Methods and apparatus for detecting possible living body contact at an electrical contact surface is disclosed, comprising sending a non-hazardous probing signal to the contact surface, detecting an electrical response from the contact surface in response to the electrical probing signal, and determining whether a captured responsive signal has characteristics of an expected responsive pulse, and to output a positive output signal indicative of possible living body to mitigate risks of electrical shock.

Methods and apparatus for detecting possible living body contact at an electrical contact surface is disclosed, comprising sending a non-hazardous probing signal to the contact surface, detecting an electrical response from the contact surface in response to the electrical probing signal, and determining whether a captured responsive signal has characteristics of an expected responsive pulse, and to output a positive output signal indicative of possible living body to mitigate risks of electrical shock.

The line power and neutral conductors for a circuit interrupter such as a miniature circuit breaker, using ground fault sensing via a current transformer, are arranged as a rigid conductor formed from a flat plate and surrounding and holding an insulated flexible conductor when passing through the Ground Fault Interrupter current transformer. The rigid conductor can provide a shaped current path to maximize the effectiveness of the current transformer.

An electric circuit device and method is for recognizing a closed switch contact as well as a protective ground conductor interruption in a one- or multiphase electric supply line. A control of a residual current monitoring device (RCMB control) includes one fault current control unit for generating a control signal pattern including a series of switching-on impulses forwarded to a first electronic switch unit to activate a possible artificial passive fault current on one or more active conductors and the protective ground conductor (as a return conductor), this fault current actually flowing, being recognized, and evaluated in a closed circuit in a closed switch contact to be tested and an intact protective conductor. Owing to control signal patterns varying during monitoring, a reliable detection of the artificial passive fault current is ensured even in large dynamic disturbance levels while the electric installation (supply line) to be monitored is in operation.

A control system is designed to control an interrupter. The interrupter is started by a startup current to interrupt a main electric circuit. The startup current flows through an auxiliary electric circuit and has a current valve equal to or greater than a predetermined value. The control system includes a driving unit and a driven unit. The driving unit includes an intermediate electrical path to be connected to the main electric circuit. The driven unit is to be connected to the auxiliary electric circuit. When an abnormal current having a current value equal to or greater than a prescribed value flows through the intermediate electrical path, the driving unit uses, as a drive source for driving the driven unit, the abnormal current flowing through the intermediate electrical path. The driven unit supplies the auxiliary electric circuit with the startup current by being driven by the driving unit.

The present invention is directed to electrical wiring device that includes: a housing including a cover and a back body, the housing further including a plurality of line terminals and a plurality of feed-through load terminals, a plurality of receptacle load terminals substantially aligned with a plurality of receptacle openings; a fault protection circuit disposed inside the housing, having sensing components mounted to one side of a first PCB, the fault protection circuit being configured to provide a fault detection signal in response to detecting at least one type of predetermined fault condition; a circuit interrupter disposed inside the housing, the circuit interrupter being configured to couple the plurality respective terminals in response to a reset stimulus being applied to a reset button, the circuit interrupter being configured to decouple the respective plurality of terminals in a second state when the latching element and a reset pin are decoupled in response to the fault detection signal; and an indication circuit having an indicator to alert the user of device status.

A differential electrical protection device D including N−1 phase conductors, each phase conductor including, between an input, or upper, connection land and an output, or lower, connection land, a portion able to pass through a torus and a portion able to pass through a current measurement and supply sensor, the input connection lands being situated in a first plane P1, and the output connection lands extending in a second plane P2, in that the supply and measurement sensors of the N−1 phase conductors are each positioned in the space situated between the two planes P1,P2, and wherein it includes an additional phase conductor including an input connection land and an output connection land, a portion able to pass through the torus and a portion able to pass through an additional measurement sensor only measuring the current, this additional measurement sensor being of small size and being positioned directly above the torus in such a way that the assembly formed by the torus and the additional sensor is situated substantially in the space between the two planes P1,P2.

An embodiment of the invention relates to a method for ground fault detection for low-voltage three-phase AC circuits having a neutral conductor, in which first to fourth analog current signals of the first to third phase conductors and of the neutral conductor of the three-phase AC circuit are ascertained that each contain the level or an equivalent of the level of the current. The analog current signals are time-division multiplexed, subjected to a/d conversion, and a sequence of time-division-multiplexed first to fourth digital current values present in first to fourth successive time frames form first to fourth current signals. Three of the four digital current signals are interpolated to ascertain interpolated current values. The current value of the time frame of the uninterpolated current signal and the interpolated current values for the time frame of the uninterpolated current signal are used for discovering the ground fault.

The line power and neutral conductors for a circuit interrupter such as a miniature circuit breaker, using ground fault sensing via a current transformer, are arranged as a rigid conductor formed from a flat plate and surrounding and holding an insulated flexible conductor when passing through the Ground Fault Interrupter current transformer. The rigid conductor can provide a shaped current path to maximize the effectiveness of the current transformer.

An apparatus comprises an Ethernet port including high-side transformers and low-side transformers. High-side current paths supply high-side currents form a high voltage rail to high-side center taps of the high-side transformers. Low-side current paths supply or do not supply low-side currents from a low voltage rail to low-side center taps of the low-side transformers, and convert the low-side currents to sense voltages. A controller configures the low-side current paths to either supply or not supply the low-side currents to the low-side center taps when none of the sense voltages exceed a voltage threshold representative of an overcurrent threshold or when at least one of the sense voltages exceeds the voltage threshold, respectively. A current monitor injects additional current into the low-side current paths only when at least one of the high-side currents exceeds the overcurrent threshold.