Protective Cover Plate Structure for Safer Flat Plug Handling
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The thin design of flat plugs to reduce space waste increases the risk of electric shock during insertion and pulling, as hands are closer to the wall socket, posing a safety hazard.
Innovation Solution
A protective cover plate with convex edges and limit slots that houses the flat plug, keeping it away from the socket and providing electrical wire holes for safe passage of wires, combined with a flat plug design featuring positioning inserts and convex bars for secure alignment with the cover plate.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If the plug thickness is reduced to save space, then the space utilization is improved, but the safety during insertion and pulling deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
A protective cover plate is introduced as an intermediary component between the user's hand and the wall socket. The cover plate includes insulating limit slots that guide the flat plug during insertion and removal, ensuring that hands remain at a safe distance from the socket while the thin flat plug maintains space-saving benefits.
Solution Approach 2:
The protective cover plate is segmented into multiple functional components: convex edges that extend upward to form a protective space, limit slots with insertion holes for plug guidance, and electrical wire holes for wire passage. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific safety function while working together as an integrated protective system.
2Reliability
If a protective cover plate is added to improve safety, then the safety during insertion and pulling is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The protective cover plate performs multiple functions simultaneously: it provides electrical insulation to prevent shock, guides the flat plug through limit slots during insertion and removal, maintains a protective distance from the socket, and allows wire passage through electrical wire holes. This multi-functionality reduces the need for additional separate components, thereby limiting complexity increase.
Solution Approach 2:
The protective cover plate combines several safety features into a single integrated component: insulating material, limiting slots for plug guidance, convex edges for protective spacing, and wire holes for electrical connections. By merging these functions into one component rather than using separate parts, the overall device complexity is minimized while maintaining comprehensive safety protection.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention discloses a protective cover plate for a flat plug and the flat plug with the same. A limit slot is arranged on a cover plate body of the protective cover plate and is configured to be sheathed outside the flat plug and to limit the flat plug, so that the flat plug is located in a protective space of the cover plate body. The flat plug can be inserted into or pulled from a plugboard by operating the protective cover plate. The flat plug is used in cooperation with the protective cover plate, and a positioning insert matched with the limit slot is arranged on the flat plug, thereby improving the safety of use.