FR3066856A1 - MECHANISM OF ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT AND ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT COMPRISING SUCH A MECHANISM - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a mechanism (100) for electrical equipment (10), comprising: - a base (110) which comprises a side wall (111) closed at the rear by a bottom wall, - an electronic circuit housed in the base, and - a connection terminal block (140) for electrical conductor, which is connected to the electronic circuit. According to the invention, the side wall and / or the bottom wall of the base has a window (113), and a protruding portion (133) of the electronic circuit extends through this window.

Description

Technical field to which the invention relates

The present invention relates generally to the field of electrical equipment and in particular that of home automation.

It relates more particularly to a mechanism for electrical equipment, comprising: - a base which comprises a side wall closed at the rear by a bottom wall, - an electronic circuit housed in the base, and - a connection terminal block for electrical conductor, which is connected to the electronic circuit.

It also relates to electrical apparatus comprising: - an apparatus support which delimits an opening, and - two mechanisms fixed in the opening of this apparatus support. The invention finds a particularly advantageous application in the production of electrical equipment, one of the mechanisms of which has a power outlet or data outlet function (network outlet, telephone outlet, USB outlet, etc.), or even d '' switch, back and forth, electric dimmer, indicator, thermostat, or detector (smoke, flood, temperature, movement or light).

Technological background

Home automation can be defined as a technology used to automate or remotely control electrical devices. This technology makes it possible, for example, to automate the opening and closing of the shutters of a dwelling, as well as the switching on and off of the lights of this dwelling.

Home automation also applies to electrical outlets, which we will call in the following "controlled outlets". These controlled sockets are fitted with an electronic circuit enabling the current they deliver to be cut off remotely.

Currently, the controlled sockets include an apparatus support in the form of a frame adapted to be fixed to an electrical box, and a gripping mechanism housed in the opening of the apparatus support. This mechanism more precisely comprises a generally cubic base which is provided with means of attachment to the apparatus support and which houses, on the one hand, an "electromechanical part" for receiving an electrical plug, and, on the other hand , an "electronic part" for controlling the power cut.

An electrical box always has a limited volume, so that it can be installed in a thin wall. Therefore, it is not easy to accommodate not only the mechanism of the controlled outlet, but also the ends of the electric wires which were drawn in the interior volume of the box in order to connect them to the mechanism of the outlet. .

To leave sufficient space for the wires in the electrical box, the base of a plug mechanism must therefore have a limited size, which is in practice standardized.

However, the electronic part of a controlled outlet has a large footprint since it must include components suitable for cutting the current regardless of the intensity of the current flowing through the outlet.

Therefore, it is not possible to accommodate in the volume of a standard size base not only an electromechanical part of conventional shape, but also an electronic part.

The solution currently used then consists in jointly designing the electromechanical part and the electronic part of the controlled outlet, so that the assembly can be housed in the restricted volume delimited by the base of a mechanism.

The design of this controlled outlet then turns out to be expensive. Its manufacture also proves to be expensive since it is not possible to use the components of conventional sockets.

Object of the invention

In order to remedy the aforementioned drawbacks of the prior art, the present invention proposes using two modular switchgear bases which are adapted to be mounted together, side by side, in a single switchgear support, the 'one of these sockets then being used to house the electromechanical part of a conventional socket and the other of the sockets being used to house the electronic part for controlling the socket.

More particularly, according to the invention, there is proposed a mechanism as defined in the introduction, in which the side wall and / or the bottom wall of the base has a window, and in which a protruding part of the electronic circuit extends through this window.

An electrical apparatus is also proposed as defined in the introduction, in which one of the first mechanisms comprises mechanical and electrical elements adapted to exercise a given electrical function, and the other of the mechanisms comprises an electronic circuit adapted to control the execution. of said electrical function.

Thus, thanks to the invention, the mechanism having a given electrical function (for example a power outlet function) can be a conventional mechanism, the other of the mechanisms being specially designed and manufactured for the home automation application that one wish to make it. The use of a conventional mechanism, already marketed in the range of modular mechanisms, makes it possible to use components already produced in a chain, which therefore involves no design costs and no additional costs for manufacturing.

Therefore, only the components of the other mechanism will have to be designed and manufactured for home automation application.

The problem which then arises is that the electronic part of this other mechanism is bulky. In particular, it can be seen that this electronic part generally includes an electronic card (that is to say a printed circuit equipped with electronic components) which comprises, on the front of the printed circuit, an electronic component of very large size.

