AU2017204023A1 - Connector device - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed is an electrical device for connection to a power outlet and/or switch plate. The electrical device comprises a body and at least one interface, with the at least one interface being variably positionable with respect to the body. In some embodiments, the interface is housed in an interface housing which is variably positionable with respect to the body. An example of an interface for use in the electrical device is a USB port. ( 1)0510 (12) Figure 2A 12) Figure lB (12) Figure 2A (12) Figure 2B

Description

CONNECTOR DEVICE

PRIORITY

[0001] This application claims priority from Australian Provisional Patent Application No. 2016902304 entitled “Connector Device”, filed on 14 June 2016. The entire content of this document is hereby incorporated by reference.

INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

[0002] The following publication is referred to in the present application:

Australian Patent Application No. 2015275232 entitled “Connection System and Method For Electrical Outlets”

Australian Patent No. 2011334615 entitled “USB Outlet Charger”

Australian Provisional Patent Application No. 2016903958 entitled “Output Current Control For USB Device”, filed on 29 September 2016.

[0003] The entire content of each of these documents is hereby incorporated by reference. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0004] The present application relates to electrical outlets and switch plates and to electrical and/or mechanical devices for connection thereto.

BACKGROUND

[0005] A typical electrical outlet or a switch plate comprises a grid for mounting to a surface such as a wall, and a faceplate connected to the grid. The grid and faceplates will often have at least one aperture behind which a device containing an electrical and/or mechanical element can be mounted to allow access to the electrical and/or mechanical element through the aperture. One example of such an electrical and/or mechanical device is a switch. Another example is a Universal Serial Bus (USB) charger.

[0006] These devices include a housing incorporating the electrical or mechanical elements, and an interface allowing interaction by a user with the electrical or mechanical elements contained within the housing. The interface is accessed by the user via the aperture in the faceplate.

SUMMARY

[0007] According to a first aspect, there is provided a device for mounting to an electrical outlet or switch plate, the device comprising a body and at least one interface, wherein the at least one interface is variably positionable with respect to the body.

[0008] In one embodiment, the at least one interface is housed within an interface housing and the interface housing is variably positionable with respect to the body.

[0009] In another embodiment, the at least one interface is rotatable with respect to the body.

[0010] In another embodiment, the interface housing is rotatable with respect to the body.

[0011] In one form, the interface is a connector for connecting an external device to the device.

[0012] In one form, the device is a Universal Serial Bus (USB) device and the connector is a USB port.

[0013] In one form, the USB device is a USB charger for charging the external device via the USB port.

[0014] In one form, the USB device is a data transfer device for transferring data via the USB port.

[0015] In one embodiment, the body of the device comprises at least one wall and at least one non-deflectable retaining surface on at least a portion of the at least one wall for engaging with a sliding connector.

[0016] In one form, the at least one non-deflectable retaining surface is provided by a recess in the at least one wall.

[0017] In one form, the at least one non-deflectable retaining surface is provided by a protrusion extending from the at least one wall.

[0018] In one form, the body comprises an engaging portion including at least two deflectable clips, each for engaging a supporting portion disposed at a rear of the outlet or switch plate for retaining the device to the outlet or switch plate, each of the at least two deflectable clips having a tapered surface for deflecting the deflectable clip upon insertion of the engaging portion into the supporting portion from the rear of the outlet or switch plate.

[0019] According to a second aspect, there is provided an electrical outlet or switch plate comprising at least one aperture in which is disposed an interface of a device according to the first or second aspects.

[0020] According to a third aspect, there is provided a method of installing a device to an electrical outlet or switch plate having an aperture for receiving an interface of a device according to the first or second aspects, the method comprising orientating the interface with the aperture by moving the interface with respect to the body of the device and connecting the device to the electrical outlet or switch plate.

[0021] In one form, the step of connecting the device is performed before the step of orientating the interface.

[0022] According to a fourth aspect, there is provided an interface housing housing an interface of an electrical device, the interface housing comprising means for variably positioning the interface housing with respect to a body of the electrical device housing elements to be accessed via the interface.

