Description
A fuse is a Power Component that can exist on the Power Bus and acts as a current analyzing device. The fuse component replicates a power fuse that blows if a specific current is exceeded. When the current is exceeded, all devices on the series chain coming from the power bus are disabled and have no power connections until the fuse is re-enabled again, acting as a current-defined switch.
Example Use Cases
- Power Monitoring: Monitoring circuitry to ensure devices aren’t drawing too much current from the battery.
- Power Protection: Protecting devices that have a maximum current input ensuring that if the current exceeds the limit with a spike, the devices are protected.
Module Implementation
The fuse model checks the incoming current to the Current Threshold which is set by the user, . The user can also specify the time that the current must exceed to blow the fuse, . Once the fuse is blown, it will not automatically reset unless a Reset Duration is set, which is the time . After this amount of time, the fuse is reset to receive more current. A duration of will not enable the reset of the fuse.
Internal Components
Similar to the power component, internally the power fuse has a resistor. The resistor is set to the resistance of the fuse, typically 1Ω, but will be adjusted based on whether the fuse is blown. If the fuse is blown, the resistance becomes 1TΩ, preventing the current from flowing through the component. Otherwise, it will resume the nominal current passing through.
Assumptions/Limitations
- Fuses only check for current limiting and do not check voltage spikes on the circuit.
- Fuses will prevent power from entering all devices, both before and after, on the circuitry line within the series circuit.