561187
NEW ZEALAND PATENTS ACT, 1953
No: 561187 Date: 18 May 2007
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
AN ELECTRICAL SOCKET
We, SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC NEW ZEALAND HOLDINGS LIMITED, a New Zealand company duly incorporated under the laws of New Zealand of, 11 Moncur Place, Middleton, Christchurch, New Zealand do hereby declare the invention for which wc pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement:
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FIELD OF INVENTION
The invention relates to improvements in electrical socket fittings of the type adapted to be fitted over an aperture in the lining of a wall in a domestic or light commercial or industrial application (sometimes referred to as hot points), which will herein be referred to as wall socket fittings for convenience.
BACKGROUND
Single or double electrical socket fittings for use in providing power outlets in domestic or light commercial or industrial applications comprise a body or plate-like part which when the fitting is installed typically fits over an aperture in the lining of a wall of a house or office or similar. The installed fitting then provides an exposed front face which presents phase, neutral, and earth socket apertures in a standard format, into which the plug connector of any appliance may be inserted. The metallic pins of the plug insert through the socket apertures and make contact with metallic connector parts of the oudets behind the front face of the fitting, when a plug is plugged into the sockct. Such socket fittings also have terminators at the rear of the fitting which are exposed into the wall cavity and to which fixed wiring is terminated to connect power to the socket. Commonly such fittings also have mounting apertures through which screws pass, into a box fixed for example to a structural member within the wall cavity, to fix the fitting in place.
Such socket fittings may also comprise a cover plate which is installed to finish the front face of the fitting, or alternatively the main fitting part which is screwed to the wall may form the finished front face of the fitting, with plugs optionally being provided over the mounting apertures for use after fixing the fitting in place.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
It is an object of the invention to provide an improved or at least alternative form of such a wall socket fitting.
In a first aspect, the invention broadly consists in an electric wall socket fitting adapted to be fitted over an aperture in the lining of a wall, and comprising:
a front face which presents at least one outlet comprising phase, neutral, and earth apertures;
phase, neutral, and earth connectors accessible through said phase, neutral and earth apertures in the front face; ^
phase, neutral, and earth terminators exposed at a rear of the fitting;
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a thermal sensor sensitive to temperature changes due to current flow through the outlet; internal switching means arranged to interrupt the power flow through the outlet; and a control circuit connected to the thermal sensor and the internal switching means and arranged to operate the internal switching means to interrupt the power flow through the outlet in the event of a sensed temperature increase above a predetermined temperature threshold, the control circuit also arranged to detect the voltage difference between phase and at least one of earth and neutral and to operate the internal switching means to interrupt the power flow through the outlet in the event of either a voltage difference increase above a predetermined voltage surge threshold, or a voltage difference decrease below a predetermined voltage sag threshold.
In a second aspect, the invention broadly consists in an electric wall socket fitting adapted to be fitted over an aperture in the lining of a wall, and comprising;
a front face which presents at least one outlet comprising phase, neutral, and earth apertures;
phase, neutral, and earth connectors accessible through said phase, neutral and earth apertures in the front face;
phase, neutral, and earth terminators exposed at a rear of the fitting;
a current sensor;
internal switching means arranged to interrupt the power flow through the outlet; and a control circuit connected to the current sensor and the internal switching means and arranged to operate the internal switching means to interrupt the power flow through the outlet in the event of a sensed current increase above a predetermined current threshold, the control circuit also arranged to detect the voltage difference between the phase and at least one of earth and neutral and to operate the internal switching means to interrupt the power flow through the outlet in the event of either a voltage difference increase above a predetermined voltage surge threshold, or a voltage difference decrease below a predetermined voltage sag threshold.
Preferably, the control circuit is arranged to operate the internal switching means to interrupt the power flow through the outlet in the event of a voltage difference increase above a predetermined voltage surge threshold, and the event of a voltage difference decrease below a predetermined voltage sag threshold.
