FR2650708A1 - Device intended to prevent the unauthorised use of electrical appliances - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a device intended to prevent the unauthorised use of electrical appliances by any unauthorised person. This device includes a female connector element for the connection of the male connector element 20 for supplying the electrical appliance and means for fitting to a power outlet. It also includes means enabling the passage of the current to be interrupted and means for locking the male connector element/female connector element connection. These locking means consist of a member equipped with clip means making it possible to end up with a tamperproof connection. The locking member may consist of a tongue 14 equipped at its ends with means for clipping to the female connector element and intended to grip around the male connector element for supplying the electrical appliance.

Description

 The present invention relates to the field of devices intended to prevent the inadvertent use of electrical devices by any unauthorized person.

 The dangers associated with the use of certain electrical devices are well known when they are handled by uninitiated persons. On the other hand, certain devices, such as television or minitel for example, can be used inadvertently by unauthorized persons (children, employees), without any real means of control.

 Children in particular are naturally attracted to television, which they can watch for hours if no one encourages them to do less passive work. The risk that they watch films or programs that are not intended for them has increased with the multiplication of channels and programs. -Television then often takes precedence over awakening activities or class homework and it results from the risk of behavioral problems and real fatigue causing a lack of attention in the classroom and often poor academic results.

 Identical disorders associated with exorbitant telephone notes are linked to the untimely use of minitel by children.

 One solution to solve this problem is to involve an electrician who can install a key switch on the electrical appliance.

This service requires travel costs and an expensive and impractical intervention.

 There are certain electrical accessories intended to solve this problem. such a device is described in document WD-85/02488. This international patent application relates to a timer associated with a cover and a lock ensuring a mechanical locking intended to prevent any access to the socket of a household appliance for example as well as to the disks for adjusting the programming times. The programming system provides an electrical lock allowing the appliance to operate for the programmed duration and at the desired time; during this period the device can be stopped by means of a switch.

 The subject of the invention is an electrical device having the same purpose, that is to say intended to prevent the inadvertent use of electrical devices. This device, of different design, aims to respond to the problems developed above, in a very simple and inexpensive manner. Such a device can be adapted to all electrical devices having an interest in prohibiting its use, this can be done quickly and easily for safety criteria, economic criteria (for example for television sets in hospitals or hotels) or criteria related to the use of these devices by children.

 The device according to the invention comprises a female plug for the connection of the male plug for supplying the electrical appliance and adaptation means of the male plug type on a conventional current socket. This device also comprises means making it possible to interrupt the flow of current and means for locking the connection of said male plug of the electrical appliance to said female plug. The locking means of the male plug-female plug connection consist of a member provided with clipping means making it possible to obtain a tamper-proof connection, except by deterioration.

 According to a first embodiment of the invention, the locking member consists of a tongue intended to surround the male plug. This tongue is provided, at its ends, with clipping means on the female socket. Such a type of witness assembly makes it possible, by irreversible marking, to verify or note the unlocking of the two elements.

 Still according to the invention, this tongue consists of a strip of flexible material such as plastic, provided, at each of its ends, with a clip intended to be fitted into corresponding housings provided at the level of the socket.

 Still according to the invention, this tongue is provided, in its center, with an orifice for the passage of the cable from the male plug of the electrical appliance and, from this orifice, with a longitudinal cut being understood to be d 'one side to the end of the strip. This cut allows the positioning of the tongue astride the male plug.

 According to a second embodiment of the invention, the locking member consists of two half-shells which clip onto one another, around the male plug and the flange of the female plug.

The means for clipping the two half-shells can consist of tongues provided with orifices. The orifices of one of the half-shells come to cooperate with tenons made on the other half-shell for the locking of the two elements.

 Still according to the invention, the two half-shells are identical; they include centering studs with respect to each other as well as internal pins intended to position and wedge-the plug -male to allow the adaptation of the device to any type of plugs.

 Still according to the invention, the device consists of a pull-out socket of the pull-out type, provided, at one of its plugs for connection to the socket, with a system making it possible to interrupt the flow of current.

This interrupt system can consist of a key switch, a programmer, or even an infrared remote control switch.

