Device plug
According to VDE 0623, connectors with contact pins for mains voltage in the low-voltage network are referred to as device plugs , which are installed directly in the end devices and are used to supply power to these electrical consumers . The connection is made via a flexible cable with a suitable coupling socket. In general, connectors with sockets are referred to as sockets or coupling sockets (also abbreviated as coupling) and connectors with pins as plugs .
Device plugs and sockets are internationally standardized by the IEC . Single-phase versions are specified in the IEC 60320 standard and are described below in this article. Older, different national standards exist in the USA, Great Britain, Switzerland, Italy and some Asian countries. Appliance plugs and sockets for three-phase alternating current are described in the IEC 60309 standard .
General
Corresponding mains connection cables consist of a flexible mains lead which is provided on one side with a mains plug for the low-voltage network (in Europe for example Schuko , SEV 1011 , BS 1363 , in America NEMA plug type B ), and on the other side with a coupling socket ( "Female", touch-protected device cable coupling) is connected. This design enables the connection cable to be exchanged, the device to be disconnected from the mains or the delivery of similar devices with different device connection cables for connector systems in different countries. The (live) contacts of the couplings are protected against accidental contact by insulation and an appropriate design. The pins of the connector are de-energized when not plugged in.
In order to switch several devices together from one device, power cords with device plug connections on both sides (1 × "male", 1 × "female") are also manufactured. An example is the power cord for connecting a monitor to a PC . The plug-in direction is always chosen so that contact protection is always guaranteed; the feeding device has a built-in socket (female) and the powered device has a built-in plug.
In the context of IEC 60320, the various sockets and plugs are designated with a letter C followed by a number. The sockets are labeled with odd numbers and the matching plugs with the following even number.
Table overview
| designation | Connector diagram | Contact distance |
Protection class earth connection |
Polarity given ? |
Max. electricity |
Max. temperature- ture |
Comments / examples | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rifle | plug | not customized rod faithfully |
||||||
| C1 | C2 |
|
↔ 6.6 mm |
 No
|
No | 0.2 A | 70 ° C | Razors |
| C3 | C4 |
|
↔ 10 mm |
No
|
Yes | 2.5 A. | Is no longer listed in the IEC standard. | |
| C5 | C6 |
|
↔ 10 mm ↕ 4.5 mm |
 Yes
|
Yes | Monitors, laptops and power supplies: known as "Mickey Mouse" or "clover leaf" connectors. | ||
| C7 | C8 |
|
↔ 8.6 mm |
No
|
No | 2.5 A. | Very often used on household appliances, in the audio / video sector and on razors. Also known as "small device connection cable" or "small device cable", with a European power plug also known as "Euro power cord" or "Euro cable". | |
| C7P | C8P |
|
No
|
Yes | The rectangular side is the outer conductor . | |||
| C9 | C10 |
|
↔ 10 mm |
No
|
No | 6 A | These plugs were often used on devices from Roland , Revox and all German public telephones . | |
| C11 | C12 |
|
No
|
Yes | 10 A | similar to C9, is no longer included in the IEC standard. | ||
| C13 | C14 |
|
↔ 14 mm ↕ 4 mm |
Yes
|
Yes | 10 A | 70 ° C | Very often used in the IT sector, in the professional audio and video sector and in stage technology. Also known as "cold device cable" or "cold device connection cable". |
| C15 | C16 |
|
Yes
|
120 ° C | Warm apparatus connection | |||
| C15A | C16A |
|
Yes
|
155 ° C | Hot apparatus connection | |||
| C17 | C18 |
|
No
|
70 ° C | IEC cables without earthing contact : devices with plug C18 also fit IEC cables with earthing contact (sockets C13), but not vice versa, cables without earthing contact (sockets C17) in devices with plugs with earthing contact C14. | |||
| C19 | C20 |
|
↔ 13 mm ↕ 8 mm |
Yes
|
Yes | 16 A | 70 ° C | Use in the IT sector. Higher resilience |
| C21 | C22 |
|
Yes
|
155 ° C | Hot apparatus connection | |||
| C23 | C24 |
|
No
|
70 ° C | ||||
"Razor plug" (IEC-60320 C1)
This is similar to the small appliance plug, but has no waist and a smaller contact distance. With a permissible current of 0.2 A and a maximum of 70 ° C, it is only suitable for small devices with low power consumption. It got its name from its use on electric razors .
