IPC분류정보
국가/구분 |
United States(US) Patent
등록
|
국제특허분류(IPC7판) |
|
출원번호 |
US-0810341
(2007-06-04)
|
등록번호 |
US-7439833
(2008-10-21)
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발명자
/ 주소 |
- Germain,Frantz
- Stewart,Stephen
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출원인 / 주소 |
- Leviton Manufacturing Co., Ltd.
|
대리인 / 주소 |
Carter, DeLuca, Farrell & Schmidt, LLP
|
인용정보 |
피인용 횟수 :
18 인용 특허 :
187 |
초록
▼
Located within a GFCI is a movable contact bearing arm which cooperates with at least one fixed contact. When the movable arm is moved up to allow the at least one contact on the arm to close with at least one fixed contact, the GFCI is in a conducting state and current flows from a source of electr
Located within a GFCI is a movable contact bearing arm which cooperates with at least one fixed contact. When the movable arm is moved up to allow the at least one contact on the arm to close with at least one fixed contact, the GFCI is in a conducting state and current flows from a source of electricity through the closed contacts to a load and to the contacts of a receptacle. When the movable arm is moved down to open the contacts, the GFCI is in a non-conducting state and current cannot flow from the source of electricity to either the load or the receptacle contacts. In this invention, the up and down movement of the movable contact bearing arm is harnessed to move a blocking member located within the housing of the GFCI to a first position to block at least one opening of the receptacle as the movable arm is moved down or to a second position to allow the prongs of a plug to enter the openings of the receptacle as the movable arm is moved up. The downward movement of the movable contact bearing arm occurs when the GFCI goes into a non-conducting state. Resetting the GFCI by pressing in and then releasing a reset button causes the movable contact bearing arm to move up to make contact with the at least one fixed contact. As the movable arm moves up, the blocking member moves to the first or non-blocking position to allow the prongs of a plug to freely enter the openings in the face of the receptacle. GFCI's normally have two separate sets of internally located contacts known as bridge contacts where one set is used to connect a load to the source of electricity and the second set is used to connect a user accessible load to the source of electricity. The bridge contacts provide isolation between the conductors to the load and the conductors to the contacts of the GFCI receptacle when the GFCI is in a non-conducting state. In the GFCI here disclosed, the blocking member prevents the prongs of a plug from entering the receptacle when the GFCI is in a non-conducting state and, therefore, the need for the bridge contacts is diminished.
대표청구항
▼
The invention claimed is: 1. A circuit interrupting device comprising: a first electrical conductor adapted to electrically connect to a source of electric current, a second electrical conductor, and a third electrical conductor, wherein the first, second, and third electrical conductors are positi
The invention claimed is: 1. A circuit interrupting device comprising: a first electrical conductor adapted to electrically connect to a source of electric current, a second electrical conductor, and a third electrical conductor, wherein the first, second, and third electrical conductors are positioned to electrically connect to at least one user accessible receptacle; at least one movable bridge electrically connected to the first electrical conductor and movable between a closed position to provide electrical continuity between the first electrical conductor and at least one of the second and third electrical conductors and an open position to break electrical continuity between at least two of the electrical conductors; a blocking linkage having at least one blocking surface disposed thereon and configured to move between a first position to substantially align the at least one blocking surface with the at least one user accessible receptacle thereby preventing user access thereto and a second position to substantially misalign the at least one blocking surface with the at least one user accessible receptacle thereby permitting user access thereto; a resilient cantilever having a distal end operatively coupled to the blocking linkage, wherein the at least one movable bridge is configured to engage the resilient cantilever when in the closed position to move the resilient cantilever to a stressed position thereby moving the blocking linkage to the second position and to disengage the resilient cantilever when in the open position to move the resilient cantilever to an unstressed position thereby moving the blocking linkage to the first position; at least one reset arm having a latch disposed thereon and configured to move between a reset position causing the latch to move the at least one movable bridge to the closed position and a tripped position causing the latch to disengage the at least one movable bridge upon the occurrence of a predetermined condition, thereby permitting movement of the at least one movable bridge to the open position and movement of the resilient cantilever to the unstressed position to move the blocking linkage to the first position to substantially align the at least one blocking surface with the at least one user accessible receptacle; and a circuit interrupter configured to move the at least one reset arm to the tripped position upon the occurrence of the predetermined condition, thereby permitting movement of the at least one movable bridge to the open position to break electrical continuity between at least two of the electrical conductors, wherein, upon resolution of the predetermined condition, movement of the at least one reset arm from the tripped position to the reset position is permitted which causes the latch to reorient the at least one movable bridge to the closed position, thereby reestablishing electrical continuity between the electrical conductors and moving the resilient cantilever to the stressed position which moves the blocking linkage to the second position to substantially misalign the at least one blocking surface with the at least one user accessible receptacle. 2. The circuit interrupting device of claim 1, wherein the latch is configured to lockably engage the at least one movable bridge to prevent movement thereof from the open position to the closed position if the predetermined condition remains unresolved. 