EP0935829B1 - Sortie secteur - Google Patents

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Publication number
EP0935829B1
EP0935829B1 EP97910542A EP97910542A EP0935829B1 EP 0935829 B1 EP0935829 B1 EP 0935829B1 EP 97910542 A EP97910542 A EP 97910542A EP 97910542 A EP97910542 A EP 97910542A EP 0935829 B1 EP0935829 B1 EP 0935829B1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
contacts
linkage
mode
outlet according
contact carrier
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Lifetime
Application number
EP97910542A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
Other versions
EP0935829A1 (fr
Inventor
Simon Powell
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Greenbrook Electrical PLC
Original Assignee
Greenbrook Electrical PLC
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Greenbrook Electrical PLC filed Critical Greenbrook Electrical PLC
Publication of EP0935829A1 publication Critical patent/EP0935829A1/fr
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP0935829B1 publication Critical patent/EP0935829B1/fr
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01R—ELECTRICALLY-CONDUCTIVE CONNECTIONS; STRUCTURAL ASSOCIATIONS OF A PLURALITY OF MUTUALLY-INSULATED ELECTRICAL CONNECTING ELEMENTS; COUPLING DEVICES; CURRENT COLLECTORS
    • H01R13/00—Details of coupling devices of the kinds covered by groups H01R12/70 or H01R24/00 - H01R33/00
    • H01R13/66—Structural association with built-in electrical component
    • H01R13/70—Structural association with built-in electrical component with built-in switch
    • H01R13/713—Structural association with built-in electrical component with built-in switch the switch being a safety switch
    • H01R13/7135—Structural association with built-in electrical component with built-in switch the switch being a safety switch with ground fault protector
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01R—ELECTRICALLY-CONDUCTIVE CONNECTIONS; STRUCTURAL ASSOCIATIONS OF A PLURALITY OF MUTUALLY-INSULATED ELECTRICAL CONNECTING ELEMENTS; COUPLING DEVICES; CURRENT COLLECTORS
    • H01R13/00—Details of coupling devices of the kinds covered by groups H01R12/70 or H01R24/00 - H01R33/00
    • H01R13/66—Structural association with built-in electrical component
    • H01R13/70—Structural association with built-in electrical component with built-in switch
    • H01R13/713—Structural association with built-in electrical component with built-in switch the switch being a safety switch

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a mains electrical outlet and more particularly to such an outlet provided with manual switching facilities.
  • Mains electrical outlets are housed in standard size boxes and are usually either one-gang or two-gang. Attempts have been made in the past to provide switched electrical outlets with fault protection in the form of residual current devices but all previous attempts have either resulted in the need for nonstandard sized outlets or else the use of a two-gang box for a one-gang RCD protected outlet.
  • GB-A-2169749 on which the preamble of claim 1 is based discloses such a mains electrical outlet incorporating automatic circuit protection and has contacts which are opened by fault detection provisions. The contacts are normally operated by a conventional rocker switch but if automatically opened as a result of a fault condition need to be reset by a separate push button. There is thus a need for a switched electrical outlet which has RCD protection but which will fit in a standard size housing.
  • the present invention proposes to provide a switched mains electrical outlet comprising:
  • a preferred embodiment utilises the normal electrical contact assembly for making and breaking the power contacts together with a normal construction of manually operable switching means.
  • the linkage between these two elements is a controllable coupling operating in response to a fault detection mechanism.
  • the controllable coupling is in the form of an axial clutch which is capable of axial movement in the presence of a fault condition to thereby effectively disengage the mains contacts from the manually operable switch member to permit the mains contacts to open but when there is no fault condition the mains contact operating mechanism is locked to the operation of the manually operable switch member.
  • the preferred embodiment of the present invention is designed to result in a switched electrical outlet which has RCD protection built in but which occupies a standard outlet box.
  • the preferred embodiment utilises as far as possible normal operating mechanisms but replaces the normal fixed linkage between the manually operable switch on the outlet and the actual mains contact mechanism with a controllable coupling mechanism.
  • the normal mains contact operating mechanism is indicated by the reference numeral 10.
  • the mechanism consists of a contact carrier 12 carrying contacts 14 which in normal operation are biased by a biassing means 15 to a normally open condition with respect to fixed contacts 16.
  • the contact carrier is arranged to rotate in a plane normal to the plane of the paper in Figure 1.
  • a manually operable switch mechanism is generally indicated by reference numeral 18 and consists of a rocker switch 19 which is of the usual bistable type resulting from the use of an over-centre spring arrangement "where the rotational force required to overcome the spring to turn from on to off is greater than the rotational force exerted by the biasing spring 15, such that the switch system as a whole is also bi-stable for as long as the device is untripped.
  • a controllable coupling mechanism 20 in the form of an axial clutch.
  • the axial clutch is formed by a plate member 21 which faces a side wall 22 of the contact carrier 12.
  • the facing surfaces 21,22 are provided with one or more inter-engaging projections and recesses; the projections 22a being shown in more detail in Figure 3.
  • the plate 21 is arranged to be movable by the manually operable mechanism 18 in a rotational direction in and out of the paper as seen in Figure 1 but is capable of transverse or axial movement i.e to the left and right as shown in Figure 1 under the control of a fault detection system indicated generally by the reference numeral 28.
  • the arrangement is such that the fault detection mechanism 28 in the absence of a fault, causes the plate 21 to be held in engagement with the surface 22 on the contact carrier 12 so that movement of the manually operable mechanism 18 will also move the contact carrier 12 to open or close the power contacts.
  • This is achieved by interposing a movable member 23 between a surface 24 provided on an extension 25 to the plate 21 and a relatively fixed surface 26.
  • the member 23 interposed between the surface 24 and fixed member 26 prevents any axial movement of the plate 21.
  • the member 23 is withdrawn which allows relative movement between the members 24 and 26 which thus permits the plate 21 to move axially as a result of interaction between the projections and recesses on the contact carrier 12 and plate 21.
  • the projections 22a and recesses have angled engaging surfaces which are designed so that the biassing means 15 exerts a sufficient rotational force on the contact carrier 12 to force the plate away from the surface 22 when the moveable member 23 is not interposed between the surface 24 and fixed surface 26.
  • a further advantage of the above arrangement is that in order to reset a socket which has been tripped by a fault condition, all that is required is that the switch rocker 19 be returned to the "off' position and then placed into the "on" position again. If the fault has been cleared in the meantime then the switch will reset. However, if the fault is still present the operation of the rocker switch will have no effect on the contact carrier 12 due to the fact that the plate 21 will simply move axially as it also moves rotationally in response to operation of the rocker 19.
  • Figure 3 shows in an exploded perspective view a portion of the contact carrier 12 with the flag attached as well as the controlled coupling member. Rather than repeat the above description the same reference numerals have been used in Figure 3 as have been used in Figure 1.
  • the arms 31 engage the rocker switch 19 and cause the contact carrier to move with the rocker switch 19 in the absence of a fault.

