Electrical outlet

Abstract

To provide an outlet having a function of detecting an inclination in a plug connected thereto when the inclination is generated.SOLUTION: An outlet comprises: a blade bearing spring 6 that is electrically connected to a plug blade 20a of a plug 20 inserted from an outlet port 2 provided at a front surface of the case 10 to conduct power to the plug 20. The outlet includes: a magnetic sensor 8 that is arranged neat the blade bearing spring 6, and measures a magnitude of a magnetic field in two directions such as a cross direction of a case 10 and its orthogonal direction; an inclination detection circuit 7 that calculates a ratio of the measured magnitudes of the magnetic field in the two directions, and determines that an inclination occurs in the plug 20 when the calculated ratio is deviated from a predetermined range; and a notification part 5 that notifies the inclination when it is determined by the inclination detection circuit 7 that the inclination occurs.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a power outlet, and more particularly to a power outlet having a function of detecting when a plug inserted into the power outlet is tilted.

Background Art

[0002] A plug inserted into a power outlet provided on a wall surface may tilt downward due to the weight of the cord, tensile stress, etc. This tilt causes a connection failure and also causes tracking due to the generation of a gap between the plug and the power outlet. Therefore, there are plugs configured so that no tilt occurs in the plug. For example, in Patent Document 1, a dummy plug blade is provided on the plug, and by providing two sets of plug blades and attaching it to a power outlet having two sets of power outlet ports, the occurrence of tilt is prevented.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] Since the conventional plug described above is configured not to tilt by using two sets of power outlet ports, it was large and only one plug could be connected to the two sets of power outlet ports. However, if the tilt of the connected plug can be detected on the power outlet side, the user can recognize the occurrence of the tilt of the plug. Therefore, it is not necessary to configure the plug itself so as not to tilt, and a conventional plug can be used.

[0005] Therefore, in view of such problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a power outlet having a function of detecting when a connected plug is tilted.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] To solve the above problems, the invention of claim 1 is an outlet equipped with a blade-receiving spring that is electrically connected to the plug blades of a plug inserted from an outlet opening provided on the front of the case to supply power to the plug, and is characterized by comprising: a magnetic sensor positioned near the blade-receiving spring that measures the magnitude of the magnetic field in two directions, the front-to-back direction of the case and the direction perpendicular thereto; a tilt detection circuit that calculates the ratio of the measured magnitudes of the magnetic fields in the two directions and determines that the plug has tilted if the calculated ratio falls outside a predetermined range; and a notification unit that notifies when the tilt detection circuit determines that a tilt has occurred. With this configuration, if the plug inserted into the outlet becomes tilted, the change in the magnetic field around the blade spring is detected, and an alert is triggered. Therefore, it is possible to recognize when the plug is tilted and about to come loose from the outlet, and to take action before it overheats or falls out.

[0007] The invention of claim 2 is characterized in that, in the configuration described in claim 1, it has a circuit interruption means for interrupting the supply of current to the blade receiving spring, and when the tilt detection circuit determines that a tilt has occurred, the circuit interruption means performs an interruption operation. With this configuration, the power is cut off if the plug is tilted, so even if the notification function is not recognized, it is possible to reliably recognize that some kind of abnormality has occurred. In addition, it is possible to prevent overheating caused by poor connections. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the present invention, if a plug inserted into an electrical outlet becomes tilted, this is detected by the change in the magnetic field around the blade spring, and an alert is issued. Therefore, it is possible to recognize when the plug is tilted and about to come loose from the outlet, and to take action before it overheats or falls out. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0009] [Figure 1] An example of an electrical outlet according to the present invention is shown, where (a) is a front view, (b) is a bottom view, and (c) is a right side view. [Figure 2] This is a front view showing the wall-mounted state of the electrical outlet shown in Figure 1 with a decorative panel attached. [Figure 3] This is a front view diagram showing the blade spring and magnetic sensor removed. [Figure 4] Figure 3 is a perspective view. [Figure 5] This is a circuit block diagram of the tilt detection circuit. [Figure 6] This is a right-side view of an electrical outlet with a plug connected. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0010] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Figure 1 shows an example of an electrical outlet according to the present invention, where (a) is a front view, (b) is a bottom view, and (c) is a right side view. In Figures 1(b) and 1(c), the positions of the main components housed inside are indicated by dashed lines.

