GB2202096A - 13amp 3 pin electrical connector - Google Patents

Abstract

A connector is made up of a base moulding (B), with a permanently attached inner moulding. A slidably engaged lid (A), fitted with a stowable T shaped handle (C), is locked in situ by a radially movable hook (K) accessed from the underside. The plug pins are rivetted to conductors connecting the same to the connector means (X,Y,Z), which are remote from the live and neutral pins, and radially disposed within an arc of less than 30 DEG , permitting the easy connection of equal length wires which are retained by hinged disconnectable biassed spring blades, radially movable upon their inboard ends, and locked by their outboard ends and the lid when fitted. A cable clamp made of a plurality of hinged, mutually supportive paired blades (T,U) permitting easy access of cables large and small. Connection and use by impaired persons is envisaged. <IMAGE>

Description

13amp. 250v. Electrical Connector The present invention relates to the field of electrical connectors, and in particular to 13amp. 250v. connectors according to BS 1363A though without prejudice to other devices.

There exist in this world a large number of relatively handicapped people - for example, many of our increasingly elderly population. All these people, in general value their independence and this to a large extent revolves around their ability to look after themselves. In everyday life this means being able to perform such mundane tasks as connecting, inserting and withdrawing the standard 13amp three pin 250v electric plug, to connect their kettles, vacuum cleaners, radios and televisions, and so on, to the power supply. The configuration of such plugs is, in this country, largely governed by British Standard 1363A: this, though is admirable in intention, tends largely to preserve the status quo, and like most other standards tends to define past states of the art to which it applies.In the case of BS1363A, it upholds desirable criteria in terms of insulation and physical requirements, but simultaneously insists upon the retention of antediluvian means of connecting the electric cable into the said plug, by insisting upon the retention of screws. Such screws are not necessarily essential to the functioning of such a plug, and put the connecting of the same beyond the means of many otherwise quite capable of doing such a job, due to impaired mobility of their hands, these persons also frequently have great trouble in removing or replacing such a plug from the electrical supply socket.

Previous efforts to eliminate such uncalled for irritations in connecting and using an electrical plug have included the following different approaches, for example: ..... preconnecting the said electrical cable to a connecting means, usually supplied with a rapid connecting system, and in turn pressing the said means into the body of the said plug. Whilst this marginally simplifies the operation of connecting the cable it adds greatly to the expense and complication of the whole assembly, .... the provision of a screwless terminal such that the said electric wires are connected by being entrapped beneath a hinged lid formed upon the connecting means. The said lids are small, and require force to press shut, but nevertheless an advance upon screws, needing less manual dexterity.

.... the provision of insulation piercing conductors eliminating the need for stripping the insulation sleeve from the said wire. Such systems tend to be better suited to factory production lines if reliable results are to be obtained.

.... cable clamping means of varying types. Those best suited to cater for a wide range of cable sizes employ screws to apply pressure, either directly or indirectly. The simplest, if able to grip small cables usually require either modification, or strength, on the part of the user, if they are to fit large cables .... inserting plugs into, and removing the same from sockets takes a certain amount of force. The fingers of many people are unable to exert such a force, and in an effort to assist the same some plugs are fitted with a lid means whereon a ring is formed as an extension thereof, normal to the lower face of the said plug, and lying upon the centreline, as drawn through the earth pin centre and the cable entry point.Such a device is an improvement but requires a strong index finger, since only one finger can be employed for the task, and thus, though an advance upon the present state of the art, one of limited usefulness.

Objects of the present invention are the overcoming of such complexities and disadvantages, in the interests of both those users with impaired mobility and the healthy.

The present invention is outlined in the accompanying figures, in which for clarity's sake the same references refer to the same parts throughout.

In figure 1 is seen an elevation upon the right hand side of the plug, in which the connecting pins are seen, E being the earth, L being the live, the Neutral pin being obscured behind the same. At B is the base assembly, the lid thereof at A, and the T shaped handle C lying thereon in the stowed position, the said handle being pivottably mounted thereon.

