Tower Manufacturing Corporation

John J Astley

Chepur P Rao

Juan J Barrena

Victor V Aromin

An appliance leakage current interrupter (ALCI) comprising a ground fault detecting circuit and a trip mechanism that is automatically actuated in response to the presence of a ground fault. Actuation of the trip mechanism automatically interrupts the flow of current to the appliance and permits movement of a reset button to take place to visually signal that current to the appliance has been interrupted, although interruption of current flow is not in any way dependent on movement of the reset button, whereupon if movement of the reset button is prevented for any reason, flow of current to the appliance is still automatically and instantaneously interrupted in response to the presence of a ground fault. A test button is provided, actuation of which simulates a ground fault to enable a user at any time to determine whether the ALCI is working properly. The reset and test buttons are mounted on the housing of the ALCI in close adjacenty to each other for maximum compactness, and are protected against undesirable manipulation and accidental operation by an integral guard wall extending from the housing defining an enclosure in which said buttons are positioned.

Appliance leakage current interrupter

Ground fault interrupter plug

A rotary switch for small appliances such as electric fans comprising base and cover assemblies, the former having low, medium and high output terminals and a splice terminal in side-by-side relation along one edge thereof for wedgingly receiving the bared ends of a ribbon cable, or alternatively receiving the bared ends of separate leads, and with the input terminal and the opposite end of the splice terminal being located at the opposite edge of the base. The cover assembly carries a rotor having contacts connected thereto whereby the rotor may be rotated so as to effect an electrical connection between either the low, medium or high output terminal and the input terminal. The cover further has a plurality of partitions which serve to isolate from each other the bared ends of the leads that engage the output terminals, when the cover and base are assembled to each other.

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Barrington, RI, United States of America

John J Astley