FR2907604A1 - Electrical socket i.e. plug-in socket, has wall connected to support wall to drive support wall towards spring blade during displacement of mobile wall such that cable is held by support wall and blade in presence of prong in space - Google Patents

Abstract

The socket has an automatic connection terminal (55) connecting a reception space (54) to a power cable (5), and with a support wall (50) at which a seat (57) is placed and a retainer ring (45) carrying a flexible spring blade (42). The space has a mobile wall (52) displaceable with respect to a fixed wall (46) of the space during introducing a prong (6) in the space. A wall (51) is connected to the support wall to drive the support wall towards the blade during displacement of the mobile wall such that the cable is held by the support wall and the blade in presence of a prong in the space.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to sockets

  electric and more particularly power outlets.

  BACKGROUND ART Electrical sockets are already known comprising an insulating housing, at least one receiving cavity for a pin of a plug to be connected to the socket and at least one automatically connected terminal for connecting the cell to at least one a power cable, the terminal having an insertion opening of the cable in a predetermined direction and a seat and a flexible member. The flexible member has an edge facing the seat and is adapted, on the one hand, to deform under the effect of a bias oriented along the predetermined direction in a direction of insertion whereby the cable, when is engaged in the terminal by the insertion opening, can be inserted between the seat and the edge, and, secondly, to retain the cable between the seat and the edge under the effect of a urging oriented in the predetermined direction in an extraction direction opposite to the direction of insertion unless the flexible member is deformed to move the edge of the seat.

  OBJECT OF THE INVENTION The invention aims to provide an electrical outlet both simple and easy to connect to a cable while being powerful and reliable. It proposes for this purpose an electrical socket comprising an insulating housing, at least one receiving cavity for a predetermined pin and at least one automatically connected terminal for connecting said cell to at least one power cable, said terminal having an opening insertion of said cable in a predetermined direction and a seat and a flexible member, said flexible member having an edge facing said seat and being adapted, on the one hand, to deform under the effect of a biased stress along said direction in an insertion direction whereby said cable, when engaged in said terminal by said insertion opening, is insertable between said seat and said edge, and, on the other hand, retains the cable between said seat and said edge under the effect of a biasing oriented in said direction in an extraction direction opposite to the insertion direction unless said flexible member is t deformed to spread said edge of said seat, characterized in that said terminal comprises a support member to which said seat belongs and a fixed member which carries said flexible member, said support member being movable relative to said fixed member of this terminal , and in that said cell has a fixed member and a member movable relative to said fixed member of said cell, said cell being adapted so that said mobile member of said cell undergoes a displacement relative to said fixed member of said cell when the introduction of said pin into the cell, said socket also comprising a connecting member of the movable member of the cell 10 to the support member of the terminal adapted to drive said support member to said flexible member during said displacement whereby the cable is further gripped by said support member and said flexible member in the presence of said pin in said cell. During. the introduction of a pin into the socket, the drive of the support member of the terminal by the mobile member of the cell passes the support member from a first position that it occupies in the absence of the spindle at a second position that it occupies in the presence of the spindle. In the first position of the support member, the flexible member is not or only slightly constrained by the support member so that it is possible to introduce a cable between the support member and the flexible member without have to provide excessive forces while in the second position the support member generates through the cable an additional deflection of the flexible member which guarantees, only when necessary (that is to say when the cable is connected to the terminal), an excellent electrical contact by increasing the contact pressure of the cable to the support member and the flexible member. Conversely, when the pin is extracted from the cell the support member is released so that the squeeze pressure becomes substantially that which was present during the introduction of the cable which allows to easily operate the flexible member to extract the cable.

