GB2385721A

GB2385721A - System for wiring a building and componebts of the system

Info

Publication number: GB2385721A
Application number: GB0229421A
Authority: GB
Inventors: John David Hopper; Marjorie Hopper; Neill Derek Hopper; Nicola Hopper; Joanna Marjorie Israel; Naim Israel
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2001-12-19
Filing date: 2002-12-18
Publication date: 2003-08-27
Also published as: GB0229421D0; GB0130244D0

Abstract

A system for wiring a building comprises circuit components 10-20 respectively joined by joints comprising male and/or female connectors 64. A component 60 may comprise a wall box having a connector 62 and an accessory 68,72 having a connector 70 and connected to a counterpart (not shown) inside the wall box. Accessories may include relay boxes, switches, outlets, control units, circuit breakers and timers. Further components may include T-junctions, floor boxes, ceiling-mountable boxes, marshalling, distribution and lighting units. Components may be daisy-chained.

Description

1 Modular Wirinq Systems 2 3 The present invention relates to modular wiring 4 systems and components for use in installing 5 electrical lighting and power supply systems in 6 buildings.

7 8 The installation of conventional electrical circuits 9 in buildings requires a variety of light fittings, 10 switches, outlet sockets etc. to be mounted in the 11 walls, floors and ceilings of the building, and the 12 installation of cable runs interconnecting the 13 various fittings, outlets, switches etc. The cables 14 are cut to length on-site and their conductor cores 15 are manually stripped and connected to the supply 16 terminals of the fittings, outlets, switches etc.

17 This requires skilled labour, is time consuming and 18 error-prone.

19 20 The present invention provides modular wiring 21 systems and components in which the cable runs and 22 other components are pre-fabricated and tested under

1 controlled manufacturing conditions and all on-site 2 connections are accomplished by means of simple 3 plug-and-socket (male/female) connections between 4 the ends of the pre-fabricated cable runs and the 5 various other components.

6 7 The invention provides a modular wiring system, and 8 modular components of such a system, comprising 9 circuit components and cable assemblies adapted to 10 be electrically interconnected by means of 11 complementary male and female connectors.

12 13 The system components include but are not limited to 14 lighting units, marshalling, distribution and relay 15 boxes and modules, and wall-and/or floor and/or 16 ceiling-mountable components, all of which are 17 adapted to be interconnected in a required circuit 18 configuration by means of at least one male and/or 19 female connector and at least one cable assembly 20 terminated by complementary male and/or female 21 connectors.

22 23 Components in accordance with the invention and for 24 use in systems according to the invention that are 25 wall-and/or floor and/or ceiling-mountable 26 preferably comprise a primary backbox unit adapted 27 to be mounted in a wall and/or floor and/or ceiling 28 and having at least one first external connector 29 adapted to be connected to a complementary connector 30 of a cable assembly and at least one second internal 31 connector electrically connected to said at least 32 one first connector, a secondary backbox unit

1 configured to fit inside said primary backbox unit 2 and having at least one third external connector 3 adapted to mate with said at least one second 4 connector of the primary backbox unit. The 5 secondary backbox unit is adapted to have at least 6 one functional circuit unit electrically connected 7 to said at least one third connector and mounted to 8 the front thereof. The functional circuit unit may 9 comprise a switch unit, an outlet (socket) unit, a 10 control unit, a circuit breaker unit, a timer unit 11 etc.

12 13 Lighting units in accordance with the invention 14 preferably include connectors adapted to mate with 15 complementary connectors of cable assemblies for 16 supplying power to the unit and allowing multiple 17 units to be daisy-chained in a circuit.

18 19 The system of the invention preferably further 20 includes tee-connectors adapted for branching spur 21 cable assemblies from a ring-main circuit comprising 22 a plurality of cable assemblies connected together 23 via said tee-connectors.

24 25 Further aspects and features of the systems and 26 components provided by the invention will be 27 apparent from the following description.