However, the invention will be further illustrated, without being in any way limited, by the following description of two particular embodiments, given by way of example and shown in the appended drawings in which - FIG. 1 represents different possibilities of using the device according to the invention for the electrical connection of a television set or the connection of a minitel type set
Figures 2 to 8 relate to a first embodiment of the invention:
- Figure 2 is a sectional view of the pull-out bypass socket - Figure 3 is a top view of this bypass socket; - Figure 4 is a side view of the key switch for controlling the flow of current - Figure 5 shows the locking tab of the plug of the electrical appliance on the socket of the pull-out type - Figure 6 shows the adaptation of the tongue on the male power supply plug of the electrical appliance; - Figure 7 is a sectional view of the connection between the male plug of the electrical appliance and the pull-out socket, which connection is locked by the locking tab - Figure 8 shows, in section, the clipping of the tab of locking in one of the corresponding slots in the pull-out socket
Figures 9 to 13 relate to a second embodiment of the invention - Figure 9 is a top view, showing the positioning of the male plug-female plug association in the locking means, only one of the two half-shells is represented; ; - Figure 10 shows, in perspective, one of the half-shells intended for locking the connection taken wrongly e-pri se female - Figure it is a perspective view of the locking member consisting of two half-shells - the Figure 12 shows the locking member, seen from the side; - Figure 13 is a sectional view along 13-13.

 Figure 1 illustrates, schematically, the electrical connection made by the means of the invention. There is shown, on the one hand, a television reception station 100 and, on the other hand,. a minitel 101 type set. These sets are electrically connected by means of a conventional socket 20 via a pull-out socket 1. This pull-out socket 1 is of the switch type; it is connected to a key switch 10 preferably positioned on or near the station whose use is to be controlled.

 These different means are described in detail below with two embodiments.

 Figures 2 to 8 show a first embodiment of the device according to the invention. This device consists of: - an electrical bypass socket 1 of the pull-out type, shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, - a system making it possible to interrupt the flow of current consisting for example of a breaker switch 10 represented in FIG. 4, - a locking tab 14 intended to encircle the male power supply plug of the electrical appliance and the ends of which are intended to be embedded and lock in corresponding housings provided at the pull-out socket 1.

 The electrical bypass socket 1, shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, consists of a conventional pull-out type socket with two clipped parts 1a and 1b produced by molding of plastic material. This socket is provided with a housing 2 comprising two orifices 3 and 4 for the reception of the male plug for supplying an electrical appliance it is also provided with two male plugs 5 and 6 intended to be inserted into an ordinary fixed socket on the wall These two plugs 5 and 6 are made of conductive metal and embedded in the plastic mass of the internal part lb of the socket.

 The plug 6 is arranged in the extension of the orifice 4; it is provided, in a conventional manner, with a metal ring 7 intended to make direct contact between the male plug 6 and one of the plugs of the male plug of the electrical appliance.

 The second orifice 3 is also provided, in a conventional manner, with a metal ring 8 intended to receive the second plug of the male plug for supplying the electrical appliance. As can be seen in FIG. 2, at this level, there is no direct contact between said ring 8 and the male plug 5. This contact is in fact schunted and is produced by means of a bypass, at by means of a circuit defined by the electric wire 9. The schunt produced by this wire 9 forms a loop outside of the socket 1 and it passes through a system making it possible to interrupt the flow of current; a second circuit is thus produced from the power supply.

 The system making it possible to interrupt the flow of current is shown in FIG. 4 and it consists, in the example of embodiment described, in a conventional key switch 10. This switch 10 is manipulated by means of a key 11 intended, by rotation, to achieve or not the passage of current between the male plug 5 and the corresponding plug of the power outlet of the electrical appliance. The switch 10 may consist of a key cylinder receiving the supply wire 9; this barrel is enclosed in a shell 10a whose bottom 10b can open and be locked by clipping. The bottom 10b can be placed or secured on any support, for example by means of a self-adhesive system.

 The bypass socket 1 is provided with means 2, 3 and 4 in the form of a female socket for the connection of the male socket of the electrical appliance to be fitted; it also comprises two orifices 12 and 13, intended for clipping the ends of a tongue 14 for the voluntary locking of this connection. These two orifices 12 and 13 are produced by punching the bottom 15 of the housing 2 for receiving the male plug of the electrical appliance; they are located on either side of the female orifices 3 and 4, outside the size of the male plug of the electrical appliance, once embedded in the female plug. The two orifices 12 and 13 can for example have a size of 20 mm by 2 mm; they have a shape suitable for permanent clipping of the ends of the locking tab 14. The socket 1 and in particular its two parts 1a and 1b are produced so that an empty space remains, laterally, under the bottom 15.

 The tongue 14, shown in Figure 5, consists of an elongated strip, in the form of a thong, substantially rectangular, made of flexible plastic material.

This strip is provided, at each of its ends, with anchoring means 16 in the form of clips intended to be fitted into the orifices 12, 13 and under the bottom 15 for locking the male power plug of the electrical appliance on the bypass socket 1.

