EP2367242A1 - Eingelassene, wandmontierte elektrische Komponente - Google Patents

Eingelassene, wandmontierte elektrische Komponente Download PDF

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Publication number
EP2367242A1
EP2367242A1 EP10250509A EP10250509A EP2367242A1 EP 2367242 A1 EP2367242 A1 EP 2367242A1 EP 10250509 A EP10250509 A EP 10250509A EP 10250509 A EP10250509 A EP 10250509A EP 2367242 A1 EP2367242 A1 EP 2367242A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
box
cover
terminal
electrical component
terminals
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Withdrawn
Application number
EP10250509A
Other languages
English (en)
French (fr)
Inventor
Philip Jeans
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Individual
Original Assignee
Individual
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Individual filed Critical Individual
Priority to EP10250509A priority Critical patent/EP2367242A1/de
Publication of EP2367242A1 publication Critical patent/EP2367242A1/de
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01R—ELECTRICALLY-CONDUCTIVE CONNECTIONS; STRUCTURAL ASSOCIATIONS OF A PLURALITY OF MUTUALLY-INSULATED ELECTRICAL CONNECTING ELEMENTS; COUPLING DEVICES; CURRENT COLLECTORS
    • H01R13/00—Details of coupling devices of the kinds covered by groups H01R12/70 or H01R24/00 - H01R33/00
    • H01R13/73—Means for mounting coupling parts to apparatus or structures, e.g. to a wall
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01R—ELECTRICALLY-CONDUCTIVE CONNECTIONS; STRUCTURAL ASSOCIATIONS OF A PLURALITY OF MUTUALLY-INSULATED ELECTRICAL CONNECTING ELEMENTS; COUPLING DEVICES; CURRENT COLLECTORS
    • H01R13/00—Details of coupling devices of the kinds covered by groups H01R12/70 or H01R24/00 - H01R33/00
    • H01R13/46—Bases; Cases
    • H01R13/502—Bases; Cases composed of different pieces
    • H01R13/512—Bases; Cases composed of different pieces assembled by screw or screws
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01R—ELECTRICALLY-CONDUCTIVE CONNECTIONS; STRUCTURAL ASSOCIATIONS OF A PLURALITY OF MUTUALLY-INSULATED ELECTRICAL CONNECTING ELEMENTS; COUPLING DEVICES; CURRENT COLLECTORS
    • H01R24/00—Two-part coupling devices, or either of their cooperating parts, characterised by their overall structure
    • H01R24/76—Two-part coupling devices, or either of their cooperating parts, characterised by their overall structure with sockets, clips or analogous contacts and secured to apparatus or structure, e.g. to a wall
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01R—ELECTRICALLY-CONDUCTIVE CONNECTIONS; STRUCTURAL ASSOCIATIONS OF A PLURALITY OF MUTUALLY-INSULATED ELECTRICAL CONNECTING ELEMENTS; COUPLING DEVICES; CURRENT COLLECTORS
    • H01R13/00—Details of coupling devices of the kinds covered by groups H01R12/70 or H01R24/00 - H01R33/00
    • H01R13/02—Contact members
    • H01R13/15—Pins, blades or sockets having separate spring member for producing or increasing contact pressure
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01R—ELECTRICALLY-CONDUCTIVE CONNECTIONS; STRUCTURAL ASSOCIATIONS OF A PLURALITY OF MUTUALLY-INSULATED ELECTRICAL CONNECTING ELEMENTS; COUPLING DEVICES; CURRENT COLLECTORS
    • H01R13/00—Details of coupling devices of the kinds covered by groups H01R12/70 or H01R24/00 - H01R33/00
    • H01R13/44—Means for preventing access to live contacts
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01R—ELECTRICALLY-CONDUCTIVE CONNECTIONS; STRUCTURAL ASSOCIATIONS OF A PLURALITY OF MUTUALLY-INSULATED ELECTRICAL CONNECTING ELEMENTS; COUPLING DEVICES; CURRENT COLLECTORS
    • H01R13/00—Details of coupling devices of the kinds covered by groups H01R12/70 or H01R24/00 - H01R33/00
    • H01R13/64—Means for preventing incorrect coupling
    • H01R13/642—Means for preventing incorrect coupling by position or shape of contact members
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01R—ELECTRICALLY-CONDUCTIVE CONNECTIONS; STRUCTURAL ASSOCIATIONS OF A PLURALITY OF MUTUALLY-INSULATED ELECTRICAL CONNECTING ELEMENTS; COUPLING DEVICES; CURRENT COLLECTORS
    • H01R13/00—Details of coupling devices of the kinds covered by groups H01R12/70 or H01R24/00 - H01R33/00
    • H01R13/66—Structural association with built-in electrical component
    • H01R13/70—Structural association with built-in electrical component with built-in switch
    • H01R13/703—Structural association with built-in electrical component with built-in switch operated by engagement or disengagement of coupling parts, e.g. dual-continuity coupling part
    • H01R13/7036—Structural association with built-in electrical component with built-in switch operated by engagement or disengagement of coupling parts, e.g. dual-continuity coupling part the switch being in series with coupling part, e.g. dead coupling, explosion proof coupling
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01R—ELECTRICALLY-CONDUCTIVE CONNECTIONS; STRUCTURAL ASSOCIATIONS OF A PLURALITY OF MUTUALLY-INSULATED ELECTRICAL CONNECTING ELEMENTS; COUPLING DEVICES; CURRENT COLLECTORS
    • H01R2103/00—Two poles
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01R—ELECTRICALLY-CONDUCTIVE CONNECTIONS; STRUCTURAL ASSOCIATIONS OF A PLURALITY OF MUTUALLY-INSULATED ELECTRICAL CONNECTING ELEMENTS; COUPLING DEVICES; CURRENT COLLECTORS
    • H01R4/00—Electrically-conductive connections between two or more conductive members in direct contact, i.e. touching one another; Means for effecting or maintaining such contact; Electrically-conductive connections having two or more spaced connecting locations for conductors and using contact members penetrating insulation
    • H01R4/28—Clamped connections, spring connections
    • H01R4/30—Clamped connections, spring connections utilising a screw or nut clamping member
    • H01R4/36—Conductive members located under tip of screw

