Connector
A plug-and-socket device may be inserted and disconnected as intended under electrical voltage or load.
In Germany, a device or machine does not need a main switch up to a maximum conductor current of 16 A (for single-phase consumers and a nominal voltage of 230 V, this corresponds to a power of 3680 W) and may instead be equipped with a plug-in device. There the limit of 16 A is specified in DIN VDE 0100-460 .
A requirement in Germany, Austria and Switzerland for the plug-in device is the leading contact of the protective conductor when plugging in and the lagging disconnection of the protective conductor when unplugging. The best-known example in Germany and Austria of a plug device is the Schuko plug , in Switzerland the SEV-1011 plug. The opposite is a connector that must never be connected and disconnected under load and sometimes also under voltage.
Individual evidence
- ↑ VDE 0100-460: Setting up low-voltage systems - Part 4: Protective measures Chapter 46: Disconnecting and switching (IEC 60364-4-46: 1981, modified) , August 2008