In order to accommodate it in a base of standardized size equal to a module, the invention then proposes to cut a window in the side wall of this base, so that the electronic part can have more space. Thus, this bulky electronic component can project into the thickness of the side wall of the base, at the level of the window.

Thanks to the invention, it is also possible to slightly offset the printed circuit in the base, and no longer to stick it to one of the walls of the base, which has the following three advantages.

The first advantage is that the solder tabs which protrude on the back of the printed circuit can be housed in the base and it is therefore not necessary to cut them flush (which would be expensive and present the risk of causing a disconnection of these paws).

The second advantage is that it is possible to place electronic components on the back of the printed circuit.

The third advantage is that it is possible to use a larger printed circuit, which can carry more electronic components. Indeed, the base of a mechanism generally has chamfered edges, so that shifting the printed circuit relative to these edges allows the entire width of the base to be available. Other advantageous and non-limiting characteristics of the mechanism according to the invention are as follows: - said protruding part has an end face which extends flush with the external face of the base or in the thickness of the side wall and / or the bottom wall of the base; - the base is open at the front and has a front end edge, and said window extends into the side wall of the base and opens onto said front end edge; - the connection terminal block comprises at least one connection terminal for an electrical conductor and an inlet conduit for this electrical conductor which opens out from the base by a separate opening from said window; - the connection terminal block comprises at least one means for operating said connection terminal, which is accessible from outside the base through said window; the electronic circuit comprises a first electronic card equipped with a printed circuit and said protruding part comprises a relay which is fixed to the printed circuit of the first electronic card; the electronic circuit comprises a second electronic card comprising a printed circuit and a light-emitting diode fixed to the printed circuit; the side wall of the base is open at the front and a closure cover is provided which comprises a front wall adapted to at least partially close the front opening of the base, means for fixing the closure cover to the base, and a cover which extends behind the front wall and which is adapted to close off part of said window; - The front wall of the closure cover has a front opening for the passage of light from the light-emitting diode; - the base and the cover sandwich at least part of the connection terminal block, so as to block it angularly around at least one axis; - The base has a substantially parallelepiped shape, the dimensions of which are substantially those of a half-cube. Other advantageous and non-limiting characteristics of the apparatus in accordance with the invention are as follows: - said first mechanism performs a power outlet function; - said second mechanism is such as that defined in the preceding paragraphs; - Each of the two mechanisms comprises a base of substantially parallelepiped shape; - two covers are provided respectively fixed on the device support (or alternatively on the mechanisms).

Detailed description of an exemplary embodiment

The description which follows with reference to the appended drawings, given by way of nonlimiting examples, will make it clear what the invention consists of and how it can be carried out.

In the accompanying drawings: - Figures 1 and 2 are schematic exploded perspective views of a mechanism according to the invention, seen from two different angles; and - Figure 3 is a schematic partially exploded perspective view of an apparatus according to the invention.

In Figure 3, there is shown an electrical apparatus 10 usable in the field of home automation. This electrical apparatus 10 is here designed to be installed on a wall.

In the following description, the terms “front” and “rear” will be used relative to the direction of gaze of the user towards the wall on which this electrical equipment 10 is attached.

In the example considered here, where the wall is a wall partition of a room, the front will designate the side facing the inside of the room and the rear will designate the side facing the outside of the room.

The terms "height", "width" and "depth" will be used to designate oriented dimensions with respect to this wall partition; the "height" of an element extending vertically, the "width" of an element extending horizontally and parallel to the plane of the wall partition, and the "depth" of an element extending horizontally and perpendicular to the plan of the wall partition.

As shown in Figure 3, the electrical apparatus 10 here has a controlled outlet function, but alternatively, it could have a different function (which will be detailed at the end of this talk).

This electrical apparatus 10 comprises for this purpose an apparatus support 500 adapted to be fixed to a box attached to or in the wall partition, and two modular mechanisms adapted to be fixed in this apparatus support 500. One of these two modular mechanisms here is a modular 200 socket outlet mechanism. The other of these two mechanisms, which is more specifically the subject of the present invention, is for its part designed to control the outlet mechanism 200 so that the assembly forms a controlled outlet usable in home automation.

In this talk, we will first look at this other mechanism, hereinafter called "control mechanism 100".