Preferably, the electric wall socket fitting comprises a thermal sensor connected to the control circuit where the control circuit is arranged to operate the internal switching means to fw
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interrupt power flow through the outlet in the event of a sensed temperature increase above a predetermined temperature threshold.
Preferably, the thermal sensor comprises a thermistor.
Preferably, the thermal sensor is positioned in close physical proximity to or is in physical contact with a metal part of the fitting behind the front face.
Preferably, the thermal sensor is positioned in close physical proximity to or is in physical contact with the phase connector of the socket fitting.
Preferably, the electric wall socket fitting comprises a current sensor connected to the control circuit where the control circuit is arranged to operate the internal switching means to interrupt the power flow through the outlet in the event of a sensed current increase above a predetermined current threshold.
Preferably, the current sensor comprises a coil.
Preferably, the current sensor encircles a conductor to the phase connector of the socket outlet.
Preferably, the internal switching means comprises a switch mechanism and an associated solenoid.
Preferably, the electric wall socket fitting comprises an indicator visible from the front face of the fitting, the visible indicator arranged to indicate the status of the electric wall socket fitting. More preferably in a first aspect, the visible indicator is arranged to indicate when the outlet is live. More preferably in a second aspect, the visible indicator is arranged to indicate when the oudet is disconnected.
Preferably, the visible indicator is arranged to periodically change state when the over temperature switching means approaches said temperature threshold, to indicate that the oudet is nearing disconnection.
Preferably, the visible indicator comprises an LED indicator
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Preferably, the visible indicator comprises a neon indicator.
Preferably, the electric wall socket fitting comprises a user operable switch for resetting the internal switching means once the cause of an over temperature condition has been removed. More preferably, the user operable switch is a button, contact switch, or a pressure pad.
The term "comprising" as used in this specification means "consisting at least in part of'. When interpreting each statement in this specification that includes the term "comprising", features other than that or those prefaced by the term may also be present. Related terms such as "comprise" and "comprises" are to be interpreted in the same manner.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
A preferred embodiment of the invention is described with reference to the accompanying drawings, by way of example in which:Figure 1 is a view of the preferred form socket fitting from the front (showing the front face thereof),
Figure 2 is a view from the front, of the preferred form socket fitting with a front part removed so that the internal components of the fitting are visible, and
Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2 but with the metallic socket connector pins and other metallic parts of the preferred form socket also removed.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED FORM
Referring first to Figure 1, the preferred form socket fitting comprises a body part 1 having a front face which is exposed and presents two oudets each comprising phase, neutral, and earth socket apertures in a standard format, when the fitting is connected and installed in place over an aperture in the lining of a wall. In the particular embodiment shown the socket fitting is a switched double outlet fitting but alternatively the socket fitting may be a switched or unswitched single or triple or quad socket fitting. The front face of the fitting shown in Figure 1 may comprise a cover plate over a main body part of the fitting which is fixed over the wall aperture, or alternatively the front face of the main body part may be the finished front face of the fitting (without any separate cover plate).
An LED 2 is exposed through an aperture in the front face of the fitting, which is normally iUuminated, and is not illuminated in the event of an over current or over temperature (or voltage sag or surge) condition as will be further described, to indicate to persons that the integral over current and/or over temperature (or voltage sag or surge) protection has operated
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5611_8g to disconnect power from the outlets. Alternatively the LED may be illuminated only when power is disconnected from the oudets, in the event of an over current or temperature (or voltage sag or surge) condition. The preferred form fitting also comprises a small reset button-operated switch 3 exposed through the front face of the fitting, which a person may push to re-energise the oudets, after for example disconnecting excess appliances. Alternatively this switch may be actuated by a contact or pressure pad at the front face of the fitting.
