Flexible Electrical Device Cover for Connector Access
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Solution Overview
Problem
Electrical devices mounted in exterior locations are prone to water and contaminant exposure, and existing cover designs fail to effectively shield them while accommodating electrical connectors.
Innovation Solution
A cover design featuring a base with a flexible element that expands to accommodate electrical connectors, allowing the cover to transition between a low-profile and expanded position, with a hinged lid and optional transparent or translucent window, enabling protection and visibility.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the cover is designed to accommodate electrical connectors, then the cover can protect connected devices, but the cover profile increases and visibility of device status is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible element is designed to dynamically change shape between a retracted state (when no connector is present) and an expanded state (when a connector is inserted). This dynamic adaptation allows the cover to maintain a low profile during normal operation while automatically accommodating connectors when needed, resolving the contradiction between protection and profile height.
Solution Approach 2:
The flexible element changes its physical parameters (shape, volume, position) in response to the insertion of an electrical connector. The element expands to wrap around the connector, changing from a compact configuration to an expanded protective configuration, thereby providing protection without requiring a permanently increased cover profile.
2Reliability
If the flexible element is expanded to accommodate connectors, then connector protection is improved, but the cover complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a flexible element made of a thin, elastic material that can deform and expand to accommodate connectors of various sizes and shapes. This flexible shell approach provides effective connector protection while maintaining a simple overall structure, avoiding the need for complex mechanical mechanisms or multiple rigid components.
3Loss of information
If the lid is made transparent or translucent for visibility, then device status visibility is improved, but the shield effectiveness against contaminants is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The lid is designed with local quality variation: specific portions are made transparent or translucent to allow visibility of device status indicators, while other portions remain opaque to maintain protective shielding. This selective transparency allows the lid to simultaneously provide both visibility and protection functions without compromising either.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The cover effectively shields electrical devices from contaminants, accommodates connectors in an expanded position, and can be easily retracted for low-profile use, providing both protection and visibility of the device status.
Implementation Method 1
a flexible element coupled between the lid face and the base, wherein the flexible element comprises an expanded position where a majority of the flexible element is configured to extend beyond the base and accommodate an electrical connector coupled with the electrical device with the lid is closed on the base
Data Source
AI summary
A cover for electrical devices is disclosed. Particular implementations include an electrical device cover configured to mount over an electrical device includes a lid having a flexible membrane. The lid is coupled by a hinge to a base and the cover includes a cord port in an edge of a surface of the cover. The lid is configured to expand through the flexible membrane to an expanded position to accommodate an electrical connector coupled with the electrical device. The lid may also be configured to reduce in depth as the lid retracts from the expanded position to a refracted position through the flexible membrane.