Outlet device

Abstract

The present invention provides an electrical outlet device that prevents accidental operation of the handle during normal use, while also allowing workers to easily operate the handle when necessary, such as during installation or maintenance. [Solution] The handle 10, located near the upper edge of the front of the main case 3, is positioned so that when the gripping piece 13 is tilted toward the front of the main case 3, the tip of the gripping piece 13 comes close to the edge of the window 5 of the decorative plate 2 that exposes the front of the main case 3. Furthermore, the tip of the gripping piece 13 protrudes forward of the frame body 21 of the mounting frame 20, while being flush with the front of the decorative plate 2 and not protruding forward of the decorative plate 2.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to, for example, a socket device installed on a wall surface or the like.

Background Art

[0002] As a conventional socket device, there is one provided with a handle for turning on / off an electric circuit inside a main body case. Such a handle is often provided on the front surface of the main body case so as to be rotatable. However, when a handle is provided on the front surface of the main body case, it is easy to accidentally operate it during normal use. Therefore, for the purpose of preventing such accidental operations, a structure as described in Patent Document 1 has been devised. That is, on the front surface of the main body case, a handle recess capable of accommodating a handle in a state where the electric circuit is turned on (hereinafter referred to as the "on state") is provided, and the front surface of the operation part of the handle in the on state and the front surface of the main body case are flush with each other, and the tip of the operation part is close to the opening edge of the handle recess.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In the structure described in Patent Document 1, although the effect of preventing accidental operation of the handle can be expected, there is a problem that it is difficult to operate the handle, for example, when an operator performs construction or maintenance.

[0005] Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is an object to provide a socket device that can prevent accidental operation of the handle during normal use and can easily operate the handle when necessary, such as during construction or maintenance by an operator. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] To achieve the above objective, the invention described in claim 1 of the present invention is an outlet device comprising: a mounting frame fixed to the installation surface; a main body case fixed to the mounting frame; and a plate body assembled to cover the mounting frame from the front, wherein a handle for turning on / off an electrical circuit disposed inside the main body case is provided on the front surface of the main body case so as to be rotatable between an on position with the knob tilted toward the front surface of the main body case and an off position with the knob standing upright relative to the front surface of the main body case, and the plate body has a window that exposes the front surface of the main body case when assembled, characterized in that, in the on position, the tip of the knob and the edge of the window are close together, and the tip of the knob protrudes forward of the mounting frame, but does not protrude forward of the front surface of the plate body. The invention described in claim 2 is characterized in that, in the invention described in claim 1, the rear surface of the tip of the gripping portion is an inclined surface that slopes backward from the tip of the gripping portion toward the base, and a gap is formed between the inclined surface and the main body case. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present invention, in the "on" position, the tip of the knob is close to the edge of the window, and the tip of the knob protrudes forward of the mounting frame, but does not protrude forward of the front surface of the plate body. Therefore, in the normal operating state with the plate body assembled, it becomes extremely difficult to turn the handle off, that is, to change the position of the handle from the "on" position to the "off" position, thus preventing accidental operation of the handle during normal use. Furthermore, by removing the plate, the tip of the knob, which protrudes forward from the mounting frame, will be exposed in any direction (up, down, left, or right). Therefore, when necessary, such as during installation or maintenance by a worker, the handle can be easily operated simply by removing the plate, resulting in an extremely user-friendly outlet device. Furthermore, according to the invention described in claim 2, the rear surface of the tip of the gripping part is an inclined surface that slopes backward from the tip of the gripping part toward the base, and a gap is formed between the inclined surface and the main body case, so that the operator can easily operate the handle when removing the plate and trying to operate the handle. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] This is an explanatory diagram showing a power outlet device with the handle in the "on" position, viewed from the front. [Figure 2] Figure 1 is a perspective view diagram showing the electrical outlet device from the front. [Figure 3] This is a perspective view diagram showing an electrical outlet device with the decorative plate removed, viewed from the front. [Figure 4] This is a perspective view illustrating the state in which the handle is in the "off" position on an electrical outlet device with the decorative plate removed. [Figure 5] This is an explanatory diagram showing the area around the handle in the cross-section of line AA in Figure 1. [Figure 6] This is a cross-sectional diagram showing the state after the decorative plate has been removed from the state shown in Figure 5. [Figure 7] This is an explanatory diagram showing the first example of handle modification. [Figure 8] (a) is an explanatory diagram showing a second example of handle modification, and (b) is an explanatory diagram showing a third example of handle modification. [Figure 9] (a) is an explanatory diagram showing an example of modification made to the main body case, and (b) is an explanatory diagram showing an example of modification made to the mounting plate. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0009] The following describes in detail, based on the drawings, an outlet device that is one embodiment of the present invention. Figure 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the outlet device 1 from the front with the handle 10 in the ON position. Figure 2 is a perspective explanatory diagram showing the outlet device 1 shown in Figure 1 from the front. Figure 3 is a perspective explanatory diagram showing the outlet device 1 with the decorative plate 2 removed from the front. Figure 4 is a perspective explanatory diagram showing the outlet device 1 with the decorative plate 2 removed and the handle 10 in the OFF position. Figure 5 is an explanatory diagram showing the area around the handle 10 in the cross section along line AA in Figure 1. Figure 6 is a cross-sectional explanatory diagram showing the state after the decorative plate 2 has been removed from the state shown in Figure 5.