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a recessed wall-mounted electrical component especially for use in a domestic or office setting, for example an electrical socket for transferring electrical power, data, telephone or television signals etc. or a switch.
  • Recessed wall-mounted electrical plug sockets and switches are, of course, well known for supplying and controlling electrical power from cables within a wall. They include a box that is mounted within a recess in a wall into which the end of the wall cabling extends.
  • the box has an open front face and a cover plate is provided that covers the front face of the box and isolates the electrical cabling within the box.
  • the cover also includes some functionality, e.g. a switch or connectors for making electrical connections to a plug.
  • the cover also includes electrical terminals to which the power cables within the box are connected. This means that when the cover is removed from the box, the cabling within the box is exposed and, because the cabling is connected to the cover itself, the cabling is pulled out from within the box when the cover is pulled away from the box.
  • wall includes not only vertical walls of rooms but also ceilings, skirting boards, fascias, work surfaces and indeed any surface containing a recess for holding electrical components.
  • the cover When decorating a room containing a wall mounted electrical socket or a switch, the cover is often removed, leaving the live cabling attached to the cover exposed.
  • the live terminals can easily be touched accidentally by the decorator or by the decorating materials, for example, wet wall paper or paint, causing a short circuit or, more importantly, possibly causing the decorator to suffer electrocution.
  • a further problem with presently designed wall-mounted electrical sockets and other components is that the box is square in shape and the recess in which the box sits must be chiselled out with a tool. This is time consuming and it is often difficult to ensure that the recess has the correct dimensions to accommodate the box exactly.
  • the present invention provides a box that can be mounted within a wall recess. Electrical cables within the wall or within channels attached to the wall are connected to terminals within the box (referred to here as “box terminals”) rather than to terminals within the cover.
  • the cover also includes terminals (referred to here as “cover terminals") that, when the cover is fitted onto the box, contact the box terminals so that an electrical current or signal can pass between the cover and the cabling.
  • the present invention can be used in a number of wall-mounted applications, for example it can be a switch in which the switching components are contained within the cover, which can be operated by a mechanism, e.g. a lever or knob, that is accessible to the outside, for example it is placed on the outside surface of the cover.
  • the electrical component may be a socket into which a plug may be inserted.
  • the cover includes connectors providing electrical connections between the plug and the cover terminals. In this way, electrical current can be transferred from an electrical cable in the wall, by way of the box terminals and the cover terminals, to the electrical connectors within the cover and from there to the plug itself (and vice versa).
  • the electrical current may be a power source, e.g. mains electricity, or it may be an audio, video, telephone, data or other signal.
  • the present invention is particularly useful for CAT-5 cable.
  • the box and the cover could be configured so that they can only be secured together (and electrical connection between them established) when they are both intended for a specific application, thereby preventing, for example, (a) a cover for a telephone or a CAT-5 connector being secured to a box connected to the mains or (b) a switch rated for use for a lighting circuit being used in a box intended for high power applications, e.g. circuits for electric cookers or electric showers.
  • the boxes and/or the covers can be made so that they differ from application-to-application.
  • the configuration to prevent the fitting of the wrong cover to a box could simply be:
  • the cover when the cover is removed from the box, it can be lifted free of the box for the purposes of decoration of the surrounding wall without any trailing cables.
  • the terminals within the box will still be accessible, they are held within the box and are not dragged out when the cover is removed and it is therefore much harder to contact them accidentally.
  • the terminals within the box are themselves mounted within a recess to further reduce the possibility that they can be accidentally contacted, e.g. by a decorator or by decorating materials.
  • the terminals of the cover When the terminals within the box are recessed, the terminals of the cover preferably take the form of projections that extend into the corresponding recesses in the box holding the box terminals when the cover is secured to the box.
  • the terminals should make an electrical connection with each other over a small range of separation distances between the cover and the box, e.g. by making at least one of the terminals spring-loaded or by providing one of the terminals as a sleeve into which the other terminal fits.
  • the box terminals may be, as described above, located in a recess, thereby reducing the chance of accidental contact being made with the live terminals. This is believed to provide a safe arrangement. However, it is also possible to provide a switch that may be activated by the fitting and removal of the cover to the box and that electrically disconnects some or all of the box terminals from the wall cabling when the cover has been removed. This is especially advantageous when the wall cabling is a high power supply, e.g. a mains electricity supply.
  • One advantage of the present invention is that the electrical component can be made to be the same size as the existing corresponding components so that the box of the present invention can be fitted into an existing recess and so can be retro-fitted when a replacement component is provided.
  • the present invention can be used in any mains electricity supply, any plug configuration and with any voltage found anywhere in the world.
