Both of these parameters, and several others, are user-programmable via a simple serial digital bit-sequence that’s generated by the system’s host microcontroller. Other user-programmable parameters include reference voltage, overcurrent detection limits, fault reporting, and low power mode.
The HO series delivers its output as a scaled analogue voltage. In most systems, this will be converted to a digital value by an analogue-to-digital converter (ADC), which requires a reference voltage. The designer can program the HO-series transducer to output a reference of 0.5, 1.5, 1.65 or 2.5V on a dedicated pin. Alternatively, the transducers are able to be configured to make measurements relative to an external reference.
According to LEM, offset and gain drift figures are twice as good (over the temperature range -25 to +85°C) as previous-generation transducers of the same type. Typical accuracy equals 1% and 2.8%, at +25°C and +85°C, respectively, without offset, and with a high level of insulation between primary and measurement circuits.
One particularly innovative feature is programmable overcurrent detection, separate from the main current measurement. Using a single measurement range (for both detection and measuring functions), if the transducer must detect an overcurrent condition at (say) five times the nominal full-scale value, the measurement range must extend up to the overcurrent limit, reducing available accuracy within the nominal range. Separate overcurrent detection, with programmable threshold, ensures that maximum resolution is maintained up to the nominal full-scale value.
LEM’s booth at PCIM 2012 displayed the new HO series (front left), along with some of its predecessors from as far back as the 1970s.
www.lem.com