In figure 2 is a plan upon the said plug, showing the said handle in the stowed position. At D may be seen the pivot bearing housing assemblies upon which it rotates, and at F outside the said bearing means D, further bearing and locating means F. The said handle is preferably a one piece moulding, in which the shaft thereof has, at base and head, lateral extensions upon either side, those at the head forming a T bar that may the more easily be gripped, either stowed or in the operative position, and those at the base, lying in the same plane as those at the head, forming the pivoting and locating means upon which the said handle rotates and is held by assemblies D and F.That portion of the said lower lateral extension located in D is of circular cross section, that portion of the said same extension located in F is of circular cross section save that the said circular profile is cut by two chords of the said circle intercepting each other at such an angle that when one such said flat produced thereby is engaged in a corresponding co-operative flat formed in the said housing F the said handle means is held thereby in the stowed position, and when rooted to bring the same into the operative position the second flat upon the said shaft engages with the aforesaid flat upon the said housing means F to hold the said handle C in the said operative position, the said housing F springing sufficiently to enable the said rotation to occur.In figure 1 it will be seen that the said housing F is possessed of open jaws, the said bearing means D being similarly profiled; the said handle C is fitted thereinto by pressing the same into the said jaws, and causing the same to spring sufficiently to accept the same, which being entered thereinto, are subsequently securely held in normal use. The T bar at the head of the said handle enables an impaired user to lift the said handle from the stowed to the operative position with less difficulty than other shapes, and the configuration of the handle employed permits the said plug to retain relatively innocuous profile in the stowed position, making the same safer in use, whilst economising on the use of space in packing and transporting the same in the making and marketing operations.

The spring form requires relatively minor force to shift the handle from one position to the other, and is designed to hold the said handle in position whilst the said user removes the hand employed to bring the same from the stowed position to operative position, to replace the same to better advantage to insert or remove the said plug into or from a socket.

In figure 3 is a plan upon the underside of the said plug. At L, E, and N may be seen the connector pins. At H may be seen an aperture in the said plug base, communicating with the interior thereof, and isolated from any electrical contact, through which the fuse may be seen, and the rating thereof visually checked. Fuse colours and ratings may be displayed in writing upon the underside of the said base. At J is a further aperture, and lying, visible therein, is a locking lever K, seen in the locked position, which may be seen in elevation in figure 4, which is an elevation upon the left hand side of the plug, in section, upon the plane of r - r in figure 3. The locking lever K is pivotably engaged in an extension of the said plug base. at M.At the left hand end of the said locking lever K a lateral extension P projects outwardly to lock in a corresponding recess in the said plug base B to lock the said plug closed.

At the opposite end a hook, whose jaws may be springable, engages upon an extension of the said plug lid A at R. The said plug lid A may be disengaged from the said hooking means Q by moving the said lever K laterally by inserting a small lever, for example a screwdriver, into the aperture S and bending the said lever K outwardly, so disengaging the said lateral extension P from its co-operative point of engagement in the said base B, and moving the said lever K radially about M to disengage the said hooking means Q from the said extension of the lid A, which may now be slidden away from the cable entry point in the plane of the underside of the said plug, base, and lifted off, leaving an assembly as seen in figure 5, in plan, in which may be seen, depicted by dotted lines, upon either side thereof, at 1 & 1, 2 & 2, 3 & 3, the receptors in the said plug base which accept the same therein, upon the lid being fitted, the co-operative corresponding projections shown in figure 6 at 1, 2., and 3.

At the cable entry end of the said plug the said lid A engages with the said base B upon mating projections thereof, which slidably engage with the mating receptors, 3 & 3, formed in the end wall of the said lid A.

The pull of the handle C is thus evenly transferred to the lid A, and thence to the base B, the said locking lever K acting solely as a locking mechanism and, being some 35mm in length overall, and 25mm from the pivot M to the extremity at P, of a size more easily handled than other locking means.

To fit the lid it is located upon the said plug base B and slidden toward the cable entry end, so engaging the said projections upon their respective receptors. The lever K is then rotated about M to bring the hooking means Q to bear upon the said extension R in the said lid A, and pressed home. The said lever K bends laterally, and outwardly to permit the same to pass the lateral extension P about the said base means B, as seen in a scrap section upon the same, seen in the locked position, in figure 7.