This control mechanism 100 is designed to let pass or cut the electric current supplying the socket outlet mechanism 200, taking into account a command issued by a user.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, this control mechanism 100 mainly comprises for this purpose: - an electronic circuit 130 adapted to control the socket outlet mechanism 200, - a connection terminal block 140 which is connected to the electronic circuit 130 and which is adapted to be connected to the local electrical network, and - a base 110 which is adapted to house the electronic circuit 130 so as to protect it and electrically isolate it from the outside, and which for this purpose comprises a side wall 111 closed at the rear by a bottom wall 112.

In the embodiment shown in the figures, this control mechanism 100 further comprises: - a closing cover 170 adapted to close the base 110 at the front, - an indicator 190 enabling the cut or passing state of the control mechanism 100, and - a cut phase wire 150 which is connected to the electronic circuit 130 and which is adapted to be connected to the socket outlet mechanism 200.

According to a particularly advantageous characteristic of the invention, the side wall 111 and / or the bottom wall 112 of the base 110 has a window 113, through which extends a protruding part 133 of the electronic circuit 130. As will be well explained in the following, this window 113 makes it possible to offer a slightly larger space to the electronic circuit 130, which can be used to draw many advantages.

To explain the invention well, we can then detail the shape and function of the various components of the control mechanism 100 shown in the figures.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, in the embodiment shown, the electronic circuit 130 comprises two electronic cards 131, 132.

A first electronic card 131, called a power card, is provided to extend from the front to the rear of the base 110, in the height and the depth of the base 110.

The second electronic card 132, called the control card, is designed to extend in front of the power electronic card 131, in the height and the width of the base 110.

Each electronic card 131, 132 has a printed circuit 131 A, 132A (or PCB, from the English "printed circuit board") on which electronic components are mounted and connected. A recto, which carries the largest electronic components, and a verso is defined with respect to this printed circuit.

On the front side of its printed circuit 131 A, the electronic power card 131 includes, among other components, a relay 133 which has a switch function to block or let pass the electric current supplying the socket outlet mechanism 200 .

This relay 133 has an important dimension. It is housed in an insulating housing 133B, here in the shape of a parallelepiped, so that it has a free end face 133A (FIG. 2) which extends parallel and at a distance from the printed circuit 131A.

As shown in Figure 2, the electronic power card 131 is the one that carries the connection terminal 140, which we recall that it allows to connect the control mechanism 100 to the local power grid. In this regard, it will be considered below that this local electrical network comprises three electrical wires for supplying current, phase, neutral and earth.

The connection terminal block 140 comprises an insulating shell 141 housing here two connection terminals (not visible) which are connected to the printed circuit of the electronic power card 131 and which allow the connection of two electric wires from the local electric network.

The insulating shell 141 firstly delimits two inlet conduits 142 for the electrical wires, which extend straight and open out towards the rear.

The insulating shell 141 also delimits two screwing wells 143A, the free ends of which extend in the plane of the free end face 133A of the relay 133 and into which two screws 143 are screwed. These screws 143 are designed to allow maneuvering the connection terminals in order to block and connect the stripped ends of the electrical wires in these terminals.

As shown in FIG. 1, the electronic control card 132 comprises, for its connection to the power electronic card 131, a series of pins 136 which extend projecting from the rear face of its printed circuit 132A. This series of pins 136 is adapted to be connected in a series of cells provided correspondingly in a base 137 fixed to the front of the printed circuit 131 A, on the side of its front edge.

The electronic control card 132 also includes, among other components, a light-emitting diode 134 provided at the front of its printed circuit 132A. This light-emitting diode 134 is fixed near the center of the printed circuit 132A of the electronic control card 132.

As shown in FIG. 1, the electronic control card 132 also comprises an antenna 139 adapted to receive an electromagnetic control signal (for example a Bluetooth® or WIFI signal) and then to transmit to the relay 133 a switching signal. This antenna 139 is here a planar antenna. It is here constituted by an F-shaped metal strip, which extends over the front of the printed circuit 132A.

In the embodiment shown, if the connection of the electrical circuit 130 to the local electrical network is made via the connection terminal block 140 (which it is recalled that it is adapted to receive the stripped ends of two electrical wires), the connection of the circuit electrical 130 to the socket outlet mechanism 200 is provided to be done via an electrical wire, namely the phase cut wire 150.

As shown in FIG. 2, this cut phase wire 150 is a sheathed copper wire, with a diameter of 2.5 mm2, which has a first end connected to a terminal of the power electronic card 131 and a free end adapted to be connected to the socket outlet mechanism 200.

Of course, as a variant, provision could be made to replace this cut phase wire 150 with a connection terminal, for example located in the connection terminal block 140.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, the base 110 is shown in detail.