Landscapes

  • Details Of Connecting Devices For Male And Female Coupling (AREA)
  • Finger-Pressure Massage (AREA)
  • Reciprocating, Oscillating Or Vibrating Motors (AREA)
  • Amplifiers (AREA)
  • Organic Insulating Materials (AREA)
  • Emergency Protection Circuit Devices (AREA)

Claims (12)

  1. Sortie électrique secteur commutée comprenant :
    des premiers contacts (16) ;
    des deuxièmes contacts (14) montés sur un moyen (12) de support de contact agencé pour être mobile pour permettre aux deuxièmes contacts de se fermer avec les premiers contacts ;
    un moyen de commutation (18) actionnable manuellement ; et
    un moyen (22) de détection d'erreur agencé pour commander le mode de fonctionnement pour ouvrir automatiquement les premiers et deuxièmes contacts (14, 16) en présence d'une erreur ;
       caractérisée en ce que le moyen (12) de support de contact est agencé pour tourner autour d'un axe pour permettre la fermeture des premiers et deuxièmes contacts (14, 16) et le moyen de commutation (18) actionnable manuellement est agencé pour tourner autour d'un axe, et en ce qu'il y a un moyen de liaison (20) entre le moyen (12) de support de contact et le moyen de commutation (18) actionnable manuellement capable d'adopter l'un de deux modes de fonctionnement en réponse au moyen de détection d'erreur, dans laquelle
    dans le premier mode de fonctionnement, le moyen de liaison (20) conduit le moyen (12) de support de contact à coopérer axialement avec le moyen de commutation (18) actionnable manuellement afin d'empêcher une rotation relative entre eux, aux fins de permettre aux premiers et deuxièmes contacts (14, 16) d'être commutés à l'état fermé ; et dans laquelle
    dans le deuxième mode de fonctionnement, le moyen de liaison (20) conduit le moyen de support de contact à se libérer axialement du moyen de commutation actionnable manuellement afin de permettre une rotation relative entre eux, aux fins de permettre aux premiers et deuxièmes contacts de s'ouvrir ou de rester ouverts en présence d'une erreur.
  2. Sortie selon la revendication 1, comprenant en outre un moyen (15) de retour de support de contact agencé pour faire tourner le moyen de support de contact pour ouvrir les contacts dans le deuxième mode de fonctionnement de la liaison.
  3. Sortie selon la revendication 2, dans laquelle le moyen (15) de retour de support de contact est un ressort.
  4. Sortie selon l'une quelconque des revendications précédentes, dans laquelle la liaison (20) se présente sous la forme d'un embrayage mobile axialement pouvant être commandé.
  5. Sortie selon la revendication 4, dans laquelle l'embrayage mobile axialement comprend :
    une première plaque comportant un certain nombre de cavités angulaires ; et
    une deuxième plaque (22) comportant un nombre correspondant de broches angulaires (22a) agencées pour s'adapter dans les cavités lorsque les plaques (21, 22) coopèrent mutuellement ;
    dans laquelle, lors de l'application d'un mouvement de torsion à l'embrayage, les broches (22a) et les cavités angulaires créent une force axiale qui, dans le deuxième mode de fonctionnement, est suffisante pour libérer les plaques et dans le premier mode de fonctionnement, n'est pas suffisante pour libérer les plaques.
  6. Sortie selon l'une quelconque des revendications précédentes, comprenant en outre un moyen (30) pour indiquer si les contacts sont ouverts ou fermés.