Reverting to figure 5: at X, Y, and Z respectively may be seen the neutral earth and live connector assemblies, in the shut position, of which more below. At cf is the cartridge fuse assembly, at T and U the co-operative jaws of the cable clamp assembly. The said cable clamping means is formed of a plurality of co-operative paired assemblies, in the preferred embodiment injection moulded, each such assembly being made up of two parts, as seen for example at T and U, which may be seen in greater detail in figure 8, and figure 9 which is an elevation upon the root end of the said blade T in the direction of the arrow V.At "a" may be seen a plurality of extensions of the surface of the said blade T disposed horizontally about the blade root, like extensions formed upon the surface of the next blade adjacent to the said T, namely U, and upon any further plurality employed in conjunction therewith being so located that they do not, when the said blades are correctly assembled, interfere with each other, but lie between each other fitting alternately. The said extensions are so profiled in section that the underside thereof slopes outwardly and upwardly, as shown, to the apex of the said extension, the upper side whereof forms upon its upper side, an included angle with the surface of the said blade not greater than 90 degrees.The said extensions serve two purposes: firstly to take up manufacturing tolerances in the said blades and the said root housing means, and secondly to ensure that the said blade means is press fitted into the said root housing, as a collective unit of such plurality as is employed, and locked thereinto by the bias of the said extensions "a", and are thus unable to drop out when the said plug, the lid having been removed for whatever reason, is inverted for whatever purpose. In configuration the innermost of the said blades, that is that pair seen at T, is the longest, each successive such blade as is employed being shorter than the last, thus U is shorter than T.The said blades T are located symmetrically about the approximate centre line of the cable entry : earth pin centre axis, and so placed about the same that the included angle at their tips upon the said centreline, at which point they are contiguous or nearly so, upon the cable entry side thereof, is less than 180 degrees upon the cable entry side.Each such blade is diminished in cross sectional width by a vertical groove, shown by way of example, unilaterally disposed, at "b", the said diminution or plurality thereof being located at that point at which the said blade emerges from the said root housing, or nearly 8o. The said diminution "b" may be made up of a plurality of such grooves, disposed upon one or both sides, symmetrically or asymmetrically about the same, the said diminution acting as a hinge means in the said blade about which the same bends in use, bending radially outwards when a cable is pressed between the same, the uppermost side of the said blades being at their free ends, higher than at their root ends, sloping upwardly from the hinge points "b" to their free ends, the said rise making a blade profile easier to introduce the electric cable in between.

When the said cable clamped therein is outwardly pulled towards the said cable entry point, the said jaws T gripping the smallest cables likely to be sensibly employed therein, and being by their nature biased to returning to their free state position, outwardly pressed onto the said cable, hold the same, resisting the said pulling force. If this force be increased to the extent that the said blades T are inclined to bend toward the said cable entry point under load the secondary blades take up the load thereon, supporting the first, and any further blade or plurality thereof likewise. Thus the jaws T are backed up by jaws U and so on. Larger cables are held by both jaws and if large enough, by any further such plurality fitted.Such a configuration is advantageous since the forces required to effect a cable entry remain low whether the said cable be large or small, unlike the conventional blade clamping means, some of which require very considerable force to insert a large cable.

The plug base B is made up of two mouldings: a base plate, B1 seen in figure 10, and an extension thereof B2 seen in figure 11, both such views being in plan. Taking figure 10 first, at N, E & L are the neutral earth and live plug pin heads, in the preferred embodiment moulded into the said base, and so shaped as to be locked thereinto, the insulating sleeves upon pins N and L over their upper parts as required by BS1363A being moulded at the same time as the said base B1. At H is the fuse rating aperture, and at J the locking lever aperture. The datum of the surface of the said moulding is shown as "datum" in figure 1.

