DESC:ELECTRIC SOCKET ASSEMBLY

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure relates to an electric socket assembly having a cover with a stopper to prevent the unintended entry of objects in the electric socket.

BACKGROUND

An electric socket is employed to allow plugging of an electric plug of an electrical appliance to supply power to the electrical appliance. The electric socket includes holes to receive pins on the electric plug. The holes can either be a live pinhole or a neutral pinhole in case of alternating current or can be a positive terminal and a negative terminal in case of direct current. The holes can also be ground or earth pinholes. Some of the electric sockets include a shutter that prevents unintended insertion of the objects, such as a pin or a child’s finger while the shutter slides to expose electrical connection when the electric pin is inserted.

There are various limitations associated with the current design of the shutter. For instance, while the shutter prevents unwanted contact of the object with the electrical connection, the shutter would slide when a force of greater magnitude is applied to the shutter resulting in exposing the electrical connection. One of the ways to mitigate this issue is to provide tight tolerance to the shutter to prevent unintended opening of the shutter. However, providing tight tolerance hinders the sliding of the shutter when the electric plug is inserted into the electric socket.

SUMMARY

This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts, in a simplified format, that are further described in the detailed description of the invention. This summary is neither intended to identify key or essential inventive concepts of the invention nor is it intended for determining the scope of the invention.

The present disclosure relates to an electric socket assembly. The electric socket assembly includes a cover that has a stopper that controls the pivoting of the shutter inside the electric socket assembly.

In an embodiment, an electric socket assembly is disclosed. The electric socket assembly includes a housing having electrical contacts connected to a power supply. The electric socket assembly also includes a cover installed on the housing and having a first surface, a second surface, and a plurality of holes formed through the first surface into the second surface, such that each hole is concentric to an electrical connection. The electric socket assembly includes a shutter installed on the second surface and covering the electrical connection, the shutter is adapted to pivot in response to the insertion of an object in one of the plurality of holes. In one example, each of the plurality of holes includes a stopper adapted to restrict the pivoting of the shutter, preventing the object from contacting the electrical connection.

According to the present disclosure, the stopper restricts the pivoting of the shutter to prevent the object from connecting with the electrical contacts. Moreover, the stopper prevents dislodgement of the shutter, thereby preventing unwanted sliding of the shutter.

To further clarify the advantages and features of the present invention, a more particular description of the invention will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments thereof, which are illustrated in the appended drawings. It is appreciated that these drawings depict only typical embodiments of the invention and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope. The invention will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail in the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood when the following detailed description is read with reference to the accompanying drawings in which like characters represent like parts throughout the drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 illustrates an electric socket assembly having a cover and a housing, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
Figure 2 illustrates a schematic view of the internals of the electric socket assembly showing placement of a shutter in the housing, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
Figure 3 illustrates an inner surface of the housing, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
Figure 4 illustrates a perspective view of the cover, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
Figure 5 illustrates a zoom-in view of the cover, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; and
Figure 6 illustrates a cross section taken along lines 1-1 in Figure 1, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Further, skilled artisans will appreciate those elements in the drawings are illustrated for simplicity and may not have necessarily been drawn to scale. Furthermore, in terms of the construction of the device, one or more components of the device may have been represented in the drawings by conventional symbols, and the drawings may show only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments of the present invention so as not to obscure the drawings with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the description herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES

For the purpose of promoting an understanding of the principles of the invention, reference will now be made to the embodiment illustrated in the drawings and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended, such alterations and further modifications in the illustrated system, and such further applications of the principles of the invention as illustrated therein being contemplated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the invention relates. Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skilled in the art to which invention belongs. The system and examples provided herein are illustrative only and not intended to be limiting.

For example, the term “some” as used herein may be understood as “none” or “one” or “more than one” or “all.” Therefore, the terms “none,” “one,” “more than one,” “more than one, but not all” or “all” would fall under the definition of “some.” It should be appreciated by a person skilled in the art that the terminology and structure employed herein is for describing, teaching, and illuminating some embodiments and their specific features and elements and therefore, should not be construed to limit, restrict, or reduce the spirit and scope of the present disclosure in any way.

For example, any terms used herein such as, “includes,” “comprises,” “has,” “consists,” and similar grammatical variants do not specify an exact limitation or restriction, and certainly do not exclude the possible addition of one or more features or elements, unless otherwise stated. Further, such terms must not be taken to exclude the possible removal of one or more of the listed features and elements, unless otherwise stated, for example, by using the limiting language including, but not limited to, “must comprise” or “needs to include.”

