GB2346483A

GB2346483A - Water resistant electrical enclosures

Info

Publication number: GB2346483A
Application number: GB9901329A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Constantinos Sideris
Original assignee: HARWAL Ltd
Current assignee: HARWAL Ltd
Priority date: 1999-01-21
Filing date: 1999-01-21
Publication date: 2000-08-09
Also published as: GB9901329D0

Abstract

A water-resistant enclosure 10 for an electrical accessory having a manually operable element 30, 135 comprising a housing, which accommodates the accessory 30, 135, and a flexible translucent window 17,122 which overlays the manually operable element and permits operation of said element via the flexing of the window. The enclosure of fig 1 is characterised by one or more conduits 39 in the housing permitting the entry and/or exit of electrical wiring. The enclosure of fig 3 is characterised by having an open side of the housing to facilitate mounting in a wall.

Description

Water Resistant Electrical Enclosures The present invention concerns the field of electrical wiring accessories and particularly relates to methods of weather proofing sockets, switches and other control components so that they can be located outside or in demanding environments.

Electrical wiring accessories such as switches or sockets for domestic or industrial applications are made by manufacturers for internal location. Hence they are assumed to be in dry locations and do not have any protection against the ingress of water, other fluids or solid particles. Where accessories are to be sited outdoors or in demanding environments it is normal to specify specially designed weatherproof components which are designed and constructed to prevent the ingress of water and dirt or dust. Thus it is normal for manufacturers only to specialise in one type of component, or to offer two separate component ranges.

Because the market for outdoor accessories is relatively small, and because the structural and design modifications necessary to achieve weatherproofing result in a more complex product, the outdoor accessories tend to be significantly more expensive than their indoor counter parts. In addition the extra expense is such that it is normally only possible to offer a subset of the range and variety of accessories available for the indoor market. Manufacturers have attempted to overcome the problem of expense by integrating the connectors and structural components required for each of the outdoor and indoor ranges in order to reduce costs. This however results in indoor products which are over-specified and outdoor components which may be compromised. In addition the range of accessories is still very limited.

There is a requirement for a method of providing an increased range of wiring accessories for outdoor use, or for use in wet or dirty/dusty environments.

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a water resistant enclosure for an electrical accessory having a manually operable element such as a switch, which enclosure comprises a housing in which the accessory is to be accommodated, one or more conduits in the housing permitting the entry and/or exit of electrical wiring, and a flexible translucent window which overlays the manually operable element of the accessory, the flexible window permitting operation of the element by manipulation of the element via flexing of the window, whereby the electrical accessory may be utilised in wet, dirty or otherwise demanding environments.

According to a second aspect of the invention there is provided a water resistant enclosure for a wall-mounted electrical accessory having a manually operable element, which enclosure comprises a housing in which may be accommodated the accessory, which housing is provided with an open side which may be juxtaposed a wall to surround a mounting feature to which the accessory is attached, and a closed side in which is provided a flexible translucent window which overlays the manually operable element of the accessory, the flexible window permitting operation of the element by manipulation of the element via flexing of the window.

In this way an indoor electrical accessory range may be adapted for outdoor usage. The accessories are enclosed in an enclosure which protects against water and dirt, whilst still permitting operation of the accessory by the manipulation permitted via the flexible window.

In one aspect of the invention the housing comprises a base portion and a lid portion which opens to permit insertion of the accessory into the enclosure.

In the second aspect of the invention, an underside of the base portion may be provided with sealing means for forming a seal between the open side of the enclosure and the wall to which the enclosure is to be juxtaposed.

In the second aspect of the invention, the base portion may be held in position by being pinched between an underside of the electrical accessory and the wall against which the base portion is juxtaposed.

The window may be formed in a top wall of the lid portion. Preferably the window is large enough to display the entire element so that its status (e. g. on/off) can be determined.

Preferably a latch is provided for releasably holding the lid against the base portion.

An interface between the lid and base may be sealed by means of a flexible seal or gasket.

In a particular embodiment of the invention the lid portion is hingably attached to the base portion.

The conduit or conduits is/are provided with sealing means for resisting the entry of water into the housing.

The conduits may be provided by forming removable tabs or weak areas in the enclosure wall so that conduits can be made as required for the particular implementation.