That area shown hatched at W1 lies somewhat below datum, to a depth sufficient to receive conductor strips as outlined hereafter, that area shown cross hatched as W2 lies at least twice as far as W1 below datum as above defined, and W3 above the said datum. Upon the centres of the upper surfaces of the heads of the pins, N, E, & L lie integral vertical extensions, n, e, & 1 onto which are placed, and by which are located and connected, conductor strips, being metal pressings, as shown in plan in figure 12, item 5 being upon the neutral pin, 6 upon the earth pin, and 7 upon the live pin, the said conductor strips being secured thereto by spinning down the excess in length of the extensions n, e, and 1 over the depth of the said conductor strips, the said excess being regulated to permit the formation of a neat rivet head, for which purpose the said n, e, and 1 may be counter bored if required, and spun down by any convenient means, or pressed down by any convenient die form. Item 7 forms the input end of the said fuse holder, shown with the fuse in situ as "cf" in figure 5, whose further, output, end, is shown as item 8. Items 5 and 8 are downwardly bent to locate the same within the confines of those areas shown as W2, such location permitting the easier retention of electrical safety standards, without incurring any increase in the overall thickness of the said base moulding B1. Located upon the upper surface of the said moulding B1 is a second moulding B2, shown in plan in figure 11, which said moulding, having been properly positioned thereon is permanently attached to the said B1, by any convenient means, for example by ultra sonic welding, or by adhesives, or any such other means as desired.The biased spring loaded connector blocks, figure 13, are located at their respective innermost ends by springable moulded jaws, formed integrally therewith, engaging upon extensions of B2 at x, y, & z, and at their outermost ends, by being "sprung" into indents formed in the end wall of the said moulding B2 (as seen in a scrap section thereon upon the axis of the earth pin delineated as c - c, figure 12,) wherein the said indent housing is seen to communicate with the exterior thereof. The said connector block may thus be released at its outer end by being resprung from above or by the insertion of an implement such as a screw small driver through the said communicating opening, and springing the said block inwardly, to clear the said indent.The said connector blocks, which may be colour coded, and marked clearly with the lead to which they refer, the said markings being repeated upon the base, such that in the event their removal therefrom they may be properly replaced therein upon reassembly, are otherwise identical, and such a block is seen in elevation in figure 13, wherein at Y is seen the body of the said connector block, into which is moulded a spring blade, the said block and the said blade being of similar width, that said width permitting the insertion of the said blade and block into the said connector block housing in the said moulding B2, the said blade being seen at g. At H are the springable jaws thereof, and at the opposite extremity the springable catch whereby the said block is held by the said indent above described. The said blocks are held in the closed position by the said lid, A.

To wire the said plug the outer cable cover is cut away for some 30mm, the neutral, earth, if present, and live wire stripped of their respective insulation over the last 10 - 12mm thereof, using the wire stripper and guide built into the underside of the said lid means A, as seen in figure 6 at j and k, the plug having first been opened up as above described by operating the locking lever K. The aforesaid connectors are released at their outer ends, being sprung out of the indents and the wires passed under their inner most ends, each into the appropriate channel, and the said connectors pressed shut.The said wires are connected by the pressure of the said spring blades, which urge the same outwardly and downwardly onto the said conductor strips, and by their bias, resisting the extraction therefrom by mechanical interference when a pull is applied thereto from the cable entry aperture direction. Soldered or other rigid wires can be passed directly under the said connector blocks without their first being sprung open as described. The cable is then placed into the cable clamping means, the lid re-located, slidden into place and re-locked as above described, and which said lid cannot be unlocked unless first withdrawn from the socket into which it is connected.

The said arrangement advantageously permits the wires to remain virtually straight, the included angle between the centre lines of the neutral and live connectors being under 30 degrees, the earth connector centreline bisecting the same. To achieve the said geometry the said assembly may be asymmetrically disposed relative to the centre line of the said plug as drawn through the centre of the said earth pin, and cable entry aperture. An additional advantage thereby conferred is that the said neutral earth and live wires are all of the same length, and do not have to be bent into elaborate configurations.

The present application is written with specific reference to connecting plugs, but is made without prejudice to the use of such items as the cable clamp, hooking mechanism, and connector blocks in other articles having need of the same, for example portable sockets as used on wandering leads.

In the invention above described there has been demonstrated an electrical plug or connector which requires very little manual dexterity to open up, to wire up or disconnect, and which does not disintegrate into a pile of spare parts as soon as the user attempts to wire up or disconnect the same, into whose cable clamping means cables of greatly varying sizes may be easily entered, and removed, without the employment of tools needing any dexterity in use, whose lid is easily removed and replaced, and upon which a handle, easily accessed in the stowed position, provides an effective handhold, even to those with impaired hands, relative to other common plugs and connectors, for the insertion and extraction of the said plug means into or from.an electrical outlet socket.

The totality of the present invention therefore offers a coherent entity whose design brings about an advance upon the present state of the art, to the great advantage of the end user, the said advantage being of commercial value to the manufacturer.

As a further aid to the impaired users of the said plug means the said plug may be packaged in a packaging means according to any description whereby the said plug, having been opened up, with or without removal from the said packaging means for the purpose, may be held therein, for example upon a table, the more easily, whilst being wired up, the said combination being more easily grasped, and more stable than the said plug means on its own, having a flat base, which same feature will be equally welcomed by most able bodied users as an advance upon the present state of the art, the said packaging means providing a secure means of delivering full wiring instructions with the said plug in a large enough form to be legible by the majority of persons, and with such illustrations as desired for the better instruction thereof, and which may include a levering means to perform the work.

