AU694499B2

AU694499B2 - Quick release receptacle

Info

Publication number: AU694499B2
Application number: AU21600/95A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Glenn Andrew Tindall
Original assignee: Metal Manufactures Ltd
Current assignee: Metal Manufactures Ltd
Priority date: 1994-06-21
Filing date: 1995-06-08
Publication date: 1998-07-23
Anticipated expiration: 2015-06-08
Also published as: AU2160095A

Description

AUSTRALIA

PATENTS ACT 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT

ORIGINAL

Name of Applicant: Actual Inventor: Address for Service: Invention Title: METAL MANUFACTURES LIMITED, A.C.N. 003 762 641 Glenn Andrew TINDALL SHELSTON WATERS Margaret Street SYDNEY NSW 2000 "QUICK RELEASE RECEPTACLE" o e r e r r o Details of Associated Provisional Applications No's: PM6425 dated 21st June 1994 and PM8527 dated 30th September 1994.

The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us:-

L

2 The present invention relates to an electrical coupling assembly comprising a plug and receptacle and more particularly to the mechanism for engaging and disengaging the plug and receptacle.

Known receptacles are of the type shown in Figure i. They employ a double acting screw thread operated by a rotatable handle to move a cam or catch longitudinally with respect to the axis of the receptacle and plug.

The catch locates on the plug body and pulls or jacks the plug in and out of the receptacle. This type of mechanism has been found to be slow in operation and difficult to operate due to the position of the handle relative to the plug and receptacle. While a quick disconnection is desirable, tbe receptacle/plug combination cannot be allowed to disengage too quickly as the "late make, early break" pilot circuit employed with such connectors will not operate in a safe manner.

The purpose of the pilot circuit is to cut-off the power should the plug/receptacle unit be disengaged inadvertently without isolating the power from the connector. If the response time of the relay/contact used in the pilot current exceeds the time taken to disengage the plug/receptacle combination, the main phase pins of the connector may potentially be left 25 "live" for a short time resulting in the danger of electrocution.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a quick release receptacle which i- II-- 3 enables speedy coupling and uncoupling of the associated plug while preventing the release being too quick to enable correct operation of the pilot circuit and overcomes or at least ameliorates the problems associated with the prior art.

According to the present invention there is provided a quick release receptacle for use in an electrical connector, said receptacle adapted to receive a mating plug, said receptacle comprising a body having a cavity for receipt of said plug, an axially moveable catch member having a catch thereon which cooperates with said plug to draw the plug into engagement with said cavity, a rotatable drive member extending at an angle to the catch member and drivably connected thereto by a gear mechanism, such that rotation of said drive member produces axial movement of said catch member .relative to said receptacle cavity.

For preference, said gear mechanism comprises a rack and pinion, the pinion being coupled to the drive member and the rack being formed on the catch member.

In an alternate preferred form, the catch member is mounted on a rotatable shaft by means of a double acting thread extending axially therethrough such that rotation of the shaft produces axial movement of the 25 catch member, said shaft being rotated by means of a 99*i bevel gear coupled to said drive member.

Preferably, in one form of the invention, the drive member is provided with means to engage a II ssl detachable handle for rotation thereof. For preference, the handle, when engaged with the drive member, is arranged relative to the receptacle body and/or the plug body such that the handle interferes with the receptacle body and/or the plug body during rotation of the drive member and must be detached and repositioned at least once to complete release of the mating plug.

Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, throughout the description and the claims, the words 'comprise', 'comprising', and the like are to be construed in an inclusive as opposed to an exclusive or exhaustive sense; that is to say, in the sense of "including, but not limited to".

Preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 shows a sectional view of the prior art form of high voltage receptacle; Figure 2 shows a sectional view of a receptacle according to one embodiment of the present invention; Figure 3 shows a partially cut-away end section of the receptacle of Figure 2; Figure 4 shows a sectional view of a receptacle according to a second embodiment of the 15 present invention; and Figure 5 shows an end sectional view of the receptacle of Figure 4.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 shows the known form of receptacle comprising a S•receptacle body 5 having mounted therein a connector assembly 6 which includes a number of electrical contacts 7 for connection to the plug (not shown) when inserted into the receptacle cavity 8. The plug is pulled into the receptacle cavity 8 by means of a catch member 9 having S0 o• 0 oO• °oW i••go; 80s83.-o001OC/JBU a catch or detente 10 which engages with the plug to move it in or out of the receptacle cavity 8. The catch member 9 is mounted on an axially extending shaft 11.

The catch member 9 threadingly engages the shaft 11 by means of a double acting screw thread 13 such that rotation of the shaft 11 produces axial movement of the catch member 9 and its associated catch 10. The shaft 11 is rotated by means of handle 12.

