Protector device with isolated ground connector

Claim 1

A protector device adapted for insertion in a connecting block comprising: an insulative housing defined by a plurality of exterior walls and having an opening through a first of said walls and a generally C-shaped projection extending into the interior of said housing from a second of said walls, said C-shaped projection being open to said first wall and aligned with said opening, said opening adapted to receive therethrough a ground bar of the connecting block; a voltage surge protector element mounted within the housing and having a ground electrode; and a ground connector within said housing and comprising an elongated conductive member having a first end electrically contacting the ground electrode and having an end portion remote from said first end formed into a detent which is supported in said C-shaped projection so as to be aligned with said opening, the end portion being adapted to receive and retain therein said ground bar of the connecting block inserted through said opening, the conductive member being shaped between said end portion and said first end as a generally straight line so that the entire conductive member is isolated from all of said exterior walls of said housing and the conductive member is self-biased so that it supplies force necessary to contact the ground electrode without physically contacting the exterior walls of the housing both when the detent is supported in the C-shaped projection and when the ground bar is received and retained by the detent.