Patent Grant
7151234
The present invention relates to electrical outlet panels, and in particular to an outlet panel for single pin connectors.
The single pin connector electrical outlet panel is widely used in various industries such as mining, entertainment (theater, circus, film, etc.), marine, water treatment and many other applications. These single pin devices are commonly referred to as “cam-locks”.
One of the problems associated with conventional single pin connector electrical outlet panels is the fact that the single pin outlet has a brass contact that is tube-shaped and that is typically large enough to have inserted therein a finger or other foreign object. Since these outlets may often carry 400 amps AC @240V, the insertion of a finger or other foreign object into the single pin outlet may result in serious injury or death. The danger of such an occurrence has resulted in the National Electrical Code requiring the posting of warning signs on equipment provided with this sort of single pin outlet.
Thus, there is a need for a system and method for providing a single pin connector electrical outlet panel that is safer to use than conventional single pin connector electrical outlet panels.
The present invention, in accordance with various embodiments thereof, is directed to a device for providing electrical power that includes one or more single pin outlets and one or more relay switches, each of the relay switches coupled to a respective one of the single pin outlets. The relay switches are actuatable by insertion of a pin or plug (hereinafter referred to collectively as “a pin”) in the single pin outlet. The device also includes a current device coupled to the one or more relay switches and configured to prevent the flow of electrical current to the single pin outlets unless all of the relay switches are actuated. Thus, the device is configured to prevent the flow of electrical power to all of the single pin outlets unless all of the single pin outlets have a pin properly inserted therein. The single pin connector electrical outlet panel may also include a second switch that is connected to the relay switches and to the current device.
According to one embodiment of the present invention, the relay switches are connected to each other in parallel and are normally closed. The device also includes a shunt trip connected to the current device, which may be a current limiting device, and configured upon activation to de-energize the current device, and a second switch, the second switch connected to the relay switches and to the shunt trip. The second switch is normally open, and is configured such that when any of the relay switches are closed, the second switch closes and activates the shunt trip to de-energize the current device, thereby preventing the flow of electrical current to the single pin outlets.
According to one embodiment of the present invention, the relay switches are connected to each other in series and are normally open. The device also includes a shunt trip connected to the current device, which may be an overcurrent device, and configured upon activation to de-energize the current device, and a second switch, the second switch connected to the relay switches and to the shunt trip. In this embodiment, the second switch is normally closed, and is configured such that when any of the relay switches are closed, the second switch is caused to open and activate the shunt trip to de-energize the current device, thereby preventing the flow of electrical current to the single pin outlets.
The present invention is directed to a single pin connector electrical outlet panel.
The single pin connector electrical outlet panel 10 also includes at least one switch 14. Each one of the switches 14 is coupled to a corresponding one of the single pin outlets 12. Thus, in the embodiment shown in
The single pin connector electrical outlet panel 10 also includes a current limiting device 20, e.g., a circuit breaker, motor controllers, fused or non-fused switches, etc., that provides electrical power to the single pin outlets 12a to 12e. In addition, the single pin connector electrical outlet panel 10 includes a second switch 16, e.g., a relay switch, that is connected to the switches 14a to 14e and to the current limiting device 20. When any of the switches 14a to 14e are closed, the resulting complete circuit triggers the second switch 16 to activate a shunt trip 22 that de-energizes the current limiting device 20. Once de-energized, the current limiting device 20 is prevented from providing electrical power to all of the single pin outlets 12a to 12e. Thus, unless all the single pin outlets 12a to 12e have pins inserted therein, at least one of the switches 14a to 14e will be closed, thereby causing the shunt trip 22 to de-energize the current limiting device 20 and all of the single pin outlets 12a to 12e.
According to one embodiment of the present invention, all, e.g., three, of the electrical phase legs controlled by the current limiting device 20 may be combined to create a current used to activate the de-energizing mechanism. In this embodiment, a rectifier such as rectifier 25 illustrated in
In addition, according to one embodiment of the present invention, the single pin connector electrical outlet panel 10 may be configured to ensure ground integrity. For example, in the embodiment shown in
The single pin connector electrical outlet panel 100 also includes at least one switch 114. Each one of the switches 114 is coupled to a corresponding one of the single pin outlets 112. Thus, in the embodiment shown in
The single pin connector electrical outlet panel 100 also includes an overcurrent device 120, that provides electrical power to the single pin outlets 112a to 112f. In an alternative embodiment, the single pin connector electrical outlet panel 100 may include a switch instead of the overcurrent device 120 in those applications where overcurrent protection is not required. In addition, the single pin connector electrical outlet panel 100 includes a second switch 116, e.g., a relay switch, that is connected to the switch 114f and to the overcurrent device 120. The second switch 116 may be a normally-closed relay switch that is connected to a shunt trip 122 of the overcurrent device 120. When at least one of the switches 114a to 114f are open, e.g., when at least one of the corresponding single pin outlets 112a to 112f does not have a pin properly inserted therein, the second relay 116 will be closed and the shunt trip 122 is activated so as to prevent the overcurrent device 120 from providing electrical current to the single pin outlets 112a to 112f. When all of the switches 114a to 114f are closed, e.g., when all of the corresponding single pin outlets 112a to 112f have pins properly inserted therein, the resulting complete circuit causes the second switch 116 to close. As a result, the shunt trip 122 is deactivated and the overcurrent device 120 provides electrical power to the single pin outlets 112a to 112f. In other words, unless all the single pin outlets 112a to 112f have pins properly inserted therein, at least one of the switches 114a to 114f will be open, thereby causing the overcurrent device 120 to be tripped and the single pin outlets 112a to 112f to be de-energized.
