WO2025021774A1

WO2025021774A1 - A circuit protection and management system

Info

Publication number: WO2025021774A1
Application number: PCT/EP2024/070786
Authority: WO
Inventors: John McGLOUGHLIN
Original assignee: Tomra Sorting Ltd
Current assignee: Tomra Sorting Ltd
Priority date: 2023-07-24
Filing date: 2024-07-22
Publication date: 2025-01-30
Anticipated expiration: 2026-01-24

Abstract

A circuit protection and management system, comprising: at least one electronic fuse comprising a configurable circuit trip level; a controller comprising a memory, the controller being coupled to the at least one electronic fuse; wherein the controller is configured to: monitor the operation of the circuit including the electronic fuse; and store operating information of the circuit including the electronic fuse.

Description

A Circuit Protection and Management System

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a circuit management system and in particular a circuit protection and management system with a configurable trip level and circuit monitoring functions.

Background to the Invention

Sorting systems, for example, sorting systems used in process lines in the food industry may use a type of pulsed LED sorter. Such systems have a high capacitive load which, on start-up, can lead to tripping of fuses that are rated for normal loading. However, if the fuse is rated to take account of the start-up surge, then the circuit is not suitably protected for normal operation. Power needs to be distributed to various subsystems in the sorter that require fuse protection to eliminate the risk of fire or component damage in case of a fault or shorting issues.

Typically, when a fuse trips in a circuit, a service technician is often required to travel to the machine to replace or reset the fuse circuit. In many cases it is not known or clear what might have caused the fuse to trip, so the technician may typically replace the tripped device and observe the system for a period of time to make sure it does not trip again. This can mean an intermittent fault will cause the fuse to trip at a later time and another service call is required. This is disruptive in terms of downtime of machinery and furthermore can result in significant service costs. Fuses protect against catastrophic failures and danger of fire or electric shock. Typically, the fuse tripping will cause critical systems to stop working, and in the case of a sorter the sorting function will probably be inoperable. In a food process situation this will stop the process line until the fault is corrected which can be a very expensive and undesirable situation. As such, a circuit management system which avoided the need for such a process shutdown Iwould be an improvement over the state of the art.

Summary of the Invention

A circuit protection and management system is provided, comprising at least one electronic fuse comprising a configurable circuit trip level; a controller comprising a memory, the controller being coupled to the at least one electronic fuse; wherein the controller is configured to: monitor the operation of the circuit including the electronic fuse; and store operating information of the circuit including the electronic fuse. This provides for control and monitoring of a circuit’s behaviour both in a normal operating condition and during a fault. The configurable trip level provides that larger surge currents present during a system start-up may be provided for without causing tripping of the fuse. In addition, the fuse may be configured for a lower current than the surge current during normal circuit operation. In this manner both the surge current and normal operating current can be managed without causing a tripping of the fuse. In addition, information regarding the circuit operation may be stored in a memory of the controller. This provides that, for example, information regarding circuit conditions leading up to, during and after a fault may be stored to assist in fault diagnosis. This may provide necessary information to avoid system downtime associated with fault diagnosis and further help to avoid unnecessary replacement of system parts. In this manner, system downtime may be minimized or even avoided.

The controller may be configured for high frequency monitoring of at least one operating parameter of voltage, current conditions, electronic fuse state and temperature conditions of the circuit. In this manner, a significant amount of information may be obtained about a circuit’s functionality. High frequency recording of voltage and current conditions provides for a robust data set which is more useful for fault diagnosis than, for example, infrequent “snapshots” of circuit behaviour over a time interval.

The controller may be configured to record the at least one operating parameter of voltage, current, electronic fuse state and temperature condition of the circuit in response to a triggering of the circuit trip level. Storing the voltage and current conditions of the circuit in response to a triggering of the circuit trip level provides valuable information as to the circuit conditions which led to the triggering. This information may be utilized to troubleshoot the circuit behaviour which led to the triggering event.

