Low voltage power receptacle for modular electrical systems

A low voltage power receptacle assembly is provided for use in a modular electrical system. The receptacle assembly includes a housing that defines an internal cavity for receiving and protecting various high and low voltage electrical components, and for providing convenient access to low voltage power outlets associated therewith. The receptacle assembly houses at least two electrical bus bars that are spaced apart and that conduct line voltage received from a relatively high voltage power input. A low voltage transformer has at least two electrical contacts for engaging the electrical bus bars, and is operable to convert the line voltage to a lower output voltage at the power outlets. An isolator body has a non-conductive wall positioned between the electrical bus bars to maintain electrical isolation thereof.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to low voltage electrical power and/or data outlets or receptacles for use in modular electrical systems.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Low voltage power and data outlets, such as Universal Serial Bus (“USB” and “USB Power”) outlets, are in increasing demand as the number of electrical and electronic devices that use such outlets continues to increase. Such devices may include, for example, mobile phones, computers and computing devices, digital cameras, communications equipment, and the like. Therefore, there has been increasing demand for access to such outlets in work areas, homes, and even public spaces such as airports, shopping malls, and the like.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a low voltage power receptacle assembly that is compatible for use in a modular electrical system, such as may be used for providing electrical power in a work area or the like. The low voltage power receptacle assembly includes a power transformer for reducing a line voltage (e.g., 110V AC or 220V AC), that supplies electrical power to standard receptacle outlets, down to a lower voltage (such as about 2V DC to about 12V DC, for example), which is made available to users at a low voltage power receptacle, such as a USB-style receptacle, although other types or configurations of low voltage power receptacles, outlets, or sockets are equally possible. The low voltage power receptacle assembly is compatible for use in multi-circuit modular electrical systems, and may include two or more “hot” electrical conductors, such as bus bars, in order to convey standard line voltage through the low voltage power receptacle assembly, and on to other high or low voltage receptacles or other couplers or power consumers.

According to one form of the present invention, a low voltage power receptacle assembly is provided for use in a modular electrical system. The low voltage power receptacle assembly includes a housing, at least two electrical bus bars, a low voltage transformer, and an isolator body. The housing defines a cavity for receiving other components of the assembly, including the bus bars, the transformer, and the isolator body. The electrical bus bars are spaced apart from one another and extend through the housing cavity. The electrical bus bars conduct a line voltage that is received from a power input, and an elongate space is defined between the bus bars. The isolator body includes an elongate non-conductive wall that is positioned in the elongate space between the electrical bus bars. The low voltage transformer includes at least two electrical contacts and a low voltage power receptacle. The electrical contacts engage the respective electrical bus bars, and the low voltage transformer is operable to transform or convert the line voltage received at the electrical contacts to a lower voltage output at the low voltage power receptacle.

In one aspect, the housing is a two-piece housing including a front housing piece and a rear housing piece. The front housing piece defines an opening that is aligned to permit access to the low voltage power receptacle by an electrical connector associated with an electrical consumer.

In another aspect, the low voltage power receptacle assembly includes a coupler portion disposed at an end portion of the electrical bus bars for engaging an electrical connector that is in electrical communication with a power supply. The electrical connector is thus configured to be electrically connected to the electrical bus bars at the coupler portion. Optionally, the housing defines the coupler portion.

In yet another aspect, the receptacle assembly further includes a second coupler portion at an opposite end of the electrical bus bars from the first coupler portion, and configured to engage a second electrical connector that is in electrical communication with a high voltage power outlet receptacle configured to carry the line voltage. The second electrical connector can thus be electrically connected to the electrical bus bars at the second coupler portion.

In a further aspect, the electrical bus bars include a hot bus bar and a neutral or ground bus bar. Optionally, the electrical contacts of the low voltage transformer include a hot electrical contact and a neutral or ground electrical contact. Optionally, the neutral or ground bus bar includes a neutral bus bar, the low voltage power receptacle assembly further including a ground bus bar spaced from the hot bus bar and from the neutral bus bar, and wherein a second elongate space is defined between the ground bus bar and at least one of the hot bus bar and the neutral bus bar.

