Atom Power Announces Two US Patents for Digital Circuit Breaker
Newly issued patents protect first digital circuit breaker to maximise power control and safety.
Atom Power, the US-based inventor of the first digital circuit breaker,has announced the United States Patent and Trademark Office issued two patents for its solid-state circuit protection technology, Patent No. 10,541,530 and Patent No. 10,276,321.
Patent No. 10,541,530, titled 'Hybrid Air-Gap / Solid State Circuit Breaker' outlines unique design features of the Atom Switch, including an air gap to enable galvanic isolation, microcontrollers to automate functionality, specific hardware for the rapid detection of short circuits and a programmable time curve characteristic. These features maximise safety by minimising voltage transients, allowing the Atom Switch to be used even as a motor soft-starter.
Atom Power is the first company to use Wide Band Gap (WBG) semiconductors in commercially available solid state circuit breakers, and the only company to manufacture SiC semiconductor modules specifically for use in circuit protection.
“We’re proud to be the first company to successfully introduce a true solid-state circuit breaker to the market, but our job isn’t done yet,” said Ryan Kennedy, CEO, Atom Power, “Our goal is to help make solid-state technology the new industry standard as we work to enable intelligent power distribution at scale.”
Patent No. 10,276,321, 'Dynamic Coordination of Protection Devices in Electrical Distribution Systems' highlights the ability of the Atom OS software to maximise available current protection. Fueled by real-time current measurement and operational conditions, the Atom OS allows for adjustment of various overload trip curves thus optimising the distribution system for safety. This is the first patent allowed for Atom Power focused on dynamic coordination with two divisional patents still under review.
“These patents showcase Atom Power’s commitment to ongoing innovation in solid-state circuit protection and reinforce that our circuit breaker is the essential technology needed to make power easier and safer to control,” said Denis Kouroussis, co-founder and CTO, Atom Power. “It's an exciting milestone for our team given the combination of technology, material science and engineering needed to bring this to life.”
Atom Power’s intelligent product suite includes its digital circuit breakers (Atom Switches), distribution panels (Atom Panels) and software (Atom OS). A single Atom Switch replaces the need for more than 100 products used in commercial power today and mitigates explosions from electrical faults like never before.