[0011] The outlet 1 has a plug blade insertion slot (outlet opening) 2 on the front of a rectangular case 10 for connecting a plug 20 (shown in Figure 6), and a circuit breaker mechanism (circuit breaker) 3 built into the front for cutting off the electricity supplied to the outlet opening 2. An operating lever 4 is provided on the front for turning on / off a contact part (not shown) that the circuit breaker mechanism 3 opens. In addition, 5a is an LED that signals abnormalities by flashing, etc., and 5c is an alarm unit that has a buzzer 5b (described later) built inside. 6 is a blade receiving spring that grips the plug blades of the inserted plug 20 to make an electrical connection, 7 is a tilt detection circuit that detects if the connected plug 20 is tilted, and 8 is a magnetic sensor that detects the magnitude of the magnetic field generated by the current supplied to the plug 20. In this example, a configuration is shown that includes two sets of outlets 2, allowing for the connection of two plugs 20. Furthermore, this outlet 1 is designed to be installed on a wall, and mounting pieces 11 for fixing it to an outlet box (not shown) are formed at the upper and lower ends of the case 10.

[0012] Figure 2 is a front view showing the outlet 1 with a decorative panel 12 attached to its front surface and installed on a wall. When installed on a wall, it is housed in an outlet box embedded in the wall, and the front surface of the outlet 1, surrounded by the decorative panel 12, is exposed.

[0013] Figures 3 and 4 are explanatory diagrams showing the blade spring 6 and magnetic sensor 8 separately; Figure 3 is a front view, and Figure 4 is a perspective view. The magnetism detected by the magnetic sensor 8 will be specifically explained with reference to Figures 3 and 4. The blade spring 6 is formed on an electrode fitting 9 that spans two sets of outlets 2, and blade springs 6 of the same pole are integrally formed by a single electrode fitting 9. Furthermore, the blade springs 6 that form a pair of outlets 2 are formed on independent electrode fittings 9, and the two electrode fittings 9 are arranged in parallel across the two sets of outlets 2.

[0014] In this manner, the magnetic sensor 8 is positioned at the base of the blade spring 6 of one of the electrode fittings 9, but not on the other electrode fitting 9. Since the magnitude of the magnetic field generated in the blade spring 6 is the same for both blade springs 6 in a pair, it is sufficient to measure only one of them.

[0015] The magnetic sensor 8 is composed of, for example, a Hall element and is configured to detect magnetic fields in two orthogonal directions. Specifically, it detects the magnetic field generated by a current in the direction parallel to the wall where the outlet 1 is installed (X direction), as shown by arrow A1 in Figure 4, and the magnetic field generated by a current in the forward / backward direction (Y direction), which is perpendicular to the X direction, as shown by arrow A2 in the direction of the inserted plug 20. The X direction is the direction in which the electrode fitting 9 is positioned, and the magnetic sensor 8 detects the magnetic field generated by the current flowing through the electrode fitting 9. The Y direction is the direction of the blade receiving spring 6, i.e., the direction in which the plug blades of the plug 20 are inserted, and the magnetic sensor 8 detects the magnetic field generated by the current flowing through the plug blades.

[0016] Figure 5 shows the configuration of the tilt detection circuit 7. The tilt detection circuit 7 is composed of an MCU and has an input section 7a, a storage section 7b, an abnormality determination section 7c, and an output section 7d. When the connected plug 20 is tilted, it detects this and outputs an abnormality occurrence signal. The detection signals in two directions from the above-described magnetic sensor 8 are input to the input section 7a. Here, since the power outlet 1 has two sets of outlet ports 2 and magnetic sensors 8 are provided for each of them, the input section 7a enables the connection of two magnetic sensors 8. Also, to the output section 7d, a notification section 5 including an LED 5a and a buzzer 5b and a cutoff drive section (not shown) that causes the cutoff mechanism section 3 to perform a cutoff operation are connected.

