GB2533930A

GB2533930A - A mountable plug socket unit

Info

Publication number: GB2533930A
Application number: GB1500119.1A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Andrew Rukin David
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2015-01-06
Filing date: 2015-01-06
Publication date: 2016-07-13

Abstract

A mountable plug socket unit (1, figure 3) comprising; a mounting means 2 configured for mounting the plug socket unit to a surface, and a housing (3) containing mains electrical outlet socket (4). The mounting means and housing are configured for relative movement between a storage position where the housing is located against or at least partly within the surface, and a use position where the housing is held away from the surface and the mains electrical outlet socket is aligned so as to be readily accessible. The mounting means may comprise an outer casing, into which the housing pivots by a hinged connection (9) between the housing and casing, and a screw plate connected by screws (6) to the surface. Preferably holding means 10 are included which comprise an offset compression spring and which hold the housing in either the use or storage position, unless acted on by an external force. A rotary silicon damper 11 may be included to impart a controlled motion to the movement of the housing.

Description

A mountable plug socket unit

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a mountable plug socket unit. More particularly, the present invention relates to a plug socket unit for mains electricity that can be mounted where required and moved between storage and use positions as required.

Background

The prevalence of accessories such as mixers, bread makers, coffee machines and similar has led to the requirement for modern kitchens to be equipped with a plurality of electrical sockets. These are usually mounted on the kitchen walls close to and above the work counter so that they can be easily accessed by a user, for example a cook using a mixer on the counter top. It can frequently be difficult to fit or retrofit sockets in a kitchen. For example, high-end kitchens are often fitted with glass or tile walls, and fitting the sockets can easily cause damage to the tiles or glass, and alter the overall appearance of the wall and/or the glass or tile wall covering in a manner that the owner may not consider to be aesthetically appealing.

Prior Art

Accordingly a number of patent applications have been filed in an attempt to resolve the problem or similar, including the following: W0201211982 describes and shows a customisable bus system that is easily mounted along a surface in a workspace, such as the underside of a cabinet. The bus system has a number of accessory modules that provide conveniently located utility services and applications such as power, lighting or media connections, and may be interchanged within the bus system to provide particular services and applications where they are needed most.

US7,815,332 describes and shows a lighting panel and outlet strip suitable for mounting underneath cabinetry or similar locations of low clearances or limited 35 natural illumination. The panel has an illuminating assembly housed within a transparent or translucent cover as well as an outlet strip for electrical appliances.

US7,364,443 describes and shows an electrical outlet device comprising a mounting plate, and an electrical outlet assembly containing electrical components and a hinge assembly coupled to the electrical outlet assembly and the mounting plate. The electrical outlet assembly can pivot with respect to the mounting plate between a raised horizontal orientation and a lowered operative orientation.

In contrast the present invention provides a mountable plug socket unit that can be mounted where required and which can be discretely and easily stored when not in 10 use.

Summary of the Invention

According to the present invention there is provided a mountable plug socket unit, comprising: a mounting means configured for mounting the plug socket unit to a surface; a housing containing at least one mains electrical outlet socket; the mounting means and housing configured for relative movement between a storage position where the housing is located against or at least partly within the surface, and a use position where the housing is held away from the surface and the at least one mains electrical outlet socket is aligned so as to be readily accessible.

The mountable plug socket unit may be mounted where required via the mounting means, and once mounted the housing with the socket may be discretely stored out of the way, and then moved to the use position when required. This assists with providing the required number of sockets in a kitchen where required for powering accessories, while allowing the sockets to be located and stored in a manner that is visually unobtrusive.

In an embodiment, the mounting means comprises a screw plate configured to be 30 connected by screws to a surface. This is a simple, robust and reliable connection mechanism.

In an embodiment, the mounting means comprises an outer casing, the housing configured to locate within the outer casing in the storage position and to extend at 35 least partly from the casing in a use position so that the at least one mains electrical outlet socket can be accessed. This allows the housing to be discretely and securely stored when not in use.

In an embodiment, the outer casing and the housing are hingedly connected so that 5 the housing and casing can relatively rotate about an axis at or towards one common end. This provides a simple, reliable and robust mechanism by which the housing can be moved between the storage and use positions.

In an embodiment, the mountable plug socket unit further comprises a holding means 10 configured to hold the housing in the storage position or the use position unless acted on by an external force. This allows the housing to be securely held in storage until required, preventing inadvertent deployment.