 The tongue 14 is provided, substantially at its center, with an orifice 17 associated with a longitudinal cutout 18. This cutout 18 extends from the orifice 17 to one of the ends of the tongue.

As can be seen in Figure 6, this cutout 18 allows the tongue to split into two lifts which can be opened to engage the cable 19 of the male connector 20 of the electrical appliance not shown, in the orifice 17.

When the cable 19 passes through the orifice 17, the tongue 14 is positioned astride the male plug 20.

 The male plug 20 can then be embedded in the bypass socket 1 and in particular the housing 2; the male plugs penetrate into the female holes 3 and 4.

As shown in FIG. 7, the tongue 14 is curved in a hoop so that each of its ends is clipped into the corresponding housings 12 and 13.

 This clipping is shown in detail in Figure 8.

Each orifice 12, 13 consists of a passage or narrowing for the base 22 of the clip 16; the vacuum under the bottom 15 determines a receptacle 23 for the head 24 of said clip. This configuration determines a stop surface 25 on which the head 24 will come into abutment forcibly engaged thanks to its particular shape. The head 24 of the clip 16 has in fact a certain elasticity allowing on the one hand s-on engagement in the narrower orifice 12, 13 and, on the other hand, its deployment in the receptacle 23 for the permanent blocking of the corresponding end of the tab on the bypass socket 1.

 Once the two ends of the tongue 14 are clipped onto the socket 1 and in particular in the orifices 12 and 13, this tongue 14 completely surrounds the male socket 20, as shown in FIG. 7, to ensure the locking of the latter. The connection male-female socket is unlockable only by destruction of the tongue 14; this tab therefore achieves a witness assembly allowing any detection of the locking.

 A second embodiment of the invention has been shown in FIGS. 9 to 13. This device always consists of an electrical bypass socket 26 of the pull-out type, provided, connected to the lateral electric wire 27, with a system allowing to interrupt the flow of current. This interruption system, not shown, may consist of a key switch as shown in FIG. 4.

 The locking of the pull-out socket connection 26 male socket 20 is obtained by means of a shell-shaped member 28 of which only one part is shown in FIG. 9. The shell 28 comprises a cavity 28a in which the flange 29 of the socket is housed pull-out 26. This cavity 28a follows the shape of the collar 29; it comprises a peripheral wall 30 and two lifts 30a and 30b which border the edges of said flange 30 and the housing in the cavity 28a. The spacing between the lifts 30a and 30b corresponds to the height of the flange 29. It has two orifices, one 31 for the passage of the connection cable to the electrical appliance and the other 32 for the passage of the end of the pull-out socket 26. Such a conformation allows the immobilization of the shell 28 on the pull-out socket 26 and the locking of the connection of the two elements 26 and 20.

 The locking means 28 are arranged once the male plug-female plug connection has been made.

The locking member 28 is for this purpose made up of half-shells 33 which join one to the other by clipping.

 A half-shell 33 is shown in isolation in FIG. 10. It is produced by molding of plastic material and conforms according to the characteristics of the connection to be locked (flange 29 of the pull-out socket 26 and male socket 20). Each half-shell 33 is provided with clipping means making it possible to obtain a tamper-evident connection between two half-shells. As can be seen in FIGS. 10, 12 and 13, these clipping means consist of internal lateral tabs 34 provided, at their end, with an orifice 35 intended to cooperate with tenons 36 arranged in correspondence, inside the homologous half-shell. In an exemplary embodiment, the tongues 34 are two in number, as are the tenons 36. The tenons 36 are inclined in the direction of clipping to facilitate the positioning of the tongues and the securing of the two half-shells. elasticity of the tabs allows quality clipping to be obtained The tabs 34 and tenons 36 are arranged inside the half-shells 33 so as to ensure the inviolability of the connection; for the same purpose, the position of the orifices 35 and tenons 36 are such that the clipping is obtained at the last moment, when the two half-shells are joined to one another.

 The locking shell 28 is obtained by clipping identical half-shells 33. For this purpose each half-shell 33 comprises as many tongues 34 as there are tenons 36. The tongues 34 and tenons 36 are arranged in pairs and in opposition.

 In order to facilitate the clipping between the two half-shells 33 and obtain a rigid locking shell 28, each half-shell is provided with centering means. These centering means consist, on the one hand, of guide ribs 37 arranged on either side of the studs 36 and finishing a sliding passage - for the tongues 34, and, on the other hand, centering pads 38. These pads are of the male or female type; they are provided either with an orifice 39 or with a nipple 40 intended to cooperate with an element complementary to the homologous half-shell, as can be seen in FIG. 13. These orifices 39 and nipples 40 are fitted in extra thicknesses side.

