WO2007088445A2

WO2007088445A2 - Electrical system

Info

Publication number: WO2007088445A2
Application number: PCT/IB2007/000200
Authority: WO
Inventors: Andrea Merighi; Luca Merighi
Original assignee: Andrea Merighi; Luca Merighi
Priority date: 2006-01-31
Filing date: 2007-01-30
Publication date: 2007-08-09
Also published as: ITBO20060054A1; WO2007088445A3; EP1980002A2

Abstract

An electrical system (1) for homes and/or industrial buildings comprises: at least one set (3) of groups (4) of cables, the groups (4) each being intended to supply at least one user outlet; at least one flexible duct (5) for protecting and containing the set (3) of groups (4) of cables; a circuit (8) for supplying the user outlets.

Description

Electrical system

Technical Field

The present invention relates to an electrical system for home and/or industrial use.

In particular the present invention relates to an electrical system for home and/or industrial use for supplying different user outlets, said user outlets using, for example, electricity, a video signal, a telephone network, a high speed internet network.

Background Art An electrical system is usually formed by a series of groups of cables, each related to a certain user outlet, by a series of end components for connecting the groups of cables to the user appliances and by flexible ducts in which the groups of cables are inserted and which both protect the latter and facilitate their positioning in the paths cut in the walls.

Electrical systems normally produced are fitted together by connecting the various components on the spot .

This makes installation very time-consuming and requires highly specialised manpower, with an obvious effect on total system installation time and cost.

There is also the possibility of making mistakes when connecting end components such as sockets, switches, video connectors, etc. to the different groups of cables with consequent system malfunction. Another disadvantage is definitely the fact that installation involves a large number of operations to be carried out in order to make the system operational .

Firstly, grooves are cut in the walls to define the cable path and the location of the end components . Then the flexible ducts are placed inside the grooves and the grooves filled up except at the zones where the end components will be placed.

Once this has been done, the groups of cables are inserted in the flexible ducts and, finally, the end components are connected to the ends of the groups of cables at the predetermined zones.

Obviously, the above-mentioned installation process is long and complex.

It should also be noticed that, since the workman does not usually have access to data regarding the actual total length of all of the cables needed to produce the system, he often has to transport a quantity of materials greater than that actually required.

Disclosure of the Invention

The present invention therefore has for an aim to eliminate the above-mentioned disadvantages by proposing an electrical system which is reliable, economical and easy to install.

The present invention also has for an aim to propose a method for production of an electrical system and an electrical system installation kit which are simple, practical and economical .

This aim and others are substantially achieved by an electrical system comprising the features described in one or more of the claims herein.

Brief Description of the Drawings

The following is a description, purely by way of example and without restricting the scope of the invention, of a preferred embodiment of an electrical system according to the present invention, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the electrical system in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 2 is a plan of a building with the relative wiring; Figure 3 is a perspective view of a first detail from Figure 1;

Figures 4a, 4b and 4c are perspective top views of three different details of the system of Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of another detail of the system illustrated in the previous figures;

Figure 6 is a perspective view of an installation kit for the electrical system illustrated in the previous figures .

Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments of the Invention With reference to the accompanying drawings, the numeral 1 denotes, as a whole, a prefabricated electrical system. The prefabricated electrical system 1 is intended for installation in homes and/or industrial buildings.

With reference to Figure 1, such buildings are divided into a plurality of zones 2. A zone 2 may be a room, a store, a garage or other. The electrical system 1 is specially designed to be installed in said zones 2.

In particular, according to a preferred embodiment, the electrical system 1 comprises a plurality of sets 3 of groups 4 of cables. Each of the sets 3 of groups 4 of cables is intended to be installed in a particular zone 2 of the buildings and is designed in accordance with that zone.

The groups 4 of cables forming the various sets 3 each supply a certain user outlet. The term user outlet in this specification means any user of the different lines normally present in a company or home, for example the power line, the telephone line, the video line, the internet line and others.

For example, a group 4 of cables for the power line consists of three cables, a neutral cable, a live cable and an earth cable, whilst the group 4 for the video line consists of a single cable. Each set 3 consists of a number of groups 4 of cables which depends on the zone 2 where the set 3 will be positioned. In practice, depending on the number of user outlets that must be present in the zone 2, each set 3 will have a corresponding number of groups 4 of cables. Each set 3 of groups 4 of cables is inserted in a flexible duct 5 which both protects the cables from wear and facilitates insertion of the sets 3 in the paths made in the walls of the zones 2 and defining the route of the system in each of the zones 2.

The ends of the groups 4 of cables come out of the ends of the flexible duct 5. Advantageously, said ends are connected to end connecting components 6, as illustrated in Figures 4a, 4b, 4c or, as shown in Figure 5, to connectors 7 which in the preferred embodiment are polarised connectors.

The end connecting components 6 comprise the sockets used to connect the ends of the groups 4 of cables to the user appliances through the user outlets supplied by the related group 4 of cables. For example, in a preferred embodiment, such components 6 may be switches, power sockets for example of the type illustrated in Figure 4b, TV cable sockets as shown in Figure 4c, internet cables sockets as illustrated in Figure 4a, or telephone sockets.

Advantageously, in this way it is possible to test the electrical system 1 including all of its components before installing it in the buildings. It is therefore possible to be certain that every component of the system, for example the switches and all of the above-mentioned sockets, are operational and ready for use once installed in the zones 2 of the buildings.

The connectors 7, on the other hand, are connected to a supply circuit 8. The supply circuit 8 is connected to the external lines and supplies and supports, by means of the groups 4 of cables, all of the above-mentioned different user outlets.