[0023] According to a fifth aspect, there is provided a body of an electrical device, adapted to receive a housing housing an interface to access elements within the body, wherein the body is adapted to receive the housing in such a way that the interface is variably positionable with respect to the body.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0024] Embodiments of the various aspects described herein will be detailed with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: [0025] Figure 1A - shows an embodiment of an electrical device described herein with an interface in a first orientation; [0026] Figure IB - shows the electrical device of Figure 1A with the interface in a second orientation; [0027] Figure 2A - shows another embodiment of an electrical device described herein with an interface in a first orientation; [0028] Figure 2B - shows the electrical device of Figure 2A with the interface in a second orientation; [0029] Figure 3 A - shows another embodiment of an electrical device described herein with an interface in a first orientation; [0030] Figure 3B - shows the electrical device of Figure 3A with the interface in a second orientation; [0031] Figure 4A - shows another embodiment of an electrical device described herein with an interface in a first orientation; [0032] Figure 4B - shows the electrical device of Figure 4A with the interface in a second orientation; [0033] Figure 4C - shows the electrical device of Figure 4A with the interface in a third orientation; [0034] Figure 5A - shows an embodiment of an electrical device showing the body and the interface housing in separated configuration; [0035] Figure 5B - shows another view of the arrangement of Figure 5A showing a rotation limiter; [0036] Figure 6A - shows a perspective view of the arrangement of Figure 5A with the body and interface housing connected and the interface housing in a first orientation; [0037] Figure 6B - shows a top view of the arrangement of Figure 6A; [0038] Figure 7A - shows a perspective view of the arrangement of Figure 6A with the interface housing in a second orientation; [0039] Figure 7B - shows a top view of the arrangement of Figure 7A; [0040] Figure 8A - shows a perspective view of the arrangement of Figure 6A with the interface housing in a third orientation; [0041] Figure 8B - shows a top view of the arrangement of Figure 8 A; [0042] Figure 9A - shows another embodiment of the electrical device according to another aspect described herein with the interface housing in a first orientation; [0043] Figure 9B - shows the arrangement of Figure 9A with the interface housing separated from the body; [0044] Figure 9C - shows the interface housing with interface housing locators; [0045] Figure 9D - shows a bottom view of the arrangement of Figure 9C; [0046] Figure 9E - shows the arrangement of Figure 9A with the interface housing in a second orientation [0047] Figure 10A - shows another embodiment of an electrical device as described herein with the interface provided by a USB port; [0048] Figure 10B - shows another embodiment of an electrical device as described herein with the interface provided by a USB port; [0049] Figure 10C - shows another embodiment of an electrical device as described herein with the interface provided by a USB port; [0050] Figure 10D - shows another embodiment of an electrical device as described herein, with the interface provided by a data port connector; [0051] Figure 10E - shows another embodiment of an electrical device as described herein, with the interface provided by an HDM1 port; [0052] Figure 10F - shows another embodiment of an electrical device as described herein, with the interface provided by a Cat 5 telephone connector; [0053] Figure 11 - shows another embodiment of the electrical device according to aspects described herein, showing the internal elements; [0054] Figure 12 - shows a rear view of an embodiment of an outlet as described herein with the electrical device attached; [0055] Figure 13A - shows a front view of another embodiment of an outlet with the interface in a first orientation; [0056] Figure 13B - shows the arrangement of Figure 13A with the interface in a second orientation; [0057] Figure 14A - shows an embodiment of an electrical device for connection to a mounting region of an outlet; [0058] Figure 14B - shows the outlet with the electrical device of Figure 14A connected; [0059] Figure 14C - shows a front view of an embodiment of an outlet with the electrical device connected and the interface in a first orientation; and [0060] Figure 15 - shows a flowchart of a method of connecting an electrical device to an electrical outlet or switch plate.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

[0061] Figure 1 shows an example of an electrical device 100 for use with various aspects described herein. Electrical device 100 comprises body 50, within which is housed one or more internal elements 55 (not shown in this view) for effecting the operation of the electrical device 100 as will be understood by the person skilled in the art.

[0062] Connected to body 50 is at least one interface 10 (in the example shown in Figure 1, there is only one interface shown, but there could be 2, 3, 4, 5 or more interfaces). Interface 10 allows access to the one or more internal elements within body 50. If there are multiple interfaces, there can be multiple of the same type of interface, or two or more different types of interface.