28 29 Embodiments of the invention will now be described, 30 by way of example only, with reference to the 31 accompanying drawings, in which: 32

1 Fig. 1 is a schematic perspective view illustrating 2 an example of a lighting circuit in accordance with 3 the present invention; 4 5 Fig. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a switch 6 module forming part of the lighting circuit of Fig.

7 1; 8 9 Fig. 3 is a schematic perspective view illustrating 10 a further example of a lighting circuit in 11 accordance with the present invention; 12 13 Fig. 4 illustrates a marshalling box forming part of 14 the lighting circuit of Fig. 3; 15 16 Fig. 5 is a perspective view illustrating an example 17 of a power supply circuit in accordance with the 18 present invention; 19 20 Fig. 6 is a perspective view illustrating a socket 21 module forming part of the power supply circuit of 22 Fig. 5; and 23 24 Fig. 7 is an exploded perspective view further 25 illustrating the socket module of Fig. 6.

26 27 Referring now to the drawings, Fig. 1 shows an 28 example of a lighting circuit. AC Mains power is 29 supplied to the circuit via a conventional power 30 take-off box 10, which is connected in a 31 conventional manner to a home-run module 12. The 32 home-run module has a plurality of input and output

1 sockets for connecting prefabricated cable runs 2 thereto, for distributing power to one or more 3 circuits as required. In this example, the home-run 4 module 12 is connected to a two-way relay module 14, 5 which in turn is connected to wall-mounted switches 6 16 and 18 and to daisy-chained arrays of ceiling- 7 mounted lighting units 20.

8 9 Fig. 2 shows another example of a lighting circuit 10 where AC power is supplied, e. g. from a home run 11 module (not shown) as in Fig. 1, via a marshalling 12 box 22, to a plurality of halogen lights 24 or the 13 like via transformers 26. The marshalling box is 14 also connected to a switch 28 that controls the 15 power supply to the lights 24.

16 17 Fig. 5 shows an example of a socket ring main or 18 radial circuit in which AC Mains power is again 19 supplied to the circuit via a conventional power 20 take-off box 10, which is connected in a 21 conventional manner to a home-run module 12. The 22 home-run module again has a plurality of input and 23 output sockets for connecting prefabricated cable 24 runs thereto, for distributing power to one or more 25 circuits as required. In this example, the home-run 26 module 12 is connected via suitable cabling to a 27 plurality of wall-mounted sockets ("outlets").

28 29 The precise details of the specific circuit 30 topologies and switching functions etc. in these 31 examples are not significant in themselves, and will 32 be well understood by those skilled in the art. The

1 invention is applicable to any types of lighting and 2 power supply circuits. The invention concerns the 3 manner in which the various components 12-20 are 4 interconnected by pre-fabricated cable runs.

5 6 In accordance with the invention, all of the circuit 7 components are adapted to be interconnected using 8 pre-fabricated cable runs by means of complementary, 9 pre-wired male and female connectors (plug and 10 socket connectors). This is illustrated in more 11 detail by the examples shown in Figs. 2,4, 6 and 7.

12 13 Fig. 2 shows a wall mounted switch module 32 and a 14 pre-fabricated cable assembly 34. The switch module 15 comprises a primary backbox 36 adapted to be mounted 16 in a wall in the same manner as a conventional 17 backbox, a secondary backbox 38 adapted to be 18 mounted in the primary backbox 36, and a switch 19 plate 40 adapted to be fitted to the secondary 20 backbox 38. The cable assembly 34 is pre-fabricated 21 with connectors 42 and 44 at either end thereof, 22 preferably with an outer sheath or armour 46 23 enclosing the actual cable. The number of cable 24 cores, and the configuration of the corresponding 25 connectors, will depend on the particular function 26 of the cable and its associated components, as will 27 be understood by those skilled in the art.

