Ground fault circuit interrupter incorporating miswiring prevention circuitry
US5963408A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Dec 31, 1997 |
| Grant date | Oct 5, 1999 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Dec 31, 2017 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH02H3/04
- WIPO fieldElectrical machinery, apparatus, energy
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) with built in intelligence is described that includes circuitry to automatically indicate a device miswiring condition. When a GFCI is wired with its AC and LOAD terminals reversed, downstream devices are still protected in the event of a ground fault but the duplex receptacle on the GFCI itself is not. The invention incorporates miswiring sense circuitry that automatically triggers the generation of visual and audible alarms in the event a miswiring condition is sensed. The invention employs an alarm inhibiting technique that incorporates sense circuitry connected to the AC terminals on one side of the internal GFCI switches or relays and alarm generation circuitry connected to the LOAD terminals on the opposite side.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.