Electric multipurpose duct

Abstract

 Technological innovation that allows the electric current to pass and the connection to an electrical current at any point in the cable duct. Two solutions are proposed.
Inside the heat-resistant plastic cable duct are four twin leads made from brass, or copper, or aluminium: two for the earth and one for the positive pole and one for the negative pole.
The twin leads are positioned in the upper part of the duct, so to avoid any contact with the outside. The cable duct has a slot that allows for the introduction of a plug, purpose-made, to connect to the electrical current at the desired point.
To utilise the plugs already in use you interject a particular shuko.
The duct may be used overlaying a table or built into the wall and can have side channels to pass through wires for the TV and for the telephone.

Description

[0001] ART BACKGROUND. Nowadays, sockets are used around the world with different features depending on the country. Each country has elaborated a model essentially based on the principle of three poles: positive, negative and ground. Multi-conductor plugs and sockets have been developed to ensure the possibility of putting two or three plugs in the same socket. A further evolution has been the construction of a multi-plug adaptor, made up of a single plug to be put in the socket and, at the other end of the electrical wire, a multi-conductor plug with the possibility to plug in four, five or six different devices.

[0002] The development of the domotics industry has created the need to put a greater number of plugs in a smaller space. This need has suggested the idea to develop a cable tray in which it is possible to put a greater number of plugs, while maintaining the security prerogatives, and the telephone and TV cables slide inside of it by the use appropriate plugs.

[0003] The object of the previous Italian patent application n. BA 2006 A 000008 filed on 09/02/2006 is just a cable tray intended to be built into a wall, fixed to a wall, put on mobile walls or applied to a table according to the need.

[0004] In this previous application, two embodiments of a built in wall cable tray are disclosed ensuring electric conduction by means of an appropriately designed plug.

[0005] From the experimental models the need has emerged to modify these previous embodiments in order to make the design of the cable tray together with the corresponding plug, more appropriate. As can be seen, the cable trays are different from the previous patent application in that they are smaller and more practical. The essential modification is the reduction of the openings into which a plug is intended to be inserted, the previous plug being big and cumbersome. The movement mechanism of the previous first plug is substantially the same. The second solution has not been maintained, as it was unable to ensure the security operation conditions in case of insertion of metal objects into the cable tray openings.

[0006] The cable tray contacts - consisting of metal strips arranged parallel to the cable tray support base - are maintained substantially in the same previous position.

[0007] FIRST SOLUTION: the cable tray (see Fig. 1) with it's back-end caps (Fig. 2) is intended to be applied to a wall or superimposed on a table; it maintains the previously disclosed electrical contacts parallel to the cable tray base (see p.1, Fig. 3 in the cross section), ensuring electrical current conduction (positive pole and negative pole). This solution is considered to be the best and is able to avoid accidents due to the insertion of metal objects into the cable tray.

[0008] The earthing is ensured by a contact laterally arranged to the cable tray (Fig. 4), in order to simplify the plug design.

[0009] With respect to the previous solution, the present cable tray has only one opening for plug insertion, as to reduce the cable tray and opening dimensions, as well as to increase the cable tray security operation conditions. Such an opening is normally intended to be closed by an appropriately shaped rubber tape positioned where the plug is to be put (Fig. 5).

[0010] The cable tray has another external tray for building in walls or for application to mobile walls and has a rectangular cross section (such an external tray was disclosed in the previous application as well). The cable tray is intended to be fixed to the external tray by means of screws.

[0011] The cable tray (see cross section) has collateral canals (Fig. 6) for cable insertion (such as telephone and TV cables and so on), which are intended to be used together with corresponding pieces (see Fig. 21 for TV cables and Fig. 21 for telephone cables).

[0012] There are also connection pieces between two cable tray sections and pieces intended to be put at the end of the cable tray (disclosed in the previous application). The latter can be connected to the electrical network by means of traditional conductors intended to slide along wrinkled tubes: the function of such pieces, disclosed in the previous patent application, can be easily understood.
The cable tray, intended to be applied to a wall or superimposed on a table, has a reduced height and back-end caps (Fig. 2) designed for ensuring the connection to the network of the output conductors (Fig. 2a).

