Piezoelectrically actuated ground fault interrupter circuit apparatus
US5861702A · kind A · utility
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 7, 1997 |
| Grant date | Jan 19, 1999 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 7, 2017 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH01H83/04
- WIPO fieldElectrical machinery, apparatus, energy
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A ground fault interrupter circuit ("GFIC") device having as a switching device a flextensional electroactive transducer which, when energized, opens a supply conductor between a current source and a load. When a fault current is detected a voltage is induced in a coil; due to the condition that there is less current running through the conductor from the load than through the conductor from the power supply which both extend through the core of the coil. The voltage induced in the coil is amplified by a transistor which causes the transducer to piezoelectrically "snap" from a first neutral position to a second neutral position thereby cutting of current from the power supply to the load.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.