EP1953873A1

EP1953873A1 - Safety device for sockets

Info

Publication number: EP1953873A1
Application number: EP05802914A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Maria Aránzazu URIETA PAREDES; Rocio Vazquez Macias
Original assignee: Ideas Iranpe SL
Current assignee: Ideas Iranpe SL
Priority date: 2005-10-14
Filing date: 2005-10-14
Publication date: 2008-08-06
Also published as: WO2007042580A1

Abstract

The invention is designed to avoid the risk that a young child can access to the holes (3) of a socket (1) where the connection terminals are located, with a sharp and metallic element, and for that, it has been established that along with that socket (1), there is a lid (5) that closes the front of it (1), avoiding the access to the holes (3). To this end, the lid (5) is mounted over side slides (4) in the socket (1), it tends by gravity to the closure state and must be manually lifted to access to the connection terminals.

Description

OBJECT OF INVENTION

The present invention relates to a security device, specially designed for sockets, whose purpose is to prevent young children accessing the terminals with tension of these sockets, and consequently to avoid accidents that a manipulation of this type can bring.
The purpose of the invention is to establish a barrier to the terminal access holes of the sockets, which is structurally simple and functionally reliable offering optimal security guarantees.
The invention is set in the area of the manufacture of mechanisms for electrical installations.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

Normally, the electrical power for domestic consumption is distributed at a voltage of 220 volts, sufficiently high to cause serious accidents in case of an eventual body contact with any element with tension.
Certain types of mechanisms, such as switches and other, present their areas with tension permanently hidden, so they do mean no risk to users.
It is not the same with sockets whose terminals must be accessible to the pins of the supplementary plug, so that in the cover of the mechanism holes of access to such terminals are set for passage of the aforementioned.
While the law stipulates that between the front surface of the cover of the mechanism and terminals or terminal connections there must be a default distance which, together with the diameter of these holes, makes, theoretically, impossible an accidental contact with the aforementioned terminals. In practice, it is relatively frequent that children, especially those of young age, introduce objects through the aforementioned holes, so that when those objects are metallic, as happens with a hairpink, a piece of wire, etc, can receive a strong electric shock.
Seeking to obviate this problem, it is known the use of plastic plugs, which connect to the socket of similar way as a conventional plug is coupled, sealing the mentioned holes, but this solution is very uncomfortable for users when they have to use the socket since they must take out the plug of plastic and put in again completed the period of use of the socket, with the risk of neglect in this second manoeuvre, loss of the plastic plug, etc.
They are also known sockets that incorporates a tipper lid, that tend permanently to the situation of closure by effect of a spring, but this solution, besides being structurally complex and consequently expensive, solves the problem only partially since such lid is easily handled by children who, after discovering the holes that initially where hidden, can have access them remaining the above problem.
Finally, there are also sockets whose terminals are normally maintained isolated from the line, it means, without tension, disrupting the connection of these terminals by the mechanical action of introducing the supplementary plug in the socket, but these sockets become even more complex from the structural point of view and with a very high cost.

DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION

The protective device for sockets that the invention proposes solves at last the above problems, as it establishes a situation of closure or concealment for the socket itself, which makes virtually impossible that children can accidentally find out how to access the holes of such socket
For that, and in a more specific form, the device of the invention consists of a sliding lid, attachable to the side edges of the socket, so that it is movable, preferrable in a vertical and ascending way, also being such lid provided of a pair of side buttons, integrated in the same lid and movables by elastical deformation of the bands that bear it and relate it with the rest of the lid body, remaining those buttons in situation of device closure, facing blocking dowels emerging from the side edges of the socket, that are also retractable by similar methods, so that when a descending displacement of the lid is done, towards the closure state, the dowels from the socket fit into their respective inner steps in the lid, being impossible the opening of the lid unless you simultaneously act upon both buttons, maneouver that is nearly impossible to find out and perform by a child, however, when an adult press such buttons, a retraction of the dowels takes place and the lid can be displaced upwards to the opening state.
In a variant of development, even simpler, of the invention, the sliding lid attached to the socket is materialized in a kind of bowl, open in both bottom and back sides, which incorporates in correspondence with its imaginary rear face a couple of vertical steams, emerging from its top wall and in a strongly lateral way, which telescopically slied in guides done in the socket, logically finished in windows or upper openings and situated off the embedding level of the socket to allow the sliding of the lid. In these guides, small grooves are performed that limit the stroke of the complementary steams, avoiding the total decoupling of the protection lid and fixing it in the closure state, so that a combined effort of ascending and frontal pressure over the lid is necessary to get the lid slide upwards.
It is achieved in any case, with a extremely simple and consequently economic structuring, an optimum level of protection for the device, which ensures that children will not be able to access the holes of the socket.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

To complement the description that is being done and in order to lead to a better understanding of the characteristics of the invention, according to a preferred example of practical implementation of the same, and attached as an integral part of this description, a set of illustrative and not limiting drawings are provided. The following has been rendered:

