Rotatable Socket Slots with Optical Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electrical sockets face challenges in aligning with plugs due to varying slot configurations across standards, leading to practical insertion issues, especially when sockets are mounted close to the floor or behind objects, which can cause cable damage and safety risks.
Innovation Solution
An electrical socket apparatus with rotatable slots and integrated light sensors that align with a plug's light source, using a controller and actuator to adjust the slot position based on detected light, ensuring proper alignment and reducing the need for precise orientation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If the slot configuration follows fixed standards, then manufacturing is simplified, but alignment with plugs becomes difficult when mounted close to the floor or behind objects
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the dynamics principle by making the slot configuration movable rather than fixed. The actuator mechanism enables the slots to rotate and adjust their orientation dynamically, allowing the socket to adapt to different mounting positions and plug orientations, thereby resolving the contradiction between fixed manufacturing standards and flexible insertion requirements
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the orientation parameter of the slots from a fixed value to a variable that can be adjusted. By using the actuator to rotate the slots to different angles, the system can optimize the insertion angle based on mounting location, solving the problem of difficult alignment when mounted close to the floor or behind objects
2Device complexity
If the socket uses fixed slot orientation, then device complexity is reduced, but alignment precision with plug pins deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements self-service by incorporating a light sensor that automatically detects the plug's light source and guides the actuator to rotate the slots into the correct alignment position. This self-aligning mechanism achieves precise slot-pin alignment without requiring complex manual adjustment or high-precision fixed manufacturing, thereby resolving the contradiction between device complexity and alignment precision
3Ease of operation
If the slot is made movable to improve alignment, then ease of operation improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces complex mechanical alignment systems with an optical sensing and control system. Instead of requiring precise mechanical mechanisms for manual alignment, the system uses a light sensor to detect the plug's light source and automatically controls the actuator to achieve alignment, substituting optical and electronic components for purely mechanical solutions and reducing overall system complexity
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 allows for easier and safer plug insertion by automatically aligning the slots with the plug's pins, reducing cable strain and improving usability, especially in challenging mounting scenarios.
Implementation Method 1
a light sensor arranged relative to the slot and configured to receive light emitted by a light source of a said electrical plug
Data Source
AI summary
There is provided an electrical socket apparatus 200 comprising a slot 210 for receiving a pin 310 of a corresponding electrical plug 300. The apparatus 200 comprises a light sensor 212 arranged relative to the slot 210 and configured to receive light emitted by a light source 312 of a said electrical plug 300. The slot 210 is movable to a position in which the slot 210 is aligned with the pin 310 of a said electrical plug 300 on the basis of light emitted by a light source 312 of a said electrical plug 300 and received by the light sensor 212.