Circuit Protection for Medical Devices

E-T-A has designed an extensive line of circuit breakers specifically for the rigorous protection standards of medical applications. The full line meets Medical Electrical Equipment Standard EN 60601-1, and holds internationally recognized approvals from VDE, UL, CCC and CSA

E-T-A’s circuit breakers reliably disconnect hazardous overcurrents. They help to increase the availability and life of medical equipment, and they also reliably protect doctors, nurses and patients against the hazards of overheated devices. E-T-A offers well-proven resettable circuit breakers, but also a comprehensive range of so-called circuit breaker/switch combinations to allow a compact design of medical equipment.

These are overcurrent circuit breakers that also serve as an ON/OFF switch of apparatus and machines. Compared to standard solutions, which consist of ON/OFF switches and blade fuses, they reduce mounting and wiring time, but also material planning and inventory costs.

E-T-A circuit breakers carry international approval marks and meet the requirements of the EN 60 601-1 standard for medical electrical equipment.

Therefore many of E-T-A’s circuit breaker/ switch combinations are available as »both 1-pole, 2-pole switching, 2-pole protected«. They can be used, in compliance with the relevant standard with functional earth connection.

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Thermal

Thermal Reset Circuit Breakers; Thermal Circuit Breaker and Switch Combinations

Trip time of thermal circuit breakers depends on the overload current. The higher the current, the faster the bimetal will reach its predetermined tripping temperature. Therefore, they are ideally suited to the protection of motors, transformer windings and low voltage power distribution circuits in medical equipment.

E-T-A thermal circuit breakers can quickly be reset manually after tripping. With tease-free and trip-free trip mechanisms, thermal circuit breakers provide extremely reliable and robust interrupting capacity, and ensure reduce downtime and increased longevity of medical equipment.

Thermal overcurrent protection circuit breakers can be combined with on/off switch function for use in various medical applications. Alternatively to where fuses, fuse holders, separate switches or press to reset only circuit breakers are used, E-T-A’s multi-functional products will significantly reduce the number of components required in assembly for saving space, time and overall design and manufacturing costs.

Medical circuit protection thermal magnetic circuit breakers

Thermal Magnetic Circuit Breakers

Thermal-magnetic circuit breakers typically feature a latching type bimetal combined in series with a solenoid to provide the benefits of both a delayed operation for low level over current protection and a faster response to higher value overloads.

While a Thermal device provides ideal protection for nominal over currents experienced over time, the energized solenoid of the Magnetic feature will provide a more rapid response to more significant over currents exceeding 5-6 times the current rating of the circuit breaker.

Available in 1 to 4 pole , din rail mounting and ratings up to 63A.

Medical circuit protection magnetic circuit breakers

Magnetic/Hydraulic-Magnetic

Hydraulic-magnetic circuit breakers include a main contact assembly which is held in the closed position by a spring loaded mechanical latching mechanism. This mechanism is triggered by operation of a solenoid which is energized when the current reaches or exceeds a predetermined point. By utilizing the available delay curves of short, medium or long the design engineer can tailor the breaker to meet the specific application.

The fast switching characteristic of a Magnetic design provides protection of printed circuit boards and semi-conductors.

As a temperature stable device they are not appreciably affected by changes in ambient temperature and can be reset immediately after tripping.
Available in 1 to 4 pole with ratings up to 125A they provide ideal solutions for many medical applications.

Medical circuit protection solid state

Solid State

In large medical equipment, 24 V DC switch-mode power supplies (SMPS) are used more and more frequently, replacing conventional transformer power supplies. The requirements of SMPS regarding overcurrent protection are quite different – at high loads caused by short circuit or overload, an SMPS will automatically reduce its output voltage.

E-T-A’s solid state electronic circuit breakers and protectors provide the ideal solution for this challenge. Thanks to integral current limitation, they ensure reliable selective load disconnection. In the event of an overcurrent in a load circuit, only the faulty circuit will be disconnected, without affecting the 24 VDC switch-mode power supply.

Selective disconnection ensures that important parts of the system stay in operation

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