Acquisitions and Sales of Businesses Fair Value of Consideration Transferred (Details) (USD $) Share data in Millions, unless otherwise specified	Nov. 30, 2012
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Cooper shares	163.6
Cooper shares issued pursuant to conversion of stock options and share units under Cooper equity-based compensation plans	1.8
Total Cooper shares and share equivalents prior to transaction	165.4
Exchange ratio per share	0.77479
Total Eaton shares issued	128.1
Weighted-average Eaton Corporation per share price	$ 51.91
Total value of Eaton share consideration for purchase of Cooper	6,649,000,000
Total cash consideration paid for Cooper shares and share equivalents	6,474,000,000
Total cash consideration paid for equity-based compensation plans at fair value	69,000,000
Purchase price of Cooper	13,192,000,000
Cooper shareholders receipt of cash per ordinary share of Cooper Industries plc	$ 39.15