In still another aspect, the isolator body includes a second elongate non-conductive wall disposed in the second elongate space.

In a still further aspect, each of the electrical contacts of the low voltage transformer is positioned between one of the elongate non-conductive walls and a respective one of the electrical bus bars. Optionally, the at least two electrical contacts include compressible resilient contacts, and each of the at least two electrical contacts is compressed between one of the elongate non-conductive walls and the respective one of the electrical bus bars.

In another aspect, one of the at least two electrical bus bars includes a hot bus bar having a first or second configuration, and the housing and the isolator body are configured to receive the hot bus bar in either of the first and second configurations.

In a further aspect, the at least two electrical contacts of the low voltage transformer include first, second, and third electrical contacts, the first and second electrical contacts including hot contacts and the third electrical contact including a neutral or ground contact. In this arrangement, the first electrical contact is configured to electrically engage the hot bus bar in the first configuration while the second electrical contact remains electrically isolated, and the second electrical contact is configured to electrically engage the hot bus bar in the second configuration while the first electrical contact remains electrically isolated.

Optionally, the line voltage is about 110V AC or about 220V AC, and wherein the lower voltage output at the low voltage power receptacle is between about 2V DC and about 12V DC. The low voltage power receptacle may be a USB receptacle and, optionally, the power receptacle assembly may include a high voltage AC power receptacle.

Thus, the low voltage power receptacle assembly of the present invention provides convenient access to low voltage power, such as may be used for charging and/or providing power to low voltage electrical consumers, such as mobile phones, computers, and computing devices, digital cameras, communications equipment, etc., in a manner that presents a finished appearance, and in a modular system that also permits reconfiguration and/or customization of the various high voltage and low voltage receptacles that may be provided within the system. Users are thus provided with access to low voltage charging or power outlets such as USB-style outlets, without need for separate low voltage wiring systems in addition to a separate high voltage power system.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

A low voltage power receptacle assembly is provided for use within a modular electrical system, which is configurable to provide both high voltage line power (e.g., 110V AC or 220V AC) electrical power at standard power receptacles, while also providing low voltage power (e.g., 2V DC to 12V DC) within the same modular electrical system, which may be incorporated into raceways or other areas to provide electrical power in work areas or the like. As will be described in more detail below, the modular electrical system may be configured, reconfigured, and customized to provide a desired number of both high and low voltage outlets within a desired area, and may even incorporate or accommodate two or more circuits to increase the capacity of the system.

Referring now to the drawings and the illustrative embodiments depicted therein, a low voltage power receptacle assembly10is configured for installation in a modular electrical system12, which may be routed through one or more raceways14A,14B within an area such as a work space defined by walls16, such as shown inFIG. 1. Power receptacle assembly10includes a two-piece housing18having a front housing piece18A and a rear housing piece18B, such as shown inFIGS. 2-4,11,12, and13. Housing18defines an internal cavity20between internal surfaces of front housing piece18A and rear housing piece18B, such as shown inFIG. 11. Cavity20receives other components of receptacle assembly10, including a plurality of electrical bus bars22, a low voltage transformer or transformer assembly24, and an isolator body26(FIGS. 11,12, and13). As will be described in more detail below, low voltage transformer24receives electrical power from electrical bus bars22, which carry line voltage, typically 110V AC or 220V AC, and converts the high voltage power to a low voltage output at at least one low voltage receptacle28, while isolator body26isolates bus bars22from one another and from low voltage circuitry, and also helps to ensure sufficient electrical contact between low voltage transformer24and the electrical bus bars22.

