Mechanical assembly means for grand fault interrupter receptacle

An electrical receptacle having ground fault circuit interrupting capability and adapted for automated assembly, said receptacle comprising, in combination:

• (a) front and rear body sections having respective mutual engagement portions for retaining said sections in assembled relation by first snap-fit means upon movement thereof from spaced to assembled relation wherein said sections provide an enclosed housing;
• (b) a first subassembly positioned within said housing and including an essentially planar wiring board carrying on a first surface thereof all solid state components of the ground fault interrupter circuitry and printed wiring connections thereof, and on a second surface electromechanical components of the GFI circuitry, including the solenoid, a pair of toroidal coils, movable circuit-breaking contacts and a first set of line terminals;
• (c) a second subassembly positioned within said housing and including a plastic support member and a second set of load terminals carrying fixed circuit-breaking contacts mounted upon said support member by second snap-fit means;
• (d) a grounding strap extending through said enclosure and having mounting ears extending outwardly on opposite sides thereof;
• and
• (e) test and reset buttons, each having first portions for assembly of said buttons with said front housing section by third snap-fit means, and second portions extending interiorly of said enclosure for cooperative engagement with means for testing and resetting said ground fault interrupter circuitry.

An electrical receptacle having ground fault circuit interrupting capability and means for connecting load and line wires alternatively by either screw or push-wire terminations, said receptacle comprising:

• (a) front and rear housing sections in assembled relation forming a protective enclosure;
• (b) a first subassembly positioned within said enclosure and including an essentially planar wiring board having printed circuitry connecting solid state and electromechanical components and a pair of line terminals mounted upon said board;
• (c) a second subassembly positioned within said enclosure and including a plastic support member and a pair of load terminals mounted thereon;
• (d) said first and second subassemblies being so positioned within said enclosure that said pairs of line and load terminals are positioned adjacent opposite ends thereof, and the terminals of each of said pairs are positioned on opposite sides of said enclosure;
• (e) each of said line and load terminals having a threaded opening therein for receiving a screw to attach an electrical wire end to the respective terminal, and an integral spring arm and wall portion, said spring arm having a terminal end biased into engagement with said wall portion to receive therebetween an electrical wire end;
• (f) first aperture means in said enclosure adjacent said threaded opening in each of said terminals, thereby permitting insertion of a screw and attachment of a wire end to each of said terminals from the exterior of said enclosure;
• and
• (g) second aperture means in said enclosure adjacent said spring arm and wall portion of each of said terminals, whereby insertion of a wire end through said second aperture means attaches said wire end to said terminal by engagement of said wire end between said spring arm terminal end and wall portion.

An electrical receptacle for connection to hot and neutral conductors and having ground fault circuit interrupting capability comprising:

• (a) a protective housing having a front wall with openings for receiving an electrical plug;
• (b) a circuit board mounted within said housing and having printed wiring for a ground fault interrupter circuit on one surface of said board;
• (c) a pair of fixed electrical contacts;
• (d) a pair of movable electrical contacts carried on electrically conducting arms mounted for movement into and out of engagement with said fixed contacts;
• (e) a solenoid including a coil and an armature movable to effect movement of said movable contacts;
• (f) at least one toroidal-wound coil adapted to generate an electrical signal in response to an imbalance of current flowing through said hot and neutral conductors;
• (g) means for mounting said arms, said solenoid coil and armature, and said toroidal-wound coil on the surface of said board opposite said one surface with portions of said arms, said solenoid coil and said toroidal-wound coil extending through said board and electrically connected on said one surface to said ground fault interrupter circuit;
• and
• (h) a plurality of solid state components forming a part of said ground fault interrupter circuit, all of said components being surface-mounted upon and electrically connected to said printed wiring of said one surface of said circuit board.

Two-part housing means for an electrical wiring device having cooperative engagement means permitting easy mutual assembly and thereafter essentially preventing non-destructuve disassembly of the two parts of said housing means, comprising:

• (a) a first body section having a first, substantially planar wall and a pair of opposite side walls extending substantially perpendicularly from said first wall;
• (b) a second body section having a second, substantially planar wall and placeable in fully assembled relation with said first body section to form an enclosed housing with said first and second walls in spaced, parallel relation;
• and
• (c) means for placing and maintaining said first and second body sections in said fully assembled relation and including:
• (i) at least one rigid, immovable, first section of each of said side walls having a stepped edge extending parallel to and facing said first wall and an inwardly facing, planar surface extending from said stepped edge away from said first wall;
• (ii) at least one second section of each of said side walls extending from said first wall toward said first section to a terminal edge and having an outwardly facing, planar surface in a plane parallel to and spaced a predetermined distance inwardly from the plane of said inwardly facing surface;
• (iii) at least one post member extending perpendicularly from each side of said second wall toward said first wall, from an anchored end to a free end, one of said post members being provided for each of said first and second side wall sections, said post members extending generally along parallel axes;
• (iv) each of said post members having forward and rear surfaces extending from said anchored end and spaced by said predetermined distance, a stepped lip extending outwardly from said forward surface and a tapered surface extending from said lip to meet said rear surface at said free end;
• (v) the material and configuration of said post members providing limited flexibility about said anchored ends in forward and rear directions between flexed and unflexed positions;
• and
• (vi) said first and second side wall sections and said post members being so constructed and arranged that movement of said body sections toward one another in a direction along said post member axes causes contact of said lip of each of said post members with the corresponding one of said inwardly facing surfaces and movement of said post members to said flexed positions thereof as said body sections are moved toward one another, said post members returning to said unflexed position when said body sections are in said fully assembled relation with said lips engaged over the corresponding one of said stepped edges, preventing reverse relative movement of said body sections away from said fully assembled relation, portions of said forward and rear surfaces of said post members respectively contacting said inwardly and outwardly facing surfaces of said first and second sections of said side walls, respectively, essentially preventing disengagement of said lips from said stepped edges.