The conduit sealing means comprises a one or more grommets.

Preferably the housing is formed from rigid moulded plastics material, for example a thermoplastic polymer.

In one embodiment of the invention a gasket or seal around the window is sealingly urged against the an upper surface of the lid thereby providing further protection against the weather in the locale of the element.

The lid may be held against the base portion by one or more screws or bolts. Preferably the same screws or bolts also fasten the electrical accessory to the base portion The window may be formed from transparent flexible material, thereby ensuring a clear view of the element behind the window. The window is preferably scratch resistant and may be formed from rubber material or plastics material.

The types of accessories which may be enclosed by the enclosure of the present invention include: electrical plug/socket combinations with a switch, simple switches for operation of electrical devices. A major benefit of the present invention is that many manufacturers' products can each be accommodated in an enclosure according to the present invention.

Following is a description by way of example only and with reference to the drawings of methods of putting the present invention into effect.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a cross sectional view through an enclosure according to one embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view through an enclosure according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view through an enclosure according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

First Embodiment.

Figure 1 shows an enclosure generally as 10 which comprises a base portion 11 and a lid portion 12. The base portion is a generally rectilinear plastics moulding. The base portion has a bottom wall 13 and four upstanding walls (front and rear walls visible as 14 and 15). The lid is a generally rectilinear member 16 of corresponding plan dimensions to the base portion. The lid has a central cut-out in which is disposed a flexible transparent window 17. The window has a perimeter lip portion which engages in the recess between two depending ridge features 18, 19. A waterproof seal is formed by a tight fit and intimate contact between the lip and recess, and optionally an adhesive bond. A seal between the top end of the base portion walls and the bottom end of the lid walls is formed by a rubber or plastic gasket 40. The gasket sits in a groove 41 formed along the top end of the base portion wall.

The lid is attached to the base portion at an upper region of the front wall 14 by means of a hinge 20. A male portion 21 of the hinge is an elongate circular section member formed on the lid. The member is snapfitted into a corresponding section elongate groove 22 formed in the front wall. A releasable latch 43 is formed at the rear wall of the base portion by means of interengaging barb 44 and seat 45 formed on the lid and base portion respectively. The latch may be released by flexing of the wall beneath the seat thereby to displace the seat away from the barb.

An electrical switch component 30 is shown accommodated inside the enclosure. The component has a rectilinear base portion 31 and a switch element 32 protruding from an upper surface thereof. The base portion 31 is formed with two recesses 35,36 which accommodate the respective heads of two screws 33,34. The base portion 31 rests upon upper ends of two upstanding hollow, closed-ended pillars 46, 47 formed on the bottom wall of the housing. In addition the base portion rests upon the top ends of flanges 46A and 47A which extend from the housing base walls to the pillars.

A lower region of the front wall 14 of the housing base portion is formed with a circular section cut-out 37. The cut out carries a grommet 39 through which may be threaded electrical cabling for the switch.

There is sufficient clearance (height) between the pillars and the lid to accept accessories of various depths so that the products of a wide range of manufacturers may be rendered water proof.

Second Embodiment.

The second embodiment is described hereafter with reference to those features which differ from the first embodiment. Features which correspond with the first embodiment are numbered according to the scheme used for the first embodiment.

The lid portion is attached to the base portion by means of two screws 51,52. The heads of these screws are accommodated in sunk portions 53,54 of the lid. the screws extend downwardly through the electrical switch base portion an into screw engagement with the upstanding pillars 46,47. In this way the screws may double as lid retainers as well as switch retainers. The sunk recesses are provided with filet portions 55,56 which are push fit into the recesses. The window 17 has pronounced depending sidewalls 57 formed with an upward return portion 58 and three spaced apart sealing ridges 59. The pressure exerted by the screws on the lid causes a tight seal to be formed by urging of the ridges against the switch upper wall. In this way the switch itself is hermetically isolated from the outside of the enclosure. Unlike the first embodiment there is no hinge. The lid is slightly over-sized with respect to the base portion and abuts the base portion wall ends at an n-section gasket 60 which forms the weatherproof seal between the lid and base portion. The gasket allows accessories of various depths to be accommodated by deformation of gasket legs.

