EP0254226B1 - Plug and socket combination for the connection of electrical lamps and appliances - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a socket-plug combination for connecting electrical lamps and devices with a bayonet-like connection between the plug and socket, curved curved knife contacts and a central, also axially directed center contact as a neutral conductor and a socket with electrical contacts, in their arrangement and shape correspond to the contacts of the plug.

From DE-A-32 35 965 a quick safety connection for electric lamps and electrical appliances is known, which consists of a plug and a socket and the socket has a central, more or less cylindrical recess in which the electrical contacts are exposed and into which a plug with a corresponding cross-section can be inserted, which carries electrical contacts in the form of metal strips on its outer surface. The earth conductor or neutral conductor is arranged in the center of both parts. The plug is locked with the socket via a so-called bayonet connection.

However, this configuration has the serious disadvantage that the live contacts are exposed in the central recess of the socket, so that accidental reaching in with a finger, an electric shock and thus can lead to injuries or burns and thus a device with the plug removed for people , especially playing children, is a great danger.

Another disadvantage is that it is difficult to connect the electrical line to the socket or to the contacts arranged on the socket, because the connection points are arranged outside and below the socket. They are therefore unsecured, for example when the protective cap is removed or the protective cap is damaged, and can be damaged, in particular the insulation can be damaged, so that here too, for example when dusting, there is a risk of injury or burns.

From US-A-3 500 056 a line system for different voltages is known which provides a special socket-plug combination for each voltage in order to avoid confusion of the current types or voltages. It should be prevented that a consumer for 120 volts is plugged into a socket for 208 volts or a higher voltage and thereby causes destruction. To achieve this goal, it is proposed to provide the plug with two, three or more in a circle, triangle or rectangle, knife-like, straight, curved or hook-shaped contacts, which can be inserted in appropriately shaped boxes.

In contrast, the invention has for its object to provide a socket-plug combination that is safe, can not lead to injuries from electric shocks, which has a compact design and in which all live or current-carrying parts with regard to their line or cable connections are protected in the housing of the combination.

This object is now achieved in an embodiment of the combination described at the outset in that a rotatable disk with circular-arc-shaped slots is provided, which is mounted on a sleeve-shaped neutral conductor and the socket is formed by a sleeve-shaped housing which carries groove-shaped recesses, the cams of the plug record, tape.

Further features are characterized in the subclaims.

The combination according to the invention is suitable for all types of electricity consumers, both as a connection for ceiling and wall lamps, for conventional socket connections, for consumers such as floor lamps, irons and the like, and it can because of the design of the box can also be used advantageously as a flush-mounted junction box, which can be closed by a cap or a cover when not in use.

This is achieved in that the box comprises a body in which a sleeve is centrally attached, which forms both the neutral conductor and an axially movable spring-loaded washer with circular arc-shaped slots spaced apart from one another, which the current-carrying contacts in the body correspond, which is surrounded and held by a sleeve-shaped housing and carries groove-shaped recesses on the inside, which receive the corresponding cams of the plug for the phase-correct electrical connection.

Further features of the invention are characterized in the claims.

The slots on the circle of the axially movable spring-loaded washer are preferably curved in accordance with the radius of the circle and are aligned with correspondingly curved U-shaped electrical metal contacts, into which correspondingly curved knife-shaped contacts of the connector engage after passing through the slots of the washer when the connector is rotated.

The design is such that a central pin is formed coaxially to the sleeve of the body carrying the electrical contacts on the plug for the neutral conductor, which first enters the sleeve and makes a contact and only when the plug is inserted and turned further does the actual electrical Contacts take effect.

By turning the plug, the knife-shaped circular arc-shaped knife contacts then enter the corresponding electrical U-shaped contacts of the socket, the lugs of the plug in the corresponding groove-shaped recesses of the socket housing then coming into a locking position when a complete electrical contact is made.

Due to the spring loading of the disc, the connector is finally pressed with its approaches into corresponding recesses in the socket housing located laterally to the groove, so that a bayonet lock is formed in this way, which prevents the connector from being pulled out. The plug can only be pulled out if the plug is pressed into the socket and at the same time rotated again by a certain angle, which can be 30 or 40 °.

The body with the electrical connections is also essentially circular and represents a plate on which the electrical connections are fastened. It is fastened with the help of screws together with the housing surrounding the body, for example on a ceiling, but also on a room wall, if necessary.