28 29 The primary backbox 36 has a first (male) connector 30 48 on an outer surface thereof at a location that 31 will be concealed when the backbox 36 is wall- 32 mounted, adapted to mate with the connector 42 of

1 the cable assembly. The primary backbox 36 further 2 includes a second connector in its interior (not 3 shown, but see the description of Fig. 7 below), 4 that is pre-wired to be electrically connected to 5 the first connector 48. The secondary backbox 38 6 includes a third connector 50, projecting rearwardly 7 from a rear surface thereof, that is adapted to mate 8 with the interior connector of the primary backbox 9 36 when the secondary backbox is located in the 10 primary backbox. The third connector 50 is pre- 11 wired to the terminals of the switch plate 40 so 12 that the secondary backbox and switch plate may be 13 pre-assembled before installation.

14 15 This arrangement allows the primary backbox 36 to be 16 quickly and easily connected to the cable 34 and 17 then mounted in the wall. The pre-assembled 18 secondary backbox 38 and switch plate 40 can then 19 simply be plugged into the primary backbox 36 and 20 secured by means of screws or the like.

21 22 The primary backbox 38 may be configured to co- 23 operate with conventional, standard switch plates 24 etc.

25 26 In the example of Fig. 1, the other cable connector 27 44 connects to the relay module 14, by means of 28 similar, complementary connectors, and the relay box 29 is connected to the home run module 12 and the 30 various lighting units 20 by means of similar pre- 31 fabricated cable assemblies and connectors. The 32 lighting units 20 are preferably provided with

1 connectors in a"T"configuration, providing a power 2 supply input, connection of the power supply input 3 to the lighting unit itself, and a power supply 4 output for onward connection to subsequent daisy- 5 chained lighting units.

6 7 A similar approach is applied to the circuit of Fig.

8 3, with similar cable assemblies and connectors 9 interconnecting the marshalling box 22, the incoming 10 power supply, the transformers 26 and the switch 28.

11 12 Fig. 4 shows an example of the marshalling box 22, 13 with various switch input connectors 50 and output 14 connectors 52. It will be understood that the 15 arrangement of the inputs and outputs may be varied.

16 The relay module 14 of Fig. 1 may be of similar 17 construction.

18 19 Figs. 6 and 7 show how the construction of the 20 switch module of Fig. 2 may be applied to sockets as 21 used in the circuit of Fig. 5. A primary backbox 60 22 has first, outer connectors 62 for mating with a 23 cable assembly connector 64, and second, inner 24 connectors 66, pre-wired to the outer connectors 62.

25 The secondary backbox 68 has third, outer connectors 26 70, mateable with the inner connectors 66 of the 27 primary backbox, pre-wired to the socket front 72, 28 which may again be of conventional, standard type.

29 This approach may be applied to a complete range of 30 wall, floor and ceiling mounted circuit components 31 including various types of switches, outlets, 32 timers, controllers etc.

1 2 In this example, the other end of the cable assembly 3 74 comprises a Tee-connector 76 having an input side 4 and output side allowing further cable assemblies 78 5 to be connected thereto to form a ring main as shown 6 in Fig. 5.

7 8 The system and components provided by the present 9 invention allow complete flexibility in creating 10 lighting and power circuits to meet any end user 11 requirements, and can also be applied to emergency 12 lighting circuits and controls, dimmable lighting, 13 remote control circuits etc. Any suitable 14 male/female connectors may be used, including known, 15 commercially available types. The use of male and 16 female connectors and/or interlocks in the various 17 system components may be selected to ensure safety 18 and to prevent erroneous connections. Switching 19 modules and boxes may be provided for l-way, 2-way 20 and intermediate operation and key switching, and 21 for managing essential and non-essential circuit 22 functions and switching where emergency 23 generator/backup systems are in operation. All of 24 the components and cable assemblies may be pre- 25 fabricated and sealed in a controlled 26 factory/quality assurance environment, enabling full 27 testing such as continuity, flash, earth, polarity, 28 integrity and conformity testing, and visual 29 inspection. On-site installation only requires 30 components to be connected by means of the pre-wired 31 connectors, eliminating the need to manually 32 terminate lighting, power and other fixtures.

1 2 Improvements and modifications may be incorporated 3 without departing from the scope of the invention.