Embodiment 3 Figure 3 shows a third embodiment of the invention. The figure shows a conventional accessory mounting box 100 which is recessed into a wall 110. The box cavity is serviced by an electrical wiring conduit 111 which delivers wires fro attachment to the accessory. The box cavity is lined with a back wall 112, a far side wall 113, a near side wall (not shown) and upper 114 and lower 115 walls. The upper and lower walls are each provided with a mounting flange 116 and 117 respectively. The top mounting flange 116 depends from the top wall and the bottom mounting flange 117 is upstanding from the lower wall. Each is formed at the free end thereof with a screw threaded hole.

A weather proof enclosure according to the present invention comprises a base portion 120 and a lid portion 121. The lid is a generally rectilinear member of plan dimensions overlapping the open face of the mounting box cavity. The lid has a central cut-out in which is disposed a flexible transparent window 122. The window has a perimeter lip portion which forms a recess 123. A corresponding lip in the perimeter of the cut-out portion of the lid permits water proof engagement of the window and lid as shown in the figure. The base portion is a generally rectilinear member 120 which is located outstanding from the wall around the mounting box cavity.

The base portion is of plan dimensions generally corresponding with the dimensions of the lid portion. The base portion is provided along an upper edge portion thereof with a rubber or plastics material sealing gasket 125. This gasket forms a seal between the lid and base portions of the enclosure. An under side surface portion of the base portion is recessed slightly in order to accommodated a further gasket 130. This gasket has two elongate rib portions which form a double seal between the base portion underside and the wall. The base portion is held in place by being pinched between an electrical switch accessory 135 and the wall and held in position by the action of the screws 136 and 137 which are tightened into the flange holes in the mounting box.

The lid has a barb 138 and a hinge 139 which permits occasional opening of the enclosure fore removal or repair of the accessory 135. The window 122 permits operation of the switch elements 140 and 141. In this way a standard mounting box may be converted for water proof or dirt proof operation by the fitting of an enclosure according to the present invention.

Claims

Claims 1. A water resistant enclosure for an electrical accessory having a manually operable element, which enclosure comprises a housing in which may be accommodated the accessory, one or more conduits in the housing permitting the entry and/or exit of electrical wiring, and a flexible translucent window which overlays the manually operable element of the accessory, the flexible window permitting operation of the element by manipulation of the element via flexing of the window.
2. A water resistant enclosure for a wall-mounted electrical accessory having a manually operable element, which enclosure comprises a housing in which may be accommodated the accessory, which housing is provided with an open side which may be juxtaposed a wall to surround a mounting feature to which the accessory is attached, and a closed side in which is provided a flexible translucent window which overlays the manually operable element of the accessory, the flexible window permitting operation of the element by manipulation of the element via flexing of the window.
3. An enclosure as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the housing comprises a base portion and an opening lid portion which permits insertion of the accessory into the enclosure.
4. An enclosure as claimed in claim 2, or claim 2 and claim 3, wherein an underside of the base portion is provided with sealing means for forming a seal between the open side of the enclosure and the wall to which the enclosure is to be juxtaposed.
5. An enclosure as claimed in claim 2, or claim 2 and claim 4, wherein the base portion is held in position by being pinched between an underside of the electrical accessory and the wall against which the base portion is juxtaposed.
6. An enclosure as claimed in claim 3, or claim 3 and claim 4 or claim 5, wherein the window is provided in a top wall of the lid portion.
7. An enclosure as claimed in claim 3, or claim 3 and any of claims 3 to 6, wherein a latch is provided for holding the lid against the base portion.
8. An enclosure as claimed in claim 3, or claim 3 and any of claims 4 to 7, wherein the interface between the lid and base is sealed by means of a flexible seal or gasket.
9. An enclosure as claimed in any of claims 3 to 8 wherein the lid portion is hingably attached to the base portion.
10. An enclosure as claimed claim 1, or claim 1 and any of claims 3 to 9, wherein the conduit or conduits is/are provided with sealing means for resisting the entry of water into the housing.
11. An enclosure as claimed in claim 10 wherein the conduit sealing means comprises a one or more grommets.
12. An enclosure as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the housing is formed from rigid moulded plastics material.
13. An enclosure as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the window is formed from transparent flexible plastics material.