Isolator Assembly Nut Trapping Mechanism
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Solution Overview
Problem
Electrical outlet boxes experience loosening of threaded nuts due to vibrations, leading to insecure connections and potential contact with wires or connectors, compromising safety and reliability, especially in mobile structures.
Innovation Solution
An isolator assembly with a housing featuring a slot to trap the nut, preventing it from entering the internal cavity and contacting electrical components, ensuring mechanical and electrical isolation, and including a conduit fitting with a stem and flexible conduit connected to terminals within the housing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a threaded nut is used to secure the conduit fitting to the outlet box, then the electrical connection can be established, but the nut may loosen over time due to vibrations, compromising security and safety
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the nut from the internal cavity where it could cause harm, placing it instead in a dedicated isolation chamber. This separation removes the potential harmful effect of a loose nut contacting electrical components while preserving the securing function.
Solution Approach 2:
The isolation chamber acts as an intermediary structure between the nut and the internal cavity. It allows the nut to perform its securing function while preventing direct contact with electrical components, thus mediating between the need for secure attachment and the need to prevent electrical hazards.
2Ease of operation
If the nut is allowed to move freely within the outlet box, then it can be easily installed and accessed, but it may contact wires or connectors causing safety hazards
Solution Approach 1:
The outlet box is segmented into distinct functional zones: the internal cavity for electrical components and the isolation chamber for the nut. This spatial segmentation prevents the nut from accessing electrical components while maintaining ease of installation and access through the dedicated chamber.
Solution Approach 2:
The nut is extracted from the general internal cavity space and placed in a dedicated isolation chamber. This extraction removes the harmful possibility of electrical contact while preserving the nut's accessibility for installation and maintenance operations.
3Ease of repair
If the receptacle is partially removed to access the nut, then the nut can be secured, but the electrical connection must be disrupted during maintenance
Solution Approach 1:
The isolation chamber creates a separate access path to the nut that is independent of the electrical components. This segmentation allows the nut to be accessed and tightened without disrupting electrical connections, saving time and maintaining system operation during maintenance.
Solution Approach 2:
The isolation chamber serves as an intermediary access route that allows maintenance personnel to reach and service the nut without needing to disconnect electrical components. This mediator structure enables independent access to the securing mechanism.
Data Source
AI summary
An isolator assembly includes an electrical receptacle housing. The housing defines an aperture extending inwardly from a first exterior wall of the housing and a longitudinal centerline of the aperture. The housing further has an internal cavity extending from the aperture and a slot spaced from the internal cavity and extending from a second exterior wall of the housing. The slot is generally perpendicular to the longitudinal centerline of the aperture. The isolator assembly also includes a plurality of terminals positioned in the housing, a nut sized for placement in the slot of the housing, a conduit fitting including a stem having a portion thereof sized for placement in the aperture of the housing, and a flexible conduit. The conduit is connected to the conduit fitting and contains a plurality of electrical conductors connected to the plurality of terminals within the electrical receptacle housing.