EP3523859B1 - Travel plug - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a travel plug for establishing an electrical connection between plugs and sockets of different national standards.

From the prior art, travel plugs with a housing are known which have at least one socket for a plug of one standard and several plugs for plugging into sockets of other standards. The plugs can be individually extended and retracted from the housing. The extension and retraction mechanism is designed in such a way that only a single connector can be extended. This means that in order to extend one connector, all the others must be retracted. If the connector consists not only of a plurality of pins but also of a holding part, such a connector is extended in two stages. The holding part is necessary so that the travel plug can be plugged into so-called "Schuko" sockets, for example. In order to extend a plug with a holding part, a further way is necessary than if a plug is to be extended which only has pins. The plugs are extended and retracted using slides. The sliding distance of the slide for the connector with holding part is essentially twice as long as the sliding distance of the connector, in which only pins have to be extended. The housing must therefore have a correspondingly large height so that the extended sliding distance for the connector with the holding part can be carried out. Such travel plugs therefore have the disadvantage that they are relatively large and bulky in order to be able to provide the extended sliding distance.

Such typical travel plugs as described above are in the DE 10 20011 014920 A1 , in the GB 2 484 145 A and in the EP 2 822 110 A1 described. As can be seen from the figures of these patent applications, the height of the housing corresponds at least to the displacement distance, which corresponds to the sum of the height of the holding part and the height of the pins. As described above, the sliding distance of the connector with holding parts is essentially twice as long as the sliding distance of the connector, in which only pins have to be extended. All three disclosed travel plugs therefore have the disadvantage that they must have a relatively large height so that the plug with the holding part and pins can be fully extended. In the WO 2010/057399 A1 describes a travel plug which has a height which corresponds only to the height of the holding part. The holding part can be pushed out of the housing of the travel plug and moved back into it. In order to achieve this low height of the travel plug compared to the travel plug described above, the slide is not provided on the housing, but on the holding part, so that the pins can be moved out of and into the holding part. However, this travel plug has the disadvantage that it is only designed for 2-pin plugs. In addition, the holding part must first be pushed out of the housing so that the slide is freely accessible. Only then can the pins be moved out of the holding part with the slide. This type of operation is cumbersome for the user and not self-explanatory. In the DE 295 18 331 U1 a connector device is described which has a first connector device according to US specification and a second connector device according to European specification. One or the other connector device can be extended out of the connector device by means of a turntable which can be rotated by the user. So that the holding part and the pins of the European plug device can be extended by turning the turntable, a curved arm is provided which is rotatably attached to the housing. A carrier is hinged to the lower end of the arm at its first end. The carrier is hinged to the pins at the second end. However, the turntable must be rotated through a large angular range so that the European plug device is fully extended.

The disadvantages of the described prior art result in the task initiating the present invention of further developing a generic travel plug which has a reduced height and nevertheless enables plugs with a holding part to be extended and retracted.

In a travel plug for establishing an electrical connection between plugs and sockets of different national standards, it is known to provide a mechanical translation which connects the adjustment part to the displaceable plug and which transfers the path of the adjustment part to the linear displacement path of the plug.

The plug comprises a holding part which can be extended out of the housing and at least two pins which are received in the holding part and which can be extended out of the holding part. In this way, a so-called Euro plug or a three-pole plug can be implemented, which fits into sockets in Italy and Switzerland. Although the retainer and pins must be extended, the housing height does not have to be at least as high as the sum of the length of the retainer and the pins. The mechanical translation makes it possible that the housing is only slightly higher than the length of the holding part.

The object is achieved in a travel plug in that the mechanical translation is implemented by a link chain, comprising at least two crossed levers, and that the link chain comprises a first and second lever articulated at a crossing point, the ends of which are connected to a third and fourth or fifth and sixth levers are articulated and are articulated to the holding part at their intersection, the third and fourth lever being articulated with their free ends to the housing and the fifth and sixth lever with their free ends with the Pins are hingedly connected. For a required extension length with only two levers, however, the articulated chain has a width in the retracted state which is inevitably as large as the length of a lever. The mechanical translation has the effect that when the adjustment part is actuated, the plug covers a displacement path which is greater than the height of the housing. This means that the housing can be built low and the plug can still be fully extended. An externally rotatable gearwheel, which is fixed on the holding part and interacts with toothed racks on the housing and the pins, is also conceivable as a mechanical transmission.

The combination of three pairs of hinges connected to one another has the advantage that the required length of the extended articulated chain to be able to fully extend the pins is achieved and the retracted articulated chain can be brought together narrow and low. The retracted articulated chain can be accommodated in the housing, because the width of the housing is sufficient for the retracted articulated chain to find space with its width. The housing only has to be increased by three times the height of the joints and therefore has a height which is up to 40% lower than the height of housings according to the prior art. A Gelenckette with more than 3 pairs of joints leads to a further reduced width in the retracted position, but this is at the expense of a greater height of the retracted articulated chain.

