SMART PLUG WITH A TEMPERATURE SENSOR

Abstract

The present invention discloses a smart electrical socket device enabling the detection of the temperature of the room in which it is installed; the device comprising a housing (1) essentially of a rectangular parallelepiped shape, where the front surface presents a female connection (6) enabling an external element (13) to be plugged in, and the rear surface includes pins (11) for the connection thereof to a power source; further incorporating a temperature module comprising a temperature sensor (2) disposed at the lower part of the internal metallic structure (10) and cut-outs (2.1) in the printed circuit board (PCB) (20) to isolate the heat produced by said board; a power consumption sensor circuit (4) disposed facing the printed circuit board (PCB) (20) and opposite the temperature sensor (2); a load actuator comprised of at least one relay; a power source (14); and a wireless communication module (5) disposed on the internal structure (PCB) (10).

Claims

1. A smart plug with a temperature sensor comprising a housing (1) substantially of a rectangular-parallelepiped shape, wherein the front surface has a female connection (6) allowing an external element (13) to be plugged in and the rear surface includes pins (11) for its connection to a power source, characterised in that it incorporates a temperature module composed of a temperature sensor (2) arranged on the lower part of the internal structure (PCB) (10) and cut-outs (2.1) in the printed circuit board (PCB) (20) to insulate the heat by conduction generated by said board; a consumption sensing circuit (4) arranged facing the printed circuit board (PCB) (20) and facing away the temperature sensor (2); a load actuator (3) formed by at least one relay; a power source (14) and a wireless communication module (5) arranged on the internal structure (PCB) (10).

2. The smart plug with a temperature sensor according to claim 1, characterised in that the housing (1) includes a plurality of orifices (9) drilled into the lateral surfaces to dissipate the heat.

3. The smart plug with a temperature sensor according to claim 1, characterised in that the housing (1) internally incorporates a cavity (12) to insulate the temperature sensor (2) from the generated heat.

4. The smart plug with a temperature sensor according to claim 1, characterised in that the front part of the housing (1) includes light indicators (7) to indicate the switching on and off of the plug.

5. The smart plug with a temperature sensor according to claim 1, characterised in that the front part of the housing (1) has buttons (8; 8.1) located on the top for switching on and erasing data.

Description

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0008] To complement this description and for a greater understanding of the features of the invention in accordance with an exemplary preferred embodiment of the same, a set of drawings is attached as an integral part of said description, these drawings merely provided for illustrative and non-limiting purposes:

[0009] FIG. 1 shows a front view of the smart plug according to this invention, in which the housing (1), the plurality of orifices (9) in the lateral surfaces and the rest of elements indicating the on and off modes are shown.

[0010] FIG. 2 shows an internal view of the housing (1), in which the chamber (12) where the temperature sensor (2) will be located to be insulated against the rest of the plug is shown in detail.

[0011] FIG. 3 shows a view of the metallic internal structure (10) coupled to the printed circuit board (PCB) (20), in which the internal elements are indicated.

[0012] FIG. 4 shows a view of the printed circuit board (PCB) (20), in which the section including the energy consumption sensing circuit (4) is shown in detail using a dotted and dashed line.

[0013] FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of the different elements the smart plug is composed of, in which the pins (11) for its connection to a power source and an external element (13) plugged into this smart plug are shown.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0014] This invention discloses a smart plug device allowing for the temperature in the room in which it is installed to be detected regardless of the heat generated by the same. The smart plug is constituted by a housing including pins for the connection. The object of the invention relies on this smart plug incorporating a temperature sensor which, alongside the consumption measurement of the appliance that is connected, allows this device to be used as an efficient temperature controller capable of optimising power consumption and thus reducing the money and energy expenditure when a room's temperature is managed.

[0015] The smart plug is constituted by a housing substantially of a rectangular-parallelepiped shape including a plurality of orifices drilled into the lateral surfaces, wherein the front surface has a female connection allowing an external element to be plugged in and the rear surface incorporates pins for its connection to a power source. The smart plug includes means for controlling and switching off, means for controlling energy consumption and means for a wireless communication.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

[0016] This invention is grounded on the fact that the smart plug incorporates a temperature sensor (2) monitoring the temperature in the room in which the device is installed, in such a manner that, through knowing the temperature, energy expenditure can be managed and, therefore, energy consumption and monetary expenditure can be reduced.

[0017] The smart plug featuring a temperature sensor according to this invention comprises a housing (1) substantially of a rectangular-parallelepiped shape, wherein the front surface has a female connection (6) allowing an external element (13) to be plugged in and the rear surface includes pins (11) for its connection to a power source. In the housing (1), a plurality of orifices has been drilled into the lateral surfaces of the same in order to maintain ventilation over the internal elements.

[0018] The device incorporates a temperature module composed of a temperature sensor (2) arranged on the lower part of the internal board structure (PCB) (10) to avoid convection heat and cut-outs (2.1) in the printed circuit board (PCB) (20) to insulate the heat generated by said board; a consumption sensing circuit (4) arranged facing the printed circuit board (PCB) (20) and facing away the temperature sensor (2), in such a manner that this consumption sensing circuit (4) is located furthest away from the temperature sensor (2) to avoid interference resulting from the heat generated by conduction. Temperature measuring in the room in which the smart plug is located, together with the consumption measurement of the appliance that is connected to the plug, allows for this device to be used as an efficient temperature controller capable of optimising power consumption and thus reducing energy and monetary expenditure when a room's temperature is managed.

[0019] The smart plug equipped with a temperature sensor includes a load actuator (3) formed by at least one relay allowing to control load and arranged with its power part being as spaced apart as possible from the ambient temperature sensor to avoid the heat by conduction through the PCB, and a wireless communication module (5) arranged on the internal board structure (PCB) (10) allowing for the smart plug to be controlled from other devices by means of suitable applications and as spaced apart as possible from the ambient temperature sensor to avoid the heat by conduction through the PCB.

[0020] Furthermore, a power source (14) is available entrusted with supplying energy to the electronics, located as spaced apart as possible from the ambient temperature sensor to avoid the heat by conduction through the PCB.

[0021] The housing (1) internally incorporates a cavity (12) in which the temperature sensor (2) is located. This allows for the insulation of the temperature sensor (2) from the heat generated by convection and radiation from the entire set, i.e., the rest of elements included in the smart plug.

[0022] The front face of the housing (1) includes light indicators (7) to indicate the switching on and off of the plug and has buttons (8; 8.1) for switching on and erasing data on the top of said front face.

[0023] This invention through its wireless communication module (5) allows to be controlled remotely. Through knowing the temperature in the room in which the smart plug is located, energy consumption of the appliance connected to the same may be controlled, i.e., it is possible to control and optimise energy consumption by means of an application acting on the communication module of the smart plug.