Resettable circuit breaker for use in ground fault circuit interrupters and the like
AssigneeLeviton Manufacturing Co., Inc.
InventorsWolfgang F. Bienwald, Herbert W. Tumsuden, Jr.
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A resettable circuit breaker has a pair of normally closed contacts through which a load is connected to a power line and means for opening the contacts in response to a predetermined change in electrical current flowing to and from the power line. One of the contacts is mounted on a rocking member which is maintained between a pivot on the base of the apparatus and the armature of a latching solenoid responsive to the predetermined current change by a spring assembly which causes the rocking member to rotate about the pivot means thereby opening and closing the contacts depending on the position of the armature.
Claims6
A method of interrupting an electrical connection between input conductors and output conductors of a circuit in response to a current imbalance across phase and neutral power lines of said circuit, comprising the steps of:
- (a) sensing said current imbalance by means of a differential transformer and generating a voltage pulse in response thereto;
- (b) integrating said voltage pulse by means of an integrating circuit directly connected to said differential transformer;
- (c) causing an element of said circuit to conduct current and open a switch in response to an integrated voltage pulse of a predetermined magnitude and duration, and
- (d) causing an interrupting of said electrical connection in response to the opening of said switch.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.