The invention is preferably characterized in that the articulated chain is articulated to the housing, the holding part and the pins. This makes it possible for an extension or a retraction movement of the holding part to be transmitted through the articulated chain to the pins in such a way that the pins cover a greater displacement path than the holding part. It is preferred if the articulated chain is designed in such a way that the displacement path of the pins is dependent on the displacement path of the holding part and is at least twice as large as the displacement path of the holding part. This ensures that when the holding part is extended, the pins are also fully extended and the pins are fully retracted into the holding part when the holding part is retracted into the plug.

The transmission ratio between the displacement path of the holding part and the displacement path of the pin is expediently at least 1: 2. Since the pins and the holding part must essentially be of the same length according to standard regulations (19 mm), it is preferred to choose a ratio of 1: 2. A number of pairs of joints should be selected in which the joint chain in the extended state reaches a length at which the holding part and the pins can be extended completely. In the retracted state, however, the link chain should be as low as possible and as narrow as possible.

It is preferred to optimize the number of pairs of levers so that, on the one hand, the gel corner chain has an extended length of at least 38 mm and, on the other hand, it is as low and narrow as possible in the retracted position. Use the specified width of the housing.

It has proven to be useful if the adjusting part is a slide which is connected to the holding part. With the help of the slide, the holding part can be turned on and off move out. The articulated chain ensures that the pins are automatically retracted and extended due to the movement of the holding part. A further slide or an additional movement of the existing slide is not necessary for this.

The plug expediently comprises a third grounding pin, which can be displaced at right angles to its longitudinal axis and relative to the holding part. Due to the adjustability of the third earthing pin, the plug is suitable for the Swiss plug standard if the earthing pin is arranged off-center. If the earthing pin is moved to the center of the front of the holding part, the travel plug can be converted into a Insert the Italian socket. The displaceability of the grounding pin is preferably achieved in that its end, which is held on the holding part, has a flattened portion. The flat is guided displaceably in a groove of the holding part.

In a further particularly preferred embodiment, the pins for stabilization are guided relative to the holding part with a guide device on the holding part. This makes it possible for the pins to be held in a stable manner in the holding part even in the extended state. Unwanted movement or wobbling of the pins in the holding part is reliably prevented. As guide devices, designs are conceivable in which the pins are held in a form-fitting manner on the holding part and are vertically displaceable along a rail on the inside of the holding part.

The ends of the pins facing the holding part are expediently held on a slide which is linearly displaceable relative to the holding part. It is conceivable that the slide is held in a form-fitting manner on a rail and slides along it. The rail can be fastened to the inner jacket of the holding part or be formed on this.

In a further particularly preferred embodiment of the invention, at least one toothed wheel is rotatably supported on the slide and can be rolled along a toothed rack provided or formed on the holding part. Due to the toothed wheel cooperating with the rack, the slide is held in a stable manner in the holding part in every displacement position and can nevertheless be displaced along the longitudinal axis of the holding part with little resistance.

It has proven to be useful if a shaft is rotatably supported on the slide, at both ends of which a first and a second gearwheel is non-rotatably attached or formed, and the first and second gearwheel are each provided on or formed on the holding part and the second rack can be rolled off. The first and second toothed wheels enable the carriage to be held symmetrically on the holding part. The symmetrical arrangement of the gears at the ends of the shaft enables the carriage to be guided twice, so that it is guided in the holding part in a particularly stable manner and can nevertheless be moved with little frictional resistance.

Figur 1:

eine Draufsicht auf einen erfindungsgemässen Reisestecker;

Figur 2:

eine Seitenansicht entlang der Schnittlinie II-II mit einem Stecker in eingezogener Position;

Figur 3:

eine weitere Seitenansicht mit dem eingezogenen Stecker;

Figur 4:

eine weitere Draufsicht auf den Reisestecker mit dem Stecker in ausgefahrener Position;

Figur 5:

eine Seitenansicht entlang der Schnittlinie III-III mit dem Stecker in ausgefahrener Position;

Figur 6:

eine weitere Seitenansicht mit dem ausgefahrenen Stecker;

Figur 7:

eine Seitenansicht einer weiteren Ausführungsform der Erfindung mit dem ausgefahrenen Stecker;

Figur 8:

eine Seitenansicht entlang der Schnittlinie VIII-VIII in Figur 7 und

Figur 9:

eine Draufsicht entlang der Schnittlinie IX-IX in Figur 8.