According to one embodiment of the present invention, the single pin connector electrical outlet panel 100 may include 1, 2 or 3 phase legs. Furthermore, according to one embodiment of the present invention, all of the electric phases controlled by the current limiting device 20 may be combined to create a current used to activate the de-energizing mechanism. As described more fully above, in one embodiment of the present invention, a rectifier may be employed to clip half of the waveform from the three AC phase legs and create a DC voltage. According to this embodiment, this DC voltage may then be employed to control the switches and the shunt trip 122 so as to cause the shunt trip 122 to de-energize the overcurrent device 120 and all of the single pin outlets 112a to 112f. As mentioned previously, employing a rectifier to combine the three electrical phase legs in this manner improves the safety of the single pin connector electrical outlet panel 100 in that a control voltage is present even if one or two of the electrical phase legs fails. An arrangement of this type may ensure that, if one or two of the electrical phase legs fail, a third electrical phase leg that is present will operate to de-energize the single pin outlets 112a to 112e upon the removal of one or more pins from the single pin outlets 112a to 112f. In other embodiments of the present invention, a single electrical phase leg may be employed, thereby providing the electrical system of the single pin connector electrical outlet panel 100 with an “all-or-nothing” arrangement, or else AC switching is employed such that, regardless of whether the other two electrical phase legs are present, the shunt trip 212 would not operate to de-energize the overcurrent device 120 (and consequently the single pin outlets 112a to 112f would not be de-energized) upon the failure of a recognized electrical phase leg.
In addition, according to this embodiment of the present invention, the single pin connector electrical outlet panel 100 may be configured to ensure ground integrity. For example, in the embodiment shown in
The present invention, according to various embodiments thereof, may be employed in a variety of different applications. Most commonly, single pin connector electrical outlet panels are employed in the entertainment industry, particularly in venues in which there is a need for power distribution to portable equipment, e.g., theaters, fairs, film studios, etc. However, single pin connector electrical outlet panels are also employed in many other industries, such as mining, marine, water treatment, etc. In this regard, the cam-lock mechanism employed in most single pin connector electrical outlet panels provides for a simple and effective way for equipment to be connected and disconnected to an electrical power supply.
The single pin connector electrical outlet panel, according to the various embodiments of the present invention described herein, provides provide additional safety features as compared to conventional single pin connector electrical outlet panels. As mentioned previously, one of the problems associated with conventional single pin connector electrical outlet panels is the fact that the single pin outlet has a brass contact that is tube-shaped and that is typically large enough to have inserted therein a finger or other foreign object. When power is supplied to these single pin outlets, e.g., often 400 amps AC @ 240V, the insertion of a finger or other foreign object into the single pin outlet may result in serious injury or death. While the danger of electrocution is lessened when the single pin connector electrical outlet panel is located in restricted areas accessible only to qualified personnel, many of these single pin connector electrical outlet panels are located in areas where they are accessible to the general public. The present invention greatly reduces the likelihood of electrocution to any person to which the panel is accessible in that the single pin connector electrical outlet panel, in accordance with various embodiments thereof, prevents electrical power from being provided to all of the single pin outlets unless all of the single pin outlets have a pin properly inserted therein. When a pin is properly inserted in all of the single pin outlets, a person is prevented from inserting a finger or other foreign object into any of the single pin outlets. When any one single pin outlet does not have a pin properly inserted therein, a person may insert a finger or other foreign object into the open single pin outlet without danger of electrocution because the single pin outlets are de-energized. Thus, the single pin connector electrical outlet panel of the present invention ensures the safety of any person that may come in contact with it, regardless of whether the single pin connector electrical outlet panel is located in an area accessible to the general public or not.
Those skilled in the art will appreciate that numerous modifications of the exemplary example embodiments described hereinabove may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Although various exemplary example embodiments of the present invention have been described and disclosed in detail herein, it should be understood that this invention is in no sense limited thereby and that its scope is to be determined by that of the appended claims.
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| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20040201934 A1 | Oct 2004 | US |
