Patent ID: 8810988

Claim:
A disposable voltage suppression device for suppressing voltage surges in an electrical circuit, said device comprised of: a tubular casing formed of an electrically insulating material; a first conductive component attached to a first end of said casing; a second conductive component attached to a second end of said casing; a tubular voltage sensitive assembly within said tubular casing, said voltage sensitive assembly comprised of two or more tubular sections, said voltage sensitive assembly having a first surface and a second surface and a predetermined voltage rating across said first and second surfaces, said voltage sensitive assembly increasing in temperature as voltage applied across said first and second surfaces exceeds said voltage rating; a first terminal electrically connected to said first surface of said voltage sensitive assembly and to said first conductive component; a thermal element electrically connected to said second surface of said voltage sensitive assembly, said thermal element being an electrically conductive solid at room temperature and having a predetermined softening temperature; a second terminal electrically connected to said second conductive component, said second terminal having a contact portion in electrical connection with said second surface of said voltage sensitive assembly, said voltage sensitive assembly sensing the voltage drop between said first conductive element and said second conductive element, said second terminal being maintained in electrical contact with said voltage sensitive assembly by said thermal element and being biased away therefrom, wherein said second terminal moves away from electrical contact with said voltage sensitive assembly and breaks said electrical current path if an over-voltage condition sensed by said voltage sensitive assembly exceeds the voltage rating of said voltage sensitive assembly and causes said voltage sensitive assembly to heat said thermal element beyond its softening point; and an arc shield movable from a first position wherein said arc shield allows contact between said contact portion of said second terminal and said voltage sensitive assembly to a second position wherein said shield is disposed between said contact portion of said second terminal and said voltage sensitive assembly when said second terminal moves from electrical contact with said voltage sensitive assembly.