In an embodiment, the holding means comprises at least one offset compression 15 spring connected between the housing and the casing This is a simple and reliable mechanism well-suited to this purpose.

In an embodiment, the holding means further comprises a damper configured to impart a controlled motion to the movement of the housing relative to the casing. 20 This helps to prevent the housing snapping between positions in an uncontrolled manner which can be alarming for a user, or potentially injurious.

In an embodiment, the damper is a rotary silicone damper. This is a simple, reliable and easily sourced mechanism.

In an embodiment, the outer casing and housing are slimline and substantially cuboid. This allows the outer casing and housing to be readily and easily formed, and to be discretely located in a visually unobtrusive manner.

In an embodiment, the at least one mains electrical outlet socket is mounted on the inner surface of the housing, facing inwards towards the casing This allows the socket to be stored and deployed easily.

In an embodiment, the housing further comprises at least one outwardly-facing mains 35 electrical outlet socket mounted on the outer surface of the housing and accessible when the housing is in the storage position. This allows accessories to be connected with the housing in the stored position, which can be useful if ambient lighting or other similar low-level power is required over an extended period.

In an embodiment, the mountable plug socket unit further comprises at least one 5 light. This assists a user with lighting work in progress as required, where a main light may not be located in the most advantageous position and may cast shadows over a work in progress or similar.

In an embodiment, the light is an LED light. These are reliable and discrete light 10 sources.

In an embodiment, the mountable plug socket unit further comprises at least one USB charging slot. This allows a user to plug in items that may require charging such as a smartphone, tablet, etc and use these in the local environment, such as for 15 example a tablet used for recipes, etc.

Brief Description of Figures

Figure 1 shows a front view of a mountable plug socket unit according to an embodiment of the present invention, the mountable plug socket having an outer casing and an inner housing that contains mains electrical outlet sockets, the outer casing and housing hingedly connected at one end so the housing can rotate from a storage position within the casing to a usage position where the housing extends downwards from the casing, in use the casing connected to the underside of a kitchen cabinet or similar, the casing and housing slimline so that when stored on the underside of the housing, they are visually unobtrusive.

Figure 2 shows a side view of the mountable plug socket unit of figure 1.

Figure 3 shows a perspective view from in front, above and to one side of the mountable plug socket unit of figures 1 and 2.

Figure 4 shows a perspective view from in front, below and to one side of the mountable plug socket unit of figures 1 to 3.

Figure 5 shows a perspective view from behind, above and to one side of the mountable plug socket unit of figures 1 and 2.

Figure 6 shows an exploded view of the mountable plug socket unit from the same 5 angle as figure 3, showing detail of a damper that acts between the housing and the casing as the housing moves relative to the casing.

Figure 7 shows detail of an alternative mechanism that allows relative movement between the housing and casing, the figure showing sequential side views of the 10 casing with the housing moving from a storage position to a fully vertical use position.

Detailed Description of Figures

An embodiment of the mountable plug socket unit of the present invention will now 15 be described with reference to the figures.

The mountable plug socket 1 has two main parts: an outer casing 2 and a housing 3. The housing 3 fits within the outer casing 2, which substantially surrounds the housing 3. The housing 3 and outer casing 2 are both cuboid, and are formed so as to be slimline. That is, thin when viewed end on from the front (the same angle as figure 1). In the embodiment shown and described, the plug socket 1 is intended to be mounted to the underside of an overhead or upper cabinet in a kitchen. From normal head height view, it will be difficult to see the plug socket 1 as it will be under the cabinet. From underneath, it will be end-on and visually discrete.

The outer casing 2 has holes for screws 6 that extend from an upper side allow it to be attached to the underside of a cabinet.

The housing 3 is a box that contains first and second plug sockets 7, 8. The first plug socket 7 is a pair of forward-facing sockets, and is located at the front end of the housing in the storage position, with the sockets facing upwards in the storage position. The second plug socket 8 is a pair of plug sockets located behind (above) the first plug socket 7, with the sockets facing in the opposite direction.

The housing 3 and outer casing 2 are connected via a rotating hinge mechanism 9 at or towards the rear of the plug socket 1. In use, the housing 3 rotates downwards and rearwards from a storage position in the outer casing 2 against the underside of the cabinet around an axis formed by the hinge 9 so that the pair of forward-facing sockets that form the first plug socket 7 extend below the outer casing 2 and are readily accessible and able to be used by a user.