The manufacture of the said plug base moulding B1 without the said connector pins being set therein at the same time is not precluded, the said pins being held therein after assembly by the inner said moulding B2, whose profile may be modified accordingly the better to perform the said duties.

As a further aid to those with impaired sight the said plug may be constructed with components of differing colours, for example the base moulding B1, and the inner base moulding B2 may differ in colour, the lid may be of a different colour to the said combined base moulding's base, B1, and the handle made the more visible by rendering the same in a contrasting colour. This last feature may have advantages in other situations, for example in workshops on power tool leads. The said features used severally or in combination may have marketing, and hence commercial advantages of value to their maker, in a competitive market place.

Claims (6)

WHAT WE CLAIM IS:

1. The employment, in a three pin 13amp 250v connector, or similar device for the same purpose, of a lid means possessed of a graspable, stowable, radially moveable handle, "T" shaped at it's upper end, having further lateral extensions at the opposite and lower end thereof, which lie in the same plane as the first mentioned forming the said T, locating and bearing the said handle within cooperative mounting, bearing and locating means, howsoever performed, situated at the approximate centre of the triangle enclosed by a line drawn through the centres of the neutral, earth and live pins and pivotably mounted thereat upon an axis approximately parallel to the underside of the said plug and to a line drawn through the centres of the upper ends of the live and neutral pins, the said mounting means permitting the radial movement of the said handle between the stowed and operative positions, and the said mounting and bearing means securing the same in either position.

2. The employment of a T shaped handle means according to claim 1 above wherein the said handle is mounted in springable mounting and bearing means located upon either side of the said plug lid centreline, and entered thereinto by springing said mounting means about the lower lateral extensions thereof, substantially as disclosed and shown in figures 1 and 2 of the accompanying drawings.

3. The employment of a T shaped handle means according to the above claims wherein the said handle is located in the stowed and operative positions by further springable mounting bearing and locating means engaging upon axial further extensions of the said lateral extensions of the said handle, which said further extensions are of circular cross section, save where cut by two chords, the said chords intersecting at such an angle that when one of the said flats formed thereby is engaged with a co-operative flat formed in the said springable housing, bearing and locating means the said handle is located thereby in the stowed a position, and when the second such flat is engaged the said handle is located in the operative position, substantially as disclosed and shown in figures 1 and 2 of the accompanying drawings.

4. The employment, in a 250v 3 pin 13amp plug, or other such device, as above defined in the accompanying description, if a construction means wherein a first part, for example a base, has a slidably engaged second part, for example a lid means, dis-engagably slidden thereonto through co-operative engaging means, to stops preventing further movement in the same plane when properly engaged, and which is subsequently locked in situ by a radially movable lever pivotably engaged upon an extension of the said base means, having at one end a hook means, which may be possessed of sprung jaws, and at the opposite end a lateral extension, and which said hook means, when the said lid is slidden into the said closed position, may be engaged upon an extension thereof, and locked thereat, by the radial movement of the said lever, whose further end is deflected laterally in the process of closing, through the said lateral extension slidably engaging the said base means, to spring back laterally into it's normal undeflected shape upon the said lateral extension springing into and engaging an indent in the said base means, so shaped as to secure the said lever in the locked position, substantially as described herein with reference to figures -3, 4 and 7 of the accompanying drawings.

5. The employment, in a 250v 3 pin 13amp plug, or other such device, as above defined in the accompanying description, of a radially located array of neutral, earth and live wire connector means, howsoever the said connectors are performed or how the said connectors are joined to their respective power supply, delivery or earthing means, lying within an arc of 30 degrees, as drawn through the centreline of the said neutral connector and the said live connector, the said earth connector approximately bisecting the arc so formed, whose common centre lies between the rear face of the neutral and live pins and the rear face of the plug base at the cable entry point and which said array may be symetrically or asymetrically disposed about the centreline of the said plug, substantially as described in the accompanying description and as positioned by way of example in figure 5 of the accompanying drawings at X, Y, and Z.

6. The provision of any packaging means, howsoever formed, designed to render the connection of the said plug means according to the preceding claims the easier, by so shaping the said packaging means that that part of the said device into which the said cable must be fitted is held in a more stable state than the same part would enjoy if devoid of the support of the said packaging means, and in which said packaging means may be included a levering means, howsoever performed, for use in the said operation as above and herein described, and which same packaging means may also conveniently enclose an instruction means for the end user possessed of sufficient illustrations and of large enough type to render it the more intelligible both to those with impaired eyesight and those possessed of doubts as to the proper course of action, to the great advantage of both.

