The rapid proliferation of microprocessor-based electronic office equipment and small computers for the home and office has created a need for means to suppress power line voltage "spikes" or transient surges which can cause data errors and even permanent damage to such equipment. These transient surges are caused most frequently by nearby lightning strikes and by the switching of inductive load equipment which is connected to the same local a.c. power distribution branch or circuit. Unfortunately, a large amount of equipment in the field today has inadequate built-in transient surge suppression circuitry.
As a consequence of the poor power line transient surge immunity of such equipment, a market has developed for "power line conditioning" apparatus which can be inserted between the user's equipment and the power outlet where it is normally plugged in. One popular type of low cost surge suppressor incorporates surge suppression devices in a power outlet strip with multiple sockets. In this way a single wall outlet can be used to supply power to a number of devices which normally work together in a typical work station including items such as a personal computer, cathode ray tube display, printer, telephone modem, etc.. All of such equipment can be susceptible to disturbances from power line transients, so that devices which can protect them and provide a convenient power source at the same time have become quite commonly employed.
In addition to the transient surge suppression devices incorporated into these multiple outlet strip units, they generally also contain a circuit breaker to prevent overloading the branch circuit breaker and also to shut-down the power in the event of catastrophic equipment failure. A manual on-off switch and associated pilot light are also usually provided so that the entire work station can be conveniently activated from a single control point.
There are three types of surge suppression devices or regulator devices commonly employed in low cost power line surge suppressor units. These types are (1) gas discharge tubes, (2) metal oxide varistors, and (3) silicon avalanche diodes. These devices have different operating characteristics and ratings and different failure or "wear out" characteristics. Some suppression units use two of these devices in a coordinated circuit to take advantage of the more desirable characteristics of each device. One useful combination of devices employs metal oxide varistors and silicon avalanche diodes. The metal oxide varistors provide the advantage of high surge energy and high current ratings at low cost, while the silicon avalanche diodes provide the advantage of low clamping voltage levels and extremely long life.
Regardless of the type of suppression devices employed, each type can fail if subjected to overloads which exceed its ratings. Furthermore, metal oxide varistors have a limited pulse life-time, which varies with the magnitude and number of transient pulses absorbed. The most common initial failure mode of both varistors and avalanche diodes is a short circuit condition. However, when such a transient suppression device is connected across a power line as a shunt regulator suppressor, a short circuit failure of the device will result in substantial a.c. current from the power line flowing through the device. The fault current will flow until a circuit breaker or fuse interrupts the current, or until the device absorbs so much energy that it melts, explodes or otherwise results in an open circuit. If the suppression device fails in this open circuit condition before the fuse or circuit breaker can operate, normal line voltage will continue to be applied to the user's equipment, but the transient protection will be lost. Thus, the user will not normally know that his equipment is without surge protection.
Since most transient suppression units, particularly those of the multiple outlet variety, will normally be connected to the a.c. power distribution system through circuit breakers that can supply enough energy to power all the outlets, and hence enough to blow open a short-circuit-failed suppression device, the likelihood of subsequent line surge damage to expensive equipment by such open-circuit failure of the regulator elements gives rise to a need for a transient suppression system which does not pose this danger. It is also possible that repeated resetting of the circuit breaker will eventually cause a short-circuit failed device to blow to an open circuit condition, whereupon the circuit breaker will remain closed, again allowing the user to operate his equipment unprotected.
To improve upon the situation described above, some manufacturers have included means to operate a warning lamp to indicate that a suppression device failure has occured. The lamp is activated by the blowing of a fast acting low current fuse which will open before enough energy has been delivered to the failed device to cause it to reach an open circuit condition. The lamp may signal the fault condition by lighting or extinguishing, depending upon the particular transient suppressor apparatus employed. The user, therefore, must constantly observe the condition of the lamp; however, since the transient suppression device is often placed on the floor under a desk, the lamp may not be readily visible.
It would be useful, therefore, to improve the prior art by providing a simple, relatively inexpensive automatic means for insuring the shutting off of power to the user's equipment in the event of suppression device failure, so that he cannot inadvertently operate his equipment without transient surge protection.
An additional useful feature would include provision such that a normally power-on indicating pilot lamp would be extinguished by the shut-down mechanism in the event of a suppression device failure, even if the circuit breaker remains closed after the failure, thereby indicating that no power is available at the sockets to which he connects his equipment.