System and method for polyphase ground-fault circuit-interrupters

摘要

598928 A computer-implemented method for ground-fault circuit-interruption of a polyphase power supply and a main bus circuit coupled thereto and a ground-fault circuit-interrupter system for a polyphase power supply and a main bus circuit coupled thereto are disclosed. The main bus circuit has a plurality of individual feeder circuits. The ground-fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) system comprises a voltage unbalance detection device coupled to the power supply and the main bus circuit for detecting a voltage unbalance among phases of the power supply; a plurality of GFCI units respectively associated with the main bus and each one of the feeder circuits and a processor in communication with the voltage unbalance detection device and each of the GFCI units for monitoring the voltage unbalance and fault signals generated by the each of the GCFI units. Each of the GFCI units is operative to generate a fault signal corresponding to a fault condition through an associated main bus or feeder circuit. The processor is capable of generating one or more trip signals corresponding to an actual fault based at least in part on certain predetermined relationships between the voltage unbalance and fault signals.