6. The employment, in a 250v 3 pin 13amp plug, or other such device, as above defined in the accompanying description, of a cable clamping device wherein a cooperative pair of baldes, or a cooperative plurality thereof, of whatsoever material, each possessed, in plan, upon the assembly in the said plug base, of a reduced section, howsoever formed, adjacent to the point of emergence from their respective root housings, whereat they are, in effect, hinged, through the bending of the said material whereof they are made, the said blades standing normal to the plane of the lower face of said plug base, and having their root ends securely held in extensions of the said plug base, their free ends projecting inwardly and symettrically disposed, or nearly so, about the approximate centreline of the said power cable path, to form, at their conjunction, in plan, upon the cable entry side thereof, an angle of under one hundred and eighty degrees, prior to the said blades being parted by the entry of the said cable, with that pair of the said co-operative blades nearest the said cable entry point being supported, in plan, by extensions of the said root housings projecting inwardly, towards the said plug base centreline beyond the said hinge points, thereby rendering it impossible for the said blades to turn back toward the said cable entry point, and allowing them to support further such blades mounted inboard of the same, substantially as described herein and with reference to items T and U of figure 5 of the accompanying drawings.

7. The employment, in a 250v 3 pin 13amp plug, or other such device, as above defined in the accompanying description, of a cable clamping device according to the preceding claim wherein the said blades are of greater height at their free ends than at their root ends.

8. The employment, in a 250v 3 pin 13amp plug, or other such device, as above defined in the accompanying description, of a cable clamping device according to the preceding claim wherein the root ends of the said blades are press fitted into the said plug base, the tolerances in the said blade assembly and the said plug base being absorbed by biased extensions of the end and lateral surfaces of the said blades, staggered such that they do not cause mutual interference, and shaped substantially as described herein and with reference to figures 8 and 9 of the accompanying drawings, to prevent inadvertent dis-assembly when the said plug is opened up for connecting, disconnecting or any other operation.

9. The employment, in a 250v 3 pin 13amp plug, or other such device, as above defined in the accompanying description, of any of features of the preceding claims in whatsoever combination.

Amendments to the claims have been filed as follows CLAIMS WHAT WE CLAIM IS: 1. The employment in a 13amp 250v three pin connector, or similar device for the same or similar purpose, of the following features in any combination: a) A moulded baseplate, which same may be formed about the said neutral, earth, and live connector pins, locating the same permanently therein, the upper portion of whose said neutral and live pins an insulating sleeve as is required by BS 1363A is formed by the same said moulding process.

b) neutral, live and earth pins whose inboard extremities are possessed of integral extensions as deformable shafts which same are used to locate, and attach further conductor strips, by forming the same as rivet heads subsequent to the said assembly, and which said pin profiles are substantially formed by extrusion as a means of manufacture.

c) such aforesaid conductors engaging upon their respective connecting pins, and permanently connected to the same by spinning said rivet head portion down or forming the same with a die, according to any convenient means, to lock the same securely together in good electrical contact, and which said conductors, being radially disposed at their point of wire connection about the approximate centreline of the plug base, permit the said plug to be connected, with the aid of co-operative connector block assemblies claimed below, to an electric cable whose neutral, live, and earth wires (where the latter are present) areof the same length, the included angle between the said neutral and live wire axes being under 30 degrees, the said earth connector axis bisecting the same.

d) a baseplate assembly whose lower surface is pierced by the said connector pins, and whose upper surface is so profiled as to permit the said conductors to be let into the said base to locate the said conductors, and to assist in the maintenance of the electrical insulation standards required -whilst minimising the overall depth of the said plug base.

e) a second inner moulding, surmounted upon the said baseplate assembly, and forming thereon the said connector channels, and connector block mounting means, part or all of the said cable clamping means root housing, and including an extension thereof forming a spigot means whereon the said locking hook lever is rotatably engaged prior to the said inner moulding assembly being fitted onto the said baseplate, and the said spigot extension being co-operatively engaged upon the interior surface of the adjacent sidewall forming a part of the said baseplate assembly, whereafter the said inner moulding is permanently attached to the said baseplate assembly by whatsoever means, and may hold the said neutral, live and earth pins, and their allied conductors in situ, allied fuse mounting means, and further fuse mounting means firmly in situ, to insulate such exposed areas of the said conductors as required and to prevent the total disarray, and inadvertent disassembly, frequently encountered by users of such connecting plugs when they are opened up for connecting the same to an electric cable for use.

