Patent ID: 7684166

Claim:
A device for protecting an electrical installation against voltage surges, comprising: a) two protection components in parallel; b) each protection component being provided with a respective disconnector means for disconnecting the protection component from the electrical installation and suitable for moving between a closed position in which the protection component is connected, and an open position in which the protection component is disconnected; and c) indicator means for indicating the state of the protection component, functionally connected to the disconnector means, the indicator means comprising i) at least one control part distinct from the disconnector means and suitable for moving under the dependency thereof, and ii) at least one indicator for indicating the state of the protection component and associated with the control part in such a manner that the indicator indicates whether the protection component is in operation or disconnected, as a function of the position of the control part, wherein the indicator means is functionally connected to the disconnector means for providing distinguishable indications about the state of each of the protection components taken individually, wherein the control part and the disconnector means are relatively disposed in such a manner that, during opening of the disconnector means, the disconnector means release the control part thus allowing the control part to move, and wherein the control part is mounted to move resiliently between an initial position, an intermediate position and a final position, wherein: the initial position corresponds to a state in which both protection components are connected, the control part being held in said initial position by both disconnector means; the intermediate position is offset from the initial position and corresponds to a state in which only one of the disconnector means is in the open position, the control part being held in said intermediate position by the disconnector means that is in the closed position; and the final position is offset from the intermediate position and corresponds to a state in which both of the disconnector means are in the open position.