Lifting socket
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current sockets for power supply and communication are safety hazards due to exposed slots that can cause electrical injuries and allow dust or water ingress, and they occupy excessive space with messy wires.
Innovation Solution
A lifting socket design featuring a housing with a vertically movable base, a panel of sockets, and a lid that covers the opening when in the lowered position, using a motor-driven gear train and positioning switches to control vertical movement, ensuring sockets are protected and wires can extend through a gap without bending.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the socket slots are directly exposed on the table surface, then the sockets are easily accessible for use, but children may be injured and dust or water may adhere to the slots
Solution Approach 1:
The socket panel is made dynamically movable between an elevated position (for accessibility) and a lowered position (for safety). The lifting base enables the panel to move vertically, allowing users to raise the sockets when needed and lower them when not in use, thus resolving the contradiction between accessibility and safety.
Solution Approach 2:
The lid is positioned to cover the opening in the housing before the socket panel is elevated. This preliminary protective action prevents children from accessing the slots and keeps dust and water out until the user intentionally raises the panel for use.
2Ease of operation
If the socket is elevated to allow plug insertion, then the sockets are accessible for use, but the sockets remain exposed to the outside during use
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts the panel position during use. The panel can be elevated to allow plug insertion while maintaining controlled exposure, and can be lowered back to a protected position when not actively being used, even during the same usage session.
3Stability of the object's composition
If the socket occupies considerable space to accommodate the housing and wires, then the structure is stable, but the space occupation increases and wires become messy
Solution Approach 1:
The socket panel moves in the vertical dimension rather than occupying more horizontal space. By utilizing the vertical space above the table surface, the design maintains a compact footprint on the table while providing adequate space for wire management and socket operation.
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 design enhances safety by preventing children from touching exposed slots and reducing dust and water ingress, while allowing for efficient wire management and reduced space occupation.
Implementation Method 1
The transmission device includes a motor and a gear train drivenable by the motor
Implementation Method 2
The gear train includes a gear meshed with the plurality of teeth of the housing
Implementation Method 3
The casing of the lifting base includes a plurality of protrusions slidably received in the plurality of guiding grooves
Data Source
AI summary
A lifting socket comprises a housing including a chamber having an opening in an upper end thereof. A lifting base is disposed in the chamber and includes a casing and a transmission device for vertically moving the lifting base relative to the housing. A panel is disposed on top of the casing and includes sockets. A lid is connected to the lifting base and is disposed above the panel. A controller electrically connected to the transmission device can control vertical movement of the lifting base. When the lifting base is in an elevated position, the sockets can couple with electrical connecting devices. When the lifting base is in a lowered position, the lid is adjacent to or approximately at a level of a top end of the housing, and wires of the plurality of electrical connecting devices can extend through a gap between the lid and the opening.