Whether or not a certain feature or element was limited to being used only once, it may still be referred to as “one or more features” or “one or more elements” or “at least one feature” or “at least one element.” Furthermore, the use of the terms “one or more” or “at least one” feature or element do not preclude there being none of that feature or element, unless otherwise specified by limiting language including, but not limited to, “there needs to be one or more...” or “one or more elements is required.”

Unless otherwise defined, all terms and especially any technical and/or scientific terms, used herein may be taken to have the same meaning as commonly understood by a person ordinarily skilled in the art.

Reference is made herein to some “embodiments.” It should be understood that an embodiment is an example of a possible implementation of any features and/or elements of the present disclosure. Some embodiments have been described for the purpose of explaining one or more of the potential ways in which the specific features and/or elements of the proposed disclosure fulfil the requirements of uniqueness, utility, and non-obviousness.

Use of the phrases and/or terms including, but not limited to, “a first embodiment,” “a further embodiment,” “an alternate embodiment,” “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “multiple embodiments,” “some embodiments,” “other embodiments,” “further embodiment”, “furthermore embodiment”, “additional embodiment” or other variants thereof do not necessarily refer to the same embodiments. Unless otherwise specified, one or more particular features and/or elements described in connection with one or more embodiments may be found in one embodiment, or may be found in more than one embodiment, or may be found in all embodiments, or may be found in no embodiments. Although one or more features and/or elements may be described herein in the context of only a single embodiment, or in the context of more than one embodiment, or in the context of all embodiments, the features and/or elements may instead be provided separately or in any appropriate combination or not at all. Conversely, any features and/or elements described in the context of separate embodiments may alternatively be realized as existing together in the context of a single embodiment.

Any particular and all details set forth herein are used in the context of some embodiments and therefore should not necessarily be taken as limiting factors to the proposed disclosure.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

For the sake of clarity, the first digit of a reference numeral of each component of the present disclosure is indicative of the Figure number, in which the corresponding component is shown. For example, reference numerals starting with digit “1” are shown at least in Figure 1. Similarly, reference numerals starting with digit “2” are shown at least in Figure 2.

Figure 1 illustrates a side view of an electric socket assembly 100 having a cover 104 and a housing 102, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The electric socket assembly 100 may be employed to provide electrical power to an electrical appliance. The electric socket assembly 100 may be installed on a wall and may be electrically connected to an electric switch that closes or opens an electric circuit. The electric socket assembly 100 is designed such that the electric socket assembly 100 prevents unintended entry of objects in holes 106 of the electric socket assembly 100 to eliminate the possibility of undesired connection with electrical contacts inside the electric socket assembly 100. In one example, the object can either be a pen, a pointed/ slender object, or a child’s finger, among other examples. The entry of such an object may pose a hazard to the object or a person handling the object, which is herein avoided by the electric socket assembly 100.

The electric socket assembly 100 may include the cover 104 and the housing 102 that is structured to provide adequate restriction to a shutter (not visible) of the electric socket assembly 100 to prevent inadvertent access to the electrical contacts. The housing 102 may house various components of the electric socket assembly 100, the details of which are provided in the subsequent description. On the other hand, the cover 104 may cover the internal components in the housing 102. The cover 104 may also provide access to the housing 102. Accordingly, the cover 104 may include walls 104A having a plurality of locks and the housing 102 may include a plurality of locking projections, such that the locks may latch to the plurality of locking projections. The cover 104 may also include multiple snap locks 104B around its periphery to secure the electric socket assembly 100 to a panel. The cover 104 may include a plurality holes 106 which may provide access to the electrical contacts. Further, the electric socket assembly 100 may include the shutter (not visible) that may selectively allows the electric pin inserted in the hole with the electrical contact. but prevents the insertion of a single object into one of the holes 106 by pivoting inside the electric socket assembly 100.

According to the present disclosure, the housing 102 and the cover 104 are designed to facilitate the prevention of unwanted insertion of the object by restricting the motion of the shutter inside the housing 102. Specifically, the housing 102 and the cover 104 may include structural implements to restrict the movement. In one embodiment, the structural implementation of the housing 102 may restrict the pivoting and in another embodiment, the cover 104 may restrict the pivoting of the shutter. In yet another embodiment, both the housing 102 and the cover 104 may together restrict the pivoting of the shutter.

