MODULAR SYSTEM, COMPRISING ELECTRICAL CONSUMER DEVICES AND AN ELECTRICAL CONNECTION UNIT

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a modular system comprising electrical loads and an electrical connection unit. More specifically, the invention relates to such a modular system having the features of the preamble of claim 1.

[0002] It is known to connect various electrical consumers or electrical appliances in households, for example electrical kitchen appliances such as toasters, coffee machines, kitchen radios, kettles, egg cookers or the like, to a single household socket by connecting an electrical connection unit with an electrical connection and distribution strip in the form of a multiple socket in particular, with a conventional electrical connection plug, for example a plug according to the Schuko standard in accordance with CEE 7 / 4, CEE 7 / 6 and CEE 7 / 7, to the household socket and plugging the individual electrical consumers with their electrical connection plugs into the individual sockets of the multiple socket and thus electrically contacting them.From DE 27 02 96 U1, an intermediate adapter is also known which is arranged between the PC power supply and the power supply of the monitor on the power supply, wherein a Schuko socket and two Euro sockets are arranged on the adapter, so that by means of the adapter, further devices connected to the Schuko socket or the Euro sockets are supplied with power by the PC power supply when the PC is also supplied with power.

[0003] Another modular system according to the preamble of claim 1 is known from document WO 01 / 52704 A1.

[0004] This well-known approach is problematic in several respects and in need of improvement: First, a structure of electrical contacts and connections created in this way is characterized by a large number of electrical cables, which are often impossible to store in an orderly manner. Electrical connections for electrical consumers created in this way are therefore often unsightly and appear cluttered.

[0005] Secondly, and this is often more serious, such an approach makes it possible, particularly if the multiple socket has a large number of individual sockets, to connect and operate a large number of electrical consumers simultaneously, without taking into account the maximum electrical power that the socket connected to the household power supply can tolerate. Therefore, if consumers with high electrical power consumption, such as high-heating appliances such as coffee machines, kettles, and toasters, are simultaneously connected to a single household socket via the multiple socket and are also operated at the same time, this can lead to an excessively high electrical current in the electrical cable connected to the household electrical socket.Normally, and in the best case scenario, this will cause an electrical fuse protecting the line to the household electrical outlet to blow. In an unfortunate case, however, if, for example, this electrical fuse is defective or does not respond correctly, this can also lead to overheating of the electrical supply line to the household outlet, thus posing the risk of fire.

[0006] The present invention is intended to remedy this situation by providing a modular system of the type mentioned at the outset which, on the one hand, enables a visually appealing and orderly arrangement and a corresponding connection of electrical consumers to the electrical connection and distribution strip, and, on the other hand, limits the simultaneous connection of electrical consumers to the electrical connection and distribution strip in such a way that a simultaneous connection of consumers with a power consumption exceeding a maximum permissible total electrical power consumption is not possible.

[0007] This object is achieved according to the invention by a modular system comprising electrical consumers and an electrical connection unit, having the features of claim 1. Advantageous developments of such a modular system are specified in the dependent claims 2 to 6.

[0008] In a modular system according to the invention, comprising electrical consumers and an electrical connection unit, the electrical connection unit initially has a contact plug for insertion into a household electrical socket and for electrically connecting to the household electrical socket. The electrical connection unit further has an electrical connection and distribution strip and an electrical cable connecting the electrical connection and distribution strip to the contact plug. Furthermore, the electrical consumers each have first connecting elements, in particular a first connecting element, for mechanically and electrically connecting to second connecting elements on the electrical connection and distribution strip of the electrical connection unit.

[0009] The special feature of the modular system according to the invention is that the first connecting elements on the electrical consumers are designed geometrically differently depending on a maximum electrical power consumption of the respective electrical consumer and that the second connecting elements on the electrical connection and distribution strip are also designed geometrically differently in such a way that selected ones of the first connecting elements cannot be connected to selected ones of the second connecting elements.Furthermore, the invention is characterized in that in the modular system the type and number of the second connecting elements provided on the electrical connection and distribution strip are determined in such a way that a total maximum electrical power consumption of all electrical consumers that can be connected to the electrical connection and distribution strip at the same time is limited to a predetermined maximum value.

