Electrical wiring device
First Claim
Patent Images
1. An electrical wiring device comprising:
- a plurality of line terminals configured to be connected to a source of AC power, and a plurality of load terminals configured to be connected to at least one electrical load;
a detection assembly coupled to the plurality of line terminals and the plurality of load terminals, the detection assembly being configured to detect a wiring state associated with the plurality of line terminals and the plurality of load terminals, the detection assembly including a primary wiring state detection circuit coupled to the plurality of line terminals, and a secondary wiring state detection circuit coupled to the plurality of load terminals; and
a circuit interrupting assembly including four sets of interrupting contacts that are configured to provide an electrically continuous path between the plurality of line terminals and the plurality of load terminals in a reset state and interrupt the electrically continuous path in a tripped state, wherein the plurality of line terminals and the plurality of load terminals are substantially isolated from each other in the tripped state.
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Abstract
The present invention is directed to an electrical wiring device that includes a detection assembly coupled to a plurality of line terminals and a plurality of load terminals, the detection assembly being configured to detect a wiring state associated with the plurality of line terminals and the plurality of load terminals. The detection assembly includes a primary wiring state detection circuit coupled to the plurality of line terminals, and a secondary wiring state detection circuit coupled to the plurality of load terminals.
129 Citations
52 Claims
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1. An electrical wiring device comprising:
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a plurality of line terminals configured to be connected to a source of AC power, and a plurality of load terminals configured to be connected to at least one electrical load; a detection assembly coupled to the plurality of line terminals and the plurality of load terminals, the detection assembly being configured to detect a wiring state associated with the plurality of line terminals and the plurality of load terminals, the detection assembly including a primary wiring state detection circuit coupled to the plurality of line terminals, and a secondary wiring state detection circuit coupled to the plurality of load terminals; and a circuit interrupting assembly including four sets of interrupting contacts that are configured to provide an electrically continuous path between the plurality of line terminals and the plurality of load terminals in a reset state and interrupt the electrically continuous path in a tripped state, wherein the plurality of line terminals and the plurality of load terminals are substantially isolated from each other in the tripped state. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. An electrical wiring device comprising:
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a plurality of line terminals configured to be connected to a source of AC power and a plurality of load terminals configured to be connected to at least one electrical load; a detection assembly coupled to the plurality of line terminals, the detection assembly being configured to detect a wiring state associated with the plurality of line terminals and the plurality of load terminals, the detection assembly including a primary wiring state detection circuit configured to be coupled to the plurality of line terminals before a proper wiring state is detected, detect an initial proper wiring state and decouple from the plurality of line terminals in response to detecting the initial proper wiring state; and a circuit interrupting assembly including four sets of interrupting contacts that are configured to provide electrical continuity between the line terminals and the plurality of load terminals in a reset state and configured to substantially interrupt the electrical continuity in a tripped state. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39)
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40. A method comprising:
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providing an electrical wiring device including a plurality of line terminals configured to be connected to a source of AC power and a plurality of load terminals configured to be connected to at least one electrical load, the device also including a circuit interrupting assembly having four sets of interrupting contacts that are configured to provide an electrically continuous path between the plurality of line terminals and the plurality of load terminals in a reset state and interrupt the electrically continuous path in a tripped state, wherein the plurality of line terminals and the plurality of load terminals are substantially isolated from each other in the tripped state; enabling a first wiring state detection structure to automatically trip a circuit interrupting assembly when there is a miswired condition; and disabling the first wiring state detection structure once there is a properly wired condition. - View Dependent Claims (41)
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42. An electrical wiring device comprising:
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a plurality of line terminals configured to be connected to a source of AC power and a plurality of load terminals configured to be connected to at least one electrical load; a circuit interrupting assembly including four sets of interrupting contacts that are configured to provide electrical continuity between the line terminals and the load terminals in a reset state and configured to substantially interrupt the electrical continuity in a tripped state; a fault detection assembly coupled in the reset state to the plurality of line terminals, the fault detection assembly being configured to detect at least one fault condition in the at least one electrical load and drive the circuit interrupting assembly to the tripped state in response to the detection of the at least one fault condition; and a wiring state detection assembly coupled to the fault detection assembly, the wiring state detection assembly being configured to detect a wiring state associated with the plurality of line terminals and the plurality of load terminals, the wiring state detection assembly including a primary wiring state detection circuit configured to be coupled to the plurality of line terminals before an initial proper wiring state is detected, detect the initial proper wiring state and decouple from the plurality of line terminals in response to detecting the initial proper wiring state, the wiring state detection circuit also including a second circuit including a user-accessible manual switch coupled to a memory structure, a wiring state being read before an actuation of the manual switch and stored in the memory structure, the second circuit being configured to prevent the circuit interrupting assembly from maintaining the reset state after the manual switch is actuated if the wiring state is indicative of a miswired state. - View Dependent Claims (43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52)
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Specification