The associated built-in plugs were also used in other small devices in the GDR and often have a contact set on optionally battery-operated devices that is activated when plugged in and separates the battery from the device ( switch socket ).
The corresponding socket for this plug is similar to the design of the IEC-60320-C8 standard.
"Cloverleaf coupling" (IEC-60320 C5 / C6)
This type is mostly used in laptop power supplies (notebook connector TC-09) and more recently in video projectors and computer screens. The maximum permissible current flow is 2.5 amperes, the pin temperature is max. 70 ° C. The coupling has a protective conductor. The official designation in Germany is DIN VDE 0625 , part 1, standard sheet C5, colloquially this coupling is also called "clover leaf" or "Mickey Mouse plug" (or coupling) because of its shape.
If symmetrical Schuko plugs are attached to the cable on the input side, an assignment of neutral and external conductors is not given despite the color coding of the cable cores.
IEC-60320-C5 describes the coupling, IEC-60320-C6 describes the built-in connector.
Small appliance plug (IEC-60320 C7 / C8)
This "coupling for small devices, European version" (cables with this coupling are also known as "Euro power cord") is approved according to VDE for electrical consumers up to 2.5 A of protection class II for operation up to a maximum of 70 ° C. The associated built-in plug is used in numerous small appliances and is therefore usually referred to as a "small appliance plug". It has no earth connection and is sometimes described as a "reclining figure eight" because of its two-pole, waisted shape. In Great Britain it is often referred to as the "figure of eight", in the USA as "shotgun".
In some countries (e.g. Great Britain and the USA) a variant is common that can only be inserted in one direction due to its rectangular shape on one side. The rectangular connection is intended for the phase, the rounded connection for the neutral conductor, which can lead to a safety risk if a device that expects this assignment is used with a non-polarized power cord instead.
A modified variant can be found on power supplies from Apple . There is a groove only on one side, the other side of the socket is straight. But it also fits plugs in the horizontal 8 format.
Small device built-in plugs on optionally battery-operated devices often have a contact set that is actuated when plugged in and separates the battery from the device ( switch socket ).
The corresponding plug for this socket / coupling is specified in the IEC-60320-C8 standard.
IEC connector (IEC-60320 C13 / C14)
IEC coupling gray (C13) and IEC chassis plug black (C14), usual three-pole design
IEC chassis plug (two-pole, ungrounded, C18)
IEC coupling (two-pole, ungrounded, C17)
IEC 60320 C13 standard IEC 60320 C13 power plugs are used to connect devices that do not generate any noticeable heat during operation (e.g. computers, peripheral devices, etc.). The maximum temperature at the connector pins must not exceed 70 ° C. The maximum current flow is set to 10 A. Cold device plugs do not fit into warm or hot device sockets.
The typical connection cable for cold devices has a country-specific plug at one end, which is plugged into the respective socket, or a C14 plug, and at the other end an IEC connector. The cold device couplings / sockets are three-pole, with an outer conductor , neutral conductor and protective conductor . The two-pole variant without a protective conductor is less common. Assembled cables with integrated cold device plugs are also referred to as cold device cables.
The international standard for the cold device coupling ("female") is IEC 60320-C13, which can be found in the German DIN VDE 0625 , part 1, standard sheet C13. The device installation plug ("male") has the designation C14. For the rare unearthed two-pole variant, the designations C17 (coupling) and C18 (device installation plug) are used.
- Occupancy
If you look from the front at the device socket, earth conductor at the bottom, the outer conductor (the "phase") is on the left. In the case of connection cables with a symmetrical plug at the other end (e.g. Schuko), this assignment is of course not guaranteed.
Warm device and hot device plugs (IEC-60320 C15 / C15A and C16 / C16A)
Hot device plugs (C15 / C16) or hot device plugs (C15A / C16A) are used for heat-generating devices such as mobile hotplates , industrial vacuum cleaners , waffle irons or irons of older designs and switches (network distributors) of the latest design, with a removable supply line. The plugs (in the device) and couplings (on the supply line) are made of ceramic , metal or heat-resistant plastic ( Bakelite was also used in the past ). Hot device plugs are approved for operation up to 120 ° C and a current strength of up to 10 A, while hot device plugs for loads with an operating temperature of up to 155 ° C and up to 16 A can be used. Their appearance is similar to that of a cold device plug, but they have additional contours to prevent the use of unsuitable supply lines - the associated warm device couplings have a recess on the underside, hot device couplings have two additional recesses on the top. Warm and hot device couplings can therefore also be plugged into a device with an IEC connector. The opposite case, however, of connecting the IEC coupling to a hot device, is not possible.