The housing 3 is prevented from rotating downwards out of the storage position by a holding mechanism that holds the housing 3 in the storage position or the use position unless acted on by an external force. This allows the housing 3 to be securely held in storage until required, preventing inadvertent deployment. In this embodiment, the holding mechanism comprises a pair of offset compression springs 10 connected at each side of the housing 3 between the housing 3 and the casing 2. During motion of the housing 3, the springs 10 compress and force the housing to hold in either the storage position or a fully extended use position. The housing is prevented from 'snapping' from one position to the other by a damper 11 that imparts a controlled motion to the movement of the housing 3 relative to the casing 2. The damper 11 is a rotary silicone damper.

In the storage position, the second plug socket pair of plug sockets 8 are accessible on the underside of the cabinet, in case these are required for a secondary power 20 purpose, which can be useful if ambient lighting or other similar low-level power is required over an extended period.

An LED light 12 is mounted in the housing 3 above the first plug socket 7. This assists a user with lighting work in progress as required, where a main light may not be located in the most advantageous position and may cast shadows over a work in progress or similar. A USB charging slot (not shown) can also be included to allow a user to plug in items that may require charging such as a smartphone, tablet, etc and use these in the local environment. For example, a user may wish to use a tablet or smartphone for recipes, etc. An alternative hinge mechanism is shown in figure 7. With this mechanism, the housing 3 can be locked in either the storage position or the fully extended use position by moving the housing 3 forwards to unlock it from the storage position, rotating it downwards, and then allowing it to drop down and lock into a vertical use position.

The invention has been described by way of examples only and it will be appreciated that variation may be made to the above-mentioned embodiments without departing from the scope of invention. Firstly it will be understood that any features described in relation to any particular embodiment may be featured in combinations with other embodiments With respect to the specification therefore, it is to be realised that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of the invention, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by the present invention.

Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention, with variation and implementation obvious and clear on the basis of either common general knowledge or of expert knowledge in the field concerned. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as set out in the accompanying claims.

Claims

Claims 1 A mountable plug socket unit, comprising: a mounting means configured for mounting the plug socket unit to a surface; a housing containing at least one mains electrical outlet socket; the mounting means and housing configured for relative movement between a storage position where the housing is located against or at least partly within the surface, and a use position where the housing is held away from the surface and the at least one mains electrical outlet socket is aligned so as to be readily accessible.
2. A mountable plug socket unit as claimed in claim 1 wherein the mounting means comprises a screw plate configured to be connected by screws to a surface.
3. A mountable plug socket unit as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the mounting means comprises an outer casing, the housing configured to locate within the outer casing in the storage position and to extend at least partly from the casing in a use position so that the at least one mains electrical outlet socket can be accessed.
4. A mountable plug socket unit as claimed in claim 4 wherein the outer casing and the housing are hingedly connected so that the housing and casing can relatively rotate about an axis at or towards one common end.
5. A mountable plug socket unit as claimed in claim 3 or claim 4 further comprising a holding means configured to hold the housing in the storage position or the use position unless acted on by an external force.
6. A mountable plug socket unit as claimed in claim 5 wherein the holding means comprises at least one offset compression spring connected between the housing and the casing.
7. A mountable plug socket unit as claimed in claim 5 or claim 6 wherein the holding means further comprises a damper configured to impart a controlled motion to the movement of the housing relative to the casing.
8. A mountable plug socket unit as claimed in claim 7 wherein the damper is a rotary silicone damper.
9. A mountable plug socket unit as claimed in any one of claims 4 to 8 wherein the outer casing and housing are slimline and substantially cuboid.
10. A mountable plug socket unit as claimed in claim 9 wherein the at least one mains electrical outlet socket is mounted on the inner surface of the housing, facing inwards towards the casing.
11. A mountable plug socket unit as claimed in claim 10 wherein the housing further comprises at least one outwardly-facing mains electrical outlet socket mounted on the outer surface of the housing and accessible when the housing is in the storage position.
12. A mountable plug socket unit as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 11 further comprising at least one light.
13. A mountable plug socket unit as claimed in claim 12 wherein the light is an LED light.
14. A mountable plug socket unit as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 13 further comprising at least one USB charging slot.
15. A mountable plug socket substantially as herein described with reference to the figures.