Plug tail systems

A protective wiring device for use in an electrical distribution system including a plurality of AC power transmitting wires coupled to a source of AC power, the device comprising:

• a housing including a front cover member having a front major surface and a rear cover member having a rear major surface arranged substantially in parallel with the front major surface, the front major surface including at least one set of user-accessible apertures disposed therein, the user-accessible apertures being configured to accommodate male contact elements from a corded AC plug, the rear major surface including a feature substantially defining a line terminal interface region;
• at least one set of receptacle terminals configured to align with the at least one set of user-accessible apertures, the at least one set of receptacle terminals being configured to receive corresponding ones of the male contact elements;
• an electric circuit assembly at least partially disposed on at least one printed circuit board (PCB), the electric circuit assembly including a sensor assembly coupled to a fault detection circuit, the fault detection circuit being configured to generate a fault detection signal in response to at least one fault condition propagating in the electrical distribution system or in response to a simulated fault condition, the electric circuit assembly further including a fault actuator responsive to the fault detection signal;
• a plurality of line terminal interface contacts disposed in the line terminal interface region, each line terminal interface contact being coupled to a termination structure mounted to the at least one PCB, a conductive pathway configured to interconnect the termination structure and a corresponding one of a first set of contacts via the sensor assembly, the plurality of line terminal interface contacts being configured to mate with a removably attachable electrical adapter connected to the plurality of AC power transmitting wires to thus provide AC power to the electric circuit assembly;
• a circuit interrupter including the plurality of first contacts and a plurality of second contacts coupled to the at least one set of receptacle terminals, the plurality of first contacts being electrically connected to the plurality of second contacts in a reset state, the circuit interrupter being configured to decouple the plurality of first contacts and the plurality of second contacts in response to a fault actuator stimulus to effect a tripped state;
• and
• an end-of-life assembly coupled to the electric circuit assembly, the end-of-life assembly being configured to decouple the at least one set of receptacle terminals from at least one of the termination structures in response to an end-of-life condition.

A method of assembling a protective wiring device for use in an electrical distribution system, the electrical distribution system including a plurality of AC power transmitting wires coupled to a source of AC power, the method comprising:

• providing a housing including a front cover having a front major surface and a rear cover having a rear major surface arranged substantially in parallel with the front major surface when the front cover and the rear cover are assembled, the rear major surface including a line terminal interface region;
• providing an electric circuit assembly comprising at least one printed circuit board (PCB) configured to interconnect a sensor, a detection circuit and an actuator;
• providing a line terminal interface assembly including a plurality of line interface contacts and a plurality of termination structures, each line interface contact being connected to a corresponding termination structure, the plurality of line terminal interface contacts being configured to mate with a removably attachable electrical adapter connected to the plurality of AC power transmitting wires to thus provide AC power to the protective wiring device when the method of assembling the protective wiring device is completed;
• connecting each termination structure to a conductive pathway such that each conductive pathway interconnects a corresponding termination structure with a corresponding one of the first contacts via the sensor assembly, at least a portion of the conductive pathway being coupled to the at least one PCB;
• inserting the line terminal interface assembly into the rear cover such that the plurality of line interface contacts is accessible via the line terminal interface region;
• and
• attaching the front cover to the rear cover.