[0010] The invention therefore provides in particular for the novel modular system that the connection and distribution strip of the electrical connection unit is limited with regard to the connection of electrical consumers and a maximum total electrical power consumption of all connected electrical consumers in that it has a predetermined number of different second connecting elements which can specifically only be joined to first connecting elements on electrical consumers which do not exceed a predetermined maximum electrical power consumption.In other words, an electrical connection and distribution strip can, for example, have four second connecting elements, two of which are designed with the same geometry and can be connected accordingly to corresponding first electrical connecting elements on electrical consumers with a maximum electrical power consumption of, for example, 250 W, of which a further second connecting element is designed in a different geometric design and fits to first connecting elements on electrical consumers which, for example, have a maximum electrical power consumption of 1000 W each, and of which a last connecting element is designed in a further different geometric design and fits to first connecting elements on electrical consumers which, for example, have a maximum electrical power consumption of 2000 W.By means of such a measure, the connection and distribution strip, which is specifically designed for connection to the first connection elements of the electrical consumers of the modular system, which are also specifically designed, is limited to the connection of electrical consumers with a maximum total electrical power consumption of 3500 W at the most, and it can be ensured accordingly that the electrical supply line to the household socket to which the electrical connection unit present in the system according to the invention is connected is not overloaded by an overcurrent, even if all electrical consumers connected to the connection and distribution strip are operated at maximum power consumption at the same time.Of course, the invention is not limited to a division into different second connecting elements on the electrical connection and distribution strip as described above by way of example, nor to the maximum total power consumption mentioned as an example. In particular, this limitation, and thus also the division into different second connecting elements, will also depend on the respective designs of the household electrical network and on the regulations in the different countries in which the system according to the invention is to be used. For example, it can be provided to form an electrical connection unit with an electrical connection and distribution strip such that it has a maximum power consumption of 3680 W (or slightly less, e.g. a maximum of 3500 W) with a 230 V / 50 Hz power supply, if it is to be used in Germany or France.This is because the maximum electrical power that can be drawn via a household socket is limited to this maximum value. For an electrical connection unit to be used in the United Kingdom, however, the electrical connection and distribution strip can advantageously be designed so that it has a maximum electrical power consumption of 2990 W (or slightly less, e.g., 2800 W), since household sockets in the United Kingdom are only designed for a maximum power output of 2990 W. For other countries, different upper limits for the maximum electrical power consumption of the total electrical devices that can be connected to the electrical connection and distribution strip may apply accordingly.The distribution of the second connecting elements and the maximum electrical power consumption of electrical consumers that can be connected to the respective connecting element due to the specific geometric design can of course also vary and can be designed in a system according to the invention as required by appropriate design of the first connecting elements.

[0011] In principle, it is possible for several geometrically differently designed first connecting elements to be connected to a selected, geometrically specially designed second connecting element, e.g. those on electrical consumers which do not exceed a maximum electrical power consumption intended for connection to the second connecting element in question.

[0012] However, in a modular system according to the invention, it can also be provided that the first and second connecting elements are geometrically designed in such a way that only one suitable one of the first connecting elements can be connected to an associated second connecting element.

[0013] In particular, it can be provided that the first connecting elements and the second connecting elements can be directly connected to one another without the need for any cable sections. This leads to a reduction in the frequently encountered tangle of various cables and allows for a neat and visually appealing arrangement and contacting of the individual electrical loads.

[0014] The concept of the modular system according to the invention is simplified if, as proposed according to an advantageous development of the invention, the electrical loads are divided into groups depending on their maximum electrical power consumption, and if the electrical loads in one group have geometrically identically shaped first connecting elements, while the electrical loads in different groups have geometrically differently shaped first connecting elements. With such a solution, for example, electrical loads with a maximum electrical power consumption of up to 250 W can be integrated into a first group and—regardless of their actual maximum electrical power consumption—each have identically shaped first connecting elements.A second group of electrical consumers can, for example, be formed by those with a maximum electrical power consumption of over 250 W up to 1000 W and have first connecting elements in a second geometric shape that differs from the first. A third group of electrical consumers, which again have connecting elements that differ from the two geometric shapes of the connecting elements of the electrical consumers in the first two groups, can then, for example, include electrical consumers with a maximum electrical power consumption of 1000 W to 2000 W.To select the number and type of second connecting elements provided on the electrical connection and distribution strip, based on the maximum permissible total electrical power consumption of all connected and potentially simultaneously operated electrical consumers, the upper limit of the electrical power consumption of the electrical consumers in the respective group is then used. The above examples of dividing electrical consumers into, for example, three groups with the above-mentioned exemplary divisions with regard to maximum electrical power consumption are of course only examples and can also be implemented differently.This means that more than three groups can be formed, or even just two groups, and the limits of the maximum electrical power consumption of the consumers in the respective groups can also be set differently.