Figure 2 illustrates the internals of the electric socket assembly 100 showing placement of a shutter 108 in the housing 102 while Figure 3 illustrates an inner surface 102A of the housing 102. The housing 102 may form a major part of the electric socket assembly 100 and houses different components of the electric socket assembly 100. The housing 102 may be made of a plastic material that can withstand high temperatures to protect the internals of the electric socket assembly 100. The housing 102 includes a plurality of slots 202 that are formed on the inner surface 102A of the housing 102. The slots 202 may house a portion of electrical contacts 110A, 110B, and 110C commonly referred to as 110 hereinafter. In other words, the electrical contacts are partially disposed in the plurality of slots 202. In addition, the housing 102 may include seats 204 adjacent to the slots 202 and may house the other portion of the electrical contacts 110. Further, the slots 202 and the seat 204 may have a common edge. In one example, at least one seat 204 is coaxial with a hole 106 from amongst the plurality of holes 106 (shown in Figure 1). In one example, the seats 204 and the slots 202 forms a well that houses the electrical contact and the housing 102 includes a plurality of such wells adapted to house the electrical contact 110.

The electrical contacts 110 are metal components that are connected to a power supply. In one example, the electrical contact 110A can be a live terminal and the electrical contact 110B can be a ground terminal or vice versa in case the electric socket assembly 100 is connected to an alternating current power supply. Alternatively, the electrical contact 110A can be a positive terminal and the electrical contact 110B is the negative terminal or vice versa in case the electric socket assembly 100 is connected to a direct current power supply. Further, the electrical contact 110C can be a ground terminal. The electrical contacts 110 may include a connector 112 and a contact ring 114. The connector 112 may be disposed in the slot 202 as shown in Figure 3 while the contact ring 114 ring may be installed in the seats 204 as shown in Figure 3. Further, the seat 204 may include lips 204A to install the contact ring 114 thereon. The electrical contacts 110 can be made by combining the connector 112 and the contact ring 114. Alternatively, the connector 112 and the contact ring 114 are cast or machined as a single unit. In either case, the electrical contact 110 is configured to provide electrical current to the pins of an electric plug.

In one example, the shutter 108 is designed to provide selected access to the electrical contacts 110. The shutter 108 is a device adapted to slide inside the electric socket assembly 100 to expose the electrical contacts 110 to the electric pins. In one example, the shutter 108 may include a plurality of flaps 116A, 116B, commonly referred to as 114 hereinafter that covers the contact ring 114. The inclined flaps 116 are configured to convert the insertion of the electric pins into motion in the shutter 108. For instance, the flaps 116 are designed to slide along the inner surface 102A to uncover the electrical contact 110, when two objects make simultaneous contact with the flaps 116. On the other hand, the shutter 108 pivots when the object makes contact with the flaps 116. The shutter 108 pivots, instead of sliding, to prevent uncovering of the electrical contacts 110. As a result, the shutter 108 prevents the unwanted supply of electrical current to the object thereby protecting them from an electric shock. In one example, the shutter 108 is adapted to press against the periphery of a well from the plurality of wells when pivoting.

According to the present disclosure, the housing 102 has various structural implements that not only enable the sliding of the shutter 108 but also allow the shutter 108 to pivot to prevent the objects from making the contact with the electrical contacts 110. For instance, the housing 102 may include a pair of first guide rails 206 and a pair of the second guide rails 208 opposite to the first guide rails 206 as shown clearly in Figure 3. The pair of first guide rails 206 and the pair of second guide rails 208 define a path for the shutter 108 to slide thereon to uncover the contact rings 114 of the electrical contacts 110. When two objects, such as two electric pins are inserted, the pins make contact with the flaps 116 and thus push the flaps 116 simultaneously. As a result, the shutter 108 starts sliding along the pair of second guide rails 208 to uncover the electrical contacts 110 and the sliding is assisted by the first guide rails 206 and the second guide rails 208. Details on how the first guide rails assists the sliding and pivoting will be explained later.

In one example, the pivoting of the shutter 108 is restricted in order to prevent inadvertent sliding in case a greater magnitude of the force is applied by the object. In order to restrict the pivoting, the housing 102 may include one or more projections 210 that restrict the pivoting of the shutter 108 to prevent the object from making a contact with the electrical contacts 110. Referring now to Figure 3, the projections 210 may be formed on an edge of the slots 202. In one example, the projections 210 is positioned between the common edge between at least one seat 204 and the at least one slot 202. Although the present illustrations show two projections 210, the electric socket assembly 100 may have a greater number of projections 210 for restricting the pivoting of the shutter 108. In one example, the projections 210 are designed to abut the corner of the shutter 108 when the shutter 108 is pivoting in order to prevent the object from contacting the electrical contacts 110. Since the projections 210 catches the corner of the shutter 108, the projections 210 does not hinder the sliding of the shutter 108 when the object makes a contact with the shutter 108.

