Patent Application
20220140518
The present invention relates generally to electrical wiring devices, and particularly to tamper-resistant electrical wiring devices.
Electrical power is provided to users by way of electrical distribution systems that typically include electrical wiring from a utility power source to a breaker panel disposed in a house, building or some other facility. The breaker panel distributes AC power to one or more branch electric circuits installed in the structure. The electric circuits may typically include one or more electrical wiring devices that regulate, monitor or provide AC power to other devices. There are a variety of electrical wiring devices available to the consumer including outlet receptacles, light switches, dimmers, ground fault circuit interrupters, arc fault circuit interrupters and the like. Each electrical wiring device typically is equipped with electrical terminals that provide a means for connecting the device to the source of AC power and a means for connecting the device to a load. Specifically, line terminals couple the device to the source of AC electrical power, whereas load terminals couple power to the load. Load terminals may also be referred to as “feed-through” or “downstream” terminals because the wires connected to these terminals may be coupled to a daisy-chained configuration of receptacles or switches.
Thus, an electric circuit may include many different electrical wiring devices disposed at various locations throughout a structure. Outlet receptacles, switches and protective devices are examples or types of electrical wiring devices. Ground fault circuit interrupters (GFCIs), and are fault circuit interrupters (AFCIs) are examples of protective devices in electric circuits. Switches, protective devices and other types of electrical devices are often provided in combination with receptacles. For example, outlet receptacles are disposed in duplex receptacles, raceways, multiple outlet strips, power taps, extension cords, light fixtures, appliances, and the like. When the wiring terminations of these devices (i.e., wiring terminals, plugs, etc.) of these devices are connected to the electrical distribution system, the receptacle contacts may be energized. When the power cord of an electrical appliance is inserted into the receptacle outlet, the device is also energized.
When a foreign object is inserted into a receptacle opening it may represent a safety hazard. Specifically, young children and toddlers are known to have a proclivity toward inserting objects such as paper clips or screwdriver blades into receptacle contact openings. (This should be a cause for alarm, especially in light of the fact that, e.g., GFCIs are configured to trip in response to a mere 6 mA current). Even a small current (in the mA range) passing through a human body to ground can result in an electric shock, burns, or electrocution (a fatal shock event). As a result, the use of shuttered openings in electrical receptacles has long been in use in an attempt to prevent the insertion of foreign objects into the receptacle contact openings. One drawback to this approach relates to the ineffectiveness of related art designs. In many conventional designs, when objects are placed into both openings, the shutter will typically operate, exposing the child to a shock hazard. What is needed is a shutter mechanism that only opens when an actual corded plug is inserted into the receptacle.
Another drawback to this approach relates to the complexity of related art shutters. Many shutter designs comprise multiple and structurally complicated parts and spring elements. For example, in one conventional approach that has been considered, the shutter must be intricately installed within a base platform (by hand) after positioning a delicate leaf spring element within the base. The cost and time of assembling the shutter mechanism, and the space taken up by their multiple parts, limit the usage of these designs. Moreover, automated environments often generate vibrations and mechanical forces that tend to introduce failure modes. Specifically, vibrations tend to cause the leaf spring to become dislodged or otherwise become separated from the platform. In addition, when objects are inserted into the receptacle opening, the shutter is forced to press against the leaf spring while moving upwardly and downwardly within the base platform. This type of movement increases the likelihood that the leaf spring will be dislodged. Once this happens, the receptacle device is either inoperable or unprotected.
What is needed is a shutter assembly that is configured to operate smoothly (and robustly) even when foreign objects or uneven plug blades are forcefully inserted. What is also needed is relatively simple (but still effective) protective shutter assembly that is easy to install within an electrical wiring device.
Additional background information regarding protective electrical wiring devices can be found, for example, in the background section of U.S. Pat. Nos. 9,437,386 and 10,020,649 and U.S. Pub App. No. 20210035760. Additional background information regarding tamper resistant mechanisms for electrical wiring devices can be found, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 9,847,611, 9,543,715 and 9,893,456.
Description of the Related Art Section Disclaimer: To the extent that specific patents/publications/products are discussed above in this Background Section or elsewhere in this application, these discussions should not be taken as an admission that the discussed patents/publications/products are prior art for patent law purposes. For example, some or all of the discussed patents/publications/products may not be sufficiently early in time, may not reflect subject matter developed early enough in time and/or may not be sufficiently enabling so as to amount to prior art for patent law purposes. To the extent that specific patents/publications/products (and/or specific portions thereof) are discussed above in this Background Section and/or throughout the application, the descriptions/disclosures of which are all hereby incorporated by reference into this document in their respective entirety(ies) (or at least the specific references sections are incorporated by reference into this document in their respective entirety(ies), as may be applicable).
