UHS: safe tripping of very high currents in the SELV range

Even in the SELV range, the range of safety extralow voltage that is harmless to people even when touched, enormously high currents can flow in the event of a short circuit. SCHURTER responds to this danger with the new, particularly compact SMT fuse UHS.

SELV stands for “Safety Extra Low Voltage”. The term sounds self-explanatory and harmless. However, especially with the availability of inexpensive and yet very powerful lithium-ion battery cells, the need to be able to switch off ever higher currents in a controlled manner on inexpensive SMT circuit boards is increasing.

The SMT fuse SCHURTER UHS with rated currents of 50 to 100A, which was specially developed for these cases, ideally meets the requirements for a high and fast breaking capacity in case of massive overcurrent. The immense energies stored in lithium-ion battery cells can be galvanically isolated in a controlled manner.

Compact and powerful

Space is a scarce commodity on modern printed circuit boards. This makes the minimal “footprint” occupied by the UHS even more significant. Nevertheless, it manages to disconnect the circuit at twice the rated current within just 10 seconds and thus ensures that the PCB can be constructed in a space-saving and economical manner.

Danger: Short circuit

Lithium-ion battery cells can store very high amounts of energy and release it again within a very short time – for example in the event of a short circuit. The UHS has an enormously robust design. Its breaking capacity at 50VDC is 600A, and lower voltages up to 16VDC even allow 2’000A.

Wide range of applications

The UHS is designed to operate at ambient temperatures from -55°C to +125°C. This makes it ideal for applications in the automotive sector. However, other applications with potentially very high overcurrent (telecom, data center or power tools) are also perfectly suited.