Clause 3 – How to understand the definition of “interconnection cord”
interconnection cord： external flexible cord between two parts of an appliance, provided as part of a complete appliance for purposes other than connection to the supply mains
Note 1 to entry: In battery-operated appliances, if the battery is placed in a separate box, the flexible lead or flexible cord connecting the box with the appliance is considered to be an interconnection cord.
Interconnection cords are not connected to the main power supply. They are located between two parts of an appliance. The cords can conduct the electrical energy from one part to the other. The concept of interconnection cords is defined here to reduce the dangers caused by interconnection cords. Standards 25.23 and 25.24 provide requirements for interconnection cords. From the perspective of standard requirements, the standard mainly considers the external cords of the appliance, the pulling that may occur during use, and other similar usage conditions that power cords may withstand. Therefore, most of the externally accessible cords other than power cords can be considered interconnection cords. Note 1 is a typical example.
Split air conditioners usually have a separate indoor or outdoor part that is directly connected to the power supply, and the other part completes the transmission of power through an interconnection cord. Therefore, the indoor and outdoor cords used by split air conditioners are considered interconnection cords.
The product shown in the figure below is a fan with atomization function (blowing water out in the form of mist). The connecting wire between the upper fan head part and the lower white water tank part can be considered as an interconnection cords.
As shown in the figure below, a floor standing mist fan has a different structure from the wall mount mist fan shown in the figure above, but has the same function. The floor standing mist fan is an integral structure, but there is a cord outside connecting the fan head and the water tank below (the cord will pass through the middle support rod). For this kind of connection, the author believes that it is also an interconnection cords.
As shown in the figure below, this is a typical lead between the display circuit board and the main control circuit board of a split wall-mounted air conditioner indoor unit. Although the lead can be touched by manually opening the top cover, the lead is inside the appliance during normal use and is therefore not considered an interconnection cord. However, the lead still needs to meet the requirements of clause 22.8.
Here is a more controversial case, which is the cord inside the compressor compartment on the back of the refrigerator. The cord in the red circle in the figure below are considered to be interconnection cords by most third-party testing organizations or laboratories.
My personal opinion is that the cord in the refrigerator compressor compartment is not an interconnection cord. We can infer the intent of the standard from the requirements of 25.23 and 25.24. The standard requires that the interconnection cord needs to meet the requirements of the power cord. The power cord can be pulled, so the test of 25.15 is required. The power cord is characterized by being external to the appliance and can be touched and pulled. The refrigerator cord we are discussing here is unlikely to be touched and basically will not be pulled.
An appliance is supplied by a cord set and is composed of Part A and Part B, where Part B is handheld and connected to Part A by an interconnection cord. This information come from CTL decision OD-5002-F3:2021.