[0010] The outlet device 1 comprises a main body case 3 in which an electrical circuit (not shown) is arranged inside, a mounting frame 20 for mounting to a wall, and a decorative plate 2 that is assembled to cover the front of the mounting frame 20 with the front of the main body case 3 exposed. The main body case 3 is a case body having a roughly rectangular front when viewed from the front, and plug sockets 4, 4 into which the plug blades of a power plug can be inserted and connected are provided at the lower part of its front. In addition, a handle mounting recess 11 is provided at the upper part of the front of the main body case 3, which is recessed at the rear and opens to the top and front of the main body case 3. A handle 10 for turning the electrical circuit inside the main body case 3 on / off is rotatably mounted in the handle mounting recess 11.

[0011] The handle 10 has a shaft portion 12 whose left-right direction is axial, and a plate-shaped grip portion 13 extending upward from the shaft portion 12. The rear surface on the tip side of the grip portion 13 is an inclined surface 14 that slopes backward from the tip 19 of the grip portion 13, which is the rotating tip, toward the base side (shaft portion 12 side). The handle 10 is mounted such that the shaft portion 12 is pivotally supported by a pivot support portion (not shown) provided at the lower part of the handle mounting recess 11, and the tip 19 substantially coincides with the upper edge of the main body case 3 in the on position as described later. By rotating the handle 10 around the left-right axis, the grip portion 13 tilts relative to the front surface of the main body case 3, so that the front surface of the main body case 3 and the front surface of the grip portion 13 become substantially flush, and the on position (shown in Figure 3) is turned on, and the grip portion 13 stands upright relative to the front surface of the main body case 3, and the off position (shown in Figure 4) is turned off. Furthermore, when the handle 10 is in the "on" position, the inclined surface 14 described above creates a gap 15 at the rear of the tip 19 (i.e., between the gripping part 13 and the main body case 3).

[0012] On the other hand, the mounting frame 20 has a metal frame body 21 formed in the shape of a rectangular frame, and an opening provided in the center of the frame body 21 becomes a case opening 22 for housing the main body case 3. In addition, two tongues extend from the opening edge of the case opening 22 toward the rear, and these tongues function as fixing pieces 23, 23 for fixing the main body case 3 housed in the case opening 22. Note that 24 is an installation hole for screwing the mounting frame 20 to the mounting surface.

[0013] Furthermore, the decorative plate 2 is sized to cover the mounting frame 20, particularly the frame body 21, from the front. Approximately in the center, a window 5 is provided, positioned and sized to expose the front of the main body case 3 when the decorative plate 2 is mounted to cover the mounting frame 20. The thickness of the decorative plate 2 in the front-to-back direction is approximately the same as the amount of the main body case 3 protruding forward from the frame body 21 when the main body case 3 is fixed to the mounting frame 20.

[0014] Then, the socket device 1 is installed by screwing the mounting frame 20 to the installation surface side such as a wall surface with the frame body 21 abutted against the installation surface. After fixing the main body case 3 to the fixing pieces 23, 23 of the mounting frame 20, if the decorative plate 2 is assembled so as to cover the frame body 21 from the front, the installation to the installation surface is completed with the front surface of the main body case 3 exposed in the window 5.

