THERMALLY PROTECTED ELECTRICAL WIRING DEVICE
First Claim
1. An electrical device comprising:
- a housing;
at least one input conductor disposed at least partially within said housing and capable of being electrically connected to a source of electricity;
at least one output conductor disposed within said housing and capable of conducting electrical current to a load when electrically connected to said at least one input conductor;
at least one thermally sensitive element disposed within said housing; and
a circuit cutoff disposed within said housing coupled to said thermally sensitive element and configured to break said electrical connection between said input and output conductor when the thermally sensitive element draws an amount of current above a predefined level.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A receptacle having at least one thermally sensitive electrically conductive element made of, for example, a thermally conductive plastic which either increases or decreases its conductivity when subjected to an increase in temperature. The thermally sensitive element is positioned within the housing of the receptacle such that it makes contact with a blade of an inserted plug or a blade receiving contact in the receptacle. By contacting at least one blade of a plug, or the blade receiving contact in the receptacle, the thermally sensitive element is positioned to detect a temperature rise. A circuit interrupting device located within the receptacle and coupled to the thermally sensitive element is configured to cause electrical discontinuity between the line and load of the receptacle upon the detection of a high heat condition by the thermally conductive element.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. An electrical device comprising:
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a housing;
at least one input conductor disposed at least partially within said housing and capable of being electrically connected to a source of electricity;
at least one output conductor disposed within said housing and capable of conducting electrical current to a load when electrically connected to said at least one input conductor;
at least one thermally sensitive element disposed within said housing; and
a circuit cutoff disposed within said housing coupled to said thermally sensitive element and configured to break said electrical connection between said input and output conductor when the thermally sensitive element draws an amount of current above a predefined level. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16)
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14. A circuit comprising:
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a GFCI;
at least one receptacle that has a thermal sensor but no circuit interrupter located down stream of the GFCI receptacle wherein when an over temperature exists, the thermal sensor in the at least one receptacle creates a ground fault or a ground neutral fault which causes the upstream GFCI to trip off the power.
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17. A method of controlling the flow of electricity through an electrical device comprising:
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connecting an electrical device to a source of power;
detecting the temperature of at least an element within the device; and
breaking electrical continuity within the electrical device when the temperature of the at least an element exceeds a predetermined threshold. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19)
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Specification