Patent ID: 7843197

Claim:
An electrical wiring device comprising: a plurality of line terminals and a plurality of load terminals; a sensor circuit coupled to the plurality of line terminals, the sensor circuit being configured to generate a sensor fault signal in response to at least one fault condition propagating on the plurality of line terminals and/or the plurality of load terminals; a fault detection circuit coupled to the sensor circuit, the fault detection circuit being configured to generate a fault detection signal when the sensor fault signal exceeds a predetermined level; a circuit interrupter assembly coupled to the fault detection circuit, the circuit interrupter assembly including a set of movable contacts configured to be driven into a tripped state in response to the fault detection signal and driven into a reset state in response to a reset actuation; and an automatic self-test assembly coupled to the plurality of line terminals or the plurality of load terminals, the sensor circuit, the fault detection circuit and the circuit interrupter assembly, the automatic self-test assembly including, a control circuit configured to operate in a self test mode and in a non-self test mode in accordance with a predetermined schedule, the control circuit being configured to generate a self test actuation signal during a predetermined half-cycle of selected AC line cycles while in the self test mode in accordance with the predetermined schedule, an automated self test circuit coupled to the control circuit, the automated self test circuit being configured to generate a simulated sensor fault signal in response to the self test actuation signal, and a monitoring circuit coupled to the fault detection circuit and the circuit interrupter assembly, the monitoring circuit being configured to monitor the response of the sensor circuit, the fault detection circuit and at least one component of the circuit interrupter assembly during the selected AC line cycles and make an end-of-life determination based on said response in accordance with predetermined noise immunized decision criteria, the monitoring circuit being further configured to generate an end-of-life detection signal based on the predetermined noise immunized decision criteria.