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Bourns® Products
LPM Line Protection Modules
Bourns offers Line Feed Resistors combining matched
resistor pairs plus thermal link fuses.
Line Feed Resistors
A Line Feed Resistor (LFR) is the most fundamental
form of current protection, normally fabricated as a
thick-film device on a ceramic substrate. With the
ability to withstand high voltage impulses without
breaking down, AC current interruption occurs when
the high temperature developed by the resistor causes
mechanical expansion stresses that result in the
ceramic breaking open.
Low current power induction may not break the LFR
open, creating long-term surface temperatures of more
than 300 °C. To avoid heat damage to the PCB and
adjacent components, maximum surface temperature
can be limited to about 250 °C by incorporating a
series thermal fuse link on the LFR. The link consists
of a solder alloy that melts when high temperatures
occur for periods of 10 seconds or more.
Along with the high precision needed for balanced
lines, LFRs have significant flexibility to integrate
additional resistors, multiple devices, or even different
protection technology within a single component. One
possible limitation is the need to dimension the LFR
to handle the resistive dissipation under surge
conditions. Along with combining multiple
noninductive thick-film resistors on a single substrate
to achieve matching to <1 %, a resistor can be
combined with other devices to optimize their
interaction with the overall protection design.
For example, a simple resistor is not ideal for
protecting a wire, but combining a low value resistor
with another overcurrent protector provides closer
protection and less dissipation than either device can
offer alone. Both functions can be integrated onto a
single thick-film component using fusible elements,
PTC thermistors, or thermal fuses. Similarly, more
complex hybrids are available, adding surface mount
components such as thyristor protectors, to produce
coordinated sub-systems.
Thermal Switches
These switches are thermally activated, non-resetting
mechanical devices mounted on a voltage-limiting
device (normally a GDT). There are three common
activation technologies: melting plastic insulator,
melting solder pellet or a disconnect device.
Melting occurs as a result of the temperature rise of
the voltage-limiting device’s thermal overload
condition when exposed to a continuous current
flow. When the switch operates, it shorts out the
voltage-limiting device, typically to ground,
conducting the surge current previously flowing
through the voltage limiting device.
A plastic-melting based switch consists of a spring
with a plastic insulator that separates the spring
contact from the metallic conductors of the voltage
limiting device. When the plastic melts, the spring
contacts both conductors and shorts out the voltage
limiting device.
A solder–pellet-melting based switch consists of a
spring mechanism that separates the line
conductor(s) from the ground conductor by a solder
pellet. In the event of a thermal overload condition,
the solder pellet melts and allows the spring contacts
to short the line and ground terminals of the voltage-
limiting device.
A “Snap Action” switch typically uses a spring
assembly that is held in the open position by a
soldered standoff and will short out the voltage
limiting device when its switching temperature is
reached. When the soldered connection melts, the
switch is released and shorts out the line and ground
terminals of the voltage limited (Bourns US Patent
#6,327,129).