3. The circuit interrupting device of claim 1, further including a reset button operatively coupled to the at least one reset arm and configured to permit selective movement of the at least one reset arm from the tripped position to the reset position upon resolution of the predetermined condition. 4. The circuit interrupting device of claim 1, further comprising a tripper configured to selectively move the at least one reset arm to the tripped position upon the occurrence of the predetermined condition, thereby permitting movement of the at least one movable bridge to the open position to break electrical continuity between at least two of the electrical conductors, thereby moving the resilient cantilever to the unstressed position which moves the blocking linkage to the first position to substantially align the at least one blocking surface with the at least one user accessible receptacle. 5. The circuit interrupting device of claim 1, further comprising a solenoid having a movable electro-mechanical linkage operatively coupled to the circuit interrupter, wherein the electro-mechanical linkage is configured to cause the circuit interrupter to engage the at least one reset arm upon the occurrence of the predetermined condition, thereby permitting movement of the at least one movable bridge to the open position to break electrical continuity between at least two of the electrical conductors and movement of the resilient cantilever to the unstressed position which moves the blocking linkage to the first position to substantially align the at least one blocking surface with the at least one user accessible receptacle and causes the circuit interrupter to disengage the at least one reset arm after the resolution of the predetermined condition, thereby permitting movement of the reset arm from the tripped position to the reset position to cause the latch to reorient the at least one movable bridge to the closed position to reestablish electrical continuity between the electrical conductors and move the resilient cantilever to the unstressed position, thereby moving the blocking linkage to the first position to substantially align the at least one blocking surface with the at least one user accessible receptacle. 6. The circuit interrupting device of claim 1, wherein the at least one movable bridge comprises: at least one contact electrically connected to the first electrical conductor and configured to electrically engage at least one of at least one corresponding load contact electrically connected to the second electrical conductor and at least one corresponding user accessible contact electrically connected to the third electrical conductor. 7. The circuit interrupting device of claim 1, further comprising a sensing circuit operatively coupled to the solenoid and configured to detect the occurrence of the predetermined condition, wherein the sensing circuit energizes the solenoid, thereby causing the electro-mechanical linkage to cause the circuit interrupter to move the at least one reset arm from the reset position to the tripped position upon the occurrence of the predetermined condition, thereby permitting movement of the at least one movable bridge to the open position to break electrical continuity between at least two of the electrical conductors and movement of the resilient cantilever to the unstressed position to move the blocking linkage to the first position to substantially align the at least one blocking surface with the at least one user accessible receptacle. 8. The circuit interrupting device of claim 7, wherein the sensing circuit includes a differential transformer operatively coupled to an integrated circuit, the differential transformer being configured to detect the occurrence of the predetermined condition and to cause the integrated circuit to output a trigger signal to the sensing circuit upon the occurrence of the predetermined condition, thereby causing the sensing circuit to energize the solenoid which causes the electro-mechanical linkage to cause the circuit interrupter to move the at least one reset arm from the reset position to the tripped position, thereby permitting movement of the at least one movable bridge to the open position to break electrical continuity between at least two of the electrical conductors and movement of the resilient cantilever to the unstressed position to move the blocking linkage to the first position to substantially align the at least one blocking surface with the at least one user accessible receptacle. 9. The circuit interrupting device of claim 1, wherein the resilient cantilever includes a ramp surface configured to be engaged by the at least one movable bridge upon movement thereof to the closed position, thereby moving the resilient cantilever to the stressed position which moves the blocking linkage to the second position to substantially misalign the at least one blocking surface with the at least one user accessible receptacle. 10. The circuit interrupting device of claim 1, wherein the device is one of a GFCI, an AFCI, an IDCI, an ALCI, and an ELCI. 11. The circuit interrupting device of claim 1, wherein the predetermined condition includes at least one of an open neutral condition, the circuit interrupting device being reverse wired, and the circuit interrupter being non-operational. 12. The circuit interrupting device of claim 1, wherein the at least one user accessible receptacle is dimensioned to selectively receive an AC plug. 13. A circuit interrupting device comprising: a housing having a first electrical conductor adapted to electrically connect to a source of electric current, a second electrical conductor, and a third electrical conductor, wherein the first, second, and third electrical conductors are positioned to electrically connect to at least one user accessible receptacle adapted to receive at least one prong of an electrical plug; at least one movable bridge electrically connected to the first electrical conductor and movable between a closed position to provide electrical continuity between the first electrical conductor and at least one of the second and third electrical conductors and an open position to break electrical continuity between at least two of the electrical conductors; a blocking linkage having at least one blocking surface disposed thereon and configured to move between a first position to substantially align the at least one blocking surface with the at least one user accessible receptacle thereby preventing reception of the at least one prong therein and a second position to substantially misalign the at least one blocking surface with the at