  • a recessed wall-mounted electrical component having a box, which can be mounted within a recess in a wall, and a cover.
  • the box has a substantially circular cross section so that the recess can be formed using a drill-powered rotary tool having the same diameter as that of the box so that the box can easily be fitted into the recess thus formed.
  • the forming of the recess with a rotary tool is quicker than forming a rectangular or square recess.
  • Figures 1 and 2 show an electrical power socket having a box 12 that fits into a recess 14 in a wall 16 (both shown in broken lines in Figure 2 ) and a cover 10 that can be attached to the box, as discussed below.
  • the recess 14 can be formed by a rotary tool attached to a drill and is therefore circular in cross-section.
  • the tool may also have an extension that forms an additional cavity 18 within the wall for ease of threading electrical cables through to the box 12.
  • box 12 is also circular in cross-section so that it fits snugly within the circular recess 14.
  • the box need not, of course, be circular and could be square or oblong, especially if more than one socket (or other electrical component) is provided in the cover 10; in this case, the recess 14 can be formed by known method, e.g. using a chisel.
  • the box can be held within the recess by means of screws (not shown) that extend through screw holes 20 into the wall.
  • the screw holes 20 are preferably curved to allow the orientation of the box to be adjusted during its fitting.
  • the box can be held by friction or by lugs (not shown) projecting from the side walls of the box and engaging the neighbouring wall.
  • the box also includes a partition 22 that includes a front face 22'. Behind the partition 22, there is a cavity 24 that accommodates electric cable (not shown). Three terminals 26 are held by the partition 22 and are spaced backwards from the front face 22', thereby forming openings 28 between the terminals 26 and the front face 22'.
  • the partition may be separable form the rest of the box to enable the wall cables to be accessed without having to remove the whole box from the wall recess.
  • Each terminal 26 is of a standard design and includes a hole 30 into which the bare end of an electric cable can be inserted.
  • a grub screw 32 can compress the bare ends of the cables to form a good electrical connection between the cable and the terminal 26.
  • the cover 10 includes three openings for, respectively, the live, neutral and earth pins of a standard square pin plug.
  • sprung connectors 42 e.g. known standard connectors, are provided that engage the plug pins.
  • the connectors 42 extend through the cover 10 and include a narrowed section 44.
  • Sleeve-shaped terminal pins 46 can slide over the narrow sections 44 while maintaining good electrical contact with them.
  • the terminal pins 46 are spring loaded - each pin including a flange 48 and a helical spring 50 arranged between the flange and the body of the cover 10.
  • each of the cover terminal pins 46 is smaller than the corresponding openings 28 in the box so that, when the cover is moved to the right (as shown in Figure 2 ), they pass into the openings 28 and engage the terminals 26, thereby establishing electrical contact between the box terminals 26 and the cover terminals 42, and ultimately between the cables in the wall and the plug pins (not shown).
  • the cover 10 can be secured to the box 12 by means of screws 60 engaging in threaded blind holes 62 in the box.
  • the box In order that the front of the cover 10 can be in the right orientation, the box must be correctly orientated within the recess 14, which can be achieved by elongating the screw holes 20 so that it is possible to rotate the box relative to the screws (not shown).
  • the box it is possible to mount the box in the recess in approximately the correct orientation mounting using screws in the screw holes but making final adjustments to the orientation of the box before finally tightening the screws when it has achieved the right orientation.
  • the holes will generally be curved in shape to allow for this final adjustment.
  • the cover 10 is preferably larger than the box 12 (see overhang 70) so as to hide the box when the cover is secured to the box.
  • the cover 10 is also of circular cross-section, although it can be of a different cross-section to that of the box, e.g. square.
  • the socket may have any configuration suitable for any shape of plug and it can have two or three terminals.
  • the socket of the present invention may be used for providing an electrical connection with cables other than power cables, for example data cables, video cables, telephone cables and audio cables, such as CAT-5 cabling.
  • the arrangement can also be used as a switch, where the switching components are included within the cover 10.
  • the switching components may be any standard switching components currently used, including dimmer switches. More than one socket, switch (or other electrical component) may be included in the cover 10.
  • the arrangement of the present invention is much safer than known designs.
  • terminals 26 may have a collar 72 (see Figure 3 ) that makes electrical contact with the terminal pins 46 when the cover 10 is attached to box 12.
  • the terminal pins 46 need not be spring-loaded.
  • one aspect of the present invention is the provision of a wall-mounted electrical box for containing live terminals 26 and a cover 10 that can be secured to, and removed from, the box 12 and when removed, none of the components in the cover are live.
  • the cover therefore acts like a plug in that it has protruding terminals that engage with the live terminals in the box when the cover is secured to it.
  • the live terminals within the box are located in a recess to minimise the risk that they are touched accidentally when the cover has been removed.
  • a switch (not shown) that is activated by the fitting and removal of the cover to the box and that breaks the electrical connection between at least one of the box terminals and the corresponding electrical cables in the wall (which should include at least the live cable) when the cover 12 has been removed and re-establishes the electrical connection when the cover 10 is re-connected to the box 12.

