Patents by Inventor Robert Thomas Wolfe

Robert Thomas Wolfe has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 10598715
    Abstract: A system for locating a ground fault in an HRG power distribution system includes an HRG pulsing system having a ground fault sensor to detect a ground fault, a pulsing contactor to introduce a pulsing current into the power distribution system, and a controller to control the pulsing contactor to introduce the pulsing current into the power distribution system in response to a ground fault detection by the ground fault sensor. Current sensors in the power distribution system monitor three-phase current signals on conductors of the power distribution system, with the current sensors positioned on distribution networks in the power distribution system and at a protection device included on each respective distribution network. A processor associated with each protection device and operably connected to the current sensors thereat receives signals from the current sensors for identifying a location of a ground fault in the power distribution system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 25, 2015
    Date of Patent: March 24, 2020
    Assignee: Eaton Intelligent Power Limited
    Inventors: David Glenn Loucks, Robert Thomas Wolfe, Steven Andrew Dimino, Daniel Edward Hrncir, Deborah Kaltwasser Mort, Alec Dane Burkle
  • Publication number: 20170059641
    Abstract: A system for locating a ground fault in an HRG power distribution system includes an HRG pulsing system having a ground fault sensor to detect a ground fault, a pulsing contactor to introduce a pulsing current into the power distribution system, and a controller to control the pulsing contactor to introduce the pulsing current into the power distribution system in response to a ground fault detection by the ground fault sensor. Current sensors in the power distribution system monitor three-phase current signals on conductors of the power distribution system, with the current sensors positioned on distribution networks in the power distribution system and at a protection device included on each respective distribution network. A processor associated with each protection device and operably connected to the current sensors thereat receives signals from the current sensors for identifying a location of a ground fault in the power distribution system.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 25, 2015
    Publication date: March 2, 2017
    Inventors: David Glenn Loucks, Robert Thomas Wolfe, Steven Andrew Dimino, Daniel Edward Hrncir, Deborah Kaltwasser Mort, Alec Dane Burkle
  • Publication number: 20150346266
    Abstract: A system for locating a ground fault in a high resistance grounded (HRG) power distribution system includes a pulsing circuit configured to introduce a pulse current into the distribution system and current sensors adapted to monitor three-phase current signals present on conductors of the distribution system, with the current sensors positioned on a number of distribution networks included in the HRG power distribution system and at a protective device included on each respective distribution network. A processor associated with each protective device receives signals from the current sensors for identifying a location of the ground fault in the HRG power distribution system, with the processor associated with each protective device receiving measurements of the three-phase current signals from the current sensors over a plurality of cycles and identifying a pattern of interest in the three-phase current signals across the plurality of cycles in order to detect a ground fault.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 30, 2014
    Publication date: December 3, 2015
    Applicant: Eaton Corporation
    Inventors: Steven Andrew Dimino, David Glenn Loucks, Robert Thomas Wolfe
  • Patent number: 8587240
    Abstract: A system and method for optimizing current filtering in a motor soft starter is disclosed. A motor soft starter includes a circuit having an input connectable to an AC source and an output connectable to an input terminal of an AC motor, with the circuit being operable in a ramping mode and a bypass mode so as to control current flow and terminal voltages in the AC motor. The soft starter includes a controller connected to the circuit to control operation thereof, with the controller including a configurable current filter. The controller determines a current of an AC power provided to the input terminal of the AC motor from the soft starter, identifies a present operational mode of the soft starter as being one of the ramping mode and the bypass mode, and performs filtering on the determined current based on the present operational mode of the soft starter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 20, 2011
    Date of Patent: November 19, 2013
    Assignee: Eaton Corporation
    Inventors: Robert Thomas Wolfe, Steven A. Dimino
  • Publication number: 20130020975
    Abstract: A system and method for optimizing current filtering in a motor soft starter is disclosed. A motor soft starter includes a circuit having an input connectable to an AC source and an output connectable to an input terminal of an AC motor, with the circuit being operable in a ramping mode and a bypass mode so as to control current flow and terminal voltages in the AC motor. The soft starter includes a controller connected to the circuit to control operation thereof, with the controller including a configurable current filter. The controller determines a current of an AC power provided to the input terminal of the AC motor from the soft starter, identifies a present operational mode of the soft starter as being one of the ramping mode and the bypass mode, and performs filtering on the determined current based on the present operational mode of the soft starter.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 20, 2011
    Publication date: January 24, 2013
    Inventors: Robert Thomas Wolfe, Steven A. Dimino
  • Patent number: 6380718
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for increasing the voltage resolution of a PWM controller wherein the controller controls pulse width as a function of a PWM register count having a maximum count X where 1 part in X affords insufficient resolution, the method including receiving a high resolution voltage request count from within the range 0 through count Y where the voltage corresponding to count Y is equal to the voltage corresponding to count X and where count Y is greater than count X, the method including dividing the request signal by a divisor (Y/X) to generate an output value and a remainder, identifying a pseudo-random number within the range of possible remainder values, comparing the pseudo-random number to the remainder, where the pseudo-random number is less than the remainder, incrementing the output value, providing the output value to the PWM register as the register count and repeating the aforementioned steps.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 30, 2000
    Date of Patent: April 30, 2002
    Assignee: Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Gerald Wesley Davis, Jr., Robert Thomas Wolfe