Patent ID: 6991495

Claim:
A power strip comprising: (a) a power cord comprising a hot line and a neutral line, (b) an insulated casing mounted onto said power cord, said casing being shaped to define a first opening, (c) a plurality of outlets at least partially disposed in said casing, and (d) a self-contained and modular ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) at least partially disposed in said casing, said GFCI electrically connecting said power cord to each of said plurality of outlets, said GFCI regulating the flow of current between said power cord and said plurality of outlets, said GFCI interrupting the flow of current from said power cord to each of said plurality of outlets upon detecting a ground fault condition in the hot and neutral lines, said GFCI comprising, (i) an outlet-free housing, said outlet-free housing being shaped to define a first opening, (ii) ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) circuitry disposed in said outlet-free housing, said GFCI circuitry including an externally-accessible reset button which is sized and shaped to at least partially protrude through the first opening in said outlet-free housing and through the first opening in said casing, (iii) a first pair of contacts electrically coupled to said GFCI circuitry, said first pair of contacts being accessible externally of said housing, and (iv) a second pair of contacts electrically coupled to said GFCI circuitry, said second pair of contacts being accessible externally of said housing.