least one user accessible receptacle thereby permitting reception of the at least one prong therein; a resilient cantilever having a proximal end connected to an interior of the housing and a distal end operatively coupled to the blocking linkage, wherein the at least one movable bridge is configured to engage the resilient cantilever when in the closed position to move the resilient cantilever to a stressed position thereby moving the blocking linkage to the second position and to disengage the resilient cantilever when in the open position to move the resilient cantilever to an unstressed position thereby moving the blocking linkage to the first position; at least one reset arm having a latch disposed thereon and configured to move between a reset position causing the latch to move the at least one movable bridge to the closed position and a tripped position causing the latch to disengage the at least one movable bridge upon the occurrence of a predetermined condition, thereby permitting movement of the at least one movable bridge to the open position and movement of the resilient cantilever to the unstressed position which moves the blocking linkage to the first position to substantially align the at least one blocking surface with the at least one user accessible receptacle; and a circuit interrupter configured to move the at least one reset arm to the tripped position upon the occurrence of the predetermined condition, thereby permitting movement of the at least one movable bridge to the open position to break electrical continuity between at least two of the electrical conductors, wherein, upon resolution of the predetermined condition, movement of the at least one reset arm from the tripped position to the reset position is permitted which causes the latch to reorient the at least one movable bridge to the closed position, thereby reestablishing electrical continuity between the electrical conductors and moving the resilient cantilever to the stressed position which moves the blocking linkage to the second position to substantially misalign the at least one blocking surface with the at least one user accessible receptacle. 14. The circuit interrupting device of claim 13, wherein the latch is configured to lockably engage the at least one movable bridge to prevent movement thereof from the open position to the closed position if the predetermined condition remains unresolved. 15. The circuit interrupting device of claim 13, further including a reset button operatively coupled to the at least one reset arm and configured to permit selective movement of the at least one reset arm from the tripped position to the reset position upon resolution of the predetermined condition. 16. The circuit interrupting device of claim 13, further comprising a tripper configured to selectively move the at least one reset arm to the tripped position upon the occurrence of the predetermined condition, thereby permitting movement of the at least one movable bridge to the open position to break electrical continuity between at least two of the electrical conductors, thereby moving the resilient cantilever to the unstressed position which moves the blocking linkage to the first position to substantially align the at least one blocking surface with the at least one user accessible receptacle. 17. The circuit interrupting device of claim 13, further comprising a solenoid having a movable electro-mechanical linkage operatively coupled to the circuit interrupter, wherein the electro-mechanical linkage is configured to cause the circuit interrupter to engage the at least one reset arm upon the occurrence of the predetermined condition, thereby permitting movement of the at least one movable bridge to the open position to break electrical continuity between at least two of the electrical conductors and movement of the resilient cantilever to the unstressed position which moves the blocking linkage to the first position to substantially align the at least one blocking surface with the at least one user accessible receptacle and causes the circuit interrupter to disengage the at least one reset arm after the resolution of the predetermined condition, thereby permitting movement of the reset arm from the tripped position to the reset position to cause the latch to reorient the at least one movable bridge to the closed position to reestablish electrical continuity between the electrical conductors and move the resilient cantilever to the unstressed position thereby moving the blocking linkage to the first position to substantially align the at least one blocking surface with the at least one user accessible receptacle. 18. The circuit interrupting device of claim 13, further comprising a sensing circuit operatively coupled to the solenoid and configured to detect the occurrence of the predetermined condition, wherein the sensing circuit energizes the solenoid, thereby causing the electro-mechanical linkage to cause the circuit interrupter to move the at least one reset arm from the reset position to the tripped position upon the occurrence of the predetermined condition, thereby permitting movement of the at least one movable bridge to the open position to break electrical continuity between at least two of the electrical conductors and movement of the resilient cantilever to the unstressed position which moves the blocking linkage to the first position to substantially align the at least one blocking surface with the at least one user accessible receptacle. 19. The circuit interrupting device of claim 18, wherein the sensing circuit includes a differential transformer operatively coupled to an integrated circuit, the differential transformer being configured to detect the occurrence of the predetermined condition and to cause the integrated circuit to output a trigger signal to the sensing circuit upon the occurrence of the predetermined condition, thereby causing the sensing circuit to energize the solenoid which causes the electro-mechanical linkage to cause the circuit interrupter to move the at least one reset arm from the reset position to the tripped position, thereby permitting movement of the at least one movable bridge to the open position to break electrical continuity between at least two of the electrical conductors and movement of the resilient cantilever to the unstressed position to move the blocking linkage to the first position to substantially align the at least one blocking surface with the at least one user accessible receptacle.
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