Patent Description:
With the continuous improvement of people's awareness of electricity safety, leakage protection devices are used more and more widely, and then the application fields and the usage places of the leakage protection devices are also increased, which puts forward higher requirements for the development and manufacture of the leakage protection devices. Taking the leakage protection plug as an example, <CIT> discloses a leakage current protection device comprising a circuit board, moving contact plates, insertion plates and a disconnect mechanism, the disconnect mechanism controls the moving contact plates. <CIT> discloses a mini appliance leakage current interrupter comprising a prong assembly, the prong assembly comprises first and second contact prongs which are in line mounted on the housing. Each contact prong is connected to an associated conductive bracket arm which, in turn, is positioned above a conductive contact arm. Contact arm is pivotally mounted within the housing and connected to the circuit.

In the prior art, the existing leakage protection plug has a larger volume due to the limitation of mechanical structure. When it needs to be used together with some small household appliances (such as hair dryers, dryers, etc.), the overall appearance of the product will be uncoordinated and the overall aesthetics of the product will be reduced. Moreover, due to the larger volume of the existing leakage protection plug, it will cannot be used normally under some limited conditions (such as in the standard socket waterproof case of the toilet), which will cause certain troubles to the users. In addition, due to the complicated structure and larger volume of the existing leakage protection plug, the manufacturing of the product is difficult and the cost is high. Therefore, it is necessary to develop and design new leakage protection devices to solve the defects as mentioned above.

The object of the present disclosure is to provide a leakage protection device to further improve the use safety and to propose improvements based on the above factors to be considered.

To this end, according to the present disclosure, a leakage protection device is provided. The leakage protection device comprises a housing and a core assembly disposed in the housing. The core assembly comprises a control circuit board and an input assembly and an output assembly which are coupled to the control circuit board. The leakage protection device comprises a reset assembly and a test assembly, the reset assembly comprises a reset button disposed outside the housing, and the test assembly comprises a test button disposed outside the housing. The input assembly extends out of the housing in a first direction, the reset button and the test button are arranged on the outer peripheral surface of the housing parallel to the first direction so that the operation directions of the reset button and the test button are angled with the first direction.

According to the above technical concept, the present disclosure may further comprise any one or more of the following alternative embodiments.

In some alternative embodiments, the reset button and the test button are arranged in parallel on the outer peripheral surface of the housing along the first direction or perpendicular to the first direction.

In some alternative embodiments, the housing is configured to have a circular, square, rectangular or polygonal cross-sectional shape in a direction perpendicular to the first direction.

In some alternative embodiments, the output assembly extends out of the housing along a second direction on the surface of the housing where the input assembly, the reset button and the test button are not provided, and the second direction is parallel to or angled with the first direction.

In some alternative embodiments, the housing comprises a housing seat and a housing cover connected with each other, the housing cover is provided with an opening through which the reset button and the test button protrude, and the output assembly extends out of the housing seat or the housing cover.

According to the present invention, the leakage protection device further comprises a releasing assembly coupled to the control circuit board. The input assembly comprises a pair of elastic contact arms, each elastic contact arm is provided with a movable electrical contact. The output assembly comprises a pair of contact arms, each contact arm is provided with a static electrical contact to cooperate with the movable electrical contact. The releasing assembly is provided with a releaser for urging the movable electrical contact to engage with or disengage from the static electrical contact.

In some alternative embodiments, the output assembly comprises an output wiring device, and the output wiring device comprises an output wire coupled to the core assembly or a wiring assembly connected to the output wire.

According to the present invention, the leakage protection device further comprises a detection assembly coupled to the control circuit board, and the pair of elastic contact arms of the input assembly are coupled to a power supply terminal through the detection assembly.

In some alternative embodiments, the leakage protection device further comprises a releasing coil coupled to the control circuit board, and the pair of contact arms of the output assembly are limited, fixed and connected to the output wiring device via the releasing coil.

In some alternative embodiments, the output assembly further comprises a wire card coupled to the output wiring device, and the wire card is cooperatively connected with the housing.