In fuse devices which comprise no memory, a power cycle will typically reset the circuit. This behaviour may not be desirable in critical or safety systems where a fault detection should remain in the tripped state until some intervention. As such, the controller may be further configured to diagnose the voltage and current conditions of the circuit in response to a triggering of the circuit trip level. This provides that the controller itself may diagnose the circuit condition which led to a triggering event. In this manner, the requirement for the input of a technician for at least a number of fault types may be minimised or obviated.

The controller may be configured to reset the electronic fuse: i) in response to a triggering of the circuit trip level and/or ii) in response to a configurable circuit event, or iii) in response to a user interface action or iv) after a predefined time period. This provides that the controller is provided with a certain degree of autonomous circuit management. For example, if a triggering of the circuit trip level occurs and a diagnosis by the controller of the circuit conditions reveals no ongoing fault, the controller may reset the electronic fuse to allow the circuit to become operational again. Furthermore, a time period may be configured over which the controller may attempt a number of periodic resets of the electronic fuse.

The controller may further comprise a communications channel for remote communication between an operating device and the controller. The communications channel allows a technician to access the information about tripping of the fuse and make a diagnosis. Based on the information, a technician can then decide to remotely reset the tripped circuit, or if the fault warrants, they can decide a physical visit to the system is required to correct the fault.

The operating device may be any one of a computer system, a laptop, a tablet device, a laptop device, a mobile device, a smart watch device. As such, a range of accessible options are available to a technician who needs to access the operating device, perhaps at short notice or in transit.

The remote communication may comprise at least one of: circuit command inputs transmitted from the operating device to the controller, circuit status request inputs transmitted from the operating device to the controller, transmission of circuit operation logs transmitted from the controller to the operating device, transmission of circuit voltage and current data from trip events, or automated inputs for performing circuit actions. In this manner, a technician accessing the system remotely is provided with sufficient circuit information to assess the current state of the system and its fault conditions. Furthermore, the technician is provided with a large degree of command over the system. They are capable of not only accessing circuit information, but also of utilising that information to provide system commands remotely.

The automated inputs for performing circuit actions may comprise at least one of i) resetting the electronic fuse ii) periodically attempting to reset the electronic fuse, iii) tripping the electronic fuse. A technician may assess that resetting of the fuse either as a once off action or as a series of periodic attempts may be warranted based on their fault diagnosis. These commands can be provided remotely to the system.

The controller may further comprise environmental sensors. Such sensors provide information about the surrounding conditions in which the system is operating to complement the information provided regarding the circuit operation itself. For example, a change in the environmental conditions may be cause of a system fault.

The environmental sensors may further comprise at least one of a temperature sensor and a humidity sensor. For example, a change in temperate or humidity, due to air conditioning failure, could result in a fuse tripping or otherwise suboptimal functionality of the system. This may be indicated by the temperature or humidity sensors. Furthermore, a change in temperature or humidity may be accounted for in the operating conditions of the system to avoid a fault occurring in the first place. As such, the sensor provides for preventive actions to be taken to maintain system up time.

The controller may further comprise an independent power circuit. In this manner, the controller may still continue to store information in the case of a power failure on the overall circuit.

The operating information of the circuit including the electronic fuse may be further analysed by a neural net inference engine. This provides that a large set of circuit information may be analysed efficiently. Furthermore, it provides that predications of circuit behaviour under certain conditions may be provided. In addition, other inputs from additional connected fused devices could be analysed to extend the functionality of the circuit to a greater diagnostics capability.

The neural net inference engine may further classify the operation of the circuit based on the analysed operating information. The behaviour of the circuit can be analysed to give an assessment of the current system operating conditions and whether intervention is required or recommended.

The neural net inference engine may further classify the operation of the circuit as normal or out of normal based on whether at least one circuit operating condition has reached a preconfigured threshold. This provides an indication of the current “health” of the system as to whether the system is operating within a normal operating range or whether an abnormal working condition has been detected. The condition can be detected based on one of a number of preconfigured thresholds or conditions. If one of the thresholds is breached an “out of normal” operating condition may be indicated. An out of normal condition may still allow the system to operate but in a sub-optimal manner. As such, without such monitoring, the condition may go unnoticed for a period of time. By detecting and highlighting such an operating condition, the system functionality may be optimised, and such periods of sub-optimal operation may be minimised. Description of the Drawings

Figure 1 is a schematic representation of a known fuse in a control circuit in accordance with the prior art.