The arrangement of different widths, but, if necessary, also thick approaches on the connector makes it impossible to mix up the phases, so that the invention is also suitable for direct or three-phase current, for series connections, etc.

The locking position or the position in which the plug can be removed from the socket is identified by markings on the plug and on the socket.

The plug itself consists essentially of two parts, namely a cup-shaped round part corresponding to the inner diameter of the housing of the socket, in the interior of which the electrical clamping contacts are fastened. The knife-shaped contacts, which protrude through the bottom of the cup-shaped part, originate from these. The rectangular, more or less circumferentially wide or thick lugs are formed on the outer circumference of the cup, which ensure the locking and the correct phase connection, as described above.

This cup-shaped part is covered by a cover with a hole for the passage of the cable, on or in which a clamping device can be included to relieve the strain on the cable and a suspension device, for example in the form of a bracket or a joint for a lamp. The lid is connected to the cup-shaped part by screws.

If desired, the whole combination can be equipped with seals in the form of O-rings or sealed washers, so that it can also be used in damp rooms.

The invention will now be explained in more detail using an exemplary embodiment which is illustrated in the drawing.

Fig. 1

eine querschnittartige schematische Darstellung des Aufbaues und des Zusammenwirkens der Stecker-Dosenkombination,

Fig. 2

eine schematische Ansicht von unten gegen die den Stecker aufnehmende Dose,

Fig. 3

einen Querschnitt durch die wesentlichsten Teile der Dose, unter Weglassung der elektrischen Kontakte, etwa senkrecht der Papierebene der Fig. 1,

Fig. 4

die Abdeckung einer nicht benutzten Dose an einer Raumdecke und

Fig. 5

den Einbau der Dose in eine entsprechende Unterputzdose in beispielsweise einer Zimmerdecke.

They represent:

Fig. 1

a cross-sectional schematic representation of the structure and interaction of the plug-socket combination,

Fig. 2

2 shows a schematic view from below against the socket receiving the plug,

Fig. 3

2 shows a cross section through the most important parts of the box, omitting the electrical contacts, approximately perpendicular to the paper plane of FIG. 1,

Fig. 4

the cover of an unused can on a ceiling and

Fig. 5

the installation of the box in a corresponding flush-mounted box in a ceiling, for example.

1, in which reference numeral 1 represents a ceiling, for example a ceiling. The socket into which the plug is inserted comprises a cylindrical housing 2 which surrounds and holds the body 3. The cylindrical housing, as can clearly be seen in FIG. 3, is provided with lugs 4 with holes for screws 5, which are also separated by two opposite approaches 6, of which only one is shown in Fig. 1, are aligned. The screws 5 thus go through the lugs 4 of the housing 2 and through the lugs 6 of the body 3. As can be seen from FIG. 1, there is an intermediate space 7 between the body 3 and the ceiling 1, into which the electrical cable that can be connected to the socket enters. The current-carrying lines are connected with two or three contacts in the usual way, depending on the type of current or circuit. These contacts are screw-type clamping contacts, which have the reference numerals 8 and 9 (Fig. 1).

The clamping screw 10 receives the neutral conductor and is connected to a metallic sleeve 11 which protrudes a considerable distance from the body 3 and carries on its outer periphery a washer 12 which is spring-loaded by the spring 13, such that the washer 12 after is pressed below taking into account the representation in Fig. 1.

As can be seen from FIG. 1, the housing 2 has two groove-shaped recesses on essentially opposite sides, which are identified by the reference numerals 14 and 15 in FIG. 1. 2, these grooves are laterally widened in the circumferential direction of the housing 2, in the same direction, so that two lugs 17 and 18 arranged on the plug housing 16 are inserted into these extensions can and under the action of the spring, which presses on the disc 12 on the connector housing, snap in the manner of a bayonet lock after the connector is rotated accordingly by an angle of 30 or 40 ° in a certain direction.

The plug itself or its housing contains four knife contacts 19 lying on its circle with the corresponding clamp connections 19 '. This housing has a cup-shaped shape and is covered by a cover 20 which is fastened to the housing by means of screws 21. Reference numeral 22 represents the passage for an electrical cable that leads to a consumer.

From Fig. 2 it can be seen that in the disc 12 four curved slots 23 are arranged, the curvature of which corresponds to the radius of the circle on which these slots or the knife contacts 19 lie. The dashed lines in FIG. 2 are the electrical contacts 24, which are connected to the clamping connections 8 and 9 and into which the knife contacts 19 engage. The plug carries a pin 25 in the middle which engages in the sleeve 11 and which is connected to the neutral conductor.