In one example, the projections 210 has a greater height than the height of the seats 204, thereby restricting a depth up to which the shutter 108 can pivot. As a result, the inclined surface 108A does not make the contact with the contact ring 114 and possible sliding is prevented. In one example, the projections 210 maintains a gap between the shutter 108 and the contact ring 114 which may be equal to the height H of the projections 210. As a result, the degree of pivot of the shutter 108 is also restricted. According to the present disclosure, the height H may define the degree of pivot of the shutter 108. In one example, the projections 210 may have a chamfered edge so as to prevent any obstruction in the installation of the portion of the electrical contacts 110 in the slots 202.

The housing 102 may house other components of the electric socket assembly 100 that may facilitate the pivoting of the shutter 108. For instance, the electric socket assembly 100 may include a spring 120 that may facilitate the pivoting as well as the sliding of the shutter 108. In one example, the spring 120 may be secured in a valley 212 formed on the inner surface 102A between the pair of the first guide rails 206. In one example, the valley 212 may have adequate height to prevent dislodgement of the spring 120 from the valley 212. The spring 120, in operation, may get energized when the shutter 108 and may apply the stored energy to bring the shutter to its original position.

As mentioned before, the cover 104 may also restrict the pivoting of the shutter 108. Referring now to Figures 4, 5, and 6 which show the cover 104, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Specifically, Figure 4 illustrates a perspective view of the cover 104 while Figure 5 illustrates a zoom-in view of the cover 104. Further, Figure 6 illustrates a cross section taken along lines 1-1 in Figure 1, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The cover 104 may have a first surface 104D and a second surface 104E (shown in Figure 6).

Further, the holes 106 are formed through the first surface 104D and the second surface 104E. The cover 104 also has the walls 104A that surround the holes 106 and the shutter 108. As mentioned before, the walls 104A have locks 104B that latches to locking projections 102B of the housing 102.

In one example, each hole 106 has a stopper 402 on an edge of the stopper 402 (shown in Figure 4). The stopper 402 is adapted to restrict the pivoting of the shutter 108 thereby preventing the object from contacting the electrical contact 110 (shown in Figure 6). The stopper 402 is in the form of a tab that extends from the edge of the hole 106. Referring now to Figure 6, the stopper 402 has a wedge-shaped top surface 404 which makes contact with the shutter 108 during the pivoting of the shutter 108. Further, the shutter 108 may include a front surface 108B that may interact with the wedged-shaped top surface 404 to prevent the pivoting of the shutter 108 past the stopper 402. The front surface 108B has a flat section and the flaps 116 extend from the flat section.

The cover 104 may include guide projections 410 formed on the periphery of the edge of the hole 106 and opposite to the stopper 402. The guide projections 410 may guide the shutter 108 to pivot along with a height of the guide projection 410. In one example, the shutter 108 may swing while coming in contact with the guide projections 410. The shutter 108 may have a cut outsized profile to surround the guide projections 410. In such an arrangement, the shutter 108 is guided during the pivoting and does not exhibit any motion during the pivoting. Although not shown, the stopper 402 and the guide projections 410 include a lip to prevent dislodgement of the shutter 108 from the cover 104 during the pivoting.

Referring now to Figure 6, the pair of first guide rails 206 are designed to abut an inclined surface 108A of the shutter 108 to support the pivoting. Further, the first guide rails 206 have tips that abut contact points of the inclined surface 108A. When the object makes contact with one of the flaps 116A (shown in Figure 2), one side 118A of the shutter 108 is pushed downward while the other side 118B lifts, such that one of the contact points starts pivoting on the tip of the first guide rail 206, resulting in the pivoting of the shutter 108. Further, in order to support the pivoting, the inclined surface 108A may slide laterally on the first guide rails 206.

In a scenario where an object is inserted into one of the holes 106 along the direction D1, the object will make contact with the flaps 116 and as a result, one side of the shutter 108 experiences a push. As a result, the shutter 108 starts pivoting and one side of the shutter 108 starts moving towards the seat 204 while the other side of the shutter 108 lifts and starts moving towards the other hole 106. As the shutter 108 pivots, the corner of the shutter 108 makes contact with the projection 210 and the projection 210 prevents the pivoting of the shutter 108 past the projection 210. On the other side, the lifting side of the shutter 108 contacts the stopper 402 (shown in Figure 4) thereby preventing the shutter 108 to pivot past the stopper 402. Therefore, the shutter 108 prevents the object from contacting the contact ring 114. While the shutter 108 was pivoting, the spring 120 gets energized and once the object is pulled out from the hole 106, the spring starts pivoting the shutter 108 in the opposite direction to bring the shutter 108 to the original position.