Further advantages and features emerge from the following description of an exemplary embodiment of the invention with reference to the schematic representations. It shows in a representation that is not true to scale:

Figure 1:

a plan view of a travel plug according to the invention;

Figure 2:

a side view along the section line II-II with a plug in the retracted position;

Figure 3:

a further side view with the retracted plug;

Figure 4:

a further top view of the travel plug with the plug in the extended position;

Figure 5:

a side view along the section line III-III with the plug in the extended position;

Figure 6:

a further side view with the extended plug;

Figure 7:

a side view of a further embodiment of the invention with the extended plug;

Figure 8:

a side view along the section line VIII-VIII in Figure 7 and

Figure 9:

a plan view along the section line IX-IX in Figure 8 .

In the Figures 1 to 6 a travel plug is shown, which is numbered as a whole with the reference numeral 11. The travel plug is used to connect electrical plugs of a certain country standard to an electrical socket of another country standard. So it is an adapter between a plug and a socket that do not match. The travel plug 11 comprises a housing 13. A plurality of sockets 15a, 15b, 15c for inserting plugs are provided on the housing 13.

The sockets 15a, 15b, 15c are connected to a plug 17 in an electrically conductive manner. The plug 17 comprises a holding part 19, two pins 21a, 21b and an optional grounding pin 23, which are received in the holding part 19. The holding part 19 can be extended out of the housing 13 along its longitudinal axis. The pins 21, 23 can be extended from the holding part 19. The plug 17 is as shown in the figures for Italian and Swiss sockets suitable. If the earthing pin 23 is not available, the plug 17 can be used as a so-called 2-pin "Euro plug".

According to the prior art, the housing 13 must have a height which corresponds at least to the sum of the displacement path of the holding part 19 from the housing 13 and the displacement path of the pins 21, 23 from the holding part 19. The height of the housing 13 in the case of travel plugs according to the prior art is therefore at least 40 mm. The length of the holding part 19 and the pins 21, 23 cannot be reduced because they are standardized. The known travel plugs are therefore relatively large, which contradicts the need of travelers for travel plugs that are as compact as possible.

To reduce the height of the housing, the pins 21, 23 can be extended out of the holding part 19 with a gel chain 25, which is also known as “Nuremberg scissors”. The articulated chain 25 comprises a first and second lever 27a, 27b, which are connected to one another in an articulated manner at an intersection point 29. At the point of intersection, the first and second levers 27a, 27b are also connected to the holding part 19 in an articulated manner.

A third and a fourth lever 31a, 31b are hinged at their lower ends to the upper ends of the first and second levers 27a, 27b. The upper ends of the third and fourth levers 31a, 31b are articulated to one another and to the housing 13 via a first joint 32. The length of the third and fourth lever 31a, 31b corresponds essentially to half the length of the first and second lever 27a, 27b.

A fifth and a sixth lever 33a, 33b are hinged at their upper ends to the lower ends of the first and second levers 27a, 27b. The lower ends of the fifth and sixth levers 33a, 33b are articulated to a holding plate 35 via second joints 37a, 37b. The holding plate 25 in turn carries the pins 21, 23. The length of the fifth and sixth lever 33a, 33b also corresponds essentially to half the length of the first and second lever 27a, 27b.

The length of the levers 27, 31, 33 is dimensioned such that the articulated chain 25 can be folded up to a small height. The height of the articulated chain 25 in the folded state corresponds to the sum of the width of the levers 27, 31 and 33. The levers are also dimensioned such that the length of the articulated chain 25 in the extended state Sum of the length of the holding part 19, the length of the pins 21,23 exceeds. As a result, the holding part 19 and the pins 21, 23 can be fully extended through the articulated chain 25.

On the holding plate 35, the grounding pin 23 can be displaced at right angles along slots 39. This allows the earthing pin 23 to be adjusted between different positions so that it conforms to either the Italian or Swiss standards.

A guide device 43 is provided between the holding part 19 and the pins 21a, 21b, which in the Figures 8 and 9 is shown. The pins 21a, 21b are firmly connected to a slide 45. The slide 45 slides along the inner walls of the holding part 19. Its external dimensions are dimensioned such that the slide 45 can be moved linearly along the inner walls of the holding part without wobbling and exclusively up and down. The stability of the slide 45 and thus also of the pins 21a, 21b relative to the holding part 19 is improved by the guide device 43.

The guide device 43 comprises a shaft 47 which is rotatably held on the carriage 45. At the ends of the shaft 47, a first and a second gear 49a, 49b are arranged or formed and firmly connected to the shaft 47. When the pins 21a, 21b, 23 are extended and retracted, the gears 49a, 49b are rolled out of and into the holding part 19 along a first and second toothed rack 51a, 51b. As a result, the pins 21a, 21b, 23 are wobble-free with respect to the holding part 19 in any position. The toothed racks are arranged or formed on the inner rear side of the holding part 19. The guide device 43 makes it possible that the slide 45 is received in the holding part 19 without any gaps and thus wobble and nevertheless can be displaced almost without resistance along the height of the holding part.