[0013] The plug is intended to be used as an interposition plug, just as a shuko plug would, and has a flat shape (Fig. 7). On the top portion, it has the traditional conformation of a socket with five holes, including the ground hole in the center and two aligned holes for the positive and negative poles to allow the insertion of a traditional socket. The plug is made up of two identical portions: a top portion (Fig. 8) and a bottom portion ( Fig. 8 a), intended to be contrapositioned after the assembly of the corresponding metal contacts. The section of the plug (Fig. 8) shows, on the upper portion, the housing for the mechanism intended to avoid the insertion of metal objects.

[0014] There are three contact housings beneath (Fig. 10), corresponding to the plug of the electrical device to be used. At the center there is the ground contact (Fig. 11). The plug contact systems (positive and negative poles) are arranged in the bottom portion of the plug (Fig. 8 a) by means of a peg (Fig. 12) operating as a fulcrum for the movement of a shaped metal piece (Fig. 13). The latter is intended to be pushed outwards so as to reach the brass strips (see Fig. 3) arranged parallel to the cable tray support base.

[0015] This plug can replace the original one of domestic appliances, but in this case it usually has terminals for the insertion of the electric device conductors in the upper portion, where normally there are the pieces intended to receive the domestic appliance plug.

[0016] The shaped metal pieces movement (Fig. 13) is due to the downward push of the plug's upper portion caused by its complete insertion (Fig. 14). The plug's upper portion and thus the shaped metal pieces are maintained in a contact position by means of a small projection which is shaped like a half sphere on the plug's external upper face (Fig. 15), intended to be lodged into an appropriate cable tray housing (Fig. 16). The previously disclosed shuko plug may be modified in such a way that its upper portion may receive a plug of any international type (German plug, English plug, etc.).

[0017] The cable tray with its corresponding plug is intended to be used at home, in an office, in a craftsman workshop or in factories, where the greatest number of plugs are required.

[0018] THE SECOND SOLUTION has a cable tray (Fig. 17) whose contacts (Fig. 18) are maintained parallel to the cable tray support base, as in the first solution. The ground pole is positioned parallel to the cable tray support base (Fig. 19).

[0019] This solution also includes collateral canals (Fig. 6) intended to allow sliding for telephone and TV cables, whose plugs are placed outside the cable tray (see Fig. 21 for TV cables and Fig. 21 for telephone cables).

[0020] The plug of the second solution, as with the previous one, has the housing for a normally used security system in its upper portion (Fig. 22) and beneath, the housing for the contact systems of the poles (positive and negative ones) (Fig. 23) and of the ground pole (Fig. 24). The above mentioned systems are intended to be fixed to a C-shaped strip (Fig. 25) for the positive and negative poles. The ground pole contact system (Fig. 26) is intended to be fixed by means of a screw and the corresponding nut to a piece of the strip placed at the bottom of the plug beneath the C-shaped electric contacts. As for the conductor contacts the ground strip is intended to come into contact with the ground strips placed at the bottom of the cable tray (Fig. 19).

[0021] The plug as a whole is cylinder shaped at the top portion having a shaped stem made of plastic in it's center and is intended to contain the metal portions of the two poles and the ground. Such a stem has the same circumference as the cable tray opening into which it is intended to be inserted and then rotated over 45 ° so as to cause the contact of the metal portions of the poles and the ground with the cable tray strips. (See cross section in Fig. 25 and Fig. 26).

[0022] At the base of the plug cylinder a spring is inserted (Fig. 27) which is maintained in position by means of an appropriately shaped piece (Fig. 28) arranged inside the cylinder body. When inserting the plug into the cable tray, a spring compression will occur. When the plug is positioned and rotated over 45 °, the spring will push the cylinder upwards causing a stable contact between the conduction strips and the plug strips. The appropriately shaped piece (Fig. 28) is intended to be inserted into the plug cylinder groove (Fig. 29) and it's position maintained by means of 4 plastic pieces (Fig. 30) which are in turn intended to be inserted into holes arranged in the cylinder (Fig. 31): two of them also have the function to lock the two half portions of the plug (Fig. 32), after the metal contacts assembly.