[0063] According to an aspect described herein, interface 10 is variably positionable with respect to the body 50. In the embodiment shown in Figure 1, interface 10 is a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port 12, which allows access to the internal elements 55 which in one embodiment could be a USB charging circuit for charging a USB-enabled device such as a smart phone or a tablet. An example of such an electrical device is described in Australian Patent No. 2011334615 entitled “USB Outlet Charger”, previously incorporated by reference. Another example is as described in

Australian Provisional Patent Application No. 2016903958 entitled “Output Current Control For USB Device”, also previously incorporated by reference.

[0064] In the embodiment shown in Figure 1, the orientation of interface 10 with respect to body 50 is variably positionable. In this particular embodiment, the interface 10 is able to be rotated as shown by the arrow. This causes the interface 10, specifically the USB port 12 in this embodiment, to be changed from a horizontal orientation as shown in Figure 1, to a vertical orientation, as shown in Figure 2.

[0065] This variable orientation allows the interface 10 to be selectively positioned according to the particular grid, or plate of the outlet to which the electrical device 100 is mounted.

[0066] Figure 2A shows another embodiment of electrical device 100, also with interface 10 provided by a USB port 12. In this embodiment, the USB port is disposed extending outwardly from body 50, as opposed to recessed within body 50 as in Figures 1A and IB. Upon rotation of the USB port 12, the USB port moves from a horizontal orientation to a vertical orientation as shown in Figure 2B.

[0067] Figure 3A shows another embodiment of electrical device 100, again with the interface 10 provided by a USB port 12. In this embodiment, interface 10 is housed within an interface housing 55, which is itself variably positionable with respect to body 50. As shown in Figure 3A, interface housing 55 can be rotated to cause the USB port to be changed from a horizontal orientation to a vertical orientation as shown in Figure 3B. In this embodiment, interface housing is circular.

[0068] In the embodiment of Figures 4A to 4C, the interface housing is square or rectangular. Figure 4A shows the interface or USB port in a horizontal orientation. As interface housing 55 is rotated, USB port adopts an orientation roughly 45 degrees to its original orientation, as shown in Figure 4B, and then upon continued rotation, adopts an orientation about 90 degrees to its original orientation, as shown in Figure 4C.

[0069] It will be appreciated that in these embodiments of Figures 1 to 4C, interface 10 can be rotated to any degree along its axis, including between 1 and 10 degrees, between 10 and 45 degrees, between 40 and 90 degrees, between 85 and 180 degrees, and between 170 and over 360 degrees, including 90 degrees, 180 degrees, 270 degrees, 360 degrees and 500 degrees or more. It will also be appreciated that the axis of rotation in the embodiments described herein, is perpendicular to a plane defined by the interface 10 and/or a front face of the interface housing 55, as indicated by example, by the axis line A in Figures 4A to 4C.

[0070] In some embodiments, a rotation limiter is provided, to limit the degree of rotation to for example, 90 degrees, 180 degrees, 270 degrees or 360 degrees. In other embodiments, there is no limiter of rotation and the interface 10 may be rotted without limitation.

[0071] Figure 5A shows another embodiment of electrical device 100 with interface housing 55 housing interface 10, in this embodiment, provided by two USB ports 12 (see Figure 5B). Figure 5A shows interface housing 55 separate from body 50 and connectable thereto. On at least one side of interface housing 55 is electrical device connector 110, which in this embodiment, comprises a plurality of retaining surfaces as will be described in more detail below. It will be appreciated however, that electrical device connector can take on any other suitable form, including the resiliently-deformable tabs as shown for example in Figures 10C, 10F and 11 and which will be described in more detail below.

[0072] The interface housing 55 in the embodiment of Figure 5A also has an interface housing connector 56 for connecting interface housing 55 to body 50. In this embodiment, interface housing connector 56 is a deflectable clip that deflects upon contact with the rim of aperture 59 in body 50 and then springs back to its original position once inside body 50 to thereby retain interface housing 55 to body 50, while still allowing interface housing 55 to rotate.

[0073] Also shown in Figure 5A is rotation limiter 57, which is provided in this embodiment by interface housing rotation limiter 57a and body rotation limiter 57b (see Figure 5B). When interface housing 55 is in place and connected to body 50, interface housing rotation limiter 57a is received by body rotation limiter 57b and is able to slide along the length of body rotation limiter 57b. Due to the length of body rotation limiter 57b, this restricts the rotational movement of interface housing 55 to the length of body rotation limiter 57b, which in this embodiment, provides about 90 degrees of rotation. In other embodiments, where body rotation limiter 57b extends further around aperture 59, interface housing 55 can be rotated further, such as 180 degrees or 270 degrees. In other embodiments, there is no rotation limiter and interface housing 55 is able to rotate unrestricted.

