GB2405267A - Sealing covers for electrical connector block - Google Patents

Abstract

An electrically insulating elastomeric cover 11 for use with an electrical connecting block 12 comprises two resilient shells 13 and 14 with mouth portions 17 and 18 which connect together to form a sealed chamber 19 for housing the connecting block 12, with each shell 13 and 14 having at least one entry points 30, 31 for the ingress of wiring to the connecting block. The mouth portion 17 on one shell 13 is formed with a nose portion 21 having ribs 22 which clip into matching grooves 24 in a surrounding sleeve 22 formed on the mouth portion 18 of the other shell.

Description

An Ingress Protector for a Electrical Connection

Field

This invention relates to ingress protection for electrical block connectors which are typically, but not exclusively, used t'or connecting lights or light fitting to a mains supply

Background o he Invention

Ceiling and wall mounted light fittings are typically connected to a mains electrical supply using, a connecting block which comprises a plurality electrically conductive connectors housed in a block of insulating material which also serves to insulate the connectors from I O each other The electrical mains wires and wires for the light fittings. or other electrical devices, are typically secured together in the respective connectors by clamping screws This type of' electrical connector is known as a connecting block In order for a fight fitting, in particular a bathroom or shower room light fitting, to meet the standards against dust and moisture ingress laid down in BS EN 60598 IP44, any connecting block used for connecting the light fitting, to the mains may need to be located within a sealed housing or mounting forming part of the light fitting Light fittings that meet the requirements of IP44 are therefore generally more expensive than other fittings made to lower moisture ingress standards Some persons when equipping a bathroom with a light fitting, made to a lower moisture ingress standard may encase the connecting block and afjacont wiring in a cocoon of insulating tape Whilst this serves as a secondary insulation it may not necessarily prevent flue i4rcss of rosl-c since tllc At' oftic covet- a-oTd the CorTeCtir4 blocl; will Lo iC<>TiSSteTt Vryg, tow llocl; tic Lock The present invention provides a moisture ingress protection cover flat a connecting block

Statements of Invention

An electrically insulating elastomeric cover for an electrical connecting block, the cover comprising two resilient shells having with mouth portions which connect together to form a chamber for housing a connecting block, each shell having at least one entry point formed in the shell for the ingress of wiring to the connecting block The sleeve is formed from a suitable electrically insulating rubber compound, for example a silicone rubber may be used in high temperature conditions but other other elastomeric materials may such a chloroprene, or butyl rubber may be suitable for less arduous applications The elastomeric compound should have a shore A hardness of about 80-90 Each shell is provided with a hollow spigot extending away from the mouth portion and tapering to a minimum diameter at its distal end In use, an end portion of the spigot is removed to provide a resiliently deformable ingress port for electrical cable enclosed in a secondary insulating sheath In an alternative arrangement, the shell is provided with a plurality of points of reduced thickness which in use may be pierced by single electrically insulated wires Preferably, the mouth portion of one shell is provided with a nose portion which clips into a surrounding sleeve on the mouth portion of other shell The mouth portions ofthe two shells are provided with mutually co-oper-atmg detent means and scalmp?; means allowing the two shells to seal against each othcT- on clipphg together I'he detent means and seahng means may coml:'rsc separate means or a smgic means 9.i t'oTrming both functions]'he nose portion may have at least one continuous rib thereon c>;tendm around the nose and which is.sealhgly engageable within a co-operating groove extending continuously around the inner surface of the sleeve to hold the two shells together and form a moisture tight seal between the two shells In the preferred arrangement there are three ribs engaging in three co-operating grooves Preferably, the ribs are adjacent each other forming in section a series of serrations engagable in similar shaped grooves in the sleeve The internal surface of at least one ot the two shells is provided with location lugs for a connecting block which in use may be housed in the assembled cover Covers according to the present invention have passed the IP44 moisture ingression test and are particularly suitable for use in connecting lights and light fittings for use in bathrooms and shower rooms but may also be useful in other applications The cover and connecting block may be supplied as a kit

Description of the Drawings

The invention will be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which Fig 1 is a cross-sectional view of a cover according to the present invention also showing an electrical connecting block in situ, Fig 2 is plan view of the two shells that for-m the cover Fig 3 Is an isometric view of the two shells shown in Fig 2 no an as ?5 moulded condition