In one example, the cover 104 may include a structural implement that may guide the sliding of the shutter 108. For instance, the cover 104 includes a pair of guides 406 on the first surface 104D that support the shutter 108 thereon for pivoting. Further, the front surface 108B of the shutter 108 is adapted to pivot with respect to a guide 406 from among the pair of guides 406 during the pivoting. In addition, the shutter 108 slides over the pair of guides 406 parallel to the first surface 104D to uncover the electrical contacts 110 in response to the simultaneous insertion of two objects in two holes 106. In one example, the shutter 108 may include a tip 408 that protrudes between the pair of guides 406 and keeps the shutter 108 aligned with respect to the holes 106 as the shutter 108 slides.

According to the present disclosure, the stopper 402 ensures that the shutter 108 does not pivot beyond a predetermined degree thereby preventing the object from making contact with the electrical contact 110. Moreover, the shutter 108 is shaped to ensure that there is no point contact with the stopper 402 which can cause wear and tear to the shutter 108. Moreover, the projection 210 does away with the need to create projections on the shutter 108 thereby making the shutter 108 simple and reducing the manufacturing cost associated with the manufacturing of the shutter 108.

While specific language has been used to describe the present disclosure, any limitations arising on account thereto, are not intended. As would be apparent to a person in the art, various working modifications may be made to the method in order to implement the inventive concept as taught herein. The drawings and the foregoing description give examples of embodiments. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that one or more of the described elements may well be combined into a single functional element. Alternatively, certain elements may be split into multiple functional elements. Elements from one embodiment may be added to another embodiment. ,CLAIMS:WE CLAIM:
1. An electric socket assembly (100) comprising:
a housing (102) having electrical contacts (110) connected to a power supply;
a cover (104) installed on the housing (102), and having a first surface (104D), a second surface (104E), and a plurality of holes (106) formed through the first surface (104D) into the second surface (104E), wherein each hole (106) is concentric to a respective electrical contact (110) from the plurality of electrical contact (110); and
a shutter (108) installed on the first surface (104D) and covering the electrical contacts (110), the shutter (108) adapted to pivot in response to insertion of an object in one of the plurality of holes (106),
wherein each of the plurality of holes (106) includes a stopper (402) adapted to restrict pivoting of the shutter (108), preventing the object from contacting an electrical contacts (110) from the plurality of electrical contacts (110).

2. The electric socket assembly (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the stopper (402) has a wedged top surface adapted to make contact with the shutter (108) during the pivoting.

3. The electric socket assembly (100) as claimed in claim 1, comprising a pair of guides (406) to support the shutter (108) thereon for the pivoting.

4. The electric socket assembly (100) as claimed in claim 3, wherein the shutter (108) has a front surface adapted to pivot with respect to a guide (406), from among the pair of guides (406), during the pivoting.

5. The electric socket assembly (100) as claimed in claim 3, wherein the shutter (108) slides over the pair of guides (406) parallel to the first surface (104D) to uncover the electrical contacts (110) in response to the simultaneous insertion of two objects in two holes (106).

6. The electric socket assembly (100) as claimed in claim 1, comprising a spring (120) adapted to bring the shutter (108) to an original position after the pivoting.

7. The electric socket assembly (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein each hole (106) includes a guide projection (410) on a periphery of an edge of the hole (106) to guide the shutter (108) to pivot along a height of the guide projection (410).

8. The electric socket assembly (100) as claimed in claim 7, wherein each of the stopper (402) and the guide projection (410) includes a lip to prevent dislodgement of the shutter (108) from the cover (104) during the pivoting.

9. The electric socket assembly (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the housing (102) includes a plurality of locking projections (102B) and the cover (104) includes walls on the second surface (104E) surrounding the holes (106) and the shutter (108), wherein the walls include a plurality of locks (104B) adapted to latch to the plurality of locking projections (102B).

10. The electric socket assembly (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the housing (102) includes a plurality of wells adapted to house the electrical contacts (110), and the shutter (108) is adapted to press against the periphery of a well from the plurality of wells when pivoting.