Referring to Figures 2 and 3, which show the fitting of Figure 1 behind the front face thereof, each oudet behind the front face comprises metallic phase, neutral and earth connectors 4, 5 and 6, into which the pins of a plug inserted into the socket engage. The connectors 4, 5 and 6 on either side comprise integral parts which connect to a switch mechanism on either side partly and generally indicated at 7 in Figure 2, which may otherwise be of conventional form. The fitting also comprises terminators 8 exposed at the rear of the fitting and which in the preferred form are screw terminators, which when the wall fitting has been installed are exposed at the rear of the fitting for connecting mains wiring within the wall cavity to the fitting (the wire ends are connected to the screw terminators 8 before the electrical fitting is in turn screwed to the wall). The terminators 8 may be of conventional form.
In accordance with the invention the fitting comprises a small electrical switch mechanism which may be of any form, and which is in the preferred form housed within a casing 12, and through which the phase line is connected from the phase terminator 8 at the rear of the fitting, to the phase outlet connectors 4. Preferably the switch mechanism 9 switches both the phase and neutral lines between the phase and neutral terminators 8 and the phase and neutral socket connectors 4 and 5. In a preferred form the switch mechanism 9 comprises mechanical contacts (not shown) which are spring biased towards their open position, and which under normal (no fault) and no power conditions are latched closed, and in over current or over temperature (fault) conditions are opened by a small solenoid actuator (not shown). In turn a control circuit provides power to this solenoid, and is connected to thermistors 10 and an over current sensing coil 11, so that if either an over temperature and/or over current condition at either outlet is sensed, then the solenoid is energised by the control circuit causing the switch mechanism 9 to open to disconnect power to all socket connector pins (at least the phase connectors 4 and preferably both the phase connectors 4 and neutral connectors 5).
In the preferred form, the over current sensing coil 11 encircles a conductor between the phase connector 4 of each socket oudet, and the switch module 9. A separate thermistor 10 is positioned in close physical proximity to or in contact with a metal part which is integral with one of the phase connectors 4 of each oudet (see in particular Figure 3). The arrangement is such that an over temperature condition within the socket fitting for example from a poor connection
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between the phase pin of a plug and a phase connector 4 causing heat build up, or over current through the circuit, will trigger the control circuit and cause reduction of the switch mechanism 9 to disconnect power from the outlets of the fitting.
In a preferred form, the control circuit comprises a microprocessor or microcontroller or other analogue or digital hardware. Optionally, control software is provided. The control circuit is arranged to receive the output signals from the thermal sensors and from the current sensor. The control circuit is also arranged to sense or measure the difference in voltage between the phase and neutral connections. With the temperature, current and voltage information, the control circuit uses an algorithm executed in hardware or software or both to determine when the temperature exceeds a predetermined temperature threshold, if the current drawn exceeds a predetermined current threshold, or if the voltage sags or surges below or above predetermined voltage thresholds. In any such condition the control circuit energises the solenoid to open the internal switch mechanism 9, and also de-illuminate the visible indicator 2. Additionally, the control circuit may be arranged so that if either the temperature or current or both is within a predetermined range from the cut-out point, or if there is voltage sag or surge approaching a limit, so that cut-out is imminent, the control circuit actuates the visible indicator 2 to flash periodically on and off. This warns users that the socket is near tripping point.
When the control circuit causes the switch mechanism 9 to disconnect power from the oudets of the fitting, subsequently a person may reset the fitting by pressing the reset switch 3, which will re-latch the switch mechanism 9 closed to re-energise the oudets of the socket fitting, provided that the condition which led to initial triggering has been removed.
A preferred form socket fitting described above comprises integral over temperature and over current protection, and voltage sag and/or surge protection. In an alternative form the socket fitting may provide only one or other of over temperature and over current protection, with voltage sag and surge protection. A socket fitting providing over temperature protection would comprise the thermistors 10 or equivalent, but would not require the over current sensing coil 11. A socket fitting with over current protection would require the current sensing coil 11 or equivalent, but would not require the thermistors 10.
The foregoing describes the invention including a preferred form thereof. Alterations and modifications as would be obvious to those skilled in the art are intended to be incorporated within the scope hereof, as defined in the accompanying claims.
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