Figure 2 is a schematic representation of a circuit protection and management system of the present invention.

Figure 3 is a schematic representation of a circuit incorporating the circuit protection and management system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 4 is a schematic representation of the circuit protection and management system of the present invention comprising the communication channel.

Figure 5 is a schematic representation of the circuit protection management system of the present invention comprising environmental sensors.

Figure 6 is a schematic representation of the circuit protection management system of the present invention comprising the controller and fuse in accordance with the present invention. Figures 7a-d provide alternative arrangements of the circuit protection management system in accordance with the present invention.

Detailed Description

Sorting systems, for example, sorting systems used in process lines in the food industry may use a type of pulsed LED sorter. Such systems have a high capacitive load which, on start-up, can lead to tripping of fuses that are rated for normal loading. However, if the fuse is rated to take account of the start-up surge, then the circuit is not suitably protected for normal operation. Power needs to be distributed to various subsystems in the sorter that require fuse protection to eliminate the risk of fire or component damage in case of a fault or shorting issues. In conventional systems, such as that shown in Figure 1, a fuse 2 is provided between an electrical power source 1 and an electrical load 3. Typically, when a fuse trips in a circuit, a service technician is often required to travel to the machine to replace or reset the fuse circuit. In many cases it is not known or clear what might have caused the fuse to trip, so the technician may typically replace the tripped device and observe the system for a period of time to make sure it does not trip again. This can mean an intermittent fault will cause the fuse to trip at a later time and another service call is required. This is disruptive in terms of downtime of machinery and furthermore can result in significant service costs. Fuses protect against catastrophic failures and danger of fire or electric shock. Typically, the fuse tripping will cause critical systems to stop working, and in the case of a sorter the sorting function will probably be inoperable. In a food process situation this will stop the process line until the fault is corrected which can be a very expensive and undesirable situation. Figure 2 is a schematic representation of the circuit protection and management system 100 of the present invention which overcomes these aforementioned issues.

The circuit protection and management system 100 is shown comprising an electronic fuse 101 comprising a configurable circuit trip level. A controller 102 comprises a memory 103 and the controller is coupled to the electronic fuse. The controller may be a microprocessor or a microcontroller, or the like. The controller is configured to monitor the operation of the circuit including the electronic fuse 101; and store operating information of the circuit including the electronic fuse. The system 100 can form part of or be connected to any electronic circuit to be monitored. In Figure 3, there is provided a sample circuit incorporating the circuit protection and management system 100. The system 100 is provide with a communications channel 200 for remote communication between an operating device 201 and circuit protection and management system, and more particularly with the controller thereof. The communication channel thus enables remote communication between the controller and an operating device.

The communications channel allows a technician to access the information about tripping of the fuse and make a diagnosis. Based on the information, a technician can then decide to remotely reset the tripped circuit, or if the fault warrants, they can decide a physical visit to the system is required to correct the fault. The system is suitable for use in the monitoring of sorting systems, for example, sorting systems used in process lines in the food industry.

The system 100 provides for control and monitoring of a circuit’s behaviour both in a normal operating condition and during a fault. For example, information may be gathered from a circuit by the system not just when a fault occurs but also during regular circuit operation. With respect to the sorter systems as previously mentioned, the configurable trip level provides that larger surge currents present during a system start-up may be provided for without causing tripping of the fuse. In addition, the fuse may be configured for a lower current than the surge current during normal circuit operation. In this manner, both the surge current and normal operating current can be managed without causing a tripping of the fuse.

