US-20260128247-A1 - COMBINED LEAKAGE PROTECTION DEVICE

US20260128247A1US 20260128247 A1US20260128247 A1US 20260128247A1US-20260128247-A1

Abstract

A combined leakage protection device is provided. The combined leakage protection device includes: an input end, an output end, a circuit breaker module and a ground fault circuit interrupter module. The ground fault circuit interrupter module includes a housing, and a ground fault signal processing unit, a drive assembly and a locking device disposed inside the housing. The locking device is attached to the circuit breaker module and has a locked state and an unlocked state. The locking device can be mechanically linked to the drive assembly to switch between the locked state and the unlocked state. The combined leakage protection device can effectively provide power-off protection in the event of a leakage fault through the cooperation of the locking device and the drive assembly, and is suitable for a variety of electrical equipment to improve safety of use.

Inventors

Chengli Li
Hao Tian
Xiaoming Zhang

Assignees

Chengli Li

Dates

Publication Date: 20260507
Application Date: 20241108
Priority Date: 20241106

Claims (20)

1 . A combined leakage protection device comprising: an input end, configured to be coupled to a power supply; an output end, configured to be coupled to an electrical load; a circuit breaker module, having a disconnected state and a connected state, which respectively disconnects and connects an electrical connection between the input end and the output end; and a ground fault circuit interrupter module, including a housing, a ground fault signal processing unit, and a drive assembly and a locking device couple to the ground fault signal processing unit, disposed inside the housing; wherein the drive assembly is in a first position or a second position under control of the ground fault signal processing unit; and wherein the locking device is attached to the circuit breaker module and has a locked state and an unlocked state, wherein the locking device is mechanically linked to the drive assembly to switch between the locked state and the unlocked state.
2 . The combined leakage protection device of claim 1 , wherein the locking device includes a drive plate assembly and locking rod attached to the circuit breaker module.
3 . The combined leakage protection device of claim 2 , wherein the drive plate assembly includes a driving plate and a locking plate.
4 . The combined leakage protection device of claim 3 , wherein the driving plate is attached to the circuit breaker module and mechanically linked to the circuit breaker module to define a first position and a second position of the driving plate; and wherein the locking plate is attached to the driving plate and is moveable relative to the driving plate between a first position and a second position of the locking plate.
5 . The combined leakage protection device of claim 4 , wherein when the locking plate is at its first position relative to the driving plate, the drive plate assembly and the locking rod are in a locked state and the locking rod is driven by the drive plate assembly; and when the locking plate is at its second position relative to the driving plate, the drive plate assembly and the locking rod are in an unlocked state and the locking rod is independently moveable relative to the drive plate assembly.
6 . The combined leakage protection device of claim 4 , wherein the drive plate assembly further includes a resilient member disposed between the driving plate and the locking plate and configured to urge the locking plate to return from its second position to its first position.
7 . The combined leakage protection device of claim 6 , wherein the resilient member is a torsion spring which has a resilient winding, a first torsion spring leg and a second torsion spring leg.
8 . The combined leakage protection device of claim 3 , wherein the driving plate has a main body which is a fan-shaped panel, and a pin formed on one side of the fan-shaped panel, wherein the driving plate is attached to the circuit breaker module via the pin.
9 . The combined leakage protection device of claim 8 , wherein the fan-shaped panel of the driving plate defines a pivot hole and a position limiting slot.
10 . The combined leakage protection device of claim 9 , wherein the position limiting slot defines a position limiting block on its side wall.
11 . The combined leakage protection device of claim 7 , wherein the driving plate further includes a torsion spring hole buckle and a torsion spring leg buckle, wherein the resilient winding of the torsion spring is snapped onto the torsion spring hole buckle and the first torsion spring leg is snapped onto and fixed with the torsion spring leg buckle.
12 . The combined leakage protection device of claim 11 , wherein the locking plate includes a snap-fit end face which abuts against the second torsion spring leg of the torsion spring.
13 . The combined leakage protection device of claim 3 , wherein the locking plate is attached to the driving plate, and wherein the locking plate includes a pivot at one end and is configured to pivot relative to the driving plate.
14 . The combined leakage protection device of claim 13 , wherein the locking plate further includes a position limiting post configured to limit a movement range of the locking plate on the driving plate.
15 . The combined leakage protection device of claim 14 , wherein the position limiting post includes a position limiting hook configured to prevent separation of the locking plate and the driving plate.
16 . The combined leakage protection device of claim 3 , wherein the locking plate further includes a locking protrusion configured to drive the locking rod to move.
