GB2105924A

GB2105924A - Electrical connector

Info

Publication number: GB2105924A
Application number: GB08220365A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Soren N Rossberg; Soren P Christensen
Original assignee: CONBLOCK ELECTRICAL Ltd
Current assignee: CONBLOCK ELECTRICAL Ltd
Priority date: 1981-08-07
Filing date: 1982-07-13
Publication date: 1983-03-30
Also published as: GB2105924B

Abstract

An electrical connector is provided for enabling a plurality of plugs to be connected to a single electrical power supply socket. The connector has a plurality of connector sockets each of which has a plurality of openings (7) adapted to receive an earth pin and a pair of power-receiving pins of a respective plug, and a shutter (20) for each socket. Each shutter (20) is movable between a first position in which it obscures the openings (7) for the power-receiving pins and a second position in which it does not. Each shutter (20) is movable from the first position to the second position by the action of inserting the earth pin and is biassed towards the first position by a resilient member (24) forming an integral part of the shutter (20). <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Electrical connector This invention relates to an electrical connector for enabling a plurality of plugs to be connected to a single electrical power supply socket. There are various situations in which such a connector may be useful, and one for which there is an increasing demand is where the various components of a socalled "hi-fi" system have to be connected to a mains supply. In many cases there will only be one mains socket which may have to supply power to two, three or even four separate components of the hi-fi system. One application ofthe present invention, though not the only application, is in the supply of power to such a system.

According to the present invention there is provided an electrical connector for enabling a plurality of plugs to be connected to a single electrical power supply socket, the connector comprising a plurality of connector sockets each of which has a plurality of openings adapted to receive an earth pin and a pair of power-receiving pins of a respective plug, and a shutter for each socket, each shutter being movable between a first position in which it obscures the openings for the power-receiving pins and a second position in which it does not, each shutter being movable from the first position to the second position by the action of inserting the earth pin and being biassed towards the first position by a resilient member forming an integral part of the shutter.

In the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 is a perspective view showing a connector according to the present invention and one plug for connection thereto; Figure la is a front elevation ofthe connector of Figure 1; Figure 2 is a view of the connector of Figure 1 taken in the direction of the arrow A in Figure 1; Figure 3a shows a shutter which forms part ofthe connector, in plan view; Figure 3b shows the shutter of Figure 3a in an end view; Figure 4a is an exploded side view of the plug shown in Figure 1; Figure 4b is a plan view ofthe lower section ofthe plug shown in Figure 4a; Figure 4c is an underplan view of the upper section of the plug shown in Figure 4a; Figure 5 shows a printed circuit board which forms part of the connector;; Figure 6 shows the interior ofthe connector with the printed circuit bpard of Figure 5 therein, the reverse side of the board being visible to that which is shown in Figure 5; and Figure 7 is a circuit diagram of an alternative form of printed circuit board.

Figure 1 shows a connector 1 which receives power from a cable 2 attached at its other end to a plug (not shown) which can be inserted into a conventional mains outlet socket. The connector has a two-part plastic housing having a main portion 3 which is in the form of a box open on the side not visible in Figure 1, on which side the box is closed by a lid. The lid and box are connected together by screws. Four recesses 5 are formed in the upper edge ofthe housing portion 3 each one being adapted to receive a respective plug 6. The base of each recess has three aligned apertures 7, of which two are visible in Figure 1 in each recess, each aperture being adapted to receive one of the three pins 8 of a respective plug. The centre pin constitutes the earth pin, and the outer pins are the live and neutral respectively.

Turning now to Figure 2, this is a plan view showing the inside ofthe portion 3 ofthe connector housing. In diagonally opposite corners, the portion 3 has upstanding threaded pillars 10 for receiving the screws mentioned above which hold together the portion 3 and the lid. Towards the lower left-hand corner, the housing portion is provided with a window 11, which can also be seen in Figure 1, through which in use can be seen a neon indicator light which indicates whether or not power is being supplied to the connector. The indicator light is shown in Figure 6. Further windows 63 are also provided for a purpose referred to below in connection with Figure 7. It is convenient for the windows 11 and 63 to be integral with the material of the housing portion 3.