This base 110 has a substantially parallelepiped shape, the dimensions of which are substantially those of a half-cube whose width is equal to a module. These dimensions (overall) are here equal, to the nearest 2 millimeters, to 45 millimeters in height by 45 millimeters in depth by 22.5 millimeters in width.

Its bottom wall 112 is substantially flat. It has the shape of a rectangle with truncated corners.

Its side wall 111 extends from the edge of this bottom wall 112, towards the front. It therefore has two main sections 111 A, 111B and two end sections 111 C, 111 D, connected two by two by edges of truncated edges 111F.

The base 110 is open towards the front. SI therefore has a front end edge 111E constituted by the free edge of the side wall 111.

The window 113, which is recalled that it is designed to allow a protruding part of the electronic circuit 130 (here the relay 133) not to be confined in the base and to benefit on the contrary from more space, is here located in a first of the main sections 111B of the side wall 111 of the base 110.

This window 113 extends over the entire depth of the base 110, from the rear wall 112 to the front end edge 111E of the side wall 111. It here extends over almost all of the first main section 111B of the side wall 111.

The base 110 thus defines a housing which opens outwards from the front and from the side, via the window 113.

The mounting of the two electronic cards 131, 132 is provided to be done from the front. The mounting of the electronic power card 131 is in particular intended to be done by sliding this card from front to rear, so that the two lateral edges 131B of its printed circuit 131A slide along the inner faces of the two end sections 111 C, 111D of the side wall 111 of the base 110, until its rear edge 131C comes to bear against the bottom wall 112 of the base 110.

During this mounting operation, the relay 133 is placed in the window 113. Thus, as shown in FIG. 3, once the various components of the control mechanism 100 are assembled, the end face 133A of the relay 133 s' extends through the window 113, flush with the external face of the side wall 111 of the base 110.

In this assembled position, the printed circuit 131A of the power electronic card 131 extends away from the second main panel 111A of the base 110, so that its back can carry electronic components.

Still in this position, the lateral edges 131B of this printed circuit 131A are applied not against the edges of truncated edges 111F, but on the contrary against the end panels 111 C, 111D of the side wall 111 of the base 110. in this way, the printed circuit 131A takes advantage of the entire height of the base 110, which allows it to have optimal dimensions for carrying a maximum of electronic components.

As shown in FIG. 3, the free ends of the screwing wells 143A of the insulating shell 141 of the connection terminal block 140 and the screws 143 which are screwed therein are also accessible through the window 113. This is the reason why the window extends over almost the entire height of the first main panel 111B of the side wall 111 of the base 110.

Thus, as shown in FIG. 2, if one half of the rear edge of the window 113 is straight to come to bear against the relay 133, the second half of this rear edge has two notches adapted to come to follow the shape of the wells of screwing 143A. The lateral edges of the window 113 are for their straight parts.

As shown in FIG. 2, the bottom wall 112 of the base 110 has a square opening 114 allowing access to the passage conduits 142 of the connection terminal block 140. It also has a circular hole 115 for the passage of the cut phase wire 150.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the closing cover 170 is provided for closing the base 110 at the front.

It has for this purpose a front wall 171 of rectangular shape, which is bordered over its entire contour by a rear edge 172.

This rear edge 172 thus has two main panels and two end panels.

It carries, along its two main sides, two external ribs 174 adapted to be applied against an external peripheral sidewalk 116 bordering the front end edge 111A of the side wall 111 of the base 110.

The closing cover 170 comprises means for fixing to the base 110.

Here, these fixing means are formed by two snap-fit teeth 173, which are located in two recesses provided in the end sections of the rear edge 172 and which are adapted to come and hang on the base 110. The latter comprises this effect two ears 117 which extend from the front end edge 111E of the side wall 111 of the base 110, towards the front, and which delimit openings in which the latching teeth 173 can hang.

The closing cover 170 finally comprises a cover 175 which extends from the rear edge of the rear edge 172, towards the rear, so as to close off part of the window 113.

In this case, this cover 175 is designed in the form of a wall, the dimensions of which are such that it is suitable for closing all of the part of the window 113 which is neither occupied by the relay 133, nor by the screwing holes 143A of the connection terminal block 140 (see FIG. 3).

The cover 175 has in particular, on its rear free end edge, two notches adapted to conform to the shape of the screwing wells 143A.

Thus the screwing holes 143A are wedged between the cover 175 and the base 110 (see FIG. 3). In this way, the insulating shell 141 of the connection terminal block 140 is prevented from rotating by the cover 175 and the base 110 when a user operates the screws 143 (this is known as “angular blocking” of the terminal block around an axis parallel to the axis of the screws).