Housing18includes a power input coupler portion30aand a power output coupler portion30b, such as shown inFIGS. 2-10, and may be made from molded resinous plastic, for example, or any other suitable material. Front housing piece18aand rear housing piece18bcooperate to define the power input and power output coupler portions30a,30b, and in the illustrated embodiment, the housing pieces are secured together via a plurality of engagement members, which include four main engagement tabs32aand four coupler-end hook portions32bthat are integrally or unitarily formed with rear housing piece18b(FIGS. 11,12, and13). Front housing piece18aincludes four main hook portions34a, and four coupler-end receiving portions34b, which receive coupler-end hook portions32bof rear housing piece18b. Coupler-end hook portions32bsnap into engagement with coupler-end receiving portions34b, while main engagement tabs32aof rear housing piece18bengage respective recess areas36formed in front housing piece18a(FIGS. 11,12, and13), and main hook portions34aof front housing piece18aengage hook-receiving surfaces38of rear housing piece18b, such as also shown inFIGS. 2-6,8, and10-13A.

Power input coupler portion30aand power output coupler portion30bmay be substantially similar or substantially identical to couplers that are shown and described in commonly-owned and co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/647,992, filed Oct. 9, 2012 (U.S. Publication No. 2013/0095681), which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. In the illustrated embodiment, front housing piece18adefines two generally rectangular openings40that provide access to respective receptacle openings42of low voltage receptacle28. Optionally, an indicia marking44may be provided on front housing piece18a, near rectangular openings40, to inform users of the type of power and/or connectors that are provided at receptacle assembly10.

Electrical bus bars22include a neutral bus bar22a, a ground bus bar22b, and one of two possible “line” or “hot” bus bars22cand22d, such as shown inFIG. 11. Each of the electrical bus bars22has a pair of opposite end portions, including an input end portion46and an output end portion48, which are housed in power input coupler portion30aand power output coupler portion30bof housing18, respectively, such as shown inFIGS. 7,9,11,12,13, and17A. Located between input end portions46and output end portions48of bus bars22are respective laterally outwardly-extending middle portions50that cooperate to define a generally rectangular open space52between the respective middle portions50of ground bus bar22band either first hot bus bar22cand second hot bus bar22d, whichever is present (FIG. 11). In the event that both first and second bus bars22c,22dare present, then the open space52would be defined between the respective middle portions50of ground bus bar22band second hot bus bar22d, the latter being located inboard of first hot bus bar22c, such as shown inFIGS. 12 and 13. Rectangular open space52provides clearance for various electrical components of low voltage transformer24, which will be described in more detail below.

First hot bus bar22cand second hot bus bar22dare illustrated using phantom lines inFIGS. 11 and 14to denote that, optionally, one of the first and second hot bus bars22c,22dcould be omitted in a given low voltage power receptacle assembly10. First hot bus bar22cis functionally identical to second hot bus bar22d, and differs only in that (1) first hot bus bar22cis shaped for positioning at a more inboard location (and may be substantially identical in shape to ground bus bar22b, but arranged in a mirror-image thereto), and (2) the use of first hot bus bar22cwould supply electrical current to the receptacle assembly10via a first circuit associated with input end portion46of first hot bus bar22c, while the position of second hot bus bar22dwould associate it with a second circuit, such as shown inFIG. 15. Second hot bus bar22dmay be substantially identical in shape to neutral bus bar22a, but arranged in a mirror-image thereto.

Although both first hot bus bar22cand second hot bus bar22dare illustrated using solid lines inFIGS. 7,9,12,13,17, and17A, which may be a standard arrangement, it will be appreciated that this arrangement is merely exemplary, and only one of the hot bus bars22c,22dwould be needed in the receptacle assembly for it to function properly. It is envisioned that both hot bus bars22c,22dcould be included, and either or both could be electrically energized, while still permitting the low voltage power receptacle assembly10to function in a desired manner, such as by providing a suitably-adapted low voltage transformer. When both hot bus bars22c,22dare included, the hot bus bars are electrically isolated from one another in circuitry51(FIG. 11A) that is associated with low voltage transformer assembly24. Circuitry51includes a pair of separate diode bridges, including a first diode bridge53aassociated with first hot bus bar22cand neutral bus bar22a, and a second diode bridge53bassociated with second hot bus bar22dand neutral bus bar22a.