This can be achieved, for example, by the portion 3 having a non-transparent surface everywhere except at the locations of the windows, so that the portion 3 is transparent just at those locations. The interior of the housing portion 3 is provided with two upstanding, longitudinally extending walls 12 and 13, the wall 12 being somewhat lower than the wall 13. A plurality of transverse walls 14 extend between the walls 12 and 13 and between the wall 13 and the wall 15 which defines the base of the recesses 5. There are thus defined four compartments 16 and four compartments 17, each recess having a respective compartment 16 and a respective compartment 17, associated therewith.

For each of the pairs of compartments 16 and 17 three U-shaped notches 18 are formed in the upper edge of the wall 13. These notches extend downwards to a level at which they are aligned with the apertures 7 formed in the wall 15. In addition, a U-shaped notch 19 is formed in the upper edge of the wall 12, and extends down to the same level as the notches 18.

Within each ofthe compartments 16 there is a shutter 20. This shutter is indicated in one of the compartments, and in practice a similar shutter would be present in each of the other compartments.

The shutter serves to close off the apertures 7 which are to receive the live and neutral pins 8, until the earth pin has been partially inserted. The details of the shutter 20 are to found in Figures 3a and 3b. The shutter 20 is formed as a single, integral piece of insulating material, preferably a plastic material.

One suitable plastic which may be used for this purpose is a polycarbonate. The shutter is in the form of This print takes account of replacement documents later filed to enable the application to comply with the formal requirements ofthe Patents Rules 1982.

a plate having apertures 21 for the passage there thrcugh o the live and neutral pins, and an aperture 22 for the àrth pin The apelXul e 22 has an entry portion 23 which is frusto-zon oa' r form. At one end the shutter is provided with a tongue 24 which is resiliently defiectable towards the main body of the shutter. At one edge, the shutter is provided with a lip 25 which serves to iocate the shutter 2G in the compartment 16 (see Figure 2). The lip 25 is received in a corresponding recess in the top of the wall 13.

To prevent the shutter 20 falling out of the compartment 16 the shutter is provided with a lug 26 which is slidable in an aperture 27 in the adjacent wall of the compartment (see Figures la, 3a and 3b).

When the connector is not in use, the apertures 21 and 22 are located rightwardly, as viewed in Figure 2, of the corresponding apertures 7, 18 and 19. When a plug begins to be inserted into the connector, the earth pin bears against the left-hand part of the entry portion 23, thereby causing the shutter to shift leftwards against a biassing force exerted by the tongue 24. Continued insertion of the earth pin brings the shutter to a position where the apertures 21 and 22 are aligned with the corresponding apertures in the walls 12, 13 and 15, so that the live and neutral pins are able to pass through the respective apertures 7 and 18, and the earth pin, which is longer than the other two pins, is able to pass through apertures 7, 18and 19.

Turning now to Figure 5, power is distributed in the connector from the cable 2 to the four plugreceiving sockets by means of a printed circuit board. This board is mounted within the connector and may conveniently be retained by studs formed on the inside of the lid which forms the second portion of the housing. These studs serve to locate apertures 40 which are formed in the circuit board. The circuit board carries a live bus bar 41 and a neutral bus bar 42, as well as four earth portions 43. The earth portions are interconnected on the reverse side of the circuit board by an earth bus bar 44, which is indicated in broken lines.

Figure 6 shows the lid of the connector with the printed circuit of Figure 5 mounted therein. The conductors shown in Figure 5 are on the reverse side of the printed circuit board to that which is visible in Figure 6. As will be seen in Figure 6, the conductor wires of the cable 2 terminates in a terminal block 45, and the earth terminal of the terminal block 45 is in conductive connection with the earth bus bar 44. The live terminal is connected to the live bus bar 41 shown in Figure 5, and the neutral terminal is connected to the neutral bus bar 42 shown in Figure 5.

