EP3018770A1

EP3018770A1 - Multiple socket for electrical connection

Info

Publication number: EP3018770A1
Application number: EP15192657.3A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Pierluigi BASSI
Original assignee: PGR Srl
Current assignee: PGR Srl
Priority date: 2014-11-03
Filing date: 2015-11-02
Publication date: 2016-05-11

Abstract

Multiple socket for electrical connection including two parallel and spaced-apart conductive bars (1, 2) provided with respective juxtaposed lateral appendages (5, 6) adapted to form pairs of contacts for connecting plugs. The two conductive bars (1, 2) are embodied on a support jig (7) made of electrically insulating material.

Description

Field of the invention

The present invention refers to multiple sockets for electrical connection of the type comprising an insulating material body in which two parallel and spaced-apart conductive bars are inserted, provided with respective terminals for mains connection and respective juxtaposed lateral appendages adapted to form pairs of contacts for connecting plugs.

State of the prior art

The two conductive bars are positioned and inserted separately in respective seats of the body of the multiple socket for conventionally assembling multiple sockets thus made: these operations are normally carried out manually, thus implying high costs of manpower and relatively long assembly times.
From US-6454609 a multiple socket is known having two conductive connection strips or bars provided with respective terminals and contact appendages. The conductive bars are pre-assembled with a support base or jig made of insulating material: assembling is performed respectively by means of pins of the support base passing through corresponding holes of one bar, and by means of bent wings of the other bar engaging corresponding recesses of the support base. It is thus a matter of mechanical restrained connections which not only require a differentiated mounting of each conductive bar onto the insulating base, but also involve the risk of accidental separation between one or the other conductive bar and the insulating base during the subsequent assembling steps of the multiple socket, namely upon introduction of the base into the socket shell. To avoid such a risk an auxiliary blocking cover is provided, which is secured through a restrained connection onto the insulating base, so as to ensure fixed positioning of the conductive bars.
This solution is thus relatively complicated and expensive from the viewpoint of both manufacturing and assembling the multiple socket.

Summary of the invention

The object of the present invention is to overcome the aforementioned drawbacks and this object is attained thanks to a multiple socket as set forth in the pre-characterizing part of claim 1, characterized in that said conductive bars are embodied on and made permanently fixed with said support jig.
Conveniently the conductive bars are incorporated in the support jig by a co-molding process.
Thanks to this idea of solution assembling the multiple socket is advantageously made not only easier and quicker, but also more accurate.

Brief description of the drawings

The invention will now be described in detail, purely by way of non-limiting example, with reference to the attached drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a side elevational schematic view schematically showing an embodiment of the invention, and
figure 2 is a plan view of figure 1.

Detailed description of the invention

With reference to the drawings, two conductive bars intended to be inserted into the body made of electrically insulating material (conventional and not represented in the drawings for the sake of simplicity) of a multiple socket for electrical connection, are indicated with 1 and 2.
The two conductive bars o strips 1, 2 are parallel and spaced-apart from each other and they are provided with respective terminals 3, 4 for the mains connection and respective juxtaposed lateral appendages 5, 6, mutually staggered in the case of the illustrated example, adapted to form pairs of contacts for electrical connecting plugs.
According to the distinctive characteristic of the invention, the two conductive bars 1, 2 are pre-assembled, and thus made fixed relatively to each other, through a support base or jig 7 made of insulating material, for example in the form of a frame made of molded plastic material.
More particularly the two conductive bars 1, 2 are incorporated in the support jig 7 and are thus made permanently fixed therewith without any need of auxiliary means such as mechanical retainers or other supplementary securing members.
Conveniently the conductive bars 1, 2 are embodied on the support jig 7 through a co-molding process, in which they are inserted within a mold into which is then injected a plastic material for molding the support jig 7.
The rigid pre-assembled unit thus formed by the conductive bars 1, 2 with the related contacts 5, 6 and the support jig 7 is advantageously predisposed to be mounted in a simple and quick fashion into the insulating material body or box of the multiple socket, even with the aid of mechanized apparatus, without any risks of accidental separation or just dislocation of the conductive bars 1, 2, thus considerably reducing the manufacturing times and costs. Also the relative positioning accuracy between the contacts 5, 6 of every pair is ensured thanks to the invention.
Obviously, the construction details and the embodiments may widely vary with respect to what has been described and illustrated, without departing from the scope of protection of the present invention as set forth in the claims that follow.

Claims

Multiple socket for electrical connection including two parallel and spaced-apart conductive bars (1, 2) provided with respective terminals (3, 4) for mains connection and with respective juxtaposed lateral appendages (5, 6) adapted to form pairs of contacts for connecting plugs, wherein said two conductive bars (1, 2) are pre-assembled with a support jig (7) made of electrically insulating material, characterized in that said conductive bars (1, 2) are embodied on and made permanently fixed with said support jig (7).
Multiple socket according to claim 1, characterized in that said conductive bars (1, 2) are incorporated in said support jig (7) through a co-molding process.
Multiple socket according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that said support jig is shaped as a frame (7).