In addition, information regarding the circuit operation is stored in a memory 103. A nonvolatile or solid-state memory 103 provides for recording of data for later retrieval and processing. This provides that, for example, information regarding circuit conditions leading up to, during and after a fault may be stored to assist in fault diagnosis. This provides information to avoid system downtime associated with fault diagnosis and further help to avoid unnecessary replacement of system parts. The controller 102 is configured for high frequency monitoring of at least one operating parameter of voltage, current, electronic fuse state, and temperature conditions of the circuit. In one configuration monitoring is provided in a frequency range of lOOkHZ to 5kHz. It will be appreciated that monitoring is not restricted to this range and higher frequencies that 5kHz could be used. In a preferred configuration a monitoring frequency of 1kHz is provided. A significant amount of information may be obtained about a circuit’s functionality. High frequency recording of voltage and current conditions provides for a robust data set which is useful for fault diagnosis.

The controller 102 is configured to record at least one of the signals for voltage, current, fuse state, and temperature conditions of the circuit for a period of time preceding a trip event corresponding to a triggering of the circuit trip level. In addition, the signals during the trip event and a period of time after the event are also recorded.

Storing the voltage and current conditions of the circuit in response to a triggering of the circuit trip level provides valuable information as to the circuit conditions which led to the triggering. This information may be utilized to troubleshoot the circuit behaviour which led to the triggering event.

The controller 102 is further configured to diagnose the voltage and current conditions of the circuit in response to a triggering of the circuit trip level. As such, the controller itself may diagnose the circuit condition which led to a triggering event.

In addition, the controller is configured to reset the electronic fuse in a number of scenarios. For example, i) in response to a triggering of the circuit trip level; or ii) in response to a configurable circuit event; or iii) in response to a user interface action; or iv) after a predefined time period. The configuration deemed most appropriate to a given circuit may be selected or pre calibrated into the controller. This means that the controller is provided with a certain degree of autonomous circuit management. For example, if a triggering of the circuit trip level occurs and a diagnosis by the controller of the circuit conditions reveals no ongoing fault, the controller may reset the electronic fuse to allow the circuit to become operational again. Furthermore, a time period may be configured over which the controller may attempt a number of periodic resets of the electronic fuse.

Figure 4 is a schematic representation of the circuit management system of the present invention comprising the communication channel. The controller 102 further comprises a communications channel or interface 200 for facilitating remote communication between an operating device 201 and the controller 102. The communication channel thus enables remote communication between the controller and an operating device.

The communications channel allows a technician to access the information about tripping of the fuse and make a diagnosis. Based on the information, a technician can then decide to remotely reset the tripped circuit, or if the fault warrants, they can decide a physical visit to the system is required to correct the fault.

The remote communication comprises at least one of: circuit command inputs transmitted from the operating device to the controller, circuit status request inputs transmitted from the operating device to the controller, transmission of circuit operation logs transmitted from the controller to the operating device, transmission of circuit voltage and current data from trip events; automated inputs for performing circuit actions. Furthermore, the automated inputs for performing circuit actions comprise at least one of i) resetting the electronic fuse ii) periodically attempting to reset the electronic fuse, tripping the electronic fuse. In his manner, a technician accessing the system remotely is provided with sufficient circuit information to assess the current state of the system and its fault conditions. Furthermore, the technician is provided with a large degree of command over the system. They are capable of not only accessing circuit information, but also of utilising that information to provide system commands remotely. A technician may assess that resetting of the fuse either as a once off action or as a series of periodic attempts may be warranted based on their fault diagnosis. These commands can be provided remotely to the system. Furthermore, by providing that the fuse can be remotely tripped, this can in effect act like a remote-controlled switch.

Figure 5 is a schematic representation of the circuit management system of the present invention further comprising environmental sensors 300. The environmental sensors 300 comprise at least one of a temperature sensor and a humidity sensor. Such sensors provide information about the surrounding conditions in which the system is operating to complement the information provided regarding the circuit operation itself. For example, a change in the environmental conditions may be cause of a system fault. For example, a change in temperate or humidity, due to air conditioning failure, could result in a fuse tripping or otherwise suboptimal functionality of the system. This may be indicated by the temperature or humidity sensors. Furthermore, a change in temperature or humidity may be accounted for in the operating conditions of the system to avoid a fault occurring in the first place. As such, the sensor provides for preventive actions to be taken to maintain system up time.

