US 11,940,497 B2
Monitoring of magnetic sensing elements of a switching device
Felipe Castillo Buenaventura, Angoulême (FR); and Gregory Molina Mendoza, Ruelle-sur-Touvre (FR)
Assigned to Schneider Electric Industries SAS, Rueil Malmaison (FR)
Filed by Schneider Electric Industries SAS, Rueil Malmaison (FR)
Filed on May 23, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/750,596.
Claims priority of application No. 21305719 (EP), filed on May 31, 2021.
Prior Publication US 2022/0381826 A1, Dec. 1, 2022
Int. Cl. G01R 31/00 (2006.01); G01R 31/327 (2006.01); H01H 47/00 (2006.01); H01H 50/16 (2006.01)
CPC G01R 31/327 (2013.01) [H01H 47/002 (2013.01); H01H 50/16 (2013.01)] 10 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A switching device comprising:
a header,
a first magnet and a second magnet,
a first inductor and a second inductor,
a first magnetic sensing element aligned with the first magnet and the first inductor and a second magnetic sensing element aligned with the second magnet and the second inductor,
a printed circuit board comprising an upper face on which are mounted upfront the first magnetic sensing element and the second magnetic sensing element and a lower face on which are mounted upfront the first inductor and the second inductor,
wherein when the switching device is operated, the header is pressed towards the printed circuit board, the first magnet and the second magnet get closer respectively to the first magnetic sensing element and the second magnetic sensing element, which increases the magnetic flux through the magnetic sensing elements and changes the status of the switching device when a threshold is reached,
the printed circuit board further comprising a first microcontroller unit and a second microcontroller unit,
wherein the first microcontroller unit and the second microcontroller unit are configured to send a stimulus signal respectively to the second inductor and to the first inductor,
wherein the first microcontroller unit is configured to read a response produced by the first magnetic sensing element, the response containing a set of values of a magnetic field produced by the first inductor when the first inductor receives the stimulus signal sent by the second microcontroller unit,
wherein the second microcontroller unit is configured to read a response produced by the second magnetic sensing element, the response containing a set of values of a magnetic field produced by the second inductor when the second inductor receives the stimulus signal sent by the first microcontroller unit,
wherein the first microcontroller unit and the second microcontroller unit are configured to determine a state of the switching device based on the read responses.