[0017] The storage section 7b stores a threshold value (normal range) of the ratio of the magnitude of the detected magnetic field in the X direction to the magnitude of the magnetic field in the Y direction. This threshold value is a value registered based on previously measured numerical values and will be different depending on the shape of the power outlet 1 or the installation position of the magnetic sensor 8. The abnormality determination section 7c calculates a ratio based on the information on the magnitudes of the magnetic fields in two directions obtained from the magnetic sensor 8 and determines that an abnormality has occurred if it is outside the range of this threshold value.

[0018] Figure 6 shows a state where the plug 20 is connected to the power outlet 1. The upper plug 20 shows a normal connection state, and the lower plug 20 shows a tilted state. The plug 20 may tilt as shown in Figure 6 due to an external force or the weight of the cord 20b. When the plug 20 tilts, the plug blade 20a inserted into the power outlet 1 also tilts, so it is no longer in a normal connection state. The tilt detection circuit 7 detects this tilt of the plug blade 20a and outputs an abnormality occurrence signal.

[0019] Specifically, when the plug blade 20a tilts, the direction of the magnetic field generated around the plug blade 20a changes due to the current flowing through the plug 20 (the current in the direction of A2 shown in Figure 4). For example, the magnetic field in the X direction increases and the magnetic field in the Y direction decreases. The magnetic sensor 8 detects the magnitude of this changing magnetic field, and the ratio of the magnetic field in the X direction to the magnetic field in the Y direction changes. The abnormality detection unit 7c calculates this ratio and compares it with a threshold. If the calculated ratio falls outside the threshold range, it determines that an abnormality has occurred and outputs an abnormality signal. Upon receiving this abnormality signal, the notification unit 5 activates the LED 5a and buzzer 5b, causing the LED 5a to flash and the buzzer 5b to emit an alarm sound. Furthermore, the abnormality signal causes the shut-off mechanism 3 to shut off, stopping the power supply to the blade spring 6.

[0020] In this way, if the plug 20 inserted into the outlet 2 tilts, the change in the magnetic field generated around the blade spring 6 detects this and triggers a notification. Therefore, it is possible to recognize that the plug 20 is tilted and about to come out of the outlet 1, and to take action before it overheats or falls out. Furthermore, since the power is shut off if the plug 20 is tilted, it is possible to reliably recognize that some kind of abnormality has occurred even if the notification function is not recognized. In addition, it is possible to prevent overheating caused by poor connections.

[0021] In the above embodiment, the magnetic sensor 8 is positioned at the base of the blade spring 6, but it may also be positioned at an upper position closer to the tip of the blade spring 6. Furthermore, although a magnetic sensor 8 is provided for each of the two sets of outlets 2, one may be placed at an intermediate position between the two sets of outlets 2. Furthermore, although the description has focused on outlets 1 installed on walls, the invention is not limited to this. Outlet 1 equipped with the tilt detection circuit of the present invention can also be applied to outlets mounted on the floor, as well as to outlets that can be freely positioned via extension cords, such as power strips. Furthermore, the shutoff mechanism 3 is not even necessary; it would suffice to simply notify when a tilt is detected. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0022] 1. Outlet, 2. Outlet socket, 3. Circuit breaker (circuit breaker), 5. Notification unit, 5a. LED, 5b. Buzzer, 6. Blade spring, 7. Tilt detection circuit, 7b. Memory unit, 7c. Anomaly detection unit, 8. Magnetic sensor, 9. Electrode fittings, 10. Case, 20. Plug, 20a. Plug blade.

Claims

1. An outlet equipped with a blade-receiving spring that is electrically connected to the plug blades of a plug inserted through an outlet on the front of the case and supplies power to the plug, A magnetic sensor is positioned near the blade spring and measures the magnitude of the magnetic field in two directions: the front-to-back direction of the case and the direction perpendicular thereto. A tilt detection circuit calculates the ratio of the magnitudes of the two magnetic fields measured in the two directions, and determines that the plug is tilted if the calculated ratio falls outside a predetermined range. An electrical outlet characterized by having a notification unit that notifies when the tilt detection circuit determines that a tilt has occurred.

2. It has a circuit interruption means for interrupting the supply of current to the blade receiving spring, The outlet according to claim 1, characterized in that when the tilt detection circuit determines that a tilt has occurred, the circuit interruption means performs an interruption operation.

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