 As can be seen in FIGS. 9 and 10, the interior of the half-shells 33 includes pins or tongues-41, possibly detachable, allowing the setting of the male plug 20. The elasticity of these tongues allows adaptation the locking shell 28 has different gripping modes, while maintaining correct locking of the connection; these tabs 41 make it possible to avoid movements, accidental or not, of the male plug relative to the pull-out plug.

 Two identical half-shells as shown in FIG. 10 can be clipped onto each other around the connection to be locked, to obtain the locking shell 28 shown in FIGS. 11 and 12.

The final shape of the shell 29 can be variable, but must make it impossible to disconnect the wrong plug on the female plug. Once the locking member 28 is mounted on the connection, no movement of the male plug 20 relative to the pull-out socket 26 is possible due to the mounting around the flange 29 of the pull-out plug 26.

 Note also, in Figure 9 in particular, that ears 42, pierced, are arranged on each side of the shell, on the periphery, in the obtuse angle of the embodiment shown. These ears 42 allow the installation of a seal which acts as a witness. This lug 42 is located at the joint plane.

 The device according to the invention consists of a current bypass system comprising an electrical bypass socket connected to a system making it possible to interrupt the flow of current. This device also includes a connection system between the male plug of the electrical appliance and the bypass plug.

 The combination of these two elements makes it possible to obtain two functions - to interrupt the flow of current for a time T, - to prevent a third party from reconnecting the device to another outlet.

 The lock obtained is twofold; on the one hand it is mechanical and on the other hand electrical. I1 makes it possible to obtain an effective device and, by its structure, very simple to implement and very safe as to its use. This system can be adapted, as shown in Figure 1, directly on a television socket, minitel type devices or any other electrical equipment which we want to control the use by third parties.

 Of course, the current flow interrupt system can consist of a device other than a key switch. One can indeed provide instead a remote control infrared switch or even a programmer whose program is protected either by a mechanical key system, or by a code.

 The reference signs inserted after the technical characteristics of the invention have the sole purpose of facilitating the understanding of the latter and in no way limit their scope.

Claims (14)

- CLAIMS  1.- Device for preventing the untimely use of electrical devices, which device comprises a female socket for the connection of the male socket (20) for supplying said electrical appliance and means of adaptation on a current socket , which device also comprises means making it possible to interrupt the flow of current and means for locking the connection of said male plug for supplying the electrical appliance to said female plug, characterized in that it includes means for locking of said male-female socket connection, constituted by a member (14, 28) provided with clipping means making it possible to obtain a tamper-proof connection.  2.- Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the locking member consists of a tongue (14) intended to surround the male plug (20) for supplying the electrical appliance, which tongue (14) is provided, at its ends, with clipping means on the female socket.  3.- Device according to claim 2, characterized in that the tongue (14) consists of a strip of flexible material such as plastic, provided, at each of its ends, with a clip (16) intended to be embedded in corresponding housings (12, 13), provided at the socket.  4.- Device according to claim 3, characterized in that the tongue (14) is provided, in its center, with an orifice (17), for the passage of the cable (19) of the male plug (20) of the electrical appliance, and, from this orifice (17), a longitudinal cutout (18) extending from one side to the end of the strip, which cutout (18) allows the positioning of the tongue (14) straddling the male plug (20).  5.- Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the locking member (28) consists of two half-shells (33) clipping one on the other, around the male plug (20) and the flange (29) of the socket (26).  6.- Device according to claim 5, characterized in that the means for clipping the two half-shells (33) consist of tongues (34) provided with orifices (35), which orifices (35) of one of half-shells (33) cooperate with tenons (36) made on the homologous half-shell for locking the two elements.  7.- Device according to any one of claims 5 or 6, characterized in that the two half-shells (33) are identical.  8.- Device according to any one of claims 5 to 7, characterized in that the two half-shells (33) have studs (38) for centering relative to each other.  9.- Device according to any one of claims 5 to 8, characterized in that the two half-shells have internal tongues (41) allowing one adaptation of the device to all types of sockets.  10.- Device according to any one of claims S to 9, characterized in that it comprises on each half-shell, at the periphery, at least one pierced ear 42, allowing the establishment of a seal.  11.- Device according to any one of claims l to 10, characterized in that it consists of a bypass socket (1, 26), of the pull-out type, provided, at one of its connection plugs to the current outlet, a system (9, 10) for interrupting the flow of current.  12.- Device according to claim -11, characterized in that the system for interrupting the flow of current consists of a key switch (10).  13.- Device according to claim 11, characterized in that the current flow interruption system consists of a programmer.  14.- Device according to claim 11, characterized in that the current flow interruption system consists of an infrared remote control switch.