Current detector to sense current without being in series with conductor

摘要

A current detector senses current flowing through a conductor, such as a conductive trace of a circuit board, without being placed in series with the conductor. A first magnetically conductive partial ring is located above the conductor, and a second magnetically conductive partial ring is located below the conductor. Ends of one of the partial rings may be inserted through holes of the circuit board to either side of the conductive trace. The partial rings, upon being contactively aligned with one another, form a magnetically conductive complete ring around the conductor. A Hall effect sensor disposed within one of the partial rings outputs a signal corresponding to the current flowing through the conductor.

主权项

1. A current detector to sense current flowing through a conductor on a circuit board without being placed in series with the conductor, comprising:
a first magnetically conductive partial ring to be located above the conductor; a second magnetically conductive partial ring to be located below the conductor and to form a magnetically conductive complete ring together with the first magnetically conductive partial ring around the conductor upon being contactively aligned with the first magnetically conductive partial ring; a Hall effect sensor disposed within one of the first magnetically conductive partial ring and the second magnetically conductive partial ring and to output a signal corresponding to the current flowing through the conductor upon the first magnetically conductive partial ring and the second magnetically conductive partial ring forming the magnetically conductive complete ring; a first attachment mounting member for the first magnetically conductive partial ring to mount the first magnetically conductive partial ring above the conductor from a top surface of the circuit board; and a second attachment mounting member for the second magnetically conductive partial ring to mount the second magnetically conductive partial ring below the conduct trace from a bottom surface of the circuit board, wherein each of the first attachment mounting member and the second attachment mounting member comprises a solder pad to be soldered to the circuit board.