Claims

1 Claims 2

3 1. A modular wiring system comprising circuit

4 components and cable assemblies adapted to be

5 electrically interconnected by means of

6 complementary male and female connectors.

7

8

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the system

9 components include lighting units, marshalling, 10 distribution and relay boxes and modules, and wall- 11 and/or floor and/or ceiling-mountable components, 12 all of which are adapted to be interconnected in a 13 required circuit configuration by means of at least 14 one male and/or female connector and at least one 15 cable assembly terminated by complementary male 16 and/or female connectors.

17 18

3. The system of claim 1 or claim 2, wherein those 19 components that are wall-and/or floor and/or 20 ceiling-mountable comprise a primary backbox unit 21 adapted to be mounted in a wall and/or floor and/or 22 ceiling and having at least one first external 23 connector adapted to be connected to a complementary 24 connector of a cable assembly and at least one 25 second internal connector electrically connected to 26 said at least one first connector, a secondary 27 backbox unit configured to fit inside said primary 28 backbox unit and having at least one third external 29 connector adapted to mate with said at least one 30 second connector of the primary backbox unit.

31

1

4. The system of claim 3, wherein each secondary

2 backbox unit is adapted to have at least one

3 functional circuit unit electrically connected to

4 said at least one third connector and mounted to the

5 front thereof.

6

7

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the functional

8 circuit unit comprises at least one of a switch

9 unit, an outlet (socket) unit, a control unit, a 10 circuit breaker unit and a timer unit.

11 12

6. The system of any preceding claim, wherein 13 lighting units thereof include connectors adapted to 14 mate with complementary connectors of cable 15 assemblies for supplying power to the unit and 16 allowing multiple units to be daisy-chained in a 17 circuit.

18 19

7. The system of any preceding claim, further 20 including tee-connectors adapted for branching spur 21 cable assemblies from a ring-main circuit comprising 22 a plurality of cable assemblies connected together 23 via said tee-connectors.

24 25

8. A circuit component for use in the system of 26 any preceding claim, assemblies adapted to be 27 electrically interconnected with other circuit 28 components of the system via cable assemblies by 29 means of complementary male and female connectors.

30 31

9. The component of claim 8, wherein the system 32 component comprises one of a lighting unit, a

1 marshalling, distribution or relay box or module,

2 and a wall-and/or floor and/or ceiling-mountable

3 component, adapted to be interconnected with other

4 circuit components in a required circuit

5 configuration by means of at least one male and/or

6 female connector and at least one cable assembly

7 terminated by complementary male and/or female

8 connectors.

9 10

10. The component of claim 8 or claim 9, adapted to 11 be wall-and/or floor and/or ceiling-mountable, 12 comprising a primary backbox unit adapted to be 13 mounted in a wall and/or floor and/or ceiling and 14 having at least one first external connector adapted 15 to be connected to a complementary connector of a 16 cable assembly and at least one second internal 17 connector electrically connected to said at least 18 one first connector, a secondary backbox unit 19 configured to fit inside said primary backbox unit 20 and having at least one third external connector 21 adapted to mate with said at least one second 22 connector of the primary backbox unit.

23 24

11. The component of claim 10, wherein the 25 secondary backbox unit is adapted to have at least 26 one functional circuit unit electrically connected 27 to said at least one third connector and mounted to 28 the front thereof.

29 30

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the functional 31 circuit unit comprises at least one of a switch

1 unit, an outlet (socket) unit, a control unit, a

2 circuit breaker unit and a timer unit.

3

4

13. The component of any one of claims 8 to 12,

5 comprising a lighting unit including connectors

6 adapted to mate with complementary connectors of

7 cable assemblies for supplying power to the unit and

8 allowing multiple units to be daisy-chained in a

9 circuit.

10 11

14. A modular wiring system substantially as 12 described herein with reference to the accompanying 13 drawings.

14 15

15. A circuit component for a modular wiring 16 system, substantially as described herein with 17 reference to the accompanying drawings.

18