[0015] In principle, the first and second connecting elements on the electrical consumers or on the connection and distribution strip can be freely selected in their design. However, it is particularly preferred if one type of these connecting elements, for example the first connecting elements, is designed as a connecting plug, and a second type, for example the second connecting elements, is designed as a plug-in socket. The different geometric configurations can be formed, for example, by strip-shaped webs on the plugs and corresponding receiving grooves in the plug-in sockets, which are arranged and shaped such that a connection of a plug of a predetermined geometric shape is only possible with a correspondingly matching plug-in socket.

[0016] In a further possible embodiment of the modular system according to the invention, it can be provided that the electrical loads have a mounting surface with a lateral extension of a contact side that each carries the first connecting element, and that the lateral extensions of the mounting surfaces of the electrical loads are formed in an integer ratio to one another. Such a design enables a simple, particularly gap-free, modular assembly of adjacently positioned electrical loads, which can be connected to the terminal and distribution strip using appropriately positioned second connecting elements.Such a unit, which is constructed modularly from different consumers, can be further standardized if the installation surfaces preferably have a rectangular or square basic shape with an extension in the transverse direction, in particular perpendicular to the lateral extension, which is the same for the respective modules.In particular when, as provided for in an advantageous development of the invention, the electrical consumers are electrical kitchen appliances, such as, for example, toasters, kettles, coffee machines, egg cookers, kitchen radios, stand mixers, juicers or the like, a compact row of electrical consumers, in this case electrical kitchen appliances, arranged next to one another and contacted via the connection and distribution strip can be formed in this way, which is also arranged in a visually appealing and space-saving manner, for example on a work surface in a kitchen and is connected by means of the connection unit formed according to the invention to a single household socket, in particular via a single supply cable, namely the electrical cable of the connection unit.

[0017] Advantageously, the maximum electrical power consumption of all electrical consumers that can be connected simultaneously to the electrical connection and distribution strip cannot exceed 3500 watts. Therefore, the number and type of second contact elements arranged on the electrical connection and distribution strip can be selected such that the total maximum power consumption of the electrical consumers that can be connected using first connecting elements that only match one type of second connecting element does not exceed this level. In such a configuration, the system according to the invention is particularly suitable for use in Germany or France.

[0018] Further advantages and features of the invention will become apparent from the following description of an embodiment with reference to the accompanying figures. These show: Fig. 1 is a schematic view of a modular system according to the invention in a first perspective and Fig. 2 is a schematic view of the modular system from Fig. 1 in a second perspective.

[0019] The two attached figures depict a possible embodiment of a modular system according to the invention, comprising electrical loads and an electrical connection unit, schematically and in no way to scale or in a true-to-construction representation. The representation in the figures is not to be understood as limiting, but serves merely as an illustration. A modular system according to the invention can also be implemented in different design variants that are readily recognizable to a person skilled in the art.The information on the electrical power consumption of individual electrical consumers mentioned, the allocation of the first and second connecting elements in their graphical design to groups divided according to electrical power consumption within the stated limits, the stated limits and also the resulting maximum configuration of electrical consumers that can be combined in the system and simultaneously connected to a household socket and the resulting maximum electrical power consumption when these consumers are operated simultaneously are also to be understood as merely exemplary and not as limiting. These values ​​are to be determined by a specialist in particular based on the framework conditions required in the specific case, such asthe type of electrical consumer or the country in which the system is to be used and the local requirements for electrical supply and protection of household sockets.

[0020] The figures show two different perspectives, a top view in Figure 1 and a view diagonally from above and behind in Figure 2, a modular system according to the invention is generally designated by the reference numeral 10. The system 10 contains a plurality of electrical consumers, in the exemplary embodiment shown, electrical kitchen appliances in the form of a coffee machine 11, a kettle 12, a toaster 13, an egg cooker 14 and a kitchen radio 15. The system 10 further contains an electrical connection unit 16, which is formed from an electrical connection and distribution strip 17, which is connected via an electrical cable 18 to a conventional electrical connection plug (not shown) for connection to a household socket.