According to the present disclosure, the buttons of the reset assembly and the test assembly in the leakage protection device are arranged on the outer peripheral surface of the housing parallel to the extension direction of the input assembly, so that the internal structure layout of the product is improved, and the volume of the product is greatly reduced while the use safety of the product is ensured. The production and processing efficiency of the product is improved, the cost is reduced, and the product is especially suitable for compact application environments.

Other features and advantages of the present disclosure will be better understood by the following detailed description of alternative embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which similar reference numerals designate the same or similar components, wherein:.

The implementation and use of the embodiments are discussed in detail below. However, it should be understood that the specific embodiments discussed merely exemplify specific ways of implementing and using the present disclosure, and do not limit the scope of the present disclosure. When describing the structural positions of various components, such as the directions of upper, lower, top, bottom, etc., the description is not absolute, but relative. When the various components are arranged as shown in the figures, these directional expressions are appropriate, but when the positions of the various components in the figures would be changed, these directional expressions would also be changed accordingly.

In this document, the terms "couple" and "connect" should be understood broadly. For example, "connect" can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; "couple" can be a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium. For those of ordinary skill in the art, the specific meanings of the above terms in this document can be understood according to specific situations.

The concept of the present disclosure is to provide a product with reduced volume aiming at the problem that the existing leakage protection device is large in size and is not suitable for compact environment. <FIG> show leakage protection devices according to various alternative embodiments of the present disclosure. In the illustrated embodiments, a plug is taken as an example, however, it should be understood that any other leakage protection devices applicable to the concept of the present disclosure is not excluded.

Referring to <FIG>, the leakage protection device of the present disclosure includes a housing and a core assembly <NUM> disposed in the housing. The housing may include a housing base <NUM> and a housing cover <NUM> which are snap-fitted fixedly together by a plurality of fasteners or mechanical structures. In the illustrated embodiment, the fasteners may be screws <NUM> and screw plugs <NUM> exemplarily shown in <FIG> and <FIG>. The core assembly <NUM> includes a control circuit board, an input assembly and an output assembly which are coupled to the control circuit board, thereby realizing electrical connection between the input end and the output end.

In the first embodiment shown in <FIG>, the input assembly includes plug blades <NUM>, <NUM> extending out of the housing base <NUM> of the housing in a first direction D1, and the output assembly includes an output wiring device <NUM> extending out of the housing base <NUM> of the housing in a second direction. The second direction may be parallel to or angled with the first direction D1. In this embodiment, the second direction is a direction D2 substantially perpendicular to the first direction D1, and the output assembly can further include a wire card <NUM> connected to the housing and extending out of the housing. The output wiring device <NUM> can realize electrical connection of the leakage protection device via the wire card <NUM>, and has waterproof performance and improves bending resistance and service life of the output wiring device <NUM>. It should be understood that the output wiring device <NUM> can include an output wire coupled to the core assembly or a wiring assembly connected to the output wire so that a user can freely connect the output wire.

In the second embodiment shown in <FIG>, the output wiring device <NUM> extends out of the housing cover <NUM> of the housing in the second direction, that is, the second direction in which the output wiring device <NUM> extends out of the housing may be parallel to the first direction D1, thereby enabling the leakage protection device to be suitable for more application environments.

According to the present disclosure, the leakage protection device includes a rest assembly (RESET) and a test assembly (TEST), wherein the reset assembly is used for controlling the core assembly to turn on the power supply and includes a reset button <NUM> arranged outside the housing, and the test assembly is used for simulating and testing leakage current and includes a test button <NUM> arranged outside the housing. In the preferred embodiment, the reset button <NUM> and the test button <NUM> are arranged on the outer peripheral surface of the housing parallel to the first direction D1 so that the operation directions or working directions of the reset button <NUM> and the test button <NUM> can be angled with the first direction D1, that is, angled with the extension direction of the plug blades <NUM>, <NUM> of the input assembly. Preferably, the operation directions of the reset button <NUM> and the test button <NUM> are configured to be perpendicular to the extension direction of the plug pieces <NUM>, <NUM>. For example, as shown in <FIG>, the operation directions of the reset button <NUM> and the test button <NUM> are configured as along the direction D2. In this way, the internal structure of the leakage protection device can be designed to be more compact, and after the plug pieces <NUM>, <NUM> being inserted into the mating socket, the external whole of the leakage protection device would not occupy too much space.

