Patent Application
20150255914
1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to electric power receptacles. More particularly, the invention relates to electric power receptacles in furniture power distribution units.
2. Background Art
Electric power receptacles provide electric power to an electrical device. Typically, electric power receptacles provide power from a 120 Volt (V) 60 Hertz (Hz) alternating current (AC) mains power supply.
Furniture power distribution units (FPDU) incorporate an electric power receptacle into stationary or fixed furniture in residential and commercial facilities. For example, an outlet may be placed in a chair for providing electric power to a user while sitting in the chair.
Tabletop control and cable management devices are employed in a corporate facility to provide a control and communication interface to users. In particular, touch screens incorporating some combination of a graphical user interface (GUI), control buttons, audiovisual (AV) and communication ports are increasingly being installed in corporate environments. Users desire that these touch screen devices include an electric power receptacle to provide power to various business and presentation devices such as laptop and tablet computers, smartphones, projection devices and speakers.
To be certified by certain safety organizations, FPDUs with electric power receptacles must conform to particular specifications or complete certain tests. One such test is a dielectric voltage withstand test, such as the type required by Underwriter Laboratories (UL) headquartered in Northbrook, Ill. A dielectric voltage withstand test involves placing a high voltage across the insulation barrier of a device for a certain period of time after a liquid is spilled in the receptacle. If the insulation holds the voltage after a spill, the device is deemed to have passed the test.
There is now a need for a tabletop interface device that includes an electric power receptacle in conformance with certain certification standards for a furniture power distribution unit.
It is to be understood that both the general and detailed descriptions that follow are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the invention.
Principles of the invention provide a tabletop interface device including a spill resistant electric power receptacle. In a first aspect, an electric power receptacle includes a main receptacle body and a rear receptacle cover. The main receptacle body includes one or more cavities. Each of the cavities is configured for receiving an electrical contact further include a drainage slot configured for facilitating liquid drainage from the cavity and a rib slot configured for receiving an isolation rib. The one or more rear receptacle covers are configured for removably fastening to the main receptacle body and further include at least one contact support for supporting an electrical contact and an isolation rib protruding from the rear receptacle cover and configured for isolating the one or more cavities of the main receptacle body when the rear receptacle cover is coupled to the main receptacle body via communication between the one or more rib slots and the isolation rib.
In a second aspect, an interface device includes a bucket portion configured for being inserted into an opening of a surface. The bucket portion further includes an electric power receptacle and the electric power receptacle includes an external housing, a main receptacle body and a rear receptacle cover. The external housing is configured for being affixed to the bucket portion. The main receptacle body includes a front face, a first cavity, second cavity, third cavity, fourth cavity, fifth cavity and sixth cavity. The front face includes a hot plug terminal, neutral plug terminal and ground pin terminal. Each of the hot plug terminal, neutral plug terminal and ground pin terminal are configured for receiving a plug. Each of the first cavity, second cavity and third cavity comprise a drainage slot and a rib slot. Each of the one or more cavities and the drainage slots are dimensioned to drain liquid entering through an opening in a front face of the main receptacle body at a rate such that the liquid does not breach the opening in the front face. The rear receptacle cover further includes at least one contact support for supporting an electrical contact and an isolation rib. The isolation rib protrudes from the rear receptacle cover and configured for isolating the one or more cavities of the main receptacle body when said rear receptacle cover is coupled to the main receptacle body via communication between the one or more rib slots and the isolation rib.
The present invention seeks to overcome or at least ameliorate one or more of several problems, including but not limited to: providing a touch screen with an electric power receptacle that is spill resistant.
The accompanying figures further illustrate the present invention.
The components in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the present invention. In the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.
The following is a list of the major elements in the drawings in numerical order.
The present invention discloses a tabletop interface device comprising an electric power receptacle configured for being spill resistant. The electric power receptacle further comprises elongated electrical contacts which are isolated from each other by cavities in an elongated main receptacle body. A rear receptacle cover further comprises raised portions which interconnect with the main receptacle body forming isolated cavities to keep liquid from entering one cavity from another. Advantageously, the electric receptacle does not require potting or a hard-wire connection to ground.
The tabletop interface device is configured for providing an electric power receptacle to a surface such as a horizontal tabletop surface. The electric power receptacle may be a stand-alone device or may be part of a more robust assembly providing more functionality to a user. In an embodiment, the tabletop interface device is a touch screen interface providing cable connections and control buttons. The control buttons may be used to control devices such as lighting devices, shade devices, AV devices, HVAC devices, security devices or any other controllable device. For example, the tabletop interface device may be a Crestron® Connect-It Presentation Interface or a Crestron FlipTop™ Touch Screen or Touch Screen Control System available from Crestron Electronics, Inc. of Rockleigh, N.J.