[0021] In the embodiment shown, the electrical connection and distribution strip 17 has a total of four second connecting elements in the form of connecting plugs 19, 20, 21. The connecting plugs 19 are formed with an identical geometry, but differ in geometry from the connecting plugs 20 and 21, which in turn are also formed with a different geometry from one another.

[0022] The electrical appliances (coffee machine 11, kettle 12, toaster 13, egg cooker 14, and kitchen radio 15) each have first connecting elements in the form of plug-in sockets 22, 23, 24. The plug-in sockets 22 are geometrically shaped such that they can be connected and electrically contacted with all connecting plugs 19, 20, 21. The plug-in sockets 23 fit exclusively with the connecting plugs 20, 21, but not with the connecting plugs 19. The plug-in socket 24 is geometrically shaped such that it can only be connected and contacted with the connecting plug 21.

[0023] This different geometric design of the plug-in sockets 22, 23, 24 is determined by grouping the electrical devices equipped with them, determined by their maximum electrical power consumption. In a first group, which includes the kitchen radio 15 and egg cooker 14, the devices have a low maximum electrical power consumption of, for example, approximately 250 W. A second group, which includes the toaster 13 and coffee maker 11, comprises devices with a medium maximum electrical power consumption of, for example, approximately 1000 W (coffee maker 11) and approximately 900 W (toaster 13), respectively. A third group includes only the kettle, which has a high maximum electrical power consumption of, for example, approximately 2000 W.The electrical connection and distribution strip 17 with its four connecting plugs 19, 20, 21 is designed in such a way that a total of electrical consumers with a maximum total electrical power consumption of approximately 3500 W can be connected to it.This is determined, on the one hand, by the number of connecting plugs 19, 20, 21 arranged on the electrical connection and distribution strip 17 and by their respective geometric design, which only allows connection to suitable plug-in sockets 22, 23, 24 of the respectively assigned electrical consumers from the groups described above, wherein plug-in sockets 22 on consumers with low electrical power consumption can be connected to the connecting plugs 19 specifically designed for the connection of such consumers consuming low electrical power, but also to connecting plugs 20 and 21 intended for the connection of consumers with higher (medium or high) power consumption.Electrical consumers with higher power consumption, however, cannot be connected with their connection sockets 23, 24 to connecting plugs 19 for electrical consumers with lower maximum electrical power consumption.

[0024] The figures show a total of five electrical consumers, in this case electrical kitchen appliances. This is to demonstrate that a modular structure and modular configuration are possible within the system. For example, the egg cooker 14 and the kitchen radio 15 can be connected to the two connecting plugs 19 of the electrical connection and distribution strip 17. The toaster 13, for example, can be connected to the connecting plug 20, or alternatively, the coffee machine 11, since these belong to the same power group in terms of grouping and therefore have an identical socket 23. The egg cooker 14 or the kitchen radio 15 can also be connected to the connecting plug 20, since these electrical consumers have a lower maximum power consumption than the toaster 13 or the coffee machine 11.Only the connecting plug 21 allows connection to the kettle 12, which has the highest maximum electrical power consumption. However, all other appliances, such as the coffee machine 11, toaster 13, egg cooker 14, and kitchen radio 15, can also be connected to the connecting plug 21. In some cases, however, it may also be provided that the kettle 12 can also be connected to the connecting plug 20. This can be the case, in particular, if the system only contains one consumer with a high electrical power consumption, such as the kettle 12, so that for this reason alone it is not possible to connect another consumer with such a high electrical power consumption to the connecting plug 21 and thus achieve an excessively high total power consumption. Such a design can then achieve greater freedom in the possible positioning of the kitchen appliances 11, 12, 13, 14, 15.

[0025] A further special feature of the configuration of the system 10 according to the invention shown in the exemplary embodiment is the fact that the respective end users in the form of the electrical kitchen appliances (coffee machine 11, kettle 12, toaster 13, egg cooker 14, kitchen radio 15) each have substantially rectangular support surfaces 25, 26. The support surfaces 25 of the coffee machine 11, kettle 12, and toaster 13 have an identical lateral extension along their edge, in which the respective plug-in socket 23, 24 is arranged. The support surfaces 26 of the egg cooker 14 and kitchen radio 15 are also identical in design, but have a shorter lateral extension along the edge where they have their plug-in sockets 22 than the other kitchen appliances. The lateral extension of the support surfaces 26 is exactly half the lateral extension of the support surfaces 25.In the direction perpendicular to the lateral extension, the support surfaces 25, 26 are of equal length. This allows a compact, space-free row of kitchen appliances to be formed, which can be connected via the electrical connection and distribution strip 17.