[0074] Figure 6A shows a perspective view of electrical device 100 with interface 10 being provided by two USB ports 12. As shown clearly in Figure 6B, in this orientation, USB ports 12 are aligned with the length of body 50. As interface housing 55 is rotated with respect to body 50 as indicated by the arrow in Figures 7A and 7B, interface housing 55 ultimately adopts an orientation perpendicular, or 90 degrees to its original orientation, with USB ports 12 now aligned perpendicular to the length of body 50, as shown in Figures 8A and 8B.

[0075] An alternative embodiment is shown in Figures 9A to 9E. In this embodiment, interface housing 55 is variably positionable with respect to body 50 by separating interface housing 55 from body 50, and reconnecting interface housing 55 to body 50 in a different orientation.

[0076] Figure 9A shows electrical device 100 as previously described. The arrow in Figure 9A indicates that it is desired to re-orientate interface housing 55 from the orientation in Figure 9A to the orientation in Figure 9E. To accomplish this, the user separates interface housing 55 from body 50 (by any suitable means including simply pulling the two sections apart).

[0077] Figure 9B shows electrical device 100 with interface housing 55 separated from body 50. In this embodiment, interface 10 provided by two USB ports 12, are connected to internal elements 54 (not visible in this view) via connecting wires 60. Connecting wires 60 conduct electrical signals (such as data and/or power) between the interface 10 and the internal elements 54.

[0078] In this respect, Figure 9B also generally shows a body 50 of an electrical device 100, adapted to receive a housing 55 housing an interface 10 to access elements within the body, wherein the body 50 is adapted to receive the housing 55 in such a way that the interface 10 is variably positionable with respect to the body 50.

[0079] It will be appreciated that in other embodiments, conduction of these electrical signals can be provided by any other suitable means, such as by conductive plates that connect when interface housing 55 is connected to body 50, or by conductive “brushes” to allow electrical connection in all orientations. These different forms of conduction can be used by all embodiments described herein.

[0080] Figure 9C shows interface housing 55 with interface housing locators 58a. Interface housing locators 58a are provided to locate the interface housing into a new position when reconnected to body 50. In some embodiments, locators 58a also provide interface housing connector 56, by for example, providing a tight-fitting friction fit to retain interface housing 55 to body 50. Figure 9D shows a bottom view of interface housing 55 showing interface housing locators 58a.

[0081 ] In this respect, there is provided an interface housing 55 housing an interface 10 of an electrical device 100, the interface housing 55 comprising means for variably positioning the interface housing with respect to a body of the electrical device housing elements to be accessed via the interface.

[0082] Referring back to Figure 9B, shown on body 50 are body locators 58b, which engage with interface housing locators 58a. In some embodiments, interface housing locators 58a are provided by protrusions which are received by body locators 58b which are recesses or apertures. In other embodiments, interface housing locators 58a are recesses or apertures which receive body locators 58b which are provided as protrusions. In other embodiments, some of the interface housing locators are protrusions and others are recesses or apertures, and some body locators are recesses or apertures and some are protrusions. In some embodiments, there is one interface housing locator 58a and one body locator 58b. In other embodiments there are two interface housing locators 58a and two body locators 58b. In other embodiments, there are three interface housing locators 58a and three body locators 58b. In other embodiments, there are 1, 2, 3, 4 or more interface housing locators 58a and 1, 2, 3, 4 or more body locators 58b and any combination thereof.

[0083] Figure 9E shows the electrical device 100 with interface housing 55 reconnected to body 50 after being re-oriented into the desired orientation.

[0084] It will be understood that electrical device 100 can take on any suitable form. Figures 10A to 1 OF show some possible examples of different embodiments of electrical device 100, with different connectors provided as interface 10.

[0085] Figure 10A shows electrical device 100 with interface 12 provided by a single USB port 12, housed within interface housing 55, connected to body 50.