Isolator body26includes three separate upstanding walls or wall portions, including an inboard generally rectangular wall portion54and a pair of separate and generally U-shaped outboard wall portions56a,56b, such as shown inFIG. 11. Inboard rectangular wall portion54defines a generally rectangular opening58and has a pair of opposite longitudinally-extending wall projections60. Outboard wall portions56a,56bhave elongate middle regions that are spaced from (and substantially parallel to) corresponding longitudinal walls of inboard rectangular wall portion54, with elongate longitudinal gaps or spaces62defined between the middle regions of outboard wall portions56a,56band the corresponding longitudinal wall portions of inboard rectangular wall portion54.

At opposite ends of each outboard wall portion56a,56bis a respective laterally-inwardly directed wall end portion64, which is spaced longitudinally from (and generally parallel to) respective lateral end walls of inboard rectangular wall portion54. Wall end portions64terminate at respective locations that are spaced laterally outwardly from the wall projections60of inward rectangular wall portion54, and are spaced from the lateral end walls of inboard rectangular wall portion54in order to form channels66with open ends defined between wall projections60and wall end portions64, and which are contiguous with respective elongate spaces62. A generally planar flange or mounting portion68extends laterally outwardly from outboard wall portions56a,56b, and is received in rear housing piece18bduring assembly. Flange portion68is formed with notches70in its opposite ends (FIG. 11), which provide clearance for respective electrical contacts72a-cof low voltage transformer24. Flange portion68may be unitarily formed with inboard rectangular wall portion54and outboard wall portions56a,56b, and is made of a non-conductive material, such as injection molded resinous plastic or the like.

Elongate spaces62and channels66are configured or shaped to receive respective ones of the ground bus bar22band first hot bus bar22c, while outboard wall portion56adefines a first outboard channel74abetween itself and a first side wall76aof rear housing piece18b, and outboard wall portion56bcooperates with a second side wall76bof rear housing piece18bto define a second outboard channel74b. First outboard channel74ais configured to receive second hot bus bar22d, while second outboard channel74bis configured to receive neutral bus bar22a, such as shown inFIGS. 12-12B.

Low voltage transformer24includes a substantially planar base78to which various electrical components are mounted, including electrical contacts72a-c, low voltage receptacle28, a low voltage switching power supply transformer80, power input capacitors82, and power output capacitors84. Neutral electrical contact72aand one of first hot electrical contact72band second hot electrical contact72cbring high voltage electrical power (typically 110V AC or 220V AC current) to low voltage transformer24from an electrical power source. From the electrical contacts, the high voltage power is passed through power input capacitors82, which filter the high voltage power before passing it along to low voltage switching power supply transformer80. Transformer80is operable to transform the high voltage power input to an unfiltered low voltage output, such as about 2V DC to about 12V DC. The unfiltered low voltage output is then passed through power output capacitors84, which are operable to filter the power from transformer80and supply the filtered low voltage power output to low voltage receptacle28, where users may access the low voltage power by coupling a cable or device to one of receptacle openings42.

In the illustrated embodiment, transformer80is a USB switching power supply transformer with a low voltage output of about 5V DC, although it will be appreciated that substantially any suitable electrical transformer may be used without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. In addition, the low voltage receptacle28of the illustrated embodiment is a USB power receptacle with socket-style USB receptacle openings42housing respective electrical contacts as is known in the art, but it is envisioned that substantially any type of low voltage receptacle, terminals, or coupling may be used.