[0026] It should be pointed out again here that the information provided in the above description of an exemplary embodiment regarding the power consumption of the electrical consumers mentioned by way of example is merely exemplary and serves solely to further illustrate the invention. Of course, other types of electrical consumers with different power consumptions, or even electrical consumers such as those mentioned above in the form of electrical kitchen appliances with different power consumptions, can be used here without deviating from the invention. For example, a kettle 12 may consume not 2000 W, but only 1900 W or 1800 W of electrical power, or other values, possibly between those mentioned, even higher or even lower. The same applies analogously to the other electrical kitchen appliances mentioned in the above example: toaster 13, coffee machine 11, egg cooker 14, and kitchen radio 15. List of reference symbols

[0027] 10System 11Coffee machine 12Kettle 13Toaster 14Egg cooker 15Kitchen radio 16Electrical connection unit 17Electrical connection and distribution strip 18Electrical cable 19Connector 20Connector 21Connector 22Socket 23Socket 24Socket 25Installation surface 26Installation surface

Claims

1. A modular system (10) comprising electrical consumers (11, 12, 13, 14, 15) and an electrical connection unit (16), wherein the electrical connection unit (16) has a contact plug for insertion into a mains electrical socket and for electrical connection to the mains electrical socket, an electrical connection and distribution strip (17) and an electrical cable (18) connecting the electrical connection and distribution strip (17) to the contact plug, wherein the electrical consumers (11, 12, 13, 14, 15) have first connecting elements (22, 23, 24) for mechanical and electrical connection to second connecting elements (19, 20, 21) on the electrical connection and distribution strip (17), characterised in that the first connecting elements (22, 23, 24) on the electrical consumers (11, 12, 13, 14, 15) are designed geometrically differently depending on a maximum electrical power consumption of the respective electrical consumer (11, 12, 13, 14, 15) and in that the second connecting elements (19, 20, 21) on the electrical connection and distribution strip (17) are also designed geometrically differently in such a manner, that selected ones of the first connecting elements (22, 23, 24) cannot be connected to selected ones of the second connecting elements (19, 20, 21), the type and number of the second connecting elements (19, 20, 21) provided on the electrical connection and distribution strip (17) being so determined, that a total maximum electrical power consumption of all electrical consumers (11, 12, 13, 14, 15) that can be connected simultaneously to the electrical connection and distribution strip (17) is limited to a predetermined maximum value.

2. A modular system according to claim 1, characterised in that the first (22, 23, 24) and the second (19, 20, 21) of the connecting elements are geometrically designed in such a way that in each case only one matching one of the first connecting elements (22, 23, 24) can be connected to an associated second connecting element (19, 20, 21).

3. A modular system (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the electrical consumers (11, 12, 13, 14, 15) are divided into groups depending on their maximum electrical power consumption, the electrical consumers (11, 12, 13, 14, 15) of one group having geometrically identically shaped first connecting elements (22, 23, 24), the electrical consumers (11, 12, 13, 14, 15) of different groups having geometrically differently shaped first connecting elements (22, 23, 24).

4. A modular system (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the first connecting elements (22, 23, 24) are designed as plug-in sockets and the second connecting elements (19, 20, 21) are designed as plugs.

5. A modular system (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the electrical consumers (11, 12, 13, 14, 15) have a mounting surface (25, 26) with a lateral extension of a contact side carrying the first connecting element (22, 23, 24) in each case, and in that the lateral extensions of the mounting surfaces (25, 26) of the electrical consumers (11, 12, 13, 14, 15) are formed in an integer ratio to one another.

6. A modular system (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the maximum electrical power consumption of all electrical consumers (11, 12, 13, 14, 15) which can be connected simultaneously to the electrical connection and distribution strip (17) is not higher than 3500 watts.

7. A modular system (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the electrical consumers (11, 12, 13, 14, 15) are electrical kitchen appliances.