When installed in a surface, the electric power receptacle of the tabletop interface may be flush with the table top surface, raised above, below the horizontal surface or some combination of the above. In addition, the electric power receptacle may be at an angle to the table top surface or parallel with the surface. Finally, the mounting surface may be a horizontal surface such as a table, a vertical surface such as a wall or at an angle such as on a podium.
The touch screen assembly 1 further comprises a lid 14 which is a hinged lid similar to those found in the FlipTop™ line of touch screens available from Crestron Electronics of Rockleigh N.J. An exterior surface of the lid 14 provides a cover for the bucket 12 of the touch screen assembly 1 when in a closed position. When in a closed position, the lid 14 of the touch screen assembly is substantially parallel with the tabletop surface or at 0 degrees with the tabletop surface. The interior portion of the lid 14 provides a user interface when in an open position. An open position is any angle from greater than zero (0) degrees to one-hundred (180) degrees.
In the embodiment shown in
The bucket portion 12 further comprises an electric power receptacle 10 positioned such that a front face of the power receptacle 10 is facing toward the surface opening thereby providing convenient access for plugs. The electric power receptacle 10 is configured for providing electric power to one or more electrical devices via an inserted plug. In the embodiment shown in
In corporate and residential installations in the United States, the electric power receptacle 10 will commonly provide power from an a 120 V 60 Hz AC mains power supply. In other embodiments, the duplex receptacle may be providing power at different voltage and frequency such as 230 V and 50 Hz.
The electric power receptacle 10 comprises an external housing 101. The external housing 101 protects a main receptacle body 17 and fastens to the touch screen assembly 1. A front plate 103 of the external housing 101 is configured for being attached to a surface of the touch screen assembly 1 via four fastener holes formed in the front plate 103. The front plate 103 further comprises two openings, each dimensioned for an outlet face 105, 107 to extend through the opening.
Electrical wires enter the external housing 101 through an opening in a rear face of the external housing 101. For example, a hot conductor wire, neutral conductor wire and a ground conductor wire may enter the external housing 101 through the rear face of the external housing 101.
In an embodiment, the external housing 101 is composed of two pieces of sheet metal. The two metal sheets are fastened via a fastener such as a threaded screw.
A first outlet face 105 and a second outlet face 107 protrude through the front plate 103. The face of each receptacle provides a hot plug terminal 109, a neutral plug terminal 111 and a ground pin terminal 113. The hot plug terminal 109 and neutral plug terminal 111 are aligned with and dimensioned for receiving a first blade and a second blade of a plug.
The first outlet face 105 and second outlet face 107 are each aligned with and dimensioned to receive plugs compliant with industry standards such as the National Electrical Code (NEC) and the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA). In this embodiment, the dimensions of the openings are dimensioned as a standard receptacle in accordance with “NEMA 5-15”. Therefore, the hot plug terminal 109 and neutral plug terminal 111 of each electric receptacle are dimensioned to receive plug blades that comply with U.S. ANSI/NEMA standard WD 6-2002 sheet 1-15 (“NEMA 1-15”) for 110 V, 15 A, 2 wire plugs. That is to say, the neutral blade has a length that is between 0.625 and 0.718 inches, a height that is between 0.307 and 0.322 inches, and a width that is approximately 0.06 inches. The hot blade has a length that is between 0.625 and 0.718 inches, a height that is between 0.24 and 0.26 inches, and a width that is approximately 0.06 inches.
Although the embodiment shown in
The first rear receptacle cover 19a and second rear receptacle cover 19b each further comprise a hot contact support 192a-b and a neutral contact support 193a-b. The hot contact support 192a-b, neutral contact support 193a-b and ground contact support 194a-b, of each rear receptacle cover 19 protrude perpendicularly from the front face of the rear receptacle cover 19 and may be formed of a single piece of material with the rear receptacle cover body, such as from a single piece of plastic material at a specific grade to meet UL requirements. For example, the entire rear receptacle cover 19 may be formed from a single piece of plastic by a molding process, milling process or three dimensional printing process. Advantageously, this provides simple manufacturing and a minimum number of parts.
A ground contact may be attached to a ground support 194a-b protruding perpendicularly from the body of each of the first rear receptacle cover 19a and the second rear receptacle cover 19b. Each of the hot contact support 192 and neutral contact support 193 is configured for supporting an electrical contact and the ground contact support is configured for supporting a ground contact.
