Arc fault receptacle with a feed-through connection

• Main Authors: Haun, Andy A, Dvorak, Robert F, Larson, Brett E, Grattan, Brian, Wong, Kon B
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 16.09.2003

The present invention relates to the protection of electrical circuits and, more particularly, to the detection of arcing faults in an arcing fault protection assembly for mounting in an electrical outlet, as well as in additional electrical devices connected in parallel downstream from the electrical outlet which mounts the arcing fault detection assembly. An arcing fault protection assembly in an electrical outlet, and a corresponding method determine whether arcing is present in an electrical device connected to the outlet. The assembly comprises a sensor, a broadband noise circuit, a controller and s an electrical device. The sensor detects a current and develops a corresponding sensor signal. The broadband noise circuit determines the presence of broadband noise in the sensor signal and produces a corresponding output signal. The controller processes the sensor signal and the output signal in a predetermined fashion to determine whether an arcing fault is present. The sensor, the broadband noise circuit and the controller are mounted to the outlet receptacle or to an outlet box which houses the receptacle. The electrical device is connected in parallel to the first electrical outlet on the load side of the sensor.