Spring contact plate

Abstract

An improved end fitting for a hose adapted for use with a central vacuum system is provided. The end fitting has a housing and a cylindrical member extending from the housing. The cylindrical member is adapted to be received by a wall inlet. The cylindrical member has an end portion of a first diameter and a neck of a second smaller diameter and at least one spring contact plate positioned over the neck to provide an electrical connection to the wall inlet.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0001]The present invention is primarily directed to the field of central vacuum systems and more particularly, to an improved end fitting having a spring contact plate for providing more consistent electrical contact between an end fitting on a hose used in a central vacuum system and the respective wall inlet.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002]While movable vacuum cleaners make up the vast majority of vacuum systems in homes and businesses, there has recently been a significant increase in the use of central vacuum cleaning systems. Movable or portable vacuum cleaners are plugged into an electric outlet and or self-contained system for picking up dust, dirt and debris. Provided there is a long enough cord, the portable vacuum can cover most areas in a home or other building without too much difficulty.[0003]The primary advantage of a central vacuum system is that the user does not have to carry a heavy unit from room to room or up and down stairs. This is par...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0011]At the first side edge of the spring contact plate there is a sidewall extending from the top surface of the plate inwardly toward the center point of the opening in the cylindrical member. The side wall is generally at an angle to the top surface of the contact plate and extends for a short distance. In one embodiment the side wall is generally perpendicular to the top surface of the contact plate. There is a lip extending outwardly from the sidewall. The lip is generally parallel to the top surface and perpendicular to the sidewall. The lip may have one or more serrations or tabs extending outwardly of the lip extending from the sidewall. The lip preferably has a plurality of tabs extending outwardly from the lip the tabs have a top edge and a pair of side edges extending from the top edge to the edge of the lip. The side edges of the tabs are preferably angled to facilitate mounting.

[0013]One group of fingers are generally triangular in configuration with a tip and two side edges extending toward said second edge. This first group of fingers extend from the side edge of the spring contact place over the outside surface of the cylindrical member and a portion of the end fitting where the cylindrical member is connected to the end fitting. The second type of finger extends a short distance from the edge and contacts a corresponding raised pin on the housing. This second type of finger has a raised angular tip that extends upwardly of the top surface of the contact spring. The pin that is on the housing prevents axial movement of the spring when the spring is inserted into a Type A wall inlet or a powered head. The configuration of the pin and the respective tab on the contact spring plate causes the spring plate to flex outwardly in a radial direction with minimum axial displacement. This arrangement and the arrangement of the other fingers on the spring contact plate provide good electrical contact with the LV electrical contacts in the Type A inlet.

Problems solved by technology

Many times, these people find it more difficult to maneuver the movable vacuum cleaners to various locations in the house, such as up and down stairs or tight spaces, as they are using it.

This lack of LV standardization driven by an agency or industry group is the crux of the problem as there is no uniformity in the connectors.

Ideally, a single wall end fitting would be able to fit all Type A wall valves and function properly, but due to omissions and ambiguities in the standards, this is not always possible in practice.

The challenge to this implementation is that the mating implementations in the Type A wall valves vary greatly; there are fixed and spring loaded pins of varying diameters and positions with differing degrees of flexibility and range of motion.

This increases the expense in manufacturing the hose end fittings.

Images