CMYK

SSAAF FE TEYT Y

PolyFuse
A New Standard For Circuit Protection
Fuses work between life and death of a circuitry.
Choosing the right fuse is important for prolonged
protection of the circuitry from over-current and
voltage spikes. Conventional fuse is either ‘ok’ or
‘blown,’ but PolyFuse is a resettable fuse by itself

tain length of time. Typi-

cally, a wire or chemical
compound breaks the circuit
when the current exceeds
the rated value.
PolyFuse is a resettable
fuse that doesn’t need to be
replaced like the conven-
tional fuse. Many manufac-
turers also call it PolySwitch
or MultiFuse. (PolySwitch
and MultiFuse are registered
trademarks of Raychem Corp.
and Bourns Inc., respec- Fig. 1: Effects of ambient temperature on
tively.) the resistance of a PolyFuse
Resettable fuses provide
over-current protection and The conductive plastic is basically
automatic restoration. a non-conductive crystalline polymer
Usually packaged in radial, loaded with a highly conductive carbon
axial, surface-mount, chip, to make it conductive. The electrodes
disk or washer form, these
are available in voltage rat- Edge Over Conventional
ings of 30 to 250 volts and Fuses
current ratings of 20 mA to
100 amps. 1. Over-current protection
Radial-leaded metal-oxide varistor devices from Raychem 2. Low base resistance
can be combined with PolySwitch devices to help provide 3. Latching (non-cycling) operation
protection for electric motors, telecom equipment and The basics 4. Automatic resettability
various other systems 5. Short time to trip
Technically, PolyFuses are 6. No arcing during faulty situations
not fuses but polymeric positive-tempera- 7. Small dimensions and compact design
8. Internationally standardised and ap-
T.A. BABU ture coefficient thermistors. For proved
thermistors characterised as positive tem- 9. No accidental hot plugging

A
fuse is a one-time over-current pro- perature coefficient, the device resistance 10. Withstand mechanical shocks and vi-
tection device employing a fusible increases with temperature. These com- brations and comply with the safety
norms
link that melts (blows) after the prise thin sheets of conductive plastic
11. Lifetime up to ten times longer
current exceeds a certain level for a cer- with electrodes attached to either side.

ELECTRONICS FOR YOU SEPTEMBER 2004

CMYK

SAFETY

Fig. 2: Transformer protection by PolyFuse

Applications
PolyFuses are used in automobiles, bat-
teries, computers and peripherals,
industrial controls, consumer electronics,
medical electronics, lighting, security
Fig. 3: Speaker protection by PolyFuse and fire alarm systems, telecommunica-
tion equipment and a host of other
applications where circuit protection is
Bourns 600V PPTC resettable MultiFuse required.
Figs 2, 3 and 4 show the use of a
ensure even distribution of power through- PolyFuse for transformer, speaker and bat-
out the device. tery protection, respectively.
Operation. At room temperature, nu- The equipment powered by a trans-
Fig. 4: Battery protection by PolyFuse former get overheated due to excessive
current or short-circuit. A PolyFuse on the
Operating Parameters for
merous carbon chains form conductive secondary side of the transformer will pro-
PolyFuses
paths through the plastic material. In case tect the equipment against overload.
1. Initial resistance. The resistance of the an excessive current flows through the Nowadays speakers are designed
device as received from the factory device, the temperature of the conductive and sold independently of amplifiers.
2. Operating voltage. The maximum
voltage a device can withstand with- plastic material rises. When the tempera- Therefore, there are possibilities of
out damage at the rated current ture exceeds its phase-transformation damage due to mismatches; for example,
3. Holding current. Safe current through temperature, the crystalline structure high-power amplifiers coupled with
the device suddenly changes into an expanded low-power speakers or a speaker coil
4. Trip current. Where the device inter- amorphous state. Now the conductive driven with a high volume. The protec-
rupts the current
5. Time to trip. The time it takes for the particles move apart from each other. A tion choices for loudspeaker systems
device to trip at a given temperature dramatic increase in resistance stops the are limited. Fuses protect the speaker,
and current flow of current through the device. The but a blown fuse is always a source of
6. Tripped state. Transition from the low- critical current level at which this frustration.
resistance state to the high-resistance
happens is known as the trip current. Using a PolyFuse in series with
state due to an overload
7. Leakage current. A small value of stray However, a negligible leakage current the speaker will protect it from
current flowing through the device af- continues to flow. The device remains over-current/over-heating damage. Choos-
ter it has switched to high-resistance latched until the fault is cleared, provid- ing a correct trip-current rated PolyFuse
mode ing continuous protection. is important to match the power
8. Trip cycle. The number of trip cycles
(at rated voltage and current) the de-
Once the applied voltage disappears, level of the speaker. However, a PolyFuse
vice sustains without failure the polymer particles rapidly return cannot protect against mechanical
9. Trip endurance. The duration of time to their original structure. The resistance overload due to inadequate cabinet
the device sustains its maximum rated drops again and automatically design.
voltage in the tripped state without resets within a few seconds. Thus a Batteries are constantly charged and
failure
10. Power dissipation. Power dissipated PolyFuse acts like a self-resetting solidstate discharged over their life-cycle.
by the device in its tripped state circuit breaker, which makes Over-charge results in an increase in the
11. Thermal duration. Influence of ambi- it suitable for providing low-cost over- temperature of the electrolyte. This
ent temperature current protection. could cause either a fire or an explosion.
12. Hysteresis. The period between the The resistance of PolyFuse (expressed PolyFuse can play a vital role in
actual beginning of the signaling of
the device to trip and the actual trip- on log scale) at room temperature is a the charging and discharging cycles of
ping of the device few ohms and rapidly increases above batteries.
110°C. ❑

ELECTRONICS FOR YOU SEPTEMBER 2004