Note that it was certainly known to provide in a socket a deformable cell to ensure contact with the pin and even to cause a movable contact to a fixed contact, for example for outlets with internal cut (see particularly in the French patent application 2907604 3 2 784 511), but in the socket according to the invention the cell has the particularity of having a fixed member and a movable member, the mobile member being mechanically linked not to a movable contact but to a connection terminal of a power cable of the socket, this cable once introduced into the terminal 5 remaining in permanent electrical contact with this terminal and this cell, a pin is present or not in the cell . According to preferred features, for reasons of simplicity, convenience and economy of implementation: said movable member of the cell is a wall of this cell; Said connecting member is a wall one end of which is connected transversely to one end of said mobile member of said cell and whose other end is connected transversely to one end of said support member of said terminal; - The face of said wall connected transversely to the movable member 15 of the cell and the support member of the terminal facing the flexible member forms an abutment surface for the end of said cable inserted into said terminal; said support member of the terminal, said connecting member and said movable member of the cell belong to the same movable arm formed of a single piece; said fixed member of said terminal is a cage surrounding said support member and said flexible member; said flexible member is crimped to a wall of said cage; said fixed member of said cell is located in the extension of a portion of said fixed member of said terminal, the fixed member of the cell and the terminal belonging to the same frame formed in one piece; said fixed member of said cell has two blades for guiding said pin; said cell has a flare for guiding said pin; said support member of the terminal is connected to said fixed member of this terminal by an elastically deformable portion; said deformable portion is a U-shaped fold; Said flexible member is a metal spring blade having at least one elastically deformable section; said automatic terminal also comprises an actuating push button having at least one finger disposed opposite said flexible member to move said edge away from said seat; - said push button also has another finger, a key and a central partition adapted to be inserted into a slot in said flexible member; and / or said housing comprises a first compartment in which said terminal is housed and a second compartment in which said cell is housed. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The description of the invention will now be continued by the detailed description of an exemplary embodiment, given below by way of nonlimiting illustration, with reference to the appended drawings. On these: - Figures 1 and 2 are two perspective views taken at different angles of a socket according to the invention; FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 1 but in which a cap of the socket is not shown; - Figure 4 is a perspective view of a current plug adapted to be received in the socket according to the invention; - Figure 5 is a plan view taken from above of the plug and socket assembled to one another; FIGS. 6 and 7 are two perspective views taken at different angles of one of the three connection modules included in the socket illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3; - Figure 8 is a view similar to Figure 7 but exploded exploded the various elements that includes this module; FIGS. 9 and 10 are two elevational views of the connection module taken respectively on the side that is seen on the right and on the side that is seen on the left in FIG. 7; and FIGS. 11 to 14 are four elevation-sectional views of the connection module taken along the line XI-XI of FIG. 9 respectively illustrating the connection module alone, this module with an inserted electrical cable, this module in FIG. which has also been inserted the pin of a plug illustrated in Figure 5 4 and finally this module without this pin and in a position where the cable is ready to be extracted from the module. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The socket 1 illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3 comprises an insulating housing 2 made of plastic material, a cover 3 of the same material and three connection modules 4 (FIG. 3). Each connection module 4 is adapted to receive on one side an electric cable 5 and the other the corresponding pin 6 of a plug 7 (Figure 13).