Thus, if a screwing or unscrewing force is applied to the screws 143, part of this force is taken up by the cooperation of the insulating shell 141 with the cover 175 and the base 110, which reduces the forces that the insulating shell 141 exerts on the printed circuit 131 A. In this way, the stresses exerted on the solder tabs of the terminals (housed in the insulating shell) on the printed circuit 131A remain reduced.

As shown in FIG. 1, the front wall 171 of the closure cover 170 here has a front opening 177 for the passage of the indicator 190 and of the light coming from the light-emitting diode 134.

This front opening 177 here has a substantially rectangular shape, and it extends to the center of the front wall 171.

The sight glass 190 has a body 191 of parallelepiped shape of equal height and width, apart from the mounting clearance, at the height and width of the front opening 177.

This body 191 carries at the rear means for securing to the closure cover 170. These securing means are formed here by, on one side of the body 191, a rigid tongue 192, and, on the other, a latching tab 193 adapted to be hooked to the rear of the front wall 171 of the closure cover 170.

Here, the indicator 190 is formed in one piece in a transparent or translucent material, so as to allow the light emitted by the light-emitting diode 134 to pass.

It has here a light guide part 194 which extends from the rear face of the body 191 and which is folded in L, so that its free end faces the light-emitting diode 134.

It can also be seen in FIG. 1 that the front wall 171 of the closure cover 170 here has a circular opening 178 of small size, allowing only the passage of a needle.

This circular opening 178 is here located at the right of a switch button 138 which is carried by the printed circuit 132A of the electronic control card 132 and which makes it possible to reset the settings of the control mechanism 100.

We can now focus on the other components of the electrical equipment 10 that are the socket outlet mechanism 200, the equipment support 500 and the covers 300, 400.

Conventionally, the apparatus support 500 has a form of frame which delimits a reception opening 501 for mechanisms 100, 200.

It includes means for fixing to an electrical box attached to the surface or embedded in the wall partition. These fixing means are here in the form of two oblong holes 502 which are located in the center of two opposite branches of the frame and which are intended to be crossed by screws.

It includes means for securing a cover plate to be aesthetically attached to the electrical equipment 10. These securing means are here in the form of four circular orifices 503 located at the corners of the frame.

It also comprises means for blocking the mechanisms 100, 200. These blocking means are here in the form of attachment ribs 504 which extend along two opposite edges of the reception opening 501 and which allow to engage the mechanisms 100, 200.

The base 110, 210 of each of these two mechanisms 100, 200 comprises for this purpose snap tabs 118, 218 which are cut in the end sections of their side walls 111 and which are provided to hang on these hooking ribs 504.

The socket outlet mechanism 200 will not be described here in detail since it is of the type already sold, for example under the reference LEGRAND 077501 (Euro-US standard) or under the reference LEGRAND 077511 (Italian standard). More generally, it could also be any other type of socket that can be integrated into the switchgear support 500. It will only be observed that it has a connection terminal block (not visible) enabling it to be connected the neutral wire and the ground wire of the local electrical network, as well as the free end of the cut phase wire 150 of the control mechanism 100.

This cut phase wire 150 then has a length such that when the two mechanisms are fixed in a similar manner in the switchgear support 500, it can be connected to the connection terminal block of the socket outlet mechanism 200. In this way, the control mechanism 100 can supply current to the outlet mechanism 200 or suspend this current supply, depending on the signal received by the relay 130 (taking into account the signal received by the antenna 139).

Here, the two mechanisms 100, 200 are called modular in the sense that their bases 110, 210 have substantially the shape of parallelepipeds twice as tall as they are wide. Thus, once fixed in a similar manner in the apparatus support 500, the two mechanisms 100, 200 take the place of a standard mechanism of cubic shape. It is therefore understood that these two mechanisms 100, 200 could be attached to a standard apparatus support of square shape, the square opening of which would have a width of approximately 45 millimeters.

Alternatively, the socket mechanism (200) could have a substantially cubic shape, 45 millimeters wide and high (the depth of the mechanism can be less than or equal to 45 millimeters). In this variant, the control mechanism (100) will however remain identical in shape to that shown in the figs.

In this variant, the two mechanisms can be installed in any type of apparatus support, for example in an apparatus support which can receive two cubic mechanisms 45 mm wide and high (the remaining space can be left free or can be occupied either by another modular mechanism, or by a cover). The two mechanisms can also be installed in other types of supports, larger or smaller than this.