[0086] Figure 10B shows another embodiment of electrical device 100 as a USB charging device, with interface 10 provided by a single USB port 12. In this embodiment, electrical device connector 110 is provided on the interface housing 55, and is provided in the form of retaining surfaces as described in Australian Patent Application No. 2015275232 entitled “Connection System and Method For Electrical Outlets” previously incorporated by reference. In this system, the electrical device 100 is retained to a mounting region of a grid or plate of an outlet by a sliding bar connector that engages with the retaining surface. In particular, the electrical device 100 has at least one wall and at least one non-deflectable retaining surface on at least a portion of the at least one wall for engaging with a sliding connector. In some embodiments, this retaining surface is provided by a protrusion extending from the wall. In other embodiments, the retaining surface is provided by a recess in the wall.

[0087] Figure 10C shows another embodiment of electrical device 100 as a USB charging device. In this embodiment, the electrical device connector 110 is provided by deflectable tabs that engage with corresponding recesses in a mounting region of a grid, plate or outlet. Features of this arrangement are described in more detail in Australian Patent No. 2011334615 entitled “USB Outlet Charger”, previously incorporated by reference. In the embodiment shown in Figure 10C, the electrical device connector 110 is provided on the interface housing 55.

[0088] As described in this incorporated document, in this form of electrical device connector 110, there is provided an engaging portion including at least two deflectable clips, each for engaging a supporting portion disposed at a rear of the outlet or switch plate for retaining the device to the outlet or switch plate, each of the at least two deflectable clips having a tapered surface for deflecting the deflectable clip upon insertion of the engaging portion into the supporting portion from the rear of the outlet or switch plate.

[0089] Figure 10D shows another embodiment of electrical device 100, provided as a data port connector, and specifically the interface housing 55 houses a Cat 6 connector. In this embodiment, the electrical device connector 110 is provided by the protrusions providing the retaining surfaces for use with the sliding connector system previously described, and in this embodiment, is provided on the body 50.

[0090] Figure 10E shows another embodiment of electrical device 100, in this embodiment, a High-Definition Multi Media Interface (HDMI) mechanism. In this embodiment, interface housing 55 houses the HDMI port and the electrical device connector 110 is provided by a series of protrusions for use with the sliding connector arrangement previously described. In this embodiment, the electrical device connector 110 is provided on the body 50 of the electrical device 100.

[0091] Figure 10F shows another embodiment of electrical device 100 as a Cat 5 telephone connector housed within interface housing 55, which is variably positionable with respect to the body 50. In this embodiment, the electrical device connector 110 is provided by the deflectable tabs previously described, on the interface housing 55.

[0092] Figure 11 shows an embodiment of electrical device 100 as a USB device with a USB port 12 housed in interface housing 55. Figure 11 shows internal elements 54 represented in dotted lines. As can be seen, internal elements, which can include functional circuitry and hardware elements such as terminals, are housed within body 50. Elements relating to the interface 10 (in this embodiment, USB port 12), are housed in interface housing 55. The USB port is electrically connected to a circuit board forming part of internal elements 54, via connecting wires 60 as shown in Figure 11. It will be appreciated that connecting wires 60 will be sufficiently dimensioned and flexible to allow the electrical connection to be maintained even when interface housing 55 is rotated or otherwise reorientated with respect to body 50 as previously described with reference to Figures 9B and 9C.

[0093] Figure 12 shows a rear view of an embodiment of an outlet 200, supporting electrical device 100. As shown in Figure 12, electrical device 100 (which could be the device of Figure 10B for example) is connected to outlet 200 with body 50 protruding from the outlet. Electrical device 100 is connected to outlet 200 using any suitable connection method, including the electrical device connectors described previously. The electrical device 100 may also be connected to Active and Neutral electrical wires to connect to mains or supply power as will be understood by the person skilled in the art.

[0094] Figure 13A shows a front view of the arrangement of Figure 12, with interface 10, provided as a USB port 12, accessible via an aperture in the outlet 200. In this form, USB port 12 is aligned in an orientation perpendicular to the length of the outlet 200. As previously described, because housing interface 55 is variably positionable with respect to the body 50 of electrical device 100, interface 55 may be rotated or otherwise positioned (for example 90 degrees), to cause USB port 12 to adopt an orientation that is in line with the length of the outlet as shown in Figure 13B, while electrical device 100 is connected to the outlet 200.

[0095] In another aspect, the ability to variably orientate interface housing 55 with respect to body 50 of electrical device 100, allows the body 50 to equally be rotated with respect to the interface 10 to allow the body 50 to assume an orientation that will more easily fit in the space provided in outlet 200.