The insulating housing 2 has a first compartment 10 and a second compartment 11. Each of the compartments has a generally parallelepipedal shape with the compartment 10 which is smaller and attached to one of the faces of the compartment 11, centered with respect to this face. The first compartment communicates with the second through three rectangular windows 13 (Figure 3). On both sides of the windows 13 are arranged in the compartment 11 partition walls 15 which extend into the compartment 10 so that they delimit with the compartments 10 and 11 25 three separate housing home docking modules 4. In the wall of the compartment 10 situated at the level of the face of this compartment opposite to that connected to the compartment 11, there are provided for each connection module two insertion ducts 18 of electric cables and an orifice 19 for the passage of a push button that includes each of the connection modules. The compartment 11 is fully open at its face opposite to that connected to the compartment 10 except on its periphery where the opening is surrounded by a collar with a rectangular contour 20 adapted to cooperate by its shape with the shutter cover 3. This cover 3 has three through-holes 25 formed in a recessed wall 26 relative to the remainder of the cover and a foolproof rib 27. The recess of the cover has a contour adapted to receive by cooperation form the portion of a corresponding card 7. The plug 7 illustrated in FIG. 4 comprises an insulating housing 30, three pins 6 protruding from the housing 30 and a collar 31. Each of the pins 6 is connected to an electrical conductor 10 (not shown) coming out of the insulating housing 30 through the 31. The connection modules 4 will now be described with reference to FIGS. 6 to 14. Each connection module 4 comprises a rigid and fixed frame 40, a movable arm 41, a flexible spring blade 42, as well as a actuating pushbutton 43 (FIG. 8). The frame 40 comprises a cage 45 with a rectangular section and a wall 46. The wall 46 is located in the extension of a wall 47 of the cage 45 opposite a wall 49 of this cage carrying the leaf spring 42 (FIG. ). In the cage 45 are formed two lugs 44 while the wall 46 20 has two fins 48. The cage 45 defines with the pusher 43 two openings 39 for insertion of electric cables. The arm 41 has a first wall 50 (FIG. 11), one end of which is connected to the wall 47 by an elastically deformable U-shaped fold 53, a second wall 51, one end of which is connected transversely to the end of the opposite wall 50 to that attached to the fold 53 and a third wall 52, one end of which connects transversely to the end of the wall 51 opposite to that attached to the wall 50. The walls 46 and 52 face each other and form a receiving cavity 54 of a pin 6 of the plug 7 while the wall 50 forms as will be seen hereinafter with the cage 45 and the leaf spring 42 an automatically connected terminal 55.

The walls 46 and 52 are slightly curved at their free end so that they form a guide flare 56. In the absence of a pin in the cell 54 (that is to say in the absence of any constraint at the U-fold 53) the wall 50 and the wall 47 of the cage 5 are opposite one another and substantially parallel to each other. The flexible leaf spring 42 comprises a first straight section 60, two curved sections 61 and two straight sections 62 whose width is substantially equal to half the width of the straight section 60. One end of each curved section 61 is connected to a straight section 60. end of the straight section 60 while the opposite end of the section 61 is connected to one end of a corresponding straight section 62 forming a bent elbow on the opposite side to the straight section 60. Each curved section 61 (respectively each straight section 62) is separated from the adjacent curved section (or adjacent straight section) by a slot 63. In the straight section 60 is also provided on each edge with a notch 65. The push button 43 has a support key 70, a central partition 71 and two actuating fingers 72.

The actuating fingers are arranged on each side of the partition 71, the thickness of this partition being slightly less than the width of the slot 63. The assembly of a module 4 is carried out by arranging the leaf spring 42 in the cage 45 so that the end edges 64 of the sections 62 25 face the surface 57 of the wall 50 of the mobile arm 41 facing the wall 49 (FIG. 11). The spring blade 42 is held integral with the cage 45 by being pressed against the wall 49 opposite the wall 47 of the cage 45 by means of the tabs 44 formed in the cage 45 and bent against the spring blade 30 at the notches 65. The pusher 43 is then also partially introduced into the cage with the partition 71 which is housed between the sections 62 and the sections 61 in the slot 63, each of the fingers 72 being placed in the vicinity of the corresponding section 62. Each of the modules 4 is then placed in the insulating casing 2 with its automatic connection terminal 55 which is located in the compartment 5 10 and its cell 54 in the compartment 11 (FIG. 3). The operation of introducing a cable into the socket 1 will now be described with the aid of FIGS. 11 and 12. The first operation consists in making the rigid cable 5 penetrate through the conduit 18 of the housing 2 in which it must be inserted until the stripped end 8 of the cable passes through the corresponding insertion opening 39 of the module 4 and comes to bear against the corresponding section 62 to separate the end edge 64 of this section of the surface 57 of the bearing wall 50 to allow the end 8 to pass between this ridge and this wall.

