secondary signal 16 has a lower amplitude than the primary signal 14. In the situation shown in FIG. 2, the primary signal 14 can be directly inferred from the secondary signal 16 with a known transformation ratio. FIG. 3 shows a further exemplary temporal profile of a primary signal 14 and a secondary signal 16 in the event of saturation of the inductive coupling unit 12. Whereas the primary signal 14 has a sinusoidal profile, it is shown that the absolute value of the secondary signal 16 is too small and the secondary signal is recorded with a leading phase angle on account of the zero crossings which have been advanced. In the situation shown in FIG. 3, the primary signal 14 cannot be directly inferred from a secondary signal 16 with only knowledge of the transformation ratio.

[0026] The computing unit 18 is intended to take into account at least one higher harmonic of the secondary signal 16 when determining the primary signal 14. The computing unit 18 is intended to take into account an amplitude and a phase angle of the higher harmonic. The higher harmonic is a low-order higher harmonic of the secondary signal 16 and is preferably the third harmonic of the secondary signal 16 for signals without a DC component. The higher harmonic of the secondary signal 16 can be evaluated, for example, according to a Fourier analysis by means of Fourier filtering.

[0027] The computing unit 18 is intended to use the higher harmonic to determine a correction value k for determining the primary signal 14. The following approach results with the complex vectors for the primary signal 14 (I.sub.p) and the secondary signal 16 (I.sub.s) and the correction value k:

I.sub.s=kI.sub.p

[0028] The complex correction value k is equal to 1 in the event of undistorted transmission by the inductive coupling unit 12. With increasing saturation of the inductive coupling unit 12, the absolute value of the complex correction value k becomes smaller. On account of the dips in the secondary signal 16 and the advance of the zero crossings which is caused thereby (cf. FIGS. 2 and 3), the angle of the complex correction value k also changes.

[0029] The computing unit 18 is intended to determine the correction value k using a ratio of the higher harmonic to a fundamental of the secondary signal 16. FIG. 4 shows the absolute value and angle of the primary signal 14 (I.sub.p) in a first curve 34, the absolute value and angle of the fundamental (I.sub.s1) of the secondary signal 16 in a second curve 36 and the absolute value and angle of the third harmonic (I.sub.s3) of the secondary signal 16 in a third curve 38 on the basis of relative saturation of the coupling unit 12. In FIG. 4, the absolute value is plotted on the ordinate axis 40 of the upper graph, whereas the angle in degrees is plotted on the ordinate axis 42 of the lower graph. The relative saturation in per cent is respectively plotted on the abscissa axes 44, 46 of the graphs. A clear relationship between the primary signal 14 (I.sub.p) and the fundamental (I.sub.s1) of the secondary signal 16 and the third harmonic (I.sub.s3) of the secondary signal 16 is shown. According to FIG. 4, in the event of saturation of the coupling unit 12, there is a clear relationship between the instantaneous saturation of the coupling unit 12 and a ratio of the third harmonic (I.sub.s3) of the secondary signal 16 to the fundamental (I.sub.s1) of the secondary signal 16. The correction value k is advantageously determined using the absolute value ratio of the third harmonic (I.sub.s3) of the secondary signal 16 to the fundamental (I.sub.s1) of the secondary signal 16, which is illustrated in a fourth curve 48:

x=|I.sub.s3/I.sub.s1|

[0030] The dependence of the correction value k on the ratio x is clear. FIG. 5 shows the corresponding profile of the correction value k on the basis of the ratio x with the absolute value and angle in a further curve 50. In FIG. 5, the absolute value is plotted on the ordinate axis 52 of the upper graph, whereas the angle in degrees is plotted on the ordinate axis 54 of the lower graph. The ratio x is respectively plotted on the abscissa axes 56, 58 of the graphs. The complex vector of the primary signal 14 can therefore be derived from the secondary signal 16 for sinusoidal primary signals 14 for each degree of saturation of the coupling unit 12:

I.sub.p=I.sub.s/k