AU666695B2 - Electrical fitting - Google Patents

Description

1- P/00/01 1 Regulation 3.2

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1 990 666 69

ORIGINAL

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STAN DARD~ PATENT

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Eta Invention Title: ELECTRICAL FITTING The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us: GH&CO REF: P042 1 PR:PJW -2- The present invention relates to an electrical fitting having contact elements which are arranged to be connected to an electrical cable.

The invention may broadly be defined as providing an electrical fitting which comprises a multi-piece moulded housing having a cable entry port surrounded by a collar.

First and second complementary collar pieces are formed integrally with first and second ones of the housing pieces respectively, and the first and second collar pieces are arranged slidingly to interconnect in a first direction to form the collar. The first and second housing pieces are arranged to be interconnected in a second direction, following interconnection of the first and second collar pieces, in a manner to prevent disconnection of the first and second collar pieces.

The second direction of interconnecting the first and second housing pieces is preferably substantially normal to the first direction of interconnecting the first and second collar pieces.

The housing preferably comprises only the first and second housing pieces which are arranged to be fastened together by a fastening element such as a screw. It is e*:further preferred that the first collar piece has a pair of rails which extend outwardly from the perimeter of the cable entry port and the second collar piece has a pair of complimentarily shaped recesses which facilitate the sliding interconnection.

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2 0 S r 7 3- The present invention will be more fully understood from the ensuing description of a preferred embodiment in which: Figure 1 is a side view of an assembled three pin electrical fitting, Figure 2 is a perspective view of the electrical fitting of figure 1 without the three electrical pins, Figure 3 is a perspective view from above of a lower housing piece of the electrical fitting of figure 2, Figare 4 is a perspective view from below of the lower housing piece of figure 3, Figure 5 is a perspective view from above of an upper housing piece of the electrical fitting of figure 2, r 15 Figure 6 is a perspective view from below of the 0400 upper housing piece of figure 5, and Figure 7 is a side view of the electrical fitting of figure 1 prior to assembly.

The illustrated electrical fitting is a plug 10 of the kind which is placed in a wall socket to convey power rr r to an electrical appliance via an electrical cable. The .r ,housing of the plug 10 comprises a lower housing piece 11 and an upper housing piece 12. Earth, neutral and active electrical pins 13 project from the base of the lower 25 housing piece 11 and a cable entry port 14 facilitates insertion of an electrical cable (not shown) into the plug 10 for connection to the electrical pins 13 via Ii r electrical contact elements 16. The cable entry port 14 is surrounded by a collar 17 which is formed by the sliding interconnection of lower and upper collar pieces 18 and 19 respectively.

The upper and lower housing pieces 11 and 12 are fastened together by a screw (not shown). The screw passes through hole 20 in the base of the lower housing piece 11 and engages within boss 21 which projects inwardly from the top of the upper housing piece 12.

The cable entry port 14 is formed by the sliding interconnection of the two collar pieces 18 and 19.

S:04210PR/429 4 In use, the electrical pins 13 will form part of the lower housing piece 11 and the insulated cover of an electrical cable will be laid in the trough 22 of the lower collar piece 18 with the earth, neutral and active wires exposed at the end of the cable. The expor wires are then connected to the appropriate contact elements 16. The lower and upper collar pieces 18 and 19 are slidingly interconnected and the lower and upper housing pieces 11 and 12 are fastened together with the screw (not shown). As such, the plug 10 can be disassembled by reversing this procedure and re-wired prior to reassembly.

Sliding interconnection of the lower and upper collar pieces 18 and 19 is facilitated by the provision 15 of a pair of rails 23 which extend outwardly from the o*oo perimeter of the cable entry port 14 on the lower collar piece 18 and a pair of complimentarily shaped recesses 24 formed in the upper collar piece 19. A ridge 25 extends around the wa2.l 26 of the upper housing piece 12. The ridge 25 is arranged to sit in complimentarily shaped seat 27 in the wall 28 of lower housing piece 11. The lower and upper housing pieces 11 and 12 are releasably engaged by sitting the ridge 25 on the seat 27.

It is to be noted that the ridge 25 and seat 27 engage in a direction which is the same as the axis of the screw (not shown); whereas, the rails 23 and recec!ses 24 slidingly interconnect at an angle which is substantially normal to the axis of the screw (not shown). To facilitate subsequeit sitting of the ridge on the seat 27, the rails 23 and recesses 24 do not snugly slidingly interconnect at an angle of exactly 900 to the axis of the screw (not shown). Instead, the recesses 24 are sufficiently wide to enable the upper housing piece 12 to progressively drop during the course of sliding interconnection until at the point where sliding interconnection has been completed, the upper housing piece 12 has dropped to a position in which the ridge 25 sits on the seat 27.

S:04210 OPR/429 5 The relative positions of the lower and upper housing pieces 11 and 12 prior to sliding interconnection are illustrated in figure 7.

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Claims (8)

1. An electrical fitting having contact elements arranged to be connected to an electrical cable, the fitting comprising a multi-piece moulded housing having a cable entry port surrounded by a collar; wherein first and second complementary collar pieces are integrally formed with first and second ones of the housing pieces respectively, wherein the first and second collar pieces are arranged slidingly to interconnect in a first direction to form the collar, and wherein the first and second housing pieces are arranged to be interconnected in a second direction, following interconnection of the first and second collar pieces, in a manner to prevent disconnection of the first and second collar pieces.

2. A fitting as claimed in claim 1 wherein the second direction of interconnecting the first and second housing pieces is substantially normal to the first direction of interconnecting the first and second collar pieces.

3. A fitting as claimed in claim 2 wherein the first and second housing pieces are arranged progressively to engage during sliding interconnection of the first and second collar pieces.

4. A fitting as claimed in any one of claim 2 or 25 claim 3 wherein one of the first and second housing pieces is formed with a peripherally extending ridge and the other housing piece is formed with a complementary seat, and wherein the ridge is located in the seat when the first and second housing pieces are interconnected. 30

5. A fitting as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the first collar piece has a pair of rails extending outwardly from the perimeter of the cable entry port, which rails are arranged to slidingly interconnect with a complimentarily shaped pair of recesses in the second collar piece.

6. A fitting as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the first and second housing pieces are arranged to be releasably interconnected by a fastening C C> C C CCC, C t t C (C C C t °irt c tC C C I t CC C C C C C t t t C I l I f C c ,titI I tel€ 1 t Ce SIt (''ICC C C Ct t( t t S, A L r S.04210PR ai ~rrr-l"; 7 element.

7. An electrical fitting as claimed in claim 6 wherein the fastening element is a screw and the first and second collar pieces are arranged to be slidingly interconnected at angle substantially normal to the axis of the screw.

8. An electrical fitting substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Dated this 13th day of December 1995 HPM INDUSTRIES PTY LTD By its Patent Attorneys GRIFFITH HACK CO tv re SI o t 1 CCCL 1 C i VC' t*tccCLC S:04210PR ABSTRACT A power plug is formed from two moulded housing pieces. A power lead enters the plug through an entry port formed by the sliding interconnection of two collar pieces that are integrally moulded with respective housing pieces. The plug can be disassembled, re-wired and re-assembled. *I I C I t t I