  7. Sortie selon la revendication 6, dans laquelle le moyen d'indication (30) se présente sous la forme d'un élément mécanique qui est visible par un utilisateur lorsque les contacts sont fermés.
  8. Sortie selon l'une quelconque des revendications 1 à 4, dans laquelle le moyen de commutation actionnable manuellement se présente sous la forme d'un interrupteur à bascule (19).
  9. Sortie selon la revendication 8 lorsqu'elle dépend de la revendication 6 ou 7, dans laquelle l'interrupteur à bascule (19) est pourvu d'une ouverture à travers laquelle le moyen d'indication (30) est visible.
  10. Sortie selon l'une quelconque des revendications précédentes, dans laquelle le moyen (22) de détection d'erreur comporte un dispositif (22, 23) actionnable électriquement agencé pour commander le mode de fonctionnement de la liaison (20).
  11. Sortie selon la revendication 10, dans laquelle le dispositif actionnable électriquement comprend une bobine de solénoïde (22) dont l'armature (23) est agencée pour coopérer avec la liaison pour commander le mode de fonctionnement adopté par la liaison (20).
  12. Sortie selon la revendication 10 lorsqu'elle dépend de la revendication 4 ou 5, dans laquelle le dispositif actionnable électriquement comprend une bobine de solénoïde (22) dont l'armature (23) est agencée pour empêcher un déplacement axial de l'embrayage (21, 22) lorsque la liaison (20) est dans le premier mode de fonctionnement, et pour permettre un déplacement axial de l'embrayage lorsque la liaison est dans le deuxième mode de fonctionnement.
EP97910542A 1996-10-31 1997-10-30 Sortie secteur Expired - Lifetime EP0935829B1 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB9622732 1996-10-31
GBGB9622732.7A GB9622732D0 (en) 1996-10-31 1996-10-31 Mains electrical outlet
PCT/GB1997/002985 WO1998019367A1 (fr) 1996-10-31 1997-10-30 Sortie secteur

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0935829A1 EP0935829A1 (fr) 1999-08-18
EP0935829B1 true EP0935829B1 (fr) 2001-01-24

Family

ID=10802266

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP97910542A Expired - Lifetime EP0935829B1 (fr) 1996-10-31 1997-10-30 Sortie secteur

Country Status (7)

Country Link
EP (1) EP0935829B1 (fr)
KR (1) KR100478566B1 (fr)
AT (1) ATE198951T1 (fr)
AU (1) AU4788997A (fr)
DE (1) DE69703987T2 (fr)
GB (1) GB9622732D0 (fr)
WO (1) WO1998019367A1 (fr)

Family Cites Families (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE964969C (de) * 1954-05-29 1957-05-29 Licentia Gmbh Schaltgeraet, insbesondere Installations-Selbstschalter mit thermischer und magnetischer Ausloesung
DE7541613U (de) * 1975-12-29 1978-02-16 Ellenberger & Poensgen Gmbh, 8503 Altdorf Schalter mit einem kippbaren Schalthebel
US4399420A (en) * 1981-09-11 1983-08-16 Square D Company Main circuit breaker
GB2169749A (en) * 1985-01-12 1986-07-16 Ashley Accessories Ltd Electrical outlet accessories with incorporated automatic circuit breaker
CH673175A5 (fr) * 1987-07-22 1990-02-15 Bbc Brown Boveri & Cie
DE3802765A1 (de) * 1988-01-30 1989-08-10 Insta Elektro Gmbh & Co Kg Schaltvorrichtung fuer ein elektrisches installationsgeraet, insbesondere 2-polig abschaltbare steckdose

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
EP0935829A1 (fr) 1999-08-18
DE69703987D1 (de) 2001-03-01
ATE198951T1 (de) 2001-02-15
KR100478566B1 (ko) 2005-03-23
HK1021074A1 (en) 2000-05-26
DE69703987T2 (de) 2001-06-13
AU4788997A (en) 1998-05-22
KR20000052910A (ko) 2000-08-25
GB9622732D0 (en) 1997-01-08
WO1998019367A1 (fr) 1998-05-07

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