Four sets of clips 46, each set consisting of th ree clips, are mounted on the circuit board. Each clip is generally U-shaped, with a base 47 and two upstanding arms 48. Each set of clips is received within a respective one ofthe compartments 17 shown in Figure 2. The arrangement is such that when a plug is inserted into the connectorthethree pins ofthe plug, after passing through the apertures 18, each pass through a respective one of the clips 46 so as to be in conductive connection with the side walls 48 thereof. The clips are made of a resilient conductive material, for example copper. In this way power is supplied to the pins of the plug from the connector.

Figure 6 also shows the neon indicator light mentioned above, which is given reference numeral 49.

The indicator light 49 is connected between the live and neutral bus bars in series with a resistor 50, and series to indicate when power is being supplied to the connector.

The modified circuit shown in Figure 7 incorporates also a respective neon indicator light 60 for each socket of the connector connected between live and neutral in series with a resistor 61. Each light 60 serves to indicate when power is being supplied via a particular socket of the connector. Each socket is individually protected by a respective fuse 62. Each light 60 is visible from the outside through a respective one of the windows 63 (see Figure 1). All the printed circuitry is on one side of the board.

A plug 6 is shown in more detail in Figures 4a to 4c. For simplicity, the pins have been omitted from these Figures, except for one pin shown illustratively in Figure 4b. It will be understood that in fact the plug would contain three such pins, electrical cable 30, which can be seen in Figure 1, would be connected to the rear end of respective ones of the pins, for example by a grub screw (not shown). As indicated in Figure 4a, the plug comprises an upper part 31 and a lower part 32. The parts are held together by a screw whose head is received in the recess 33 in the part 32, and the threaded portion of which is received in a pillar 34 formed in the interior of the part 31.

Claims

1. An electrical connector for enabling a plurality of plugs to be connected to a single electrical power supply socket, the connector comprising a plurality of connector sockets each of which has a plurality of openings adapted to receive an earth pin and a pair of power-receiving pins of a respective plug, and a shutter for each socket, each shutter being movable between a first position in which it obscures the openings for the power-receiving pins and a second position in which it does not, each shutter being movable from the first position to the second position by the action of inserting the earth pin and being biassed towards the first position by a resilient member forming an integral part ofthe shutter.

2. A connector according to claim 1, wherein the resilient member of the shutter is in the form of a tongue extending from one end thereof.

3. A connector according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the shutter is of a plastic material.

4. A connector according to any preceding claim, wherein each shutter is retained in a respective compartment defined by walls formed on the con nector.

5. A connector according to claim 4, wherein each shutter is provided with a lug which is slidably received in a corresponding recess in one ofthe said walls, thereby to prevent the shutter falling out ofthe compartment.

6. A connector according to claim 4 or 5, wherein each said compartment comprises a pair or parallel walls one of which has said plurality of openings formed therein and the other of which has a corresponding aligned plurality of openings, each shutter also having a corresponding plurality of openings, each shutter, when in its second position permitting the said pins to pass successively through the openings in the said one compartment wall, through the openings in the shutter and through the openings in the said other compartment wall.

7. A connector according to claim 6, wherein adjacent to each compartment is a second compartment one of whose walls is the aforementioned said other compartment wall, terminals for receiving the said pins being located in each of the said second compartments.

& A connector according to claim 7, wherein each said second compartment has a further wall having an opening through which, in use the earth pin of a plug passes.

9. A connector according to any preceding claim, comprising an indicator lamp for indicating when power is being supplied to the connector, the lamp being visible through a window formed in a housing of the connector.

10. A connector according to any preceding claim, comprising a respective indicator lamp for each socketthereoffor indicating when power is passing through said socket each lamp being visible through a window formed in a housing of the connector.

11. A connector according to claim 9 or 1 O, wherein the housing is generally non-transparent and the or each window is in the form of an integral transparent portion of the housing.

12. An electrical connector substantially as herein described with reference to any one of the embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings.