SWITCH FOR LECTRICAL WALL RECEPTACLE WITH GROUND FAULT PROTECTION

摘要

SWITCH FOR ELECTRICAL WALL RECEPTACLE WITH GROUND FAULT PROTECTION An electric receptacle with ground fault protection characterized by an insulating rectangular housing adapted for mounting in a wall outlet box. The housing comprises opposite end and edge walls with front and rear sides open and with a transverse partition dividing a chamber formed by the ends and side walls into a pair of side-by-side compartments. Partition aperture means between the compartments and the first compartment communicating with the open front side and the second compartment communicating with the open rear side. Receptacle components are disposed in the first compartment and electronic components are disposed in the second compartment, and the components in each compartment are so disposed as to minimize the space requirements for the receptacle. The receptacle components include a contact arm which carries one contact for each of two pairs of contacts and the arm is movable between open and closed positions of the contacts and is operatively connected to a latch member releasably holding the arm in the contact closed position. Ground fault sensing means for monitoring the flow of current through the receptacle is provided for releasing the latch member, whereby the contacts on the arm are opened and closed sequentially.