Figure 1 . It shows a front view of a socket provided with protective device that is the subject of the present invention, which appears in a closure state.
Figure 2 . It shows a similar representation to the above figure, in which the lid of the device appears partially open
Figure 3 . If shows a schematic drawing in cross section of the in device of any of the above figures.
Figure 4 . It shows, a partial detail both in side view and cross section of the device at the level of one of the pads and the complementary dowel.
Figure 5 . It shows a front perspective of a socket fitted with the safety device of the invention, in accordance with a variant of implementation of the same, and without the supplementary lid
Figure 6 . It finally shows a rear perspective of the socket from the figure 5, which appears docked to the supplementary protective lid.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

In then light of the above figures, in particular from figure 1 to 4, it can be observed how the safety device that the invention proposes is applicable to both embedded or surface sockets (1), in which a front shield corresponding to the own reference is defined(1), with a central cut (2) in which the access holes (3) to the terminals are, that must be reached through these holes (3), the pins of the supplementary plug.
Well, according to the invention, the socket (1) incorporates in correspondence with their lateral edges, two longitudinal strips (4) for docking of a sliding lid (5), of grooved profile, specifically in "U", whose lateral branches incorporate in their internal face longitudinal grooves (6) complementary to the mentioned strips (4), which allows the lid (5) to vertically slide with respect to the socket (1), covering it completely, as shown in figure 1, or leaving free access to the holes (3) of the electric terminals, as in turn is shown in figure 2.
As a supplement to the outlined structure in the side edges (7) of the lid (5), for example, near its bottom end, two pads are fitted (8), elastically capable of moving towards the inside of the lid, for example through the existence in those edges (7) of two cuts corresponding with their respective flexible bands (9), one for each pad (8), remaining those pads (8) operationally in front of their respective retractable buttons (10) settled in the side edges of the front shield of the socket (1), also retractable through similar bands, and consequently forming a single piece with the socket (1), so that in the situation of closure of the lid (5) shown in figures 1 and 4 the dowels (10) block the lid (5) in that situation, when acting on the respective steps (11) of the lid, while acting manual and simultaneously on the two pads (8) of the lid (5), they force the dowels to retract (10) from the socket, which remain out of phase with respect to steps (11), situation in which it is feasible to shift up the lid (5), by manual dragging of the same.
During the opposite maneouvre, it means, during the downwards moving of the lid (5) it is not necessary to act on the buttons (8) because the dowels (10) present an inclinated plane (12) that force the buttons (8) to move outside, until the steps (11) have overtaken those dowels (10).
In the embodiment shown in figures 5 and 6 the described structure is severely simplified, so that the socket incorporates in marginal areas of the rear side (13) two grooves (14) which are finished at their rear edge into separare windows (15), so that such grooves (14) serve as guides for their respective steams (16) that emerge in a single-piece manner from the lid (5), which basically configures a rectangular prismatic bowl, open at both bottom and back, with a proper size to adapt to the front sector of the socket (1), emerging the cited steams (16) from the marginal rear zone of the top wall (17) of the lid, in vertical position, specifically with a mutual distance coincident with the distance between the grooves (14), and with a section adequate to them.
Finally and as a complement to the described structure, the grooves (14) are equipped with small cuts (18) near their upper and lower ends, with stops acting on them (19) emerging from the steams (16), so that cuts (18) and stops (19) prevent the dismantling of the lid (5) with respecto to the socket (1) and couples the first to the second.

Claims

Safety device for sockets, particularly for electrical distribution outlets at household in which the access holes to their corresponding connection terminals are open to outside, characterised in that it consists of a ribbed configuration lid (5), specifically with a 'U' section, related to two parallel edges of the front of the socket (1) through a sliding system that allows the relative movement between lid (5) and socket (1), between two situations, one in which the socket is completely hidden by the lid (5) and one in which the front of the socket (1) is directly accessible to insert the corresponding electric plug.
Safety device for sockets, according to claim 1, characterised by a sliding system consisting in two longitudinal strips (4) that are in the lateral edges of the socket (1), with two complementary grooves (6) settled in the inner face of the lateral sides of the lid, or vice versa.
Safety device for sockets, as previous claims, characterised in that the socket (1) incorporates, in correspondence with the lateral edges of the same, where the lid (5) slides, two retractable dowels (1) single piece with the own socket, with complementary blocking steps (11), and buttons (8) existing in the own lid (5) and actionables by elastic deformation, in a manner that such buttons (8) are capable of deform the dowels (10) of the socket and free them from the steps (11) of the lid (5), with the simultaneous action over both buttons (8).
Safety device for sockets, as claim. 1, characterised in that the socket (1) incorporates in the marginal zones of its rear wall (13), designed to adapt to the shield, two vertical grooves (14), functioning as guides for the displacement of two respective strips (16) one piece with the lid (5), which is opened at bottom and back and present those strips (16) in correspondence with its imaginary rear side, emerging from the top wall as one piece (17).
Safety device for sockets, as claim 4, distinguished because the mentioned grooves (14) of the back side of the socket (1) incorporte small cuts (18) near the ends, while the steams (16) present small protuberances (19) complementary to those cuts (18), to prevent the decoupling of the protective lid and to stabilize the lid in the closure state.