Detailed Description of the Invent on

With reference to Figs 1-3 of the drawings there is shown an electrically insulating cover 1 1 for housing an electrical connector block 12 The cover is formed from two would elastomeric hollow shells 13 & 14 which couple together longitudinally to form a chamber 19 in which the block 12 is housed Each shell 13 and 14 has a main body 15 or 16 respectively which has a substantially rectangular transverse cross-section with respective rectangular mouth portions 17 and 18 whereby the two shells may be connected to form a substantially sealed chamber 19 housing the block 12 Each main body has a hollow pyramidal portion 21 connected thereto which extends away from the respective mouth portion 13 or 14 into a hollow spigot 22 Each spigot 22 tapers to a minimum diameter at its distal end 2 The rectangular main bodies 15 & 16 are of a sufficient size to snugly accommodate a block 12 to be housed within the cover The mouth portion 17 of one of the shells 13, is provided with a nose portion 21 which is substantially rectangular in transverse cross-section and which is snugly accommodated and clips into a sleeve 22 on the other mouth portion 18 and which is also of a substantially rectangular transverse cross-section The two shells 13 & 14 are simply assembled and dis- assembled by a simple push-pull resilient clip means 'I'he nose portion 21 has a plurality of ribs 2 3 extending continuously around the outer surface theT-eof' which tote a series of resilient Cations on said nose 'I'he sleeve 22 is provided with a pluraLty of' continuous grooves 4 on its Amber sur-f'ace which in use can accommodate talc ribs 23 The ribs 23 reslientiv detoTm to clip into the grooves 24, and the strapc of'the ribs bemg such as to form a scrips of detents when the two shells 13 & 14 are coupled to,< ether s In the present Example the ribs 23 are in the form saw teeth and have rear faces 25 that lie substantially in a plane normal to the longitudinal axis of the cover so as engage co-operating faces 26 on the grooves 24 to hold the two shell together The ribs 24 also form a moisture tight seal against the grooves The two shells 13 & 14 may be separated by simultaneous distortion of the resilient cover and pulling apart of the two shells The connecting block 12 locates on two lugs 27 formed integrally with the base of said one shell 13 The lugs 27 ensure that the block 15 can be inserted in only one orientation that is with the screw clamp connectors 28 arranged longitudinally within the cover Eleetreal cable having a plurality of insulated wires encapsulated in a secondary insulating sheath may be connected to the block] 2 through the respective hollow spigots 22 A distal end portion of each spigot 22 may be cut off creating a resiliently deformable aperture forming an ingress port through which the electrical cable may sealingly pass The periphery of the aperture grips the outer sheath of the cable to form a seal therebetween The outer surface of the spigot 22 may be provided with indicator marks 28 that indicate to a user where a Cut should be made for a particular gauges of wire In another arrangement, the covers are formed with thinned points 31 in the respective pyramidal portion 21 through which may be pierced by individual sheathed wires The wires may be sheathed in primary and secondary insulation The resiliently det'orTnable apertures formed by the piercing will seal around the wiring sheath The electrical WiT me from the mums supply Is nseTted through one shell, as described above arid corectecl to talc corTecto'-s 28 tr<-,r ogle side ot the coect, tlocl; 12, and the WiT-iT1;, from an electrical device ( for example a light tttmg) is mSCTted through the other shell as described above and connected to the connectors 28 t'T om the other side of the block 12 The shell and block are then manipulated to located the block 12 on the lugs 27 and the two shells coupled together by simply pushing the nose portion 21 of one shell into the sleeve 22 on the other shell l he spigots 22 and pyramidal portions 21 of the formed cover 1 1 are sufficiently deformable to conform with the focus of the wire if the wiring is deformed to fit within a given space The covered electrical connection now meets 1P44 standards for the ingress of dust and moisture Such covers may be used in all situations were connecting blocks are used to interconnect a mains supply with an electrical device The two shells 13 & 14 are formed by moulding a suitable elastomeric compound such as silicone rubber Silicone rubbers are particularly useful in high temperature applications such as light fittings, but other elastomeric materials may be used in less extreme conditions The shells may be colour coded for use with different types of connecting block and/or for different end uses The shells are moulded in a elastomeric material having sufficient resilience to couple together whilst having sufficient rigidity to remain assembled unless deliberately dis-assembled Suitable elastomers should have a Shore A hardness of between 80-90 degrees As Is shown in Fig 37 the two shells are moulded as a single moulding and are coupled together by a bridge 32 interconnecting, the two pyramidal portions 21 I he two shells may be supplied he this torrn until recluired tor use at which pomt the bridge 32 Is simply severed 2 prior to assembly

Claims (1)

1. Claims I An electrically insulating elastomeric cover for an electrical

   connecting block the cover comprising two resilient shells having with mouth portions which connect together to form a sealed chamber for housing a connecting block each shell having at least one entry point formed in the shell for the ingress of wiring to the connecting block 2 A cover as claimed in Claim I wherein each shell is provided with a hollow spigot extending away from the mouth portion and tapering to a minimum diameter at its distal end an end portion of the spigot being removable to provide a resiliently deformable ingress port for electrical cable enclosed in a secondary insulating sheath 3 A cover as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2 wherein the shell is provided with a plurality of points of reduced thickness through which in use single insulated electrical wires may be pushed 4 A cover as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 3 wherein the mouth portion on one shell is formed with a nose portion which clips into a surrounding sleeve fonned on the mouth portion of the other shell 5 A cover as claimed in any one ot Claims I to 4 wherein the mouth portions of the two shells are provided with mutually co-operating detent means and sealing means allowing the two shells to seal against each -, ther on cupping together (' A corer as clamped m Claim wherein the detent means and sealing noons comprise a single means torni, tootle furctos 7 A cover as claimed in Claim 5 and Claim 6 when dependent upon Claim 4 wherein the nose portion has at least one continuous rib thereon extending around the nose and which is engagable within a co-operating groove extending continuously around the inner surface of the sleeve to hold the two shells together and forming a moisture tight seal between the two shells 8 A cover as claimed in Claim 7 wherein the nose portion is provided with three ribs which are sealingly engagable in three co-operating grooves in said sleeve portion 9 A cover as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 8, wherein the internal surface of at least one ol the two shells is provided with location lugs for a connecting block to be housed in the assembled cover An electrically insulating elastomeric cover for an electrical connecting block, and which is substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings 1 1 A kit for interconnecting electrical wiring and which comprises a cover as claimed Gin any one of Claims 1 to 10 and an electrical connecting block