f) a plurality of moulded connector block assemblies, which same, may be colour coded and clearly labelled, with similar coding letters appearing upon the said inner moulding and/baseplate moulding to ensure their correct re-location if removed for whatever purpose, and which said connector block assemblies each have at their inboard end sprung moulded jaws, formed integrally with the said blocks, rotatably engaging upon extensions of the said inner moulding means as described in claim e) above, and possessed at the approximate mid-point of their length, upon their underside of a biased spring blade whose width is normal to the longitudinal axis thereof, such that when assembled in situ, the said blade extends downwardly and outwardly therefrom towards towards the outside edge of the said plug assembly, the said blade being of width such that it may be fitted into the said pre-formed connector channels without undue lateral clearance, to outwardly and downwardly urge any wire laid beneath the said blade onto the said connector strip thereunder forming a part of the base of the said connector channel into intimate contact with the said strip, so forming a sound electrical connection between the said wire and the said conductor, the said blade being moulded into the said connector block, whose outboard end is so shaped as to permit the same to be sprung into an indent formed in the outer edge of the said inner moulding assembly and from which said indent the said connector block may be sprung by levering the same back from above, or by pressing the same out through an opening in the said inner moulding's outer edge communicating with the said indent, using any convenient tool, for example a small screwdriver, for the purpose, so permitting, if required, the withdrawal of the otherwise locked wire.

g) a baseplate and co-operative inner moulding means possessed of a plurality of mounting means slidably engaged in the plane of the base plate, into which the said mounting means co-operative assemblies, formed in the lid assembly thereof, are slidden for the purpose of locating the said lid thereon, and of transferring loads from one to the other, the plurality of the said assemblies, when correctly positioned being locked relative to each other by a radially movable locking means as above claimed pivotably engaged upon the said base and inner moulding assembly, and upon rotation engaging an extension of the said lid means by an openjawed hook upon the one end of the said lever, which same may require the springing of the said jaws about the same to properly engage the said extension, and whenever so engaged, the opposite end of the said lever is held locked in situ, having, in the process of the rotation required to effect the said engagement, been bent laterally, normal to the plane of the said rotation, as a lateral extension of the said lever end engages a co-operative portion of the said baseplate interfering with the path of the said lever whilst the same is being rotated, and upon clearing the said interfering extension of the said baseplate,springing back normal to the plane of rotation, to resume it's previous shape, whilst engaging upon the upper surface of the said extension, the lower side of the said lever's lateral extension, it being contiguous therewith; the said lever being disengaged therefrom by being bent laterally with the aid of any convenient lever, for example a small screwdriver inserted into an aperture formed in the lower surface of the said baseplate beside that aperture through which the said lever is moved, prior to being rotated in the reverse direction to disengage the said hooking means from the said lid, so permitting the said lid to be slidden sufficiently in the plane of the said engaging means slidably connecting the said lid means to the said base plate assembly, and then removed therefrom.

h) a cable clamping means wherein a plurality of co-operative pairs of blades, of whatsoever material, standing normal to the plane of the lower face of the said plug base assembly, have their root ends securely held therein, the said blades being symmetrically disposed about the approximate centreline of the said cable path, their free ends projecting inwardly toward the said centreline, to form, at their conjunction, in repose, upon the cable entry aperture side thereof, when viewed in plan, an included angle of less than 180 degrees, the free ends of that pair of the said blades located furthest from the said cable entry aperture being contiguous to eachother upon the said cable centreline, or thereabouts prior to the insertion of the same, the next such pair to it, upon the said cable entry aperture side thereof, being somewhat shorter, and any further plurality so fitted likewise each being shorter than the last such, all the said blades being press fitted into their respective root housings, and sharing the following features in common: 1. A blade root, howsoever configures, wider than the run of the body of the said blade, such that when the said blade, or any co-operative plurality thereof, are properly assembled in the said blade root housing they cannot be withdrawn, save in a vertical direction relative to the plane of the underside of the said plug base.