The first rear receptacle cover 19a of the receptacle and the second rear receptacle cover 19b of the receptacle each further comprise an isolation rib 195a-b. The isolation rib is a raised portion in the shape of a “T”. Each isolation rib comprises a main arm bisecting each rear receptacle cover 19 between the hot contact support and neutral contact support. The isolation rib further comprises a minor arm perpendicular from the main arm and separating the hot contact support and neutral contact support thereby further quartering that bisected half of the rear receptacle cover 19. As will be described in further detail below, the isolation rib 195a-b of each rear receptacle cover 19 ensure that fluid, such as a liquid, entering through the face of the receptacle does not form an electrical connection between two contacts supported by that portion, thereby causing a short.
The main receptacle body 17 of the receptacle comprises a first isolation cavity 170a, a second isolation cavity 170b, a third isolation cavity 170c, a fourth isolation cavity 170d, a fifth isolation cavity 170e and a sixth isolation cavity 170f, each defined by an opening in a back surface of the main receptacle body 17. Each of the cavities 170a-f extends into the main receptacle body 17 toward the face and forms cavity walls 171 surrounding each cavity.
The cavities 170 are aligned with the terminal openings of the outlet faces 105, 107. The first cavity 170a, second cavity 170b, fourth cavity 170d and fifth cavity 170e are configured for receiving an electrical contact and a contact support 192, 193. The third cavity 170c and sixth cavity 170e are configured to receive a ground support 194 and associated ground contact.
The main receptacle body 17 further comprises a plurality of drainage slots 172a-e formed of openings in the cavity walls 171. The drainage slots 172a-e extend through the outside of the cavity wall 171 to the isolation cavity 170 and are positioned to allow any fluid such as a liquid that has entered a cavity 170, such as through the receptacle openings in the front face of the receptacle, to drain from that cavity 170 without shorting the electrical contacts. For example, the fluid may comprise liquid water or water vapor or some combination of the two. In the embodiment shown in
The cavities and the drainage slots are dimensioned such that liquid drains from each cavity 170 at a rate greater than it can accumulate in the cavity 170 after entering through a plug terminal of the face. In particular, the cavities 170, electrical contacts and drainage slots are elongated to facilitate liquid drainage from the cavity 170. In the embodiment shown in
The main receptacle body 17 further comprises rib slots 173 formed in the opening in the cavity wall 171. The rib slots 173 are configured for receiving and communicating with the isolation ribs 195 of each of the rear receptacle covers 19a-b to further isolate each cavity 170 from the other cavities and ensure liquid which has entered one or more of the cavities does not create a short between electric contacts.
In an embodiment, the isolation rib 195 of each rear receptacle cover 19 is formed integrally from one piece of material, such as from a single piece of plastic material, with that rear receptacle cover 19a-b. For example, the entire rear receptacle cover 19 may be formed from a single piece of plastic at a specific grade to meet UL requirements and by a molding process, milling process or three dimensional printing process. Advantageously, this provides simple manufacturing and a minimum number of parts. Additionally, this provides convenient alignment and assembly with the main receptacle body 17. Alternatively, in another embodiment, the isolation rib 195 of each rear receptacle may be a mechanical gasket, such as an elastomer configured to attach to the rear receptacle cover 19 such as by fitting in a corresponding groove of the rear receptacle cover 19.
The drainage slots 172, in conjunction with the isolation ribs 195 and the rib slots 173, ensure that liquid entering a cavity 170 through the faceplate will drain out of the cavity 170 and away from any other electric contact. Accordingly, the electric contacts will not be shorted by any liquid entering and the receptacle can adequately pass a dielectric withstand test.
The electric contacts are connected to a power supply by a plurality of wires protruding through the external housing 101. A hot wire enters the external housing 101 and is connected to a first internal hot wire and a second internal hot wire via a wire connector. The first and second internal hot wire each supply electric power to an electrical contact in each receptacle. A neutral wire enters the external housing 101 and is connected to a first internal neutral wire and a second internal neutral wire via a wire connector. The first and second internal neutral wire each supply a return path to an electrical contact in each receptacle. A ground wire enters the external housing 101 and is connected to a common ground attached to the external housing 101. A ground wire runs from each ground contact to the common ground.
To solve the aforementioned problems, the present invention is a unique device in which an electric power receptacle 10 is provided in a touch screen assembly 1. The electric power receptacle 10 provides a fluidly isolated environment for each contact thereby allowing the electric power receptacle 10 to pass a dielectric withstand test.
The following is a list of the acronyms used in the specification in alphabetical order.
Alternate embodiments may be devised without departing from the spirit or the scope of the invention. For example, the electrical receptacle may accept plugs of a different size and orientation than a NEMA 5-15 plug.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61929440 | Jan 2014 | US |