Figures 2 and 3 show a first embodiment of the present invention which has a similar configuration to that shown in Figure 1 but employs a different mechanism to move the catch member 9 to and fro within the receptacle body 5. This mechanism comprises a rack and pinion arrangement with the rack 15 being formed on the catch member 9 and a drive pinion 16 extending at right angles to the catch member 9 and engaging with the rack .0.6 15. The pinion 16 being rotatable by a detachable handle (not shown). In one form the pinion 16 is removable so that it may be inserted into the other side of the body 5 to enable the pinion 16 to be rotatable selectively from the left or right side of the receptacle body 5. Further, the end of the pinion 16 is preferably engaged with the detachable handle by means of a square, hexagonal or other suitable drive 25 take-off. This enables the pinion 16 to be rotated by other means, such as, spanners, ratchet drives and the li]:e, when the handle is detached.

6 In one form of the invention, the handle is arranged, when engaged with the end of the pinion 16, to interfere, in use, with the receptacle 5 and/or the plug body. This interference is such that the handle must be removed and repositioned on the end to the pinion 16 in order to continue rotation. This ensures a longer time for disengagement of the plug so that the 'make-break' pilot circuit may trip out. Due to gearing, the time to disengage the plug is still considerably shorter than previous known systems.

Figures 4 and 5 show a further embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment a bevel gear arrangement is used to move the catch member 9 to and fro within the receptacle body 5. Again this is a similar configuration to the prior art but in this case the shaft 11 has a bevel gear 17 provided at the end en.r remote from the catch 10 and is rotated by a mating evel gear 18 having a shaft 19 extending at right elo•0 angles to shaft 11. This gearing arrangement enables the shaft 19 to be rotated rapidly giving a quick release and engagement of the associated plug, while also ensuring in normal use that the disengagement time is sufficient to allow the safety "make-break" circuitry to operate correctly. This can be done by selecting 25 appropriate gear ratios.

S"The plug is preferably locked in the engaged position within the receptacle cavity 8 by means of a locking pin 20 which extends through the receptacle body I SI I 7 and engages with an aligned bore 21 in the shaft 11 to prevent axial movement of the shaft. Preferably, the locking pin is biased towards the engaged position with the bore 21 by means of helical spring 22 positioned around the pin 20. The spring is axially restrained on the locking pin 20 by a further restraining pin 23 extending diametrically through the locking pin shaft 24 and projecting beyond the sides of the shaft 24 to retain one end of the spring 22. The other end of the spring is retained by a cover 25 through which the pin shaft 24 passes. The end of the locking pin 20 adjacent the cover having an enlarged head 26 which may be gripped to withdraw the pin 20 from engagement with the bore 21 against the bias of the spring 22. In a simpler form, the locking pin 20 may be screw threaded into the receptacle body 5 and screwed into the bore 21 to lock the shaft 11 in position.

It will be appreciated that further embodiments of the invention are possible without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention described.

9 G9Ot E N-s

Claims

1. A quick release receptacle for use in an electrical connector, said receptacle adapted to receive a mating plug, said receptacle comprising a body having a cavity for receipt of said plug, an axially moveable catch member having a catch thereon which co-operates with said plug to draw the plug into engagement with said cavity, a rotatable drive member extending at an angle to the catch member and drivably connected thereto by a gear mechanism, such that rotation of the drive member produces axial movement of the said catch member relative to said receptacle cavity.

2. A quick release receptacle according to claim 1 wherein said gear mechanism comprises a rack and pinion, the pinion being coupled to the drive member and the rack being formed on or attached to the catch member. oi. 3. A quick release receptacle according to claim 1 wherein the catch member is mounted on a rotatable shaft by means of a double acting thread extending axially therethrough such that rotation of said shaft produces 20 axial movement of the catch member, said shaft being rotated by means of bevel gear coupled to said drive -O member.

4. A quick release receptacle according to any one of the preceding claims wherein said drive member is 25 provided with means to engage a detachable handle for rotation thereof. -I I d I 4 9 A quick release receptacle according to any one of the preceding claims including locking means for for locking said plug in an operable position within said cavity.

6. A quick release receptacle according to claim wherein said locking means comprises a spring-loaded pin extending through the receptacle body and engaging with an aligned complementary bore in said catch member.

7. A quick release receptacle according to claim 4 in combination with said detachable handle, said handle being arranged relative to the receptacle body and/or the plug such that the handle interferes with the receptacle body and/or the plug during rotation of the drive member and must be detached and repositioned at least once to complete release of the mating plug.

8. A quick release receptacle substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 2 and 3 or Figures 3 and 4 of the accompanying drawings. Dated this 7th Day of June, 1995 METAL MSANUFACTURES LIMITED Attorney: PETER HEATHCOTE Fellow Institute of Patent Attorneys of Australia b.O of SHELSTON WATERS 6 *o r* -e I I t4 ABSTRACT A quick release receptacle for use in an elect ical connector is disclosed. The receptacle is adapted to receive a mating plug and the receptacle comprises a body having a cavity for receipt of the plug, an axially moveable catch member having a catch thereon which co-operates with said plug to draw the plug into engagement with the cavity a rotatable drive member (16, 18) extending at an angle to the catch member and drivably connected thereto by a gear mechanism (15, 16/ 17, 18), such that rotation of the drive member (16, 18) produces axial movement of the S catch member relative to the receptacle cavity *e a a e *o 0O _1