Power Plug Leakage Protection Tripping Mechanism
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Solution Overview
Problem
Household power plugs lack leakage protection, leading to potential personal injury or appliance damage from leakage faults or short circuits between live, neutral, and ground wires.
Innovation Solution
A power plug design incorporating a leakage protection circuit with a tripping device, movable and stationary contacts, and a tripping coil that detects leakage faults and automatically disconnects the power supply, featuring a reset button and test button for manual disconnection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a leakage protection circuit and tripping device are added to the power plug, then leakage protection capability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The tripping device components (sliding part, cross arm, push block, elastic member) are nested within the plug housing and integrated with the circuit board and contacts. The sliding part moves along the sliding pedestal, the cross arm rotates about the hinge, and the push block is positioned within the sliding part, creating a compact nested arrangement that provides leakage protection without excessive complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The elastic member acts as an intermediary between the sliding part and cross arm, providing the necessary mechanical force to drive the cross arm when the sliding part moves. This intermediary component enables the transmission of motion and force in a simple manner, resolving the contradiction by providing a straightforward mechanical solution rather than a complex control system
2Extent of automation
If a tripping device with sliding part and cross arm is implemented, then automatic disconnection capability is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The tripping device is designed to automatically disconnect the power supply when leakage is detected, without requiring external intervention. The elastic member stores energy that automatically drives the cross arm and movable contact to disconnect from the stationary contact when the sliding part moves, enabling self-service automatic protection
Solution Approach 2:
The tripping device is segmented into distinct functional components: the sliding part that detects leakage and moves, the cross arm that translates this motion, the push block that actuates the disconnect, and the elastic member that provides the driving force. This segmentation allows each component to be manufactured separately using simple processes and then assembled, improving ease of manufacture while maintaining automatic disconnection capability
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 plug effectively cuts off power in case of leakage faults, preventing personal injury and appliance damage while maintaining a simple structure for easy mass production.
Implementation Method 1
The tripping coil is disposed on one side of the cross arm opposite to the push block, in electric connection with the circuit board, and de-energized by the test button. A stationary armature and a movable armature are disposed inside the tripping coil.
Implementation Method 2
A reset spring is disposed between the sliding part and the sliding pedestal. The elastic force of the reset spring is larger than a sum of an elastic force of the elastic member and an elastic force of the ejector spring.
Implementation Method 3
An ejector spring is disposed on one end of the movable armature opposite to the stationary armature. The elastic force of the ejector spring is larger than the elastic force of the elastic member.
Data Source
AI summary
A power plug, including: a shell, the shell having two sides, a reset button and a test button protruding from the first side, and a live wire pin and a neutral wire pin protruding from the second side; a circuit board; a stationary contact; a movable contact; a tripping device; a cross arm; and a push block. The stationary contact is connected with the live wire pin and the neutral wire pin; the movable contact can be connected to or disconnected from the stationary contact. The tripping device includes a sliding pedestal and a sliding part and controls the connection between the movable contact and the stationary contact. An elastic member is disposed on the push block. An ejector spring is disposed on one end of the movable armature. A reset spring is disposed between the sliding part and the sliding pedestal.