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  • Details Of Indoor Wiring (AREA)
EP10250509A 2010-03-18 2010-03-18 Eingelassene, wandmontierte elektrische Komponente Withdrawn EP2367242A1 (de)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
EP10250509A EP2367242A1 (de) 2010-03-18 2010-03-18 Eingelassene, wandmontierte elektrische Komponente

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
EP10250509A EP2367242A1 (de) 2010-03-18 2010-03-18 Eingelassene, wandmontierte elektrische Komponente

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP2367242A1 true EP2367242A1 (de) 2011-09-21

Family

ID=42358557

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP10250509A Withdrawn EP2367242A1 (de) 2010-03-18 2010-03-18 Eingelassene, wandmontierte elektrische Komponente

Country Status (1)

Country Link
EP (1) EP2367242A1 (de)

Citations (9)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2908743A (en) * 1956-11-30 1959-10-13 Robert T Premoshis Electrical outlet
GB1422428A (en) * 1973-09-04 1976-01-28 Hadelec Ltd Electrical socket
EP0491319A1 (de) * 1990-12-18 1992-06-24 ABBPATENT GmbH Elektrisches Unterputz-Installationsgerät
US20020185296A1 (en) * 2000-01-07 2002-12-12 Schultz James Douglas Prewired electrical apparatus having quick connect components
US20030124893A1 (en) * 2001-12-28 2003-07-03 Campbell James A. Electrical safety outlet
GB2394603A (en) * 2002-10-25 2004-04-28 Larry George Pringle Electrical connector fitting for a socket box
GB2438001A (en) * 2006-05-09 2007-11-14 Martin Smith Pluggable building wiring
GB2438896A (en) * 2006-06-07 2007-12-12 Thomas Edward Farnhill Electrical switch mounting arrangement
WO2008114041A1 (en) * 2007-03-21 2008-09-25 Christopher Paul Edwards Electrical apparatus and method

Patent Citations (9)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2908743A (en) * 1956-11-30 1959-10-13 Robert T Premoshis Electrical outlet
GB1422428A (en) * 1973-09-04 1976-01-28 Hadelec Ltd Electrical socket
EP0491319A1 (de) * 1990-12-18 1992-06-24 ABBPATENT GmbH Elektrisches Unterputz-Installationsgerät
US20020185296A1 (en) * 2000-01-07 2002-12-12 Schultz James Douglas Prewired electrical apparatus having quick connect components
US20030124893A1 (en) * 2001-12-28 2003-07-03 Campbell James A. Electrical safety outlet
GB2394603A (en) * 2002-10-25 2004-04-28 Larry George Pringle Electrical connector fitting for a socket box
GB2438001A (en) * 2006-05-09 2007-11-14 Martin Smith Pluggable building wiring
GB2438896A (en) * 2006-06-07 2007-12-12 Thomas Edward Farnhill Electrical switch mounting arrangement
WO2008114041A1 (en) * 2007-03-21 2008-09-25 Christopher Paul Edwards Electrical apparatus and method

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