The extension and retraction mechanism works as follows: A slide 41 is attached to the holding part 19 and protrudes out of the housing 13 through a slot. By moving the holding part 19 out of the housing 13 with the aid of the slide 41, the pins 21, 23 are also extended from the holding part 19, since they are connected to the holding part via the articulated chain 25. Due to the cleverly selected articulation of the articulated chain 25 on the housing 13, the holding part 19 and the holding plate 35, the holding plate 35 and the pins 21, 23 are accordingly positively guided. For a certain displacement path covered by the holding part 19, the articulated chain 25 is around the extended twice the length of this displacement path. As a result, the pins 21, 23 are automatically fully extended when the holding part is fully extended, although the slide 41 has only been moved by the length of the holding part 19. The housing 13 can therefore be reduced to a height which corresponds to the sum of the length of the holding part 19 and the height of the articulated chain 25 in the retracted state.

Legend

11

Travel plug

13th

casing

15a, 15b, 15c

Sockets

17th

plug

19th

Holding part

21a, 21b

Pins

23

Grounding pin

25th

Link chain

27a, 27b

First and second lever

29

Crossing point

31a, 31b

Third and fourth levers

32

First joint

33a, 33b

Fifth and sixth levers

35

Retaining plate

37a, 37b

Second joints

39

Slots

41

Slider

43

Guide device

45

Sledge

47

wave

49a, 49b

First and second gear

51a, 51b

Racks

Claims (10)

1. Travel plug (11) for producing an electrical connection between plugs and sockets of different national standards comprising:

   - a housing (13) with

   - at least one socket (15) for inserting an electrical plug,

   - at least one plug (17) of a national standard that is extendable and retractable from the housing (13) and electrically connected with the socket (15), which plug (17) can be linearly displaced by a displacement member (41) projecting out of the housing (13) and mechanically connected with the plug (17),

   - a mechanical transmission (25) that connects the displacement member (41) with the displaceable plug (17) and that transfers the path of the displacement member (41) to the linear displacement path of the plug (17), wherein the plug (17) comprises a holder member (19) retractable out of the housing (13) and at least two pins (21a, 21b) received in the holder member (19) and retractable out of the holder member (19),

   characterized in that the mechanical transmission is realized by an articulated chain (25) that comprises at least two crossed levers (27a, 27b) and that the articulated chain (25) comprises a first and a second lever (27a, 27b) articulately jointed in an intersection point (29) that are articulately jointed with their ends to a third and a fourth or a fifth and a sixth lever (31a, 31b, 33a, 33b) and are articulately connected with the holder member (19) at their intersection point (29), wherein the third and the fourth lever (31a, 31b) are articulately jointed with their free ends with the housing (13) and the fifth and the sixth lever (33a, 33b) are articulately jointed with their free ends with the pins (21a, 21b).
2. Travel plug according to claim 1, wherein the articulated chain (25) is articulated on the housing (13), the holder member (19) and the pins (21a, 21b).
3. Travel plug according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the articulated chain (25) is designed in such a way that the displacement path of the pins (21a, 21b) depends on the displacement path of the holder member (19) and is at least twice the displacement path of the holder member (19).
4. Travel plug according to one of the claims 1 to 3, wherein the transmission ratio between the displacement path of the holder member (19) and the displacement path of the pins (21a, 21b) is at least 1:2.
5. Travel plug according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the displacement member is a slider (41) that is connected with the holder member (19).
6. Travel plug according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the plug comprises a third grounding pin (23) that can be displaced at a right angle to its longitudinal axis and relative to the holder member (19).
7. Travel plug according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the pins (21a, 21b, 23) are guided for stabilization relative to the holder member (19) with a guiding device (43) on the holder member (19).
8. Travel plug according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the ends of the pins (21a, 21b, 23) turned to the holder member (19) are held on a slide (45) that can be linearly displaced relative to the holder member (19).
9. Travel plug according to claim 8, wherein at least one toothed wheel (49) that can roll along a toothed rack (51) provided or configured on the holder member (19) is held rotatably on the slide (45).
10. Travel plug according to claim 9, wherein a shaft (47) is held rotatable on the slide (45), shaft at the two ends of which a first toothed wheel and a second toothed wheel (49a, 49b) is fixed or configured resistant to torsion and the first and the second toothed wheel (49a, 49b) can roll respectively on a first or a second toothed rack (51a, 51b) provided or configured on the holder member (19).

Images