Patent ID: 8044299

Claim:
A protective shutter assembly for use within an electrical wiring device including a housing assembly, the housing assembly further including a cover assembly and a rear body member, the cover assembly including at least one set of receptacle openings configured to receive a corded plug blade set having a hot plug blade and a neutral plug blade, the protective shutter assembly comprising: at least one shutter mechanism configured to be disposed within an interior portion of the cover assembly in alignment with the at least one set of receptacle openings, the at least one shutter mechanism including a first shutter member having a first blade engagement structure and at least one second shutter member having at least one second blade engagement structure, the at least one second shutter member also including a positioning tab coupled to a stationary alignment portion of the housing assembly in a locked state and decoupled from the stationary alignment portion in an unlocked state, the at least one second shutter member being slidably disposed within the first shutter member such that the first shutter member and the at least one second shutter member are movable relative to each other to drive the positioning tab from the locked state to the unlocked state when the first blade engagement structure and the second blade engagement structure are substantially simultaneously engaged by a set of plug blades to thereby enable the at least one second shutter mechanism to move from a closed position to an open position, the first shutter member and the at least one second shutter member not being movable relative to each other when the positioning tab is in the locked state; a spring member coupled to the first shutter member and the at least one second shutter member within the shutter mechanism, the spring member being configured to bias the shutter mechanism in the closed position; and a plurality of registration elements disposed on the at least one shutter mechanism, the plurality of registration elements being configured to position and align the protective shutter assembly within the cover assembly.