[0096] Figure 14A shows an electrical device 100 with housing interface 55 housing USB ports 12. If it is desired that the alignment of the ports 12 is parallel to the length of the outlet, as shown in Figure 14C, then an electrical device as shown in Figure 14A would normally need to be connected to outlet 200 with the body 55 extending perpendicular to the length of the outlet. However, as can be seen Figure 14B, the outlet design does not allow space for the body 55 in that orientation, and the body 55 can only be connected with its length parallel to the length of the outlet 200. Because the housing interface 55 is able to be rotated or otherwise repositioned with respect to body 50, body 50 is able to be rotated and positioned so as to fit in the outlet 200 but still maintain the desired alignment of the USB ports 12 as shown in Figure 14C.

[0097] In another aspect, there is provided a method of installing an electrical device to an electrical outlet or switch plate having an aperture for receiving an interface of an electrical device as previously described. In one embodiment, the method comprises in step 500 orientating the interface by moving the interface with respect to the body of the electrical device, and, in step 510, connecting the electrical device to the outlet or switch plate.

In one embodiment, the step of connecting the electrical device is performed before the step of orientating the interface.

[0098] Throughout the specification and the claims that follow, unless the context requires otherwise, the words “comprise” and “include” and variations such as “comprising” and “including” will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated integer or group of integers, but not the exclusion of any other integer or group of integers.

[0099] The reference to any prior art in this specification is not, and should not be taken as, an acknowledgement of any form of suggestion that such prior art forms part of the common general knowledge.

[00100] It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the invention is not restricted in its use to the particular application described. Neither is the present disclosure restricted with regard to the particular elements and/or features described or depicted herein. It will be appreciated that the various embodiments disclosed are capable of numerous rearrangements, modifications and substitutions without departing from the scope as set forth and defined by the following claims.

Claims (17)

1. An electrical device for mounting to an electrical outlet or switch plate, the device comprising a body and at least one interface, wherein the at least one interface is variably positionable with respect to the body.

2. An electrical device as claimed in claim 1 wherein the at least one interface is housed within an interface housing and the interface housing is variably positionable with respect to the body.

3. An electrical device as claimed in claim 1 wherein the at least one interface is rotatable with respect to the body.

4. An electrical device as claimed in claim 2 wherein the interface housing is rotatable with respect to the body.

5. An electrical device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4 wherein the interface is a connector for connecting an external device to the device.

6. An electrical device as claimed in claim 5 wherein the electrical device is a Universal Serial Bus (USB) device and the connector is a USB port.

7. An electrical device as claimed in claim 6 wherein the USB device is a USB charger for charging the external device via the USB port.

8. An electrical device as claimed in claim 4 wherein the USB device is a data transfer device for transferring data via the USB port.

9. An electrical device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8 wherein the body of the electrical device comprises; at least one wall; and at least one non-deflectable retaining surface on at least a portion of the at least one wall for engaging with a sliding connector.

10. An electrical device as claimed in claim 9 wherein the at least one non-deflectable retaining surface is provided by a recess in the at least one wall.

11. An electrical device as claimed in claim 9 wherein the at least one non-deflectable retaining surface is provided by a protrusion extending from the at least one wall.

12. An electrical device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8 wherein the body comprises an engaging portion including at least two deflectable clips, each for engaging a supporting portion disposed at a rear of the outlet or switch plate for retaining the device to the outlet or switch plate, each of the at least two deflectable clips having a tapered surface for deflecting the deflectable clip upon insertion of the engaging portion into the supporting portion from the rear of the outlet or switch plate.

13. An electrical outlet or switch plate comprising at least one aperture in which is disposed an interface of an electrical device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 12.

14. A method of installing an electrical device to an electrical outlet or switch plate having an aperture for receiving an interface of the electrical device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 12, the method comprising: orientating the interface by moving the interface with respect to the body of the electrical device; and connecting the electrical device to the electrical outlet or switch plate.

15. A method as claimed in claim 14 wherein the step of connecting the electrical device is performed before the step of orientating the interface.

16. An interface housing housing an interface of an electrical device, the interface housing comprising means for variably positioning the interface housing with respect to a body of the electrical device housing elements to be accessed via the interface.

17. A body of an electrical device, adapted to receive a housing housing an interface to access elements within the body, wherein the body is adapted to receive the housing in such a way that the interface is variably positionable with respect to the body.