Referring now toFIGS. 10,11, and12, low voltage receptacle28, low voltage switching power supply transformer80, power input capacitors82, and power output capacitors84are positioned along a top or front surface of base78, and are mounted in sufficiently close proximity to one another that they are positionable within the generally rectangular opening58formed in isolator body26, as well as within the generally rectangular opening or space52formed between the arrangement of electrical bus bars22. However, electrical contacts72a-care all positioned outside of inboard rectangular wall portion54and, thus, outside of rectangular opening58. Neutral electrical contact72ais also positioned outside of ground bus bar22band, thus, outside of the rectangular opening52.

Electrical contacts72a-care made of resilient metal with spring-like properties, and may be substantially similar to the electrical contacts that are commonly used to electrically and mechanically engage the positive and negative terminals of electrical cells (“batteries”) in portable electronic devices or other devices that use replaceable batteries. Electrical contacts72a-care arranged or positioned along base78so that when first hot bus bar22cand second hot bus bar22dare both installed, then first hot electrical contact72bwill be partially compressed between the inboard surface of first hot bus bar22cand the outboard surface of inboard rectangular wall portion54(FIG. 13A), thereby making an electrical connection to first hot bus bar22c, while second hot electrical contact72cwill be partially compressed between the inboard surface of second hot bus bar22dand the outboard surface of outboard wall portion56a(FIG. 12A), thereby making an electrical connection to second hot bus bar22d.

In the event that first hot bus bar22cis installed and second hot bus bar22dis not installed, first hot electrical contact72bis partially compressed between an inboard surface of first hot bus bar22cand an outboard surface of inboard rectangular wall portion54(FIG. 13A), thereby making an electrical connection to first hot bus bar22c, while second hot electrical contact72cremains electrically isolated (i.e., no electrical contact is made between contact72cand any bus bar22, although this arrangement is not shown inFIG. 12A).

In contrast, when first hot bus bar22cis not installed and second hot bus bar22dis installed, first hot electrical contact72bremains electrically isolated (i.e., no electrical contact is made between contact72band any bus bar22, although it should be noted that this arrangement is not shown inFIG. 13A), while second hot electrical contact72cis partially compressed between an inboard surface of second hot bus bar22dand an outboard surface of outboard wall portion56a(FIG. 12A), thereby making an electrical connection to second hot bus bar22d.

Regardless of whether one or both of first hot bus bar22cand second hot bus bar22dare included in the low voltage power receptacle assembly10, neutral electrical contact72ais at least partially compressed between an inboard surface of neutral bus bar22aand an outboard surface of outboard wall portion56b, thereby making an electrical connection to neutral bus bar22a. In the illustrated embodiment, no electrical connections are made to ground bus bar22bby low voltage transformer assembly24, although it is envisioned that such a connection could readily be made, if desired, in a substantially similar manner as described above for making electrical connections to neutral bus bar22a, first hot bus bar22c, and second hot bus bar22d.

Thus, with electrical bus bars22installed at isolator body26, which in turn is installed at low voltage transformer assembly24, which in turn is installed at rear housing piece18b, each electrical bus bar22a-dis received in a respective channel or space (62,66,74a,74b) defined between two adjacent upstanding walls (54,56a,56b,76a,76b), thus ensuring that electrical bus bars22remain electrically insulated and/or isolated from one another as they pass through cavity20of housing18. Electrical connections made between electrical contacts72a-cand respective ones of the electrical bus bars22a,22c,22dare also made in the electrically isolated channels between non-conductive walls, thus ensuring electrical isolation where the electrical connections are made.

To further ensure adequate electrical isolation, housing front piece18aand housing rear piece18bboth include a plurality of inboard separation or divider walls86and a further plurality of outboard separation or divider walls88at the opposite end portions thereof, which cooperate to form power input coupler portion20aand power output coupler portion30bof low voltage power receptacle assembly10.