The driving motion of the cable may continue until the end of this cable abuts against the surface 38 of the wall 51 facing the spring blade 42. The inner surface 57 of the support wall 50 thus forms for the cable 5 a seat against which it is held by the spring blade 42 which the plate 20 against this surface. If this cable once installed in the terminal tends to be removed from the block, that is to say if it is subjected to a force directed in the direction opposite to the direction of insertion, this cable will tend to carry with it the section 62, which will bend and thus wedge against the wall 50, which will prohibit the removal of this element.

For removal of the cable (FIG. 14), the operator presses the button 70 of the push button 43 in the direction of the spring blade 42 so as to move this button to press the actuating finger 72 against the corresponding section 62 so as to to constrain this section, the end edge 64 away from the seat 57 to release the cable and thus to extract it from the terminal.

It is also possible to use the push-button 43 to constrain the spring blade 42 in order to be able to introduce into the terminal 55 a cable whose conductive core would be flexible.

It is also possible to penetrate a second cable into the terminal via the second conduit 18 of the housing, the latter then urging the section 62 adjacent the section previously requested by the first cable. The operation of introducing a pin 6 into a corresponding cell 54 (after at least one cable has been introduced into the terminal 55) will now be described with the help of FIGS. 12 and 13. exposed end 8 held between the support wall 50 and the spring blade 42 (Figure 12), the operator connects the plug 7 to the socket 1 as shown in Figure 5.

At first, the pins 6 pass through the openings 25 of the cover 3 and penetrate into the compartment 11 of the insulating housing. When the pins 6 enter this compartment 11 they are directed towards the cells 54 and are guided by the flares 56 and the fins 58 of these cells.

Each pin 6 penetrating into its corresponding cell causes deformation thereof, the movable wall 52 having a tendency to deviate from the fixed wall 46 of this cell belonging to the frame 40 to allow the pin to penetrate into it. this. The displacement of the wall 52 causes, via the connecting wall 20, the deformation of the fold 53 and the displacement of the bearing wall 50 towards the spring blade 42. During the displacement, the end of the wall 50 which is connected to the wall 51 deviates from the wall 47 by driving through the cable 5 an additional deformation of the leaf spring (increase of the arrow 25 of the leaf spring), the stripped portion 8 of the cable being in this case slightly bent (Figure 13). This additional deformation of the spring blade 42 thus strengthens the contact pressure of this blade and the wall 50 with the cable. The spring blade 42 and the wall 50 are thus suitably arranged with respect to one another to allow, on the one hand, the insertion of a cable with a non-zero but reduced force between this blade and this wall. (That is to say only sufficient to prevent the removal of the cable by driving the spring blade to be bent-back) and to ensure, on the other hand, once the pin introduced into the cell, a optimal electrical contact by causing further sagging of the spring blade. The reinforced electrical contact thus significantly minimizes the risk of heating in the socket during the passage of the current.

In addition, the reinforcement of the contact pressure once the spindle introduced also makes it possible to compensate for the uncertainties on the characteristics of the cables (diameter, quality of manufacture, etc.). Conversely, when the pin 6 is extracted from the cell 54, the bearing wall 50 is released from the mechanical stress to which it was subjected (in the illustrated example this wall returns to its initial position by elastic return U-fold 53) so that the extraction of the cable by acting on the leaf spring by the pusher 43 (Figure 14) is also facilitated (as the insertion step of this cable). In a variant not shown, the mobile part of the cell is not a wall of this cell but for example a finger of conductive material or not connected by a connecting mechanism to the bearing wall of the terminal. In another variant the push button is replaced by an actuating lever mounted to rotate.