As shown in Figure 6 the controller 102 is part of a fuse monitoring circuit 1023 of the circuit management system. The fuse monitoring circuit 1023 comprises the controller 102, the communications interface 200, non-volatile or solid-state memory 103 and one or more environmental sensors. The controller interfaces with the environmental sensors 300 of the circuit management system. These environmental sensors include temperature and humidity sensors as described above. The controller further includes or is communicably coupled with a communications interface for facilitating communications over a communications channel with one or more external devices. As outlined above, the controller is further provided with sensor inputs for monitoring the conditions of the fuse including voltage and current conditions. The controller 102 is configured to measure voltage and current and to detect a status of the fuse. The controller is configured, in one configuration to engage with the fuse via a fuse switch and sensor module 1020. Operating parameters relating to the fuse are monitored by the controller via this module. In addition, the controller 102 is configured to provide enable or disable signals to the fuse 101. Set or reset fuse signals are also provided to the fuse via the controller 102 in response to the monitoring of the one or more operating parameters of the fuse and the environmental operating conditions. The controller is also configured to control a fuse state indicator. The fuse state indicator provides an indication of the state of the fuse. For example, this may be an indicator signal or visual representation. The controller 102 is configured to measure the voltage of the supply power to the fuse. For example, a voltage measurement module 1022 is provided to monitor the supply power being provided to the fuse from the power supply 1. The output from the module 1020 is fuse protected power, suppliable to a load as indicated above.

The circuit management system may in some embodiments further comprise an independent power circuit. This means that if the system is monitoring, for example, a sorting machine, the system is provided with a power source independent of the sorting machine. This power source can be an alternative mains source of power or a battery power. The controller may continue to store information in the case of a power failure on the sorting machine. Furthermore, the controller may be able to record information to indicate that the source of an operating failure in the sorting machine is a loss of power to the machine.

The circuit management system as described is thus capable of obtaining a large volume of data about the operating conditions of the circuit both in a normal operating mode and a failure mode. The data obtained by the circuit management system incorporating the electronic fuse is further analysed using machine learning techniques. For example, the data comprising the operating parameters of the circuit may be processed by a neural network inferencing model thus applying deep neural network techniques to optimise the operation of the electronic fuse. This provides that a large set of circuit information may be analysed efficiently. Furthermore, it provides that predications of circuit behaviour under certain conditions may be provided. In addition, other inputs from additional connected fused devices could be analysed to extend the functionality of the circuit to a greater diagnostics capability.

The use of such an inference engine can classify the operation of the circuit based on the analysed operating information. The behaviour of the circuit can be analysed to give an assessment of the current system operating conditions and whether intervention is required or recommended. For example, the neural net inference engine may further classify the operation of the circuit as normal or out of normal based on whether at least one circuit operating condition has reached a preconfigured threshold.

This provides an indication of the current “health” or status of the system as to whether the system is operating within a normal operating range or whether an abnormal working condition has been detected. The condition can be detected based on one of a number of preconfigured thresholds or conditions. If one of the thresholds is breached an “out of normal” operating condition may be indicated. An out of normal condition may still allow the system to operate but in a sub-optimal manner. As such, without such monitoring, the condition may go unnoticed for a period of time. By detecting and highlighting such an operating condition, the system functionality may be optimised, and such periods of sub-optimal operation may be minimised.

As such, the controller unit is constantly monitoring the power waveforms and can detect unusual behaviour or operating conditions. The Al or machine learning function can diagnose the type of electronic fuse failure based on the signals preceding the failure.

It should be noted that a typical fuse is supposed to trip when it exceeds a current limit or threshold. The neural network in this present invention however can detect anomalies that could not be detected by a simple fuse or an e-fuse circuit that trips at a simple level detection. Furthermore, the neural network can classify circuit operations in a manner that a fuse cannot. Much more granular data on circuit behaviour is thus analysed and corresponding recommendations or analysis provided.