[0023] The plug has a triangular projection on the stem body (Fig. 33) and is intended to lock it when it is rotated over 45 °, thus avoiding a further rotation beyond 45°.

[0024] When the cable tray is intended to be built in a wall, an additional external cable tray will be used for fixation to the wall. In this additional cable tray, the cable tray having a rectangular cross section will be inserted and fixed by means of screws, as in the previously disclosed solution.

[0025] When more sections of cable trays are employed, connection pieces will be inserted between two consecutive sections, as previously disclosed, and back-end caps will be used to which the wrinkled tubes containing the electric conductors can be connected. When external cable trays are used, smart shaped caps are included in order to close the terminal portions (Fig. 34).

[0026] The cable tray external portion has an appropriately shaped cover that's intended to be inserted into the cable tray opening (Fig. 35), as to avoid the insertion of metal objects.

[0027] Rubber tapes (Fig. 36) are intended to cover the cable tray projection (Fig. 37) aimed at fixing it by means of screws, when using a superimposed cable tray.

ADVANTAGES OF THIS INVENTION

[0028] 

1) It is undeniable that this invention offers the advantage to provide an electrical supply as well as the possibility of providing it by means of appropriately shaped plugs.

2) A second advantage is the possibility to insert into the cable tray, as many plugs as required in the function of the electrical current supported by its strips.

3) A third advantage is the possibility to put the plugs into the desired position, especially in the framework of domestic applications, without the necessity to use furniture placed before a unique socket.

4) A further advantage is the possibility to use the built in wall cable tray either on a table as a multi-plug adapter, applied externally to a wall, or even inserted into mobile walls.

5) The shuko plugs can be adapted in the external portion by shaping them for the insertion of any kind of plug existing in the world.

6) The cable trays can also be used for the insertion of telephone and TV cables, which include the use of appropriate terminals on the cable tray itself, piercing it in the desired position and extracting the corresponding conductors.

Claims

1. The design of two thermoresistant plastic cable trays with an original profile (Fig. 1 and Fig. 34) for the conduction of electricity together with the possibility of taking electricity in any position by the use of metal strips (made of copper, brass and aluminium) of different thickness in function of the electrical current as well as earthing.

2. The design of cable trays with collateral canals for cable sliding (telephone and TV cables, etc.) (Fig. 6), intended to be used in the desired position, by piercing the cable tray and applying the disclosed sockets (Fig. 21).

3. The design of a plug (Fig. 7) (first solution), which - when inserted into the cable tray split - causes the metal contacts exposition (Fig. 13) which has two half spheres on it's body (Fig. 15) that lock it in the cable tray (Fig. 16) when it is inserted therein.

4. The design of a cylindrical plug (second solution), with a central stem in which two C-shaped metal extensions slide (Fig. 25) for electrical supply and with a screw for ground connection.

5. The insertion of a holder (Fig. 28) at the base of the cylinder and of a spring (Fig. 27) pushing the cylindrical plug upwards. The holder is inserted in a cylinder groove (Fig. 29), which is maintained in position by means of four plastic cylinders (Fig. 30).

6. The creation, on the plug stem, of a plastic triangular projection (Fig. 33), which allows the lock over 45° in the clockwise rotation movement of the cylinder plug.

7. The design of a cover intended to be applied on the cable trays having an aesthetic function (Fig. 35) and of back-end caps for superimposed cable trays (Fig. 2 and Fig. 34).

8. The use of an interposition plug for domestic appliances, thus avoiding the substitution of their original plug. Such an interposition plug can be modified if necessary (with terminals for the conductors and for the adaptation to the plugs used in other countries).

Drawing