US 12,068,596 B2
Short-circuit mitigation device
David Molenaar, Australian Capital Territory (AU); Rueben Rajasingam, Australian Capital Territory (AU); David Marcuson, Australian Capital Territory (AU); and Craig Broadly, Australian Capital Territory (AU)
Assigned to COMMONWEALTH SCIENTIFIC AND INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH ORGANISATION, Australian Capital Territory (AU)
Appl. No. 17/606,253
Filed by COMMONWEALTH SCIENTIFIC AND INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH ORGANISATION, Australian Capital Territory (AU)
PCT Filed Apr. 24, 2020, PCT No. PCT/AU2020/050398
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Oct. 25, 2021,
PCT Pub. No. WO2020/215127, PCT Pub. Date Oct. 29, 2020.
Claims priority of application No. 2019901395 (AU), filed on Apr. 24, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2022/0200263 A1, Jun. 23, 2022
Int. Cl. H02H 3/16 (2006.01); H02H 1/00 (2006.01)
CPC H02H 3/16 (2013.01) [H02H 1/0007 (2013.01)] 22 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A short-circuit mitigation device for use in an electrolytic cell having an electrical contact and an electrode, the device comprising:
a switch connected in parallel with a damping load and disposed between the contact and the electrode, the switch configured to selectively provide an electrical conduction path between the contact and the electrode, wherein the switch comprises a plurality of metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) connected in parallel;
a conductive failsafe path connected in parallel with the MOSFETs to provide an electrical path around the switch; and
a switch controller operably associated with the switch to monitor electric current through the switch and to generate a toggle signal to toggle the switch from a conductive closed state to a non-conductive open state when the electric current exceeds a first threshold value.