It will be appreciated that while shown above as a single channel fuse, the fuse in accordance with the present invention can also include a plurality of channels, and accordingly provide individualised control in a system comprising a plurality of separate power channels. In the configurations of figures 7A to 7D, four such power channels are provided. In a first configuration shown in Figure 7a, a common fused power rail is provided to four fused channels. A common power rail provides the same power input to each fuse channel. Each fuse channel can be separately controlled using one or more controllers as outlined above. It will be appreciated that the disclosure of Figures 1 to 6 equally applies to the configuration of Figures 7a to 7d. In addition, it will be appreciated that while four channels are shown, the invention is not restricted as such. The communication channel 200 provides remote communication between an operating device 201 and the fuse monitoring circuit 1023.

In a second configuration shown in Figure 7B, there are provided separate power channels. Separate power inputs are provided to each fuse channel. A first power input is provided to the first channel, a second power input provided to the second channel and so forth. Each channel is independently controlled and monitored by one or more controllers 102 in one or more fuse monitoring circuits 1024.

As described above, the controller 102 may be configured to reset the electronic fuse: i) in response to a triggering of the circuit trip level and/or ii) in response to a configurable circuit event, or iii) in response to a user interface action or iv) after a predefined time period. Figure 7c expands on the teaching of Figure 7a and incorporates a user interface configured as described above to provide a feedback and interact-ability for a user of the system. A user interface 1025 may incorporate at least one of a display, a touchscreen, a graphical user interface, touch sensitive elements, audio inputs and/or outputs, mechanical buttons, joystick, keyboard, or other user interface. The user interface device 1025 may further provide a wired or wireless connection to one or more computing devices. For example, a computer system, a laptop, a tablet device, a laptop device, a mobile device, a smart watch device. While shown as a common power rail in Figure 7c, it will be appreciated that this configuration is equally applicable to separate power inputs as shown in figure 7b. Figure 7d further expands on Figure 7a, incorporating a removable storage medium. This removable storage medium may be used in addition to or in replacement for the non-volatile memory 103. While shown in the context of a common power rail, the configuration of Figure 7d is equally applicable to separate power inputs as shown in Figure 7b. This removable storage medium 1026 can be used to store information logs and data. This allows storage of information pertinent to a fuse trip event, for example information and data in the time period prior to a fuse trip event.

The following provides an example of the type of operations provided by the circuit protection and management system as outlined above. It should be noted that the operation of the system is not limited to the operations described. In an exemplary configuration, the circuit management system is connected to a sorting machine. The circuit management system comprises an electronic fuse comprising a configurable circuit trip level, a controller comprising a memory with the controller being coupled to the at least one electronic fuse.

The sorting machine is engaged for the sorting of foodstuffs, the system in this example is integrated into the sorting machine on -site. The sorting machine undergoes its start-up operations and the controller of the system commences monitoring the operation of the circuit comprising the sorting machine and the electronic fuse. The system also commences storing operating information of the circuit. This information may be stored on internal memory of the controller, on the memory 103 or the removable memory module 1026 as described above.

The controller engages in high frequency monitoring of voltage, current, electronic fuse state and temperature conditions of the circuit as described above. After a period of time of normal operation for example, a trip event occurs, and the circuit trip level is triggered. The controller has at this point recorded signals for the voltage, current, fuse state, and temperature conditions of the circuit for a period of time preceding the trip event. The controller continues to record signals during the trip event and for a period of time after the event. The signals are recorded to a non-volatile memory.

The controller attempts to diagnose the voltage and current conditions of the circuit in response to the triggering of the circuit trip level. Based on the recorded information, the controller attempts to rest the electronic fuse after a period of time. The circuit operates normally for a short period; however, a further trip event occurs. Once again, the controller continues to record signals during the trip event and for a period of time after the event to the non-volatile memory.

The trip event has triggered an alert to a remote technician. The technician accesses the controller via an internet enabled computer or other user interface device as described above. The technician may now remotely access the recorded circuit information and assess the fault. The technician examines the recorded data and notices voltage irregularities on a non-essential component of the sorting machine. The technician can power down the component via a remote command to the sorting machine. In addition, via a further remote command to the controller, the technician instructs the controller to periodically attempting to reset the electronic fuse of the circuit. The fuse is reset, and the circuit begins to operate normally once again.