The present invention addresses the needs described above by providing electrical wiring devices with certain tamper-resistant shutter mechanisms. In particular, shutter assemblies are described and illustrated that are structured and configured to operate smoothly (and robustly) within an electrical wiring device even when foreign objects or uneven plug blades are forcefully inserted. The present invention also provides a relatively simple, yet very effective, protective shutter assemblies that are easy to install within an electrical wiring device. The details of one or more embodiments of the shutter assemblies are further described herein, including embodiments related to shutter assemblies positioned in a 250V tamper resistant electrical receptacle. Although embodiments illustrated in and described with respect to the Figures show shutter assemblies as part of a 250V tamper resistant electrical receptacle, the shutter assemblies are not restricted to such receptacles. Indeed, the shutter assemblies described herein can be incorporated into any electrical wiring device including into a modular device, a duplex receptacle and in other receptacles such as, but not limited to, Applicant's Radiant®, Harmony® and Adorne® (see, e.g., U.S. Pub App. Nos. 2020/0185898, 20210035760) branded lines of receptacles.
Electrical wiring devices (as the non-limiting term is used herein, and as should be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art) may be configured as an outlet receptacle or as a protective device, such as a ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI), an arc fault circuit interrupter (AFCI), a transient voltage surge suppressor (TVSS), or a surge protective device (SPD). Other electrical wiring device examples include switches, dimmers, fan speed controls, night lights, low voltage ports, or USB ports. The electrical wiring devices may also be a smart device or smart version of any of the previously wiring device types. Finally, each of these electrical wiring device types may be found in mix-and-match combinations with other kinds of these wiring devices. For example, a GFCI/AFCI combination device may be included within a single housing.
Additional features and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the detailed description which follows, and in part will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art from that description or recognized by practicing the invention as described herein, including the detailed description which follows, the claims, as well as the appended drawings.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are merely exemplary of the invention, and are intended to provide an overview or framework for understanding the nature and character of the invention as it is claimed. It should be appreciated that all combinations of the foregoing concepts and additional concepts discussed in greater detail below (provided such concepts are not mutually inconsistent) are contemplated as being part of the inventive subject matter disclosed herein. In particular, all combinations of claimed subject matter appearing at the end of this disclosure are contemplated as being part of the inventive subject matter disclosed herein. It should also be appreciated that terminology explicitly employed herein that also may appear in any disclosure incorporated by reference should be accorded a meaning most consistent with the particular concepts disclosed herein.
The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the invention, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate various embodiments of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principles and operation of the invention.
In the drawings, like reference characters generally refer to the same parts throughout the different views. Also, the drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead generally being placed upon illustrating the principles of the invention.
Reference will now be made in detail to the present exemplary embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts. Discussion or illustration of a particular element or structural configuration does not mean that that particular element or structural configuration is required. A 15A version and a 20A version of a 250V tamper resistant electrical receptacle are described and illustrated herein, and designated generally throughout by reference numeral 10 or 10′, respectively. The associated unique shutter assemblies incorporated into these devices are designated by reference numeral 20 or 20′, respectively. In accordance with another embodiment, the 20A tamper resistant shutter assembly design described herein can be used in the 15A device, and the 15A tamper resistant shutter assembly design can be used in the 20A device.
As described in further detail below, the shutter assemblies 20 or 20′ of embodiments of the present invention are positioned and are actuatable within respective electrical wiring devices and feature two main shutter positions: blocking position (resting state) and an open position (actuated state). The shutter assemblies can be structured, shaped and configured to be assembled in and work with other electrical wiring devices which are structurally different from the 15A and 20A devices described herein, while maintaining the same or similar blocking position, open position, and movement in single/parallel plane between the two positions structure and functionality as described herein.
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When the electrical receptacles are assembled (absent the respective shutter assemblies 20 and 20′) and the respective contacts are positioned into respective interior spaces of the body, the ground aperture 12-1 is in communication with a ground contact 14-12 formed in the ground strap 14-1, the hot aperture 12-2 is in communication with a hot contact 14-2 and the neutral aperture 12-3 is in contact with a neutral contact 14-3. When the respective shutter assemblies 20 and 20′ are part of the assembled electrical receptacles, each shutter assembly is positioned between each set of hot, neutral and ground plug blade openings of the cover (12-2, 12-3, 12-1 respectively) and their corresponding hot, neutral and ground contacts (14-2, 14-3, 14-1 respectively). Each shutter assembly 20 and 20′ includes one or more shutter components that are moveable with respect to a frame component 20-1 and against or with (in a direction opposite to or equal to) a bias force at least along (and in some situations, only along) a first plane, and in some cases planes that are parallel to a first plane (e.g., 20A version of the device), as is discussed further below.
Shutter assembly 20 of the 15A version of the 250V tamper resistant electrical receptacles 10 includes a frame 20-1, fixed with respect to the body portion 14, and a shutter 20-2, moveable within the receptacle 10 and with respect to frame component 20-1. Two compression springs 7 are shown positioned between portions of the frame 20-1 and the shutter 20-2. Shutter assembly 20′ of the 20A version of the 250V tamper resistant electrical receptacles 10′ includes a frame 20-1, fixed with respect to the body portion 14, and two shutters 20-2-1 and 20-2-2. The shutters 20-2-1 and 20-2-2 are moveable within the receptacle 10′, with respect to each other and with respect to frame component 20-1 (which is fixed with respect to the body 14). Two compression springs 7 are shown positioned between portions of the frame 20-1 and the shutter 20-2-1. A cover 12 is secured over the top of the respective shutter assemblies 20 and 20′.
