EP1054482A2

EP1054482A2 - Electrical socket strip

Info

Publication number: EP1054482A2
Application number: EP00303938A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Keith Adrian Gough
Original assignee: Bridisco Ltd
Current assignee: Bridisco Ltd
Priority date: 1999-05-15
Filing date: 2000-05-10
Publication date: 2000-11-22
Also published as: GB2350242A; EP1054482A3; GB9911385D0; GB2350242B

Abstract

An electrical socket strip adapted for removably receiving a number of separate electrical appliance plugs and comprising a housing (10) to which is connected a power supply lead (at 15) and several plug sockets (11) on each of two opposed faces of the housing (10). Pivotally folding feet (12) may be deployed to support the strip with its opposed socket faces upright and with the sockets inverted whereby power leads extend upwardly from plugs inserted into the strip thus preventing the leads from trailing across the floor and becoming tangled. The electrical terminal conductor bars within the housing (10) for the respective sockets (11) are offset whereby the pins of plugs inserted into the housing from the opposed faces lie alongside one another in overlapping relationship thus to minimise the depth of the strip.

Description

THIS INVENTION concerns electrical socket strips which are well known for removably receiving a number of separate electrical appliance plugs, the strip having a power supply lead connected thereto and connectable at a remote position to the electricity supply.
Some such devices are free standing while others may be attached to a floor or wall surface. They may be used, for example, with computer equipment or with an assembly of television, audio and video equipment. In such applications it may be necessary to connect up to six or more separate plugged appliances to one socket strip so that many leads will extend away from the strip towards their respective appliances and it is an object of the present invention to provide such a device in the most compact form and with which it is possible to avoid an excessive tangle of separate leads.
According to the present invention an electrical socket strip comprises a housing having opposed faces on each of which there is provided at least one electric plug socket, and a supply cable connected to conductors within the housing and extending therefrom for remote connection to an electric power supply.
The strip may have three or more individual plug sockets on each of said opposed faces. Preferably, the strip is of elongate form to accommodate several electric plug sockets on each of its opposed faces and has a stabilising foot to support the housing with its opposed faces upright. The foot may be foldable thus selectively to lie parallel to or transverse to a longitudinal edge.
The plug sockets on the opposed faces are preferably mutually offset whereby when plugs are inserted therein their respective terminal pins are housed in overlapping relationship alongside one another thus to minimise the depth of the strip.
At least one of said plug sockets may be arranged such that the earth terminal pin of a plug is disposed lowermost on the strip i.e. adjacent a lower edge thereof.
An embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:-
Fig. 1 is a perspective view of one side of an electrical socket strip made in accordance with the invention and illustrating a pair of foldable stabilising feet whereby the strip may stand upon a floor surface;
Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the opposite side of the strip showing the feet folded;
Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the strip taken on line III-III of Fig. 1;
Fig. 4 is an elevation of an internal part of the strip;
Fig. 5 is a cross-section taken on line V-V of Fig. 4;
Fig. 6 is a view of one conductor bar being part of the arrangement of Fig. 4;
Fig. 7 is a perspective view of part of the bar of Fig. 6;
Fig. 8 shows another conductor bar being part of the arrangement of Fig. 4;
Fig. 9 is another conductor bar being part of the arrangement of Fig. 4;
and Fig. 10 is a view taken on line X of Fig. 9.
Referring now to the drawings, an electrical socket strip made in accordance with the invention comprises a housing 10 of elongate box-like form and having on each of two opposed faces 10a and 10b three individual plug sockets 11. The sockets 11 on one face are offset longitudinally with respect to those on the other face.
A pair of pivotally folding feet 12 which are movable between positions in which they extend transversely to and longitudinally with respect to the housing 10 enable the housing to stand upon the floor or a work surface in such a way that the plug sockets are in effect inverted with the earth pin apertures lowermost. A removable closure panel 13 adjacent one end of housing face 10a provides access to the internal electrical terminals, as will be described, and a neon or LED indicator lens 14 is also provided on the upper outer surface of the housing 10.
As can be seen from Fig. 2, an aperture 15 at one end of the housing provides a passage for a power lead (not shown) to be connected internally to the terminals of the strip and to extend away to a remote position for connection to an electrical power supply by way of a plug.
Referring now to Figs. 3 and 4, it will be seen that the housing 10 is constructed in three parts i.e. two opposed casing members 16 and 17 and a central terminal strip supporting plate 18 which has internal formations to receive various parts of the device. For example, a pair of lead entrapment lugs 19 are located just inside the housing in the region of the aperture 15 to receive and retain the power lead (not shown). A further formation 20 is provided to contain a neon or LED power indicator light (not shown) located immediately beneath the lens 14. Screwed electrical terminals are contained within a formation 22 which further retains the live neutral and terminal conductor bars 23, 24 and 25. Additional formations indicated for example at 26 and 27 serve to locate the pin receiving terminals attached to the conductor bars.
The housing 10 connects together such that the central plate 18 is located between the casing members 16 and 17 and provides spigots 28 to receive the rotatable feet 12.
As can be seen in Figs. 6 to 8, the oppositely facing pin receiving terminals 23a and 24a on the conductor bars 23 and 24 are formed such that the offset pins of two opposed appliance plugs inserted into the strip, lie alongside one another thus to minimise the necessary depth or thickness of the strip and so the latter is as compact as possible and receives the plugs in an inverted attitude such that the power leads from the plugs extend upwardly to the appliances and are thus prevented from trailing across the floor and becoming tangled.
By providing sockets on two opposed faces of the strip, the overall dimensions are thereof minimised when compared to a conventional strip having the same number of sockets all on one face. In the example illustrated, the number of sockets provided in a length of strip normally required for three sockets, is doubled to six whilst the overall thickness or depth of the strip is little or no greater than that of a conventional strip. The conductor bars are adapted to receive the terminal pins in common from the two opposed faces thus minimising the number of separate bars within the housing. each of the live and neutral conductor bars is formed as illustrated in Figs. 6 to 8, whilst the earth bar is conventionally formed by spot welding upstanding spring terminals 30 to the otherwise flat bar 25.
The housing members 16 to 18 may be connected together by screws or resilient interengaging formations on the moulded housing parts.
There is sufficient vacant space within the housing to accommodate a fuse and a so-called surge protector module if required.