As noted above, low voltage power receptacle assembly10in configured to be mounted in a modular electrical system such as that indicated at reference numeral12inFIG. 1, and to carry high voltage power to other areas of the system that utilize high voltage power, while simultaneously utilizing the high voltage power to provide a low voltage receptacle in the modular electrical system. It is envisioned that the low voltage power receptacle assembly of the present invention may be compatible for use in substantially any high voltage electrical system, including being adaptable for use in hard-wired or non-modular systems, without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

FIGS. 16A-17Bshow various subcomponents or subassemblies of modular electrical systems, in order to illustrate various installation applications for low voltage power receptacle assembly10. For example, inFIG. 16A, a power receptacle assembly10is electrically coupled to a four-wire junction block86via a two-way, four-wire connector88. When the power receptacle assembly10and the four-wire junction block86are supplied with high voltage electrical power from a power source89(FIG. 1), junction block86provides access to the high voltage electrical power while low voltage power receptacle assembly10simultaneously provides access to low voltage electrical power.

Optionally, and as shown inFIG. 16B, the power receptacle assembly may be coupled to a two-way, four-wire jumper cable assembly90having a pair of two-way, four-wire connector blocks92at its opposite ends, the connector blocks92being optionally connectable to a four-way, four-wire connector94. InFIG. 16C, a power receptacle assembly10is arranged for connection to a three-way, four-wire jumper cable assembly96having a two-way, four-wire connector block92at one end for connection to power receptacle assembly10, and further having a three-way, four-wire male/female jumper cable assembly connector block98, including a female end connector portion100and a male end connector portion102. Optionally, and as shown inFIG. 16D, another two-way, four-wire jumper cable assembly90is arranged for coupling one of its two-way, four-wire connector blocks92directly to a four-wire junction block86, which can in turn be coupled to low voltage power receptacle assembly10via a two-way, four-wire connector88, such as shown inFIG. 17. The various connectors and cables shown in FIGS.1and16A-17B are more fully described in commonly-owned and co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/647,992, filed Oct. 9, 2012 (U.S. Publication No. 2013/0095681), which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

While low voltage power receptacle assembly10is shown and described as being compatible for use in a two-circuit electrical system, it will be appreciated that the principles of the present invention may be adapted for single-circuit systems, or electrical systems having three or four or more electrical circuits, simply by scaling the low voltage power receptacle assembly as needed to accommodate the desired number of circuits, without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. It will further be appreciated that the specific arrangement or type of connectors may be adjusted as desired for substantially any application, or the receptacle assembly may be readily adapted for use in a non-modular system.

Optionally, and as shown inFIG. 14, a low voltage power receptacle unit may also include a high voltage power receptacle104(such as a 110V AC or 220V AC simplex receptacle), with receptacle openings106a-cin a standard configuration and with respective conductors108a-celectrically coupled to neutral bus bar22a, ground bus bar22b, and either first bus bar22cor second bus bar22d. This arrangement would provide users with access to both a standard high voltage power receptacle and one or more low voltage receptacles at the same power receptacle unit. Additional space and/or non-conductive isolation walls or the like may be provided so that there is sufficient packaging room for the additional receptacle, and to provide appropriate separation between high and low voltage conductors.

Accordingly, the low voltage power receptacle assembly of the present invention provides one or more low voltage power receptacles having a clean and permanent-looking appearance, such as in a work area, public space, or the like, without need for a low voltage wiring system that would be separate or distinct from a high voltage wiring system that may serve the same area. When incorporated into a modular electrical system that can be configured, reconfigured, and customized according to the needs of a particular area or user, the low voltage power receptacle assembly can be used to provide substantially any desired number of low voltage outlets in the same general area as high voltage outlets, and may even be installed in modular electrical systems having two or more electrical circuits.

Changes and modifications in the specifically-described embodiments may be carried out without departing from the principles of the present invention, which is intended to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims as interpreted according to the principles of patent law including the doctrine of equivalents.