It is described a switching device comprising a semiconductor switching unit; a contactor electrically coupled in series with the semiconductor switching unit; and a controller being configured for activating an electrically isolating state of the switching device and/or activating an electrically conducting state of the switching device based on a command signal or based on a comparison of a measured value and predetermined activation condition.

A door latch device includes: a first position switch and a second position switch, each including a first contact hole, a second contact hole, and a common contact hole; a common pin configured to be electrically conducted to the common contact hole of the first position switch and the first contact hole of the second position switch by being inserted therein; a first signal pin configured to be electrically conducted to the first contact hole of the first position switch by being inserted therein; and a second signal pin configured to be electrically conducted to the common contact of the second position switch by being inserted therein, wherein the first position switch and the second position switch are configured to perform a switch operation at a same timing of an operation of a predetermined operation detection target.

The invention relates to a circuit for controlling light sources for a luminous garment, such as footwear, jackets, trousers, caps, belts. The circuit comprises an electric power source, such as a battery, a processor, one or more light sources and a switch. The processor and the light sources are powered by the electric power source. The light sources are connected to the processor, which controls their turning on and turning off, for example selectively based on a light program. The switch is connected to both the electric power source and the processor, and can be operated by the user in order to switch the processor on and off. The circuit is advantageously configured so that the electric resistance inside the processor, between the contact with the switch and the contact with the positive pole of the electric power source, is higher than the circuit resistance upstream of the processor itself, i.e. the resistance between the electric power source and the contact of the processor with the switch. In the event that water or condensation cause the circuit to close, even though the switch is in the open position, the current powering the processor is still insufficient to cause it to be switched on. A method for activating light sources in a luminous garment is also described.

A group-operated switching system for multi-phase electrical transmission lines including a number of inline axial switches for opening and closing circuits to control electrical flow through the transmission lines. The switches include axially mounted load break vacuum interrupters and are mechanically and electrically isolated from each other and from a control box. The control box communicates with the inline switches via RF communications. Power for the switch electronics and operations can be provided from line power, a battery, or a capacitive source.

A communications and processing module is provided. The communications and processing module is electrically coupleable to a circuit breaker to provide the circuit breaker with additional capabilities. The communications and processing module includes a housing, at least one electrical contact positioned in the housing, an output lug positioned in the housing, wherein an electrical path is defined between the at least one electrical contact and the output lug, at least one sensor positioned in the housing and operable to sense at least one operating condition of the circuit breaker, and at least one communications interface positioned in the housing and communicatively coupled to the at least one sensor, the communications interface operable to receive data from the at least one sensor that is indicative of the at least one sensed operating condition to facilitate exporting the received data to a remote computing device.

A thermally protected metal-oxide varistor is provided, including a disconnecting unit, a first varistor assembly and a second varistor assembly. The first varistor assembly and the second varistor assembly are connected in series through a low-melting-point alloy layer; wherein when the low-melting-point alloy layer is fused, the disconnecting unit acts to cut off the low-melting-point alloy. The two varistors are connected directly through solder joints without any transition connection member. The heat transfer path is reduced to the shortest path, and a faster response is realized compared to conventional products formed by a varistor and a disconnecting unit when abnormal over-current passes. Moreover, the slider functions as a physical separator capable of isolating the two varistors after the solder joints are fused, which further diminishes the risk of fire occurrence caused by the failure of instantly blocking current by the disconnecting unit when the varistor breaks down by over-current.

An apparatus and a method for optically linking at least two AC and DC low voltage cascading power grids connecting at least two intelligent support boxes (ISB) each powered by two distinct AC standard power grid and separately powered by DC low voltage power grid with each grid is further linked by a cascading segments of optical cable grid, enabling two way control, operate and report electrical activity through plug in wiring devices (PWD) for supporting DC and AC plurality of connected/attached loads.

An electronic control device includes an input terminal connected to a second terminal of a switch via an electrically conductive lead, an input circuit connected to the input terminal via a signal line, and a microcontroller to detect whether the switch is in an electrically conducting state or an electrically non-conducting state based on an output signal from the input circuit, and to perform at least one process in accordance with a detected result. The input circuit includes a first resistor connected to a supply voltage or ground and to the signal line, and a transient current circuit connected to the supply voltage or ground and to the signal line, the transient current circuit including a second resistor that allows a transient current to flow through the switch when the switch transitions from the electrically non-conducting state to the electrically conducting state.

A charging system for an energy storage in a vehicle comprising: a plurality of parallelly arranged charging switch units, each charging switch unit having an input terminal configured to be connected to a common charging port, and an output terminal configured to be connected to the energy storage, wherein each charging switch unit comprises a contactor configured to control a flow of current from the charging port to the energy storage, the contactor being configured to have a controllable contact force; for each charging switch unit, a measurement device configured to determine a parameter indicative of a resistance in a current path through the charging switch unit; and a charging control unit connected to each of the charging switch units and configured to, if a difference in resistance between any two of the plurality of current paths is higher than a predetermined difference threshold value, control the contact force of a contactor in a charging switch unit in the current path having the lowest resistance to increase the resistance of that current path.

A switch circuit includes a first circuit including a first switch and first output terminals, and a second circuit including a second switch and second output terminals. The first circuit and the second circuit are connected in series. The first circuit has a circuit configuration in which a combination of resistors in a signal path between the first output terminals of the first circuit differs depending on the electrical conduction state of the first switch. The second circuit has a circuit configuration in which a combination of resistors in a signal path between the second output terminals of the second circuit differs depending on the electrical conduction state of the second switch.