[0015] Also, in the state where the decorative plate 2 is assembled in this way, as shown in FIG. 5, the front surface of the decorative plate 2, the front surface of the main body case 3, and thus the front surface of the gripping portion 13 of the handle 10 are substantially flush. While the tip 19 of the gripping portion 13 of the handle 10 protrudes forward from the front surface of the frame body 21, it does not protrude forward from the front surface of the decorative plate 2. Further, the tip 19 and the edge of the window 5 of the decorative plate 2 are close to each other (specifically, the distance from the tip 19 to the edge of the window 5 is 1.0 mm or less). Therefore, in this state, it is extremely difficult to perform an off operation of the handle 10, that is, to change the posture of the handle 10 in the on posture to the off posture by inserting a finger, a tool, etc. between the tip 19 and the edge of the window 5 and pulling out the tip 19.

[0016] However, during maintenance or installation of the socket device 1, there may be a need to perform an operation to change the posture of the handle 10 to the off posture in order to turn off the circuit inside the socket device 1 for safety reasons, that is, an off operation. In such a case, the decorative plate 2 may be removed or the like to make the state where the decorative plate 2 is not assembled. In the state where the decorative plate 2 is not assembled like this, as shown in FIG. 6, the tip 19 protruding forward from the front surface of the frame body 21 is exposed upward. Therefore, by hooking a finger or a tool on the tip 19 using the gap 15, the handle 10 can be easily rotated (off operation). After the maintenance work or installation work is completed, the decorative plate 2 may be assembled after performing an on operation to change the posture of the handle 10 to the on posture. As shown in FIG. 4, when the gripping portion 13 is in the off posture, the tip 19 protrudes significantly forward from the front surface of the main body case 3, so that the handle 10 can be easily turned on even after the decorative plate 2 is assembled.

[0017] According to the socket device 1 having the above-described configuration, the handle 10 is provided near the upper edge of the front surface of the main body case 3. When the handle 10 is in the on posture where the gripping portion 13 is tilted toward the front surface side of the main body case 3, the tip 19 approaches the edge of the window 5 of the decorative plate 2 for exposing the front surface of the main body case 3 (see FIGS. 2 and 5). Further, while the tip 19 protrudes forward from the frame body 21 of the mounting frame 20, it is flush with the front surface of the decorative plate 2 and does not protrude forward from the decorative plate 2. Therefore, in the state where the decorative plate 2 is assembled, the off operation of the handle 10, that is, the operation of changing the posture of the handle 10 in the on posture to the off posture becomes extremely difficult, so that an accidental operation of the handle 10 during normal use can be prevented.

[0018] Furthermore, if, for example, the handle 10 is a component of a circuit breaker and is designed to interrupt the circuit when it detects an abnormality in the circuit or an abnormality in the equipment connected to the plug sockets 4, 4, then its use for purposes other than its intended purpose as a circuit breaker (for example, simply as a switch to turn the circuit on / off) is undesirable. Therefore, if it is difficult to turn off the handle 10 during normal use, as in the outlet device 1, such misuse can be suppressed, making the handle 10 and the abnormality detection unit less prone to damage or failure, thus improving reliability.

[0019] On the other hand, by removing the decorative plate 2, the tip 19 that protrudes forward from the frame body 21 is exposed upward. Therefore, when necessary, such as during installation or maintenance by a worker, the handle 10 can be easily turned off simply by removing the decorative plate 2, resulting in an extremely user-friendly outlet device 1.

[0020] Furthermore, the rear surface of the tip of the gripping portion 13 is an inclined surface 14 that slopes backward from the tip 19 towards the base, and a gap 15 is formed behind the tip 19 within the handle mounting recess 11 provided on the front of the main body case 3. This makes it easier for the operator to hook their fingers or tools onto the tip 19, thereby improving the operability of the handle 10 by the operator.

[0021] Furthermore, the outlet device according to the present invention is not limited in any way to the embodiments described above. The overall configuration of the outlet device, as well as the configuration relating the positional relationship between the knob and the decorative plate, mounting frame, front of the main body case, etc., can be modified as necessary without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0022] For example, in the above embodiment, the front surface of the main body case 3, the front surface of the handle 10's gripping portion 13 in the "on" position, and the front surface of the decorative plate 2 are all formed to be flush with each other. However, as shown in the modified example in Figure 7, they do not necessarily have to be flush. That is, the front surface of the handle 10's gripping portion 13 may be positioned further back than the front surface of the main body case 3, or the front surface of the main body case 3 may be positioned further forward than the front surface of the decorative plate 2. In short, as long as the tip 19 of the gripping portion 13 is close to the edge of the window 5, and the tip 19 protrudes forward beyond the mounting frame 20, but not beyond the front surface of the decorative plate 2, the positional relationship between the front surface of the main body case 3, the front surface of the handle 10's gripping portion 13, and the front surface of the decorative plate 2 can be appropriately modified in the design. Even if the tip 19 protrudes forward beyond the front surface of the main body case 3, as long as it does not protrude forward beyond the front surface of the decorative plate 2, a certain effect can be expected in preventing accidental operation of the handle during normal use.