In Fig. 4 the socket according to Fig. 3 is attached to a ceiling 1 and covered by a cap 26 when not in use. The cap 26 is held by a snap lock 27, which consists of an annular or punctiform elevation on the inside, which in a corresponding recess 28 engages (Fig. 3).

FIG. 5 shows the arrangement of the socket according to FIG. 3 in a ceiling or in a material layer 29 using an installation box 30 with peg-shaped or tubular projections 31, into which the fastening screws 5 ′ engage. This flush-mounted design can be covered or closed in a conventional manner in the case of non-use by a cover. The reference numeral 32 represents the cable feed channel.

Taking the drawings into account, the plug-socket combination works as follows.

The box, which is simplified and shown in a different view in FIGS. 2 and 3, is screwed to a ceiling, for example, by means of the screws 5 '. The electrical lines emerge somewhere within the housing 2 and because of the distance between the ceiling 1 and the body 3 due to the arrangement of the lugs 6, these can be accommodated comfortably after the attachment to the clamping contacts 8 and 9 within the housing 2. The socket is now ready to accept the plug.

From the central sleeve 11, the disc 12 is axially movable and spring-loaded. It only contains slots curved as a circular arc, as described above, in a number which corresponds to the number of contacts provided. The disc can rotate on this sleeve through an angle of 30 ° (see Fig. 2). A threat this prevents accidental contact with the live contacts. The plug consists of a cup-shaped plug housing 16, also circular in shape and slightly smaller in diameter than the inside diameter of the socket housing 2.

In the bottom 33 of the connector housing 16, the knife-shaped, slightly curved contacts 19 are fastened in alignment with the contacts 24 of the socket, the clamping connections 19 ′ being located inside the cup-shaped housing, which is covered by the cover 20 and held by means of the screws 21 is.

When the plug connection is made, the pin 25 to which the neutral conductor is connected first arrives in the open end of the sleeve 11. As the plug is pushed in further, the outer surface of the cup-shaped plug housing 16 takes the disc 12, which can only be rotated over a limited angular range, so that finally the knife-shaped contacts 19 enter the electrical contacts 24 through the slots 23 of the disc when the plug is around the limited angular amount is rotated, the disc is taken and the lugs 17 of the connector housing 16 enter the lateral recess and when releasing the plug lie behind corresponding gradations in the housing 2, which happens due to the expansion of the spring 13, so that a bayonet fitting is achieved .

Corresponding suspension devices, joints or the like which can withstand tensile loads can be arranged on the cover 20 with the cable duct, on which, for example, a ceiling lamp with a pendulum can be suspended. The more or less cylindrical shape of the combination according to the invention can be covered with a decorative cup-shaped cover attached to the lamp or its pendulum, as is the case today with normal connections by means of luster terminals and wire ends.

3 is only schematic to demonstrate the type of attachment of the body 3 carrying the electrical connections in connection with the housing with the socket, for example on a ceiling.

The body 3 has the shape shown in FIG. 1.

Claims (4)

1. Socket and plug combination for the connection of electrical lamps and appliances, comprising a bayonet-type connection between plug and socket (19), curved blade contacts and a centrally and also axially orientated central contact as neutral conductor (11) and a socket (2, 3), having electrical contacts (8, 9) which correspond in their arrangement and form to the contacts (19) of the plug, characterized in that a rotatable disc (12) having circular arc-shaped slits (23) is provided, which is journalled on a tubular neutral conductor (11) and in that the socket is formed of a tubular casing (2), which carries groove-shaped recesses (14, 15) which receive projections (17, 18) of the plug.
2. Combination according to Claim 1, characterized in that the disc (12) is rotatable on the sleeve of the neutral conductor (11) serving as bearing through a distance which corresponds to the locking of the projections (17, 18) into the groove-shaped recesses (14, 15) for creating a bayonet connection.
3. Combination according to Claim 1, characterized in that the casing (2), which contains U-shaped electrical contacts (24), carries projections (6) at a distance from a fixing surface.
4. Combination according to Claims 1 to 3, characterized in that a beaker-shaped plug casing (16) carries, in its internal space, the compression connections (19') for the current conductors and the centrally arranged neutral conductor (25), from each of which the relevant blade contacts (19) and neutral conductor pin respectively lead out, and that the plug casing is covered by a lid (20) with cable passage (22), which carries the suspension device for lamps and the like.

Images