Separately, while the sorting machine was in operation and during the fault events, the stored data was being analysed using artificial intelligence models, for example a neural network inference engine. The neural network inference engine has been trained on operating data for the sorting machine under normal and under fault conditions. The neural network inference engine logged unusual voltage behaviour prior to the trip event. On this occasion, the neural network inference engine was unable to prevent the trip event. However, the unusual behaviour will be fed back into the neural network inference engine. Accordingly, similar future behaviour will be recognised and preventive action in the form of disabling the non-essential component can be taken prior to trip event occurring.

As such, the system provides for storing and assessing of fault data. In a first instance, the data may be used by the controller to take automated action to resolve the fault. Should this not be successfully, the stored data may be accessed and analysed by technician to take remote remedial action. This overcomes the need to have technicians attend to machines on site. Furthermore, the stored data under normal and fault conditions may be continuously monitoring by a neural net inference engine. This provides for learning about the behaviour of a given machine over time and may provide for preventative action to be taken before a fault occurs.

The words “comprises/comprising” and the words “having/including” when used herein with reference to the present invention are used to specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps or components but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, components or groups thereof.

It is appreciated that certain features of the invention, which are, for clarity, described in the context of separate embodiments, may also be provided in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features of the invention which are, for brevity, described in the context of a single embodiment, may also be provided separately or in any suitable sub-combination.

Claims

1. A circuit protection and management system, comprising: at least one electronic fuse comprising a configurable circuit trip level; a controller comprising a memory, the controller being coupled to the at least one electronic fuse; wherein the controller is configured to: monitor the operation of the circuit including the electronic fuse; and store operating information of the circuit including the electronic fuse.

2. The circuit management system of claim 1 wherein the controller is configured for high frequency monitoring of at least one operating parameter of voltage, current, electronic fuse state, and temperature conditions of the circuit.

3. The circuit management system of claim 2 wherein the controller is configured to record the at least one operating parameter of voltage, current, fuse state, and temperature conditions of the circuit for a period of time preceding a trip event corresponding to a triggering of the circuit trip level.

4. The circuit management system of claim 3 wherein the controller is further configured to record the at least one operating parameter during the trip event and during a period of time following the trip event.

5. The circuit management system of claim 3 or 4 wherein the controller is further configured to diagnose voltage and current conditions of the circuit in response to a triggering of the circuit trip level.

6. The circuit management system of any preceding claim wherein the controller is configured to reset the electronic fuse: i) in response to a triggering of the circuit trip level; or ii) in response to a configurable circuit event; iii) in response to a user interface action; or iv) after a predefined time period.

7. The circuit management system of any preceding claim wherein the controller further comprises a communications channel for remote communication between an operating device and the controller.

8. The circuit management system of claim 7 wherein the remote communication comprises at least one of: circuit command inputs transmitted from the operating device to the controller, circuit status request inputs transmitted from the operating device to the controller, transmission of circuit operation logs transmitted from the controller to the operating device, transmission of circuit voltage and current data from trip events; or automated inputs for performing circuit actions.

9. The circuit management system of claim 8 wherein the automated inputs for performing circuit actions comprise at least one of i) resetting the electronic fuse ii) periodically attempting to reset the electronic fuse, iii) tripping the electronic fuse.

10. The circuit management system of any preceding claim wherein the controller further comprises environmental sensors.

11. The circuit management system of claim 10 wherein the environmental sensors comprises at least one of a temperature sensor and a humidity sensor.

12. The circuit management system of any preceding claim wherein the controller further comprises an independent power circuit.

13. The circuit management system of any preceding claim wherein the operating information of the circuit is further analysed by a neural network inference engine.

14. The circuit management system of claim 13, wherein the neural net inference engine further classifies the operation of the circuit based on the analysed operating information.

15. The circuit management system of claim 14, wherein the neural net inference engine further classifies the operation of the circuit as normal or out of normal based on whether at least one circuit operating condition has reached a preconfigured threshold.