17 . The combined leakage protection device of claim 4 , wherein the drive assembly is configured to drive the locking plate to move from its first position to its second position.
18 . The combined leakage protection device of claim 2 , wherein the locking rod has a pivot hole, which is attached to the housing to allow the locking rod to pivot relative to the housing.
19 . The combined leakage protection device of claim 2 , wherein the locking rod has a locking notch, wherein the drive plate assembly is configured to drive the locking rod by engaging the locking notch.
20 . The combined leakage protection device of claim 1 , wherein the drive assembly includes: an actuator, configured to drive the locking device to an unlocked state; and a coil assembly, attached to the actuator, and configured to control movement of the actuator in response to the ground fault signal processing unit.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention generally relates to the field of leakage protection devices, and in particular, it relates to a combined leakage protection device with ground fault protection function and circuit breaker protection function. With the improvement of living standards and people's safety awareness, electrical devices with leakage protection function are becoming more and more widely used. Traditional circuit breakers cannot achieve power-off protection in the event of leakage, which brings the risk of electric shock to users and hidden dangers of electricity safety. To further protect personal safety and reduce the occurrence of electric shock hazards in the event of leakage, leakage protection devices are provided. The leakage protection device is a grounding protection device used to prevent accidents caused by electric shock and leakage. When a leakage fault occurs, it can cut off the power in time to protect personal and equipment safety. Conventional leakage protection devices on the market, such as ground fault circuit interrupters (GFCIs), are mainly used for protection of small current devices such as 20 amps or less in household applications. There are demands from manufacturers and consumers for improved leakage protection devices so that they can be used in various applications such as high current scenarios according to different needs. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Based on these needs, embodiments of the present invention provide a leakage protection device to meet different application scenarios in a cost-effective and reliable manner. Accordingly, an embodiment of the present invention provides a combined leakage protection device, which includes: an input end, configured to be coupled to a power supply; an output end, configured to be coupled to an electrical load; a circuit breaker module, and a ground fault circuit interrupter module. The circuit breaker module has a disconnected state and a connected state, which respectively disconnects and connects an electrical connection between the input end and the output end. The ground fault circuit interrupter module includes a housing, and a ground fault signal processing unit and a drive assembly and a locking device couple to the ground fault signal processing unit disposed inside the housing. The drive assembly is in a first position or a second position under control of the ground fault signal processing unit. The locking device is attached to the circuit breaker module and has a locked state and an unlocked state; the locking device is mechanically linked to the drive assembly to switch between the locked state and the unlocked state. Based on the above technical characteristics, the present invention may include any one or more of the embodiments below. In some embodiments, the locking device includes a drive plate assembly and locking rod attached to the circuit breaker module. In some embodiments, the drive plate assembly includes a driving plate and a locking plate. In some embodiments, the driving plate is attached to the circuit breaker module and mechanically linked to the circuit breaker module to define a first position and a second position of the driving plate; and wherein the locking plate is attached to the driving plate and is moveable relative to the driving plate between a first position and a second position of the locking plate. In some embodiments, when the locking plate is at its first position relative to the driving plate, the drive plate assembly and the locking rod are in a locked state and the locking rod is driven by the drive plate assembly; and when the locking plate is at its second position relative to the driving plate, the drive plate assembly and the locking rod are in an unlocked state and the locking rod is independently moveable relative to the drive plate assembly. In some embodiments, the drive plate assembly further includes a resilient member disposed between the driving plate and the locking plate and configured to urge the locking plate to return from its second position to its first position. In some embodiments, the resilient member is a torsion spring which has a resilient winding, a first torsion spring leg and a second torsion spring leg. In some embodiments, the driving plate has a main body which is a fan-shaped panel, and a pin formed on one side of the fan-shaped panel, wherein the driving plate is attached to the circuit breaker module via the pin. In some embodiments, the fan-shaped panel of the driving plate defines a pivot hole and a position limiting slot. In some embodiments, the position limiting slot defines a position limiting block on its side wall. In some embodiments, the driving plate further includes a torsion spring hole buckle and a torsion spring leg buckle, wherein the resilient winding of the torsion spring is snapped onto the torsion spring hole buckle and the first torsion spring leg is snapped onto and fixed with the torsion spring leg buckle. In