Tamper resistant receptacle

• US 9,647,376 B2
• Filed: 06/18/2015
• Issued: 05/09/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 06/20/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hubbell, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Hubbell, Inc.
• Inventors: Samojeden, Matthew J., Wurms, Scott B.
• Primary Examiner(s): Nuyen, Truc
• Application Number:
  US14/743,532
• Publication Number:
  US 20150372412A1
• Time in Patent Office: 691 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 13/4536 Inwardly pivoting shutter

Abstract

A tamper resistant receptacle having shutter doors engaging a toggle mechanism wherein each shutter door must engage the toggle mechanism to move the device into the open position. When engaged properly by insertion of force into both the hot and neutral openings of the device simultaneous by the hot and neutral blades of an electrical plug, the shutter doors pivot to contact the toggle platform with force sufficient to overcome a spring bias and allow the platform to descend downwardly a distance sufficient to uncover blade openings in the platform and allow the blades to engage the device'"'"'s electrical contacts. If only one of the pivoting doors contacts the platform, the platform tips, or toggles, in the direction of the door which blocks the item inserted into the receptacle opening of the device from reaching the underlying electrical contact.

Claims

1. A tamper resistant receptacle comprising:

a receptacle housing comprising a front face defining at least one plug receiving area comprising a hot blade opening and a neutral blade opening for receiving a respective hot and neutral blade of an electrical plug;

a pair of shutter doors rotatably disposed beneath a respective one of said hot and neutral blade openings;

a toggle mechanism disposed beneath said shutter doors, wherein each shutter door must engage the toggle mechanism to move the toggle mechanism in a downward generally vertical direction to allow the shutters doors to rotate downward a distance sufficient to place the device into the open position.

2. The tamper resistant receptacle of claim 1, wherein said toggle mechanism comprises a platform spring biased to hold said shutter doors in a closed position.

3. The tamper resistant receptacle of claim 2, wherein simultaneous insertion of a hot and neutral plug blade into the hot and neutral blade openings with sufficient force to overcome the spring bias of said platform causes the descent of the platform which allows the shutter doors to continue their downward rotation a distance sufficient to uncover said hot blade and said neutral blade openings and allow said plug blades blade to pass through the openings and contact electrical contacts in said housing.

4. The tamper resistant receptacle of claim 2, wherein each shutter door rotates to influence the orientation of a toggle platform and only when insertion of force into both the hot and neutral openings of the device at the same time do the shutter doors pivot to contact the toggle platform with force sufficient to overcome the spring bias and allow the platform to descend downwardly.

5. The tamper resistant receptacle of claim 4, wherein insertion force into only one of the device'"'"'s plug-blades openings causes the platform to tip and blocks the platform from descending far enough for the doors to rotate into a position that exposes the plug blade openings in the platform, thereby blocking access to the devices electrical contacts.

6. The tamper resistant receptacle of claim 5, wherein the toggle platform includes a neck or plunger portion that is spring biased in a closed position and as the shutter doors contact the platform and overcome the spring bias, the neck portion is positioned to descend into an neck-receiving shaft of a plunger housing, wherein the neck and platform descend until the blades of the plug pass through the platforms openings.

7. The tamper resistant receptacle of claim 6, wherein a helical spring is deployed around the neck plunger and biased against a top step area of a plunger receptacle housing and a bottom of the platform, whereby if only one of the rotating doors contacts the platform, the platform tips in the direction of the door such that the bottom of the platform neck catches on a step on the plunger housing, thereby offsetting the path of the plunger sufficient enough to block its descent into the shaft of the plunger housing.