In some embodiments, the reset button <NUM> and the test button <NUM> can be arranged in parallel on the outer peripheral surface of the housing along the first direction D1, as shown in <FIG>. In some embodiments, the reset button <NUM> and the test button <NUM> can also be arranged in parallel on the outer peripheral surface of the housing perpendicular to the first direction D1, that is, in parallel around the outer peripheral surface of the housing. Alternatively, the outer periphery of the housing can be configured as various forms. For example, in some embodiments, the housing is configured to have a circular, square, rectangular or polygonal cross-sectional shape in a direction perpendicular to the first direction D1. For example, the polygonal cross-sectional shape is shown in the figures. It should be understood that, regardless of the shape of the housing, the output assembly should extend out of the housing on the surfaces without the plug blades <NUM>, <NUM> of the input assembly and the reset button <NUM> and the test button <NUM>, so as to ensure the normal operation of the reset button <NUM> and the test button <NUM> by the user while ensuring the electrical connection between the input end and the output end.

Therefore, in the third and fourth embodiments shown in <FIG>, respectively, the housing is still configured to have a polygonal cross-sectional shape similar to that of <FIG>, but the reset button <NUM> and the test button <NUM> can be disposed on either of the outer peripheral surfaces parallel to the first direction D1 as long as the surface does not conflict with the surface on which the output assembly is disposed.

As can be seen in <FIG> and <FIG>, the housing cover <NUM> is provided with an opening through which the reset button <NUM> and the test button <NUM> protrude. In some alternative embodiments, the distance that the reset button <NUM> and the test button <NUM> protrude out of the opening can be configured to not exceed the outer peripheral surface of the housing, thus making the overall appearance of the product more beautiful and the size more compact. In the illustrated embodiment, the reset button <NUM> and the test button <NUM> are both configured as a substantially rectangular shape and have different sizes. In some embodiments, the reset button <NUM> and the test button <NUM> can also be designed in any other suitable shapes or sizes. For example, one or both of the two buttons may be circular, square or polygonal in shape, or the two buttons may have the same size.

Referring to <FIG> and <FIG>, in the leakage protection device, the input assembly includes a pair of elastic contact arms for connecting to a power supply. It should be understood that the input assembly may be other similar electrical coupling structures. Optionally, the input assembly can be L-elastic contact arm <NUM> and N-elastic contact arm <NUM> connected to the plug blades <NUM>, <NUM> via plug connection wires 51A, 52A, and each elastic contact arm is provided with a movable electrical contact. Accordingly, the output assembly includes a pair of contact arms, which are optionally neutral (N) blade <NUM> and live wire (L) blade <NUM> connected to the output wiring device <NUM> through output connection wires <NUM>, <NUM>, and each contact arm is provided with a static electrical contact to cooperate with the movable electrical contact so as to form a switch. The core assembly <NUM> includes a control circuit board <NUM>, a releasing assembly coupled to the control circuit board <NUM> and a detection assembly, wherein the N-blade <NUM>, the L-blade <NUM>, the L-elastic contact arm <NUM> and the N-elastic contact arm <NUM> are respectively fitted to the control circuit board <NUM>.

As can be seen from <FIG>, the N-blade <NUM> and the L-blade <NUM> of the output assembly are connected to the control circuit board <NUM> through corresponding positioning holes of the releasing coil <NUM>. In some embodiments, the releasing assembly includes at least a releasing coil (SOL) <NUM>, a releaser <NUM>, a releasing iron core <NUM> and a releasing spring <NUM>. The releasing iron core <NUM> and the releasing spring <NUM> are disposed in the releasing coil <NUM> and can be embedded through a coil baffle <NUM> to prevent the releasing iron core <NUM> and the releasing spring <NUM> from falling off. When the releasing coil <NUM> generates a magnetic field, the releasing iron core <NUM> will move along the channel in the releasing coil <NUM> under the action of the magnetic field force. The releaser <NUM> is used to cooperate with the releasing iron core <NUM> so as to move in a direction perpendicular to the movement direction of the releasing iron core <NUM>, and then causing the L-elastic contact arm <NUM> and the N-elastic contact arm <NUM> of the input assembly overlapped on the two arms of the releaser <NUM> to deform and contact or engage with the N-blade <NUM> and the L-blade <NUM> to switch on the circuit, or vice versa, causing the L-elastic contact arm <NUM> and the N-elastic contact arm <NUM> to disengage from the N-blade <NUM> and the L-blade <NUM> to switch off the circuit.

