Movable Shielding Plate for Compact Safety Socket
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional safety sockets have inadequate protection against electric shock, as external insulation solutions can be easily overcome and require additional space for shielding mechanisms, resulting in a bulky design that compromises convenience.
Innovation Solution
A safety socket with a built-in movable shielding plate that uses an elastic element to move between the hot/neutral slots, blocking foreign objects when not in use, eliminating the need for additional space and maintaining a compact size.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a conventional shielding plate with retraction space is used, then safety protection is improved, but the socket size increases and convenience is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The movable shielding member is nested within the socket body, utilizing the existing internal space rather than requiring external retraction space. The shielding member is positioned inside the socket housing and moves within the confines of the slot openings, eliminating the need for additional external space while maintaining safety functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The shielding mechanism transitions from a two-dimensional external retraction system to a three-dimensional internal movement system. The movable shielding member moves within the depth of the socket housing rather than requiring external horizontal space, effectively using the Z-dimension (depth) instead of X/Y dimensions (width/height).
2Reliability
If external insulation solutions are used, then safety protection is provided, but they can be easily overcome and require additional space
Solution Approach 1:
The shielding function is merged with the socket structure itself rather than being a separate external component. The movable shielding member is integrated into the socket housing and works in conjunction with the elastic element and guide structures already present in the socket assembly, creating a unified safety mechanism that is harder to remove and does not require separate installation space.
Solution Approach 2:
The shielding mechanism is made dynamic through the movable shielding member that can automatically respond to insertion forces. The elastic element provides automatic resetting functionality, creating a dynamic safety system that adapts to user interaction rather than requiring manual operation or external intervention.
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 solution provides enhanced protection against electric shock without increasing the socket's size, ensuring safety and convenience by integrating the shielding mechanism within the socket's structure.
Implementation Method 1
an elastic element having opposite ends respectively fixed to the movable shielding member and a top of the safety socket... when the plug prongs are withdrawn, the movable shielding member is returned by elasticity of an elastic element to shield the hot/neutral slots
Data Source
AI summary
A safety socket includes hot/neutral slots formed in a bottom of the safety socket, a movable shielding member arranged in the safety socket to correspond to the hot/neutral slots, and an elastic element having two ends respectively fixed to the movable shielding member and a top of the safety socket. With such an arrangement, when the hot/neutral slots simultaneously receive plug prongs to insert therein, the movable shielding member is caused to move toward the top of the safety socket and when the plug prongs are withdrawn, the movable shielding member is returned by elasticity of the elastic element to shield the hot/neutral slots. Through such an operation, the moving direction of the movable shielding member is changeable so that unnecessary space of the safety socket can be eliminate to overcome the problem that a conventional safety socket has a bulky size.