The official designation for the hot device plug is in Germany: DIN VDE 0625 , part 1, standard sheet C15, for the hot device plug: standard sheet C15A. The waffle iron plugs are older designs .
The plugs and cable couplings are three-pole with an outer conductor , a neutral conductor and a protective conductor ; there is no assignment of an outer conductor / neutral conductor because the cable plugs at the other end (or the waffle iron plug) are symmetrical.
IEC connector (IEC-60320 C19 / C20)
There is also an IEC connector variant for 16 A. It is slightly larger and the contacts are rotated by 90 °. The designation C19 describes the socket, C20 the plug. C20 plugs are used, e.g. B. in blade server chassis, which often require more than 10 A (especially at 110 V). Connection cables typically have a C19 coupling on one side and lead to a blue L + N + PE, 6h plug for 230 V and 16 A in accordance with IEC 60309 on the other .
Hot device coupling (VDE 0625 / IEC-60320 C21)
The hot device coupling form C21 according to IEC 60320 has been largely replaced by the newer types C15 and C15A according to the same standard.
"Waffle iron plug"
For the operation of hot devices such as waffle irons , irons , kettles , samovars and slide projectors , more rarely, vacuum cleaners, calculators and tape recorders were common until the introduction of connectors according to IEC 60320 in Germany connectors according to DIN 49491, the clutch due to their known use as "Iron - ”or“ waffle iron sticks ”. "Plugs" (cable sockets) of this type usually had a device-side porcelain insulator with a resilient steel tongue for making the protective contact (see picture), while the handle side was usually a Bakelite housing with a rubber anti-kink sleeve. In the case of very old “waffle iron plugs” for only two-core connection cables, the protective contact tongue could also be missing. Textile or rubber-sheathed rubber core lines were used as cables for hot devices, although the assignment of neutral and outer conductors was not given due to the symmetry. The plugs were also manufactured with an integrated power switch, as many of the associated devices (e.g. iron or waffle iron) were not provided with their own switch at the time.
Device-side counterpart of the "waffle iron plug" was a screwed-together with the appliance connector plug whose outer metal pipe produced the earth pin, and two projecting from the bottom of the plug porcelain metal pins manufactured the actual electrical contact.
Industrial variants of the "waffle iron plug" with porcelain coupling and metal built-in plug were (and are) used in older systems in the plastics processing industry to connect heating bands to extruders , injection molding machines , heated thermosetting molds, solder baths and similar devices.
This device plug presents safety risks:
- The coupling was heat-resistant, but the insulation of the cable was often not so, so short circuits often occurred within the socket.
- The coupling could easily reach the temperature of the device and lead to burns, especially when unplugging.
- Since the contacts of the coupling had approximately the same distance as the plug contacts of the Schuko plug, it was often misused as an extension cable, but this led to a loss of grounding, open current-carrying contacts and contact problems due to the smaller plug pins.
- The current-carrying contacts of the coupling were not sunk deep enough in the housing or were too large in diameter to prevent them from being touched with simple metal objects or directly with small children's fingers.
- The latter worsened when the above, fragile porcelain portion z. B. was damaged by falling and the contacts were exposed by broken material.
Forerunner of the IEC connector
A connection similar to the C9 / C10 standard, but with a protective earth conductor, existed until the 1960s. The device plugs were found on high-quality audio devices, cinema projectors and electrical laboratory devices, among other things. They are specified for a maximum of 6 A and have a contact distance of 10 mm. Similar to the old hot device plug, the protective conductor is transferred with sheet metal lugs. The housing is made of Bakelite , in some cases also made of white Meladur ( aminoplast ), but also made of PVC molded onto the cable, corresponding to current IEC cables.
Global harmonization
The IEC 60320 is adopted from Canada and the USA with minor deviations .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Explanation of terms according to VDE 0623 .
- ↑ IEC 60320-1: Indian Standard: Appliance Couplers for Household and Similar General Purposes: Part 1
- ↑ a b IEC 320 data sheet
- ↑ http://www.wittner-kinotechnik.de/katalog/07_vorfu/grafik/4092_g.jpg
- ↑ Martin Tobler: [all-electronics.de Global harmonization of the device plug standard .] In: elektronik-industrie . 01/2020, January 2020.