[0023] Furthermore, with respect to the handle's gripping portion, unlike the above embodiment, as shown in the modified example in Figure 8(a), the front surface of the tip of the gripping portion 13A can be formed as an inclined surface 14A that slopes backward as it approaches the tip. By forming such an inclined surface 14A, it becomes extremely difficult to touch the tip 19A of the gripping portion 13A when the decorative plate 2 is assembled, and an even more significant effect can be expected in preventing accidental operation of the handle 10A during normal use. Furthermore, as shown in the modified example in Figure 8(b), inclined surfaces 14B and 14C may be formed on both the front and rear surfaces of the tip of the gripping portion 13B, respectively. Naturally, the inclined surface 14B slopes backward as it approaches the tip, and the inclined surface 14C slopes backward as it approaches the base. Adopting such a handle 10B can be expected to have a significant effect on both preventing accidental operation of the handle 10B during normal use and improving the operability of the handle 10B during work.

[0024] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, a gap is provided to improve the operability of the handle during work by providing an inclined surface on the gripping portion side. However, as shown in the modified example in Figure 9(a), it is also possible to configure the handle mounting recess 11A side to have an inclined surface 16 that slopes backward toward the tip of the gripping portion to be housed, so that a gap 15A is formed on the rear side of the gripping portion 13C of the handle 10C when it is in the on position. Furthermore, as shown in the modified example in Figure 9(b), the mounting frame 20 may be configured to form a gap 18 between the gripping portion 13C and the main body case 3 and the mounting frame 20 by bending the edge of the case opening 22 (bending so that it slopes backward toward the side approaching the main body case 3) 17.

[0025] Furthermore, the design of the main body case can be modified as appropriate, including the shape of the front of the case, the position and number of outlets, and the position of the handle on the front of the main body case. For example, in the above embodiment, the handle is provided on the upper edge of the main body case, but it is also possible to provide the handle on the lower edge of the main body case in case the outlet device is installed at a high place (in this case, when the plate is removed, the tip of the handle's gripping part will be exposed downwards). Of course, the handle can also be provided on the left edge of the main body case (the tip of the handle's gripping part will be exposed to the left), or on the right edge (the tip of the handle's gripping part will be exposed to the right). In addition, in the configuration in which the tip of the handle and the edge of the window are in close proximity, the distance from the tip of the handle 13 to the edge of the window 5 is 1.0 mm or less in the above embodiment. However, considering typical usage, if the distance from the tip of the handle to the edge of the window is 2.0 mm or less, a certain effect can be expected in preventing accidental operation of the handle during normal use. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0026] 1. Outlet device, 2. Decorative plate (plate body), 3. Main body case, 5. Window, 10, 10A, 10B, 10C. Handle, 11, 11A. Handle mounting recess, 13, 13A, 13B, 13C. Knob part, 14, 14A, 14B, 14C, 16. Inclined surface, 15, 15A, 18. Gap, 19. Tip, 20. Mounting frame, 21. Frame body, 22. Opening for case.

Claims

1. It comprises a mounting frame fixed to the mounting surface, a main body case fixed to the mounting frame, and a plate body assembled to cover the mounting frame from the front. A handle for turning an electrical circuit located inside the main body case on and off is provided on the front of the main body case, and is rotatably operated between an "on" position with the knob tilted towards the front of the main body case and an "off" position with the knob raised relative to the front of the main body case. The outlet device is provided in which a window is opened in the plate body to expose the front surface of the main body case when assembled, In the aforementioned ON position, the tip of the gripping part and the edge of the window are in close proximity, An electrical outlet device characterized in that the tip of the knob protrudes forward of the mounting frame, but does not protrude forward of the front surface of the plate body.

2. The outlet device according to claim 1, characterized in that the rear surface of the tip of the knob is an inclined surface that slopes backward from the tip of the knob toward the base, and a gap is formed between the inclined surface and the main body case.

Images