In yet another variant, the fixed members of the cell and the terminal do not belong to the same frame and are separated from one another. Many other variants are possible depending on the circumstances, and it is recalled in this regard that the invention is not limited to the examples described and shown. 25

Claims (16)

  An electrical socket comprising an insulating housing (2), at least one receiving cavity (54) for a predetermined pin (6) and at least one self-connecting terminal (55) for connecting said socket (54) to at least one a power cable (5), said terminal (55) having an insertion opening (39) for said cable in a predetermined direction and a seat (57) and a flexible member (42), said flexible member (42) ) having an edge (64) opposite said seat (57) and being adapted, on the one hand, to deform under the effect of a biasing oriented along said direction in an insertion direction whereby said cable ( 5), when engaged in said terminal (55) by said insertion opening (39), can be inserted between said seat (57) and said ridge (64), and on the other hand, to retain the cable (5) between said seat (57) and said ridge (64) under the effect of a biasing oriented along said direction in an extractive direction opposite the direction of insertion unless said flexible member (42) is deformed to move said edge (64) away from said seat (57), characterized in that said terminal (55) has a bearing member (50) to which it belongs said seat (57) and a fixed member (45) carrying said flexible member (42), said support member (50) being movable relative to said fixed member (45) of said terminal (55), and that said cell (54) has a fixed member (46) and a movable member (52) relative to said fixed member (46) of said cell (54), said cell being adapted so that said movable member (52) of said cell (54) is displaced relative to said fixed member (46) of said socket (54) upon insertion of said pin (6) into the socket, said socket also having a link member (51) of the movable member (52) from the socket to the support member (50) of the terminal adapted to drive said support member (50) towards said flexible member (42) during the said displacement whereby the cable (5) is further gripped by said support member (50) and said flexible member (42) in the presence of said pin (6) in said cell (54).   2. Socket according to claim 1, characterized in that said movable member of the cell is a wall (52) of this cell (54).   3. Socket according to any one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that said connecting member is a wall (51) whose end is connected transversely to an end of said movable member (52) of said cell (54). ) and whose other end is connected transversely to one end of said support member (50) of said terminal (55).   4. Socket according to claim 3, characterized in that the face (38) 5 of said wall (51) transversely connected to the movable member (52) of the cell (54) and the support member (50) of the terminal (55) facing the flexible member forms a stop surface for the end of said cable (5) inserted in said terminal.   5. Socket according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that said support member (50) of the terminal (55), said connecting member (51) and said movable member (52) of the cell (54) belong to the same movable arm (41) formed in one piece.   6. Socket according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that said fixed member of said terminal (55) is a cage (45) surrounding said support member (50) and said flexible member (42) .   7. Socket according to claim 6, characterized in that said flexible member (42) is crimped to a wall (49) of said cage (45).   8. Plug according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that said fixed member (46) of said cell (54) is located in the extension of a portion (47) of said fixed member (45) of said terminal (55), the fixed member (46, 47) of the cell and the terminal belonging to the same frame (40) formed in one piece.   9. Socket according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that said fixed member (46) of said cell (54) has two guide vanes (48) of said pin (6).   10. Socket according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that said cell (54) has a guide flare (56) of said pin (6).   11. Socket according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that said support member (50) of the terminal (55) is connected to said fixed member (45) of this terminal by an elastically deformable portion (53). ).   12. Socket according to claim 11, characterized in that said deformable portion is a U-shaped fold (53). 2907604 13   13. Socket according to any one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that said flexible member (42) is a metal leaf spring having at least one section (61, 62) elastically deformable.   14. Socket according to any one of claims 1 to 13, characterized in that said automatic terminal (55) also comprises an actuating push button (43) having at least one finger (72) disposed opposite said flexible member (42) to separate said ridge (64) from said seat (57).   15. Socket according to claim 14, characterized in that said push button (43) also comprises another finger (72), a key (70) and a central partition (71) adapted to be introduced into a slot (63). formed in said flexible member (42).   16. Plug according to any one of claims 1 to 15, characterized in that said housing (2) comprises a first compartment (10) 15 in which is housed said terminal (55) and a second compartment (11) in which is accommodated said cell (54).