2. A blade root area over which a plurality of extensions are formed upon the surface of the said blade root, the said extensions being disposed as horizontal ridges whose lower surfaces may slope upwardly and outwardly from the said surface to the apex of the said extensions, whose upper surfaces, viewed in cross section, form, upon their upper side, an included angle with the surface of the said blade root no greater than 90 degrees, so forming a ridge upon the said surface, and which said ridges are so disposed that upon the contiguous sides of such a plurality of the said blades as may assembled together no such ridges upon the sides of adjacent blades clash together, the said horizontal extensions serving in two capacities: that of preventing the said blades from falling out of their respective root housings upon the said plug base being inverted whilst without the lid thereof, as may happen when being wired or unwired, and for the purpose of absorbing variations in the size thereof due to manufacturing tolerances in both the said blades and the said blade root housings.

3. A cable clamping means wherein the said blades, at that point at which they emerge from their respective blade root housings, or closely adjacent to the same, to project inwardly towards the said cable path centreline, as above described, are diminished in thickness, the said diminution taking the shape of a groove, or a plurality thereof, in one or other, or both of the surfaces as may be required of each such blade, the said groove or plurality thereof being formed in the surface of the said blades and lying normal to the place of the under side of the said plug baseplate, to form a hinge about which the said blades may advantageously the more easily bend, so to open and accept the said cable betwixt their free ends, and onto which they are continuously pressed by the bending stresses incurred in the material of which they are made as it attempts to return to the original free position in which it was made, and in which such cable clamping means the secondary contiguous blade, and such further plurality thereof as may be employed upon the cable entry aperture side of the first such blade above described, acts in support of that blade before it, such that when the said cable gripped by the first such pair of blades is outwardly pulled from the said plug base, they become the more firmly clamped upon the same, and where the said such cable is of too small a size to be gripped by any further such pair of the said co-operative blades employed, they being too short to reach the said cable, the said such secondary and further blades if employed support the first such pair if it be sufficiently stressed, by preventing the same from turning about their hinges despite the presence of the same, the said configuration of a plurality of hinged blades as described rendering the insertion of both large and small cables into the said cable clamping means easier than is normally the case and providing greater gripping capacity for larger cables, which in general use, are those usually subject to most abuse.

k) a lid means possessed of a stowable, rotatable handle, which same is located upon the approximate centre of the triangle enclosed by a line drawn through the centres of the neutral, earth and live pins and pivotably located thereat upon an axis parallel to the underside of the baseplate of the said plug and to a line drawn through the centres of the said neutral and live pins, the said handle being preferably constructed in one piece and including upon the shaft thereof lateral extensions upon either side thereof at the top for grasping the same, the said extensions lying in the same plane as further such extensions at the bottom of the said shaft whereon the said handle pivots, and by which it is located in the operative and stowed positions, the said such lower extensions each being formed of an inner portion upon which the said handle pivots, and which is of circular cross section, and an outer portion, which is circular in cross section save where two chords of the said circle, at the appropriate angle to each other curt the said circular section to form flats thereon, by which same the said handle is located in the upright and stowed positions, the said flats co-operatively engaging alternately upon a single co-operative flat formed in the housing means thereto, according to whether the said handle is in the operative or stowed positions, the aforesaid inner portions of the said lower lateral extensions, upon which the said handle pivots, being located in extensions of the said plug lid means upon either side of the said handle base, upon bearing means contained within the confines of the open jawed hook assemblies which same are sprung open in the act of inserting the said pivot shaft thereinto, to close about the same upon admission, and so to retain the same securely, and the outer portion of the said lower lateral extensions being likewise housed in separate outer assemblies, likewise open jawed, and possessed of a locating flat therein as above described, so assisting in both retaining the said handle, and in transferring loads imposed upon the same to the said plug assembly, the underside of the said lid means holding the said connector block means securely in situ.

2. The employment of any feature or combination thereof according to the preceding claims in other devices for the purpose of connecting electrical cables thereto, for the clamping of such said cables therein, or for the attachment of one part thereof to another co-operative part thereof.

3. A plug means or other device according to the preceding claims wherein the said handle is of a contrasting colour to the said lid means to which the same is attached in a rotatable manner.

4. A plug means according to the preceding claims wherein the baseplate thereof is of a different colour to the said lid means thereof, and which said baseplate means may be possessed of an inner base moulding means as above claimed of a different colour to the said baseplate means.

5. A plug means according to the preceding claims, wherein the said plurality of blades, whereof, in combination, the said cable clamping means is made up, are rendered, pair by pair, in differing colours to eachother and to the said base assembly, or collectively in the same colour, which said colour contrasts with the said lower baseplate moulding, and/or the said inner base moulding, which same form, singly or in combination the said cable clamp blade root housing means.