Cover 10 can be made from, for example, nylon 6. Shutter assembly 20 and 20′ components can be made from, for example, a medium viscosity acetal homopolymer such as Delrin® 500P material. Frame 20-1 can be made from, for example, polycarbonate.
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While several inventive embodiments have been described and illustrated herein, those of ordinary skill in the art will readily envision a variety of other means and/or structures for performing the function and/or obtaining the results and/or one or more of the advantages described herein, and each of such variations and/or modifications is deemed to be within the scope of the inventive embodiments described herein. More generally, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that all parameters, dimensions, materials, and configurations described herein are meant to be exemplary and that the actual parameters, dimensions, materials, and/or configurations will depend upon the specific application or applications for which the inventive teachings is/are used. Those skilled in the art will recognize, or be able to ascertain using no more than routine experimentation, many equivalents to the specific inventive embodiments described herein. It is, therefore, to be understood that the foregoing embodiments are presented by way of example only and that, within the scope of the appended claims and equivalents thereto; inventive embodiments may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described and claimed.
All references, including publications, patent applications, and patents, cited herein are hereby incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each reference were individually and specifically indicated to be incorporated by reference and were set forth in its entirety herein.
All definitions, as defined and used herein, should be understood to control over dictionary definitions, definitions in documents incorporated by reference, and/or ordinary meanings of the defined terms.
The use of the terms “a” and “an” and “the” and similar referents in the context of describing the invention (especially in the context of the following claims) are to be construed to cover both the singular and the plural, unless otherwise indicated herein or clearly contradicted by context. The terms “comprising,” “having,” “including,” and “containing” are to be construed as open-ended terms (i.e., meaning “including, but not limited to,”) unless otherwise noted. The term “connected” is to be construed as partly or wholly contained within, attached to, or joined together, even if there is something intervening.
As used herein in the specification and in the claims, the phrase “at least one,” in reference to a list of one or more elements, should be understood to mean at least one element selected from any one or more of the elements in the list of elements, but not necessarily including at least one of each and every element specifically listed within the list of elements and not excluding any combinations of elements in the list of elements. This definition also allows that elements may optionally be present other than the elements specifically identified within the list of elements to which the phrase “at least one” refers, whether related or unrelated to those elements specifically identified. Thus, as a non-limiting example, “at least one of A and B” (or, equivalently, “at least one of A or B,” or, equivalently “at least one of A and/or B”) can refer, in one embodiment, to at least one, optionally including more than one, A, with no B present (and optionally including elements other than B); in another embodiment, to at least one, optionally including more than one, B, with no A present (and optionally including elements other than A); in yet another embodiment, to at least one, optionally including more than one, A, and at least one, optionally including more than one, B (and optionally including other elements); etc.
It should also be understood that, unless clearly indicated to the contrary, in any methods claimed herein that include more than one step or act, the order of the steps or acts of the method is not necessarily limited to the order in which the steps or acts of the method are recited.
Approximating language, as used herein throughout the specification and claims, may be applied to modify any quantitative representation that could permissibly vary without resulting in a change in the basic function to which it is related. Accordingly, a value modified by a term or terms, such as “about” and “substantially”, are not to be limited to the precise value specified. In at least some instances, the approximating language may correspond to the precision of an instrument for measuring the value. Here and throughout the specification and claims, range limitations may be combined and/or interchanged; such ranges are identified and include all the sub-ranges contained therein unless context or language indicates otherwise.
The recitation of ranges of values herein are merely intended to serve as a shorthand method of referring individually to each separate value falling within the range, unless otherwise indicated herein, and each separate value is incorporated into the specification as if it were individually recited herein.
All methods described herein can be performed in any suitable order unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context. The use of any and all examples, or exemplary language (e.g., “such as”) provided herein, is intended merely to better illuminate embodiments of the invention and does not impose a limitation on the scope of the invention unless otherwise claimed.
No language in the specification should be construed as indicating any non-claimed element as essential to the practice of the invention.
In the claims, as well as in the specification above, all transitional phrases such as “comprising,” “including,” “carrying,” “having,” “containing,” “involving,” “holding,” “composed of,” and the like are to be understood to be open-ended, i.e., to mean including but not limited to. Only the transitional phrases “consisting of” and “consisting essentially of” shall be closed or semi-closed transitional phrases, respectively, as set forth in the United States Patent Office Manual of Patent Examining Procedures, Section 2111.03.
It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. There is no intention to limit the invention to the specific form or forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, alternative constructions, and equivalents falling within the spirit and scope of the invention, as defined in the appended claims. Thus, it is intended that the present invention cover the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 63/063,713 filed on Aug. 10, 2020, and U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 63/144,505 filed on Feb. 2, 2021, the content of each is relied upon and incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, and the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) is hereby claimed.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63063713 | Aug 2020 | US | |
| 63144505 | Feb 2021 | US |