Specifically, the reset assembly includes at least a reset lever <NUM> and a reset spring <NUM> which are cooperated with the releaser <NUM>, wherein one end of the reset lever <NUM> is inserted into the reset button <NUM> through the control circuit board <NUM>, and the other end is inserted into the reset spring <NUM>. When the reset button <NUM> is pressed down, the reset lever <NUM> is buckled with the releaser <NUM>, and the L-elastic contact arm <NUM> and the N-elastic contact arm <NUM> overlapped on the two arms of the releaser <NUM> can be lifted upward by the elasticity of the reset spring <NUM> to realize contact connection with the N-blade <NUM> and the L-blade <NUM>, thereby obtaining electric power connection between the input end and the output end. If leakage current occurs, the releasing coil <NUM> generates a magnetic field, which drives the releasing iron core <NUM> to move and release the reset rod <NUM> from the releaser <NUM>. The L-elastic contact arm <NUM> and the N-elastic contact arm <NUM> are disconnected from the N-blade <NUM> and the L-blade <NUM>, thus cutting off the power connection between the input end and the output end.

As can be seen from <FIG>, the L-elastic contact arm <NUM> and the N-elastic contact arm <NUM> are directly connected to the control circuit board <NUM> and the input end through the detection assembly. In some embodiments, the detection assembly includes at least a detection coil sheath <NUM>, a detection coil (CT) <NUM> and a detection coil cover <NUM>. The detection coil <NUM> and the detection coil cover <NUM> are disposed in the detection coil sheath <NUM>. In this way, the detection coil <NUM> can detect whether leakage current exists between the phase lines of the L-elastic contact arm <NUM> and the N-elastic contact arm <NUM> of the input assembly passing therethrough, thereby driving the leakage protection device to connect or disconnect the power connection.

The operation principle of the leakage protection device of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to <FIG>. When there is no leakage current in L and N phase lines, the power connection between the input end and the output end can be realized by pressing the RESET button. When the detection coil (CT) detects leakage current in L and N phase lines, the CT transmits the detected leakage current signal to the processor IC. If the leakage current exceeds the set value, the IC sends out a signal to drive the silicon controlled rectifier (SRC) to be conducted, so that the releasing coil SOL generates a magnetic field to drive the releasing iron core to move and disconnect the power connection between the input end and the output end.

It should be understood that the embodiments shown in the figures only illustrate the optional shapes, sizes and arrangements of various optional components of the leakage protection device according to the present disclosure; however, it is only for illustration and not limitation, and other shapes, sizes and arrangements may be adopted without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.

Claim 1:
A leakage protection device comprising a housing and a core assembly (<NUM>) disposed in the housing, the core assembly (<NUM>) comprising a control circuit board and an input assembly and an output assembly which are coupled to the control circuit board (<NUM>), the leakage protection device comprising a reset assembly and a test assembly; the reset assembly comprising a reset button (<NUM>) disposed outside the housing, and the test assembly comprising a test button (<NUM>) disposed outside the housing; and the input assembly extending out of the housing in a first direction (D1), the reset button (<NUM>) and the test button (<NUM>) being arranged on the outer peripheral surface of the housing parallel to the first direction (D1) so that the operation directions of the reset button (<NUM>) and the test button (<NUM>) are angled with the first direction (D1);
wherein the leakage protection device further comprises a releasing assembly and a detection assembly coupled to the control circuit board (<NUM>); characterized in that, the input assembly comprises a pair of elastic contact arms (<NUM>, <NUM>), each elastic contact arm is provided with a movable electrical contact; the output assembly comprises a pair of contact arms (<NUM>, <NUM>), each contact arm is provided with a static electrical contact to cooperate with the movable electrical contact; and the releasing assembly is provided with a releaser (<NUM>) for urging the movable electrical contact to engage with or disengage from the static electrical contact, and the pair of elastic contact arms (<NUM>, <NUM>) of the input assembly are coupled to a power supply terminal through the detection assembly.