Conducting spring for a circuit interrupter test circuit

A ground fault circuit interrupter for protecting a circuit, the interrupter comprising:

• an electrically insulating housing;
• a test button slidably mounts through the housing, the button being externally accessible;
• an electronic signal processor determines ground fault conditions within a protected circuit and provides an output signal to operate a pair of contacts to interrupt current flow through the circuit;
• a first test circuit terminal connects to the electronic signal processor for testing the operation of the circuit interrupter by simulating a ground fault when energized;
• a second test circuit terminal provides current for energizing the first terminal;
• a spring being positioned within the housing, the spring being mechanically supported and electrically connected to one of the test terminals and aligned to reversibly contact the other test terminal;
• the spring including a one-piece, elongated cantilever having a first and second end, the cantilever being formed from an electrically conducting material, one of the cantilever ends directly secures to the first test terminal, the other cantilever end directly and reversibly contacts the second test terminal;
• means for resiliently flexing the second end of the cantilever in relation to the first end, the flexing means being integrally formed with the cantilever;
• and
• the cantilever having a first arm extending from the first end to the flexing means and a second arm extending from the second end to the flexing means, the second arm abuts the test button with a biased force.

A ground fault circuit module for protecting a circuit interrupter with a push-to-test feature, the module comprising:

• a circuit board;
• means for sensing a current imbalance between a line and neutral, the sensing means being mounted on the circuit board;
• an electronic signal processor connects to the sensing means for determining ground fault conditions within a protected circuit and provides an output signal adapted to operate a pair of contacts to interrupt current flow through the circuit, the electronic signal processor being mounted on the circuit board;
• a test circuit input connects to the electronic signal processor for testing the operation of the circuit interrupter by simulating a ground fault when energized, the test input being mounted on the circuit board;
• and
• a spring being mechanically supported and electrically connected to the test input and aligned to reversibly contact means for energizing the test input.