As shown in Figure 3, the two covers 300, 400 each have the shape of a flat plate which is bordered at the rear by a flange and which is pierced in its center by an access opening (allowing access to the 190 indicator light or to the socket outlet sockets).

These hubcaps 300, 400 include latching means (not visible) provided for fixing to the apparatus support 500 (as a variant, the hubcaps 300, 400 could be fixed to the bases 110, 210 of the mechanisms 100, 200).

The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described and shown, but the skilled person will be able to make any variant according to the invention.

In particular, each of the two mechanisms (100, 200) could have a different function.

Thus, by way of example, the socket-outlet mechanism could be replaced by a mechanism having a network socket or USB socket function.

Again by way of example, the control mechanism could be designed not to provide a switching function when it receives the order from a user, but rather to provide a different function such as for example that of a circuit breaker (when the current exceeds a threshold), or that of a light emitting light whose properties vary depending on the current flowing through it.

Claims (15)

CLAIMS. 1. Mechanism (100) for electrical equipment (10), comprising: - a base (110) which comprises a side wall (111) closed at the rear by a bottom wall (112), - an electronic circuit (130) housed in the base (110), and - a connection terminal block (140) for electrical conductor, which is connected to the electronic circuit (130), characterized in that the side wall (111) and / or the bottom wall (112 ) of the base (110) has a window (113), and in that a protruding part (133) of the electronic circuit (130) extends through this window (113). 2. Mechanism (100) according to the preceding claim, wherein said protruding part (133) has an end face which extends flush with the external face of the base (110) or in the thickness of the side wall ( 111) and / or the bottom wall (112) of the base (110). 3. Mechanism (100) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the base (110) is open at the front and has a front end edge (111 E), and wherein said window (113) s' extends into the side wall (111) of the base (110) and opens onto said front end edge (111 E). 4. Mechanism (100) according to one of the preceding claims, in which the connection terminal block (140) comprises at least one connection terminal for an electrical conductor and an input conduit (142) for this electrical conductor which leads to outside the base (110) through an opening (114) separate from said window (113). 5. Mechanism (100) according to the two preceding claims, wherein the connection terminal block (140) comprises at least one operating means (143) of said connection terminal, which is accessible from outside the base (110) at across said window (113). 6. Mechanism (100) according to one of the preceding claims, in which the electronic circuit (130) comprises a first electronic card (131) equipped with a printed circuit (131 A) and in which said protruding part comprises a relay ( 133) which is fixed on the printed circuit (131 A) of the first electronic card (131). 7. Mechanism (100) according to one of the preceding claims, in which the electronic circuit (130) comprises a second electronic card (132) comprising a printed circuit (132A) and a light-emitting diode (134) fixed to the printed circuit (132A ) of the second electronic card (132). 8. Mechanism (100) according to one of the preceding claims, in which the base (110) is open at the front and in which there is provided a closure cover (170) which comprises: - a front wall (171) adapted to at least partially close the front opening of the base (110), - means for fixing (173) of the closure cover (170) to the base (110), and - a cover (175) which extends to the 'rear of the front wall (171) and which is adapted to close off part of said window (113). 9. Mechanism (100) according to the two preceding claims, wherein the front wall (171) of the closure cover (170) has a front opening (177) for the passage of light from the light emitting diode (134). 10. Mechanism (100) according to one of the two preceding claims, in which the base (110) and the cover (175) sandwich at least part of the connection terminal block (140). 11. Mechanism (100) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the base (110) has a substantially rectangular shape, the dimensions of which are substantially those of a half-cube. 12. Electrical apparatus (10) comprising: - an apparatus support (500) which delimits an opening (501), and - two mechanisms (100, 200) fixed in the opening (501) of this apparatus support ( 500), characterized in that one of the first mechanisms (200) comprises mechanical and electrical elements adapted to exercise a given electrical function, and in that the other of the mechanisms (100) conforms to one of the claims 1 to 11 and comprises an electronic circuit (130) adapted to control the execution of said electrical function. 13. Electrical equipment (10) according to the preceding claim, wherein each of the two mechanisms (100, 200) comprises a base (110, 210) of substantially parallelepiped shape. 14. Electrical equipment (10) according to one of the two preceding claims, wherein said first mechanism (200) performs a socket function. 15. Electrical equipment (10) according to one of the three preceding claims, comprising two covers (300,400) fixed on the equipment support (500).