As indicated above, the connectors 7 are polarised connectors. Advantageously, this solution makes it possible to avoid incorrect connection of the cables to the supply circuit 8 due to polarity inversion. Moreover, each group 4 of cables is connected to the supply circuit 8 with its own connector 7. In this way, each group 4 of cables is independent of the others and thus forms a modular unit 9 which can be disconnected from the supply circuit 8 without compromising the operation of the rest of the electrical system 1. Advantageously, the electrical system 1 can therefore be inspected, since one modular unit 9 at a time can be disconnected in order to locate a fault. With reference to Figure 2 , the embodiment of the electrical system 1 starts with the drafting of a diagram showing the plan of the building or home, and of the related zones 2.

Firstly, the diagram of the electrical system 1 is drawn with the above-mentioned sets 3 of groups 4 of cables relative to each zone 2. Once the number of groups 4 of cables necessary for each zone 2 has been established in accordance with the user outlets to be supplied, the groups 4 of cables are produced, their length calculated from the plan. Obviously, the length calculation must also take into account the height of the walls of the building or home and the relative vertical position of each user outlete, where the term vertical position refers to the height above the floor of the room in the building.

Starting with the groups 4 of cables, the sets 3 of groups 4 are produced, each intended for a different zone 2 indicated on the drawing.

Once produced, all of the sets 3 of groups 4 of cables are inserted in a respective flexible duct 5.

In the next step the end components 6 and the polarised connectors 7 are connected to the ends of the groups 4 of cables. The polarised components 7 are then connected to the supply circuit 8.

The final step is to test the electrical system 1 including the end connecting components 6 before sending it to the place where it will be installed.

Advantageously, the invention provides a kit for transporting and fitting the electrical system 1. The kit comprises a container 11, advantageously a cardboard box, divided into a plurality of compartments 12 by suitable separators 12a. Each compartment 12 represents one of the zones 2. The set 3 of groups 4 of cables intended for installation in the zone 2 is placed in each compartment 12.

Advantageously, an installation instruction manual 13 is placed in the container 11, including the plan of the building or home in which the system must be installed.

The invention brings important advantages .

The electrical system 1 is prefabricated, meaning that the system is produced in a suitable workshop away from the place where the system is installed. The fact that it is prefabricated therefore makes the electrical system 1 ready for immediate installation, without the need for operations requiring specialised manpower at the installation site, thus significantly reducing costs .

Moreover, once the various sets 3 of groups 4 of cables have been positioned in the paths in the walls, the system 1 is operational, without requiring installation of any end component 6 on the spot at any later stage.

The electrical system 1 is also easy to transport, all of the material necessary to install it being located in the container 11.

Claims

1. An electrical system (1) for homes and/or industrial buildings, comprising: at least one set (3) of groups (4) of cables, said groups (4) each intended to supply at least one user outlet; at least one flexible duct (5) for protecting and containing the set (3) of groups (4) of cables; a circuit (8) for supplying the user outlets; characterised in that the electrical system (1) is prefabricated and the groups (4) of cables have a predetermined length corresponding to the length necessary to install the system (1) .

2. The electrical system according to claim 1, characterised in that the groups (4) of cables comprise end components (6) for connecting the user outlets to user appliances and connectors (7) for connecting the groups (4) of cables to the supply circuit (8) .

3. The electrical system according to claim 1, characterised in that it comprises at least one modular unit (9) formed by the group (4) of cables.

4. The electrical system according to any of the foregoing claims, characterised in that each group (4) of cables is connected to the supply circuit (8) with a relative connector (7) so that it is independent of the other groups (4) of cables.

5. The electrical system according to claim 2 or 4, characterised in that the connectors (7) are polarised.

6. The electrical system according to any of the foregoing claims, characterised in that each set (3) of groups (4) of cables is custom designed for a specific zone (2) of the buildings.

7. The electrical system according to claim 2 or 4 or 5, characterised in that the end components (6) and the connectors (7) are tested during construction.

8. The electrical system according to claim 2 or 4 or 5 , characterised in that the end connecting components (6) comprise power sockets .

9. The electrical system according to claim 2 or 4 or 5, characterised in that the end connecting components (6) comprise telephone sockets .

10. The electrical system according to claim 2 or 4 or 5, characterised in that the end connecting components (6) comprise switches .

11. The electrical system according to claim 2 or 4 or 5, characterised in that the end connecting components (6) comprise high speed internet connection sockets.

12. The electrical system according to claim 2 or 4 or 5, characterised in that the end connecting components (6) comprise video sockets.

13. A kit for installing an electrical system (1), characterised in that it comprises: an electrical system according to any of the claims from 1 to 11; a container (11) for transporting the sets (3) of groups (4) of cables, the container (11) comprising a plurality of compartments (12), each designed to hold one of the sets (3) for one of the zones (2) .

14. The kit according to claim 12, characterised in that the container (11) comprises an instruction manual (13) for installing the system.

15. A method for producing an electrical system according to any of the claims from 1 to 11, characterised in that it comprises the steps of: - producing each of the sets (3) of groups (4) of cables with length predetermined in a plan of the zones (2) of the buildings,

- inserting the sets (3) in the protective flexible ducts (5),

- connecting the end components (6) and the connectors (7) to the ends of the groups (4) of cables,

- connecting the connectors (7) to the supply circuit (8) , all of these steps being carried out away from the home and/or industrial building in which the system will be installed.

16. The method according to claim 14, characterised in that it comprises the step of testing the system (1) before installing it in the buildings .