Claims

An electrical socket strip comprising a housing have opposed faces on each of which there is provided at least one electric plug socket, and a supply cable connected to conductors within the housing and extending therefrom for remote connection to an electric power supply.
An electrical socket strip according to Claim 1, wherein the housing has two or more individual plug sockets on each of said opposed faces.
An electrical socket strip according to Claim 1 or Claim 2, which is of elongate form and accommodates several electric plug sockets on each of its opposed faces.
An electrical socket strip according to any preceding claim, including a stabilising foot mounted on the housing and foldable selectively to lie parallel to or transverse to a longitudinal axis of the strip thus to support the housing with its opposed faces upright.
An electrical socket strip according to any preceding claim, wherein plug sockets on the opposed faces of the housing are mutually offset whereby when plugs are inserted therein their respective terminal pins are housed in overlapping relationship alongside one another thus to minimise the depth of the strip.
An electrical socket strip according to any preceding claim, wherein said at least one plug socket is arranged such that its earth terminal socket is disposed lowermost on the strip whereby a plug inserted therein has its power lead extending upwardly therefrom.
An electrical socket strip according to any preceding claim, in which the housing comprises a pair of opposed casing members and a central plate located therebetween said plate supporting conductor bars within the housing.
An electrical socket strip according to any preceding claim, including conductor bars disposed within the housing and connected to electrical terminals therein, the conductor bars being disposed and adapted to receive plug terminal pins in common from two opposed faces of the housing thus minimising the numbers of separate bars within the housing.
An electrical socket strip according to any preceding claim, wherein the housing defines sufficient internal vacant space to accommodate an indicator lamp, a fuse and a surge protector module.